by Laurie Roma
Raven took a deep breath and willed the change. The dragon’s large body shuddered and Raven’s human form stood where the dragon had been just a second ago. She was eternally grateful that she was once again wearing her dress, armbands and mating torque when she came back to herself.
Kadan jerked her to him the moment she was back in human form, his arms wrapping around her so tight he would merge her into him if he could. The fear he had felt when he thought he lost her left him shaking and close to breaking down now that she was safe in his arms. Savitar and Tristan stroked their hands over every inch of her skin that they could reach to ensure that she was unharmed as Kadan buried his face into her hair.
“I’m fine,” she said, trying to reassure them. She pulled back to stare at them and she tried for a smile. “Surprise, I’m a dragon.”
Kadan let out a strangled laugh. “That you are.” He looked down in her bright glowing green eyes and knew without a doubt that losing her would have killed him.
Raven pressed her lips to his then laid her head on his shoulder as she let herself take a moment to just…be, surrounded by their comfort and love. Tristan turned her head and his mouth crushed down on hers, sharing the depth of his feelings for her, all of the fear he’d felt and his love for her surging through their bond.
After he pulled back, Savitar plucked her right out of Kadan’s arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her with a desperation that left her breathless. She was safe, back in the arms of one of her loves and there was nowhere else she’d rather be.
Knowing she couldn’t put it off any longer, she raised her head. Looking over Savitar’s shoulder, she gaped at the army they had brought with them. They hadn’t been fucking around when they had formed a rescue squad. They had been ready to go to war. All of the guards began rising to their feet, watching them silently.
“Was that fire really you?” Tristan asked, the awe clear in his deep voice.
She nodded then tapped Savitar on the shoulder to signal she wanted to be put down. He did so reluctantly. “We have to go back in. There are women in there and I—”
A bright golden light flashed in the field where they were standing. Mila and ten females suddenly appeared out of thin air a short distance away from Silas. All of the females had been dressed in shimmering gowns similar to Raven’s in various shades of the rainbow. She was relieved to see that all of Mila’s and the other females’ bruises were gone, but knew nothing could take away the pain they felt inside from what they had been through.
Raven’s hand flew to her head as she felt the circlet appear back on her head. She looked at the God of the Sun in shock and almost fell over when he winked at her. She had been kicking herself for not grabbing it before she left the cavern, but her mates’ fear had driven her to find them as soon as she was free.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at the god. The females and the guards looked around in confusion then looked back at Raven like she was nuts. She sighed. Obviously they couldn’t see Silas. She turned to speak to her mates, but closed her mouth when she saw all three of them gawking at the God of the Sun.
“You can see him?” Raven asked. When she got no response she reached out to poke Savitar. He caught her hand and held it over his heart then nodded, never looking away from the giant towering over them.
“Aye, we can see him,” Tristan whispered.
“My lord,” Kadan said as he bowed his head to the god.
Silas nodded arrogantly and it made Raven smile as she held back the urge to roll her eyes. Posturing males were all the same, no matter if they were Gods or men.
Silas let out a sigh. “Always you insult me.”
“I do not,” Raven argued, then winced as the guards looked around for some unseen threat. Apparently they couldn’t hear Silas either. “Can you show yourself to them so they don’t think I’ve gone crazy?” Raven asked through their bond, keeping her mind open so her mates could also hear.
“Nay, send them away. I may tolerate your mates, but I will not waste my time on these other mortals,” Silas said casually.
Raven did roll her eyes this time. Yeah, this coming from the man…err…god that came to her aid as soon as he was able and who had saved all the females in the cavern without a thought. She patted Kadan’s arm as he stiffened next to her.
“You are going to ruin my image as a badass,” Silas growled in her head.
Raven burst out laughing. “Yeah, like that could ever happen. Silas, you will always be the biggest badass around.”
“Flattery is always appreciated. Address your people and send them to care for the females, little dragon warrior,” Silas commanded.
Abiding by his wishes, Raven turned to the group watching them warily. She could feel her mates were still in shock at seeing the God of the Sun, but their desire to know what happened was so strong their need was beating at her. She looked around at the large group and saw elite warriors mixed with warriors she had met in the forge and others that worked in the palace. It touched her heart to see them all there…for her.
“You are their queen and our heart,” Savitar said softly through their bond. “They would defend you to the death.”
Taking a deep breath, Raven channeled her inner queen and took the first step at leading their people. “I want to thank you all for coming to my aid. I was kidnapped earlier and discovered a plot to kill your kings, my mates, led by Brynt, Koreth, Vadar and Selina who were working with a group of rogues. These females were held captive in a cavern in the heart of the mountain and they are not alone. There are other locations just like this one. I promise you we will find these locations and take down the rogues so they will never harm anyone ever again.”
The sound of whispers filled the air. She saw Kell, Damos and Malik hang their heads in shame and held up a commanding hand so everyone fell silent once again. “The only ones to blame in all this are the assholes that were in that cavern and the rogues still out there,” she growled with so much power the three brothers’ heads snapped up.
“Where are the rogues, my queen?” one of the elite warriors called out.
“The ones that took me are all dead.” She shot a quick glance at Kell, Damos, Malik and her own mates to gauge their reactions and was relieved to see no anger directed at her.
“They were dead to us the moment they touched you and betrayed our kings,” Malik growled as his brothers nodded.
“If you had not killed them, we would have,” Kadan vowed.
She nodded then stepped forward to address the crowd again. “I know I am new to your world, but I am one of you now…a true Arcadian and proud of it. I have been given a great gift from Lunaria, the Goddess of the Moons, and Silas, the God of Sun, one that you have lost through years from neglect and through your ancestors’ battle for power and dominance. I have merged with the dragon spirit and have become a guardian of this land and to its people. I am Raven Akira, Queen of the Palace of the Iron City and Dragon Warrior. I will fight by your sides to defend this world and will bring death to any who seek to harm my mates or our people!”
The crowd roared its approval at her words. Kadan, Savitar and Tristan stepped up and thanked the warriors before telling them all to go back to the Citadel. Most of the warriors began to leave, but a few of the most trusted elite warriors stayed behind. Raven looked over to the group of females huddled together as Mila stepped forward.
“My queen…”
Raven smiled. “I told you to call me Raven, Mila.”
Mila smiled nervously as she hugged her arms around her waist as if trying to protect herself. “Raven, I wanted to thank you for what you did…for saving us. I just…I do not know what to do now…my brothers were all I had…” Tears filled her eyes as she struggled for control over her emotions.
“Don’t worry about that and you don’t have to thank me. None of you do,” Raven said, addressing all of the females. She had an idea that she shared with her mates through their bond, not knowing what they
would think of it.
Kadan smiled at her. “It is a wonderful idea.”
Raven returned his loving gaze then focused back on the females. “My mates and I welcome all of you to the palace where you may rest and recover. We will contact your families for those of you who have someone looking for you,” Raven offered and noticed several of the females’ eyes went wide with fear. “And for those of you who don’t, you are welcome to stay with us at the palace or we can find you a spot at one of the havens if that is more to your liking. Either way, you are safe now. I swear it.”
“We swear it,” Savitar said as he wrapped an arm around Raven, pulling her so her back was resting against him.
Tristan asked several of their most trusted guards to stay and transport the females back to the palace but the traumatized females cowered away in alarm. Seeing their reaction, Raven didn’t know what to do. They could send for larger transportation and wait—
Silas let out a tortured sigh before revealing himself to the small group that remained. The females and elite warriors gasped in shock at the sight of the golden god. He focused on Kell, Damos and Malik as all the other females and warriors went to one knee, bowing to the God of the Sun, but Silas paid no attention to them.
“Take the females to your mate and let her help them.” Silas commanded to the shocked guards. “And stop blaming yourself for what happened here tonight. Your brothers were deceivers, you are not. Your kings and queen trust you, now go.”
Silas gave them no warning. He snapped his fingers and the females, guards, and all the remaining hover-cycles disappeared from sight.
Tristan cleared his throat. “I am guessing that you have returned them all to the palace.”
“Aye,” Silas said, folding his arms over his chest as he glared at Savitar, Kadan and Tristan. “I will expect you to take better care of your mate in the future.”
“Silas!” Raven gasped.
He shot her a look. “You were taken on their watch.”
Damn it, if she was sure he wouldn’t smite her for it she would kick him in the shin for that. Her mates already felt bad enough. Did he really have to rub their noses in it?
“He is right,” Savitar said sadly. “We will not fail you again.”
Raven glowered at the God, swearing to tell Lunaria what he had said the next time she spoke to the goddess.
Silas sighed. “You really do try to ruin my fun.”
Raven growled at him and, to their surprise, he let out a booming laugh. “You do remind me of my mate.” His expression softened as he looked back at the males. “It was not your fault. I have a feeling for the long years to come you will have to get used to chasing after your mate as she causes trouble. Trust me when I say I know how that feels.” He glanced back at Raven. “Just try not to harm my niece and nephew until they are born.”
Her heart stopped as she heard all three of her mates gasp. “Niece and nephew,” she choked out weakly.
“Aye,” Silas said with a smirk, then disappeared.
Damn, the God of the Sun certainly did have a flare for the dramatic.
“How is this possible?” Tristan whispered.
“Mixed-gender twinsets have never been heard of before,” Kadan said, placing a reverent hand on her stomach.
Raven laughed nervously as she placed her hand over his. “Jesus, I was just getting used to the idea of one, now there will be two. I can’t breathe…”
“We are usually born in trios,” Savitar remained her.
“Don’t be logical when I’m freaking out,” she gasped.
Savitar lifted her chin so her glowing green eyes met his. “All will be well, my love. You have given us the greatest gift imaginable. Our son and daughter will one day rule our kingdom, leading our people into a new era. They will be a guiding light for all Arcadians.”
“Have no fear, little goddess,” Kadan said. “You will be an excellent mother, of that I have no doubt.”
“I hope so,” Raven said softly, still not convinced. She looked at her mates, letting them see the depth of her emotions. “I love you all so much.”
“As we love you, little dragon warrior,” Savitar replied.
“Show me,” Raven whispered. “I need you. I need all of you.”
“Let us return home, then we will show you how much we love you,” Tristan replied in a rough voice filled with lust and longing. “We came too close to losing you tonight. That is something we could never bear, Raven. You are our light, the other half of our souls.”
“Ah, I believe we have a slight problem with that,” Kadan said, looking around. “The God of the Sun seems to have removed our hover-cycles with the others.”
“Damn…”
A smile spread slowly across Raven’s face as she stepped away from them. “I think I can fix that.”
She let the change come, letting the magic flow through her as she shifted back into her dragon form. She spread her wings wide, letting the gentle breeze brush over her scales.
“You guys want to take a ride?”
All three of her mates grinned at her, anticipation glowing bright in their golden eyes.
“Aye, little dragon warrior,” Kadan purred, his voice rough with unbridled lust. “We shall ride you home then, once we are back in our suite, we will ride you over and over again until none of us can move.”
Now, that was a promise that she could look forward to.
Epilogue
Raven woke slowly to find herself sprawled face down in the center of her bed.
Last night they had hosted a small party with the unmated females from one of the havens and a group of unmated male warriors who were searching for a mate. To everyone’s surprise, one of the females had declared her desire to mate with a trio at the beginning of the party, much to the trio’s delight.
It seemed that the female had been pining for the trio of warriors that had been on the rotating staff of guards that had kept the location safe and she was tired of waiting for them. Her chosen warriors had snatched her up and, after getting permission from Raven, Savitar, Kadan and Tristan, the newly mated pair had left the palace to start their new life together.
After that, the stilted awkwardness of the evening had disappeared and it was likely that there would be several more mated pairs soon. With love in the air, Raven had taken the opportunity to flirt with her three mates all night long. When the males could no longer take it, Tristan had swung Raven up into his arms and carried her out of the hall to a loud round of applause.
Back in their suite, Tristan, Kadan and Savitar had taken turns showing Raven how much they loved her over and over until she had literally passed out from the pleasure.
It had been almost two weeks since the night she had been kidnapped and every day she had come to love her new home more. She had three mates that couldn’t seem to keep their hands off her, not that she wanted them to. All three of them had shown her daily how much they truly loved her, with words, gestures, and showering her with gifts.
During the first week it had been as if they were afraid to let her out of their sight for fear she would be taken from them again. She’d had to remind them gently that she was an immortal dragon-shifter now and pretty much indestructible. They kept forgetting that fact, or they simply didn’t care. She was precious to them and they made sure she knew it, but when their attentions got annoying, she had no problem telling them to back off.
The people of the Citadel seemed to love her and accepted her as their new queen as well. She’d been expecting some reticence or even animosity toward her after she had killed everyone in the rogue camp. Instead, they had named her the savior of the Citadel, much to her dismay. Four of the rescued females had been happily reunited with their families, but Mila and the other six females remained at the palace. At first the females had been afraid of their own shadows, but, with Raven and Nyla’s help, the females had begun to heal from their ordeal.
The biggest surprise had come from Raven’s personal guards, Arkady
, Tirk and Jordyn. Tirk had survived the attack the night Raven had been taken and he had almost fully healed from his wounds already, although she had insisted he only take on light duty until he completely recovered. Of course, being a warrior he had scoffed at that. Because of his stubborn attitude, Raven had tried to stay close to home so he wouldn’t overdo it watching over her, and that was when the sparks began to fly between Mila and the trio of guards.
At first Mila had been defensive and almost combative around the three large warriors. She had softened with Tirk first since he was injured, but it was soon obvious that there was big-time chemistry between them. Raven had made it clear to the males that she thought of Mila like a little sister and because Mila was so young, she expected the males to wait until the young woman was ready for them to pursue her.
To her relief, Raven didn’t seem to have to worry. Arkady, Tirk and Jordyn were nothing but sweet to the young, traumatized female and made it clear she was under their protection even though they made no physical advances at Mila…yet.
Under their watchful eyes, the young woman had flourished and had become Raven’s assistant for whatever she needed in her duties as queen. Mila had become an integral part of the palace and Raven thanked god that the horrors of what she had been through hadn’t destroyed her.
Back in the moment, Raven moaned as hands slowly stroked down her bare back, moving lower to massage her ass and thighs. “Mmm…” she purred, spreading her legs wider as she gave herself up to the pleasure. She could feel the liquid heat seeping from her pussy and knew that her lover’s touch had been what had woken her from her slumber. The hands disappeared, only to return covered as two fingers pushed into her tight slit, preparing her.
“Good rising, little goddess.” Kadan growled softly from behind her as he stroked his fingers inside her, curling them to hit the spot deep inside her that made her shiver. “Do you like that, mate?”
“Now, this is a damn good way to wake up,” Raven said, wanting something thicker inside her to help ease the burning need that had sparked to life.