by Kimber White
“It’s dangerous,” Avelina said. “If you don’t appear strong enough, you’ll open up a power vacuum. There have to be other members of Pavel’s pack who knew he was dealing in dragonstone.”
Papa had retrieved the black box from beneath the altar just before St. Basil’s went up in flames. Avelina held it now, tucked beneath her arm.
“And I’ll find out who those men are. They won’t be able to keep that particular secret from me.”
Avelina handed the black box off to Xander. She glided past me with such grace I’m not sure her feet ever touched the ground. She sat down in the booth across from my father. Papa’s eyes flashed silver. He was powerful. I’d always seen him as such. But, something changed in him. It was ancient. Primal. He was an Alpha again. Avelina’s expression changed. Just a slight curving of her mouth. Her own dragon eyes flashed. She recognized the same power in Papa that I felt.
“Kalenkov,” she whispered. “Long ago, your family was the only pack in Russia. You knew that?”
Papa leaned back, draping his arm across the back of the booth. Gideon hugged me to him. There was something happening between my father and Avelina. Energy crackled between them. They seemed oblivious to anyone else in the room.
“Yes,” he said.
“I knew your great-grandfather,” she said. “He was also named Andre. You were named after him.”
“Yes,” Papa answered.
“His father died in the Crimean War,” she said. “Such a waste. It hit his son hard. He was inconsolable for a time. He blamed himself. Then, he lost his wife. She was a gypsy. Did you know that? Anastasia. He called her Tasha. You get your dark skin from her. Grace has a little of her look.”
“A great man,” Papa said. He was speaking Russian now. “He solidified the power of the pack.”
“He was,” Avelina answered back, her accent flawless. “He liked to dance so close to danger. So much loss in his life. There were times when I didn’t know whether he could keep that darkness away. That’s how it happens, you know. The grief. The loss. The sense of helplessness. You can be the most powerful being in the world, but you can’t save everyone. Sometimes, you can’t even save the people you love the most. Ivan Vadim danced on that edge too. And his son after him. If we had not stopped him today, that man was on a path to tyranny.”
“I agree,” Papa said. “I felt it in him. Left unchecked, he would have become a Tyrannous Alpha, an absolute dictator.”
“That can’t happen,” Avelina said. “Your pack is too large. You know that.”
Papa reached for Avelina. He grew bold, placing his hand over hers. Avelina’s skin shimmered. I felt Gideon go rigid beside me. But, I knew my father would never try to hurt her. It was respect that made his eyes glow.
“And you need to know that you can trust me. I’m not looking to pick up where Vadim left off. These men. My country. I know them both well. Those that follow my lead will have a choice. They can lead packs of their own. Those that try to oppose me will be dealt with swiftly.”
“And what about me?” Avelina smiled.
Papa looked over her shoulder and met my eyes. Gideon blazed hot beside me.
“You,” Papa said. “You’re family. And you need not worry about your secret.”
“I do worry,” Avelina said, raising her voice. “I’ve kept us safe for centuries by choosing my allies wisely. You’re a strong man, Andre. You’re so like the man you were named for. But you’ve been away from your motherland for a generation.”
“And I believe you have a proposal in there somewhere,” Papa said, his eyes twinkling.
“A strong leader knows when to ask for help.”
Papa smiled. “So, I’m asking.”
“Good,” Avelina sat back. “You shall have it. I will have your back, Andre Kalenkov. If you need firepower to solidify your hold on the Russian pack, you need only beckon.”
“And the price I pay is to keep your secret,” he said. “And to give you back your dragonstone.”
She extended her hand. Papa took it and brought it to his lips. It was quick and subtle, but I’m sure I saw a blush creep into Avelina’s alabaster cheeks.
“Enough talk!” Val shouted, clapping his hands. “This is a family meeting. It’s time for a drink!”
“Well, she’s done it,” Gideon whispered. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Done what?”
“My mother’s made strange allies over the years. She calls them her dragonkeepers. She’s just made your father one of them.”
Val had already produced a bottle of Russian vodka from Nico’s secret stash back in the office. He got busy pouring it into paper cups and handing it around.
We gathered in a circle, all of us. Gideon, me, my father to my left, Avelina beside him. Val, Leo, Milo, Erik, Edward, Finn, Loch, Xander, Shae, and even Kian, though he glowered in the corner.
“To new allies, to new beginnings!” My father’s voice boomed loud. Gideon kissed me at the base of my ear, giving me goosebumps. Val handed down a cup to me. Avelina leaned in close.
“Just a sip for you, my dear,” she whispered. I turned to her.
“Relax,” I said, smiling. “I’ll be twenty-one in just a few weeks.”
“I’m not worried about the legalities. But, it’s not good for the baby.”
She said it just to me and her voice was so soft, I had to strain to hear. But, Gideon went rigid beside me. Then I felt heat thunder through him. He turned and looked at his mother. The rest of the group was already raising their glasses and knocking back the first of the vodka. There would be plenty more to flow after that.
“How do you…”
Avelina threw back her shot. She raised her glass toward my father then handed it off to Val for another round. Gideon pulled me away from the main group. Avelina followed. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t feel my feet. If Gideon hadn’t had his arms around me, I think I might have dropped straight to the ground.
“I knew it the moment you came back from Knoydart,” she said. Avelina put a hand to my cheek. Then, she put her other hand flat against my stomach. Cheers rose from the crowd behind us. They were well on their way to a second toast.
It was there, tingling beneath Avelina’s fingers. So subtle, I hadn’t noticed it myself. I did now. A little spark deep in my womb. A tiny life. My baby. Gideon’s baby.
“But what if...I don’t…it’s…”
Gideon let out a low growl beside me. His dragon eyes flared gold.
“It will be all right,” Avelina whispered.
“Mother,” Gideon said, his voice deeper than before.
“It will be all right,” she insisted. “I helped Shae deliver Cassia safely. I’ll do the same for you. Now, enjoy the night. Tomorrow, there’s more work to do.”
She floated away from us, reaching for her second shot of vodka. Papa’s cheeks grew red as he threw an arm around her.
I was speechless. Boneless. I turned in Gideon’s arms.
“Did that just happen?” I whispered. “Did she just tell me…”
Gideon’s eyes glistened with tears. “Baby...I…” He swallowed hard and collected himself. “Yes. And I should have sensed it myself. I do now. Can’t you?”
A smile crept onto my face. I beamed up at Gideon. “Yes! Oh, Gideon, yes!”
“Come on,” he said, twirling me in his arms. “I want you all to myself. We have our own celebration to plan. And I know just where we should go.”
He took me through the kitchen and out to the back alley. Then, he lifted me in his arms and let his dragon out. I climbed onto his back, smoothing my fingers over his shimmering scales. Then, we rocketed upward and owned the sky.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Grace
Three Months Later
“It’s perfect!” Shae clasped her hands together. Cassia sat at her feet, digging her hands into the soft grass. Avelina stood close by, keeping the baby from shoving fistfuls of dirt int
o her mouth.
“You’re sure?” I asked, wishing I’d thought to bring a mirror. I trusted Shae’s judgment and the glow of emotion in Avelina’s eyes.
I wore a long, flowing, white silk dress. It scooped just off my shoulders. Gideon had given me a string of pearls that hung to my collarbone. Shae made a bouquet for me out of daisies and other wildflowers that grew in the valley just outside of Knoydart. She’d also strung some together to form a crown that she now placed on my head.
“Simple. Beautiful. Oh, Grace, it’s so you.”
We’d come together on the high cliffs overlooking the churning rivers of lava. It was a special spot. A secret we all shared together now. The Brandhart family and a few of my own.
“Are you ready?” Avelina asked, hoisting little Cassia up and settling her on her hip. I went to her, giving Cassia a kiss on the head. Her hair grew thicker by the day. Red like fire. So far, she’d shown no signs of having any powers like her father. Still, anyone could see how special she was.
“I’m ready,” I said. No sooner had I gotten the words out before a bubble of heat rose from my womb. I felt those tiny little fluttering kicks, like butterfly wings. It had just started last week. I put a hand to my stomach. The life within me settled and grew still.
“She’s excited too,” Avelina whispered.
She. I hadn’t given voice to it. But, I knew the baby growing inside me would be a girl. Avelina sensed it too. My heart filled with love, but a little trepidation as well. Shae and Avelina assured me everything would be okay. Still, in a little more than five months, I would give birth to a dragon’s baby. I didn’t know what to expect.
“They’re waiting,” Shae said. She’d run on ahead and peeked down the hill. “Grace, your father’s on his way up.”
A few seconds later, Papa stood before me, his eyes shining with tears. “You look beautiful,” he whispered. “I wish your mother could see you.”
“Me too.” I went to him and took his hand. “But I think she’s here today.”
Papa kissed me on the cheek. “She’s here every day. She’s in you.”
“It’s time,” Avelina said. “The sun is about to set.” She handed Cassia off to her mother and the three of them headed down the hill.
Gideon and I had chosen a spot in the valley. The volcano rose high in the distance. Papa gave me one more kiss on the cheek, then we walked into the sunlight.
Gideon stood straight-backed, wearing a dark suit with a white silk tie. Xander stood up with him. Finn stood between them. It was he who would marry us today. He’d gotten ordained just for the occasion. It was Gideon's idea. I knew that part was a little hard for Papa to take at first. Long ago, he’d had dreams I would marry in the Russian Orthodox Church. I felt a little pang of grief over losing St. Basil’s. The Brandharts had donated the funds to rebuild it bigger and better. Maybe someday, Gideon and I would renew our vows there. For now, this was the wedding of my dreams.
Shae walked ahead of me. She took Xander’s arm and everyone turned to face me. The people I loved most in the world surrounded us. Papa, Milo, Leo, Erik, Edward, Val. Now, my new family. Xander, Shae, Cassia, Avelina, Finn, Loch, and Kian. For his part, Kian’s dragon flew overhead, keeping watch. He was magnificent as he arced high and let out a blast of fire that lit up the sky.
Gideon’s eyes glinted gold as my father walked me to him. Papa hugged me and Gideon took my hand. I faced him, looking up into the face of the man I would pledge my life to. My heart burst with love.
I don’t remember the words. I vowed to love Gideon and honor him for the rest of my days. Now that we’d mated, I would live as long as he did. We had centuries ahead of us and the promise of a new, glorious life fluttering inside of me.
And Gideon vowed to protect me, to cherish me, to share his life and his fire with me. I was in his arms. His kiss burned hot. With family all around, we still felt like the only two people on earth. Later, we’d join the others in a pub in downtown Knoydart. The Brandharts were legends in that little town. Revered. Mystified. Soon, I would learn the family names and the history of the town. It was part of me too. Gideon’s fire burned within me.
Then, it was just the two of us. The others made their way to town. We’d taken vows in front of our loved ones; now Gideon had something to share just between us. He took me to a cave at the highest point on the mountain. Its walls formed from shimmering black rock with colorful geodes nestled in hidden crevices.
“It’s beautiful here,” I gasped. I held my hand out and looked at the ring he’d placed on my finger. A gold band forged with dragonfire, a round, five-carat diamond glittered under Gideon’s fire.
“It’s mine,” he said. “My brothers and I, we each have our own special places on this mountain. You’re the only other person I’ve ever brought here.”
A twinkle of lust came into Gideon’s eyes. An answering heat flared in my belly. Gideon came to me. With expert fingers, he found the hidden zipper at the side of my dress and pulled it down. The silk slipped off me like water and pooled at my feet. I was naked underneath. Gideon smiled.
“Seems you have a little hidden surprise of your own.”
He lowered down to his knees as I threaded my fingers through his hair. Gideon pressed his ear against my stomach, listening for the life we’d created. A rumble went through him. I curled around him and kissed the top of his head.
“Time for that later,” I whispered. “I want now to just be the two of us.”
Gideon slid his hands between my thighs, parting them. Then, his tongue found the center of me. I gasped as he fastened his lips around my most sensitive little bud. I was already wet with desire. God. I had been since we took our vows and he kissed me.
We’d been together so many times since Gideon first claimed me. But, this felt different. More sacred somehow, now that I wore his ring on my finger and the fires of his homeland burned below.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against me. I shivered. Heat enveloped me. Gideon’s. Mine.
Gideon brought me gently down, laying me spread eagle beneath him. He lapped at me, making me rise to him. My hips thrust in an ancient rhythm. Timeless. Weightless. Breathless.
He drank me in. My pleasure built. I ached for him, spread my thighs wider, beckoning him toward me.
“Please,” I begged.
“Shh.” Gideon took his time. He teased along my folds, knowing just how to drive me to the edge and bring me back down. He went on and on, delivering sweet, delicious torture. The echo of my sighs filled the cave.
The stars came out, twinkling in the sky behind Gideon’s head. He wrung me out. I don’t know how long he looked. All night, it seemed. I rode wave after wave of the pleasure he delivered. I was his. He owned this part of me and with it, I claimed him too. For hundreds of years, for the rest of my life, I knew I would never grow tired of his touch. I would crave it. Draw strength from it. It kindled a fire all my own.
I arched my back and cried out as Gideon brought me to the zenith. He raised his head from beneath my legs, his lips splitting into a wicked smile. As my orgasm started to pulse through me, Gideon came to me. He stroked his cock and positioned himself at my opening. I reached for him. Then, Gideon plunged inside me, filling me, completing me.
On and on, we came together. Up and over the mountains. It was as if I existed in two places at once. I was high above, soaring through the stars. And I saw myself, open, my legs wrapped around Gideon as he poured his seed into me.
Gideon threw back his head and let out a column of fire that danced along the roof of the cave. It swirled around us, went through me, funneled back into him then down to the earth. He was an element unto himself. He drew strength from all things, his fire, my body, the earth. I rode the wave right along with him.
As the embers of his climax began to dim, Gideon kissed me long and deep. He slid out of me and went to the mouth of the cave. He gave me one sly smile, his eyes glinting gold as he let his wings unfurl. They were brilli
ant gold and green, mixed with blue and silver. He shifted seamlessly, channeling his true power. Then, he jumped off the cliff and dove down toward the lava in a thrilling, breathtaking arc. I scrambled to the edge to watch him. He flew with balletic grace and primal power. My hair blew back as he shot back up.
My breath left me in a whoosh as Gideon swooped me up, tucking me safely beneath his wing. We flew higher that night than I’d ever been. So high I watched the earth become a brilliant, blue-green marble. Then, Gideon swooped back down, landing gently at the cave entrance. He shifted, and gathered me in his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Forever.”
“I love you too,” I answered. The night was made of magic. It was made of our love. Our hearts. Our future.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gideon
Five Months Later
“I don’t like it,” Milo said. He stood shoulder to shoulder with his father. Andre had gotten here just in time. He’d spent most of the last year shuttling from Moscow and back. After today, he’d probably spend more time overseas than in Chicago. He wanted to make sure Grace was okay. Once he was certain she was, he’d have to focus more of his energy on pack business. He was doing a good job as pack leader. He’d dismantled the most troubling of Pavel Vadim’s enterprises. Splinter packs had broken off, but they were led by Alphas still loyal to the Kalenkovs. Avelina was impressed.
“I don’t like it either,” Andre said. He could barely keep his wolf at bay. I was having an easier time than I would have thought dealing with my dragon. We stood in the center of a clearing, in the densest part of Forest Glen Nature Preserve. It was a compromise. I wanted to get Grace to Knoydart the moment her contractions started.
“It’s what she wanted,” I said. “Grace wants the woods around her. If you’d seen her, you’d know I wasn’t in a position to argue.”