“I’m losing my patience, Lula. It’s best you just spit it out and tell me since you know I will not let this, or you go, until you do. My heart can’t handle seeing you in pain.” Belle pressed her clasped fist over her chest.
She knew her mother couldn’t stand to see her hurt, just as Lula couldn’t fathom the thought of her mother in pain. Taking a deep breath, she forced the truth out, telling her mother what had happened and how she’d messed up.
Belle blinked once, then twice, her mouth opening and closing. Lula feared her mother was going to stroke out or pass out. Heck, she wasn’t sure what was happening to her. Could a dragon do those things?
“I am not going to do any of those things.” Belle looked up toward the two suns, before she focused back on Lula. “How do you know they’re your mates?”
Lula turned away from her mother. Her question made her realize Belle wouldn’t accept her mating the two men who made her dragon purr, or whatever. How did she explain to her mother how and why, when she wouldn’t accept it anyhow? “It doesn’t matter, Mother.”
Belle gasped, falling to her knees. Lula turned around and hurried to her mother’s side. “What is it?”
“I…I don’t know.” Belle gazed around them, her eyes fearful.
“I’ll call Jenna,” Lula suggested.
“No,” Belle shouted, her fear a living breathing entity.
“You can’t tell me no when you appear as though you’re about to pass out, or worse.” Lula twisted her fingers together.
“What else did you do, Lula?” Belle whispered the question.
Lula turned away from her mother, then back. “I ran from them. I kinda went off on a search for myself. I visited the Mystic Wolves and saw a little wolfie be born. Oh, and Sky’s pregnant. Silly wolf thought she was going to have a wolfagon.”
“Lula, stop it. What. Did. You. Do?” Belle got to her feet, towering over Lula.
“I went to the In-Between by the Mist,” she muttered.
Belle stumbled backward. “The...oh my gawd. You didn’t see anything?”
She knew what Belle wanted to know. “I didn’t go through or make contact with anyone on the other side, Mom. I’m not an idiot. I just...I was trying to figure out what to do.”
“Did anyone see you or...” Belle’s voice trailed off.
She couldn’t tell her mother about the large black dragon now. Her mother was already near apocalyptic or as if she was going to pass out. Yikes on bikes, what had she done? Surely her visiting wasn’t going to cause such a catastrophe.
“Lula, you must never return there. If anyone caught sight or scent of you, we and all we love could be in danger. You don’t understand the ramifications of your birth.” Belle reached for her, the grip usually so tender, was almost bruising.
“I’m sorry, Mama,” Lula whispered.
Belle blinked twice, then appeared to come out of some sort of trance. “Oh, darling, what have I done?”
Lula glanced down at her arms where her mother’s talons had dug into her. Blood poured from the wounds. “I’m fine.” It was a lie, and they both knew it. A dragon wounded by another dragon didn’t heal as quickly as they did from other things. And Lula, having given parts of herself away, was already weakened by dragon standards. Her heart felt sluggish as her lifeblood poured from the wounds. Suddenly, warmth infused her.
“You both are going to make my hair go grey, darn it.”
Lula raised her head, shocked to find she was on the soft grass, lying with her mother cradling her in her lap. “What happened?” Yikes, was that her voice, so raw and raspy?
“Yes, that’s your voice that sounds like you’ve been gargling broken glass,” Jenna shouted, falling to her knees beside Lula.
“It’s my fault. I didn’t realize I had partially shifted and...and I nearly severed her arms with my talons. I must be exiled, my queen.” Belle’s eyes were closed, tears falling upon Lula.
“What? No. It was my fault. I went to the In-Between near the Mist. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go there.” She tried to sit up, but the world’s spinning prevented her from doing anything other than rolling out of the safety of her mother’s embrace. Goddess, what the heck happened between them standing and Jenna appearing?
“Shut up, both of you. First of all, nobody is being exiled. Second, Lula, you should know better than to go near the Mist when you’ve been told how dangerous it is. Your mother and I have told you since you were a baby dragonling, the dangers of it. We’ve never lied to you. Now, what is done is done. What we do now, is damage control. I need to see what you did and saw.” Jenna’s voice brooked no arguments.
Lula would’ve flashed away, but she couldn’t even get to her feet. Heck, she wasn’t even sure if she was in dragon form, or human. “I understand, and I’ll also understand if it is I you exile, Jenna.”
Jenna growled, something the Fey Queen didn’t do except to her mates.
The sound made Lula smile briefly. “Go ahead, invade my brain and while you’re there, can you figure out what I should do about my bearies?”
Before Jenna moved to touch her, Belle lifted Lula back onto her lap. “You’re my child. You’ll always be mine, no matter what. I’m sorry for what I did today. For the rest of my life I’ll never forget I almost killed my own flesh and blood.”
Lula brushed at the fresh tears running down her mother’s cheeks. If they’d been in dragon form, they’d have turned to jewels. “Mama, you didn’t mean to hurt me. Please don’t cry,” Lula begged.
Her mother wasn’t much larger than she was, but sitting there, wrapped in Belle’s arms, Lula felt like she had as a small child, loved and safe. How had her world gone from running from two possible bear mates, to almost dying?
“I said nobody was being exiled, dammit. Now, stop the crying. My babies cry, and my boobs leak. You two cry, and my eyes leak. I don’t like either of those things happening to me.” Jenna sat back with a sigh.
“What did you see?” Belle asked.
Fear snaked through her as she became aware Jenna had been inside her memories. Had seen what she’d seen. The purple eyes were wide as they met her and her mother’s. Jenna nodded, knowing exactly what needed to be told.
“Do you want to tell your mother, or should I?”
Lula licked her suddenly dry lips. “Can I stand up, please?” She hoped like all get out her legs would hold her.
Belle stood, her mother’s strength awe inspiring, helping Lula get her bearings. Lula paced a couple of feet away, wringing her hands. “I lied...to you earlier. I did see something when I was near the Mist. There was a great black dragon flying. Don’t freak out, Mama. He didn’t see me. I was gone in a flash and left no sign of myself, even if he’d been close enough to have seen me, which he wasn’t. I didn’t slip one scale into the Dragon Realm, I promise.”
“Your promises are meaningless, Lula. You promised to never go there, yet you did. Do you know a dragon can sense another even through realms if he or she even thinks they glimpsed another? Especially if one is linked through blood. If the black dragon you saw was your bloodkin, you could very well have exposed your birth to the very last dragon you should’ve. They will stop at nothing to hunt you and me down until we are captured and disposed of. Jenna, we must leave Fey. I won’t endanger you and the others.” Belle took a step backward, her arms out to her sides as if she prepared to shift.
“Stop right there, Belle.” Jenna pointed her finger at Belle then at Lula. “I’m afraid the damage is already done. Although Lula turned and ran, and didn’t knowingly leave a trace of herself. I was able to see what happened afterward. As the chosen one of the Goddess, I can do things like that. The black dragon roared to the spot he thought he’d seen pink, a color he loved. Or rather, still loves, quietly so as not to upset the monarchy. He did as you’d said, sensed his blood. Even now, he is rushing to find the both of you. So, no matter where you go, or try to hide, he will find you. Although, I didn’t sense his need to kill either of
you. In fact, the words I heard him roar were he planned to claim you both and find a proper mate for his daughter.” Jenna pinned Lula with a glare.
“I have two mates, or rather two bearies who are going to be mine.” Lula pressed her fist over her heart. “He can’t make me mate a dragon, can he?”
Belle reached for Lula. “He’s the Dragon King. He can do anything he wants, Lula. Dammit, what have we done?”
The alpha of the Iron Wolves was the first to move into their space, almost close enough he could take a swipe at them. Abyle watched the male, who had claws like he and his brother, knowing he was on the verge of shifting. He’d be a worthy adversary. Except he couldn’t combine into one beast like they could. A truth nobody but he and Atika were aware of. A truth they’d shared with no other, but if they had to do so, they would if it meant saving themselves in order to save their mate.
“Don’t, wolf, you don’t want to rattle our beast,” Abyle warned.
Kellen tilted his head to the side, nostrils flaring. “I saw what you were packing and no, I didn’t check out their junk.”
Several women snickered from the back, but he didn’t take his eyes off the threat in front of him. “What’s it gonna be, boys? You all gonna take us on, or tell us where our mate is?” There was no other option as far as he and Atika were concerned.
“Oh, for fucks sake, Kellen. How would you feel if someone kept me from you?”
“Lake, what did I tell you about letting me handle this, and you staying in my office?” Kellen growled, moving swiftly toward the petite female standing in an open doorway.
With the door open, Abyle heard two toddler boys chattering away. A pang of longing stabbed at his heart. Their younger brother recently found his mate in a little wolf, the first time in all of bear history to mate with one not of their own kind. Not to mention, Atlas was a thing of fables, being a dire bear and all. Thank fuck he took over as the head of their clan because neither he nor his twin wanted that title.
“They’re not going to eat our young, Kellen.” The woman named Lake, which was an odd name if you asked Abyle, sounded exasperated and not at all worried her mate was storming across the room toward her, with alpha anger radiating off him.
Abyle leaned against the wall, preferring to have a solid surface to his back with Atika next to him. They noticed a big wolf rubbing a weapon along the top of the bar. If they were in human form, it would certainly slow them down but not kill them. Silly wolves, who do they think they’re dealing with?
Atika elbowed him in the ribs, nudging his chin toward the bar. “I think the little one is the real threat.”
The little one in question was eyeballing them with flashing green eyes.
“You could be right, brother.”
“I can hear you,” she growled.
“Duh, you’re a...I don’t know what you are actually,” Atika remarked, scratching his head.
“Eyes off my female.” The huge male lifted the gun he’d been rubbing like a lover, aiming it toward them.
“Alright, that’s enough of that. I can’t leave you for like—however long I’ve been gone—and you go and rile my wolfie friends. Turo, put the gun down.”
Silence descended as a pink-haired female appeared in the center of the room, along with a blonde who had more power than Abyle had ever felt. A Goddess for sure, or at the very least, Goddess touched. He almost fell to his knees to offer his undying something or other to her, but his first loyalty was to his mate. Their dragon mate, who was right fucking there, sadness written all over her, still sexy as hell, and so damn gorgeous his dick was hard as nails.
“Are you both going to stand there staring, or you going to get over here and say hello?”
Abyle had to swallow a couple times while his brother growled. He tossed his arm out, stopping the idiot from stomping forward in a show of aggression. Big freaking no on that one, he roared through their twin bond. As twins and brothers, they shared a unique connection. If Atika was hurt, he felt it, so he had no wish to watch whatever punishment the little female doled out.
“Do not fear me, bearies. I won’t hurt either of you if you’re good to my Lula. Hurt her, and all bets are off, though. Oh, I’m Jenna by the way, and we need to hurry this little meet and greet along. My babies are needing me, and my mates will be here in less than ten Earth minutes.”
“Ah sheot,” one of the wolves muttered. Abyle didn’t check to see which, but he was pretty sure it was the one who didn’t fear the alpha.
“Lula, we would never hurt you. You’re our truemate.” Atika’s voice was low, filled with longing.
Lula took a step toward them, her hands reaching out. “I’m sorry I ran. It freaked me out a little. I never thought of myself as a cougardragon.”
“Ah, Lula, you can’t be a cougardragon when they’re bears and you’re a dragon. I think it would be like...impossible. Ouch! Why’d you slap me, heifer?”
“Goddess save me. Lyric, she was referring to the fact they are younger than her.”
“Joz, you slap me one more time, and I don’t care how big your mate’s gun is. I will shoot you with it,” Lyric warned.
“His gun is really big.”
“Are we talking about the gun he’s massaging like a lover or...”
“Xan, do you really want to know that answer?”
“Everyone, shut the fuck up before I lose my shit,” Kellen roared, making the liquor bottles rattle.
“Ah sheot, Daddy’s mad.”
Kellen turned toward Xan, pinning him with a stare that would made a lesser man piss his pants.
“Wolfies, quiet.” Jenna snapped her fingers.
Although they weren’t governed by her, even he was inclined to chill, and through his link with Atika he felt peace settle over him as well.
“Female, what the fuck did you do?” he asked the tiny Fey.
“Like I said before, I don’t have time for all the male posturing and shit you tend to do. Now, let’s get on with the getting. Kellen, can we take this to your office, please? Turo, please entertain the children and women out here, minus Lula, of course.”
Turo obviously agreed as he placed the big ass gun somewhere under the cabinet then he snatched the tiny female, who was clearly his mate, next to him in a possessive embrace. Crazy woman purred, a weird sound that was an odd mix of wolf and other sound emanating from her. Abyle had no time to discern what it was as he followed his pink-haired mate and the Fey toward a door. Their mate’s hips went back and forth in the most enticing way.
“You watching my ass, beary?” Lula asked staring straight ahead.
Did all females have eyes in the back of their heads?
“Yep,” he answered honestly. He wasn’t gonna start their relationship with a lie if he could avoid it.
“Good to know.”
Her sweet cotton-candy scent increased with every step she took. Fucking amazing.
Chapter Five
Lula could feel the anger and need rolling off of her mates. Her dragon was itching to flash all of them to a place less populated than the Iron Wolves club. The silly hussy wanted to mate with the big males, only she wasn’t ruled by her beasts. She was ruled by nobody but herself. We are dragon, female.
“Jenna, you realize I’m the alpha here, don’t you?”
“You realize you’re out-femaled here, don’t you?” Jenna retorted.
“Both of you, shut it before I set your asses on fire,” Lula growled. “Goddess, I just sounded like a wolfie.”
“That’s unacceptable. Be like a bear. We rumble.” Atika slid next to her, his nose tickling her ear.
“Beary, I will—” her words died in her throat as Abyle moved in on her other side.
“Boys, the three of you won’t fit through the door...or you will, my bad.” Jenna’s laughter sounded like silver bells.
“What the flying monkey asses did you do?” Kellen roared, and this time the liquor bottles shattered.
“Kellen Motherfucking Styles,
I’m not cleaning up that mess,” Laikyn yelled.
“Wolfies, stop yelling. Aw, look at my little wolfie babies.” Lula hurried over to the little prison Laikyn had her sons corralled in. “What kind of thing is this, and what did they do to be put in confinement? Surely they can get out for good behavior?”
Lyric, the little female she loved like a crazy sister, laughed from behind her. “It’s called a playgate, only it’s been shifterfied. You know, for shifter babes.”
“I’m assuming that is a good thing?” Lula bent down to pick up a little boy in each arm. The sound of two bears moaning made her blush.
“Son-of-a-fucking-dragonlovingbear,” Abyle growled.
“Down, boys.” Jenna patted Abyle, her touch like a mother soothing a child.
“Um, Jenna, my dragon don’t like you touching them.”
Power flooded the room moments before two men, each holding a little girl, entered.
“For fucks sake. What did I say about that shit?” Kellen muttered.
“Temper temper, wolf.”
“Damien, didn’t I say to give me ten minutes?” Jenna asked, but her eyes lit up.
“Your two crotch goblins wouldn’t wait.”
They all turned at the sound of a booming voice. Lula grinned, loving the batshit male who also shared DNA with Satan and an angel. “Creed, you probably shouldn’t refer to these two little angels as crotch goblins.”
Creed pointed at Jenna. “That’s what she calls them.”
Jenna had a finger over her lips making a zipping motion. “I mean, they kinda gobbled their way out of my vajayjay, and they gobble everything they get their mouths on. Goddess, don’t glare at me with such censure on your faces or no fucky fucky for you two.”
“Please make her stop talking, Damien, or you, Lucas. Surely, one of you tops her,” Kellen growled while Jenna laughed. “Keep on chuckling, but you’re leaking, so who gets the last laugh?”
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 125