Ivy's Dragon: Dragons of Telera (Book 7)

by Lisa Daniels

  “If you keep moving like that, I’ll have to punish you…”

  “Punish me, eh?” Echo adjusted and ran her teeth over his cheeks, before biting at his lip, tugging at the tender flesh there. She then pressed her lips to his, kissing with ferocity, sometimes flicking out her tongue to touch his. The intoxicating scent of him burned through her nostrils, sending her senses crazy.

  In response, Nox detached himself from her lips and began ripping at the bottom half of her clothes. Any attempts she made to take off his got batted away. Her wet core now exposed, he quickly took off his pants, then without any ceremony whatsoever, forced himself inside her as he crushed her against the wall, roughly thrusting, making her groan in pleasure, gasping at the pain, moaning at the way he possessed her, took her, overpowered her.

  More pain. More strength. She gasped as he jabbed into her g spot with his erection, sliding her body up and down the wall. Then, he grasped her and moved away from the wall, taking himself out of her temporarily so he could force her to her knees on the bed. Then, he grasped her rear and buried himself to the hilt inside her, slamming into her sopping core over and over.

  The motion rocked the bed, and Echo howled encouragement, closing her eyes from the relentless assault, the domination of the werewolf behind her.

  “Yes,” she moaned, her fingers sinking into the bedcovers. “More. Harder. Take me.”

  Nox adjusted position again, pushing her further along the bed and now arching over her back, his hands finding a way under her robes and squeezing at her breasts there. He massaged them and bit at her neck as he continued drilling into her, gouging into her g-spot with a precision that made her gasp and scream.

  “You like this, don’t you?” He whispered into her ear, before biting at it, and she moaned, uncontrollable shudders raking over her spine. “You’re so wet. Your body is begging for me to do this. Begging for pain…” He bit into the muscle between her neck and shoulder and jabbed into her hard, and she cried out, arching into him.

  “Yes… yes!”

  Something about Echo wanted this punishment. A small part of her believed she was evil, believed she deserved to suffer, but somehow, the way he teased it out of her made her feel less ashamed and more empowered. The darkness in her roared to life, and she moaned when his hand shifted from her breasts to dig at her bundle of nerves, slipping over the wetness there. He flicked at the nub there hard, and she gave a spasm of pain and pleasure.

  He stopped thrusting in her for a moment to entirely focus on the nub, swirling and flicking until her body twitched into a powerful orgasm that weakened her limbs. He didn’t stop there. He continued thrusting, even as her body released the overriding wave of pleasure, until he came inside her as well, filling her with hot desire.

  He turned her around and pinned her down hard. “We’re just getting started.”

  She groaned mindlessly as his hand reached towards her nub again, sensitive and wet, to force another orgasm out of her.

  Chapter Four

  Nox came to Echo’s quarters often over the next three days. Sometimes, all he did was just step in, without a word, and take her, sometimes under protest, but never strong enough to stop him from having his wicked way, because Echo wanted the brutality. She wanted to be taken, to be dominated by this werewolf.

  In the times when they did communicate, Echo admitted she was planning to go back to the chasm at a point and check something. With everyone from the expedition significantly recovered now, Helena and Erlandur were preparing to send the expedition back to allow the werewolf army to cross over.

  Echo wanted to explore the pipeline before she escorted the chosen ones back to the Spine base.

  “If it’s a pipeline, it shouldn’t be anything special, right?” Nox lazily trailed his fingers over her arms as she lay down, but she pouted stubbornly.

  “That’s what I hope. But I’m not sure if the system stretches that far out from the city. Part of me wonders if it might be something else. Don’t forget,” she said, flicking his nose, “we still don’t know how the Shadows are making it so far. The Lunar Wastes should be hindering them. Helena says this as well. And I think she ought to know, being, you know, a Supreme.”

  “How old is that one, anyway?”

  “Old,” Echo replied, not wanting to elaborate. She didn’t know herself, really, but suspected it might be edging into a millennium.

  “Hmph.” Nox examined her, gauging the intent in her expression. “Shall I come with you? It won’t take too long, right?”

  “It shouldn’t. I’ll need to inform Helena, so she doesn’t have a heart attack if she finds me missing.”

  Nox leaned over to nibble at her eyebrow, before kissing her on the lips. “Alright. Wrap up warm.”

  She did so and sought out Helena, who was in heavy conference with Erlandur, Loras, and two other Supremes, Jael and Deyna. Jael had blonde, short hair and oddly blue glowing eyes in dark skin. The male Supreme, Deyna, had short hair as black as midnight, with white streaks through it. The Supremes struck an impressive presence, all clustered in the room.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Echo said, when she drew their attention. “There’s something I want to inspect before we leave. It’s an investigation into how the Shadows are able to get around the wastelands.”

  Jael glowered at Echo. “Don’t you think we’ve already tried everything on that?”

  “What’s your suspicion, child?” Helena said, interrupting Jael’s gruff tones.

  “A sewer pipeline.”

  Now Deyna spoke, his voice soft and measured. “We already thought of that. We’ve scoured the systems under the city. There’s nothing there.”

  “It’s a pipeline in the chasm.”

  The Supremes fell silent a moment. Erlandur raised his eyebrow.

  “It might not be anything,” Echo added. “But I’m not sure if the system extends so far out from the City. I’d like to check it.”

  Jael nodded slowly. “Forgive my tone, child. You’re right to follow up on any leads. Will it be just you going?”

  “Me and the werewolf, Nox.”

  “That should be alright,” Deyna mused. “You can defend yourselves well?”

  “Deyna, she’s the one who can split her soul into two,” Helena said.

  “Ah.”

  “Five hours,” Erlandur said. “If you’re not back in five hours, we’re sending a search party. We need you to take us back.”

  Echo nodded. She would have said as much in Erlandur’s shoes.

  A few minutes later, she loped out of the underground to the snowy surface, holding tight to Nox’s back. The notion of the pipeline kept nagging at her, calling to her. Surely she must have passed it many times before, without thinking about it, or considering the fact that it was so far removed from the Fractured City.

  A mistake on her part. Now it nagged at the back of her skull. Nox whined questioningly, and she patted him behind his ear. A good man, really. They’d probably all die by the time they engaged in the war – Echo held herself under no illusions the takeover would be anything but easy. She planned to squeeze in a lot more sessions with him. She liked being able to feel something physical, when sometimes her emotions were dead inside. She liked that he didn’t care about the danger he smelled from her – rather, he emulated it, and drew it out of her, encouraging her with his aggressive passion.

  Monster growled in her head now, tumbling over her emotions, dampening the human part of her. She adjusted her goggles and watched the world roll by, the only place she’d ever known. She wondered sometimes what the south must be like, where they said the day lasted longer than the night, and the people were all blonde like Erlandur, with blue and green eyes, with darker skin tones, rather than the pale ghost white of the Lunar Wastes.

  If we survive all this, I’m gonna look into retiring into the south so I don’t have to deal with this moon-cursed cold all the time.

  Soon enough, they reached the area where she thought she spotted
the pipeline. She dismounted and summoned Monster, and they both hitched a ride on her darkness, gliding down the chasm into the gloom, pausing at the glint of metal that jutted half in and out of the rock.

  The pipe looked tough, but Monster had a few tricks up its sleeve. Both Nox and Echo stood at the bottom of the crevice, as Monster transformed into a whirring, circular saw about thirty inches wide that spun around the pipe at dizzying speeds. Nox morphed into his human form.

  “Wow,” he said. “That’s a pretty versatile Shadow you got there.”

  “Yes,” Echo agreed through clenched teeth. Precision work like this required a lot more energy than normal. Her head already throbbed hard within a minute of the sawing, but Monster managed to create a sizeable gap that they could squeeze into. The metal itself appeared to have been devoured.

  Nox whistled, impressed. “Remind me to not get on the bad side of you.”

  Echo smirked, before surreptitiously rubbing her temples. She advanced further into tunnel, instantly noting that there was no sludge or grime. If anything, the piping appeared immaculate, and big enough for several people to walk in it side by side, though the sewer systems and cisterns had always been massive within the Fractured City.

  Absently, she reached for Nox’s hand and held it, endorsing in his warmth, happy to not be alone. Without the light of above, they ventured into sheer blackness, and had to be careful with their process, in case any unexpected obstacles blocked their ways. Bit by bit, they made progress. Slow as it seemed at times, they kept silence, only their breaths and faint clanging sounds echoing through the metal corridor.

  Presently, after a considerable amount of time passed, Nox whispered, “I hear something.”

  Echo heard nothing at all, and fumbled for Nox, encouraging him to go in front, to follow what his senses lured him to. “I smell Shadows…” he growled. His voice echoed slightly, and she motioned by tapping his back for him to keep going, and stop talking.

  Her heart pulsed faster when she too heard noises. Something awaited them, something that might not be so friendly upon seeing a werewolf and Shadow tag teaming together.

  Now she saw a flickering light in the distance, and suppressed a gasp.

  Something was definitely there. Something ominous.

  Close enough to hear it, Echo’s ears picked up the sounds of guttural moans. Hisses. Screeches. The light brightened enough for Echo to see Nox’s face, and she saw a deep loathing in his eyes.

  That meant one thing.

  Shadows.

  She placed a hand on his shoulder. The tunnel only led one way, and silhouettes were cast upon the walls. She whispered into his ear, “Let me go ahead now. I will look more in place than you. You stay here.”

  He nodded, swallowing his rage. “Be quick.”

  Echo now ventured ahead, her hands pressing into the walls. Emerging from the end of the tunnel, she dropped into a wide, expansive corridor.

  She gaped as she took in the sight of an enormous underground network.

  This is it! This is how the Shadows have been making it so far in the Lunar Wastes!

  The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, disappearing into darkness. She almost jumped when she saw several mindless Shadows turn a corner from her right, and shuffle aimlessly down. They completely ignored her, but hesitated near where Nox hid, sensing him. After confused milling, they continued on with their primary directive, shambling into the murk.

  Echo watched them go, closing her eyes for a moment.

  This explains everything. I have to get back and let them know. The Fractured City has been building an underground that likely extends to near the end of the Lunar Wastes.

  She inhaled sharply upon approaching a door made completely out of metal and… charcoal. A slit existed within the door. Her instincts told her something awful lurked behind it. She slid it open, and peered into an unlit room.

  Growls and shrieks permeated the room at the light that beamed past her. Forms, black forms spilled over one another, and a myriad of blue, gleaming eyes stared at her like lanturns.

  With a start, she snapped it shut again.

  There were more doors like this one. All made from metal and charcoal.

  More of those things.

  Echo began to curse under her breath. She heard footsteps, and hastily retreated back into the tunnel, scrambling through until she reached Nox.

  “Let’s get out of here. Now.”

  “What did you see? You look panicked. What happened?”

  “Not now. Go! Someone’s coming.”

  They both scrambled through the tunnel. It occurred to Echo, dimly, that someone might approach them from the other direction.

  Ah well.

  Luckily, no one did, though the gigantic hole where the pipe once lay would not go amiss from the Shadows. She summoned Monster again to help them clamber up, then chose to chasm surf and explain to Nox.

  “They have a massive set of tunnels going underneath the Lunar Wastes. It’s how the Shadows have been reaching so far. They just go along the tunnels then emerge up from it into the wastelands.

  Nox gasped. “That’s it!” He frowned. “How were the tunnels built?”

  Echo shrugged. “Pretty sturdy. I saw some Shadows pass. They ignored me – they were using the tunnel I was in. I let them go. Their controller can usually sense if they die.”

  “Right,” Nox nodded, excitement pouring out of him. Echo mimicked it, riled up by the discovery.

  “There’s more. They… must have several animators. Like Erlandur. There’s a bunch of cells in the tunnels that are completely stuffed with resurrected corpses. Werewolves, humans, you name it, they’re there. There’s even some which are like Monster here. The amorphous entities that can wreak destruction if used in the wrong hands. Blasted skies, we must warn them at the base. This changes everything!”

  Nox gripped her tight. “You were right to be suspicious. But what do you mean it changes everything? Didn’t your lot have a plan before?”

  “Yes, well. But the more information, the better, you know? And although the tunnels look sturdy – if we can destroy them, we can likely delay their progress massively.”

  “Or you cause a schism in the Lunar Wastes that makes it easier for them to travel.”

  “Ugh.” Echo frowned at him, annoyed.

  He grinned at her. “Don’t worry. We have something tangible here.”

  They rode the rest of the way back to inform the Supremes of the location. Helena appeared troubled, and the others, including Erlandur, didn’t look happy at the turn of events. Even though it meant an answer to the mysterious progress of the Shadows.

  “Thank you for this, Echo. Seriously.” Helena held out a hand to shake. “It does mean we may need to revise a few of our plans. There’s more problems to deal with than we initially thought. If we go into the Fractured City with our full forces now, we risk being pincered by the undead in the network.”

  Jael and Deyna nodded, disturbed.

  Having given them the news, Echo went back to her chambers, with Erlandur informing her that they would leave for the Fractured Spine in a few hours, when the moon lay highest in the sky.

  Nox followed her, and they sat in silence for a while.

  “We’re in trouble,” Echo said.

  “Yes,” Nox agreed. Then, they smiled at one another.

  “But less than before.”

  “You did good,” Nox said. “Brilliant, even. I look forward to being able to fight with you by our side. Among… other things.”

  “Likewise.” Echo sat beside him, for once forgoing her usual lustful urges. She preferred to sit comfortably beside him, and visualize a future where they all survived. Where she might be able to persuade this white furred werewolf to come with her to the south, though that did mean abandoning his position as next in line for leader of the Spine.

  Well. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

  Perhaps, Echo thought, reflecting on the monster inside
her, it was good to feel emotions. To not let the darkness constantly take over. Someone like Nox could offer a good moral compass for her. To help her tackle the cruel Shadow within, and to balance it out with the human empathy her shell contained.

  First off, they needed to survive the blasted mountain and the trip back with a huge army without being discovered.

  Echo rested in the crook of Nox’s arms, and closed her eyes.

  Sleep came. She needed it. She had a lot to do when she woke.

  The End

  Loras’s Rescue

  Guardians of Lunar Wasteland

  (Book 6)

  Chapter One

  Kell watched the moon with an air of interest. Red and pink swathes of color filtered through the atmosphere, tingeing clouds crimson, and dying trees with the faint slash of blood. A frozen sea stretched past her vantage point, down from what was once a sanded beach, now covered by layers of permafrost. In the far distance, she saw the spires of the Fractured City, including the Black Tower that reached higher than the highest mountains. An impressive feat, given that a third of the Fractured Spine reached heights where no living being survived in for long, with the lack of oxygen slowly suffocating them into cold, breathless deaths. That was, if the cold didn’t freeze them like an iceberg, or the screaming wind slipstreams knocked them off to their dooms on the hard ice ground below.

  Kell had only left the Island a few times in her lifetime, to complete the holy Pilgrimage to the Broken Peak, a discolored mountain in the Spine chain, where the bones of the First Wolf lay buried.

  The petty bickering of the clans beyond the sacred Island meant nothing to Kell. Neither did reading the stars, though most on the Crescent Island practised this ability. Kell didn’t believe in the stars. It didn’t make sense for her to have the fate of the world written in them, though many believed otherwise.

  The stars were merely symbolic at best, allowing people to attach their meanings to events that shifted within the world’s surface.

  Kell at least memorized what the stars were supposed to mean, so she didn’t feel too left out.