The Witch and the Dragon Ch. 04

Warmth surrounded her. She tried to move, open her eyes, but her body refused to obey. Alluna whimpered. Strong arms tightened around her, the scent of fresh sunshine and wind enveloping her.

"Hush. I'm taking you home with me," an extremely deep voice said near her ear. She should have felt fear, but she didn't. Lips brushed over her forehead. "No one will ever hurt you again. I'll care for you."

She longed to see who spoke to her, but the comforting embrace of darkness pulled her deeper into oblivion.

She remained in a dreamless floating state until the distinct feel of the sun warming her face roused her. A gentle breeze caressed her face and soft grass tickled her arms and neck.

Alluna let out a soft moan as she struggled to open her eyes. The bright blue of the sky overhead was blinding. She blinked turning her head to the side as the breeze blew a lock of her dark hair across her cheek.

Alluna frowned. All around her were plants and flowers she'd never seen in her life. A few paces from her, a lake of deep turquoise water glittered like a jewel. Sitting up, Alluna swept her unruly tresses from her face feeling fear creep up her spine. Where was she? What happened? She didn't even think she was on her planet anymore.

Someone cleared their throat, making Alluna snap her head in the direction of the sound.

She gasped, looking up... and up-and up!

It was the largest human she'd ever seen in her life. His hair was like spun gold, falling in thick waves around bulky shoulders. Even though he was clothed completely in black, it did not hide the chiseled form of his chest, nor the bulging thighs encased in snug black pants. Her mouth dropped open when he placed one booted foot close to her ankle. The sheer size of his boot made her gape.

"Are you feeling better?"

His voice was black velvet over steel, deep, and so unlike anything she'd ever heard, it sent a shiver through her.

Alluna's gaze flew back to his face, and the beauty of it took her breath away...andterrified her.

It was her golden angel, only she didn't remember him being so...gigantic.

Dragon. The memory of the dream she'd had flashed through her mind.

He knelt by her side, the blue of his eyes mesmerizing her. Caramel lashes dipped in gold swept down and he licked his enticing lips before smiling at her. Her gaze went from watching his pink tongue dart out to wet lush lips to the beguiling dimples that creased his cheeks when he grinned.

"Are you hungry?"

Alluna tore her eyes from the sight of his full mouth to watch his hand raise. Cupped within the long, thick fingers was an unfamiliar fruit, its skin a deep, almost glowing red with tiny flecks of gold.

Forbidden fruit.

Was this the demon wreaking havoc on her planet, sending the torrential rains and ruining the village crops? The villagers had though her responsible. They had tossed her...

Alluna gasped and looked back at the giant's face. They had tossed her into the dark pit in the Misty mountains. Mama had said that a fire-breathing demon lived there and preyed on young maidens.

But he looks like an angel.

Again, the vision of a golden dragon whispered through her thoughts.

The breeze blew his wild tresses out making her breath catch. He was too beautiful, too perfect.

Alluna slapped the fruit out of his hand and scrambled to her feet. Leaves and branches whipped at her legs and arms as she dashed into the strange forest.

"Wait," he called. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Alluna's feet flew over the ground, her breath hammering in and out of her parted lips. Snapping her head back, she peered over her shoulder to see if he followed.

The breath was knocked out of her lungs when she slammed into what felt like a rock wall. Alluna's teeth rattled as she fell back. Wincing in anticipation of slamming into the ground, she was suddenly jerked upright.

Alluna spread her fingers over a very hot, hard chest as she gaped into the angel's impossibly blue eyes.

"I've got you," he said softly.

Alluna stared wide-eyed up at him. His eyes swept over her face.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Again, he licked his lips and stared at her mouth as if he wanted to devour it.

His head began to descend toward hers, and, panicking, Alluna lifted her foot and kicked his shin.

He yelped, releasing her to grab his ankle, and Alluna ran as fast as she could, her screams ringing out.

Nothing seemed familiar, not the sky or surroundings. She was definitely no longer on Arboria and though she'd longed to see her golden angel again, the reality scared her spitless. Mama was right. He was so beautiful he had to be a demon... and his size. When he'd held her, she barely came up to the middle of his chest.His massive chest.The male's arms were so bulky, she would need both hands to span them-not that she planned to touch him. A quiver ran through her body just thinking about it.

"Hey," he called. "Stop. Let's talk. Please?"

Would her woodland guardians protect her so far from her planet? Alluna began to pray.

Out of breath, she stopped when she reached a rocky wall. Her ragged breathing filled her ears as she peered about for signs of the golden angel.

"Kid yourself not, silly girl," she admonished herself. "He's no angel."

"Actually, he's an Alpha Angel."

Alluna screamed when a devil appeared. His hair was the color of fresh blood, thick shaggy spikes growing out in every direction like the corona of a sun. It spilled over his wide shoulders, striking against the intense black of his clothing, much like the golden angel's. Green eyes sparkled with mischief over a pointy nose that arrowed over a lopsided grin.

For some unknown reason her hand itched to slap that grin off his pretty face.

The red-haired devil chuckled as if reading her thoughts.

"You are such an asshole."

With a gasp, Alluna whirled to come face to face with a silver-haired male. His eyes were the palest blue she'd ever seen and he looked extremely angry with the devil.

Again the devil chuckled, making Alluna grit her teeth and lash out. She sent her fist back, but instead of connecting with the annoying creature, she punched her golden angel in his nose.

"Son-of-a-bitch," he wailed clamping his hand over a bloody nose.

Alluna stared, horrified at the amount of guilt she felt and unsure why. She should feel fear at the giant's retaliation. Surely he was big enough to snap her in two with one meaty fist, except he looked at her with the eyes of a kicked puppy.

"You hit me. Why did you hit me?"

The red-haired devil next to him grimaced. "Dude, I think she broke your nose."

"Shut up," the golden angel snapped at him. "This is all your fault."

"Me? What the fuck," the devil snorted with a raised brow.

"He told us to wait," the flaxen-haired angel interjected.

Alluna backed away from the trio and bumped into something.

She turned slowly, letting her eyes trail up another black-clad body. Long, silky hair, like liquid satin the color of the blackest night stirred in the breeze, a few strands flowing over a thick throat. Skin, white as snow, soft dewy pink lips, and eyes that glowed like electric blue fire, Alluna found herself gazing into the face of a...god.

***

Zak gripped Alluna at the same time Devon grabbed her. The girl had taken one look at his commander and fainted dead away.

"Aw, Hell, Devon," Zak grumbled looking at his commander.

Devon bit the corner of his lip and released Alluna into Zak's arms. "I-I'm sorry. I forget..." his hand came up to his face and Zak immediately felt guilty at Devon's distress. "I forget about how I look."

Zak opened his mouth, but Remi interrupted what he was going to say, "What's wrong with the way you look? The most beautiful humanoid ever created." Remi crossed his arms over his chest and grinned, "Second to me, of course."

Seth rolled his eyes as Zak shook his head and hefted Alluna into his arms.

"This was all wrong," Zak murmured looking at the girl in his arms.

"What are you going to do now?" Devon asked.

For an instant, his eyes glowed a little brighter and Zak had the urge to sneeze. He shook his head and looked questioningly at Devon when his commander gave him a lopsided grin. Devon tapped his nose and Zak realized Devon must've worked his magic on his broken nose.

He wiggled it feeling no pain. "Thanks." Hefting The Arborian witch tighter in his arms he gazed back down at her. "I'm taking her to my quarters. It's what I should've done in the first place."

"Maybe we should've taken her to the holo-room and projected an image of her home planet," Remi suggested.

"No." Zak turned away, focusing on his rooms. "I've got control of this."

The image of lush green foliage blurred away to the soothing cream, gold and black of his quarters. His feet padded softly on the gleaming black marble floors as he passed the frosted glass partition sectioning off his sitting area from his sleeping chamber. With the utmost care, he laid the girl on his round pedestal bed. With a sigh, he crawled in next to her.

She would be afraid of him when she awakened, but he would show her there was nothing to fear. He would never hurt her. He only wanted to protect her, care for her. She needed to learn to trust him.

***

Alluna found herself on a battlefield. Thousands of warriors battled with swords and axes, blood and gore spraying everywhere. Overheard the sky roiled with black-grey clouds that flickered with slashes of lightening. The wind whipped Alluna's hair across her face as she felt her heart about to pound its way out of her chest. She peered anxiously through the throng of writhing bodies intent on hacking each other to pieces.

"Alluna, come away from here, I beg of you," a woman screamed behind her.

A hand gripped her arm, trying to steer her away from all the fighting, but she couldn't move. Her eyes were riveted to him... the golden angel.

He fought with two swords thirty paces away, his hair whipping about wildly in the wind. Blood ran down his back, scored with lash marks. Alluna gasped in terror when a warrior smashed one of his swords from his hand. Another approached to engage him as well.

"No!"

She wrenched her arm from the iron grip holding her back and ran toward her angel. They couldn't hurt him. They mustn't.

Her body felt heavy, awkward, but before she could look down at herself, a painful tug on her long hair had her head snapping back, pain searing across her scalp. Alluna screamed, her hands flying up to her hair a second before she was jerked against a smelly warrior's body. She looked up in horror at the mangled bloody face of a sneering warrior. His teeth were black in his grimy face and the stench of his body made her want to gag.

"Aye, I've caught myself a prize."

She felt the front of her gown pulled and ripped and turned horrified eyes forward to another grimy-faced warrior wielding an axe. He tossed the tattered piece of cloth that was once the front of her dress to the blood-soaked ground.

Alluna gazed down at her body in chagrin, her hands coming up to her distended belly. Something within her moved—something decidedly alive. Something was alive inside her.

"Cut the wench and her little demon bastards down, Merc."

Horror washed over Alluna as she cupped her hands over her belly protectively. The warrior Merc raised his axe. The wind howled and lightening flashed in the angry sky glinting off the deadly blood stained blade. Alluna opened her mouth to scream but a roar shook the ground.

Gasping, she jerked awake.

Warmth surrounded her, strong arms held her.

"You're safe," a deep voice crooned.

She blinked in confusion. This wasn't her tower room. The walls were smooth, a pearly cream color with soft muted light receded into the ceiling of the same color. In front of her was a frosted glass wall and she could make out the flickering of fire beyond. In front of the enormous bed she lay upon was another glass wall, but clear, showing nothing but a black star speckled void. That wasn't what had her heart jumping up into her throat though. It was the sight of a thick arm wrapped around her middle. A Shift of weight behind her and a few tendrils of waving gold whispered over her shoulder making her look up into fiery sapphire eyes.

"I'm Zachariel. I'm going to protect you," he said in a soft tone. "Tell me your name, little one."

"A..." she licked dry lips. "Alluna."

He cupped her face. "Alluna." Gold tipped lashes swept down. His thumb swept over her lips, making her shiver. "Did you put a spell on me?"

Her eyes widened. "W-what?"

He reached back, his eyes holding hers. When he drew his hand forward again, he held her flute.

Alluna gasped and tried to grab it from him, her arm looping around his neck when he reared back to keep the flute from her grasp. Her chest pressed tightly against his and their lips were almost touching. Alluna stared into his eyes, deep dark blue.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered, his warm breath fanning her lips.

Alluna frowned. "Kiss me?"

His lips whispered over hers startling her. What a strange place to kiss. Mama had always kissed her forehead or the top of her head. The feel of his soft lips over hers was doing strange things to her belly though.

Mama. Thinking of mama brought back her horrible words and Alluna pushed him away.

"Stop. Get away from me."

He frowned and licked his lips, as if trying to get her taste. That worried Alluna immensely. What if he tried to bite her?

"Why?" He asked.

Alluna swallowed before scowling up at him. "My mama warned me about you."

His smile took her by surprise. Gods, but he was so breathtaking.

"And what did your mama say about me?"

"She said that you had cast a spell on me. That you had a vile sn-snake between your thighs that would strike out at me, make me bleed and infect me with poison that would make me swell until I exploded and died."

His smile vanished, sapphire eyes growing round. "Damn."

Alluna held her breath, hoping he would deny mama's words, but he remained mute, looking very uncomfortable.

"Gods," she choked and tried to roll away from him. It was all true. He did have a snake between his thighs and was going to hurt her.

"Wait. Listen to me," he demanded pulling her back down. "I don't have a snake between my legs. No male does. We have cocks." Alluna gave him a baffled look not knowing what he meant. "A penis," he clarified.

"Well which is it?" she demanded, suspecting he was lying to her.

He chuckled. "God, you've never seen a man naked? Not even a little boy?" His grin faded from his face and he suddenly looked angry. "Have you been locked up in that tower all your life, Alluna?"

"I-I..." Locked? Alluna had never thought of her tower rooms as a prison, but now...

"Look at me," he ordered.

Her eyes drifted back to him as he rose from the bed and stood next to her.

"You're going to get your first lesson in male anatomy."

For a split second, she wondered what he did with the flute, until he gripped the bottom of his black tunic and pulled it over his head. Her mouth went dry and her eyes felt like they were about to pop out of her head. His tresses spilled over his shoulders and chest before he shook it back. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gripped her hand. "Touch me."

Alluna couldn't pull her hand free from his grip. He forced her to feel the incredible softness of his skin pulled taut over hard muscle. When he finally released her hand, she let her fingers skim over his nipples. They tightened into little points beneath her fingers. He let out a shaky breath, but didn't say a word, only watched her hands slide up over his shoulders. Enormous muscles bulged over each shoulder, and sculpted his arms as well. He was so different from her, the difference like night and day. Alluna slid her hands up the ropey muscles of his arms, letting her fingers sink into the wealth of hair flowing down his back. Her hair, as well as mama's, was black. The people she'd seen on her home world also had black tresses. Only her dolls had hair in different colors, but none had hair of gold like...

"Zachariel," she whispered

"Yes, but those who know me call me Zak."

Her eyes flitted back to his. His smile was gentle, two small dimples marking his cheeks and tempting her to poke her fingers in them.

"You will know me, Alluna. I'm going to take care of you. No one will ever hurt you again. I promise you." He reached out a finger and traced over her breast. "Look at our differences, Alluna. See what makes me male and you female."

Alluna shied away from his touch. "I'm sick."

He frowned. "How so?"

"I'm..." She felt her face grow warm. He was so beautiful and she was so ugly and deformed.

"You're what?"

"My chest is deformed."

His eyes swept over her as his frown deepened. "Show me."

Alluna shook her head, embarrassed at showing another her shame.

He cupped her cheek, his gaze softening. "Trust me, Alluna. I want to help you. Show me."

Alluna sat up, her trembling hands going to her white slip. Her hands faltered at the straps of ribbon, her gaze darting up to his, unsure.

"Show me," he urged.

Taking a deep breath, Alluna shrugged the straps off her shoulders. If she'd listened to mama and worn her brace continuously, maybe her swelling wouldn't have gotten so out of hand. Her deformed breasts spilled from the confines of the white slip, her dusky nipples peaking at the feel of cool air against them. She bit her lip, waiting for him to recoil, or say how awful they looked.

"God, you're beautiful," he growled.

Alluna gaped up at him. His eyes were riveted to her breasts.

"How could you say such a thing? Can you not see my deformity?"

He gave her a puzzled look before looking at her chest again. His hand reached out and cupped one swollen breast.

Alluna, you're perfection."

She shook her head, aghast at his words. "My chest has swollen into these two ugly bumps."

He frowned. "But you're female. All females breasts grow when they come of age."

Alluna felt shock roll through her. Still, she shook her head. "No."

"Yes, Alluna. Don't contradict me." His tone grew a little cold. "Most humanoid women develop breasts when they come of age. There are some species who have four and sometimes six breasts."

Alluna swallowed hard, glad she only had two ugly bumps. She couldn't imagine herself with six lumps. How awful.

His head tilted to the side and his voice became softer again. "You're not deformed."

Alluna looked away from his angelic perfection. "I'm still sick," she murmured feeling sadness rise like a knot in her throat.

Putting a finger under her chin, he tilted her head back to look into her eyes. "Are you in pain, love?"

Alluna shook her head, marveling at the fact he'd called her love.

Zak's thumb swept, feather soft, over her lower lip, making her shiver. "Talk to me, Alluna."

He stood over her, so big and imposing. She felt he wouldn't hurt her-felt it in her heart. She longed to bare her soul to him. "I-I sometimes bleed."

"Where do you bleed?"

Her face flushed hot now. When she tried to look away, he pinched her chin and forced her gaze to remain on him. Alluna's heart felt as though it were about to pound out of her chest. He waited patiently for her to show him where she bled.

"Between m-my legs," she whispered through numb lips.

His sapphire eyes narrowed. "Show me."

Had his hand not been holding her chin, her jaw would have dropped open. "But I'm not bleeding right now."

"I still want to see," he said huskily.

She laid back and pulled the hem of her slip up her thighs. She'd never bared herself this way to anyone. Why did he want to see her there? She bit the corner of her lip and gazed up at him from beneath her lashes.