Marked By Fire

by Meg Ripley

  “You aren’t lying,” he told her, perhaps to try to make sense of it himself.

  “I have been watching you for a very long time, Cade. Perhaps now, I won’t have to watch you from afar.”

  Cade nodded. It was still so strange. All the animosity he’d carried for centuries had been misplaced. The witch had done what she did out of kindness, and if she hadn’t, he would never have known Hope.

  “For now, though, I think I’ll leave the two of you alone to get acquainted. You have a lot to learn, about yourselves and about each other. I think it will be a wonderful journey for you both.”

  “I’ll take you back,” he offered. It was the least he could do, though he was loath to leave Hope there alone. He’d have to bring them both back with him, he supposed.

  “There’s no need,” she smiled mischievously, though he had absolutely no idea how she intended to get herself back. She came around the bed then and patted him on the shoulder. “You’ve grown to be a fine, strong dragon, Cade.” She leaned down then and brushed a kiss across Hope’s forehead. “And your mother would be so proud of you, Hope.” She left then without a backward glance, though he stared after her for a moment, wondering how the woman planned to leave with no boat and no wings. But it didn’t seem to concern her. “By the way,” she called back to them, “I’ll have Steven bring Lexi out to you here. I’m sure my son is anxious to see for himself that you are both alright.”

  He and Hope just looked at each other. His personal valet, and really, the man he counted on in any tough situation, was Genevieve’s son? And he hadn’t sensed anything from the man this whole time? It must have been the same potion or spell Victor had talked about, keeping him from sensing Steven’s true self. The day had certainly been full of surprises.

  Chapter 9

  He’d wrapped her in his great, obsidian arms and flown her to the other end of the island. There were no villas or modern day comforts there, but what was there was even better. The ancient trees created a tall canopy overhead, blocking out the hottest rays of the sun, but letting through enough light to illuminate the waterfall that fed into a crystal-clear river.

  So many questions whirled through her mind, but there was only one thing she wanted to focus on right then: Cade. She reached for him as he shifted back to human form, and the fire deep inside her sprung to life. She let her hands wander, grazing over chiseled muscle and firm flesh. He closed his eyes, and she felt the struggle in his mind, but she swooped in quickly to wrap her hand around his long length.

  “Hope,” he whispered hoarsely, but before he could capture her wrists to still her movements, she stepped back wearing a devilish smile of her own.

  She stripped off her clothes, yanking the T-shirt over her head and shimmying out of her pants as quickly as she could. The wound Victor had left and the bruises that had marred her arms and wrists were gone. They’d healed miraculously as she’d thrust the poison from her body.

  His gaze swept over her body and relief washed over him seeing her healed flesh. Perhaps just to be certain, he ran his hands across her, trailing down her arms and up her ribs. His fingers grazed over her breasts, and her nipples hardened instantly in response to his touch. He cupped her in his hands, and she could tell by his firm grip he’d already begun to lose the tentative control over himself.

  He closed the distance between them and kissed her, crushing her lips beneath his as his shaft pressed hard against her abdomen. The ebony dragon flashed through her mind and a jolt of desire shot through her like lightning.

  “Shift for me, Cade. Please.” She didn’t know exactly how to articulate what it was she wanted. There was suddenly a burning need deep inside her to experience his real being. She wanted to see him, to touch him, even to feel him against her.

  “Hope, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Please,” she whispered again.

  “Alright, but you have to keep your distance. It isn’t safe…”

  Reluctantly, he took a step back, and then another. She watched as his muscular frame gave way to magnificent scales, and the tan coloring of his skin turned to an iridescent shade of black. His eyes though, they were the same; the same brilliant green eyes filled with desire stared down at her. He was watching her, trying to read her response while he fought to maintain control.

  She closed the distance between them and reached up to graze her hand along his solid chest. A roar rumbled in his throat and he took a step back. He was afraid he’d hurt her. “It’s okay, Cade. Please.”

  She could feel the way he held himself in check, not moving, barely breathing. She reached for him again, but as she did, he withdrew from her and in a flash, he was human again. She could see the same heat in his eyes that had radiated from the dragon’s emerald orbs.

  “Hope, I can’t believe…” but he couldn’t finish his sentence. He lunged for her instead, pulling her hard against him and covering her lips with his.

  She pulled away first. She wanted to taste him, to feel his hard length between her lips. She dropped to her knees before he could catch her. She ran her tongue down the length of him and glided back to the tip, circling the ultrasensitive ridge.

  “Oh God, Hope,” he groaned as his hips rocked forward.

  She opened her mouth, hollowing her cheeks, and drew him in, savoring the steely hardness covered by smooth flesh. His hands were at the back of her head a moment later and she felt him tremor as he struggled to keep control. She worked him in deeper, taking him into the back of her throat.

  “God damn it, Hope, I need to fuck you—now,” he growled as he grabbed her beneath her arms and lifted her up, clear off the ground like she weighed almost nothing.

  He captured her lips as he guided her down to the ground, and she felt him against her. Just like before, he drove in to the hilt in one, hard thrust and she wrapped her legs around him. She loved the way he couldn’t contain himself with her. She’d never felt more desirable than when he couldn’t wait a moment longer to have her. She wondered if it would always be this way between them, and somehow, she knew it would be. The same sense she’d so quickly come to trust told her so.

  Her fingers roamed over his back as she tilted her hips to meet his every thrust, his pace growing more frantic with every moment that passed. He broke their kiss and gazed at her. Brilliant green and crystal blue locked on one another as he leaned up on one powerful arm and slipped his free hand between them. The second he found her clit, her hips rocked wildly and she cried out as the pressure mounted within her.

  “I want to watch you, Hope. I want to see you come for me,” he whispered as he rubbed the sensitive bundle of nerves in tight circles.

  Her nails dug into his shoulders as her moans turned to cries, and her cries turned to screams of pleasure as her back arched clear off the soft carpet of grass beneath her and her body splintered into a thousand pieces, floating high in the clouds despite never leaving the ground.

  “You’re incredible, Hope. I love you. I’ve always loved you,” he groaned as he reached his summit and toppled over the edge.

  She knew exactly what he meant, though it made no sense. “I’ve always loved you, too,” she whispered as her body started back down from the heavens.

  ****

  “We should head back,” she murmured after a long while had passed. She’d laid there wrapped in his arms for an hour or more, and she would have been happy to stay there for all of eternity just feeling the rise and fall of his chest beneath her cheek. But Lexi would be there soon, if Steven hadn’t arrived with her already.

  She’d sensed something familiar about Steven. He’d come to the house with Genevieve once, a friend from the local community center, her mother had said. She’d told her mother something was different about Genevieve and Steven after they’d gone, and she had told her to hold onto that feeling, that it would serve to be incredible useful to her one day.

  Her mother had been right. The same sense that had told her about Genevieve and Steven
had also spoken to her about Cade. If she’d refused to listen to it, she never would have wound up with her perfect match. Whether it was destiny or fate that had brought them together, or a special kind of magic that worked its mysticism throughout the universe, she didn’t know. She didn’t care. She’d found her mate, and her life had been changed forever.

  He nodded reluctantly and they both stood, gathering their clothes up off the ground. She slipped into her T-shirt and jeans, though she didn’t want to get dressed. She wanted to stay there with him, touching him, tasting him and feeling him drive deep inside her again. He wanted it, too, but they would both have to do their best to keep themselves under control, at least for a short while.

  He went to gather her up in his arms, but a strange sensation washed over her. She’d been looking for it, searching her mind and her body for whatever secrets they held. How could she have been what Genevieve had said and not known it? All her life, she’d had the power to do so many amazing things. Hell, she’d worked in a magic show and never knew she possessed the ability to create magic on her own? It was almost too crazy to believe. Well, it was too crazy to believe, but it was hard to deny when a dragon was the man she knew in her heart she was destined to be with.

  The strange sensation stayed with her, and she let it guide her. She took a step back and closed her eyes. Her body felt as light as air and she let the gentle breeze take her. The wind gusted, but she pushed back, keeping her body precisely where she wanted it, hovering close to Cade—and a few feet off the ground. She could fly! She’d given up on every bit of magic in the world, and now she could fly. Could the world possibly hold any more surprises?

  A tiny thump, low in her abdomen. It wasn’t possible—it was far too soon. But she could sense it.

  Not ‘it’, but her.

  THE END

  Rogue Wolf: Wild Forbidden Mates

  Two rival shifter clans.

  One relentless and forbidden love that breaks all of the rules.

  In the small town of Spring Lake, the long-standing rivalry between a pack of werewolves and a clan of were-panthers erupts into full-scale battle. Raul, an ex-Navy enforcer of the Wolf pack, is forced to take sides in the conflict when a group of panthers—who have been raiding werewolf businesses for weeks—is finally captured, and the order given by the Pack's Alpha male is to execute them without trial.

  He can only save one: Keira, a voluptuous panther female who only consents to let him rescue her after she nearly beats him in personal combat.

  But the war between the two groups is more complicated than either of them know. As they begin to unravel the two Alphas' motivations in attacking each other, Raul and Keira's rivalry develops into a hot, heavy, and forbidden romance, sparking further reprisals and deeper battles between their people.

  With threats of death—or discovery—hanging over their heads, Raul and Keira must find a way to bring their communities together, or risk losing each other in the chaotic war.

  “Raul, we’ve got another one,” the voice on the other end of the line began as soon as the call connected. Raul groaned, scrubbing at his face. It was still dark outside—but it was nearly four in the morning, and he had been looking forward to finally going to sleep.

  “Bastards keep slinking off before one of our guys can catch them in the act,” Raul said bitterly. He could feel the frustration of his pack-mate on the other end of the line, sense it as an extension of his own irritation.

  For weeks, he, Gary, Cameron, and Adeline had been tracking a group of vandals; their scent marks at the scenes of the crimes were easy enough to read, but all traces of the assholes responsible for the graffiti and broken windows—not to mention a few petty thefts—disappeared within a half mile of the site. It was just like a bunch of sneaky panthers, Raul thought bitterly. The town of Spring Lake had fewer than five thousand residents; and yet, Raul and the other enforcers for the Pack hadn’t been able to track down what they’d counted as five panthers. The other members of the Pack had started looking at him doubtfully, and the Alpha—Reginald—had put more and more pressure on Raul as the Pack’s number one enforcer to get the job done.

  “Someone was asleep at the wheel,” Cameron said, his voice full of brittle irritation. Raul growled low in his throat; he had asked for the Pack’s participation in staking out the various businesses that might come under attack. He, Cam, Gary, and Adeline simply couldn’t watch over all of the businesses that the members of the Pack owned in the town. They needed people to be vigilant, and they had needed to have a way to track the shifty, good-for-nothing panthers to their den, wherever it was.

  There were just enough people in the town for it to be impossible for any of the members of even the large wolf pack to know everyone, to know all of the addresses. Spring Lake was home to a thriving supernatural community—and even Raul, in his position of relative authority within the Pack, didn’t know all of the shifters in the area. There were even some, he was fairly certain, who lived outside of the town proper—in the woods that surrounded the town, closing it off superficially at least from the rest of the country. He had done what he could, asked who he could, about the whereabouts of a group of panthers and had come up empty.

  “Which business was it?” Raul put his phone on speaker and set it down, standing up from his seated position on the couch to get ready to leave the house. If another one of the Pack-owned businesses had been vandalized, the Pack would expect him to be there before daybreak, working the scene, trying to find a clue that might not have been at the other raids. Eventually those fucking panthers are going to get sloppy, he thought. And when they do, we’ll track them down and put the bastards on trial.

  Even with scent marks at the scene, there wasn’t a whole lot of information to be gleaned about the vandals. Raul knew that one of the panthers involved in the crimes was a fertile female—he could smell it in the rich honey-moss smell of her scent mark, buried in the deeper, sharper musk of big cat that the males left behind. He knew that there were five of them. He knew what they were. But until I know who they are, I am going to have this goddamned albatross around my neck, pulling me down.

  He had been a natural successor to the Pack’s previous lead enforcer; Reginald had groomed Raul for the position for years, even mentoring him through the Navy when Raul had enlisted. Reginald had told Raul more than once that the best thing he could cultivate beyond ruthlessness was the ability to lead, and Raul had taken that seriously. If Reginald retired—or if he fell in a challenge, or met with an accident that cut short his time as Alpha of the Pack—then Raul would be the first in contention for the Alpha position within the Pack. He would need to have the skills that it required, whether or not he ever took on the job.

  “Alicia’s bakery,” Cameron confirmed on the other end of the line. “And get this: they’re escalating, the fucking cats.” Raul felt Cameron’s barely-controlled rage and reveled in it, breathing in and out slowly. The low-level telepathy that members of the same Pack shared was sometimes a joy—but more often a pain. He didn’t want to feel heartbroken just because one of the younger members of the Pack had been rebuffed in his romantic advances to some girl or guy. But when it came to hunting down prey—or even fellow predators—it came in handy.

  “Escalating how?” Raul pulled a shirt over his head and glanced at himself in the mirror, smoothing his hair down against his skull. As soon as he had left the military, he’d let it grow out into a full, dark-brown mane, in defiance of the strict military grooming standards he’d subjected himself to for years. No one in the Pack thought that a man with long hair was anything to be laughed at, and members of the town who weren’t of the supernatural persuasion learned quickly that to laugh at his long hair was to court almost certain disaster.

  “There was a fire,” Cam said. “We managed to put it out with minimal damage, but someone still called 9-1-1, so there’s going to be an official investigation if we don’t sort this out quickly.”

  Raul groaned, throw
ing his head back and cursing long and fluently. “The last fucking thing we need is the cops on this,” he said. He took a quick breath. “Who’s coming to the scene?”

  “We’re trying to get ahold of Tanya and Jeremy, see if we can’t get them to take the case, keep it quiet.” Tanya and Jeremy weren’t Pack, but they were shifters—were-foxes. They could be trusted to a certain extent to slow up the investigation if they could get themselves on it, give the Pack a chance to handle it.

  Everyone in Spring Lake knew and didn’t know that there were supernatural humans living in the area; there was plenty of local lore about not going into the woods and scrublands surrounding the town during the week of the full moon, with vague implications of what happened to people who did. But nobody directly said that there were shifters, even elementals living amongst perfectly normal humans.

  Whenever possible, the two-natured community tried to police themselves, along with the other supernatural elements of the town. The elementals intervened only when they had to; otherwise they kept to themselves, and Raul preferred it that way. “Text me the address, and I’ll be there in fifteen,” he told Cam after a moment’s thought. “Maybe they’re getting sloppy. Maybe we’ll luck out this time.” Raul checked his pockets to make sure he had his wallet, and when Cam said goodbye, he slipped his phone into another pocket, checked for his keys. He could feel the animal nature—the part of his brain that was always the wolf—shifting, fidgeting inside of him. He wanted to be on the hunt. He wanted to track down the assholes who thought it was a good idea to harass the wolves. He growled low in his throat and headed for the door, picturing the panthers in their animal forms, slinking away from a burning building. Raul stepped out of his house and strode towards his car, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. I am going to catch them this time, even if it kills me.