AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 1: Rosie
I searched through my markers, trying to find the perfect match for the watercolor pigment I wanted to use. I dug to the very bottom of my pouch but I couldn’t find the right one. “Damnit.” I cursed under my breath. “I know I have one…” I continued to dig but to no avail.
So, I got up and found my back stiff from bending over my work throughout the entire morning. I stretched a bit but it didn’t really help much. It was a struggle just to roll my shoulders.
The aching in my bones intensified as I shuffled into the kitchen to make myself a hot cup of tea. Mint tea usually helped to calm my mind but today, I had my doubts. Nonetheless, I turned on the kettle and waited for the water to boil. In those spare minutes, I gravitated toward the kitchen and peered into the backyard. My hammock swayed in the breeze. Looking at it brought back a flood of memories.
Jake had helped me install it. At the time, we were both extremely young. He was fresh out of the police academy and I had just finished up art school. I had studied under a scholarship which pretty much provided me with a free ride. Combine that with a job as a bartender at a fancy restaurant and I had graduated debt free and with enough in the bank to put a down payment on a house. Jake had wanted to move in with me but I didn’t give him a chance – after living four years with a roommate – I wanted a place of my own.
Now, I don’t regret it. Things would have been much, much worse if we had lived together. The break up was bad enough on its own.
The kettle dinged to announce it was finished. I ignored it for a moment as my chest tightened with a renewed feeling of heartbreak. I had told myself that I would no longer cry over the bastard who had cheated on me and yet, here I was with tears in my eyes. I wiped them away with an angry swipe before pivoting on my heels and snatching a mug from the cupboard. I filled it with hot water before dropping in a teabag. I waited for it to steep properly. All the while, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jake.
His stupid face and his stupid smile. He had pulled the wool over my eyes and I felt like such a fool for falling for his crap. Realistically, I should have seen his infidelity from a mile away. Even when we were together, he always looked at other women with a sultry gaze. But I was in love and that was enough to make me blind.
I tightened my grip on the mug and had I pressed it any harder I swear it would have shattered under the pressure. It was only when my knuckles turned white that I realized what I was doing. I dropped my arm and ran through my breathing exercises. Once I was done, I was able to take a step back and reestablish my sense of self. “Forget him,” I told myself but it’s never that easy. Jake was my high school sweetheart – the man I pictured spending the rest of my life with. To have that taken away so suddenly – to be betrayed so painfully – it was almost impossible to handle.
The tears burned even harder and threatened to spill. I gulped them back and lifted my mug off the counter but I was so shaky that I nearly spilled every drop.
“I can’t do this…” I said to myself as I ran a hand through my hair. “I need to get out – to get some fresh air.” With this thought in mind, I tossed on a workout outfit and practically ran out the door. The music blaring through my headphones was almost enough to drown away the thoughts that haunted me. I didn’t want to keep thinking about Jake and yet that was all I could do.
At the corner of my street, I glanced at my watch. I would definitely need to make this a quick job. If I was late at turning in my current project I wouldn’t be paid the full amount on the contract and I needed that money to pay the mortgage. Plus, the more money I made, the closer I came toward taking a much-needed vacation. I was thinking Morocco or something – you know, someplace exotic and away from the world I knew.
I hesitated before taking my first step. Left, or right? Left would take me downtown, right past the police station which meant there was a good chance I would run into Jake and I didn’t want that. Right, on the other hand, would take me to the state forest. Since it had rained the night before, the terrain would be slick and dangerous. Taking that route might result in a broken ankle but it would be better than facing my good for nothing ex-boyfriend.
So, without another thought, I turned right. The forest was thick with the smell of wet earth. It invaded my nostrils and made it easier to breathe.
Overhead, birds squawked in annoyance as I ran underneath their nests. A few even circled above my head, eyeing me with suspicion. I half expected them to swoop down and peck my eyes out. Luckily, they retained their distance.
Suddenly, all went quiet. I slowed my pace and eventually came to a standstill at the edge of a clearing. A harsh breeze rolled through and whipped my hair into a blinding wall of brown. I pinned the wild strands behind my ear and blinked back into reality.
Only, what I saw was something out of a fairytale. The creature blocked out the sun, casting the area with a blanket of darkness.
“My God…” I gasped in amazement as a pair of leathery wings flapped in perfect unison. “A dragon… it can’t be.”
Chapter 2: Myles
I was famished. And not the usual kind of famished either where a bit of take-out could satisfy my hunger. Oh no, this was that deeper hunger that ran right through my bones.
“Going hunting.” I shot a text to my partner, Foster, so he would know where I was when he came home that night.
?
?Have fun.” He texted back in a moment’s notice. Foster worked in town while I remained in the village. It was better that way. My skills and assets were better used for the good of our people, while his made him a natural at blending in with the humans. Besides, he had a knack for picking out girls that would later carry our young. He had yet to pick out a girl for us to enjoy but I just assumed he was trying to pick out the perfect one. After all, dragons mate for life. “And be safe.”
I rolled my eyes. Foster was such a worrywart at times. “Aren’t you supposed to be working right now? Stop texting.”
“You’re the one that started it.” It was pointless to continue the conversation so I slipped my phone into my back pocket and stepped out of our hut. We lived in a rather small looking building made of clay. In all honesty, it looked pretty pathetic from the outside but on the inside was an impressive underground system of tunnels and caverns that more than tripled our living space. Plus, it was much cozier underground, if you ask me, anyway. If you asked Foster, he’d have us living in the trees with the squirrels, and I hate squirrels.
On my way out of the village, I passed the women-folk. They were busy cooking something over the fire that we kept lit all year round. A few of them looked at me with bedroom eyes but I had no intention of returning the glance of intimacy. Some dragons didn't mind sharing mates but I’m not that generous. Once Foster and I found someone to call our own, then she would be ours forever, and let anyone try to tell me otherwise.
“Myles!” Someone called out. I turned around and found one of the little ones chasing after me. He was growing into his wings. They were no bigger than those of a hawk and stuck out awkwardly from his shoulders. He had yet to learn how to control his transformation but I had no doubt he would learn sooner rather than later.
“River,” I said with a smile. “Before you ask, yes, you can accompany me to the clearing.”
He gave a little whoop of victory before dashing off in the right direction.
To give him a bit of a challenge, I ran after him. It didn’t take me much to get out ahead but I urged him to push himself to a faster pace. “Come on, is that all you got?” I taunted.
A dragon was best motivated with herculean tasks, and for a boy of his age, it would be impossible to outrun a veteran like me. But still, he gave it his best shot, pumping his arms as hard as he could in a desperate attempt to propel him further.
When we reached the clearing, he was completely out of breath and I hadn’t even broken a sweat. I leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll do better next time.”
He nodded, too winded to say a word. With a chuckle, I took a step back. I yearned for the day when I could raise a child of my own – to teach him the ways of our people.
With this thought in mind and with my stomach rumbling, I rolled back my shoulders and turned around. Once I reached the middle of the clearing, I held out my arms. A feeling of bliss overwhelmed me as my eyes transformed from brown to emerald green with a slit down the middle. My skin went from soft to leathery as my limbs shifted faster than any human could blink and, within moments, I stood in my true form. I stretched my long neck and let out an earth-shaking roar. The trees quivered with my power as I lifted off the ground with a beat of my wings.
Below me, River gasped in wonder. He shielded his eyes and watched me fly away.
Driven by my hunger, I hunted outside our usual boundaries. I was on the lookout for much bigger game. The spindly deer that frolicked through our land simply was not enough to satisfy someone of my size. I was the biggest dragon left in the village – the alpha – and no one dared mess with me.
Spotting a moose, I tore down and snapped it up in my talons. Once I was back in the air, I tossed it into the sky and snatched it in my maw. I swallowed it with one gulp.
Mmm. But still not enough. I circled around and that’s when I saw her.
