Finding the Wolf(The Dragon's Hoard #1)

by Mell Eight

  He had a bed with blankets ready for Leon in those rooms, and he had a bath.

  All young dragons went through a phase in their research where they wanted to find out what would happen to a dragon's internal fire if they were submerged in water. Nyle had gotten the impression when he was building his project that most dragons jumped into the nearest lake and then returned to more pressing experiments.

  Nyle, who didn't like the thought of jumping into cold water, had built his own bath. He had hollowed out a basin in the floor of a small side room and tiled it. Then he had dug a path to the nearest underground stream and diverged the water. The water came down a pathway that went over a number of wood burning fireplaces and drained out of the bath back into the original stream.

  Leon seemed suitably impressed with the bed and the bath and had no qualms about getting naked and having Nyle join him in the water.

  The clothes and jewels were laid out neatly to the side and Leon stood in front of Nyle, naked and seeming quite happy to be there. Nyle couldn't help blushing and hoped that Leon couldn't tell that he was responding to Leon's lack of clothing, too.

  Apparently Leon was perceptive enough to see how aroused Nyle was. He was part wolf, so perhaps he smelled Nyle's changing scent.

  "Well, I'd help you out with that," Leon said with a long glance at where Nyle was tenting his pants, "but the cold water will kill it in a second." He indicated to the bath.

  "You cannot perform sex in cold water?" Nyle asked, intrigued to learn something else new. He wasn't nearly as perturbed at the thought of having sex with Leon again as he thought he should be. It had been a pleasurable experience the first time and Leon was a perfect subject for continued study of the phenomenon. Leon was strong and well-muscled in a sleek body built to display Nyle's pretties—to be one of Nyle's pretties—and Nyle wanted to keep him forever, particularly if forever meant more sex. Sex and pretties were the perfect combination.

  "No," Leon replied. "Instant shrinkage. But I haven't had a proper bath since I had servants in the castle. We can continue this later." Leon's sultry look made Nyle twitch.

  Nyle wasn't about to allow a little cold water ruin what could be a lot of fun. He opened a small side panel in the wall next to the bath and blew a long stream of fire onto the line of wood set underneath his carved pipe.

  "Give it a few minutes," Nyle said as he attempted a sultry look of his own.

  "That is really useful," Leon purred. With speed Nyle knew was borne from the wolf inside him, Leon suddenly had their chests pressed together and other things rubbing delicately in ways that made Nyle gasp.

  "No shrinking now," Nyle breathed as his lips found Leon's in a hot, wet kiss.

  The basin was large enough to fit a child dragon, a size that would allow five fully-grown humans space to stretch out comfortably. As steam began to fill the small room and their kisses grew more frantic with need, Leon backed them into the warm pool.

  "Water is great," Leon murmured. "No other lubrication needed."

  As a wet finger circled and then slid inside Nyle with ease, he had to agree that water was very nice. Two more fingers were quickly added and Nyle could feel Leon's impatience as he rode the wet digits.

  "More," Nyle groaned. "Want you."

  The fingers vanished and were replaced by Leon's heat. As he pressed inside, Nyle pressed downward. Leon was nestled into a rise in the bath that used to be a dragon-sized headrest with Nyle lying on top of him. The warm water began to splash as they moved, Leon thrusting deeper inside Nyle with every groan of pleasure.

  They both came quickly. The pleasure was strong from the water and the days of abstinence. Nyle rolled off to the side and couldn't help cuddling into Leon's side as they panted together.

  They let the rushing warm water run over their bodies. Tense muscles relaxed until they were a pile of contented dragon and wolf.

  "This is wonderful," Leon groaned, pillowing his head on top of Nyle's where he had buried it in Leon's chest. "What did you make this for?"

  "An experiment to see if my internal flame would go out if I submerged in water," Nyle found the strength to reply.

  "Does it?" Leon asked, looking a little alarmed since Nyle was currently mostly submerged.

  "No. But swallowing water directly into my fire stomach does," he added sheepishly.

  Leon laughed. "I'm sensing a funny story."

  "It wasn't funny at the time," Nyle grumbled. "I was twenty years old. In comparison to human development you could say I was about five years of age. I wanted to know what would happen so I swallowed the water. Elder Toel was not amused to find a very young, very wet dragon stampeding into his hoard room to cry about never being able to flame again."

  "But you can flame. You just did to turn the bath on," Leon exclaimed.

  Nyle chucked to himself. "Elder Toel told me I just had to let my stomach dry and my flame would rekindle. Then he gave me a fire colored pretty to make me stop crying."

  "I guess dragons are a bit predictable when it comes to pretties," Leon murmured. Nyle noticed when Leon's hand began to travel south along Nyle's stomach and decided that it wouldn't be so bad if he copied Leon's example with his own hand.

  "Not many dragons will give away a pretty, even to ease a crying child," Nyle said around a gasp as Leon's hand connected and squeezed gently.

  "If Toel's the stuffy yellow guy we met before the Eldest," Leon began, but didn't finish because Nyle found a spot that made Leon writhe. "Round. Two?" Leon forced out, his voice filled with a questioning lilt.

  Nyle lifted his head to kiss Leon in response.

  "Bend over," Leon said as he stood up in the bath. He pulled Nyle to his feet, and bent Nyle over at the waist so his hands had to grip the edges of the basin for balance.

  Leon's fingers returned, probing even though Nyle was already wet and ready from their previous exertions. It didn't take long before Leon was gently pushing inside and they found a rhythm.

  Nyle clung to the edges of the bath and the thought of carving out real handholds for future repeats crossed his mind for a second before fleeing as Nyle stopped being able to think about anything in particular.

  Nyle moaned and tightened around Leon as he hit that wonderful spot inside. Leon shortened his strokes, running himself over that spot perfectly until Nyle was writhing and panting and losing his grip on the bath.

  Leon wrapped his arms around Nyle's waist, holding him up, and the feel of Leon's chest pressed to his back made Nyle arch and start begging for release.

  "I'm close," Leon hissed in Nyle's ear, his tongue following his voice around the curved shell.

  "Me too," Nyle gasped out. He turned his head and his lips were met with Leon's in a kiss that deepened as Leon's thrusts became erratic and more forceful.

  One of Leon's hands gripped Nyle, pumping with his thrusts until both of them were groaning their pleasure into the bath.

  Nyle sunk to his knees, head pillowed on hands that couldn't seem to let go of the edge of the bath, and panted happily. "So. Good," he murmured.

  "Glad you like it," Leon murmured back, pulling out gently and settling down into the tub again as he spoke. "Now come here," he added as he opened his arms for cuddling.

  Nyle finally figured out how to move his fingers and crawled into his lover's warm arms.

  "Well, that looks comfy," a woman's voice interrupted.

  Nyle would have shot to his feet if he hadn't had a set of arms restraining him. He still managed to sit up and turn towards the intruder.

  "Hatch-mother Ana'gail!" Nyle gasped when he saw her standing next to the bath. She was tall and willowy, a beauty in her human shape, with ruby red hair and almond shaped golden eyes.

  "An'nanyle," she replied. "I want a pretty who will hold me, too!" she pouted. "Will you share yours?"

  Nyle floundered for what to say. She was his hatch-mother and according to protocol shouldn't be denied borrowing access to Nyle's pretties. But he didn't want to share his new pretty w
ith anyone.

  "Sorry, Miss," Leon spoke up, laughter in his voice. "I'm a one-dragon pretty."

  "Well," she sniffed. "I will simply have to find one for myself. Now get out of the water, Nyle. Toel sent me to talk to you." She walked out of the bathroom and changed into her regular, red colored dragon shape once she reached Nyle's main cave.

  "That was interesting," Leon said as he stood and pulled Nyle to his feet. "Was that your mother?"

  "She is the one who laid my egg and kept me warm until hatching," Nyle nodded. He retrieved drying cloths for them so their clothes wouldn't get soggy.

  "I thought all dragons were gold colored," Leon mused as he helped Nyle dry his gold-colored hair that mimicked the golden scales of his other form.

  "Dragons take their hide colors from the paternal line," Nyle explained. "It has been speculated that An'tatoel is my hatch-father, as he is gold, and the Eldest is hatch-father to the line."

  "So that's why Toel gave you a pretty when you were crying?"

  Nyle smiled. "Probably. But once dragons are self-sufficient, ties like mother and father mean nothing."

  Leon shook his head. "I doubt that. Otherwise why would Toel and Gail come check on you so often? I think they care a great deal."

  Nyle didn't reply. Whether his hatch-parents cared or not was a moot point. Dragons had their own research to pursue and taking care of little ones interfered. Nyle had learned and grown on his own regardless of whatever pretties Toel and Gail had given him when he was distressed.

  Nyle helped Leon put on his sapphire necklace but left the rest of the jewelry behind before going to speak with Gail.

  "There you are!" Gail said as they reappeared in the larger cavern. She was running her claws through Nyle's carefully organized pile of rubies. The younger dragon tried not to wince as everything was mussed up.

  Nyle didn't bother changing into dragon form. Hatch-mother was considered to be an odd dragon and wouldn't be insulted. She had spent a century nursing an egg, abandoning all her other projects just to see what it would be like. She also routinely forgot basic protocol and tended to chatter aimlessly, much to the distress of those she was speaking with.

  Nyle decided to head her off before she started rambling. "Toel sent you?" he asked.

  She snorted. "The old grump thinks you're being dangerous, making this wolf into part of your hoard. He thinks we'll be losing pretties to his thieving human side and picking up messes because of his canine side. And we'll be fighting off the werewolf when he loses control too."

  "Ah," Nyle breathed. Toel was only looking at the surface. He could easily be brought to see reason.

  "He," Toel added as he entered Nyle's cave, "is already seeing the consequences of the actions taken by young An'nanyle." Toel was looking at Nyle's human form, but the younger dragon did not miss the way Toel's eyes glanced at Nyle and Leon's clasped hands.

  "Thou must understand," Toel continued to Nyle. "A werewolf is as ageless as dragon kind. He shall be part of thy hoard as endlessly as the gem around his neck and thou must understand that having a human seeming animal is much different than caring for the pile of rubies Ana'gail has so thoughtlessly ruined for thee"

  "I do understand," Nyle answered strongly back to Toel, even as his hand nervously gripped Leon tighter. "I want Leon to stay with me. He is the showpiece of my hoard."

  Gail giggled. "Especially if he's naked all the time," she added. Nyle felt his human face go bright red. Did his hatch-mother have any tact? They were trying to convince Toel that Leon would be good for Nyle's hoard, not tell the elder dragon of the purely human interaction Nyle had with the werewolf. Although, Nyle mused, the handholding may have tipped Toel off, because the older dragon did not look startled at all.

  Toel ignored Gail's continued giggling with the ease of long practice. He nodded respectfully to Nyle, and Nyle bowed his head back.

  "Do not appear in my caves next week, crying because thy showpiece has run off with thy hatching-gem," he said finally.

  "I will not," Nyle replied. "Because he will not leave me." The squeeze Leon's hand gave Nyle's confirmed that thought. Leon would not leave Nyle next week. Or ever, if Nyle and Leon had any say in the proceedings.

  "Very well. The Eldest has come to a decision." Toel looked at Nyle and Leon in turn as if gauging their strengths before continuing. "He has ordered that An'nanyle represent the dragons at the human court. Thou art ordered to investigate the events that enabled such a miscommunication to occur. If tis proven that the human king fabricated the entire debacle, thou art to report to the Eldest and he shall take action."

  Nyle nodded. "It shall be done posthaste."

  "Additionally, thou art to take Prince Leon to the human castle. Ascertain their intentions for your hoard prior to the search for him and now that he has been located." Toel turned to Leon to explain, and Nyle had to stop himself from gasping out loud that stiff Toel would deign to speak with a human. "Communal protection of a dragon's hoard is the highest law of dragons. Because thou art of An'nanyle's hoard, thou art protected. The lengths needed for safeguarding must be ascertained at the human court."

  "Thank you, elder," Leon said with a bow. "I will do everything I can to help figure out what's going on."

  "Good," Toel said with a tone of finality that said he was done carrying messages to Nyle. He turned to Gail and shook his head when he saw what her claws had done to Nyle's various piles of gems. "Thou art a menace. Come, I am removing you before any further damage is caused."

  "Aww," Gail whined. "But I wanted to play with Nyle's huggable pretty for a bit longer."

  "Perhaps that is an ill-founded idea," Toel said as he led her out of Nyle's caves.

  Gail sighed. "All right. I just got this awesome idea, though. So you have to help me try it out. We'll have to turn into human form and be naked, but I think it should be fun!"

  They left the cave and only once their voices no longer echoed along the hallways did Nyle and Leon collapse into laughter.

  "Your parents are awesome!" Leon laughed.

  "They do have interesting interactions," Nyle agreed.

  Leon snorted. "Your mother's got Toel wrapped around her claw. The stiff guy doesn't have a chance."

  "Perhaps," Nyle agreed. "What are your parents like?"

  Leon sobered quickly after that question. "My father is King and my mother is Queen. I didn't meet them until I was six because I always had nannies taking care of me. My lessons were carefully structured so I learned everything without ever needing to interrupt my parents' day-to-day lives. When I was fifteen, I was introduced at court, but my parents were always the stiff-necked people who sat a few seats down the banquet table, until my mother died a year later.

  "I think the first real conversation I had with my father was when he told me of my mission in the Wilds. And when I finally returned, he took my report without asking whether I was okay. Leaving that place was probably one of the best decisions of my life."

  "And now we're making you return there," Nyle said softly. "I am sorry."

  Leon shook his head. "No, I want to know what's going on, too. My father has ignored me all my life. Why would he start looking into my affairs now?"

  "All right," Nyle said in a much more chipper voice. "Then let's go get ready."

  *~*~*

  The castle had a turret and a courtyard and was made of stone blocks in a very linear fashion. Nyle found the manor houses of the nobility much more interesting. The boring style of the castle fit the current ruling family, who were rather bland in Nyle's opinion. Leon being the exception, of course.

  They gave their names to the guards at the gate and while one rushed ahead to announce them, the other let them into the castle and called over a pageboy to guide them to the throne room.

  The man standing just inside the overly ornate great doors pounded his staff into a metal plate set into the floor. The room filled with milling humans in fancy dress and covered in sparkle quieted quickly.

 
"Dragon Lord An'nanyle and Prince Leon!" the man holding the staff yelled into the silence that quickly changed from curious to shocked once they got a look at Nyle and Leon.

  Nyle was wearing what appeared to be plain black pants, but when he moved the black pearls sewn into the subtle embroidery glowed. A flame ruby pendant set in gold lay on his bare chest, and a ruby and gold circlet held his hair back from his gold eyes.

  Leon was wearing the same pants and sapphire jewelry as he had when visiting the Eldest and shone like the pretty he was at Nyle's side. They were easily the best-dressed people in the room for all of their apparent simplicity.

  They walked down the center aisle until they stood in front of the dais on which the thrones sat. Leon bowed to his father but Nyle, as Dragon Lord, was not subservient to the human ruler so did not. King Leander was definitely an older version of Leon, however where Leon was jewel toned, the king was faded. His black hair lacked the sheen of Leon's and his eyes were too hard to emulate sapphires properly. Nyle would not have chosen the king for his hoard.

  "Prince Leon; my son!" King Leander said loudly with clearly false cheer that effectively hid whatever his true feelings were. The fact that Leander spoke of Leon's rank rather than familial ties first told Nyle a lot about what was important to the man. "How wonderful that you have returned."

  "Your majesty," Leon said softly as he straightened up. "I have returned at the side of a Dragon Lord to ask you about the progress made in the werewolf kidnapping case I reported to you two years ago."

  King Leander's face didn't change even as he was confronted by his duplicity in front of a dragon, but Nyle was watching closely and saw the man's hands clench on the throne's armrests. He also saw just how careful King Leander was not to look directly in Nyle's eyes or to let his gaze rest on any bit of sparkle near Nyle for more than half a moment. Leander knew how dragon magic worked and he clearly wasn't about to give Nyle any chance to use it on him. It seemed strange to Nyle that King Leander felt he needed to prevent dragon magic from being used, as if he had a secret of some sort to hide.