Embrace the Romance

  Whoop-ass time, her dragon growled.

  Yes, it’s time to open a can of whoop-ass, Pearl agreed.

  Fourteen

  Asim awoke to excruciating pain. Nausea churned in his stomach. The pain rocketed through him when he rolled to his side. It was so intense; he feared he would lose consciousness again.

  Damage…, he choked out to his dragon.

  Left leg broken, jaw fractured, his dragon replied, pacing inside him. You no can shift to me.

  I know. Symbiot…, he asked, trying to breathe through the pain.

  Locked away. They threaten kill mate, his dragon snarled.

  Asim clenched his fists against the floor. His head was pounding, making it difficult to think. He had to get to his symbiot. He couldn’t shift into his dragon with a broken leg and he couldn’t fight. Breathing deeply, he forced himself to roll over. The bits of symbiots around his wrists were moving over his body. The bone in his leg would be too much for the small pieces, but they could heal his jaw.

  The symbiot moved upward and slid over his jaw. Some of it slipped beneath his skin. He could feel the tingle of bone being mended. When it finished, it resurfaced through the cut on his lip and healed that as well.

  “Thank you, my friend,” he murmured.

  The small amount of symbiot warmed under his touch. He could feel it moving down his body to his leg. Such a small amount of symbiot would take days to heal him.

  “What happened?” he demanded.

  Not know, his dragon replied, continuing to pace.

  Asim gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit up. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he swallowed back the groan of pain. Holding his broken leg, he waited until he felt like he wasn’t going to pass out before he drew in a deep breath again.

  “Come to me. I need to connect with Pokey,” Asim ordered in a strained voice.

  The tiny strands of gold shimmered, but moved onto the palm of his hand. Asim wrapped his fingers around it and closed his eyes. Focusing, he connected with his symbiot. Within seconds, the images and conversation about what had happened while he was unconscious streamed through his mind. Panting, he released the faint connection and opened his fingers. The tiny threads of gold looked pale and listless.

  “Pearl,” he whispered, bowing his head.

  “Where is he?” Crag asked.

  “He’ll be here. We need to find those damn creatures,” Zeb said, glancing around the large meadow with the vision magnifier. “There! I see one of them about half way down the meadow.”

  “Hans should be back by now,” Crag said with a frown.

  Zeb lowered the vision magnifier and glared at the other man. “He said he would meet us at the barn. It may take a while if he has to carry her. The skimmer,” he snapped. “We are running out of time. Let’s go.”

  Both men slid onto a skimmer. The land transport had a long, narrow seat, a handle bar, and foot pedals that operated the speed and brakes. It was simple, but utilitarian. The bikes rose up off the ground. Leaning forward, the men shot out across the ground, cutting a path through the tall purple grass.

  Behind them in the barn, two large creatures – each with four arms, two legs, and a knack for locks – climbed down from the rafters. Moving across the bare floor of the barn, the female climbed up on the shoulders of the male and inserted a piece of wire into the lock. It took several tries before the lock clicked and disengaged and the door opened. A slow smile spread over the two Grombots’ faces when the enraged Werecat with wings turned to face them.

  “Jabir… Roam… Are you in here?” Pearl softly called.

  She climbed up onto the rocks and peered into the narrow hole in the rock. Fear gripped her when there was no answer. She turned around on top of the large boulder and searched the darkness. She froze when she saw a movement in the tall grass a short distance away.

  A soft laugh escaped her when she saw the familiar eyes of an emu staring back at her. A moment later, a second and a third one joined it. Sliding down off the rock, she listened. The smile grew when she heard Roam.

  “Why’s didn’t we do this before?” he was saying.

  “Cause we didn’t know it was fun,” Jabir replied.

  “Boys, come here,” Pearl ordered.

  She blinked when the three more emus appeared near the rocks. Searching, she almost missed Jabir and Roam. Both boys peeked around the neck of an emu.

  “You’re riding them?” Pearl exclaimed.

  “They’s just like playing horsey, only better,” Jabir said with a smile. “They said they would help us.”

  “They said…,” Pearl started to repeat before she shook her head. “How?”

  “They are real good at being soldiers. Jabir says they are a neutral,” Roam replied.

  “Not neutral – natural. They’s smart, Grams,” Jabir said.

  Pearl turned when her dragon hissed out a warning. In the distance, she could see two skimmers heading their way. Those would be the men that the dying man had mentioned. If the men were heading in this direction, she couldn’t help but wonder what they had done to Asim.

  He not dead. I know if he dead, her dragon assured her.

  “Boys, we need to keep them away from the barn and Asim. Jabir, can you tell the emus that I need a distraction?” Pearl asked, turning back to the little boy.

  “Yes,” Jabir replied.

  “Whatever happens, don’t let those men catch you,” Pearl said.

  “We won’t,” Roam replied with a grin. “We needs reins if we are going to goes real fast. It is hard to holds onto their necks.”

  The symbiots on the boys spread into a thin bridle and reins. Pearl whispered to the boys to be careful once more before she shifted back into her dragon. It was time to show these assholes who they were messing with.

  Launching up off the ground, Pearl focused on her plan of attack. She needed to keep the men away from the barn long enough to find Asim and Pokey. Once they were together, there would be no stopping them.

  Below her, Pearl could see the dark shapes of the emus moving through the tall grass. She was shocked at how fast they were! She estimated they had to be running at close to fifty miles per hour.

  They ran in a V-shaped formation toward the men riding the skimmers. Pearl swooped down behind the men and released a long stream of dragon fire. The tall grass ignited in a flaming wall. She twisted, and rose again, rolling several times when one of the men turned on the skimmer and fired at her.

  The man turned back around just in time to swerve when the emus emerged from the tall grass in front of them. The men stopped, shocked to see the birds circling them. Pearl could hear the strong, powerful legs striking the ground. Bits of grass and dirt flew up under their feet. As one, they turned back the other way.

  The larger of the two men lifted a blaster and aimed for one of the young birds. In a flash, the emus scattered in all directions. The man who had fired at Pearl turned and yelled for his partner to go after the emu carrying Roam.

  Pearl circled around. She couldn’t release any dragon fire for fear of hitting one of the emus or the boys. Instead, she swooped down again with her claws extended.

  The man – Zeb, she suspected – raised his laser rifle to shoot at Jabir. Pearl’s claw snatched the rifle – and the man holding it – right off the skimmer. The added weight was too much for her dragon and she couldn’t gain altitude without releasing him.

  Pearl’s dragon roared in pain when Zeb swung his hand up and the sharp edge of his blade sliced a deep path across her front claw. She opened her claw and released the man. Unfortunately, the move threw her off-balance. Tumbling through the air, she curled her wings protectively around her body and hit the ground on the other side of the wall of flames. Rolling several times, she finally came to a stop. Shaking her head to clear the dizziness, she shifted back into her human form.

  Lying on the ground, she stared at the man on the other side. He was searching for her through the flames and smoke. Defenseless, she remain
ed frozen.

  Several long seconds passed before he turned away. Trying to push herself up, she drew in a hissing breath when her arm gave out on her. She glanced down and cursed when she saw blood dripping from under the sleeve of her jacket. This was the first time she had been hurt in her dragon form. It would seem it carried over to her human one.

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” she muttered.

  Standing up, she glanced through the flames before turning to look at the barn. Torn once again, she could only hope the emus were as good as Jabir said they were. She took off at a fast run for the barn.

  “Where are they?” Zeb growled.

  “I don’t know,” Crag said, glancing around. “One second they were there and the next they were gone.”

  “Well, find them and kill them. We’ll sell them dead,” Zeb ordered.

  “Where are you going?” Crag asked.

  “Dragon hunting,” Zeb replied, checking his laser rifle.

  “Tell Hans to get the ship ready,” Crag grunted before he took off.

  Zeb walked over to the skimmer. He released the emergency canister attached to the side and tossed it. He aimed, and fired. The canister, filled with a fire retardant, exploded in midair and created a hole in the wall of flames. Sliding his leg over the seat of the skimmer, he turned the transport around and took off through the hole. In the distance, he could see the shape of someone running. A break in the clouds cast the moonlight down on the white hair of the woman he had seen earlier.

  “So, you can shift into a dragon as well,” Zeb said under his breath. “Let’s see how good you can fight.”

  Fifteen

  Bracing himself against the wall, Asim glanced up when the door suddenly burst open. His eyes widened and a grim, pain-filled smile curved his lips but never made it to his eyes. He straightened as much as his broken leg would allow and nodded to his symbiot.

  “It is good to see you, my friend,” he greeted through clenched teeth. “My dragon and I need your healing powers.”

  His symbiot surged forward. It melted and flowed over his broken leg. Asim closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and relaxed. The warmth of healing energy flooded his body, making him whole once again. The fighting blood of his dragon ignited in his veins. When his eyes opened, the flames of an ancient dragon warrior of Valdier blazed from them.

  “Our mates and the younglings are in danger,” he snarled, baring his teeth.

  The two Grombots that had followed his symbiot into the room turned and quickly vanished. Stepping out of his makeshift cell, Asim shifted into his dragon and took off at a run for the wide, double doors. By the time he hit the doors of the barn, his symbiot had formed armor around his body. He burst through the doors and soared up into the air. Twisting, he scanned the burning field for his mate.

  His gaze narrowed on Pearl’s white hair. She was running toward the barn. Behind her, a skimmer was approaching at an increasing speed.

  Fury poured through him and he plunged forward. He swept over Pearl, placing himself between her and their attacker. He released a series of powerful fireballs at the skimmer. The male jerked the skimmer to the side but was unable to avoid the last fireball completely.

  Asim released another burst when the man flew up into the air. The flames engulfed the skimmer. Within seconds, it exploded. The force of the explosion sent shards of the skimmer flying through the air.

  Diving for the ground, Asim wrapped his body around Pearl and lowered his head to completely protect her from the flying projectiles. Molten pieces of metal rained down around them, but Pearl and his dragon were protected by the armor of his symbiot. He breathed heavily and trembled when he realized how small and fragile she felt in his claws.

  He shifted back to his two-legged form and held her close to him, rubbing his nose against her cheek. The coppery smell of her blood hit him hard and he lifted his head. He didn’t need to instruct his symbiot to heal Pearl – it was already moving under the sleeve of her jacket and up her arm.

  “I smell blood,” he groaned.

  “The ass- wipe got in a lucky slice, but not before I jerked his ass off his skimmer,” she said, gazing up at him. “The other man said they broke your leg.”

  “Yes, but my symbiot healed me,” Asim said. “Where are the younglings?”

  Pearl looked over his shoulder with a worried frown. “Out there on the emus,” she said.

  Asim glanced over his shoulder and his gaze narrowed in anger. He frantically wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else, but he needed to take care of the threat to them first. He released her and stepped back. His body shimmered again. Once more, the gun-metal-gray, battle-scarred dragon stood in front of her. With a nod, Pearl shifted as well – her smaller, silver dragon standing proudly next to her mate. Pokey dissolved, divided into two, and created matching armor for each dragon.

  With a loud roar, Pearl pushed up off the ground. Asim quickly followed. His dragon was still very protective of his mate despite her fierce nature. Together, they flew out over the field in search of the younglings.

  It took nearly five fly-overs before they spied the small group emerging into the clearing near the tall rock. The emus turned in tight circles, prancing and stomping the ground. On the back of two emus, Roam and Jabir waved to Asim and Pearl.

  Asim circled around and landed several meters from the birds. Pearl smoothly landed next to him. The symbiot dissolved and shook before reforming into the large Werecat with wings Jabir loved so much.

  “Grams! We ran the bad man off. He rode aways on his skimmer for the mountain and didn’t come back,” Roam laughed, sliding off of his emu.

  “That is wonderful! You were both so brave,” Pearl exclaimed, bending down to pick Roam up in her arms. “Your daddy and mommy are going to be so proud of you.”

  “Are either of you hurt?” Asim asked, looking at Roam before he turned to look at Jabir.

  “No, we’s okay,” Jabir said with a grin.

  Asim started to take a step toward Jabir to lift the little boy down when the emu under Jabir jerked to the side and stumbled. Its legs trembled before it slowly sank down to the ground. Less than a second later, a cry escaped Jabir when he was lifted by the back of his neck off the back of the emu.

  “Don’t move or he dies,” Zeb ordered.

  Asim took a threatening step toward the man before freezing. The soft sound of Jabir’s whimper of pain warned him that the man holding the boy wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. His gaze narrowed in helpless rage as Zeb ruthlessly pressed his weapon against Jabir’s temple.

  “I should have killed you,” Zeb growled.

  “Release him!” Asim ordered, moving ever so slightly so that he was in front of Pearl and Roam.

  “Give me the woman and I’ll release the boy,” Zeb demanded with a shake of his head.

  “Never!” Asim snarled.

  Zeb’s finger tightened on the blaster in his hand. “The woman – now,” he repeated in a cold voice.

  “No…,” Asim started to say.

  “Yes,” Pearl quietly interjected.

  “Pearl…,” Asim hissed, turning slightly in her direction.

  “He’ll kill Jabir. I can’t let him do that,” Pearl replied.

  Asim watched her lower Roam to the ground and push the boy behind her. She ran her hand along her pants and smiled at him. Stepping closer, she brushed a kiss across his lips and pressed her hand against his.

  “Remember rule number eleven,” she whispered before stepping away and turning toward Zeb.

  “Release him,” she said, lifting her chin in defiance.

  “Not until you take his place,” Zeb countered.

  Pearl stepped forward and turned to look back at Asim. A shiver ran through her when she heard Jabir release a cry and the soft thud of him hitting the ground. A second later, Zeb’s cold hand gripped her neck. Pearl gave Asim a small nod, her eyes cool and calm.

  Releasing a long breath, she swung her clenched fist as hard as she could down b
etween Zeb’s legs and twisted sideways at the same time as Asim released the knife she had slipped into his hand. The blade struck Zeb in the upper left shoulder. The force of it knocked him backwards several steps. Pearl followed up with a hard kick to Zeb’s stomach, sending him lurching into the tall grass.

  The emus followed him. The young birds went on the offensive against their attacker. They surrounded the man and began kicking him with their strong powerful legs. The group disappeared into the tall grass, following Zeb when he tried to crawl away. A shudder ran through Pearl as the sounds of the man’s screams and the thuds and clucking of the emus filled the air.

  “Make sure he is never a threat to us again,” Asim ordered Pokey.

  The symbiot shimmered and disappeared into the tall grass. Pearl scooped Jabir up into her arms and shifted into her dragon while Asim did the same with Roam. They both lifted up, carrying the boys away from the last pitiful, choked cries of their attacker.

  Later that night, Pearl double checked on both of the boys. They were sprawled out on Jabir’s bed, sound asleep with Pokey. It had taken a while to get both of them to calm down. She had fed them, bathed them, and finally read several books before they began yawning and their eyes drooped.

  Pearl looked up when Asim opened the door, stepped in, and secured the door behind him. Her gaze softened when she saw the fatigue on his face. She walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him.

  “The boys?” Asim asked.

  “Asleep. They were ready to join the hunt for the other man,” Pearl chuckled, leaning back to look up at him with a questioning expression.

  “I took care of Zeb and the one at our home. The other one escaped. I notified Zoran about what happened. He has dispatched several ships to find the man. I reassured Mandra, Ariel, Vox, and Riley that the boys were fine. They will be here first thing in the morning. I told them it would probably be best as I knew you were getting the boys down for the night,” he said with a sigh.