The Dragon King's Dark Angel

4 - Genevieve Awakens

Genevieve

    For the first time in what felt like days, I felt the heaviness keeping my eyelids down start to lift.  Slowly my eyelids began to flutter open, but they immediately snapped back shut in response to the bright light that nearly blinded me.

    After a few seconds, I forced my eyelids to open again, then I blinked them several times to get them to adjust to the light.  Once they finally focused, the first thing I noticed was a large man sitting in a chair beside my bed.  His head was tilted to the side, and he was clearly sleeping.

    He looked rugged and worse for wear.  Not to mention, angry and menacing, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him.  Something in my heart told me he was friend not foe.  Plus, I could only assume that he was the one who saved me from the torture of King Gideon and his army of brutes.

    The man was attractive with his long, shiny, black hair and his neatly trimmed mustache that came down and connected to a goatee.  I assumed he kept the goatee to hide the cleft chin that was clearly prominent on him. 

    I couldn't see his eyes, but he had perfectly sculpted eyebrows and thick eyelashes that fanned out in front of his closed eyes.  He had a chiseled jawline and full lips that for some reason, I found myself wanting to kiss.

        He was wearing a pair of jeans that had holes in the knees with a black t-shirt that had a skull on the front of it.  There was nothing covering his feet, but there was a nice, plush looking pair of slippers beside the chair.

    After I spent about five minutes admiring the attractive man sleeping near me, I looked around and realized I wasn't at a hospital like I thought.  Instead, I appeared to be lying on a huge, king sized bed.  I could only assume I was in the attractive man's bed, and that immediately sent fear coursing through me.

    At that point, I didn't even bother looking around at the rest of the room.  All I could think was that I had to get out of there before the man woke-up and took advantage of me like all of those other horrible men did to me.

    With urgency, I ripped the pads off of my chest, and that caused the beeping to turn into an annoying, constant sound.  The man immediately started stirring, and that sent my fear soaring to a whole new level.

    I kicked the blanket off of me, then I scrambled off the bed on the opposite side from where the man was sitting.  However, my legs didn't want to work correctly.  I started stumbling with each step I attempted to take and eventually fell to the floor with a loud thud.

    Instantly, I groaned in pain, then I remembered why I was trying to get away.  With my emotions stemming my actions, I started wildly flapping my wings.  As soon as my body lifted off the floor, I flew toward the nearest door.

    I got halfway to it, when I heard a commotion behind me.  A second later, fingers wrapped around my ankle causing my skin to tingle, then I was pulled down into the arms of the attractive man.

    I glanced up at the man's ice blue eyes, then I screamed at the top of my lungs while flailing my arms and legs.  Without a word, the man walked to the bed, then he dropped me onto it.  

    Right away, I tried to crawl to the other side, but he immediately grabbed my ankle and pulled me back to the other side, as he authoritatively demanded, "Angel, stop resisting me.  I'm not gonna hurt you."

    It was the same voice that I heard begging me to wake-up when I couldn't get my eyes to open.  Not only that, my ankle was tingling again, and I didn't know why, but it was causing me to worry even more.

    I couldn't take his words as being honest, so I used my other foot to kick the hand that was restraining my ankle, then I scrambled off the bed again.  This time my legs worked a little better for me, and I didn't waste any time running to the other door on the opposite side of the room.

    As soon as I flung the door open, bright sunlight surrounded me, but I couldn't take the time to enjoy it.  At the moment, my top priority was getting away from this man and returning to the underground where I obviously belonged.

    I heard the man's footsteps quickly getting closer, so I ran to the ledge of the large balcony, then I jumped over it.  Before I hit the ground, I started flapping my wings so I could fly to safety.  

    However, the man had other plans for me.  The next thing I knew, a large shadow loomed above me, then a large claw wrapped around the middle of my body.

    I thrashed and flailed my body trying to get out of the grasp of this large creature, but my attempts were futile.  I was taken back to the balcony, then the creature threw me across the room.  Luckily, I landed on the large, soft bed, so no new injuries were inflicted on me.

    Right away, I sat up and looked toward the open door to see a stunning, blue dragon standing at the door and blocking me from being able to escape that way.  Thinking there was no way that dragon could stop me from leaving through the other door, I jumped off the bed and sprinted toward it.

    Just as my fingers touched the door knob, a set of strong, muscular arms wrapped around my waist from behind me, then I was roughly pulled against a man's body.  My wings were still injured and using them to fly already had them aching, so you can imagine how painful it was to be held against him.

    With the fear and anguish I was feeling evident in my voice, I shouted for anybody to hear me, "Please, help me!  Anybody!  Please, let me go!"

    The man's arms tightened even more around me, then I felt his lips brush against my ear before he endearingly murmured, "My beautiful dark angel, why would you want to leave me so soon!  I rescued you and brought you back to my home where you will always be safe to live your life as you are!"

    "I'm not yours!" I vehemently snarled remembering the many times those savage men called me that exact pet name.

    "Please, don't leave me, mate!  I have waited so long to find you, I can't let you go now!" he pleaded while rubbing his cheek against mine.

    Again, he was making my skin tingle, and it was completely freaking me out while also making my insides feel all warm and tingly.  My curiosity was getting the best of me and I ended up asking, "Why is my skin tingling?"

    The man chuckled next to my ear, and there was no stopping the chill that ran down my spine making my entire body tremble.  A second later, he calmly answered, "It's the mate bond, my love!  That's how I know for sure that you are, without a doubt, my fated mate!"

    "What is this mate that you speak of?" I warily asked, as I trailed the tip of my pointer finger over his arm.  The tingling almost felt like a spark when I used my fingertip, and that was a strange thing to experience.

    "The Divine Goddess of Creation fated us to be together by giving us a special mate bond.  That is her way of saying that there is nobody else out there who is more compatible for me than you," the man quickly explained.

    "Who are you?" I breathed out, as his warm breath fanned across the crook of my neck and shoulder making me feel things I'd never in my life felt before then.

    "I am your mate," the man replied with another chuckle that pulled at my heart, then he better explained, "My name is Atreyu Castello.  King Atreyu of the Red Thorn Kingdom.  You are my Queen, little mate."

    "K-King..." I stammered before going completely silent.  It was so much to take in at once, and I suddenly felt lightheaded.  Unsure if I was going to pass out, I laid my head back against this king... my king... then I breathily mumbled, "I don't feel so well."

    This handsome man that was calling me his mate and queen scooped me up into his arms, then he carried me back to the bed and gently laid me down on it.  After he pulled the blanket over me, he gently brushed the stray hairs out of my face.

    While smiling from ear to ear, he gazed into my eyes and softly murmured, "Rest now, my Queen.  I need you to be strong and healthy, so you can help me lead this kingdom."

    As I expected, little black dots appeared in my vision, but I could still see bits and pieces of his beautiful, blue eyes, as I drowsily mumbled, "This must be a dream."  No way could I have gone from being tortured to being the queen of an entire kingdom.

King Atreyu

    I was awakened by a loud thud, and even in my groggy state, I couldn't believe my eyes.  My mate's wings were frantically flapping to lift her off the floor, then she headed straight for the door.

    With haste, I scrambled to my feet and sprinted across the room.  I barely reached my angel in time to stop her from fleeing my bedroom.  

    After I pulled her down into my arms, I carried my mate back to the bed and dropped her on it.  Right away, she crawled across the bed and my first reaction was to grab her ankle again, then I tried to assure her that I wasn't going to hurt her.

    In response, she kicked my hand hard enough to make me let go, then she sprinted to the door leading out to the balcony.  I watched in fear as she reached for the knob, then I sprinted toward her, but I wasn't fast enough.

    In the blink of an eye, my dark angel jumped over the ledge of the balcony and vanished from my sight.  In sheer horror, I shifted into my dragon and leaped off the balcony, then I soared downward with the speed of an arrow.

    I honestly thought she was going to hit the ground before I reached her, but my angel's wings were flapping, and it wasn't long before she started to ascend higher into the air.  I kept my speed, and before I knew it, I had one of my claws wrapped around her waist.

    She fought with all of her strength to make me let go, but I wasn't having it.  I waited too long to find her, then too long to see her awaken, to let her flee from me.

    As soon as I reached my balcony, I tossed her onto the bed, then I took a few deep inhales of the outside air to catch my breath.  Within seconds, that spunky little dark angel of mine was off the bed and sprinting toward the other door.

    I had to give her credit, she had a lot of fight in her, and that was a great attribute for my queen to have.  I quickly shifted back into my human form, then I sprinted across the room and wrapped my arms around her.

    I finally got her to start talking, and her voice was the sweetest voice to ever reach my ear drums.  I wanted to keep hearing her sweet voice, so I kept her talking as long as possible.

    When my beautiful dark angel told me she wasn't feeling well, I quickly got her back to the bed and covered her up.  She fell asleep quickly, and I was a little relieved.  

    Without hesitation, I walked to each of my bedroom doors and made sure they were both securely locked, then I pulled on a pair of black gym shorts before I returned to the bed.  For the first time ever, I had a brief moment of hesitation, then I climbed under the blanket with my mate.

    Out of fear that she would awaken and attempt to flee again, I refused to allow myself to fall asleep.  Instead, I lied on my side and pulled my adorable dark angel into my arms, then I basked in her intoxicating vanilla and blackberries scent.

    I was still a little in shock that my mate was a dark angel, but that made her all the more beautiful to me.  When I saw her flying in the air that first time, I was literally mesmerized for a few seconds.

    Unfortunately, I knew she would forever carry the scars left from the torture she endured at the Dark Mountain Kingdom, but I didn't care.  As soon as she felt comfortable enough for me to show her the love she deserved, I planned to kiss each and every one of those scars.

    She slept for a few hours straight, then I finally felt her start to stir.  Instinctively, I tightened my hold on her to ensure there was no way she could attempt to flee again, then I whispered, "Hello again, beautiful."

    It took her almost a full minute to respond, then I heard her ask, "Why are you being so nice to me?  You don't even know me."

    "I know that you're my mate, and that's all I need to know," I stated with confidence, then I snuggled my face against her neck and huskily mumbled, "You smell so good.  I can't wait until your scent mingles with mine after the marking."

    "The marking?  What's that?" she immediately asked with confusion evident in her tone.

    "That's when we bite each other using our canines, then a mark appears to let others know that we are mated to each other," I quickly explained.

    "Does it hurt?" she worriedly asked.

    "I've heard that it stings just a little at first, then it turns to something off the charts on the pleasure scale," I informed her in an attempt to ease her worries.

    "King Atreyu, I'm not ready for anything like that.  I don't even know you," she timidly mumbled.

    I lifted my head up, then I used my hand to slightly turn her head, so I could gaze into her stunning eyes that were the color of an amethyst, then I affectionately assured her, "My love, you can have all the time you need.  I just need you to stay here with me, but I must warn you... the longer we wait, the more likely you are to go into a heat cycle."

    "What's that?" she asked with her cute, little, button nose scrunched up in confusion.

    "I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but you will be extremely uncomfortable," I warned her.

    "Well, I'm willing to take my chances with that," she stubbornly mumbled in response.

    I chuckled at my stubborn mate, then I curiously inquired, "Tell me, angel... what is your name?"

    "My name is Genevieve Kimble," she replied with a cute, little smile playing on her pink lips.

    "Genevieve," I repeated as I beamed a smile at her, then I softly murmured, "Such a beautiful name for a beautiful angel."

    My angel's smile widened and it was a stunning sight to see.  She had the most gorgeous, angelic smile, and I hoped to see a lot more of it in the future.