by Kimber White
I let out a growl and came inside of her. I sank my teeth into that soft space at the base of her neck, scoring her with my flame. Branding her. Making her mine. She reared back, taking me in all the way.
Her fire. My fire. It slipped around and through us. Joining us. Binding us. Becoming something greater than we each had alone. Then, the fire poured back into me, forever altered. It was no longer mine. It was no longer hers. It was ours.
My love. My mate. The mother of my child.
It happened then. I felt it. Gemma gave out a little gasp and I knew she felt it too. A tiny life, created from fire. Gemma opened herself even more, begging for it. And my seed took root.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gemma
Two months later
“They’ll know,” Finn said. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I leaned my head against his shoulder. We fit well together. His heat joined with mine. Since that day in the Durness Wilderness, I could barely keep my hands off of him. He warned me it would be like that at first. A dragon mating is a powerful thing. With each time, I felt our fire grow stronger.
“Still,” I said. “I’d just rather keep this little secret to ourselves a while longer.”
He turned me in his arms and leaned down, pressing his lips to my stomach where our child grew. I hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t planned for it. But, the moment it happened, I knew it was right. It was what we were both meant for.
“You’re sure she won’t be a dragon?” I asked. I’d wondered that from the start.
“No,” he said. “Only two dragons can produce a dragon. What she’ll be is something perfectly new and perfectly wonderful. Now, come on. Let’s go make this official.” He shot me a wink and left the room.
That was the day the Brandhart dragons came to Durness. We were married in the little chapel in the center of town. I wished my father were there to walk me down the aisle and into the arms of the man I loved. But, I felt him there that day just the same. And, I got the next best thing.
Delia poked her head into the tiny cry room where I’d gotten dressed. She wore her best blue dress with a white, lace collar. Her steps were sure. It seemed she got a little dragon magic the day she rejoined the Five. It restored some of her vigor and made her eyes sparkle. Then, my two new sisters walked in.
Shae and Grace took me in right away. Durness was bittersweet for Shae. It turned out Miles was a brother to the mage who’d been her foster father. He’d passed away last year, but he was the spitting image of Miles and I saw tears in his eyes when she told her story. Miles’s brother had died protecting Shae. So, he met a niece he never knew he had.
Shae’s little girl, Cassia, tottered in holding her mother’s hand. She had a shock of red hair and bright blue eyes. I sensed her magic instantly when I bent down to meet her for the first time.
“You’re sure she’s not part mage?” I asked.
“No,” Shae smiled. “But, she was conceived with magic, all right.” Shae blushed.
Grace was Gideon’s wife. She had a newborn baby of her own, Amelia. Incredibly, I’d learned the child was a wolf shifter. Grace’s father was a shifter, and mating with Gideon had somehow reactivated that DNA. And I knew that was a powerful secret we all shared. I felt an instant protectiveness over Amelia and immediate love for Grace.
“You look amazing,” Shae said, gushing. I stood and turned toward the mirror on the wall. I wore my mother’s wedding dress. It was the last thing I had of hers and it mercifully survived the fire when my parents died. She’d kept it preserved in a safety deposit box at the Durness bank along with all my parents’ important papers. For fifteen years, I’d let the lot where our house used to stand stay vacant. Now, with my own baby on the way, Finn and I were thinking about rebuilding.
The gift shop, however, was another matter. Avelina had paid to fix the damage to it, but I deeded it to Benny. He and his nephew would reopen in the spring. As for me, I wanted to see the world with Finn. We would build the house here in Durness, but his business was in Chicago. I wanted to get to know my new family as well as keep my old.
“Time to rock and roll,” Grace said.
I bent down and kissed Cassia on the cheek. With her mother’s help, she would go down the aisle first, spreading flowers along the way. Grace would follow next. Then, Delia and I would go together. It was right that she would give me away.
The next few minutes felt like a dream. I don’t remember my feet touching the ground. I think I floated all the way as Finn looked at me with tears in his eyes.
Miles performed the ceremony, and that was fitting too. A fire mage marrying a dragon and me, the last of my kind. My unborn daughter would be of me, but something altogether new. I couldn’t wait to see what she would do.
As Miles said all the important things, Finn took my hands in his, warming me. The fire glowed between us, forever changed, forever stronger. I took him as my husband and pledged to be his wife. We didn’t need vows to bind us. That was for the rest of the world. Our real bond was much deeper, much stronger than that. When Finn kissed me, my heart skipped and a tiny spark of flame swirled between us.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you more,” I answered. Then, we joined hands and faced our family as one.
Downtown Durness became like Mardi Gras. Covens from all over the country came to celebrate. Old friends and new. I was happy. I was exhausted. I couldn’t wait to get Finn alone.
We sat apart from the crowd on a stone bench near the town square. Avelina was dancing in the streets with Miles. Benny kept cutting in. Delia stood to the side, watching, happy. She turned to us and smiled, then made her way to the empty bench beside us.
Loch, Gideon, and Xander kept watch over the crowd. Only Finn’s brother Kian seemed unhappy here. No, not unhappy. Pensive. He sat on a bench in front of the hardware store sipping a draft beer from a giant mug. Every once in a while, he would look our way and his eyes glinted fire.
“Is he going to be all right?” I asked Finn.
Finn bristled. “I hope so.”
Avelina finally found a break as Shae took Miles’s hand and let him spin her around as the music played on. Avelina made her way over to us and sat beside Delia.
“Okay, old woman,” she said. “Time to share your secrets.”
I almost answered for her. We had no more secrets between us. But, Delia leaned over and whispered something in Avelina’s ear. Avelina’s face fell for a fraction of a second, but she recovered and found her smile.
“Everything okay over there?” I asked.
“Everything is about as perfect as it can be,” Avelina said. She rose looking every bit the regal dragon queen she was. She leaned down and hugged her son, then me. “It’s going to be a wonderful year.” She turned back to the crowd and made her way to Loch. Smiling back, she waved as she pulled him to the side.
I turned to ask Delia what was going on, but she was already gone.
“Leave them to their intrigue,” Finn said. “My mother always manages to find it. We’ve earned a patch of peace.”
Yawning, I settled against him. “She’s right. Everything’s about as perfect as it can be, my love.”
“And it’s only just the beginning,” he said, kissing the top of my head.
“Says you,” I said through another yawn. “I’m looking forward to curling up in bed and sleeping for like a year after this.”
“Oh, you’ll get your sleep,” he growled, nipping my ear. “But, I’m not finished with you just yet.”
I slapped at him playfully. “Shhh, they’ll hear you.”
“Oh, I plan to make you howl, baby.”
I snorted with laughter. I was spent, and yet, heat rose within me. I wanted Finn, badly.
“Come on, wife,” Finn said, rising. He took me with him, lifting me in his arms with dizzying strength. He spun me away from the crowd.
“Where are we going?” I asked. “I never even planned for after. As much as I love you, y
ou’ve kind of been hard on the town. The gift shop’s toast. So is Mrs. Harris’s. And there’s no way I’m sleeping in the woods again, as much fun as we had last time.”
“Relax,” Finn said, with that devilish smirk on his face. “You forget, you’re married to a dragon. I can take you anywhere you want to go.”
The answer popped into my head so quickly, I wondered if he put there. Finn smiled. “I like the way you think. Knoydart it is. I have a little cottage there outside of town. It’s perfect, quiet, peaceful. Tomorrow, I’ll take you into town and introduce you.”
I found Finn’s lips again. They warmed me. We turned down the street, getting away from prying eyes. Then, my husband shifted, spreading his wings wide. I reached up and straddled his back. He reared his head back and let out a roar that only dragons can hear. In the distance, his brothers answered and it sent a shiver through me.
“Are you ready?” Finn’s voice filled my head. “Time for me to show you the world.”
Then, he vaulted into the air with powerful grace and we flew among the stars.
THE END
Epilogue
Loch
Two weeks later
Blackfoot, Yukon
It was him. It had to be him. My dragon stirred as he came into view. Tall, confident, with a ready smile for everyone he passed on the street. He wore faded blue jeans and a red and black checkered shirt. Easy. Casual. But still, I sensed the predatory nature of his gait.
I slipped my phone out of my pocket and slid it open. Avelina had sent a picture of him, but I didn’t need it. I could smell a tiger a mile away. But, it was him all right. Tanned skin. Blond hair with just a touch of silver at the temples. Big. Broad like a linebacker.
“You can’t leave anything to chance,” she’d said. “It’s too important. Not even your brothers know. They can’t. Not this time.”
There had been such desperation in her voice. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she could barely breathe. I’d never seen her like this. No, that’s not true. I’d seen her like this only once before.
Over a year ago, she’d been struck by a dragonstone arrow. It nearly killed her. But, before she died, she relived the memory of the day my father was murdered. Until that moment, I hadn’t known she witnessed it. She never told us. It was too painful for her to talk about. Except, I knew now that she’d relived it over and over again for nearly seven centuries.
“But, how can she be sure?” I asked. We were still in Durness at the time. It had been the day after my brother Finn’s wedding to Gemma. I was happy for him. Elated, really. But, I couldn’t deny my jealousy. Finn was safe. Cured. He would never have to wake with the nightmares of losing control. He’d found his mate and she’d made him whole. Now, it was only my brother Kian and me in the grip of madness.
My mother had taken a meeting with the oldest witch in Durness. Delia Bradbury. The woman had a deep pedigree, leading all the way back to the Salem Witch Trials. Before my mother even said it, I knew Delia had no reason to lie. We’d done something for her. Helped her root out a traitor in her coven. Because of it, Delia felt she owed my mother one last debt. And, as anyone knows, it’s a dangerous thing to owe a debt to a dragon.
“Yeager,” Avelina said, sharing the information Delia gave her with only me. “His name is Yeager. He’s moved around a lot. I lost track of him in South America over thirty years ago. I made a bargain with a pack of jaguar shifters he was working for on a mining crew at the time. They promised to deliver him to me, but they got sloppy. Couldn’t keep their own affairs in order. He disappeared.”
“Jesus,” I whispered. “Do you even think he knows?”
“It doesn’t matter what he knows,” she said, her voice barely more than a hiss. “It only matters what’s in his blood. Of that, there can be no doubt. This is family business, Loch. Retribution. With your father’s dying breath, he made me swear one thing. Vengeance. It’s the only thing he asked for. It’s the only thing that kept me going for all those years. Every time I thought I was safe, the tigers found me. Generation after generation. They swore their own pact and the sons and grandsons of Christoph Jeger kept coming to kill me. I went into hiding for centuries because of it. They’ll never stop coming, so I won’t either. Now, it’s up to you to keep this promise to the father you never knew. I don’t ask much of you. But, you will do this one thing for me, or you are no son of mine.”
My heart turned to stone as she touched my cheek. In an instant, she showed me her pain. My father’s pain. He lay frozen, bound by magic as the tigers closed in and ripped out his throat.
“Yeager,” she said, holding up the picture. “Clint Yeager. He’s the last of Christoph’s line. It’s a simple thing I’m asking. Avenge your father. Take him out. End the war once and for all.”
Clint Yeager. There could be no mistake. He had that tiger swagger as he crossed the street, heading for the hardware store. I took a slow sip of coffee and flipped the page of the newspaper I’d picked up.
Then, a thunderbolt hit me straight in the chest. A roar ripped out of me. Yeager froze and sniffed the air. He caught my scent, but didn’t know what it was. I gripped the mug so hard I cracked the handle.
The air shifted, and my senses heightened. A beat-up red pickup pulled into a space right in front of me, momentarily blocking my view of Yeager. My spine tingled as a new scent took hold.
A woman slid out of the driver’s seat. As she slammed the door shut, her dark hair swished around her shoulders. She dropped her keys on the ground and bent to pick them up. My jeans tightened and I went on high alert. I’d never scented anything like her before. Sweet, primal, intoxicating. She was gorgeous with high, strong cheekbones, full sensual lips. She had a small waist but ample cleavage that nearly spilled out of the white tank top she wore beneath her flannel shirt. She was strong and toned, an athlete for sure.
Her legs were sculpted muscle in cutoff jeans. She wore battered work boots. She seemed to move in slow motion as she straightened and flicked her hair over her shoulder.
I wanted her. A growl ripped from my throat. It was too low for someone like her to hear. She was human. And yet...there was something...other about her.
Clint Yeager was heading straight for her. My fingers turned to talons. I was losing control. I saw Clint’s tiger eyes glint as he focused on her. He was after her. His look was unmistakable. Protective. Possessive. Alpha male.
I rose, ready to get between them. If he so much as touched her…
Her step quickened as Yeager crossed the distance between us. She let out a lilting laugh that warmed my blood.
“Hey, baby,” Yeager said. Deep lines creased his face as he smiled, showing straight, white teeth, the canines just a bit longer than the rest. I rose, struggling to keep my dragon in check.
As Yeager got close, the woman spread her arms wide and threw herself at him. Yeager caught her with one arm and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“Phew,” she said, waving her hand in front of her nose. “Dad, you smell like wet cat.”
Dad?
TO BE CONTINUED IN LOCH’S STORY
CLAIMED BY FIRE
Up Next from Kimber White
CLICK COVER TO LEARN MORE
You won’t want to miss Loch’s story. Sent on a quest for family vengeance, he never expects to find his fated mate surrounded by enemy shifters. Claimed by Fire - Book 4 in the Dragonkeepers Series.
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About the Author
Kimber White writes steamy paranormal romance with smoldering, alpha male shifters and kickass heroines (doormats need not apply). She lives on a lake in the Irish Hills of Michigan with one neurotic dog, her sweet, handsome son, her fire-breathing warrior-princess of a daughter, and the most supportive husband any writer could hope to have (seriously, he just took said son, daughter, and dog out for a boat ride so she could finish this book in peace!).
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Books by Kimber White
Dragonkeepers Series Page
Kissed by Fire
Tempted by Fire
Marked by Fire
Claimed by Fire
Freed by Fire
Mammoth Forest Wolves Series Page
Liam
Mac
Gunnar
Payne
Jagger
Wild Ridge Bears Series Page
Lord of the Bears
Outlaw of the Bears
Rebel of the Bears
Curse of the Bears
Last of the Bears
Wild Lake Wolves Series Page
Rogue Alpha
Dark Wolf
Primal Heat
Savage Moon
Hunter’s Heart
Wild Hearts
Stolen Mate
Claimed by the Pack Series Page
The Alpha’s Mark
Sweet Submission
Rising Heat
Pack Wars
Choosing an Alpha
The Complete Series Box Set