Stefan
The first thing that Stefan was aware of was darkness.
It seemed to engulf him completely: no matter which way he looked there was nothing but the deepest black. He could hear things, though – the sound of breathing not too far away, and the sound of a large dragon’s body moving quickly through the night. Sniffing the air, he detected a scent he hadn’t smelled since… since…
Stefan.
Stefan’s breath caught in his throat. It was a woman’s voice, deep and calming. A voice he’d know anywhere. She was communicating with him telepathically, the way only dragons could.
Mother? On hearing his own voice, Stefan realized he was only a child – still only a young dragon, thirteen at the most. What’s happening? Where are –
There’s no time right now. Only know that you must stay here. No matter what.
Fear flared up in Stefan’s belly. What’s happening?
I don’t have time to explain. Just do as you’re told.
Defiance rose in him. His mother had always been strict, but fair. She expected her word to be taken as law, but she had always explained her decisions to him and his friends and cousins.
What’s happening? he asked again, before he suddenly became aware of another presence in the darkness.
Mother? Where are we?
Again, it was a voice he’d know anywhere: his younger sister, Darklis. A voice he hadn’t heard since… not since…
Confusion swirled in his mind. Where was he? And how were his mother and younger sister here? It was impossible: they were dead.
They were all dead.
Everyone in his family, every last one of them, had been killed by Erik Lukich and his clan.
And he’d been powerless to do anything about it.
How are you here? he asked, surprised again at the youthful sound of his own voice.
Hush now, his mother said, her voice strict. I have to go now, and take your sister with me. Remember what I said: stay here. No matter what. No matter what you may see or hear outside, stay right here. Stay.
Stefan had wanted to argue. He tried desperately to find the words to tell his mother that no, wherever she went, he’d come too – that he’d help her, protect her, do whatever needed to be done. But somehow, his body wouldn’t respond to his commands, his muscles feeling weak, his movements sluggish.
It was at that moment he realized she’d used the Voice on him – the ancient dragon power by which elder members of the clan could constrain the movements of a dragon under their leadership. Every dragon could do it to a greater or lesser extent – there were even legends of dragons who could use it on others not under their power – and parents could certainly use it on their children.
Until the effects of the Voice wore off, there was nothing he could do – he’d have no choice but to obey her orders. His parents were powerful dragons, and their understanding of the old ways was second to none. He was stuck, bound by her words.
Mother, why? What’s happening? he called out to her again, but he could sense her turning away from him. The last thing he saw was her green eyes glittering in the darkness.
I promise I’ll be back for you, was the last thing she said, before Stefan felt the rush of air from her unfurling wings, and she launched herself out into whatever lay beyond the darkness.
Mother!
His head reeled. He didn’t understand anything. Somehow, his mother had returned from the dead; but the same thing was happening all over again. Again, she had hidden him, before promising she’d be back. Somehow, Stefan already knew that this was the last time he’d ever see either her or his sister.
It was the last time he’d see anyone in his family – in his entire clan – ever again.
Stefan struggled against the bonds of the Voice. Mother, don’t! It’s dangerous! He’ll find you! He’ll –
His desperate message to his mother was cut off suddenly by the roar of an enraged dragon. The sound seemed to cut through the air like a knife, slicing into his brain and leaving him feeling dizzy. He closed his eyes against it – and when he opened them again, the darkness was gone.
Rearing up before him was the most massive dragon that Stefan had ever seen, its scales glittering in green and gold, red eyes blazing. Its wingspan was massive as it alighted before him, smoke drifting from between its saber-sharp teeth.
Erik Lukich.
The most powerful dragon in the world.
Stefan froze, pinned beneath his malevolent red glare.
Did you think you could escape? Did you think any of you could escape?
Despite the fact that dragons could withstand even the hottest of fires, Stefan winced at the heat of Erik’s breath against his scales.
Know this: we will hunt you down. Every last one of you. There will be no Novaks left in the world. I will not rest until your line is extinguished.
The bonds of the Voice command his mother had placed on him still held Stefan’s limbs in place as Erik roared once more, the heat of his breath curling the edges of his scales, burning the delicate tissue of his wings.
Stefan struggled, but he could do nothing as Erik lifted one huge foot, claws glittering and red with blood, drawing it back before swinging it down toward him –
Stefan woke with a strangled cry, bathed in sweat.
At first, he couldn’t tell where he was – the same darkness engulfed him, just as it had in his dream. But then, slowly, just as his eyes began to adjust to the low light, memories began filtering back to him. The forest. The cabin. Holly.
His heartbeat racing in his ears, Stefan glanced down, relief washing over him as he saw the curled figure beside him, still sleeping soundly.
She’s safe.
Of course she was safe. This wasn’t that time long ago, when his mother had hidden him in a cave before leaving with Darklis. She had promised him she’d be back, but she had never returned.
He had waited for her for days – weeks, even, until hunger had finally driven him out of the cave to find food. A dragon could survive on very little when it had to, but even they had to eat sometime.
He had known, then, that the Lukich Clan was bent on wiping them out. But his parents had never explained to him why. What was it that had caused the blood feud between the two clans? Stefan knew that he would never know. Not with his own family utterly destroyed. And it wasn’t as if he could ask the Lukich Clan: he’d be killed on sight.
That was how blood feuds were conducted.
There hadn’t been one in centuries, before the one that had wiped out the Novaks.
Except for me.
Stefan shivered as the memory of the dream played through his mind again. It had been strange in a way that only dreams could be: he had known that his mother was dead, even as she’d spoken to him. It was like he’d been re-living the moment she’d left him all over again, but already knowing the outcome.
There was no way they could still be alive. If any of them were, they would have come back for him. They would have sensed him, or would have felt the call of what was left of their hoard and come looking for it.
But no one ever had.
It was just him.
And when he died, there would be no more Novak dragons left.
A chill ran through Stefan as he recalled Erik Lukich’s words to him in his dream: Know this: we will hunt you down. Every last one of you. There will be no Novaks left in the world. I will not rest until your line is extinguished.
Stefan had no doubt it was true. The Lukich Clan wouldn’t rest until they were wiped out.
And now, you’ve put your mate in the path of danger.
Stefan’s blood ran ice cold as soon as the thought entered his head. He looked down at Holly’s face as she slept. She was so beautiful – utterly peaceful in sleep, her sweet, heart-shaped face completely untroubled, her long eyelashes resting against her cheeks. Her blonde curls fell wildly over her shoulders. The bedsheet, pulled tight around her, outlined her lush, gorgeous curves to perfection.
As he looked at her, Stefan’s heart was filled with love and longing – and self-recrimination.
How could you have done this? The one thing you swore you’d never do?
He had promised himself that even if he ever found his mate, he’d never endanger her. Even if she had been another shifter, her life would have become a lot more hazardous if she’d accepted their mated bond and joined him.
But for a human…
A human who didn’t know and couldn’t understand what dangerous forces were facing them. What kind of power could hunt them down at any second.
He had told himself that he would simply leave this afternoon, and never come back. Holly would only remember him as a man with whom she had spent the night, and then move on with her life.
That was all. That was all you were supposed to do.
But instead, when he had touched her leg, it had been like a power beyond his control had gripped him. His dragon had risen within him, overpowering his good sense. His rational mind had fled, and all that remained was the knowledge that she was his mate, and he needed her. He had never known such yearning in all his life – and in the end, he had been helpless against it.
But now that it was over, Stefan began to realize just what a huge mistake he had made.
They couldn’t be together. He couldn’t ask that of her: to endanger her life like that, to live completely isolated from society, for fear that the Lukich Clan may one day find them.
She was a human, so even though she would have felt the bond between them, she wouldn’t have known it was a mated bond, or what it meant. There was every chance she would leave here and go on to live a perfectly happy life without him. She would meet another man, settle down, and live a normal life. She would have children. And she would always be safe.
His dragon rose within him once more at the thought of her with anyone else, eyes blazing, teeth bared. But Stefan forced it down viciously, telling it that it had caused enough trouble already.
He had already been utterly and completely selfish in sleeping with her. He couldn’t now compound the problem by telling her what their bond meant, or asking her to stay with him.
It would be better if he were to leave, now, without a word.
Revulsion rose up inside him at the thought, bile bubbling in his throat. Holly had told him she was still only just getting over a bad experience with an ex-boyfriend. Could he really hurt her like this?
Stay. Explain. At least tell her to her face you’re leaving.
The thought was a tempting one. But Stefan knew that if he had to see her face as he told her, he would never be able to go through with it. He wouldn’t be able to leave her side.
And in not leaving her, he was basically signing her death warrant.
It was better this way. It was better that she thought him a bastard who’d run off after he’d gotten what he wanted. If she hated him, then so much the better. She’d never think about him again. She’d never try to find him. She’d just write him off as another prick of a man, not even worth her time.
The thought pierced his heart, but he knew it was true.
This was better.
This would keep her safe.
But can you bring yourself to do it?
Stefan hesitated, looking down at Holly’s beautiful face.
She looked so peaceful in sleep – so perfect.
My mate. Forgive me. Please know I wouldn’t do this if I had a choice.
Steeling himself, Stefan slowly, carefully began to slide out of the bed, willing himself to be strong enough to do what needed to be done.
“Stefan?”
Holly’s voice was soft with sleep as she blinked at him, half sitting up on the bed.
Stefan froze. Despite his best efforts, he must have disturbed her as he had gotten up.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, running a hand through her riot of golden curls.
She was looking at him now, more awake than she had been a moment ago, blue eyes wide with alarm.
Stefan felt his heart contract as he looked at her.
“Everything’s okay,” he said. Desperately, he wished it were true – that somehow, by holding her and kissing her beautiful face, he could make it true.
Holly paused, before shaking her head, her expression confused. “Maybe I had a bad dream,” she said. “I just… suddenly felt like something was terribly wrong. I don’t know what.” She shuddered, then glanced up at him. “Sorry. I guess I was just being silly.”
His heart thumping against his ribcage, Stefan sat back down on the bed and gathered her into his arms. She settled against his chest willingly, sighing softly as he held her.
She must have detected his own bad dreams through their bond, Stefan realized. All dragons had some level of psychic ability – mostly with each other, but Stefan had heard of dragons who had learned to communicate with their human mates too. Perhaps Holly was especially sensitive to it.
And in that moment, he knew he couldn’t leave her.
Whether she understood it or not, they were bonded now – mated for life. They were a pair. And Stefan knew that even if it cost him his life, he had to stay with her. To protect her. To shield her from whatever danger might come their way.
If she will have me, he thought. Once she knows what I am. What danger being with me puts her in.
“Don’t be scared,” he said, stroking his fingers over her hair. “It was only a dream.”
And in that moment, he would have given anything in the world for that to be true.