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Authors: Tianna Xander
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stared at the stone structure, standing so forlorn and forgotten. “Do you think there is a caretaker here?” He frowned toward the castle. “If there is, he hasn’t been doing his job keeping the structure in good repair.
“If there isn’t, someone has to be paying the rates and taxes. Otherwise, the government would have seized and sold it by now. I would hypothesize that Declan has someone watching over his home while he’s in mourning.” Damek turned to look at her. “Though you are still with us, he mourns your loss.”
He mourned the loss of his mate and willed himself to die. He was buried here, deep in the ground, and she was too late to tell him she was sorry. Emily buried her head in her hands and sobbed again. Why had she turned him down all those years ago? Why hadn’t she trusted him to love her the way he claimed he did?
The others spoke around her. She was certain that something important was going on around her, but she didn’t care. How could she care when her mate had given up on living because she had rejected him so many years before?
Her heart broke all over again as she knelt atop his grave and cried for all the things that could have been, if only she had been brave enough to love a dragon.
Chapter Two
Declan woke to the sound of voices. He scowled toward the surface. Who dared step upon his property and wake him from the slumber designed to help him forget?
Slowly, he stretched. His bones ached from being in one position for such a long time. How many years had he been asleep?
He felt the familiar ache of his mate’s rejection and knew it had not been long enough. Perhaps he would never forget his Emily’s beautiful blue eyes and her golden blonde hair.
Growling low in his throat, he stretched again. Those who had awakened him would feel his wrath. He had placed the enchanted cover stone over his lair to keep the noises from the world from waking him. Someone had circumvented the spell. For that, they would pay dearly.
The sound of low sobbing reached his ears. It was a female. Her heart was broken, that much he could tell. Declan scowled up at the surface, his heart hardening. Perhaps she would also have broken bones by the time he burst from his lair and laid waste to the woman’s male companions.
Never would he deliberately harm a female in the past, but his heart had hardened during his sleep and he found that he didn’t much care what happened to anyone. He wasn’t happy. Without his mate, he never would be happy. Why should anyone else have the honor?
The woman’s sobs pulled at him, making his heart ache. Declan growled. He didn’t like it. He didn’t want his heart involved in anything again. Falling in love with his mate had been the single most painful experience of his life, and he wanted nothing more to do with an organ that could cause him such grief.
He stood, his wings brushing against the walls of his lair. The ground shook, trembling beneath his feet as he moved through the tunnels beneath those who had disturbed him.
They would pay for waking him. He snarled. Flapping his wings, he jumped into the air. He would see to it that they all paid for disturbing his mourning sleep. With a loud, angry screech, Declan burst through the ground.
With strong fast beats of his powerful wings, he shot up into the air, belching fire into the sky. Let them see his rage. Let them feel the terror of those who knew they were about to die for disturbing the lair of the red dragon.
Turning back, he headed for the small group who stood staring at him. One seemed familiar. However, Declan didn’t care. He could only feel his rage at being disturbed.
“Whatever you do, don’t run,” the one he recognized as Damek Antaeus said. “He needs to realize we are no danger to his mate.”
Those words brought Declan up short. Leaning closer, he took a deep breath. There were three women. One brunette, one blonde and an older woman. None of them seemed familiar.
“If there isn’t, someone has to be paying the rates and taxes. Otherwise, the government would have seized and sold it by now. I would hypothesize that Declan has someone watching over his home while he’s in mourning.” Damek turned to look at her. “Though you are still with us, he mourns your loss.”
He mourned the loss of his mate and willed himself to die. He was buried here, deep in the ground, and she was too late to tell him she was sorry. Emily buried her head in her hands and sobbed again. Why had she turned him down all those years ago? Why hadn’t she trusted him to love her the way he claimed he did?
The others spoke around her. She was certain that something important was going on around her, but she didn’t care. How could she care when her mate had given up on living because she had rejected him so many years before?
Her heart broke all over again as she knelt atop his grave and cried for all the things that could have been, if only she had been brave enough to love a dragon.
Chapter Two
Declan woke to the sound of voices. He scowled toward the surface. Who dared step upon his property and wake him from the slumber designed to help him forget?
Slowly, he stretched. His bones ached from being in one position for such a long time. How many years had he been asleep?
He felt the familiar ache of his mate’s rejection and knew it had not been long enough. Perhaps he would never forget his Emily’s beautiful blue eyes and her golden blonde hair.
Growling low in his throat, he stretched again. Those who had awakened him would feel his wrath. He had placed the enchanted cover stone over his lair to keep the noises from the world from waking him. Someone had circumvented the spell. For that, they would pay dearly.
The sound of low sobbing reached his ears. It was a female. Her heart was broken, that much he could tell. Declan scowled up at the surface, his heart hardening. Perhaps she would also have broken bones by the time he burst from his lair and laid waste to the woman’s male companions.
Never would he deliberately harm a female in the past, but his heart had hardened during his sleep and he found that he didn’t much care what happened to anyone. He wasn’t happy. Without his mate, he never would be happy. Why should anyone else have the honor?
The woman’s sobs pulled at him, making his heart ache. Declan growled. He didn’t like it. He didn’t want his heart involved in anything again. Falling in love with his mate had been the single most painful experience of his life, and he wanted nothing more to do with an organ that could cause him such grief.
He stood, his wings brushing against the walls of his lair. The ground shook, trembling beneath his feet as he moved through the tunnels beneath those who had disturbed him.
They would pay for waking him. He snarled. Flapping his wings, he jumped into the air. He would see to it that they all paid for disturbing his mourning sleep. With a loud, angry screech, Declan burst through the ground.
With strong fast beats of his powerful wings, he shot up into the air, belching fire into the sky. Let them see his rage. Let them feel the terror of those who knew they were about to die for disturbing the lair of the red dragon.
Turning back, he headed for the small group who stood staring at him. One seemed familiar. However, Declan didn’t care. He could only feel his rage at being disturbed.
“Whatever you do, don’t run,” the one he recognized as Damek Antaeus said. “He needs to realize we are no danger to his mate.”
Those words brought Declan up short. Leaning closer, he took a deep breath. There were three women. One brunette, one blonde and an older woman. None of them seemed familiar.
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