Fire and Opals (Beasts of the UK)

Chapter Four

Wren

I could smell her.

The scent of her skin and hair filled the confines of the car , and it was making my dragon go crazy. Even with the windows rolled down I could still taste her. Sweet and tantalising on my tongue.

Every part of my being wanted to pull the car over and lick a long trail down her throat. I wanted to see if she tasted the same as she had when we were younger.

“Can you please close the windows.” Her voice was the same, girly , sweet and timid. A god damn timid princess. The years had obviously not given her a backbone. I just hoped she had had someone to protect her. Her mate , the one she had picked over me had been dead many years.

“No.” I snapped it at her and she flinched back. Huddling into the corner of the seat s if she thought I would hit her. There was real fear in her eyes.

I was a total douche.

Glancing out of the corner of my eye at her I frowned. She was shivering as the wind and rain pounded through the open window. Actually shivering.

“What’s going on with you Opal?” I was perplexed. Her dragon should be keeping her warm and yet she was shaking so much her teeth were chattering.

Sniffing the air I let my mind wander. Trying to find hers.

And I found nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

“I’m just cold. I’m barely wearing underwear.”

“I noticed.” I couldn’t keep the longing out of my voice. She was like the sun, if I looked to closely I would go blind. Not that it mattered, the image of her in her tiny dancing clothes was already burned into my retinas. “Here.” Keeping the steering wheel steady with my knees I shrugged out of my jacket , tossing it into her lap. I didn’t watch her as she wrapped it around her.

“You could have just closed the windows a little bit.”

“No I couldn’t Opal.”

She blinked up at me in puzzlement and I let my eyes slide to her. I couldn’t help the sad smile that pulled at the corners of my mouth.

Realisation washed over her face. “Oh.”

“Yeah oh.” My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel so tight it groaned.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise .. it’s been so long I thought it would have faded…”

Faded? Only because the love she felt for me had disappeared the moment she had a better offer didn’t mean my feelings for her had changed. She was meant for me. The man in me and the dragon were in total agreement about that. We had known it the moment we had seen her walking across the cobbled courtyard after her father. I had thought she was human then, not that it had mattered. We had known instantly.

She was our mate.

Opal herself was the one that had rejected us. Even after everything we had done to protect her from the others , as soon as a better offer and along she had left and never looked back.

I had never stopped looking back, I had never taken another mate. And I had never stopped loving her.

My Opal.

“It doesn’t matter..” I shook it all away. It wouldn’t do for her to read my mind. I couldn’t stand to see the pity in her eyes.

“Yes it does, I’ve never forgotten you Wren or what we had…”

I cut her off. It was hard enough being this close to her, I wouldn’t be able to handle it if she started reminiscing about the good old days.

I had a job to do.

I wasn’t here for a trip down painful memory lane.

“Go to sleep Opal,” I barked the order at her. “We have a long drive ahead of us and I would rather do t without your incessant chatting in my ear.”

She was asleep within minutes. And I got the chance to study her as she snored softly .

God I loved her.

Even now after all these years the pain of her rejection was like a flaming knife in my heart. My eyes lingered on her half parted lips. Lips I kissed a thousand times, that I had dreamt of kissing a million times more.

It was only then that I noticed how slim she was. How washed our her skin looked under the thickly applied make up. Now she had always been a slip of a girl with the creamiest skin imaginable. But this was different.

Opal looked sick. She hid it well but I knew every inch of her. She couldn’t hide it from me.

The months on the run had not been kind to her. Instinctively my dragon raised his head. His protective instincts kicking in. Demanding that we look after her.

“Go back to sleep.” I mumbled it to him in the silent car, what did he think we could do? She wasn’t ours to look after any more. She had made that perfectly clear all those years ago when she had rejected us.

Reaching out a hand I pulled my jacket up under her chin, making sure my fingers didn’t touch her skin. There was no warmth coming from her. She was as cold as ice.

Something was really wrong with her. Letting my mind clear I searched for her. And again I felt nothing.

Where was her dragon?

Opal cried out in her sleep. And my hand went to smooth back her hair where it had stuck to her damp cheek. She was crying in her sleep. Her face twisted in misery.

“It’s ok.” I whispered it to her. The sight of her in so much pain wrenching my gut. “It’s ok Opal, I got you.”

I had said similar words before, many many years ago. I had always been there back then when she needed me.

But I couldn’t be there for her now. The sooner I got her to the resistance the better. Being around her was too hard.

Turning away from her I kept my eyes on the dark road as the car ate up the miles. I had to keep my eyes out there and not on the woman sleeping next to me. It was safer that way. The darkness was safer , it was better than letting her light swallow up my heart again.

As soon as I got her to Anton and resistance I would put her behind me forever. I would actively seek out a mate of my own. I wanted a mate. A mate like Amelia or Hannah. Someone beautiful and strong who I could cherish forever.

It was time to let go of Opal.

And move on.

As soon as she was safe.