Marked by the Dragon

by Kayla Wolf

  Dragon wings in the sky. Sure enough, a huge dragon was circling down to land in a clear patch just beyond the little lake that was steadily growing at the bottom of the stream that tumbled down the hill. A dragon with bright green eyes and a rugged, proud head. A dragon who a month ago she’d be squaring up to fight.

  What was it about William that had so completely put out the fire of anger in her heart, she wondered, watching the painstakingly slow process of the old dragon transforming back into his human shape? It was something to do with that first day, meeting him for the first time, so ready to fight him and meeting only… defeat. Misery. There was such a profound sadness in him—it shone through the cracks in his blustery exterior like daylight. It had been so deeply familiar to her, too, that it had almost brought her to tears. He missed his mate. Of course he did. Like her mother, she’d disappeared with no explanation, no reason. Her father had disappeared into apathy, into avoidance, into a kind of toxic, bland positivity that avoided confronting the hard things in life. And William—he’d chosen another path. A path that was a lot harder on the people around him. But it was the same impulse.

  And Charles recognized that too, she realized, watching her father walk over to meet the old dragon. They spoke to each other in low voices, standing several feet apart, a kind of prickly, watchful energy between them. Still hundreds of years of enmity between them, Quinn knew—that much was clear from the body language. But the fact that William was here at all was huge—the fact that he had come down, shifted into his human shape, was carrying on what seemed like a polite, if guarded, conversation…

  ”He’s lonely,” David murmured to her, and it sounded like a revelation. “My father’s lonely.”

  ”You didn’t know that?”

  ”It never occurred to me that he could get lonely,” David said blankly. “He always seemed so angry to have anyone around him at all…”

  ”He’s still grieving,” Quinn said simply, slipping her hand into David’s. “He misses his mate. So does my dad. I think they could be good for each other, eventually.”

  ”Do you ever wonder about your mother?” David asked, both of them looking at their parents. “Where she went, or why?”

  ”This last month I have been,” Quinn admitted, glancing up at him. “The idea of being away from you for even a second is horrible. I can’t imagine just…”

  ”Me too,” David said softly, putting his arm around her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her head. She loved the way he did that, the casual way he touched her, even the way it messed up her hair. “Maybe we should go look for them.”

  ”Yeah?” She hesitated. She’d had a few conversations with David’s sisters, but she wasn’t sure how private the content was supposed to be. Then again, how could she have any secrets from her soulmate? That word still glowed whenever she thought about it. “I think your sisters have similar ideas.”

  ”Yeah, Olivia was saying,” he said softly. “It’s not like we don’t have… people to ask, places to start. But I just…” He sighed, glancing back at her with a guilty smile. “I know it’s selfish. But I just want you all to myself for a little while.”

  ”Me too,” Quinn smiled, feeling her heart fill with warmth. She leaned in to kiss him—and as if on cue, Charles and William came tromping up the rise. The green-eyed dragon looked stiff and awkward to be there—David had explained that some of it had to do with how little time his father spent in his human shape. But at least some of it had to do with the awkwardness of the situation.

  ”Good morning, William,” Quinn said politely, shading her eyes to look up at the man.

  ”Hello Quinn,” he said stiffly. “Hello, David.”

  ”How are you, Dad?”

  ”Just fine. Charles tells me you’re building cabins. Not interested in caves?”

  ”You know me, Dad.” David’s voice sounded easy, but Quinn knew him well enough that she could feel the tension in his shoulders from here. “I like to be able to see the sky.”

  ”A fine choice,” William said stiffly. An awkward silence fell. “And you’re finding it… well? The land?”

  ”Coming along nicely,” Charles said cheerfully, for all the world as though this wasn’t perhaps the most stilted conversation ever held. “The restoration of our family artefact is coming along well, as you can see,” he added, nodding to the little stream tumbling down the rocks.

  ”Yes. The artefact. Will the stream get much bigger?”

  ”A little,” Charles said brightly. “And soon enough it’ll restore fertility to the land, and we can start planting things in earnest.”

  ”The other residents are very interested in what you’re doing down here,” William said. Was his voice beginning to ease a little? “The queen, in particular, is interested in what you intend to grow. She likes … tomatoes?”

  ”I’ll be sure to send her a basket as soon as our first crop is ready,” Charles said brightly. Quinn glanced at David—he looked thunderstruck, and she remembered him explaining that William had had considerable difficulty accepting Lisa, Alexander’s human soulmate, as the queen of the valley. Had that been the first time he’d referred to her as queen? Fascinating.

  They talked a little longer as the sun rose high above them. It wasn’t long before William clearly ran out of energy—he made his polite, if curt, goodbyes, then turned to go. Before he did, though, he turned back—and in a strange gesture, reached out and clasped David’s shoulder in one of his hands. Then he was gone, his transformation into his dragon much swifter than his transformation from dragon to human. The three of them watched him go, winging his way into the sky.

  David broke the silence. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him try that hard to be polite in my life.” He turned wondering eyes on Charles. “What did you do? Did you drug him?”

  ”He needs someone to talk to,” Charles said softly, spreading his hands. “Someone who knows what he’s going through. It’s simple enough. Now,” the dragon said, dusting his hands off enthusiastically, “I think it’s about time the hens were introduced to their new home.”

  The eight hens were clucking and pecking enthusiastically in their new coop by the time the sun was heading for the horizon. The three of them stood and watched for a while, pleased with their work.

  ”Does this mean you’ll start building your own cabin now, Dad?”

  ”Absolutely not. You heard what William said. I’ve got to get tomatoes planted.” Charles rubbed his hands together, looking delighted. “A dozen garden beds, I think, just here—”

  ”—isn’t that where your cabin was going to go?”

  ”I’ll move it back,” Charles said, waving a hand dismissively. “Garden first.”

  ”We’ll leave you to it,” Quinn said, rolling her eyes and grabbing David by the hand. “If I stay here much longer, I’m going to end up picking a fight, and we all know how useless that would be.”

  ”Wise woman,” Charles said cheerfully. “See you two lovers later.”

  They walked in silence up the hill, hand in hand, enjoying each other’s company. Quinn heaved an irritable sigh. “He’s going to be sleeping in a tent for the next decade.”

  David laughed—it was still one of her favorite sounds in the world, and she’d been hearing it more and more since they’d moved up here and things had started settling down. “He seems happy enough.”

  ”He won’t be happy when he freezes to death in the winter,” she grumbled.

  ”I’ve slept in that sleeping bag of his,” David pointed out as they reached their little cabin. “Remember? It’s warm as anything. I think he’ll be fine.”

  ”Ah, yes. During your exile,” Quinn said loftily. They’d talked a lot about that time, their brief separation, the pain it had caused them both. They were both grateful it hadn’t been longer—and Quinn knew that no matter what, they’d never be apart like that again. It felt good to joke about it now.

  There was a loveseat on the porch—a simple little bench, just wide enoug
h for the two of them to sit together. They settled down there to watch the sunset, warm and content from a day’s work, Quinn resting her head on David’s shoulder as the light slowly bled from the sky.

  ”Tell me about the stars,” she murmured as they began to come out. “Show me the one that told me I was your soulmate.”

  ”Stars didn’t tell me that,” David murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “Meeting you told me that.”

  ”Mm. I felt you coming, though. In the stars. The night before you arrived, I felt you.”

  ”Well, you’re better at astrology than me, aren’t you?”

  She grinned. “What do they say about the future?”

  ”You tell me.”

  ”Fine.” She sat up, peering into the sky. “They say Dad’s never going to get around to building himself a cabin and is going to live in a tent until the end of time.”

  ”Sounds about right.”

  ”They say that Olivia’s going to wind up running the country somehow. They say Rosaline’s going to be her Chief of Staff. They say …” She took a deep breath. “They say William’s going to get better.”

  ”Oh, yes?”

  ”Yes. They say he’s—very sad, and still grieving, and it’s going to take a long time. They say he’s done a lot of damage to a lot of people, and it’s going to take those people a while to heal, and him a while to heal from what he’s done to them. But they say… there’s hope. They say he’s going to be okay again, one of these days. And so are all the people he’s hurt. Especially his son.”

  David’s arm wrapped around her, warm and soft. “Clever stars. What else do they say about his son?”

  ”That he’s clever, kind, and handsome. Oh, that’s interesting.”

  ”What?”

  ”They also say that he’s got the best mate on the whole planet. That’s interesting, they specifically say that, Quinn, they say, she’s the absolute best—”

  David was laughing again. “They’re right on all counts.”

  ”I love you so much, David,” Quinn said simply, looking up at him. She was getting better at saying things like that—at speaking from the heart, at not worrying about guarding herself or speaking from a place of strength. “I can’t believe how good you are—how much I trust you, how much better you make my life. I mean, my life was pretty good already,” she added, drawing a chuckle from him. “But I’m so happy that I have you.”

  ”Me too,” David said simply. “Thanks to the stars. Thanks to the Oracle.”

  ”Thanks to you,” she added. “You played a pretty big part yourself.”

  ”I suppose. I always used to look at the stars alone,” David said finally, his voice low and thoughtful. “It’s so much better with you.”

  They sat together, hand in hand, watching as the sun set and the stars grew brighter and brighter. Quinn wondered idly if there truly was a way of seeing the future in the stars, in working out what was coming. To her surprise, she found she didn’t really have much interest. The future was uncertain, as it always was—there were still questions to be answered, wounds to be healed, relationships to be rebuilt. There was a lot of uncertainty—and a few months ago, that uncertainty would have chafed and ground away at her. But now, she had David by her side, and she knew that whatever the future brought, they’d be able to handle it together. So what was the point of trying to figure out what it was? It would arrive sooner or later.

  And when it did, she’d face it with David.

  *****

  THE END

  About the Author

  Kayla Wolf is a mom of two, an obsessive reader and a total sucker for paranormal romance. Sexy shifters, sassy women, steamy encounters, and dangerous enemies are the things that make her lay awake at night. Whenever she thinks about these things, she just has to get up and write about them immediately... Come on in, and spoil the beast in you.

  Check out her author page on Amazon and be sure to click “Follow” to get new release updates.

  Also check out the Wolf Sisters on Facebook for more news and hot offers.

  Books by The Wolf Sisters

  (All books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited)

  Books by Kayla Wolf:

  “Dragon Valley” Series

  Dragon Valley keeps a secret that no one knows about: Dangerously sexy and muscled dragons have made the valley their home. But their existence is at risk. They need to find a mate or else their time might be up. Will the dragons find their mates?

  Dragon Valley is a paranormal romance series that consists of standalone stories that each have a satisfying HEA. The books are connected through the dragons that live in the valley.

  Mated to the Dragon

  Protected by the Dragon

  Auctioned to the Dragon

  Kidnapped by the Dragon

  Guards to the Dragon

  Marked by the Dragon

  * * *

  Books by Mia Wolf:

  Bear Caves Series

  Come visit the Bear Caves, a mysterious village where bear shifters live far removed from humans. This village, with its caves and its festivals houses not just any bears. No, it houses Very Sexy bears, who are not easy to please, but who will protect their mates with their lives without question.

  The Bear Caves series consists of stand-alone stories that are connected through the bears who live in the village. Each story has a guaranteed satisfying HEA.

  Mated to the Bear

  Craved by the Bear

  Kidnapped by the Bear

  * * *

  Wolf Mountain Series

  Come with me to Wolf Mountain, a village with hot, single wolves who are strong, muscled, and … single. They don’t need a mate. They don’t want a mate. Until they meet the one they will die to protect…

  Wolf Mountain is a paranormal romance series consisting of stand-alone stories, each with a HEA, that are connected through the wolves who live in the village.

  Werewolf’s Surrogate

  Werewolf’s Second Chance

  Werewolf’s Prisoner