by Milly Taiden
Mark stared over the rim, his gaze unsure his features pinched with fear. “Shit, man, I’m not taking a chance. No money’s worth me dying. Let’s get her out of there before it all goes to hell. We can’t let her die. Ash and Smoke will kill us both.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ash was relieved with the news from Dr. Ishman at their meeting. He and his beta could now focus on their mate. Walking out of the office door, Ash noticed the air was cooler and scented fresher.
“You smell that?” Ash asked Smoke.
“Back to normal. Finally. The dead grass splotches were going away, being replaced by thick green grass.”
Ash would bet that the palm tree where he found the dead frond the other day was coming back to life. “Of course, Isa was correct with her idea of the magic needing to be replenished by our triad. I cannot wait to see what happens when we completely claim our mate.”
“Has she ever been wrong?” Smoke grunted. “I guess we’re calling off any ideas of evacuating the island, right?”
“Yup, no need to. We should put the word out that the volcano isn’t going to erupt, and things will be getting back to normal.”
Smoke grinned. “And with our new and beautiful PR rep, tourists will be pouring in.”
“Yes, but I think our new employee needs more training,” Ash said with his own grin.
“Training in certain areas of island life, yes?” Smoke was getting more excited than he normally was.
“I’m thinking Lovers’ Cliff needs to be closed to tourists for a few hours tonight. You know,” Ash punched his beta in the arm, “closed for maintenance.”
“Yes, maintenance on our mate is perfect,” Smoke agreed. They had reached their mate’s bungalow and knocked. When she didn’t answer, the guys glanced at each other, brows down. Ash knocked again and, turning the knob, found it was locked.
“At least she locked it this time,” Smoke said.
Ash pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed her number. It rang through to voicemail. Strange that she didn’t pick up. Was she on a tour and out of cell range? If that was the case, she was either in the forest or inside the volcano caves. Neither of which he was thrilled with seeing she was probably by herself.
He searched for the security guard watching her home. He sat in the perfect spot on the employee beach where he could see if anyone came to her door. Hidden, yet in plain sight.
“Let’s talk to Niko. Maybe he knows where she went.” The man saw them coming and met them halfway.
“Hey, Alpha, Beta, if you’re looking for your mate, she hasn’t been here in a while.”
“She said she was going home after breakfast,” Ash commented. If she wasn’t here, where was she? “But didn’t say anything about going on a tour.”
The taxi helicopter flew slowly overhead, probably preparing to drop off a Hollywood celebrity who had booked one of the deluxe ocean rooms. Ash hadn’t heard of the guy when Kristin told him who booked the house.
The two backtracked the route, asking those at the edge of the park if they had seen her. No one had. His phone rang again. The ID said chopper pad.
“Hey, Alpha. I dropped off a VIP on the main pad, thinking the person to take him to his room would be here soon. But I’m back, and he is still waiting, and not too happy. Do you know who’s getting him?”
“I’d guess Mark,” Ash answered.
“No, sir. He’s on the volcano with others.”
“Oh. Give Kristin a call.”
“I will, Alpha. Also, I want to tell you the female folk here will love your mate. She’s a darling. That’s it. Bye.”
“Wait, Chopper,” Ash hollered.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Have you seen Valentina this morning?”
“Sure have. Took her up to the crater with the other group.”
The ground began its rumble. What the hell? He thought Dr. Ishman said it was safe. Besides that, the magic should be controlling it. Like Isadora said, as soon as the three were mated—
“We’ll be there in one minute. Be ready to go,” Ash hollered into the phone as he and Smoke took off running toward the helipad.
Smoke said between breaths, “Why isn’t the magic controlling the volcano as it usually does? We have our mate.”
“Yeah,” Ash replied, “but we haven’t completely claimed her yet. We might have created enough power to make the grass green. But not enough to help the volcano.”
“Shit.” Smoke picked up speed, hitting the tarmac at a dead run.
Chopper was on the phone but saw them coming and abandoned his ward for the pilot’s seat. Hopefully, he was talking to Kristin. Ash climbed into the front passenger’s side as the man slipped his headset on.
“Here we go,” Chopper said, lifting off.
“Who is the guide with the group on the crater right now?” Ash asked.
“Tom,” the pilot answered.
“Tom?” Smoke barked. “He’s scuba certified. He was never good on the volcano.”
“My crew has taken him up many times over the years he’s been here. Several times these past weeks.”
“Why would he want to go so often?” Ash wondered out loud.
Chopper shrugged. “Don’t know, but on several occasions, he has had tools with him.”
“What kind of tools?”
“Just spades and shovels,” Chopper said. “I figured he was digging for something, but not sure what. Maybe more of those gold coins that were found the other day.”
“What gold coin?” both guys said.
“A few days ago, someone on a tour found a gold coin of some kind. They showed me when I brought them back. Looked like fake play money beat to hell to me.”
Smoke sat back in his seat. “Fuck,” he mumbled through the headset.
“What?” Ash asked, turning to look at him.
“Yesterday, on our date, Valentina talked about a theory that treasure from Bonnie and Read could have been sucked into the volcano and made its way to the top over the hundreds of years then reburied with eruptions. I’m not sure what she was going on about.”
Ash thought back to the conversation with Dr. Ishman and Valentina. “Dr. Ishman said it was possible for things to get into an extinct lava tube and pushed out through the bowl.”
“Huh,” Smoke said. “That would explain a lot if it’s true.”
Chopper had been quiet till now. “Are your mate and Tom treasure hunting? I don’t like that man. Kristin is a darling. Don’t know how she puts up with him.”
The copter climbed to a high altitude and was quickly at the caldera. Ash saw Tom and others gathered together, but he didn’t see their mate.
“Where is she?” Smoke asked.
Before Ash could remark, Tom raised his arms toward them. The windshield suddenly spider-webbed, blurring the view. Chopper banked fast.
“Did he just shoot at us?” Smoke yelled. “That bastard.”
Chopper maneuvered up and away. Tom fired again but didn’t hit them.
“What the fuck?” the pilot shouted. “That son of a bitch tried to kill us. Alpha, your mate’s in danger.”
“Take us farther out,” Ash said, anger coursing through him. “We’ll shift and come up from the water.”
“Gotcha. What do you want me to do?” Chopper asked.
“Get security in the air and on the ground. Tell them to be ready to engage live ammo with an active shooter.” Ash took his headset off and opened the door. His hair whipped and stung his face as he stepped out onto the landing rails, Smoke doing the same from his door. They closed the doors and let gravity pull them toward the depths, headfirst through the air.
Just before hitting the water, he shifted into his dragon, the animal’s sleek serpentine body cutting through the surface in a perfect dive, causing almost no splash. Undulating, both dragons whipped their tails up and down to speed them toward land. It was a sight to behold. Smoke’s black dragon took the lead because his job was to protect his alpha. Ash’s pu
rple animal followed closely behind.
Tom was going to die if he had harmed one hair on their mate’s head. He wasn’t worried about the gun. The bullet was nothing but a gnat to his dragon. As the water shelf became shallow, they launched out of the water and thrust their wings out and back, forcing them up the side of the cone.
The plan was simple: take out Tom and his men and get their mate before the volcano erupted. If she was near the steam when it shot out, she could be severely scalded. As they reached the top of the mountain’s backside, Ash wasn’t ready for what happened next.
Before his animal could make any correcting move, a dark dragon with a blood-red ring around its neck dove over the edge and slammed into him, plunging him toward the ground. Teeth bit into his shoulder area, and his dragon roared.
He slashed his tail around and struck the creature that held to him. It let go, and both spread their wings before hitting the water. If Ash had to guess, he would bet this was Tom’s animal. No wonder the man was a dickhead; he belonged to one of the most hated clans in Europe if the ring around his throat was any indication.
The dick might be the meanest, but he surely was not the most agile. That award went to him. Tom came for him, claws out, mouth open. Ash easily slithered through the air, sliding out of reach.
Tom roared and banked to the side, coming after him again. Ash flew over the top of the caldera to see what Smoke was doing. He had the men on their knees, hands behind their heads. But Valentina wasn’t there. Find her! He wanted to yell. He waited for Tom to follow him up over the top.
From the corner of his eye, he caught the movement of an almost shadow-like being. Tom surged up from below him, sneaking around the mountain. Claws dug into Ash’s sides, keeping him in place. If he tried to slide away, the claws would slash through his scales.
Instead, he whipped his head around to the side and struck the other dragon in the neck like a vampire. Tom bit into his wing, cracking delicate bones. Both creatures roared and pulled away.
The dark creature swung his feet up to rip at him with his toe-claws. Ash threw his head back, thrusting his shoulders toward the water, the rest of his body flowed in the same path like a ribbon floating in the breeze.
As he skimmed the top of the water and circled back up, he flew behind the creature and used his tail to slap Tom into the side of the volcano. The crash was violent enough for Ash to see rocks fall into the bowl from the ridge. He topped the crest, worried that their mate had been injured.
Smoke had her in his arms, carrying her up the side of the dip. Ash saw the hole where the steam and water had been shooting out. He was directly overhead, eyeing the first wisps escape the hole, signaling the coming eruption. The water rushed up at the same time Tom popped over the wall.
Ash rolled away, and the steam slammed into Tom’s dragon. As Ash watched, a silver object that looked suspiciously like a scuba air tank rocketed up and pierced the dark dragon’s eye, white and red tissue squirting out from the orb. It roared and tumbled through the air, shifting into human form before hitting the water.
Ash looped his body around to rush to the humans to protect them from the burning liquid. Of course, he would be too late as the water was already coming down. He shouldn’t have worried. His trusty, responsible, beta had them covered with his dragon. Their mate was safe.
Chapter Twenty
After shifting behind the volcano cone, Ash slipped on a pair of shorts from a stash kept inside one of the caves for times like this. He hated the amount of time it took to hike back to civilization, but he had to see how his mate was.
He saw the helicopter and security boats head out to where Tom had hit the water. His men would make sure all the treasure hunters were rounded up and held for questioning later. He dreaded that he would have to tell Kristin about her husband almost getting others killed by his greediness, but it might be the thing she needed to kick him out of her life for good.
When he reached the medical clinic, Niko, from security, walked out.
“Niko, did you find that son of a bitch, Tom?”
His security head wiped the blood from his hands. “Yeah, we found the low life bastard. His fall broke a few bones, but the worst is he’s missing an eye.” Chuckling, he went on. “He wanted to be a pirate. Looks like he’ll be wearing a patch on that eye for a while.”
“I guess you rounded up all of Tom’s crew.”
“Yeah, but we have a slight problem.” Niko looked away.
“What’s that?”
“What do we do about Mark? He was there, but he swears he was trying to help Val, but Tom threatened him.” Niko paused, waiting for Ash to answer.
“I can’t imagine him wanting to hurt anyone. Yeah, he’s a greedy little shit, but still a kid. We can just tell Isa what he was up to, and I bet she’ll settle that. She won’t let him get away with anything. He’s not that bad but I think he’ll need to be taught a lesson about greed.”
Niko smiled. “That’s what I thought you would say, so I already talked with her and sent him to see her. Bet we don’t have any more trouble out that kid.”
Ash laughed. “Yes, I imagine Grandma will change his attitude.” Ash shook Niko’s hand and stepped to the side. “Well, looks like you have everything under control. I’m going in to find my mate.”
Niko grinned at him. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ve got this covered. Go take care of your family.”
Family. What a wonderful way to say what he, Smoke, and Valentina had. Now they just had to make it permanent. He and Smoke needed to finish the full mating and mark her as theirs. His dick grew harder in his shorts.
Entering the clinic, he saw them sitting in the waiting room, a bandage on Val’s arm. He rushed to her, kneeling at her side. “Are you burned? Are you okay?”
She smiled up at him, gently cupping his cheek. He turned his face into her hand. Fuck, his mate was beautiful and warm. That smile alone calmed his dragon. “No, it was just a cut from getting out of the crevice. Smoke saved me and the others from getting burned.”
Ash glanced at Smoke with admiration. He appreciated that he had saved their mate. “You okay?”
“Yep, glad I got to them when I did. Had a few scorched scales, that’s all. I see you are doing okay. Don’t see even a scratch on your naked torso.” He suggestively raised his eyebrows.
Ash peered down at himself. “Shit, I forgot to get a shirt. I was in such a hurry to get here.”
“It’s okay. I like looking at all those fine male muscles that are mine.” Val sighed, running her nails down his pecs. His nipples hardened. “See, even your body knows it’s mine.”
Smoke laughed beside her. “I think we need to get her home soon. Don’t know how much longer I can wait for us to make her ours. Officially.”
They headed out and climbed into a resort golf cart, with Val in the middle of them in the front seat. She felt small between them if that was even possible as large as she was. She remembered her ex’s comments about her size, but her physical looks didn’t seem to bother her two men at all.
She finally realized that these two men truly saw the beauty she never knew existed in her. They pulled it out and made her see it too. And to top it off, they gave her the ability to speak up for herself. It was their belief in her and their words of encouragement about how strong and beautiful they said she was that allowed her to stand up to Tom and say what she did. She felt like a different person. Her men did that.
There she was again saying her two men. Yes, they were actually hers, or rather they would be soon. She wasn’t sure how this mating thing went, but she realized she wanted it, wanted to be theirs fully.
When Smoke pulled in front of the house, Ash helped her out. The moment she slid off the seat, Ash took her into his arms and held her tightly to his bare chest. “I was so scared we wouldn’t get to you in time to save you from the eruption.”
“I’m fine.” She stared deep into his eyes, her heart melting at the worry and love she saw in them. “I reall
y am. Besides, I heard you got Tom. He won’t be able to hurt anyone. I was worried about Kristin from his threats, but now that you caught him, I can relax.”
“You’re right. Kristin’s safe, and so are you,” he said, squeezing her to him again. “We will never let anything happen to you, Val. Never.”
She grinned. He was so serious, and all she wanted was to get him naked. But man, his words did something amazing to her. They made her feel loved and cherished, emotions she had never felt before. It was surreal. He took her hand, and they followed Smoke up the porch to the house. When they entered, soft music played in the background. “Did you leave the player on, or is someone else here?” she asked nervously, thinking back to the time Tom had broken into her bungalow.
Smoke turned toward them. “Someone was here, but she was allowed.”
She? Val wondered.
Ash and Smoke glanced at each as if communicating telepathically. “Are you guys talking to each other? It’s not nice to talk about me if I can’t hear you.”
“About that, Val, we need to explain a few things to you before we continue with this.” Ash sighed. “Yes, we can communicate with each other in our minds, but don’t worry, you’ll also be able to talk to us the same way once we’re mated. We’ll be able to feel what you feel, know where you are, and if you’re in danger. Which would have been useful this morning.”
She saw the fear and raw emotions in their eyes and knew she had to say something. “I had a realization today. While I was close to death.” She gulped and met Smoke’s gaze and then Ash’s. “I don’t know how. I don’t know when, but I became emotionally attached to you both.” She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her erratic heart. “I cannot live without you. Either of you.”
Smoke let out a deep breath as if he had been holding it. “Thank fuck. I was afraid we had scared you when you saw our dragons.”
Her heart lightened, and she smiled. They were nervous like her. Them. Big, strong dragon shifters worried about being rejected by her. It calmed every nerve cell in her body and filled her with hope. “Afraid of your dragons? Not in this lifetime. But I better get plenty of rides up in the clouds. I can’t wait to see the island the way you get to from way up there,” she said excitedly.