“Izzy? What’s wrong?” He set down the bag of takeout he’d brought with him and crossed the room in three quick strides, hopping over a small pile of packing tape and bubble wrap to pull her into his arms. “You look like you’ve had a horrible day.”
“It’s nothing,” Izzy said, refusing to look into his eyes. She felt like if she met his gaze, always so warm and intense, that she might crack. Her heart felt fragile, like she’d been holding it together through sheer will during the entire war, and, now that peace was finally here, she had no strength left to keep the fractures from splitting completely open.
“It’s not nothing,” Noah said, putting a finger under her chin and forcing her to look up. She tried to smile bravely, but it was no use. The tears came then, warm and salty and unrelenting. Noah pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her.
“Hey, it’s ok. You’re safe here. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Izzy sniffed and desperately tried to get enough control of her emotions to speak. “That’s the problem,” she said. “I’m not sure that I’m safe. I’m not sure I’ll ever be safe again. And now that the reality of once again starting over somewhere new is setting in, I’m terrified. I’ve only just gotten used to Falcon Cross, and now I’m leaving. My life feels like one constant change after another, and I’m tired of it. I’m tired of always being the new person, and of not truly fitting in.”
Izzy felt a deep grunt coming from Noah’s chest. She blinked rapidly at the tears still escaping down her face, and for a moment marveled at how blurry all of the boxes looked through her water-filled eyes. Noah didn’t say anything yet. He merely stroked her hair and sighed again. Izzy wasn’t quite sure how to interpret his sigh, so she kept talking.
“I want to be brave, but I feel like I used up all of my bravery facing down Saul. I’m tired, and spent. I feel like I packed up everything here while on some sort of post-war high, but now I’ve come crashing down. I feel cold, and alone, like I’ll never truly be safe again. Sure, the war is over. But what’s to stop another evil man from rising? What’s to stop some other catastrophe that will force me to move homes again? What if I don’t fit in at the redwoods? What if the shifters don’t like me, once they get to know me? What if—”
“Izzy, stop,” Noah said, cutting in. “You’re working yourself up for no reason. I have no doubt that everyone in the redwoods will love you, but even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter. I love you. I can’t guarantee that there will never be another war or another evil villain. No one can guarantee that. But I can guarantee that I will always fight for you. As long as I’m alive, you’ll never be alone. And with my arms around you, you’ll never be cold.”
Izzy sniffed in response, still trying to stem the flow of tears.
“I don’t foresee us ever having to move away from the Redwoods,” Noah said. “But even if we do, moving physical locations shouldn’t make you feel unstable. All this stuff isn’t your home.”
Noah paused to sweep one of his arms wide, indicating all of the cardboard moving boxes.
“Your home is in my heart,” Noah said. “As long as we are together, it doesn’t matter where we are. We’re safe, and warm, and home.”
Izzy sniffed again, and Noah gently pushed her chin up.
“Look at me, Izzy,” he said, his voice urgent. “I need you to hear me. I need you to understand this. We’re together now. Your days of being alone and without security are over. It’s okay to be nostalgic or sad about leaving behind the places where you used to live, but don’t feel like you’re just drifting. You’re settling down into a brand new family. Our family. I love you, and you love me. That’s enough. Together, we make a family.”
Izzy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Noah’s words were finally starting to reach her and calm her. She gave him a weak smile, and he smiled back. The sight of his grin stirred up a familiar warm feeling in her core. She took another breath, and her own smile grew a bit stronger.
“Thank you for believing in me, Noah,” she said. “I know sometimes I’m too nervous and not so easy to deal with. But I promise I’m working on things. And knowing that you’re here with me helps a lot.”
Noah bent to kiss her nose, not caring that it was wet from crying. “Don’t apologize. You’re perfect just the way you are. You’ve proven over and over again that you’re brave when it counts. And you aren’t afraid to admit it when you feel weak. That in itself takes a lot of guts and strength.”
Izzy wiped at the last of her tears, feeling much better. The panic that had risen in her chest over the last several hours finally started to subside. She knew there would be challenging days ahead, as the Redwoods Base was rebuilt and as she and Noah figured out how to best build their own life together. But what fun was life without a little challenge?
Her life had been completely turned upside down by this war, but a lot of good had come of that, too. After all, she had Noah. She had a new clan thanks to the Redwood Dragons. And, even though it was true that nothing could ever be guaranteed, the future looked like it would be full of times of peace and happiness. Izzy took one more deep breath and let it out in a happy sigh.
“Feel better?” Noah asked.
“Much. Thanks for the pep talk.”
He laughed. “Anytime. Now, are you ready to eat? I got us Thai takeout, and we should eat it up before it gets too cold.”
“I’m starving. Packing is hungry work.”
Noah laughed, and over the next hour Izzy shared noodles and a bottle of wine with him. When they’d polished off the last of the food. Izzy sat back against the wall with a satisfied grunt.
“I wish my TV wasn’t packed away already,” she said. “I’d give anything to sit my butt on the couch and watch a movie right now. I deserve it after working so hard to get all this packing done.”
“Are you finished packing up, then?” Noah asked, looking around. Izzy also gazed around the room.
“Pretty much. I have some toiletries left in the bathroom and some blankets left on the bed, but that’s about it. The truck for donations comes at noon tomorrow, so I had to be done by then at the latest.”
Noah nodded, still looking at the boxes. “Will you miss your stuff?” he asked. He sounded slightly guilty.
Izzy laughed. “No, not really. It was all new stuff that I wasn’t attached to yet, anyway.”
It was true, she thought as she glanced at the box directly to her right. Like the vast majority of the boxes, she had written “To Donate” on it in bold, permanent marker letters. Since she’d be living in a small cabin out in the redwoods, she couldn’t take much with her. All of her furniture would be donated, along with almost all of her household goods. But she’d only owned these things for a short time, while she’d been living in Falcon Cross. Everything she had owned in her former life, before Saul invaded her clan’s village, was long gone by now. In some ways, though, it was nice to have a fresh start. There was nothing holding her back from being exactly who she wanted to be.
“Well, we could always go back to my place to watch TV if you want,” Noah said. “My apartment was pre-furnished so all of the furniture is staying behind when I leave. But if you want to stay here, I could think of other ways we could entertain ourselves.”
Noah’s voice dropped to a low, husky tone as he spoke this last sentence, and Izzy felt a ripple of desire rush through her body. She didn’t have to ask Noah what kind of entertainment he had in mind. His eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“I think I’d rather stay here,” she said, her own voice sounding low and thick.
Noah smiled, and then leaned over to push her onto her back, smashing her against the plush carpet with both his body and his kiss. Izzy loved having the weight of him on top of her. He was more muscular than any man she’d ever seen, and yet, he held himself over her in a way that kept her from being truly squashed.
The pressure of his body on hers intoxicated her. They’d made love dozens of times since that first
night, stealing away any time they could to enjoy each other’s bodies. But tonight, the heat between them felt hotter than ever. Perhaps it was the fact that this was the last time they would be together in Izzy’s apartment here. Their intense kiss felt like a goodbye toast. They were raising a glass to Falcon Cross, the place that had brought them together.
Izzy felt the wondrous, familiar feeling of melting into Noah. His tongue slipped into her mouth, and she closed her eyes to focus fully on savoring his taste. He ran his hands up and down her body, feeling her curves underneath the soft cotton of her t-shirt and sweatpants. She had dressed for packing today, not for impressing a man. She was keenly aware that her face was streaked with dust and sweat, and that her hair was held up in a messy bun that pushed the limits of the word “messy.” But Noah didn’t care. He loved her just the way she was, as evidenced by the way he pulled back to look at her and whisper, “God, you’re beautiful.”
Another ripple of pleasure radiated through Izzy at his words. She felt herself growing wet between her legs, already dripping with the anticipation of what she knew was coming. If there’s one thing she’d learned about her dragon in the last several weeks, it was that he was truly a beast in bed. Even when he was being tender in his lovemaking, there was a certain authority and power in his movements that made her truly feel like she was experiencing the fire of a dragon.
And she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
He was on fire now, this dragon of hers. He was kissing her again, with renewed intensity, while already reaching down for the hem of her t-shirt. He was hungry today, Izzy could tell. He wasn’t going to be spending a lot of time on any preliminary mating dances. He was going to take her, and take her with a vengeance. She shivered in delight at the thought.
Their arms and legs became a tangle of limbs as he pulled back to pull off her shirt, then yanked her bra off without even bothering to unclasp it. She heard the hook snap as it broke, and she giggled.
“Hey! Bras are expensive, mister,” she teased.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” he growled. Then he was tearing off more clothes—his own shirt, her pants, his pants, their underwear. Everything was a blur of cotton and skin, until they were both naked on the carpet in a valley between mountains of cardboard boxes. Izzy could smell the thick papery scent of cardboard mixed with the woodsy smell that always clung to Noah, and she breathed in deeply as the fire in her belly turned into an inferno.
There was nothing quite like the moment Noah slid into her. His stiff, thick shaft slipped into her hot, wet entrance like a steel rod. A thousand fireworks went off within her, and she moaned at the pleasure that came from his large girth pressing insistently against her inner walls, making room. He must have felt a similar rush of pleasure, because he let out a long moan as their bodies connected.
“You’re so wet,” he said.
“For you,” Izzy whimpered.
“I love that I do this to you.”
And then he was thrusting. The fireworks intensified, and the pressure within her built. She squeezed her eyes shut and let the wonder of it overtake her. She felt like she was on the very edge of a cliff, suspended in time as she waited to fall over the edge into the magnificence that lay beyond.
And then, she fell.
She fell into the sweet release he gave her. Her body trembled and spasmed as heat rushed through her. Wave after wave of ecstasy washed over her, until she could hardly breathe from delight. She heard Noah growl, and felt him thrusting harder and faster. Within moments, he had joined her in jumping over the edge, pulsing into her as he found his own release. Their bodies throbbed together for several long, rapturous moments, until finally their breathing steadied and their bodies settled into a sweet, satisfied calmness.
Noah slid out of her and lay beside her amidst the boxes, reaching over to interlace his fingers with Izzy’s. She smiled, and then laughed.
“What?” he asked, turning his head sideways to look at her.
“It’s just funny that my bed hasn’t been hauled away yet but we still made love on the floor.”
Noah raised his shoulders in a slight shrug. “I couldn’t be bothered to pause to get up and go to the bedroom. Besides, I think you and I like to do things a bit differently, wouldn’t you say?”
Izzy smiled. “I suppose we do. But that’s not all that surprising, is it? After all, our lives have been anything but normal.”
Noah squeezed her hand in response. Izzy closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the soft carpet against her back, and Noah’s warm hand around hers. Her life hadn’t been normal, and, many times, it had been almost unbearably hard. Yet, somehow, she’d come out on the other side of the war better than before. She was a work in progress, but she was braver, stronger, and wiser than the woman she had been the day her clan had been killed off by Saul. She would move forward in her new life with a better sense of what it meant to truly live.
And she would move forward with the love of her life beside her. Her dragon, her everything. Together, they had found victory. Together, they would forge this new trail. Together, they were stronger.
Chapter Fourteen
* * * Epilogue: Three Years Later * * *
“Hey! Are you guys gonna actually cook any meat, or are you just gonna stand there and drink beer all day?” Knox yelled.
Noah laughed, then looked over at Myles and rolled his eyes. Myles burst out laughing, probably more due to the number of beers he’d had than to his amusement at Noah’s facial expressions.
“I’m not kidding,” Knox said. “Vance is going to die of starvation if you don’t get him some brats soon! Look at the poor man. He’s wasting away!”
Vance was, in fact, stuffing his face with mashed potatoes at that very moment. Beside him, Grayson, Owen, and Weston were similarly occupied. Noah laughed again, but then turned his attention momentarily to adding more brats and burgers to the giant grill in front of him. He glanced up again once the meat was sizzling, and took in more of the scene in front of him. Holden and Finn were playing catch with some of the youngest boys in the Redwood Dragons Clan. The boys were actually bear shifters instead of dragons. In fact, the Redwood Dragons Clan was now made up of just about every type of shifter you could imagine, but the name “Redwood Dragons” had stuck, anyway.
Today was the three year anniversary of the day the Redwood Dragons had returned to the redwood forests to rebuild after the war. In honor of that momentous occasion, this day had been designated an official clan holiday. Last year the tradition of a celebratory barbeque had begun, and this year, that tradition was being continued with an even bigger barbeque. The clan had a lot to celebrate.
After the war ended, the dragons and many other shifter refugees had not only rebuilt the original redwoods cabins, but also built several dozen new houses. A general store was added, and a school, along with a town center and a city hall. Slowly but surely, the place began to resemble an actual village, albeit a small one. Noah had worried that he wouldn’t like living in a village as opposed to a small camp of ten bachelors, but the change had been a good one. The dragon stones were kept here now, in the vaults, so it was nice to have plenty of men to guard the place. Besides, Noah’s life was richer thanks to all of his new friends, and he had to admit that living in a community had its perks. Everyone here had different talents, and they all pitched in to make life in the redwoods the best, fullest life it could be. Of course, Noah was proudest of Izzy and her little medical clinic. She had done a great job of keeping everyone here healthy.
“Unkie Nowah. Unkie Nowah! More!”
Noah looked down to see the source of the little voice drifting up to him, then smiled. Lucas, Knox and Bree’s son who was just over two years old, was in search of another burger. Noah smiled down at the boy and took a small burger from the pile of meat that was already cooked.
“Here you go, buddy. Uncle Noah has a burger here just for you! If you want ketchup go ask your uncles at the picnic table. They’v
e got some over there.”
Noah placed the burger on the boy’s paper plate, and the toddler proudly waddled off toward the picnic table where many of the other dragon shifters were sitting. Bree intercepted him on the way, admonishing him to hold the plate more carefully lest his burger fall to the ground.
“Dirt builds the immune system!” Noah called out to her. Bree glared back at him and then turned her attention back to her son.
Noah only laughed, then focused his attention on turning the meat. When he looked up again, his eye caught a blue streak that he knew was his own son, Jacob, as the boy ran across the lawn, squealing with laughter as his Auntie Elise chased him. Noah’s heart filled with pride as he watched the boy, who was younger than Lucas by a month. Noah had thought he’d be the last one of the dragons to have kids, but he’d very nearly been the first. What could he say? He couldn’t keep his hands off Izzy, so they’d had plenty of opportunities to make a baby. In fact, they were well on their way to having a second baby.
Noah’s gaze turned to where Izzy was standing now, munching on a hamburger while talking to Zeke, Mac, and Raven. Zeke was rubbing Mac’s belly, which was swollen in its ninth month of pregnancy. Izzy was not far behind, with an only slightly smaller seven month belly. Raven, who hadn’t yet jumped on the baby train, would be taking over for Mac in heading up the wizard-shifter military alliance while Mac was on maternity leave. All of the wizards who’d joined up with the Redwood Dragons had found new jobs to do here that allowed them to live with their dragons while continuing their work. The ties between Falcon Cross and the Redwood Dragons were unbreakable now, and Noah knew this meant that the peace that the shifters and wizards had enjoyed for the last three years was very likely to continue. Evil could not easily rise against such a tremendous alliance for good.
Izzy turned then, and saw Noah staring in her direction. She smiled and blew a kiss at him, which he returned by blowing a kiss of his own in her direction. She was always lovely, but now, glowing with his baby on the way, and with a mini-me already here and running around, she was impossibly breathtaking. He would never dream of calling her a coward anymore. Motherhood took a special kind of bravery that even he, a mighty dragon would never have.
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