Chapter 1

"Sky," the name bounced around the surrounding fir trees. The girl stood in the clearing, not moving as her blond wavy locks spread out behind her in the breeze. Her pale skin giving off an almost unearthly glow in the summer sun. She stared out towards the ocean, her blue eyes focused on a point out on the horizon.

   "HELLO. Earth to Sky". A small lightly tanned hand waved in front of the girls face as she continued to stare out towards the ocean. The movement of the hand provided an explosion of scents. The smell of freshly fallen pine needles, the fresh invigorating smell of earth, the crisp salt smell of the ocean and the energising and appetizing smell of fresh live flesh. 

   Sky shook herself. Wait. What? How could she find her best friend appetizing? That’s just wrong. A nervous shiver ran up her spine at the thought. She turned towards her friend only to find a smirk plastered to her friend’s heart shaped face. A smirk she was going to ignore.

"Sorry Rachel. Spaced out for a minute there." A high pitched giggle escaped from her pixie like friend as blond hair escaped from the red ribbon that held it back.

"Uh Huh. And just who were you daydreaming about?" She said with a cheeky wink.

"No one."

   "Yeah right. It's the first week of July. Who comes at this time every year? Oh yeah. ERIC." She burst out laughing at her own sarcastic comment as Sky stood, hands on hips with her head cocked to the sideas she glared at her friend. This only made her laugh harder. There were times she wished she could just gag her.

"And who said I was daydreaming about HIM?"

"Well. Me of course."    

Sky continued to glare.

   "Just because of that incident last year, does not mean I like him nor am I thinking about him. Anyway I’m still confused and hurt at his statement of "Hmm. Not mature yet."What the hell did he mean?" Sky growled.

“He was probably speaking about himself," said a now strangely sober Rachel.

"I'm sorry but what guys do you know will grab a girl, kiss her then say "not mature yet" before disappearing without saying goodbye?" she said, with one eyebrow raised.

   Rachel shrugged her shoulders another slight smile playing at her lips. The harsh call of the seagulls above was the only breaks in the strange silence. This situation brought some familiarity from some where in Sky's subconscious. She looked from the forest to the ocean, before turning towards the forest and picking a path to follow.

 

"Hey wait Mr" A young rather breathless Sky called after the man that was towing her along by the hand. "Mr please I want to go home to granny."

  "You can't you'll be killed" The cloaked man said.

  "Why? Granny will protect me. I want to go home" Sky cried as they weaved among the trees.

   "You can't you must go away for your own safety.The young master will come get you when you are strong enough and mature enough," The older man said nodding his head as if to confirm his statement to himself.

 Young master the man with the black hair. The kind man who played with her, brushed her hair and gave her food for her granny. The man she though was her friend yet sent her away when she didn’t want to go. Who didn’t say good bye or let her say good bye to her granny.

  A branch snapped above them. The man picked her up and ran. The trees around them blurred with the speed they travelled at. A branch caught sky on the cheek leaving a deep scratch that wept blood and caused her to cry out the strange man looked down at her his eyes completely black. Above them swarmed a large black cloud that dived and twisted amongst its self.

"I'm sorry princess I must begin the process now.”

  "NO" came a cry from behind them. The black cloud above began to break up as raven after raven came diving towards them.

 The man began chanting as Sky sobbed in his arms. The blurring of the trees around them began to cause Sky’s vision to black out as tiredness crept into her. Slowly she began to forget her past and present as it slipped away into the recesses of her mind.

"Stay safe little one."

 

"HEY SKY. Sky what’s wrong?" The pale face of her friend helped to sober her thoughts.

  "Nothing."

“It ain't nothing you’re crying for god’s sake"

"No I’m no..." She touched her cheek to feel her tears streaming down her cheeks her vision still slightly blurred from the tears."Oh."

"Is this because of Eric?" Rachel asked concern evident in her voice.

"No not him."

"Then what?" Rachel demanded.

  "Just something that happened a long time ago that I had forgotten." Sky sighed letting the tension from the day dream, or was it a vision or a flash back, lessen. Her head was pounding like it would have if she had just sat a two hour English exam.

 Rachel stared at her. Fear evident in her gaze as she watched her friend pull herself back together.

 

Chapter 2

The crashing of waves against the shore mixed with the harsh crows of the gulls flying around the cliff and the beach were the only sounds that surrounded the young man laying basking on the sand. His bronze skin flexed over the hidden powerful muscles beneath. His black shorts clung to him, still damp from his swim. He lifted his head to voices and laughter coming from the cliff above. A cliff that a human would be deflected from by the spells that protected the beach from those who were uninvited or would run and tell of what this beach contains. His black hair caught the sunlight reviling the blue tinges in his hair. His blue eyes began to take on a golden colour as he continued to gaze up towards the cliff.

   Closing his eyes he searched for the source of the familiar voices that were getting closer to the cliff edge above his hidden beach. One voice in particular caught his attention.

"Hey Sky, if he is at the beach what are you going to do?"

"Ignore him."

She's still here. A happy thought that echoed around his head. His forehead furrowed as his happy though was cut off. Who was this male they were referring to? Did she have a human boyfriend? Alow growl reverberated in the back of his throat as he continued to listen.

"Yeah but if he is and he approaches you what will you do then?"

“Walk around him and ignore him," she said with a sigh.

  The man snorted in amusement before standing and moving closer to the cliff edge so the girls above wouldn't see him.

 

"OH, come on. You can’t spend the whole summer avoiding the guy."

"Watch me" she retorted.

  They continued on in silence. 

"Emm. Where are we?" Rachel said whilst looking around. Sky looked around too. They had never been in this part of the forest before yet Sky felt she had. It was very familiar. Sky’s nostrels flared with alarm as she took the surrounding scents of pine and ocean. It also smelled safe for the moment.

Sky shook herself yet again trying to bring some normality back to her way of thinking. Since when could she determine such a thing by smells. She shook her head again before looking around in an attempt to distract herself.

 Two stone mounds covered in ivy caught her attention. Sky moved towards one and began removing the ivy from the stone. She brushed it off slowly from the top of the mound which she found stood at around five feet in height. The rough stone grated against the sensitive skin on her finger tips. No it wasn't a mound it was a statue. She uncovered a lizard like head with horn and as she continued removing the offending ivy from the statue she gasped. The statue was of a dragon stood guard wings folded against its side as its neck arched to hold its head proudly. The statue looked to take great pride in its stance.

  "Beautiful." The statement came from Rachel who had uncovered an identical statue on the other side of the path.

  ”These are amazing," the awe was evident in Sky's voice. She ran her hand over the horns and spikes on its neck, then down over the scales running her nails around them before running her hand over the smooth stone of the wing. She looked down at the claws, three to the front and one to the back, to find a small green lizard that stood looking up at her from the top of the middle claw.

  "Hello little fella." Sky put her hand towards the lizard palm up. It scuttled quickly on to her hand. Sky hissed through her teeth as she clamped her eyes shut when her world began to fall.

 

"Sky you must know that you have to go for your own safety I shall look after your grandmother after your departure," the young man stood with his back towards her as he faced the grand fireplace. A small green lizard sat curled up on his shoulder looking at her.

"But...”

"No BUTS," the man raised his voice which was thick with authority.

"I thought you were my friend," Sky whispered.

He ignored her statement and continued.

  "Eder will watch over you and report back to me upon any major incident or threatening activity around you," he said as he reached up to stroke Eder on his shoulder.

Sky stuck her tong out at the man in a childish gesture.

“I saw that.”

A knock at the door was followed by the man Sky had seen or envisioned earlier caring her through the woods. "Young master" the man bowed his head. "All preparations are complete. We must leave now."

  He didn't turn round he just nodded his head as the older man dragged Sky from the room.

 

  Sky stood with her back to her friend as she gasped in air trying to stop herself from fainting. She stared at the lizard in her hands as she continued to pant and make sense of what she now thought was a vision of her past. The small reptile in front of her confirmed that she was tied to these visions.

"Hello Eder," Sky whispered to the lizard in her hand the same one from the young mans shoulder. The young man who seemed very familiar to her but she couldn't quite grasp why other than these visions or flashbacks. "Tell the young master I’m beginning to remember."

She placed the lizard on the ground and watched as it scuttled along the path towards his awaiting master.

 

Chapter 3

The salty breeze caressed Sky's exposed skin making her shiver in awareness. What was she doing? Why did she send Eder back to the man with a message? Hold on could he even communicate with the lizard and was it the same lizard? Sky rubbed her temples trying to relieve the headache that was building up. What the hell was happening? The more Sky tried to think things through the more confused she became. There was one thing that she was sure of and that was that she knew the man from in front of the fire place, not just from the dreams but from the recent past and possible present.

 "Sky what's happening? You’re acting so weird."

"It's nothing. Come on lets keep exploring," Curious as to whether she would have anymore more visions if she continued along this path.

  "No," came the abrupt answer from Rachel. "I can't and won’t go any further." Rachel stood like a scared cat ready to bolt up any available tree.

  Sky thought about arguing but she just didn't have it in her. She was becoming exhausted as if these visions were draining her energy. She stared at her friend as her brain kept on going over what she had learned from the visions. If she could only find out more, find out if these visions really were true and not just her imagination running wild she may be able to remember herpast. She thought back to her first memory's as a nine year old waking up in hospital to find two stranger leaning over her claiming to be her parents, to the girl next door introducing herself as Rachel and stating Sky would be her best friend for life and to her beginning her home schooling. She couldn't remember anything from before then. Sky closed her eyes and exhaled. How could she just accept this she wondered. Why wasn’t she running around screaming at this point.

  "Fine go home, but I need to keep going." Sky turned her back to Rachel and continued walking ignoring the warnings and pleadings coming from her friend. Sky walked with her eyes closed letting her feet follow the path as the sounds and smells engulfed her.

“Sky come back. Please. Please lets just go home. SKY.”

  The branches above her head rustled as a large raven moved along the branch watching her. There was something about this bird that had the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She didn't like it, yet she tried to reason with herself that it was just a bird. But as she continued walking and the raven flew from tree to tree, she began to realize she was worried for a reason. This was too much like the first vision that she began to pick up speed. First a walk then a jog and before she knew it she was sprinting the raven took to the sky flying just a few feet above her. She wasn't paying attention to where she was running as she was trying to keep the raven in her sight at all times.

  Sky noticed the ground was becoming slightly rockier as she continued running. She looked up at the raven and then as she glanced to the front had to slam on the breaks. A cliff.  She' nearly just fell of a cliff. She turned to wards the raven that had perched it's self on a branch close by, it seemed to be laughing at her as it bobbed its head in her direction. Sky took astep back, her heel just over the edge. At this point the raven leapt from the branch and drove strait towards her its wings tucked to its side. Similar to how the ravens had dived towards her and the older man in her first vision. It impacted with the middle of her chest knocking her of balance. She fell backwards and began her fall head first towards the ground with an earth shattering scream.

 

The man bellow looked up as the scream retched through the air. He jumped away from the cliff face to get a better view.

  “Shit.” Sky was falling head first from at least a couple of hundred feet. That would kill her despite her breeding.

He ran left before leaping into the air, black leathery wings sprouted from his back and began flapping powerfully as he flew towards the falling Sky. He had to catch her. He just had too. These were the thoughts that were screaming through his head as his heart rate over took the speed of his wings. When was the last time that he had had this much adrenaline pumping through his veins? When had he felt so alive with a task? When had he ever had to rescue a…a….a…? What was she to him? That he still had to figure out for himself and not what he had been told by an elder.

  As he caught her in his arms her screaming stopped and her body slumped against his chest as she lost consciousness. He face was pale and her eyes were squeezed shut as her hair now wild from her fall flowed around her head as the winged boy flew gently to the ground. The sand bellow his feet scattered with the air flow cased by the beats of his wings as he came in to land. He quickly retracted his wings causing him to grunt as he laid Sky’s slim body to the ground. He then stood and had to roll his shoulder to try and relive his muscles of the ache that now plagued them. It had been many years since he had done a partial shift and his body was making him well aware of this fact.

  He sat down beside sky and stretched out his legs in front of him. He looked down at the young female as she lay unconscious beside him her wild hair made her seem feral unlike her normal styles with it straitened, neatly brushed or tamed into a ponytail. Unconsciously his hand went to cup her cheek before he gently brushed back her hair. It was nice being able to be close to her with out her bickering with him or complaining like she had every time they met over the past 5 years. Movement in the sand caught his eye as a green lizard scuttled across the beach towards him.

  “Well Eder, what’s she been getting up to this time?” he said picking up his little reptilian friend.

 

Chapter 4

 

  Sky slowly began to switch back on. Wait. Why am I not dead. I..I fell from the cliff. Her eyes fluttered as she fought to keep them closed. She twitched her fingers and her toes. Yep they’re working. She struggled to figure out what had happened. She decided to concentrate, to try and slow her heart rate and breathing. She moved a finger to find it able to dig into the dirt or was it sand, she was too confused to figure out the texture. Goose bumps ran along her skin in awareness as she picked up on the sound of breathing close by.

“I know your awake Sky.”

 Well Shit. Sky shook her head of course it just had to be HIM. The model like boy who had became her obsession for close to five years. The smart tall boy. The one all the girls were trying to get. The guy who had hurt Sky more than she would ever admit. Eric.

“Why am I not dead?” I said as I opened my eyes to find the clouds spinning above me.

“Because I caught you.”

Sky sat up and turned towards Eric with a look of disbelief which quickly disappeared as her cheeks began to turn red in colour. Sky’s heartbeat picked up the pace along with the desire to fling herself at the handsome man who currently sat beside her taking in her appearance with dark blue eyes that seemed to be hiding some strong emotions. Her eyes travelled slowly over his face and then lower over his smooth, muscled chest and abs. He wasn’t built like a body builder but he just seemed to be naturally muscular.

Sky’s head shot up as Eric chuckled. “Like what you see.”

     As Sky’s cheeks darkened his grin widened.

   “S..shut up.” Sky grumbled her embarrassment very clear in her voice.

Sky turned to the cliff she had fallen from. “HOLY SHIT,” she stood staring upwards as her mouth gaped opened and closed a few times. “You caught me whilst I fell from that height,” she turned to look at Eric disbelief evident in her gaze.

  “Well you’re not dead are you.”

  “I didn’t hurt you? Did I?” she again looked him up and down this time assessing to see if there were any injury’s. There was nothing. Not even a scratch or a bruise.

  Eric watched as many emotions crossed over Skys face before she settled with a blank expression. That expression meant that questions would be asked.

  Sky turned to face him before whispering, “How?”

  Eric sighed internally before plastering a smug grin on his face. “Well I saw, and heard, you plummeting towards the ground and I caught you in my arms.” Well he wasn’t exactly lying

 “Uh huh. Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?” she said as she brushed the sand off her clothing. She looked towards him with one eye brow raised indicating some sort of answer was required. Eric was looking away from her but she could tell he was grinning and that just pissed her off.

“Look Eric I don’t want to have to put up with your arrogant attitude as if you have forgotten I have just had a rather close call with death. Now if you don’t mind I have to go find my friend and make sure she’s okay.”

 As Sky turned to find a way back up the cliff Eric reached out and grabbed her hand to halt her. Both hissed in a breath at the contact as fire raced up their arms. Eric dropped her hand and stepped back a look of total and utter shock plastered to his face as Sky stood rubbing up and down her arm as a flash of pain crossed her face. Sky recovered first and shook herself as if she were a dog ridden herself of water.

  “I need to go,” it came out as a sort of sob. Eric’s gaze whipped towards her as if he had been broken from a trance. His normally blue eyes had a golden appearance as his nostrils flared. Sky had the sudden urge to run. She looked towards the cliff were she spotted an old stair case that led up to a tree  growing half way up and continued slopping left to near the top. She looked back at Eric’s intense golden stare before turning and sprinting as if her life depended on it all rational thoughts had fled her.

 

  It couldn’t be. She can’t be. Why? Eric stood frozen as Sky looked around like a frightened mouse stalked by a cat looking for its escape. She turned towards the left and something caught her gaze before she turned towards him as fear clogged the air and was evident in her pale face as her gaze connected with his. She turned suddenly and ran as if her life depended on it and at this moment it certainly did.

The urge to chase his pray was extremely strong he couldn’t let her escape. He had to chase her down. She was his. But at that exact moment he had to let her go. He had to wait until she was fully mature and awakened. And from what Eder had said he wouldn’t have to wait long.

Chapter 5

 

“She’s coming back.”

“She’s heading this way.”

“We have to tell the master.”

“No we must capture her and take her back as we do not want to alert the master before we do so,” the voice carried clearly through the shadows as the dark creatures hidden in the shadows bristled nervously as they awaited there targets return. 

 

“Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.” Sky said with every careful step she took. The steps were weathered and some brittle with their age but that didn’t put off Sky she just knew she had to escape from Eric. The fire she had felt when she had touched Eric was spreading and intensifying with in her body. Her limbs were acing but she wasn’t sure if it was the fact she clambering as fast as possible up the steep steps or from the incident back on the beach.

  She looked up just as she came across the tree which had looked to be growing from the stairs but in fact it was hiding a large ledge. Sky collapsed on the ledge gasping for air. She rolled onto her back and stared up to the top of the cliff then onto the sky above.

She then rolled onto her side before pushing up into a sitting position and looked over the edge. Eric still stood in place his eyes following her every movement. Sky struggled to look away as his still golden gaze stared back. Sky’s eyes began to burn as she stared back at him a look of surprise came over Eric’s face which confused Sky.

 

  Eric watched her progress as she clambered up the stairs at the briskest pace she could manage. As she began to reach the realm entrance she began to tire. It was evident in her movement. It looked as though she was struggling to carry a heavy burden. As she reached the great Tree she collapsed on the smooth stone of the ledge. A low growl/whimper escaped Eric as he watched her struggle to sit up. Her wary gaze turned towards him as they made eye contact Eric knew his eyes would be glowing gold due to the clarity of his vision and the fact he could make out every detail of the youngling on the ledge. A look of discomfort crossed Sky expression as he again met her gaze. To his surprise her sky blue eyes had turned a vivid purple.

  It was happening to quickly she should have awakened a while ago but now that she was it was too quick. Eric knew he would have to send a letter to the elders to find out if the rate of awakening wasn’t happening at a damaging rate for her. She was grumbling to herself as she forced her gaze away from his. When she looked back her eyes were back to the sky blue colour they normally were. Strange emotions were running through Eric and he didn’t like it. They made him feel vulnerable.

 

  “Right. Up I get and onwards and upwards,” she said to herself as she struggled to haul herself up. Something caught her eye on the face of the rock but when she turned to look at the cliff face there was no sign of whatever had drawn her attention. She turned to the steps that went upwards and began to climb. She didn’t have to worry about them crumbling as these steps were in a much better condition than those below.

 The burning still plagued her limbs however to a lesser extent than before. Reaching the last step Sky looked up shocked to find that there was still a few feet of cliff to climb. She shook her head before looking down. She took a sharp intake of breath before looking away from the drop that she had already taken once before and had no wish to take again. She turned to face the jump upwards that she was forced to make.

 She leapt grabbing onto the edge and managed to swing her body up and hook a knee over before rolling her body over and away from the cliff edge. She lay there breathing hard as her brain struggled to get the oxygen it needed to function properly. What the hell. What the Hell. What the HELL. She screamed internally since she was panting too hard to speak let alone scream it.

  Just as she had recovered enough energy to sit up. She was alerted to the fact that she may just have stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire as an up roar of caws, croaks and gurgling sounds. Sky cringed as a flock of large black birds took to the sky. They circled above where she lay before gathering together and began diving towards her. They weren’t just any black birds they were ravens.  An unkindness of ravens. Sky was sure the raven at the front was the same one from earlier.

  As the birds rapidly approached Sky couldn’t help but scream before throwing her arm over her face to stop the black raptors. She rolled to the ground in a foetal position as a large gust of wind caught her hair sending it waving around her head to then lie on the dusty ground. A few moments passed before Sky realised the birds hadn’t reached her and that a misty heat was surrounding her. Sky opened her eyes and found it strangely dark as she tried to focus her sight on just what was blocking the light she could make out a scale like pattern. Her fuzzy brain couldn’t quite make out just what the object above her was. That was until it shifted its position as a ferocious growl rippled from the dark creature that stood above her.

 

 

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Hi Guys.

Hope you are enjoying my Story so far. I will try and update it as often as possible but due to work commitments, my horses and my other animals I am struggling to find the time. So please bare with me.

x

Chapter 6

The great beast that stood protectively over her continued to growl as Sky lay on the ground shaking uncontrollably. The cries of the birds ceased as the beast lifted its head in the air before letting out a torrent of fire.  Sky scrambled backwards away from the intense heat before tripping up and colliding with a solid object behind her. She put her hand out to balance herself on the object only to find it had a similar pattern and feeling to the stone statues in the woods just smoother.

Hot air brushed against the back of her neck and she tensed. A low grumbling sound reverberated in the air surrounding her as she stiffly turned around. Two large nostrils were blowing hot air in her face causing her to again stubble backwards hitting the solid object again. As the nostrils lowered towards the ground, a pair of striking gold eyes flecked with blue stared at her. Light began to return as the dark cover above retracted and the object behind her moved as the moved a little away from her. Allowing Sky to get a proper look at the beast’s body.

“D..D…D..D..dragon.”  She had been going to shout but had struggled to even whisper the name of the mythical beast that now stood silently watching her. Its black scales caught the light giving of a purple and blue sheen as its haunches moved with every great breath it took. Its great head had two large looking horns which were followed by spikes that ran from the back of its skull down to its shoulder blades. Folded at its sides were two very large wings covered in thousands of very small scales that gave it a leather like appearance.

 “SKY. SKY. WHERE ARE YOU?” Rachel’s cry called the dragon’s attention. Sky took one last look at the beast before bolting for the forest behind it. A low screech sounded from the dragon as Sky continued running heading in a roundabout direction towards the voice that called her. She continued to push herself faster as the snap of a branch behind her alerted her to a pursuer. Despite the extra speed she wasn’t gaining any ground in fact it seemed as though her pursuer was. She dashed right suddenly doing a U turn before darting behind a tree trying to get a look at who was chasing her as it certainly wasn’t the dragon that was nimbly darting through the trees.

 

She had ran again despite the fact he was helping her. He watched as she ran into the forest. Towards danger. Before he changed swiftly into his naked human form which with a quick glance down wards was then covered in the swimming shorts he had been wearing earlier and a pair of running shoe on his feet. He then turned towards the direction Sky had taken and followed opening up his senses as he caught the slight scent of her blood, she must have scraped herself, increasing his speed he quickly began to gain on her as the sound of her running feet pounded in his head. A branch snapped  bellow his foot alerting the running Sky to his pursuit he continued on trying to gain a bit of ground before jumping up and grabbing a branch to hold onto as Sky darted around a large tree.

The flapping of wings above caught Eric’s attention as a raven landed in the tree above where Sky stood.

“SKY. SKY. WHERE ARE YOU?” called the bird. A look of shock flashed across Skys face before it turned to fear.

  Sky looked up before jumping backwards and tumbling over a tree root. The bird looked down at her before it seemed to lose its physical form. It became a shadow, a dark entity. An eerie laugh sounded from the dark shadow that was floating around the branches above her. It began to slither down the tree towards the trembling Sky.

  Eric let go of the branch and dropped to the ground lightly. He stalked forwards using the trees as cover and making sure he didn't step on any twigs or leaves. He watched as the shadow approached Sky as it seemed to fold in on itself. Eric’s chest seemed to reverberate as a low warning growl echoed among the trees. The shadow froze mid-air before solidifying back into the form of a raven that hovered just a few feet above Sky.

 “Sky. Duck.” Eric said as he approached a tree close to where she stood. Her head whipped from side to side as she looked around trying to see who had spoken. The raven took the opertunity as a que to flee.

“For God’s Sake. DROP TO THE FLIPPING GROUND” The order came out as a growl causing Sky to drop rapidly to the ground just as Eric spat a ball of fire at the raven that was trying to escape. The fire ball whizzed over sky before hitting the raven between its wings instantly engulfing it in flames. Sky covered her ears trying to block out the inhuman cries of the burning creature. She continued to cover her ears until a hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. Sky jumped up and swatted away the hand before turning to glare at Eric who stood staring at her concerned. She had so many questions. Needed so many answers. The main question being:

 

“Eric. What are you?”

Chapter 7

 

Eric stood staring at Sky with a defeated look on his face.

  “You haven’t remembered everything have you?” He asked running his hand over his face looking at the confused Sky, who stood swaying on her feet. “Sky, are you okay?”  Her response was a rather jerky nod of her head before her eyes rolled backwards into her head and her knees gave in. Eric lurched forwards and caught her before she hit the ground. He then laid her down gently on the ground before sitting down next to her to wait for her to wake as he stroked her hair.

 

  “Come on Sky. The young master awaits you.” said a kind faced old lady that stood above the still sleepy Sky.

  “But Granny it’s still dark outside.” Sky rubbed her eyes as they tried to adjust to the candle light.

  “Up. Come on little one.”

  Sky got up out of bed and dressed in the light blue dress that lay at the bottom of the bed before heading down to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Just as the sun began to appear on the horizon someone knocked on the door. Granny left the kitchen to go and answer the door before returning followed by a hooded figure.

  “Sky the young master is here.”

  “EERRIICC” Squealed sky as she bounded over to the hooded figure before leaping into his arms knocking his hood back.

 “Hello Sky. You still up for some training,” a wide grin appeared at Sky’s vigorous nodding. “Well then we will head off. I shall have her home by lunch Val.”  He took Sky’s hand and lead her out the back door.

“Shift” he said looking to Sky. She closed her eyes as pain lanced through her body and snapping and popping could be heard. She opened her eyes to be met by the stare of Eric in his dragon form. His large black head seemed to dwarf the smaller form of Sky’s silver dragon form.

 

 Memories began to assault Sky as she lay on the ground. As she began to gain consciousness she became aware of her body aching painfully however it was bearable with the hand that stroked her forehead. She opened her eyes to find Eric sitting in front of her, a slight smile gracing his lips. She tried to move her head but it felt too heavy. She opened her mouth to try to speak but ended up making a whining sound.

  “It’s okay Sky. You won’t have the energy to move at the moment as the shift has taken up too much energy as it’s been a few years since you were in this form.”

  This form?

 “Your dragon form.”

At that Sky found the energy to lift her head. As she continued to stare at Eric she noticed that she began to tower over him. Shocked she looked down at where her hands should be to find muscular, silver scaled legs with five deadly looking claws.  A high pitched screech escaped from her jaws along with a puff of smoke. She tried to stand so she could back up but ended up tripping up and falling over. Her fine silver wings flapped as she struggle to get to a standing position in her strange four legged winged form.

 

Eric had sat shocked as the unconscious Sky’s form had begun to change as bones snapped and grew and her skin changed to the silver scales. She had broken the spells much earlier that he thought. He was now struggling to keep from laughing as Sky struggled to stand having fallen over her tail from the shock of her transformation. She struggle to her feet as her wings twitched at her side and her tail twitched on the ground. She then stretched out her wings and began flapping them unconsciously. As she caught the movement behind her she leapt forwards in shock which caused Eric to lose his composure.

 Sky’s head whipped round to the now laughing Eric who was clutching his stomach. She lifted her top lip exposing deadly sharp teeth as she growled at him. He stopped laughing but the amusement still shone in his eyes. He then rubbed his eyes before giving Sky an admiring glance. Her silver head was very similar to his own. However she had slightly smaller and finer horns, along with small spikes running under her jaw and cheeks. She had slim large wings, a muscular but slimly built body and a fine tail with four spikes on the end. All in all she was a perfect specimen of a female dragon.

  Stupid man. Stop staring at me and tell me how to get back to normal. She grumbled internally.

  “In a minute. I haven’t seen you in this form since you matured.” Her golden eyes blinked before focusing more on him.

  Hey. Can you read minds or something?

  “It seems I can read yours. Normally with other dragons we can force images to each other’s minds but I am able to pick up your thoughts as clear as day now you have broken the restriction spells.”

 Okay. Okay. Now help me change back.

  “It’s gonna be painful. Are you sure you don’t want to wait a while?” Her golden eyes glared at him. “ Okay then. SHIFT.”

  The power of that one word caused Sky to roar as her body began to break and shrink before resetting itself back to her human self. Sky groaned as she fell to her hands and knees as she panted hard as her world seemed to spin. A hand reached out and lay on her back and then began stroking up and down her spine. The feeling of Eric’s rough hand stroking up and down her bare back was soothing. She revelled in the small electrical pulses that travelled over her skin at the skin to skin contact.

  Her eyes flew open before she jumped back and covered her now exposed body as much as she could.

  “WHY THE HELL AM I NAKED?” She yelled as she glared at Eric who stood looking her up and down with a goofy grin on his face. Her face flushed a dark red as she crossed her legs more and covered the junctions of her thighs with a splayed hand and covered her breasts with an arm.

“Stop staring or I’ll gut you open” she whispered. The venom of the statement clearly visible in her glare.

 

Chapter 8

 

  Eric couldn’t help but grin like an idiot as he took in the form of the rather embarrassed and completely naked Sky. Her hand only just covered the area she was trying to hide but the dark curls were still visible. Her other arm was covering her breasts as she tried to hide her assets from him. He continued to look her over as he ignored her threats.

She cleared her throat which brought his gaze to her face.

  “Where are my clothes?” She demanded.

  Eric sighed before flicking his wrist towards Sky. Sky “yipped” as her body was suddenly covered by the tank top and jeans she had previously been wearing.  She looked about ready to ask something but she shook her head and looked around.

“Where’s my hoody?” Eric looked puzzled. “My Jumper.” Sky demanded.

Eric just grinned mischievously. “And why would l let you cover up any more of your skin?” he sung.

“Pervert” Sky whispered under her breath.

Eric laughed letting her know he’d heard her. Sky was surprised she hadn’t completely freaked out at the fact that she was some sort of dragon shape shifter. However she was beginning to feel strange as her attraction towards Eric seemed to have been amped up a few levels. She studied him as he also stood studying her. He hadn’t changed or aged from the memories she had of him from her childhood. This brought up more questions.

  “Eric how old are you?”

He looked at her before lowering his gaze to the ground. “I’m coming up for 35 years old”

“WHAT? You don’t look that old you look 18 at the most.” Eric gave a chuckle at her reaction.

  “When we reach maturity our aging process slows down. Don’t get me wrong that doesn’t mean we are immortal as we can be killed and injured. But we can sort of live as long as we want really. “

  Sky felt as though her bottom jaw was resting on the ground. “But granny looked like well a granny?” she said confused.

  “Your grandmother was around 750 years old and she would have looked younger had her mate not died 12 years ago” Sky didn’t miss that he had used the past tense when referring to her grandmother.

  “What happened to her?” she asked in a broken whisper.

  “She was murdered by the creature that controls the shadow demons that are hunting you.” Numbness seeped into Sky.

  “Why are they hunting me?”

  “Well. You are one of the last breed able females of our race.”

  “What do you mean breed able?”

  “We dragon have one life’s mate. Our mate is the only one who we can reproduce with and since it is very rare for a female to be born our population has been dwindling. Our enemy, the unnamed creature that is hunting you, has been hunting down and killing off any pregnant, mated and unmated females and if they are unable to kill the female they have been killing there mates.”

  Sky was pale as she stood watching Eric. He looked to hold so much pain that it made her wonder if he had already lost his mate. She wanted to know but instead she asked.

  “Why have you been coming here? Has it been because of me?”

 “Yes. I am one of the dragon lords and hence it is my duty to protect you. Also you are my ….”

  He didn’t finish his sentence as when he stared into her gaze he saw anger flash before hurt and resignation crossed his face. Interesting, he thought. Eric wondered if she yet realised that they were mates. He shrugged internally at the fact that soon enough there would be the irresistible mating heat flooding the female who stood in front of him. His more feral side squirmed at the thought. Sky then interrupted his thoughts.

  “When you say dragon lord does that mean royalty or is it a bought title?” Curiosity had again gotten the better of her.

  “There are 6 regions and 6 lords. The title is passes down during generations or can be won in a challenge. I took over after my father was killed 6 years ago.”

  Silence spanned between them as Sky stood fidgeting and rocking. Eric drew in a deep breath and was satisfied when he smelt the honey like scent of her arousal.

 

“SSSSSSSSSKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. SKY PLEASE ANSWER ME.”

  Sky grabbed Eric’s hand and dragged him with her towards the sound of her friend’s voice. She might need the back up if it turned out to be another trick. Eric looked down shocked and satisfied that Sky had grabbed him by the hand. He had fully expected her to bolt off by herself in search of her friend. As he took in another deep breath he could smell her friend. Though she had a strange hint to her smell that was somewhat familiar.

He again drew in the scent.

  “Elf.”

 “What do you mean elf?”

  “Your friend is part wood elf.”

  “What? No she’s not. She’s human .” He shook his head as he approached the scents source.

  Rachel looked up relieved as Sky came into view followed by Eric.

“Mmmmhhhhmmm. Hello Eric.”

  “Hello Rachel.”

  Rachel paused and then turned to look at Sky a grim look appeared on her face. “You know don’t you?”

Chapter 9

“I..I..It’s true?” Sky stuttered the question as Rachel watched her.

“Yes. Though I am only half wood elf and half witch.” She said sending a glare at Eric.

“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Sky said holding up her hands as she struggled to comprehend the information that her brain was trying to download.

“So both I and Eric are dragon shifters. My best friend is an Elf/Witch. So what does that make my parents or whoever they are?”

“They are normal humans. They were paid to look after you as though you were their own child.” Eric stated with a matter of fact voice.

Pain seared through Sky’s heart as she took in what Eric said. A lie. My whole life was a Lie.

“Not your whole life.” Eric’s whispered.

Sky whipped her attention to him and Eric realised his mistake. He stared her in the eyes and took a step backwards.

“How did you know what I just thought in my head? I’m not in my dragon form.” She said taking a step towards Eric as her eyes shifted colour and a growl escaped her lips, he took a step back with a wary expression on his face.

Rachel giggled. “Oh this is priceless.” She said before bursting into full out laughter. Sky glared at her friend as Rachel tried to gain her composure and wiped the tears that were streaming down her cheek. “He hasn’t told you has he?”

Sky stared blankly at Rachel waiting for her to continue as a low snarl escaped from Eric.

“Don’t.” He growled the warning. Rachel just turned to him and stuck her tongue out in a childish gesture.

“He’s your mate.” She yelled before sprinting into the covering of the trees.

“What does she mean by I’m your “mate”?” Sky hissed as she again turned to look at Eric.

   “Exactly what I told you earlier.”

Sky didn’t know what to say. She was Eric’s mate. She stood dumfounded until the sound of Rachel’s footsteps drew her attention. She backed up a few steps and sat down leaning against a tree trunk.

“Is that why I feel electric currents over my skin when I touch you?” she asked.

“Yes. It is part of the mating heats pull that will soon overcome you?”

“Mating Heat?”

“The mating heat ensures that a female dragon will not reject or attack her mate. It occurs when a mature female meets her mate. I suppose it is to ensure that they reproduce at least once.” Eric said as he stood rubbing the slight 5 o’clock shadow that graced his chin.

Sky stared at him taking in his build. She gazed over his muscular arms and chest then down over his abs. His swimming shorts hung low on his hips. A chuckle brought her gaze back up before she could embarrass herself. His blue eyes were well framed by his strong features. She was unsure how she should truly feel in this situation. She was the mate of the man, sorry dragon shifter, whom she had been crushing on for 5 years.

“Isn’t it unfair that only the female goes through a mating heat?” she said to herself under her breath.

“Oh don’t worry. When the heat begins to drive you, you will produce pheromones that will pretty much drive me insane to.” Eric said. The look on his faced sent shivers down Sky’s spine causing Eric’s eyes to flash golden with lust.

Sky had a feeling the mating heat was going to hit her soon and she didn’t know if she was ready or even wanted to belong to Eric. Just another problem to add on top of the shadow creatures and their master.

 

 

Chapter 10

“I.. I want to go home for now.” Sky stuttered as she stared at the ground.

Eric’s heart sank. She couldn’t not when the shadow creatures knew where she lived.

“Please just let me go home. I’m tired and need to think.” As she looked up Eric noticed just how drawn and pale her face now looked and the fact her eyes were glazing over didn’t help.

“You’re not safe there anymore.” Rachel stated sadly as she approached her friends side. Silent tears began to run down Sky’s cheeks. She knew they were right but. It hurts. Where can I go?

“I’m sorry you have to go through this. You will come and stay with me back in our home world. ”

Fear lanced through Sky. Fear of change. Fear of leaving. Fear of just what would happen to her in the future. Sky began whining again which caused Rachel to grab her in a hug.

“SSHHHH. SSHHHH. It will be okay. Eric will take care of you. You are safest with him and just you remember that.” Rachel spoke gently trying to console her friend as she herself began to cry. She looked to Eric and saw the pained expression that covered his face. He wasn’t used to crying females and had no idea of how to comfort them. Eric himself began to whine indicating that his dragon side was upset that his mate was suffering such pain.

“It will be best you come with me as that way there will be lest pain should the mating heat take hold. Should we be separated when it takes hold you will be fighting a constant aroused state which if we don’t mate soon after it starts it becomes unbearable. I cannot explain it in detail as I tended to skip these lessons with my mother. And then I never got the chance to complete them before my mother was killed.” Sky looked up at his statement. She was reminded by that statement that she was not the only person who had lost something or someone important.

Sky looked at her friend who clung to her tears slowly running down her cheeks mirroring Sky herself. Sky tightened her hold on her before letting go and stepping away from Rachel. As Sky continued to stare at her friend she took a step towards Eric. Rachel gave a brief smile knowing her friend had chosen the correct path to follow.

Sky turned and walked straight to Eric stopping just in front of him and extending her hand out for him to take. Eric looked at his mate and caught the determined look that glinted in her tear reddened eyes before he reached out and caught her hand.

“I’ll see you two soon.” Rachel whispered into the breeze as she watched the couple head towards the portal on the cliff.

Chapter 11

 

Sky took deep breaths as she headed towards the cliff. She needed to calm down. Eric took a step down and turned his body towards Sky keeping a hold of her hand as he aided her to climb down the steps. She nervously followed ignoring the sparks that shot up her arm as she concentrated on her steep decline.

Once they reached the ledge half way down the cliff Eric let go of her hand and walked over to the tree where he placed his hand into a hollow. The air around them became heavy. Eric smiled at her before nodding in the direction of the cliff wall.

The cliff wall began to simmer and fall away to reveal a heavy wooden door. A gold dragon head graced the middle of the door. Eric walked over to Sky taking her hand before leading her towards the door. He reached out and twisted the dragons head round once one way, half the other and once the other way again before he stepped back. The door swung in the way revealing a large empty hallway as they walked through. As they walked through Sky looked back the way she came to be met by a wall. The hallway was decorated in red and gold. Flame like patterns covered the walls. A large window with a window seat was situated in the middle of the hall and another smaller window at the end of the hall revealing the roof of a house and tree tops. The hall continued to the right however Eric pulled Sky to a stop in front of one of the three doors on this section of the hall. The door opened into a study/ personal library. A large oak desk sat in the middle of the room with a big comfortable looking leather chair. The walls were lined with shelves full of books and a comfortable looking love seat was sat behind the desk and chair under the window. A grand fire place set dormant to the left of the desk.

Sky stood open mouthed as she marvelled at the room before her. Eric tugged on her hand leading her further into the room before he let go of her hand to close the door. Eric stood leaning back against the door as he watched Sky explore the room. She skimmed her finger tips over the spines of the books before she turned to the desk and placed her hand palm down on the surface. She then walked around the desk her hips swinging from side to side before she sat down on the love seat gazing out the window. Eric watched as Sky’s shoulders shook with her silent sobs.

Pushing away from the door Eric made his way around the desk and sat down beside her. Putting his arm around her he pulled her to his side. Sky offered no resistance and after a few minutes she turned her face into Eric’s still naked chest before she gave in to the over whelming emotions that swept over her.

 Eric continued to stroke the now sleeping Sky’s hair as the sun began to disappear over the horizon. Looking down as her pale stressed face he couldn’t help but lean down and kiss the furrowed lined that marred her forehead. The sleeping Sky mumbled in her sleep before rubbing her face against the thigh she was using as a pillow causing Eric to groan. He could stay like this much longer. If he did he would end up attacking her in her sleep.

Eric managed to shuffle himself off the love seat before turning and lifting the sleeping beauty who would soon be his. Walking towards the door he managed to open the door and walked down the hall to the door opposite the window seat. Once he managed to open it he walked forwards into his bedroom and towards his bed. He placed Sky down on the bed before covering her with the bedcovers. He then walked over to the windows and drew closed the heavy velvet curtains.

Walking back to the sleeping Sky he leaned down and kissed her on the lips unable to hold himself back. A low moan escaped her lips causing Eric to take in a sharp breath which made matters worse. It was starting. The air in the room was filling with pheromones. Eric stood up and forced himself to leave the room. His mate needed time to rest and come to terms with her situation. However fate decided to be cruel and push mating upon her. When she awoke there would be no way to stop what would occur whether she was ready or not.

 

**Sorry for the delay. I am struggling to find time to write with my job and other comitments. I will try and update as much as possible.

Chapter 12

 

Sky woke up sweaty still fully dressed and tangled up in the sheets that covered her. A slow but steady burning sensation filled her lower abdomen as she unwrapped herself from the sweat soaked sheets. She looked around to find herself sitting on a large four poster bed in a spacious room with a red and gold colour scheme. A very appealing smell also clung to the room. A smell she was beginning to become accustomed and drawn to.

Sat on the bed side table sat a steaming cup of green liquid with a note beside it.

 

Please drink. It will help put off the heat and discomfort for a while.

 

 

Sky gulped as she remembered what Eric had said just hours before. Sky picked up the cup whilst holding her breath not wanting to be put off. As the vile looking green liquid touched the back of her throat it became apparent that it had no actual taste it just seemed to cool her throat and slowly the rest of her body cooled down.

   Sky stood from the bed and walked towards one of the three doors within the room before opening it which reviled a large walk in wardrobe full of male clothing. Closing the door she walked to the next which opened to revile a large bathroom. The floor was made from black and white marble a large sunken bathtub in the middle of the room, the toilet and sink on the left of the room and a large glass shower cubicle on the right of the room next to a large towel rack where large white fluffy towels were neatly folded.

Sky stripped off her clothing and jumped into the shower where she fiddled around with the nobs trying to get it to the correct temperature. The warm water caressed her body as she searched for shampoo. Finding none she resorted to using shower gel.

 

Eric woke in his study to the sound of running water from his bathroom. He stood up from his armchair and stretched trying to rid himself of the cramp in his back and shoulders. As he sniffed the air it was apparent that Sky was the one in his shower. Just that thought had him visualising the water running over her pale naked skin. Her wet hair clinging to her back as the water ran down the strands , then down her lover back to her ……

Eric shook his head he needed to give her time. But from the pheromones that she was still producing it would not be long. He needed to allow her to decide if she truly wished to be his but he had a feeling that he would and could make her want him. Which he could in a physical sense but not in the emotional sense.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.07.2014

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