Alpha's Second Chance_Shifter Nation_Werebears Of The Everglades

by Meg Ripley

  Since that time, they’d been on holiday. She couldn’t believe Mads would take such an extended break from his work, but when she asked about it, he’d only smiled and said, “It’ll be waiting for me when we return.” April wasn’t going to argue. She’d never had the chance to travel, and Mads owned hotels around the world. Florence was her favorite city so far, but there was still so much to see. He’d promised her Berlin, Paris and Prague.

  She shrugged her robe on before moving to the brightly lit vanity mirror. It obscured most of her body from view, but the top of her knee was visible, as was the bottom of the red mark he’d left on her thigh. He’d promised to answer any and all of her questions—and she had a lot—but she never asked about the mark. Not because the mark itself bothered her. It was the memory of the dragon and the way his member had grown, reached for her, sought her. She’d been terrified, but beneath her hot flash of fear had been undeniable excitement. She didn’t know how to explain it or qualify it. She didn’t even know how to discuss it with Mads, and she had no other secrets from him.

  April traced the edge, but there was no sensitivity. When Mads touched her there, it felt like the dragon had returned to drench her body in flames. She smiled at the memory of his mouth moving over the mark but shook it off before it could completely distract her. She had to get ready. They were going out—she’d keep him in bed all day tomorrow to make up for it.

  “Now,” she asked her reflection, “what should be done with this hair?”

  42

  An entire pack of paparazzi waited outside the opera house when they arrived, and the rapid flash of bulbs blinded April. People shouted for their attention, flinging random questions and demanding explanations. Any other time, that would have been April’s living nightmare, but Mads was so handsome and her dress was so exquisite, she felt like a Hollywood star on the red carpet, and even knowing the pictures would be splashed across newspapers around the world didn’t shake her confidence.

  Once inside, Mads led her to his private box right above the stage. The seats were plush and comfortable, and when the lights went down, her hand found his thigh. He rested his fingers over her, stroking absently over her knuckles while she gently massaged him. She wanted to do so much more than that—and she was certain she could get away with it in the privacy of their box—but he seemed genuinely excited for the performance.

  April had never been to the opera in her life—and she didn’t understand a word of Italian—but she found herself entranced by their beautiful voices and the pure spectacle on the stage. When she looked away, it was only to study the handsome man beside her. She’d never seen Mads dressed like this and the sight of him continuously took her breath away.

  It took her by surprise when the lights came up and Mads folded her hand in his. “Intermission. Would you care for a refreshment?”

  “Champagne would be lovely.”

  He led her out of their box and down to the lobby, guiding her so she was free to stare at the ornate beauty surrounding her. When she thought about how old the opera house must have been, how many important and famous people had walked through this very hall, how beautiful every inch of the building was, it made her feel as though she must be dreaming. A dream that went on and on and she never wanted to wake from.

  “Are you enjoying yourself?” Mads asked as he handed her the flute.

  “Yes, this is amazing.” She didn’t understand a word of the opera, but she did know the basic story of Orpheus and his doomed attempt to save his love from hell. “Though I do wish I knew more.”

  “Perhaps I should apologize for dragging you here.”

  “No, not at all,” she said quickly. “I’ve never had an evening like this in my life. Besides, you can explain all the finer points to me later tonight.”

  “It will be my pleasure.”

  He brought the glass to his lips but he didn’t look away from her, and she saw something in his eyes that she didn’t recognize—something warm and hungry, and she almost took a step towards him. She felt drawn to touch him, but feared that if she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop.

  “How...how were you able to get such wonderful seats?” April asked, surprised by how dry her voice sounded.

  “That’s my box. I enjoy the opera. It’s one of the few things in this world that doesn’t change. La favola d'Orfeo sounds the same now as it did in 1607.”

  April didn’t often think about the reality of Mads’ age—it was too much to wrap her mind around, somehow. She didn’t know his precise age, but she knew he’d seen centuries pass him by. He first heard this opera four hundred years ago, and he’d likely still be listening to it four hundred years from now. She’d be dead by then. She tilted her head and downed the rest of her champagne.

  “Well, look who it is. I should have known you wouldn’t have the decency to stay in hiding for very long.”

  Mads turned and greeted Savannah Maelstrom with a smooth smile. “Savannah. Charles. I forgot you were fans of the opera.” He spoke as though their last meeting did not end in bloody death.

  Charles Maelstrom looked like an older, stockier version of his son, Chester, but his eyes flashed with anger. April stepped closer to Mads.

  “You have some nerve, showing your face here tonight.” Savannah’s voice cracked with the force of her rage, and color climbed her cheeks.

  “I always attend the opening of the season. I am sorry for your loss, Savannah, but I believe it is more fitting for you to sit at home and grieve.”

  “How dare you,” Charles growled. “I should have you arrested.”

  “On what charges?” He sounded more curious than concerned, as though they were discussing something purely hypothetical. April merely wondered what had stopped Charles from calling the police a month ago. Perhaps dragons did not welcome humans in their affairs.

  “The murder of my son,” he bit out.

  “Your son intended to blackmail me. In the process, he nearly devoured my mate. His punishment fit his crimes.”

  “Your mate.” Savannah sneered the word, her beautiful features twisting into something ugly. Monstrous. “You shouldn’t be so cruel to the girl, Mads. She’s nothing more than your plaything.”

  Charles touched his wife’s arm. “Savannah, we should get back to our seats.”

  “Listen to your husband, my dear.”

  But she gave no sign of hearing either of them. “How could she be your mate when she could never bear your son? How can she be your mate when she will never know how it feels to fly or snap bones between her teeth? How can she be your mate when she’s dead and you go on living for centuries more?”

  Mads took a half step forward, his eyes narrowed and his voice so low it sounded more like a growl. He didn’t make a single move to touch her, but she still flinched back from the weight of his gaze and the pure sense of power radiating from him. April caught the moment of confused indecision on Charles’ face—like he knew he needed to put himself between his wife and a threat, but he had no desire to be caught in the middle.

  “You never were one for subtlety, were you my dear? Know this. If anything happens to April, I will come for you. If she so much as stubs her toe, I will make you pay for her pain. And if you see me again, don’t come whining to me about your worthless son or I will take your entire clan from you and leave you staked to a mountain of their bones.”

  The bell chimed, signaling the end of intermission.

  “Enjoy the rest of the show,” Mads said, his voice returning to normal. “Come, mein Schatz.”

  April took his arm and let him lead her away from the Maelstroms’ smoldering anger. She waited until they were safely seated before whispering, “What the hell was that?”

  “She intends to kill you.”

  “What?”

  “Dragons speak very literally.”

  “So, when she said ‘when she’s dead,’ she didn’t mean sixty years from now when I’ve died of old age in my bed?”

  “Correct. S
he means she plans to kill you herself.”

  “Why are you so… blasé about this?”

  “I told her what I will do to her entire clan if anything happens to you,” he mentioned coolly. “Do you believe that was an idle threat?”

  “What does it matter what I think? Does she believe it is an idle threat?”

  Mads took both her hands in his. “I will never allow any harm to come to you. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe.”

  “Okay.”

  “No, not okay. Do you believe me?”

  “Of course I believe you. I trust you with my life.”

  He brought her hands to his mouth, kissing each of her knuckles. With each brush of his lips, a little of her fear dissolved, until she was almost completely at ease.

  Almost.

  Because deep down inside, she knew Savannah had a point. How could she be his mate when she couldn’t ever truly share his life?

  43

  While they remained in Florence, April couldn’t relax. She jumped at the sound of every footstep in the hallway outside her suite, and when they ventured out for dinner or gelato or just to stretch their legs, she shied away from everybody who passed by, subconsciously searching for the face that now haunted her dreams.

  She knew Mads would never let Savannah hurt her, and she knew she had nothing to fear, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that things were far from over. Savannah had clearly been wounded by the loss of her son, and that pain was not going to go away anytime soon. It would only continue to feed her anger and need for vengeance. She didn’t mention anything to Mads, but she wasn’t surprised when he announced they were leaving Florence.

  “You’re not comfortable here. But I know where you will feel safe.”

  They flew out of Florence’s tiny airport early the next morning, landing in Frankfurt barely an hour after they took off. From there, Mads rented a car and drove them out of the city into the German countryside. They climbed into the Alps, the sun falling lower and lower behind the peaks as they moved higher and higher, until finally it was dark and April felt like they were on top of the world.

  “Where are we?” she asked when they stopped. In front of her was a fortress, its massive spires outlined in the silver moonlight.

  “April, my dear, this is my home.”

  “This is your...castle?”

  “It is.”

  “Oh my god, I’ve always wanted to visit a castle.” For the first time in days, she forgot Savannah, Chester, and all of that unpleasantness. “Why did you never mention it?”

  He laughed. “I forgot how Americans romanticize castles. For me, this is just home.”

  “Home. Did you build it?”

  “No, not me. But I did win it, fair and square.”

  “You mean you conquered it?” What medieval army would stand a chance against a dragon? Nobody stood a chance against him today. It wasn’t exactly a surprise to learn that his greatest competition in today’s world was another dragon clan. He crushed all other forms of competition.

  “Yes, but the person who held it was a very bad man.”

  “How bad?”

  “Bad enough to earn the ire of a dragon.”

  “Are dragons peaceful creatures, by nature?”

  “Not by nature, no. But we may be very peaceful by choice.”

  The castle was old and drafty, and even with its modern comforts of electricity and running water, April still had the sense of stepping back in time. She wanted to explore every inch, search for ancient hidden passageways and ghosts and old tapestries. All of the musty old books she lost herself in as a child came back to mind, urging her to seek out great adventures.

  “Are we the only ones here?”

  “No, I have a small staff that lives here and sees to its upkeep.”

  “Why don’t you live here?”

  “I find my penthouse far more comfortable.”

  April yawned. “Speaking of more comfortable, can you please show me to our room?”

  “It’s my pleasure.” He swept her from her feet without warning, prompting a laugh from her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was probably silly, but she loved it when he lifted her like she weighed no more than a sack of feathers and carried her to bed.

  “How long are we going to stay here?” April asked, trailing kisses along his strong jawline. He tilted his head slightly, giving her greater access to the column of his throat. His skin was rough with his five-o’clock-shadow, and she shivered at the thought of those rough whiskers against her sensitive thighs. Maybe he wouldn’t shave at all while they were in Germany.

  “Until we get bored, I suppose.”

  Or until they screwed each other silly on every flat surface in the grand castle—which was absolutely April’s plan for their stay.

  “And then where will we go?” She rested her mouth against his pulse point; his heartbeat was already elevated, as if to keep up with April’s own racing pulse.

  “Wherever you wish.”

  “I want to go to a beautiful beach.”

  “Then a beautiful beach is where we shall go.” He stopped in front of a closed door. “Open that for me, and you’ll find a light switch is to your right.”

  She flicked on the light and gasped at the sheer size of the room. On one end was a huge bed, a massive television, a beautiful sound system, a bar, and a small kitchenette. The rest of the expansive space was empty, though, and lines of discolored stones showed her where the walls once were, dividing the space into six different rooms.

  April didn’t need to ask why his private quarters were so large. “This is where you can...be yourself.”

  “I’m myself always, but yes, this is where I can become the dragon.”

  “Do you want to...change right now?” Her voice didn’t betray her, and yet, butterflies fluttered from her stomach to her throat. It might have been fear or excitement. She could no longer tell the difference when she was with Mads.

  “Do you wish me to?”

  Her mouth felt dry but she nodded. “I want to see him...you...again.”

  “It doesn’t frighten you?”

  “No. Well, maybe. I don’t know… I think it... it excites me.”

  “Of course. I should have known that it would not disturb you to see your mate. I’ll be happy to change, but first let’s eat and I’ll show you more of the castle.”

  April wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself to his chest. “It’s not food that I’m hungry for.”

  He smiled wryly, “First food, and then...then anything you want, mein Schatz.”

  44

  Their time in the castle passed as slowly, and as quickly, as a dream. She rarely saw any of the staff members and they had no other visitors, and so the hours passed between the two of them unhindered by outside considerations. April had never spent so much time alone with another person, but she never grew tired of him, never longed to be left alone or to find other company. Even when they were doing nothing more but reading together in the same room, she was content to be near him, to hear his breathing and the soft rustle of clothes when he shifted his position.

  April knew the real world waited for them and they would have to return to it sooner or later, but she never brought it up, never asked when they might be abandoning their own private slice of heaven—primarily because she didn’t want to leave, but also because she knew Charles and Savannah Maelstrom waited for them. They’d lost a child. That anger was not going to fade just because Mads took them out of sight for a few weeks.

  Mads indulged her every request, including her desire to see the dragon. In the privacy of their master suite, he shifted for her, the magic working before her eyes, though she could never track the moment when Mads disappeared and the dragon arrived. In the close proximity of the well-lit room, he was even more massive than she remembered. His head was the size of a car, and he kept low to the ground to avoid scraping his wings across the high ceiling.

  The first time he shifte
d, she couldn’t quite bring herself to touch him, but she was still drawn to the beast. He made her throat tight and her nipples hard.

  The second time Mads shifted, she did gather her courage enough to touch his great nose. His scales were hard and hot. She could feel the fire burning just below his scales, smell the hint of sulphur and brimstone every time he exhaled. Mads snuffed air through his nostrils and lowered his head, like a dog submitting to the touch of its master. Fascinated, emboldened and aroused, April continued to explore the ridges and valleys of her dragon’s head, tracing his eyes, his snout, the shape of his mouth and the horns on his brow. She was humbled by his great power and by the way he ceded that power to her.

  He didn’t just shift when they were alone in the confines of the castle. He also took her out on great expeditions through the mountains, letting her sit on his broad back as he swooped over cliffs and waterfalls, peaks and trees. The air was thin and fresh, cool and crisp. The sun at her back and the great furnace between her legs kept her warm, no matter how high they climbed above the castle. She shouted into the wind, laughed and sang at the birds as they fluttered beside them, and felt free for the first time in her life.

  “What’s it like when you’ve shifted?” she asked after one particularly long flight. They’d landed in the castle courtyard and raced to their suite, barely making it to the bed before Mads took her with a powerful thrust. When they were done, she collapsed into his arms, utterly exhausted and utterly happy.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Can you still understand me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Are you still you or are you different?”

  “Different how?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just trying to understand what it’s like for you.”

  “I’m still myself. I still understand you; it’s just my outward appearance that changes.”

  “How? Is it magic?”

  “Yes, I suppose you could call it that. A very old type of magic.”