M O R G A N

After Declan left, I headed back to my room and thought about what the little blue flame had told me. I needed to keep Erik in this world, but I didn't know why. The old me had cast Erik out of our world, but I had no idea why. From everything I'd heard about my old self, I was wicked, cruel and selfish. I couldn't trust the old me or her memories. Although, I was happy to have an excuse not to return to my home finally.

I lay back on the bed and wondered who or what I could trust.

There was a gentle tapping on my bedroom window, and I looked up and saw Erik peeking through the window pane. I jumped and headed across the bedroom, and opened the window. Erik climbed through with feline grace and straightened himself up.

"Is Declan gone?" he half asked, half growled.

"Yes, he has gone pheasant shooting with his brothers," I replied, closing the window. "He is off terrorising a different kind of bird."

"How could you stand that man? All he spoke about was himself. He never once asked after you. It must have been insufferable, listening to him prattle on and on about himself."

I raised an eyebrow and replied, "Were you listening in on my conversation?"

"It wasn't hard to listen. The pub was empty. All I could hear was his voice droning on and on. You must have been bored out of your wits," he said, sliding his arms around my waist.

I rested my head against his chest and breathed in his scent of woodsmoke, trees, and snow. He smelt so good.

"I admit to being a teensy bit bored by the end. But it was nice catching up with my old friend and seeing how he was doing," I replied.

Erik's arms tightened around me, and he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm glad he made you bored. You shouldn't enjoy the company of any male who is not me," he said.

I liked being in arms. Perhaps it was a mate thing, but something about being in Erik's orbit always made me feel safe and secure. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the few moments of peace.

"Erik?" I asked.

"Yes, my beloved flame?" He said.

"Why did I cast you into this world? You've never told me what happened that night of my accident."

My question caught him off guard. My question caught him off guard, and I wondered if he might pull away from me. Perhaps, he might even get angry, but after a few moments of calm silence, his arms tightened around me.

"The Mad Prince invaded our castle. He brought you with him to help with the assault. The dragons fought back bravely, and when it looked like we were about to win, you cast a spell that brought us here, to this world," he explained.

"So I sacrificed myself to stop you from winning. I wonder why I did that. It sounded like I was very loyal to the vampires."

"You were, but the wisps have set you on the right path. You are now a proud dragon who loves her people and will fight the vampires to restore our glory."

"I guess - but I can't stop wondering why the Mad Prince attacked you in the first place."

"Because he is mad! There was no reason for the attack. It's all in the past now, Morgan. You are my mate now."

I wrinkled my nose. This didn't make sense. Why would the vampires randomly attack the dragons? And why was Erik so eager to try and sweep the past under the rug?

Maybe he wanted to spare me further unpleasant details about my former life. Or perhaps he was trying to hide something about the dragons.

"I can feel the wheels of your mind spinning. You worry too much. Let us lie down on the bed together, and I will help you forget your sorrows."

The offer was appealing, but my mind couldn't shake the feeling he was trying to hide something.

Erik led me to the bed, and I sat down. He kicked off his shoes and then knelt in front of me to unlace my boots.

"I have been thinking about you all day. I want to hear you calling my name again as I drink honey from your core," he said, tossing a boot over his shoulder.

I shivered and resisted the urge to throw off my clothes and let him do whatever he wanted to me. I had to stay focused.

Fooling around sounded nice, but I wanted to learn more about my past and what happened that night.

As soon as my feet were free, I crawled across to the far side of the bed and said, "I want to talk more about what happened the night I fell."

Erik rose to his feet and shrugged his shirt over his shoulders. Last night when he had got naked, it was all dark. But now he was standing before me in daylight, and I had to admit he looked like a Greek god with that body.

"What else do you want to know?" He asked.

"Know?" I replied absently, staring at his abs.

"Yeah, what was your question?"

"Did you go to the gym to get those," I said, gesturing to his stomach.

"No, I spent years training and fighting to get these. Why do you like them?" He asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, they are nice," I murmured.

Oh shit, I was losing focus.

I had to stop looking at his abs. They were too distracting. I needed to think of something not-sexy quick.

Erik glided his hand over his stomach and said, "Back home, I'd spend five hours a day practising with a sword, spear and shield when I wasn't out on the battlefield. It's important to keep my body in top shape as we never know when vampires will attack. Nowadays, Byron and I have to train using whatever we can find."

"You must think I'm a slob," I said, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Why would I think that? You do not need to train for battle," he said, climbing onto the bed.

"I've never done a workout in my life. Men usually like girls that work out. Even Declan used to go on at me to join a gym. He thought that I could do with dropping a few pounds and toning up a bit."

A cloud of anger fell over Erik's brow.

"I'm ashamed to say that I dislike Declan more than the Mad Prince," Erik said.

"Don't say that. Declan isn't that bad. He was being honest. I am a bit soft and squishy around my middle," I said, poking my tummy.

"I should hang the man for saying that about my soft sweet little mate. There is nothing wrong with you, Morgan. Every part of you is perfect. I've spent most of the morning dreaming of your soft thighs wrapped around my waist as I finally claim you as my mate."

"Claim?" I echoed, feeling my mouth suddenly running dry.

"Yes, Morgan. I need to have you," he said, reaching for me.

His hand floated over my thigh, and just as he was about to touch it, he paused.

"Can I touch you? Will you allow me to claim you as my mate?" He asked.

I bit down on my bottom lip and nodded my head.

A lazy smile spread across his mouth. His hand dropped to my calf and started to creep up under my dress. My breath hitched in my throat...

Suddenly, panicked footsteps came hammering down the corridor. Mentally, I urged those footsteps not to come up the stairs and to my bedroom door. But unfortunately, they did just that.

Seconds later, India was banging on the bedroom door.

"Morgan, you need to come see this," she yelled.

"What is it?" I asked, pushing Erik off me.

"It's Poppy. She went outside to drop some boxes in the recycling out back and didn't come back. I went to find her, and when I found her, she was on the road eating something," India explained.

"Eating something?" I replied confused.

"Yeah, I didn't know what it was at first, but when I got closer, I saw it was a Tibbins," India said.

My blood ran cold. Before the snow fell, there had been a post on the community face page about Tibbins, Nigel Lightfall's missing pet cat.

"I don't think she killed it," India said. As if that made the act of eating a cat any better. "It looked kind of frozen. I think the cat must have been killed on the road. When snow fell, its body was hidden underneath the snow. Now the snow is melting, Poppy caught it's scent and - well, thought it was dinner time."

"Did anyone see her," I asked.

"No, I dragged her inside before anyone noticed," India replied.

"Where is Poppy now?" I asked.

"I brought her inside. She's a bit upset. She doesn't know why she started eating the cat."

Erik's eyes darkened.

"I told you, she was a threat. We need to kill her, " he whispered.