Phoenix (Bears of Kodiak Book 3)

by Selene Charles

  “I never said anything about it because I wasn’t sure how to approach you with an idea so radical.”

  Like always, Madison seemed to guess his questions. Releasing his hand, she gently scraped her fingers through the tips of his hair, before rubbing his scalp in soothing circles.

  He had to fight not to groan in delight and lay his head in her lap. He was becoming addicted to her touch.

  “Of course I want to tie myself to you in every way, Madi. Forever.”

  She grinned, but her smile still seemed sad. “Phe, it’s not that easy though.”

  “What do you mean? I can’t tie myself to—”

  Leaning forward, she stole a quick kiss, silencing him. Then shook her head. “Yes, of course you can tie yourself to me. But it’s more than that. My lifeline and yours, they become entwined, Phoenix.”

  He heard what she wasn’t saying. And he trembled. “So if I die young—”

  “No,” she shook her head, “if there was one of us bound to die young, it would be the dragon. You know my kind. How aggressive we are. I’ll be stepping into my parents realm soon now that I’ve secured you. How do you think we keep our people in line? We fight.”

  “But your parents are still alive.” He knew he was making about as much sense as a rock, but he’d never expected to hear this. Truth be told, he was pretty sure he was a little bit in shock. The thought of losing Madison young, it’d never occurred to him before.

  She was too potent and full of life.

  She flicked his chest, chuckling softly. “It’s because together they’re powerful. But if you saw them naked you’d see they’re covered in scars that will never go away. That’s simply the way of things with my people. What if I’m not strong enough to—”

  Squeezing her fingers tight until she looked at him, he said in earnestness, “You won’t have to do any of it alone.”

  Yes, he knew he was only a grizzly. In Breed world he was the housecat compared to the untamed and wild lions of the savannah. Touching her forehead to his, she breathed in his air as he breathed in hers.

  “I love you, Phoenix. And I’m bound and determined to keep you with me for however long I have breath. But the sacrifice would be great for you.”

  “Or you.” He framed her face, looking into her gorgeous eyes. Feeling all over again like he was drowning in their molten depths. “What if I die young? I don’t want you having to always be my guard, always protecting me to make sure the pathetic grizzly doesn’t accidentally die from a dragon scratch. We’re so mismatched, Madi.”

  “No.” She growled, and flame flickered in her eyes. “No, we’re not. We have our issues, but who doesn’t? We’ll figure this out. In the meantime, if you’re really serious about being with me—”

  “Always.”

  Her lips curled into a graceful smile. “Then I think it’s time we go find that witch. And I just so happen to know a great one.”

  “Who?”

  “My grandsire.”

  His eyes widened. Seemed like the time to greet the in-laws had finally arrived.

  ~*~

  Madison

  Winging into her ancestral home was a mixture of trepidation, nausea, and anxiety for Madison, so she could only imagine how much worse it must feel for Phoenix who was dangling like a carcass of meat from her massive talons.

  He roared, obviously spotting the distinct shape of a dragon flying behind a massive gray thundercloud.

  Madison recognized the shape, size, and coloration immediately. Urich. And judging by the way electricity crackled and crashed around his big emerald tone form, he was pissed as hell. Probably not really happy with her for disappearing for a week with no word.

  With a shrill cry to announce her arrival, Madison dove for the plateau of her parent’s Cliffside mansion. Taking a deep breath, and curling the foot up holding onto Phoenix so that she didn’t accidentally squash him, she dug in her talons to the thick rock, holding out her wings for balance.

  She was getting slightly better at landing one legged and couldn’t help but smile proudly, until she saw her parents come out of the house, dressed in their traditional robes, and looking at Phoenix like they meant to eviscerate him.

  Calling the switch, she quickly shifted form and maneuvered her body in front of Phe’s to try and block him from their eyes. Which of course helped not at all because in human form Phoenix was as broad as a barn and twice as tall as her.

  “It’s okay, Madi,” he rumbled hotly into her ear, then laid a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her aside so that he stood tall and proud before her family.

  And in that moment she was sure she’d never loved him more, or been more proud. Phoenix was at a distinct disadvantage up in the clouds, but to look at him, you’d never think it. The grizzly exuded an air of confidence that even had her parents cocking their heads in question.

  A second later Urich swan dived, spiraling tight like a speeding bullet toward Phoenix. Only moving to the side at the last possible second, before noisily and clumsily landing, spraying up shards of rock in every direction.

  Urich had learned to land years ago. This was an obvious show of antagonism, and Phoenix knew it. Because aside from brushing off the pebbles from his coat—they’d had to make a quick pit-stop for clothes before going to meet her family, wouldn’t do to show up naked. That confrontation probably wouldn’t have ended well—he never flinched.

  Urich stalked toward their parents, standing behind them with fire licking through his green eyes. Madison was pretty sure she was going to start throwing up soon if someone didn’t say something, but then her mother shook her head, causing her flame colored curls to tumble heavily around her shoulders.

  She sniffed. And Madison knew that clever nose had sussed out the truth of them immediately. Mouth parting, Alora’s eyes flashed to her daughters with a question burning in their bright green depths.

  Madison nodded. “Yes, we are.”

  Then her father—Uriel—catching onto the silent conversation between mother and daughter, also sniffed. Considering Madison and Phoenix had been going at it like monkies for the past week, she was almost surprised they hadn’t already smelled their mating scent.

  Urich crossed his massive arms over his massive chest, eyeing Phoenix hard. Urich wasn’t dumb, no doubt he’d already come to the same realization her parents had, but Urich wasn’t known for being the forgiving type either.

  Straightening her shoulders, Madison latched onto Phoenix’s hand and squeezed. Telling her family without words that they were now a mated pair in every sense of the word.

  Uriel squeezed his eyes shut. Her father wasn’t the hothead of the family. For a dragon he was pretty tame. But Madison read his disappointment. As far as son-in-laws went Phoenix was a nightmare come to life for her father. Without saying a word to either of them, he turned on his heel and headed back into their home. Urich followed close on his heels, but not before casting Phoenix one last, long dark look.

  Only Alora remained. The true monster of the pack stood before them looking as lovely and innocent as she absolutely was not. Alora was cold. Ruthless. And deadly. She had no qualms about gutting a traitor—even if she’d known them all her life. Her only weakness in life was her family.

  And it was that weakness that gave her strength to step forward and bridge the gap between them.

  “Your father will come around. He loves you, Madison,” she said, her voice a mix of the lyrical and guttural.

  Madison got her looks from her mother and her coloration from her father, but her temperament, it was just like her mom’s. So she understood just how difficult this was for Alora.

  Keeping her mouth shut, she waited for her mother to say her piece. But Alora surprised her by smiling.

  “Well, we’re stuck with the bear now, aren’t we?” Then she sighed long and loud. “Phoenix Hawthorne, welcome to the family.”

  Stepping up to them, she held out her hand to him.

  Phoenix flicked a nervous gla
nce at Madison, who gave him a subtle nod in return. If mother wanted to kill him, she’d not have needed to trick him to let down his guard to do it.

  Phoenix took her proffered hand. And Alora’s smile grew wide as she shook.

  It was only the strain of lines around his eyes that let Madison know that Alora was no doubt seconds away from pulverizing every bone in that hand. Her mother might have welcomed the grizzly to her home, but she’d not forgiven him completely yet either.

  “Thank you,” Phe gritted out and Madi suffered the urge to giggle.

  Not that her mother was hurting Phoenix—only her mom could dare to do so and not suffer Madi’s wrath—but because Phe must love her enough to let himself suffer the abuse in silence.

  Yanking him in just a little, Alora’s grin looked more like a snarl as she said, “Hurt my daughter, grizzly, and I’ll happily make you lunch.”

  Phoenix cleared his throat. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  Alora snorted.

  “Okay, mom, I think we’ve measured dicks long enough haven’t we?” Madi said sweetly.

  Alora, at three hundred years of age, didn’t look a day older than her early-thirties. She was a handsome woman with exotic features. But when she smiled, really smiled from deep in her heart, she looked almost like Madi’s younger sister. Her entire face transformed into a thing of hypnotic beauty.

  “Yes, my love, I do believe we have. Now, if you’re decided to keep this bag of fur as yours—”

  “Mom,” Madi drawled.

  Rolling her eyes, Alora wrapped one arm around Madison’s middle, and the other around Phoenix, guiding them both toward the mansion’s front doors.

  “I’m just saying, sweetheart, it’s probably time to consider calling your granddaddy to work his binding charm. Don’t you think?”

  Madison felt Phoenix’s anxious gaze. They’d come to her folks for this reason exactly, but no doubt meeting her parents was a nightmare-inducing headache.

  She might have laughed, except for the fact that her mate looked like he’d just swallowed a hedgehog. Patting his hand, she nodded.

  “Yes. Yes. I do.”

  Epilogue

  Phoenix

  A swirl of nerves settled into Phoenix’s gut as he looked around the forest. The winds were gentle, balmy even for early spring in Alaska. The fields had been cut, leaving only a deliberate patchwork of wild flowers to sway in the breeze.

  There were hundreds in attendance today.

  Crows. Dragons. Grizzlies. Sirens. Hell, there were even a few naiads in the river, partying it up. And countless other Breed folk they’d made passing acquaintances with throughout the years. Everyone was trying to be on their best behavior, but that wasn’t easy to do when you stuck a bunch of hotheaded dragons and pesky crows into any mix.

  Still, it was his and Madison’s wedding day. Along with Chance’s, and Auggie’s. So everyone had felt honor bound to show up.

  He and his three brothers stood at the head of the crowd, giving each other knowing glances. Three confirmed bachelors, now all of them about to take the plunge in a very public fashion.

  Of course, after nearly a year of domestic bonded bliss, none of them really minded.

  Still, that knowledge did nothing to ease the nest of razor tipped butterflies swarming through Phoenix’s gut at the thought of seeing his mate finally walk down the aisle toward him.

  Chance was the first to lean in, and whisper between them, “What are the odds your dragons don’t eat my crows by the end of the night?”

  August snorted. “Considering we’ve got grizzlies in the mix too, I’d say we’re in for some carnage once the booze starts flowing, don’t you, Phe?”

  Phoenix patted down his gold vest. He felt a might stupid in this penguin suit, but considering both his brothers were in one too, he was in good company. Their tuxes were all identical, except for their vests and bowties, which matched their mates’ colors.

  Gold for him.

  Aqua for August.

  And deepest ebony for Chance.

  August, being the surrogate father figure to them both, stepped forward and adjusted Phoenix’s bowtie, straightening it up just so before sliding over to Chance and doing the same to him.

  It was weird for Phoenix, knowing that he and his brothers would be going their separate ways now. Not that they hadn’t already been living apart for a while, but they’d all still been in Alaska.

  Recently though, Jackson had gotten herself a job in Arizona and August was following his bride. He’d already sold off the Junk Yard to Chance, who was the only one of the three brothers going to stay in the Kodiak. They’d probably never leave because of Bronwyn’s family roots. Not to mention the fact that they now had another cub, a boy this time called Dalton with the same dark eyes of his mother, and dark skin of his father. The crows would probably bring a war down on their asses if they tried taking those kids away now.

  Phoenix and Madison were leaving too. They didn’t know for how long, or even where. Only that Madi needed to stretch her wings and go and Phoenix wasn’t letting his woman anywhere out of his sight ever again.

  Madison had missed out on a lot being grounded as she’d been. In her teenage years she should have been flying the skies, exploring the vast world, before settling down.

  They’d eventually return to the Kodiak: all Draconians did. But she and Urich were long overdue to experience life, and like it or not, their mates were coming along for the ride.

  Thankfully, Urich no longer wanted to eviscerate Phoenix. Now it was mostly just the occasional head slap when he wasn’t looking. Progress so far as he was concerned.

  “Well?” August held his arms open. “How do I look? Everything in order?”

  Phoenix stepped forward. There really wasn’t anything to adjust on August, he was as perfectly put together as he always was, but he pretended to adjust his bowtie, figuring his brother might actually need the rare show of affection from him.

  “Yeah,” he gently slapped his brother’s clean shaven cheek, “you look good, Auggie.”

  All three brothers, as if having the very same thought at the very same time, hugged one another, forming a tight circle.

  Feeling strangely choked up but determined to speak his mind, Phoenix cleared his throat and said, “Gonna miss you bastards.”

  Chance snorted. “Guess that mating ritual didn’t suck total ass after all, eh?”

  And though it wasn’t really funny, for some reason all three of them started laughing heartily. Phoenix even had to wipe a few tears from his eyes.

  He opened his mouth to speak, but then a noise caught all their attention. A crow—which one, he had no idea, since they all looked the same in Breed form—was pecking at the eyeball of a massive fire breather.

  The black skinned dragon was vibrating, growling deep in his throat, and starting to light up with striated bands of fire glow across his scales.

  “Well, shit,” Phoenix muttered, “guess we won’t have to wait till the booze flows after all.”

  August stepped forward, holding up his hand, and no doubt ready to calm what could become a powder keg situation, but then the music started.

  Flowing in from wooden pan flutes played by woodland sprites still hidden within the large boughs of trees. And like someone had just doused a fire with flame, peace settled over the crowd and all eyes turned toward the back.

  Phoenix lost his words and thoughts, consumed by desire and overwhelming love for his bride.

  The three women stood side-by-side and wearing dresses completely opposite one from the other.

  Bronwyn, with her auburn mane hanging low and threaded through with tiny white flowers was dressed in a diaphanous white gown that was shredded at the legs, but moved almost like a cloud as she walked.

  Beside her stood Jackson, who wore a form fitting mermaid style dress that flared out around her ankles. It was strappy and covered in glinting white diamonds; her dark hair was caught up in a loose bun, and her eyes were on
ly for August.

  But neither of them could hold a candle to his dragon.

  Madison’s dress wasn’t a traditional gown. It was short, coming only to mid-thigh and showing off the white, lacy garter strap on her left thigh. Her heart shaped bodice fit like second skin, and when she walked a slit on her right thigh revealed the very lacy edge of her white panties. Her hair was wild around her head, like she’d just been sexed good, and Phoenix suddenly suffered the violent urge to shove a red-hot poker through every male’s eyes looking at her.

  “Holy shit,” Phoenix muttered, and got an elbow in his ribs from Chance.

  “I’ll say,” August murmured, then ran his hand across his jaw.

  The women were beside them a few notes later, and Phoenix swayed into Madison’s side. Wrapping an arm around her middle and squeezing tight, inhaling her spicy scent of lightning and softer note of flowers.

  “You look fucking hot, Madi,” he whispered in her ear and she trembled, recognizing the huskiness in his voice as a promise of something carnal later, she dug her claws into his side. Letting him know without words that she was definitely down for some hot, heavy, and rough action later.

  Looking up into his face, her golden eyes melted for him. “You do too, grizzly.”

  Phoenix had bound not only his heart to his woman, but his soul too. Her granddaddy had used dark, arcane magick to do it. Taking the thread of his life and hers and creating a type of glowing braid, one deepest amber color and the other a glowing gold, once he’d wrapped their lives one to the other he’d shoved the now shared soul into both their bodies. So that he could now feel every emotion that ran through Madi’s body, as she could feel his.

  And right now his woman was madly, and incandescently happy. Nuzzling the top of her head, he breathed her in. Loving her more and more everyday.

  It was also her granddaddy—Pylot—who would be officiating their ceremony.

  The elder dragon, who still looked good for being over a thousand years old, walked regally toward them. He had a few wrinkles, and a head full of silver hair now, but his green eyes were sharp, bright and keen as he glanced between the three couples.