The Snow Leopard's Christmas Surprise

by Emilia Hartley

  “You need to listen to me,” Cameron pleaded. His eyes found the cracked phone.

  “I do not have to listen to anything.” Gwen flicked her hand in his direction. He fumbled backward. Her magic slammed into his chest, bearing all of her rage and the weight of her betrayal.

  See if she ever lets a dragon into her life again. They were only trouble. His leader wanted her for a weapon against their enemies. He charged Cameron with the task of convincing her to love him so that she would protect them. Nothing they’d done this past week meant anything.

  It hadn’t. That was what she wanted from it. It was a release for the both of them, nothing else.. But, but she hadn’t expected the pain that filled her chest when she learned the truth. She hadn’t expected tears to fill the corners of her eyes.

  “Get out,” she growled. Angry, she threw the cracked phone at him. Deftly, he snatched it out of the air before it could hit him in the face. Gwen let a small sound of frustration slip past her lips.

  “Not until you hear me out!” Cameron calmly stood his ground, even as his voice rose.

  “I do not have to hear anything. You lied. You came here with false intentions. Get out of my home.” She flicked her hand at him again and shoved at him. The door flew open behind him and he stumbled back through it. When it slammed shut in front of him, her heart thudded inside her chest.

  She quickly closed the space between her and the door, her fingers shakily tracing warding sigils across the cheap wood. They glowed in the dim morning light for a second. Then, they sank into the wood. She would have to do it on every wall of the apartment to keep him out.

  But, it locked her inside. She felt tears burn her eyes and a sob shook her chest. She sank to the floor and reached for her cards, willing them to tell her the future. Instead, her fingers flipped the same three cards. Tower. Lovers. Death.

  She let her tears consume her. She was going to die in this apartment. The beast outside was undoubtedly going to burn her home down around her for kicking him out. Dragons did not like to be told no.

  Chapter Nine

  Cameron let himself sink to sit on the stair case. His head fell back and a sigh slipped out from between his lips. He could feel the crawling sensation of wards being wrapped around her apartment. Gwen closed herself up and there was no getting back inside.

  His mate had cast him out. The beast inside of him prowled, angry and dejected. It wanted back inside, wanted Cameron to explain their side of the story, wanted their mate to forgive them so that they could nestle their head between her breasts once more.

  It was almost impossible to think that the Witch of Caernarfon was his mate. She was a legend among not only her own people, but the supernatural community as well. The witch that had leveled towns with her wild magic was his mate. She was wild and beautiful and, also, scared as a rabbit looking in the eyes of a wolf.

  That made him angry. He wished to know who had hurt the Witch of Caernarfon, his mate, so badly that she was terrified of his kind. He’d seen the wreckage that her power could cause. What had been done to her to make her afraid?

  Sucking in a ragged breath, Cameron forced himself up. He glanced back at the now warded apartment. There had to be a way for him to get back inside.

  Better yet, there had to be a way to get her to come out. It had to be on her own terms. She had to approach him with no fear in her heart. Then, she would listen to him. They would come to an understanding. It was his fault for not telling her sooner that they were mated. That truth could have helped her realize he did not bed her for the reasons Drystan asked for.

  It was one thing to venture around the Territory in only his underwear, but Gwen had shoved him into the public with nothing more than his skivvies and a cracked phone. With a sigh, he crept down the stairs to her apartment and went in search of a shop that would allow him to replace his lost clothing. Then, he would take up post at the café across the street and wait for her to run. Surely, she would be on the run again, soon. The Witch of Caernarfon had been running for a long time. Now that a dragon knew where she was, he was sure she was going to try again.

  His thoughts fell upon the cards she drew for him. It occurred to him that, perhaps, the cards she thought she accidentally drew for herself could apply to the both of them. It made sense considering that she was his mate. Anything that applied to her would, by default, include him, too. He thought back to the images laying before him on that small café table.

  The Tower. Not that he knew what it meant. All he could remember was the image of a woman tumbling from a high tower. It did not bode well, but he wondered if it was only a thrust into the unknown that it forebode. The thrust into a mating bond that she was not prepared for.

  What had been the second card? An image of two, entwined bodies returned to his memory. The Lovers. Indeed, he wished they would become lovers. A single night was not good enough for him. He needed her in his life then here on out.

  People stared at him, women’s eyes drawn downward until their conscience reminded them to look away with red faces. He couldn’t appreciate the glances. Not when he knew his mate had locked herself in her apartment, when she thought he was using her. His stomach rolled. They could barely help themselves the night before, caught in the pull that the new bond had over them. He hoped that she didn’t think the sex was a ploy, too. It had meant something to him, that first touch. He craved more. He needed to be hilt deep in her again.

  After an hour of feigning embarrassment in a small shop and struggling to pull up his credit card information on his phone, a technological advancement that he was grateful for the first time ever, Cameron was outfitted with new jeans, boots, and a t-shirt that advertised tourism for the town. It covered his body and that was all he cared about.

  Upon returning, he scoped out her apartment for signs of her disappearance. A shadow passed over her bedroom window as though Gwen was inside, pacing. His heart thumped hard, but he didn’t move toward her. Instead, he was smart enough to claim a table near the window of the café across the street and order an espresso.

  Behind him, a TV silently displayed a local news station. At first, he paid no attention to it. Things happening in that small town were of little consequence to him at that moment. But, then he caught a glimpse of red scales across the screen and it suddenly had his full attention.

  The fight between a red dragon and white dragon played out across the screen. The camera shook and swayed as though it was filmed by a phone in the crowd of bystanders. For a moment, Cameron’s heart surged. Then he realized that the dragon he was seeing on the screen was Wesley. It was the fight after GOE kidnapped his mate. Cameron’s brows sloped together in confusion.

  He called out to the barista behind the counter to turn on the sound. She frowned, but did as he asked, raising a small remote and pointing it at the TV mounted in the corner. A reporter’s baritone voice filled the space and Cameron’s stomach turned as the scene shifted. A portly man wearing a GOE badge on his chest stood beside a figure Cameron recognized as another dragon shifter. The man was tall and his chest was wide and flat. A charismatic smile full of white teeth was plastered across his face, but didn’t quite meet his eyes as he looked out over the crowd at the press conference. His nearly white hair was combed back into a respectable style, the whole package looking like it belonged in a movie. Not on the news.

  “The Guardians of Existence are proud to announce the head of our newest department, the Dragon Shifter Embassy. Please welcome Malcom Whittaker to GOE!”

  A round of hesitant applause rang out through the crowd, the microphone capturing the murmur of whispers that circled around the podium. The white dragon stepped forward, his charismatic smile nearly glowing. Cameron already didn’t like him. The façade that this dragon held was blinding those around him.

  “I am happy to become a part of the Guardians of Existence and to help protect this city from the threat of dragon shifters. My family and I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe from the
reckless red dragon family as well as any other dragons that dare set foot on our streets. All that we ask from you in return is a slice of home for ourselves. We will not take space from you, but, instead, carve out a small holding for my family in the territory already set aside for dragons.”

  There was another moment of stone still silence before the crowd erupted into cheers. It seemed the white dragon had presence. Enough to win over the hearts of a city absolutely terrified of dragons. Then again, he wasn’t a red dragon. They didn’t see a need to fear him.

  Not yet.

  Present at the press conference were his brother and Rhiannon. Gareth’s grip on Rhiannon’s shoulders were tight. He guessed that his brother was ready to run at a moment’s notice. His mate was determined to rescue the image of the red dragons, but she was also pregnant. Gareth had to be going crazy. It was a wonder that he kept control over himself while the crowd threw words of hatred at them.

  Cameron’s fist tightened atop the table. His home was threatened and he was not there to protect it. He cut a sideways glance out the window. Gwen’s apartment was still. He wanted nothing more than to break down the wards she’d placed around the apartment and carry her back to the territory so that he could protect his home and his mate all at once. He knew that would not win her heart. It would terrify her more than anything. He couldn’t risk that. Not with his mate.

  He looked back at the television, hoping that he had not given himself away as one of the red dragons vilified on the screen.

  ***

  Gwen sat on the floor of her bedroom for a long time. She stared at the floor, trying to sort through the mess that tumbled through her mind. Once again, she’d made the mistake of letting a dragon into her life. She could barely believe that she’d done more than let him into her apartment. She’d let him into her body and… she loved it.

  She half expected Cameron to stand outside her door, stubbornly pushing through the wards that she’d woven. Given time and persistence, a dragon’s magic could do exactly that. Instead, she heard silence. His clothing lay on the floor beside her in shreds. She’d kicked him out in his underwear and nothing else. It brought a snicker to her lips.

  Packing should have been the first thing on her mind. Her bag was already half packed and her cards were back in her possession, returned by the odd dragon man. Gwen found herself rising from where she sat. Calmly, much calmer than she thought she would be, Gwen prepared herself a mug of lavender and honey tea before sitting in front of her cards.

  One more draw. They would reveal the path she would follow. She needed to understand this tether that she felt connecting her to Cameron, a dragon she’d only known for a night. It was impossible that she was his mate, but perhaps she was meant to help them in their time of need.

  Feeling a compulsion, she reached for the remote on the table beside her card deck. The television flared to life, the faint sound of static ringing in her ears. A local news station greeted her. A portly man stood alone on a podium, his booming voice promising the crowd that measures would be taken to eradicate the red dragons from Snowdonia. She felt her chest tighten. From Cameron’s red hair, she could easily assume that he was one of the red dragons in question.

  News traveled fast these days. She heard of the turmoil the red dragons were causing in Bangor, but had waved it off. The first red dragon to cause trouble had been protecting his mate, a sacred bond that bound him to a human woman. The second dragon to stir the pot claimed to have been stolen as a child and implanted with silver. She claimed to have been framed by GOE. Terrible things were happening, but Gwen felt the need to believe the red dragons in their claims.

  “Snowdonia no longer belongs to our red dragon neighbors,” the portly man announced, his fist in the air. “They are no longer neighbors of Bangor!”

  Gwen pulled her gaze from the television to draw a card. Her long fingers flipped over The Lovers once again. She felt a hand grip her heart. With trembling fingers, she pulled the next. Death. She sucked her lower lip between her teeth as she regarded the card. If she hadn’t drawn The Tower, it most likely meant that she’d moved past that stage in her life already. Change came and went already.

  There was one more card to draw. She looked at the deck out of the corner of her eye, wondering what other news it held for her. She feared what it might try to tell her for what could possibly come after death?

  The card Gwen drew made her breath catch in her throat. It was one that she’d never drawn before. Not for herself, at least. She’d been half expecting to draw a blank card, the image erased by the magic flowing around her. Instead, she stared down at the Ace of Pentacles.

  Prosperity.

  Happiness.

  Her heart raced inside her chest. Her eyes moved back to The Lovers, still lying face up on the table. Did it mean…? Could it be?

  She had no way of knowing. Not unless she wanted to hunt down the dragon man she let into her apartment, because she was sure that he didn’t bother hanging around from the lack of noise outside her door.

  Her hand fisted, tiny nails biting into her palm. No, it couldn’t be. She swiped her hands over the cards and turned her attention back to the news station. The portly man was going on about the measures they would take to push the red dragons from Snowdonia.

  The dragons needed her help. That was clear. She let her head fall back against the couch. Was she really going to do this? She cracked an eye open and glared at the Death card.

  Yes. She was going to do this. The red dragons needed help and they thought she would be enough to turn the tables in their favor. The least she could do was help. She could fight on their behalf. Her life had been long enough as it was. She was done running. She was done hiding.

  With a new resolve, Gwen packed her meager belongings into a canvas duffle bag. She didn’t want to say good-bye to the garden she’d cultivated in her bedroom, but she couldn’t take it with her. Not where she was going.

  Preparing for travel, perhaps in the way that a dragon was best known for, Gwen chose a pair of slim jeans and a long sleeved, sage colored top. Her brown leather boots slapped the stairs as she left her home of the past fifteen years without looking back.

  Where could she find a red dragon hiding in her town? That was the real question. She could look for a half-naked man, but she was sure that he’d found new clothing by now.

  ***

  Cameron’s breath caught in his throat before he launched himself up from his seat. The witch had left her apartment after all. She stood on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street as though in search of someone. He wasted no time in rushing toward her, forgetting to leave a tip for his server.

  Nearly breathless, he darted across the busy street and was welcomed by several blaring horns. Gwen’s eyes fell on him and he expected her to dart like a rabbit. Instead, her face opened up. She smiled at him. Cameron could have sworn his heart stopped at the sight of it.

  He halted a few feet away from her. She looked up at him expectantly.

  “So,” she began, one hand on the strap of her canvas duffle bag. “Where are we going?”

  His heart fluttered with joy. It made him feel light and effervescent, the opposite of what he knew meant to be a dragon. What happened? Last time he saw her she’d thrown him out of her home. Yet, here she stood with wary determination in her eyes.

  He couldn’t stop himself as his arm snaked around her lower back and he pulled her to his body before his lips fell upon hers. He devoured her mouth, tongue teasing and exploring until they had to come up for air. Gwen was surprised and breathless when he pulled back, staring wide eyed up at him, lips slightly parted.

  “I’m only doing this to help your people,” Gwen reminded him, her brows a hard line over her narrowed eyes, despite how soft her mouth had been under his moments ago. “After that… I don’t know. I’ll go my own way, I guess.”

  He laid another soft kiss on her lips before releasing her. His beast roared at him, louder than it had ever been be
fore, to hold her, to keep her near before she could escape. One step at a time, he said to the beast before he shook his head to drown out the beast’s roaring.

  “Then we go back to Snowdonia,” Cameron said softly before turning to lead her away.

  Gwen’s brows knit together in confusion. She didn’t follow. “I thought the red dragons were pushed from Snowdonia. There are none left in the Territory.”

  Cameron paused, a few feet away. His eyes scanned the crowds around them for ears that might be listening before responding. “They are still there, in hiding.”

  “And you think that I can help them?”

  His main goal was getting his new mate somewhere that she could be safe and happy. Unfortunately, that also meant ridding Snowdonia and Bangor of the white dragons that were terrorizing them. Afterwards, they had to heal their relationship with Bangor. Maggie and Rhiannon could handle relations, but protection…

  “You have a power they won’t see coming. Your wards could buy us time. Our leader also heard you’re much stronger than your average witch. You could turn the tide for us in this fight.”

  He watched his mate pull in a ragged breath and try to steady herself as she gazed out at the town they would leave. Should he tell her the truth? Could he tell her that she was his mate? Or, would she turn away from the truth as though it were a lie?

  Finally, she nodded. “Take me to Snowdonia.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cameron took them to a place outside of town that was reasonably empty. There was a forest on one side and a farm on the other. Farmers usually saw the red dragons, the symbol of Wales long before their exposure, as good luck. He didn’t have to worry about their presence if one found them.

  “Can your magic make me invisible to the eye?”

  She seemed to think about it before shaking her head. “It is impossible to make things invisible, but I can ward us with a kind of See Me Not spell. It would cause people to look away if they happen upon us. Are you…?”