The Crime of Protection Read online

  Two days had passed. Kara was still at the dragon house, but the others no longer avoided her. Her body had fully recovered from the change to dragon form, which had drained her energy. Her job as a waitress was a memory now.

  It was morning. Blaine entered their bedroom, following a long and boring meeting with the elders in the sanctuary. Kara, and all of the other dragon people not of royal blood, could not sit in on the meetings, not that she had any desire to.

  “How was your morning?” she asked him innocently. He rolled his eyes.

  “It was fine, I am so glad to be back here with you though.”

  He approached her on the bed and caressed her six-month pregnant stomach, feeling for his unborn dragon child. She kissed his forehead tenderly.

  She treasured every second that she had with him. In the time they had known each other, she grew to love him more and more with each passing day.

  Soon their innocent embrace became more passionate and intense. All too quickly they both stripped down and were wrapped in each other’s arms on the floor of the room. Blaine still had a hand pressed against the baby within her, and her hand held his. She felt safe in his embrace, and now that she had undertaken the change she was no longer worried about the birth. For the first time since they had conceived, Kara and Blaine made love, exploring each other’s naked bodies once more, touching and caressing every inch of skin that was laid out before them. The child pushed on her stomach, reaching for its father through her flesh.

  Finally he mounted her and thrust inside, her back rubbing against the wooden boards beneath. She moaned as his erection moved within her, toward their unborn son. She felt herself shifting between dragon and human form, scales appearing over small sections of her skin before dissolving back into her. The baby moved with them, for the first time she was sure she felt his tiny, scaled tail rubbing against her inside. Blaine sucked at her neck, with one hand feeling her growing breasts. Kara felt total bliss.

  He continued to move faster within her. His hand moved up her body to grasp her face and bring it in towards his own. He pressed his mouth firmly to hers, parting his lips slightly to caress her tongue with his own. She responded by pulling her body closer to his, her arms around his muscular back, arching her back with pleasure as they came together, both moaning as their orgasm took hold of them.

  *****

  Three months on, she had gotten used to both her pregnancy and her new shifter powers. She enjoyed transforming, and dashing through the forest around their home with Blaine, their scales grazing the tree bark as they ran at fifty miles an hour, wings withdrawn as to not damage them on overhanging branches. In her dragon form she could take a break from the aching feet and other pains that came with carrying a child. She felt free. She was free, freer than she had ever been.

  Not only had she adapted to all the extreme physical changes she had undergone in the last few months, but to her delight the elders had finally begun to accept her as one of their own. She was no longer the outsider, pregnant with the bastard child of their King. She was one of them: a dragon shifter, a creature she once thought had only existed in fairytales. But all too quickly her due date arrived. The dragon within her decided he was ready to enter the world.

  One morning Blaine found her, hunched over the bed in pain, grasping her stomach as her muscles clenched together, forcing the child from the comfort of her womb. Her contractions began to get closer and closer together. Kara screamed at the excruciating pain she felt. As she moaned in agony her scales pulsed, appearing for seconds at a time in random sections on her body. She looked down to see the unborn child within her scratching at her stomach from the inside, claws visible through the thin layer of skin and muscle that separated him from the real world.

  “Please, get Blaine, I need him here,” she screamed, her claws morphed and dug into the side of the bed on which she lay.

  “We have to get you to the birthing chamber now, Kara!” one of the elders called from the distance. Kara was in no state to respond and soon she was being carried by several people through the long hallways to the underground section of the sanctuary. She had never been allowed down there before.

  They burst through a rickety wooden door and laid her gently on what felt like a stone slab covered by a sheet.

  “It won’t be long now, sweetie,” said Abigail, one of the elders.

  Abigail held Kara’s hand as she pushed and pushed, praying this monster child within her would get out and stop this crippling pain.

  “I can see him now,” said Abigail, her voice echoing around the room. At that moment Blaine burst through the door and hurried to her side.

  “I came as soon as I could, honey. You are doing so well,” he said.

  He tightly grasped her hand, giving her courage and strength to muster one final push. She felt the baby slide out of her and into the arms of someone else.

  “He is perfect,” Blaine cooed.

  Kara looked up to see Abigail holding a tiny bundle of reptilian flesh and blood, wrapped in a soft blue baby blanket. Kara held out her arms, tired and sweating. Blaine brought the newborn over to her and they sat on the bed in silence, staring down at their perfect little dragon prince.

  This was not the adventure that she had dreamed of; it wasn’t a path she could have ever imagined she would take. But she sat there in the midst of her new family and was happy at last. Caressing the forehead of her new son, Kara finally felt at peace. She had finally been accepted by his people as one of their own. She found herself part of an ancient dragon clan, in love with their King, and having given birth to a dragon prince.

  It was a new, wonderful adventure.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 3/40

  Bride of a Werewolf Prince

  Gina stared into the mirror while her mother braided her long dark hair. The room was filled with the chatter of bridesmaids and female relatives all getting dressed and made up, or assisting with the process. Small pearls and baby’s breath were delicately woven into her hair while her mother prattled on about how excited she was to see her baby girl finally getting married and settling down.

  Gina rolled her eyes at the ‘finally’ part. She wasn’t even thirty yet and her family had been ready to write her off as a spinster until she had started dating Rafe. Although their first year together had been rocky, after she had come to accept that her boyfriend was a werewolf things had settled between them and their relationship blossomed.

  It was no easy task dating a werewolf prince, or Beta, as the title was referred to in the pack. Rafe had a lot of responsibilities to tend to, including diplomacy with other packs as well as other species. And yet, despite all of them, he had fallen head over heels for the quiet librarian.

  It had taken quite a bit of adjustment on Gina’s part, especially once she learned that most of the supernatural and fairy tale creatures she read about were real, but Rafe had guided her through this new world with gentle patience. In fact, he still found great amusement whenever Gina would learn something new about their secret world and stare at him with amazement.

  As much as he loved to joke around, Rafe was a very serious man. However his boyish charisma made him well suited to his duty as a diplomat. While he never belittled anyone’s concerns, he did encourage a lighthearted approach to life. There were few matters he did not laugh about, one of those being when someone voiced the thought that a human did not have a place among the supernatural species.

  It was a rare occasion when she had seen his ferocious temper flare up, but there was no other issue that riled him up as much as someone who looked down upon the humans as if they were unworthy to be privileged to the world that they lived in. Rafe was fiercely protective of Gina and would not stand to hear such ignorant mutterings. These brief glimpses of his temper had proven beyond a doubt that as long as Rafe was around, she had no need to worry about any harm coming to her.

  Gina was pulled from her thoughts as a bobby pin was jabbed tightly into her scalp and
she winced while her mother muttered something about how she wasn’t holding still. In the mirror, Gina could see her six bridesmaids going through a milder version of her primping.

  Gina loved the strapless mermaid gowns that she had decided on. The shimmering teal and sea foam colored fabric was elegant against all of the different skin tones of the girls, and with their matching teal chokers and pearl earrings she thought they really did look magical.

  Of course, she was a whole other version of magical in her dress, a sweetheart ball gown with sleeves that fell off of her shoulders and flowing ruffles that made her feel like Cinderella.

  Her mother gently tilted her head down as she finished pinning up Gina’s hair. Staring at the unnecessarily tall heels she had been strapped into, Gina wished for her familiar flats. She wondered how Leila, her maid of honor and Rafe’s sister, had talked her into these monstrosities. Then again, she had talked Gina into a great number of things that ordinarily, she would have never considered.

  When she looked back up, Gina could see Leila directly behind her, having finished her dressing well before anyone else. However, how could you compete with the experience of a professional model, especially one that was also a werewolf?

  She was a dazzling creature with a slim muscular frame that curved in all the right places. The curves of the dress highlighted her figure, and the color was vibrant against her darkly bronzed skin and brought out her bright blue eyes. The pearls in her hair and her earrings sparkled against her jet-black hair done up in a halo braid. Her winged eyeliner was sharp enough to cut, but was softened by the shimmering eye shadow and the dusting of powder on her cheeks.

  Although all of the bridesmaids had identical dresses, hairstyles, and make up, Leila definitely stole the spotlight from them all. It wasn’t something she did intentionally, let alone maliciously, but Gina had overheard a couple of her other bridesmaids gossiping jealously about the model. A couple of Gina’s friends that she’d had since high school were doubly upset about Leila’s beauty as well as not getting to be the maid of honor despite their long standing history with the bride.

  “How are you feeling?” Leila asked as she helped fasten the triple strand pearl necklace on Gina while her mother was off to fetch the veil.

  “Oh you know,” Gina laughed nervously, “just running over all the things that could go wrong in my mind.”

  Leila smiled both knowingly and reassuringly as she planted a kiss in the top of her head. “Don’t worry about the shoes, we practiced that walk a hundred times.”

  “But I-”

  “I’ll make sure we bring your flats out for the reception,” Leila promised. “Now smile for me.”

  Gina did and her soon to be sister-in-law did some quick searching across the cluttered vanity table before finding the perfect shade of lip-gloss. After the application, Gina took Leila’s hands in her own.

  “How do I look?”

  Without hesitation, Leila answered, “If this wasn’t a wedding, my brother would have to fight off every other man here to keep you all to himself.”

  Gina laughed. She knew Leila’s words were sincere. Just outside the door, she could hear her mother going over checklists and making sure that everything was in order. The familiar stern voice calmed her nerves and Gina knew that everything would run smoothly in her mother’s capable hands.

  “Alright, I have the bouquets here, and Gina’s veil. Kate is supposed to be getting the kids dressed,” she said with the authority that only the mother of the bride could possess. “Tanya is supposed to have the flowers ready at the archway for the flower girls. And the guests need to be seated by 5 o’clock…”

  *****

  Rafe had picked up Gina for dinner at 5 o’clock that March evening, six months ago. It had been raining all day. It was that light springtime rain that sparkled with sunlight and brought out the smell of warm fresh earth. Gina had been shelving books about biology, courtesy of the upcoming high school science fair, when warm arms reached around her.

  In her ear she heard Rafe’s voice, “Mmmm, I’m so hungry.”

  Gina laughed as he took the books from her arms and spun her around to look up at him. She threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. “What are you hungry for?”

  “Well I think you know the answer to that.” He winked as he flashed her his devilish smile. “But I think we’ll start with some Italian food down at Georgio’s before we get to that.”

  “That sounds like a good idea.” Gina took the books back from Rafe. “Just let me finish up here.”

  Rafe took the stack back from her and teased her with his height by holding the books up out of her reach. “I already talked to Charlotte, she said I could steal you away and she’d take care of things here.”

  Huffing with mock annoyance, Gina managed to take the books back again. “I can at least put these away. And then I’m going to check with Charlotte to make sure you aren’t trying to get me into trouble.”

  Letting out a soft chuckle, Rafe allowed her to shelve the books with his arms wrapped around her waist. When she finished, Gina leaned back and rested her head briefly on his shoulder and Rafe kissed her exposed neck. “Can I take you now?”

  “I thought we were doing that after dinner,” Gina responded and they both laughed at their immaturity.

  Rafe walked her to the front desk to retrieve her jacket and purse. The other librarian, Charlotte, was sitting at the computer and writing the reminder emails to the patrons who had overdue books. The quirky middle-aged woman insisted to Gina that she would finish up everything and that she go enjoy herself with Rafe.

  They walked out the door arm in arm into the light, persistent drizzle. They laughed as the droplets clung to their hair and rolled down their intertwined arms. She loved how he looked in the rain, and how it reflected the evening sunlight.

  It made his sharply chiseled brow and jawline more prominent. And the way it dripped from his button nose past those full lips made her giddy. His long, dark eyelashes glittered when he blinked the rain away, and she was momentarily lost in the depths of his caramel colored eyes.

  Returning to herself, Gina pulled an umbrella out of her purse and Rafe held it over them as they walked down the street.

  Georgio’s was on the opposite side of the town square from the library. There weren’t many restaurants in the small farming town, but Georgio’s was the best. It was what some people referred to as the ‘fancy’ restaurant since it had centerpieces on all the tables and didn’t have a jukebox.

  When they entered they were greeted by the hostess, a blushing high school girl who clearly watched too many makeup tutorials on YouTube. She took them to a table for two on the far side of the restaurant where not too many others had been seated yet.

  As they glanced over the familiar menus Rafe asked Gina about her day and she about his. Naturally, their conversation turned to their house. At the beginning of the year, Rafe had bought a house and asked Gina to move in with him. After the server had taken their orders, they began to discuss details of the kitchen they were currently remodeling while they enjoyed a bottle of wine. The food was as excellent as always when it arrived and their idle conversation continued through the meal.

  Afterwards, they ordered cherry cheesecake for dessert and Rafe pulled out his phone. “I wanted to know-”

  The device slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. Gina smiled and leaned forward, but Rafe was already out of his chair to retrieve it.

  As he knelt down to pick up the phone, he pulled out a small box from his pocket. He looked up at Gina.

  “I wanted to know,” he opened the box, “if you’ll marry me.”

  Gina was speechless and her mouth hung open. She stared at the ring inside of the box. It was had alternating sapphires and diamonds in a white gold setting and a marquise cut center stone. Still unable to speak, she nodded as he reached for her hands and slipped the ring on her finger.

  Distantly, she could hear the so
ft “awww” and clapping from everyone else in the restaurant. She could feel the tears running down her face as the little metal band slipped around her finger and the diamond caught the candlelight.

  Rafe stood and pulled Gina to her feet as well. His soft hands brushed away the tears from her cheeks before gently taking hold of her and kissing her. The small crowd cheered for them.

  The server brought them their dessert in a to-go box and Rafe handed her a stack of bills. Then he scooped Gina up in his arms provoking another round of cheers from the patrons and staff of Georgio’s. Gina laughed and kissed him as they made their exit out into the evening rain.

  *****

  Butterflies welled up inside of Gina as she stood and accepted all the compliments of her bridesmaids and the other women who had helped them all get dressed. She felt like a precarious stilt walker in her heels, but she was steadily balanced, even as the women all took turns coming up and hugging her.

  All of the girls departed to take their place for the wedding. Gina waited anxiously at the doorway of the dressing room. She could see down the short hallway to foyer of the back door where the bridesmaids and groomsmen waited for their cue. From the other end of the hallway, the smell of the food being prepared for the reception wafted towards Gina and the butterflies in her stomach settled slightly at the familiarity of food.

  Outside on the patio figures were moving to take their seats. It wasn’t a huge wedding, but there were still roughly 300 guests who had sent in their RSVP and they knew for certain that there would be people showing up who hadn’t. Gina was glad they had gone with an outdoor wedding rather than the church. The town’s church was nice, but a bit on the dark and gloomy side.