by Bonnie Vanak
“No other suitors would have wanted me.” She glanced at Justin. “Not that it matters.”
Drust gave a deep laugh. He snapped his fingers and a long sheet of paper appeared in his hands. “You’re quite wrong. Your father shielded you most effectively over the years, making you believe no man wanted you. He was overprotective. These are the suitors who responded to the ad before we pulled it.”
Astounded that so many expressed interest she shook her head. “And yet my father chose Parker Covington? All for money?”
“For security, which he saw as money.” Drust shrugged. “Many Mages make the same mistake. It was all too easy to convince him that Parker was perfect for you.”
Recalling the vision in the soap bubble, she blushed. “But you… I had a prophetic vision about you…and myself…on our wedding night.”
Xavier burst into laughter. Drust elbowed him. “I am not that bad of a lover,” he told the other wizard. Drust sighed. “I know. It was a vision of what you anticipated from Parker – what you expected from him.”
“Which was not much.” Xavier laughed again as Drust scowled.
Her visions of Justin had come true, she realized, when he covered her with fire that had not burned her.
“But what about Parker’s parents?” Ariel remembered the mother who polished the silverware and the father who frowned.
“The Covingtons are powerful Mages from Seattle who like their privacy. They were happy to play the part of Parker’s parents in exchange for a promise to shield them from other Mages who kept badgering them for outrageous favors,” Xavier said.
Justin frowned. “Why go through all this trouble, if you believed Ariel and I were in love? Why not simply put us together?”
“As I said, stubborn dragon, affairs of the heart are complicated,” Xavier said in a mild voice. “You were too angry and wounded to realize Ariel was your soulmate, which is why you can communicate telepathically. Love has to find its own way.”
He gave a rueful smile. “Even powerful wizards of the Brehon are no exception to that rule. And speaking of which, I must leave.”
With a small nod, he vanished.
They were left alone with Drust. Sweat trickled down her back. She’d been terrified when Justin blew fire at her, but this wizard scared her more. Suddenly he smiled at her.
“Do not fear me, little Ariel. I am here to help you.”
She licked her lips. “Deceiving me by playing the part of a hopeful boyfriend isn’t a way to win my trust…Drust.”
He laughed. “I like you, Ariel. You have spirit and fire, a fascinating combination of Mage powers and dragon abilities. You will make an excellent guardian, along with Justin, of the baby dragons.”
Her hand squeezed Justin’s palm. “Is this a command? Do you mean to turn us into monsters like the Drogmire?”
The wizard’s expression turned serious. “Chase was turned into the Drogmire because he was punished. The ugliness he felt at killing your mother, accident or no accident, caused him to become grotesque. You two will not experience such transformation. The job is not easy, for it requires you to maintain a presence in Sedona a few times out of the year.”
Drust stretched out his hands and bolts of blue energy shot out, tangling in the cave door. “I’ve sealed the cavern. The babies are entering their hibernation period where they will sleep for several months, and with my warding the cave, no Others or Skins, will gain access here. You and Justin are free to travel as you please for at least another year. When I have need of you to check on the dragons, I will alert you.”
His gaze settled on Justin. “If you will accept the job. The pay is quite good – ten sacks of gold a month. But it means you both must accept, and work together.”
Justin’s smile warmed her. “If Ariel will have me…as her forever mate… I accept.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. It felt so wonderful, she could have remained kissing him but for Drust’s gentle cough.
When they broke apart, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “It is settled. Thank you. Feel free to go where you wish. First, Justin, I have something for you.”
The wizard waved a hand. “It’s in your left pocket. I obtained it from your cousin Skylar. It belonged to your mother.”
Emotion tightened Justin’s face. “Thank you.”
As Drust walked to the ledge, he glanced over his shoulder. “And Ariel, ask Justin to sing for you now.” He waved a hand and music filled the air, harps and strings and piano. “Justin has a voice that makes others weep.”
With a snap of his fingers, he vanished.
Justin’s smile dropped. “I don’t think so.”
Her heart raced. What had the wizard meant?
23
The view of the red cliffs of Sedona had always filled him with quiet peace. Tonight, Justin took no pleasure in the scene.
Sitting on a chair upon the deck of his new house, her old home, Ariel watched the sun set. Justin had flown them here, but he’d paced and been restless since their return.
Damn Drust for mentioning his voice, and stirring Ariel’s curiosity.
Standing inside the kitchen, he opened the small red velvet box and studied the one-carat pink diamond ring Drust had given him. His mother’s engagement ring. He had not seen it since his parent’s death. Skylar must have accessed it from the family vault.
It would make a perfect engagement ring for Ariel, who loved pink. But asking him to sing?
Too many bitter memories were associated with singing. He snapped the box shut, recalling his mother’s sweet voice as she sang him lullabies at night. And then later, when they would sit at the piano together, making his father laugh as they pounded out songs from the Sixties.
But his favorite song was always the one his mother adored – an ancient Celtic love song sung in Latin.
Pocketing the box, Justin opened the door and walked onto the deck. Ariel did not turn.
Paper crinkled in her hand. She smoothed it out. “When I walked out here, this was waiting for me. I wrote it last year after I helped you to escape.”
His heart beat faster. “You unlocked the door to my cage. I always wondered.”
“I wrote it and tore it up, sending it to the four winds. Hoping that the fates or wizards or someone would send you back to me.” She gave a little laugh. “Got my wish.”
“What does it say?”
Justin sat next to her. “Please tell me.”
With a tiny sigh, she picked up the paper. “Open yourself up to receive the love of others. When you are open and sensitive, you can receive the feelings of others instead of centering on your own emotions and aware of someone you love, even if that person is distant and flew away. You share a bond with Justin, a bond that you have never felt before. Send him your healing thoughts with all your mind and your heart. Send him all your love. You have nothing to lose by loving Justin Moore the black dragon. And perhaps, if it is your destiny, some day he will return to you.”
Ariel folded the paper and set it aside. His heart leapt. He’d dared to hope she loved him when Drust told him what she’d written. Now he knew the truth.
Gaze soft, she smiled at him. “I loved you, Justin, but I was afraid because you were a dragon and I feared your anger and pain would be too great to overcome. I guess that’s why I held onto the amber crystal for so long. It can protect someone against dragons, even strip away the dragon’s magick.”
“Amber crystal?” He frowned, remembering the pendant he’d seen glowing in her jewelry box. “It’s amber? I couldn’t tell in the dark.”
A becoming flush tinted her cheeks. “My father told me it was my mother’s. She must have gotten the jewel from the dragon cavern and fashioned it into a necklace.”
The crystal that Drust wanted him to retrieve. Justin almost laughed. It was in Ariel’s possession all this time.
“Where is the crystal now?”
“I sent the pendant to a friend in Florida, Mia. S
he’s a witch. It was time to let it go so it could help someone else.”
Drust never asked him to find the crystal. He only asked Justin to see if it was in the cave. Job done, he thought. The wizard had enormous powers. He could find it himself.
She gazed over her shoulder. “I gave it to her because I no longer need its magick to protect me from dragons.”
“Then take something else to put in your jewelry box,” he said in a husky voice.
Ariel put a hand to her mouth as he knelt before her, opening the box.
“Ariel Harrington, I can be a right dick and a total jerk at times. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes or lose my temper, which can be downright foul. But I will promise to love and cherish you all our lives, and treat you like the princess you are. Will you be my forever mate?”
“Yes. Oh yes!”
He slid the ring onto her finger. Perfect fit. Justin grinned as she stood. The kiss was pretty damn perfect as well, her mouth fitting nicely upon his, her passion equaling his own.
He’d do anything in the world for this woman. Almost anything.
Ariel patted the spot on the bench. “Sit and watch the sunset with me, future husband.”
For several moments, they watched the gold and rose light play over the cliffs, making shadows dance. Justin slid an arm around her shoulders.
Nothing could break this moment of perfect happiness.
“Will you sing for me?” she asked.
Except that.
“Sweetheart, it’s not a good idea.” Sweat formed on his temples, beaded on his back. Damn Drust.
He stood and went to the railing, bracing his hands upon it. She joined him.
“Drust said you have a magnificent voice, like an opera singer. A tenor so beautiful that dragons would stop in flight to listen. You inherited it from your mother. She used to sing you to sleep and then you would join her.” Ariel leaned against him.
Chest tightening, he drew away from her a little. “When did he say this?”
“A few minutes ago, when you were in the bedroom. He stopped by to tell me if I need help shapeshifting, he would be there for me. He urged me to ask you to sing.”
“That was long ago.”
“You never lost the gift.” Her expression was gentle as she regarded him. “Drust said it’s important for you to sing, Justin. It will heal you.”
Don’t go there, he thought in anguish, his chest hollow. I can’t.
“He also told me you never cried after your parents died. Not even on the day of their funeral. You didn’t talk for weeks afterward. You never grieved them, Justin.”
“Grief is for the weak.” But he knew his words were a lie.
“I grieved. I wept for my mother when she died. I still cry now and then. It’s not good to keep it shut away because it will eat at you.”
Ariel cupped his face and placed a gentle kiss upon his trembling lips. “Sing for me, Justin.”
He had not sung since the day his parents died. Justin fisted his hands and left the bench. Raw grief tumbled through him. How did you deal with this? For years he’d pushed it back into a tiny corner of his mind, letting the anger control him. Because anger was better than crying all the damn time.
Damn he was tired of being angry. And this was Ariel, sweet Ariel, who asked little of him. Ariel, his future wife.
“Please.” Ariel stood next to him, bracing her hands on the deck railing.
He took a deep breath. “Once I sang. I had… a voice that they said could reach the heavens on a single note.”
To sing with such conviction, he must let his emotions guide his voice. After controlling them for so long, he wasn’t certain he could do it.
For a few minutes he looked at Ariel and then she faded into the background. He saw his mother and father, laughing as they often did, leaving the castle. Saw his father put the picnic basket into the trunk and close it with a loud slam. Saw his mother kiss his father as if she would never see him again, and then slide into the car as his father shut the door behind her.
Saw them both wave to him as he stood on the stone steps with his nanny, glowering at them because they were going into their own special world again, leaving him behind.
Heard the crunch of metal, the shattering of glass, the scream inside his own mind. Now he was running, running so fast, wishing he could fly, running to the road and seeing the crushed car and the blood, so much blood…
Justin sang, his eyes squeezed shut, letting the pain finally engulf him. Were his parents happy in Tir Na Nog? They died together, his father’s body found on top of his mother, as if his last act of love was to protect her with his body.
They were together now, forever. They had left him alone.
One love and lifetime. He understood now, why his father devoted everything to Justin’s mother. Staying by her side, sharing each day with her, shutting out the world. They shared a love so deep Justin failed to understand it, and it made him an outsider.
Now he knew such devotion, such encompassing love his father held for Justin’s mother. A love so deep it shut away the world, even a beloved child.
A world of their own, a love found only once in a lifetime.
Closing his eyes, he summoned courage. The notes came pure and clear. He sang an ancient dragon song of sorrow, of loss so deep, it became numbing. Throat closing tight, he fisted his hands and sang, tears pouring down his cheeks.
When he finished, he opened his eyes. Vision blurry, he watched Ariel. Tears poured down her own cheeks.
“Justin,” she whispered. Ariel put her palm on his cheek. “Your parents.”
He jerked his head up and down. Broken inside, he barely found the strength to tell her. “They were devoted to each other. Every Sunday they’d load up the car and take a picnic basket and go off by themselves. I didn’t mind when I was younger. But the summer I turned twelve, all these hormones kicked in and I resented them not paying enough attention to me. I felt like I was going crazy. They say it happens to black dragons of enormous power. It’s to prepare them for the eventual shift when they turn twenty-one.”
Ariel said nothing, only continued gazing at him.
“One Sunday in May they did the usual. Loaded up the car and went to leave me. This time it hurt more than usual because the night before they’d punished me for pouring ink all over my cousin’s toy.”
Justin took a deep breath. “I stood on the steps as my father started the car. And I cursed them. I wished they would drive off and leave me alone forever. And…I got my wish. That’s the darkness inside me, Ariel. I cursed my own parents.”
“Oh Justin. You didn’t mean it. You were angry and a child, nothing more.”
Eyes shining like two wet emeralds, she opened her arms. He went into them, burying his face into her shoulder. Smelling her sweetness, the fresh scent of wildflowers from her shampoo and tasting the salt of his tears.
No longer did he fear caving into grief, letting it consume him. Ariel had freed him in so many ways. She had opened the cage door imprisoning him in her father’s basement, and she had opened his heart to hope he could be loved.
The darkness inside him shrank, becoming smaller and smaller until it turned into a tiny pinprick, and then it winked out.
Finally he raised his head, wiped away his tears. With his thumbs, he traced two lines down Ariel’s cheeks.
“Thank you, sweetheart. No one has done that for me in a very long time.”
“Make you sing?” she teased.
But he wasn’t eager to break the solemn intensity of these past moments. He wanted to cherish them, hold them close.
“No. Made me feel, really feel, instead of pretending it didn’t matter and I didn’t care.” He cupped her face with his palms. “Made me feel whole once more.”
Passion filled his kiss. When they separated, Ariel gazed at him with such love, he felt peace in his heart. Maybe he was still a dick, and the darkness he felt inside him would surface now and then, but with Ariel at hi
s side, Justin knew it was time to move on.
“I’ll never be a whole dragon.” Ariel stuck out her prosthetic limb. “That’s fine with me. I have you, and a new life. And maybe, with your help, I could shift into a dragon and learn to fly. I’ve always yearned to fly.”
He would use all his powers to grant her dearest wishes. With the magick from the vortex and the crystals, Ariel would grow stronger in the coming years. They had a lifetime together to discover this.
Anything was possible, if you believed.
Ariel pointed out the striations on the cliffs, the colors dancing in the fading sunlight. “It’s lovely here. Always has been, but I’m getting tired of seeing the same view. I want to travel.”
“We don’t have to remain here,” he reminded her. “Drust warded the cavern and the babies will sleep for another five years. We have freedom to explore. Visit your mother’s relatives if you wish.”
“That would be nice. Eventually. For now, I want alone time with you.” Ariel slid her arms around Justin’s neck. “Where to now, choirboy?”
A small smile touched his mouth. “I’m a tumbleweed, sweetheart. I go where the wind rolls me.”
“What are we waiting for then?” She kissed him. “Let’s roll.”
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Thank you for reading The Black Dragon, Werewolves of Montana Mating Mini 7. I hope you enjoyed the stories.
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If you’re interested in reading connected books featuring other characters in this novel, here’s a list of them.
Temptation, A Dragon Story
The Mating Destiny (Alexander, a dragon prince)
The Mating Game (Xavier, the Crystal Wizard)
The Mating Chase (FREE)