Her father acknowledged the gratitude on Nathan’s face, and bowed his head as he let his daughter go and flittered backward. “Now go start your life. We will be here whenever you have need of us.” He hesitated. “Oh, Mellie is upstairs, in her bedroom. She used a protection ward to protect herself, so when you go to talk to her, make sure you say the phrase ‘apple pie.’ Otherwise, she won’t let you in."
Then they were gone as quickly as they’d appeared. Katenia just stood where her father had left her, staring straight ahead.
“Hey,” he murmured, as he moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you okay?”
“No.” She turned in his arms and went on her toes, cupping his face with her hands, even as tears shone in her eyes. “I’m wonderful. They’re letting me keep you.”
He winked at her, because the love shining on her face was undoing him. “In all fairness, I probably wasn’t going to give them a choice.”
She dropped her head against his chest and laughed. “Gods, I love you, Nathan.”
“I know,” he murmured. He slipped his arm under her perfect bottom, and lifted her until they were at eye level. He needed to get her out of there so he could clean up the mess and check on his aunt, but right now, he needed to hold her more. “I’m stupid in love with you, Katen.”
She giggled and grinned up at him as she hooked her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. “That sounds about right.” She kissed his nose, and then closed her eyes as she rested her brow against his. The sigh that escaped her was one of contentment and joy, and Nathan smiled. “Mine,” she whispered.
He nodded, and headed home. “Mine.”
The End.
Want to read more by Eden Ashe? What about exclusive giveaways, deleted and bonus scenes, and more fun stuff?
* * *
Click here: https://www.subscribepage.com/edenashe
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eden Ashe writes the heroes and heroines you want to read. Heroes who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love, and the heroines who love just as fiercely.
Don’t miss Dragon’s Heart, the first book in the Dragon Lore series to see just how far the king of dragons will go to protect his mate.
VIOLCA’S VOW
LEILANI LOVE
Copyright 2016 Leilani Schweitzer
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
Inquiries about additional permissions
should be directed to: [email protected]
Cover Design by Scott Carpenter
Edited by Cecile Jagodzinski
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
This book is dedicated to my friends. Scott, for always encouraging me and my beautiful covers. Melissa and Lisa, who both take the time to let me bounce my crazy ideas off them. Love you all very much. You guys mean the world to me!
ONE
CHASE’S HEAD snapped back as his king, Viktor, landed another punch right to his jaw. Seeing stars, he glared when he saw Viktor’s smirk. “You’re distracted,” Viktor said as they circled each other on the mats.
“What makes you think I’m distracted?” Chase asked before landing a jab-cross combo that connected with Viktor’s jaw.
Viktor chuckled, wiping the blood from his lip. “Normally you’re a lot harder for me to hit.”
Chase took a deep breath and lowered his guard. He grabbed two water bottles, tossing one to Viktor. “Violca’s insisting on talking to Lazzaro. She wants to know why Lazzaro thinks they can help him.”
Grabbing a towel, Chase wiped his face and the back of his neck. Lazzaro, the Vampire King, had tried to have him kidnapped in order to get to the Grey sisters and have them lift the curse—the curse that one of their ancestors had placed on Lazzaro’s people. The curse was thought to be the reason vampires weren’t able to walk in the sunlight. Chase had always believed this was a myth, a story vampires told their children about why they should stay away from witches. Violca and her sisters were direct descendants from the original Earth witch, Lazzaro believed they would be strong enough to break the curse.
“Your mate volunteered to accompany her,” Chase continued, fighting a smile when he saw Viktor’s eyes flash neon-blue and heard a low answering growl. Lazzaro had blackmailed Aithne by kidnapping her sister, Ally. Lazzaro knew he could use her love for her sister to force her to kidnap Chase. Aithne was a Celtic immortal who had trained as an assassin. After Aithne almost succeeded in kidnapping him, they eventually got the story of what happened out of her and helped Aithne rescue her sister. Fate had a way of bringing people together and in the end Aithne turned out to be Viktor’s mate.
“You’d think my mate would have learned to stay away from him,” Viktor mumbled before taking a big swig of his water.
Chase couldn’t help but chuckle at his king’s words. “I hoped your mate would talk her out of it. Instead they’re trying to figure out the best place to set up a meeting.”
“I blame you for telling Violca what Lazzaro said.”
Chase shrugged and found himself smiling as he thought about his mate. He didn’t keep secrets from Violca. She’d been curious about why the Vampire King would have tried to kidnap him, so he told her. Chase told her that he never believed the old stories about how the witches had cursed vampires, confining them to the night. Lazzaro either had proof or was desperate enough to risk starting a war with dragons.
New to her powers, Violca had no idea if she could help him or his people. But his mate was softhearted and believed that helping the Vampire King would cause a truce between the dragon shifter and the vampires.
“She wants to try and make a truce between our people and theirs. She feels that if your brother Dmitri is recruiting, we should too.”
Dmitri was Viktor’s younger brother. After the death of their parents Dmitri went to talk to the Fates. After a cryptic message Dmitri had become convinced they needed to find the Earth witches and get them to release the magic that the gods had taken from them and hidden away into the Dragon Ruby. The gods had warned them if they ever released their powers that they would kill them but Dmitri was convinced that they would be strong enough that not even the gods would dare try to attack them.
Viktor snorted and nodded toward the door. “Maybe she’s right. We do need to be more aggressive. Between the Orion Hunters and my brother, too many of our people have gone missing. The guards are starting to get stretched thin between protecting our people and fighting off the hunters who are intent on killing every supernatural they find.”
Chase followed him out of the gym and they headed upstairs, both lost in their own thoughts. Chase understood as king, Viktor’s primary goal was to protect his people. Chase’s first goal was to protect his mate, Violca. The fate of the dragon shifters rested with the five Earth witches.
“When does Aithne get back?” Chase asked.
Viktor let out a growl and Chase tried not to smile at his old friend. Aithne had left a few days ago to help Kassandra, one of Viktor’s close guards, track down information about an attack on a few of the dragon families. The original rumor was that the families were attacked by the Orion Hunters who had found them out. There was also rumors that Dmitri had been spotted in the area. “Tomorrow. Kassandra says Aithne’s been a great deal of help. There’s proof that both the hunters and my brother were there, but as far as who attacked the
family...”
Chase nodded, knowing that Viktor hoped it wasn’t his own brother. The attacks had become more frequent and most of Viktor’s people had gotten scared, demanding their king to eliminate the threat. The more panicked they got, the more they threatened to take things into their own hands and join Dmitri in his hunt for the Dragon Ruby to release its power. The ones not threatening to leave had started to look to Violca and her sisters to solve their problems and bring balance to their lives.
Chase and Viktor parted ways in the hall. Chase headed upstairs to the room he shared with Violca. He smiled when he saw her sitting on the floor, surrounded by wedding magazines and biting her lip. Her sisters, Eva and Kati, had brought them a few days ago so that she could begin planning for the big day.
“Eva would be glad to see you’re looking over wedding stuff instead of pouring over your family’s journal,” Chase said, grinning when she jumped at the sound of his voice.
She stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed. He bent down and gently cupped her cheeks before giving as her a passionate kiss. Violca moaned softly as her lips parted and she sucked his tongue into her mouth. The dragon inside him let out a soft growl of pleasure echoing his own. Chase broke the kiss with a smile when she pretended to pout. He pushed a strand of her dark hair back behind her ear. “Should I ask you what you were concentrating on? You looked way too serious for it to be about the wedding.”
Violca continued to work her lower lip, and he smiled as he looked down at her. Chase could see she was considering her answer, raising an eyebrow when she paused a little too long. He bit back a grin when Violca blushed.
“I was trying to figure out why Dmitri would be stealing artifacts from other supernaturals and risk attacking his own people,” Violca answered with a small sigh.
Chase offered her a hand and helped her up to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her while he looked into her violet eyes and inhaled her scent. Her scent alone was enough for both him and his dragon to feel content. Chase still marveled at how kind fate was to have given him a woman who was as selfless as Violca. Putting her first was the easiest thing Chase ever did. “I don’t know. Could be he’s hoping for leverage over them.”
Violca nodded and he watched her continue to bite her lower lip. Unable to help himself, he kissed her, sucking her lower lip into his mouth before nibbling on it. He loved the way her violet eyes darkened when he released it. “I take it you don’t totally agree.”
“If his goal is to get everyone on his side to make us find the Dragon Ruby and release its power, pissing everyone off wouldn’t be the way to go about it. What could Dmitri hope to gain?”
He’d often wondered that himself. Having watched Dmitri grow up, he couldn’t make sense of the wayward Dragon Prince’s actions. It seemed like he was indeed going out of his way to piss off everyone. If the only goal was to cause a war, then he was succeeding. “I don’t know, my love,” he answered honestly. “What I do know is that I’m holding the woman I love and that I’m in need of a hot shower.” With a wink, he bent down and picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom and enjoying the sound of her laughter. “I believe you need a break from all this…wedding planning.”
“I have to get the girls in two hours,” Violca said as she playfully reached up to nibble on his earlobe. A shiver ran down his spine as he set her on her feet in front of the shower.
“Two hours,” Chase said grinning at her as he reached down to grab the bottom of her shirt. “What can I do with you naked and wet in the shower for the next two hours?”
Violca giggled as he took off her shirt. She reached up and brushed her lips against his. “I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”
With that, she stepped back and wiggled out of her jeans. She smiled at him over her shoulder before bending over and turning the water on. Chase’s eyes were drawn to her ass as she bent over. Quickly removing the rest of his clothes, he came up behind her, grabbed her hips, and pulled her tightly against him. “I love these little lacy things you wear,” he said, whispering against her neck as he held her to him. “They make the best sound as I rip them off your body.”
His hands grabbed the sides of her small panties and he ripped the material from her skin. The sound of her gasp caused him to growl and his cock to jerk. Giving her a small nudge, she stepped into the shower and he followed close behind. He wrapped his arms around her waist and his hands drifted to her breasts, cupping them before pinching her already hard nipples as the warm water hit them both. “I also love the sound you make and how your body is instantly ready for me when I rip off your clothes.”
Violca moved in his arms and her eyes met his. She turned him around so his back was against the wall, water hitting both their bodies. A wicked gleam grew in her dark violet eyes as she slowly licked her lips. “You have two hours to show me.”
Bending down and capturing her lips with his, he let out a growl. Chase’s hands slid down her body, grabbing her firm globes as he ground against her, whispering, “Yes, ma’am.”
TWO
VIOLCA SMILED AT HER SISTERS, Sari and Angyalka, as they ran out with the other kids when the bell rang, announcing that school had ended. The light shimmered off her sister’s pale white hair, drawing everyone’s gaze to her. Sari’s locks were as dark as Angyalka’s were white. Their only similarities were the matching twinkling blue eyes and mischievous grins they both wore.
“What trouble did you two cause?” Violca asked as they both gave her a hug.
“We got invited to a sleepover,” Angyalka announced, her voice squeaking in excitement.
“You did, huh?” Violca asked biting her lip. Her sisters’ excitement could be easily seen through their dancing eyes. Violca, not wanting to disappoint her sisters, had to figure out how her and Chase were going to work that out for them. The girls invited people to play at their house but had only occasionally gone to one of their friend’s houses during the day. The guards always knew in advance and they tried to make sure not to be seen in order to give the girls the feeling of being normal. So far, she hadn’t allowed them to go stay the night at anyone’s house. Since the school year had started only a month ago, it hadn’t been that big of a deal, but now she’d have to talk to Chase. “Who invited you over?”
Sari, not to be left out, said, “My new friend Madison. Her birthday is Saturday, so her mom said she could have a sleepover. Can we go, V? Please.”
Shaking her head as both girls started to plead, Violca laughed. “Let me talk to Chase and see what we can arrange.” Both girls cheered and she held up her hand. “That’s not a yes. It’s a maybe.”
Their smiles let her know they didn’t believe her and she shook her head. “Get in the car, brats. I’m sure you both have homework.”
The girls scrambled in the back of the SUV, laughing as they continued to chatter. Violca listened to them as she pulled out and away from the school, waving to a few of the moms as she drove off.
The girls continued to talk about their day. Violca heard them discussing their new friends and Angyalka started to talk about a substitute teacher they had. Her name was Luna and according to Angyalka, she was very pretty and nice to her.
“I wish she was my teacher,” Angyalka said with a small pout.
Violca grinned. Angyalka’s current teacher gave them a lot of homework and according to Angyalka, didn’t smile that much. Violca wasn’t surprised that with the first substitute, her sister instantly wanted to replace her teacher.
When they got to the house, the girls bounded out of the car and ran up the few stairs that led to the front door. Following behind them, Violca yelled out for them to start their homework. Kati would be home soon from her first meeting with the Homecoming Committee. Eva had promised that she’d hook her sister up with a college guy for a date if she signed up for the committee. Violca made Eva promise that it was only if Kati couldn’t find her own date.
Scott, Chase’s long-time friend and panther sh
ifter had imprinted on Kati and wasn’t happy about the situation. The tension from him was growing and Chase had talked him into taking an assignment looking for one of Viktor’s friends. Scott was due to come back in a few months to check in and participate in the wedding party. He wanted to tell Kati about imprinting and after a huge “discussion,” the three of them agreed to wait until she had at least one semester of college. Violca wanted to wait longer, but Scott worried she would meet someone when she went to college.
Violca liked Scott and even knew her sister had a crush on him, but it was difficult knowing an adult had imprinted on her teenage sister. Violca had no idea how to handle it or what to do. She just wanted to give her sister some time to grow up before Scott told her.
There was no guarantee that Kati would accept him, but Scott didn’t wait so long that she might fall in love with someone else. A lack of interest on her Kati’s part wasn’t going to be an issue. Violca noticed the way her sister looked at Scott when he wasn’t looking. Scott had met Kati when she was being tormented in high school. At the time, she felt insecure about herself. Since leaving California and moving to Colorado Kati had slowly started gaining her confidence and coming into her own.
Violca headed toward the living room, and heard Chase helping Angyalka with her math homework. She was starting to learn algebra, and Chase was much more patient about teaching her then Violca ever was. Walking in, she noticed Sari sitting at the desk near the table using the laptop, while Chase and Angyalka sat on the floor, using the coffee table near the couch.
Chase looked up at her. His light brown eyes flashed gold as he smiled at her, letting her know his dragon was just below the surface and was happy to see her. She could feel it in the mating mark on her neck. Humans were unable to see the bite mark on her neck that marked her as his. Most supernaturals could see the mark, and the ones who couldn’t see it could smell his scent mingling with hers. Their upcoming wedding was a formality, because the mark they shared bonded them in ways she still didn’t totally understand. It gave her comfort all the same.
Shadows and Stars Page 25