When Two Souls Meet (Dragons of Paragon Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  Chapter 13

  Dragons of Paragon

  When Two Souls Meet

  Book 2

  Jan Dockter

  © 2017

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  © Copyright 2017 by Persia Publishing - All rights reserved.

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  The information herein is offered for entertainment purposes solely, and is universal as so. The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter One

  Malcolm MacMurray was in bed, thinking of Carrie Demarko. He’d met her at his best friend Aldain’s wedding. Carrie had been the maid of honor for Aldain’s wife, Tori, and Malcolm had been Aldain’s best man.

  Malcolm was also acting clan chief for the Paragon Dragon Clan. Aldain was the actual clan chief, but he was also a member of the council, who were considered the heads of each different group of shifters, fairies, vampires, angels, and demons. Aldain was the head of not just his clan but all dragon shifters. This kept him away from the island for prolonged periods of time, so he made Malcolm, his second in command, acting clan chief where their clan lived.

  There was nothing Malcolm hadn’t been able to handle. Malcolm was very good at his job, and Aldain had total trust in him. He also liked staying on the island; it was where he was born and raised, and he knew everyone because the town was small. The community was very close-knit, and everyone helped take care of those in need. It was like being part of a huge family.

  Malcolm was honored Aldain wanted him to be his best man, but he wasn’t expecting to meet a woman who turned his world upside down. He was drawn to her from the moment he met her. She had come from America to be with her friend Tori. When they were introduced, he shook her hand and felt a jolt of electricity go through his body. Not only did it shock him emotionally, but it also had an odd effect on his dragon, who got highly agitated. He wanted to be with her wherever she went. This wasn’t something his dragon had done before. Carrie was the most beautiful woman Malcolm had ever seen, and he didn’t blame his dragon at all. If he could have been with her all the time he would have.

  They spent time together at Aldain’s castle during the wedding, getting to know each other. Their enjoyed walking in the glen. To Malcolm, Carrie was the perfect woman. When she laughed, it caused his heart to race. The sound reminded him of bells tinkling in the wind. Whenever she smiled, his knees would go weak. He wanted to feel her lips on his. He wondered if they would feel as soft as they looked. Everything about her kept him and his dragon off balance.

  After the wedding ceremony, Malcolm invited Carrie to come with him to visit the island where he lived, the Isle of Skye. He lived in a little village called Ardvasar. The Isle of Skye was only fifty miles long, but it has a rich history. The main clans that were first known to live there were the MacDonald Clan and MacLeod Clan. Aldain Kincaid’s clan came later. They preferred the cooler climate of the isle and enjoyed the higher elevation.

  When the dragon shifters arrived at the isle, they were a small group. They kept to themselves, but in time, they became friends with the other clans living there. They were always willing to give a helping hand to anyone in need, and in a brief time were accepted and welcomed. The other clans had a feeling that the Kincaid Clan was different. After their arrival, there were several people who swore they had seen dragons. If they did exist, they never harmed anyone and kept to themselves, so the rumors eventually died a slow death as less and less people mentioned them. The occasional dragon sighting became a way of life that no one ever mentioned.

  Malcolm told Carrie if she would come with him she could stay with his parents. They would love to have her, and he’d also take care of any other needs she may have. Malcolm’s father couldn’t make the wedding, so she had yet to meet him. He was at a meeting in Australia in his capacity as an ambassador for the Kincaid Clan. He traveled quite a bit. Carrie felt very uncomfortable having someone she just met taking care of her. Aldain’s mother, Heather, assured her Malcolm not only had the means but that it would be an insult to him to refuse his offer of allowing him to take care of her. He had invited her, and he would take care of her; it was that simple. Carrie thought about it for a day. Malcolm said she could have that long to decide. He had to get back to the isle. Carrie decided she liked Malcolm so much she had nothing to lose. She wanted to get to know him better. She seemed to have such a connection to him, one she had never experienced with anyone else. She wanted to explore these feelings more.

  Tori was ecstatic to find Carrie was going to extend her visit. She told Carrie when she was done visiting on the isle that she could stay with her and Aldain at the castle. Aldain didn’t have a problem with this because his castle was large enough to house a small army. He wanted Tori happy, and if she wanted Carrie to stay with them, the more the merrier. He’d spent most of his adult life alone, and having people around was something he had recently realized made him feel like he belonged. He was the clan chief of the Paragon Dragon Clan, and he was always sur
rounded by clan members, but the people living with him were his friends, his family. Being around them gave him a sense of being loved for who, not what, he was. He cherished the feeling it gave him.

  Tori helped Carrie pack for her trip to the isle, and Malcolm had found a tour called Hairy Coo, which offered a three-day tour leaving from Edinburgh that visited several various places throughout Scotland, including the Isle of Skye. They would stop there while the rest of the tour continued. He thought Carrie would enjoy getting to visit some well-known tourist attractions along the way. As much as Malcolm would have loved to fly home as quickly as possible, the idea of spending more time with Carrie tempered that need.

  Malcolm soon discovered Carrie loved anything mythical— unicorns, dragons, and fairies. She loved it all. Whenever she spoke of mythological beings, her face would light up. This made Malcolm happy. If she loved all things mythical, maybe she could love him too, especially when she found out he was a dragon shifter. By the second day of the tour, Malcolm was sure Carrie was his soulmate. Not only did he know it, but his dragon kept reminding him that she was his. He had thought she might be when they first met and touching her had sent that spark of electricity through his body. He stayed close by her afterward to make sure when the time was right he could take the relationship to the next level. Inviting her to come to his home and meet his family seemed like the next step.

  Malcolm’s mother, Magda, had left for the isle after the wedding. She never felt comfortable away from home, but the entire Kincaid Clan had attended their chief’s wedding. No one would dare miss it because everyone loved Aldain and would do anything for him. He was a good clan leader. Magda met Carrie before the wedding took place but didn’t get the chance to talk to her. When Malcolm sent a message informing her that he was bringing Carrie to stay as his guest on the isle, Magda wished she had taken more time to get to know her.

  Malcolm had never before invited a woman to be his guest that Magda knew of. She had a feeling this woman was someone very important to him. She spent the day of their arrival making sure everything was clean and polished and that the kitchen was well stocked with food. She wanted to make a good impression. She also wanted to make her son proud by showing Carrie Scottish hospitality.

  The tour bus stopped at the restaurant listed on the tour itinerary for dinner. Malcolm and Carrie thanked the tour guide for a wonderful time and said goodbye to the other tourists. All the tourists came from various parts of the world. Carrie loved learning about their different customs. She reminded Malcolm of a sponge; there didn’t seem to be anything that didn’t interest her. She was like an open book with blank pages. Every day she would find something new and print that knowledge in her mind. Her thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. A car waited for them at the restaurant. Malcolm found the keys under the visor. As they drove the short distance to his mother’s house, Carrie told Malcolm how much she was enjoying her time with him.

  “Malcolm, I can’t tell you how much spending time with you has meant to me,” she said. “Meeting at the wedding and our walks in the glen… Telling me the history of Scotland and the mythical creatures from here, the guided tour—all of it. I feel like Scotland is a magical place.”

  Malcolm gave her a lopsided grin. “Well, lass, I hope being with me has been just as magical as the stories and history.” He had a twinkle in his eyes.

  Carrie leaned over, putting her hand on his leg, almost causing Malcolm to jerk the wheel of the car. He felt the heat from her body coursing through his. It was so strong his dragon roared and demanded he stop the car and ravish her there on the spot. It took everything he had to keep from doing just that.

  She looked at him intently. Her eyes always made him feel like she could see straight through him. She cocked her head to the side. “I feel there is something more to you, Malcolm. Something I can’t quite put my finger on. I know you are much more than you seem.”

  Malcolm started at her words. “What do you mean, lass? I am the same man you have been spending this last week with—nothing more, nothing less.”

  Carrie had a contemplative look on her face, like she wanted to tell him something but wasn’t sure if she should. Malcolm hoped she felt she could trust him with whatever it was that seemed to be bothering her. He didn’t want to keep secrets between them. He knew he was keeping the fact he was a dragon shifter from her, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to do it for long.

  Malcolm pulled the car over and took Carrie’s hand in his. “If there is something bothering you, please tell me. I promise you there isn’t anything you can’t trust me with.” Carrie sighed, “I will tell you, but you have to promise me you won’t think I’m crazy. By the time I’m done, most people make the sign of the cross with their fingers and throw garlic at me.”

  Malcolm couldn’t help himself. He gave a hearty laugh. “I promise, there isn’t anything you can say that would make me think that.”

  Carrie looked at him with a serious expression on her face and, taking a deep breath, started talking. “When I was five years old, I started to see and know things. One day, my grandmother was getting ready to go hunting, and I started to scream and cry for her not to go. She laughed at me and told me that I was being silly. ‘What could possibly happen?’ she asked me. I told her if she went she would be shot. She laughed at me and told me I worried too much, to get a thought like that out of my mind.”

  Carrie looked down at her hands.

  “She went hunting. Later that afternoon, my mother got a phone call. My grandmother had been shot by a stray bullet. It blew her kneecap off before going through her other leg. My grandmother almost died, but the doctors were able to keep her alive. My mother looked at me like I had three heads, but she never mentioned what I’d said, asking my grandmother not to go. I blamed myself for years. I thought if I hadn’t said something, the accident would never have happened. I felt saying it made it happen.” Tears streamed down her face as she continued. “After she was shot, I would never tell anyone of my feelings. I kept them secret. I just couldn’t live with myself if I said something and someone would get hurt or die because of what I said. The ability has become stronger as I have gotten older. I just know things—I don’t know why. I’m a freak of nature, Malcolm. Nothing about me seems normal. That’s one reason I have shied away from having any kind of a relationship with a man. I know as soon as he sees what a freak I am he will leave. I prayed for years for this ability to go away, but it has just gotten stronger, and I have more than one. I used to ask my mother if there was a man out there who would think me worth loving and she always said yes. I think she said that to make me feel better. Who could love a freak? I won’t blame you if you want me to leave. I just had to let you know—sometimes weird things happen around me that I have no control over. If they do, you aren’t going crazy. it’s me.”

  Carrie wiped her face.

  “I also know in my heart that there is more to you than what people see. Since I have been near you, whatever you want to call this ability I have has gotten stronger. Every night I seem to be dreaming of dragons. It seems at times I can hear your thoughts. I know what I’m telling you might sound crazy, but there is a reason behind all this. I just don’t know what.”

  She sobbed now like her heart was breaking. She cared for Malcolm so much the thought of him sending her away gave her an empty feeling she had never felt before.

  Malcolm was so shocked that he just sat there, unable to utter a word. She was describing the attributes of a Chosen One—a human who was born with special abilities to help a dragon clan. All dragon shifters had heard about them. Some shifters believed in them but most didn’t. A clan was gifted indeed if they had a Chosen One among them. They saw things the shifters didn’t and were able to help keep them safe. They knew when danger was coming, and if a shifter should get sick, which was very rare, they would know why and how to fix them.

  A Chosen One was different from the average psychic. They were drawn toward the dragons. Their gifts
were created specifically for dragon shifters. Currently, humans who were Chosen Ones never knew dragon shifters existed, and the small few who thought they might exist were never able to find them. Most spent the rest of their lives using their different abilities helping people but always had a feeling of un-fulfillment, like something was missing from their lives. The clans seemed to have forgotten they existed. There hadn’t been a Chosen One in a clan for hundreds of years. No one could recall why they weren’t around anymore. It had been so long that most dragon shifters thought they were a myth.

  Could Carrie really be a Chosen One? He was going to find out, but from the look on her face, she seemed to think he was thinking exactly what she was afraid of, that she was a nut case. Malcolm folded her into his arms.

  His face was close to her head as he whispered in her ear, “Oh, mo ghràdh cuiribh nach eil caoineadh! I believe every word you’ve told me. I think you are a very special woman with very extraordinary gifts. I would never send you away. You aren’t a freak, and you are very much worth loving,” he said as he held her tightly in his arms as if he were trying to protect her from herself and her own self condemnation. He kissed her lightly on the lips to reassure her of how he felt. He held her close until her sobs started to subside and her tears dried up. He rocked her back and forth like a loving parent would do with a child. He didn’t think of himself as coming close to feeling like a parent about her, but he knew some expressions of love and comfort were universal, no matter who you were.

  As Malcolm held her, she got an overwhelming sense of wellbeing. She felt she belonged in his arms. She could feel raw power exuding from his body. Without realizing it, she sighed as she snuggled into his chest. As she did, she could have sworn she heard a purr coming from him.