Chapter Two
Damsel in Distress
Of all the ways she could possibly die, falling out of the sky hadn’t been among Nora’s top three.
At least, until now.
The wind howled in her ears, cold biting at her skin through her clothes as she plummeted faster toward the ground.
Her vision spun and her mind worked tirelessly, trying to break through the panic that gripped her and come up with a levitation spell or a new portal—anything to keep her from breaking every last bone in her body upon impact.
I’m going to die!
And to think she’d been worried about the hunter finding her. She was going to die simply because she hadn’t been careful enough to open a portal on the ground. In mere seconds, she’d be a splatter on the earth. In seconds, she would—
A large, dark shape appeared in the corner of her vision. A second later, something wrapped around her middle, plucking her out of the air before she could meet her doom.
A gasp escaped Nora’s throat. She wasn’t falling anymore.
She was...hovering. The ground was barely five feet below now, the wet blades of grass seeming to beckon to her.
She caught sight of a gigantic, winged shadow on the ground.
A heavy swooping sound filled her ears, and for the briefest of moments she entertained the insane possibility that she’d somehow been saved from certain death by some kind of angel.
But it wasn’t arms that were wrapped around her middle. Large taloned claws secured her in place, just tightly enough that she wasn’t harmed. When she looked up, she almost couldn’t see anything, but she made out a pair of leathery wings, horns...and red scales.
Dragon scales.
The beast’s claws opened suddenly, and with a yelp she fell, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet. With a groan, Nora picked herself up, examining her body for injuries. There were none. She was completely unhurt.
With a heavy thud, the dragon landed before her, tucking its wings.
It towered over her, its massive head and body almost completely blotting out the sky.
The beast eyed her for a moment, as though contemplating between sparing her life and setting her ablaze, and Nora raised her hands, preparing to defend herself if the need arose.
She’d never had to fight a dragon before, but it would take a little more than fire to take her out.
But the dragon didn’t attack. As she watched, heart sputtering in her chest, the creature began to shrink, the scales receding into flesh. Within seconds, the dragon was gone. In its place stood a man, naked from head to toe, a slight frown on his face.
“I’m no meteorologist,” he remarked, his deep voice surprisingly even, “but people don’t usually fall out of the sky on a random Saturday morning.”
The man was almost a foot taller than she was, with long, dark hair and even darker eyes, his jaw covered in stubble. He had broad shoulders and a thick chest, veins crisscrossing his large arms. Nora couldn’t help letting her gaze skim over the contours of his abs, all the way down to his...
With a gulp, she averted her gaze, heat rushing into her face, and found him still staring at her.
“Uh, s-sorry,” she stammered. “I mean, thank you. For saving me. You’re a dragon shifter?”
“And you’re clearly not human. What are you, a witch? A shifter? Fae? You don’t look like you’re fae.”
I’m a hybrid, Nora hesitated to say. Instead, she told him, “Yeah, I’m a witch.”
It was his turn to give her a once-over, and she couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious as his dark gaze swept over her. Her breathing quickened, her heart thumping in her chest. And why the heck were her nipples standing at attention?
The man’s gaze lingered on her chest for a second too long, and it dawned on her that her hardened nipples must be quite visible through her wet clothes.
Her face burning, she folded her arms across her chest, trying to ignore the heat that had suddenly flared up in her gut and was working its way through her body.
She looked away for a moment, taking in her new surroundings.
A house and a couple of barns. The portal had brought her to some kind of ranch.
Only there weren’t any cowboys in sight.
A red truck sat parked a couple dozen feet away, loaded with boxes and equipment.
No doubt, they belonged to this man, whoever he was.
Was he headed somewhere?
Certainly not looking like that, she thought, daring for a second to glance at his nude body again. Were all the men in this town this muscular and endowed, or was he simply an outlier? She swallowed again.
“Who are you?” The words were out of her mouth the next moment. “And where am I? This is Sylva, right?”
“I think I’ll ask the questions for now, sweetheart,” he said. “Care to explain to me how you just happened to appear out of thin air? Or who you are?”
“I...” She looked around again, and a nearby sign caught her eye: Green Sanctuary Wildlife Rescue. Her spell had worked a little too literally. The portal had brought her to an animal sanctuary.
But maybe this dragon shifter could help her.
“Well?” the shifter prompted.
“I’m Nora,” she said. It dawned on her that this was the first proper conversation she’d had in a while. She hadn’t really spoken to anyone since she took off from the coven gathering. “Nora Parker. I’m not from this town.”
“Yeah, no shit.” He moved toward the truck and pulled out a set of clothes from the passenger seat, and she tried not to stare at him as he dressed. “I’m guessing you teleported yourself into Sylva—or whatever it is you witches do.”
“I came through a portal, actually.” Not that the difference mattered much right now. “And thank you again for saving my life. I came here because I need help. I need...sanctuary.” Okay, that sounded almost funny now that she’d said it to him.
Clearly, he thought the same thing, because the corner of his mouth turned upward, and he cast a sideways glance at the sign before asking, “Sanctuary? From what?”
“Not what. Who. I...” She faltered for a second, watching his abs flex slightly as he tugged his T-shirt on. “I’m being hunted.”
She looked around again, scanning the environment just in case the hunter had found her again.
He was nowhere in sight, but it was only a matter of time.
She might’ve portaled herself hundreds of miles away, but the distance was merely a slight inconvenience for him.
He would find her again. And when he did, she’d better have a plan to defend herself, or else.
He took a step toward her, his eyes boring into hers. Even fully clothed, he was still a sight to behold. Between his handsome face and his broad physique, it was hard to take her eyes off him. Reminding herself to breathe properly, she went on.
“I used to belong to a coven,” she said. “But now, they’re trying to kill me.”
She’d been born into the Circle of Moonshade as a matter of fact, though not officially.
Her mother, Eudora, had been one of the founding members of the coven.
You’d think that was reason enough for her to get the respect she deserved, but the other coven members had turned on Eudora after she fell in love with a wolf shifter, years before Nora was born.
She’d broken one of their rules, they claimed.
Frankly, that had all been a load of bullcrap. But the problems hadn’t ended there.
Nora’s father hadn’t stuck around much longer after her birth.
Heartbroken and despised by the rest of her coven, Eudora had raised her child on her own, trying as hard as she could to initiate Nora into the coven.
But the Circle of Moonshade hadn’t particularly taken kindly to the idea of letting a hybrid into their midst.
It was bad enough that Eudora had broken their rules and gotten involved with a wolf shifter.
Hybrids between supernaturals were uncommon, and rarely did anyone like them.
According to the other witches, her presence in the Circle of Moonshade would be a desecration of its values, at the very least.
It had taken years of persuasion for Nora to finally get initiated into the coven. And even then, especially after her mother’s passing, she’d been treated with silent disdain by many of the other members, most of all Isobel, the coven’s leader.
Looking back on it now, maybe dating Isobel’s son hadn’t been her brightest move.
But that couldn’t possibly be the reason the coven leader had sent the hunter after her, could it? No, it had to have had something to do with that dead witch.
A shudder traveled through her body. Suppressing the memory before it could take root in her mind, she faced the dragon shifter.
“I’ve been on the run for over a month. But I don’t know if I can keep running for much longer.
Nothing I do stops him. I’ve relied on my magic more in the past few weeks than I ever have in my entire life, and he’s still coming after me.
I need help. Will you...will you help me? ”
The man regarded her for a few seconds. Nora wondered what was going through that head of his.
He certainly didn’t think she was crazy.
To an average human, her story would’ve been enough to land her in a padded cell with a straitjacket, but this man wasn’t even human.
Not to mention he’d just seen her fall out of the sky.
“No,” he said.
Nora blinked at him. In all honesty, she hadn’t been expecting an outright yes, but hearing his response was even more surprising.
“Wh...why not?” she wanted to know.
“It’s not in my job description. I’m an animal rescuer. This is an animal sanctuary. Besides, you’re a witch. I’m sure you can handle yourself.”
With that, he turned his back to her and began walking toward the truck. Panic seared through Nora’s gut.
“Wait!” She ran after him, grabbing his arm and pulling him around to face her. “I’ve seen what you can do. You’re a dragon shifter. I’m sure you can protect me. I—”
“Look, lady, I’m not exactly having the most pleasant morning here, okay? I’ve got a fair to attend and five grand to make before the end of today. The last thing I need is to be sucked into whatever damsel-in-distress situation you’ve got going on.”
Nora bit her lower lip. She supposed his was a fair enough response.
It wasn’t like she could just expect him to drop everything and jump at her plea for help.
Still, she couldn’t keep running forever.
She needed all the protection she could get.
When was the last time she’d gotten a good night’s rest?
She’d spent so long looking over her shoulder as she scampered to survive, expecting the hunter to appear out of nowhere.
One could only experience so many near-death situations before it got exhausting.
“Please.” She closed the distance between them, half-aware that she was still gripping his rigid bicep. Her eyes searched his face. “I really need your help. I...I’ll help you with whatever you want.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You think you can conjure up five grand with that magic of yours?”
Nora shook her head. It wasn’t technically impossible, but she’d never used her magic for monetary gain. Mostly because she’d never really had to. She’d worked multiple jobs over the past two decades, moving from diner to restaurant to local bar.
“No,” she said. “But there’s got to be some other way I can help you.” She hadn’t figured she’d have to barter for her safety, but if that was what it took to save her skin, so be it.
Those dark eyes studied her again, as if trying to determine whether she was worth the hassle. Then she saw his jaw clench.
“Fine,” he said.
“Oh, thank you so—”
“On one condition.”
Nora blinked at him. “What’s that?” He wasn’t going to ask her to pay with her body, would he? She’d met men like that over the years, and it hadn’t ended very well for them. Not that she’d necessarily object to getting in bed with this particular man.
“I need someone to come with me to the town fair. I plan to make five thousand dollars before the day ends. If you want my help, you’ll have to come with me. You’ll be my assistant.”
She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath. She let out a relieved sigh. “That’s all?”
“It’s not going to be easy. The fair is crowded. And noisy.”
That sounded like an acceptable price to pay. Although she couldn’t help wondering just how safe she’d be hiding out in the open. What were the odds that he wouldn’t find her again? And what would happen when he did? She pressed her lips together, trying to suppress her doubt.
It’ll be fine, she told herself. He’ll protect you.
As if reading her thoughts, the dragon shifter said, “You’re going to be okay. I’m sure I’ve dealt with worse than whoever’s after you.”
She flashed him a smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m Henry, by the way. Henry Hilton.” He moved over to his truck. “Why don’t you hop in with me? We’ve got a fair to attend and a long day ahead of us.”