by Anna Morgan
Mateo stared at him, expression neutral. "I will see this situation is rectified, and your reputation is unharmed in the end."
Calla bristled. What kind of promise was that? What did the cognate have to give Mateo anymore that their family of dragons couldn't provide? And better? She kept her mouth shut but it was a close thing. They'd won the battle. She could bide her time for the war.
"No!" Kragen snarled. "You're not just walking away!" He broke from Ellie's hold and rushed for Calla, fangs and claws ready for her blood. She sighed. Mateo leapt between them, the flames of his vampyr powyr pulsing with her heartbeat. He took the blow meant for her. His brother's claws dug deep into his chest. Then Estophen was there in a blink to steal his Descent away and leave the dragons alone in the park.
Mateo collapsed. Calla rushed to him, applying pressure to the several punctures where Kragen's claws had sunk in. Blood seeped through her fingers. His eyes were hazy. Calla pressed harder. "Mateo, baby, you need to shift."
Around her, Roku took control of her support team. "Ellie, clear the climbing gym. Get everyone to leave. Saria, the joggers. Janek and Tanan, the other grill. Clear the park. Someone help Annika shift."
Mateo coughed and blood sprayed around his lips. Calla willed herself to remain calm and pressed that feeling through their link. "Mateo, focus your eyes. Look at me." She saw him respond to her voice, attempting to do as she said. "You need to shift. Right now. Pull your dragon out now or I'll do it for you."
"You can do that?" Roku asked.
"We're going to find out."
But they didn't have to. Mateo's eyes rolled back and his body heaved, not with a cough, but with the change. Calla applied pressure to his chest for as long as she could, breathing a sigh of relief when bronze and pale scales locked into place and the injury knit together. He groaned, but when the shift was complete, he rolled up to his feet and stood.
Roku put a hand on Calla's shoulder. "He's almost royal gold."
She just shook her head. Mateo swung his muzzle around and Calla reached for him. "I knew you wouldn't let me down," she said. "Let's go." Mateo shifted. He grabbed Calla tightly and held her, smelling her hair. Her clothes were a mess of his blood, but then, so were his. She hugged him back.
They all spilled boundlessly into the dragons' safe house, an out-of-the-way property with plenty of tree cover and room for all of them if people doubled up. Several of her support team crashed into sleep right away, but Calla found herself pacing the living room, too wired to sleep and far too twitchy to sit down. Roku kept her company, but he lounged on the couch and channel surfed while she rubbed her arms and ran through all the possible what-ifs. What if she hadn't been able to bring her team with her? What if Mateo hadn't been able to shift? What if one of her dragons had been killed?
Annika stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and a pile of clothes in her arm. "Calla, you should get out of those jeans." She tilted her head to the side, letting the freshly beaded braids in her hair clink together.
Calla accepted the clothes, then realized their purpose—Mateo's blood still covered her from top to toe. She sighed. "I'm a little shaken, Annika. We almost lost him. We almost lost you."
"But you didn't." Annika insisted with a nudge. "I've got a new scar to show off to my nieces and you have a messenger out front."
"What?"
"Get changed. Duro is waiting for you."
Duro? Calla jogged to her bedroom. Duro was a dragon from the island, he worked mostly in records and history keeping. But Calla hadn't asked for a scholar. She entered the bedroom quietly, but Mateo wasn't asleep. He sat on the edge of their bed, his head in his hands, his shoulders slumped. Calla knew he was upset about the vampyrs her team had killed, but she couldn't quite drum up the sympathy for him. The way she saw it, there were three fewer killers for hire in the world and someone needed to pay for sneaking her out of the castle and away from her Delphina. But… his sorrow was her own, and they'd been his family. She understood family, even if his was the worst ever.
So, she said nothing as she stripped, scrubbed the worst of the stains from her skin, and quickly dressed. Duro awaited her and Calla was very curious as to why.
Calla raked her damp fingers through her hair on the way out the door, trying to put it into some sort of order. One didn't meet a scholar of the realm disheveled if one could help it. Duro stood next to Saria, his height rivaling hers if she didn't count the horns on his head. Apparently, he'd never been able to shift them away in his human form. He and Saria were engaged in quiet conversation. If Duro noticed Calla's out-of-sorts appearance, he didn't mention it. "First General! It's an honor." He almost went to one knee but Calla grabbed his shoulder.
"We're out in the field, a simple salute is fine." He did so sharply and held the pose until Calla returned it. She laughed inwardly. How quickly she'd lost the habits of the court being out here on her own. Returning home might be as much of a shock to her as it would to Mateo. "Now, you had news?"
"I'm sorry, First General, it's more of a lack of news."
She shook her head. "I don't follow."
"Right. Excuse me for assuming." He bowed quickly. "Lieutenant Roku asked me to look into any records of missing hatchlings. I understood the details came from you?"
"That's correct. You're saying you couldn't find anything?"
"More that the results were inconclusive. Age isn't a whole lot to go on and the only dragons missing around that decade were the queen's clutch." Saria lifted an eyebrow in Calla's direction. Calla just shook her head. Duro continued, "We'd have better luck if you could provide me with a blood sample. I'll be able to compare the genetic lines that way and significantly narrow the search."
A blood sample. No way Mateo would go for that. Calla held up a hand. "Just… give me a second." She turned back to the cabin. Mateo didn't know she was pursuing this history, and he'd told her directly that he didn't want to get into it while they were dealing with the cognate.
Calla stopped at the bedroom door and sighed. She doubted this lull in their progress meant he'd consider the cognate business over with. Not when he'd made that promise to his sire about returning to make things right. Whatever that meant.
She pushed the door open, not ready to confront him about it, but unwilling to leave Duro waiting. The second the door opened her eyes fell on the pile of bloody clothes she'd left in the bathroom doorway and a solution clicked. Something about the way she entered caught Mateo's attention, but Calla marched right past him and gathered the bloody pants and shirt without a word. She found a plastic bag to stuff them into under the sink and left again, satisfied that she'd solved this without needing to agitate anyone. She didn't want to fight and Mateo was clearly focused on this problem with the cognate.
Outside, she handed Duro the small plastic bag and he looked at it, confused. "His blood," she said. "It's all over my jeans and shirt."
Duro glanced in the bag and his face paled a bit. "Um… that's plenty—" He closed the bag tightly. "I was expecting a vial or something…"
"I'm afraid I'm short one chemistry set."
"Of course, yes." Duro bobbed another bow. He radiated discomfort and held the bag out at arm's length. It was a good thing he was a scholar, he certainly wasn't cut out for the path of a warrior.
The cabin door snapped open sharply. Calla turned and saw Mateo framed in the doorway, his vampyr fire a blue halo around him. "What's going on?"
Calla said lowly, "Fly, Duro. That's an order."
"Yes, First General."
His change wasn't as fast as Calla hoped. Mateo strode towards them, his fury igniting as he approached. The look in his eyes and the emotion echoing down their link said he was afraid. Afraid and betrayed.
"I asked you a question, beast."
17
Calla stood her ground, but the reverberating emotional pain in her link with Mateo was almost too much to bear. She planted herself between Mateo and Duro, hoping to take the brunt of his attention, at least long eno
ugh for Duro to finish his shift and take the bag with him. There was legacy in Mateo's bloodline, Calla was sure of it, and even if he was too emotional to see it now, they would need that bloodline before this was over.
Saria stepped forward, the first ripples of change readying under her skin. "You will show the First General respect, bloodletter."
It would be nice if her own soldiers would cooperate, though.
Mateo snarled. His fingers lengthened and his eyes flashed vampyr red. Calla glanced behind her. Duro stood on all fours now, wings unfurling like a jetliner. His green and blue scales shimmered in the sun. "Go," Calla said. Duro grabbed the bag of bloodied clothes and sprinted away from the cabin, wings pumping hard.
Mateo roared. When Calla turned to face him, he had released his vampyr and the fire of powyr around him burned bright with his anger. "You've taken what's mine!" he snarled, pointing at Duro's retreating figure. "A vampyr's blood is his life, I won't be your pawn."
Dragons rushed out of the cabin, guard up and fight ready. Roku put his hands up first. "Whoa, Mateo. Whatever's going on we can talk this out, just calm down."
Mateo turned on Roku with a roar. His fangs descended as he took a swing at Roku's head. The dragon ducked and rolled backward out of range. Calla winced. Those were the exact words Mateo's sire used when they'd gone looking for answers, and it had clearly not been the first time Estophen had imposed his powyr on his Descent without a care for his emotional state. She grabbed Saria's broad shoulder to hold her back. "Mateo, let me explain—"
He turned on her and Saria pushed Calla aside. "He won't listen to reason. This close to a first Heat?" He shook his head.
Mateo lunged for Saria, his teeth long and his eyes fixated. For the first time since she'd met him, Calla was truly afraid. His powyr as a vampyr was formidable, but his strength as a fully realized dragon was simply incredible. Three of Calla's support team shifted to their dragon forms. Roku again tried to intervene without violence. He tackled Mateo from the side, then sprung up and out of range. Mateo was fast, though, and brutally efficient, reminding Calla that he wasn't just a strong ally, but that he'd been trained since his youth to kill. His claws struck Roku low in the belly and sank deep into flesh. Then Saria was there. She elbowed Mateo in the face, throwing her entire weight behind the move. Mateo staggered back. He released Roku, who shifted to manage the damage to his body.
With four dragons around him and another four in human form ready to engage, Mateo seemed to stall. Calla used the still moment to channel all her emotion into their link. Every time she'd felt safe in his arms, every moment when she'd let herself imagine Mateo was the man for her before they'd mated for life. She let him feel the depth of her affection for him, and the relief that she wasn't destined to be alone for the rest of her life.
Mateo looked at her and his fury wavered. Calla met his eyes and asked clearly, "Mateo Guerin, do you trust me?"
He blinked at her. Calla held her hand up against Roku's flank, telling him without words to hold position. Mateo hesitated, shifting in place, flexing his claws.
"You have a choice to make, Mateo. I am your mate. You and I are connected on a closer level than anyone will ever be. Closer than you and your sire." He bared his teeth at her but she pushed forward. "You said it yourself, vampyrs don't mate for life."
His shoulders tightened, but he agreed, "No."
Calla nodded and asked again, more softly. "Do you trust me?"
Mateo closed his eyes and the aspects of his vampyr faded from this face. His claws retracted. When he opened his eyes, they had lost their red halo. "Yes," he said.
One by one, Calla's dragons shifted back to their human forms. The tension in the air dropped like rain and everyone took a deep breath. Calla jogged towards Mateo but he bristled. "I trust you," he growled, "But I'm still pissed. You went behind my back—"
"She is the First General," Tanan said, tone resentful. "Third only to the Delphina and Pythian themselves. You have no back for her to go behind."
"She is my mate," Mateo growled. "And from now on, all communication with her will go through me." The dragons bristled but Mateo grabbed Calla's arm and stared into her eyes. "No more clandestine meetings, no private phone calls, no secrets."
His manner was brusque but Calla saw the fear in his eyes that only his trust in her held back. He felt like he was losing control and only Calla could give it to him. She cradled his cheek and nodded. "OK. I agree."
His eyes softened just a hair and Calla felt a wave of relief cascade down their shared link. This was everything. Calla closed her eyes and just let herself feel. When she and General Takoda spoke at the court, it had been with melancholy, but this… this was everything she'd wanted and more. A warrior. A man with whom she could share every detail of her life. A man who wanted to be involved and who wouldn't flee before the imposing characters of the court. Calla had the unique position of advising the royal family and only a man unafraid to speak truth to powyr could stand with her.
Then Mateo snarled and smashed his lips against hers.
18
He was hot. Hot with anger, hot with fear, hot with a sense of time and space running out from under him. He needed someone to hold him and stop the world from spinning so fast. Pause this game, he was ready to get off the ride. He needed Calla to steady him, and she met his ferocity with strength and energy of her own. Mateo thought he wanted her to cool him, but this equal fire focused his will and he burned with need from the inside out.
There were too many witnesses for this. Mateo scooped Calla up and called on his vampyr to run rapidly into the forest. He flashed through the trees at speed. Calla held him tight and her grip reminded him of her strength. When they had first come together, he'd been hesitant. Unsure. And afraid of hurting her. But now, after all they'd been through, Mateo knew she could handle anything this world threw at her.
He came to a stop deep in the woods and dropped Calla to her feet. She looked around and Mateo knew she was checking for neighboring humans and possible threats. His First General never stopped fighting. Mateo wasn't sure how he got this lucky, but he knew he couldn't ever leave her. Not even to save his own life. She was everything.
Mateo grabbed the back of her head as she completed her turn and kissed her hard. The fire she ignited inside him was nothing like the powyr of his vampyr or dragon; this fire burned hotter, longer, and demanded so much more. He pressed her against the closest tree with his entire body. The way she melded against him, breath coming in little gasps, made him growl. She was his. His alone. And he needed the world to know. Calla's hands scratched along his clothes until she caught the hem of his pants. She undressed him in demanding, jerky moves, positioning his body wherever she needed it. He let her move him. Calla's unhesitating control inflamed him. He wanted to be consumed.
When he was naked, he yanked her around and pressed her against the tree again. Mateo pinned her arms up. His skin was so hot he thought he might burn her clothes off from the contact. She arched into his body and her moan buzzed in Mateo's ears until the only thought that existed in his head was to be inside her. He shredded her jeans with vampyr claws. Calla hitched her hips back against his palm. She hissed, "Do it. Take me."
Mateo looked up at her. Was she serious? Calla threw a look over her shoulder that called to him and he had to kiss her thoroughly. Her touch drove him mad. Something unworldly reached inside him—Calla reached into him—and pulled his vampyr to the surface. His face grew rows of hard ridges. His fangs descended, and his vision shifted red. He purred against her skin. His body was cooler in this form, but his desire for her never abated. He pressed himself close, rubbing the length of his erection down between her warm thighs. In this form, it was ridged like his forehead, and came to a soft point at the tip. Calla spread her legs for him and Mateo rubbed the shaft of his cock against her wet lips, bumping up and over her clit. She grinded against him, demanding her pleasure.
Mateo gripped her hips. He thrust his cock a
long the ridges of her folds and said, "Ride this shaft, Calla. Take what you want." She arched back and groaned. Mateo whispered in her ear, "Only when you're shaking with pleasure will I impale you. I'll drive my cock deep into your body, deeper than anyone has ever been."
"Yes," she moaned, working her body against him. Her hips jerked. Calla reached down and grasped Mateo's cock from below, pressing it hard against her soft flesh and grinding against the ridges. She shuddered and bit her lip.
Mateo leaned against the tree with one arm and held Calla around the chest with the other while their lower bodies worked in tandem. His fangs ached for her but this wasn't a time for blood. He shuddered. "I'm going to slide inside you soon," he said. "I want to feel your body clench around my cock."
"Yes."
"And when I've taken you long and hard, I'm going to seed your body—"
"Fuck, Mateo." Calla tensed and jerked. Her body heaved with climax and she shouted, "Yes!"
He pulled his hips back and speared her deep, just like he promised. "Your children will be powyrful," he said, thrusting until his hips slapped her ass. "They'll be as strong as their mother." Thrust. "As fast as their father." Thrust. "And they will be rulers." Mateo groaned, burying his face in Calla's neck. He fucked her fast and hard, his cock drilling deep inside with precision. Her orgasm continued to jerk her body and the rhythmic clench on his shaft drove him wild.
"Bite me," Calla gasped. "Bite me, bite me, please…"
He couldn't resist such a heartfelt plea. Mateo drove his hips up hard and plunged his fangs deep into Calla's neck. She jerked against him and screamed, her body arching in a wave of pleasure that pulsed through their mental link and brought Mateo to the edge. Her blood, her body, his Calla. He came hard, the pulses of his seed flooding her folds until it ran down her legs. Mateo shuddered.
He withdrew his fangs and licked the spot until it healed. Their bodies twitched as they settled. Mateo drew her down to the forest floor gently, cradling her head and using his clothes as a blanket. He pulled her shirt off softly, glad that he'd left it on to protect her from the rough bark of the tree. Still, she'd been scratched, and he moved down her body with his mouth, lipping and healing each of the small injuries in turn. Teasing her breasts with fingers and breath. When he reached her thighs, he flattened his tongue and dragged it slowly across her engorged clit. Calla shuddered and moaned. Mateo rose over her and slid his hard vampyr shaft back into her warm body. He eased in, the space already slick with his seed and soft with her climax. Calla reached for him and they kissed gently as Mateo moved their bodies once more towards the breach.