by M. L. Briers
His mate.
He was an impressive sight.
Zana didn’t just appreciate that the man was built for a fight. He was one hell of a tempting inducement to get down and dirty.
Her heart kicked her womb with the sweetest jolt of excitement.
Then he was right in front of her. His fists unclenched as he reached out for her hips, those hands locked on her body and he wrenched her towards him.
Zana didn’t back step. She didn’t try to get away from him, because it would have been a useless endeavour – and boy, was she curious…
Her hips slammed into his and her upper body followed. Her breasts pressed against the hard muscles of his chest and sent another jolt to her womb – her stomach flipped over as her head snapped back on her neck and she looked up into those black, soulful eyes…
Curiosity killed the cat – let’s hope not… the words flew in and out of her mind again when George brought his lips down on hers…
For one long moment; time stood still – it might have been shock – it certainly wasn’t surprise, but then everything rushed in at her all at once.
In a rush of heat that swept through her body – she felt as powerful as he looked as he deepened the kiss before she’d even had time to consider it … to consider what to do next.
She needed to do something – her body had come alive in one blast of intense heat and a rush of tingles and jolts that woke up every inch, every dormant feminine need and desire that she’d held at bay for what felt like an eternity…
She just didn’t know what.
CHAPTER TWELVE
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Roloko climbed to the summit of the mountain and turned to look down upon the area. He knew that he was in the right place – he could scent the shifters in the air.
There was magic upon the mountain. It was a gathering place for witches and he could feel it like tiny electric shocks in the air.
His appearance wouldn’t be a surprise. The witches knew that he was coming. He could feel their magic busily searching for his presence…
Spells and potions wouldn’t protect the one that he was seeking. The true alpha’s destiny would be short lived. It had to be – it upset the balance of nature and added a new dimension to it – just as his presence did.
That had been why they had banished the shifters dragons to slumber. Not the men, but the beasts within. Only calling on them when needed…
He’d missed soaring above the earth, and he was going to enjoy every last moment of what he had when he released his dragon from inside.
The beast was ready. More than ready. It wanted out and it clawed inside of him…
Roloko made fast work of shedding his clothes. His body was fevered with the fire of the dragon that had awakened. It burned his skin from the inside out…
Where bear shifters were large and stocky, packed full of hard muscle, and wolf shifters were broad and slender at the hips … a dragon shifter was pure, hard, ripped muscle from their necks to their toes. Standing taller – wider – looming larger – they were the true Greek Gods that mortal man spoke about…
Roloko closed his eyes and gave himself over to his beast.
The dragon burst from inside of him with a deafening screech that echoed through the mountain peaks …
The beast pushed up from the rocks, scattering the small boulders down the face of the mountain, as it stretched out its enormous wings in the prelude to flight…
And then he flew – roared – one flap of his wingspan and he was gone, soaring high into the clouds, and revelling in flight – in freedom.
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The alien sound of the dragon’s screech rattled her mind enough that Zana broke free of her mate. She’d been carried away inside of his arms, but that was only natural considering that the mating pull was definitely working overtime…
“Dragon call…” she bit out – torn in two minds as to whether she gave a damn or not and went back to kissing her mate, or facing the face that the beast had made itself known to them.
George didn’t give a damn about the dragon. His beast wanted its mate. He wanted his mate – it was that plain and simple.
He’d made up his mind to leave. To face the dragon on his own terms and live or die as he might, but then he’d kissed her…
He shouldn’t have kissed her.
He’d pretty much known his own mind before he’d had her within his arms, and now that had all gone to crap.
He wanted her.
He wanted to live.
He wanted to live with her for the rest of his life.
He’d screwed up again. Done things wrong. Done things badly, and now they all might pay the price.
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“We’re out of time…” Connor announced as he poked his head into the archive room; where the witches were feverishly scouring their ancestor’s history books in the shape and form of a very large collection of spells and legends…
“What makes you think we are deaf?” Vicky shot back, and got a few minor sniggers from the collective hive that was working around her.
“Oh I don’t know. Females. Humans. Witches…” Connor offered back, and his mate snorted her contempt for him.
She didn’t bother to look up…
“You’ll pay for that later…” she muttered.
“I know, can’t wait … spells? Tokens? Charms? Amulets? Any bloody thing that will kill the dragon dead on the spot?” Connor asked, eager not to have fight a dragon if he didn’t have to.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t a new and exciting challenge for him – it was. One part of him wanted to see how he would do against a mythical being that was supposed to be long since dead.
But then there was the part of him that really didn’t look forward to what happened if he didn’t succeed.
Death. A long time coming, but, too soon after finding his mate.
He’d kind of like to live with her for a thousand years or so first.
“Nope…” Vicky informed him, and he nodded solemnly.
“Man the battlements – got it,” Connor offered back. “If you could, maybe, and I’m just putting this out there for the poops and giggles of you witches, no pressure … find something to defeat the dragon and save the day, before it turns me into a crispy critter – I’d be delicious however cooked, of course, but … I’d be grateful – eternally so – and, as we all know, an eternity to a vampire is…”
“Connor…” Vicky’s head snapped up on her neck and her eyes locked on his.
“Yes…?” He looked calm, hopeful, and interested.
“We’ll let you know…” she offered back.
“Right,” Connor nodded. Then he turned to leave … “Thank you.” He offered back over his shoulder.
“And, Connor?” She called, and watched him turn to look back over his shoulder at her once more. “Don’t die, because I’ll use my magic to resurrect you and kill you – over, and over, and over again.”
“Right. Good. Don’t die. Got it,” he nodded, and then he took off on fast feet towards the roof.
It was the last place that he wanted to be – away from his mate.
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Roloko flapped his wings and felt the grace of flight.
He may have been big and powerful, but when he was flying – he was streamlined – cutting through the air, catching the wind and letting it carry him on…
He’d missed that so damn much that he wished he didn’t have a destiny to fulfil, a true alpha to kill. He could stay in the air all night and soar with the clouds, rising up to meet the morning sun…
His beast was content.
It no longer felt like a wedge of concrete was lodged in his guts. Like something was missing…
But it was.
His beast. That was what was missing.
Ever present but always dormant.
He’d missed his dragon.
Smart vampire – hiding in plain sight from the villagers…
He felt the hard burn within his chest and forced his breath out – fire spewed – flames licked at the air.
He was ready.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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“Connor…” Landon growled.
His eyes had caught sight of the vampire moving at lightning speed down the hallway…
“It’s here…” Connor pulled up short and turned to look back at the alphas gathered.
Normally having so many big, dominant beasts in one room was just plain asking for trouble, but with a dragon on the loose – they didn’t have much to lose…
“I can scent it…” Justice turned his nose up at the burning smell in the air, and to the best of his knowledge – the beast hadn’t lit anything up yet.
Dragon fire – he never thought it was actually real. Not in the age that they were in.
“The pups are in the tunnels below ground with their mothers. Protected by walls, betas, and magic – we’re ready to fight this damn thing.” Dexter growled.
“That’s wonderful… but, if it stays in the air, I’m not entirely sure what we can…” Connor’s eyes snapped to a group of witches heading down the hallway behind them…
It was either good news or bad news, and if it was bad news then he’d rather not be there to hear it.
“We might be able to clip its wings…” Vicky announced – with Chelsea and Agatha hard on her heels – Eden was following on behind…
“You … four?” Connor asked.
“Well, der, genius. We’ll be pulling on the power of most of the other witches – we won’t divert any magic from the pups, but, yeah – us four…” Vicky shot back as she sidestepped the alphas and placed her hands on her hips, challenging him.
Connor wanted anything but that. His mate, up front and in the firing line again – and oh, what a firing line it was.
He wanted to wrap her in stone walls and keep her safe in the dungeon if he had too, but she’d only kick his backside three ways from Sunday if he even mentioned it, let alone tried it…
“Honey, we’ve had this conversation, and you know that I’m smarter than the average bear…” The sound of Landon’s deep, warning growl should have warmed his sense of humour button, but he didn’t feel much like laughing just then… “Present company excluded.”
“You bet your ass…” Landon growled.
“Let’s do this…” Vicky said, sidestepping her mate and trying to get ahead of him, but Connor shot by her…
“Age before beauty…” he offered back over his shoulder.
“Shit before the shovel…” she grinned.
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Zana spotted the flames in the sky and her heart lurch right up into her throat.
It was all well and good being a kickass witch who knew so many different ways to kill someone with her magic – her sword – her knives – her fists – her feet, and even her damn hands, but what the hell was she supposed to do against a flying barbecue?
“Get back inside…” George growled.
His wolf was front and centre within him. Protecting his mate was the fever that ran through his blood, and yet, as he eyed the flames and waited for sight of the beast through the clouds – he couldn’t help but wonder how he was supposed to match it in battle…
“You want me to go for marshmallows … now?” She offered back, bolstering her stance and raising her sword arm…
“This isn’t up for debate…” George growled.
He was trying to keep a rein on his beast for her benefit. If he shifted he couldn’t speak, and if he couldn’t speak then she certainly couldn’t understand him…
“I think it might be…” Connor announced as he stepped out onto the battlements – the witches and alphas hard on his heels… “Do your thing…” he said over his shoulder, and Vicky wasted no time in moving forward …
“Get into the circle…” she ordered them as she started to draw a line around the roof with the rowan ash – salt – and sage.
Three witches stood with their hands raised to the sky – the mutterings on their lips that was repeated by Vicky as she completed the protection circle around them.
Then she took her place and the muttering turned into chanting…
There was a blast of wind as the dragon circled overhead. The roar of air that came from the flapping of its giant wings felt unusually chilled…
“Crispy critter time…” Connor offered towards his mate…
“Not … necessarily…” Zana said, one side of her mouth lifting in a half smile. “Smart…”
“Care to share?” Connor rushed out, eager to hear how they weren’t about to become toast under the dragon’s flaming breath…
“You’ll see…” Zana grinned.
And he did.
He saw and felt it as the witches turned the rain inside the clouds to ice crystals – pounding the dragon with a white wall of snow and ice that was relentless against his wings and his body…
The ice storm was upon them.
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Fire and ice.
Clever witches.
Roloko was more than impressed, even if he was damned annoyed by the Fae’s attempts to hold off the true alpha’s destiny.
The man had to die. It was his mission to make that happen, and he’d do it if it killed him.
The ice storm raged all around him. The harder that he flapped his wings he felt the more that they weighed heavy on him.
Ice clung to every inch of him, and no matter how hot his body had become … even he was finding it damn hard to stay in the air…
Roloko fought harder to fly.
He would be at a disadvantage if he landed near the castle, or on it, but the harder that he fought to get away, the more the winds picked up and made him hover in place…
He felt the weight of the storm dragging his body down.
Down.
Further and further he went and spent so much energy trying to fight against it…
In the end it was just too much…
His body hit the ground at speed and every inch of him felt as if it had taken the hit.
Damn witches.
Now, he was vulnerable.
Now, he would need to fight as a man…
But, he was determined to kill the alpha, no matter what.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
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“Sneaky little witches…” Connor grinned the moment that the dragon hit the ground with a heavy thud.
He was almost sure that he’d felt the castle move just a little under his feet.
“Why aren’t we covered in damn ice?” Landon growled.
“Those wonderful, sneaky, more than devious, little mates of ours…” The vampire said.
Connor was in a good mood. He’d thought that he had little hope in battling a damn dragon, and he might still have some problems with the man himself, but it least it was more of a fair fight now.
Connor took a step towards the edge of the circle…
“You sure you wanna do that? Looks a little frosty the snow dragon out there…” Justice didn’t like it.
If they could bring the dragon down with the icy storm then what hope did wolf shifters, or even a vampire have against the cold?
The chanting stopped the moment that the words were out of Justice’s mouth. The air cleared outside their magical bubble…
“Ask and ye shall receive…” Connor grinned…
“Another damn castle…” Vicky muttered as she eyed her mate.
“Mainly receive…” he offered back over his shoulder as he started for the overhanging branch of the tree that he liked to think of as his other entrance and exit from the building. “Some exceptions…” He muttered.
Connor pushed up with his k
nees. A moment later and he was flat on his back on the rooftop with a groan…
“What part of icy didn’t you get?” Vicky said – placing one hand on her hip and spluttering chuckles in his direction. “I think I might have peed a little…” she said, pointing a finger at the vampire and chuckling harder…
“Ha-bloody-ha-ha,” Connor grumbled. “It’s all funny when the vampire goes splat, but, in the meantime – dragon breath is heating up down there…” Connor added, rebounding back to his feet, before he needed to stabilise himself once more as both of his feet wanted to go in two very different directions.
“It warmed my heart…” Vicky assured him.
“Ditto,” Landon growled back over his shoulder as he headed for the staircase, slipping and sliding all the way there.
“It got my vote…” Justice chuckled, following on the alpha bear’s heels. Both men were eager to be in the fight.
“I’m not laughing…” George growled…
“That’s cos you don’t have a frigging sense of humour…” Connor grumbled, before he started for the staircase along with the rest of them…
“What, no tree?” Vicky asked her mate with all of the innocence that she could muster – but it was the pure amusement within her eyes, and the smile that still tugged at her lips that gave her away…
“My helter-skelter days are behind me…” Connor muttered.
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Roloko had to shift back into his human form. His dragon would take a lot longer to thaw than he would and they would attack.
He knew that he still had a chance to make things right if he could only escape the clutches of the witches.
The ice storm had lifted – in his mind that meant only one thing – they were readying for an attack of some sort and he needed to be ready.
It would probably be led by the true alpha or the vampire. He needed to kill the both of them just to be certain that he walked away from the fight alive…