Love Begins in Hell (The Moon Journals: Part 1) Read online

Dante tenderly traced the line of my cheekbone and jaw with his finger, gazing into my eyes. “Actually I can’t shift into dragon form, but I hope to be able to once I join their ranks.”

  “I could see that. How is it that you can shift? I thought only wolves could do that.” His nearness sent a shiver of delight through me.

  “I don’t know really. I’ve always been able to manipulate my physical form. My mother taught me how when I was a very young and Orlando helped me refine it. But I can’t shift into just anything. I have only a few shapes I can do successfully.”

  “And that of a dragon isn’t one of them?” His nearness was overwhelming and I recognized that it was difficult to concentrate on his words. The closeness of his presence caused my heart to beat wildly and I fought back the urge to taste his lips. Purposely I stared at the cleft in his chin as he talked.

  “No. Each form takes a great deal of concentration. I can’t do it if I’m low on blood like I was earlier before we killed the demon dogs. Being a member of the Fanged Realm, I can shift into the shape of a cat. I prefer the black leopard. Once I’m accepted into the Order of the Dragon, then I’ll be able to work on my dragon form.” Dante twirled a portion of my hair around his fingers and studied it. “Is every woman in the Garden as beautiful as you are, Elana?”

  “Possibly,” I replied. “Why?” The grin on my face expanded as I leaned up close to him, ready to kiss him.

  He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to say more as he continued to play with my hair. His gaze fell to the expanse of my neck and he contemplated it for some time.

  “You’re the most incredible man I’ve ever met,” I offered, leaning closer still to him so I could breathe in his male scent. It was a dark, rich fragrance of spice like warm cinnamon or nutmeg. I wanted to drink from his fountain and possess him. “Kiss me,” I ordered. “I want to be yours, Dante. Here in this beautiful place. Alone with you.”

  Quickly he sat upright, glancing away. His mood had again changed, but he did not move from my side.

  Letting the silence between us grow, I marveled at the blue water, trying to forget it was the same color as the streams of my homeland. A few waves rolled in and splashed against the platform where we lounged in a large hammock made for two. I let my eyes trace the covered pier where we sat overlooking the beach on one side and the water on the other. The platform extended out some sixty or seventy feet from a cove surrounded by palm trees. It was breathtaking. I had never seen anything like it. Our rivers were green and calm, and wound around mountains. This body of water must be an ocean, I surmised, recalling what my aunt had told me.

  When I glanced over at Dante again, he was staring at me. A rush of warmth rolled over me and my mouth began to water. Claim me, I thought.

  He pulled me toward him, cradling my head in his large hands. Gently he stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. “I was so dead inside until I met you.”

  I merely stared at him, tongue-tied. This was real.

  “You feel it too, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” I breathed.

  He kissed the pulsing hollow at the base of my throat. A low moan left my lips. Then he brushed a gentle kiss across my forehead, teasing me, tempting me to respond. Raising my mouth to his, I licked my tongue along his bottom lip. The electricity sparked between both of us and I closed my eyes as his mouth covered mine. Yes, take me. His tongue sent shivers of desire racing through me and I returned his passion. I was shocked at my own eager response to his lips.

  ***

  “How did we get here?” I asked as he cradled me in his arms.

  He remained quiet for a very long time. My question seemed to float along the air, threatening to fall into the water. Lightly I touched my fingers to my lips and felt the wetness from his embrace. My lips were still radiating and warm. His kiss had sent new spirals of ecstasy through me. I want you, I thought. As I settled back in Dante’s arms, I relived our recent kiss over and over again in my head. I relived our first kisses by the rock. I smiled up towards the white canopy and enjoyed the feel of his arms around me. Life with him would be Heaven.

  “By way of the river,” he said finally.

  “Yes, but where are we?” I questioned, remembering he had yanked me under the water. “How did we get here exactly?” I repeated.

  Dante stood up quickly, almost dumping me out of the hammock onto the wooden pier. “It doesn’t really matter,” he muttered. “I wonder where they are.”

  “Who?” I snapped. I felt abandoned at his hasty exit. He should always be by my side.

  “Orlando and the others. We usually meet here.” His voice drifted off. He had changed into a long-sleeve blue shirt, same as I had worn before, and a pair of gray jeans. For some reason, I wore a flowing mint green linen dress that I assumed he had clothed me with. That realization made my cheeks redden.

  “Dante?” I added an authoritative tone to my voice, letting the last syllable drop with a hint of seriousness. “I wanted some answers.”

  “This…” he announced, raising his arms to the sky, “is the Fanged Realm. But it doesn’t matter, does it?” he growled. “You’ll be on your way home soon and out of my father’s clutches. He won’t take you as well, but I’ll lose you forever.” He pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand.

  When I realized Dante was referring to my sister and aunt, a flood of wild grief ripped through me and I gasped.

  He whirled around. Oh god, Elana. I didn’t want to tell you, but now you must know. They likely are dead. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

  I covered my mouth in anguish preventing myself from saying anything because I immediately understood his meaning the same time he did. My eyes widened and a large lump formed in my throat.

  Our eyes locked. The passion in his eyes died and they became flat, almost as unreadable as emerald jewels. He shifted his gaze to the water beyond us, refusing to look at me.

  “Who. Is. Your. Father?” I uttered the words very slowly when I finally recovered my voice.

  “I can explain.”

  “Who is your father?” I screamed, bringing my feet down hard on the wood as I attempted to stand without any luck. The wood of the pier beneath me cracked.

  “Let me explain.”

  “Tell me,” I growled.

  “Lord Lucifer. The demon that probably killed your relatives. He’s my father.”

  “No!” Not wanting to hear Dante confess to a death sentence by association, I covered my ears and shook my head. “No, don’t say that.” I prayed the Wolf had not heard him.

  He’ll have to die too, Elana.

  “No, I won’t let you,” I replied inwardly to the Wolf.

  To extinguish the darkness in your father and mother, all demons will have to die.

  “I will kill the son-of-a-bitch myself, Wolf. This is not your fight!” I screamed, realizing Dante had no idea what I was talking about. Smothering back a sob, I fell into the hammock, defeated. Tears streamed down my face and I hid my face from Dante who was standing over me. I’d lose him too. Death would take the one chance I may have at love, real love and I’d be powerless to stop it.

  “Please Elana. I can explain.” Dante knelt beside me in the hammock.

  “No, no. You don’t have to. You’re not your father’s son. I can see that. You wouldn’t have helped me otherwise.” I swallowed down the sobs threatening to spill over into my voice. I rested my head on Dante’s shoulder for a long time, trying to regain my composure. My mind raced and I struggled to keep control of the situation before the Wolf intervened.

  “After you drank my blood, I could hear some of your thoughts, especially if we were touching,” Dante began. My mind raced as he stroked my hair. I leaned against him with all my might and concentrated on just his words, hoping they would calm me as his actions were. He continued, “I heard you speak of your sister and aunt missing. That came out when we jumped into the river and I grabbed you. But it’s more than that. I knew when I saw the new skulls on my father’s wall
and he told me he had kidnapped another werewolf. I knew he was likely hunting your family. I’m so sorry, Elana. Don’t you see? Don’t you see now why we have to get you out of here? What if you or your father is next?”

  He wrapped his arms around my legs as he knelt beside me. “I’ll keep you safe. I’ll die for you if it means you can escape. I won’t let him have you, Elana.”

  I stared down at Dante as he stroked the outer curve of my calf. A warm golden glow of comfort flowed up from my soul and entered my heart. Already he had been by my side more times than I could expect my father or step-mother to be. My family was gone with the death of my sister and aunt. It was my reality and I knew it. I rubbed my fingers through Dante’s hair for a long time, watching the sun rays catch the reflections in his onyx highlights. He sat curled up at my feet, holding me close amid my knees and legs. He rested his head in my lap as I casually played with his hair. The bluish black lights glimmered and mesmerized me. My heart will never mend if I have to leave him. There must be a way out of this ordeal.

  Attempting to change the mood because my legs were falling asleep, I whispered to Dante. “I hate this hammock. Can we find a better place to sit?”

  He looked up at me. His mouth quirked with humor. “The hammock is a bad sitting spot, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “I’ll have to tell Orlando about that. Dragons don’t understand pleasantries such as furniture. Let’s go to the beach and sit under the palm trees, okay?”

  I returned a weak smile as I let him lead me off the pier. He took my hand in his and I choked back another wave of grief as it hit me. It was like every ounce of despair I had tried to hold back in the recent months surfaced in that one moment. Tears blinded my vision and I was thankful I had Dante there to help me find my way. What if you or your father is next? The impact of his words slammed into my heart. I could be next if this Lucifer demon, this father of Dante’s found me.

  Chapter 9

  A Proposal

  Once we made it to the shoreline, Dante created a place for me that would be more comfortable than the hammock I had been scrunched in. Sitting next to Dante with his large height of 6’2” and weight of probably 180 or 200 muscular pounds didn’t leave much room for me to be in the hammock with him. I did my best to bury my thoughts of wanting her to sit in his lap or, more accurately, straddle his lap because I knew I wanted to escape the reality of the chaos going on through my mind.

  I couldn’t help but remember what we had already experienced together. It had been incredible. Dante was incredible, breathtaking. The silkiness of his chest. His gleaming eyes. The divine warmth of his skin. The sheer power of his leopard form. Whether he knew it or not, Dante was indeed a rare sort of demon. But would he become a dragon? Was that possible?

  As I watched him begin to carve a sizeable bench out of the trunk of a fallen palm tree, I realized I needed to know more about him. Did he know what happened to my sister and aunt? Now and then, as I watched him, he glanced over at me. Maybe he wanted to talk. Words failed me because I couldn’t process everything going on. He was a son of Lucifer? Impossible!

  I wandered around the grove of palm trees picking up small pieces of wood for an evening fire as I stole a few glances at him. “How did you discover the Fanged Realm, Dante? When you were a boy, perhaps?”

  ***

  “My father and I used to get along,” he began. “You wouldn’t expect me to say that, but it’s true. I idolized him when he and my mother were together. She brought out the best in him. Unfortunately, my inaccuracy with a bow and arrow damaged our relationship.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked, immediately recognizing that both of us had lost our mothers. I strolled along behind him like I was in a sort of a daze, only half-heartedly listening. It was like my mind had split into and I was hearing two worlds, the thoughts of my own and his voice. I pulled my focus solely on Dante as he spoke.

  “One day my father and I went hunting. Tigers were the big rage then not were…” He paused, stopping his work instantly and shifting his eyes towards me.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “Don’t hold back.”

  Dante nodded and kept talking. “We were hunting for tigers across the wasteland. I wasn’t that good with a bow and arrow, so I missed the kill-shot for the cat. The tiger escaped into the water.”

  “Tigers like water?” I asked. There was still so much I didn’t know about.

  “They don’t care when they are running for their lives, but yes, to answer your question, tigers are fond of water.” He laughed at my sudden curiosity.

  “When the tiger plunged into the water and disappeared, my father insisted I jump in and wrestle the animal out of the water. I hadn’t learned to swim at that time, so I refused.”

  “There’s no time like the present,” he had replied. “And he threw me in the water. He refused to let me get out of the water until I came out with the tiger in a bear hug.” Dante paused again as he finished fashioning one side of the bench to match the other side, waiting to see if I’d get his joke.

  I forced a smile across my face.

  He continued. “I struggled for the longest time to stay afloat, but after I grew tired I began to drown. My father stood there and watched me, not once helping me.”

  “Your father is an asshole,” I blurted out, forgetting my ladylike disposition I needed to maintain.

  “I totally agree.” He smiled at me, signaling a complete consent that I thought he wouldn’t show me. I had thought he would be offended that I had called his father a name. He wasn’t, quite the opposite. My heart swelled again. This is a moment I’ll always cherish, I thought.

  Dante went on talking as he worked. “Once I fell beneath the water, I gave up. I assumed I had drowned and that it was all over for me. Suddenly some force dragged me to the bottom of the sea. I woke up on this beach here with two dragons peering intently over me. I thought they were going to eat me, but I soon discovered that they were more fearful of me because they had never seen a creature that could walk on two legs.”

  “You were the first human they had ever seen?” I asked. “Well I mean demon.”

  He nodded, glancing my way and directing all of his attention towards me. With a sudden shift of determination, he stopped his work and propped his fist on his hips. “I have the same bright blue eyes, pale complexion, and shiny raven black hair as my mother did. From her journals and letters that I found, she dreamed about my growing up to overthrow my father someday and becoming a ‘great divine warrior’ as she phrased it.”

  “I understand,” I offered. I was leaning against one of the palm trees, braiding my hair until I saw his serious side surface. Dante’s moods changed at the drop of a hat and I had to stay on my toes. After he resumed his work, I sighed again, exhaling slowly, hoping he didn’t notice. Extreme exhaustion was rapidly creeping into my bones.

  After a few moments, he announced, “I’m almost done here.” He rested his hands on his hips, admiring his accomplishment. “Anyways, that’s how I learned about the Fanged Realm. Orlando was the one who saved me. I’d say he’s as close as any brother I could ever hope to have. He and I are army friends. We go into battle together when any issues arise and we have to make peace with the other realms.”

  “What about the other dragons?”

  “The others are older and more reserved, but they are very nice once you get to know them. They’ll be very nice to you. Don’t worry. I’m hoping you get to meet them.”

  “You expect them before nightfall?” I asked as I surveyed the smooth wooden bench he had created.

  “They usually know when I’m on my way, so it doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t be here now,” Dante answered.

  I spoke up, interrupting him. “The ceiling painting above your bed. You said Orlando made that for you, to remind you?” I paused as I searched for the right word.

  “Here,” He motioned for me to join him on the newly carved bench. “You’re tired. Sit with me.”

  “This is beautiful
, Dante. Thank you. Look we can see out across the water. I can’t get over this view.” I cuddled up close to him as he patted me on the knee. “That design. I understand now. It reminds you of who you are - a member of the Fanged Realm - not a demon like your father.” Glancing up at him with a smile on my face, I asked, “That’s correct? Isn’t it?”

  He nodded, brushing my braids over my shoulder. “Precisely. Now you understand. I’m not a demon. And just because I was born in Hell does not mean I’m evil. I’m not. There’s a small group of us who fight for justice and that’s what I do.”

  “I’ve met a warrior who wants to save me,” I whispered as I gently ran my finger down the cleft in Dante’s chin. “I think your mother would be very proud. What happened to her? Did she leave your father?”

  “When my mother learned what my father had done, what he had allowed to have happen, she demanded that he apologize to me. I had managed to find my way home after being gone for several months and my mother thought I was dead. My father had refused to apologize to me or even act like anything had happened, and this made my mother very angry. She cast a spell on him and turned his skin red. She said he should be the color of blood to remind him of the blood he almost spilled, his son’s blood. For her defiance, my father banished her to the Beyond. One day I will have revenge because my father is the reason I am not allowed to see my mother.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “Some two or three decades now. I haven’t seen her in a very long time. I’m not even sure if she’s still alive. If she is dead, there would be Hell to pay. That I knew.”

  “Do you think we will see our loved ones again?” I asked.

  Dante frowned and looked away towards the beach, studying the water intensely.

  Realizing I had brought up a sad subject again, I scolded myself. From the pile of wood I had gathered, I took a few logs and positioned them in front of the bench where he still sat. I arranged the logs in a stack on the sand.

  “I hope so,” he finally said. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen her, you know?”