This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Kathi S. Barton 2020
Paperback ISBN: 9781951642549
eBook ISBN: 9781951642556
First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, April 6, 2020
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover: Karen Fuller
Editor: Maxine Bringenber
Chapter 1
Matt walked through the new house three times. He was alone this last time, and he was glad for it. Having someone pointing out all the things that he could see was annoying at best. Stupid too. He could see deeper into anything that was going on here than the dumb woman that had been assigned to show him the place. It had taken him nearly an hour to get her out of the place so that he could feel it for himself.
There are several things that I need to let you know about before I leave you to it. He smiled at Kelly as she spoke to him through their connection. This is not what I have to tell you, but I should like to mention how happy I am that you got rid of that woman. Christ, she was getting on my nerves, and I wasn’t around her. Okay, what I need to tell you. I’ve spoken to Bryce, and she said to tell you that the house has been warded. You’re safe there. Second thing, you need to know that your brother is still hanging his ass around. He’s staying at one of the old hotels out on Route Forty. It’s a place with a roof over his head and little else. As you’re aware, I’ve sent a faerie, Beta, to be with him to keep an eye on him. So far, she’s only had to teach him a lesson in being respectful to her once. He got the picture—I think, anyway.
It’s doubtful, but you never know. I wanted to let you know that I’ve also spoken to my father. He said that he’d tell Rolland’s mother about his antics. Julia wants nothing to do with him. I guess it’s safe to assume that he burnt those bridges a long time ago. However, I did tell them to be extra careful when they return home. There is no telling what Rolland might have set up for them. She told him that was a great idea. I have them on occasion. About this house—I’d like to keep it. I can fill it out on my own, so there is no need for anything you offered us.
Good to know. Cole is looking his house over now. I made it so that he could do it alone after getting a hint about the woman with you. I don’t mean to be rude, but what kind of dragon are you? Devon told me that I would have to ask you. That it was something he couldn’t share unless he spoke to you. I figured it had to be good or he would have shared. He didn’t want to tell her but told her that if she were face to face with him, he’d show her. That bad, huh? Okay. I’m out and about today, so perhaps tomorrow. What can I bring tonight when we all show up for dinner?
You’re all showing up here for dinner? She laughed when he did. I don’t know what we’ll have, so I’ll have to think about it. Just tell everyone that it will be a cookout. That’s about all I can handle here. Also, I have my own faeries with me. I want you to know that so that if you have any extras needing work, I can take them on, but I don’t really need them full time.
Okay. I know that Cole only has his own personal faeries, so I can send them on to him. You have a cook too, I’m thinking? He said that he did. All manner of workers. Good. I’m glad to know that. So, tonight is all right with you? Then tomorrow night, we’ll hit up Cole. He’s not as magical as you are if you can fill out your home.
It’s doubtful that many are as magically inclined as I am, my dear queen. She whistled, and he had to laugh. All right. I need to flush out my home here before you all arrive and drive me insane. I don’t suppose that you know if my mate is around, do you? I mean, you all seem to have everything down pat already for us.
No. Not that I’m aware of. But then, I could have been around her for a month and had no idea that she was your mate. He told her that she’d not been. He would have smelled her on her. That is sort of gross, don’t you think? I mean, what could I have been doing that I would smell like your mate? Nothing, I tell you. But then, I’m new to this dragon mate stuff. It’s kind of scary when you think about anything that could have befallen a mate before the other half found them. Don’t you think?
Yes, I do. He actually thought of that more than once a day, whether his mate was out there still. Was she all right? Things that made him think that at some point along the line, she would have been dealt a deadly blow, and was now nothing more than dust in the ground. Such a morbid thought, he told himself. I do have to go, my dear. Thank Bryce for me about the house being safe. I shall now let my faeries roam free.
The house was perfect for him. There were plenty of bedrooms should he want to have his family stay over. A kitchen that as his dragon, he could cook in it if he wanted. Not to mention he had plenty enough yard that he could stretch out as his dragon and not be bothered by cars, or even trees. There were plenty of those as well. Trees and the ground were a part of him, and he sorely needed them.
Freeing his faeries, he was happy to see that they had all arrived with him safely at Devon’s home and were now free to make this house theirs, as well as his. They had, as most faeries of dragons could do, become a part of him. They were like tats over his body that, once he freed them, would leave him with nary a mark on his body other than the one that covered his back. That one was there until he died, which wouldn’t happen anytime too soon, he figured.
Gathering the thousands around him that had been a part of him, he had them listen to him this one time as a group. It wasn’t often that he had to make rules for them to follow. But until such a time that the others were aware of what he was, he didn’t want his faeries to get into trouble that would cost him anything. Being broke was something that he was used to. If he had to make restitution to Devon over something that they did, then he’d have to sell a part of himself.
He’d done it before, sold off a small part of himself—a hair that was along his back, a pint of the liquid that kept him in wings. Being what he was, a dragon of some worth, he could do that and not miss anything. However, he didn’t want to have to do it if he didn’t need to. Matt made sure that his family, the group of faeries that he’d had since birth, understood that.
“We have a chance to make ourselves a new start here. I don’t want to have to run out of town to keep any of us safe. All right?” They nodded to him, some of them apologizing for the trouble they thought had made it so that they’d had to leave before. “None of you are responsible for what Rolland has done to us. Not one of you. But know this. He is not welcome here. He is not to come here for any reason. If he tells you differently or that we have made up, then you are not to believe him. He is a liar and will say and do anything to harm me. But mostly you. He will tear your wings off just to be able to say that he has. Understand?”
Honey came to stand on his shoulder. She was his faerie to call, and Matt knew that she’d be the one that would find him if anything were to happen. The other faeries would seek her out faster than they would Matt if there were other problems to be taken care of. Only because of all the faeries that were there, Ho
ney understood more than most of them did. About nearly everything.
“I will need a staff of outdoorsmen to keep the grounds in shape.”
As Honey made groups of their staff assignments, he thought about the rooms that he’d been in and filled them out. When he had all but two of the rooms finished, Honey said his name.
“Master, there are a few that wish to be your cooking staff. I haven’t any idea what that might mean for this household.”
“There are other dragons around, including the king and queen of us all. They will show up at a moment’s notice and wish for food. Someone in the kitchen needs to be able to handle that without causing trouble.” Two of the six stepped forward. “Also, and this is very important—someone will need to be able to order foodstuff from the locals and deal with them when it comes to money that they use. We won’t be making things from magic unless funds are too low. I have a home now, so I can give you what I produce in the way of gems, but you know as well as I that it is more difficult than for a regular dragon to sell off for cash what I have in the way of gems.”
The one that moved forward again was Honey’s mate, Billows. He would be their cook. Matt welcomed him to the household. And just as he thought he would, Billows asked the other man to be his second.
Faeries were a wonderful group—at least his were. They didn’t lord tasks that they were given by the dragons over each other. If they were offered a job, as Billows had been, then they would be sure to give as many of the others that had wanted the job a way to work in the area.
Billows would train his second, Tinsel, on how to deal with the humans around and how to count out money. By the time there was a need for someone else to have a faerie in their kitchen, then Tinsel would be their pick because of his training. Matt made sure that no one was without means to keep themselves busy. Busy faeries were less likely to get themselves into trouble.
Matt did another turn around the bedrooms of his home. The master bedroom was large enough for a man his size. He was taller than most of the dragons around, with the exception of Devon, so his dragon was larger too. Also, and no one but his faeries knew this, Matt was able to call forth things that even Devon was unable to do. Now that he had his own home, he was going to make use of that magic for all those around him.
“These rooms are well done, my lord. You have chosen colors that are of the earth. Your magic will have many guests happy when they stay for a time that won’t even understand the reason for it.” Matt told Honey that he wanted to keep it that way. “I have set up a time for the lady Kelly to come and speak to you. She has sent her own faerie here to set a time. Are you going to tell her everything?”
“I was thinking that I should tell them all. With us living here, it might be better if more people knew what I was rather than being blindsided by someone looking for me. Not that there are many people around anymore that would know what I was, but you never know about humans.” Honey said that was correct. “Honey, now that you know what I want in the way of the house, would you finish it up for me? I will add the magic to the rooms later. For now, I’d like to have a look around the yard to see if there are any improvements I can do with that.”
“Yes, my lord. Also, you should talk to Lord Connor. He is working on a project now that I think you should be aware of. He has not told anyone of it as far as I know, except the faerie Dak that he smells of.” Matt nodded and started toward the door before he was stopped again by Honey. “My lord, your brother, he is going to be causing trouble again if I do not miss my bet. What would you like done with him? It is well past time that he is dealt with by one of my kind.”
“I know, Honey. You have no idea how glad I am that you haven’t done anything. I will deal with him soon enough. We are among friends here, and I would prefer that we get their input on him rather than just taking care of him on our own. Killing him would be the best for you, I’m aware of this. However, with us being with the king of our kind, we’ll need to make sure that he’s not only aware of the things that Rolland has done to faeries, but also the harm that he’s caused to our kind. Everyone has been touched by his deeds. It’s only fair that everyone has a say in what he faces from each of them when the time comes. Also, my father and his wife are going to be arriving soon, I would imagine. I would like for them to know if they’re not aware already, what he’s done since they got married.”
“Yes. You are correct. You are a wise dragon, my lord. And a kind one. I do hope that you are correct in your trust in the others about what you are.” He didn’t voice it, but he hoped so as well. “I shall take care that the rest of the house is finished. Also, I will take care that the other faeries—there are a great many of them—are aware that we’re here. I do not wish for them to get jealous of how we are treated over them.”
He didn’t tell her that the other faeries were treated as well, if not better than his were. While they weren’t a jealous lot, any of them, they did think that he was the best master that had ever been born. He liked them thinking that, but he knew that it was far from the truth. There had to be one or two others that were better than he was.
~*~
Aisling was waiting on Dak. When he returned, she was going to have to have a long overdue conversation with him. She needed some answers, and in order to get them, she was going to have to order her friend to tell her. If he’d been honest with her from the start, she wouldn’t have to go to such extremes. But now, as they were near enough to the king to seek him out, she needed to know who it was that he was talking to. As soon as he entered her domain, nothing more than a hovel that she’d transformed into a home for them, she could tell that he had more information than he’d had when he left.
“My lady? I had no idea that you’d be awake so soon. I should have been here for you.” She only nodded. “Something is amiss? I shall help you with it. Whatever it is, I’m sure that the two of us can take care of it.”
“Who is it that you’re talking to?” He said that he was speaking to her, acting this time instead of being confused for real. “Who else, Dak? Who is the dragon that you go to speak to when you think me sleeping? Is it the king? Are you telling him things about me that I wish you hadn’t?”
“No, my lady. I’d never do that to you. I have the papers that are carrying your reviews. They have them on the front page. You are quite the star now.” She wanted to put aside her questions to see her name in print again, but he needed to give her what she wanted. Again, she asked him who he was seeing. “His name is Lord Connor James, Prince to the Castle Hillcrest, Dragon of Hillcrest Castle. He has been the one that is helping you come to see the king.”
“How is it that he knew of us? You have been going behind my back, Dak. I do not care for the way you have deceived me.” He bowed before her, his wings spread out behind him and trembling. “What did you do to make him aware of me?”
“He came upon us while you were resting so many decades ago. You had only been healing for a short time when he came into the cave to rest himself.” Aisling told him to stand up and to finish. “Lord Connor knew what you were when he came upon you. I could no more turn him away than I could have you, my lady. He watched over the two of us until you woke. Lord Connor also made sure that I was fed and cared for, and that you were never close to dying again, as you were when we entered the cave you were in.”
“Did he heal me?” Dak told her what he’d done. “So he protected me so that no others were to come upon my body while I healed. How much will he demand of me, Dak? He will want more than I can give him, of this I’m sure.”
“Nay. He knew that you were an untried female dragon. He knew too that you were white, even though you were covered in darkness to hide you away from others.” She asked what he wanted. “Nothing, he told me. For, he told me, all dragons are special. But for a female such as yourself, there is no greater gift to someone than to have you taken care of so that you were never harmed. He has be
en true to his word in all this time. It is his card that you use when we eat.”
“I will pay him back.” Dak said nothing. “What else has he done? Has he made it so that my reviews are taken by the newspaper? Did he fix it so that even though they are crap, someone prints them and pays us for them? I shall never do another—”
“Nay, my lady. Never that. The king was kind enough to help you with the name. After that, Lord Connor told me that you were on your own. I had to ask him what he meant by that. But you got the job because you were good at what you did. Lord Connor only—how did he put that? Ah. He said that he only opened the door for you so that you could enter the job. You closed the door behind you when you were able to impress with your and my words. He was very good at doing that for you. Was he not?” She didn’t say anything to him. “You should know that I have also been delaying your meeting with the king. Lord Connor didn’t know why, but he said that you must only come to meet the king when the snow was on the ground for good.”
“And he had no reason for this? That I was only to arrive in the snow?” Dak told her that was what he said. “So this Lord Connor, he can see my future. What else did he tell you about me coming there?”
“Nothing. He only can see some of your future, but not all. He only knew that it would be best for you to arrive when the snow was on the ground for a while.” Dak smiled at her. “It is time.”
“Does the king even have a child?” He said that he did. There were many hatchlings around the kingdom. “I don’t know what to believe of you now, Dak. You have betrayed me to another dragon. What if he has it in his head to make me a part of his household? A dragon of his own?”
“I don’t think he’d do that. I have seen his mate. She is a beauty, much like you are, but she is scary protective of her mate. You could never get close enough to either of them with any ill intentions in your mind.” She thought that was at least good. “Not that you have such intentions, but she will not be happy if you were to be a part of the household for any reason.”
Matthew: House of Wilkshire ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 1
