Claiming Carina

Evernight
Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2014 Khloe Wren

 
ISBN: 978-1-77130-992-9

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor:
Karyn
White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or
distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters,
and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

To Amber and the tribe at NBC,
thanks for all your support.
You guys rock.

CLAIMING
CARINA

Dragon Warriors, 3

Khloe
Wren

Copyright © 2014

Legend

Legend tells of a time, many moons ago, when there was
just one plane. Humans, dragon shifters, and liaths all lived together. But it
was not in harmony. The mystical liaths wanted to dominate the others. Magic
fought against magic, causing great fires to rip through the land. The Goddess
used her Great Wind to come and take the innocent to new planes, separating
them so peace could reign. Humans were placed on Earth, while the dragon
shifters were given the Land of Feury. The Goddess wanted them to thrive in
their new homes, so she gave each new plane the
same
fruits, vegetables, and livestock. All they needed to live healthy happy lives.

The liaths, who had started the war, were left in the
burnt out plane of Dubhghlas. The Goddess did not replenish their lands. She
left them to recover on their own, hoping they would grow to understand the
importance of peace over war.

Alas, over time this legend has been lost, its
knowledge sinking in the mists of time…

Chapter One

I have to tell them. They're my closest friends, they
won't judge or blame me like my university friends did.

Carina sat
watching the campfire crackle and spit as she mentally warred with herself.
This camping trip she and her four best friends had embarked on was to
reconnect with each other. They had all concluded that they didn't see each
other often enough anymore, and a trip away together would be the perfect way
to remedy the problem. Surely they'd listen to her troubles. They may even have
some idea on how she could move on from it. Her mind decided that moment was
the perfect time to inundate her with her memories of that horrid evening. Her
body shuddered as she did everything she could to hold the memories down below
the surface of her consciousness. She felt eyes on her and looked up in a panic
to see who had caught her in her weakest moment.
Eilagh.

"You know,
Carina, you can tell us anything. There is no need to hide or be ashamed. We
all love you. Please, let us help."

Eilagh's quiet
words cut straight through all the defensive walls Carina had built since the
attack. She shook her head and closed her eyes as she felt the sting of tears.
As they slid down her cheeks, she knew all her friends would be able to see
their tracks glistening in the firelight.

Her breath
caught on a sob as her four friends all crowded in around her and wrapped her
in a group hug. She laid her head on Skye's shoulder and let go. Her sobs were
loud and echoed off the great rocks of Kata Tjuta—she didn't care. Her soul was
bleeding. She'd kept all the pain in for so long she felt like she was slowly
dying inside.

Carina clung to
her friends as she wept, and once she'd taken the edge off her pain she knew
she had to tell them about the attack. She kept her face buried in Skye's neck.
She needed to tell them, but she didn't want to see their faces while she did.
She'd never get through it if she saw either pity or blame on any of their
faces.

"Ten
months, three days." She paused for a deep breath to steel herself before
she could continue.

"Ten months
and three days ago, I was coming home late from university. It was already
pretty dark, but I've walked that road hundreds of times and never had any
trouble. I noticed this group of guys move in behind me. They gave me the
creeps, so I started walking faster. I got my phone out to call the police. I
nearly had the third number entered in when a man coming from the opposite
direction walked straight up to me, forcing me to stop." She paused to let
a sob escape her throat and felt one of her friends
begin
to stroke her hair. It felt nice, soothed her enough so she could continue.

"I went to
finish dialing just as the man in front of me shoved me back. My phone fell
from my hand and skidded away. I went to lunge for it, but the guys that had
been behind me grabbed me. They covered my mouth so I couldn't yell and dragged
me down an alleyway. There were five of them. They took turns … it hurt so
much. At first, I was scared they wanted to kill me. After they all raped me, I
wanted
them to kill me. It hurt so
bad
. They finally stopped when they'd had enough and left me
there in the alley." She stopped as the sobs wracking her body became too
much to talk through. She was back in that alley, could feel their rough hands
on her and could smell the alcohol on their breaths. Skye's hand gently rubbing
circles on her back helped her ground herself.

"
Shhh
, honey.
It's okay. You're safe now. We've got you." Skye kept repeating
her words. Eventually the chaos in Carina's mind slowed, and she heard the
words. She was safe; it was over. Her friends had her now. She wrapped her arms
tightly around Skye's neck.

She closed her
eyes against the memories, but couldn't stop her body from shaking. Would she
ever feel better? Would she ever heal from this?

Eilagh pushed
her hair behind her ear. "Why don't you move to Darwin and live with me?
Get a fresh start away from Sydney and all its big city crap."

Carina looked up
into Eilagh's blue eyes as she thought about her offer. Why hadn't she thought
of that?

"Um, that
would be great. But I don't know what I'll do. I couldn't go back to university
after … I tried, but I couldn't do it. I had to pull out. I've got no degree,
no real work experience. In the last ten months I've used up all my
savings." She stopped to sigh and shudder in a deep breath. "My whole
life is a mess, and I don't know how to fix any of it."

"You will
lean on us, and we'll help you, every step of the way. That's how."
Becky's voice was strong with determination. How on earth Carina thought
keeping the attack from her friends was a good idea she'd never know.

****

Sitting high on
the back of his favorite horse, Phelan looked over the land in front of him.
The cattle were grazing on grass as they wandered around. He and his brothers
had to round up six of them for slaughter, just as they did twice a week, every
week. Their herd was massive. No one had ever done a head count because they
had such a large area to roam it had always been too difficult. That and as
long as they kept breeding well so they had enough to eat, it didn't matter how
many there were. He heard his brother Denver's horse approaching. He waited for
Denver to reach him before he rode down to where the cattle were grazing to
round up those they needed.

It didn't take
long for the six fully grown animals to be rounded up into the yards ready for
slaughter. Phelan was glad he didn't have to do that part. He could never kill
a defenseless animal, even if it was to feed his family and friends. Denver
normally got the task, but even he didn't enjoy it. His youngest brother, Hart,
was so damn softhearted he couldn't even bring himself to round up the animals.
He took care of the crops and was bloody good at it.

Phelan led both
his and Denver's horses back to the stables and brushed them down before
settling them in with a bag of feed each. Once done, he headed back to the
slaughter house—hoping Denver was finished. Before he got there he heard
Dimitri, their clan leader's, voice rumble through his head.

All warriors to the orchard.
The Great Wind has returned,
and Max is out there alone.

Denver came
running out of the slaughterhouse and just about cleaned Phelan up. With a
bright flash of light they both shifted to their dragon forms and flew to the
orchard. Hart joined them in the sky, and they all landed together with eight
other warriors. They flashed back to human when they saw Max in human form,
slumped over what appeared to be a female. Looking around, Phelan saw she was
one of five unconscious females scattered around near them.

"What did
they do to you, brother?" Dimitri's concerned voice rang out as they all
ran to the newcomers.

Phelan felt
drawn to one of the women. She was so tiny. She'd only come up to his chest,
he'd guess, by the look of her. Her black curly hair was glossy and beautiful
as it shone in the sunlight. Her facial features were delicate and fine. Her
skin was a gorgeous light shade of brown, like a pale colored caramel. He knelt
beside her at the same time as both his brothers did. Phelan reached for her,
stroking his fingertips lightly down her cheek. The second he made contact he
gasped as his eyes flew wide.