She paused and tears glistened in her eyes. “I feel so stupid for falling for his game. I should have known that everything was too perfect. I was blind.”
“He is a master of his game,” Clarence said, holding Lucy close to him. He knows exactly what to do to get everyone under control.”
Lucy nodded and smiled weakly at her father. “One night he came in. He was no longer the loving Brian I had known, but some raging monster. He was filthy, bloody, and he reeked of garbage. He tore apart the inside of the house. Then, he hurt me pretty badly in a lot of ways. Afterward, he smiled at me and said, ‘I’ve been waiting a long time to do that. It’s time you finally learn your place, woman.’”
Lucy took another long drink of water and said, “He hit me so hard in the head that I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was inside a cage with nine other female shifters. Some of them were in pretty bad shape. I tried to keep count of the ones who died, but after a while I gave up. I could only focus on staying alive.”
Sara wrapped her arms around Lucy. She laid her head on her mother’s chest and sobbed. Finally, she lifted her head. “That is the last tear I shed for Brian or Dizag, for myself, and for everyone. I’ve been given a second chance to live my life for myself and those lost.”
“That’s my girl,” Clarence said.
Lucy looked at Lana and said, “Baby Sister. You’re my hero. I knew that you would find me, though. Dizag must have thought so too, because he talked about you a lot and all the ways he was going to torture you. I knew he wouldn’t win.”
Lana grinned and said, “Who would I pick on and fight with if something bad happened to you?”
They changed the subject and talked about the interesting things that Lucy had enjoyed. Her favorite was watching The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
Soon, though, sheer exhaustion overtook her, and she fell asleep, with her head resting on her mother’s lap.
Nick arranged for guards to be posted on the outside of the cave and at different stages along the long tunnel that led to a large open area where everyone was rested.
There were no more dragons coming. Either the group of fighters had destroyed Dizag’s entire army or the other dragon shifters had received the message that Dizag and others were dead or taken prisoner.
Either way, it meant that there was a peaceful night.
Since the guards had rotated shifts and took turns sleeping, everyone was well rested when the sun came up.
The food and a good night’s rest had helped all of the prisoners. Even the weakest among them, the once who had been near death, were able to stand on their own and walk. If needed, they could catch a ride on a bear, wolf, or lion in their human form.
They grabbed the dragon shifters from the cages. They were hog-tied and bound to the backs of the largest bears to be taken back to Clarence’s kingdom. They would be surrounded by lions and wolves.
“If any of you guys so much as twitch, we’ll kill you on the spot,” Nick said, sounding fierce.
Seeing the battle field as they exited the cave was a shock to everyone. Two of the lion shifters had been killed, as well as one bear, and one wolf. However, considering the damage done to the dragon shifters, it wasn’t surprising.
Nick looked around. Several of the warriors had been injured, either by fire or the talons of the dragons, but they didn’t look too wounded.
Lana was the worst off with her injuries, but she had recuperated some as well. She would be okay, much to Nick’s relief. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if he had lost her.
Shaking his head again, he reminded himself that this was neither the time nor the place to be thinking about Lana or their possible future.
The group took a moment of silence to honor their fallen. Then, Clarence said, “We will send a group back immediately to bring our brothers and sister home, to give them a proper funeral. For now, let’s get home.”
Slowly, the group made their way back to the pride land. Shifters who had not been a part of the battle but had been affected by Dizag’s reign of terror soon joined them, looking for news of their family members and news of the battle.
Some of Dizag’s hostages left with other members of their shifter family during the march, so they were a much smaller group when they arrived back at the castle.
Lana and Nick were amazed at the transformation. All of the plants that could be replanted were. Broken statues, bird baths, and other ornaments had been thrown away and replaced. The inside of the castle had been cleaned and put back in order.
The king and queen of the pride land were waiting for the group. They had heard about the attack, and in spite of the potential danger to themselves, had decided to visit to see the damage and to determine what they could do to help.
After hearing the story, the king sent several members of his personal army to fetch the dead and bring them home, so they could be honored.
Then, their attention was turned toward Nick, Lana, and the others who had helped defeat the rest of Vardok’s army of monsters. Each was honored individually and asked what the king and queen could do for them.
“Dizag and his crew had been causing chaos throughout our entire world for some time. At first, because only one or two people were disappearing, it wasn’t as noticeable. However, then we noticed that a lot of our women, girls, and some of our men were disappearing. The leaders from different kingdoms came together to discuss the problem, but we couldn’t find a solution. You saved our world,” the King said, and bowed to the group.
The group had not even thought of the accolades they might receive for their actions. Their only thought was to fight for their people and keep them safe. That was their job, after all.
Nick spoke up.
“Thank you for your kind words, Sire. However, we were only doing our duty. We need no special reward for that,” Nick said.
Everyone nodded their agreement with Nick’s statement. All they really wanted was to go home and sleep. For a week.
The queen and king nodded. They made arrangements for the rest of the hostages who had not been claimed along the way to be escorted home.
Then, everyone’s attention turned toward the prisoners, who had been dumped unceremoniously in the middle of the courtyard. Their hands and feet had been bound, and they had chains around their neck, anchoring them to steel posts to keep them from escaping.
“They can stay there until morning,” Clarence said. “They will be fed and given water, which is more than what they did for us. However, we are not like them and we will not stoop to their level. There will be at least five guards posted for each shifter all night long.”
He turned toward his head guard. “Paul, will you choose the guards and work out a shift schedule for them?”
Paul bowed to Clarence. “Of course, Sir. I will take care of that right away.”
Lana didn’t ask and didn’t make any explanations to anyone. She brought Nick into her room. As soon as they were snuggled into her bed, Lana fell asleep quickly.
Nick watched her sleep for a while. He thought that he could almost see the cuts on her face and sides heal. They would have healed even faster, but the dragon’s talons were poisonous. One slice of them to a mundane human, and the human would be dead from the poison within hours, if the attack itself didn’t kill the person.
He watched her chest heave up and down as she breathed evenly. Nick marveled at her bravery. There were other female shifters who had fought, but they were soldiers. Lana had not been. She was the genteel daughter of royalty, who cared for the sick members of her society, congratulated every family when there was a mating, a new cub born, or there were other celebrations to be had. She comforted those who lost members of their family. She was a caretaker, not a destroyer or fighter. Yet, she stood her ground, hard and fast, without flinching. She took a beating and then went back for more. Nick thought that Lana was most definitely a one of a kind woman. He knew, now, why he had never settled down with anyone else.
I will have to find time to talk to her about my feelings.
With that thought, Nick, too, weary from the battles and the traveling, fell into a deep sleep, holding the one he loved most close to him.
That night in the rest of the castle, everyone was on edge, wondering if there were any other dragons in the area and if they were going to be attacked. However, thankfully, the night passed peacefully.
18
Lana
“I spoke with Gareth Markonian, the king of one of the two dragon shifter clans. He is sending soldiers to take these prisoners back with them. They will face trial and their punishment on dragon shifter lands. That way, there will be no dissention between shifter groups. There has been enough division and bloodshed lately, as it is,” the king said.
“That is very wise of you,” Clarence said.
The king, Clarence, Nick, and a few of the guards went out to ready the prisoners and to interrogate them.
“Are there any other rogue dragon shifters?” the king asked.
All of the prisoners were silent.
“Where are the other dragon shifters that were a part of your group?” the king continued.
Again, there was silence. All of the prisoners stared straight ahead. Their lips were pressed tightly together, and they didn’t even flinch to indicate that they had heard the king asking them questions.
The Markonian soldiers arrived to take the prisoners into custody. Only then did one of them yell out, “Vardok will be revenged.”
Clarence sighed. “Either he just answered your question, Sire, or he thinks he is in some kind of hero epic.”
The king chuckled. “Perhaps both. I think all of the dragon shifters in Vardok’s group were completely deranged. That’s the only way that they could have committed the atrocities that they did.”
“We’ll have to send out regular patrols to monitor any activity that might be attributed to Vardok’s group. They might lay low for a while, and then attack when we let our guards down, so we will have to be vigilant for a long time,” Clarence said.
The king nodded his agreement. “I’ll send messengers to the kings of other kingdoms and tell them what we heard and fear. We’ll encourage them to look for any signs of the dragons and share any information they may come across. We will do the same.”
“That will be the only way to completely defeat them if there are more. Look at this situation; we had lions, bears, and wolves working together to fight the dragons,” Clarence said.
“Don’t forget the bat who led us to the rest of the prisoners,” Nick spoke up.
“I really think that after this, the way different shifters worked together to defeat the dragons and to save shifters from several different kingdoms, everyone will see the benefit of working together and living together in peace,” the king said.
“Here’s to peace,” Nick said, holding up a mock glass for a toast.
The king and Clarence smiled, and joined him in his toast. Laughing, they headed back inside together.
The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for a grand feast to honor the king and queen, the rescue of Lucy, Sara, and Clarence, and Lana and Nick’s bravery.
Additional tables were brought into the dining hall to accommodate the wolf and bear shifters who had fought alongside the lions and had not yet returned home. All of the warriors would be honored, as they had fought bravely, and several of them had suffered from some nasty injuries.
Sara, Lucy, and Lana helped decorate the banquet hall while the servants prepared the meal and took care of the other arrangements that needed to be done.
Clarence, Nick, and the king surveyed the inside of the castle and the grounds to determine what supplies and household items would be needed to make repairs. In the short amount of time the dragons had visited Clarence’s home, they had caused so much damage.
“We’ll take this list back to the capitol when we leave in the morning. We’ll gather what you need and send them to you. We’ll also send some workers to help yours take care of all of the repairs and rebuilding. Luckily, they seemed to only hit your home and grounds, and left the majority of the other people in your area alone,” the king said.
“Thank you, Sire,” Clarence said, bowing to him.
Later in the afternoon, before the feast was to begin, the soldiers that had been sent back for those who had valiantly given their life in the battle arrived with their grim cargo.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to gather and honor them.
The king spoke, “We are here to honor you who fought and died to protect your loved ones and those you didn’t know. You valiantly fought for your friends, comrades, and country. Your sacrifice will live on forever in our hearts and the stories we tell of your bravery. You will enter your new lives as heroes and champions of the people.”
He had spoken movingly. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd.
The orders were given to take the heroes to the funeral grounds of the pride land. Word would be taken to the rulers of the homelands of the fallen so they know that their shifters had been honorable in life and death.
After the formalities were done, it was time for the feast. The servants had really outdone themselves. Everything was incredibly delicious, mead flowed freely, and it was a true celebration of life.
Toward the end of the banquet, Clarence looked at Lana and Nick. With a twinkle in his eye, he said, “Lana, you have not provided a formal introduction of your companion.”
She blushed and said, “Father, you know him.”
“I do, but it is only proper that you provide a formal introduction and perhaps a short story of how you met,” her father countered.
Lana heaved a huge sigh, but knew exactly where her father was going. Taking a deep breath, she said, “This is Nick. He is a detective for the police department in the human world. As you know, he is also a lion shifter. Brady Markonian introduced us when I went through the portal to find my rebellious sister. He helped me figure out who Brian really was, and crossed through the portal again to rescue my mischievous father and beautiful mother.”
Then, Clarence looked at his daughter pointedly and asked, “Is this Nick character, who has been so helpful to you, your mate?”
Lana’s face flushed pink again. She looked at her father who raised his eyebrows. Without glancing at Nick, she answered, “Yes, he is my mate.”
Everyone erupted in cheers, and toasts were given to Lana and Nick, as well as to those who fought in the dragon battle.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Lana, the festivities were over. Most of the people had gone to their rooms. She and Nick opted to take a walk outside in, what was left, of the gardens.
Suddenly bashful, Lana said, “I hope you didn’t mind that I said you were my mate.”
Nick stopped, put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to look at him. Smiling into her eyes, he said, “I’m glad that you said that. It makes it so much easier for me to tell you that I’ve fallen in love with you. You have every quality in a woman that I have ever dreamed of.”
He leaned down and kissed Lana with a passion that made her heart beat a million miles an hour. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach.
When he pulled away, she reached up and gently stroked his cheek. “I love you, too.”
That night, as they undressed for bed, Lana stared appreciatively at her man. “You are the sexiest man in the world. You look like you walked out of a painting by the old master.”
Nick grinned wickedly at her. “You aren’t so bad yourself.”
He sauntered over to her, his arousal for her very evident. Wrapping his arms around her, he drew her in for a kiss.
Lana wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers again and for him to make love to her, but she could stop the wince. Her side had not completely healed and her ribs had not yet thoroughly knitted themselves together.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I got so excited, I forgot that you took a hell of a beating during the fi
ght. I wish I could bring them back to life again, just so that I could kill them a second time,” he said, fiercely.
“No worries. Dragon wounds take a little bit longer to heal than other types of injuries. I’ll be perfectly fine soon,” Lana replied.
“Let’s get you in bed. The more you rest, the faster you will heal, and the quicker I can pounce on you,” Nick said.
They slid between the cool sheets, and Nick snuggled up against her, careful not to touch her side.
In spite of his excitement of a few minutes earlier, he was almost instantly asleep. It had been hectic for the last few days, and Lana knew he hadn’t been getting rest even before she went through the portal.
As she lay there, a feeling settled over her, like a comforting, soft blanket. Although it was way too soon to know for sure, something deep inside of her told her that she was pregnant.
She thought about when she should tell Nick, and finally decided that she would wait until she knew for sure and that it was more than just an instinct. She knew in her heart that he would be the best father ever.
Finally, with happy thoughts about what the future would bring, Lana fell asleep dreaming of babies.
19
Nick
Lana was still sleeping when Nick woke up the next morning. As he watched her chest move up and down in steady breaths and reveled in the peaceful, happy look on her face, he thought, I can’t imagine spending one moment of my life without her.
He slid out of bed, trying not to disturb her. However, he was not as sneaky as he thought he was. When he turned around, he saw her emerald green eyes studying him. The slight grin on her face told him that she was likely awake the entire time he had been watching her.
“Good morning, my love,” Nick said.
“Well, good morning to you, too,” Lana said. “Were you trying to sneak from my bed like we had just had a one night stand? No notes, no names, just a ‘see ya’?”
Detective Lion Shifter (A Paranormal Night Club Book 3) Page 11