“I don’t know,” Magda whispered. “I think she hasn’t emerged into our world yet. But she’s coming. I think Murad’s Black Dragon has been waiting for centuries for its mate to evolve, to emerge, to return! But the Black Dragon also knows that it will never be able to truly bond with its mate, since she has no human in her at all! It wants its mate, but can’t have her! That’s frustration, anger, chaos! Which means there might be two feral Black Dragons loose on the world soon, both of them driven insane by a bond that can never be complete! I think that’s what you saw out there in the African jungle, Darius. A new gateway to the Darkness is opening up for Murad’s mate, Adam’s mother, to crawl out!”
Bart the Bear stepped forward, his big brown eyes widening as even he began to understand what was happening. “Like the gateway to the Darkness in Germany? The souls of my parents are guarding that doorway. So who’s guarding this new one? Who’s gonna make sure Adam’s crazy mama doesn’t bust out and destroy the world?!”
“My mother is dead!” rasped Adam. “Whatever my father created in his attempt to Turn her is not my mother! It’s a goddamn demon!” He stopped pacing, his jaw tightening in determination, his gold left eye burning so bright Darius had to blink. “And so is my father, as far as I’m concerned. This has gone on long enough. We know where he is, right? We know where that new gateway to the Darkness is, right? All right then! Enough talk. I’ll finish this once and for all. I’ll kill them both. I’ll do it. I’ll kill them both.”
“No way, Adam!” Caleb the Wolf said, his blue eyes widening as he shook his head furiously and then turned to his mate Magda. “There has to be another way. Magda, you have to be able to do something with your magic! Bart’s parents said that you were the key, didn’t they? That you’ll find a way to combine both Dark Magic and Light Magic to . . . to stop what’s happening!”
But Magda just blinked, her round face looking so white Darius thought she might faint. He could already sense Adam’s dragon coming close to the boil, and when he looked over at the tall Dragon Shifter, he saw the man staring at the big window as if preparing to jump from the building and Change. Adam was the Alpha of the crew, yes. But even the Alpha could be wrong sometimes. Even the Alpha needed help. Even the Alpha sometimes needed a member of his crew to step up and take the lead.
Time seemed to slow down for Darius, and he felt his lion surge inside him. But it wasn’t yearning to bust out. In fact it was a surge of confidence, the same kind of energy that had quieted down those crazed animals back in Kenya. Slowly he surveyed the room, sizing up every participant in the game that was unfolding: Caleb and his witch. Adam close to losing control and heading off to kill his own parents. Bart the Bear taking short, quick breaths as his animal thrashed inside him.
“Hey, Bear,” he said to Bart as he suddenly understood what needed to be done. He lowered his voice to a whisper, gesturing with his head towards the fuming Adam. “Can you hold Adam in check? Can you hold his dragon back?”
Bart blinked, a wide grin breaking on his face as if he was delighted at being given a clear mission that needed brute strength. “That I can do, Lion,” he growled, and a moment later his bear burst forth, sending chairs flying across the room as the massive beast leapt at his Alpha, trapping him in a bear-hug so powerful it would have killed any normal man.
“Bart!” roared Adam as sparks flew out of his mouth and nose. “I warned you that if you ever tried this again, I’d . . . Bart! Bart!”
Darius blinked and took a step back as he saw Adam’s dragon trying to burst out, but the Bear Shifter was somehow holding it inside with pure strength. After several minutes of shouting and grunting, Adam finally went limp in the bear’s hug, shaking his head and sighing as his rage subsided.
“Good,” said Darius, his jaw tight as he turned to Caleb and Magda. “Now what’s this about magic and spells? Are you saying there’s a spell that can close up that new gateway? Or tame two feral Black Dragons?”
But Caleb was holding his mate close, trying to comfort the distraught witch, who was simply shaking her head like she didn’t know what to do.
“I’m not powerful enough yet,” whispered Magda in despair. “And I don’t know what I need to do for that kind of power!”
“I do,” came John Benson’s voice from the corner of the room, and everyone turned to look at him. “That power will come from those around you. It’s not just your power—it’s everyone’s power. Your entire crew’s combined power.” He slowly stepped forward, now that it was clear Adam’s dragon wasn’t going to burst out and destroy everyone in the room. “Take a look at yourselves, guys! Look at how you all have been drawn together by fate, by the universe, by your individual and combined destinies! Each time you added someone to the crew, Magda’s magic grew more powerful, didn’t it?”
Darius frowned as every Shifter in the room looked at one another. “So if she’s not powerful enough yet, then it means we’re still missing someone.”
“Well, yeah! My sister!” Lacy said, her eyes wide as she turned to Darius.
“And her mate Everett,” he whispered. “The Tiger. We have to find them.”
“Well, that I can help with,” said Magda, finally letting out a smile. She stepped forward and nodded at Lacy. “Hold out your arm. There we go.”
“Ow!” Lacy said, staring down as Magda ran her sharp fingernail along her bare arm, drawing blood. “What the hell?”
“Hey!” roared Darius, leaping forward, about to grab the witch and pull her away.
“It’s OK!” Lacy said hurriedly, raising her hands to stop him. “I’m OK! Let her do her thing, Darius. It’s OK.”
Darius growled as he forced his lion to simmer down. Then he nodded, and Magda slowly clenched her fist, Lacy’s blood staining her tight fingers. She muttered a few words under her breath, and then her eyes rolled up in her head as she swayed back and forth like she was going into a trance.
“Well?” said Lacy anxiously. “Where are they?”
“Honeymoon suite in the Bahamas, probably,” said Darius, trying to break the tension as they waited for Magda’s reply.
But the tension only rose, and when Magda opened her eyes again, they were blood red. “I . . . I can’t see her. I guess my spell didn’t work. Sorry.” She turned to her mate. “Caleb, we should go. I need to rest. Regain my strength.” She glanced apologetically at Lacy, but Darius could tell she was holding something back.
“Liar,” he growled, feeling the distrust rising up again. He reminded himself that this was still a Dark Witch, a woman who’d orchestrated Murad’s rise, controlled the Black Dragon who was poised to raise hell on Earth. He glanced at Caleb, holding the Wolf Shifter’s blue-eyed gaze until the Navy Seal finally took a breath and nodded as if he agreed with Darius’s accusation.
“What is it, Magda?” said Caleb softly. “You need to tell us.”
But Magda shook her head violently, pleading with her eyes. “I can’t be sure. And I can’t say it unless I’m sure. I need some time to—”
“She’s dead,” came Lacy’s voice, and Darius whipped his head toward her when he heard the chillingly confident tone. “My sister’s dead, isn’t she?”
Every set of eyes turned to the Dark Witch, and finally she lowered her blood-red gaze and nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” said Lacy, looking up with a grim smile on her pretty round face, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” Then she turned to Darius, those eyes of hers looking right through him, her gaze cutting like a knife. “And his, for convincing me Tracy would be safe with the Tiger!”
“Mine?” said Darius, frowning and taking a step forward. “What the hell are you talking about, Lacy? Look, we don’t even know if she’s dead. Hell, she can’t be dead! Everett the Tiger would have protected her with his life!”
“He did
protect her with his life,” came Magda’s trembling voice. “Or at least he tried.”
Darius felt dizzy as he turned to look at Magda, then whipped back around to his mate. Everett was dead too? No way! The guy was one of the most powerful Shifters he’d ever seen! And he was smart as hell too! How the hell could—
But his thoughts were washed away by a sudden movement. It was Lacy, moving with the quickness of her bobcat! She’d leapt towards Benson’s desk, knocking him aside and yanking open the top drawer. A moment later she pulled out a shiny black handgun and held it against the side of her head as everyone in the room gasped.
Darius roared as he prepared to Change and leap at his mate. But she stopped him with a simple look, a look that almost brought the Lion to his knees as he felt his world threaten to shatter around him.
“Lacy,” he managed to mutter through his rapidly tightening throat. “Are you insane? What are you doing? If you pull that trigger while in human form, you’ll . . . Lacy, give me the gun. Give me the fucking gun!”
“She’s my twin, Darius,” Lacy whispered. “She’s a part of me. I have to go to her.”
“I said give me the gun,” Darius commanded, gritting his teeth so hard he could feel them wearing down.
“I . . . I . . .” Lacy stammered, and Darius could see the conflict in her eyes. He understood that she’d followed her animal’s primal need to bond with its mate when the two of them had met. But now that they were mated, the human in her was being destroyed by the guilt of not searching for her sister earlier.
Now that they were mated . . . came the thought again as Darius frowned. A chill passed through his tense body as an idea so wild, so dangerous, so insane emerged that he almost choked.
Mated Shifters never die, his grandparents had told him. They stay mated forever. If an unmated Shifter dies, its human and animal split—the human going to the Light, the animal returning to the Darkness.
“So where does a mated Shifter go if its body is destroyed?” Darius wondered out loud as he stared at his mate holding the gun to her head, a look in her eye that seemed to match the crazy idea that was forming in his own mind.
A mated Shifter can travel between Light and Darkness, came the answer from his lion. That is the power of the fated bond. She wants to go after her sister, bring her back, put her together again. And you need to go with her. Trust that the witch will find a way to bring you both back.
But she’s pregnant, Darius thought as panic rose up once again. If she pulls that trigger, what happens to our unborn cubs?!
If the witch brings you two back before the pregnancy reaches term, our cubs will be unaffected, replied his lion. Her bobcat understands that too.
And her animal is willing to take the risk? Gamble with the lives of its cubs? I don’t believe that! Darius shot back at his lion. And you’re willing to take that risk too? I thought the animal’s only instinct was to preserve its young!
Well, your animal has been cursed with the wisdom of the human, grumbled his lion. Both the bobcat and I understand that if we can’t stop the Black Dragon before its dark mate emerges, then we are all doomed—cubs, kittens, pups, and everything in between. There comes a point when the King and Queen must put it all on the line to save the universe. That’s our responsibility and ours alone. Yours and hers. Get it, King of the Ring? She gets it. Now show some faith in the members of your court. Show some faith in your crew. Show some faith in your mate. Show some faith in your eternal bond. Make a decision, King. Pull the trigger.
Slowly Darius nodded as he held his mate’s gaze. Were his grandparents right? If they pulled that trigger, would he and his mate be able to traverse both Light and Darkness with the power of their bond? Would they be able to find Everett and Tracy? Did Everett and Tracy complete their bond before dying? How did they even die in the first place?! Would the witch’s magic be able to bring them all back in time to save his unborn cubs . . . not to mention the entire goddamn world?!
Only one way to find out, he thought as he remembered that a Shifter’s destiny was bigger than just finding its mate, that he had to follow his path no matter where it took him.
He had to follow his path, and his mate. Their shared destiny. There was no standing down. No turning away. The King and Queen didn’t have that luxury.
“We each said it once to the other: That we’d die together,” he said softly, his unblinking gaze focused on Lacy’s determined eyes as he slowly walked to her. Darius placed his head in line with hers, their cheeks touching as he reached for her trigger finger. Slowly he began to squeeze her finger as he breathed deep of her scent. “So all right, you crazy kitten. If this is destiny, I’ll be right there with you. Right there with you, babe. All the way to the end. In Darkness and in Light. In this life and whatever lies beyond. Always and forever, Kitten.”
Always and forever.
∞
FROM THE AUTHOR
OMG, listen: Those of you who’ve been reading me for years know that I never do cliffhangers like this, but Lacy and Tracy’s stories are too intertwined to separate fully (they are twins, after all!). This book had to end here, because we need to see Tracy and Everett’s bonding to truly finish the story.
Maybe you hate me now, but I beg of you to have some faith! TAKEN FOR THE TIGER is the last book in this series, and we’ll get the final Happy Ending we all crave!
And yes, I crave it too! I’m along for the ride just like you guys are! This isn’t some trickery just to get you to buy another book! Those who know my work understand that I always stay true to my muse, even if it pisses off my readers (Haunted for the Sheikh, anyone . . . ;))! I could have just put in another sex scene and an epilogue showing Lacy and Darius and their cubs, but it wouldn’t have been true to the way the story is playing out.
Thanks for coming this far.
I do hope you stick with us to the end.
Love,
Anna.
PS: In the meantime, do consider my long series of standalones, CURVES FOR SHEIKHS. And I’ve got a new super-hot Curvy-girl series of standalones dropping in July! OMG, please don’t hate me!
BY ANNABELLE WINTERS
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Sheikh
Flames for the Sheikh
Hostage for the Sheikh
Single for the Sheikh
Stockings for the Sheikh
Untouched for the Sheikh
Surrogate for the Sheikh
Stars for the Sheikh
Shelter for the Sheikh
Shared for the Sheikh
Assassin for the Sheikh
Privilege for the Sheikh
Ransomed for the Sheikh
Uncorked for the Sheikh
Haunted for the Sheikh
Grateful for the Sheikh
Mistletoe for the Sheikh
Fake for the Sheikh
THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (USA)
Curves for the Dragon
Born for the Bear
Witch for the Wolf
Tamed for the Lion
Taken for the Tiger
THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Sheikh (UK)
Flames for the Sheikh (UK)
Hostage for the Sheikh (UK)
Single for the Sheikh (UK)
Stockings for the Sheikh (UK)
Untouched for the Sheikh (UK)
Surrogate for the Sheikh (UK)
Stars for the Sheikh (UK)
Shelter for the Sheikh (UK)
Shared for the Sheikh (UK)
Assassin for the Sheikh (UK)
Privilege for the Sheikh (UK)
Ransomed for the Sheikh (UK)
Uncorked for the Sheikh (UK)
Haunted for the Sheikh (UK)
Grateful for the Sheikh (UK)
Mistletoe for the Sheikh (UK)
Fake for the Sheikh (UK)
&nbs
p; THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (UK)
Curves for the Dragon
Born for the Bear
Witch for the Wolf
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (USA)
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (UK)
ANNA'S WEBSITE
ANNA'S FACEBOOK
ANNA'S GOODREADS
ANNA'S NEW RELEASE LIST
Tamed for the Lion Page 12
