The Dragon's Wing: A Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance

by Lucy Fear

  “She has strong energy, but that is only fitting with two such powerful parents,” she replied. “Now, shall we duel? I’ll only be putting you through your paces, but I can understand your need to make use of all that training. Once we’ve joined, you’ll be in for a great deal more. I hope you’ll be ready for it.”

  ***

  The dragon put Rhi through her paces, asking her questions and making small attacks in a continuous barrage. Rhi, for her part, put on the best performance she ever had, proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was skilled enough to receive the honor of melding with the ruler of dragons.

  Brendan came forward and helped with the ritual that would bind the two of them together, helping her to lie down on a table of stone and holding her head for her so it wouldn’t jerk around.

  “This joining will not cause lasting pain, nor any physical harm,” he explained. “However, you must remember that there will be a mental alteration, and despite your intelligence, it is possible that your brain might attempt to reject it. If that does happen, you might have a slight battle of wills within your mind, but in the end, of course, the Ancient One is going to endure.”

  “I’ll do my best to allow her inside,” Rhi replied.

  A shining, golden light encased the two as their minds touched. Their minds met and agreed, and the binding easily took place, leaving the two of them exhausted but more than complete. As the light faded, the body of the dragoness disappeared inside of Rhi’s.

  *

  When she woke again, Rhi sat up and looked curiously around. Her vision was clearer, and the deep darkness of the cave without any sort of torch was not nearly as noticeable as it had been before. She could also smell the scent of magical flowers on the air, and the fact that Todd had apparently wet himself sometime last week—most likely when the lycanthropes and been brought to surround his cage.

  “So, when she wishes to come to the fore, I disappear?” Rhi asked softly.

  “There are two ways to bring forth your dragon,” Brendan explained. “One way is to allow them to use your physical presence and come to the surface to be seen. In the other method, the dragon can exist outside of you, but the link remains. In that manner, you can call them to you, but exist as separate physical entities who communicate telepathically, and who can work in tandem toward the completion of the goal.”

  “Then the Ancient One is able to remain here until I need her?” Rhi clarified.

  “Yes, or she can dwell inside of you most of the time, but easily be able to return to this place either with or without you along for the ride.”

  “Interesting,” said Rhi. “However, right now that isn’t what most concerns me.”

  “Well, what is then?” asked Allen, who had come to join them now.

  “I’m wondering what we should do about Todd and Margot,” she admitted.

  “Those two were bait, but at this point we can’t possibly put them back where they came from,” he said speculatively. “They’ve actually been melded to dragons already, and slated to become members of the castle itself. Since the division was being closed anyway, it’s not as though anybody is likely to miss them.”

  “You did sort of just imprison my hoped-for new psychic team,” Brendan pointed out.

  “Yes,” Allen piped in. “He does have a really good idea.”

  “I heard,” Rhi agreed. “I think they’d make much more useful participants in Brendan’s new venture than they would cleaning rooms and such down here. The Ancient One says to tell you that she also agrees. We’re allowed to clean them up and take them along with us.”

  “There’s just one problem,” Brendan pointed out. “How do we get past the werewolves to free them?”

  “Yes, and get a change of clothes for Todd,” Rhi added, wrinkling her nose.

  “There is that, too,” Brendan agreed. The three of them snickered.

  “The Ancient One says there are clothes for him here in the castle,” Rhi said then. “We could either bring the clothes to him, or we could bring the two of them back to the clothes here.”

  “The easiest way to get them out would be to fly to the tops of the cages and take them out through the top,” Allen pointed out. “That is how we put them in there to begin with.”

  “Well, we might as well take them here, especially since we don’t want to take them back to the surface until we’re sure they’re willing to do what we want them to,” Rhi pointed out. “If they don’t agree to join the endeavor, the last thing we’d want to do is allow them to reveal everything that has happened here to the world.”

  “Then it’s decided,” Allen agreed. “Rhi, you could wait here while Brendan and I retrieve your former team. I believe you might still be just a little weak.”

  Rhi agreed, watching as the two males flew away.

  ***

  Brendan and Allen swooped down and landed on top of the cages, with Brendan landing on Todd’s cage. He felt a wave of dislike toward the dark-haired man with the pungent aroma, but he tamped it down. Of course, because he’d melded with a dragon, it was an easy matter to explain to him why another dragon had alit above him.

  “Hey, we’re here to bring the two of you back to the castle to clean up,” he told him telepathically. “Looks like using you two for bait seemed to work. Now that Rhi has melded with the Ancient One as hoped for, that’s the end of the need to keep you here. But if you’ll agree, you may not need to endure a life down here. Come along with us now. I’ll explain my plan along the way.”

  “I remember you,” Todd complained. “You’re the guy who revealed the existence of the dragons to the world at large. You’ve gotten all the dragons who now exist rather angry. But I’m curious, why is it that Aene has allowed you to live?”

  “Who is Aene?”

  “That is the true name of the Ancient One,” he explained. “It’s not a word you should speak out loud. But you haven’t answered the question. Why are you still alive?”

  “Because Aene now understands that my intentions were to help, and not to harm,” he explained. “And if you are willing to work with me instead of against me, you and the rest of your team could be a great help to many people too.”

  “I will come with you,” Todd agreed. “But as for continuing to work closely with Rhi, I’m not so sure that I can. Not now that she’s your girl instead of mine. See, I always figured I’d win her back in the end. If you’re still alive, I doubt I’d ever succeed.”

  “You failed with Rhi the moment you cheated on her,” Brendan told him sternly. “That’s something you should keep in mind for the next woman in your life.”

  “Can we get out of here already?” he grumbled

  At this point, the Lycanthropes were attempting to jump up on top of the cage. Looking over, Brendan saw that Allen and Margot have already flown away. One werewolf’s claw caught at his ankle, dragging the foot out from under him. The dragon flapped hard to avoid tripping, and then reached out to open the lid.

  Transforming into a dragon as well, Todd flapped his way free. At the last moment, he grabbed hold of Brendan and tugged, bringing him along with him. They flew back to the castle and landed beside the other dragons in the courtyard.

  ***

  Rhi, Margot, and Allen were all talking quietly together when Brendan and Todd alit together nearby. The two dragons became human again to match the others and stepped over to join them.

  “Hi, you two,” said Rhi. “I’ve just been telling Margot about my recent transformation, and Allen gave her some idea about the business idea you pitched, but she seems resistant to the plan. I thought maybe you might get more success if the telling came from you.”

  “It’s pretty simple, really,” Brendan shrugged. “Your division in the Agency is about to be no more. If you stay with them, you’re sure to be shipped off to work either under another supervisor or as a supervisor for something else which isn’t likely to allow you to keep working with psychic individuals to get your results. So, do you like e
ither of those scenarios?”

  “I like my paycheck,” she grumbled. “And I’d like to bust all your asses for making me sit in that damned cage.”

  “Oh, I see,” Brendan said with a shrug. “First of all, I didn’t put you in a cage, I’m here to find a way to rescue you. But I kind of thought you’d like a complete rescue from the current problem you face.”

  “You want to use my skills just to make yourself more money.”

  Brendan rolled his eyes. “I want to allow you to use your skills in your daily work so you don’t have to go elsewhere to make a living. If I start this business, it would be to help you. More importantly, the work you’d be doing would be very helpful to the people you do your investigations for. You’ve got the wrong idea about me, Margot. My main dream is to help as many people as I can. If you were to run this type of business for me, you’d be helping me succeed. What do you say?”

  “I say, I can’t just pick up and disappear from the Agency, and neither can they. We’re all contracted through them for at least another three years.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” said Brendan with a shrug. “I’m sure we can negotiate a deal.”

  Looking at him askance, she said, “Yeah, I’ll just bet you can.”

  *

  True to his word, Brendan managed to buy out the contracts of Margot, Todd, and Rhi, as well as six more members of their crew at Margot’s request. He also purchased the site in Fresno where the dragons had taken up residence to ensure that only their own people would be allowed inside.

  “You know that we can’t possibly operate the business from inside your new compound, Aene,” said Brendan as he looked over at Rhi. The dragoness stepped free of her host so they could all participate in the conversation.

  “It was never my intention that you should,” she agreed with a nod. Following her lead, the dragons within Margot, Todd, and Brendan all stepped out as well. Aene nodded politely to each before she continued. “With the Lycanthrope experiment predominantly out of control, and several other creatures that humans should never meet running around, there’s too much housekeeping to do before we could ever let more humans in here. You’re going to have to start that little company somewhere else.”

  “Still, it needs to be near enough to this place to accommodate Rhi,” Brendan said thoughtfully. “She won’t be coming to work daily, but still she is a part of the team.”

  “Once the baby is born, I’ll probably be pretty busy,” Rhi pointed out. “I may not have time to investigate at that point in time. Besides, we have the book to write, and when you go on tour, I was hoping to be at your side.”

  “Maybe we could place the offices somewhere near the school up there,” Margot suggested. “Most of the people who would want to make use of it are probably going to be metaphysical types, wouldn’t you think?”

  “I think we ought to make the place easily accessible or people with issues won’t want to come by,” Brendan replied. “People are mostly about convenience, I find. We’ll need you somewhere off the mountain, and since this place is in Fresno and Rhi is able to instantly return here, it would make sense to put your offices near here, rather than on the mountainside.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Margot sighed. “But I was really hoping for an excuse to spend time in your castle, too. Rhi tells me she’s done a great deal of healing since she arrived.”

  “The energy imbued into my home is quite strong,” Brendan had to agree. “I will let you stay there whenever you like.”

  “I really had you pegged all wrong, Brendan Drake,” she said with a smile. “And now that this whole mess has been figured out, I suppose you and Rhi have a wedding to plan. Am I right?”

  “That’s exactly right,” said Brendan with a smile.

  Grinning broadly, their two dragons winked at each other. Brendan cast the two of them the evil eye. “What’s up with you two?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, nothing,” his dragon replied.

  “Eris and I agreed that we should make ourselves scarce for your wedding night.”

  “Why bother?” Brendan asked. “Eris has been with me throughout the entire time I’ve been with Rhi. The only real trouble is that during the week it took for us to negotiate we haven’t had a chance to—well, allow you to also become acquainted with our nightly routines.

  The embarrassed look on the dragoness’ face was priceless. She cleared her throat, saying, “Well, yes, I’ve never experienced the human way of mating,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t want to ruin the mood or anything.”

  “Aene, I will be honored to become your mate, both with and without the humans participating,” said Eris with a wink.

  “Oh, does it work that way?” asked Rhi curiously.

  “It doesn’t have to,” she explained. “But I haven’t had a mate in a very long time. With no new dragons being born and with your pregnancy stimulating my need to lay eggs, I thought I should probably begin to produce again. Choosing Eris is the most practical idea since it would not cause any jealousy. But, more to the point, he’s one prime piece of dragon meat.”

  “Aene!” Rhi gasped in surprise.

  “Don’t worry, Rhiannon,” Brendan teased. “Having dragons who are just as attracted as we are could only add some heat. This could really be a good thing.”

  “Brendan!” gasped Eris, and then they all started to laugh. Margot and Todd and their dragons exchanged glances.

  “Maybe they’re on to something,” Margot commented dryly.

  “What do you mean?” Todd asked smoothly, his eyes widening with interest.

  “Nothing, really,” she said with a salacious chuckle. “Only that it might be fun to give that idea a try.” Their two dragons gaped momentarily, then turned to look each other over speculatively as well.

  “All right, people,” Rhi complained. “There are way too many hormones going off around here. Why don’t we all just head back to the castle and take a few days off while we locate some potential sites we could use? We’re not going to resolve any of the issues we’re talking about sitting here.”

  “I agree,” Brendan nodded. “Let’s go.”

  The separated melds returned to their proper humans, and their bodies stretched back into dragon form. Soon, they found themselves back at the castle again, turning into humans before they walked through the door.

  ***

  Rory folded his arms over his chest when he spotted Todd Hammond stepping inside. “Hey, I know you guys went to look for the guy, but that doesn’t mean you needed to bring him home with you,” he complained.

  “Don’t worry about it, brother,” said Rhi as she gave him a hug. “He’s on our side now. He and Margot are about to help Brendan and I start a new venture. And by the look of things, I believe his affections might have been transferred to someone else. Everything that happened before is all in the past, and we’re going to be just fine.”

  “Well, if you’re sure,” said Rory with a frown. “Margot? Wait, isn’t that the name of your boss in Virginia? Don’t tell me you brought her along too.”

  “It’s a very long story, but yes, this is her.”

  “We’d love to tell you the whole tale, Roy, but the four of us have been so busy running from place to place since Margot and I were released, we’re all completely exhausted and in need of some rest. Maybe we could talk during dinner instead. Right now, the only thing on my mind is getting to bed. Right, Margot?”

  “Yeah, I agree,” she said, hiding a smirk. “Same for me.”

  “And me,” added Rhi.

  “Preferably before Luna comes looking for her greetings,” Brendan added with a little wink.

  Rory rolled his eyes. “Don’t think I don’t see right through what you guys are saying,” he scoffed. “By the way, Brendan, I sort of moved Laurie in permanently. She’s started back to work this week, but the commute to Fresno isn’t too bad, and it gives Nathan something to do in the morning.”

  “That’s fine by me,�
� Brendan agreed. “Come on, gang, I’ll show you two where you can sleep. You can have the empty guest suite just across the hall from our own. By the way, Rory, Rhi has a dragon too now. Sure, you don’t want to get one of your own?”

  Rory scowled, and Brendan led the others toward the stairs, chuckling all the way.

  *

  “Aene’s blushing something fierce in there,” Rhi said with a chuckle as she and Brendan stepped into their bedroom. “It’s making me feel all warm and giddy.”

  “It’s how dragons arouse,” Brendan explained. “My dragon does a similar sort of thing. But maybe we should start slow for them. What do you think? I could put on some music, and we could start out with some dancing.”

  “Aene agrees,” said Rhi. “How about something smooth, like jazz?”

  “Smooth jazz works for me,” said Brendan with a nod as he stepped over and popped in a CD. Once the music was playing, the pair came together and Brendan gave Rhi a twirl, then started dancing her in circles around the room.

  They danced and twirled for a time. Brendan started to croon along with the singers. The more he sang, the more he got into the act until he had her giggling.

  Now Rhi was feeling decidedly heated up. Brendan pulled her in and gave her a kiss. When she returned it willingly, the kiss deepened. Rhi decided to stick her tongue right down Brendan’s throat, and his response was thrilling.

  She gasped deliciously as Brendan tossed her onto the bed, covering her body with his. His hands came up to play with her nipples, then he impatiently tugged her shirt and bra out of the way, pulling them together over her head and tossing them away.

  All thoughts of Aene and whether or not she was embarrassed drifted away in favor of devouring her fiancé. Rhi was feeling decidedly wild as she tugged his shirt free and began to bite open the buttons. She gave a low growl of impatience as she finally undid the last one, and her hands crept up to undo the button of his fly at the same time.

  “I’ve missed this, baby,” Brendan told her. “Let’s never let work get in the way of our play again, okay?”

  “I totally agree,” Rhi said with a nod as she unzipped his pants and slipped a hand inside. “I think these clothes are starting to piss me off, Brendan. Take these off for me.”