The Witch, The Wolf and The Vampire Series Boxed Set

by A. K. Michaels

  “It’s actually from a reliable source, but I was expecting you to tell me to get a grip or something. Dragons? Surely they don’t exist. I’ve never seen one – have you?” Ronan was almost laughing now at the strangeness of the conversation.

  “Yes, I have,” Josef said quietly, waiting on the outburst he knew was coming. It took a few seconds before Ronan seemed capable of answering.

  “Are you kidding me? Shit, what am I saying...you don’t kid around. Really? They’re real? Fuck me!”

  “Yes, they are real, and very, very precious. I know of only one family of them that were left, which was, oh, wait…must have been about four centuries ago I met them. I helped them fight off hunters at that time. You have to help them, Ronan, above all else, you have to help.”

  Josef knew that Ronan would have noted the tone of his voice, it was a direct command. He could almost see Ronan bristling at the words...not liking being told what to do, by anyone, even him.

  “There’s something else...the information I have is that they want the Dragon for their blood. Something about it being able to make someone very powerful in witchcraft. That was my initial reason for calling, especially now that other guy is after Peri. I was thinking that if this was true, that her father had somehow got his hands on some of this so-called magical blood...”

  “Of course!” Josef exclaimed, his mind going to two small vials of Dragon blood in his safe. Vials that the father of the family he had helped had given him when they parted ways.

  The father’s words came to him now: “These may help you at a time when you most need it. Guard these well and don't let them fall into the wrong hands.”

  At the time, Josef hadn't been fully aware of the power of Dragon blood, only nodding and saying his goodbyes. He had kept those vials locked up securely ever since.

  “I take it that makes sense to you?” Ronan asked, still sounding more than a little surprised.

  “Indeed it does. Her father used dark magic, the oldest magic there is, and which I had thought was no longer in this world. Now I know where it came from. The oldest magical beings there are – Dragons. You have to find, and help, this Dragon, whoever they are. You cannot let them fall into the hands of those that are hunting it, or we’ll see a hell of a lot more dark magic...and that’s not something that will be good for anyone, human or not.”

  Josef was wondering if he should go and help Ronan, but quickly dismissed the thought, his priority was Peri. He only hoped that the acolyte didn’t have access to Dragon blood, or the three of them might be in a hell of a lot more trouble than they had originally thought.

  “Okay, I’ll do my best. Josef, you said about four centuries ago...that was about the time you found me, wasn’t it?”

  Ronan had joined the dots and Josef knew he had to tell him the truth.

  “Yes, it was. I know that when I found you amongst the rubble of your town and turned you, I said there had been an earthquake. I lied. The town was decimated by the battle between the Dragons, me, and those that hunted them. Your town was caught in the crossfire, so to speak, and afterwards we tried to save as many as we could. As you know, we failed miserably. You were the only one we found who had even a ghost of a chance of surviving...and only if I turned you. I was sworn to keep the Dragons secret, which I’ve done. Until now.”

  Josef sighed heavily as he thought on those magnificent creatures he had helped. A complete family of Dragons...he wondered how many were left.

  “I see,” was the only reply Ronan gave, obviously shocked by this entire conversation, far less the origins of him becoming a Vampire.

  “I did what I had to do, Ronan, and I don’t apologize for that. My only regret is that so many were killed by those that hunted the Dragons. I regret that I couldn’t have done more to save your town.”

  Josef’s thoughts drifted to that devastation the dark magic had inflicted on the town, that stood between them and the Dragons that hid in the mountain range at its back.

  The hunters had completely and utterly destroyed the town, not caring in the least at the amount they killed. The Dragons had tried valiantly to save the town, as did he, but they failed.

  “So it was these Dragon hunters that destroyed my home?” Ronan growled his question, and Josef could almost feel the hatred that was growing inside the large Vampire.

  “Yes, we were in the mountains, one of the Dragons was hurt and we had gone there for it to heal before moving on. The hunters found us and instead of going around the town, they used their dark magic to obliterate it.”

  “Thank you for finally telling me. I’ll keep it in mind when I hunt these guys. They may not be the same ones, but they’re as close as I’m gonna get.”

  Ronan was obviously unhappy at Josef’s deception, but he’d had no choice. He had to protect the Dragons, and that meant the fewer who knew they existed, the better.

  “If you think you may need my help, please call, Ronan.”

  “If you need mine to protect Peri, then do the same, and if I can’t get there myself, I’ll send men...lots of men.”

  “Thank you,” Josef said with feeling, realizing he was very grateful for the offer.

  “I’ve gotta go, I need to process this...new information. Then I’m gonna deal with this case myself. Talk later, Josef.”

  With that Ronan hung up, as did Josef, and on raising his head he saw two pairs of eyes staring widely at him. Gabe and Donovan, both with shock on their faces.

  “Dragons? Fucking Dragons? Are you shitting me?” Gabe stage-whispered, trying not to wake Peri.

  “Yes, Dragons. They were rare then and I assume they’re even rarer now, but they do exist. Or rather, they did. Not sure how many, if any, are still alive.” Josef smiled as he saw in his mind’s eye the mythical creatures flying through the air. He'd even rode on the back of the father a few times, when they were running from the hunters.

  “Fuck!” Gabe exclaimed and Donovan just stared, his usually neutral face showing how shocked he was.

  “Yes, and that appears to be where her father got the dark magic from. Dragon blood has been sought after for as long as I can remember. It is very powerful and can be used for very nefarious purposes. Ronan appears to have one in the area that’s being hunted. He’s going to help, if he can.”

  Josef shut down the laptop and placed it back in the drawer of the table before going to get himself a very large whisky. He itched to go and help, but couldn’t leave his mate unprotected. To see one of those magnificent creatures, just once more, was something he longed to do.

  “Amazing,” Gabe said quietly as he still stared at Josef.

  “They are indeed, Wolf, the most glorious and impressive beasts I’ve ever come across. I feel very privileged to have met them and to have fought alongside them. I only hope Ronan can help the one that is there, it very well may be the last of its kind.”

  Josef continued to think on the Dragon shifters for the remainder of the flight, reliving his time with the family that he came to think of as his own. He realized that before Peri, the time with the Dragons over four centuries ago had been the last time he had felt anything near the emotion of happiness.

  Chapter 14

  Peri was being shaken awake again, and Gabe was smiling down at her. “We’re home, well almost, we’ve just landed.”

  “Did I sleep all the way, again?” she asked sleepily, stretched and sat up, noting one of her men had tucked a cover around her.

  “Yeah, hope you’re all nice ‘n’ rested now, babe.” Gabe’s cheeky wink had her giggling. He was such a saucy Wolf.

  “I feel fine, no idea why I’m so sleepy.” She stretched her arms above her head, loosening her joints, feeling the muscles relax as she did so.

  She noticed that the door was open, steps down, and only Josef and Gabe were with her, Donovan already gone. She stood up and all three moved to the door, the bright sun blinding her as she left th
e aircraft.

  “It’s hot,” she commented as they made their way to the SUV.

  Gabe chuckled. “It’s Vegas, honey, ‘course it’s hot.”

  “Don’t be a smartass,” she said playfully, punching him in the ribs.

  “Hey, if you say something like ‘it’s hot’ when we’re in Vegas, it’s open to a joke or two.”

  “Hmmf,” was her reply as Josef helped her up into the large vehicle, Donovan already in the driver’s seat.

  She noticed her Vampire seemed lost in thought as he joined her, taking her hand in his almost absentmindedly, after checking her seatbelt was securely fastened. She rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb and saw a slight upturn at the side of his mouth, which made a smile appear on her own.

  “Do you want to go out for dinner? You’ve never actually told us your favorite type of food?” Josef pushed thoughts of Dragons from his mind as he focused on Peri.

  “Oh, well, when I was on my own I ate whatever I could, but I do have a weakness for Chinese food, I love it. My absolute favorite – Kung Pao chicken with noodles not rice.” Peri’s stomach rumbled as she spoke and she realized she was pretty hungry.

  “Well, Chinese it is, there's a nice little restaurant that I know of...well, actually, Kyle was the one to tell me ‘bout it, the Jasmine Palace, and it’s not one of Josef’s fancy places, just an ordinary Chinese restaurant that serves real good food. Wanna go?”

  “Sounds good to me, do we need to dress up for it? Or can we go like this?” She hoped they could just go straight there without having to go home to change.

  “No, we don’t need to get dressed fancy for it, as I said, it’s not one of Josef’s preferred hangouts. Ain’t that right?” Gabe snickered over at Josef, who raised an eyebrow at her Wolf.

  “I like those...fancy places, as you call them, because they usually have a good wine list. Seeing as I don’t eat, and my only participation in an eating establishment is enjoying my wine, I prefer to go somewhere I know I’m not going to be served an expensive vinegar!”

  Josef sounded peeved, which had Gabe reacting as he usually did – he laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah, nothing to do with you being a bit snobbish, hey?”

  Gabe continued to goad his friend and Peri looked between the two.

  She was amazed that her Vampire allowed Gabe to speak to him like this, but found it rather amusing, too.

  “Just because you were dragged up in a hovel, doesn’t mean you need to stay in said hovel. There’s nothing wrong with liking the finer things in life, Wolf. Something which you avail yourself all the time...at my expense, of course!”

  “Oh, low blow, Jo. Hey, that’s rhyming – low blow Jo!” With that Gabe dissolved into fits of laughter that was entirely catching, soon she joined him, and she was sure she saw Donovan’s shoulders move as if he was laughing, too.

  “Children, children, compose yourselves, I think we’re here.”

  The limo cruised along a small row of brightly decorated restaurants, each advertising various cuisines from almost all continents of the world. Donovan parked the limo outside "The Jasmine Palace."

  Although it didn’t look like a palace, it was a generic Chinese restaurant with a tiny woman running the show. She obviously knew Gabe and welcomed him with open arms and a huge smile, showing them to a table in the corner.

  Donovan stayed outside while they ate. Peri's Kung Pao chicken was delicious and Josef even got a ‘half-decent wine,’ which had her and Gabe laughing again.

  As the meal neared its conclusion, her mind wandered to her lack of magic ability. Why it had popped into her head she had no idea, but she thought on it some more, realization dawning on her that it actually wasn’t upsetting her. Really it should, especially as that acolyte seemed to have her in his sights. But then her heart did a little flip as she realized why she wasn’t upset.

  She totally, absolutely had faith in her men to keep her safe. It was a shock to her system, never having had anyone she could rely on before now. She looked from one to the other: her handsome and deadly Vampire with his ice-blue eyes and jet-black hair, then her Wolf, all shaggy hair, brown eyes, and powerful muscles that rippled when he moved. His cheeky grin that came so easily to his face, especially when he looked at her.

  Her heart swelled and suddenly tears were in her eyes, a lump in her throat. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Gabe asked her, worry lacing his words.

  “Yes, it’s just, oh I don’t know how to say it, but, shit, I don’t care about not having my magic, even with that other Witch after me. I trust you...both of you...to look after me, and it’s kinda overwhelming, I’ve never really had that before. Daiki was the only other person who ever cared for me, but even he couldn’t actually protect me from them, but I know you two will, I just know it.”

  Tears ran from her eyes as she tried desperately to wipe them away, a silly smile on her face. Her men acted as one, each using their napkin to wipe the side of her face that was closest to them, Gabe smiling and Josef looking thoughtful before he leaned closer and kissed her lips. The kiss was only for a moment, just a ghost of a kiss, but it spoke volumes of his love for her...a love she treasured.

  “We’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe, don’t you worry, little Witch,” Josef whispered as his lips left hers. She nodded her head slightly, knowing he meant every word.

  “Hell yeah,” was Gabe’s input, which had her laughing lightly.

  “Can we go home now?”

  “You bet.” Gabe was up and helping her before she had finished the sentence. Josef was already leaving a wad of cash on the table before he too stood up, following her and her Wolf out and into the waiting SUV.

  The drive home was fairly quick, and as they neared the strip she got butterflies stampeding through her stomach, thinking what her men had planned for her. She knew they had asked for her trust, which she gave, but that had her mind whirling all over the place, trying to figure out what they were going to do. With her limited experience she found it difficult to think on anything that required trust.

  Donovan came with them up to the penthouse, going ahead slightly, checking everything was as it should be before placing their luggage inside the doorway. Once he left, Gabe started to chuckle, a deep down and dirty chuckle that had her stomach clenching in anticipation.

  “So, are you going to tell me what the box is?” she asked, noting she was a little breathless as she spoke.

  “Well now, how to explain...you know our room used to be what would best be described as our play room, and a play room is nothing without some toys. When we brought you home that night, we got rid of those toys and put them in a box. That’s the box that Gabe is referring to.” Josef had a small smile as he spoke, and he watched for her reaction, his eyes staring into hers.

  “Oh, well, hmm, I’ve no idea about those things, I’m kinda intrigued and a little scared,” she told them honestly, the butterflies going haywire in her stomach again.

  “We know that, that’s why I asked you to trust us, babe. You do trust us?” Gabe now had a hold of her hand and was pulling her towards their room, Josef moving ahead and into the walk-in closet.

  “Yes, I do, but I’m kinda nervous, though.” She chewed on her bottom lip, all sorts of thoughts running through her head.

  “God you’re so sexy when you do that, you make me want to bite that lip myself.” Gabe pulled her in close, kissing her and nibbling on her lip. As usual, whenever in the arms of one of her men, she melted to his body, snaking her arms up and into his hair, holding on tightly as he deepened the kiss.

  “I think we start off slow.” Josef was taking his clothes off, ‘the box’ now laying on the dresser, still closed. Peri wished she had x-ray vision and could see what waited inside…for her!

  “Slow is good,” she stuttered as Gabe started to undress her, placing kisses on her skin as
he did so. Her body tingled under his lips as a sigh escaped her mouth.

  As soon as she was naked she felt Josef’s arms pick her up, she moaned at the loss of Gabe’s lips, but relaxed into her Vampire’s strong body. He placed her gently into the middle of the bed, kissing her before pulling away slightly.

  “Gabe, a mask please.” He kept his ice-blue orbs on hers as he spoke while hers widened...a mask? She had never worn a mask before, would she be scared?

  “Trust,” Josef whispered the word down at her and she nodded once, letting him know that she did. She trusted him with her life.

  Gabe stood at the side of the bed, handing a black silk mask to Josef, who placed it over her eyes, moving her head slightly to tie the two ends at the back of her head. As soon as her vision was gone her heart rate picked up, it was exciting and a little scary.

  “Silk scarf.” She heard Josef’s words and wondered what he planned on doing with a scarf.

  She found out soon enough, as he moved her arms above her head, wrists together, securing them with the silk. He bound her securely, but not overly tight, then fastened the silk to something so she couldn’t move her arms. She struggled a little, testing the bonds, and found she was truly held captive. Her heart rate picked up even more at this realization.

  “Trust,” Josef whispered again and she nodded again.

  She lay waiting, wondering, and didn’t have long to wait. A set of lips started at her feet, kissing and caressing the inside of one then the other, before progressing...very slowly...up her legs. She knew those lips, Gabe’s lips, and she squirmed as he made his way upwards, so slowly that she had to fight the urge to tell him to hurry up.

  As she battled to stay silent, she felt the bed dip beside her, a moment before lips pressed against hers. Josef kissed her deeply, sensually, then pulled away. This time she groaned at the loss of those lips against hers, hearing him laugh before feeling him move slightly downwards.

  Then she heard a noise, as if something electrical had been switched on, a buzzing. What was that? She only had a second to wonder before something touched her sensations center. She jumped about a foot into the air as it made contact, to laughter from both of her men.