THE MATING CLAIM: Werewolves of Montana Book 14

by Vanak, Bonnie

  She thought of how her mother had seemed quiet in the end, almost meek. Defeated. “Is it okay… if I visit her sometime? I mean under supervision, if I can.”

  Tristan’s smile was almost radiant. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  Though she didn’t really want to know, she had to ask. “What will happen to Patrick? What will Aiden do to him?”

  The Silver Wizard’s expression turned hard. “He will give Patrick a chance to outrun the pack. If he makes out of Aiden’s territory, he will live. If not...”

  She shuddered.

  “It is a large territory and there is little chance Patrick will outrun them. It is necessary, Lacey. The pack protects their own. They cannot have one like Patrick among them, greedy and eager to turn on them for money. Come, Niki would like to say something to you.”

  He waved a hand, and then they appeared in the nursery. Niki cried out as she saw Keegan. The toddler floated over into his mother’s arms, who hugged and kissed him. Kara, toddling toward her father, clapped her hands.

  “Keegan home!” She giggled as Tristan picked her up.

  “That’s right, honey. Keegan is home. Thanks to Lacey.”

  “Lacey good dragon,” Kara burbled. “Gift.”

  To her astonishment, the baby flicked a finger and a ball of white light floated across the room into Lacey’s outstretched hands. Warmth poured through her, such love and warmth she wanted to hold onto it and cherish it forever. Then the ball’s brilliant white light slowly died.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to Tristan.

  The Silver Wizard’s smile was filled with mystery. “I did not do it. It was a gift from Kara. She sensed your sadness.”

  Lacey bit her lip. “Wow. Your kids are… special, Tristan. You sure have your hands full.”

  “We do.” Niki came over, bouncing Keegan in her arms. “Thank you, Lacey. Tristan told me what happened, and how you made it possible to bring Keegan back to us without incident.”

  Searching for the familiar guilt regarding the book, she was surprised to find it gone. “Thank you for giving me the chance to make things right with my mom.”

  She touched Keegan’s arm. So soft and sweet. He was just a baby, after all.

  “He’s so innocent,” she murmured.

  Niki’s mouth twitched. “Well…not exactly.”

  The toddler yawned, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth, and fangs. He yawned again, and showed only a few baby teeth.

  “Holy werewolf.” Lacey took several steps back. “He’s, ah, he’s…”

  “Yes. I discovered this the other day when he was put down for a nap he did not wish to take. Kara has the most power of the twins, but Keegan is not helpless.”

  “It is a good thing we retrieved Keegan when we did. Apparently he has his own defenses, my love,” Tristan murmured. “If Melanie kept him any longer, he could have hurt her.”

  “Forget that. I’d say it’s a good thing he’s weaned,” Lacey said.

  Niki laughed. “I can control it. All I need to do is remind him who is the alpha in charge.”

  “I am,” Tristan boasted.

  “Right,” Niki and Lacey said at the same time.

  When the laughter died, she turned to Tristan. “Thanks again for the chance for me to reconcile with my mother. I feel more peaceful now, knowing what I must do to destroy the Book of Shadows.”

  The Silver Wizard’s expression turned neutral. “Sometimes what you think is the only answer is not, Lacey. Give others a chance to prove themselves. I learned that too late.”

  Before she could question him on it, Drust appeared. “Time for us to leave. All set?” he asked her.

  She nodded. “Good bye, you two, and good luck.”

  Lacey didn’t know where they headed, but she had the feeling Tristan’s advice had a much deeper, and ominous, meaning than she realized.

  Chapter 21

  They dematerialized and appeared before a magnificent castle in the woods.

  Still squeezing her hand, Drust brought it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Welcome to Castle Drakon, my home in North Carolina.”

  A shiver wracked her as Lacey gazed around. Moss covered the lower walls, along with green vines that curled elegantly up to the lower windows. The stone castle soared skyward, its architecture simple in design and yet she sensed a complexity within, just like the wizard who had constructed it.

  “The grounds are about 14 acres and include a small lake, a pool, really. I bought the property from a Lupine who wanted to move his pack further west. I paid a great deal of money, but the land is worth it, and I wanted to give him and his pack a nest egg. Then I constructed the castle.”

  “Why here?”

  Drust jingled the keys in his hand, such a human gesture she could almost forget he was a powerful immortal. “The same reason why the alpha Lupine and his pack didn’t want to live here. They claimed it was haunted. No animals in the forest. It’s not haunted, but the land vibrates with intensity because of the vortex beneath the adjacent pool.”

  He did not meet her questioning look, but studied the thick oak door with its iron hinges and dragon head knocker. “The pool is a permanent entrance to the underworld of the Shadow Lands.”

  Lacey’s breath hitched. “You bought land that guards an entrance to the world you loathe, the place that trapped you for centuries? What for?”

  “It’s complicated. I will share later, perhaps. For now, come inside.”

  The interior of Drust’s castle was bright and cheerful and welcoming. A fire crackled in the hearth of the stone fireplace in the living room, where modern chairs and sofas were arranged around a low coffee table. The Oriental rug on the hardwood floor was tasteful, and the oil paintings on the wall hinted of masterpieces, yet were bright landscapes.

  Only the two tapestries on the walls of the dining hall hinted of his past.

  “It’s lovely.” She ran a finger over the soft, plush fabric of the sofa.

  He parked a hip on the sofa’s armrest. “I wanted to make it welcoming and homey. I always thought this could be a home for a long time for myself and the one I loved. You, Lacey. I loved you through time eternal, when we first met when I was mortal and I love you now.”

  How did she respond to that? Emotions swelled in her chest.

  She plucked at the wrinkled shirt, knowing her hair probably looked like a rat’s nest, and that was an insult to nesting rats. “A long time, huh? You know, I won’t always look this good when I’m older like you.”

  Drust threw back his head and laughed, a hearty, free-spirited bellow. Deep and resonating, it lifted her spirits and fed her hope. Because they probably had a doomed relationship and that had not changed in centuries, but at least they had now. They were together now. And she planned to cherish every minute of that togetherness.

  It would be nice if everything, including her life, were tied up in a nice, neat package. But it wasn’t and it never would be because life was complicated and wonderful, it was bittersweet and painful, full of twists and turns. She knew how this one was going to end and it wasn’t going to be pretty. Probably painful as hell. But at least she had love, even if only for a little while. She held it with both of her hands, marveled at it, basked in it, cherished it, and that memory, she knew would carry her forward into eternity. When the darkness without Drust became too unbearable, she would have the sweet memories of how very much he had loved her, both in this lifetime and in their past.

  She wanted to take every moment and hold it tight, knowing there was little time left. Because the answer to destroying the book was to destroy herself.

  Drust was the first man she’d ever met who never demanded much of her, who held high expectations of her. He accepted her as she was, and her love for him grew even more.

  But saying it was another thing. Words failed her.

  “Would you like to see my favorite room?” he asked. Then he gave a wicked grin. “Other than the bedroom?”

  At her nod,
he led her upstairs to a vast library with floor to ceiling bookshelves. Lacey marveled at the overstuffed chairs set about the Oriental rug with gooseneck reading lamps, and the cushioned window seat. Everything was designed for bookworm.

  A thick tome sat on the heavy wooden desk off to the side. She flipped through it. A history of his people and his clan.

  Drust watched her as she scanned the pages until coming to his name and how he had died. At her puzzled look he nodded.

  “The official history book reads that Clan Drakon and the Fae reached a compromise after the end of the Drakon Wars, after I died. It also says I brought in Fae as advisors. It is… a half truth. I had instructed my son to alter the history upon my death and the end of the Drakon Wars to keep the peace and write something neutral so my clan, and my people, would not fly into a rage and wish to avenge my death.”

  Drust cupped her cheek. “Losing a father is a terrible thing. Again Lacey, I am sorry I had to terminate the life of yours.”

  “You did what you had to do to keep the peace back then, Drust, and you did what you had to prevent my nutcase father from slaughtering innocents.” She leaned into his touch. “I understand now, what my parents were, and I forgive you.”

  “I have waited a long time to hear that,” he murmured.

  But as he went to kiss her, she pulled away. “One more thing. I need to see the entrance to the Shadow Lands. Please show me.”

  Drust hesitated. Then he nodded. “This way. Be careful. The forest can be… treacherous to mortals.”

  “Then I’ll fly there as dragon.”

  “You cannot.” He would not look at her. “The trees are too thick.”

  He held out his hand. “Come.”

  His palm was cooler than previously, as if the coldfire within him burned like winter fire, not the warmth all dragons sought.

  They left the castle by the kitchen’s back door. The back yard was a vast green space with lush gardens filled with wildflowers and cultivated yellow, red and white roses took her breath away.

  “It’s lovely, Drust. Did you do all this?”

  He nodded. “A pastime I no longer have time for, so I hire gardeners to tend the greenery. My descendants do not live far and they come here at times to oversee the work.”

  The bright sunshine and cloudless sky thinned out as they followed the pathway into the thick forest at the garden’s edge. Dim sunlight dappled the thick tree trunks, sparkling in the increasing gloom. A pervasive stillness filled the air, so thick she could hear the too-rapid beating of her heart. No birds singing in the tree branches overhead, no scampering on the forest floor of woodland creatures. The forest seemed haunted and eerie.

  Drust helped her navigate over tangled roots slick with green moss, snaking out from the tree trunks as if to trap the unwary. The ground was rocky and perforated with boulders, making the hike challenging.

  “It’s like this for a reason,” he explained, helping her over one jutting root. “I cannot properly ward the forest since it contains a sacred entrance to the underworld. My magick will not work here. To keep out intruders and innocents, I made the trees twisted and the pathway forbidding as much as possible. Do you feel the oppressiveness?”

  She did. Heavy and cloying, blanketing the air as if suffocating each breath from her lungs. Lacey stopped, bent over to gulp down lungfuls of air, but it did nothing to clear her muzzy mind.

  “Here.” Drust clasped her shoulders, righted her and then kissed her. No mere kiss, he breathed fresh air and life into her.

  Her head cleared and her lungs stopped trying to siphon in air. When his lips fled hers, he looked down, forehead wrinkled in concern.

  She managed a slight smile. “Thanks. Great CPR kiss, wizard.”

  He did not return the smile. “If a mortal manages to make it this far, they usually pass out. I have a perimeter set up to alarm me so I can send staff to retrieve them, then I wipe their memories and send them on their way with the mental warning to never again set foot here. But usually the warding around the castle walls and the gardens keep out trespassers.”

  They continued on, her trepidation rising with each step, each navigation over a twisted bit of root or a ghostly stump with limbs rising like outstretched arms, ready to grab her. Despite his life-giving breath, her lungs began to strain again from pure fear, her heart banging against her chest as if it would leap out.

  And then the woods seemed to fade as a mist covered the forest floor. Drust waved a hand and the fog vanished, showing a dark, yawning cave. No, not entirely dark. Purple colors glittered within.

  “What is this?” Fascinated, she bent low to see inside.

  “My meditation space. Would you like to see?”

  “Sure.” The energy within the cave called to her, pulsed with life as much as the forest had trickled with the aura of death.

  They did not walk far when the cave seemed to fill with light, sparkling off thousands of tiny amethyst crystals set in the ceiling and walls. Wonder filled her as she ran her hand over the gemstones, feeling the vibration down to her soul.

  A good energy.

  A positive energy.

  “Wow, this is amazing. What do your relatives think of this cave? I imagine you bring them here personally to meditate.”

  “They have never ventured here,” he said solemnly, leaning against the wall. “No one has besides myself, until you.”

  Drust caressed the wall as if it were a lover. “The crystal cave centers me, sharpens my mind, and purifies my spirit. It is much easier for me to focus in here, attuning to the vibration of the crystals.”

  He gestured to a soft fleece blanket on the ground. “Try it, Lacey.”

  Sitting lotus style, she closed her eyes and for a moment focused only on breathing. In and out, relishing the pure, clean air, the freshness after the smog-like thickness in the forest. And then images danced in her mind.

  Images of herself and Drust from long ago, when he was mortal. The love he held for her shining on his face, his carefree, deep laughter, the tender way he held her and the fire in his intense blue eyes anticipating their lovemaking.

  Lacey saw her death, a quick and painless shriek in time, cut down by a cruel Fae blade intent on invoking Drust’s rage, and stirring him to bloodshed to start a war.

  She felt her lover’s grief, tasted the salt of his tears all those years ago, saw his firm resolve and resignation that the time was not right. She saw him take another for a bride, a woman he did not love, but a marriage that would keep the peace, a necessity until Drust and Tristan could gather their forces together to strike.

  She saw herself falling, as if into a well, but there was no dark water, no blackness.

  She saw endless stars and magick nights, time looping onto itself for eternity, dreams and hopes never dying, but reborn in a child’s giggle, a pair of green eyes sparkling with curiosity and rebellion. Herself, searching for something.

  Once she’d thought the search was for parents to love and cherish her.

  Now she knew the true search had been for him, her Drust, her wizard she’d once lost, but whose soul was entwined with hers as firmly as the tangle of tree roots sinking into the soil.

  She had carried his memory in her heart until the time came for them to reunite. Lacey did not fear what she knew she must do.

  Not anymore. She had a clear vision, for the first time in her life, of the path she must take, not for her own sake, not even to save others, but for Drust.

  Because he could not bear once more to see her die, and he would do everything in his power to prevent that.

  All her life she’d longed for love and acceptance, to know she was loveable. As good and kind as her mother was, the woman whom she knew now was her foster mother, she didn’t truly love Lacey. She raised her as best as she could, but there was always a distance. Evie loved her, but depended on her and Lacey could not lean on her.

  Drust was the only one who accepted her fully, loved her unconditionally, despite her
flaws. Or maybe even because of them.

  He wanted what was best for her, wanted her to be her best, cared about her more than anyone else she’d ever met.

  When she at last opened her eyes, Drust was sitting across from her, his own gaze wary and uncertain.

  He could not read her here. He could not see the visions she held in her heart.

  So she pretended, for his sake and resorted to her usual sarcasm.

  “Wow. Mind blowing. I saw the winning Powerball numbers. Can we go now and find a convenience store? And say, conjure me up a few dollars so I can buy the tickets.”

  His lips quivered in the ghost of a smile. “Ah Lacey, my Lacey. Always with the humor.”

  Drust reached over and wiped away a tear with the edge of his thumb. “I cannot read your mind here, but I know what this place does. It is the keeper of memories and the bearer of difficult news.”

  She gathered his hands into hers. “Drust, level with me. I know you don’t like to talk about it, but what was it like in the Shadow Lands? I… need to know.”

  “It can be beautiful at times. And haunting. Every individual has a different experience. Mortals cannot leave as easily as wizards may. Tristan showed me that when he freed me a few years ago.”

  “You can go there now, as a wizard?”

  “I’m a new wizard, Lacey.” His grip tightened on hers. “Yes, I may enter the Shadow Lands and exit to Tir Na-nog, but I will pay a price. I cannot shift into my dragon form. I lack the wisdom of the ages that Tristan, Caderyn, Xavier and Gideon have. And yet I am the guardian of dragons.”

  Lacey sensed he withheld something from her, something critical. “Level with me. Must I die to destroy this book?”

  “No.” But his expression and taut body language indicated he would not discuss the other options. Not now.

  He stood, stretched out a hand. “Let us continue.”

  A sparkling, crystal clear stream wended through the forest. Though the trees were thick, sunlight speared the ground and here and there she spotted woodland creatures. It was far from the eeriness of the abandoned forest outside Drust’s gardens. Peaceful, even.