by Lola Gabriel
“Maybe. But I was thinking the exact same thing. We’ve spent so long stopping Matchmakers. Now that they’ve been stopped as a whole, we can’t let two innocents take the wrath of the demon queen, can we?” Raina said.
Logan shook his head.
“No. We have to find Esmerelda and Atlas before Isla does,” he said. “I feel bad enough that we had to lie to Atlas in the first place.”
“But it doesn’t matter now, does it?” Raina said. “They’ve found each other and they can be true mates. And it’s like we said at the time. If we had told Atlas that the prophecy said he and Esmerelda would be true mates and he had to believe her with nothing but her word to back up her story, then he would have had more than her word to make him believe it, wouldn’t he, and that wouldn’t have fulfilled the prophecy. By telling him, we would have just made sure that the curse could never be undone.”
“Yeah. So now we just have to make sure their happy ending stays intact,” Logan said.
“Where do we even start searching for them, though?” Raina asked.
“Isla will go after Esmerelda’s family and Esmerelda knows it. That’s where we’ll find them,” Logan said.
“Are you sure?” Raina asked.
“As sure as I can be. I mean, Atlas hasn’t gone back to Brianna and Archer’s place or Brianna would have called one of us. And he’s not back with his own pack because Christian would have called Noah,” Logan said. “So I guess that’s our best bet on where to find them.”
“Right. Let’s get moving,” Raina said, standing up, the old fire back in her eyes.
9
Esmerelda turned and grinned at Atlas.
“That went surprisingly well, considering everything,” she smiled.
Esmerelda and Atlas had spent the last three or four hours explaining to Esmerelda’s parents who she was and what had happened to them all over two centuries ago. Naturally, they had been somewhat suspicious at first—Esmerelda would have been more worried if they weren’t at least marginally suspicious about the whole thing—but over time, she had worn away most of their doubts.
She knew things that both of her parents were convinced only someone who had grown up with them would know. Things about her sister, who was fine, but was currently out of the country. Esmerelda was a little bit sad that she wouldn’t get to see Rosie sooner, but in another sense, it was a good thing that she wouldn’t be here when Isla inevitably came for them.
The worst part had been after Esmerelda had managed to convince her parents she really was their daughter and then she had to explain to them the terrible danger they were in because of her. She had expected them to be angry, and they were, but they weren’t angry at her like she had thought they would be—they were angry at Isla for everything she had done to their family.
They had agreed that Esmerelda and Atlas could stay with them for as long as they wanted to, although they insisted they didn’t need protecting, that they could handle Isla themselves if she showed up at their home. It was then that Esmerelda’s mom had smiled and said she hoped Isla did come, and quickly. When Atlas and Esmerelda had looked at her questioningly, she had smiled and said that when a demon died, their enchantments died with them. In other words, if Isla died, they would remember Esmerelda.
Once she had heard that and realized it was true, Esmerelda had begun half hoping Isla would turn up too.
Finally, after everything was out in the open and all of the questions had been asked and Esmerelda and Atlas had answered the ones that they could answer, the four of them had sat down and eaten together. Then, Esmerelda’s mom had gone off and made up a bed for them in the spare room, making it clear that they not only thought Atlas and Esmerelda were indeed mates, but that they had accepted this and were welcoming him with open arms.
Esmerelda and Atlas were lying side by side in the bed now. Esmerelda was tired and the bed was soft and comfortable, but she didn’t want to drift off to sleep. Not yet. She wanted to enjoy Atlas’ company for a moment longer.
“Yeah, it did go well,” Atlas conceded. “It was much easier to convince them of who you are than I thought it would be.”
“Me too,” Esmerelda agreed. “Maybe Isla isn’t as powerful as she thinks she is. Maybe there was a tiny part of them that wasn’t affected by the enchantment fully and they kind of knew me and yet didn’t know me at the same time. Does that make sense?”
“It makes about as much sense as all of the rest of this thing does,” Atlas said.
“So none whatsoever, then,” Esmerelda laughed.
Atlas grinned and rolled onto his side, facing Esmerelda.
“Exactly,” he chuckled.
He didn’t wait for her to answer him. Instead, he pushed himself up on his elbow and leaned down and kissed Esmerelda. She kissed him back, her heart racing and her body coming to life. Her lips tingled and her body tingled. Atlas slipped his tongue into her mouth and she massaged it with her own. He ran a hand down her stomach, moving it lower. He pushed it between her lips, finding her clit and beginning to work her.
Esmerelda’s breath caught in her throat as pleasure flooded her body, but before she could let herself get completely blown away by Atlas, she put her hand on his chest and pushed him away from her slightly, her other hand wrapping around his wrist and pulling his hand from her clit. He frowned down at her.
“Shit, Esmerelda, I’m sorry. I got caught up in the moment and I thought you were in the same place as I am and…” Atlas said, looking horrified.
“I am,” Esmerelda interrupted him, wanting to reassure him. “Really, I want this as much as you do. But my parents are right beside us in the room next door, and I know they don’t remember being my parents, but I remember it and it’s icky thinking they might hear us.”
Atlas smiled down at her and winked.
“Then I guess we’ll just have to make sure we can be quiet about it,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her again.
This time, Esmerelda wasn’t strong enough to resist his touch and she melted against him, spreading her legs and inviting his stroking fingers back to her clit. She writhed against his fingers, pressing herself tightly against them, upping the pressure on her clit until she was ready to explode. Her orgasm burst through her, spreading through her stomach and out across her chest, down her legs and her arms. Her whole body was on fire, the kind of pleasurable fire that made her want to stay in the moment forever.
Still Atlas worked her and as a second wave of pleasure crashed over her, Esmerelda bit down on her lip to keep herself from screaming Atlas’ name and waking up the whole house, maybe even the whole street. She had barely managed to catch her breath when Atlas lowered himself down on top of her and pushed his hard cock inside of her. She gasped as he pushed his way in, opening her up to him, stretching her out, and making her his. She moaned quietly as he began to pump in and out of her, matching him desperate thrust for desperate thrust.
Esmerelda was floating on another wave of pleasure, almost about to orgasm once more as Atlas’ cock rubbed over her G-spot, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. She buried her face in his neck, clutching him against her as she came. This time, she couldn’t have screamed even if she had wanted to—her whole body went rigid and she couldn’t gasp in a breath. It was like her body was frozen in time for a moment, not moving, not even breathing, just feeling the ecstasy that flowed through her like a river.
Esmerelda could feel her lungs burning from a lack of air, but it was like a secondary feeling, something she was just mildly aware of beneath the most intense orgasm she had ever had. She dug her nails into Atlas’ back, squeezed him between her thighs.
Finally, when it got to the point where Esmerelda thought she was about to black out, her orgasm released her from its fiery claws, and she found that she could breathe again. She sucked in a great big breath that made her lungs and her throat hurt and for a second, she saw flashes of red light dancing in her field of vision. She took another shuddering breath and the red dots went away,
leaving her sated and pulsing and gasping for more all at once.
Still, she clung to Atlas as her chest heaved and her body shook. Atlas moaned her name quietly as he pushed into her one last time, filling her deeper than ever before. She felt his cock pulse and then she felt the heat of his orgasm spreading through her pussy.
As Atlas’ climax began to fade, he rolled off Esmerelda and they lay in the dark together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, not talking, not needing words to say what they both knew: that this thing between them was for real. They were meant to be forever mates.
10
Atlas jumped awake, his skin prickling, his dragon stirring within him, warning him that there was danger close by. Esmerelda had jumped awake at the same moment as Atlas had, and when a roaring sound came drifting in through their bedroom window, they shared a look before jumping out of bed.
Atlas ran to the window as he pulled his jeans on, already knowing what he would see. He wasn’t wrong. Isla, the demon queen, stood outside of Esmerelda’s parents’ house in her demon form, roaring in anger.
She was hideous in this form, her face stretched out grotesquely, her mouth—too big for her face now—gaping open and showing rows and rows of silver fangs. The irises of her eyes were blood red and the parts that should be white were black. Her hair hung in greasy-looking strands around her face.
She spotted Atlas and roared again, taking a step closer to the house. Atlas pulled back from the window and started for the door.
“Stay here,” he told Esmerelda, who had gotten herself dressed while he was at the window.
He ran down the stairs and paused for a second to unlock the front door. Esmerelda waited behind him.
“I told you to stay in the bedroom,” he said.
“I know. And I ignored you,” she replied with a touch of humor in her voice. The humor was gone when she spoke again. “That demon took more than two centuries of my life, Atlas. I deserve the chance to end hers.”
Atlas wanted her to stay inside where he knew she would be safe, but he knew she wouldn’t be talked out of coming with him, and besides, even he had to admit that she made a valid point. And if he stopped to argue with her, Isla could be inside and have hurt her parents before they had time to stop her. He hoped he was making the right decision, but when it came down to it, it wasn’t really his decision to make; it was Esmerelda’s and she had made it clear what she wanted to do.
He finally got the door unlocked and, wrenching it open, he ran outside, Esmerelda beside him. Isla saw them coming and turned to face them. She roared again, a sound of pure anger, and Atlas knew it was because they had outwitted her and broken her curse. He smiled at the memory.
Isla ran toward them, her hands outstretched. She was making a beeline for Esmerelda. Esmerelda raised her own hands and began to chant, making spells and throwing them toward Isla. They seemed to have no effect on the demon queen and Atlas knew he had to act quickly before it was too late.
He brought on the shift, feeling his bones moving and adjusting, his skin stretching and becoming scaly, his back splitting open and sprouting out his wings. When he was fully in his dragon form, he threw his head back and roared, sending a plume of white-hot fire up into the sky.
Atlas took a step toward Isla, who was ignoring him, her focus on Esmerelda. Esmerelda kept throwing her spells, but Isla batted them all away as though they were nothing more than a few house flies. Atlas wished he could send a plume of fire over Isla, but Esmerelda was so close to her now that he thought that if he did, he would likely fry both of them.
He watched and waited, roaring and pawing at the ground, trying desperately to get Isla’s attention off of Esmerelda and onto him. Isla threw her hands forward, twin red lasers bursting from her palms. The lasers hit Esmerelda in the chest, and she flew backwards through the air.
Atlas roared in pain and anger at the thought of Isla hurting Esmerelda. This time, he didn’t bother waiting until he could safely rain fire down on Isla. Instead, he took to the air and came down above the demon queen, his claws outstretched.
This did get Isla’s attention and she turned away from Esmerelda, and Atlas knew that for the moment at least, he had stopped Isla from finishing her off. He swooped lower, scratching out with his claws. Isla laughed, a sound filled with derision as she fired a laser at him, scorching through the scales on his feet and sending agony through his body as his feet blistered and burned.
He came in to land, willing his feet to heal quickly. Isla was advancing on him again and he blew a plume of flames at her now that she was clear of Esmerelda. Isla laughed again and threw up her hands, rebounding the flames onto Atlas. He shrieked in pain and anger and ran toward Isla with no real plan as to what to do to take her down, only knowing that he had to try something.
If he lost this battle, and he was beginning to think that was inevitable, then Isla would for sure kill Esmerelda and most likely her family too once she had finished with him. The pain that knowledge caused Atlas left him in no doubt whatsoever that Esmerelda had always been meant to be his mate.
11
Esmerelda dragged herself back to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pains that wracked her body. She couldn’t afford to lie low and give herself time to heal before wading back into the fight. Isla was getting the better of Atlas and she couldn’t just lie there and let him get hurt.
She looked around and her jaw dropped open when she saw Atlas now. He was no longer in his human form; he was instead a majestic dragon. He was jet black with no trace of any other color anywhere. His scales were so shiny that Esmerelda thought she would be able to see her reflection in them if she were a little bit closer.
For a second or two, Esmerelda forgot herself. She forgot where she was and the danger they were in. All she could focus on was Atlas. She had seen dragon shifters in their dragon forms before, but never had she ever seen one that made her feel like this inside. Looking at Atlas in his dragon form made her want to go to Atlas and run her hands all over his body.
A cackling sound from Isla reminded Esmerelda of what was happening, and she shook her head, looking away from Atlas and snapping herself out of the daze he had put her in. Isla threw a laser at Atlas and Esmerelda winced, feeling his pain with him as his scales bubbled and blistered and he screamed in pain.
She summoned up her powers and hurled a spell at Isla, chanting the words as she did it. Isla barely even glanced in her direction as she swatted the spell away and fired a laser toward Esmerelda. Esmerelda was expecting the shot this time, and she jumped out of the way of it.
Tears of frustration prickled at the corners of her eyes as she tried another spell only to have it batted away again. It felt to her like anything they tried at this point was too little and that nothing was going to keep Isla down. The demon queen threw her hand in Esmerelda’s direction and Esmerelda felt herself being lifted off her feet and thrown through the air once more, carried on an invisible wall of pain.
She slammed onto the ground and took a second to get her breath back before jumping back up to her feet. She could see that Isla was getting the better of Atlas and she knew in her heart of hearts that Isla was too strong for them, too powerful, and that they were fighting a losing battle. However, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to keep fighting with everything she had.
She was starting to run back toward Isla and Atlas when she heard footsteps running up behind her. She spun around, her hands raised. Four people were approaching her, two men and two women. Esmerelda tensed up, ready for them to attack her. She was about to throw a spell when one of the men broke loose and grabbed her by the tops of her arms.
“Don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you,” he said.
Esmerelda didn’t know whether or not to believe him, but she reasoned that he could have snapped her neck as easily as he had just grabbed her arms and he hadn’t hurt her.
“Take down the demon queen, Raina,” one of the women said to the other woman. “You’ve waited s
o long to end this thing.”
Before Esmerelda had really registered what was going on, Raina jumped into the battle. She pulled out a sword made from a dull yellow metal that Esmerelda recognized as Ure. Raina didn’t waste any time. She jumped into the air and swung the sword and Esmerelda’s jaw dropped as Raina sliced off Isla’s head in one clean stroke.
“Atlas!” Esmerelda shouted, breaking free of the man who still held her arms.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” Atlas called back and Esmerelda felt relief flood her.
She ran to Atlas and he wrapped her in his arms, and she held him like she would never let him go. She never wanted to let him go. The last two centuries had been worth all of the pain, all of the fear, if it meant she got to spend the rest of eternity with Atlas.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
“Will you stop looking at your watch?” Atlas laughed as Esmerelda looked at her watch for the fifth time in the last minute or two. “You know Raina is never late.”
“I know,” Esmerelda said. “I’m worried that Josh and Violet will be the ones who are late.”
“They’ll be here,” Atlas said, moving to Esmerelda’s side and pulling her into a hug.
She hugged him back and he kissed the top of her head. He released her and ran a hand over her baby bump.
“Now, stop stressing or you’ll be having this one early,” he grinned.
“That might be better than going late like I did with Evan,” Esmerelda laughed.
“Where is Evan?” Atlas asked.
“With the nanny,” Esmerelda said. “I know I said I didn’t want a nanny, but I really wanted to see Raina and you know how Evan fusses when the whole pack gets together.”
“Yeah. It’s like he knows that he’s the heir to the pack and he wants them all to know he’s around,” Atlas smiled.