by Katie Reus
Another burst of rage shot through her, and she threw a ball of fire directly at the rider’s midsection.
The male tumbled backward, falling off the dragon. She didn’t bother to see where he fell as she flew straight at the dragon now. Fire shot out of her wings this time, in a huge swooping arc, arrowing straight at her enemy. He shot fire back at her, but she swooped under it and watched as her purple fire engulfed the dragon in a burst of flames.
Decades of untapped fire and power all came pouring out of her in a deluge as she fought to protect Lachlan, her sister, her friends and family and everyone below. The dragon’s screams filled the air as it started falling toward the earth in a smoking, burning mass.
Lachlan felt the darts slamming into him even as he battled with the warrior dragon. The effects of the poison started pumping through his system but a shot of adrenaline pushed it back. He would not let his Star down. He wouldn’t let Aurora down. They were going to destroy this cowardly dragon who used poison to fight his own kind.
His brother and clanmates were in battles of their own, their fire streaking across the sky in shocking, vivid waves of color. And King was somehow on the back of an attacking dragon, slicing through the beast’s neck with a giant sword.
But there was another dragon flying straight at Star—who could apparently fly! She was so damn glorious, so stunning that he wanted nothing more than to just stare at her, to bathe in her beauty. But he had to protect her, had to protect his own people.
A rage like he’d only known once burst through him, and a brilliant blue fire emerged from his throat as he shot flames at the nearest dragon. The male incinerated, ash and dust flying down across the city and falling against the invisible barrier. He flew straight through the still tumbling ashes, fighting the pain of the poison pumping through his system.
Star had just killed one dragon and was arrowing straight for Oscar—who was in a battle of fire with Aurora. One that would end in the death of one of them.
Oscar was huge, as big as Lachlan, and breathing stream after stream of red-hot fire at Aurora. And she was fighting back with her own bright flames.
Aurora was strong but she was so young and Oscar’s fire was pushing harder and harder against hers as he slowly won the battle.
No! Lachlan flew faster. If Star lost her sister, it would destroy her. That same rage built inside him as he flew like an arrow right at Oscar. He released another burst of blue-hot flames.
Oscar saw him and barrel-rolled, missing the brunt of his attack.
The blue fire hit the tip of one of his wings, burning it to nothing. The dragon screamed in agony, the screeches causing the humans below to scream in terror even though they didn’t move.
Lachlan kept flying hard for Oscar, but Star was faster. She held a giant ball of fire in her hands and threw it directly at their enemy. Fire from her wings followed, arcing like bolts of lightning at the male. She was utterly magnificent, a fierce avenging warrior.
The bolts hit Oscar in the chest, sending him tumbling into a nearby building. Brick and stone flew in all directions as he slammed into the rooftop.
Aurora screamed something at him as she flew downward, raising another ball of fire in her hands.
Lachlan saw everything play out in slow motion as he flew at the male. His own fire built in his throat, but as he started to release another stream of flames, Aurora flew into his way.
Then he understood what she’d screamed at him.
My kill.
He banked to the right to go around her, wanting to help her bring this bastard down.
But Oscar turned to the right, focusing on Star, who’d landed on a building next to him, her own hands raised as if to call on more fire.
A burst of orange and red flames emerged from the bastard’s throat, shooting directly at Star.
No! His dragon screamed even as Aurora released a ball of fire at Oscar.
Lachlan did the same, his blue fire slamming into Oscar’s head as Aurora’s fire incinerated his middle.
The dragon burst into flames, but Star flew backward under the impact of the red fire, her delicate form slamming into a neighboring building top.
Despite the poison pumping through his system, Lachlan arrowed toward her. The moment he crash-landed on the building, he shifted—and watched as Star’s body burst into flames.
“Noooo!” he screamed, the echo of it ricocheting throughout the city. Agony engulfed him, a thousand times more painful than the poison searing his insides. “No!” He couldn’t have lost her again. After thousands of years he’d finally found his mate again—knew it deep in his soul that Star had finally come back to him. He’d realized it days ago, had been too afraid to say anything to her in case she didn’t feel it too.
But she was his morning star, come back to him. He fell to his knees, the raw agony of his loss ripping his chest apart. Star, his funny, fierce and protective Star. All she’d ever wanted to do was protect her family, to care for the people she loved.
And she was gone.
“Lachlan.” He heard his brother’s voice, then Aurora’s gentle one behind him. He ignored them and stared at the ashes of Star.
“No!” he screamed again, unwilling to accept this fate. He screamed again and again, fire releasing from his throat in a wild wave of heat and anger at the unfairness of it all. What kind of fucked-up shite was this that he’d finally gotten his mate back only to have her torn from him again?
“Lachlan!” Star strode out of the ashes and rubble, naked, her brilliant purple wings ethereal but growing more solid by the second as she raced across the rooftop toward him.
He stared for a long moment, his fire gone even as his heart jumped into his throat. “Star?” he rasped out. She was alive. Alive!
He didn’t even remember getting to his feet but suddenly she was in front of him, clutching onto his shoulders as he continued to stare in disbelief.
She sliced her palm and held out her bloody hand, rubbing it all over the wounds from the poison darts, but he batted her hand away and crushed her to him. “Star,” he growled against her neck, overcome with too much emotion as he clutched her body against his. “My Star.”
“Lachlan.” Her own voice was thick.
“You’re alive.” Of course. She was a phoenix, rare and unique. Oh God, she was here and never leaving him again.
“I am, and I’m not going anywhere. Never, ever again, I swear it. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
Her words registered in his brain. She knew the truth. “I’ve loved you for thousands and thousands of years. There was never anyone else for me after you. Never.” He hadn’t been able to touch another female. Not until he’d met Star. “I went into Hibernation because I couldnae stand the pain of losing you.”
Nearby he was vaguely aware of Aurora and his brother on the ledge of the rooftop.
“I think he’s delirious,” Aurora murmured, watching them.
But Lachlan wasn’t. He knew that his morning star had finally made her way back to him.
“I know,” Star said to him. “I remember everything. I remember being a foolish human, but in the end I had planned to mate you. I was on my way to tell you but was killed. By my father, I think.”
He closed his eyes, reliving the agony of finding her at the bottom of a cliff, her fragile body broken against jagged rocks. Everyone said she’d fallen and died far too young. He’d been so angry at the world, so angry at the unfairness of it all. He’d never suspected anyone of taking her life, much less her father. Her family had all mourned her deeply, their agony real. And she’d never had any enemies. She’d been a sweet, giving human he’d met by chance while in human form. She’d been fixing the broken leg of a goat, cooing at the little thing, and Lachlan had been completely enchanted by her. If he’d known that her father… Maybe it was better that he hadn’t. It wouldn’t have changed anything, and here she was, in his arms again.
“The fates gave us a second chance,” she continued,
tears in her eyes. “Gave me a second chance because I was such a fool to wait before. I am your morning star.”
He felt her blood working through him, healing him as he pulled her even closer, his heart so full he feared it might burst. “I’m never letting you go again,” he growled out. “I dinnae care where we live. I’ll stay here. I’ll give allegiance to another Alpha. Anything for you. Or we can find a new territory altogether. But I willnae live without you ever again.”
“I’m ready to go home,” she said, her throat thick with tears. “Scotland is calling me and I would never ask you to give allegiance to another. You’re my mate, and if your clan accepts me, I want to be their Alpha as well.”
“If they dinnae, we’ll leave. You are all that matters. You’re all that ever mattered.” Lachlan turned to his brother. “Take care of this mess.” Because he wasn’t sticking around one second longer.
Cody simply nodded, his gaze on Star with a bit of awe. He’d known Danica, the human Lachlan had loved so long ago, and he’d liked the wisp of a female then too.
Star looked at her sister. “Aurora, are you okay—”
“He’s dead and I’m fine. Go, be with your mate. You deserve this.” Aurora’s wings were still visible, pale blue flames against the sky.
Thank the gods, because Lachlan wasn’t waiting to mate his Star. He’d do it right here in front of everyone, the need was so great.
“My place,” Lachlan said as he stepped back and shifted to his dragon. It wasn’t really his true home, but it was close and that was all that mattered.
Star jumped off the side of the building, her huge wings lifting her into the air. He followed after her, in complete and utter awe of the beauty of her phoenix.
His beautiful phoenix, risen from the ashes.
Chapter 29
Lachlan felt as if his heart would explode as they raced into the Garden District mansion. He had his mate back. He had his Star, something he’d never even imagined possible, not if he lived another thousand years. But she was here, the soul of the female he’d always loved returned once more.
Inside the house, they fell on each other, him wrapping his arms around her as she entwined her body around his. Her flames danced everywhere and his own indigo glow lit up the entire foyer. He couldn’t hide his mating manifestation even if he wanted to. But he did not.
He was ready to claim his female. The female who had stolen his heart millennia ago.
“I was coming to tell you that day, coming to tell you I wanted to be your mate,” she said as if she didn’t quite believe the words flowing out of her mouth. “And I’ve been having dreams for the last year. I thought at first that they were just strange dreams brought on by who knows what, but in the last week I’ve come to realize they’re memories. And then today I knew the truth even if I didn’t fully understand until I rose from the ashes. When I did, all my memories came flooding back, every single one of us together.” Her voice cracked on the last word as she cupped his face, stroking her fingers over him as if she couldn’t believe he was real.
“I woke up a year ago. Probably when your dreams started.” No wonder he’d been so drawn to her, been so called by her music.
She leaned in at the same time he did, their mouths connecting as he pinned her to the nearest wall. A painting fell to the floor next to them, but he didn’t care.
She moaned against his mouth as he cupped one of her breasts. He wanted to stroke every inch of her body, kiss every sensitive area until she was writhing underneath him.
But first, he had to claim her. There was no more waiting.
Somehow he drew his head back, needing to tell her what he’d never gotten to tell her when she’d been human. He’d been waiting to tell her until after she agreed to be his. “In dragon matings, if you die, I die. And vice versa.” He had to tell her the truth, needed to make sure she understood what the risk would be if she mated with him.
She clutched onto his shoulders and kissed him hard in response.
That was all he needed. He reached between their bodies, found her slick and ready for him.
There would be thousands of years of foreplay after this. But heat was riding him hard, the need to take her a wild, living thing pushing against all of his senses.
“Now,” she growled against his mouth, just as desperate as he was. “We’ve waited long enough.”
She rolled her hips, pushing the lower half of her body up slightly so that she was centered on top of his cock.
Oh, fuck him. He thrust upward, grabbing her ass with one hand as he kept her pinned against the wall. They fucked in a raw, wild mating. He was vaguely aware of the plaster cracking beneath their bodies before they fell onto the ground.
She wrapped her legs tight around him as he pinned her to the floor, meeting him stroke for stroke as he thrust into her over and over. Purple fire covered every surface, the glow beautiful, just like his Star. He loved the sight of her flames covering him, as if she was claiming him in return.
His canines descended, the need to pierce her with his teeth, to mark her, to claim her now and forever overwhelming. Without thinking, he buried his mouth in her neck and let his instincts take over, marking her even as she dug her fingers into his back, hard.
The pleasure/pain of her nails spurred him on.
She cried out as he bit her.
“Lachlan.” Hearing his name on her lips just about had him climaxing inside her but he held off. He wouldn’t find release until she did.
Instead he reached between their bodies, all his muscles pulling taut as her inner walls tightened around his hard length. When he started teasing her clit, she called out his name again. Hold off, he ordered himself.
As soon as he found the right tempo, she started coming around him, all heat and fire.
He lost himself then, finding release at the same time as she did, his climax punching through him until they were a sweaty, unmoving pile on the foyer floor. Spent and sated.
He had no idea how much time had passed when she finally pushed gently at his shoulder.
Groaning, he rolled off her and fell onto his back, staring up at the huge chandelier above them.
“I love you,” she said, tilting her head in his direction. “I can’t remember if I said it.”
He rolled over to look at her, drinking in every inch of her face, memorizing it. “I love you back, lass. I always have.”
“And I always will,” she finished, reaching for him.
It was true. He had waited a lifetime, thousands of lifetimes, for her and he would do it again. She was worth the wait, worth everything. He gathered her in his arms and raced up the stairs. They weren’t even close to done.
Chapter 30
Lachlan strode out onto the back porch, his heart skipping a beat to see the sadness on Star’s face. “What is it?” he demanded as he hurried across the patio of her crew’s place toward her where she sat with all of her people. He would destroy anyone who’d put that look on her face.
“Nothing,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips when she saw him.
He sat on one of the chairs and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. He was constantly touching her now, unable to get enough of her. They’d mated a week ago and they’d only left the house twice—both times so Star could play a charity show with her band. After the insanity in the Quarter, and the fact that she would be leaving soon, they’d decided to put on the charity shows for the city.
Other than that, he and Star hadn’t left her bedroom. And the only reason they’d come out today was because Star had been hungry and had wanted to personally check on her crew before they packed up and left. Otherwise he’d have stayed buried deep inside her for another week. Or five.
“We’ve just decided who’s staying and who’s going with you guys,” Aurora said, looking between the two of them. “And Star is feeling a bit blue.”
“Ah.” He’d known this was coming. He and Star were leaving this evening with his clanmates
and whoever wanted to come back to Scotland with them. His private jet was on standby whenever they finally figured things out. “So who is coming with us?”
“Marley, Athena, Taya and Kartini.”
So the bandmates were all coming, but the others—Bella, Lola, Axel, Brielle and Harlow—were staying. And of course Aurora.
He knew this would be hard on Star but he liked to think that he would make the move worth it. He also knew that she wasn’t surprised by this either—she’d already told him she knew who was staying and who was going. She’d told him this morning that her warriors had come to her, all separately, and had told her they would be staying to keep an eye on Aurora until the time she was ready to mate or to start her own little pack. They knew Star would never be truly at peace unless there were people watching after her baby sister. For that, he loved her people as much as she did.
“You guys are welcome to visit anytime you want,” he told the ones who weren’t coming with them. And he hoped that one day in the future, some would come live with them as well, so his Star would have even more of her people at her side.
“I’m definitely taking you up on that,” Bella said, crossing the distance and pulling Star into a tight hug even though she was still sitting in Lachlan’s lap.
“Why don’t you guys leave in the morning and let’s have a party tonight?” Lola asked, eyebrows raised.
“I think that can be arranged.” Anything to make his female happy. And it wasn’t as if she’d even packed, he thought in amusement.
Star leaned back and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. Then she turned to look at her friends, her family. “I can fully say I want to get a buzz on, so let’s get some good stuff for this party.”
“I’m going to make a few phone calls,” Bella said, clapping her hands together. “I’ll make sure we have enough champagne—I think Cynara will hook us up with some stuff from her stash.”