Dragon Mated: Supernatural Prison #3

by Jaymin Eve

  I was in the midst of trying to comprehend the gut-wrenching information when she answered one of my first questions. The one about why Larky had not used his sorcery against Braxton. I focused through my shock, it was important to know every single weakness he had.

  All of the magic on Earth, all of the magic gifted to the supernatural races, originates from Faerie. Larkspur is not a sorcerer, he is a pure-born shifter, one who must have some powerful friends to lend him magic.

  That was one of the more useful pieces of information she had given me. He was not a sorcerer – despite the fact that he’d fooled all the supes in his time to think so – which must mean that any magic he’d used had originated from somewhere else. If we could figure out how to make sure he didn’t have access to any magic sources during our next battle … well, that would be a distinct advantage for us.

  The golden dragon moved even closer, towering above me. I did not run, but her presence was very overwhelming. I understand why my child chose you. You’re strong, intelligent, loyal, loving, and selfless.

  And sometimes I was an asshole. I guess I was just lucky my dragon liked me for me, even the bad.

  Care for each other. The dragon mated bond, and your bond with your true mate, is your key to beating the shifter. We will meet again, Jessa of the shining line. I leave you with two gifts. You will know what to do when the time comes.

  As I tried to find the words to express my gratitude and joy at meeting Chrysandra, queen of the dragons and Josephina’s mother, a blast of energy rocked out in a circle, starting from the golden dragon and ricocheting outwards like some sort of atomic bomb so fast there was no way for me to avoid the impact. I closed my eyes and braced myself the best I could.

  As it crashed against me, the world tilted on its axis and everything went dark again.

  By the time I managed to regain control of myself, still naked as the day I was born, the golden dragon was gone. I stared around … I was somewhere else again.

  A flash of something in the distant sky caught my attention, and as I saw the shine of scales I crouched by instinct. It took me a second to recognize the black and blue beast. Braxton. He had come for me, just as I knew he always would.

  I bounced with urgency, the conversation I’d had with Chrysandra burning in my mind. I had to let my pack know. Both of my hands dropped to press against my flat stomach; the golden dragon had not confirmed my pregnancy but there was definitely a possibility.

  It was too early for any obvious signs of a pregnancy, but I did have the weird back pain and the weird anti-touching thing going on … which could be nothing also.

  For now, I was going with a maybe I was pregnant, because my poor brain just wasn’t ready to deal with an absolute yes. I wasn’t even sure I wanted rugrats. I kind of liked being selfish, and having young would have put an end to that immediately.

  Still, if I was preggo I would love my child with a fierceness that would probably scare the shit out of everyone, including the kid. I had no idea what Braxton would say once I told him all of this, but one thing I did not doubt was that he’d love and protect his young with the same ferocity that he loved and protected me. Fuck, he was going to be extra batshit crazy over my safety now. All of the Compasses would. Fun times, baby Compass, fun times.

  I forced myself to focus on Braxton, until a shimmer of light sprung up close by. The burst of magic took me by surprise but didn’t scare me. I was pretty sure this was going to be one of the gifts from the queen. I glanced to the sky again. Braxton was still some distance away, so I had enough time to explore.

  As I stepped closer to the shimmering, I could feel the pull of energy. The magical essence of that glowing space was strong, even in a land built on the Gold. Closing in on it, I could finally see through the glow to find a dais in the center. The pedestal was intricately carved with circular patterns, starting thick at the base and getting thinner as it ascended. On top was a circular plate, curved slightly on the sides. I zeroed straight in on the jewel in the center.

  A jewel?

  I wasn’t sure what this was meant for, but it was certainly exceptionally beautiful. I reached for the shimmery bauble, its red tones reminding me of Chrysandra’s eyes. The moment my hand closed around it, I heard her voice in my head.

  This is the blood of our ancestors forged into a stone of Faerie. It’s our offering in the battle, our repayment for all of the dragonlings and supernatural lives lost. Embed this pendant into the heart of the shifter, break the stone, and the shining ones’ blood will shatter the bonds between him and his army. It will destroy the curse.

  More than one voice joined hers, and I knew the other shining dragon ones were with her again. The tinkling chorus of voices sounded a lot like the ones which had spoken to me in those first few moments after I’d slept with Braxton, quite possibly the very moment I conceived our child.

  I still worried about what tough decision they were talking of, the one which could cost the supe races everything? Dammit. I was so not cool with this shit in my life, but at least I had a solid weapon to use against Larky. I would take great pleasure plunging my hands into his heart, especially now that I knew everything he’d done, everything he’d planned. Impregnate me and then give away my child. I was not only going to shove my fist into his heart, I was going to tear out that shriveled blackness and feed it to the wolves.

  The voices were gone now, and I knew they wouldn’t be back. I held the pendant gently, worried that I’d accidentally break it. As I brought the jewel closer, I was astonished at the multiple tones of red in its depths. It was more than evident that this was no ordinary pendant. A chain dangled from it, long enough that I could easily slip it over my head and allow the jewel to fall and rest between my breasts. My own energy took a second to adjust to its power. Josephina shifted closer to the front of my body, toward the pendant. It called to us.

  Warmth washed along my spine then and I shivered as Braxton’s energy tugged at my soul. I felt his presence everywhere, all the way to my toes. As I turned to meet my mate – who had just landed and was shifting back to human – there was a flash of light from the dais. By the time I looked again there was a large table in its place.

  “Hells yeah.” I shouted, fist pumping a little. Gift two was freaking awesome.

  Before me was a massive table spread with more food than I’d ever seen in my life, piles of deliciousness, a plethora of colors, textures – and the scents … shit, don’t even get me started on those. I wiggled side to side like a confused puppy. I didn’t know which choice to make. I was dying to wrap myself around my mate … but there was food … so much glorious food. Braxton laughed then, and my attention was instantly a hundred percent on the sexy dragon shifter. I would never have a single doubt about how much I loved Braxton. If he could draw my attention from food when I was starving, there was nothing that could steal me from him.

  I growled as my gaze dragged slowly over him. He was naked and freaking delicious.

  Actually we were both naked and alone … whatever could we do with our time? Ignoring the food, I stepped closer. He wore the wildness of this land across his tall, muscular body. Arms hanging at his sides, palms facing toward me as if he was somehow drawing me closer with his energy, I wanted to go slowly, to savor this moment between us. We’d so rarely been alone since our mate bond kicked in. The chain and pendant swung gently against my body. I paused, just briefly, my smirk teasing as I drew out the last moment before we touched.

  A grin cut across his rugged features and those dimples knocked the breath out of me. “Get your sexy ass here, Jessa.”

  He lifted his arms and my legs scrambled forward. I wanted to be home. I needed him more than anything. I launched myself at him, and with both of his hands under my butt, he lifted me with ease. Our bodies were flush against each other, his hard and unyielding, mine a touch softer.

  “We’re going to have a little chat about all of this disappearing you’ve been doing lately, babe.” He was bei
ng light, but I could hear the tendrils of worry. “But first I think I’m gonna need a second here just to hold you.”

  Braxton did not like feeling out of control. He wasn’t used to it and there were no real precedents for him to learn how to deal with it. This whole dragon marked thing kept shooting up obstacles that he couldn’t protect me from. It was throwing him off his game and I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t explode into a mass of angry energy soon. Well, another mass. It sounded like he’d been plenty angry when I disappeared into Faerie.

  I hugged myself closer to him, taking this single moment of togetherness. Very soon I would have to tell him what I’d learned from the shining dragon queen, and some of it was life-changing stuff, including the fact that we might be pregnant, and that Larky might be planning to steal our child and give it to the evil ugly-ass Faerie demons.

  There were no pregnancy tests this early for shifters. Generally we waited until the first full moon after our fertile period, and a witch would call to the gods asking for an answer.

  Shit, I couldn’t even imagine being pregnant. I was sure to screw the poor kid up. I had no idea how to raise a regular supe, let alone one with the power to control all five races. I’d have Braxton though, and my pack. We’d all just have to do the best we could and hope the kid was not a little asshole. Plus, we couldn’t screw them any worse than Larky, who had zero values, or the shadow spawn, who were kinda on the evil side.

  Braxton’s lips brushed over my neck; the graze of his teeth followed. “You chose me over food.” His low, gruff voice distracted me from my worries. I loved the hint of humor in his tone. It was enough to bring a smile to my face. “I definitely know you love me now.”

  I pulled back, chuckling. “Bet you were worried there for a second. To be fair, it was a close call, but in the end … you’re naked.”

  Merriment danced between us, and the lighthearted moment reminded me of the old days with Braxton, the perfect days where he’d loved me and I’d been too stupid and scared to even consider the possibilities. His grin turned into laughter; he threw back his head and laughed as if he had not a care in the world. There was something about this world which soothed the beasts in our souls. The same way being in Braxton’s arms felt like home, this place did too.

  I made a conscious decision then that I would not stress about shit I couldn’t change. If I was pregnant we’d deal with it. If the dragon king had his army ready to rock and roll when we got back to earth, we’d deal with it. We’d always stuck together as a pack, and that wasn’t going to change now. Together we could do this.

  “Where are the others?” I asked. I was dying to tell them everything I’d learned. But mainly I needed to know how much more alone time we had.

  Those blue eyes, locked on my face again, darkened to rich, cerulean blue. “They’re close. We’ll see them any moment.”

  He sounded disappointed, and I totally got that. Was it too much to ask for a few moments to be together as a proper mated couple? We were constantly being torn apart, and I wanted to hole up in a room with Braxton forever and explore him – literally, emotionally, mentally. I’d never cared before, not with any male – my past relationships were purely fun and sexual – but I wanted it all this time. Despite the fact that I knew him as well as any supe in the world, I wanted to relearn everything. And I’d also like some sex, because the few times with Braxton had been amazing. Like mind freaking blown. I figured I was due about eight hundred thousand more of those orgasms.

  I placed my hands on either side of his face. “Here’s some real talk. We’re in desperate need of some bonding and sex, so let’s just kill the king quickly, then you, me, and a cabin in the woods or some clichéd shit.”

  He laughed again, but the heat in his gaze was all I needed to know that we were both on the same page. “I’m going to kill the king, babe, don’t you worry about that. Then we’ll have our romantic cliché moment.” The rolling timbre of his voice had me squirming. He was a deadly weapon against females. “I want to strip you bare and taste every single inch of your body.”

  My breathing was getting all heavy, and of course right at that moment our pack rocked up. They were moving fast, coming up behind Braxton. With a huff, my mate lowered me to the ground, his lips grazing mine as he let me go. None of the guys would have blinked twice to find us naked and wrapped around each other, but it was time to focus on other things, which was a real buzz kill.

  Jacob the jackass was back. “Fuck, I knew we wore the wrong thing to this picnic. You should have specified on the invitation that this was clothes optional.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him and he shook a finger at me. “You’re in big trouble, Jessa babe, flying off like that and leaving the rest of us behind. Do you know how far we trekked to find your cute butt?”

  Before I could reply, Louis stepped up and in an instant Braxton and I were clothed again. “You two are lucky I have the ability to weave clothing from material in Faerie. If I were constantly dragging these outfits across the realms, my powers would be too depleted to get us all home.”

  No wonder my army-style pants and tank were so soft to touch. Faerie material was weaved out of the clouds or some shit.

  “Is there a reason you haven’t demolished this food yet?” Maximus said, looking between me and the lavish picnic left by the golden dragon. “Is there something wrong with it? It’s bad, isn’t it? What sort of cruel bastard would lay out a meal like this and then taint it with bad-ness. I’ll fucking kill them, seriously. I’ll kill them.”

  The small tendrils of tension which had been riding our group dissipated then as we fell about laughing. The look of actual despair on Maximus’ face was pure comedic gold.

  A funny which all of us desperately needed. It reminded me again to be grateful for the little things. We were all here, alive, and about to eat a kickass feast. Food was my focus, not the fact that after this it was back to the real world. The weight of the pendant, which was nestled safely under my shirt, was a reminder that a lot more darkness was coming for us. I was already praying that we all survived.

  Chapter 12

  I didn’t have a single doubt that the food was safe for us, and it took zero effort for me to convince everyone of this. I trusted the golden dragon. In a way, she was mother to me as well as my dragon.

  The six of us wasted no time stuffing our faces. Food in Faerie was not like any other. It was bright and rich and filled with flavor. The table was well stocked with fruits, seeds, nuts and vegetables, foods directly from nature. I particularly loved the mixed berries and salad type concoctions, which were wrapped up in greenery and filled with some sort of creamy cheese.

  In deference to the carnivores of the group, a few meats were provided as well – small whole birds which had been marinated in something both spicy and sweet, and a large roasted boar-looking animal. It was different than the pigs from earth, taller, with long, slender legs, but the same general flavor applied.

  No one spoke for the first ten minutes. We just sat and ate, absorbing the tranquility of this world. Honestly, if I ever wanted to escape life, this is where I would come.

  Louis broke the silence, his eyes focusing off into the distance. “This is a kind of peace I haven’t experienced in a long while.” I wasn’t the best with emotions, but it felt as if some of the heavy sorrow he carried around with him had lessened. “It’s so rare to find peace in our world. Supernaturals are filled with passion and violence and love. But peace … that’s much harder to achieve.”

  He was right. Supernaturals had an overabundance of emotion, but we were not a peaceful lot. I reached out and grasped his hand. “You’ll find love and peace again, Louis. You deserve happiness.”

  Suddenly those eyes were locked on me, and as always his power wrapped around my mind. “I’m not sure I want to be happy again when my mate is gone. I don’t think I deserve it. I couldn’t protect her. I wasn’t enough.”

  I snorted then. Yeah, okay, not a very sympathetic
response from me, but it was time for me to up the real talk again.

  “Louis, you’re a powerful male, we all know that. Something tells me the female you loved was also crazy strong. Which leads me to believe I might know some things about her. What you need to understand about us females is that we don’t need you to do anything but love us, love us as much as you possibly can, support us through the trials of life and even treasure the parts of us which are not all that lovable. Protecting us … well, that’s nice, but it’s something that goes both ways. Mates protect each other; it’s not the dude’s job to bodyguard us. We’re adults and are capable of kicking ass all on our own. In fact, I’m pretty sure your mate would kick your ass if she heard the way you were talking. I’d kick Braxton’s.” I grinned at the dragon, before giving him a wink. “I definitely don’t want him to be with anyone else. The thought rips at me, like broken glass across my skin. But if I was gone from this plane and he was still to live out hundreds of years, I would hope he found someone else to love, to share his life with. I want that for him.”

  My mate growled long and loud. He was not happy about me even mentioning being gone from his life. “Never going to happen, Jess. If you die, I’m hunting death the fuck down and I’m getting you back.”

  I reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “That’s my man, always saying the sweetest things.”

  It really was one of the sweetest things he could say. He would never stop fighting for me, through this life and the next. But Louis’ mate had also not been his true mate, so there was still a soul out there to complete his. The fates still owed him.

  The sorcerer was frozen in place, his eyes like purple chips of ice. He finally moved, but it was only to pull his hand from mine. I was worried for a second that he was truly angry with me, but then with a sigh, and a brief smile across his aristocratic features, he said, “Regina would totally kick my ass if she saw me moping around. Even though my pain has somewhat eased in the last few decades, I’m still struggling to fully let go of her.”