Dragon Mated: Supernatural Prison #3

by Jaymin Eve

  My dragon cried out, her soul fighting the parting; we didn’t want to lose each other, but there was no other choice. I found myself curved around the golden body, clinging to her, sobs ripping from me. I felt lost and broken without my dragon, empty inside, like I was half a supernatural now.

  My wolf soul wrapped around me, using pack warmth to offer whatever comfort she could. Arms enveloped me also, and with a snap like a rubber band, the bond between Braxton and I sprang to life, hard and complete for the first time since the sanctuary. I gasped as his energy flooded my mind and heart, visible ties which bounced free before disappearing completely.

  Baby… His voice was filled with something that went beyond joy, like pure awe. This is right. We’re truly bonded.

  We were, but I was no longer dragon mated, and that small part of my soul felt like it was dying. I was not so far gone in my own misery that I didn’t notice the group of jinn cast me one last look before fading back into the trees, taking with them that uneasy feeling of eyes crawling all over me. Seemed I had made the right decision after all. I’d righted the wrong from so many years ago. I just wish it didn’t hurt so badly. My soul literally ached.

  The golden limb closest to us started to twitch. I huffed in and out, my breathing rapid and shallow before stopping completely as the golden dragon lumbered gracefully to her feet and lifted her snout to the sky. She roared, smoke flowing freely, and followed with a long plume of red hot flames tinged in blue.

  I knew I should be happy – the dragons had their queen back, and the soul of my beast was free – but it still hurt so much. In that moment, Braxton’s dragon and energy intermingled with mine.

  We’re here, Jess. You’re not alone. You’re still dragon mated, to me and my beast. We’re one.

  I closed my eyes and truly felt those words, felt all of the emotion zooming between us. It took me some time, almost as if I were going through the steps of grieving in mere seconds, but for some reason his reassurance made the hurt a little less intense. He was right, I was going to be okay. I had him and his beast, and it was comforting to be able to touch the familiar dragon energy.

  A snout brushed against me and I opened my eyes. The golden dragon had her head lowered and she looked to be smiling as she snaked herself closer.

  Hello, my Jessa.

  She sounded like her mother, only her energy was a little different. Softer.

  I miss you already, I cried out to her. There were extra fractures in my heart, and the sorrow was seeping out.

  I will always be with you. I’m just a short trip to Faerie. We can visit anytime.

  I nodded. I knew this logically, but it wasn’t going to be the same.

  I will be dragon mother to your offspring, loved by me as much as I love you.

  I reached up and wrapped both of my arms around her, and I could feel the humming happiness from deep in her chest.

  I have to return to Faerie now. I must bond with the wild ones and we must reinforce the prison of the shadow spawn. Then I need to spread the word of my mother’s death – a time for mourning. And Larky’s – a cause for celebration. We’ll see each other again very soon.

  If I wasn’t so miserable, I’d have laughed at her use of Larky. I had definitely rubbed off on her. Forcing the next lot of tears to remain at bay, I gave her one last hug before stepping back. I knew I had to let her go now for good. She was very important, and had much to do to cement her new role.

  Will you be okay? Faerie can be dangerous.

  I have the memories of my mother to guide me. I will make mistakes but I will learn fast. You taught me that. To never lie down. To never give up. You’re the strongest of any supernatural, and what I learned from you will make me a good leader.

  She touched her snout to my brow. The heat of her energy caressed my skin and then she was gone, strong wings flapping her up into the sky. A step through flashed in the storm, then she disappeared. I wrapped both arms across myself and tried to hold it together.

  The supes around me were scurrying about, healing each other, moving the dead, cleaning up this massacre so that no humans stumbled upon the absolute carnage we’d wrought here. But I couldn’t move.

  I knew that all of my pack was close by, and since I hadn’t been sure I’d ever see them all again, I should be celebrating. I told myself to cross over to where Grace was healing Tyson – my wizard Compass had a massive gash along his face and half his eye was hanging from his head. Or step closer to Louis, who was waving his hands over Maximus, putting him into some sort of sleep stasis. The vampire looked like shit, emaciated worse than I’d ever seen; the death of his mate had brought him down when the dragon quads couldn’t. Even Jacob could have used some help. His body was riddled with massive burns, third degree in most places – he’d been caught in dragon flame.

  I still couldn’t move.

  Arms cradled me again, lifting me. I cursed myself for my weakness, knowing I had to snap out of it. No one else was falling apart, no one else was allowed to wallow in misery when there was still a crap-ton of work to do to fix this mess.

  “Jessa!”

  The twin connection flared to life, and before I thought twice on it, I was running into Mischa’s arms.

  “Jess, you’re okay.” She hugged me so tightly I feared for a second that I was going to pop her preggo belly. “The king is gone from my mind. The mark is gone from my back. We’re finally free. There is no more need to fear the dragon king.”

  I wondered then. Pulling back, I lifted my shirt … the swirl of my massive mark was visible in the half-light of the stormy sky, black and red, though no longer moving. Now it was a solid tribal, tattoo-like print.

  Braxton reached out and lightly dragged his fingertips along it. “This was never about Larkspur. You weren’t really dragon marked, you were dragon mated. This is the mark of the queen’s line, and you will forever wear it.” His voice went into that lower growly timbre which wreaked havoc with all my girly parts. “Still the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  He looked straight into my eyes and more of our bond clicked into place. The strength of my ties to my twin and my true mate were so much more intense now. The loss of Josephina had allowed my soul enough freedom to bond properly with them.

  In that moment I mentally accepted my loss … and felt all of my gains. As I let go of so much of my sorrow, a sense of completeness washed through me. It was as if my mind simply had to understand that it was okay to lose my dragon. She was still there, she still lived, and now I was complete in other ways.

  I hugged Mischa again. “I feel the true bond of twins now. I’m so glad you’re back in my life.”

  “Me too,” she said, a little muffled. “I love you, Jessa.”

  Just as I was pulling back, I felt her stiffen. We were touching, so I could have tapped into our bond and listened to her thoughts, but it was better to let her tell me when she was ready.

  “What happened to Max?” she finally murmured.

  Right! My vampire. I linked one hand with Braxton and the other with Mischa before dragging them toward the boys.

  “His mate was killed,” I said, my words catching. The pain of my loss was dulling now, allowing me to feel the pain of other losses. “He needs us.”

  Braxton’s relief was palpable. I was mentally and emotionally back with him and we could now focus on Maximus. This was his brother, his quad; they shared a bond even stronger than Mischa and me.

  “Were there any other deaths?” I asked as we made our way to the small gathering around the Compasses.

  “The Four didn’t make it,” Braxton said. “One of them was mobbed, and their bond was so strong that to take one out took them all out.”

  “I meant any other deaths I give a shit about.”

  Harsh maybe, but those fuckers deserved to die. I was just glad they managed to at least help a little first.

  “We lost more than half of our people, and I believe that Torag, Julianna, and Galiani were all cut down. Besides
Jonathon, Stratford is basically leaderless.”

  My heart ached at the death of the demi-fey leader, Torag. He had been a family friend and a good troll. All of the others, especially our leaders, were also massive losses to the supernatural world.

  “Louis lost ten sorcerers. No doubt we’d have had many more casualties if it wasn’t for the healers. There are also at least five hundred dead marked, and a thousand injured. All of them should make a full recovery when they awake.”

  As more lightning crashed in the magical storm, I was reminded of the fighting that went on above us. “What about Larky’s brothers?”

  “When you broke the curse, a step through opened behind us. They were pulled through. I assume they’re in Faerie right now, probably having those stolen dragons ripped from their souls. They were tough bastards, but empty, just puppets.”

  The supernatural world was in utter chaos, supes scattered all around, prison towns all but abandoned. New leaderships would have to be called early for all of the towns Larky hit, and I knew what that meant. The Compasses would have to step up. Responsibility would fall on them two years before it was meant to.

  We reached the boys, and I freed my hands so I could wrap myself around Jacob. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Jake. I love you so much.”

  He returned my hug, wincing as I rubbed against his burns. “I love you too, Jess. Thank you for kicking his ass long enough for the golden dragon to arrive.”

  I snorted, enjoying the moment of being wrapped up in the elemental magic of my fey Compass. “He did a lot of the ass kicking actually. But somehow we made it.”

  His lips grazed my cheek, a gentle kiss, before I was passed off to Tyson. The wizard was looking a lot better. His magic hummed as I wrapped myself around him.

  “Feeling a lot like a sorcerer, my friend.”

  I was teasing him, but there was that distinct sorcerer hum to his energy.

  “You always know what to say, Jessa babe, to keep a male happy.”

  I patted him on his cheek, the one which had no damage, and pulled myself up. Next on my list was Maximus. He was not conscious, but I couldn’t stop myself from reaching down and sprawling across his broad chest. I slowed my heartbeats to match his, and lay there offering comfort for as long as I could.

  “We love you, Max. Please come back to us. Cardia would want you to live, to return to your pack. You know we can’t exist without you. You complete us.”

  Mischa knelt down beside me, and even though she wasn’t as friendly as I was, she still placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You have more reasons to return than you know, and when you’re ready, we’ll be waiting for you.”

  I widened my eyes at her. His baby might be the one thing to snap him out of this massive darkness, but Mischa shook her head. She wasn’t ready to tell him like this; I could sense that the timing felt wrong for her. She was hoping he’d come back on his own and be the father that she envisioned in her head. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Maximus would never be the same again. She would have to adjust her mindset to fit the new reality of our pack mate.

  Jonathon and Lienda were standing off to the side, arms wrapped around each other. I could see in their faces that they both knew of Mischa and I – they were going to go from no grandchildren to two, practically overnight.

  Wait a freaking minute … the golden dragon had said twin souls. Did she mean?

  “Shut the friggin’ door.” I spun and pointed a finger at Braxton. “Dude, why you always got to be an overachiever?”

  I could tell from our bond that he knew exactly what I was saying.

  His grin was all the response I needed to jump to my feet and tackle him to the ground. I spent a few minutes pummeling him, and he pretended not to let me win. My wolf was satisfied with our performance, and I was pleased to find out that even without my dragon I was still dominant, still an alpha.

  I was still me.

  Chapter 20

  The next few hours were not fun, like … at all. We gathered up the fallen and laid them out in the town center for one large sendoff to the gods. Each of the races had their own death rituals, but in times of war, a mass burning was always the way it went.

  I was walking along the line, Braxton on one side, Mischa on the other, the rest of my family and pack trailing along at different paces, all of us intermingled with other survivors. We were silently blessing the bodies, thanking them for their service to our people. I was keeping my emotions in check … until I was about half way along one of the long rows…

  A small, familiar face caught my attention. “No!” I cried, falling to my knees beside her. “No … Rose! I can’t … fuck!”

  I was devastated, wanting to sob, but was too numb to cry any more. She was laid out all perfect, pretty and petite, the first dragon marked, who had suffered more than any of us, the channel for the king’s power, whose blood ran through all the marked. She deserved so much more than this, to finally have a chance at freedom…

  “What happened?” I asked, unable to see any injuries. Her skin was still that perfect mix of color, dark and smooth, but without any of the warmth she had held in life.

  Grace answered me. The witch had remained blank faced since Cardia was killed, but continued to use her healing for as long as she had the strength.

  “I heard that when the marked were sending their energy up into Larkspur, she went crazy, screaming, blood pouring from her eyes and nose and mouth. Some of the healers tried to help her but she just collapsed.”

  Larky had been so desperate to win … he had channeled too much energy through her, destroying her … before I could stop him. What the fuck? Life shouldn’t be this unfair.

  Even though I knew she was dead, and there was no one left there to hear me, I picked up her hand and leaned closer. “I’m so sorry I failed you, Rose. You deserved to have a shot at a free life, and now I can only hope you find your place amongst the gods, and that the afterlife is peaceful.” I silently added prayers and blessings for her safe journey home.

  I had no doubt that I looked like shit as I stumbled to my feet. This had been the longest asshole of a day, and even though we’d won the battle, we had lost so much.

  Braxton wrapped himself tightly around me, as if somehow, with his physical strength alone, he could keep me safe from the pain. No one could do that, but our mate bond certainly made it easier to deal with. I managed to keep my shit together for most of our blessings. There were many of us wandering through the masses of dead, so many who had lost friends and family. Not to mention all of the supes around the world who were yet to know that their loved ones were not coming home.

  I lost it again when I reached Jonathon; he was with Torag, kneeling silently at his friend’s side. At first I thought he was simply praying, but as we moved closer I could see the tears trailing down his cheeks, and that was what completely broke me.

  Jonathon was a strong alpha, a leader. He felt his emotions, owned them like most shifters, but he was always so contained. Today, though, his grief was so great that it was pouring out of him and crashing into all of us. I couldn’t stop myself from crossing to him and crouching down to hug him from behind, resting my head on his back and offering whatever comfort I could.

  More of our pack members followed. Braxton. Mischa. Lienda. Dozens of others. Some who had been marked and some who weren’t. We all crowded in and mourned with our alpha. The keening howls would have been heard all the way to the closest human city if it wasn’t for the protections back up around Stratford. Eventually, we had to release the pain. We had to rejoice in the time we had shared with our loved ones. We had to move forward.

  The burning ceremony was both incredibly moving and releasing. Supes believed in an afterlife – well, most of the races did. It was comforting to know that those who had sacrificed so much, who had died today, would find their place with the gods. We would meet them again one day. Death was inevitable for us all, and we couldn’t stop living just because some were taken
from us too soon.

  Jonathon and Louis were contacting communities around the globe, letting them know the threat had been eliminated, and that all of those who had been marked were free of the king’s control. Their dragon symbol was gone, along with the increased benefits from the spirit of the dragon.

  I was the only one still bearing a mark, and I would wear it with pride. It was the evidence of my dragon mating, the only connection remaining to me of the golden one, Josephina. My dragon.

  It had been a long day and I was pretty much dead on my feet, but we all found time to eat together in the great hall. Yeah, who was I kidding? I’d always find time and energy for food. You know … except if I were actually dead.

  Maximus wasn’t here, and his empty seat was a massive kick in the guts, reminding all of us that there was a break in our pack.

  “You have to tell him, Misch.” I lowered my voice so only she could hear. “He needs something positive to hold on to.”

  She was silent, pushing her food around on her plate. “Don’t you think maybe it would be an added stress he doesn’t need right now? Something else to deal with when he is already consumed just dealing with his loss?”

  I sighed, my battered heart clenching. “You’re probably right, but I think we give him a few weeks, at most, to try and work through some of the pain and anger. Then there will be no choice but to let him know.”

  “Agreed,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to spring it on him after the baby is born.”

  Yeah, I totally wouldn’t recommend that. Maximus was likely to completely lose his shit if he found out that way. Vampires were very protective of their young. Most of the supe races were, except for some of the demi-fey. Pretty sure mermaids ate their young. Ugly bitches.

  I devoured everything on my plate, which was harder than usual because Braxton kept shoving more food onto it. Eventually I reached out and captured his hand, the one holding another plate of chocolate cake.

  My eyes locked on the dripping ganache and cream center. “Okay, after this piece of cake, I’m definitely too full to move. You’re already going to have to carry me from here.”