She nearly cried in relief. She had a chance to fight, thanks to Sterling. She couldn’t be mad at him anymore. And she was realizing, ever since being in the dungeon with Gentry, or here in the chair waiting for Sterling, that her dreams and her ideas of life had changed.
While captured this time, she hadn’t been thinking about goals she had or recipes to cook. All she’d wanted was for Gentry to be okay and to be able to see Sterling again.
She loved them, it was clear as day. And Gentry loved her, based on him taking that bite for her with the wyverns. And Sterling loved her, based on what he’d done to give her a chance to fight.
She thanked heaven for partners that understood her so well, who could act even when she was too short-sighted to do the same.
She could feel her power getting stronger within her as her emotion grew. Her love for Gentry, who could be dying in the basement right now. Her love for Sterling, who was out there worrying, fighting, or hurt. Maybe all of the above.
She felt power building inside her, like a swirling vortex.
“Feels awful to know what’s coming, doesn’t it?” the man in front of her sneered. He wore a white lab coat that was dirty from wear. Stepping back, he gestured to the men behind him.
“Gentlemen? Be my guests.”
They pushed off the wall and came toward her, just as she screamed and released a blast of energy, knocking them all back. At the same time, she jumped out of the chair, no longer tied.
The white-haired man tried to grab her but she knocked him back, tossing him with more of her energy. He hit the wall and then scrambled away, hiding somewhere in the back of the room behind the crowd. Coward.
The wolves she’d knocked down were slowly picking themselves up, and others seemed to be gathering courage to approach her, when the large window at the top of the ceiling shattered and she had to shield her head as something landed among them with a boom.
She looked up to see Sterling in the room, looking pissed. “What have you done with my partners?” he asked.
“I’m here,” she said.
He ran to her, shielding her with his body, and then released another wave that knocked back the shifters approaching. Walls trembled and cracked from the impact of shifters hitting them.
Sterling’s energy was strong, honed in a way hers wasn’t, and he looked barely tired despite using huge amounts of force.
She felt safe and secure beside him.
“Where’s Gentry?” he asked.
“In the dungeon,” she said. “He’s hurt, we have to get to him.”
“I have Quill, the blue dragon, with me. I’ll tell him telepathically where to look. Show me the image.”
She imagined where Gentry was held and Sterling nodded. “I’ll tell Quill. With his healing powers, it’ll be all right.”
“Thank you,” she said, resting against him for a second in sheer relief. “You’re always there for us.”
“That’s my job,” he said. “And I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For upsetting you earlier.” He waved a hand and sent another wave of men crashing backwards. “I don’t regret what I did, because I had to do it, but I regret if it hurt our friendship.”
“It’s more than friendship, Sterling, it’s love. And without what you did, I could be dead right now.”
“You did a good job holding them off until I got here. Now you can rest while I take care of them.”
“No, I’ll fight with you,” she said, catching a man who was approaching from behind.
“Nice one,” he said. “If we don’t see Gentry soon, you’ll need to go find him.”
She nodded.
She heard shouting and turned toward the staircase, seeing a tall blond man and a shorter woman with dark hair rushing into the room.
“Drake,” Sterling said, sounding relieved. “Is Gentry okay?”
“I think so,” he said. “We’re here to help, just tell us what to do.”
“Just kick as much wyvern ass as possible,” Sterling said.
“Aye aye, captain,” the huge man said, saluting. He caught a wyvern with a fist to the face and sent it flying out through the open roof. His mate kicked one into the wall.
She looked at Sterling and they both released waves of energy.
Hopefully they would see Gentry soon.
* * *
Gentry woke to a warm blue glow surrounding him. Was he dying? He’d expected to. He’d gotten everything off his chest with Roxy, and had been confident that Sterling would show up in time to save her and the two of them would be all right.
He saw Quill in front of him, looking beautiful as usual despite the grossness of the basement, and thought he must be hallucinating.
“Quill?” he said vaguely, still feeling the poison inside him. “You don’t regret being paired with Drake, do you?”
Quill sighed. “Please. It’s the best thing to happen to me. We’re all happy in our pairs in your region. Why do you think we all showed up to save your ass?”
Gentry blinked and looked around, trying to make out the other blurry figures. A woman knelt beside him, lending more blue to mix with Quill’s.
The gold and black dragons’ mate, who’d gotten healing power when claimed by them.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said.
Sure enough, he could see Ran and Draven, the gold and black dragons, standing behind the healers.
“Where’s Drake?” Gentry croaked out, feeling slightly stronger as the blue flames flooded through him, pushing out the poison. He was more sure he was going to live now.
“You know Drake,” Quill said gently. “Can’t resist a fight. He and our mate who also got dragon strength headed up to help Sterling with the wyverns.”
“So many wyverns,” Gentry muttered. “It doesn’t make any sense… unless…” Unless they had a dragon on their side.
The second he felt well enough to stand, though still weak, he stumbled to his feet and ran for the door.
He took the stairs two at a time, nearly tripping before Quill caught him, desperate to get to the great room and make sure his partners were okay.
When he got to the great room, he saw chaos breaking out everywhere. In the center of the room was Sterling, standing beside Roxy and tossing people into walls.
He ran forward, needing to be next to them, to see they were safe.
Roxy turned to him, looking tired but exhilarated. “Gentry!” she cried out. “You’re okay.”
“I am now.”
Sterling whipped to look at him for a moment and then turned back to his opponents. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“I’m glad I paired with the silver dragon right about now,” he said wearily. “Without your ability to communicate with dragons, I’d be dead.”
“You’d have been dead lots of times without me,” Sterling said. “But without you, I’d have been worse than dead.”
Gentry felt relief flood him as he put an arm around Roxy to stay standing. None of them were perfect, but somehow, their little group had found something that worked.
Drake and his mate seemed to be handling the rest of the wolves, so Sterling put an arm around Gentry to help Roxy get him to the side of the room where he could sit.
Sterling looked over Gentry carefully while Roxy watched their backs. “They got you good. You’ll need a while to recover. And more time with Quill, definitely.”
Gentry nodded and then began scanning the room. It was strewn with the bodies of shifters Sterling and the others had knocked unconscious. But he was looking for something in particular.
“I think they are working with a dragon,” Roxy said. “It was all his plan.”
Gentry nodded. “I was thinking as much, based on their numbers. But who on earth would do that?”
Across the room, Drake picked someone up by the collar and cursed at him. Then he drug him over by the collar of his white lab coat and dropped him at Gentry and Sterling’s feet.
It
was the white-haired man from before.
“What do you want me to do with him?” Drake asked, his voice dripping with disgust. “He’s one of us.”
Gentry sucked in his breath as he looked down at the white-haired man who had to have been donating blood to the wolves to create wyverns. It was the man who had tried to take Sterling from their region when he was younger. A silver dragon who had once been his mentor.
He looked at Sterling, who looked equally shocked but even more disgusted.
“I knew he was evil,” Sterling said. “When I was sent to him for training and he wanted to lock me away in a lab for life, I knew. But I didn’t think he would resort to this.”
Gentry knew what had to be done, but he still hated to do it. He’d lied when he told Roxy he didn’t have any extra powers. Well, he’d technically told the truth, because he didn’t think he had anything that could help them in this situation.
Until now.
The man looked up at him with narrowed, crazy eyes. The eyes of a rabid dog that needed to be put down.
“Do it,” Sterling said. “He’s the cause of all this. He took Roxy… Do it. I won’t forgive you if you don’t.”
“I can’t watch,” Drake said, turning away.
The other two mates turned to their dragons, asking what was happening. As a response, the other dragons turned away.
This was another thing only the purple dragon could bear.
Gentry raised his hand over the man’s chest, watching his eyes widen in his face as a shriek came from deep within him. A white—no, silver vapor rose from his chest as his face began to age even further before their eyes.
The cloud rose up in the shape of a dragon, hovering in the air for a moment before disappearing like smoke in the wind. Everyone in the room could feel the presence of something that was suddenly gone.
It would be reborn again, in a worthier vessel, to bring balance to the dragon world. It was the way things worked.
Gentry looked down at the husk of the man beneath him, still blinking, still furious. “You are no longer a dragon. And now, you die.” He summoned all his strength to toss the man away from him, out the broken window across the room. He strode over to watch the dust that had once been a dragon falling lightly to the ground.
Then he sank to the floor, and the healers rushed over to him again. As they healed him, Gentry looked around the room, from Drake and Quill to Ran and Draven, to their mates, Tara and Melissa who were bravely working by their sides.
Then Gentry looked at his partners, who seemed concerned for him but stayed back to give the healers room. For the first time, they’d felt and fought like a real team, and as he locked eyes with each of them, he knew they felt the same.
Eventually he’d have to report to the ruling party over the dragons and tell them what had happened, but for now, he just wanted to get his partners home and rest.
Now that the vision had been thwarted, and his mate and partner were safe, he felt like he could sleep for weeks. It was the last thought he had before he passed out again.
10
After that, Gentry had to spend several days with Quill, being healed by blue dragon fire before he, Sterling, and Roxy could leave together. Not that they weren’t grateful for the help, but all three were excited to have some time to be alone after what they’d been through.
Since the castle was destroyed, they took up residence in the apartment where Gentry and Sterling usually went to meet with dragons in their region. It was elegant and luxurious, but nothing compared to the mansion.
Then again, it was less lonely, so as long as they were safe there, Gentry didn’t mind them staying.
Sterling and Roxy had been at his side all hours of the day, Roxy feeding him, Sterling clucking like an overprotective hen.
Most importantly, they were getting along. Ever since that day with the wyverns, everyone seemed to understand each other, and Gentry had a deep sense of satisfaction he hadn’t had in a very long time. Maybe ever.
He heard Roxy and Sterling talking just before Roxy entered his room. Sterling held the door while Roxy brought in a tray filled with pastries.
Gentry waved a hand, sitting up in bed and throwing his legs over the side to show he was done. “No, I can’t eat anything else. You’ve been stuffing me all week.”
Roxy frowned. “Well, Sterling did have that other chef over to teach me some new things. I wanted to try them out.”
Gentry smiled and took a pastry. When he bit into it, he was impressed as usual by the taste. “It’s amazing. But I swear I’m good for now.”
Roxy sighed and turned on Sterling, who put up his hands. “You too? Darn.” She set the tray down and sat next to Gentry, her warmth radiating toward him.
He craved her body. It had been too long. Now his blood ran within her and she was truly his, but he and Sterling hadn’t been able to take her.
“I can hear your thoughts, you know,” she said.
Gentry ruffled, blushing. “I’m never going to get used to that.”
“Yes, you are,” she said, putting an arm around his waist and leaning into him in a way that made him tingle. Her softness felt amazing against his body. “If I can get used to living with dragons, you can get used to having someone in your mind all the time.”
“But—”
“Kidding,” she said. “I’m not there all the time.” She ran a hand through his hair, and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
Gentry wanted to give their mate everything. Baths in the best tub in the world, sleep on the best bed in the world. He wanted to give her a fraction of the happiness she’d brought to him.
She’d even given him back Sterling, helping the communication between them.
Speaking of which…
“Did you pick up what I asked for?” he asked Sterling. There was no point trying to speak in their minds to hide something from Roxy, because she could catch them now.
“Yes,” Sterling said, pulling a small box from his pocket. “I was just waiting until you felt a little better.”
“I’m feeling fine. In fact, if I stay in this bed any longer, I’m going to meld to it. Plus, I have business to take care of. But first…” He took the box from Sterling, and Roxy looked at him curiously. “Would you accept this?” He got on one knee in front of her and opened the black velvet jewelry box in his hand.
Roxy gasped as the ring was displayed. It was a gorgeous, large antique diamond surrounded by sparkling purple amethysts. As the purple dragon, he had access to some of the best treasures handed down by past generations, and he and Sterling had long ago agreed on the ring for their future mate. One that represented both of them.
Roxy was still just staring at the ring, frozen in shock. “That… that can’t be a diamond.”
“Why not?” Sterling asked. “Given the age, it’s the only colorless stone that would have survived.”
She gave him a glare and then went back to staring at the ring in disbelief. “I just… Wow.”
“Roxy, we love you. We’ll treasure you. You’re already our mate, but we want you to say yes. You have our blood, our protection, and our power. But we want you to have this ring and be ours in every way.” He looked into her eyes as Sterling took a knee next to him, looking serious and quiet. He could feel the tension between them as they waited for her to officially accept her.”
When she teared up, Sterling looked at him in confusion.
“Is something wrong?” Gentry asked.
She bit her lip and wiped her tears. “No, it’s just, I’m so happy. I’m already yours, but it was so nice of you to give me a chance to say yes. Truthfully, I knew when we were captured that yes was already the answer. I wasn’t thinking of any of worries or goals. All I wanted was to get out of there safely with the two of you, who mean more to me than anything in the world. I love both of you so much.” She had composed herself and looked genuinely happy as she put out her hand for Gentry to take. “So yes. The answer is yes.”
<
br /> Sterling visibly relaxed that they hadn’t upset her, and Gentry could feel the excited energy buzzing from him now that everything was official.
Gentry took her hand and slid the ring on, loving how it looked on her. “A perfect fit. Just like you are for us.”
She blinked, staring at her hand like she expected the ring to disappear.
“Do you like it?” Gentry asked, tilting his head to study her. “I can’t tell.”
“I love it,” she said. “It’s just a shock.” She threw her arms around him. “Thank you.” Then she grabbed Sterling and yanked him into a hug, which he returned.
“Good,” Gentry said. “Then I just have one other thing to ask of you.”
She nodded, glowing with happiness. “Anything.”
“I want to make love to you,” he whispered against her ear. “Wearing only our ring.”
She flushed and held him tight. “Exactly what I want too.”
* * *
Roxy grinned as Gentry carried her to the master bedroom.
The ring was incredible, and she couldn’t help glancing at it and thinking how it represented her two mates, sparkling and strong and beautiful.
Gentry opened the door to the bedroom of their New York apartment, which was still stylish and lavish. A huge four-poster bed with burgundy sheets stood in the center, the rest of the room decorated with expensive, antique-looking furniture. From the room, they could look out on the New York skyline, though as she was looking, Sterling clicked a button that lowered shades over the windows. With a second click, a number of candles lit in the room, creating a sultry ambiance.
“Just setting the mood,” Sterling said unapologetically.
By this time, Gentry had come onto the bed and laid Roxy down, leaning over her and kissing her. She could feel the same connection with him as he had described having for her back when they’d made love in the tub. A feeling of love, yes, but also much more. An infinite want, a desire for that person. Never wanting to let them go and always wanting to have them with you, forever.
Gentry deepened the kiss farther, wrapping his arms around her as his tongue came inside and her entire body pooled with building desire. Each flick inside her mouth made her gasp as she realized just how much she’d missed this while Gentry was recovering.
Destined Dragons: BBW Paranormal Romance (Dragons of New York Book 3) Page 9