Chapter 21: What Happens Between Lifemates
"Why are we waiting for evening? It's five flippin' o'clock already!" A nightwoman, with long, straight brown hair to her waist and hazel green eyes, with slightly tanned skin, glared at the clock, then groaned in annoyance.
"Ravyn, you may be able to travel in daylight, but you promised us a ride, and that has to be done at night." Midnight murmured, sitting on Kai's lap in the big, black leather chair they were sitting in. "Don't you dare forget. In all my long years, I've never ridden."
"Hey, excuse me, damn it, but I am not a horse." She frowned, not in annoyance, but sadness, and looked out the window. "No shadow on the moon." She whispered, "Not a one, no wings that shine with emerald light, no jade eye of the King of Earth..." She spoke it so breathlessly, nobody heard the words, only saw her lips move. Well, nobody but Dara. On a distaff mind link- excluding any males- she said, His Highness has yet to arrive, but he will come soon.
You don't know that.
Please! Don't I? This is the Head of the Black Dragon royal family! That pansy's never been late in his immortal life.
I hate you. He's not a pansy! He's King of the World, in case you've forgotten! Don't make fun! Ravyn scowled at Dara, irritated. Nobody called her soultwin a pansy. He was nowhere near pansy hood yet, and it was a bonus that he was so sensitive to her moods. That was what lifemates did.
Ravyn Starr was a dragoona, a Dragon shifter that fed on blood and celestial light. Most dragons were carnivores or vegetarians, but dragoons were vampires in dragon form, and from them the Starr witches, who were part vampire and also very powerful, had come. Max was related to her, though he didn't know it. Dara hadn't told anyone but Kai the trouble she'd had with Max's conversion, but the reason behind that was the witch blood in his veins. Dark blood tended to attack other strains, unless a blood bond had already been established between the two.
A shadow passed over the moon, and the dragon lady's eyes went wide with obvious hope. When the wind began to pick up outside, Ravyn let out a joyous cry and flew across the room, down the stairs, and out the door. A loud, melodious call, like the ringing of a bronze bell, trumpeted from the front lawn as the others followed her outside. When they found the shifter, she was in the arms of a tall, lean man with spiky black hair and glasses. He wore a dark green sweater and black jeans, and his arms were around Ravyn, hugging her, resting his cheek on the top of her head, a grin plastered on his face. His sparkling, hazel green eyes, almost identical to Ravyn's, were bright with happiness and exhilaration. The Blade Breakers watched in amazement as Ray, Stacy, Nicolina, Eryka, Erynh, and Josh all went forward and then went down on one knee before this newcomer. Ravyn, a look of realization on her face, stepped back and curtsied deeply. Then, looking up, she grinned and threw herself back into his arms. He kissed her on the cheek, looking down at her affectionately.
"Kai Kaido, may I introduce His Imperial Highness, the King of the Earth, Master of the Shifter World, Lord of Shape Shifters, His Majesty Devin Black, the Ruler of the Dragonfold. Devin Black, this is my lifemate, King of Europe, Master of the Nightworld, Lord of the Vampires, and Captain of the Blade Breakers, His Highness, Kai Hiwatari. Ravyn is his soultwin, which is why she can't let go of him and stop grinning like a fucking idiot." The brunette dragon in question stuck her tongue out at Midnight and let go of the dark-haired lord.
"I'm surprised you had enough room to land, let alone shift, Devin." Nicole, the red-haired vampire scientist murmured.
"Me, too, Nicole, believe me." The dragon said. Kai gave him a questioning look. "Because of genetics, my family shapeshifts into the largest dragons in the world. I'm almost the same size as the Empire State Building." He shrugged self-consciously. People thought his size was impressive, but it wasn't really that big of a deal. "Ravyn's a little over half that. So, you want a ride to the Midnight Railways." All of a sudden, he was the confident, lazy king of a vast empire, smiling a bit smugly at people asking a favor. "Donna Scarletti," Stacy perked up, "how are the cubs?"
"They're okay. Franco, Toni, and Rico are in the cootie phobia stage, and Tasha wants to know when she can see you again."
"Tell her soon. Well, let's get going, shall we. Back up." Doing as they were bid, the other creatures of the night backed up and pressed themselves against the walls of the hotel. The wind picked up again, and a bank of fog rolled in suddenly, dewdrops sparkling in the moonlight. Devin and Ravyn's images, now silhouettes against the white orb of the moon, blurred and morphed, growing both longer and taller. Something made Kai's gaze unfocus and slide off the image of the two shifters. When the feeling went away, Kai looked up in awe into a pair of bright, jewel-like green eyes with slit pupils like a cat's. Each eye was the size of a big screen TV, if not bigger, and set in a face kind of like a wolf's, with a long muzzle and jagged, sharp looking teeth. The scales on the thing were a green so dark it was almost black, and the thing was huge. The neck was about as long as an eighteen wheeler, the head the size of two minivans. The body... the body was vast, and the tail was just as long as the body. The legs were thicker around than the trunk of a red wood tree, and the paws were just as big as the eyes. The claws were at least a yard long and half a foot in diameter at the base. They were sharp as hell. His great wings were huger than huge, and none of them doubted the power of those wings. This was the Lord of the House of Black, the greatest of the dragons and the greatest of the Shifters, with a bearing only the ancient royals could muster. He looked dangerous, dark, and pretty damn cool.
Beside him was a dragon with shimmering, blue-green scales and green eyes, about half his size, with butterfly wings of shimmering green. The dragoness's head stretched out on its long, elegant neck and nuzzled the other dragon's shoulder, keening in the Dragon's tongue. They then crouched down and made ready for the trip to the train tracks.
"That's so cool, Devin!" Ravyn looked over the prince's shoulder at the custom-made black lap top computer. What she thought was cool was the musical keyboard that connected to the keyboarding software on the hard drive. Devin Black's passion was music, specifically, piano and keyboard. The dragoona loved hearing him play. It was one of her favorite things in the world. The passion and beauty of his playing took her breath away. "Some things about you take my breath away, too." He said, smiling, as he continued writing the melody. "What is it?" "It's called 'the Windsong.' F sharp. How's that solo of yours coming, anyway?" He looked up at her kindly when she sighed in frustration. "Can't get it?" "It doesn't sound right on the violin I'm using, but Carol says I can't use the electric gypsy violin until the actual performance." Devin looked thoughtful. "That doesn't really make sense. You need to get the feel for how that thing sounds. I'll talk to Carol about it. Can you do me a favor? That one room in the palace needs a new piano, can you order it for me?" "Sure. What's wrong with the old one?" "Middle C sticks, it's old, out of tune, and three of the keys are missing. Plus, Mother wanted to put a baby grand in there anyway." The dragoness nodded and trotted off. "Not even a kiss, can you believe it? My gosh... oh. Forget something?" The Prince asked cheekily of his soultwin as she came back in. She gave him her "don't-sass-me-little-boy" look, then she smiled and put her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Besides the hugging, I mean." She kissed his cheek. "Besides that." Ravyn sighed and plopped herself down beside him on the seat. The king of the dragons looked down into her eyes (he was about seven or eight inches taller than she was) then kissed her warm, soft lips gently. The berserker shifted her weight to lean into Devin as her hands went up to hold onto his shoulders. Her long, brown hair fell over her shoulders, and the Prince wrapped a strand of it around two fingers to feel its silkiness. He loved her hair. Devin broke away to look into her eyes for a minute, so like his own, before his lips met hers again, a sweet caress. His soft, mental voice whispered in her thoughts, teasing her with wicked suggestions. Ravyn pulled away to grin up at him, then tried to sober herself. "Behave," she admonished, "or you're sleeping on the couch." "So harsh... huh, very well." He kissed her once more before shoving her playfully off the seat. She landed in a heap on the floor, crying, "Hey!!" "Go, away with you, O Wings of Sapphire, before I start to misbehave." "I like the sound of that, actually." Without thinking, he replied, "So do I... hey, wait, shoo! Away with you, temptress! His elegant fingers waved her out of the room and he telekinetically shut the door. "Dearest, darling girl...." I can hear you. Devin smiled at her comment. Some of your thoughts are so flattering. Some of them leave me absolutely breathless. Some of my thoughts leave me breathless, too. Oh, brother. Devin laughed at the telepathic image of her pained expression. Ravyn smiled fondly as she pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on and began walking down the aisle of the train. She glanced to her left and her right when she caught a familiar psychic scent, the residue of power left behind by a Dark being. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Stacy stepped out from behind the mental shield she'd erected and shouted, "Chicken!" The Asian-American had a habit of shouting chicken for no apparent reason when one least expected it. Ravyn shrieked, "Jeez! Stacy, don't do that! I have bad heart, remember?" "You did? Huh. I sorry. Careful of your thoughts, though, the windows might steam up." "Hey, nothing you and that playboy from the Mafia haven't done, I'd wager." "I'm scared now, man, seriously. Come on, you can order your beloved Devin's piano later. Council is up, the Dark Ladies." Ravyn nodded, sobering up and trotting to catch Stacy as she turned and began walking away. Ravyn wondered what was up.
"Women." Kenny sighed, looking haggard. The other men nodded in agreement, except Enrique, Devin, and Kai. The Italian shifter grinned at the memory of his lifemate's silliness. Devin and Kai exchanged glances. They were both High Dark Lords of different Dark Races, with very... understanding, generous lifemates, or in Devin's case, soultwin.. The Dragon Prince and the Vampire King grinned at the memories of just how generous their women could be.
"Nicole working you too hard?" Max asked, thinking fondly of Nicolina, whom he was beginning to like.
"Oh-ho, yessss." The Chief sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. Tyson shook his head, muttering, "I don't understand why you put up with those girls." Devin shrugged his lean shoulders and replied nonchalantly, "Tyson, you just don't understand the ladies."
"I suppose you do."
"Of course. I have Ravyn. She's easy to understand... if you're me."
"Only if you're a horny bastard, I'd bet." Tyson replied waspishly. Devin laughed and shook his head.
"She won't come near me, then."
"That has got to suck."
"Nah, I can use it to make her feel bad later when she says the forbidden word." He grinned fondly at one prominent memory of such an instance.
"What's the forbidden word?"
"No. She's never allowed to say no when I ask her for... stuff." Just then, a red haired vampire walked into the compartment, getting the Prince's attention.
"She's playing, Dev." Nicole said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to point down the hall. The black dragon shifter shoved his hands in the pockets of his black pants and began walking out of the room, whistling gaily. (A/N: happily, not homosexually, for all you morons and sick-minded folk out there.) "Oh, my God... the two of them are hopeless. And so are they," she nodded at Kai's retreating figure as he met Midnight by the window and began walking away from the others. Tyson shrugged.
"I don't get it! What's the big deal with the girls... oh, wow...." Tyson stared at a girl walking down the hall, with lightly curled blond hair and porcelain skin, wearing a green shirt with camouflage sleeves and a black skirt. He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and began following her.
"Like a dog in heat. Kinda scary." Nicole said sarcastically, then smiled wickedly at Kenny.
"Devin, stay away." Was all she said as Ravyn's violin let out a haunting little melody, as she played out the sorrow she was feeling.
"Must I?" The dragon looked at his lifemate with big, hazel eyes wide with innocence and a puppy-dog expression. "Truly?" Ravyn's eyes flicked to just below Devin's waist then back up to his face.
"Yes." She smirked at the light blush dusting his cheeks.
"But, Ravyn..." He came a little closer, but her eyes were now closed and she didn't notice. The bow of the violin rubbed up and down the strings, and Devin crept ever closer, mesmerized by the movements of the dragoona's playing. When he got close enough, he quickly wrapped his arms around her, making her jump and try to get away. "Ah-ah, no way... you owe me for the last time... hold good and still...." She squeaked when his warm mouth brushed a kiss against her shoulder, then trailed small, wet kisses up the side of her neck.
"Devin, behave... please..." His long, nimble fingers swept her hair from hanging in her face, out of his way as he turned her to face him, his mouth latching onto hers in a searing kiss. Ravyn practically melted into the warmth of his embrace and kiss, putting her arms around his neck. Devin broke the kiss to rub his cheek against the softness of her lovely chestnut hair.
"Ravyn, my dearest..." The girl smiled at the breathy reverence in his voice. "May I have..." He looked down into her eyes, the same color as his own, before his lips met hers again, passion making him harsh. He gave her just enough time to put down the violin before he pulled her into his arms again, crushing her to him as they kissed fiercely. Her soft, lush lips parted at his mental plea, allowing his tongue entrance to her mouth. His lips moved over hers slowly, ever so slowly, gently, the softest brush against her mouth as she kissed back with exquisite sweetness. He broke away, breathing heavily as heat flooded his body. "A kiss...." He whispered before kissing her cheek, kissing the line of her jaw, the side of her throat. His tongue left a trail of warm wetness over her skin as she whimpered, trying not to beg for more.
"Devin, that's not fair." His sparkling eyes laughed at her petulant outburst before closing as if in pain. "Devin?"
"You are so beautiful." He kissed her forehead, smiling down at her tenderly. His smile turned to a grin as she whispered, "I know."
The creatures of the night were wary. Things were too quiet in the train station. Only Ravyn and Stacy knew how quiet.
The once-shifter and the dragoona bit back screams as steel sliced through their flesh. Stacy was crying, but Ravyn was simply trying to keep her mind blank, careful not to alert Devin. If her lord knew she was in pain, in danger, he would find them and try to fight their attackers. He didn't have room to shift, and there were too many of the enemy for him to fight in his human form.
A cold, scaled hand snaked in front of her, and the berserker bit down hard on the wrist, severing the appendage from the rest of the arm. She spat frigid blood, then shrieked as cobra venom suddenly shot through her system, pumping from the bite in her shoulder. She gasped, trying not to cry, trying not to scream again. But needles of ice and fiery spikes were shooting through her shoulder, her left arm, and across her chest. A frightening numb feeling spread through her shoulder and most of the left side of her body, through the side of her neck. She could feel the poison pulsing in the jugular artery and vein even as her vision grew dim.
"Ravyn!"
"Dev-in...." The last thing she heard was a heart-stopping, murderous roar, and a familiar mental voice cried in despair, Ravyn!
Devin's eyes went wide with fury and shock as he saw his soultwin go limp. Those monsters had hurt his soultwin, woman, the most important, pure, lovely thing in the world... black rage surged through him as every emotion washed away from him. There was only himself, his soul pulsing through his physical shell as he felt it come over him. Draconic anger. Hatred. Madness. It was deeper, darker, stronger than all those things. It consumed him, burning away his natural gentility and sweetness as the deadly, internal fires swept over and through him. His eyes, once a sparkling hazel green, were now a green so dark they were almost black, and the fires of insane fury roared to life in the depths of his gaze. Everyone quickly got away from him. Everyone, that is, except Enrique Scarletti, the Jaguar Prince and the representative of Italy in the Bey world.
Enrique's usually tranquil blue eyes were golden, burning with loathing and contempt, the need for vengeance, even as the change took over. His hair, already soaked so it lay flat against his skull, began bristling and changing, growing darker and darker, from his usual light, light blond to a tawny color like a leopard's fur. Spots began to show themselves along his skin, up his arms and legs. He shrugged out of his jacket and shirt, tossed them to the side. His well-muscled chest began sprouting the spotted, orange fur of the Jaguar as his teeth lengthened, becoming jagged fangs. His fingernails and finger tips shifted to accommodate sheathed wild cat claws. His tail, long enough to hover just an inch off the ground, flicked agitatedly from side to side as his body continued to shape shift. His golden eyes slit like a cats, the pupils turning red as blood. His bones began popping and twisting, his internal organs shifting, his skin rippling and molding, his entire body changing to that of a large wild cat. He was in fact thirteen times larger than a normal jaguar. Enrique roared a challenge in his cat form and growled.
Devin, too, was shape shifting, but into his half-and-half form. Large, leathery wings sprouted from his back, black skin and dark green scales. His fingernails grew long, dagger like, dangerously sharp, pointy things of black, that shimmered like hematite. The Dragon King also grew taller and broader, like a titan from Greek legend. His white, white teeth glittered menacingly when he bared them in a frighteningly twisted parody of a smile. The muscles in his arms, chest, and shoulders seemed to be growing larger, but that was due to all the extra energy coursing like frigid, exquisite ice through his veins. The dark lord growled, both in terrible fury at what these bastards had done to Ravyn, and pleasure of the change. His dark, stormy eyes focused on the Serpiente shifters, the snake people, holding the two Dark women.
"Let. Her. Go." Devin said quietly, so melodiously that for an instant the enemy moved as if to obey. Then, shaking his head, the Panther holding Ravyn smirked.
"No chance, your Highness. Do you realize the kind of fun me and my boys could have with this little fire lizard? Besides, Ravyn Elliot the dragoona berserker, consort, soulmate, and lifemate to the King of all shifters... pretty sweet bargaining chip... what the-?" Devin was gone. The viper holding Stacy whirled around at a shrill, agonized shriek. Devin stood, holding Ravyn with one hand, the other hand embedded in the traitorous shape shifter's chest. Devin pulled his hand out, covered with the blood of the Serpiente, as his enemy fell to the ground. His chillingly malevolent gaze transfixed the other snake so he couldn't look away. But that wasn't possible. Only the Serpiente, witches, and vampires could pin others with their gaze.
"Behind you." Was all he said. When the second snake turned in the other direction just as Enrique's powerful jaws closed about his prey's throat, he ripped it out. The death scream gurgled in the bloody, ground beef looking mess. The vampiress fell to the ground, and the big cat went up to her, sniffing, then began vigorously licking Stacie's cheek.
Enrique?
Stacy... wake up, cuddle bunny.
Don't call me cuddle bunny.
Ravyn calls you that.
Then I leave her all by her lonesome. A small, dark skinned hand went up to stroke the cat's nose. The jaguar then shifted back into an almost completely naked Enrique.
"Stacy... come on, Stacy love, hold onto me. You'll be okay." Devin looked over to the other couple before lifting Ravyn into his arms and carrying her like she was a mere child. He kissed her forehead and nuzzled her hair, breathing in her clean, jasmine smell. It was tainted now by the scent of the poison in her system. He should have killed those shifters slower- much slower, he thought acidly- but he knew God would punish them as they deserved for what they'd done to his lifemate.
"Come on, you guys." Erynh whispered.
"Yeah, before something else comes." Eryka continued.
"Yeah, man, we're kinda low on time." Josh said.
Ravyn awoke in her room on the train, sadly alone. She sat up, looked around. Devin? As soon as she called his name, he was at her side, which was good because she was close to fainting. "Why is the room spinning?"
"You were bitten, love."
"By whom?"
"Serpiente." Devin gently laid her back down, waiting for her to catch her breath. "How do you feel?" She sighed, whispered, "Good, surprisingly good, and yet... incredibly bad. Am... am I going to die, Dev?"
"No. The poison just made you sick. You'll be alright soon." He smiled down at her as she closed her eyes, then snapped them open again. "If you're tired, you should sleep." She shook her head. "I'll sing to you if you like."
"Yes, please." The dragon king brushed a lock of hair from her face and began singing.
"If you lose your eyes,
Avalon,
you will see
and if you lose your faith,
Avalon,
you will believe
and if you lose your blood,
Avalon,
no more will you bleed
and if you lose all your desires
never more will you need
and if you lose your light,
Avalon,
you will glow
and if you lose your mind,
Avalon,
you will know
and if you lose your youth,
Avalon,
no more will you grow
and if you learn to stand your ground
there will be no were left to go."
Ravyn was asleep, breathing deeply, serene. Devin kissed her lips gently and left her.
"I'm sleepy." Stacy said, cuddling with Enrique. The Italian shifter kissed Stacie's cheek and hugged her. "Tell me a bed time story, please."
"Are you sure you want a story?" She nodded. "Maybe you should just go to sleep, Stace. Hmm?" She shook her head, pouting. He could never resist that pout, especially with that gorgeous mouth of hers. She blinked her lovely, dark eyes at her lifemate slowly, waiting.
"Here's a story. Once, there was a beautiful Jaguar, named Stacy." The Asian girl looked at Enrique like he was crazy. "And the Prince of the Jaguars had fallen in love with the beautiful girl. So, he asked her to be his girlfriend. And do you know what she said?"
"She said, 'What!? You must be out of your mind, dawg! I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last guy on Earth!' Is that right?" Stacy grinned at Enrique, who sighed in exasperation.
"But he won her anyway. And they got married and had four kids. You know what she said after that?"
"Um... 'Mia Dio! Stop poking me with that thing! Gosh!'" Enrique looked at her incredulously.
"I don't remember you ever saying that to me, Stacy."
"I might have been thinking it. For all of thirty seconds, before I was thinking, 'I love you, Enrique.'"
"Does the command 'don't stop' come in there anywhere?"
"Hentai." She whapped him with a pillow.
"Ouch." Blue eyes locked with brown ones as Stacy and Enrique kissed each other gently. "Mmm... not ouch."
"Hmmm. I think 'don't stop' might come into the conversation soon."
"How soon?" "Depends, doesn't it?" Stacy grinned.
"Why are we waiting for evening? It's five flippin' o'clock already!" A nightwoman, with long, straight brown hair to her waist and hazel green eyes, with slightly tanned skin, glared at the clock, then groaned in annoyance.
"Ravyn, you may be able to travel in daylight, but you promised us a ride, and that has to be done at night." Midnight murmured, sitting on Kai's lap in the big, black leather chair they were sitting in. "Don't you dare forget. In all my long years, I've never ridden."
"Hey, excuse me, damn it, but I am not a horse." She frowned, not in annoyance, but sadness, and looked out the window. "No shadow on the moon." She whispered, "Not a one, no wings that shine with emerald light, no jade eye of the King of Earth..." She spoke it so breathlessly, nobody heard the words, only saw her lips move. Well, nobody but Dara. On a distaff mind link- excluding any males- she said, His Highness has yet to arrive, but he will come soon.
You don't know that.
Please! Don't I? This is the Head of the Black Dragon royal family! That pansy's never been late in his immortal life.
I hate you. He's not a pansy! He's King of the World, in case you've forgotten! Don't make fun! Ravyn scowled at Dara, irritated. Nobody called her soultwin a pansy. He was nowhere near pansy hood yet, and it was a bonus that he was so sensitive to her moods. That was what lifemates did.
Ravyn Starr was a dragoona, a Dragon shifter that fed on blood and celestial light. Most dragons were carnivores or vegetarians, but dragoons were vampires in dragon form, and from them the Starr witches, who were part vampire and also very powerful, had come. Max was related to her, though he didn't know it. Dara hadn't told anyone but Kai the trouble she'd had with Max's conversion, but the reason behind that was the witch blood in his veins. Dark blood tended to attack other strains, unless a blood bond had already been established between the two.
A shadow passed over the moon, and the dragon lady's eyes went wide with obvious hope. When the wind began to pick up outside, Ravyn let out a joyous cry and flew across the room, down the stairs, and out the door. A loud, melodious call, like the ringing of a bronze bell, trumpeted from the front lawn as the others followed her outside. When they found the shifter, she was in the arms of a tall, lean man with spiky black hair and glasses. He wore a dark green sweater and black jeans, and his arms were around Ravyn, hugging her, resting his cheek on the top of her head, a grin plastered on his face. His sparkling, hazel green eyes, almost identical to Ravyn's, were bright with happiness and exhilaration. The Blade Breakers watched in amazement as Ray, Stacy, Nicolina, Eryka, Erynh, and Josh all went forward and then went down on one knee before this newcomer. Ravyn, a look of realization on her face, stepped back and curtsied deeply. Then, looking up, she grinned and threw herself back into his arms. He kissed her on the cheek, looking down at her affectionately.
"Kai Kaido, may I introduce His Imperial Highness, the King of the Earth, Master of the Shifter World, Lord of Shape Shifters, His Majesty Devin Black, the Ruler of the Dragonfold. Devin Black, this is my lifemate, King of Europe, Master of the Nightworld, Lord of the Vampires, and Captain of the Blade Breakers, His Highness, Kai Hiwatari. Ravyn is his soultwin, which is why she can't let go of him and stop grinning like a fucking idiot." The brunette dragon in question stuck her tongue out at Midnight and let go of the dark-haired lord.
"I'm surprised you had enough room to land, let alone shift, Devin." Nicole, the red-haired vampire scientist murmured.
"Me, too, Nicole, believe me." The dragon said. Kai gave him a questioning look. "Because of genetics, my family shapeshifts into the largest dragons in the world. I'm almost the same size as the Empire State Building." He shrugged self-consciously. People thought his size was impressive, but it wasn't really that big of a deal. "Ravyn's a little over half that. So, you want a ride to the Midnight Railways." All of a sudden, he was the confident, lazy king of a vast empire, smiling a bit smugly at people asking a favor. "Donna Scarletti," Stacy perked up, "how are the cubs?"
"They're okay. Franco, Toni, and Rico are in the cootie phobia stage, and Tasha wants to know when she can see you again."
"Tell her soon. Well, let's get going, shall we. Back up." Doing as they were bid, the other creatures of the night backed up and pressed themselves against the walls of the hotel. The wind picked up again, and a bank of fog rolled in suddenly, dewdrops sparkling in the moonlight. Devin and Ravyn's images, now silhouettes against the white orb of the moon, blurred and morphed, growing both longer and taller. Something made Kai's gaze unfocus and slide off the image of the two shifters. When the feeling went away, Kai looked up in awe into a pair of bright, jewel-like green eyes with slit pupils like a cat's. Each eye was the size of a big screen TV, if not bigger, and set in a face kind of like a wolf's, with a long muzzle and jagged, sharp looking teeth. The scales on the thing were a green so dark it was almost black, and the thing was huge. The neck was about as long as an eighteen wheeler, the head the size of two minivans. The body... the body was vast, and the tail was just as long as the body. The legs were thicker around than the trunk of a red wood tree, and the paws were just as big as the eyes. The claws were at least a yard long and half a foot in diameter at the base. They were sharp as hell. His great wings were huger than huge, and none of them doubted the power of those wings. This was the Lord of the House of Black, the greatest of the dragons and the greatest of the Shifters, with a bearing only the ancient royals could muster. He looked dangerous, dark, and pretty damn cool.
Beside him was a dragon with shimmering, blue-green scales and green eyes, about half his size, with butterfly wings of shimmering green. The dragoness's head stretched out on its long, elegant neck and nuzzled the other dragon's shoulder, keening in the Dragon's tongue. They then crouched down and made ready for the trip to the train tracks.
"That's so cool, Devin!" Ravyn looked over the prince's shoulder at the custom-made black lap top computer. What she thought was cool was the musical keyboard that connected to the keyboarding software on the hard drive. Devin Black's passion was music, specifically, piano and keyboard. The dragoona loved hearing him play. It was one of her favorite things in the world. The passion and beauty of his playing took her breath away. "Some things about you take my breath away, too." He said, smiling, as he continued writing the melody. "What is it?" "It's called 'the Windsong.' F sharp. How's that solo of yours coming, anyway?" He looked up at her kindly when she sighed in frustration. "Can't get it?" "It doesn't sound right on the violin I'm using, but Carol says I can't use the electric gypsy violin until the actual performance." Devin looked thoughtful. "That doesn't really make sense. You need to get the feel for how that thing sounds. I'll talk to Carol about it. Can you do me a favor? That one room in the palace needs a new piano, can you order it for me?" "Sure. What's wrong with the old one?" "Middle C sticks, it's old, out of tune, and three of the keys are missing. Plus, Mother wanted to put a baby grand in there anyway." The dragoness nodded and trotted off. "Not even a kiss, can you believe it? My gosh... oh. Forget something?" The Prince asked cheekily of his soultwin as she came back in. She gave him her "don't-sass-me-little-boy" look, then she smiled and put her arms around his shoulders from behind. "Besides the hugging, I mean." She kissed his cheek. "Besides that." Ravyn sighed and plopped herself down beside him on the seat. The king of the dragons looked down into her eyes (he was about seven or eight inches taller than she was) then kissed her warm, soft lips gently. The berserker shifted her weight to lean into Devin as her hands went up to hold onto his shoulders. Her long, brown hair fell over her shoulders, and the Prince wrapped a strand of it around two fingers to feel its silkiness. He loved her hair. Devin broke away to look into her eyes for a minute, so like his own, before his lips met hers again, a sweet caress. His soft, mental voice whispered in her thoughts, teasing her with wicked suggestions. Ravyn pulled away to grin up at him, then tried to sober herself. "Behave," she admonished, "or you're sleeping on the couch." "So harsh... huh, very well." He kissed her once more before shoving her playfully off the seat. She landed in a heap on the floor, crying, "Hey!!" "Go, away with you, O Wings of Sapphire, before I start to misbehave." "I like the sound of that, actually." Without thinking, he replied, "So do I... hey, wait, shoo! Away with you, temptress! His elegant fingers waved her out of the room and he telekinetically shut the door. "Dearest, darling girl...." I can hear you. Devin smiled at her comment. Some of your thoughts are so flattering. Some of them leave me absolutely breathless. Some of my thoughts leave me breathless, too. Oh, brother. Devin laughed at the telepathic image of her pained expression. Ravyn smiled fondly as she pushed herself away from the wall she'd been leaning on and began walking down the aisle of the train. She glanced to her left and her right when she caught a familiar psychic scent, the residue of power left behind by a Dark being. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Stacy stepped out from behind the mental shield she'd erected and shouted, "Chicken!" The Asian-American had a habit of shouting chicken for no apparent reason when one least expected it. Ravyn shrieked, "Jeez! Stacy, don't do that! I have bad heart, remember?" "You did? Huh. I sorry. Careful of your thoughts, though, the windows might steam up." "Hey, nothing you and that playboy from the Mafia haven't done, I'd wager." "I'm scared now, man, seriously. Come on, you can order your beloved Devin's piano later. Council is up, the Dark Ladies." Ravyn nodded, sobering up and trotting to catch Stacy as she turned and began walking away. Ravyn wondered what was up.
"Women." Kenny sighed, looking haggard. The other men nodded in agreement, except Enrique, Devin, and Kai. The Italian shifter grinned at the memory of his lifemate's silliness. Devin and Kai exchanged glances. They were both High Dark Lords of different Dark Races, with very... understanding, generous lifemates, or in Devin's case, soultwin.. The Dragon Prince and the Vampire King grinned at the memories of just how generous their women could be.
"Nicole working you too hard?" Max asked, thinking fondly of Nicolina, whom he was beginning to like.
"Oh-ho, yessss." The Chief sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. Tyson shook his head, muttering, "I don't understand why you put up with those girls." Devin shrugged his lean shoulders and replied nonchalantly, "Tyson, you just don't understand the ladies."
"I suppose you do."
"Of course. I have Ravyn. She's easy to understand... if you're me."
"Only if you're a horny bastard, I'd bet." Tyson replied waspishly. Devin laughed and shook his head.
"She won't come near me, then."
"That has got to suck."
"Nah, I can use it to make her feel bad later when she says the forbidden word." He grinned fondly at one prominent memory of such an instance.
"What's the forbidden word?"
"No. She's never allowed to say no when I ask her for... stuff." Just then, a red haired vampire walked into the compartment, getting the Prince's attention.
"She's playing, Dev." Nicole said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to point down the hall. The black dragon shifter shoved his hands in the pockets of his black pants and began walking out of the room, whistling gaily. (A/N: happily, not homosexually, for all you morons and sick-minded folk out there.) "Oh, my God... the two of them are hopeless. And so are they," she nodded at Kai's retreating figure as he met Midnight by the window and began walking away from the others. Tyson shrugged.
"I don't get it! What's the big deal with the girls... oh, wow...." Tyson stared at a girl walking down the hall, with lightly curled blond hair and porcelain skin, wearing a green shirt with camouflage sleeves and a black skirt. He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and began following her.
"Like a dog in heat. Kinda scary." Nicole said sarcastically, then smiled wickedly at Kenny.
"Devin, stay away." Was all she said as Ravyn's violin let out a haunting little melody, as she played out the sorrow she was feeling.
"Must I?" The dragon looked at his lifemate with big, hazel eyes wide with innocence and a puppy-dog expression. "Truly?" Ravyn's eyes flicked to just below Devin's waist then back up to his face.
"Yes." She smirked at the light blush dusting his cheeks.
"But, Ravyn..." He came a little closer, but her eyes were now closed and she didn't notice. The bow of the violin rubbed up and down the strings, and Devin crept ever closer, mesmerized by the movements of the dragoona's playing. When he got close enough, he quickly wrapped his arms around her, making her jump and try to get away. "Ah-ah, no way... you owe me for the last time... hold good and still...." She squeaked when his warm mouth brushed a kiss against her shoulder, then trailed small, wet kisses up the side of her neck.
"Devin, behave... please..." His long, nimble fingers swept her hair from hanging in her face, out of his way as he turned her to face him, his mouth latching onto hers in a searing kiss. Ravyn practically melted into the warmth of his embrace and kiss, putting her arms around his neck. Devin broke the kiss to rub his cheek against the softness of her lovely chestnut hair.
"Ravyn, my dearest..." The girl smiled at the breathy reverence in his voice. "May I have..." He looked down into her eyes, the same color as his own, before his lips met hers again, passion making him harsh. He gave her just enough time to put down the violin before he pulled her into his arms again, crushing her to him as they kissed fiercely. Her soft, lush lips parted at his mental plea, allowing his tongue entrance to her mouth. His lips moved over hers slowly, ever so slowly, gently, the softest brush against her mouth as she kissed back with exquisite sweetness. He broke away, breathing heavily as heat flooded his body. "A kiss...." He whispered before kissing her cheek, kissing the line of her jaw, the side of her throat. His tongue left a trail of warm wetness over her skin as she whimpered, trying not to beg for more.
"Devin, that's not fair." His sparkling eyes laughed at her petulant outburst before closing as if in pain. "Devin?"
"You are so beautiful." He kissed her forehead, smiling down at her tenderly. His smile turned to a grin as she whispered, "I know."
The creatures of the night were wary. Things were too quiet in the train station. Only Ravyn and Stacy knew how quiet.
The once-shifter and the dragoona bit back screams as steel sliced through their flesh. Stacy was crying, but Ravyn was simply trying to keep her mind blank, careful not to alert Devin. If her lord knew she was in pain, in danger, he would find them and try to fight their attackers. He didn't have room to shift, and there were too many of the enemy for him to fight in his human form.
A cold, scaled hand snaked in front of her, and the berserker bit down hard on the wrist, severing the appendage from the rest of the arm. She spat frigid blood, then shrieked as cobra venom suddenly shot through her system, pumping from the bite in her shoulder. She gasped, trying not to cry, trying not to scream again. But needles of ice and fiery spikes were shooting through her shoulder, her left arm, and across her chest. A frightening numb feeling spread through her shoulder and most of the left side of her body, through the side of her neck. She could feel the poison pulsing in the jugular artery and vein even as her vision grew dim.
"Ravyn!"
"Dev-in...." The last thing she heard was a heart-stopping, murderous roar, and a familiar mental voice cried in despair, Ravyn!
Devin's eyes went wide with fury and shock as he saw his soultwin go limp. Those monsters had hurt his soultwin, woman, the most important, pure, lovely thing in the world... black rage surged through him as every emotion washed away from him. There was only himself, his soul pulsing through his physical shell as he felt it come over him. Draconic anger. Hatred. Madness. It was deeper, darker, stronger than all those things. It consumed him, burning away his natural gentility and sweetness as the deadly, internal fires swept over and through him. His eyes, once a sparkling hazel green, were now a green so dark they were almost black, and the fires of insane fury roared to life in the depths of his gaze. Everyone quickly got away from him. Everyone, that is, except Enrique Scarletti, the Jaguar Prince and the representative of Italy in the Bey world.
Enrique's usually tranquil blue eyes were golden, burning with loathing and contempt, the need for vengeance, even as the change took over. His hair, already soaked so it lay flat against his skull, began bristling and changing, growing darker and darker, from his usual light, light blond to a tawny color like a leopard's fur. Spots began to show themselves along his skin, up his arms and legs. He shrugged out of his jacket and shirt, tossed them to the side. His well-muscled chest began sprouting the spotted, orange fur of the Jaguar as his teeth lengthened, becoming jagged fangs. His fingernails and finger tips shifted to accommodate sheathed wild cat claws. His tail, long enough to hover just an inch off the ground, flicked agitatedly from side to side as his body continued to shape shift. His golden eyes slit like a cats, the pupils turning red as blood. His bones began popping and twisting, his internal organs shifting, his skin rippling and molding, his entire body changing to that of a large wild cat. He was in fact thirteen times larger than a normal jaguar. Enrique roared a challenge in his cat form and growled.
Devin, too, was shape shifting, but into his half-and-half form. Large, leathery wings sprouted from his back, black skin and dark green scales. His fingernails grew long, dagger like, dangerously sharp, pointy things of black, that shimmered like hematite. The Dragon King also grew taller and broader, like a titan from Greek legend. His white, white teeth glittered menacingly when he bared them in a frighteningly twisted parody of a smile. The muscles in his arms, chest, and shoulders seemed to be growing larger, but that was due to all the extra energy coursing like frigid, exquisite ice through his veins. The dark lord growled, both in terrible fury at what these bastards had done to Ravyn, and pleasure of the change. His dark, stormy eyes focused on the Serpiente shifters, the snake people, holding the two Dark women.
"Let. Her. Go." Devin said quietly, so melodiously that for an instant the enemy moved as if to obey. Then, shaking his head, the Panther holding Ravyn smirked.
"No chance, your Highness. Do you realize the kind of fun me and my boys could have with this little fire lizard? Besides, Ravyn Elliot the dragoona berserker, consort, soulmate, and lifemate to the King of all shifters... pretty sweet bargaining chip... what the-?" Devin was gone. The viper holding Stacy whirled around at a shrill, agonized shriek. Devin stood, holding Ravyn with one hand, the other hand embedded in the traitorous shape shifter's chest. Devin pulled his hand out, covered with the blood of the Serpiente, as his enemy fell to the ground. His chillingly malevolent gaze transfixed the other snake so he couldn't look away. But that wasn't possible. Only the Serpiente, witches, and vampires could pin others with their gaze.
"Behind you." Was all he said. When the second snake turned in the other direction just as Enrique's powerful jaws closed about his prey's throat, he ripped it out. The death scream gurgled in the bloody, ground beef looking mess. The vampiress fell to the ground, and the big cat went up to her, sniffing, then began vigorously licking Stacie's cheek.
Enrique?
Stacy... wake up, cuddle bunny.
Don't call me cuddle bunny.
Ravyn calls you that.
Then I leave her all by her lonesome. A small, dark skinned hand went up to stroke the cat's nose. The jaguar then shifted back into an almost completely naked Enrique.
"Stacy... come on, Stacy love, hold onto me. You'll be okay." Devin looked over to the other couple before lifting Ravyn into his arms and carrying her like she was a mere child. He kissed her forehead and nuzzled her hair, breathing in her clean, jasmine smell. It was tainted now by the scent of the poison in her system. He should have killed those shifters slower- much slower, he thought acidly- but he knew God would punish them as they deserved for what they'd done to his lifemate.
"Come on, you guys." Erynh whispered.
"Yeah, before something else comes." Eryka continued.
"Yeah, man, we're kinda low on time." Josh said.
Ravyn awoke in her room on the train, sadly alone. She sat up, looked around. Devin? As soon as she called his name, he was at her side, which was good because she was close to fainting. "Why is the room spinning?"
"You were bitten, love."
"By whom?"
"Serpiente." Devin gently laid her back down, waiting for her to catch her breath. "How do you feel?" She sighed, whispered, "Good, surprisingly good, and yet... incredibly bad. Am... am I going to die, Dev?"
"No. The poison just made you sick. You'll be alright soon." He smiled down at her as she closed her eyes, then snapped them open again. "If you're tired, you should sleep." She shook her head. "I'll sing to you if you like."
"Yes, please." The dragon king brushed a lock of hair from her face and began singing.
"If you lose your eyes,
Avalon,
you will see
and if you lose your faith,
Avalon,
you will believe
and if you lose your blood,
Avalon,
no more will you bleed
and if you lose all your desires
never more will you need
and if you lose your light,
Avalon,
you will glow
and if you lose your mind,
Avalon,
you will know
and if you lose your youth,
Avalon,
no more will you grow
and if you learn to stand your ground
there will be no were left to go."
Ravyn was asleep, breathing deeply, serene. Devin kissed her lips gently and left her.
"I'm sleepy." Stacy said, cuddling with Enrique. The Italian shifter kissed Stacie's cheek and hugged her. "Tell me a bed time story, please."
"Are you sure you want a story?" She nodded. "Maybe you should just go to sleep, Stace. Hmm?" She shook her head, pouting. He could never resist that pout, especially with that gorgeous mouth of hers. She blinked her lovely, dark eyes at her lifemate slowly, waiting.
"Here's a story. Once, there was a beautiful Jaguar, named Stacy." The Asian girl looked at Enrique like he was crazy. "And the Prince of the Jaguars had fallen in love with the beautiful girl. So, he asked her to be his girlfriend. And do you know what she said?"
"She said, 'What!? You must be out of your mind, dawg! I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last guy on Earth!' Is that right?" Stacy grinned at Enrique, who sighed in exasperation.
"But he won her anyway. And they got married and had four kids. You know what she said after that?"
"Um... 'Mia Dio! Stop poking me with that thing! Gosh!'" Enrique looked at her incredulously.
"I don't remember you ever saying that to me, Stacy."
"I might have been thinking it. For all of thirty seconds, before I was thinking, 'I love you, Enrique.'"
"Does the command 'don't stop' come in there anywhere?"
"Hentai." She whapped him with a pillow.
"Ouch." Blue eyes locked with brown ones as Stacy and Enrique kissed each other gently. "Mmm... not ouch."
"Hmmm. I think 'don't stop' might come into the conversation soon."
"How soon?" "Depends, doesn't it?" Stacy grinned.