by Kimber White
“You’re not going to die!” Avelina shouted. “If I have to cut your damn arm off, you’re not dying today, Alexander.”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I still felt a little woozy. But, the minute Shae touched me, my strength came back.
“Let’s get you inside,” Avelina said. “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve before we resort to that. Come on. Trust me.”
I shot a look at Gideon. “Why do I hate when she says that?”
Gideon stifled a laugh and got on the other side of me. I was steady now, but I appreciated his presence just in case. As Avelina stormed into the building, the six of us followed.
Chapter Twelve
Shae
I hadn’t heard the entire argument. At first, it felt like the sky had crashed down on the top of the Brandhart Building. But, instinct fueled me. Xander was hurt and not getting better. When the elevator doors opened, I’d heard Xander giving voice to my heart.
I was his fated mate. He was mine. And he said that it would kill me.
Gideon stared at me as we got Xander back to the elevator. We couldn’t all fit. Avelina and the rest of them took flight off the roof. We met them a few minutes later in Avelina’s suite of rooms. They were nearly identical to the ones Xander had given me with panoramic views of downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan on the other side.
We took Xander to one of the white leather couches. His cut had clotted, but turned gray. His scales had emerged, pulsing with fever.
Avelina worked quickly. She grabbed a plush gray towel from the bathroom and pressed it against Xander’s arm.
“You’re absolutely sure?” Gideon asked her.
“Yes!” Avelina’s voice came out as a hiss. “I know a dragonstone wound when I see one. Though it’s been...I don’t know...about seven hundred years.”
“What’s dragonstone?” I asked. A look passed between Avelina and her sons.
“You mean you don’t know?” she asked.
I knelt beside Xander. My anger rose. I’d heard enough on that rooftop and deduced plenty myself. Avelina had set a trap for me, and I’d walked right in it. She understood the heated anger behind my eyes. There was a conversation she and I would have to have. Soon.
“No,” I said. “As of two weeks ago, I didn’t even know dragons were real, Avelina. You seem to think I have something you want. I don’t. And whatever you think Marvin was, you’re wrong about that too.”
“Dragonstone is fossilized dragon egg,” Xander said. He glared at his mother. “It’s what we leave behind after we’re born. It’s the hardest substance on earth and it’s imbued with traces of the magic its dragon left behind.”
“So this dragonstone...it came from one of you?” I asked. Avelina tore the towel in strips. She made a sort of tourniquet and tied them on Xander’s arm, above and below the wound.
“Bring me a kitchen knife,” she said to Loch. He went to the kitchen to carry out her command.
“No,” Xander answered. “Not mine. Avelina destroyed most of ours so they could never be used against us. What remains we keep in a vault, deep underground.”
“Xander!” she snapped at him.
“Enough,” he snapped back. “Shae deserves to know it all.”
“You sure about that?” Avelina kept his gaze as Loch handed her the knife.
She performed her next act with swift precision, never taking her eyes off her son. She turned the knife and plunged its point into her wrist. Then, she drew it down, opening up a thin, red line. Xander hissed with pain, but kept still as Avelina dipped the last strip of the towel into her own blood then pressed it to Xander’s wound.
“Dragonblood has healing powers for all shifters,” he said. “A mother’s blood most of all.”
“Handy,” I said still in shock. But, sure enough, after a few moments, Avelina pulled the towel away. Xander’s arm was all but healed. Just a shiny patch of pink skin remained.
“You’ll probably keep that one,” Avelina said, pointing to the scar. “Maybe that’s a good thing. It’ll remind you what we’re dealing with.”
When Avelina turned her arm, her own wound had already closed. There was no trace of it except a few small drops of dried blood.
“That’s amazing!” I gasped.
“It’s a temporary fix,” she said. “Cuts and scrapes are no problem. It’s the deeper wounds I can’t do anything about. If that wolf’s aim had been better, if he struck Xander through the heart, he’d already be dead.”
“You should go.” She turned to Loch and Gideon. “Though I’m sure that wolf pack has already covered their tracks by now. Search every inch of that building, but keep yourselves hidden. They’ve got one dragonstone blade in their possession, they could have more.”
“Avelina…” Xander started. She blinked hard as she turned to him.
“That should do the trick,” she said, gesturing to his arm. “But a good night sleep on home soil is the best thing for you.” She shared a knowing look with her son that unsettled me a little. I’d learned so much today, but I knew in my heart there were even bigger mysteries to unravel about Xander’s family and maybe my own.
When she rose, I rose with her. She went to the balcony, sliding the glass door open. I moved to follow her, but Xander caught my wrist.
“Let her go,” he said. “She’s scared.”
“She’s what?” I turned to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman as poised as your mother. Ever.”
“Trust me,” he said. “She’s terrified about what happened today. All of it.”
Maybe she was. If this dragonstone did what she said it did, Xander could have been hurt so much worse. I shuddered at the thought of it and sank back to the couch beside him. Whatever I had to say to Avelina, it could wait. For now, I just wanted to stay close to Xander.
My fated mate.
“I can’t stay here,” he said.
“But she said you need home soil,” I answered.
He smiled. “I told you, I wasn’t born here. Knoydart is our ancestral home. You feel up for a ride?”
Desire and heat flared through me. Just that one look, a simple touch, and Xander had me wanting him all over again.
Chapter Thirteen
Shae
I trusted Xander. Fully. Completely. I could say it happened so fast, but in my heart...in my bones...I knew he had been with me on some level my whole life. Climbing onto his back felt like the most natural thing in the world. I fit. We fit.
He soared high above the city skyline, his great silver wings cutting through the air. I pressed my cheek against his neck. I breathed when he breathed. My body rose and fell as his lungs fell.
Dawn broke as we crossed over the Atlantic. The altitude should have killed me. At ten thousand feet, I should have frozen to death. Xander’s magic shielded me and kept me warm. I squealed with delight as he let out a blast of flame. It tickled my ear and sent a thrill through me.
From a distance, Xander’s dragon looked mostly emerald and silver with an iridescent shimmer. Up close, I could see every color of the rainbow in the fine details of his scales. Muscles hard as steel rippled beneath them. He flew with balletic grace, gliding through the air. One flap of his massive wings rocketed us forward miles.
A flight that would have taken twelve hours or more, we made in half the time. I should have been exhausted as we breached the Scottish Highlands. Instead, I felt invigorated. Xander soared above the sprawling green fields and dark, mysterious mountains. We left the more populated cities far behind as he banked right and descended to the side of a cliff.
Gently, he set me down. He shifted effortlessly and put a steadying hand on the small of my back as I took in the magic of the scenery before me. The waters of Loch Nevis were still as glass. To the right of us, a canyon stretched as far as I could see. Tiny rivers of molten lava flowed. But that was impossible. There weren’t supposed to be any volcanoes here. I smiled to myself. Impossible. Hadn’t I realized yet how
meaningless a word that was when it came to Xander Brandhart?
“One of our little secrets,” he said. “Dragon magic keeps the volcano hidden from human eyes. As far as I know, you’re the only one who’s ever seen it.”
“It’s beautiful here,” I said, leaning into the crook of Xander’s arm. I couldn’t help myself from touching the already fading pink scar where the dragonstone had so cruelly cut him.
“It’s home,” he said. “Though we haven’t lived here for any length of time. Not for over two hundred and fifty years.”
He took me by the hand and helped me down the cliff. He led me to a rocky alcove, the walls looked black as onyx. I asked if that’s what they were.
“Granite, mostly,” he said. “There’s a little geode garden on the other side of that ridge I’ll show you later. It’s something to see.”
I laughed lightly. “Is that what you tell all the girls when you first bring them here?”
Xander went as still as the granite beside me. “No,” he answered simply. “I’ve never brought another woman here. Not ever. None of us have. Only my family members have ever set foot here.”
“Oh.” Sadness filled his eyes. It tore at me. I went up on my tiptoes and brought his face down to meet mine. “I’m glad.”
He slid his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground. Heat sparked between us. I wanted him again. I’d craved him so deeply since the moment we first kissed. He set me down, pulling away from me a little in body and mind. I knew instantly, he thought he was protecting me from something.
I let him lead me further down to a small cave. Facing east, it was still well lit. I went to a large smooth rock near the entrance and sat down.
“Xander, what is it? I’ve asked you a dozen different ways what you were doing in Marvin’s shop that day.”
“I think the answer has changed,” he said. “It was the dragonstone. Avelina had a lead that Marvin was peddling it.”
“No!” I shouted. “There’s no way. He would never have had something that powerful in the store without telling me. If it does what you say it does, I understand why those shifters would have wanted it.”
“Dragonsteel and dragonstone...shifters have coveted them forever. They use it against each other when they get it. But, Avelina wants it for something else.”
“Well, sure,” I said. “As long as there’s enough of that out there, it puts you all at risk. Obviously it works. Xander, I think she’s right that if that shifter had got you in the heart or somewhere vital, he could have killed you, couldn’t he?”
He let out a breath. “Yes.”
“Then I say she’s right to try and scoop up every last trace of that stuff.”
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. He sat down on the rock beside me. “That’s one reason she wants it, yes. But not the main one. We told you, dragonstone comes from an egg where a dragon hatched. We leave a trace of our magic behind. A trail of breadcrumbs, so to speak.”
My heart thundered in my chest. “She’s looking for more dragons? Xander, you said you’re the last of your kind.”
He nodded. “We probably are.”
“So why is she risking exposure to go after all these rumors?” The moment I asked the question, the answer slammed into me hard.
“Mates,” I said. “Avelina’s trying to find you mates. You said a mated dragon can live for a thousand years. You never said what happens to an unmated one.”
“We’re dying, Shae. Maybe not for another ten or twenty years if we’re lucky. But before that, my brothers and I will lose control of our ability to shift. It’s a type of madness. When we’re finally trapped in our dragons, we won’t be able to cloak ourselves.”
“You’ll be hunted again. By shifters. By humans.”
“By my mother,” he said. “If that time ever comes, only Avelina will be strong enough to do what needs to be done.”
“She’d have to kill you?” No. I clamped my hands over my ears in some childish attempt to block out what he was saying. How awful. How horrible!
My mind spun in a million different directions. Xander was dying. His brothers were dying. Unless…
I went to him. I flung myself at him, straddling his lap. It rose up in me as powerful as the instinct to breathe.
“No,” I said. “That’s not going to happen to you. I don’t know what we are. I don’t understand all of it. But...I know what I am. What we are. I think I’ve known it all my life.”
When I kissed him, Xander groaned into my mouth. I felt his need pour through him just as it did me. This was so simple. I tore at him. My breasts pebbled and heat pooled low in my core. I wanted him. I wanted this. I needed him as much as he needed me.
He rose. I kept my legs wrapped around him. Xander set me gently on the ground. Before I even knew what I was doing, I tore my shirt over my head and slid out of my jeans.
I’d been here before. The moment the thought popped into my head, I knew it was true. It had been a dream. One I’d had maybe a thousand times throughout my life. I had no conscious memory, but fragments of it fluttered through my mind. The black rock, the veins of lava. Xander’s lair. I’d dreamt of it all my life.
I reached for him. Still naked from his shift, Xander’s cock loomed huge and hard. I wanted it. If it took my body to save him from death and madness, I wanted desperately to give it.
Xander became a wild thing. Flame lit his eyes. Scales rippled through his chest, but he kept his dragon at bay. A dark, secret part of me wanted him to let it out. I wanted to know what it was like to dance with the dragon with my eyes wide open.
I spread my legs wide. I circled my fingers around his shaft and tried to guide him into me. Xander went rigid. He threw his head back and let out a fearsome roar that echoed through the canyon.
He left me gasping, wet, writhing for him. But still, he pulled himself away. Xander curled into himself and staggered away from me. His scales came out on his back then faded away to flesh.
I sat up, panting. Then, I gathered myself and went to his side.
“What?” I finally asked. “Xander, what is it? I want you. You want me. I don’t understand it all and I suppose I should ask more questions or be more cautious, but dammit, I don’t want to be. I just...want.”
His eyes were green fire as he looked at me. “My love,” he whispered. “I swore an oath to protect you.”
“I know. And you have!”
He shook his head. “But I’m the one you need protection from most of all.”
Chapter Fourteen
Xander
Shae melted in my arms, reaching for me. Even though real flames coursed through me, she was the one who seemed ready to combust. Naked beneath me, I felt her molten core. Her body responded to mine.
Born for me.
Fire licked at my back. My need grew to a fevered pitch. I kept my arms locked, my palms flat on either side of her shoulders. Shae writhed under me. Her fingers closed around my shaft. I was rock hard and ready for her. Lust pulsed through me. My vision wavered and a growl erupted from deep inside me. The sound of it sent vibrations through her body too. She shivered with delight.
I went rigid as marble as Shae worked me with gentle hands. She stroked me up and down. Her own heat grew. Her hands felt so damn good, but stars exploded behind my eyes as I became aware of how close I was to her. She spread her legs, throwing her ankles around my hips. Desire changed her scent, driving me nearly mad.
Heat. Shae didn’t have a drop of shifter blood in her, but damn if she didn’t respond as if she were in shifter heat. She arched her back; her moisture grew. I took a risk and pulled away a little so I could get a better view.
“God,” I gasped. “Do you have any idea how fucking beautiful you are right now?”
Her hair spilled around her, its golden-red shine matching the lava far below. Her pink nipples peaked. I leaned forward and darted a quick tongue around one, loving the way she moaned with pleasure. She arched her back and spread her knees
, offering herself to me. Oh, she was wet. So wet. I ran a finger along her slick folds. She soaked me.
“Xander,” she whispered. “Please!”
She leaned forward and gently circled her fingers around me, struggling to bring me into her. The fault lines inside me cracked. My dragonfire threatened to split me in two.
I closed my eyes and pictured what it would look like to slide my dick inside of her, filling her to the brim. Oh, God. It was too dangerous. I felt stretched between heaven and hell.
Heaven was Shae. She was soft and warm. She felt like home. I could bring her to soaring heights and then gently pull her back down. She would be so hot, so wet. I would stretch her wide and claim her once for all.
But, the fire would come. I’d held back the first time. I didn’t know if I’d have the strength to do it again. I saw another vision. My fire enveloped her, burning her so fast she didn’t even have the chance to scream. In one vision, she turned to ash in my arms. In another, my seed took root and grew. But, her body couldn’t keep it. The fire came from inside her and melted her away.
“No,” I whispered. Desire turning to despair.
Shae brought me back to the present. I’d gone hard as steel, resisting her attempts to guide my cock into her. God help me, I wanted it. My desire burned so hot I almost didn’t care. I could take her. I could give her pleasure like she’d never known and take my own too. Maybe it wouldn’t happen this time. Maybe we could beat the odds. It would be so easy. She wanted it. I felt her undeniable craving for me. She wanted this. We both did.
The weight of my honor held me back. I would not risk Shae’s life.
“Xander,” she said. “Please.”
I went up on my knees. She sensed something in my expression. There was a moment of hesitation, of confusion. Then, Shae came up with me. We knelt facing each other. I had no words. Neither did she.
So, my beautiful Shae let her body do the talking. She kissed a trail down my chest, making me shudder. Then, she fastened her mouth around me. So hot, so slick, so perfect.