Saving Cinder

by Maggie Hemlock

  I loved that man more than I thought possible, but I couldn’t think of him laying poisoned right now. I couldn’t let the thought of our possible children going through that same ordeal sit in my mind too long. Anger wasn’t my weapon to wield. I had my bow and when that failed me, I had my wits and fists and of course an inner beast hungry for a fight.

  Dragons circled around Reggie cutting off his escape routes. He grew frantic and snarled. His fire shot in all directions trying to pick out the weaker fighters. A young black dragon flinched. Reggie charged and the other dragon dropped lower letting him slip out.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Clarence told the teenager over the pack link. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  Clarence dropped low away from the group and flew past the teen. He nipped the end of his tail and told him to retake his place in the ranks. Clarence flew low to avoid the force of the wind. He dropped lower and lower until I thought he found a place to land. Beneath us was clear blue water. The coast of Cuba was five miles out from us.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I shouted over the flapping of his wings.

  “Giving you a shot at his eyes or underbelly. I’m not in the habit of letting wolves fly on my back, but I made an exception for you. Reginald wants revenge for how you humiliated him in Cornwall. I have the bait and a prideful bastard like Reginald can’t resist taking it. He’ll follow us and when he dives, you’ll get your shot. Bring him down. Dragons can hold their breath for a long time underwater. Don’t let him dive before you shoot. Without a blood trail we’ll never find him under the water.”

  “Bring him close enough,” I said and fixed my arrow into the crossbow.

  Minutes passed and then Reggie showed up just as Clarence said he would. Smoke puffed from his nostrils leaving contrails in the sky. His eyes narrowed and he flapped harder. Clarence roared and let out a long jet of fire. Reggie roared back. Now that he didn’t consider himself outnumbered; he was ready to fight. The others hung back watching the exchange. They glanced confused from one to the next as they awaited their leader’s command.

  Reggie flew over us and erupted with his own sting of fire. I ducked my head under Clarence’s massive scaled wing. The fire grazed against my back burning my shirt and leaving stinging raw flesh behind. Pain pumped adrenaline through my veins. I glanced out of the corner of my eye for Stacy, but she wasn’t there. I shook my head and gripped my crossbow tighter.

  “Cinder is mine!” I shouted above the noise.

  Dragons have sensitive ears which hear better than most other shifters. Evolution honed their hearing which aided them in becoming the kings of the sky. Reggie’s eyes narrowed on me and I grinned.

  “You heard me! Cinder is mine! What the fuck are you going to do about it?”

  “Mind your anger,” Clarence said over the flight link.

  I wasn’t angry. Not like I had been for years. I was outsized and outfired, but not angry. Determination shook my soul. One of us wasn’t leaving this fight alive and I wasn’t about to make Cinder a double widower before we ever married. If Sivan could come back from the dead to help him, I could take down this overgrown skink.

  “Cinder is mine. It’s Cinder Degray-Moonscale-Warren now!” I howled.

  Somewhere in the back of my head Cinder let out a sleepy laugh.

  Reggie roared up and let out another stream of fire. Only I was ready this time. I ducked before the tongue of the flame left his ugly mug. Clarence leaned back and brushed off most of the flame shot with his other wing.

  “Is that all you got? Some hot air and gasoline in your gullet?” I shouted.

  Reggie’s crazed eyes said I had him exactly where I wanted him. He nose-dived towards us.

  “Hope you’re ready,” Clarence growled over the flight link.

  I held my breath and lined up the shot. Reggie shot fire and Clarence knocked it away with his scaled tail. Sparks flew through the air as fire slammed against metal. An ember landed on my jeans and I stamped it out with my elbow while keeping my eyes on the oncoming target.

  “Wait for it,” my wolf whispered.

  I wasn’t shooting until I had a clear view of his beady eyes. He soared closer and closer. Clarence roared over the flight link for me to shoot, but it wasn’t time. I could almost reach up and touch his sooty nose. Then I released my arrow. It hit square in the pupil of his left eye. Clarence fell through the sky taking me with him. He swept left out of the path of the snarling half-blind lizard. My wolf howled and I left the sound crawl out of my throat too. The fight wasn’t over, but it felt good to put an arrow in the bastard who hurt Cinder. I aimed the crossbow again trying to get a clear shot of Reggie’s underbelly as he twisted and contorted heading towards the coast. The New Shifter’s Republic of Cuba, now totally under shifter control, wouldn’t take lightly to his intrusion. Their prime minister was a manatee shifter who worked hard to keep the peace of his island nation full of multiple different clans sharing limited resources. Prime Minster Alister Seawhisker allied with the Moonscale dragons for protection from such rogues as Reggie.

  I couldn’t get a clear shot of his belly and wouldn’t risk another arrow this close to the protected homes and recreational areas of water shifters. Someone’s kid could be out for a swim down there. Reggie hit the sandy shore hard. I heard a woman scream for her kids to run. Beachgoers fled as the dragon flopped around. Giving up, Reggie finally shifted back to his human form. His eye bled leaving rivers of blood running down the side of his face.

  Clarence circled looking for a safe place to land, but I didn’t wait. As soon as I saw a clear spot my ass was off his back and plummeting towards the sand. I shifted and used my inner beast’s surefootedness to slide across the sand. Reggie pulled a pistol from his pocket. I shifted back to my human form and ducked behind a massive sandcastle. A little girl hugged her knees to her chest. Somewhere in the distance a carrier screamed for her. She didn’t budge. I pressed my fingers to my lips. She nodded and wiped away her tears.

  “When that dragon flies by again you grab his tail and you don’t let go, okay?” I whispered to her.

  Reggie was fumbling across the sand. His eye was healing, but his vision wasn’t restored. A fucked-up pupil took medical intervention to save. Not that he’d need it in Frost’s Pit. Reggie fired a shot that skimmed past my ear and out over the water. Clarence swept by again. He snatched the little girl in his massive talons. She yelled and reached out for me. I didn’t have time to tell her it was okay before Clarence carried her out of earshot.

  Reggie shot again. This time the bullet hit the sandcastle. Wet sand exploded as I rolled out of dodge. I stayed on my belly and thought out my next move. Reggie’s sight was clouded by injury, blood, and rage. I needed to time my next attack perfectly, but first I need to get him between the sea in me.

  I shifted into my wolf form and ran up the sand as if to charge him. He shot twice. Both bullets skimmed my fur, but I didn’t stop running. I raced past him. He turned to follow.

  “Running already?” He laughed. “I guess Cinder doesn’t mean that much to you, after all, does he? Don’t worry. Since he won’t be a good little house omega, I have a job for him. Once I kill you and Clarence, I’ll take him, and he can be the first whore at my new establishment. That should be adventurous enough for him.”

  His words curdled my blood, but I didn’t stop running. I needed to give my attack the space it needed to work. Reggie shot again. The bullet grazed my tail. I shifted and spun on my heels to face him. The shift ate one of my boots, but I’d worry about that later.

  “There’s no use in fighting a dragon, you useless riff-raff. Time to meet your maker.” He raised the gun. “Don’t worry. I’ll let Cinder know you died a coward.”

  I ripped Stacy’s locket from my chest and opened it. In a fit of anger, I slung it. The golden charm slapped him in the face as the storm ripped out of it. Winds shook him discomforting his features. Ethereal hands and fists snatched, groped, and hit him from inside the sto
rm.

  “BE HAPPY! DAMN YOU!” Stacy’s voice carried from within the winds of the storm. “JUST BE HAPPY! THAT’S ALL I EVER WANTED, SETH!”

  The storm didn’t move out to sea. It stayed small swirling and whirling around Reggie as if the spirits themselves controlled it. The winds and ethereal hands ripped chunks and bits of flesh from his bones. He roared trying to shift, but whatever magic Stacy stored in the locket didn’t allow him that final privilege.

  Clarence landed next to me holding the little girl against his chest. She buried her face and his massive hand covered her little ears.

  “Is this what you used on that last mission?” He shouted above the storm.

  “Yeah. It didn’t act like this then.” I shook my head.

  As the storm subsided only a pile of bones and scales remained. Next to what was left of Reggie laid Stacy’s locket now free of the storm. I scooped it up. Opposite of her photo was a photo of Cinder I hadn’t placed there.

  “I’ll be damned,” I whispered under my breath.

  “The ancestors smile on you, wolf-man,” Clarence chuckled. “You heard the woman. You better be happy. She might bring her friends after you if you aren’t.”

  “You heard that too?” I blinked.

  “The whole damn island heard that. She has a pair of lungs on her.”

  “She was never soft spoken.” I shook my head in disbelief.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Cinder

  Clarence and the others held a feast on the island the night of the battle. Prime Minister Seawhiskers and a few of his people joined in the celebrations. The feast was in Seth’s honor for ridding the world of such a foul creature, but he couldn’t be bothered to attend. My back and head still hurt. I was still woozy from the sedative. A quick trip to the clinic assured me I didn’t have unlaid eggs to worry about. As much as I wanted a baby, I was glad my heat hadn’t resulted in a conception. The sedative could have injured them if they existed within my womb. My system was officially clear of the sedative, but the whole ordeal left me feeling like crap.

  Instead of receiving his Moonscale Medal of Honor in person Seth stayed home with me. If he really wanted to go, I would’ve rallied the last of my strength and forced a smile on my face. Instead, we turned out all the lights and snuggled on the sofa. Some old movie with animated penguins played in the background.

  Seth played with my hair and leaned his forehead against mine. His scent washed away the trauma of the day. Reggie was really gone. He couldn’t hurt me anymore. Seth and the Moonscale Flight rose to the occasion even if their numbers were spread out.

  “Sivan and Stacy are the real heroes,” Seth whispered to me. “Without them I don’t know how today would’ve ended.”

  “Like this. We would have found a way, but we don’t have to worry about that. I don’t think we’ll ever be without them. They’re always with us.”

  Seth kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes. I was too tired to sleep. Too exhausted to think too hard about anything that passed that day.

  “I want to feel you. I want to know what you’re thinking and feeling and processing,” I said without opening my eyes, “but I’m too tired to mate.”

  “We’ll do the claiming vows when you feel better. There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere. Even if I am down my secret weapon.”

  “No, you’re not. Your secret weapon is that big heart of yours,” I laughed.

  “That’s not the part of me most people would call big.”

  “Don’t talk like that or you’ll have to do all of the work.”

  “We can exchange the vows without mating.”

  “I know. I just want you,” I pressed my forehead hard against his.

  “I’m right here.”

  I sat up and pulled my shirt off over my head. Seth ran his fingers over my shoulders. He massaged my sore muscles and worked his way to my claim gland. It was swollen with the liquid needed for a true claiming ceremony.

  “Let’s do it,” I smiled. “I’ve been playing this out in my head over and over. I’ve thought about how to make it perfect, but this is perfect as life gets. We’re alive and together. No one innocent died today.”

  Seth pulled his shirt off over his head and tossed it to the floor.

  “I don’t know what to say. I know there’s no script. Maybe I’m just tired or maybe we’ve said everything two people can say about it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ll protect you and our children from anyone who threatens our happiness. I love you, Cinder.”

  “I love you too, Seth,” I said and leaned my head to the side to give him full access to my claiming gland.

  He pressed his lips against the gland and tingles danced up my spine. Then he wrapped his hands around my stomach and hugged me tight to him. His warm moist tongue danced over the gland awakening primal desires and hopes despite the exhaustion pulling at my brain. Seth was the only thing that made sense in this screwed up world.

  “I’m ready,” I said before Seth could ask the question.

  His canine pierced the gland. I stiffened as the sting spread through my shoulder. The pain receded as Seth lapped at the clear liquid which oozed from the gland. I felt his presence enter my thoughts, but it was one sided until I left my mark on him.

  Turning, I straddled his lap and he leaned back against the sofa. Our lips met in a hungry kiss and his strong hands cupped my ass cheeks. His familiar touch stoked the fires in my belly. Seth was hard underneath me and every whip of his tongue drew me into his world of lust and love.

  “It wouldn’t be the end of the world if we mated tonight,” I laughed when the kiss broke.

  “It wouldn’t?” Seth teased. “Volcanoes won’t erupt, and the plague won’t spread again?”

  “I don’t give a damn if any of that happens as long as I’m with you.” I kissed him again.

  I slid off his lap long enough to strip from the waist down. Seth undid his fly and kicked off his pants. He reached out to me and I took his hand. Flesh-to-flesh with Seth was the best feeling in the world. I was wet and horny. My soul was raw and open, and I needed what only he could give me.

  I wrapped my hand around Seth’s hard thick cock. Lust danced through his hungry blue eyes as I squeezed him hard. I gave him a few promising strokes before rising to my knees and pressing the head of his dick against my hungry slick omegahole.

  “Damn,” Seth swore under his breath.

  He bucked up hard sliding easily into my slick hole. I held tight to his shoulders as delightful friction and fullness filled my head. He pulled me close and kissed me hard. Pleasure spiraled over me relaxing my tired angry muscles.

  “Ready?” I asked and glanced down at his shoulder.

  “For longer than you know,” Seth whispered.

  I kissed across his sun kissed muscular shoulder until I found his squishy claim gland filled with liquid just waiting for me to finish our vows. I kissed and licked the gland. The liquid moved under my mouth. My hands shook as I extended a draconic canine and pierced it careful not to go too deep. The clear sweet liquid erupted into my mouth. Seth’s thoughts, arousal, and emotions flooded into my mind and soul. I wrapped an arm around his neck as I lapped the rest of the oozing liquid until not a trace was left behind.

  Seth bucked up hard sending his throbbing cock further into my body. I clung to him as I rode his dick meeting his slow deliberate movements. I kissed his neck, shoulders, any bit of him I could reach as our thoughts and spirits mingled. Our inner beasts roared and howled with delight finally fully connected and able to communicate any time they wished.

  Waves of pleasure crashed over us as our bodies moved together. Each movement brought double waves of pleasure. My feelings and his morphed together creating a single throbbing need demanding to be fulfilled. Physical sensations and emotions mingled until I couldn’t tell one from the other. Seth’s warm hands trailed over my ass and hips and finally around to my own hard cock. He squeezed hard and ran his thumb over the head of
it. I moaned into his shoulder. His hand worked over my dick in slow steady time with our lovemaking.

  “I’m close, Alpha,” I whispered to him trying out the word aloud.

  “Me too, mate,” Seth growled in my ear.

  He squeezed my dick hard until my steady up and down motions became frantic in search of the pleasure both of our bodies demanded. Seth’s dick twitched inside of me. I gasped as the first hints of orgasm rattled my brains. My nails dug into the flesh of his back. He growled in my ear and bucked up hard. His hands moved to my hips as he pounded up into me hard and fast. I threw my head back and roared in victory as passion spilled from every inch of my body. I tensed and tightened my body around him hugging his dick tight and planning to never let go. He shook inside of me again. A howl tore from deep within his chest as his warm seed erupted inside of me. Our bodies didn’t fall still until every last drop of passion was spilled.

  We collapsed on our sides panting and clinging to each other for dear life. Fate robbed us of our true-mates, but not even fate could stop their love for us from bringing us together. If this really was our second chance at happiness we were going to make the best of every moment of it.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Seth

  Cinder and I barely left the house for the next week. It wasn’t the rush of meeting a true-mate. Ours was the comfort of knowing life can go on in good ways. Cookie eventually came out from under the bed where she hid after the battle. The pup had guts, but she wasn’t a fighter. For a few days, we took her food and water to her. She crept out into the garden late at night to do her business and darted back inside as soon as she was done.

  With the future and the world stretched in front of us, we decided to raise our children on the island. When hard times came the whole island rose to our defenses. Cinder wore my Moonscale Medal of Honor on a ribbon around his neck. I didn’t care much for the shiny gaudy piece, but he loved it and claimed it reminded him of how hard I fought to keep him safe.