Forever Rowan Read online

  Chapter Nine

  Aidan slid his hand up and down her tummy, across her breasts. Her nipples tightened immediately with his touch. He continued to stroke her, watching her shoulder to make sure the bleeding had stopped. When he kissed her he’d tasted his blood on her tongue and almost lost it again. She bit as well as any female dragon; she’d marked him well. His body seethed with the desire to wed her in front of his clan and lay claim to her in a very public way. No man would even try and sniff in her direction again without being reminded who her mate was.

  “Sit up, Rowan,” he told her gently as he stood and grabbed one of the ripped-up t-shirts they’d been using. Tearing a strip off with his teeth, he returned to her side, hugging her tightly.

  He ran his hands through the tangle that had become her hair. Dividing it, he smoothed out a large chunk near her temple.

  “Rowan, I ask to weave your marriage braid. May I have this honor, wife?”

  She placed her smaller hand in his larger one, “I would love for you to.”

  He kissed her soundly on the mouth, moving his tongue in and out until he felt his cock rise again.

  Taking the chunk of hair, he divided it into three parts and started to weave the braid. As he began the age-old ritual he taught her his family line. Now that she was his wife she would learn all about Dragon lore. It was important since she was human and didn’t know much about their traditions and histories. Their children would be taught their heritage by both parents.

  He wanted to be home with his family. He ached with it--all this time he’d foolishly missed them. Now he had Rowan and she would help him bridge that gap. She and Erin. When his parents discovered their only daughter was alive and well, the celebration was going to be momentous. What a party that would be, a wedding and the return of a lost one.

  “You’re going to need to teach me to sing those songs of yours when we have kids.” Rowan’s sweet little whisper froze his fingers. That day would arrive much sooner than she expected. Even now her scent was almost completely changed. The Dragon hormones were embedded in her body, changing her DNA structure in order for her to carry their young.

  Damn, he’d finished the braid. Swearing oaths and sacred sayings with each fold of her hair. He tied off the small end. She was lovely and they were going repeat this ritual at the proper time and place. In a church, with his family’s priest.

  He wasn’t about to start keeping secrets from her--even now when it was most dangerous. He settled in behind her, his legs cocooning hers. He wrapped his arms around her middle and spoke softly in her ear.

  “Rowan, you carry our child now.”

  “What?”

  He shushed her, splayed his had wide across her belly where their child lay.

  “I said that you are pregnant with our baby.”

  He felt her body tremble and held her even tighter.

  “How? How could you possibly know?”

  Kissing her neck gently he continued in a whisper. “Your scent has changed. Your body has accepted my DNA and is now preparing you to have enough of the right nutrients to feed the baby as it grows inside of you.”

  Rowan wrapped her hand around his. “We can’t let my father know.” Pure panic filled her voice.

  “I am aware. I think that is why your doctor friend is helping us escape. He knows you’re having a baby and doesn’t want your father to know.”

  “He can’t ever know. I will die before I allow him to have our child.”

  He bit lightly at her neck. “Don’t ever say that again. You are not allowed to die. No matter what, our child will be born into this world.”

  *

  What should have been tears of joy were instead tears of dread and terror as Rowan deflated against Aidan. She was having his baby. She was stuck in this fucking prison. They needed to get out and soon. Her father would never get his hands on her child.

  If Erin wasn’t willing to come with them then Rowan would have to leave her here. And oh God! Would Aidan leave Erin behind knowing she was his sister?

  “Aidan, what if Erin won’t come with us?” His body stiffened and she sighed. He wasn’t going to leave without the youngest Stone daughter.

  “You will leave here when the time is right and not look back. I will find Erin and get out of here.”

  “Damn you, Aidan. Don’t do this. I... no, we need you,” she cried, pressing her hand into his.

  “Mate, I can’t leave a member of my clan. No dragon would abandon another.”

  “So you’ll take the chance of getting killed rather than retreating and trying again another time.”

  Aidan’s deep sigh tore at her tender heart. “There will be no other time, and you know it. Once we get out of here your father will take Erin into hiding. This is my only chance to get her out and away from him. But I promise you that I will not fail. I will come to you and our baby. Trust me, please.”

  Those three simple words defeated her. She trusted her man completely, without reservation. How could she ask him to leave his flesh and blood? If she wasn’t carrying a child she would be saying the very same thing. Erin was her sister as well.

  She turned sideways and pressed into his chest. Through tears she spoke. “I do trust you. I will wait for you, but you have to come back to me. I don’t think I can make it without you.”

  His finger pushed her chin up, and she looked into his baby blues. ”I promise I will always come back to you.”

  * * * *

  They spent the next few hours planning their escape, miraculously guard free. Apparently Stone was giving him plenty of time and privacy to impregnate Rowan.

  Aidan figured their best chance would be when Jordan next came to take a sample from Rowan. With his Dragon free he could easily overpower the guards. He’d get Rowan and the doctor to safety and come back in the confusion for Erin.

  As he held a sleeping Rowan in his arms, he rubbed her belly. The idea of his child growing in her womb made him proud and scared at the same time.

  He did something he hadn’t done in twenty years. He went into the bathroom. Stripping down to nothing, he dropped to his knees. They touched the cold concrete floor but he felt none of it as he sat back on his feet. Bringing his arms up in the air, he began a quiet chant in his language. The deep melodic rhythm overtook his body, and he squatted there for hours praying to the Great Dragon for help. Thanking him for the return of his sister, and the conception of his child. He asked over and over that his offspring and mate live through this nightmare. And he begged forgiveness for walking away from his community, his clan and his family.

  * * * *

  They awoke, wrapped in each other’s arms, to the familiar clang of their prison door opening. Aidan hated the sound of that damn door opening. He never knew if it meant they were going to live or die. His eyes widened in shock as Erin appeared in the doorway to the bedroom along with Jordan.

  He slowly let go of Rowan and rose from the bed. He strode to the woman who was his sister wearing only a pair of sweat pants. He was amazed as he laid eyes on her for the first time. Their likeness was striking, beginning with the identical color of their hair. Both were tall and athletic. Erin looked as dumbfounded as he felt

  He reached for her, but she stepped away and behind Jordan. “Stay away, Dragon,” she snarled. Her pale blue-grey eyes were rimmed with tears and her hands were shaking. Erin recognized him; she knew he was her real family. But the influence from William Stone was imbedded deeply within the young woman.

  He wanted to embrace her, tell her he was sorry for not protecting her, but he wouldn’t. She was frozen with fear and he realized he couldn’t push her.

  “Get up. We only have a few minutes,” she instructed.

  “Erin, what are you doing?” Rowan asked as she went to her sister. The younger woman allowed Rowan to hug her briefly.

  “Jordan told me the truth, showed me my medical records. He also told me about the baby. I can’t live with myself if I let Daddy hurt you any further.”
Her tears started to drop.

  “Erin, it’s okay. We didn’t know, none of us did.”

  Her comfort fell on deaf ears. Aidan watched Erin ease away from Rowan before she looked at Aidan, not quite meeting eyes that mirrored her own.

  “Jordan contacted Jenna. Your friends will be here in the next five minutes to ensure your escape. He also drugged the guards watching the security cameras. You’ll have five minutes to navigate the maze down here. I drew this map. Father had another outside entrance built after Jenna left. He was afraid she would go to the authorities and that the compound might be raided.”

  Rowan took the map from Erin and passed it to Aidan. “He wanted to be able to get rid of any prisoners or experiments he had going on in here, didn’t he?”

  Erin only nodded and stepped back behind Jordan.

  “How many prisoners are left?” Aidan asked, his voice hoarse from holding in his emotions. His sister hated him as much today as she had before. The fact he was her true family made no difference and it saddened him. There was no way in hell he was leaving her here to be poisoned further.

  Erin shrugged her shoulders in response to his question.

  “Rowan stays behind me. If they try and dart me again I want you out of the way.”

  “That won’t work this time,” Erin spoke up. “Someone from your side of town betrayed you. She drugged you with a formula that slowed down your ability to change. We were able to shoot you with a paralytic and heavy sedative before your skin hardened.”

  He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Betrayed by someone he knew. Impossible. No one he knew would be in league with William Stone.

  “Who?” He roared as he felt the change start.

  “I don’t know. Father wouldn’t say who.”

  He didn’t know if he believed his little sister, but right now he wasn’t going to pursue the issue. It made no difference in the here and now. As soon as they escaped, however, he’d be on the hunt.

  His eyes closed as he felt the familiar rush of magic light its way from his head to toes. To the outsider his appearance wasn’t all that different. His skin had a bluish tint to it and the change in shape and color of his eyes. Microscopic scales infused with derma, and his muscle strength increased a thousand fold.

  Best of all, his magic was free. He felt the electrical current at his fingertips and closed his fists. He normally had no trouble controlling the powerful magic. Having been suppressed, even this short amount of time, was going to make it much harder to deal with.

  “You three stay behind me.” He kissed Rowan gently. “I love you.” He looked at the map and headed out the door.

  They passed the sleeping guards as made their way down a long hallway.

  Passing through several doors, they went to a spiral staircase leading further down into the bowels of the compound.

  With his vision in Dragon mode, he needed no bright source of light, which was a good thing because they entered a dank moldy room. There were other smells, but the musty air was so heavy he wasn’t able to distinguish the odors until it was too late.

  *

  Rowan cried out as the room was suddenly bathed in bright light. Standing in front of them was William Stone, surrounded by several heavily armed men. Their guns were pointing not at Aidan, but at Rowan and her sister.

  Erin gasped. “Father, I thought you were called to Washington D.C”

  He gave his daughter a pitying expression, “No, dear. I was testing to see if my last child would be faithful to her father and his cause. I know Rowan told you where you came from. I have ears everywhere.”

  Rowan’s stomach sank; he’d set a trap for them. And now they were all going to die. The look in her father’s eyes told the story of his insanity. There was no longer an inkling of breathing, feeling human being. No, he was a husk of pure hate; she had never been so terrified.

  “If you move, Dragon, if you so much as flinch, I will kill your mate and your child.” Stone moved closer. Rowan watched as Aidan closed his fists tightly, a growl spilling from his mouth.

  Her hands automatically went to her stomach.

  “And you,” William pointed at Jordan. “I should have realized you were weak. Always so weak. Why do you think I killed your handsome young lover?” William smiled as Jordan’s face turned a ghastly grey. “That’s right, Jordan. You were too drunk. I was the one who went in and slit his treacherous throat. I only allowed you to think of yourself as a murderer because I needed your expertise in my lab.”

  Stone whipped out another pistol. “I wanted you to be my son. But no, you turned out to be weaker than my daughters.” The sound the pistol made firing echoed through the room.

  Rowan screamed and dropped to her knees. Jordan fell to the floor, the bullet piercing his stomach. His dark eyes moved to her, tears brimming the edges. They both knew he wasn’t going to live long.

  “I’m sorry, Rowan.”

  “Shh...don’t try to talk, Jordan. Please just rest. Save your strength.”

  Three things happened at once, Erin leapt toward her father, grappling with him for one of the guns. She managed to get him to the floor. The wall behind the guards burst open, shooting rock and earth everywhere. Rowan watched in horror as Aidan flung his head back and roared, the sound shaking the room, knocking several guards down.

  In through the blown-out wall came five men dressed in black and as big as mountains. Two were vampires; she recognized them when their mouths opened on the necks of two of the nearest guards. They bit hard, ripping out the throat of the unsuspecting men faster than they could register pain. Another male, taller than the rest, came through the crowd. He stood next to Aidan and together they shouted for everyone to get down. Then lightning poured from their fingertips, striking more guards as bullets flew through the air.

  William managed to free himself from Erin and was on his knees next to Rowan. “One last present for you, my daughter, I pray you burn in hell,” he spat before plunging a needle into her thigh.

  Her world fell away as her body became numb. She fell on her side, her eyes wide open, watching the carnage all around her. It was hard to breathe, where was Aidan? She needed to see his face once more before she died. Her hand was frozen against her tummy and her last thought was of the baby that would never be.

  Chapter Ten

  The room was clear. Many of Stone’s men lay dead, either from the vamps or from the lightning strikes.

  Aidan turned, looking for Rowan, and his heart dropped as he saw her lying next to a still-bleeding Jordan. The injured man tried to get up and check Rowan’s pulse.

  He rushed to her side, saw the needle stuck into her leg. Pulling it out, he sniffed, trying to see what she’d been injected with.

  “Oh Great Mother, NO!” he shouted as he recognized the poison that had entered his mate’s body. Black dragon blood. The toxic substance was released only when a black dragon was killed violently. Their body’s last act of revenge was to poison their killer if they were near the body.

  The cure was rare, and he didn’t know of a case where a human survived.

  “Aidan, what is it?”

  “Black dragon blood, sire.” he said as the Dragon Prince knelt next to him.

  “We have to move fast then. Come, let’s get her out of here.”

  The King’s soothing Irish lilt pushed Aidan into action as he picked up his wife, cradling her close.

  “We can’t leave him.” Erin cried out behind him. Aidan turned. She was sitting with Jordan, her hand pressed against his bloody wound. The man was clearly near death, but he would honor his sister’s wishes.

  “Take him, he helped us to escape,” Aidan ordered. Sebastian raced past him and scooped the other man into his arms.

  *

  Bas wanted to scream as he watched the blood oozing from Jordan’s stomach.

  Erin stopped him. “You do what ever you have to, to save him. He deserves better.” Sebastian looked down at the other man and felt his head ready to expl
ode. The injury was too bad. There was only one way to save him now.

  “Whatever it takes, vampire,” she said. Bas looked from her determined gaze back down to Jordan’s glassy one. He squeezed the man as he raised him in his arms to get a better hold.

  “Promise me you will save him?” Erin begged as her hand clenched Bas’s elbow.

  Bas swallowed back the lump threatening to choke the air from him. “He will not die.” Her eyes widened as Bas felt his own turn to flame. He ran from the room, holding onto Jordan, his own heart ready to burst from his chest. You won’t die this night or any.

  *

  Erin started to make her way back into the compound.

  “Where do you think you’re going, little lady?” she looked up and up and up. This was an accomplishment for a woman of her considerable height. The male model standing before her was stunning. Long black hair was pulled back into the same kind of braid Aidan wore. His skin was pale and his eyes a lightning blue, so stunning they begged for a closer look. His Black Irish heritage was written across his finely sculpted face, cheekbones, nose and, full lips. Erin was shocked into complete silence. He looked her up and down and the spell was broken.

  “I’m going back. Someone has to kill my father.”

  He kicked up a wicked grin that stole Erin’s breath. “And you plan on doing this suicide mission yourself, darlin’?”

  “Yes, I do. I can’t live with what I’ve done.” And she couldn’t. If she didn’t set things right her life would come crashing down around her. She wasn’t ready to face the guilt of the life she’d lived.

  “That’s not a smart option right now. We need to leave. Regroup and talk about where to go next. Your sister must be taken care or first.”

  “You’re not my boss and you can go to hell.” Erin tried to walk around him when he grabbed her arm, not allowing her to move. Damn he was strong.