Paranormal Dating Agency: Her Wounded Dragon (Viking Ancestors' Kin, Book 4.5) (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Sky Purington

  But hell if he’d go down without a fight.

  So he battled the bastards for all he was worth and did what he did when he was fighting this lot back home. He kept his vital organs protected and attacked whenever he saw the chance. While it was different in dragon form, the same rules applied.

  If you saw a window of opportunity, no matter how small, hit hard and fast.

  Over and over.

  Forget honor. These guys didn’t roll that way. Be ruthless and brutal. Uncivilized. Lethal. Kage figured in the end, that’s what got him as far as he did with these two. He understood their methods, no matter what form they wore. He got that they didn’t play fair.

  Unfortunately, no matter how rough and tough they tumbled, no matter how much he could have foreseen their battle methods, he knew early on that there was no hope. Hallstein was one powerful son of a bitch, and the other guy was only second best to Kage.

  So when blood started spilling, and his own dragon’s roar grew deafening, he knew it was over. But at least he had found a woman worth finding, and he’d had one hell of a date with her. He’d reconnected with a long lost love and every minute of it had been worth it.

  “Don’t give up, Kage,” she said in his mind, a million miles away now.

  Or was she?

  He narrowed his eyes on the chalet. Then on the dragon that lay unmoving by the old ash tree out front. Viv had landed. She was safe. Or was she? He strained to hear her heartbeat. To sense her within his mind.

  But there was nothing.

  “No!” he roared as he crashed into the ocean and was dragged down beneath the rough water. He didn’t care what happened to him, but Viv was supposed to make it. She was supposed to lead her people into the past and win this war.

  Then something happened.

  Changed.

  The tree started to glow and lit up the water. Golden. Bright. He might be beneath the waves, but he saw it clearly. He knew what it was.

  The Yggdrasill.

  The tree that connected the nine worlds in Norse mythology.

  No sooner did he see the tree than Hallstein and his partner roared in pain and rage and pulled away. Kage had no idea where they went only that they’d all drifted inland and close enough to the tree that evil ass wipes like them couldn’t go any closer.

  Viv was safe.

  That’s all that mattered.

  Then he remembered she might not be. That she might be gone. So he headed toward shore, only to realize he couldn’t. He had been hurt worse than he thought. Far worse. He tried to move his wings, anything, but nothing worked. Blood kept pouring out of him but hell if he knew where from.

  Well, shit.

  All that hope, only to realize he was going down after all.

  While he didn’t especially want to die, he realized as he continued to sink, that he didn’t want to live either. Not if Viv wasn’t there. He had done what he had set out to do from the get go. He had protected his sisters. Now all but one was in the past and mated with their dragon.

  They could make it without him at this point.

  “Absolutely not,” came a firm feminine voice. “Do you think I intend to let go of a brother I just learned about?”

  He knew that voice. Had monitored her calls many times. Lauren. The middle sister.

  “And I’m not letting go of a newfound brother-in-law,” came a male voice.

  Tait. Lauren’s mate.

  “And sure as Loki’s cock I would love to welcome a male cousin as fierce as you to the family,” came another female voice.

  Svala. Sean O’Conner’s mate.

  The next thing he knew, three dragons were dragging him inland. Then things got hazy. By the time he opened his eyes again, he was in human form, clothed and beneath the ash. Viv lay on the other side of the trunk, in human form as well but unmoving. Was she dead?

  “Viv?” he croaked out and tried to sit up, but a gentle hand kept him down. “She’s fine. Just take it easy and give it a few minutes, Kage. You’ve been through a lot and need to recover.”

  His eyes went to the woman kneeling by his side. Mema Angie. A vivacious seventy year old with the youthful appearance and personality of a fifty-something. He hadn’t seen her in years. It had not been allowed. Though she’d been part of this place and oversaw everything, he had only been able to watch from afar.

  “Hello, darling,” she murmured and cupped his cheek. “It’s been too long.” Her eyes welled with tears. “Welcome home, Son.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  VIV NEVER COULD have imagined the sort of family reunion she and Kage received as they were brought inside. While they were still aching from all the battling, the ash tree had done something miraculous and healed them.

  Mema Angie said it was because it was protecting them.

  That they were meant to be here.

  Perhaps. Hard to know. Yet she couldn’t complain. Not when all she felt was unfiltered happiness. While it should be because she was alive, it wasn’t. No, her joy had everything to do with Kage. The fact that he was alive. Now they were tucked against each other on one of the overly large suede couches and sat amongst friends and family.

  More importantly, they sat with not just another one of Kage’s sisters but his mother.

  And hell if Viv didn’t instantly adore Mema Angie.

  In some ways, she reminded her of Gerri Wilder. Straight forward. Friendly. Sassy. And, of course, blunt.

  Viv especially enjoyed connecting with Lauren’s mate, Tait, a fellow Sigdir. And he, of course, was amazed to hear about her and her kin. They were welcome allies that he clearly looked forward to bringing home with him. Then there was Kage, a man who knew the enemy inside and out. What better comrade was there?

  “So you’re still on your first date, sweethearts?” Mema Angie said, encompassing them both in her warm smile. “How unbelievably exciting.”

  It seemed nobody knew Angie had a son until now. They had separated years ago, both tasked with watching over his sisters. Or at least that was the impression she got. She was still shocked that she hadn’t sensed his mother was in Winter Harbor to begin with. She could only assume he had blocked her.

  Kage being Kage was processing being around family again in typical alpha male style. With a few beers and a wary eye on his surroundings.

  Lauren, his sister, just kept staring at him. “How did we never know you existed?” she would murmur randomly as everyone caught up. “We have a brother? I have a brother?” Then she’d look him up and down. “And a really big one.”

  Viv bit back a grin at that. Tait was just as large, but for some reason, the tiny woman couldn’t imagine being blood related to a male that size. Astonishment aside, there was gratefulness in her eyes. Respect. She knew what Kage had done for them.

  What mattered most to Viv, however, was that Lauren, Tait, and Svala had braved those waters to save Kage because they knew he was important. They knew he was theirs. Based on the quick comradery forming between all of them, it soon became apparent that the lost years wouldn’t affect how close they became.

  “Thank you for protecting my sisters and me all this time, Kage,” Lauren eventually murmured, her heart in her eyes as they met his. “While things haven’t been cozy with us girls for years, not until recently, it had to have been ten times harder for you.”

  “I’m good.” He nodded and held up his bottle to toast the homecoming. “Just glad to be…” His eyes went to Viv before they returned to Lauren. This wasn’t his thing. He didn’t do family gatherings. But he was giving it his best shot. “Just glad we’re all coming together.” His eyes went to the ocean. “And that we’re safe for now.” His eyes whipped back to Mema Angie. “Because we are, right? Viv is?”

  She nodded. “Yes. I think now more than ever.”

  Right, because of the tree. Because it had done something it never had before.

  A few hours later, most had gone off to bed, but not Viv and Kage. They stood on the deck, wondering what came next.
Lightning flashed over the sea and thunder still rumbled.

  “It’s all happening so fast isn’t it,” she murmured, her eyes on him. “What are you thinking, Kage? It’s been a hard day by anyone’s standards. Are you all right?”

  “Sure, I suppose.” He shrugged. “The only thing I know how to be is okay. It’s built in.”

  Viv nodded. She got it. He had done what he had to for a long time. Emotions didn’t factor in. They had no place.

  “I’m surprised you never mentioned your mom was still alive.” She kept a curious eye on him. “How old was she when she had you anyway?”

  “You can’t really go by ma’s age,” he murmured. “She’s a different sort.”

  “I can tell.” She grinned. “I really like her.”

  Yet she remained curious what he meant by that. Though Mema Angie wasn’t half dragon, she was something. Which meant Kage was half dragon and half whatever that something was.

  “You’re not going to tell me more, are you?” she said softly.

  “Not yet, darlin’.” Kage reeled her closer. “But I will. When the time’s right.” He shook his head. “Her secrets are her own until she wants to share. I have to respect that.”

  “I get it,” she whispered. And she did.

  Right now, she was just grateful they’d been given a second chance. Because that’s what this was. An unexpected opportunity to reconnect with each other and family.

  “Too bad Sean and Megan aren’t here,” she said.

  “I know.” Kage frowned. “I’ve been following her fight against cancer.” He shook his head. “It sucks she’s back in the hospital.”

  While the former Viking King of the Sigdir tribe remained in an unnatural coma in the tenth century because of Hallstein, his wife Megan had traveled forward in time to battle cancer. The hope was modern day medicine could save her. Because no amount of magic could.

  “How did it go with Julie when you spoke to her earlier?” he asked. “Are your people safe?”

  “She says so, and I believe her...I have no choice.” Viv sighed. “The truth is, I have no idea for sure.” She shook her head. “They’re shut off to me, Kage. For the first time since we arrived here I can’t hear or sense them anymore, and that scares the heck out of me.”

  She knew it had happened for their own good, but it was still hard.

  He met her eyes and cupped the back of her neck. It was a gentle, but firm grip. One he had done in another life. One that calmed her. “It’ll be okay, Viv. Grant and Julie are with them, right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Then you have nothing to worry about,” he said. “Know why?”

  “Why?”

  “Because you have trustworthy people who care about you watching out for them. But you know that already. They’re completely safe.” His eyes searched hers. “You’re worried about something else.”

  “No,” she denied.

  “Yes.” He tilted her chin until she was forced to look at him. “You’re worried that you put them at risk and compromised them when you went off on a bender looking for me. That they feel betrayed by you now.”

  “It wasn’t a bender,” she defended.

  “Oh yeah it was,” he whispered. “You’d been dreaming about me for years then all of a sudden Gerri Wilder’s name came up, then Hallstein’s…but I wonder.”

  “You wonder what?” she said hoarsely, so caught up in the feel of him she could barely think straight.

  “I wonder if you wouldn’t have followed me to the ends of Midgard if you got a solid lock on me, dating agency or not.” A sexy grin crept onto his face, and his dimples erupted as he perked a brow. “Enemy or not.” He was determined to get her mind off worrying and onto something else as his lips brushed hers. “Tell me I’m right.”

  “I…no…yes,” she whispered, beyond aroused by the time they landed in bed upstairs.

  A quick chant later they were undressed, and he thrust deep. The intense look in his eyes as he filled her pushed her right over the edge. It was as if he was coming home. As if pressing into her was everything he ever needed. Would ever need. And it was the most romantic thing she had ever experienced.

  Which made her go wild.

  Their sex became so frantic, so out of control, that the house must have shaken. They might not have shifted, but they were slamming each other all over the place. Desperate to get close. Closer. To climax until they couldn’t anymore.

  As far as she knew they never stopped. They never let go of being inside each other both emotionally and physically. But they must have. At some point, they must have drifted off and fallen to sleep.

  How else could she have awoken only to find him gone?

  Chapter Twenty

  AFTER YET ANOTHER round of the best sex of his life, he watched Viv doze. He wanted to stay. Hold her. But he was restless. And who could blame him?

  The last forty-eight hours had been intense.

  So he drifted. Not so much around the house or property. He’d cased it years ago. No, he spent his time standing in front of his sister Cybil’s pictures. Her Dragons of Winter Harbor collection. They were depictions of dragons caught in clouds. Whimsical to the human eye.

  But so much more to the dragon eye.

  Every picture foretold a story.

  They told of what it would take to bring true love together.

  Kage liked to think as he stepped out onto the deck and braced his hands on the railing, that he might have helped them get there as well. That keeping an eye on them over the years then befriending Hallstein to track his every move helped. That the knowledge he had gained of the enemy would help. Of course, there were times Kage couldn’t protect his sisters from Hallstein, times when he was magically off his radar, but he had given it his best shot.

  “They’re lucky to have you,” came a soft, emotional voice from behind him. “You have…amazed me, Son.”

  “I tried to stay away, Ma. You know I did.” Kage shook his head as his mother joined him. “But Grant said it was time.”

  “He was right. All the pieces are almost in place.” She nodded. “We’re so close to finally defeating Hallstein and finding peace. Starting over.”

  “It’s been a long road,” he said softly as his eyes met hers. “You must be getting tired.”

  “Me? Tired?” She chuckled. “Never.”

  Yet he heard the strain in her voice. He knew how hard it had been. How much she loved all the people who had come and gone from this house over the past few years.

  “I’m just so glad to see you again, sweetheart.” She put her hand over his. “To know you’re safe.” Her eyes were damp as they stayed with his. “You’ve been dealing with a monster for a long time. And I know that meant becoming like him at times.” She swallowed hard and searched his eyes. “Are you really okay?”

  “I am.” And he meant it. “Better than I expected to be.” He shook his head. “But then deep down I never thought I’d make it this far. I thought I would’ve been dead by Hallstein’s hands long before now.”

  “But you’re not,” she said. “Because you’re good, Kage. You had him convinced. You gained his trust.” A small smile curled her lips. “And I’m glad that when you finally lost that trust, it was for the right reason. That you did it for Vivienne.”

  “Me too,” he murmured, glad she had come into his life, but at the same time wondering how much more he might have been able to accomplish if she hadn’t. It was nothing against her. He’d just been thinking this way for so long, it would take time to reprogram.

  “You were willing to give up your life for your sisters,” his mother said softly, clearly following his thoughts. “But they’re stronger now. They’re dragon. And they are ready to fight.” Her eyes never left his. “I guarantee you that each and every one of them would rather you find love and your mate than sacrifice your life for them. And they would want to know you if given half a chance.” She arched a brow. “I’m sure Erica agrees.”

&nbs
p; He nodded. She did.

  His mother was about to say more but instead redirected her next words when they heard a sound at the door. “No, don’t go, Vivienne.”

  “Sorry.” Viv shook her head. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll leave you two alone—”

  “Nonsense.” His mother smiled at her. “I was just about to make breakfast. Care to join me?”

  Viv smiled right back. “Sure.”

  “Excellent.” Angie stood on her tip-toes, hugged him and murmured, “I love you, Son. Come join us in a bit. After I’ve had time to get to know your beautiful mate better.”

  “Sure, okay.” He returned her hug. “Love you too, Ma.”

  ***

  Later that day, as he and Viv lounged beneath the ash tree and enjoyed the sunset, he felt a new sense of contentment. One that had everything to do with the woman tucked against his side. For the first time since he could remember he laughed and enjoyed himself. Fated mates or not, he truly enjoyed her company.

  “It’s going to be interesting getting to know the Kage beneath that tough exterior,” she murmured, a sparkle in her eyes as she looked at him. “To meet the man who doesn’t have to put up a façade.”

  “Are you sure?” He quirked the corner of his mouth. “Because you seemed to like the version you first met just fine.”

  “True.” She walked her fingers up his chest. “Something tells me I’d like just about any version of you.”

  He kept grinning. “Of course you would.”

  “Confident much?” She smiled as she eyed him then their surroundings. “Considering what a nightmare yesterday was, today’s been amazing. I really like your mom and your sister. Everyone for that matter.”

  “They like you too,” he murmured. “How could they not?”

  She was about to respond when the tree started glowing softly. Her eyes widened, and she sat forward.

  Alarmed, he reached for his blade. “What is it, Viv?”

  “Can’t you see them?” she whispered.

  “See who?”

  “Look through my mind’s eye.” Her hand slipped into his. “Can you see them now?”