by Gena D. Lutz
Harek laughed a little to himself and then his eyes shot to mine. “I am humbled by your generosity” he said, putting his right hand over his left bicep. He inclined his head, giving me a half bow. “However, I require no assistance.”
Harek stumbled over his last words. His perpetual smile vanished and with the same hand he had held over his heart only moments before, he trailed the ridges of his abdomen until he reached the bulge in his pouch.
“That’s not completely true, I suppose. I am in need of assistance in freeing my Moira,” he whispered.
“Can’t you just drain little Miss Princess’s magic again to free her?” Nathan questioned.
Shifting her eyes to Nathan, Ariel pressed her lips together; she looked vexed.
“I would love to free the dragon’s female for him, however, it’s impossible. Her egg, or diamond sphere…whatever we are calling it...it’s not singing to me. Plus, I am not at full strength, which also puts a damper on our earlier plans of infiltrating Tyson’s lair.” She explained.
Harek didn’t argue, just nodded. “I will have to find another way to release her. She is part human, and as such, lacks the knowledge to draw magic from other supernatural beings. She hasn’t mastered her Dragon song. ”
The dragon scooped up his hair that had been draped loosely over his shoulders, dripping wet. His eyes closed, and in the next instant, his golden locks were dry. He looked around the room and waved his hand, in a half circle, out in front of him. A light flashed and when the brightness subsided the living room was once again spotless.
Nathan let out a relieved breath. “Thanks man. That was bugging the shit out of me.” Nathan commented.
Harek’s smile returned. The towering dragon sure did give off an abundance of happy vibes. “It was the least I could do.”
Nathan smoothed his fingers over mine, gripping my fingers between his. “You’re more than welcome to stay here until we figure out how to set your lady free. I have a full apartment in the basement. It’s yours, man. If you need it.”
He might not have known it, but in that instant, Nathan made me fall in love with him even more by offering his home so freely to this man, a stranger he had only known for less than an hour. I was gradually getting to know my new bonded mate. So far, he was surprising me in all sorts of wonderful ways.
Harek blinked in surprise. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to be an imposition on you or your female.”
I had to chuckle at being called female. It was a first. I had been referred to in a plethora of other monikers before, but never female. It was very animalistic, made me think of the cave man days. I thought about Nathan dragging me to his cave by my hair. I didn’t like the idea much. The caveman era could suck it. I was a modern woman all the way and would suck dry the blood from any man who tried that crap on me.
“We won’t take no for an answer,” I responded.
There was a moment of silence. Ariel shrugged her shoulders. “Sounds like you have things well in hand.” With a surprising wink aimed at me, she vanished.
“I humbly accept your offer,” Harek said, while giving us another one of his half bows. He didn’t so much as flinch when Ariel poofed out of the room. He was obviously accustomed to magic wielders.
It was official. Nathan and I were rooming with a dragon. I am sure weirder things have happened to other people. As for me…this one was ranked pretty high on my ‘never thought this could possibly happen to me’ scale. Yeah, it was right up there with ‘being made into a werewolf hybrid’.
Somehow, Nathan and I were able to sneak away from all the surrounding dramas of the past few days. I was lying back against a delectably soft pillow, reclined against the headboard of Nathan’s bed, enjoying the cool breeze sliding into the room from the window he had just pushed open. Harek was in the basement, presumably fast asleep. After showing him around his spacious quarters he had begged us pardon before disappearing into his new room.
“It’s been a crazy few days, hasn’t it?” Nathan commented. He was standing by the window; the muscles in his face were relaxed, softening his chiseled features. I watched as the wind picked up loose strands of his hair. The ends whipped in and out of his face playfully. It didn’t bother him though; he just let the errant strands fly around as they pleased.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” I agreed.
We remained quiet for a while, the both of us enjoying some much needed peace and calm.
“How do you suppose everyone will react to Harek when we bring him to the compound tomorrow with us?” I asked, breaking the silence.
Nathan pushed off the wall and walked over to the corner cabinet on the other side of the room. He opened the frosted glass doors and pulled down two high ball glasses, and with a second reach, grabbed a bottle of Jim Beam as well. With a shrug, he poured two fingers worth of the amber liquid into each one of the glasses.
“Everyone is pretty used to surprises of the supernatural persuasion around here, especially as of late. If Harper doesn’t try and kill him, I think he will do okay.”
I nodded. If I were still a human that lacked the knowledge about this new world I was now living in, I would have most likely fainted or hyperventilated at the very least, with Harek’s sudden arrival tonight. At least Ember and the group would be meeting the dragon by familiar introduction and not by an exploding light show. Speaking of meetings...
“I never had the chance to ask you. How was the impromptu meeting at Haven? Did you chat with your old friend, what was her name…Paige?” I asked, trying not to sound like a jealous girlfriend but failing miserably.
He turned around holding a glass in each hand and walked over to me. I watched his hips sway slow and seductive as he drew near. He sat on the bed, handing me one of them. My mouth watered for something to sip on, but it damn sure wasn’t the fire liquid he just gave me. I was craving Nathan. I caught myself falling victim to the luscious thought of licking his neck, dropping my fangs, and taking my fill of his delicious blood. I brought the rim of the glass to my lips and drank, unsatisfied, from it instead.
“The club was a circus when Collin and I showed up there. The compound wasn’t the only place attacked by those fucking abominations. Tyson had apparently sent a couple of his creatures to attack Haven, too.”
Nathan took a sip of his drink and shook his head.
“Paige and her Beta, Sebastian, battled the wolves. They already knew how to take them down. I guess it wasn’t their first run in with them.” Nathan reached down and began pulling his boots off. He set them next to the side table, perfectly aligned with one another.
“Wait a minute. Paige has a Beta?” I set my glass down on the nightstand and sat up. “That would mean she is the Alpha of her pack.”
I didn’t know why this news bothered me so much. Maybe because I viewed the she-wolf as being in some sort of competition with me for Nathan’s affections. She would be a damn Alpha wolf, I thought to myself.
“That she is. Her position in the pack happened recently. The old Alpha was aiding Tyson, much like Tommy was, in his plans to collect wolves for the Darkin to feed on once they were freed. Paige found out and challenged the traitor among her wolves. She won.”
So she was a damn hero as well. Great. I felt like mentally beating my own ass for the thoughts I was having. Paige being in the picture was a good thing, wasn’t it? It would mean that we had more help against Tyson and these new creatures, especially if you considered that she had firsthand knowledge about them. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I shouldn’t be laying here relaxing, sipping booze with my boyfriend, and entertaining petty thoughts of jealousy. I should be relaying all this information to Ember. She had no clue about the dragon, and I was sure she would appreciate knowing all the stuff Ariel had told us about the witch that Tyson was in league with. Not to mention that we possibly knew where to find him. Well at least Ariel knew where he was.
I reached in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone.
***
It was three o’clock in the morning and I found myself back at the Adelphi compound sitting at a large breakfast table with Nathan by my side. After the phone call explaining everything to Ember, she had asked us to pack up a few things and stay with them here for a few nights. Just until we had everything figured out.
Harper was placing plates heaped with food in front of everyone. Bacon, eggs, steak, pancakes, you name it. It was all laid out across the table. It was a feast fit for a king; or rather, several hungry werewolves and one vampire. I never knew that Harper liked to cook. She seemed right at home in the kitchen. She had her short blonde hair pulled up and she was wearing a black apron over a white t-shirt and dark denim jeans. The way she was dressed offered quite the contrast between the Betty Crocker Harper standing in front of the oven holding a spatula, and the leather clad head hunter standing over dead wolves armed with a sword.
“It’s chow time!” she yelled, her voice booming throughout the house.
Several pack members hustled into the room. I looked over at the female wolf who sat across the table from me. It was Paige, alpha of the Grayson pack. She was talking to her second in command who had just plopped himself on top of the kitchen island, gun in hand. Apparently we weren’t the only house guests staying here.
“You can put the damn gun away, Bastian, and have some food. We are all safe here. I counted twenty Adelphi wolves guarding the back door alone.” Paige said, pointing behind her.
Sebastian just huffed, pierced her with a set of golden eyes, and went back to watching everything around us with an eagle eye. To say that tensions were high within the compound would be an understatement. We currently had a high concentration of members from three different packs congregated in one territory. The Adelphi, Prime, and Grayson packs. I was waiting for a fight to break out at any minute. This was why an Omega was so important to have in a pack, to help keep tensions low. My mind briefly wandered to Declan. I really hoped he was doing better.
Paige threw her hands up and sat back hard in her chair. “I swear. You’re wound up tight. You could stand to loosen up a bit.”
She reached back to gather her black hair, flipping it around a couple times so it bunched together neatly. She let it fall down one side of her neck and down her body. It flowed over her shoulder, against an ample breast, and stopped just short of her waist.
“As soon as my Alpha is back in her own territory and out of harm’s way, I will let my guard down. Not until then.” Sebastian shot back at her.
Paige shook her head and waved him off. Her green eyes shifted over to Nathan and her face softened. I didn’t like how she was looking at him, not at all.
“Are you upset with me?” Paige asked Nathan.
My eyebrows scrunched up and I turned to look at him. He was already diving into a plate full of food, his cheeks packed like a chipmunk. After a few chews he swallowed everything down.
“Of course I’m not mad at you. Why would you say that?” he asked, shoveling in more food.
“You’ve been acting different toward me.” Paige tilted her head and pointed at Nathan’s arm. “Is it because you are bonded now?” she accused.
She was still smiling but I could tell that the mark bothered her. Her teeth were clenched and she had a wild look in her eyes.
Nathan set his fork down and ran his fingers lightly across the red mark circling his forearm. “I didn’t realize I was acting any different.” He shrugged.
I had to tamper down the urge to leap across the table. I so badly wanted to yank a hand full of that shiny sable hair out of her head by the roots. My wolf growled. Warmth spread through my face, reddening my cheeks. The territorial claim had slipped out before I could stop it.
“You might want to settle down, Blondie,” Paige warned me, her mouth slipping open with a toothy grin. “I wouldn’t want to make Nathan here a widower even before the honeymoon.”
I was on my feet before I even realized I had moved. Nathan jumped up, his food forgotten. He pushed his arm in front of me as a barrier between Paige and me.
“You’re out of line, Paige.” Nathan growled, making his allegiance clear.
Everyone in the room froze. The clattering of plates and silverware quieted. Sebastian hopped off the island, and without taking his eyes off of me and Nathan, walked over to his still seated Alpha. Paige stood. The action signaled the rest of her pack to surround her. There were seven of them in total and they were all shooting death glares at me.
“Your female challenged me. I have every right to answer it.” Paige said coolly.
What the hell was she talking about? When did I challenge her? My wolf growled through me again and I felt her intent this time. She was challenging the she-wolf. My fingers twitched and the familiar tingle I received before a shift began to spread throughout my body. Nathan grabbed me by my shoulders and forced me to look into his eyes. My thoughts were becoming foggy and all I could think about was ripping into the she-wolf standing so smugly before me.
“You can’t shift, Rox.” Nathan said, his hands now cupping my face. “If you do, you will have to fight her.”
I tried to hold onto Nathan’s voice. I personally didn’t want to fight anybody. However, the beast that lurked inside of me had other ideas. She was pushing hard against me, trying to wrestle away control over my body, to assert her dominance over me and anyone else who dared to tread on her territory. I could feel our somewhat separate consciousness begin to meld together as one. It would be almost impossible not to shift. My eyes traveled down the chiseled angles of his face. My body trembled from the strain of containing my beast, almost pulling my thoughts from Nathan. But then I focused on his lips, drug my eyes over the curve of his cupids bow, picturing my tongue sliding over it. I filled my mind completely with delicious thoughts of Nathan. I was able to picture clearly his lips pressing against mine as his hands stroked, with a soft caress, every inch of me. The mental image calmed my raging wolf, helping me gather enough willpower to take back tentative control over my own person. I could still feel my she-wolf pacing impatiently inside of me, lying in wait, for the next opportunity to emerge.
Nathan stroked my cheek, “Are you back with me, my love?” he whispered.
“Why don’t you let your little lady fight her own battles, Nathan?” Paige remarked with a chuckle.
I rounded my shoulders, got my back up and stood tall. After a few deep breathes, I found the courage to face her.
“There is no battle to be fought here, Paige.” I assured her. “For you to imply otherwise would mean that you actually believe you stood a fighting chance to win Nathan’s heart from me.”
Paige’s face went pale, all the color washed away, as she cast a glance around the room. “You’re fucking nuts, lady.” Her words stumbled out with a nervous laugh.
“Let’s not act naive and pretend that isn’t what this is all about. You want Nathan. I have him. And you’re bitter as hell about it.”
Paige dove forward, shifting smoothly in the air. She landed on top of the table as a dark brown wolf. The wolf had a black streak that ran down her forehead, between piercing green eyes. The odd coloring ended at the very tip of her muzzle. Suddenly, that shadowy nose rolled up as she let out an ear splitting howl.
“Good doggy,” I said, throwing my hands up in front me.
Maybe I pushed a little too far by calling her bitter.
I watched on, with my nerves all in a bundle, as a very pissed off Paige in wolf form began to slowly stalk across the table toward me. One of her giant paws landed in a bowl of scrambled eggs, her other paws trampled over silverware and various meats. She didn’t pause when she crushed a crystal goblet of orange juice underneath her claws. I gulped down a girly shriek and resisted the urge to run. What in the world did I just get myself into? My mother always said that my smart ass mouth would land me in a heap of trouble someday. It looked like her prophecy was about to become a reality.
The air in the room swelled, almost creating
its own texture by the way it was blanketed with a thick tension. An orchestra of growls and gnashing teeth serenaded me with the dreaded promise of violence and blood. The death ballad was erupting from the muzzles of several newly shifted wolves. They stood at the ready behind their Alpha who was poised for attack.
Like a guardian angel, Ember stepped into the room. Beside her, Collin stood calm but ready for any unforeseen trouble. I hated to admit it, but I was really glad to see them. I was a newly turned, untrained wolf, and I was pretty sure if it came down to a fight between mine and Paige’s wolf, her wolf would wipe the floor with me.
“What is the meaning of this?” Collin’s voice boomed over the growls that filled the room.
Ember shifted her gaze to me and then to the she-wolf standing center stage on the table. Their eyes locked in a silent battle of supremacy of their own, before Paige finally looked away, breaking eye contact first.
“It seems we have stumbled upon a lover’s quarrel gone very badly.” Ember said, quickly deducing what had transpired between us in her absence. “Have you issued challenge to the she-wolf I sired?” Ember asked Paige.
The room went deathly quiet, and with the silence, the wolves shifted back into their human form, including Paige. Some of them were dressed in the same clothes they had on before they shifted, and some were bare ass naked. Nathan had explained to me that it took a very strong werewolf to be able to shift their clothes back on, so three of the seven wolves that had shifted were now standing before us with their dangly bits swaying in the breeze. I had to force myself not to look away from them. I was still a little uncomfortable with all this free love nudity.
Paige hopped off the table, fully clothed, and was now standing a few feet in front of me. My body rocked back as Nathan tried to pull me away from her, but something inside of me wouldn’t let him do it. I drew my arm from his loose grip and remained where I stood, against her opposing presence.
Paige faced me, and as she did, she scraped her eyes up and down my body with an unconcealed look of disgust on her face.
