Saved By Her Dragon (28 page)

He sat in the same spot for a little while longer and then
ventured out to the backyard where Kyra and his brethren were
sitting around talking.

The little witch was the first to look up and nodded towards
the greenhouse as she said, “Your girl’s in there. Said she wanted
to be alone.”

Without a word he walked towards his mate. He wondered if
pirates doomed to walk the plank felt like he did in that moment.
The sound of singing stopped him dead in his tracks just beyond the
corner of the little structure. It didn’t surprise him that Anya
had a beautiful voice and it made him feel a little better that the
song was a happy one. He listened for a moment longer and realized
he was only avoiding the inevitable. He had royally screwed up and
it was time to face the music and beg for forgiveness.

Thinking back, he could never remember a time when he was
scared of anything before Anya. He and his brethren had battled
damn near everything there was to fight, and there had been times
the outcome was not a forgone conclusion. But never once had he
felt the true, blood curdling fear that was coursing through his
body at that moment.

Taking a deep breath, he walked the last few steps and pulled
open the door. He knew she heard him from the slight stutter in her
melody, but she picked right up and kept her back to him, paying
particular attention to a large, flat, clay pot of herbs she was
weeding. Her hands deftly pulled the unwanted greenery while
leaving the fragrant herbs untouched. It was obviously a task she
had performed many times and one that brought her
comfort.

Devon had to admit to himself that he had avoided listening
to her thoughts or reaching through their link for fear of what he
would hear, but listening to her sing and watching her do something
she enjoyed made him drop his guard and slowly traveled into his
mate’s mind. It wasn’t surprising to him that she was reasoning
through what had happened. For the most part, she was giving him
the benefit of the doubt, which made him feel just a little more
like shit than he had before. Saying a real quick prayer, he closed
the distance between them and touched her shoulder.

Anya spun around and speared him with a look that made him
second guess his decision to mend fences, but Devon knew it was now
or never. “I’m so sorry for what I said and how I acted. If you’ll
give me a chance, I really want to explain my actions.”

Seconds ticked by as his mate simply stood and stared. He had
stopped listening to her thoughts right before he began speaking
and refused to invade her privacy any more than he already had,
leaving him to read the emotions as they flashed through her eyes.
Most of them were nothing he ever wanted to see again and he
chastised himself for putting them there. At least she was still
standing there and hadn’t smacked him in the face, something he
counted as a blessing. He pressed on, “You know we’ve been digging
through the wreckage of that damned mansion for almost four days
with no sign of Andrew. I’m not sure I explained how strong Rian’s
ability to connect with other dragons is, but he’s super powerful,
and if anyone can sense that fucking traitor then it’ll be him.
Well, today he felt him. It was subtle, almost like a whisper, but
it gave us a starting point instead of just digging around
aimlessly like we had been.”

“Aaron, Aidan, and I grabbed every piece of equipment we
could and got about ten feet down when Rian got a serious ping on
his radar. I’m sure having the traitor’s brothers around helped,
but anyway, this time Rian heard a specific thought–one that has us
all a bit jumpy. The stupid son of a bitch is about to dig his way
out and we have no idea which way he is heading, but he is planning
something big as revenge.”

He had Anya’s attention. She was listening to his explanation
and in that moment, it was as much as he could hope for. She had
taken off her gardening gloves and had her hands folded in front of
her body acting as a barrier between them. She had yet to smile,
but she also hadn’t told him to go to hell.
Put one in the win column.

“I tried to reach you through mindspeak but when you didn’t
answer, I figured you were restin
g
but Royce said he couldn’t reach Kyra either.
Then Aidan said Grace had said you two left together earlier in the
day and still weren’t back. I have to admit I kinda lost my
mind.”

“
Kinda? Yeah. Kinda.” Was all she said and
each word was punctuated with a roll of her eyes.

“Roy and I raced back to the lair, saw the
notes you and Kyra had left, and took to the skies. It wasn’t until
we were already in the air that I realized Aaron and Aidan were
with us.”

He stopped and thought about his next words very carefully.
“I’m sorry, really sorry Anya. I know that doesn’t fix what I did.
I know it’s happened before and I can’t promise it won’t happen
again. Heaven knows we’ve been together less than a week and I’ve
already had to apologize three times for the same damn thing, but I
swear on my life, I’m trying to give you the space and independence
that you need. And I’d like to tell you that it will get better
after Andrew is caught, but I won’t lie to you. All I can promise
is to try to respect your wishes and most definitely not make an
ass out of myself again.”

“Hell, ask any of my brethren. I bet none of
them can remember the last time they even heard me raise my voice.
They all call me the ‘Zen One’, but since you came into my life the
calm flew out the window. I’m restless when you are not by my side,
I spend every minute we’re apart wondering what you’re doing and
praying that you’re safe. The guys even made me come home the other
night because my thoughts were bleeding through my link with them.
Know how long it’s been since that happened?” She shook her head
right away and he had to hold back his smile when her hands fell to
her sides.

“At least a hundred years ago–and it’s all
because of you,
mo ghra’.”
He took a step forward and was rewarded with a
tiny grin, but then she raised her hand and placed her palm flat
against his chest.

“I know you’re trying, Devon. Believe it or
not, I can feel it right here.” She laid her free hand over her
heart. “But that does not change the fact that you barged
into
my home
and yelled at
me
for being there. Not only is that about the dumbest thing
I’ve ever heard of, it’s humiliating. It’s like you don’t trust me
to take care of myself or think I’m incapable. Well, I’ve got news
for you mister, I’ve been doing it for a long time and I have no
plans of stopping any time soon. I may not be a witch or a dragon
or anything but a simple human, but my parents taught me a thing or
two, and aside from your crazy ass traitor and his stupid wizards,
I’ve done a damn fine job of staying out of trouble.”

To emphasize her point, Anya propped her hands on her hips
and raised one eyebrow, and he could tell from her stare she was
daring him to say otherwise.

A knock on the door had them both calling, “Yes?” and then
chuckling as Kyra walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Jed and Dot are out
here and we have stalled them as long as we can. Dot felt the magic
in the air and saw the shadows so they came over to meet your
‘beau’.” She made air quotes with her fingers and winked when she
said beau, which caused Anya to giggle.

He looked at her and before he could ask she explained, “Jed
and Dot were my parents’ oldest friends and part of their coven,
not to mention they take care of the house and farm since Mom and
Dad died. They’ve always been like another set of parents. We
better get out there and meet them before they end up in here with
us.”

Anya reached down and grabbed his hand as they headed for the
door. She hung back when Kyra exited and turned on her heel, looked
him square in the eye, and whispered, “This discussion is far from
over.”

Devon groaned a little inside but realized she was still
holding his hand as they made their way into the waning sunlight.
He was further encouraged when she introduced him to the older
couple as her fiancé. Everything seemed to be going fine until he
heard Royce’s voice in his head,
“This
mating shit ain’t easy, is it Bro?”

“There’s the understatement of the year.”

His older brethren’s laugh echoed in his head just as Jed
said, “You better take good care of our little one, I know a spell
that…”

“None of that Jedidiah,” his wife scolded and swatted his arm
as everyone else howled with laughter.

It had been two days since her fateful trip to the farm, and
two days since what Anya was calling the ‘defining moment’ in their
relationship had occurred. Fighting with Devon sucked and Anya knew
she had overreacted, but dammit, she was not going to be ordered
around by anyone. No matter how sexy he was or that he made her wet
and needy by just being near.

Kyndel, Grace, Sam, and Kyra had commiserated while they
celebrated her last night of freedom. They all had tales about the
pigheadedness of dragons as mates, especially Kyra, whose story
made Anya’s look like a schoolyard spat. Luckily, each had attested
to the fact that it had all been worth it. Their words were sweet,
but it was the love she heard in their voices and the genuine
affection she saw when the couples were together that gave her
hope.

She had admitted that she’d never really had a serious
boyfriend, swearing the girls to secrecy and then almost fell out
of her chair when they all admitted to the same thing. There had
been guys she’d dated and guys that were friends, but none she ever
wanted to spend any real time with and none that made her feel the
way Devon made her feel or made her think of forever. She had felt
so reassured when every single one of the others nodded in
agreement.

She remembered how her mom had always said she was too
stubborn and too head-strong for any ordinary man.
If only you knew how right you were Mom.
But then again, maybe her mom did. It wouldn’t
surprise Anya at all if Sadie Sloane had been wise to Destiny’s
plan for her adopted daughter all along. It would be just like her
mom to keep someone as special as Devon a secret from her until she
was ready.

To his credit, since his fit of temper Devon had been trying
really hard to see her side of things. He didn’t even freak out
when she, Grace, and the others went into town to pick up something
special for her to wear on her mating night. They had all laughed
when they spotted Jace and Liam following them, but it did not
diminish the fact that Devon was trying.

Siobhan had been the greatest help of all. Not only had she
explained the mating ceremony and more of the dragon culture, but
she had given valuable insight into the inner workings of her son.
Anya had laughed when the healer told the story of her mate,
Gareth, on the day Devon was born. She chuckled as she remembered
Siobhan’s words… “Because I am a healer, I thought we could forgo
all the craziness that usually went along with the birth of a
dragon shifter. History dictated I would have a male; that has been
the way of our people for almost a thousand years; hence the reason
a perfect match from the human race is created for every dragon.
The birth of any dragon shifter was and still is highly celebrated,
but the pomp and ceremony surrounding the birth of a Guardsman’s
child goes far beyond outrageous. I had let my mate know I wanted
no part of it; only me, Gareth, and our child were to be present
for the birth. It was decided after much debate and many arguments
that we would go to the Healing Caves when I was ready to deliver,
along with
one
of
the other healers, and return to the lair after the
birth.”

“I did not take my mate’s inability to
keep
anything
from his brethren into account. Nor did I realize the lengths
he would go to make sure I was safe. Sometime between when my labor
started and the birth of our son, Gareth had called four more
healers and several of their mates to assist with the birth. From
one contraction to the next I was surrounded by a team of people
and a beaming father-to-be. He had also shared the blessed event
with
one
of the
men on his Force, who then shared it with his mate and her with
another, until by the time my beautiful baby boy made his screaming
presence into the world, a full-fledged party was underway just
outside the entrance to the cave.”

“As I came back to me senses, the sounds of the celebration
reached the back of the cave. I was much too happy to be upset. I
had an amazing mate, a healthy baby, and a family that wanted
nothing more than to celebrate a new member of our
clan.”

“I tell you all of this, my dear Anya, not to say that you
should not make your wishes known or stand up for yourself,
especially where my son is concerned, but to illustrate an
important ingredient for your future sanity. Dragon shifters are
warriors…leaders…an entire breed that was created with the sole
purpose of fighting evil in the world, protecting those in need,
and ensuring the survival of their race. The weight of their
existence can cloud their judgment, making them act irrationally,
especially where the One that holds their heart is
concerned.”