“What is it Elora?” Chaiya noticed Elora go pale white, her face dark as she looked at the photo. “That is Italus, the Prince.”
“Oh no,” Elora muttered, shaking her head. “Oh no, oh no!”
“What happened?” Kieran looked on in concern. Jeremy looked at the photo closely and instantly recognized the shape. He sighed, cursed and muttered things under his breath as he shook his head. “What is it? What are we missing?”
“The necklace, the locket that he has there,” Elora murmured in shock. “That is it! That is the missing piece of the tapestry, I would recognize it anywhere; that is what I need to get back home once I finish my destiny!”
Now all attention was on the image and on the necklace, as they saw Prince Italus’s necklace a bit better. What was inside there, was unknown to them, but it was what she needed to get home. It was now undeniable. She would have to go to war against Claw Worth to get that necklace and that piece from him, and only then would she able to go home.
“Well, either way we were going to war with him.” Kieran shrugged. “We all hate him here and want him dead. Even if we can’t win the war, we’ll try to organize it as such, that we get that piece at least. So at least you can go home and don’t have to worry about the sick fate that follows.”
“But that is not my destiny, Kieran. That is something that I only can do after I recognize my destiny,” Elora said, her strength rising again. “No, no I will not run away. If we are going down, we will go down together, and we will win against him, we will win against Italus without any of us dying, and getting that Piece.”
“That is the spirit,” Jeremy said, looking at Elora. “With that spirit, though, you need to learn the magical portion of your armor as well. Don’t worry, with Kieran, I can help you learn it all. You will need all the help and that armor is going to be your best friend.”
Elora nodded and looked down at her key. She was reminded of when she got it, when she was very young. Now she finally realized why she held it. Perhaps she was a key, a key for Feather Grove to win the war against Claw Worth. Perhaps that is why no magic could affect her, because that key pendant was so powerful and so great that it was reflecting all magic away.
Her hands burned and itched ominously, as she looked on out the window, at the steadily approaching morning. She knew the signs of the sky now as she saw them, Chaiya had taught her many things and she was now growing strong as well. Even if it was the last thing that she did, even if it killed her to do so, even if she was going to die, be tortured, raped, whatever Italus could do to her, she was not going to back down.
She was going to help them win this war, as the last thing she did in this world. Then she was going to go home, move in with Bram and Marine, and enjoy their company for as long as she wished before she decided what she was going to do with the future.
I think Kameron was right. If I had simply listened to him and not tried to open the door, I wouldn’t be here. Elora thought and shook her head. ‘But it is too late. Now, it is time for war.’
* * *
www.alexhsingh.com
About the Author
Alex H. Singh was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He spent 3 years in University (UFT) and took a variety of courses, including English Literature and English Media. He decided, however, that a career on another path would be best for him and took a position as a Financial Adviser for a well-known and dependable bank, where he has worked ever since.
In his spare time, Alex is a big fan of taking short naps as it helps to rejuvenate him. He also exercises regularly and enjoys baking, making old favorites like cupcakes, cheesecakes and other sweet treats. As a self-confessed foodie, he enjoys trying out new and delicious foods with friends, from a variety of eateries around the City.
www.AlexHSingh.Com
Wyatt: Discover His Mate
Miranda Lynn
Wyatt: Discover His Mate © 2019 Miranda Lynn
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Wyatt: Discover His Mate
Can the love between the last dragon shifter and a human save the world from a magical war?
Wyatt had given up on love. As the last dragon shifter, he's resigned to a lonely existence and the fact he'll never find a mate. Protecting humans and fellow shifters from a rogue warlock faction will have to be enough.
Natalie has always wanted more out of life. Being her mother's caretaker in a small town with too many secrets isn't the kind of glory her dreams have promised. That's why she lives vicariously through her best friend -- the daughter of a prominent warlock. That is until she meets a brooding and mysterious shifter destined to change everything.
The last thing Wyatt wants is to put his mate in danger. Natalie never thought she'd have to betray her best friend. But if they want to prevent a war that could destroy their world, they'll have to risk their love and their lives or watch everything they know and love burn to ash.
The Legend of a True Dragon’s Mate
I remember being a young dragonling sitting on the woven rug before the fire as my gran would tell me the story of how dragons came to have a mate. She would start with the story of the creation of dragon shifters and then how the love of a fae queen swayed the goddess to allow us to find joy in life and spend our eternity with one true mate. Well, some of us anyway. All blessings from the goddess came with strings.
“So, we were created for evil?” my young voice had asked, anticipating Gran’s reply.
“To begin, yes. The fae courts enjoyed creating creatures to torment each other and the humans they walked among. One day, the dark court’s king found himself bored and tired of the fighting. He tasked his creators to design the biggest, most dangerous shifter to defeat them all. A creature with armored skin to protect itself, with claws the size of houses large enough to crush any opponent it came upon, and would be able to breathe destruction in its path.”
I could recite her story from memory but sat enthralled every time she wove the tale. Watching it unfold in my imagination, the excitement waiting for her next words would make me fidget. This had been my favorite story, and she was getting close to the best part.
“The king’s creator labored for months, and when he felt his creations were perfected, he presented them to the king with a flourish.” Gran paused to add a bit of suspense and winked at me with a twinkle in her eye. “Do you remember what he brought?”
I nodded my young head vigorously as I bounced on my knees. “Dragons,” I whispered.
She leaned back in her rocking chair, smiling at my seven-year-old enthusiasm. “That’s right. He brought forth three dragons.” She ticked them off on her fingers as she went. “A fire dragon like your grandpa, an ice dragon like your aunt, and his greatest creation: a dragon that could adapt to any battle and breathe both fire and ice.”
I couldn’t hold back and blurted, “Just like my daddy. He could breathe fire and ice. I hope my dragon is like his.”
She smiled at me, her eyes full of love and sadness. At seven, I hadn’t always remembered that my words could affect others. “I am sure your dragon will be spectacular. Big, strong, and loyal just like you are.” She ran her hand over my hair, like grandm
as tended to do.
“And like my dad.” My pride shone through my words.
“Yes, like your dad,” she had whispered. “Now settle down if you want the rest of the story.”
She continued telling about the trials the king put each dragon through to prove their worth and loyalty. Then how they served him for years until they became agitated, short-tempered, and started showing signs of insanity. The dragons began to choose the orders they followed, and for the first time in fae history, the threat of a creation turning on their creator was closer than ever.
The queen knew each male needed a strong female to balance them, but the king wouldn’t hear of it. He said females would only make them soft and weak. The queen wouldn’t give up though.
“She prayed to her goddess, asking her to intervene.” Gran went on. “Three days later when the king and queen were meeting with the dragons, the goddess appeared.” Gran took a shuddering breath. My imagination took over as the tale continued.
She walked around, placing her ethereal hand on each dragon’s shoulder for a split moment. She faced the king after the third and declared, “Your dragons have served you well, but their souls are not complete. Your queen asked for my help, and her plea intrigued me.” The goddess smiled. “After acquainting myself with each man and his dragon half, I have found each of them worthy.” The goddess opened her palm, and three orbs were cradled in it. She blew on them, and they all watched as each orb floated toward the ceiling and outside the castle. “I have released their soul mates into the world,” she said, “but you must find each other.” She gazed into each shifter’s eyes. “And you must recognize each other, for if you don’t, then your souls will spend this lifetime wandering the earth, never being able to fill the void within.”
The strongest of the three spoke. “What happens if we die never finding our mate?”
“Then you must wait until your souls are reborn. Each generation will only have three mated souls born into it. You shall find your mate when you least expect it.” She waved her hands, sending magic over them before she continued. “Your mate can be anyone: human, shifter, fae, or vampire. Your bite will bind you to each other, and your mate will be the only one you can change to be like you.” Her words hung heavy in the air.
The fire dragon spoke this time. “If we bite another who isn’t fated to be our mate?”
“They will die,” she replied.
“What if we choose to procreate with one who isn’t our mate?” The fire dragon questioned.
“Your children will never shift, they will be born with powers special to each one, but will lack the ability to shift.”
Before any more questions could be asked, she was gone.
Over the years a loophole was found in the prophecy. True dragon shifters that procreated with a non-shifting descendant had a chance of their children being able to shift.
Gran smiled. “That’s how a dragon’s mate was born.”
“You and Grandad are mates.”
She nodded.
“And my mom and dad were mates.”
Her eyes glistened as she nodded again.
“So that means I’ll find my mate.”
“We can only hope you are chosen.” She sat forward. “Remember, Wyatt, don’t dwell on trying to find a mate, or she will never come. It’s not promised if you are chosen. Your grandpa and I were lucky, and so were your parents. Live a life of worth and loyalty, spread your wings, and protect those who mean something to you, and maybe one day you will find the goddess has chosen you.”
As I look back now, Gran’s story was a deep prophecy to teach a seven-year-old dragonling, but it was the story I asked for every night. My gran could never say no to me, so it’s the one I was told every night. I believed it for so many years, lived my life with honor and loyalty. I protected those weaker than me and destroyed those who hurt others, always with the thought in the back of my mind that my mate would cross my path. After a half century of life on this earth, the hope began to fade. My heart began to harden, and by the time my century mark came about, all thoughts of a mate were gone.
Until, that was, my friends whom I swore to protect and defend began finding their mates. A need came over my dragon so strong, compelling him and I to leave if to just keep our sanity and keep our friends safe. Leo, who is my closest friend, and I had made a deal years ago. If at any moment I felt my sanity slipping, he would take me down. I didn’t want to become what my father had. His demise was a story for another day.
Prologue
All my life I’d been alone, even though I was working for Leo and had that one stable thing in my life. I had forgotten what friendship and family meant and felt like. Living an existence where loyalty was without emotion had been all I needed. My position with Leo’s corporation was strictly business. I had earned my place within his inner circle of advisors and was content knowing I was helping the shifter world from behind the curtain, so to speak. I never thought I would want it any other way until I went on a mission with members of a local pack.
That mission blew the curtain away and showed me a whole different side to the shifter world, one I began to long to join. Seeing how close-knit Sterling and Stephen were and how easily Miguel and I were accepted and integrated into the team made me realize I didn’t want to hide anymore. Our group became close and our strengths worked together, creating a team that worked as a single unit. Each day increased the yearning deep inside to not let that feeling go.
For over a hundred years, I’ve been alone even among a crowd. A dragon’s life is long though our bodies’ aging slows down drastically when we hit the age of thirty. Our outward appearance ages a few years for every hundred we live. Mated pairs live much longer than those that aren’t. The average life span of an unmated dragon is a thousand years, for a mated pair that can double and even triple. We are all doomed to insanity before death. Our bodies eventually degrade, and our minds are unable to accept it.
Before that it was only my grandparents and me. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father followed her to the afterlife within a year. His love for me wasn’t strong enough to keep him tethered to this realm. My grandparents raised me, but we still secluded ourselves, only going into town among humans when we needed the supplies we couldn’t raise or make on our own. When I became of mating age, I decided to live on my own, though I didn’t stray far. I became bitter as my search for a mate ended in failure every time. My grandfather told me on his death bed that I would never find a mate because I was the last in the line of dragon shifters to survive. My grandmother didn’t agree and continued to tell me my mate was out there, but she had become delusional in her old age. I didn’t believe her even though my heart wanted to. After she died, a tether inside broke, and I instinctually knew I was free to roam.
I answered an advert in one of the underground shifter papers, looking for men to fill security positions at a new corporation. It was the first time Leo and I met. His lion sized my dragon up, and I was hired under the condition that I never reveal who and what we were to the human world.
I had been happy with that and content with the missions Leo sent me on, whether it was to help humans or shifters, until I was sent to work with Sterling and his group. Now I want more of people whom I can be me with. I want a mate, a life partner. A craving for family and friends is growing, and my dragon won’t be denied. The need may be the end of me.
1
Wyatt
“A leave of absence? For what?!” Leo raged as he paced his office like a caged lion. Leo wasn’t one who normally showed emotion in any way, but these types of outbursts were becoming more regular and concerning. This was a clear indication it wasn’t the best time to ask to leave, but my dragon was demanding it and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Because my dragon requires it. Surely you understand. I can see your lion pacing alongside you. It’s getting harder and harder to hide him, isn’t it?” I knew my last comment was a gamble, and I hoped it would
pay off and not blow up in my face. I sat back in the plush leather club chair and tried to relax. Fear and anxious nerves would not suit me in this confrontation. I needed to keep calm so as not to rile Leo’s inner lion. My dragon was pacing but kept quiet, waiting with me in silent anticipation. His decision would greatly affect my next step.
Leo finally sat behind his desk and looked me in the eye. His lion flashed through, changing his deep-brown eyes to a glowing yellow for a moment before returning to normal again. I leaned forward and placed my elbows on my knees, leaving my hands loose and relaxed between them. “I know what this really means, Wyatt. I knew this day would eventually come. I just wish it wasn’t now. With all the rumors popping up about The Resistance gaining momentum and power, I need you more than ever.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead, then leaned back in his chair, shoulders slumping. “That’s my human emotion though, my lion knows your need to move on. Hell, he’s been trying to get me to do the same, and resisting him gets harder every year.”
“I know, sir.” I nodded. “You’ll have to give in soon.” I paused, giving in to the temptation to tease him. “Maybe a trip down to South America. Someone needs to check on things, and isn’t it time to renew the therapist’s contract?”
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