ROMANCE: Lion Protector (Paranormal Shifter BBW Military Romance) (Shapeshifter Alpha Male Short Stories Book 2) (153 page)

Chapter 2

              Soon after he passed the off-limits sign, the weather took a turn for the worse. The day had been calm and sunny, but now the snow was falling in huge chunks and the wind was picking up. Casey zipped up his jacket as much as possible, regretting his lack of warm layers for a second. Nonetheless, he still pushed his snowmobile further up the mountain.

              As the visibility dropped, Casey thought about turning back, but his desire to reach the top of the mountain was all consuming at this point. He wanted to know what it felt like to stand on the top of the world, if only for a moment. But as he made his way higher up the mountain, the storm got even worse. He could feel small ice crystals form on the ends of his long eyelashes.

              All of a sudden the snowmobile gave out, its motor sputtering to a halt. Casey tried to turn the key, but nothing happened. He looked around, seeing no more than five feet in front of him. This wasn’t good. Wrapping his arms around his body for warmth, Casey got off the snowmobile, seeking shelter. He knew how dangerous getting trapped in a blizzard could be. Hypothermia could set in in a matter of minutes.

              Cursing his own ambition, Casey started to walk around, looking for anything that could help him. Glancing back to check his progress, he realized suddenly that he could no longer see the snowmobile. He cursed once more, knowing it would cost him an arm and a leg if he ended up losing the expensive vehicle.

              Casey started to shiver as the blizzard intensified around him, covering the landscape in an inescapable blanket of white. All around him were tree trunks that looked exactly the same. Nothing gave him any hint of salvation. The fear of freezing to death started to creep into his mind as he felt the tips of his fingers going numb.

              Just as he was about to give up he spotted a large, gray mass. Casey quickly waded through the snow, making his way toward the unknown object. Once he got closer, to his relief, it turned out to be a cave. He stumbled inside, glad to be out of the howling wind. The cave didn’t offer much in the way of warmth, but at least it kept him out of the storm.

              Casey sat down, rubbing his limbs, trying to get his blood flowing once more. The wind suddenly shifted, blowing packs of snow and ice into the cave. Shaking off the sudden onset of snow, Casey got up and crawled deeper into the cave. To his surprise, the farther he went, the warmer it got. He quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets and pulled out his keys. He turned on the tiny flashlight keychain hanging from them, a gift from his mother, before looking around. It looked deserted. Feeling safe, he continued deeper into the cave, following the warm, relaxing heat emanating from its depths.

              As he walked farther and farther, he stopped dead in his tracks, startled by an unexpected sound. Pressing his hands to the warm walls of the cave, the young man tried to focus his hearing. He couldn’t quite figure out what the sound was. Casey tried to still his own breathing as he strained his ears. Was it some sort of animal?

              He leaned against the wall, his body still numb from the cold. Was it safe to stay there? He stopped for a moment to think. Maybe if he remained in this part of the cave he would be okay. With this thought, he sat down and hugged his knees, thinking about the situation. He prayed the blizzard would calm down soon, so he could get back to the lodge and curl up in his bed. Until then he would have to settle for sitting there, listening to the soft, rhythmic pattern of breathing deep within the cave.

              As this sound drowned out everything else, Casey found himself fighting with sleep. His head started to droop forward and his eyelids got heavy, as exhaustion wrapped around his body, pulling him toward a deep sleep. Casey tried to fight it in case he needed to run out, or if people came around to rescue him. In the end, however, he was powerless against the strong grasp of slumber. With his head on his knees, Casey dozed off, his mind taking him to a warmer and comfier place than the cave.

              Eventually, he found himself startled awake as he heard a loud noise rattling the entire cave. He was frozen in place, thinking about the unknown beast surely lurking in the back. He listened, trying to decipher the sound. His face scrunched in confusion. Was that… snoring?

              Casey got up and stepped forward, tilting his head to the side as if it would help him hear better. As the noise shook the cave, there was no denying the loud snoring emerging from the far end. A burning desire grew inside of him. He wanted to know what kind of an animal snored that loudly. He assumed some sort of hibernating bear, but he wanted to see it with his own two eyes.

              With curiosity bubbling inside of him, he hugged the wall, slowly making his way farther and farther into the cave. He kept one hand on the wall and the other on the small flashlight, trying to look around for the source of the sound. As he ventured deeper and deeper into the cave, he started to feel the heat intensify.

              Casey stopped, feeling sweat building up under his jacket. He wondered why it was suddenly so hot, and even contemplated taking off his jacket. The loud rumble sounded once more, bringing Casey back into reality until he took a few steps forward, gasping loudly at a sight he never thought he would lay eyes on.

Chapter 3

              Casey rubbed his eyes violently and blinked a couple of times trying to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. He couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Could it be real? He took a tentative step forward as visions of his childhood came flooding back to him.

              Lying in front of him, curled up in a tight yet enormous ball, was a ruby-red dragon. The dragon’s scales shone in the dull light provided by Casey’s flashlight. Its large chest moved up and down with its steady breathing. A large, barbed tail wrapped around the hulking figure until it rested on one of its large claws like a slithering snake. Large, dark spikes emerged along its spine.

              Casey stared at the creature in disbelief. He had to be dreaming. Dragons didn’t exist. He thought back to all the fairytales he had read and all the movies he had seen. Dragon’s weren’t real. But this large creature
looked
like a dragon. He tried rubbing his eyes once more. He pinched himself, but the dragon was still there.

              Maybe he wasn’t sleeping. Casey took another step forward, as an unknown force drew him toward the creature. He felt himself gravitate toward it slowly. The warmth radiating from the dragon was slowly seeping into Casey’s body, making him feel warm and sleepy. With a sheepish smile on his face, he continued to move forward, tiptoeing his way closer and closer.

              He was now inches away from the beast. He could feel the ground vibrating ever-so-slightly with the dragon’s breathing and could feel soft tufts of air shoot out from its nostrils. With a shaky hand, Casey reached out, his fingertips almost touching the blood-red scales that covered the dragon.

              With his heart pounding in his chest, Casey pressed a hand against the creature, feeling its warmth. He looked at the contrast between his own pale skin and that of the dragon’s. His eyes were locked on the dragon’s head in case the giant lizard happened to wake up. But the dragon, to Casey’s surprise, continued its slumber.

              Casey stood like that for a moment, enjoying the warmth that now surrounded him. A few seconds later, he moved his hand away, becoming even more daring as he leaned down and gently touched the dragon’s massive claws. He passed his finger across the blade-like talons as he shivered in fear. Still, he continued to probe and prod the dragon, his curiosity getting the best of him. He looked at the tail before slowly picking up the snake-like tip, then dropped it with a soft thud.

              Grinning, he got up and walked around toward the dragon’s back, shining his flashlight on its massive wings. He reached out and touched them. An even bigger smile erupted on his face as he felt the soft leather.

              He turned to the dragon’s head next. He looked at it curiously, examining the small scales swirling around its skull in a complex design. Casey’s let his fingertips slowly trace this design, mesmerized by the tight swirls and contours. He smiled to himself, feeling a sense of bliss running through his body as he looked down at the storybook legend. If only this was real. Taking a deep breath, he gently laid his cheek on top of the dragon’s head. Old boyish dreams came back to him as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to be pulled into the realm of fantasy.

              Eventually he stepped back, looking down at the creature. He had never expected to find a dragon in this cave, but luckily it seemed to be in some sort of deep slumber. Maybe dragons hibernated too. Taking a risk, Casey suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs and looked at the dragon intensely, waiting for it to wake up. It didn’t.

              Thinking himself safe enough, Casey took off his jacket and tossed it to the side before cuddling up against the dragon. At least he would stay warm. He laid his head on the dragon’s large paw, using it as a pillow. He closed his eyes and, with the warmth of the dragon surrounding him, he quickly fell asleep with a smile on his face.

              As he drifted off, his mind tried to convince him that this was all some sort of wild dream. He pictured himself waking up back in the lodge, safe and sound, the snowmobile safely returned to the old man within the time constraint. He dreamed of drinking some hot chocolate beside the large fire at the lodge.

              To Casey, dragons were something of myths and fairy tales. They didn’t exist, and they certainly didn’t hibernate. This was just some crazy dream, some sort of hallucination from being caught in the freezing cold. Maybe this was a of byproduct of minor hypothermia. Nonetheless, Casey was sure that he would wake up soon with everything back to normal.

              As he slept, however, he was oblivious to the blizzard raging outside. The snow was coming down hard, filling the land with inches of a white, fluffy cover that would take its time to melt, if at all. The wind was whipping around the snow, creating huge mounds the size of modern-day houses. The world was painted in white, trapping everything in its icy grip.

              Somewhere out there, the snowmobile no longer existed, lost under the never-ending snow. Its bright blue paint could no longer be seen, and its engine would never be heard again. The world was slowly being consumed by Old Man Winter.

              Down at the lodge, skiers retreated from the cold to drink hot chocolate and wrap themselves with blankets as the wind howled outside the windows. Families huddled together, keeping each other warm.

              Meanwhile, Casey slept by a dragon’s side.

Chapter 4

              The dragon was in a deep slumber indeed. Every year he traveled to the southern Alps in order to hibernate in his winter nest. It was nothing fancy, just a cave on the side of the mountain. He slept there every winter, peacefully, undisturbed by the human world.

              But this year a small human had entered his cave and was now sleeping by his side. Still asleep, he could not react to the small human male next to him, but his instincts slowly took over. As he slept, his body started to transform. His wings shrank, his tail withered into nothingness, and his body slowly grew smaller and smaller until he took human form.

              He smiled in his sleep, as he wrapped his bare arms around Casey, pulling him into a tight embrace. Casey moaned softly in his sleep, before subconsciously cuddling up close to the dragon. He laid his head on the dragon’s chest, smiling to himself. The dragon tangled his legs together with Casey’s until they were locked together like a loving couple.

              The heat that had settled around the cave soon dissipated as the dragon slept in his human form. Casey began to shiver as the temperature plummeted below freezing. The dragon’s instincts kicked in once more. His large wings began to reemerge from his back before wrapping around the fragile human. The velvet-like material worked like a blanket that kept Casey nice and warm. He nuzzled into the dragon’s chest, gravitating toward the heat that radiated from it. Soon enough he had his own arms locked around the man, holding on to him slightly, just like he held on to his pillows when he slept alone.

              Casey was now trapped in a lover’s embrace. The dragon’s body was reacting, treating Casey like a mate. His arms flexed slightly as he pulled the human even closer, almost protectively. The dragon’s head lay near Casey’s, their cheeks touching.

              Hours went by like this. The two men slept soundly. Eventually, however, Casey woke up and opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. He could feel something wrapped around him, but had no idea what it was. Still groggy from sleep, he tried stretching.

              He quickly found his limbs trapped in some unknown grip. His eyes grew wide in surprise. He looked around, trying to strain his vision, but he was still blind in the darkness that filled the cave. He fumbled in his pockets, looking for his keys. After a moment, he managed to pull them out before feeling his way through the keys and finding the flashlight.

              He pressed the switch quickly, but nothing happened. He pressed it again and cursed under his breath when he realized the battery was gone. His breathing became ragged as fear crept under his skin, making him panic. His heartbeat quickened in his chest, threatening to emerge from his torso, as a cold sweat built on his neck. He had to calm down.

              He closed his eyes, trying to relax. His chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths that filled his lungs to their capacity. A few minutes later he opened up his eyes, his mind cleared of the fog that had threatened to take him over. He looked around, still blind. Slowly he reached out his hands and felt around, hoping it would give him some sort of clue.

              His fingertips brushed against the velvet wings of the dragon. He recognized it from earlier. Was he still dreaming? Regardless, he continued to trace his fingers along the dragon’s wings until he made his way to the creature’s chest. Casey froze as he felt the sensation of human skin. He tilted his head in confusion as he tried again to see something in the darkness of the cave.

              But his eyes couldn’t adjust to the darkness. So he continued his search, running his fingertips along the chiseled chest. He shivered slightly, wondering who this person was and what they were doing with the dragon. His hands continued to slither along this unknown body.

              Casey’s eyes grew large as he felt his hand gripping a large member. Casey froze in place with his hand wrapped around this man. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t move a muscle as he felt it twitch slightly in his hand, reacting to his touch. He suddenly snapped out his trance, recoiling his hand.

              As he lay there, he couldn’t help but feel the man’s body pressed against his. His cheeks turned red at the thought of it. He tried to squirm away from the man’s embrace, but the wings just tightened around him further.

              As he struggled, the cave slowly lit up with an unknown light. He couldn’t pinpoint the source, but eventually it illuminated the cave enough for him to see.

              He blushed even harder when he looked at the man’s face, inches from his. He had angular features with stubble on his chin, giving him a rugged look. His hair was dark and disheveled, small wisps falling toward his eyes. His skin was flawless. His lips were sharp and supple-looking at the same time. Casey leaned forward gently, as he looked at the man, almost mesmerized by him.

              Casey wondered where this man had come from for a moment. Surely Casey had been the only person in the cave. He tried to think of how the man could have ended up in the cave and why on Earth he was naked. The thought of the man’s bare member in Casey’s hand made him blush anew.

              He suddenly felt the urge to get away from the unknown man. As he did, he noticed the wings emerging from the man’s back. He froze in shock for a moment. Was this man related to the dragon somehow? This thought caused Casey to renew his struggles, squirming as much as possible, trying to wiggle his way out of the winged cocoon.

              As he struggled, his movements began to wake the man. His eyes fluttered opened and his arms wrapped even tighter around Casey, making him stop. The man looked at the small human and their eyes locked. The man grinned to himself, his lips curling upwards as he peered into the pale blue eyes of an omega.