by R. E. Butler
Hanai and Dag were black panthers who came into Ashland every summer and set up their RVs in the empty field behind the boarding house. They came to Ashland because Jilly was part of their pride and wanted to stay connected to them. Hanai was a shifter historian, and also researched other supernatural groups. If anyone could help Treasure with whatever was going on, Brian bet it would be Hanai.
Hope followed Rhett and Lisa down the stairs. “I called my mates, they’re getting ready. Now what’s going on?”
Treasure lifted her head from Brian’s shoulder and said, “I’ll explain everything at the boarding house, but suffice to say that while I’m okay right now, I think I’m going to be in trouble.”
Brian’s cat snarled, and the sound was matched by Rhett’s angry growl and flashing eyes.
Ten minutes later they were in the boarding house’s kitchen. Ethan and Eryx were there, as well as Hanai and Dag, and many of the pride males. Hope was with her mates, and Brian and Kevin held Treasure’s hands as she told the group about the strange dream she’d had the night before about a winged male in her bedroom.
“I thought it was my imagination,” she said, looking around the room. “But he came to me again tonight. Not in the bedroom, but in a dream. I know for sure that I didn’t dream him the night before – he admitted he’d opened a portal directly into my bedroom.”
James frowned. “So this male wants you to open a portal and meet with the king?”
She nodded. “If I don’t go see the king, he’ll come here with warriors.”
“How many dragons are there?” Rue asked.
Treasure shrugged. “According to my father, they’d been hunted to near extinction by the fae soldiers. The king took the remaining dragons and fled deep into their territory before I was born. When my father mated my mother, he hid what he truly was with a spell. There could be a handful of dragons, or dozens; I have no way of knowing.”
“It doesn’t really matter if there’s one or a hundred,” Rhett said. “No one threatens my daughter or invades her dreams.”
Hope grasped Treasure’s arm, her eyes glistening. “Is this because of me? Did the dragons find you because I couldn’t stop talking about finding a way to break that damn curse?”
Treasure let go of Brian and Kevin’s hands and hugged her best friend. “You’re worth any trouble, I promise.”
James rapped his knuckles on the kitchen island. “What happens if we go into the fae realm?”
Treasure’s brows rose. “All of you?”
He nodded. “You can keep yourself protected from fae discovery like you did before, but it shouldn’t matter for the rest of us. We meet the dragon king, tell him to kindly fuck off, and get home in time for breakfast.”
“I…I don’t know what we’d be walking into,” Treasure said.
“We can handle the dragons,” Dag said. “The panther clan has numerous warriors. Coupled with a fierce bear shifter and a handful of lions, I’d wager the dragons won’t be expecting anything like us when you show up.”
“And the reasoning behind us going to him,” James said, “is that we keep any potential conflict away from the pride’s children.”
Treasure blew out a breath. “I’d hate for them to come here and have someone get hurt because of me.”
“The question is, what does the king want?” Kevin said. “Why would he insist Treasure come to see him and send his son, not only to portal into her bedroom but also to dream-walk?”
No one said anything for a long moment. Then Jericho, the bear shifter who shared a mate with Alek, said, “If the dragons are few in number, it’s not a far stretch to assume he might want Treasure as a mate for one of his males, perhaps his son. When a shifter group has more males than females, the females become a commodity to be hoarded. He may be trying to get you to his realm so that he can tempt you to walk away from your mates and join his kingdom.”
“Tempt?” Jilly said with a snort. “If he’s the sort of male who sends his son into a female’s room in the middle of the night, I’m guessing he’s the sort of male who would try to force her to stay with him no matter what she wanted.”
“All the more reason you shouldn’t go alone,” James said, looking at Treasure. “Can you open a portal to where the dragons are?”
She blew out a breath. “I need to see my dad’s books, but yes. Drayce said that dragons can find each other, so I believe I can find him in the fae realm.”
“Just so long as you’re safe when we do this,” Rhett said.
“I will be,” Treasure said.
Brian and Kevin took Treasure to their home so she could look through her father’s books. They searched through all the volumes, looking for anything related to dragons being able to locate each other.
“Here,” Brian said, turning the book he was looking at so that Treasure could read the page. “It says that dragons can naturally find each other with a Call.”
“What the hell is a Call?” Kevin asked as he peered at the page.
“Wait.” Treasure tapped her fingertip on the page. “I remember seeing that word before. It’s a way that dragons can locate each other, like the echolocation that dolphins use.”
She rearranged the books on the desk, then pulled one book out from a stack and flipped through it. “Dragons have a language all their own, as well as abilities that are unique to their kind. ‘Calling’ is when a dragon uses its magic to search for its own kind. See? Here.” She pointed to a page and Brian and Kevin leaned over and scanned it. A dragon could reach out to a group of dragons, or search for a specific one, using the Call.
“This is crazy creepy,” Kevin said. “To think that any dragon could find anyone it wished without their consent is really absurd.”
Treasure nodded.
“Can you do the Call?” Brian asked.
“I think so. You know, all this time I’ve been with the pride, I’ve focused on my fae side. I mean, I work on shifting and controlling my fire, but I feel like there are all these things that my dragon could do that I had no idea about. Like Calling and dream-walking.” She shook her head with a frown.
“You can’t know everything,” Brian reminded her. “Your fae side is important to you, so you nurtured it. Now you need to focus on the dragon.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Kevin asked.
“I was obsessed with figuring out the mountain lion curse, and I opened myself up to the dragons because of it.”
“At least it’s not fae looking to kill you,” Brian said. “You protected yourself in the best way you knew how. And no one faults you for wanting to help Hope. As long as the curse stands, our people are fractured because of it.”
Brian was full-on pissed that his mate had to deal with these asshole dragons, but he didn’t blame her for the situation. She loved the pride, and Hope was her best friend. She was the sort of person who would do anything in her power to help the people she loved. He put a piece of paper in the book and closed it.
“The pride’s waiting, sweetheart.”
“I’m ready.”
She smiled, but it was a forced sort of smile, her lips barely turned up at the corners. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pressed his forehead to hers. “You’ve got this. Kev and I aren’t going anywhere but with you. The pride’s at your back. These are some pissy dragons, and we’ll set the record straight with them. You’re ours, and no king of anyone is going to change that.”
“I love you,” she whispered, her voice going thick at the end.
“Love you, too,” he promised.
He gave her neck a gentle squeeze and released it, then gathered all the books she needed from the desk while his brother and Treasure shared similar sentiments. They left the house as a group and found Rhett and Lisa waiting to drive them to the boarding house. The ride was quiet and tense. Brian wanted to reassure Treasure that everything would be fine, but the reality was that he didn’t know if it would be. He could only promise that he woul
d give his own life to see his mate safe, but the last thing he wanted was to saddle her with his uncertainty that he’d make it out of this situation alive. The dragon king’s motives were a mystery.
The interior of the boarding house was dark, but when they exited the truck they heard talking at the back of the large building and headed toward it. Lions, panthers, and one bear were milling around in the backyard, where a firepit illuminated the patio. Brian was humbled by the support of the pride and panther clan members, who were ready to lend a hand at a moment’s notice, even in the middle of the night.
Rhett raised his hand and the group quieted, all eyes on them. “Treasure is going to open a portal into the fae realm. She’ll go through first, and the rest of us will follow. She’s going to attempt to get as close to the dragon king as possible. We’re going to let Treasure, Brian, and Kevin do the talking. We’re there as a show of support and force, but we won’t engage unless we’re forced to do so.”
“Weapons?” James asked.
“Only natural ones,” Treasure said. “You’ve got fangs and claws, so use them if you need to.”
Treasure looked at Brian and Kevin, and then at the group. “Thank you for being here. I’m humbled by your support. I don’t know what we’re walking into, but the king isn’t expecting us, because I told his son I wouldn’t go. The element of surprise, our show of force, and my mates’ presence will hopefully be enough to tell him I’m not leaving this realm for any other.”
“We’ve got your back,” Grant said. “You’re our daughter by mating, and that means no one gets to push you around for any reason, king or not.”
Treasure inhaled shakily and nodded. She lifted her hands, which were linked with Brian’s and Kevin’s, and kissed their knuckles. “I’m going to open the portal now. I love you both.”
“Love you,” Brian and Kevin said simultaneously.
She smiled and blinked rapidly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Then she dropped their hands and walked away from the patio toward the trees. She gathered sticks from the ground and laid them in a large circle in front of a tree that was ringed with moss, small shrubs, and wildflowers. From her pocket she pulled out a small pouch and opened it, sprinkling something over her head that looked like glitter. Her wings slipped from her back, visible through the loose tank top she wore. Kevin, Brian, and Rhett joined her just outside of the circle, and the other pride males surrounded them.
The portal opened, reminding Brian of a huge pane of black glass the size of a doorway. Her wings beat rapidly, and her skin glowed as her power surged. Her dragon let out a piercing call that made Brian and the other cats wince. The portal cleared suddenly, and they could see a palace in the distance, beyond a stone wall.
“This is it.” Treasure rose to her feet and rolled her shoulders. “The king is there.”
Hackles raised and cat at the ready, Brian followed his mate through the portal and into the fae realm.
Chapter Ten
Drayce felt Treasure enter the fae realm and knew she was in their territory, close to the palace. After getting kicked out of her dream earlier that night, he’d gone to his father’s chamber and discussed the situation. Drayce had hated to threaten her, but his father was adamant about bringing her to the fae realm to live. Although he said it was for her safety, Drayce was fairly certain his father hoped that once she was surrounded by dragons, her beast would forget about the males she was mated to and want to stay with them. She was beautiful, but he wasn’t in the habit of pushing females to discard their mates. His beast cared for her because she was like them and deserved protection, but that was as far as the attraction went.
He hadn’t been able to rest once he’d woken from the dream-walk. After discussing the situation with his father, who was still determined to see Treasure safely living in their realm, sleep had eluded him. He’d gone to train instead, content to have the large room to himself so he could think. When he’d sensed her come into their realm, he’d quickly sheathed his sword and hustled to his father’s chamber. By the time Treasure had reached the palace walls, Drayce, his father, and a handful of warriors were waiting at the iron gates. To his surprise, she’d brought along a contingent of males. Although none of them appeared to be carrying weapons, he could tell they were fighters, and their scents mingled human and animal, which told him they were shifters.
“Greetings, Treasure,” his father said. “Welcome to our territory.”
She stopped a few yards away. Her fae wings were out, the translucent pink and blue highlighted by the moonlight. “I’ve come to tell you that I’m mated and nothing on this earth is going to change that. You may feel as though I’m under your rule as a dragon, but I’m not simply a dragon – I’m dually natured, and that makes me unique. Unless you’re also a hybrid fae and dragon, you have no business attempting to control me.”
Drayce’s brows rose. Her tone was all business, her eyes flashing with banked anger. She didn’t like the dragons very much right now, and a part of him was upset by that.
“I can call your dragon, young one,” Ladon said. “You would be helpless to resist the lure of our people. You may feel as if you’re mated to the two cats with you, but I can assure you that once your dragon feels the true presence of our males, you’ll want only to be with our kind.”
“You’re wrong,” she said. “My dragon loves my mates.”
“If she truly did, you’d have branded them by now.”
Treasure’s brow furrowed; Drayce didn’t think she understood what that meant. “It means to brand your family sigil into the forearm of your intended mate. Females brand their males, and the males forge a ring for their females with their own fire.”
Ladon smiled smugly. “Your dragon will never feel mated to anyone other than a dragon.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” Treasure said.
“She’s ours,” one of the males at her side said. “We won’t let her go under any circumstances.”
The other male nodded, his eyes flashing an amber color.
Ladon chuckled sarcastically. “You may believe you’re mated, but I can prove that you’re not.”
“You don’t know anything about me or my mates,” Treasure said. “And I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
Drayce saw his father tense, and he put his hands up. “I have a proposal.”
“What is it?” Treasure asked warily.
“Let my father try to call your dragon. If he successfully forces you to shift, then you agree to abide here, under my father’s rule.”
The two males with her growled angrily, and the others surrounding them flashed fangs.
Treasure’s wings snapped in irritation. “What does that even mean? Call my dragon?”
“Dragons like to commune with their own kind,” Ladon said. “I’m the king. Your dragon wants to be with us. I’ll shift and call for your dragon. If you can resist shifting, then you’re more fae than dragon. I’ll accept your mating to the two cats.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I feel like there’s a catch.”
“The only catch is that when you do shift, you must swear to stay here.”
She looked at the males with her and let out a deep sigh. “I agree to the terms.”
* * *
Treasure couldn’t really think straight. Her dragon was angry and pacing in her mind, and her fae side was frantically trying to come up with a spell to make the dragons disappear forever. It didn’t help that she could feel her mates’ fury through their connection, and the nerves that radiated through the pride and clan members who had come to support her.
“You don’t have to do this,” Rhett said, turning her to face him. His brows were drawn and his voice was low, tinged with a growl. “You’re my daughter. You’re mated to Brian and Kevin. That you’re a dragon doesn’t matter a bit, because you belong with the pride. We’ll fight for you.”
Hanai came to Rhett’s side and nodded in agreement. “We’ll fight with you. You don’t n
eed to prove anything to anyone, particularly a group of dragon shifters who didn’t know you existed until a little while ago.”
Treasure stared at Rhett, then let her gaze move to each of the males who had come to stand with her. Jericho, who looked like he was two seconds from shifting into his huge bear form, the panther warriors who could kill as easily with their claws as they could with any other weapon, and Grant and Aaron, her mates’ fathers, who were glaring at the dragon king.
Could she let them fight for her? Yes.
But did she want to let it come to that? Not remotely.
“I brought you here with me for support, but this is my fight.” She pressed her fist against her chest, her wings spreading fully behind her like shields. “I love you all, but I love my freedom, too. I can’t let these dragons have any hold over me. I want my dreams to be safe, and our family, too.”
Brian kissed Treasure and then looked at the dragons. “Do you swear to leave Treasure alone when she resists your call?”
“If she does,” Ladon said with a slow drawl. “I’m the most powerful dragon in this realm. Her dragon will recognize me and will be unable to stop from claiming the shift and bowing at my feet.”
“You’re awfully confident for a jackass,” Treasure retorted.
Drayce coughed to cover a chuckle as Ladon’s eyes flashed angrily.
Treasure hugged Rhett, and then kissed Kevin. “I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t sound so sure,” Kevin whispered. “But Bri and I know you’re a rock star. You’re an amazing female, and you’ve always done things your own way. No king is going to force your dragon to do anything. She’s our mate, and her loyalty is to us alone, the same way that our cats worship you.”
She looked at her fierce mates and searched her dragon’s feelings. For sure, her dragon was curious about the dragons, but the curiosity was superficial. There was no way in hell she was about to give up her mates for anyone.
Glancing down at her favorite pair of jeans with the rip in the knee, she took a few steps toward the dragons. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t shift.