Coven: (A Steamy Dragon Shifter/Vampire Romance) (Dragon Bound Book 1)

by Serena Akeroyd

He felt it.

  She’d called to him with her stirring. He’d felt the connection then. But it had been weak, a mere smidgen of the strength of what it would ultimately become.

  When he’d shifted, and she’d met his beast, it had roared to life but simmered down as the mating mark took hold of her.

  And now, it was like the volcano had finally ceased its simmering underground, and the eruption had just occurred.

  She was his.

  He was hers.

  More importantly, their ’ling was in her belly.

  Mother, he’d never thought it would happen like this.

  After the most embarrassing visit to the Queen’s Court, he’d never thought to take his mate and make her his after such a shitty time spent being berated by his ruler.

  But when she’d pounced on him, what choice did he have?

  He knew her need for him had been intense these last few nights. Had known because he’d scented it, and it had driven him nigh on close to madness as well.

  To know his mate was desperate for him and yet, be unable to do anything to quench that desire was a torture he’d wish on no man.

  She’d not appreciated his restraint, but he knew the proper procedure. Knew he had to follow what thousands of Dragon Shifters had done before him.

  How he’d done it, he still didn’t know. His control was far more concrete than he’d have ever imagined.

  But none of that mattered now.

  She was here. In his arms. Panting, as was he, in the aftermath of their claiming of one another.

  He smiled into her hair, relishing the scent that surrounded them in the afterglow of their loving.

  “That was unexpected,” he murmured against her temple.

  Her laughter was more of a snuffle than a chuckle. “If that really came as a surprise, you’re not the hardened beast I feared you were.”

  Rolling his eyes at her, he grumbled, “I’m sure it can be arranged from time to time.”

  She patted his back, then after, gently trailed her fingers along the length of his spine in a caress that had him shuddering in response.

  He highly doubted there would come a time when he didn’t have this kind of reaction to his mate, but still, he prayed that the connection never died and remained as true and pure as it was now.

  “I liked you just as you were, dearling,” she told him drowsily. “Don’t think you have to change for me.”

  Amused at how tired she sounded, he bussed her temple, and then, with a grunt, lifted her against him and rolled over so she was atop him now.

  She settled, wriggling against him until she was comfortable. His cock started to slide out of her gate, and she mumbled in distress, “Oh no, I didn’t want to lose it yet.”

  He laughed, but his heart warmed at her need to maintain the connection too. Once more, he pressed a kiss to her temple then he murmured, “We’ve lifetimes together, sweetling. Fear not. You sleep. You must be tired.”

  She hummed out a sound. “Yes. I am rather.” Another yawn popped free, and then, silence.

  She fell asleep on top of him, with her nose burrowed against his throat. He closed his eyes, intent on sleeping too.

  For the first time in his life, his Dragon felt at peace as well as the man. It was a most unusual sensation, because he’d never felt it before.

  Always, the Dragon had been out, seeking its other half with a desperation that had fired Remy up with an endless urgency. Sleep had been his only respite from the Dragon’s constant loneliness.

  Now, with his mate so close, and not only that, but claimed and marked too, the Dragon was finally at peace, and with it, Remy knew he had the best night’s sleep of his life ahead of him.

  A knock sounded at the door, waking him from his slumber. A quick glance at the still shuttered windows told him either it was the following night or the same one as no light penetrated any of the minute cracks in the shutters.

  “Who is it?” he demanded, his tone like gravel. But neither his calling out nor the interruption stirred Mia from her sleep.

  “It’s I, Sire, Eirik.”

  He froze in astonishment at his second-in-command’s presence in this realm, when he knew for a fact Eirik loathed this place.

  Carefully dislodging Mia from his torso, even though she pouted and sighed all the way through it, he managed to detach her and settle her in the blankets on the bed.

  She snuggled up, and though he longed to join her, he knew Eirik’s presence here was too vital to dismiss until later.

  Grabbing one of the blankets for himself, he tucked it around his waist. Dragons were uncaring in their nudity as were most Shifters, but Vampires were prudes. When he’d left the bed chamber earlier, after his spat with Mia, the guards on the other side of the door had nearly stuttered themselves to death in surprise at his nakedness.

  He’d rolled his eyes and asked one of them to bring him some clothes—another chore he’d had Alexa arrange in his absence. A full wardrobe had awaited him upon his return to this realm.

  Sometimes, it was very useful having staff.

  With the blanket covering his modesty, he opened the door. Eirik immediately barged in, and the daywalker, Christoff, blustered, “I’m sorry, Sire. He insisted on waking you.”

  Remy blinked at the tall blond who was far too thin, in his opinion, to be a guard and simply nodded. “If Eirik ever visits, or the female Dragon, Alexa, and demands to speak with me, you are to ensure they are brought to me with all haste. Do you understand?”

  The Vampire’s eyes widened, but he nodded his agreement.

  “Good.” He closed the door in the daywalker’s face. “Eirik? What are you doing here?”

  The other man’s attention was caught on his sleeping mate. “So it’s true then?” he said on a breath.

  Not pleased with the way the other male’s gaze was fixed on his mate’s naked form, Remy strode over to the bed, unraveled himself from the blanket, and used it to cover her.

  “A thousand apologies, Sire,” Eirik immediately whispered, aware of his faux pas. “News spread around the Court and then the kingdom. It’s everywhere.”

  He grimaced. “What? The fact that I’m henpecked?”

  “No,” Eirik said gruffly. “The fact you have a leman and that she has scales.”

  Remy lifted his hand and pressed a finger to his lips. “Quieter, please. I’d prefer her to sleep.”

  Eirik grimaced in apology. “Sorry, Sire.”

  “Anyway, that’s not why you came, is it?” Remy cocked a brow. “I would have thought it more likely that Georgios has escaped.”

  Eirik winced. “Aye, Sire. He did. When he heard news of the scales. He disappeared.”

  “I highly doubt that. The man isn’t a wizard.”

  “I swear to you, on the Mother’s lore, he disappeared.”

  “You were in his cavern?”

  “Aye. He invited me in the minute he realized you’d set me on him. Said there was no need for me to stand out in the cold if I was to babysit him.”

  Remy grunted. “There’d have been no need to babysit him, if he’d just left the other factions alone.”

  “Regardless, he’s not in his cavern anymore, and there’s been no news of him causing mischief among his usual victims. Anyway, I don’t understand why news of your mate’s reaction to the mating claim would cause him to just take off like that.”

  “Neither do I. He must have taken a potion from the Goblins while he was in one of their towns, causing trouble,” Remy purported. “Damn him. That’s the last thing I need, him doing a disappearing act when I’ve so much on my plate at the moment.”

  “Maybe he’s come to this realm to claim his mate?”

  “Why hide it from you if that were the case? We all want him to find her. Why would he think you’d stop him from doing that?”

  “I don’t know. He’s rather wary and very distrustful of us.”

  “True. That’s what happens when you slip a sleeping draft into a man’s drink, I
suppose.” Remy wrinkled his nose. “Anyway, there’s nothing to be done, if he’s disappeared. We can only hope that he has indeed come to find his mate. She should keep him on the straight and narrow, if that’s the case, and he can cease being a pain in my arse.”

  Eirik nodded. “When are you returning, Sire?”

  “The Queen isn’t happy?”

  “No. But neither is she too irate. News is that she’s curious about these scales. Wants to see them.”

  “I think I can get Mia to come to the other realm tomorrow, so long as the scales haven’t spread. That’s her fear.” He sucked in a breath. “I’ve never seen the like before, Eirik. I figured at first maybe she was shifting too, turning into a Dragon herself, but never in four millennia has that happened. It’s impossible, surely?”

  Eirik hunched his shoulders. “I am younger than you, Sire. I have less understanding than you in these things.” He scraped a hand across his jaw. “It makes little sense for her to shift, though. Why would the Mother want that?”

  “Why would the Mother deprive us of mates for centuries and, then, throw two at our kind within a short space of time and give one such an unusual mating mark?”

  Eirik grunted. “We have more questions than answers, Sire.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Remy retorted ruefully. “What night is it?”

  “Sire?”

  Rolling his eyes at the man’s confusion, he asked, “Is it Wednesday or Thursday? We slept. And I have no idea what night it is now.”

  “Oh, it’s Thursday.”

  “Then we slept the full night through.” He grinned. “Wait until you find your leman, Eirik. You’ll get the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had.”

  Eirik cleared his throat. “As well as a lot of other benefits too, I’m sure.” He shot a look at the bed, and Remy followed his glance.

  Seeing his mate staring at them both, watching as they conversed around her, he winced.

  “Better than Valium, am I? For a good night’s rest?” she asked sweetly.

  He pulled a face. “Now, dearling, you know that’s not what I meant.”

  “Oh, no, Eirik, Remy didn’t mean to imply that I bored him to sleep.”

  Eirik ducked his head. “Forgive me, ma’am, but the scent in this room tells me far more than you’d appreciate.”

  She glared at him then sniffed elegantly. Her glare disappeared. “I guess it does smell of sex, doesn’t it?” she retorted despondently.

  “Aye, it does,” Remy stated with satisfaction.

  She dismissed him with a huff. “I suppose we should see if the scales have spread, if another night has passed without our knowing it.” She firmed her jaw, and as he saw the fear flash over her features, he wished like hell he could take it away but knew that wasn’t a possibility just yet.

  She grabbed the cover and tugged it away. The cry that escaped her was not filled with terror but loaded with relief.

  “It’s the same size as yesterday,” she mumbled, lifting her hands and covering her face. Laughter escaped her a few seconds later. “Thank God for that.”

  While she was in a good mood, he leapt at the chance to ask, “Will you be ready to travel to the other realm, dearling?”

  She pulled her hands away and shot him the most beautiful grin he had ever seen.

  “Yep. I think I’m ready to go to London to see the Queen.”

  When both men looked at her askance, his leman rolled her eyes. “Never heard of ‘Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat?’”

  “What in the Mother’s name is that?” he demanded.

  Eirik eyed him first then Mia. “Some kind of shanty about sex?”

  “You need to brush up on your nursery rhymes if we’re going to have a kid someday,” she chastised, making him feel like she’d just punched him in the throat.

  Because their ‘ling was growing in her belly, and nursery rhymes would be of import.

  His life had changed so dramatically in such a short space of time, and he’d thank the Mother for the rest of his life for each and every single one of those changes.

  Blessed.

  That was the only way he could describe it.

  Blessed.

  She felt like a child.

  Maybe it was bratty of her, but hobbling around the way she was, made being hauled around by her mate seem luxurious.

  At least then, she was saved the ignominy of toddling around like a fool. For a race like the Vampires, used to being infallible, such a weakness was intolerable. And to present herself to his Queen in this state?

  She’d never imagined what it was like to be less than perfect, and it… well, difficult wasn’t the word. How humans managed was beyond her.

  The strain showed on her face as she glowered at her shoe collection.

  “What have they done to offend you?” Remy asked, lounging on the chair in front of her dressing table.

  As usual, he looked too damned handsome for his, and her, own good. Strong and capable, a complete contrast to how she herself was feeling.

  Weak.

  Useless.

  “They all have heels.”

  “Shoes tend to,” he retorted, amused.

  She sliced him with a glower. “High ones. I can barely walk around barefoot, never mind with four-inch spikes under me.” She let out a growl. “That means my people will see me… They’ll know...” It was too hideous to confess aloud.

  He cocked a brow. “That you’re short?”

  She hissed. “Yes.”

  It had always been so damn mortifying to be a short ass amid a race of super tall freaks of nature. Goddammit, she’d managed to hide it all these years only for it to come out now. She clenched her fists.

  A rumble escaped him, and she knew he was trying not to laugh. “I wish I’d told Eirik about your recent inability to keep hold of all your scales. A shame he’s left,” she intoned, smirking as he sat up a little taller.

  “You wouldn’t?”

  Because he’d phrased it as a question, not a statement, she benevolently retorted, “I wouldn’t. But don’t test my generosity by mocking me over this. Appearance is everything to a leader. You know that.”

  “They already know you’re short. They’ll know you wear heels.”

  “It’s the principle, dammit. I refuse to look short in front of them.” She turned to face him, fists propped on her hips. “You’ll have to help me.”

  His lips twitched. “Whatever you wish, dearling.”

  “Don’t ‘dearling’ me. This is all your fault anyway.”

  “I’ll make it up to you once we’re back at the cave.”

  “Orgasms won’t make up for the shame of what’s about to happen,” she retorted.

  “That’s because your lovers have all been useless,” he said smugly. “You’re unprepared for your time as a leman.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “If you make that a promise, I expect you to live up to it.”

  His chuckle was as confident as his words, “Of course.”

  She sniffed then turned back to her shoe collection. Tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of leather and plastic, all tagged with the best the humans had to offer. Louboutin, Choo, Ford, to name but a few.

  She eyed a pair of Choos that weren’t as spindly as the rest and had some ankle support instead of none as the rest had. They were half boots, went up to mid-calf but also had a peep toe. They were a few years out of fashion, but they’d always been her favorites. The calf leather was soft against her skin, and she always wore them with the same straight cut, tailored pants.

  Settling on them, even though they had a five-inch heel, she staggered over to the ‘pants’ section in her walk-in wardrobe and selected the trousers. She had to lean against the wall to put them on, and when she bent down, saw her scales, she shuddered in revulsion.

  Mia highly doubted she would ever become accustomed to the sight of them. But she had centuries in which to adapt; who knew what could happen in that length of time?

  With t
he trousers on, after a ridiculous amount of expended effort that had her panting like she was a human in a Spinning class, she reached for a simple red tee. It was silk, so a little dressier than just a cotton one, and she wouldn’t look totally underdressed beside Remy who was back in Savile Row again.

  They were only returning to the cave, so she had no idea why he was so dressed up, but he looked like a James Bond villain, so huge and muscular as well as finely tailored, that she wasn’t about to complain. He wasn’t pretty, but he was a pleasure to look at.

  Her lips twitched before the smile dropped as she faced the boots. She needed to sit down to put them on, and even then, might need his help.

  “Need me?” he asked, but he was already behind her and sliding his arms behind her knees. He carefully tilted her until he could carry her.

  Once perched on the bed, he retreated to the closet and retrieved the boots. Without her asking, which improved her mood a tad, he bent down and began dressing her feet in the expensive footwear.

  “I’ll need to cling on to you,” she admitted gruffly, disliking the need but understanding it was imperative nonetheless.

  “Of course, leman,” he told her softly, smiling at her as he stood. With the boots on her feet, now, she held out her hands for him. He pulled her up and kept her standing when she almost immediately went down again.

  Grunting under her breath, she grumbled, “Your Mother has a lot to answer for. Doesn’t she know that the worst thing to ask of a Sanguenna is to show weakness in front of her people?”

  “I’m certain she does. But, Mother would not have you face any task you could not handle.”

  The line was so smooth she glowered at him. Then, she tucked her hand into his arm and gripped on tight. When he winced, she smiled at him. “Just desserts.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  Truth was, she wasn’t even holding him so tightly to be peevish. It was the only way she could stand upright in the boots.

  “Have you got everything you need?”

  She shook her head. “Probably not. But it’s all right. It’s not like you have cell service on the other side.”

  He snorted. “No, we don’t. Many things, but not that. We can always send Alexa back though, if there’s something you need desperately.”