by Leela Ash
Ice frosted her words, raising red flags in his mind. “Er, changing?”
“Changing what?” Her scowl deepened.
Faced with that hostility, Casey felt his arousal drain away. “The things that, uh, need to be changed.”
“Like what? Like this coffee?” Lily jabbed a finger at the pale brew. “Are you offering to take me to Starbucks for something that doesn’t suck?”
“No. Well, I mean, yes, I’ll take you there if you wish.” Why were they prattling about coffee on the morning after their Claiming?
“But that’s not what you meant by ‘things that need changing’?”
“No. I meant…,” he hesitated. Surely, she understood? If she didn’t, though, he needed to explain. “We’re Mates now. That means you are a Dragon’s Mate. The first in my Flight.” The honor of that washed over him and threatened to sweep his speech away in a rush of pride. “That means that certain things will be expected of you.”
“Such as?”
A disconcerting quiet lay beneath her words. Was she listening – or preparing to ambush him?
“Well, your dress and behavior, to start. What you do now reflects on my Flight, and thus, you need to present yourself and behave in a way that suits the dignity of the Flight of the Snows.”
“There you are with that word again. ‘Need’…”
That definitely sounded like a growl… though she hadn’t exploded in fury. He took that a positive sign. She may not welcome the changes that lay ahead, but she would understand their urgency. “There’s a great deal I’ll need to teach you about what angers the spirits. We call it ‘Inappropriate Behavior.’ No doubt this will require a lot of changes on your behalf, but…”
“Stop. Tell me again why I ‘neeeed’ to do this?” Lily dragged that word out, transforming it into a sneer.
“You’re a Dragon’s Mate now. There are expectations.”
A howl of laughter burst out of her, harsh and mocking. “Oh, that’s rich. Yesterday, your Flight didn’t have any Mates at all. Today, you think you’ve got a Mate and ‘expectations’!”
Stung, he glared at her. “I don’t ‘think’ anything! We are Mates.”
“No, we’re not.” Lily’s lips curled back from canine teeth that had grown long.
Doubt rocked him. They’d shared the Claiming… hadn’t they? Something so vivid, so intense, couldn’t be a figment of his imagination. “Last night, did you not dream?”
“Yeah, I did. So?”
Thank the spirits! Irritation tempered his relief, though. Why was she being so dense? “That means we’re Mates.”
Quivering with anger, Lily leaned forward. “Did we run all night beneath the full moon? Did you bring me a rabbit to prove you can feed our pups? Did we howl our love to the moon and receive her blessing? Did we play and wrestle to show our strength?”
Well, okay, maybe they had done that bit. Not that Casey seemed to remember. “What’s that got to do with anything?” he muttered, puzzled and annoyed.
“That is how Wolves pick their Mates.”
“Yes, but you don’t really have Mates.”
The moment those words passed his lips, he longed to call them back. A furious yellow light blossomed in her eyes, turning them into glittering, rage-filled topazes. Every tooth in her mouth sharpened into fangs as she trembled on the edge of Shifting.
Dammit, he had to calm her down! “I’m sorry! That came out wrong. I know that Wolfs form unions like Bears and Hares do.”
“And Rats. Rats Mate too.”
What a repulsive idea – though this wasn’t the time to press that point. “Sure. Of course. But these unions that other Shifters form aren’t anything like the Rite of Claiming. A Dragon’s Claim is sacred.”
“So are Wolves’ rituals!”
“Look…” He, too, leaned forward, braving her wrath. Hoping that his openness would calm her down. “You know I’m right. You were there last night, at the Rite of Claiming.”
“We shared a dream. Big deal! Okay, so the sex was hot. But it didn’t mean anything.”
“It means that my Dragon chose you to be my Mate!”
Lily folded her arms across her chest. “Sucks to be you, then, because my Wolf sure as hell didn’t Claim you.”
“But…”
“But nothing. We’re not Mates. I don’t ‘Claim’ you, jerk. And hey!” A vindictive glee brightened her face. “Isn’t the Rite of Claiming supposed to have a ‘rite’ in it? Because I seem to remember that my Wolf ran off with that stupid goblet before anybody got Claimed.”
Oh damn, she had a point. The color drained from his face as he considered it. According to the legends, yes, the Rite of Claiming had several stages. Last night started smoothly, with the Invocation of Truth. But… yeah. Several things were supposed to come after that, like the Symbolic Marriage where cup and dagger were united. He and Lily had kind of skipped all that and jumped straight to the sex…
“Ha!” she crowed. “That’s what I thought! We’re not Mates, not by your rules or mine!”
“But… but we…”
She rose to her feet, glowering down at him. “So, since we’re not Mates, why don’t you get out of my room and let me get dressed. We’ve got a long ride back to Ringo’s Spread.”
“No, we need to go to the Sierra Nevadas. My Alpha will know what to do.”
“You can go to California if you want. I’m going home.”
“No, I’m still your bodyguard. Now more than ever, it’s critical that I stay with you.”
“Then I guess you’re going to the Spread,” she purred with pure malice, “‘cuz I am. Now get out!”
Back in his room, head spinning, Casey called home. Maybe a trip to the Lair was out of the question, but he needed his Alpha’s advice.
Badly.
“Miles Kennedy.” His Alpha’s baritone was a balm on his rattled nerves. Reserved, dignified, and confident, it promised answers to his questions.
“Greetings to you, Wisest of the Flight.”
“Greetings to you, Son of the Wind.”
That ritual greeting, so familiar, was another sweet breeze of comfort. “I need advice. Strange and terrible things have happened.”
Quickly, he laid out the events of the last twenty-four hours. How Aaron King had requested repayment of his Blood Debt. Lily’s reaction. And then, halting and ashamed, he described the dream they’d shared and the botched mess he’d made of the Rite of Claiming.
When he finished, Kennedy said nothing. The silence stretched on, making Casey squirm. “I need your counsel, Alpha,” he urged at last. “What should I do?”
“Your greatest duty is, and remains, fulfilling the Blood Debt.” Solid words, spoken with gravity and confidence. Or were they? Was there a waver, a hint of doubt, that colored them?
“Is the Duty of Blood truly greater than the Rite of Claiming?”
“Yes.” That was sure. Whatever doubt he’d thought he’d heard was gone now. “The Duty of Blood is the greatest honor a Dragon can know.”
“Greater than Claiming and the Duty to Mate? Greater than the Protection of Wellsprings?”
“Yes, because the Duty of Blood exists. Wellsprings and Claiming are just fairy tales, no matter what those fools in the ‘First’ Flight claim.”
Two weeks ago, he would have agreed. But at Rex Fairburn’s meeting, a half-dozen Hares supported the First Flight’s crazy stories of living Wellsprings. And nothing, not even a direct pronouncement from his Alpha, could make him doubt the truth of what he and Lily shared last night.
So, he did the unthinkable: he challenged his leader. “Respectfully, you are wrong. Many Shifters have seen these Wellsprings. And the Rite is… unmistakable.”
“There is nothing ‘respectful’ about defiance,” Kennedy snarled.
In person, an Alpha had many tricks to cow an insubordinate Dragon. His tone, his burning gaze, the strength of his posture… all served to weaken the will of those who defied him.
P
hones, however, defeated most of those stratagems and Casey stuck to his guns. “There is no defiance in correcting misinformation. You didn’t hear the Hares’ testimony, nor did you experience the dream that Lily King and I shared. I cannot doubt that the Wellsprings have returned – and they’ve brought the Rite of Claiming back with them.”
“That remains to be seen,” Kennedy snapped. “Yet, even if they have, it changes nothing. You owe a duty to Aaron King. You have sworn, as a defender of our Flight, to protect his daughter. Debauching her shatters that oath. It is Incorrect Behavior. It shames our Flight.”
Each accusation hit him like the blow of a sledgehammer. “I did not defile her! The Rite of Claiming is sacred!”
“By your own admission, she does not consider herself Claimed.”
“Well, she’s wrong!” he snapped.
Confident and in charge once again, Kennedy grew stern. “The Rite of Claiming can never be done without consent. You know that. Every story, every legend, makes this plain. If she says she is not Claimed, she is not.”
Casey’s thoughts whirled in chaos. “But the dream… it was so real… my Dragon…”
“…did not Claim her. There was no Rite of Claiming. Just a strange dream that offered serious insult to the oath you swore.”
“It was…”
“It was sex. Nothing more. Not sacred. Not Claiming. Nothing.”
His Dragon railed against that. It knew, even if his Alpha did not, that the two of them belonged together. That Fate or Destiny linked them, for all times.
Yet Casey, the man, could not agree with it. His Alpha was right. Without consent, without ritual, no Claim existed. “What should I do then?” he whispered.
“Your duty.” In charge once more, Kennedy didn’t hesitate. “Protect this woman, as you swore you would. Repay the Blood Debt our Flight owes. Do not touch her or look upon her with lust. That is Correct Behavior.”
Maybe. But it sounded plain old ‘impossible’ to him!
Chapter 6.
The only thing worse than getting baby-sat was getting baby-sat by a smoking-hot sitter you couldn’t touch.
Under the scorching sun, June burned its way into July. Three miserable weeks passed at Ringo’s Spread. No matter where Lily went, she was never alone. He was always there. Casey Briggs. Flying overhead. Trailing her bike, three car-lengths back. Lurking at the edge of the crowd in the evenings, when her Pack drank and danced by the fire. Keeping her ‘safe’.
Damn, that word made her sick!
Life would be so much easier if she could just hate his smug, arrogant, aristocratic face. But the dream complicated everything.
It returned to her in flashes, when she least expected it. She’d catch a glimpse of him skulking outside her trailer in the evening. ‘Checking for threats.’ And instead of laughing at his paranoia, as she ought to, she was swept away by memories. The power of his arms as he tossed her onto the bed, the flash of excitement she felt as he pinned her there, taking her as she longed to be taken.
Ten seconds later she’d come to her senses, all sarcastic jokes forgotten. Realizing, to her shame, that she stared at him with open longing, passion singing through her blood. Wishing, yearning for him to come back and take her, here and now.
Which he never did. If he noticed her desire, he gave no sign. He never looked at her like a man did, not after that first enraging morning when he stormed into her room with his stupid ideas about ‘changing’ her. For all the rough play of their love-making, Casey Briggs was a man who understood what the word ‘no’ meant.
That ought to make her happy. But as she watched him, tucked into a bit of shade and scanning the horizon with binoculars, frustration – not pleasure – filled her.
Okay, so the guy understands ‘no.’ How about ‘maybe’? Or, ‘Eh, I’m not really into this whole Eternal Commitment thing, but I’ll happily jump your bones.’
Yeah, no. Casey Briggs wasn’t a man who understood hook-ups, one-night stands, or friends with benefits. It was all or nothing with him. Now, she could respect that. Wolves Mated for life and she fully expected to settle down with someone. But not a Dragon. Not Casey. The dude came with a whole lot of baggage; he’d made that clear on the first morning. Baggage he expected her to carry.
And Lily King was not lugging any man’s crap around. She didn’t ‘clean up’ well. She wasn’t going to change to please some stuck-up Dragon no matter how loudly he screamed that they were ‘destined’ to be together.
Screw Fate. Screw him. She was her own boss.
She took a sip of her beer, relaxing as the icy liquid poured down her throat. Breakfast of Champions!
Beside her, Ghost snickered.
Immediately, Lily spun to stare at her. No Alpha needed a babysitter, or a bodyguard, or whatever the hell Casey wanted to call himself. So of course, when her father ‘assigned’ her one, the whole Pack took it as a vote of no confidence. And, as Wolves did, they started testing her. Taking her last beer. Bumping her bike over when they parked. Interrupting her when she spoke. A dozen tiny challenges each day, probing to see if she really had grown weak.
Every act of defiance she slapped down, fast. They didn’t anger her, though. Wolves tested their leaders. That was their nature. That was the Way. When your Pack nipped at you, you didn’t take it personally. But you did snap back.
Even when the person nipping was your best friend. “What’s so funny?”
“You.” Impish delight lit Ghost’s face and behind them her Wolf hopped about playfully, as if daring Lily to chase it. “You can’t take your eyes off that Dragon, can you?”
“He just annoys the hell out of me,” she protested. “Ignore pests and you end up with fleas.”
“Butt fleas?”
Lily tried to lock eyes with the other woman, but Ghost kept watching Casey. “What are you going on about?”
“Butt fleas. I figure that must be what you’re worried about, because you keep staring at his ass.”
“I am not staring at his… at his…”
And, of course, the accusation alone made her glance back at the Dragon. Where… yes, she found herself ogling the sleek, taut muscles of his…
“Dammit.”
Oh, Ghost’s Wolf was prancing now! “Those fleas must be running from his toes to his head now because you’re…”
“Shaddup!” Shaking her head, Lily rose and grabbed herself another beer.
“Hey, where’s mine!” Ghost complained.
“Get your own!” Alphas did not wait on other people!
But, of course, Ghost had a cooler beside her wheelchair. Laughing, she retrieved another bottle from it. “Admit it: he’s hot as hell. Why are you so hung up about that?”
“I don’t like him.”
“Since when has that ever stopped you from sleeping with a guy?”
Oh, nipped – and nipped hard! Lily’s own Wolf bristled with outrage. “It’s complicated.”
“Why? If he’s gonna be underfoot all the time, you might as well have some fun. Or is sex a no-no for bodyguards? Too distracting?”
“Probably, yeah, but…”
Oh, what the hell. Time to come clean. Embarrassing as it was, she longed to confide in her friend. “He thinks we’re Mates.”
Ghost choked on her beer – a satisfying sound. “What?!? Why?”
“We shared this weird dream and, like, had sex in it. Or something.”
An undignified squeak of excitement escaped her friend. “Was it the Rite of Claiming?”
“Yes? No? Maybe?” Lilly tossed her arms wide, spilling a bit of beer onto the ground. “How should I know? There wasn’t any ‘rite’ but, well, some ghostly Dragon did yell something about ‘claiming’.”
“Oh wow!” Ghost breathed, staring at her like she was Cinderella or some other Disney princess.
Before she got too enthused, Lily dropped the bomb shell. “Then the next morning he stomps into my room with a long list of all the ways I need to change if I want to be �
�worthy’ of being a Dragon’s Mate.”
As she’d hoped, her friend’s jaw dropped. “Screw that!” she snapped.
“Exactly.” Lily saluted her with her beer. Meanwhile her pleased Wolf settled to the ground, feeling like all its fur had been licked into place.
Both of them glared across the hot sand at Casey. In the midst of a phone call, the Dragon didn’t notice their indignation.
Ghost was the first to look away, worry wrinkling her brow. “What happens when someone doesn’t agree to be ‘Claimed’? Are you actually Mates or not?”
“I have no idea.”
“Are you going to ask?”
“Who? Him?” Lily snorted. “He’ll say ‘yes’, of course.”
“What about some other Dragon?”
“You think anyone in his Flight will be less stuck up? Nah.”
“Wasn’t there a Dragon from the First Flight at that meeting you went to?”
“Rex Fairburn’s thing? Yeah. Finn… Donaldson. Or something like that.” Lily struggled to recall anything about him. “We didn’t talk. Big brute – wouldn’t want to get in a fight with him. And damn did he love cocktail wieners! I think he tossed back five pounds of the things.”
Ghost chuckled. “Well that sounds hopeful. I mean, most Dragons would starve before they debased themselves by eating a hot dog.”
Maybe. But that didn’t make the subject any less humiliating. Lily shook her head. “I don’t need to talk to him because I already know the answer: no dream ‘makes’ me anything I don’t want to be.”
“But don’t you want to find out…”
“No.” She added a bit of force to the word to kill that line of questioning.
“Okay. You’re the Alpha.”
Said with all innocence and oh so very sweetly! Lily glowered at her friend, sure she was up to something.
Before she could drag the answer out of her, though, a sudden movement drew her attention. Out beyond the Spread’s circle of trailers, the air shimmered as a horned black Dragon flew in tight loops, snapping its jaws at nothing.
“Whoa,” Ghost murmured. “What’s wrong with your bodyguard?”
“Don’t know.” Casey himself stood still, his hands jammed in his pockets, staring off into the distance. Only his Dragon betrayed the emotions that tore him apart. “Guess he got bad news on that phone call.”