Matthew: House of Wilkshire ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I’m assuming that you have little to nothing to do with her.” Aisling told Kelly that she hadn’t since just after her father had been killed. “Connor said that you’d been hurt badly during the war with the humans. I’m not sure why I thought it was recent, but it must have been a long time ago.”

  “She was resting in a cave for more than a thousand years to heal.” Aisling let Dak tell them of her work. “Her rider was felled during the attack on the kingdom that she was working with. But she did not stop to lick her sores when he fell from her. She and her dragon defended the castle and all that lived there with nearly her last breath. The king, a man of very little means except his home, was too busy keeping his own head to honor her when she lay dying.”

  “Do you remember the year?” Dak told her that it hadn’t been important, but Aisling told Anna. “Yes, I do remember that. The castle has long since fallen, I’m sorry to say. I don’t think any of the descendants are around to even make a claim on it anymore. That is a wonderful story, Dak. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.”

  Dak’s little chest puffed out, and she could see that he was very proud of himself. He’d be thinking about how he’d been complimented for weeks now, and there would be very little to upset him. She smiled at him when he looked at her.

  When their food was set before them—more like slammed down in front of them—their salads, as well as anything they ordered, like soup or other items to be brought first, were there as well. No bread was brought to them, as it said in their menu. They had no wine list offered to them. And as far as she could see on the others’ plates, the food was there, but there didn’t seem to be any kind of garnish or care taken that there were no spills on the sides of the plates. It was, in a word, messy.

  “I’m very disappointed in this. I’m not even sure that I could eat this without fear of it being poisoned. Are you sure this place was supposed to be good?”

  Bryce waved her hands over the table, and Aisling watched as things started to come up over their plates and hold there. “This is what is in our dinners that shouldn’t be there. If I don’t miss my bet, that is spit. Also, look at what is in yours, Aisling. That is definitely rat poison. No one touch anything. I’m calling the police.”

  In minutes there were police around them. Aisling didn’t know any of the men that were also there, but they absolutely knew the women. She knew that one of them was the king too. That meant that the woman that he was standing behind was the queen. Kelly looked at her when she stood up.

  “Don’t do that.” Aisling told her that she’d been tricked again. “No. You weren’t tricked at anything. Anna, my grandmother-in-law, told you that we weren’t going to tell you titles to get you all twisted up. From where I’m standing, she made a good call. Please have a seat again, and we’ll go back to our home when the police are finished here.”

  “I’d rather just go back to the place where I’m staying.” Lord Devon asked her to please go with them. “You can order me to do that, sire. But I think that I’d be better off just moving on. I am your servant, should you order me to be. But I’d rather you didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry to do this to you, Aisling, but I need to speak to you about several things. If you won’t come to my home on your own, then you leave me no choice but to order you to do so.” Kelly asked him if that was necessary. “Yes, I’m afraid it is. There are things going on that you’ve not been made aware of yet.”

  “Yes, my lord. I will follow you to your home.” After that, she didn’t speak to any of them unless they asked her a direct question. Aisling also kept her distance from all of them. When Lord Devon came toward her after a couple of arrests were made, she went down on her knees and bowed her head. “My lord?”

  “You’re going to be a pain in my ass about this, aren’t you? Well, I guess it’s no less than I deserved. My home, if you please. Dak will come with you.” She told him that she would do what pleased him. “What would please me, Aisling, is for you not to be before me as subservient. You aren’t. I do hope you come to understand that.”

  What she wanted to tell him was that he’d made her that way simply by being her king. But all she told him was that she’d do as he wished. When he walked away, she stayed where she was when Lady Anna came to be with her. She didn’t sound any happier than the king did.

  “We were having so much fun, and now this. I do hope you know that I’m disappointed in you both.” She said nothing. “I don’t know what to say to you when you’re lowering yourself lower than that piece of crap that tried to kill you. I’ll see you at the castle, Aisling. I do hope you think about the fact that we’re friends.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  She wasn’t being rude. Aisling didn’t even think that she was doing anything wrong. They were her superiors, all of them. And if they didn’t want her to be lower than they were, then they should have simply stayed where they were and allowed her to do what was necessary for her to be a part of society.

  Making her way to the castle as her dragon, neither she nor Dak said anything. What was there to say? Neither of them had known who they were having a meal with. When she thought of the things that she and Dak had told them, and how she’d acted like she was more than she was, Aisling felt her temper rise. She should have been told what they were from the beginning.

  Landing in the drive of the beautiful castle, she and Dak waited on the others to show. It gave her time to think about what she needed to say to the king and queen, such as her request to be able to work so that she’d be able to pay them homage. Also, she had it in her mind to ask for forgiveness on acting as she had with the lady queen.

  “Dak, do you suppose he’ll want a part of us? He is the king to all dragons. We should have been told, but I doubt they think they need to go around telling people how important they are.” Dak said that he was well within his right to ask of them whatever he wished. “I know. It was unfair of them to do that to us and then expect us to be friendly with them. I guess it will be my fault that we did what we did. But it was really nice to be able to sit with them and have a lovely meal like friends. Don’t you think? They’ll think that I should have known better. I suppose that I should have. I am nothing more than a cog in the wheel of their lives, so to speak.”

  “I doubt that.” Startled, Aisling turned and looked at the man standing behind them. “I’m sorry to have startled you, but when you say things like that, I have to intervene. My name and title are Earl of Green Gables, Lord of Lilac Castle, Matthew Patrick St. James. Everyone just calls me Matt. And before I get lumped into whatever is going on with you at the moment, I’m nothing more than an earl by title. I have nothing more than the clothing upon my back. I’d like it if you were to call me Matt, please.”

  Aisling dropped to her knees and felt her eyes fill with tears. Would she ever be able to make a good impression on someone without feeling like a fool? Doubtful. She knew now that it was her lot in life to simply be a servant, and her ideas of being productive for her new king were tossed out with yesterday’s sour milk, so to speak.

  “I take it that you’ve met with the king and his family. Devon isn’t like whatever you’re thinking. I’m sure that you bowing before him has his panties in a twist. Please stand up.” She stayed where she was. Aisling also noticed that Dak was prostate in front of her. The earl’s shoes were there in front of her, and she wiped at the tears before he could see them gathering on her cheeks. “Aisling, correct?”

  “Yes, my lord.” He cursed. “I’m to await the king here. He and the others are returning soon.”

  “I doubt very much that he wanted you to be kneeling when he arrived. Please, I’m begging you to stand.” She couldn’t do that anymore than she could call him by his first name when he’d asked her to. “Aisling, I didn’t want to bring this up while you’re like this, but you’re my mate. Having you kneel before us is making my dragon a little pissy with us. Plea
se stand and let him see that you’re not upset with us.”

  Dak peeked up at her. “You must be mistaken about this. There is no way that I’m mated to someone such as yourself.” He said that he’d not make a mistake like this. To please look at him. “My lord, you have no idea what you might be saying. You know nothing about what I am, what I’ve done.”

  “Nor do you about me, Aisling. Please look at us.” She looked up, her body having to fight hard against what she’d been taught her entire life about her superiors, the people who ruled her. She could see him, all of him. “You are the only creature that can see me for what I truly am. You are the only person, dragon or otherwise, that can make us whole. You are my mate, Aisling the Warrior. You will be the only person that will make me whole.”

  Something wrapped around her. Aisling was being lifted from the earth, her dragon roaring at her to hold tightly onto her. As she was filled out, no other way to describe how she was feeling, she could see that Lord Matthew was having the same done to him.

  Their bodies were lifted high. Magic surrounded them, swirling around and around them in so many colors it was dizzying to watch as they moved around her. Faeries were everywhere, surrounding them as well as becoming a part of the magic that was doing whatever it was to them. As the pain in her body began to make itself known to her, she screamed out. Glass and other particles of whatever was close enough to break touched them.

  Trees swayed toward them both. The snow that was on the earth somehow disappeared. The heat, she realized, the heat of the magic was warming the earth as well. Even for her body, so hot all the time anyway, it was too much. Sweat began to pour off her in long streams.

  Aisling noticed then that they were getting closer that she and his lordship were within inches of each other rather than feet. There was no fighting the magic to move herself beneath him. She could no more have pushed away from him than she could have stood up to the king.

  As soon as they touched, their bodies seemingly molding together, she screamed once again. The power of whatever touched her was too much. There were voices—their dragons, she thought—telling them to be calm, that they were safe. She wanted to beg for mercy, to ask for forgiveness in whatever she was doing to make this happen. But her body was too broken, she realized. Broken more than she’d ever been before.

  You are well, my lady. She moved away from the voice that was in her head. I am here to protect you forever, my heart, my dragon. I am Dragon of the Earth, Wind, and Fire. Not the elements, nay, but the true components of what the elements are made of. You are our mate, the person who finally made us what we were meant to be. You have only to ask of us, either my host or myself, and we will give you all that we have. You have, as our mate, made us what we were meant to be since we were born for you.

  I hurt. He said that she’d only hurt for a bit longer. I am nothing. I was nothing. A warrior dragon that gave my service to the king and his minions. You cannot be my mate. Don’t you see?

  Nay. What I see before me is a queen of all queens. The ruler of my heart. The woman and dragon that I will, in all my abilities, worship like none other. I will keep you in my heart above all others. I will love you as you were meant to be loved. My host and I will be yours forever. This I can promise you.

  Arms wrapped around her, and the voice changed. She knew that it was now that of Lord Matthew. You’re going to be fine, Aisling. We are here for you. I promise you that you will never be harmed again.

  “What did you do to me?”

  There wasn’t an answer, and she really hadn’t expected one. When she could feel her strength returning, quickly and more than she’d ever had before, she laid still, thinking that there had been a huge mistake. That someone would come along soon and murder her for what she’d done to his lordship.

  Dak stood over her, his feet digging into her clothing as he held onto her. Aisling tried to control her breaths so as not to knock him askew. It was all she could do to concentrate on that while the magic or whatever it was rolled over her.

  She needed his power. Not much of it, but enough that she could leave here before the king arrived. Telling him what she needed, begging him for whatever he could give her, she felt her dragon take her, and she was in the skies before she realized that she was no longer white.

  “My lady?” She told Dak that she couldn’t speak to him right now. That she was thinking. “Aye, I can understand that. You have been changed. I don’t know what to think about that.”

  Neither do I. I’m afeared that we hurt his lordship. Dak asked her about him saying that she was his mate. I don’t even think that is possible, do you? He is a lord; I am nothing. I think my dragon, she must have known that too and fought out at him. Something happened, and I will be to blame for it. I need to hide. To think before we are captured. We will be, too.

  “Yes. I fear that myself. I will stand with you.” She didn’t want that either. There wasn’t any point in them both being killed for what they’d done. She told Dak that. “You have been my mistress forever, Aisling. I shall not leave you now when you will need me the most.”

  She could see her wings spread out around her as she dropped to the cave where she’d rested for so long. Her body was no longer the white of the new snow. Trying to name what the color was eluded her, as it changed with every blink of her eyes. She looked at Dak when he said her name.

  “His lordship said that he was the dragon of the earth, wind, and fire. You are those colors, my lady. All blues, greens, and reds. Do you suppose he was correct in calling you his mate? You look as if you are.” She moved into the cave after shifting, no longer wanting to think about what color she was. “My lady, your hair. It is no longer the shade of the clouds in the sky. It is as if your body has taken on the hues of the great dragon. You are the colors of his dragon.”

  “No more!” Dak fell to the ground; his body spread out before her. “I’m sorry, I was so loud. But I don’t wish to talk about him at the moment. I need to figure out what there is for me to bargain with. I will surely die, but I need to bargain for your life. It is all I have left, Dak, to know that you are safe from the dragon king and his lordship. Just let me think.”

  She didn’t think she’d be able to figure it out if she had decades to wonder what was going on. She was, as he said, the mate of the Earth Dragon. And there was nothing she could do about it but hope that he didn’t wish for her death any more than she did right now.

  Chapter 3

  “Where is she?” Matt said that he didn’t know. He didn’t, but even if he did, Devon was too upset to allow him near his mate. “You do know that others are searching for her, don’t you?”

  “I do.” Devon continued to pace. He’d been doing that since he’d arrived at the castle and heard that Aisling had left. “You should have a seat, Devon. I’m sure that you’re going to wear a hole in the stone should you keep that up.”

  “You know something.” Matt told him that he knew a great deal. “You know something about this woman. The white dragon. Why aren’t you telling me?”

  “You didn’t ask. Also, in your state of mind, it’s doubtful that you’d listen to me anyway. Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll answer your questions. But for now, even if I did know where she was, I’d not tell you. You’re much too pissed to deal with anything more at the moment.” Devon sat but stared at him. Matt let him. “You should take a deep breath and tell me what happened at the restaurant.”

  “You’ve changed. Something is different about you than it was this afternoon when I saw you.” Matt didn’t as much as blink at his friend. “The waiter there had just been told that they had a five-star rating. I guess it went to his head. I don’t know. But when Aisling and the others showed up, he was pissed that it was just a bunch of women in what he thought of as his restaurant and decided that they needed to be taught a lesson. He spit in their drinks. Put a little rat poison in Aisling’s, and he�
�� Did you get a haircut?”

  “No. I did not. You know as well as I do that I don’t ever need to cut my hair. It’s as it is forever. He tried to poison her? Whatever point was that supposed to prove? I’m assuming that the police were called?” Devon told him how the police had taken him in, as well as the cook there. “I bet the women were hard-pressed not to hurt him when they figured out what he’d done.”

  “He was rude from the start, I guess. Kelly told me that he refused to let them sit at a different table, but made them sit at a— Tell me what’s going on. You’re hiding something, and I want to know what it is.” Matt asked him if he was demanding as a king or wanting to know as a friend. “I have no idea why that would make a difference, but as a friend, I guess.”

  “I’ve told you. Nothing. I’m the same man I was before you left me when Kelly called to you.” He asked him what that was supposed to mean. “You’re speaking in riddles, my friend. Why don’t you take a nap or something and get back to me? You are so out of sorts you’re acting like a spoiled child.”

  “What have you done?” Matt looked at Lady Anna when she came into the room. “Matt? What has happened to you? Oh my goodness, you’ve found her! Haven’t you?”