Chapter 4
A month passed. She’d called her parents to let them know she was safe, but that she could not come home yet and that she was going to be staying in Germany a while longer. She spent her nights with Luther and Nathan, trying to work out a plan and cried as her 28th birthday passed without a hitch. When they weren’t planning they were making love and she would be happy if she knew that she hadn’t completely screwed the world up.
In the weeks that had passed they’d learned that the men were still cursed, the tattoos having appeared on their skin when the curse was placed, still present. She and her family line, the fate of the world were the only things that had changed. They couldn’t do anything for a year, they had to wait because the men could only travel back in time once a year; the spell wouldn’t work more than that for some reason.
Hannah would have been despondent without Luther and Nathan there to pick her spirits up, to keep her going. She’d learned something today, however, that could change it all. The plan had originally been to go back, to stop past Hannah from going to the men, thus stopping the German Army from winning World War II, for that is what had happened. The Germans had won and were still destroying the world, one country at a time. This was not something any of them could live with and each wanted desperately to get back in time, to fix what they had broken.
Now, though, the men might not want to do anything with her, they might want to change the plan and she didn’t know what to do about it. Walking into the bar she got their attention and they followed her back into the office. Sitting on the couch she allowed Luther to pull her close as Nathan took his usual spot at her feet. He loved her feet.
“You’re pregnant darling. You know that now, right?” Nathan asked her.
“Yes, but how did you know? I only found out for sure today!” she exclaimed.
“We’re dragonkin, we know these things.” Luther assured her.
“Do you know whose it is? Past or present?” Hannah asked.
“No, and it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change anything. We have to change the past. If it’s one of us, the future us that is, then the child will be conceived anyway. If not, we’ll figure something out. Because the one thing we know is that we love you, but we can’t let the world end up like this. We would both love this child, but we can’t allow it to survive in this world, it’s not fair to that poor baby. We just can’t do it.” Luther sounded as though he grieved the loss already, as though he knew the child already.
Hannah wanted to scream, to cry, to hold her hands over her child and protect it but she knew she could not. The world had to go back to how it was and she had to sacrifice this child if that’s what it took. That meant she’d give birth, have the baby, and get to know it before she had to go back and erase it. The urge to scream increased until she burst out crying, her tears breaking the hearts of the men who now loved her more than anything.
“Dry your eyes, Hannah. We will fix this, I promise. It’s a nightmare world we’re living in at the moment; we created it with our meddling. But we have each other and that will never change. We have one more chance and one other option. An option we haven’t explored yet but Nathan’s been working on it. So dry your eyes, my love, it may take some time but this will be sorted.” Luther wiped the tears away, kissing her despite her messy face.
“The one thing I’m going to cherish the most out of all of this, Hannah,” Nathan spoke, “is that you became a part of our lives. The wonder of gaining memories as you made them, remembering you in two different times with two different lives is a miracle I will never want to give up. Loving you is one of the rocks of my life now and I would not trade it. But if it will dry your eyes, I’ll give my own life. I have a meeting in a couple of weeks and I believe we can fix everything then. I didn’t want to give you false hope but every day I believe I learn more and I’ve come to realize that I caused this. I have to fix it. I’m leaving tonight to start my journey, it will take a while, but when I return things will either be fixed or it will be even better than it was to begin with. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Hannah reached to him, loving him just as much as she did Luther. How could she love them so quickly, so completely? She knew why, the experiences they shared built their love, built their trust in each other. These were her men, nothing could change that. Running her fingers over the dragon tattoo spreading over Nathan’s chest, she pulled on his nipple rings. He hadn’t had them in the 16th century but she’d learned how much having the rings tugged on blew his mind since her return.
Reaching for him she kissed him deeply, letting him pull her into his lap at the other end of the couch. Luther moved to one of the chairs in the room, wanting them to have this moment to themselves. Nathan removed her clothing slowly, with care and practiced ease. Having her beneath him was one of his favourite things in the world. He loved her intensely, his every movement and touch a declaration of his love. From her head to the soles of her feet he kissed her, caressed her, and memorized the taste, feel, and smell of her. His fingers knew every ridge of her skin when he was done; his tongue knew its taste.
Nathan went so far as to turn her over, loving the backside as much as the front. From her dark rose nipples to her pert ass cheeks, he knew her. He knew the mole below her right shoulder blade, the birth mark in the shape of an angel on the right side of her tummy, the scar on the sole of her right foot from a broken piece of glass. She was imprinted on his mind, his soul now and he could go to his future knowing that she would be a part of him always.
As he thrust into her, as her pulsing body pleasured his nerve endings, he knew that he loved this woman more than any other person on earth, even more than Luther and he would give his very life for her. His shout when he came was not only a shout of pleasure; it was triumph, understanding, and resignation. Beneath him, panting out her own enjoyment, Hannah opened her eyes as she came down from her own high.
“Nathan!” she screamed. Touching his chest, she was amazed at what she saw. His tattoo had shrunk down, only covering his shoulder and arm now. His chest was completely bare! He looked down, confused at what he saw.
“Luther?” Turning to look at his friend, his brother, his compatriot, he saw that Luther’s tattoo had shrunk as well.
“What does this mean?” Hannah asked the men.
“I could tell you.” A female voice intruded on their shock and they all looked to the office desk where the purple headed vixen sat, looking at all of them with a pleased smile.
“Erin? How did you get in here? What do you know about any of this?” Luther asked his barmaid.
“Oh, for such old souls, you two can still make the common male mistake of seeing only what you want to see. I am Eir, the goddess of peace and mercy. I have been watching you for a while now; to see what changes you’ve gone through, to see what you have learned. Finally, finally you have learned the error of your ways Nathan; you have learned love and remorse. That is all we deities have ever wanted. For you to learn and finally you have. You destroyed two kingdoms out of your immaturity and uncaring ways. You destroyed lives. We decided to take one from you; that of your woman and your child. Yes, your child. That one belongs to you. Others in the future may not, but that one will be yours. Now, look outside and watch.”
They all went to the window in the office, gasping and covering their eyes as a bright flash enveloped everything they could see, travelling out as though it were a tidal wave. In amazement they watched as the light surged away from them, the world changing around them as they gazed. The light somehow changed, the air cleared, lights came on in houses that had previously been dark, and houses appeared where none had existed.
“We’ve eliminated the curse, we’ve repaired the damage your little escapade caused and we’ve turned you back to mortal dragonkin. But you will be the last of your kind. There will be no more dragonkin on this earth after you. Hannah and her line are no longer cursed and the world can be a much better place than the future you created. Just make no more mistakes or we will come back!” With that Eir popped out of the room. She just disappeared. Then she came back. “And keep an eye out for Loki, he’s been at it again with his mischief. I’ll be back to work on Monday.” With that she popped out for the last time.
Luther, Nathan, and Hannah screamed their delight and joy, jumping up and down, hugging each other close. Hannah turned on the telly and it was normal again, not a state-sponsored program meant for indoctrination. Her parents had a Facebook account and were alive and well. She was still pregnant. Smiling at her men, at these two men she loved entirely, she knew that this was their final chance. They would, and could, make the most of it.