by Sophie Stern
I hear shifting all around me as both my mates and Ruby’s change into their dragon forms. The boys don’t have time for talking, either, apparently. I just hope they don’t do permanent damage to the throne room. It’s got pretty high ceilings, but 50 feet is pretty high for humans: not dragons.
They fly at each other, attacking. One of them breathes fire and then another. They shove into each other, tumbling into the sides of the castle. They can’t talk in their dragon forms, but they sure as hell can screech at one another, so that’s what they do. The sound is deafening and it’s hard to focus, but I manage to stare at Alexandra: at the woman who stole so much from me.
Something shatters. I think it’s my mother’s chandelier, and I cringe, but then I get back to business. Alexandra is on the floor below me and she’s spitting up at my face. It burns. I use this moment to slap her, hard, for my sister, and then she shoves me back.
“Bitch,” she screeches. “You’re ruining everything.”
“You’re the one who ruined everything,” I yell back, hitting at her. For a trained fighter, I’m doing terrible. It’s time to up my game. It’s time to go for the throat.
Somewhere behind me, I hear Ruby screaming. I can’t make out her words. I think she’s begging the men to stop fighting, but I’m not sure. I leap forward, pushing Alexandra back on the ground, and I squeeze her throat.
“You tried to steal everything from me,” I grit out. “And you have to pay.”
Behind me, the dragons soar around the room. They’re knocking the whole fucking castle down around us, but I don’t care. Rocks and stones start to rain down as the walls crumble, but my eyes are locked on Alexandra.
She starts chanting again, and this time when I try to punch her, an invisible wall blocks my punch. My hand jerks back in pain, and I rub my palm. Alexandra smirks.
“Can’t beat me,” she says. “You’re just like your mother: a wimp.”
“Don’t you talk about my mother,” I say. I try to throw another punch. This, too, bounces back, and it hurts more this time.
“What are you doing?” I screech, and I keep trying. I have to try. I have to do this. I have to conquer her.
The dragons are biting and hissing and clawing at each other. Alexandra seems to love this. Of course she would. It’s complete chaos. If the dragons kill each other, she won’t have to. All she’ll have to do is kill me and Ruby, and that’s it.
I stand quickly and try to kick at Alexandra. The kick bounces, and I go down hard. She stands, hovering over me, and leers at me.
“You’re a stupid kid,” she says. “But you’re more clever than I gave you credit for. I won’t make that mistake again.”
This is the moment.
This is where she tries to kill me.
This is where she thinks she’s going to slay me in my very own castle.
Alexandra is very wrong, though.
She didn’t count on something very important.
She didn’t count on the fact that my sister hasn’t really gone bad. I see Ruby move behind her, but Alexandra doesn’t notice her. Still, I can’t afford to have Alexandra see Ruby at the last second. Alexandra is busy fighting me and the dragons are busy fighting each other. Somehow, she’s still trying to hold the barrier and she’s trying to summon new spells. Her attention is spread too far for one witch and we all know it. Still, I can’t let her see Ruby.
I need a distraction.
And then I’ve got it.
“Stop fighting!” I scream. All the dragons stop. Alexandra’s eyes go wide as she seems to realize what I’m about to say, but I spit the words out before she can silence me. “Only Alexandrite is evil!” I scream. “Get Alex!”
“No!” Alexandra cries out as the seven other dragons turn in unison to Alexandrite.
Four versus four is pretty even, but seven against one?
There’s no way he’s getting out of this alive.
Alexandra takes in a deep breath, preparing a spell that will no doubt cause me incredible pain, but before she can speak, Ruby shoves my mother’s sword through the witch’s back.
“This is for Queen Carnelian and her mates,” Ruby hisses. Then she shoves the sword deeper. “And this is for me.”
Alexandra falls to the ground and the castle begins to shake. I realize it’s because Alexandrite’s body has also fallen to the ground. Broken. Dead. I turn and look at the dragon as it shifts back into a man, and I realize there was no other choice. He and his mother were too dangerous to let live. They were too terrible for their own good.
I look at Ruby, gasping for breath.
It’s over.
It’s all over.
She takes the crown off her head and hands it to me.
“Welcome home, big sis,” she says. “I quit.”
Epilogue
Sapphire
After all of this time, my coronation day is finally here.
It took longer than I thought to arrive. It was harder to get to this point than it should have been. My day didn’t arrive because I turned a certain age or because of tradition or anything like that. This wasn’t luck.
This was blood and sweat and tears.
So many tears.
And so much blood.
“You look beautiful,” Ruby says, straightening my dress. We had her official mating ceremony yesterday, amidst the dust and the debris of the great hall. We ignored all of that and held the private mating ceremony, anyway. She’s only got three mates now, but something tells me that Alexandrite isn’t going to be missed.
“I can’t believe it’s finally time,” I tell her. We’ve spent the last 48 hours catching up on everything. As I suspected, Alexandra had tortured her and forced her to betray me. She had kept Ruby locked in a cage and when Ruby tried to fight back against Alexandra, she would torture Ruby or one of her three favored mates. It was a lose-lose-lose-lose situation.
“I’m just glad you’re here,” she says. “I can’t believe you came back. I thought for sure you would think I had betrayed you. I said some terrible things to you, Sapphire. I don’t know how you can forgive me.”
“Of course I can forgive you. You’re my sister.”
Ruby hugs me. For a long time, I just hold my twin. We have a long way to go. We’re both reeling from the events of the past year. Neither one of us can really believe everything that’s happened to us. Our people are terrified, too. They aren’t quite sure what to believe or who to trust, but since the magical barrier is gone, those who need a break or time to think or just want to leave are free to do so. They’re no longer trapped in our country, forced to starve.
“It’s time,” Ruby says. “Let’s go, princess.”
“Queen,” I correct her.
“Not just yet,” she laughs.
Ruby takes my arm and leads me from the bedroom and down the stairs. For the second time, I make the journey from my bedroom to the great hall. This time, things are going to end a little differently.
That’s one thing I’m sure of.
I reach the hall and smile at the guards. They smile tightly at me. They’re not quite sure what to think about this entire ordeal, ever. Many of the guards were under a spell, apparently, that made them very compliant. Now they’re worried I’ve enchanted them, too. Little do they know that my magic isn’t anywhere as strong as that. Even if I could enchant multiple people at once, I wouldn’t.
I would never do that.
We push the doors to the great hall open and I walk to the throne. My mates are on one side and Ruby’s are on the other. I offered to let her rule side-by-side with me, but she told me there was no way. She said one year as queen was more than enough for her. Now she just wants to spend time with her mates.
Now I stand at the front of the room with my mates, my sisters, and my dragons-in-law, and I take the vows that will secure my place as queen. Moon, Chrys, Garnet, and Emerald smile at me. They’ve never looked so proud. I swear Emerson is tearing up, but I don’t look too hard because
I don’t want to cry, either.
These men are the best thing to happen to me and I will not let them down.
I will be a good queen. I will protect my men. I know they’ll do the same for me. A thousand times over, they will honor and cherish and care for me. They will adore me. They will love me. From now on, it’s me and my dragon mates against the world.
And something tells me that my true adventure?
It’s only just beginning.
THE END
Author
Sophie Stern loves cowboys, soldiers, and shifters. When she’s not busy writing, she’s got her nose buried in a book. Sophie lives with her husband and two little boys who are always keeping her on her toes.
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More shifters!
Need more dragons? Bears? Wolves? Check out one of my other shifter stories.
Dragon Isle
Stepdragon (Dragon Isle)
My Lord and Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 1)
The Dragon Fighter (Dragon Isle Book 2)
A Dragon's Bite (Dragon Isle Book 3)
Lost to the Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 4)
Beware of Dragons (Dragon Isle Book 5)
Catching the Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 6)
Cowboy Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 7)
Dark Heart of the Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 8)
Once Upon a Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 9)
Polar Bears of the Air Force
Staff Sergeant Polar Bear (Polar Bears of the Air Force Book 1)
Master Sergeant Polar Bear (Polar Bears of the Air Force Book 2)
Airman Polar Bear (Polar Bears of the Air Force Book 3)
Senior Airman Polar Bear (Polar Bears of the Air Force Book 4)
Red (Wolf-Shifter Romance)
Red: Into the Dark
Red: Through the Dark
Red: Beyond the Dark
Honeypot Darlings
The Bear's Virgin Darling (Honeypot Darlings Book 1)
The Bear's Virgin Mate (Honeypot Darlings Book 2)
The Bear's Virgin Bride (Honeypot Darlings Book 3)
Honeypot Babies
The Polar Bear's Baby (Honeypot Babies Book 1)
The Jaguar's Baby (Honeypot Babies Book 2)
The Tiger's Baby (Honeypot Babies Book 3)
The Wolfe City Pack
The Wolf's Darling (The Wolfe City Pack Book 1)
The Wolf's Mate (The Wolfe City Pack Book 2)
The Wolf's Bride (The Wolfe City Pack Book 3)
The Luck of the Wolves
If you’re crazy about shifters, adventures, and super-hot Alphas, you’re going to love my book, The Luck of the Wolves. Check out Chapter One here and then visit Amazon to get your copy!
Chapter 1
Maddison
It’s called The Forbidden Forest for a reason.
I just happen to think that reason is bullshit.
People hear rumors and they get scared, and that fear leads to legends and myths that aren’t entirely true. Oh, they might be based on a true story and contain some facts, but most of the time, when someone says, “Oh, that forest is haunted” or “Oh, that forest is evil,” they’re just repeating stories they’ve heard.
I’ve heard them, too.
I’ve heard the tales of haunted castles lurking deep in the heart of the darkness.
I’ve heard stories of dragons who can turn into men, of animals who aren’t always entirely what they seem.
And I’ve heard of the wolves.
These stories are most likely not true.
They’re just legends built on fables built on something someone saw once.
They’re fake.
At least, that’s what I tell myself as I head toward the forest. Westbridge Forest meets, and then wraps around, the mountains where I live. Growing up in Storm Dawn, I’ve learned that a lot of mysterious and mythical things happen in the woods. Most of them are untrue. People that can shift into dragons? Yeah, right. Mysterious circumstances that mean shifters are real? Uh-huh. Okay.
But capturing a wolf because it’s good luck?
That one I’ll believe because I have to.
That one I’ll believe because I don’t really have another choice, and I could use a little bit of luck these days.
The path that leads from Storm Dawn to the forest is long and treacherous. It only takes me an hour to get through the pass, but it feels like forever. By the time I reach the forest’s edge, I’m already out of breath and tired, but I can’t be lame about this. I can’t be stupid. I certainly can’t be the type of girl who fails on my first try.
Not when so much is at stake.
Not when my entire future depends on this.
So it’s into the woods I go. I might be going into a dangerous situation. I might be wandering through the darkness to my death, but I firmly believe that all legends hold a certain truth to them. I just have to find out what the truth is to the stories I’ve told. If there’s a chance – even a small, tiny, imperceptible one – that finding a wolf could lead to the miracle I need to Save Eva, then I’ll do whatever it takes.
She’s been my entire world for as long as I can remember, and I won’t let her die. Not yet. Not on my watch. Eva is only 50. She’s much too young to die from some weird disease no one’s ever heard of. She gets a little sicker every day, a little weaker, and her time is running out. That’s what her doctors told me yesterday.
“She doesn’t have much time left,” they said carefully, almost hesitantly. “And we’ve done all we can do.”
“What does that even mean?” I whispered, terrified.
They exchanged glances. Again, what the fuck? Did they think I was some sort of mind reader?
“You should be with her,” Dr. Martin said. “You should make sure she’s as comfortable as possible.”
“Can I at least take her home, then?” I asked.
“We’d prefer to monitor her here,” Dr. Albright said. “But you can visit as much as you like. I’ll let the nurses know that visiting hours don’t apply to you.”
Then they walked away.
They left us alone so Eva could die.
Not on my watch.
I went home after talking with them: home to the house I’ve shared with Eva since I was a little orphan. I slammed the door harder than I should have and I just walked around, looking for answers, trying to figure out what I could do.
And then I remembered a story long ago.
I tore through Eva’s books, trying to remember what she had briefly mentioned about wolves long ago. She’s a bit obsessed with wolves: the whole fucking house is decorated with pictures of them. Finally, I found the journal tucked away: the one with the recipe for the potion. All of the ingredients seemed straightforward enough, except for one: a lock of wolf’s fur.
It’s a long shot.
I don’t recognize the names of any of the diseases this concoction cures, and I guarantee the doctors don’t know, either, but I do know one thing: I have to save Eva. She’s the most important person in my entire life.
I’m going to rescue her.
When she finds out I’ve gone into the woods to try to find answers, she’s going to be pissed. I know that much about Eva. She’s hot-headed and mean when she wants to be, and she’s not going to appreciate the fact that I just walked away from her, even if it is in order to save her. She’s going to tell me I should have stayed by her side until the very end: not run around trying to rescue her based on something I read in some fairytale.
Well, fuck that.
&
nbsp; I’m not going to sit around and let my best friend die.
She’s been my surrogate mother for many years and right now, that’s all I care about. Eva saved me when nobody else wanted me. Now it’s my turn to save her.
The woods are eerily silent as I walk through them. I’m not sure where I’m going. East, I suppose. Just East. I’ve been hunting and I’ve been fishing and I’ve taken wilderness classes. If I see something that looks like a magical wolf, I’ll just…catch it. I’ll trap it. I’ll do something.
Your plan is stupid and so are you.
Because I don’t really have a plan.
Because I’m kind of just hoping things will work out all right.
Because right now, I’m just killing time until I have to go back and watch my very best friend in the entire world die.
Because right now I have nothing left to live for.
*
I walk for two days. At night, I camp in a small little tent I brought with me. It’s not very big and my feet stick out at night. Nothing’s eaten me yet, so I guess it’s all right. I’ve been tracking my path with a compass and a map. There’s no cell service here, so I can’t really track my movements with GPS. It’s unfortunate, really, because that would be fucking incredible. It would make getting back to Storm Dawn easy as pie.
I haven’t seen any signs of life in the woods yet. I’ll walk for one more day, I decide, and then I’ll go home. This was a stupid experiment, I realize. Did I really think I was just going to go hunting for wolves and find them? Everyone says the forest is dead and buried. There used to be people who lived here, out in this forest, but those folks are long gone.