by Sammie Joyce
Asher slowly sank to the ground, bringing Rose onto his lap. Rose could feel his energy diminishing rapidly as the witches drew on it for the spell. Jagger was already unconscious, sprawled out over the sofa.
Hell got bigger and bigger. It was a thousand times bigger than Earth, and it just kept growing. The calculations must have ended up enormous.
Just when Rose thought that something must have gone wrong, that the spell was expanding out of control, the growth stopped. Hell trembled, ready to unleash itself on the world.
In the other room, the witches finished the incantation, banishing hell to its own plane.
Rose forced herself to stay conscious. She knew that many of the others were giving in and letting themselves pass out, but she couldn’t. She needed to know if it had worked.
Maria and Asher must have been thinking along the same lines, because Asher was getting up, and Maria had her iPad in her hands.
“Nothing yet,” she murmured, flicking between pages. “But it’ll take a few minutes if something terrible has happened. A few hours for the violence reports to cease if it worked.”
Rose didn’t have the energy to speak. She dragged herself to the couch and sat next to Maria, watching the iPad.
Asher joined them. Maria came through to check if anyone was injured, looking relived to find that they were all okay. She was white and shaky; Rose didn’t think she had much energy left for healing.
Perhaps Rose drifted off, because when she next opened her eyes, Jagger was also on the couch.
“There.” Maria clicked a link and enlarged it so that they could all see. “This news outlet is reporting that the attacks stopped all at once a few hours ago.” She let out a great breath. “It worked. It’s over.”
All in all, the coven lost about a day. Most of them fell asleep where they’d finished casting. Hope was the only one who ate—the dragons and Rose passed her around to whoever was awake. There were no incidents with excess magic. Rose thought it might be some time before that happened again.
Most of them only woke up at about noon the next day. Rose’s neck was sore from sleeping squashed up on the couch with Maria, Asher, and Jagger.
Elaine came around to check on everyone, but fortunately, found no problems. She spent some extra time on Hope, and pronounced her perfectly healthy. She didn’t even seem drained and tired like the rest of the coven.
“Is this it?” Rose asked Maria sleepily. “We’re done with the life and death stuff now, right?”
“I hope so. You coming for lunch? The kitchens should have something prepared by now.”
“Nah, I want a shower. You guys want to join me?” Rose eyed her dragons. All of them looked rather sleepy, but they perked up at these words.
“Sure.” Gavin grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him, literally sweeping Rose off her feet. “Let’s go.”
In a completely genius move, Mace had had the shower remodeled a few weeks ago so that it fit all five of them comfortably at the same time.
Jagger and Gavin undressed Rose while Asher got the water running and Mace went to drop Hope off with Annabelle and Dane.
Rose was no longer dizzy from exhaustion after sleeping for a solid twelve hours, but she was soon dizzy for other reasons as Jagger and Gavin kissed her.
She locked tongues with Jagger while Gavin knelt down and started licking her clit. Rose leaned against the rapidly steaming shower wall, bracing her hands against it. If this kept up, she wasn’t going to make it into the shower.
Asher wasn’t having any of that. He grabbed her waist like Gavin had done and pulled her into the hot shower. Rose squealed and spat out a bit of water, but happily moved to kissing Asher. Mace, Gavin, and Jagger crowded inside.
Rose clutched Asher’s shoulders as Mace pressed himself up against her ass, rubbing his cock up and down against her skin. His movements quickly became desperate and Rose moved her ass to match his movements.
Mace groaned as Rose reached a hand back to touch his hair. Apparently, Asher was feeling competitive, because he decided to recapture Rose’s attention.
He knelt down in front of her like Gavin had done earlier and took up licking her clit. Rose started to lose focus on Mace as her entire body seemed to center in on Asher’s tongue.
Mace grabbed her hips and worked her frantically against him. Rose felt a hot, sticky wetness at her ass that told her Mace had come. Jagger quickly stepped up to take his place, while Gavin leaned over Asher to touch Rose’s breasts.
Her nipples were soft from the warm water, but that quickly changed as Gavin began rolling them between his fingertips.
Rose knew she was barely seconds from coming at this rate. She grabbed Asher’s hair and pulled him away from her clit. “Wait. I want to come on one of your dicks.”
“Happy to oblige,” Jagger breathed in her ear. “Spread your legs.”
Rose eagerly did so. Jagger was fully hard, and had to thrust upward to get his cock into her pussy at this angle. She bounced down on him, which made her breasts jiggle under Gavin’s fingers.
Rose wouldn’t last long under this triple assault, she knew. Asher was there in her mind, reading when she was close. When she was right on the edge, he started licking more firmly, giving her clit the pressure it needed.
Rose’s cry was lost in Gavin’s mouth as he kissed her. She felt Jagger come inside her as her pussy contracted around his cock.
He held her weight as she went limp on his shaft. Rose leaned against the wall, catching her breath. Asher had already spilled into his own hand, leaving only Gavin hard and leaking.
Rose went down to her knees, grinning at him. He stepped forward, and she leaned closer so that she could get his cock into her mouth. It didn’t take long. Rose sucked and swirled her tongue around the head of his cock.
Gavin’s knees gave out as he came, and the only reason he didn’t fall on top of Rose was because Jagger caught him.
When they were all clean, sleepy, and sated about ten minutes later, Jagger was still teasing him about it.
Rose was smiling as she fell asleep.
Epilogue
20 Years Later
“Are you sure I look okay?”
“You look beautiful,” Rose assured Hope.
Hope fidgeted nervously with her hair. “What if I’m too young to ascend to coven leadership? You only did when you were twenty-six.”
“You’re not too young. You’re twenty years old. You’ve passed all the trials of leadership. I promise, you’re ready. You’re going to be brilliant.”
“Besides, what do you take us for?” Jagger gently nudged Hope’s shoulder. “You think we’re just going to vanish into thin air the moment you take over the coven?”
“I wish you would,” Gavin muttered. “It would make her job a lot easier.”
Hope giggled. “Why can’t I see my mates before the ceremony?”
“Because we don’t want you getting distracted.”
“Asher’s being diplomatic. What he really means is it’ll put everyone off if they have to listen to your mates fuck you into a wall one more time.”
“Jagger!” Rose slapped his arm, but Jagger was completely unapologetic. Mace rolled his eyes.
Rose didn’t really mind about Kae, Harrer, and Ilion. They adored Hope. It made Rose happy to see that her daughter had mates who loved her just as much as Rose’s mates loved her.
Jaran stuck his head in. “You ready?”
Hope quickly went over to him, letting him embrace her. Even though he was four years younger than her, he was about a head taller. Rose could always count on Hope’s brother helping her when she got nervous.
“I’m okay.”
“Kae wanted me to pass on a message, but listening to it just about made me puke, so I left halfway through.”
Everyone rolled their eyes at this.
Annabelle stuck her head in. “Ready, Hope?”
“What message did Kae want to give me, Aunt Annabelle?”
; “No doubt nothing I’d like to repeat,” Annabelle muttered. “What kind of son have Dane and I raised?”
She shared a commiserating look with Rose, but the corners of her lips were twitching.
“We thought that one was going to turn you dark,” Jagger teased.
“Shut up, Dad, nothing is turning me dark.”
“You tell her.” Mace was struggling not to laugh.
Hope was right, Rose reflected. All the worries about her turning out like Hellith had been unfounded. Hope was strong, kind, and good, and she remained loyal to the coven. She would be a good leader, especially with Jaran and her mates to advise her.
For her part, Rose was looking forward to spending some more quality time with her mates, with the burden of leadership lifted. Jaran would be taking control of the dragon clan within the next few weeks, leaving Asher and Rose both with very little to do.
The music started. The ceremony was to take place like a wedding, except it would be Hope and Rose standing opposite each other, exchanging vows—vows to lead well from Hope, and vows to advise her from Rose.
“Go.” Rose gave Hope a gentle nudge.
Hope started walking at a procession pace. Rose exchanged a look with Asher, Jagger, Gavin, and Mace.
Twenty years with them, and she felt like she loved them more every day. She thought she’d reached peak happiness before today, but as she watched Hope walk toward the altar, where she would take up her birthright, Rose’s pride and bliss were nearly exploding out of her.
“You ready?” she asked her mates.
One by one, they nodded.
The five of them linked arms and followed Hope into the future.
Thank you for reading the Elesian Dragon Mates Series! I hope you enjoyed it!
If you’re ready for Sammie’s next sexy shifter romance, Shifter’s Purpose is ready for you to read!
Mason Rowland is a sexy powerful werewolf. He’s also part of an elite military unit. He’s at peace with his wolf and he lets his animal out to run without controls.
Holly O’Neil doesn't like shifters. Not even a little bit.
When these two meet at a local hangout, it’s not love at first sight. At least not for her. She knows what he is and she’s not interested in anything he has to offer—no matter how hot he is.
So she does exactly what her instincts tell her to do. She shuts him down. Hard.
But an unexpected opportunity to come to her rescue turns him into a hero. Twice. The second time he steps in for her, only a lie can keep Holly safe. But the lie sets a series of events in motion that neither expects.
The most surprising part is the electricity that sparks between them. Neither can deny the pull. The attraction is real and true.
Being in a fake relationship may or may not be the best way to solve the problem, but it’s the path they're on so they have to see how it plays out. Nothing is permanent, right? It will be easy to go their separate ways once the coast is clear, won’t it?
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Abiding love honors the past and provides a legacy that will live on forever.
Aspen, a bear shifter, is happy running through the woods with her best friend, Locklear. The wolf shifter loves her with all he has and ever will be. One day as they run through the forest together, they meet a stranger. Soon this stranger becomes important to them both.
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About Sammie Joyce
Paranormal romance is Sammie’s favorite sub-genre of romance. She loves shifters of all sorts. Protectors. Those who need protection.
Falling in love and finding love together. Realizing that your mate is standing right in front of you. The magic in those moments. These are some of my favorite parts of romance!
Writing is one of Sammie’s great loves. Paranormal Romance is her passion.
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