by M. A. Church
“You… you have no idea… absolutely no idea what you’re asking,” Alpha Montgomery declared, horrified.
“Actually, I do. This won’t be easy for you, but what you’re asking of me isn’t going to be easy either. You need to do this. You know as well as I do she’s more than capable of leading our pack.” Avery decided it was time to show a little submission to his father. “Please, Father?”
Avery sat quietly while he watched his father’s obvious struggle to come to terms with what he laid out. Mandy, bless all the gods, kept her mouth shut too. The last thing any of them needed was for her to further irritate their already aggravated father.
Finally his father spoke. “It’ll throw the pack into an uproar.”
Avery wanted to cheer, but he knew better. “So would having to move,” Avery pointed out, careful to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, although it was a fight.
Alpha Montgomery squinted at Avery, almost as if he knew of Avery’s struggle. Avery didn’t challenge his father by holding his gaze, but he did focus off to the right of his father’s shoulder instead of bowing his head. This was too important for him to back down.
Mandy crossed her legs and poked Avery with the tip of her shoe. “He’s the master of understatement.”
Avery shot a sheepish look at Mandy, thankful for the lightheartedness she was trying to inject into such a tense moment. “If you want to get a little, you got to give a little.”
His father chuckled softly, and the tension broke. “How have I missed this stubborn side of yours?”
“Oh, Avery keeps it well hidden, trust me.” Mandy smirked.
“Says the most stubborn of us all.” Avery rolled his eyes, then glanced back at his father. “Do we have a deal?”
His father’s sigh was long and loud. There was a wealth of aggravation, but also pride, in that sound. “Very well, son. I’ll make the announcement before the pack this afternoon about the change to who can hold the Alpha position. In return for that, I want your word that you’ll mate with Warwick Ehecatl.”
Avery took a deep breath of his own and released it. “You have my word.”
Alpha Montgomery nodded, pleased. “Very well, then. I’m proud of you. You mark my words, this mating will be a profitable one.”
Like that was his main concern. Regardless, Avery stood and bared his throat in a sign of submission. “Yes, Alpha.”
“Warwick will be here tomorrow afternoon at three to finalize the agreement. Are there any stipulations you want added?”
Avery paused by the chair he’d been sitting in. “Um, jeez, that sounds rather… I didn’t know… ugh, you’ve kind of caught me off guard. Make it clear to him, though, I want to be able to see my family.”
Alpha Montgomery had opened his laptop and was fiddling with it, but he looked up. “That goes without saying. After he and I settle things, I’ll call you to come in so you can officially meet Warwick.”
Oh goodie. Well, at least he was getting to meet him before they mated. That was worth something, right? Obviously he had been dismissed. “Thank you. Good night, Father.”
“Good night,” he said as he typed on the keyboard.
Avery walked out of his father’s office with Mandy hot on his heels. Before he could open his mouth, she put her finger up to her lips, shushing him. She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him toward the front door. Fortunately she stopped long enough to grab their coats and scarves on their way out of the house. Several blocks away there was a park their father had set up for pack members. Once they were there, Mandy dropped his hand, whirled, and bear-hugged him.
“Omph!” Avery braced himself as he suddenly found his arms full of his slightly distraught older sister.
“Oh gods, oh gods, please tell me he didn’t force you into this.” Mandy reared back. “You didn’t do this because of me, did you? I mean, you know how desperately I want to be Alpha, but please tell me you didn’t sacrifice yourself for me.” There were tears on Mandy’s cheeks.
Avery’s shoulders slumped. He could count on one hand how many times he’d seen his oldest sister cry. “Not just for you, no.”
“Avery—”
“Look, I had a choice to make, and I made it. Father said if I didn’t mate with that dragon, he’d kick me out of the pack.” He hurried through his speech when he saw Mandy clench her fists. “But that’s not the reason why.”
Mandy growled. “Then why?”
“You were in there. You must have seen what I saw. I love our father dearly, even though he can be an arrogant ass, but I can’t remember ever seeing him look—”
“Afraid,” Mandy said softly. “Truly afraid.”
Avery nodded. “Yes. Afraid. I’ve never thought about how hard it would be to not only uproot a pack of our size, but then search for unclaimed territory. And why would I? We’ve never been in a situation like this. I can’t imagine how overwhelming that would be, not to mention disruptive. Stressful. Even frightening.”
“Or challenging another Alpha for his territory.”
“Which would come with a headache of its own if our father won. He’d have to combine that pack with ours. Those kinds of transitions are never easy, or so I’ve heard.”
“No, I don’t imagine it would be,” Mandy said. “There would be a lot of resentment. Come on. Let’s go sit down.” She walked over to a bench and sat. “Still, are you sure you want to do this?”
Avery sat next to her, and the chill of the wood promptly soaked through his pants. “It really doesn’t matter what I want, does it? It’s done.”
Mandy hugged him again, just as fiercely as she did the first time. “Thank you. Thank you for stipulating the change in pack law. I almost swallowed my tongue when you started bargaining with our father.”
Avery looped his arm around Mandy’s shoulders, chuckling softly in remembrance of the look on his father’s face. “He did look kind of surprised, didn’t he?”
Mandy laughed softly, then sat up, shoving her hair out of her face. “I’ll say. It was almost worth all this to see the shock on his face. Seriously, maybe if he spent more time with us, he would know us better.”
“Honestly, though, we can’t really complain. He’s never mistreated any of us,” Avery said. Well, short of selling me off, but hey, that’s what arranged marriages are all about.
“No, he hasn’t.” Mandy stared across the park. “But status is too important to him also. I wish he’d join this century and get with modern times.”
Personally, Avery agreed. He also looked out across the park. He’d been one of the wolves to help build the play equipment. That had been a good day. “Hey, I got him to promise he’d change pack law. I would say that’s a huge step.”
“You’re right, he did do that.” A slight smile crossed Mandy’s face. “I about fell out of my chair when he said he would.”
“Now that would’ve been worth seeing.”
Mandy snickered but then got serious again. “Are you going to be okay?”
Avery shrugged. “Aren’t I always?”
They talked for a little while, until finally Mandy decided to return home. Avery wasn’t quite ready to go back, so he stayed behind—he needed some time alone. What he hadn’t told Mandy, and what he’d struggled to hide, was his fear of this mating. The dragon was his mate, but still.
He couldn’t remember the last time a werewolf paired with anything other than another werewolf or a human, though. This was unprecedented, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his father was right in the respect that dragons were the top predators. Often said to be unyielding, harsh, and cold, they were basically Alpha werewolves times ten.
Avery didn’t want such as a mate. Hell, he didn’t want any mate, but especially not a dragon. He dreamed of someone who would sweep him off his feet, give him the romance he so desperately wanted. Was it too much to ask to be wined and dined? He wanted flowers, sweet words, soft music, and rose petals on silken sheets. Then he blushed as he thought about that last request
.
While werewolves were sexually active—and didn’t have the hang-ups about sexuality the humans did—Omegas were kept virgins until they mated. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but it had to do with some silly belief stemming back to the Middle Ages. Supposedly their virginity increased their value as a mate, or some silly nonsense.
Avery rolled his eyes as he stood and walked home. That was so yesterday. He’d chafed at the restrictions set by his parents, but he’d honored their wishes. Oh, he’d snuck out and played around some, experimenting with blow jobs and hand jobs, but that was all. He was gay and an anal virgin. Which was why, when he dreamed, he dreamed of romance and a knight in shining armor.
Never once did it cross his mind that he’d be getting the dragon instead of the knight.
Chapter Four
WARWICK dropped Clarence off at his home with a quick reminder that the new contract could be drawn up tomorrow. He knew his friend well, though, and wouldn’t be surprised to see Clarence with the newly amended contract in hand first thing tomorrow morning.
Taking the long way back, Warwick let his mind wander. Showing up at Alpha Montgomery’s pack house had been a calculated risk, one he knew would cause an uproar. He was fine with that. This could have been handled privately, but Alpha Montgomery had forced his hand by refusing to answer phone calls and emails. Like that would make the problem go away.
Besides, he was a dragon. Subtle was not his preferred method.
What he hadn’t expected was finding a mate there. Warwick shook his head. A werewolf and an Omega. He pressed harder on the gas pedal of his Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita. He truly loved the car, especially since only two had been produced. His attempts to buy the other one hadn’t been successful, so far—not that he would give up. Come to think of it, it would be the perfect mating gift.
He’d have to do some shuffling in his garage to make room for a car for his mate, but that was no problem. His mate. The words still amazed him. Fortunately he’d procreated with female dragons through the years and had already contributed to the continuation of the species, so taking a mate who couldn’t reproduce would be no problem. It might appear cold, but it worked for their kind.
Werewolves, on the other hand, mated for life. Unease snaked through him. He had never been interested in being with one person forever until now. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He might not understand it, but there was no denying he wanted Avery more fiercely than any bauble or jewel.
He started at the long, winding road, his headlights illuminating the forest around him until finally he came upon the driveway that led to his home. He built it based on one he’d owned in France hundreds of years ago, but this one was modernized. Running water and electricity were luxuries he’d grown accustomed to.
As he passed through the gates, he waved at the men on duty. After he parked in his climate-controlled, multicar garage, he took the elevator up to the main living area. Warwick was quite proud of his home. It consisted of towers, turrets, and stone steps. The grand entrance had massive oak doors that reached fifteen feet high. They were truly awe-inspiring.
Right inside the entrance were two suits of armor, standing guard. A coat of arms and crossed swords decorated the surrounding wall directly opposite the entrance. In other areas there were rich tapestries. The finishing touches on his perfect castle were a great hall for feasting, with a long oak table, and then a spiral staircase that led to the upper floors.
Of course, his home was much smaller than the actual castle it was based on—only six thousand square feet. It seemed like a lot of space, but he was a dragon and space was imperative. But lately an irritating sense of loneliness had begun creeping up on him. There were servants who lived there, but that wasn’t the same.
That unease from earlier returned, and this time he didn’t push it away. After greeting his staff, he retreated to his bedroom. A fire burned brightly, and silently he thanked whoever had the foresight to start it.
He tried to see his space as an outsider would. The walls were dark-colored stone held together with light-colored mortar, which kept the room from being gloomy. Dark hardwoods covered the floors, along with Persian rugs, and sconces graced either side of the doorway inside the room. A stone fireplace soared toward the ceiling. In front of it was a coffee table with three overstuffed brown leather chairs around it. Dark-stained mahogany wood beams ran the length of the ceiling, framing an enormous wrought-iron chandelier with candle-style bulbs.
But the showpiece was the king-sized platform bed featuring a canopy draped with luxurious deep purple curtains tied back to expose the multitude of pillows in every shade of purple atop a comforter that was such a deep color, it was almost black in appearance in certain light.
There was a dresser and a desk on the opposite wall, along with a six-foot-tall freestanding mirror across from the bed. From where he stood, a door led to a master bath and large walk-in closets.
His bedroom was his main sanctuary, and no one but him had ever slept in that bed. Soon there would be another being sleeping with him. What would Avery think about his home? Could Avery be comfortable here? Warwick sat on the bed and ran his hand across the insanely soft comforter, enjoying the textures. Would Avery like the color?
Why did he care?
Warwick glanced around. He hadn’t noticed until now how much purple there was. He was partial to the color, but that was not surprising, since in dragon form his scales were purple and in human form so were his eyes. His gaze was caught by the mirror across from him. Not all dragons had the same eye color, but the swirling shades were definitely the hallmark of a dragon.
Color wasn’t the only difference. Some had control of fire, while others could spit ice shards. Warwick’s power was the ability to command the skies and give birth to storms of thunder and lightning. Dragons of his hue were revered as representative of the primal forces of nature. Following the symbolism associated with the darker shades of blue, indigo conveyed trust, truthfulness, and stability. Those were the positive traits.
Depending on who was asked, his less positive traits were that he was also a quiet, dangerous dragon who stalked the skies for prey under cover of clouds and that he was a fierce fighter who not only used with fang and claw, but electricity. His dragon’s nature was unrestrained.
Many debated exactly what dragons were, which was a useless endeavor. Some said they were magical creatures, while others claimed they were shifters. Regardless of what they were called, they were definitely something… more. In his shifted form, he was truly beastly and terrifying, while his human form was quite appealing, or so he had been told.
Warwick shoved all this foolishness from his mind. This self-doubt wasn’t like him.
Disgruntled, he called down to the kitchen to see what there was to eat, since he hadn’t had dinner earlier. After making arrangements to have a meal brought up to his room, Warwick undressed, showered, and readied himself for bed. Dressed only in black silk night pants, he sat at his desk and booted up his laptop. Being distracted by his cute little wolf was no excuse for ignoring his businesses.
Just as his stomach growled, there came a knock at his bedroom door. “Enter,” Warwick called. Standing, he slipped on his black silken robe.
The door opened and his butler, LeMoyne, entered, pushing a small cart in front of him. “Good evening, Master Warwick.”
“Evening, LeMoyne.” Warwick stood to the side as LeMoyne maneuvered farther into the room. Discreetly he rolled his eyes.
He’d run across LeMoyne Vanderfield in the late 1800s in London and, after befriending him, offered him a job. Not long after, Warwick shared his blood with LeMoyne, extending his life like he had with Clarence. And like with Clarence, there was nothing sexual about the sharing of blood. Normally he opened a small cut on the inside of his wrist and bled into a tumbler. A couple of tablespoons was all that was needed. He only extended this gift to the ones he trusted fully, as loyalty was a trait he prized highly.
After LeMoyne stopped in front of the fireplace, he turned to Warwick. “I hope you find the meal satisfactory.”
“I’m sure I will. Louise is an excellent cook.” She was another he’d shared his blood with and tied to him. Louise Canfield was a goddess in the kitchen.
Warwick walked to where LeMoyne had set up his dinner and uncovered one of the trays. He sniffed, enjoying the delicious scent of perfectly cooked meat. His dragon might prefer it raw, but he didn’t. A massive T-bone steak and garlic mashed potatoes awaited him. LeMoyne uncovered another tray, which held a salad. A tall, lead crystal wineglass full of his favorite red wine, along with a glass of water, finished out the meal.
Warwick seated himself, cut the steak, and bit into it. An explosion of spices spread across his tongue, and he closed his eyes, savoring it. When he opened them, he looked up and found LeMoyne grinning at him.
“Good?”
“Most definitely. Please tell Louise she did a wonderful job, as usual.”
“I shall.” LeMoyne moved around the room, picking up a few stray items and turning down the bed. “Might I inquire how your business meeting with Alpha Montgomery went?”
The request wasn’t odd. LeMoyne’s role in his household might be that of a butler, but they were still good friends also. “An unexpected development cropped up.” Warwick waved his steak knife at the vacant chair across from him. “Join me? By the way, have you already eaten?”
LeMoyne sat in the overstuffed leather chair. Leaning back, he crossed his legs, hands folded in his lap. “I ate earlier with Mrs. Canfield, but thank you for asking. So? An unexpected development?”
“Very much so. The short version is, Alpha Montgomery was unable to pay the loan.”
