by AJ Sherwood
Silence fell over the group as they waited for Ravi’s return. How could they have left so quickly? Where would they have gone?
Cameron continued down the sidewalk with Alric at his side and their tight grouping of bodyguards. They were getting looks from the few people who were out. Thank god they weren’t trying to be inconspicuous. Some of the shops were open, but most of those looked to be chain stores. A handful more Jaeggi stores turned up empty.
Stopping in front of a closed clothing shop, Cameron peered in the front window. This wasn’t just about being closed extra hours. A number of the shelves and racks had been cleared out, as if someone had packed up as much of their stock as they could. A few things had been knocked over in their obvious haste, but otherwise there was nothing else they could discern from the place.
Quick footsteps drew Cameron from the storefront. He turned as Ravi reached their side, a frown drawing lines across his brow.
“The lady said that half the stores closed down early three days ago and never reopened,” Ravi explained. “No one seems to know what happened to the store owners or where they went. Said the Jaeggi family was a large, tight-knit group who kept to themselves. Friendly, but standoffish.”
“The store closings likely started when the cat was discovered,” Cameron murmured.
“So, they learn that their cover is officially blown and the entire clan picks up as quickly as possible and relocates,” Ravi continued.
“Considering the speed and coordination, I’m willing to bet they had a back-up location already set up regardless of the outcome with Cameron,” Baldewin added.
Alric grunted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he glared at the empty store window.
“What are you thinking?” Cameron nudged.
“I’m thinking they’ve gone to ground, and it will be that much harder to find them a second time,” Alric said a bit absently. He blinked and turned his full attention on Lisette. “Gather the mages. I would have you to start working on tracing spells. I want each of the shops covered as well as the building we infiltrated.”
“And where Cameron was held?”
“If the town yields nothing, yes.”
Lisette took a deep breath and released it slowly. “That…that will take time to prepare and set into motion. It’s a very involved spell.” She paused and gave Cameron a small smile. “I’ll definitely need to borrow your mate.”
Alric grunted, tightening his arm around Cameron’s waist. “You may borrow him, eventually.”
Cameron turned his head to smirk at the dragon holding him. “Eventually?”
“I have plans for you.”
Cameron slid his arms around Alric’s shoulders and laughed. He didn’t care that everyone around them was closely watching their conversation. “Plans? What sort of plans?”
Alric’s voice came out in a playful growl. “Private plans that mean I will be keeping you away from others for a while.”
“Sounds like I’m going to enjoy these plans.” Cameron brushed his lips across Alric’s, loving the sound of his breath catching. “Take me home, my mate.”
Alric hung onto control of his dragon by the tips of his talons. Between losing Cameron, falling into a stupid trap, getting Cameron back, and his mate’s declaration of love, Alric was sure if he still had use of both his wings, he would have carried Cameron off to some high peak where no one could find him. Where he could coil his large body around his precious mate and protect him from all the world.
But Alric wasn’t some fledgling dragon sneaking off to build his first hoard. He was King of the Fire Dragons, leader of the Burkhard clan. That meant he had to shove down his instincts when it came to his mate and see to the welfare and happiness of his people first.
Luckily, Cameron had a deep well of compassion. Alric didn’t doubt Cameron wanted to sneak off alone, but he had been right there at the close of the battle, checking on dragons. He’d not balked at the idea of going directly to the Jaeggi’s town to see if they could locate any of the clan.
Yet the second they reached the castle, Cameron was waylaid by his sister and grandmother checking on his well-being. The moment Cameron had finished reassuring them, Alric was pulling him off to the royal wing and his private suite. He needed Cameron alone at last, away from prying eyes and relieved comments that Cameron was home safe again.
“Alric, you know I love this castle, right?” Cameron started, sounding a little breathless.
“Of course.”
“Good, because right now, I could do with it being a hell of a lot smaller.” Cameron leaned in closer, the hand holding Alric’s squeezing tight. “I need you now. Naked and inside me.”
“Yesss,” Alric hissed. He narrowed his eyes at a smiling guard who stood at the entrance to the royal wing. “Anyone who comes near my chambers, I want them thrown in the dungeon.” The guard paled, and Alric didn’t stick around to make sure the guard understood there were no exceptions to that rule.
Cameron reached the double doors to his chambers first and threw them open. He started to hurry across the sitting room toward the bedroom, but Alric snagged his elbow after slamming the door shut again.
“What?” Cameron gasped, nearly falling into Alric at the sudden stop.
“This way,” Alric directed. He pulled his mate toward his hoard, and Cameron’s smile grew even wider.
“Really now? Among the books?” There was laughter in his tone and Alric smiled. Cameron was his light and joy.
“It’s the place where I feel most comfortable in my own skin. It’s the safest place I know.” Alric closed the door and leaned back against it. He couldn’t take his eyes off Cameron as he stopped in the center of the room, overflowing bookshelves rising up two stories all around him. It was the most beautiful sight in all the world. “It’s like I can truly breathe for the first time since your kidnapping.”
Cameron extended his hand to him, beckoning him closer like a siren. Pushing off the door, Alric closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms tight around Cameron’s slender waist while pressing his face into his neck. He could feel the steady beat of his pulse against his lips, the expansion of his lungs with each breath, the strength of his arms as they embraced him. Cameron was home, and he was safe again.
“My mate,” Cameron whispered in his ear, and Alric smiled.
Lifting his head, he stared into Cameron’s dark brown eyes, getting lost in their depths and wonder. “I’ve never wanted anything so badly in my life. You smiled at me, and I automatically wanted to keep you, but I was afraid I was being selfish, afraid I couldn’t make you happy as well as another dragon could.”
“Silly dragon,” Cameron murmured against his lips. God, he loved when Cameron called him that. There was such love and warmth in his voice. “You were meant to be my dragon.”
“And you were meant to be my mage,” Alric agreed.
Cameron kissed him slowly, his tongue sweeping across Alric’s lips, entreating entrance. Alric’s opened and welcomed Cameron inside; he wanted Cameron inside all of him. The kiss started with tenderness, whispering of devotion and unspoken promises of long centuries together.
But the heat was building. Hunger was growing. New urgency was bleeding into the kiss, teeth clacking together as they tried to get closer. There were too many damn clothes separating them. He needed to be inside of Cameron, to hear him moan and beg and cry out Alric’s name.
But removing clothing pushed them on to other events, and there were important matters that needed to be concluded first.
With a great deal of reluctance, Alric broke off the kiss, earning a soft whimper from Cameron that nearly had him diving back in again.
“Soon, Liebling,” Alric whispered.
“Oh, no. Not soon. Now,” Cameron grumbled. He grabbed at Alric’s shirt, pulling it from his slacks to get at the warm skin that lay beneath. “We’re finally alone. You’ve threatened the clan with being thrown in the dungeon if we’re disturbed. I’m getting me some hot dra
gon nookie.”
“And I am happy to give you some hot dragon nookie,” Alric replied around a laugh. “But there’s something I must ask of you first.”
“Position?”
“No, be serious please, Liebling. You’ve spoken the words I longed to hear. I must ask, do you intend to be my co-ruler as well?”
Cameron immediately stopped moving, his head raising to stare directly into Alric’s eyes. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot. And I’m not sure if I’d be good at it, honestly.”
“I think you’ll be amazing at it. After the fight was over, you took charge of the scene without issue. I didn’t have to give more than one order, and that was to retreat home. You handled everything else and did it well.”
“I…guess I did? People just seemed to need a little prodding, and I didn’t want you doing it, you were already in too much pain. Wait, is it really that easy?”
Alric felt vindicated that Cameron had such natural leadership ability that it hadn’t challenged him. He’d felt sure that was the case. “Yes. Normally, day to day, it’s that easy. Anything harder, we’ll of course do together.”
“Co-ruler,” Cameron murmured in understanding. “I was seriously stressing about that, you know. Being your consort. But I guess I was overthinking it. Really, if you’re there with me, I feel like I can do anything.”
“Ah, Liebling, you took the words from my mouth. That’s precisely how I feel when I’m with you.” He kissed Cameron softly, thrilled beyond words to get that answer. “Then you will?”
Resolve hardened Cameron’s jaw, and he gave a firm nod. “I will. Then we’ll marry?”
“Ja. I thought you’d also like to complete our bonding.”
Cameron’s head canted in question. “There’s more? I figured all we needed to do was tell everyone we’re mates, and I’m sure Ravi is handling that right now.”
Tilting his head up, Alric pressed a kiss to his lover’s chin. “There are promises and a simple spell we cast together.”
Cameron’s nose wrinkled as he glanced around the room. “Do…do we need anything for the spell?”
“No, just us—your magical skill and my power.”
The smile returned to Cameron’s lips, and he drew in a deep breath. “Okay, what do I do?”
Alric lifted one eyebrow at his mage, loving his excitement and enthusiasm. “Remember, this cannot be undone. Our magic, our souls, and our essences will be bound together for the rest of our days. As long as I’m alive, you will be too, your years extended for centuries. And if I die, you will likely follow me. There have been no instances of mages living past the death of their mated dragon. Are you su—”
“You do not want to finish that question,” Cameron said in a low, hard voice. He leaned forward, bumping his forehead against Alric’s. “I don’t want to outlive you. Whether we have days or centuries together, I want to spend them all with you.”
Alric closed his eyes, letting Cameron’s unwavering devotion wash through him. It went without saying that if something happened to Cameron, Alric wouldn’t survive it either.
Pressing a quick kiss to Cameron’s lips, Alric stepped back and took hold of Cameron’s hands in each of his so that their bodies formed a circle. He looked up at his soulmate and grinned.
“Cameron Park, I claim you as my mate. I promise to love and protect you with all my strength. I promise to give the very last breath in my body to see you safe and happy for all of your days. I promise to guide you and support you in all of your dreams. And I promise that our children will know that same love and devotion from me.”
“Wow,” Cameron whispered, rapidly blinking watery eyes. “You’re going to make me cry. And kids…” Cameron sniffed and then gave a choked laugh. “Sorry. I should be saying words.”
“No apologies.”
“What should I say? Repeat what you said?”
Alric shook his head. “The promises made are between you and me only. Say what’s in your heart.”
Cameron’s smile grew even wider and turned a little wicked. Only his mate.
“Alric Burkhard, king of the Fire Clan and sexiest dragon I have ever met, I claim you as my mate,” Cameron started, and Alric could already feel himself blushing. “I promise to love and protect you with all my strength. I promise to dedicate myself to learning to be the best mage I can be to serve our clan. I promise to make you laugh when you are being too serious, to hold you when you are hurting, and to remind you every day that you are worthy of my love and the love of all your clan.”
Now Alric was sniffling.
“And when we have children, I promise to tell them stories of how we met, fell in love, and defeated the evil Jaeggi Clan. They will know they have the sexiest, most amazing father in the world.”
“I think we can skip the sexiest part with our children.”
Cameron snorted. “I’m saving that for when they’re older. I’m looking forward to lots of awkward family dinners when they are teenagers.”
“Of course you are,” Alric muttered as he tightened his hands in Cameron’s and pulled his mate in for a slow, deep kiss.
Cameron hummed, nuzzling his cheek against Alric’s. “You said something about a spell. We better get to it, because there are other things I really want to do to you in this room.”
“Yes, the bonding spell.” Alric straightened and dragged in a deep breath. He wanted this, but he also wanted Cameron. One thing at a time.
“The spell is quite simple. You draw power from me, focus, and say sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi,” Alric instructed.
“What’s it mean?”
“I claim you as my mate and bind your soul to mine.”
“Wow.”
“And I will reply with sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae, which means I claim you as my mate and give my soul to you.”
Cameron winked at him. “Sounds simple enough.” Cameron rolled his shoulders and shook his arms a little, getting himself loose before closing his eyes. After a couple of centering breaths, Alric could feel Cameron’s gentle touch. It was like those long, nimble fingers were caressing his soul. So sweet, so perfect.
When Cameron opened his eyes and met Alric’s gaze, he let out a little gasp. He knew what his lover was seeing. The gold ring around his eyes had expanded, briefly flaring and filling in the deep blue of his irises. There was a smile of wonder on his face as he said, “Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi.”
For a moment, Alric just relished the feel of his powers flowing into Cameron, filling and strengthening his mate. Making Cameron his forever.
“Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae,” Alric said in a low, firm voice. And for the first time, the gold flared in Cameron’s eyes, washing over the brown so that Cameron’s glowed with a golden light. The magic power flowed out of Alric through his right arm and rushed back from Cameron’s body through his left. The circle was complete.
With the flow of energy came an explosion of emotions. Alric could clearly feel Cameron’s joy, excitement, and love. The world just seemed sharper, bigger, more than it had been before finding his mate. As if every one of his senses had been dialed up to eleven. Or maybe blinders had been ripped away by his mate, and he could finally see the world for what it truly was. His dragon roared with approval, the vibrations running through Alric’s body.
After a few seconds, the energy flowing between them slowed to just a trickle and the brown flowed back into Cameron’s eyes. Alric stepped close again, admiring the little flecks of gold now embedded in his irises, giving them an added sparkle. Later, he would give Cameron things to show the world he belonged to Alric, and to mark his station in the clan, but this permanent physical change could never be removed or stolen away.
“Is that it? Are we officially mated now?” Cameron inquired with a cheeky grin.
“We are mated now and forever. No power in all the world could rip us apart.” Alric placed a kiss to Cameron’s neck and then another to his jaw. “Ich liebe dich. Ich liebe
dich,” he repeated after every kiss.
Cameron turned his head and captured Alric’s mouth in a wonderful kiss he could feel all the way down to his toes. Releasing his hands, Alric pulled at Cameron’s shirt. The bonding ceremony and all the general formalities of making Cameron his were finally over. Now he could claim his mate the old-fashioned way—hot, sweaty sex.
“I love you too,” Cameron growled into his mouth. He kissed Alric hard for a second before pushing away. He ripped his shirt off and twirled it over his head a few times before tossing it somewhere behind Alric. The dragon didn’t bother looking. He was too busy inspecting every inch of Cameron’s chest, looking for any signs of bruising or scratches created by the Jaeggi. He was determined to kiss every tender spot on his lover’s body. The red marks on Cameron’s wrists from the damn duct tape still enraged him.
“Oh, this mate stuff is going to be fun,” Cameron practically purred. “You won’t be able to get away with lying about what you’re feeling.”
“What—” Alric started to say, ripping his eyes back up to Cameron’s face, but realization dawned on him that Cameron could now feel the ripple of anger still coursing through him. He huffed, settling into a less than dignified pout. “They hurt you and you belong to me. Dragons aren’t good at dealing with others harming those they care for.”
“It was just a few scratches and maybe a bruise on my ass.”
“And still my dragon wants to melt them with his fire.”
Cameron chuckled. He started working on the buttons to Alric’s shirt. “Not just set them on fire but melt them.”
“I want to incinerate them to ash.”
“I think it’s my duty as your mate to distract my little fire bug.” As he revealed some bare skin, Cameron leaned down and pressed a kiss to Alric’s chest.
“If you think you can,” Alric teased.
Cameron gazed up at Alric, that wicked smile back on his plump lips. “Oh, I think I can.” He revealed even more of his chest, parting his shirt so that he could swipe one of Alric’s nipples with his tongue. A gasp erupted from Alric’s throat, and his body jerked at the rush of delicious sensations through his body. Yes, his mate most definitely could distract him.