by Sadie Sears
“Hey.”
She looked up at me and smiled. “Cam has just gotten through their firewall, and he’s destroying all the research files. There are also printed ones in that lab that need to be destroyed.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get it all done. I’m sure Dom and Ben are smashing that place apart as we speak.”
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I was so caught up in wanting to heal Lila, I lost sight—"
I shook my head. I couldn’t listen to her apologize for loving her sister and for wanting to save her. I should have handled everything better, explained better, perhaps had Mitias speak to her. It didn’t matter now, and I would make it up to her as soon as I could. I kissed her forehead.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I can take you to the hospital now.”
“No, I’m fine, really. Go help Dominic and Ben, make sure there is nothing left for anyone else to use. We can’t have that information getting into the wrong hands. Finish this mess, then we’ll go, I promise.”
“Okay, but you stay close to Cam and Leath. We don’t know how many are involved in this or who they are.” I cupped her face and gazed into her eyes, and then I pressed a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you,” I whispered.
Her smile was as bright as any I’d ever seen. “I love you too, Sam.”
Knowing she was safe, I grabbed some spare scrubs and jogged toward the men’s bathroom then through the wrecked doorways to the dungeon. Ben was in his dragon form, detaining the wizard with a talon on his chest, not that the guy could move—his right leg looked broken.
“It looks like you’ve secured the gadolinite,” I said as I looked at the half-melted cage I’d escaped from.
Dom nodded. “Yeah, the second we entered, we were forced back into our human forms. Ben found the stuff and put it into a box lined with gold. It looks like that’s the way the wizards carried it until they were ready to use it. How the fuck did they get a hold of it, anyway?”
“I don’t know.” Even though that was something we’d have to find out, I was more interested in getting this place destroyed and getting back to Gretta. The tanks with the dragon parts were empty, and I pointed to them as I turned to Dom. “You’ve got their remains?”
“Yeah, I’ve placed them into a container for a proper ceremonial burial.” He indicated a long box against the wall. I winced, remembering the various parts of several dragons. From their coloring, they’d looked like earth, water, and air dragons, and I wondered how the wizards had managed to bring them down. Unlike some shifters, when a dragon died in their dragon form, that was the way they stayed. Some preferred it that way, to be returned to the earth in their true form.
I helped Dom carry the container out into the hallway, feeling the loss of their lives. These were our brothers. Maybe not our clan, but brothers, nonetheless. Ben hauled the wizard out for Leath and Mitias to take care of, and once we were back in the lab, Dom and I shifted to our dragon forms and breathed fire, burning the papers Gretta had told me about. Once they were alight, we started on the alchemy tools and cauldron, melting and destroying everything in sight, with Ben by our side, using his water to make sure the fire didn’t spread beyond the lab.
After we’d completed our mission, we shifted back into human form, dressed once more, grabbed the metal container, and then headed back to everyone else.
The police and Special Wizard Forces were just taking the trio and Dr. Holt away, and a gruff-looking detective was questioning Gretta, but the second she saw me, she ran over and hugged me tightly.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she wiped off a bit of soot from my face.
“I’m fine. You’re the one who needs to get checked out.”
“I just need sleep. Once we’re done here, we can go home.”
Home. Just the word I wanted to hear.
“The detective wants to talk to you because you’re the one the wizards kidnapped. Don’t forget, though. I can tell them about the research I was doing, and about the lab, but I don’t want anything getting out about the results the wizards found. That information doesn’t need to be released to the world.”
I nodded and then pulled her to me, crushing her against me to show her how much I missed her.
After I spoke to the detective, Cam confirmed he’d erased the data from the mainframe. He’d waited with the rest of the clan, who had all remained so we could leave as one. The connection we shared, strengthened over the last few weeks, made me feel privileged, and I was proud to call them my family.
Gretta called Lila to tell her she wouldn’t be there tonight. Lila said she was more than happy to stay with Sophie, and felt much better, which I could see was a great relief to Gretta.
“Ready to go home now?” I asked her.
“Hmm, I really like the sound of that.”
21
Gretta
Dappled sunlight streamed through my window and the familiar scent of my fabric softener comforted me. I pressed my face into my pillow, relieved to be home but in need of a few more days of sleep. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I didn’t have a job to worry about.
"Good afternoon, beautiful. How are you feeling?" Sam kissed the tip of my nose and pushed the stray hairs off my face before tracing his index finger down the hollow of my cheek.
I could have lain there and looked up at him all day, every day, for the rest of my life. "I'm fine." And I was. Exhausted, but fine.
"Justin said plenty of rest, and when you think you’re all clear and ready to get up, lie down and get some more rest." He kissed my forehead.
I closed my eyes as he peppered kisses over my face and eyelids. This wasn’t the way to convince me to rest.
“I’m rested enough, but I want to talk to you about something.” Actually, I wanted to talk to him about a lot of things. “First, I want to apologize for not trusting you, for doubting you. When I think of how the wizards got so close to Lila, how much worse they’d made her, I really feel stupid and vulnerable, like I wasn’t able to do anything to protect her.”
“You’re definitely not stupid, Gretta. You didn’t know they were targeting her.”
“I know, but they used me. I don’t like being used. I’ve had enough of that in my life, and I don’t want it to happen again.” I cupped Sam’s face the way he often did to me. “I want you to claim me. I want to be stronger. Live longer. And if you claim me, it will give me more time to research and find a cure for Lila and everyone else who suffers like her.”
I loved his eyes, the ambers and golds, the sincerity and honesty always reflected in them, the love he never tried to hide. After my declaration, I thought I’d see happiness. Instead, the shine in his eyes seemed to fade.
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”
Sam sat up and turned his back to me. His shoulders were stiff, and he shook his head slightly. I had no idea what I’d said that was wrong, and I needed him to explain it to me. I moved to sit behind him on the bed.
"I have waited so long for you to say this. So long.” He breathed out and I laid my head on his back. “But you've been through so much these last few weeks. And when you make this decision, you have to really mean it. It can’t be a question."
There was something else, and we both knew it. He leaned back into my embrace as my hands roamed over his ab muscles. I kissed his back, but still, I could tell. This wasn’t what he wanted. And it hurt my heart.
"Talk to me, Sam." I touched his arm and he turned to face me.
"If I give you my claiming bite, you'll live a very long time."
"Yes, that's the crucial part of my plan."
"You’re going to outlive Lila and Zoe. And everyone else you love. It’s hard to watch people you love die, Gretta.”
“I know, but I can make great strides in curing diseases, and it will help so many people. And I know living longer than Lila and Zoe is going to hurt, but this is my chance to do good things with my skills." I draped my arms over his shoulder, but Sam clasped my
wrist and gently unclasped my arms.
“Sam.”
He stood up and raked a hand through his messy blond hair and began pacing. "The claiming bite is given out of mutual love and devotion, binding mates to each other for life.” He stopped pacing, but his muscles remained tense. “I need to know you want it because of us. You questioned whether it was destiny that chose you for me. Well, it was only because you’re perfect for me. You are the one person who could ever complete me, and before you ask, yes, I would have fallen in love with you anyway. But I couldn’t live with myself if I bound you to me, and you really didn’t want me.” His jaw twitched as he stared at me, and I felt incredibly foolish.
I stood and slowly slipped my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry I questioned you, Sam, but I want you to know that when I think of living for hundreds of years, I think of living it with you. I want to be the person who completes you because you complete me too, and I want to be bound to you because I love you.”
“But this is life-changing—”
“Oh, I certainly hope so. Can you imagine how many nights we can spend together, how many kisses we can share, how many sunsets we can watch?” I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my body against him. He was deliciously naked, and if I wasn’t mistaken, which I wasn’t, he liked the idea of the many, many nights we could spend in bed, or on the kitchen counter, or his couch.
He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. “And I love you too.”
I laughed, and it felt nice. Better than nice. It felt right. “So?”
“Why don’t you take a day or so. Think about it. I need you to be really sure, okay?”
I almost wanted to argue, but I could see his point. “Fine. And in the meantime, why don’t you show me what so many nights with you is going to be like.”
His grin warmed my blood, and I took a step toward the bed, but that was when I remembered I was supposed to take Zoe to her theater performance. I groaned and threw myself across the bed and grabbed my cell to call Lila. As soon as she answered, I launched into an apology.
“Lila, I’m so sorry. I’ll come and pick up Zoe now—”
“No worries, I was about to call you and tell you I’m going to take Zoe. You can meet me there later.” Lila’s voice sounded strong and healthy.
I hadn’t heard her not-in-pain voice in a long time, and I almost didn’t remember how vibrant she was. “Are you sure?”
“I am. I’m feeling a hundred percent, top of my game, run-a-marathon better. All my weird symptoms have subsided. It’s like I was never sick at all.” And she sounded it.
When Sam crawled onto the bed beside me and started kissing my shoulder, I really wanted Lila to be sure because I wanted Sam to keep doing what he was doing, wherever he wanted.
“That’s really good to hear but take it easy. Don’t go starting any marathons or anything.”
She chuckled. “I won’t. I’ll see you later.”
This was the life I wanted. Healthy Lila. My own dragon to love and to love me. The only thing that would top off the tank was knowing I would live by his side forever, or as close to it as we could get. "I love you. I’ll be there later on."
We hung up, and I gave a happy shoulder dance. Sam laughed and pressed a kiss to the center of my spine. "What's up?"
"Lila sounds like a new woman. Says her symptoms are gone. And I have a few hours before I have to be at Spruce Junior High for the performance of a lifetime.” I rolled over to look up at him and took a kiss as my reward.
“A couple hours you say? We might be late.” He lowered his head and kissed my neck until I groaned.
"I can’t be late,” I whispered. My thought process rapidly lost focus as his tongue worked over my skin.
When he positioned himself so he hovered over me, I closed my eyes, gasping a little as his next kiss landed between my breasts. The light touch of his fingertips grazing over my body sent shivers from my toes to my nose. This was a man who knew how to use touch, innocent touch, to make me feel naughty.
He slid down and kissed a trail up from my ankle. Each kiss seared, infusing me with desire that burned. Time stood still until a warm breath fluttered against my inner thigh. I moaned and clutched the sheets beneath me, and he grunted as he gripped my knees and spread them. I kept my eyes closed, my lower lip paying the price for my anticipation.
Waiting while he worked his way to my throbbing pussy was never so painful. I lifted my hips in encouragement because I was about to burst with need. But he snickered.
"All in good time." He ran his tongue over my belly, and I tried not to curse in frustration, but then he lightly ran a finger over my slit. I lifted my ass for more encouragement. When he gave a little twist, I cried out. My hips rocked in time with his fingers. And finally, he gently kissed my clit, then sucked it into his mouth, swirling circles with his tongue until my body pulsed, tightened, clenched.
I cried out, begging him for more. But I wanted, needed him inside me now. He shifted his body over me and hovered. His hot cock throbbed against my leg, inching closer to my slit.
"Fuck me, Sam!" I'd never given myself entirely over to a man before, but I was connected to Sam. Emotionally. Physically. I breathed in the cedar and citrus that I would always associate with him while he teased my pussy with his cock until I gripped his hips and yanked him closer. He pushed deep inside my pussy, thrusting over and over as shockwaves of pleasure rippled through me. I bucked my hips and dug my fingernails in his ass, milking his thick cock, until he cried out and collapsed on top of me.
“God, Gretta.” He groaned and shifted, but I welcomed his weight, just like I welcomed the fact I had him in my life.
He rolled onto his back, raising his arm over his head. He smiled, and like the first time I saw it, it lit a fire inside me. If I really did live to be 500 years old, I wanted to see that smile every day. His amber eyes sparkled with flecks of gold and burnt orange.
And his body. Holy shit.
“How about l make you something to eat? You rest, and then we’ll get ready to go.” He leaned in to kiss me and then climbed out of bed. I watched him as he strolled, naked and beautiful, to the bathroom. Seconds later, he came out in a pair of shorts and headed into the kitchen.
I wrapped my arms around my knees and listened to him humming an unfamiliar song, and all the while, I couldn’t stop grinning.
After dinner and a long shower with my dragon, we left for the school auditorium. It was a packed house, and I was glad I had Lila save us seats. She waved her arms until Sam and I spotted her, and we took our place a few rows from the stage.
Lila’s eyes were bright and full of life as she stood to hug Sam and kiss my cheek. I couldn’t believe the improvement in her condition. It was so obvious the removal of the crystal orbs had made an impact, and I couldn’t help but be grateful to Taurus and Vincent, who had worked so hard to make sure they’d collected every single one of them.
When Sam had confessed he hadn’t known how long the wizards had held him captive, Taurus had assured him he’d only gone missing for a few hours, and Sam’s clan were already looking for him when they’d heard his cry for help.
“Gretta.” Justin stood beside me, his face pulled into one of sorrow before he dragged me into a hug and held me tight. “I’m so sorry about yesterday. If I’d known what was happening—”
“Of course, you couldn’t have known. Don’t worry about it,” I said into his shoulder. He hugged me so tight I couldn’t pull back enough to look up at him. Eventually, he released me.
“Are you okay?” He still looked so sorrowful, and I knew it was going to be a while before he forgave himself.
“I’m fine, and so is everyone else we care about. Any word on Dr. Holt?” I still couldn’t believe he’d turned to the dark side. It made me feel like the worst judge of character.
Justin nodded. “His idiot son is representing him as his lawyer. He might as well throw himself on the mercy of the court. The wizards were transferred to the tribunal
court in Burlington, but I heard they want to appeal.”
“Appeal?” Sam shook his head. “The tribunal hasn’t even held their trial yet.” He squeezed my hand. “I’ll call Mitias later and find out if we have to testify or give a deposition, but the way they were caught red-handed, I’m sure justice will be swift.”
“Gretta may have to testify?” Lila’s brow furrowed.
I nodded. The last thing the world needed were wizards who wanted to end dragons. Dragons were protectors, doers of good. Wizards, at least all the ones I’d come into contact with, were bad. Damned straight I would testify.
The introductory music filled the auditorium as the lights dimmed. The entire place erupted into applause as Zoe danced onto the stage with three other dancers, but Sam clapped the loudest, and Lila beamed with pride.
When Zoe came center stage to deliver her monologue, the room fell silent. She recited every word with passion and emotion. When she finished her part, we all cheered so loudly that my voice sounded raspy when I tried to talk later. Justin whistled, and Lila jumped to her feet, applauding like only a proud mother could. Tears tracked down her cheeks, and I hugged her.
“Way to go, Freckles!” Sam shouted. “Bravo!”
“I’m so lucky,” I whispered to no one in particular. My whole life stretched in front of me. I didn’t need more time. I loved Sam. He was a part of me now, family, and I couldn’t wait to have him claim me forever.
22
Samuel
It had been a week since the ordeal with the wizards, and Gretta was doing great. I'd been worried. Because of Cam, I knew very well about the effects of PTSD, but if she had it, she didn’t show it. And anything physical from being trapped in an enchanted forcefield hadn’t manifested yet, either. Even Lila hadn’t experienced any residual effects from the crystal orbs.
Mitias had told me about a beautiful private clearing deep in the woods, and I wanted to take Gretta there. We both needed to unwind, so I thought it a perfect time to surprise Gretta with a getaway to the west of Spruce.