Dragons Don't Forgive (11 page)

“
Yes, a dragon shifter,”
Tyboll says after a quick glance at his mate.

That answers my question, but now the
food settles heavily in my stomach. I slowly lay my fork across my
plate. “This is about Sarn?” I ask with concern. Veda picks up our
plates and carries them into the kitchen. Tyboll doesn’t speak
until Veda takes her seat again. I’m ready to scream by the time he
answers my question.

“
This is about both of
you.”

Veda reaches out and places her hand
on mine. “It’s also about your wolf, Sierra.”

I want to cry. Sarn cannot be the
reason my wolf is absent. It will kill him. “Just tell me please,”
I whisper.

Again they glance at each other before
Veda speaks. “Your wolf is hiding from you. She knows something and
she doesn’t want you to discover it.”

I’m horribly confused. I’ve never even
heard of anything like this. My wolf is my wild side and she’s got
a strong influence over me. But I control her. “How on earth could
she hide something? I don’t understand.”

Veda hesitates for only a moment. “She
has discovered your true mate and she doesn’t wish you to
know.”

Everything inside me turns cold. A
mate. The yearning in my heart for so damn long. And now I’m in
love with Sarn. I fold my arms in front of me and lower my head
onto them. Tears spill from my eyes at the injustice of what I’m
being told. It’s unfair… no that’s too mild, it’s tragic. I always
expected to be so happy when I discovered my mate.

Veda’s hand rubs across my back. I
don’t even want to know who it is. I want nothing more than to curl
up on the floor and never move again. I’m containing a scream
because if I start I will never stop. I cannot do this to Sarn. My
poor, poor dragon.

I cry for a long time while Tyboll and
Veda remain silent. When I finally lift my head, Veda hands me a
tissue. I blow my nose in a very unladylike manner. Veda pushes my
teacup in front of me and I take a sip of the now tepid
liquid.

“
Thank you,” I say softly,
my voice raw from crying.

It’s time I discover who will be my
life partner. I must be strong. Even though a life without Sarn is
more than I can accept. The question must be in my tear-filled eyes
because I can’t get the words past my lips and Veda answers
anyway.

She smiles kindly. “I am sorry,
Sierra, but you cannot have the man you are mated to and there is
much hardship ahead of you. I only say this because you are a
strong woman and you will come out on the other side of this
heartbreak even stronger.”

I don’t understand what she’s
saying.

“
The dragon is your mate.”
She doesn’t let it sink in long enough for me to feel more than
shock. “You cannot have him, Sierra.”

I’m stunned and I can’t help my angry
response as I rise to my feet. “I love him. If he’s my mate, why
did I waste the last hour crying?” My sentence ends on a shout.
They both remain calmly seated and it pisses me off even
more.

It’s Tyboll who answers. “Your dragon
is cursed. The curse is too big for me and Veda to change. You need
to accept that it cannot be undone. The dragon must fulfill his
destiny and that destiny isn’t you.” I start to object, but Veda
reaches out and takes my hand again and gives Tyboll a chance to
continue. “Your wolf knows this and if you look inside yourself,
you know it as truth. It’s the cruelest twist of fate imaginable.
If you follow your dragon, you will die in his realm before the
next claiming. If he remains here and does not attend the next
claiming, he will die.”

Tyboll’s sadness at this announcement
gives me a pause from my anger. I stare back and forth between them
and let the words sink in. I call to my wolf and she whines for the
first time in many weeks. All the feelings she has held back from
me tumble around inside. The mating scent rolls over me. My mated
scent that she has trapped inside us these last two months. I’m
mated to the dragon and it should be a joyous occasion and all I
want is to start crying all over again.

There are no tears left.

I walk on heavy legs to the door and
leave without looking back. There are many questions I should
probably ask, but I’m incapable. I don’t even bother shifting. I
need the miles of walking to clear my head. I love Sarn more than
my own life. And for that reason I cannot live knowing he died
because he didn’t attend the claiming. He will suffer horribly if I
follow him to his realm and forfeit my life. I cannot do that to
him either.

The only decision I’m sure of is that
Sarn has the right to know. I cannot keep this from him no matter
the pain. He needs to stay with me until the next claiming and then
somehow, we will say goodbye. It’s all we have. We can spend the
years between brides together until he finds his true mate. And
loves her. Fuck. The thought of him loving another tears my heart
to shreds. Fate is so damn cruel. The bottom line is that he is my
mate, but because of the damn curse, I am not his.

I’m trembling uncontrollably by the
time I reach the cabin. Sarn has returned from his fishing trip and
he is waiting for me. One look at my face and he knows something is
seriously wrong. I cut him off before he can begin questioning me.
“Take me for a ride, dragon. Fly me as high as we can go and after
that I will tell you my news. Right now, I only want to lie to
you.”

I hate seeing the fear in his eyes. I
appreciate his trust, though. He doesn’t say another word, just
takes my hand and leads me to our clearing. He shifts and I take my
place upon his body. My wolf is content. She actually suffers as
much as I do, but now that I know Sarn is my mate she is rolling
inside me and absorbing his essence. I feel it now—that connection
I’ve waited my entire life for. Sarn’s heart is mine. His breath is
my breath. This is why my father lost his mind after the death of
my mother. I wipe tears from my face. “Fly, dragon, fly,” I
whisper.

We soar above the mountains while I
hold tight to my dragon, my mate, the missing piece to my
soul.

“
You must tell me what’s
wrong, Sierra,” he pleads inside my head.

I know he suffers with my silence, but
he will suffer more when I tell him. “I will, Sarn, I promise. Just
please give me this time.”

“
As you wish.”

We fly for hours. My tears run over
his scales no matter how many I wipe away. At last he takes me to
the tall grass. The sun is down and the moon shines above us. He
shifts and I’m in his arms taking his lips in a desperate kiss. He
tries to pull away, but I refuse. “Love me, dragon. Just love
me.”

I quickly undress. We don’t speak as
his lips travel down my chest. He takes me to the ground and
continues kissing me until his lips taste my sex. I cry out and
writhe with pleasure. His finger enters me and my hips arch against
his mouth. When the tight bundle of nerves between my thighs
finally explodes, I scream into the night.

With my wolf’s eyesight, I can see his
eyes on me when I come down to earth. I twist away, go to my knees,
and lace my fingers with his. “I need you to do something for
me.”

“
Anything,” he
whispers.

“
Take me as a wolf-mate
takes his woman. Do you understand what I’m asking?”

“
I do,” he replies
hesitantly.

I turn around and fall to my hands and
knees so my ass is toward him. He covers me. His hard cock finds
home before I can take another breath. I forget the heartache I’ve
suffered today. My mate is taking me in a way as old as time. It’s
our time. Our energy builds and I recognize it. This unique
chemistry happens each time we mate. I have known what it was; I
just refused to accept it.

Sarn breathes heavily as our bodies
reach for completion. With a final thrust, his cries match mine.
Then I feel it. His teeth find my neck and sink into my flesh as
the mating ritual takes us away. I drown in the energy as my cries
continue. This bond can only be undone by the death of one of us.
He can go to his realm for hundreds of years and the bond will
remain solid. I’m strong enough to handle him leaving me when the
time comes. I will wait and make it through each lonely year. That
is how strong my love truly is.

I’m exhausted when the final waves of
ecstasy disappear and I land heavily in the grass. Sarn pulls me
into his arms and holds me while I cry.

“
It will be all right,
Sierra. You must tell me,” he says while removing strands of wet
hair from my face.

He knows it’s bad. I can hear it in
his voice. I manage to explain everything as he holds me tight and
I break my dragon’s heart.

Chapter Eleven

Sarn

I am forever cursed. It is nothing I
haven’t earned. Sierra doesn’t deserve this, though. We lie in our
bed with her curled tight within my arms. She sleeps after hours of
tears. I’ve remained awake throughout the night. I reached my
decision within minutes of her telling me the truth of our fate. It
is the only course that I can possibly take. Prolonging this
torture will only kill her slowly. I want her to remember the
wonderful times we’ve had. With me back in my realm, the
wolf-mating bond should weaken. Sierra needs to go on with her life
and find happiness with someone who is not cursed.

I’m having trouble leaving the bed
because I know it will wake her. She will never forgive me for this
and I don’t wish to see recrimination in her eyes. When I’ve almost
given up on doing that which I must do, Dmitri appears in the
room.

His eyes reflect sadness. “The witches
sent me and my mate waits at our home to care for Sierra after
you’re gone,” he whispers.

I have no idea how the witches know,
but it matters not. Dmitri being here will make it easier for
Sierra and that’s all that matters. I place a final kiss on her
cheek and begin extricating myself from her hold. I look down when
she stirs. Her eyes go from me to Dmitri as what is happening
becomes clear. “No.” And then louder, “No!” she yells as she grabs
me and refuses to let go.

Dmitri takes her arm and his teeth
enter her wrist. She fights him, but doesn’t take her eyes from me.
“I love you,” I tell her. “Never forget that.”

Her voice goes soft and dreamy as she
begs, “Don’t leave me, Sarn. Give me these years, please…” Her eyes
close before she sees the tears that run down my face.

Dmitri watches me with amber eyes. “We
will watch over her my friend.”

“
Thank you,” is all I
manage to say. I walk to the door as a truck pulls up to the
cabin.

“
The she-bear will take you
to the realm crossing.”

I nod and walk through the door. I
don’t look back. I can’t. If I turn, I will never leave. My
punishment for all my sins is complete. Dragons don’t forgive, but
neither does an angry Goddess.

***

Six months
later…

My servants are gone. They’ve been
dispersed to my brother dragons’ castles. I don’t want or need them
here. Each day is harder than the last and my rage is dangerous to
anyone who gets close to me. I’ve turned away my friends and told
them if they return I will consider them enemies. Bastian was
angry, Tahr heartbroken, and of course Laryn wasn’t there. He will
never forgive me and that is as it should be.

I dream of Sierra each night. I
actually hate to sleep now. The dreams are always of the final look
in her eyes with some small variation on the theme of my leaving.
Her begging, crying, fighting, and the worst… her dead eyes staring
at nothing. I wake up shouting her name on the worst
nights.

Before I sent my servants away, I had
them cover the windows in dark cloth and pour out all the alcohol.
I do not deserve the escape liquor offers and I do not deserve
sunshine. The light left my life when I left my love
behind.

I have twenty-three years and four
months until the next claiming. I suffer because I deserve
it.

***

Sierra

Sarn left me even when I begged him to
stay. My sad, angry dragon did not understand. We had twenty-four
years before we needed to separate. A wolf without her mate is
nothing. Maybe I could find a way to move on if I thought him dead.
There is no denying he lives. Even without him at my side, I carry
him in my soul. It hurts so much knowing he exists without my love.
It’s almost the saddest part of being separated from him. Without
my arms comforting him, I know he’s lonely and
suffering.

I’m back at the nightclub working
beside my brother behind the bar. Roland tries to speak with me
about Sarn, but I won’t listen. Sarn is my pain to bear. Roland has
opened up about his life and we’ve discussed what he will do with
his future. I know he’s speaking of these things in order to get me
to share my feelings. I can’t. There are no words to describe my
mangled heart that is no longer beating to the pace of
Sarn’s.

Roland grows desperate and decides we
need to travel to our father so he can tell him the truth about his
sexuality. This is an excuse. Roland is so distressed by me that
he’s willing to do anything. I actually don’t mind going because I
need to run through the Everglades and let my wolf take the lead
for a few weeks. It’s too crowded in bear territory and everyone
knows what has happened to me. I feel their sympathy and it only
increases the ache I carry. My father’s clan is made up of mostly
cat shifters. They will have no problem giving me space if I
request it.