So it was less than a week after becoming immortal, Lacey found herself sitting outside on a bright clear day in a lacy white gown, white roses and wildflowers in her hair, newly mated to Drust. Decorated with white and red roses, their head table stood on a dais next to the wooden dance floor Aiden had his cowboys set up for the affair. A cool wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. Hundreds of sprites flew about the tables, their iridescent lights sparkling beneath the tent ceiling, giving everything a mystical, ethereal touch.
Covered with white linen tablecloths, each table bore a vase of roses, hyacinth, and honeysuckle.
Spring was stretching into summer, but Danu had also ensured the weather was perfect. No late season snowstorms or blustery winds. It was a perfect summer day.
Green, gold, black, silver and yellow dragons flew overhead, blowing flames upward to honor Drust and Lacey. The Lupines in Aiden’s pack eyed the dragons with some nervousness, but everyone was behaving. No one would dare do otherwise, for the goddess herself had officiated and remained at a seat of honor at the head table with her fairy attendants.
Even the wizards’ children had attended the wedding. They were corralled in a large playpen off to the side, where Danu’s fairy attendants amused them with magick tricks, leaving their parents free to enjoy the celebration.
Lacey finished her prime rib and admired Drust’s formal wear. Instead of traditional wizard garb, he wore an ordinary black silk tuxedo. It suited him, and made him look even more handsome.
“Happy?” he asked softly.
“More than ever.” She leaned over and brushed a kiss against his cheek. “As long as you’re with me, I know I will be.”
The other wizards of the Brehon had a table of honor at the front. Danica approached the table where the Shadow Wizard sat, sipping his wine.
“Dance with me,” the hairdresser told Caderyn. “Please.”
Lacey watched with interest as the big wizard rose from the table. Danica frowned.
“It’s a waltz. For just one dance, can you remove those? I don’t feel like getting accidentally stuck.” She pointed to the twin swords strapped behind his back.
For a moment he frowned. Then he looked at her, really looked at her, and with a sigh, removed his swords.
Xavier’s jaw dropped. Silverware clattered as Tristan’s fork spilled onto his plate. Gideon, who had been amusing everyone by making water droplets dance in the air over Aiden’s head, stared. Water splashed all over the alpha Lupine, who sputtered, while his mate Nia laughed.
Every single wizard and their mates looked stunned.
Caderyn set the swords down on the table before Xavier. “Watch these and do not touch them,” he growled.
The ancient took Danica’s hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Lacey watched them waltz with interest.
“He’s a divine dancer, and they look cute together, even though Danica’s a bit short for him.” She smiled. “Then again, he’s so tall an Amazon warrior would be too short for him.”
Drust did not respond, for he was staring as well. Tristan rose from his table and came over to them.
“Caderyn has not removed those swords in centuries.” Tristan kept watching the Shadow Wizard whirl Danica around the dance floor. “Not as long as I have known him. In fact, I believe he sleeps with them, if he ever sleeps.”
“Maybe he really likes her and just doesn’t want to admit it,” Lacey offered.
Both Drust and Tristan turned to regard her. A slow smile touched Tristan’s mouth.
“Ha,” he murmured. “This will be interesting.”
“Shall I get the popcorn this time?” Drust asked.
“Later, my friend. Take your bride on a honeymoon first.” Then he clapped a hand on Drust’s shoulder and walked off.
Lacey sipped her white wine. “Popcorn? What’s that all about?”
“Wizard affairs.” Drust looked around. “Are you tiring of all these people, my love?”
“Yes. But can we slip away without anyone noticing?”
“I can arrange it.” He leaned close and whispered into her ear. “I cannot wait to get inside you.”
A shiver of delicious anticipation raced through her. Without words, she slipped her hand into his. He teleported them into the guest cabin Aiden had generously offered them.
They did not waste time undressing, for Drust snapped his fingers and suddenly they were naked. Before she could draw in her next breath, his mouth was upon hers.
His kiss was warm, welcoming. It felt like coming home. He cradled her head in his hands and drew her closer.
Lacey felt the raw emotion in his trembling lips, the untamed need for sex layered with tenderness. He kissed her mouth, his lips then trailing over her chin and neck as she clung to him, giving back everything he gave. Then the intensity took over, the kisses frantic with passion.
They kept kissing as they worked their way toward the bed. His skin was warm and smooth, powerful muscles rippling beneath as he flexed against her. He grazed his mouth over her neck, tasting her, then nipping her lobe. Her hands grasped his taut ass, urging him closer.
She burned for him, her emotions cranking up to an urgent cry to mate. Drust blazed a trail of kisses down her sensitive skin, then settling on one nipple. Gently he suckled. Lacey gripped the heavy muscles of his shoulders, her head flung back as he stroked his tongue. Wetness gushed between her thighs.
She fell back onto the pillows, her arms stretched open in invitation. Drust mounted her, settling between her opened legs. She felt his thick hardness press against her soft, wet core as he braced himself on his hands on either side of her head. Her pulse quickened with anticipation and yearning. Emotion shone in his eyes.
“I love you so much. I never want to lose you again, for you are my very life, the air I breathe, the spark in my soul that will never die,” he whispered.
She cupped his cheek, watching his eyes close as he savored her touch. “You are my heart. I will never leave you again, Drust. We were meant to be one, and together, forever.”
Something warm and wet dripped onto her breast. A single lone tear fell from his eye. She reached up, kissed away another hovering on his jaw.
“Make me yours, Drust. Make us one so nothing will ever part us again,” she whispered.
Then he thrust into her.
He was so big he stretched her full. Lacey bent her legs and tilted her hips up to take him, feeling his thick penis penetrate, joining them intimately. She threw her head back and moaned at the sensations, the softness of his chest hair against her flushed skin, the delicious male scent of Drust and musk invading her, his low, sultry murmurs. Her nipples felt hard as pearls as he brushed against them.
Lacey wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. He began hammering his hips, his shoulders moving with fluid strength, his hoarse cries equaling her tiny whimpers of excitement.
She let go, convulsing around him, screaming as she cleaved to him, hearing him cry her name. He threw back his head, tendons and veins bulging, his big body shuddering. The hot wash of his seed spurted inside her as he climaxed.
Barely had she come back down with a blissful sigh when she felt it.
Then he wrapped her in his arms, rolled over, letting her rest atop his body. She dropped her head on his chest, trusting absolutely. Wondering awe spilled through her as tears dripped down her cheeks. All of Drust, his past, hope and present, and then a surge of heavy, masculine power. She felt his magick churning through her body, pushing into her veins.
He stroked her hair gently, murmured assurances. Drust pulled her down and rubbed his own wet cheek against hers.
“It’s magick.” She raised herself up to stare at him. “I feel your magick inside me, making me stronger and more powerful. It feels wonderful.”
Drust gave a solemn smile. “Wizards are allowed to fully share magick with their mates. We are supposed to never share our seed with lovers, for our seed contains part of our powers. I broke a ru
le before when we first made love, but Danu knew it was for the greater purpose.”
He rolled over, slowly withdrawing, leaving her body feeling empty. But deep inside she felt his spirit and knew she’d never be alone again.
They drowsed in each other’s arms. Drust nuzzled her cheek. “Remind me to thank Aiden again for giving us a cabin far from others. I wish to be selfish and not share you with the world for a few hours more.”
“Okay,” she murmured. “As you wish.”
Once she thought only her parents could love her. She had searched her entire life for a father whom she thought was her ideal, someone who could love her for herself. Lacey felt she had wander far and wide to find it, always roaming, never settling.
How wrong she was, and how little she had to search.
When real love was just a whisper away, right here in Drust’s arms.
And here she would stay, forever.
Epilogue
It was time for his punishment.
Drust was mated to Lacey and the ceremony had been lovely. They had slipped away, probably to consummate their mating.
Even Danu had remained throughout to celebrate.
He’d enjoyed dancing with Danica, although knowing the goddess was present made him nervous. After two waltzes, he escorted Danica back to her table and thanked her.
He did not leave his own table for the rest of the evening, for he felt the goddess watching him. As the festivities died down, the Shadow Wizard knew the fun wouldn’t last.
There was always a price to pay.
He’d made certain wayward witches paid it over the years.
Now it was his turn.
He watched with trepidation as Danu rose from her table, and approached theirs. The other wizards and their mates bowed their heads. He did not. He knew what she wanted.
Danu’s smile was gentle. Always. Even when her words were harsh.
“Caderyn. I will meet you at your Irish home in ten minutes.”
Then she vanished, her fairies vanishing as well.
Xavier whistled. “Dude, your turn now.”
“I know,” he said sharply. “Do not remind me.”
Excusing himself to the other wizards and their mates, he dematerialized to his castle in Ireland.
He was the last wizard to pay for the price of sharing power with the others to restore Tristan after the Silver Wizard had sacrificed his magick to save his beloved Nikita a few years ago. Danu had warned his punishment would be the last.
For a millennia or more, for he’d lost track of time, Caderyn had been a powerful warlock and then a wizard of the Brehon. Little scared him.
But Danu was clever, and she knew his weakness. As he paced inside the living room of his castle, Caderyn automatically felt for the blades strapped to his back. And then he touched his hair.
The silver-blonde streaked locks spilled halfway down his back. The other wizards sometimes teased him about his hair and its cascade of colors, the way he pulled it off his face by tying the front part back with a leather thong. Xavier called it supermodel hair.
None of them knew his powers as a warlock, and even some of his wizard powers, were woven into his hair. The length was a sign of his near invincibility.
He thought of Danica, the pretty witch with the bright blue eyes, and her fascination with his tresses. Danica the hair stylist. Danica, who felt so right in his arms as they danced.
When she’d touched him, fire lit inside him for the first time in ages. Yet he felt wary of this witch. She looked intrigued, as if she wanted to sit him in one of those barbaric chairs and take out the scissors…
Not on my watch.
The whisper of fairies and sprites filled the air, heralding Danu’s approach. Caderyn bowed his head and bent on one knee as a powerful light filled the room.
“Rise, my wizard,” Danu’s sweet voice commanded. “It is time for you to know what your punishment is. I will not take something from you, only require an action from you.”
At first he felt relieved. No task was too enormous for him. But then he caught her secret smile.
Damn.
Caderyn was afraid to ask. “What is it, my queen? What do you wish me to do?”
Danu’s smile widened. “Cut off your hair.”
Thank you for reading The Mating Claim. I hope you enjoyed it!
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You’ve just read The Mating Claim, Book 14 in my Werewolves of Montana series.
The Werewolves Of Montana Series
Werewolves of Montana boxed set, Prequel through Book 4
Werewolves of Montana boxed set, Book 4.5 through Book 7
Prequel: The Mating Heat
Book 1: The Mating Chase
Werewolves of Montana listing continued
Book 2: The Mating Hunt
Book 3: The Mating Seduction
Book 4: The Mating Rite
Book 4.5: The Mating Intent
Book 5: The Mating Challenge, Aiden’s story
Book 6: The Mating Season, Tristan’s story
Werewolves of Montana listing continued
Book 7: The Mating Destiny, Alex and Emma
Book 8: The Mating Game, Xavier’s story
Book 9: The Mating Ritual, Gideon’s story
Book 10: The Mating Frenzy
Book 11: Snowbound with the Alpha Wolf
Book listing continued and copyright
Book 12: Wild Wolf
Book 13: The Mating Magic
Book 14: The Mating Claim, Drust, the Coldfire Wizard
Book 15: The Mating Captive, Caderyn’s story
www.Bonnievanak.com
The Mating Claim
Copyright © 2019 Bonnie Vanak
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THE MATING CLAIM: Werewolves of Montana Book 14 Page 29