THE MATING CLAIM: Werewolves of Montana Book 14

by Vanak, Bonnie

  Chapter 15

  A cold shower wouldn’t cure what ailed him. Not even a cold shower in the Artic.

  Pent-up energy raged inside him. Drust went outside, breathed deep the cool sea air. Even the soothing sound of waves did nothing to lower his thermostat.

  He was on fire. Volcanic. Normal for a dragon. But he was no ordinary dragon.

  Normal dragons fought, fucked and bred. He must remain cool, calm and level-headed.

  Hard to do when his testosterone levels had kicked up to the point of making him hard as steel.

  “Well, you certainly screwed that one up, my friend.”

  Stiffening, as if he could get any stiffer, he craned his neck. On the downstairs pool deck near the table, Tristan sat in a lounge chair, booted feet crossed at the ankle. The pool lights were off and Tristan remained in the dark. But with his night vision, he could see the Lupine wizard as clearly as if the sun illuminated him.

  Growling, Drust floated downstairs to sit at the table. He lit the jarred candle sitting at the table’s center. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Dispensing advice. I am your mentor.”

  “I don’t need your advice to tell me what to do.”

  “Truly, you are wrong,” the Silver Wizard drawled. “I watched from down here. You two were going at it like two teenaged shifters and then you backed off. You should have swept her into your arms and marched her upstairs into your bedroom and not have left until dawn.”

  “What are you, my pimp?”

  He ducked from the candle Tristan threw at him.

  “You’re so damn blind, Drust. You have a beautiful dragon lady who wants you, and is going to bed sexually frustrated. You want her! You care for her and you’re sitting out here like an old man!”

  “I am an old man,” he said dryly. “An old dragon, anyway.”

  “Why are you so committed to your ideals and your vow of never getting involved with your dragon charges when you know life isn’t black and white!”

  “Because I don’t want to fail her, damnit, and having my way with her for one or two nights is not worth the price she’ll pay if I can’t focus and find out how to destroy that fucking book without killing her!”

  He took a deep breath.

  Out of the dark came a small sigh. “Oh. Right. That.”

  “Right. That.” He waved a hand, repaired the candle and sent it floating back to the table, the flame flickering in the breeze. “Just…that. Only Lacey’s life.”

  “This isn’t about you and your fear of being returned to the Shadow Lands.”

  Drust flicked a finger, making the candle flame rise higher and higher, until it turned into a spiraling flame tornado. “No longer.”

  Tristan’s face appeared taut in the dancing shadows cast by the increased fire. Silence draped between them, a companionable one common to their friendship. He thought about those long, lonely centuries spent wasting away in the Shadow Lands. No desire to revisit that again, thank you very much. But Lacey’s life took precedence.

  Flicking another finger, he watched the flames return to normal.

  “You’re been a wizard far longer than I, my friend. Have you ever thought about how ironic it is to have all this power at our fingertips…” He snapped his fingers and the candle flame burst up into a column of blue coldfire, “to heal and destroy with a simple snap of our fingers, and yet we have absolutely no control over our destiny or the ones we love?”

  “Always.”

  Tristan’s voice sounded strained. He glanced at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know.” A rough laugh. “But something is off. My Spidey sense doesn’t want Niki and the twins in Montana to visit her sister.”

  Spidey sense? Instead of questioning, he let his friend talk. But he waved a hand and turned on the lights to see his expression, extinguishing the cold fire flame.

  “I’m sure she will be perfectly fine. I’m just a concerned mate and father. But I can’t ignore this feeling something is stirring, something dark and wicked, and Niki and my children are vulnerable to it.”

  “Brought on by the Book of Shadows?”

  “Perhaps. Or even more so, perhaps the book itself is part of this darkness, and is merely a pawn in the larger chess game being played.”

  “A weapon dark forces are using to test us, and our powers, to see how vulnerable we are and how they may manipulate us.”

  The answer reflected in Tristan’s dark eyes. For a moment, the Silver Wizard said nothing. Then he nodded.

  “I know why Danu chose you as our fifth wizard, Drust. It wasn’t to amend the terrible torment you spent alone all those centuries. Or merely to control dragons. It was because we need your wisdom, your insights. You are new to your powers and have more clarity in a way we do not. You see the struggles of mortals and most importantly, your own struggles and vulnerability.”

  Interesting. He had never considered that.

  “There’s a reason why I’m here, other than to talk. You need an extra infusion of the Bloodmoon Flower potion to combat the negative influences of the Book of Shadows. I brought it for you.”

  Tristan handed him the vial. He swallowed quickly. Now was not the time to be, as Xavier put it, running low on juice.

  The vial vanished soon as he finished. He leaned back, staring at the stars glittering in the night sky.

  “If only it were as easy to vanquish Lacey’s past as it is to replenish my powers each month. She spent a lifetime searching for her parents, only to have me extinguish her last hope when I exterminated her father.”

  “What’s done is done, Drust. Stop blaming yourself.”

  “I do not. I only regret I could not have aided her sooner, and perhaps she would not have made the mistake of using the Book of Shadows.”

  “If anyone’s to blame, it’s me, for not removing her from that harpy sooner. But blood is blood. Sometimes a mother’s love gets corrupted, even with your people,” Tristan muttered.

  Odd thing to say. “What do you mean?”

  The Silver Wizard sighed. “Never mind. I was lost in thought. Test your powers. I need to see for myself and report back to Danu that all is well.”

  Drust waved a hand, summoning a ball of pure coldfire the size of a softball. It floated in the air toward Tristan, who held out his palms to cup it.

  “Such power for such a new wizard. Yet I have seen you wield it with caution and wisdom, never abusing it. Your coldfire can sear a dragon from the inside out, or can level a building. And yet you have not let this absolute power go to your head. Quite the opposite. Danu made an excellent choice in selecting you, my friend.”

  Feeling both humbled and flattered, he watched Tristan cradle the blue energy ball in one hand. Suddenly the Silver Wizard pulled his hand back and flung the energy ball upwards.

  Straight toward the master bedroom where Lacey slept.

  Drust flung out a hand and stopped the coldfire ball in mid-air. But Tristan yanked it to one side and sent it toward the sliding glass doors once more.

  Drust vanished and materialized before the coldfire ball, coaxing it toward him. He absorbed the power and turned to see inside the master bedroom. Lacey lay on the bed, one foot dangling off the mattress, an abandoned book beside her. Dressed in her bunny pajamas, she looked young, lovely and so tempting.

  Waving a hand, he chanted a simple, but powerful warding spell to protect the sleeping occupant of the master bedroom, then floated back to the downstairs deck.

  He wanted to smack Tristan behind his sensitive Lupine ears. “What the hell was that about?”

  “Just testing your reflexes. And your instinct to protect those you love.” Tristan leaned back, hands behind his head, giving him a smug look.

  “You suck.” But he released the breath he’d held. Tristan was right.

  I am falling in love with Lacey.

  “And you are right.” It wasn’t easy to admit it. “You’re my mentor. Suggestions? What do I do about my feelings
for Lacey?”

  “Do not fight it, my friend. Go with your feelings. Court her. Date her. Get to know her as a lovely female who interests you, not a dragon who needs your help.”

  His friend grinned. “The only blue balls you should have are the ones you create from coldfire.”

  Then Tristan’s smile vanished. “And when you finally make love with her, for it will not merely be sex, I know you… you are free to do it without protection.”

  Startled, he blinked. “It is forbidden to share our seed except with a mate.”

  Tristan had informed him of the wizard rules. A wizard’s seed contained his powerful magick.

  “Danu has bent the rules for you, Drust. You are special. Follow your heart.”

  Doubt filled him. “And why should I engage my interest, when it goes against my code of honor?”

  Tristan dematerialized and then appeared standing next to him. He squatted down so they were eye level. “Drust, listen to me. I did you a grave injustice all those years I blamed you for my death, and you were innocent. You never betrayed me. I wish to make up for it now. Go with your heart. Become vulnerable. It is not a bad thing to surrender to passion for a woman. Love centers you, makes you whole. I suspect Danu wishes all of us to find our true loves, in order to make us stronger. Otherwise we become cold, remote beings who lack compassion and can become cruel with power.”

  Understanding filled him. He thought of Caderyn, the eldest wizard and the most cynical, and how close the Shadow Wizard danced with darkness merely from the beings he oversaw.

  “Bloated with power, lacking any kindness, we are more apt to be corrupted by darkness,” Drust mused.

  “Exactly. You’ve been a good, wise wizard since Danu inducted you into our circle. I’m not advising you to leave that behind. Niki and our children have enriched my life. You deserve the same, my friend. You may not think it now, but you deserve that kind of love as well. Engage your heart for once instead of your head.”

  Tension threaded through the air, so thick he could not respond to his friend’s words. Finally Drust smiled. “You forgot to tell me to engage my cock as well.”

  Tristan rolled his eyes. In a quick move, he yanked him out of the chair and tossed him into the pool.

  Surfacing, he laughed and splashed Tristan.

  “Go take a cold shower,” the Silver Wizard told him. “Tomorrow night, take her on a date.”

  Then Tristan vanished, leaving him alone in the water to ponder the wisdom of his friend’s words. Should he engage his heart? Or focus solely with his head, finding a way to save Lacey without getting involved with her?

  Chapter 16

  The next day, Drust cooked Lacey a hearty breakfast and then sent her outside with books to read. He waved a hand and set up a place for her on the sand with a comfortable lounge chair, shade, a cooler stocked with drinks and sandwiches and snacks perfect for dragons.

  Fire nachos. They sounded suitable when he conjured a fiery snack.

  He’d been up all night, reading Caderyn’s book and still came no closer to answers. Every single paragraph had to be poured over with meticulous care.

  While Lacey went swimming in the Gulf and sunbathed, he read. And read. He did not look up even when she returned to “take a nap inside.”

  “That outdoor shower is amazing. You should try it.”

  “Uh huh,” he murmured absently. “I have no need of showering.”

  “Must be nice. I went for a long swim in the Gulf, and then tried the pool after I showered off the salt, but all this relaxation is making me tired. You haven’t lifted your eyes from that book. Can’t you take a break?”

  He turned another page, trying to ignore the delicious scent of her threading through the air, teasing his senses. “If I take a break, I may miss something. Go upstairs and rest. Tonight, I thought we’d have dinner out around six o’clock. Your choice. My treat.”

  “Wow that sounds terrific. Well, twist my arm.”

  Now he did glance up in bemusement. She grinned, her teeth white against her tanned skin. “That’s an expression, wizard. I don’t need any persuasion.”

  “Cute.” But he didn’t mean her words. More like how she looked, glowing with health, her cheeks pink, her expression radiant.

  A simple suggestion of dinner out did that? Perhaps Tristan was right.

  Instead of using her beaten car, he conjured the most extravagant vehicle he could think of, after using the internet Tristan had told him about.

  When Lacey emerged down the stairs at six, he could only stare. The white sundress with blue flowers that flared at the hips showed off her newly acquired tan. A purse with a chain link strap dangled from one shoulder. White strappy sandals accented her pretty feet. Her legs were long and sleek and he couldn’t help imagining them wrapped around his hips as he…

  Not going there. Not yet.

  She took the hand he offered, blushing as he complimented her outfit. Had it really been that long since he’d escorted a woman on a real date?

  Nine hundred years. Damn, he felt rusty. Flowers, maybe. But not right now.

  “You look amazing,” she told him, her gaze bright.

  Drust glanced down at the charcoal gray suit, the starched white shirt and the cobalt blue tie and polished loafers. “I thought I’d update my wardrobe, seeing it is the twentieth century.”

  “Twenty-first.” Lacey laughed. “Don’t worry, as long as you don’t dress like you’re going to the disco, you’re in style.”

  “I leave the disco up to Xavier. He still remains behind the times.”

  Outside, she stared once more, this time at the vehicle sitting in the driveway. “Um, we’re going in…that?”

  His brows wrinkled. “Is it not a suitable means of transportation?”

  Drust looked at the private jet on wheels, fashioned from the body of a small corporate jet with tires to make it road worthy. “I saw it on the internet.”

  “Um, sure, but most people… wouldn’t have something so… extravagant.”

  Drust studied the vehicle. “Truly? It is an airplane and you enjoy flying, but the restaurant you mentioned has no landing strip, so I thought this was a suitable alternative so we could drive and then park at the restaurant.”

  Red suffused her face. “Um, it’s sweet, Drust. But a little…”

  “Much?”

  Lacey put her thumb and forefinger apart an inch. “Just a bit.”

  “Ah. I do not want you uncomfortable on our dinner date.” He thought a moment, waved a hand and turned it into a sleek, but comfortable two-door red Jaguar. “How’s that?”

  She beamed. “Much better.”

  With a flourish, he opened the passenger door for her. Lacey climbed inside and then gave him a doubting look. “You know how to drive?”

  “Of course.” He jingled the keys in his hands. “I am capable of many things, young dragon. I have many talents.”

  “Drust this is a car,” she told him as he climbed into the Jag and closed his door. “Not a horse and carriage. A sophisticated car.”

  “Fear not.” He handed her the keys. “Tell the car where we are going.”

  Another doubting look. “The Seafood shack on Hibiscus Island.”

  Immediately the engine started with a smooth purr, and the car started off. Leaning back, hands behind his head, he cast her a smug look.

  “Self-driving wizard car, complete with the latest wizard technology.”

  She laughed. “Well, self-driving wizard, if a cop pulls you over, you’d better look like you’re the one behind the wheel.’

  Half an hour later, they arrived at the restaurant she’d selected. He secured them a table at the window overlooking the serene vista of the Gulf of Mexico.

  Lacey studied the menu the hostess had given them, but Drust looked around with rapt interest. He had never ventured yet inside a Skin restaurant. The cluster of Skins crowding tables and booths and the hustle of wait staff held his interest. Smells of fish and roasting beef
filled the air.

  Though he did not need to eat food, he found himself hungry. Truly an odd sensation, but he relished it.

  During his tenure in the Shadow Lands, he had grown to forget all mortal pleasures, including eating a hearty meal.

  “This place has the best sea scallops on the west coast. Lightly sautéed in butter and always fresh.” Lacey gave a happy sigh. “I love fresh seafood and seldom get to eat it.”

  “Why?” He was genuinely curious. “You live in Florida. You’re a dragon and can go fishing.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Eating fish as a dragon isn’t the same as tasting it when you’re Skin, wizard. It’s an entirely different experience. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.”

  “I have no need of food.”

  “Neither do I.” She patted her waistline. “But I do love eating, much as I should refrain from it since I’m already chunky enough.”

  “You are not this chunky. You have a lovely figure, Lacey.”

  A carnation pink flush tinted her face. “Uh, thanks. I guess.”

  Drust opened the menu, wanting to experience tasting something good. He recalled the lavish meals at the castle, when they dined on sumptuous venison he and Tristan caught in the King’s forest. “I will try seafood. You order for both of us.”

  She blinked as if surprised. “All right.”

  When their meals arrived, Drust had to admit she was right. The round scallops were buttery and delicate and quite tasty. But he had more enjoyment watching Lacey eat. Closing her eyes she forked another piece into her mouth and slowly chewed.

  It was sensual and a delight. Heat filled him as she slowly licked her lips. Oh, he could envision those plump, red lips encasing his…

  Drust took a long swallow of water. She’s your assignment. Remember your code of honor. Never get involved with one of your charges.

  Then he recalled Tristan’s words.

  Perhaps a good balance was called for – this date and relaxing, while still maintaining a respectable distance.

  “Oh wow, this is so good,” she sighed after swallowing. “I could eat ten more of these.”