Eternal (Dragon Wars, #2) Read online

  She nodded and ran in the direction he’d pointed. Calling her wolf onto herself, she let her body splinter and reform into its animal shape. She’d never much cared for the process or the resulting wolf when it was over. Others loved their animal, craved the time spent on all fours. Caitlyn had always been too invested in what her human self was doing to want to waste time running around living on instinct alone.

  Still, when the shift came she did what she’d been born to do. She became a wolf. The strong male, whose scent she craved and could not have, told her to make for the woods. She obeyed.

  The dragon smelled foul, like garbage or the scent of something spilled in the lab. And it drew closer. She skidded to a stop to see how far the creature was behind her and then wished she hadn’t.

  With a whimper, she realized the stuff of nightmares hovered right above her. She stared behind her. Why had it followed her? There was an entire army of Werewolves in her wake who would be much better foes. Why did the dragon target her?

  Four large Werewolves barreled toward her and she supposed that had to be a good thing. If her nose proved true, one of them was Dougal, another Brett. She didn’t know the other two, but if they proved to be her saviors, she’d promise to learn and never forget their names. Ever.

  The dragon dove toward her. She snarled. Caitlyn might not be an Alpha wolf, but dammit, she wasn’t going to sit around and let herself be killed by a dragon either. Of course, sometimes the smart move was to run like hell.

  Maybe she could hide in the woods. They didn’t have great noses. If she could find a way to disguise herself, maybe she could survive.

  The dragon darted in front of her blowing fire in the direction she’d intended to run. What little trees remained, no more than kindling really, exploded into flames. She skidded in time to be hoisted into the sky by two claws. They dug into her skin and she cried out.

  By the Gods, the creature had her. She was going to die, it would eat her or maybe lock her up to torture her in a prison as her brother-in-law had been.

  Four simultaneous growls filled the air when the four Werewolves leaped higher than she’d ever seen Werewolves jump. They landed on the wings of the dragon, and the creature bellowed.

  “Werewolves. I will eat all of you.”

  It talked!

  She wasn’t sure what happened next. Maybe she lost consciousness. The world kind of tilted on its side. Everything went blurry. She knew the feeling, having experienced it once before when she’d been a young girl, when the boiler had exploded.

  There had been heat...dragon heat...and then nothing.

  “Caitlyn?” A voice called to her, and she tried to surface from the black nothingness sheltering her with safety. “Time to come back.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at at least a dozen male Werewolves, including Dougal Owens. She’d wanted to wake to Dougal for more years than she could count. Where the hell was she, and what the hell was going on? It took her a moment to orient herself to the present and remember why she was still laying on the ground in her wolf.

  Before she did anything else, she had to be back in her human form to speak with the dozen Werewolves staring at her as though she were some kind of foreign object they’d never seen before.

  When her body finally shifted, probably less quickly than any of the males staring at her, she looked at them. Her cheeks heated. Embarrassment wasn’t a new emotion for her, just one she wished she could do without.

  Speech came a few seconds later. “Did I pass out?”

  Dougal squatted in front of her. “You did.”

  “It’s to be expected.” Brett spoke quickly. “Females have no business being around dragons.”

  “Shove it. I’ve seen grown male Werewolves fall over at their first glance at dragons. Half of you lot vomited, and I wanted to go run and hide. She got scooped by a fully grown female who could speak. I’d say she did pretty well, right until the end.” Dougal extended his hand to her. “Come on. Stand up.”

  She did as he’d asked and rose to her feet, taking his strong hands in her own. A jolt of electricity passed through her body and for a second she couldn’t breathe. Dougal seemed unaware, so she tried to play it off as though it hadn’t happened. As nonchalantly as she could, she took her hand from his and shoved it in her pocket.

  “I assume you got it.”

  Dougal moved out of the way and she could see the downed dragon being torn apart behind her by at least ten wolves. It was dead.

  “She’s fine.” Dougal spoke over his shoulder. “Everyone get ready for tomorrow. Let’s let the Miss Caitlyn do the same.”

  There were some nods of agreement and the group who had been staring at her intently moved off. She was able to take a deep breath.

  Except for Dougal, he didn’t move.

  “I’m sorry I said the things I did to you earlier, about how the other males would behave, about them not mating you and the things they would do.”

  What had he said? It took her a few moments to remember. “Oh, your words were nothing I haven’t heard before.”

  “Every capable male close enough jumped the dragon to try to rescue you. Rather than making them nuts, your presence here seems to be bringing out the hero in all of them.”

  “I don’t know if I’ve ever provoked such a response in anyone before.” Her head hurt. Dougal’s suggestion of bed sounded really good.

  “As for me.” He laughed. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

  “What?”

  “When it pulled you off the ground, I thought I might explode from the inside out. I don’t know Caitlyn. I think I might be losing my mind.”

  He ran his fingers along her bad cheek and her body vibrated. What was he doing? Why was he touching her?

  “Dougal.”

  “Get some sleep, Caitlyn Knox. Tomorrow I have to drag you out of the fire and into the flames. You’re going to want to be well rested.”

  She nodded. Words had long since fled her.

  Chapter Three

  Dougal hadn’t lied to Caitlyn when he’d told her he might be losing his mind. The dragon’s claws closed on her, and he had lost his mind. She’d gone limp and he’d seen red. His wolf’s emotions mixed with the man’s and before he’d known it he had ripped open the purple monster’s neck all on his own. He’d never attempted the feat previously, and wasn’t sure he could make a mid-flight neck kill again if he tried.

  Then he’d somehow ripped her from the dying lizard’s claws and gotten them both to the ground. Or so Brett had described to him. Until he’d shifted back to his human legs and checked her pulse, he hadn’t been able to make his brain work.

  Survival mode. The phrase was what his former commander called the place where a Werewolf could go when things went to hell. It meant the brain left town while the muscle memory remained.

  Thank the gods, Caitlyn was okay. And if life weren’t horribly cruel he’d get to shepherd her there and back again without further incident.

  Maybe he’d also figure out what to do with the erection he’d been sporting for hours. It had been years since his dick had gotten stiff for any length of time. It didn’t want to go back to normal, despite his fast jerk off session.

  Maybe he needed to see a doctor. Was it safe for him to stay hard for so fucking long?

  Caitlyn stepped out of the commander’s tent and laughed at something the old man said. The man in charge of all their asses put his hand on her arm and Dougal couldn’t stop the growl which wrenched itself from his gut and vibrated through his throat.

  Everyone close enough to hear, including Caitlyn and the commander, stared at him. “Are you okay over there Owens?”

  No. “Yes, sir.”

  He stomped in their direction and doing so didn’t improve his mood. The day before, he’d thought Caitlyn smelled like home. She still did, coupled with a sweet femininity which had no place in a war zone. No wonder the decision had been made to keep the females home. By the gods, how would he
survive this? It might take years to get his libido back under control.

  It was almost as if...

  No, he shoved the thought away. Mating and family weren’t for him, would never be. He’d seen too much, watched too many friends get clawed to death. He shuddered as his most unwanted memory floated in where it didn’t belong. Burned buildings, homes destroyed, the baby who wasn’t quite dead yet would be shortly when she died in his arms.

  Yes, no children for him. If he lived long enough to see an end of the war where the dragons were gone, he wouldn’t seek mating. Maybe he’d spend his life avoiding women all together.

  In another ten years, he’d be too old for it anyway. Almost no one found a mate over the age of fifty-five.

  Ten more years then he’d be safe. If only he could do something about his cock in the meantime.

  “Sir.” He nodded at the commander. “Miss. Is there anything you need before we get going?”

  “No.” She smiled only it didn’t reach her eyes. Caitlyn had secrets, yet every emotion seemed to play across her face. In another life, he would have made a point to know and help shoulder whatever made her so wary. Or maybe she was war burdened like the rest of them. Her previous statements about being unmatable tugged at him. Who told her those lies?

  So, the burn wouldn’t heal. Who the fuck gave two shits about such a small thing?

  “Have you been informed as to the particulars of the plan Brett designed?”

  If she wanted to get out of going, he wouldn’t blame her. Nothing about it appealed to him. Visiting the egg fields constituted his least favorite thing on the planet. There were babies in those eggs. He knew why they had to kill them. The eggs hatched fully-grown dragons, ready to attack and kill.

  But they screamed when they were smashed, from inside the egg. Werewolves were genetically predisposed to take care of children. It’s why, generally, they had large families. Breaking an egg which then screamed while it crumbled—it destroyed him from the inside out.

  If the commander thought they could benefit from taking a female in hell, then he would make it happen. Somehow, he’d resist the urge to carry her far from the front lines where she’d never be so afraid she fainted again. If such a place even still existed.

  “Wolves on boats.” Caitlyn shook her head. “Frankly, I’d rather get back on the dragon. I hate the water. Except the eggs are on that island.” She pointed to the block of land two miles from shore. “And so to the island I must go.”

  “She’s a mighty patriotic Werewolf, isn’t she?” The commander patted her on the head. Caitlyn flinched and Dougal didn’t know whether to laugh or scowl. Had the commander really petted her on a head like she was a domesticated dog?

  If anyone tried to be patronizing to his mother, she would have bitten off his hand. Maybe his upbringing was the difference between Dougal and the other Males. His mother had kicked ass.

  Had he never noticed the condescension before or was he feeling it so acutely because he’d fixated on Caitlyn?

  Dougal grabbed her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “Oh, okay.” She scurried to catch up to him as the commander called his best wishes for a safe venture to their backs. His soldiers would be waiting on the boat they’d procured to get to the island.

  “Could you slow a bit? You’re running and my legs are shorter than yours.”

  He cooled his pace immediately. The whole day would be trying without his running her to exhaustion. “I’m not used to having females around.”

  Dougal hoped it would do as far as explanations went.

  “You can let go of my hand. I promise not to run away.”

  He’d actually liked having his fingers linked with hers. The contact was strange. The desire for it weirder still, but he refused to overanalyze the behavior Dougal dropped her hand and tried to smile. “Again, my apologies. I know it’s not appropriate for me to touch you.”

  She laughed. “It’s been a long time since anyone concerned themselves with my propriety. I’m not worried about a small thing like you pulling me along to get where we need to go.”

  Caitlyn matched her stride with his and he didn’t feel like he was dawdling too much to walk at a slightly slower speed. “Your father would care if he were here.” The thought dawned on him so he continued. “What did he say when you told him you were coming here?”

  “I’m afraid my father is in his decline. It’s been six months since he shifted into his human form.” The sadness in her voice couldn’t be contained, and his heart panged. How old was Mr. Knox that he’d already headed into the stage of life where he stayed entirely in his wolf form before death?

  She continued speaking. “I’m thirty-six years old. Long gone are the days where he commented on my comings and goings in any case. I’ve lived about an hour from home for the last decade or so.”

  “Things must have really changed at home. No single beautiful woman would be left to live on her own ever, not sixteen years ago anyway.”

  “Beautiful?” Her voice cracked. “Do you need to get your eyes checked?”

  “Stop a second.” He grabbed her arm. “You don’t think you’re beautiful?”

  The day before, he’d not thought so either. His initial impressions hadn’t been kind. Her hair, while not the platinum of her sisters, shimmered with reds and gold amongst the chestnut brown practically glowed like a perfect fall day. Her eyes were sharp, filled with intelligence. Her sardonic wit promised to bite at him. A bite, he suspected he would love.

  He’d never, for the rest of his existence, forget her face.

  “I don’t like this conversation.” She looked away. “I’d rather talk about anything else in the world. Want to know about my drug addicted sister and the job she did robbing my folks? How about the time I fell at the pack meeting, right smack on my ass? Pick any other miserable topic.”

  “Caitlyn.” Gods, he wanted to breathe her in, to hold her against his chest until he’d soothed all her hurts. “Let the young ninnies keep their perfect faces. You survived fire. Some man would be lucky to have you. Who knows what’s about to happen in the world? Whoever got you wouldn’t need to worry about your ability to withstand it.”

  “Dougal.” Her voice dropped a little. “I don’t want you to talk to me about other males and my future. I’m not comfortable with it. Okay?”

  “Right.” What was wrong with him?

  Male Werewolves were randy. After the age of eighteen, they were left on their own to engage in whatever sexual activity they could find. Most well-bred females stayed away from too much fun in the sheets. Embarrassing their families could cause a woman a lot of trouble in the world.

  She’d been sheltered and well-educated. Her sister might have engaged in some lewd behavior, but Caitlyn still deserved to be treated with respect. And...and...and...damn it.

  Good intentions be damned. He had to kiss her. They were standing in broad daylight where anyone could see or a dragon could appear at any time.

  He pulled her against him and kissed her hard. Once upon a time, he might have known how to be gentle. No longer, it seemed. All he knew was he had to put his mouth on top of hers right then. If she shoved him away and he never had another chance, he wanted to kiss her anyway.

  Instead, she melted against him. Her breath quickened, her heart beat rapidly against his chest, and as her body gentled to his, he could feel in the slight tremor of her hands on his arms that she played no games.

  Finally, he pulled back. She opened her eyes—those smart, smart blue eyes—and stared at him. Neither of them spoke.

  “Well?” Her voice was breathy.

  He took her cheeks in his hands. The burned skin felt rougher than the rest of her softness. Dougal traced his fingers over the permanent reminder of the pain she’d endured. “Well what?”

  She sighed loudly and stepped back. “Nothing. Guess it’s been a long time for you, huh?”

  Caitlyn stormed forward to the boat. When her words finally registered i
n his thick brain, he wanted to howl. What the fuck was wrong with him?

  ****

  Wolves on boats sounded like the beginning of a poem or novel. Twelve wolves gathered on a boat. It was a dark and grey day...

  Her mouth was dry and she supposed it would be bad form for her to ask for a bottle of water. It might make her seem wimpy, and she wanted them to believe she could be as tough as they were. Twelve wolves, two of them commanders just under the head Wolf, ten other top-ranked soldiers floated on a boat headed for the egg fields because she had asked them to go. Well, technically because her all-female lab thought they could solve the worlds’ problems by going.

  “A penny for your thoughts?” The young Werewolf next to her caught her attention. He gave her a kind smile. He couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen years old. His blond hair with a hint of red and his dimple made him look younger. A sweet face, her mother would have said.

  “Oh, I don’t know if they’re worth as much as a penny.”

  He laughed, raising his face to the slight mist above their heads. “It’s been such a long time since I spoke to a female. It’s amazing. I have six sisters. The idea I could actually say it has been a long time since I spoke to a female is downright funny.”

  “Davey.” Dougal growled. “Leave her alone.”

  The young Werewolf snapped forward, his eyes off her as he stared out at the sea. She sighed. Dougal sat to her left and she’d tried not to pay attention to him since they’d boarded the boat—if the floating nearly-rotted wood floating on the sea could be called anything other than a death trap.

  “He’s not bothering me.” She spoke to Dougal through clenched teeth. First he talked to her about being with other Males, which confirmed what she thought to begin with—he didn’t share her mating feelings. Then, he’d kissed her. She’d waited, so pathetically hopeful. Surely with their mouths pressed together, he’d have felt the mating hormones racing through his body.

  Nothing. He’d not uttered one single word. They were on a boat and no one was going to speak to her because Dougal didn’t want them to. What the hell was his problem?