“What is the meaning of this?” Queen Palmera screamed. “Why do you have Podera tied up in ropes?”
“Son!” My father stood up. “What are you doing?”
“It is your son, isn’t it?” Palmera looked disgusted.
“How dare you burst in here like a wild animal?” She turned to the doors. “Guards! Take him back to Bursgate!”
“Wait!” My father flashed out in front of me in an instant. “What are you doing, Carrick?”
“I have a package for the lot of you,” I said, lifting a sack for all to see.
The lycan at the table growled and backed away. “There’s blood in the bag,” he said.
“You’re damn right there’s blood in the bag,” I confirmed
I turned the bag over and emptied the contents on the table. The stone head of Leona’s aunt rolled out onto the table. Next followed the bloodied decapitated head of Zhastar Davenoes, the dragon shifter who betrayed us all and aided the Demon King and his army and that crazy-assed witch from the Trillium coven.
“Here are your traitors,” I told them. “As for the witch you were looking for, you were wrong about her. If anyone so much as comes for her, I’ll have the head of the man who orders it so.”
Queen Palmera took her seat and pointed to an empty chair in the middle of the table. “Carrick Dragoe, is it? Why don’t you sit down at my table?”
“I’ll stand,” I said.
“Did you assist the Trillium on draining the Demon King’s magic source?” Queen Palmera asked me.
“I can’t take credit for that. Leona saved us all from further destruction. But the work isn’t done. The Demon King won’t stop. He’s never stopped.”
“You’re right. This isn’t over,” Queen Palmera agreed. “And you just might be the man I need to fight for the United Realms in the years to come.”
"I was that man, Queen Palmera...until we were all chased from our posts."
“I’m sorry. I’ll also issue a public apology for your trouble. Will you assume your duties once again for the United Realms?”
I nodded. “I will. I never abandoned my duties, Queen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a woman to get back to.”
My name is Carrick Ryvolus Dragoe and I will forever guard the realms of men.
Epilogue
Leona
“I had to wonder if you were going to return,” I said the moment Carrick walked through the room door of the château where I was staying. It had taken nearly three days for me to recover on Lochhaven, a realm for supernaturals who wanted to live in peace and solitude.
“You knew I would come back to you,” he said, then walked over to the window where I stood and slipped his arms around my waist.
I turned around. “What did the Council say?” I asked.
I wasn’t ready to meet the leaders of the supernaturals who’d voted to have me hunted and killed. One day I would. As rising Queen of my coven, I’d have to represent my people somehow. My mother was gone. My uncle was gone. My will to live had nearly been taken from me, but I was glad that I prevailed. As my uncle had told me, circumstances could always be changed.
“They were meeting. They somehow got word that a very powerful witch had destroyed The Void.”
“I can’t believe I did that to an entire realm.” The thought of it nearly gave me a migraine all over again.
He shrugged. “Well, it was devoid anyway. Mostly souls of the damned and the forgotten. No life form existed there. But according to Queen Palmera, you destroyed the magical force on which the Demon King was drawing from.”
“The blood of my…” I shook my head. “All this time…”
Carrick held me, lending me a shoulder to lean on. Most of my recovery had involved grieving my dead mother and uncle and wondering where things had gone wrong with my aunt.
“My coven will need me now more than ever,” I said. “I can’t let them down.”
“And you won’t. You be there for them and I’ll be there for you. I would never leave you.” He kissed my lips softly. “And if you were ever lost to me, I’d search to the end of this world and back. I’d breach every portal of the living or the dead to find you. What do they call that?”
I smiled. “Determined?”
He chuckled softly. “That too, but you know what I call it? Love.”
I held his gaze, reveling in the sight of glacier blue ice with specks of red around the irises. I could always tell when he’d just flown as his other half. He smelled of a mix of fresh air and evergreen forests. Earthy. All things man and animal.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone. Like I want to stay here in your arms, right here on Lochhaven, and never return, but I know I can’t assume my duties if I do that. Is that love?”
“It’s whatever you want to call it. We’ll figure it out, won’t we? Even if it takes a century,” he said.
“Hmmm, I don’t think I have a century.”
“We have this life and the next..and the next. And then the next after that. That’s called an eternity,” he said.
“You know how to charm a woman, dragon, but my patience runs thin. Why don’t we start with this life and do what people do when they’re in love?” I suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” he replied. “A very very good idea…”
Carrick grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist and took his mouth in a searing, soul-searching kiss. He knew exactly what I wanted, and this time, I wasn’t going to let anything stop us. Our duties had always gotten in the way of our plans, somehow, and we had never fulfilled the craving that drove both of us to the brink of blinding hunger. Now I was strong enough and my energy had nearly been destroyed after using it in The Void.
He collapsed on the bed with me. Our legs tangled as we enveloped each other side-by-side in embrace. His hard body pressed against me with gentle force. It pleased me to know that he desired me just as much as I desired him. His hand delved under the short silk dress I wore. He traced my legs, dragging his fingers up and down my thighs. His touch was only surface deep, but I felt it deep down within my core. My sex warmed and clenched. I needed him inside me.
"Carrick." I lifted my chin, giving him access to my neck. Wherever he touched me, he left the skin feeling icy hot.
"I wish we could do this forever, stay this way forever," I told him.
“We will. On this realm. On my realm and yours,” he promised.
He slid his fingers up my inner thigh, moving closer to the part of me that wanted the most attention. His eyes widened when he discovered I wore no panties. After all, I hadn't been home for a while and I thought the journey would be a lot easier than it turned out.
I pushed my hips forward, meeting his caress. He grasped my hips with both hands and dragged me across his body so that I straddled him. I grabbed the ends of my dress, brought it over my head, and threw it behind me. My nipples hardened when his attention fell to them. I folded my arms over my bare chest but he gently pried my fingers away and gazed upon me in appreciation. Never had I offered myself to a man like this, let alone a dragon.
He drew invisible patterns on my skin. "You are the most beautiful being I've ever seen on any realm. On Kastanbul. On Nimroid. Courts of Ivory and Ice. Earth. Ucrath. Highacré…”
I gasped. The way he said the names of all the realms he’d visited in his English accent had butterflies doing summersaults in my belly.
I leaned forward, my hands on the bed beside either side of his head. My breasts hung low over his face. He opened his mouth and sucked a delicate nipple inside and lapped hungrily. Patience wasn’t my virtue and while he alternated from one breast to the next, I begged him to take me.
“I would love nothing more than to make love to you," he whispered, pinning me with his icy gaze.
He changed positions swiftly. He was on top, but he grabbed both thighs and brought them close to his waist. He ran his finger through my creamy slit.
“You’re wet,
” he whispered in my ear. “I’d like to use my tongue like last time, but you beg for something more right now.”
“Yes,” I breathed. "Now, Carrick..."
"Whatever you like." His cock brushed against my belly and finally slid between the folds of my sex.
He distracted me with soft kisses on my lips as he slipped deep inside me, inch by inch. My legs spread wider, trusting him to give me only pleasure. His silvery gaze locked with mine. The lust raging within his eyes matched the raging inferno at my core. I cried out when the tip of his cock breached my maidenhead. It felt as though a ball of fire had erupted inside me, sending sparks into every nerve ending in my body.
"Leona." His eyes widened in shock as reality dawned on him—I'd just gifted him my virginity.
I pulled my legs tighter around him. "Don't stop now."
"You didn’t tell me…
"It’s what I wanted. I wanted to give it to you," I told him.
He closed his eyes and plunged deeper into me, burying himself to the hilt.
His movements seemed deliberately gentle, but my hips bucked against him, urging him to go even deeper and pump me even harder. I grasped at his arms and pressed my mouth to his chest, but my screams still resonated around me. With each thrust, his moans grew louder. He sent me over the edge, giving me an orgasm like no other. The sensations I felt now overrode the discomforts of broken innocence. Not that I was innocent before. I knew I had the power. I just had to unleash it. My climax was never-ending and my sex clenched in the aftermath, milking him for everything he had.
I could tell he was near orgasm. His thrusts drove deeper, more precise. Muscles hardened under my touch. His heart pumped loudly. He groaned his satisfaction the moment his seed spilled inside me. Elation took over as his cock pulsed within me. His body seemed to relax for the first time since we'd met as he expended all his energy toward completion. When we were both completely drained, he collapsed beside me. We didn’t speak for a while; only ragged breathing replaced the sounds of our lovemaking.
"Why didn’t you t—"
"No…” I kissed his question away. “I don’t regret any of this. I don’t regret meeting you. I don’t regret trusting you. This moment is ours.”
He sighed. “This moment and the gift…I’ll remember them forever.”
Message from Amber Ella Monroe
MESSAGE FROM AMBER ELLA MONROE
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Bonus Book ~ The Dresdan Coven Trilogy Summary
Her blood, his addiction…
A deadly attraction…
Brought together by betrayal, vampire rebel Vicq and his mortal enemy Elaina find a passion that breaks all the rules. Elaina was sent to execute him, but she fell for him instead. Now they’re both being hunted–and their forbidden love could be the only thing keeping them alive long enough to learn the truth. Danger is encountered from every angle, and they can’t seem to stay away from each other.
An unrelenting bond…
Elaina and Vicq know where their loyalties lie—with each other. But there’s a fine line between love and the will to live. Together, they’ll face many obstacles and will make a choice that will change their eternal future.
*This volume contains the following parts: Prelude, Donor, & Requiem*
Prelude
Preface
No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning.”
Proverb
Prologue
“Vida o muerte?”
"What?" the dying man croaked, confusion marking his face.
“Life or death? Which do you choose?”
Vicq’s Maker had given him this choice long ago. Not one ounce of hesitation consumed him as he extended the same options to the infected and wounded man lying on his back on the pavement, coughing up blood and struggling to stay alive.
The fact that a Dresdan had drained a human within a few short miles of his coven alarmed him. When Vicq had set up his coven near the foothills of the Black Mountains, the territory had been vacant of any vampires. Was Master Russo getting close to finding his sanctuary? Had he sent another army of Dresdan Soldiers to track him down? Or was it mere coincidence that this man was left here to die?
“I’m already dying, aren’t I?” the man asked, sputtering up blood.
“You’ve been drained by a vampire—a Dresdan. Sí…eventually you will.”
“Well, why don’t you finish me then, vamp?” he spat. “I’m too weak to move, and the sun has burned me to a crisp. Put me out of my misery…please.”
“You’re alive because you were infected with Dresdan blood before you were drained. What did you do? Try to square off with one of us?”
“Yes,” he hissed between clenched teeth. “I didn’t know he was a dirty, stinking vamp.”
Vicq shook his head and tapped the roof of his mouth with his tongue. “Careful. It’s a miracle that you still speak. Based on the amount of blood dried up around you and your current state, I don’t expect you to live more than a half hour. If you’re not dead by then, the sun rises again in five hours, and that’ll surely kill you. Whoever drained you and left you for dead wanted your passing to be slow. You can wait just another half an hour for death, can’t you?”
The man grumbled but couldn’t lash out due to his weakened state.
Vicq continued to speak, “To the north, there’re mountains. To the west, more mountains. To the east, we have valleys. You’re out in the middle of nowhere here, and miles from any hospital.” Vicq waved his arm to illustrate the landfill just a few yards behind him. “What’s a human doing out here, anyway?”
“I was…delivering a car. A Ferrari. Top of the line. The vamp betrayed me. He took the car and left me.”
“You don’t have much blood left. Decide quickly. I can give you more time, but, of course, you’ll be forever changed.”
“You’re one of them. One of those bloodsuckers who did this to me. I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“When I feed from humans, I don’t get messy.”
“If…” The man coughed. “If I take your blood, will I become like you?”
Vicq’s intuition told him that the man was worth saving or turning. And he had learned long ago that listening to his initial hunches was beneficial.
“Depends… Life or death?”
Creating a vampire and then leaving him alone to fend for himself was against the Dresdan code.
“Life, of course.”
Vicq lifted the injured man, bringing him to a sitting position. He brought his wrist to his fangs, split his vein, and offered the man his arm. “Drink, but not too much. You might feel a little drowsy afterward. There’s a motel five miles up the road from here. I’ll get you there to recover after this, but I suggest you stay inside for at least three days.”
“Will I be normal again?”
“What do you think? You’ve been bitten by Dresdan. Enough with the questions, human. You won’t be the same, but you won’t be a vampire either.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
The man looked at him apprehensively. “What will I owe you?”
“When I’m in need of a car, I'll come to you.”
He didn’t miss the light sparkle of hope in the man’s eyes.
; “Cómo se llama?” Vicq asked.
“Emory,” the man whispered. His lips had turned ashen white and his eyes virtually soulless as he struggled to hold on to what little life force was left in him.
“When you’ve had enough of being a human on the edge of insanity with a taste for blood instead of food, and you’re ready to cross over, remember my name. Vicq.”
The man cupped Vicq’s wrist in his hands and tipped it to his lips.
He’d chosen life. Vicq wasn’t surprised. Most any human would choose their life over uncertain death.
Most any human…but not him.
Life or death.
When Vicq had been given the choice by his Maker over sixty years ago, he’d chosen death because life, as it was back then, was both uncertain and unjust.
Chapter 1
Two and a half months later…
Elaina Arakelian turned her wrist over and glanced at the time on her watch again. 8:01AM. She had less than an hour to reach the District 5 base for scheduled training, yet all the tables at The Pancake Hut were occupied. The eatery was busy, as was expected during the breakfast rush. It was the only diner within a fifteen-mile radius of the base. This place had been here for years, even before the District set up shop, yet they refused to add takeout service. She was hungry and extremely low on fuel. So, she’d wait. From here, it would only take her fifteen minutes to reach base. If she timed it just right, she could get there on time.
When Elaina looked up again, she noticed that many other District 5 members were here to grab breakfast before training started. Among them were full-fledged trackers—just like her—and recruits. She wasn’t on a first-name basis with any of them—yet. Her priorities were simple. Train, complete assignments, and collect her paycheck and monthly stipend. Upon recruitment, they’d been told not to use their legal names. They weren’t allowed to hold on to any fragments of their past lives. They were basically dead to the rest of the world. They’d pledged their life to the mission. Even in death, they would all become the property of District 5.
Renegade (Shadow Realms): An Urban Fantasy Dragon Shifter Romance Page 11