by Kimber White
“You remember what they did to my Amelia. Cut her down right in front of me. Twenty wolves. There was no honor in it. I never directly challenged Ivan Vadim. They wanted her silence. She underestimated how ruthless they could be to protect their crimes. We will never underestimate them again.”
“But he knew you could challenge him. You were stronger, Andre,” Val said.
“And you blame me for that. You don’t know what it’s like to lose your fated mate. Maybe I could have done it before Amelia died. After...there was too much left to lose. I might have been able to protect my children, but not you, Val. And not my brother’s children. Erik, Edward, Leo...I couldn’t be everywhere at once.”
“So you struck a deal,” I said. “You agreed not to challenge Ivan or his son, Pavel. But they knew there were enough men who were loyal to your father who might remember and prefer a Kalenkov leading the pack. Is that right? Killing you might incite a revolt Pavel couldn’t quell. So he let you live, but only if you left. How am I doing?”
My father dropped his head and squeezed his eyes shut. “Yes. He let me leave with my family and my life.”
“But that still wasn’t enough,” I said. “Ivan and Pavel still wanted some way to be sure he wouldn’t have to deal with a threat from our kin down the road. What better way to do that than to join the families? Right? Through me. You had a daughter. I may not be a shifter, but chances are any male child I bear with another wolf-shifter would also be one.”
“Andre, you didn’t,” Val said. “My God!”
“I had no choice!” Papa’s voice cracked. “Ivan held Grace in his arms, his claws at her throat. I chose her life for her future.”
“I won’t,” I said, rising. “I will never mate with Pavel Vadim. Not for you. Not for anyone.”
“Of course not,” Milo said. “We won’t let this stand.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Papa said. “I’ve protected all of you from it. But, Pavel is everywhere. I was foolish to think if I gave up your names and made you American, it would placate him. If you try to stand in the way of this, he’ll kill all of you.”
“Then we’ll die,” Erik said quietly. “But we won’t let Grace…be with that monster.”
I loved them. I loved them all. Even my father, despite what he’d done.
“I bought time,” he said. “That’s all.”
“I turn twenty-one in a few weeks, Papa,” I said. “Time is running out.”
He reached for the box. “I bought time to find something even more valuable to Pavel to bargain with.” He sprang the gold latches on the box and flipped the lid. The box was deep, with a purple velvet lining. A glow emanated from inside of it. The rest of them froze. Only I stepped forward.
“Careful,” Papa said. “You don’t even know what it is.”
Except I did. I knew instantly. Nestled in the velvet lining was an opaque stone, white with iridescent shading almost like an opal.
“Is that an egg?” Leo asked.
“It’s broken,” Milo said.
Heat emanated from it. The egg was maybe two feet long and a foot at its widest circumference. Like Milo said, it was broken in half, its edges jagged. It had hatched. On one side, pieces had been chipped away. I could see tool marks as if it had been done by a chisel. I reached in and picked up a small, crooked fragment, no bigger than a quarter. It glowed in my hand.
“What are you doing?” Papa asked.
I held the piece flat in my palm. Its light reflected in my father’s eyes. “Where did you get this?” I asked.
“What the hell is that?” Edward came forward.
“I’ve never seen it do that before,” Papa said.
The tiny piece of egg warmed in my hand. Val reached for it. A spark of flame ignited as his fingers closed around it and he growled.
“It’s magic!” Val said. “Grace, put it down.”
Sure enough, Val had an angry welt on his index finger from where he’d touched the egg. I transferred it from one palm to the next but didn’t burn. My heart skipped.
“What the hell is that?” Edward repeated.
“Dragonstone,” I answered. “My God. Papa. Where?”
He let out a sigh. “Two years ago. We found it under a section of flooring at St. Basil’s. You remember I handled the renovations?”
I shook my head in shock. “You mean, Father Dmitriev knows about this too?”
Papa nodded. “I couldn’t very well keep it from him. We had a falling out over it. He thought we could sell it to pay for the renovations. He’s the one who broke pieces off without my knowing. That’s when I took it from the church. I’ve kept it hidden here ever since.”
My head spun. Dragonstone. The only substance on earth that could kill a dragon if weaponized. I brought the piece of stone to my breast. “No,” I said. “Papa, you cannot do what I think you’re planning.”
“Pavel would kill for this,” he said. Papa’s other words burned in my mind. I bought time to find something even more valuable to Pavel to bargain with.
“Oh...God...No.” I backed away. Did he know? Did Pavel and my father already know about the dragons?
“He would use that to hurt other shifters,” Leo said. “Dragonsteel can kill a shifter. What the hell can dragonstone do? I mean...is it what I think it is? Are they alive? Are they…”
“No,” Papa said. “Of course not. There are no more dragons left. Only their discarded eggs, like this one. And this may be the only one left in the world. I told you, I would do anything to protect the people I love. I will not let Pavel take Grace.”
“You’d offer him this...this stone in her place?” Val asked, giving voice to the horror I feared. I wasn’t sure which was worse. But, I had to remind myself that Papa didn’t know. He didn’t know about Gideon or the rest of the Brandharts. He was bargaining with a thing; to him it had no more meaning than some precious jewel.
“So be it,” Erik said. “If you think you can make Pavel go away again by giving him that hunk of rock, I say good on you. Do you really think it’ll get him out of our lives for good? Is this thing that valuable?”
“Yes,” Papa and I said together. I couldn’t think. My mind spun in a hundred directions.
Papa closed the box and tucked it under his arm. “You see? I told you to trust me. When the time is right, I’ll take care of everything. Now, let’s finish our dinner.”
Leo, Milo, Erik, and Edward took their chairs again. Val stood by my side as Papa disappeared back down the hall with the dragonstone. I jumped as there was a knock at the door.
Val growled. He sensed something. So did I. As Val started to move toward the front door, I stopped him.
“Wait,” I said, my heart pounding a mile a minute. “That will be for me.”
There was no more time. It was probably a miracle he’d held back this long. But, Gideon had sensed my growing distress this whole time.
“Tell Papa I’ll be back in the morning. I’m going home.” Mercifully, none of the men in my family rose to protest. Their empty stomachs turned out to be my salvation. I got to the front door before Papa came back out.
Gideon stood there, big as a mountain, his golden eyes glowing as I looked up and up. “Let’s get out of here,” I said, tucking the fragment of dragonstone in the back pocket of my jeans as I quickly shut the door behind me.
Chapter Seventeen
Gideon
Instinct and fire slammed into my heart. Only Grace’s calming presence kept me from blasting a column of flame right through her father’s front door. She was crying. Angry. Her despair made a hollow space in me. But, she was strong, fierce. She kept the wolves at her back as she opened the door to greet me.
“Hurry,” she said, breathless. “They can’t see you. Not now.”
I wrapped my arm around her and led her to the alley behind her father’s house. I felt wolves everywhere. The ones in her father’s house, further down the street. I didn’t sense Vadim. Not this close, but I w
as fairly sure he had men stationed all around. How in the hell had I ever let my mother and Grace convince me it was okay for her to stay here among them?
“Hold on tight,” I said, surprised I could even get human words out. The fire spread from low in my gut, pulling me skyward. I shot up, over the top of the houses. Grace gasped and tucked her head against my chest. I made the most seamless shift of my life, spreading my wings wide and pushing the air beneath them.
I soared. Keeping Grace safe beneath my wing, I left Wicker Park below. If anyone looked skyward, they might see a fast-moving cloud, but I was fully cloaked. Grace was safe. I let my full power out.
I could have taken a straight shot to the Brandhart Building, but I wasn’t quite ready to land yet. I wanted to show Grace the world from a dragon’s eyes. Higher and higher we flew, leaving the Chicago skyline shrinking below us. Lake Michigan receded to the size of a teardrop as I pushed the limits.
I hadn’t planned it. I intended only to take her to the helipad of the Brandhart Building. But, once unleashed, I couldn’t keep my dragon down. I felt Grace’s heart flutter with excitement. I didn’t have to ask. The thrill of the flight caught her. I went east, showing her the ocean. It would be so easy to just keep on going.
Scotland. Knoydart. The foot of the hidden volcano where I was born. Where my father’s house once reigned. I wanted to show her the churning veins of lava and take her to a secret cave where no one but me had ever gone. It would be our place. Now. Forever. The call of fire burned strong inside me.
“Yes!” Grace gasped, though I couldn’t give voice to my desire. I let out a screech. Grace’s heart quickened against my chest. She wanted it as much as I did.
I flew faster than I’d ever dared. This was Grace and the power she gave me. Had I let loose like this a year ago, I might never have been able to bring my dragon to heel again. Today though, I was in control.
I went supersonic. The boom cracked through the air. Tucked beneath my wing, Grace was safe and warm. The ocean whizzed beneath us. Higher, I flew until the lush green of the Scottish Isles spread far below.
I circled, breaking through a haze of clouds. Then, I banked hard right and landed gently at the edge of a cliff overlooking the lava pits.
My talons sank into the soft, dark earth. I set Grace down. She staggered sideways, dizzy, then righted herself. Her dark hair flew behind her in a banner. She froze; the sunlight glittered in her eyes.
“Gideon,” she smiled. “That was...oh my God!”
“Come here,” I said, coming back into myself. Desire thundered through me. I wrapped my arms around Grace and my lips found hers.
I kissed her long and deep, our tongues exploring. Lust flowed like lava through my veins. We finally broke, and I led Grace to the edge of the cliff, keeping her safe against my body.
“It’s home,” I said. “The place I was born.”
“I know,” she said. “I mean...I’ve dreamt this place. It’s exactly as I imagined.”
I didn’t want to let the rest of the world back in, but I had to know if she was all right. Then, I had to find the courage to tell her what Avelina told me.
“I confronted him,” she said, perhaps reading a question in my eyes. “Oh, Gideon, you heard right. My father did agree to give me to Pavel when I turn twenty-one.”
The roar ripped from me, followed by a column of flame. I aimed it out over the chasm. My talons came out. Grace put a light hand on my shoulder, bringing me back to myself.
“It’s not happening,” I said. “That’s one of the things I need to talk to you about.”
“Wait,” she said. “I haven’t told you all of it. Some of it...I don’t even know how to explain. God. This is so hard. I feel split in two.”
“My love,” I whispered. I took her face in my hands. “Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. I have things to tell you too.”
“You were right about something else, too,” she said. “The rumors your mother heard about dragonstone among the wolves. I’ve seen it. Gideon, my father has it. It’s an egg. He found it while doing a remodel on St. Basil’s.”
Ash burned in my mouth. I took a step back. Everything slammed into place in my mind. “He’s going to use it,” I said. “Is that it? He’s planning to turn it over to Vadim in exchange for you.”
Grace nodded, pain etching deep lines in her face. I understood her torture. Andre was her father. In his mind, maybe he thought he was doing right by her. The man had lost his fated mate. I don’t know how a shifter could live after that. But, she understood the look in my eyes too.
“Grace, you know what the danger is. To me. To my family.”
“Of course!” Her words burst out of her. She touched my face and a tear spilled down her cheek. “I didn’t tell them. I couldn’t. It’s ripping me in half, Gideon. But, no. I didn’t tell them about you. There’s one more thing though.”
She reached into her back pocket. She held her hand in a tight fist and extended it toward me. Slowly, she opened her fingers and my world broke open. There, in the center of her palm, Grace held a tiny piece of dragonstone. It glowed bright as the sun.
No. It was impossible. It couldn’t be.
“Wait here,” I said.
Grace’s jaw dropped, but she did as I ask. I turned and ran down the cliff’s edge to the secret cave. We’d hidden it there last year after we took it away from the wolves who tried to kill my mother and Shae. I lifted a rock and pulled out the second piece of dragonstone that had pierced my mother’s heart.
I ran back to Grace. She stood with her hand still outstretched. I took the dragonstone from her and paired it with the one I held. The edges fit together like puzzle pieces.
“Gideon,” she whispered.
“Another pack of wolves used this in an arrow. They tried to kill us with it. We obliterated them all except for one. He wasn’t able to tell us where this came from. It looks like now we know.”
Grace took the second piece from me. She turned it. It had been white and blue. Now, the stone grew hot and turned gold in her hand. My heart burst with hope.
“What does this mean?” she asked. “When my uncle tried to touch it, it burned him. It only seems to do that when I’m holding it. Not you. Not them. Gideon?”
I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t let myself believe. It had been so long. I had spent decades resigning myself to my fate. As I met Grace’s eyes, she already knew.
“Dragonfire,” she said. “Whatever’s in me, it draws dragonfire. It doesn’t burn me, Gideon. It doesn’t hurt.”
“Your hair,” I choked out the words. Avelina’s contact told her female shifters had enough magic in them to withstand dragonfire and mate. But, those were full-blooded shifters. Grace wasn’t. She was half human. She couldn’t shift. And yet, I saw the stone glow in her hand with my own eyes.
“My hair grows back,” Grace smiled.
“Avelina said…”
“She was going to do some research,” Grace said. “She told me she knew a mage who might have answers. She found out, didn’t she? Gideon, is this it? It’s a test. Tell me. Did Avelina tell you something about dragonstone?"
“She said if it glows in your hand then you might…”
I didn’t get the words out. Grace dropped the stones to the ground and lunged at me. Her desire burned through her hotter than any dragonstone.
I wanted to be cautious. It could be a trick. Maybe Avelina was wrong. But, the instant Grace’s arms came around me, my own fire lit and consumed us both.
I was stark naked from my shift and rock hard. Grace struggled out of her shirt and fumbled with her jeans. I held her close, devouring her with kisses.
Want. Need.
Grace’s touch blocked out all reason. There was just this. Just us. My lust made me unravel. Fate drove me to her.
We were on the ground. Grace’s hair fanned beneath her. Smiling, she opened her thighs. She was ready. Her sex glistened with her juices. I threw my head back and let out a
dragon roar that echoed through the canyon.
I felt my fire rising, crackling along my spine. Grace gasped and thrust her hips skyward. She wanted it. She burned for it. And I had no more strength to deny it.
She reached for me, curling her fingers around the base of my cock. I groaned from the pleasure of it as she leaned forward and licked the tip. God. I wanted that. I wanted her mouth. I wanted it all. She stroked me, nearly bringing me to climax then and there. But, I had so much more planned for her.
Fire swirled around us, growing hotter. I held back. A wall of flame rose up on every side, licking at Grace. She turned toward it, then settled back to the ground, spreading her legs for me.
“Grace,” I whispered. In another instant I would be too far gone to stop it. It was the hottest fire I’d ever made. And she craved it. Grace reached out and ran her hand through the flames. It crackled at the ends of her hair. But, she had heat of her own. She took my cock again, gently guiding me to her slick opening.
“Yes,” she gasped. “I was born for it. So were you.”
I was. God help us both.
Throwing my head back, I let out one more primal roar. Then, I plunged deep inside of her, sheathing my cock to the root.
She was so hot. So perfect. A virgin. I’d never asked her. It was none of my business until this very moment. But, I knew in an instant she’d been waiting all this time for me.
“Gideon!” she cried out. I went stiff, holding myself above her on my palms. But, it wasn’t terror or pain that made her scream. It was her pleasure. She gushed around my cock then wrapped her legs around my waist.
I let go. My God. I let go. I rammed into her, unleashing centuries of pent-up desire. I poured it all into her. She took it and begged for more. I rocked into her; her teeth rattled, but she matched me thrust for thrust. We rose off the ground, enveloped in a cyclone of fire and magic.
My love. My mate. My home.
Dragonfire and desire drove us on. Grace’s walls clenched around me. So tight. So sweet.
I claimed her, molding her to me. She was mine. I would kill for her. I would die for her. I would love her.