by Becca Van
They all owed Lance a great deal of respect and they loved him like a father. He’d taught them so much and although he and the other dragons hadn’t thought so at the time, Aiden was glad he’d disciplined them, too. If he’d let them all run over the top of him they may have ended up spoilt brats. His dragon chuffed with disgust at that thought but Aiden was glad that they’d been guided by Lance. He could just imagine the trouble they all could have gotten into if not for their elder.
With a sigh of resignation at having to put his conference off for the time being, he pushed off the doorjamb he’d been leaning on and sat down next to Andre.
“Did you sleep okay?” Andre asked telepathically, using their private flight pod brothers’ link.
Aiden met Andre’s gaze and nodded. Although he tried to contain his smile of elation he felt his lips tilting up at the corners. He nearly fell off his chair when Alex thumped him on the shoulder but when he turned to meet Alex’s eyes, he couldn’t stop the chuckle forming in his chest from rumbling out of his mouth.
“What’s wrong with you three?” Russ asked.
Aiden didn’t know how to answer without giving anything away but was saved by the proverbial bell when Niki sat down next to him, drawing Russ’s attention.
Bid and Lance brought the last of the food to the table and sat down. During breakfast not once did their elder look at him or his flight pod brothers and his gut clenched with anxiety. He hoped that Lance wasn’t going to ignore or refute the fact that they had all dreamed of their mate last night.
His dragon was restless and was pushing for him to let him out, but until he, Andre and Alex had talked he was keeping his animal on a tight rein. It seemed like hours had passed by before everyone finished eating and began to leave the room. When Bid began to help Lance clear away the dishes, Aiden smiled at her and took them from her hands.
“We’ll help Lance this morning.”
Bid tilted her head as she looked from him to Andre and Alex and when he saw a gleam in her eye Aiden wondered if she knew why he wanted time alone with their elder. He sighed with relief when she didn’t question him and just nodded before leaving.
He and his flight pod brothers carried the dishes into the kitchen and started to rinse them before loading the three dishwashers. Lance had already started washing the larger dishes by hand.
Aiden grabbed a tea towel and started drying. Andre and Alex wiped down the table and counters.
“Are you going to continue to ignore us?” Aiden finally asked as he dried the last bowl.
Lance sighed and turned to face him. “I wasn’t ignoring you.”
“What would you call it?” Andre frowned as he came to stand beside Aiden. Alex walked over from the dining area and stood on his other side.
“I was trying to get my thoughts into some semblance of order.” Lance turned, grabbed the freshly brewed pot of coffee, and nodded to the mug cupboard. “I think it would be best to have this conversation in my apartment. Grab some mugs and whatever else you want in your drinks and follow me.”
Alex and Andre practically leapt into action and when they hurried after Lance, Aiden followed at a more sedate pace. He was as nervous as hell but also excited. He had no idea what Lance thought of all this since he wasn’t connected to his elder by blood. If—and right now he thought that small word might be the biggest in his life—if Lance baulked at having a mate he wasn’t sure what they would do. All dragons who found their mate needed to be on board to claim her, otherwise the bond wouldn’t form. But that wasn’t all. Their dragons would eventually take over the man and they would spend what was the rest of their lives fighting their animal’s instincts. However, he knew that if their beasts took over no one would be safe, not even the other dragon shifters.
* * * *
Andre settled on the sofa and waited until they had all filled their mugs with coffee. The silence was getting to him but he didn’t want to open his mouth in case the tension running through his body got the best of him. His dragon was pacing and chanting and clawing at his insides to get out. The reaction of his inner beast made him wonder if he would survive long enough to meet his mate. He’d only dreamt of her for the first time last night and already his dragon was pushing for dominance. How Ed, Erwin, and Eli had denied their instincts for six long months he had no idea. He already felt more than a little aggressive and he was so fucking horny his cock was aching. And it wasn’t just a small ache. It was so intense it actually hurt.
He wondered if his dragon was going to last the distance and why he was having such a hard time of it. He hadn’t even seen his mate’s face or her body. Not really. All he’d seen was a silhouette, but that seemed to be enough to put his animal into the beginnings of the mating heat. He tapped into the link he had with Aiden and Alex and sighed with frustration and relief. They too were having trouble controlling their dragons. He wondered if Lance was feeling as edgy as they were.
“It was a shock to find myself dream sharing with you three. As you know, I met my mate centuries ago and didn’t think I would meet another.” Lance spoke in a low voice but Andre could hear the emotion in his words.
“Are you unhappy to learn that you have another mate?” Alex asked as he sat forward, his knees slightly apart and his elbows resting on them.
“No, not really, but it’s hard to get my head around it.”
“Why?” Andre wished he’d tempered his tone but he and his flight pod brothers needed to know that Lance was on board with this. If he wasn’t, then they wouldn’t go looking for the one woman the fates had made just for them. There was no way he was going to torture himself or his animal like that. He just hoped that the dreams ceased, too. Although there was no way for him to control his dreams, if he stayed awake he wouldn’t have to suffer.
He nearly snorted at that thought, because they would all suffer if Lance denied their mate’s existence.
“I had resigned myself to leaving this plane of existence once you all had found your mates.”
Andre drew in a deep ragged breath. He could hear the pain behind those words but he wasn’t about to let their elder take his own life. Not when there was so much at stake.
He wanted to yell at his father figure but he kept his mouth shut and waited. He knew that Lance wasn’t finished.
“And now?” Alex asked.
“I am ready to meet my fate.”
Andre didn’t stop the smile tugging at his mouth from forming. His heart filled with hope and joy. A chuckle escaped from deep in his chest and then he laughed out loud. His pod mates joined in and when he looked over at Lance he was pleased to see his elder was smiling.
He could count on one hand how many times that Sir Lancelot Du Lac had smiled and it had only been recently. Niki and Bid brightened up the room every time they entered. Now he hoped that their mate would do the same and just maybe their elder would learn to laugh again.
Chapter Three
Calysta had spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the night searching the web for information on Reginald Lichen and what she’d found blew her mind. There was no way the dead guy could have been close to one hundred years old. He must have changed his name or taken an alias.
She logged into the FBI database and ran the deceased’s name. It could take hours before she got any results, and she was so tired her eyes were burning and gritty with fatigue. Deciding enough was enough, she headed to the bathroom. The room she’d rented at the small motel was aged but it was clean, so she couldn’t really complain, but she missed her home. She’d saved every penny she could to amass the deposit she needed to buy the small house on the edge of Palmer Lake.
She loved the thirty or so minute drive to and from the FBI office in Colorado Springs. It gave her time to wind down after a long day, or gear herself up in preparation to start.
Her superior was a real bastard and for some reason hated her guts. She didn’t care that he didn’t like her because the feeling was definitely mutual, but she wished he w
ouldn’t be so nasty. He seemed to have an acid tongue every time he spoke to a female and she wondered if he was a male supremacist. His attitude was condescending and she would love to punch him in the mouth. Of course if she wanted to keep her job she couldn’t do that, but it was damn tempting at times.
And after she’d filled in her report about what had gone down on that warehouse raid she was heart sore and bone weary. Since that night Rick ended up hurt, her superior, Anton Pandemic’s attitude had worsened. Calysta sighed and stepped into the hot shower, letting the water run over her tired, aching muscles.
A snort of humor erupted from her mouth when she thought about Anton’s surname. As far as she was concerned, her boss was as dangerous as an infectious pandemic and she wondered if she could be inoculated against him.
After finishing her shower and drying off, she stepped into clean underwear and her sleepshirt, brushed her teeth, and entered the bedroom. She checked her laptop, which was still running through the FBI search and with another tired sigh climbed into bed. As her eyes closed she hoped she slept better than last night. She wasn’t sure she could handle another bout of erotic dreams. Her body had been on edge all day and the hair on her nape had been up and down like a Doberman on guard duty.
But it was the knot in her gut that worried her most. Something was about to happen and she wasn’t sure she would survive it. Good or bad.
Her muscles relaxed and she slipped from consciousness to sleep.
She felt their presence before she opened her eyes. There were four large men in her bedroom, on her bed. Calysta squinted through the dark, trying to see their faces, but other than silhouettes she couldn’t make out anything. However, she could see by their shapes that they were all tall and muscular, but she wanted to know who they were and what they were doing in her room.
All thought fled when a large, warm callused palm splayed across her belly. She gasped as her flesh goose bumped and her muscles began to soften. She shouldn’t be naked. She’d gone to bed in her sleepshirt. Hadn’t she?
The hand on her lower abs moved, lightly caressing her flesh, causing her to breathe faster and that wasn’t all. Her breasts felt fuller, almost heavy. Her areolae contracted, the soft skin became puckered, and her nipples hardened. Her clit began to throb and her pussy clenched with need, juices spilling from her cunt to coat her folds and inner thighs.
The mattress on either side of her dipped and then she whimpered as two hands cupped her aching breasts. Her breath hitched in her throat and she wasn’t sure she would ever remember how to breathe again. Not when those hands molded her breasts and then thumbs rasped over the sensitive peaks.
Her breath whooshed out when two other hands pressed high against her inner thighs and although her first instinct was to squeeze them closed tight, she didn’t want to. So she let them spread her legs wide and when two sets of fingers caressed each side of her mound, down over the lips of her pussy, she moaned.
She could hear whispers but couldn’t make out what was being said, not that she really cared right now. All she cared about was the strange yet highly erotic and pleasurable sensations coursing through her body. Her blood warmed and then heated until she felt like she was melting. She sighed with relief when her legs were bent at the knees and pushed up toward her body, then pressed out and down until the sides of her knees were pressed against the mattress.
A sob of intense joy left her mouth when her nipples were licked by warm wet tongues and then sucked into those hot moist caverns and suckled on firmly. When she felt a waft of warm damp air caress her mound, every muscle in her body tensed and then a cry escaped from between her parted lips as sensation swamped her.
Her back bowed, her pelvis lifting when the tip of a tongue laved over her clit and then she cried out as a thick finger rimmed her cunt and dipped into the creamy well. Hands shifted and arms moved. When she tried to move again she couldn’t and that was when she realized they were holding her down. Hunger warred with her mind for less than a second and then her body relaxed, accepting their power and dominance over her. Giving in to their restraint seemed to free her mind and body, the tautness diminished until she felt like she would never have the strength to move again. She’d never imagined that being under someone else’s control could be so freeing, or quiet her usually raucous tumultuous thoughts.
One of the mouths left her breast, licking and nibbling a path up to her own. She drew in a deep breath and then she was being kissed. Those soft warm lips were firm on hers and when a tongue swiped across the seam she opened with a sigh and without any hesitation.
The mouth sucking her nipple shifted from one to the other and the finger sliding in and out of her cunt sped up, going a little deeper each time it stroked back in. The tongue laving and lapping at her clit got faster and faster and the embers grew higher and higher until she was sure the fire would consume her.
The kiss was broken and she drew in a gasp of air as the pressure inside of her hovered on the edge of an explosion. Her body was coiled with hunger and a need so desperate she dug her nails into the palms of her hands as if trying to claw her way up to the pinnacle. She was so full of desire, but that wasn’t all. She felt like there was a low hum of pent-up energy trapped inside of her just waiting for a chance to get out. It was all so surreal but blissfully magnificent. Caly strained to reach the culmination, but no matter how hard she tried to fall over the cliff, she just hovered on the rim, as if stuck in some type of limbo.
Just as she thought she was about to topple over the edge they faded away and she cried out with frustration. Her body was throbbing with hunger and her muscles were quivering with unrequited lust. She curled into a ball and blinked back tears of frustration until the desire began to cool.
She frowned when she saw a small light in the distance and blinked, trying to dispel it when it came closer.
Calysta tensed her body, preparing to fight whatever was coming her way, but as the light came nearer and grew bigger, she squinted against the powerful glare. She couldn’t see anything through light so bright and pure. She’d never seen such a bright white light before and although she wasn’t afraid she was concerned.
And then the light diminished and she blinked with shock. Standing before her in an old fashioned gown of the most vibrant blue she’d ever seen was a most beautiful, dark-haired woman. Her face had the creamiest pale skin and yet she had tinges of pink in her cheeks. Her lips were so full they seemed to almost pout and when she smiled Calysta glimpsed white even teeth.
“Hello, Calysta.”
“Who are you? What do you want? Where am I?” Caly’s hand went to her hip, where she usually wore a gun and when she felt nothing but skin she clenched it with frustration.
“You have no need of your weapon here, little warrior. No harm will befall you.”
Calysta frowned when the woman held her hand out to her, but instead of placing hers into it as was expected, she folded her arms over her chest. When her arms brushed over fabric she looked down to see she had been dressed in a gown similar to the woman’s but a lighter blue color.
“You are a stubborn one, aren’t you? I like that.” She tilted head and looked into Calysta’s eyes. Calysta fought not to look away. She felt like the woman could see right into her heart and soul.
“My name isn’t important, little warrior, but you are. Let me tell you a story.” The woman sat down on the end of the bed and began to speak.
“Long ago, when Arthur Pendragon was alive, he met a wizard called Merlin. The two men meshed even though they were worlds apart and they became great friends. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table had spent years trying to combat evil amongst a group of humans intent on ruling all of humanity but they were losing the battle.”
Calysta shook her head in disbelief, certain she was stuck in the Twilight Zone.
The woman ignored her and continued. “The hunters were many and the men fighting them too few. After Merlin had spent a few months getting to know the Knig
hts of the Round Table, seeing they were good and just he used his magic on them.
“Merlin the Wizard pointed his magic staff at Arthur and his magic flowed into the man. When he’d finished, King Arthur Pendragon was able to shift into a dragon. Merlin repeated the process until all the knights were the same. The magic was needed to battle the hunters because they had somehow aligned themselves with an evil witch and were in possession of inhuman powers. They were faster, stronger and lived much longer and their intent was to take over the rule of the earth.”
Calysta took the lady’s pause to take a breath and pinch herself. She felt pain when the tips of her fingers squeezed her skin together and the stab of her short nails into her flesh, but somehow she knew she wasn’t awake.
“For years the dragons battled the hunters but as soon as one of the enemy was killed five more were created to take their place.” The woman drew in a deep breath and when Calysta looked into her eyes they were full of sadness and grief. Her own eyes burned but she blinked and tried to remind herself that she was dreaming and that none of this was real.
“Late one afternoon, hundreds of years ago, the dragons were laughing and happily celebrating their lives, their mates, and their children. They had much to be thankful for, and in their way were paying homage to the fates. After many hours of festivities, the hunters found the dragon shifters and their mates. The children were whisked away to safety. There was a great battle and the dragons began to fall. One by one the field was littered with blood, body parts, and the bodies of the dead and dying.” Tears rolled down the woman’s cheeks and she did nothing to stop them.
“The witch came from amongst the trees and Merlin stepped forward to meet her. Their magic lit up the darkening night sky and although the dragons and their mates tried to fight the hunters, there were too many. Just before Merlin succumbed, he passed on some of his magic to the one selected to live and care for the children.