Saved By Her Dragon

by Julia Mills

  “Thanks.”

  Taking the same shortcuts he had used just a few hours earlier, he was at his mother’s home in less than a minute and had Anya in his arms in the next two seconds. After a lengthy hello kiss that had all thoughts of anything but her naked body wrapped around his and his name on her lips, he reluctantly set his mate a few inches away and took a deep breath. He grinned as he took in the dreamy look in her eyes and the way she struggled to catch her breath.

  Noticing him looking at her, Anya raised one eyebrow and put her hands on her hips before teasing, “Pretty happy with yourself, huh?”

  Acting like he had to think about his answer, Devon pursed his lips and looked to the side before answering. “As a matter of fact, I am,” he snickered.

  Anya swung to swat his shoulder but Devon was quicker and grabbed her hand, pulling her close to him once again. Holding her against his chest, he looked into her beautiful, light green eyes and saw his forever. He kissed her forehead and asked, “Wanna take a walk? See the sights?”

  The excitement he saw in her eyes answered his question before she exclaimed, “Oh, yes! Please?”

  Before he could answer, she was wiggling out of his arms and calling over her shoulder, “Just let me grab my shoes.”

  When she returned, Anya had not only put on the sandals Grace had loaned her, but had also pulled her hair up in a cute ponytail that sat high on her head. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards the door, chatting away about all Kyndel and Grace had told her about the lair and more specifically, the Town Square.

  They walked along, arm-in-arm and Devon introduced her to everyone they passed, prouder than he had ever been. He had to admit, at least to himself, that he had been happy when his brethren had found their mates, but there was absolutely nothing that compared to having Anya in his life. The stories he had heard his entire life did not come close to the feeling of finding the one the Universe had made for him.

  Caught up in his thoughts, he almost missed Anya’s question, “Is there a florist here?”

  “Yes, there is. Did you want some flowers?” Her question surprised him and then made him worry that he was not providing her with everything she wanted or needed.

  She immediately shook her head, “Not for me, but I would like to get your mom some to thank her for her hospitality.” A pained look crossed her face and her head fell forward, causing him to stop and spin her around until they were face to face.

  Lifting her head in surprise, he cut off the words she was about to speak when he asked, “What’s the matter, mo ghra’?”

  “Nothing…it’s just that…oh hell!” Her voice gained confidence and she squared her shoulders, “I forgot I don’t have any money. I don’t even know where my purse is!”

  Devon schooled his features and bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from smiling at her obvious distress. His mate was strong, independent, and absolutely adorable, and he would do whatever he could, even holding in his laugher, to make sure she stayed just as she was. He was however, irritated with himself for not realizing she needed her own things. Having a mate was uncharted territory but one he was going to enjoy every second discovering.

  “Not to worry. I’ll take care of it. And in the very near future, we’ll take a trip out to your farm to grab your things, okay?”

  The look that crossed her face was reminiscent of the way Sydney and Jay looked on Christmas morning and her squeal of delight warmed him through and through. “Oh my gosh, thank you so much, Dev. Everyone has been so great to me and I am so thankful, but I really do miss my stuff.”

  She threw herself into his arms and hugged him with a strength he hadn’t realized she possessed. The clearing of a throat sounded behind him and they broke apart right before Sydney slammed into his leg. “Boo!” the little girl screamed. “Did I scare you? Huh? Did I?”

  Feigning fear, he shuddered and clasped his chest, “You did! I think you might’ve given me a heart attack.”

  “You’re so silly, Dev,” the child giggled while turning to his mate. “Did I scare you too much, Anya?”

  His mate knelt down and shook her head, “No way! Come on, Syd, you know girls are tougher than boys.”

  Sydney’s giggle turned into full blown laughter as she agreed, “We sure are!” Throwing herself into Anya’s arms the child gave her a big hug before stepping back and asking, “Where y’all going? Dad is taking me to get some ice cream. You wanna come too?”

  As fun as spending time with one of his favorite people in the whole world sounded, Devon truly wanted to show his mate around the lair and then spend some alone time before he had to embark on the hunt for the traitor. “Not today, Syd. How about a rain check?”

  The sweet girl took his refusal in stride. “You got it. Just don’t forget, ‘kay?”

  “It’s a date! No way I’m gonna forget that.” He helped Anya up as Sydney ran the few steps back to her dad. It was then that Devon realized Lance hadn’t spoken at all.

  “What’s wrong, man? It’s not like you to be so quiet.”

  “Nothing,” was the only response he got from his brethren, but Sydney was more than willing to spill the beans.

  “Daddy’s upset cause Andrew was at the hospital last night but Mommy went to work anyway and wouldn’t let Daddy come too. But Jace and Liam went to keep her safe and Ern…Ernes…the panther man is there too.”

  “Ernesto?” Devon helped, seeing the frustration on the child’s face.

  “Yep! Him!” Sydney bounced from one foot to the other.

  Seeing the obvious frustration on his brethren’s face, Devon used their link and said, “Ya’ know Jace and Liam are not gonna let anything happen to Sam, and if for some reason Andrew or one of his minions get past them, Ernesto is damn good. It’s the cat in him.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just…oh hell. It’s just if anything happens to her…” Lance’s voice trailed off and for the first time Devon could truly relate.

  “I know Bro, but you can’t think that way. Sam’s smart and there’s no way she’ll go anywhere without an escort. Just keep the faith. She’ll be back here where you can watch over her before you know it.”

  “I know you’re right. She’s just so damned stubborn.”

  “And dedicated, and an amazing doctor, and tough as nails…”

  “You are so right,” Lance finally chuckled. “Thanks, man.”

  “You got it.”

  Tired of waiting for her ice cream, Sydney pulled on her dad’s arm and all but yelled, “Are you guys done talking in your heads? I need my ice cream!”

  All three adults barked with laughter as Lance swung his daughter into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Yes, Syd, we’re done.” Turning to Devon and Anya he winked, “Catch you two later.”

  “Bye guys,” they called in unison as father carried daughter towards the ice cream shop.

  Not one to miss anything, Anya asked, “Is Sydney a dragon shifter, too?”

  Devon shrugged, “No one knows what Sydney is except a very loveable, happy, super intelligent little girl with more special powers than anyone ever thought possible.”

  “Not even Kyra or your mom?”

  Shaking his head, Devon answered, “Not even Kyra or my mom. Sydney was hurt in a car accident that killed her parents and Sam was her doctor. Sam had been in the foster care system and couldn’t bear to see the sweet child go through what she did. Long story short, Lance finally claimed her as his mate and they adopted Sydney and they are living the dream.”

  Accepting the abbreviated explanation he had given her, Anya nodded as they once again began walking towards the Town Square. Her eyes lit up as they turned the corner and the epicenter of his clan came into view. It didn’t take long until she was completely engrossed in their little community, marveling about all the different shops and stopping to look at everything. Devon once again noticed how everyone they came in contact with seemed drawn to her. Each person told her how happy they were to meet her and asked how she was, tr
uly interested in hearing her answer. The baker gave her a loaf of bread and some bagels, the florist refused to take payment for the flowers she picked out for Siobhan, even the grouchy old dragon that ran the stationery store smiled and offered to create special invitations for their mating ceremony. Devon was amazed at the incredible reception Anya received from his kin.

  He was disappointed, but not surprised, when Anya stopped and looked in the window of Emma’s shop and it was closed. There with a note on the door apologizing and explaining that the jeweler had been working overtime on a special piece and would reopen the next day. He watched his mate’s eyes light up at all the beautiful jewelry in the window and imagined how excited she would be when he presented her with the beautiful pendant Emma had created.

  Several hours later, laden down with more packages than he could ever remember carrying, even during the holidays, he and Anya made their way back to Siobhan’s home. Walking up the front steps, Anya asked, “Am I ever gonna see your house?”

  Stopping at the door and turning to look into her eyes, he answered through their ever-growing mating bond, “You will most definitely see OUR home…very soon, mo chroi’.”

  He watched her eyes grow wide, heard her sharp intake of breath at his innuendo, and cursed every single package in his hands for standing between his body and hers. Apparently reading his thoughts, she grinned and chuckled directly into his mind, “I’ll hold you to it.”

  Anya opened the door since his hands were full, but Devon still insisted she go in ahead of him. He heard her mutter something about macho men and laughed to himself. If she only knew that not only was he minding his manners, but there was no way in hell he was giving up the chance to watch the gentle sway of her beautifully rounded behind as she made her way into the house.

  After all of their bags were emptied and Anya was satisfied with the floral arrangement she had created for his mother who was still researching in her study, Devon steered her down the hall and into the room they were now sharing. Giving into temptation, he sealed his lips to hers as soon as the door was closed behind them and kissed her like he had longed to all afternoon. Lifting her and making his way to the bed, he carefully sat on the edge with Anya straddling his lap, their lips never leaving one another.

  Their kiss went on forever, and would’ve led to them both spent and sleeping in each other’s arms had Royce’s voice not sounded in Devon’s mind. “Rayne just called for us to meet at the Great Hall. He said he didn’t get a response from you so I thought I’d holler before he sent Rory after you again.” The older Guardsman chuckled through their shared link as Devon groaned. “Be fair warned, the girls are all on their way to Siobhan’s to keep Anya company while we are out tonight, since it’s her first time and all.”

  A giggle from Anya let him know that she had overheard at least part of his conversation with Royce. He wondered about the increased powers she had already received from their yet to be official mating, but another voice in his head made him lose his train of thought. “Yo, loverboy. You get the message that we need to be at the Great Hall as soon as possible?”

  “Yeah. Your older brother just told me,” he growled at Rory.

  From the laugh in Rory’s voice, Devon could tell Rory was enjoying interrupting him again way too much. “Well, ya better hurry or ya know Rayne will just send me to get you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, smartass. I know.” And then more to himself than anyone else he added, “I am seriously rethinking my choice of giving Rayne back the command of this mission.”

  “I’m sure you are, lover boy.” Rory laughed through their link right before cutting their connection.

  As Anya went to move off his lap, her knee brushed across his rock hard cock as it pushed against the zipper of his jeans. She gasped as he pulled her hard against his body and slammed his mouth to hers, making promises with his kiss that he had yet to speak. Her hips met his as she rode his cock until stars burst behind his closed eyelids, and all he could think of was his mate naked and writhing beneath him.

  Devon stood and turned to lay them both on the bed when Anya tore her mouth away and laid her forehead against his. Trying to catch her breath, she whispered, “There is nothing I want more than to make love to you, but I’m afraid I would have to kill Rory or anyone that interrupted us. So you, Mr. Walsh, better get your sexy ass out of here and do what you have to do.” She stopped and kissed the tip of his nose, then continued, “And I will be waiting right here when you get back.”

  Loving that she was already comfortable enough with him to tease, he returned the gesture by gently tossing her on the bed and spinning around. Looking over his shoulder, he smirked and barked, “So you think my ass is sexy, huh?”

  Anya threw back her head, her laughter filling the room and Devon with incredible happiness. He walked towards the bathroom to grab a quick shower, serenaded by the music of her laughter and thoughts of what his life would be like with her by his side. Only after he was clean, dried, and dressed, and sure he would be able to hold back his desire, did he return to the bedroom.

  Finding Anya dressed and ready to greet the girls, he kissed her thoughtless one more time and together they followed the sounds of women talking and Sydney laughing. Satisfied that she was okay and would be kept busy while he was gone, Devon headed out into the night to meet his brethren. Almost an hour later, thirteen proud Guardsmen piled into three black SUVs and headed to meet their allies and finally bring down the fucking traitor that had caused so much pain and turmoil among their kin.

  They met the werepanthers at the designated spot, and within ten minutes all the vehicles had been hidden and the dragons along with the King and his men were running in three different directions towards the mansion the traitor called home. It had been decided early on that they would split into three groups, converging on Andrew’s hideout from both sides and the back. They had all agreed that not even that idiot would try using the front door for his escape, if he attempted one at all.

  Devon listened to the Guardsmen calling out everything they could see through mindspeak. Each group contained at least two werepanthers that did not have access to the dragons’ special form of communication–but that had been taken care of. Max was in Devon’s group and every few minutes he would relay the information to the Leo as discreetly as possible so that he might pass it along to his men.

  As they drew close to the mansion, Devon could feel the men’s excitement as they got closer to the perimeter of the property. The prospect of finally putting the asshole traitor in a cage and ending his bullshit revenge was all they thought about.

  Max held up his fist, signaling their group to stop. Raphael moved forward and Devon watched as the panther removed several small tools from the pockets of his cargo pants and set to shutting down the security system. Less than five minutes later, Devon was sending word to his brethren that they were free to breach the walls of the compound.

  He listened intently as Rian’s group made their way to the back of the house. It was there that Lennox would set the charges that would allow them access into Andrew’s fortress. Thankfully, they had not been noticed, and according to Max’s play-by-play from Raphael, the security system was still offline but sending a signal to the wizards mimicking it was in working order.

  “Lennox and I just got to the tunnel entrance. The ‘mad bomber’ says to give him five minutes and then we’ll be good to go,” Rian sent through mindspeak to all the dragons.

  Devon told Max what Rian had said and watched as he passed the information onto his Pride. Within seconds, Max gave a nod, whispering, “Raphael’s good. His patch into their security is holding strong.”

  The tension was palpable as the seconds ticked by, everyone waiting for Rian’s signal. Devon grinned, listening to Lennox’s excitement as he prepared the explosive. “He truly is our very own ‘psycho’,” Rory joked.

  “You gotta love a man that gets such pleasure out of his job. Just make sure he doesn’t blow all of us up too
, Ri,” Lance laughed.

  “Ha Ha, you guys are freaking hilarious!” Lennox grumbled.

  “So if you ladies are finished with the coffee club maybe we can get this fucking show on the road,” Rayne growled, his frustration evident.

  “Sounds like the Commander is wound a bit tight,” Aaron sent through their unique link.

  “No shit. I haven’t heard Rayne so keyed up since the day the traitor returned,” Devon answered, still keeping an ear open to Lennox’s progress.

  “Ernesto senses movement heading towards the basement from within the house,” Max whispered from behind.

  Devon immediately sent the message to all the Guardsmen and began moving through the overgrown foliage. Rayne issued the command that all teams form a loose perimeter close to the house, and Devon listened as all teams confirmed they were moving in. The main objective in those few moments was to run interference if any wizards should wander outside and keep Lennox hidden until the device could be detonated.

  Devon felt as if he could hear the seconds ticking by in his head. Everyone had gone completely silent. The anticipation that ran through both dragon and panther alike was thick enough to cut with a knife. Only Lennox seemed to be unfazed as he continued to mutter to himself.

  Rian broke through the Guardsman’s mindless chatter and whispered ominously, “I can feel the traitor just inside those fucking walls. His dragon is weaker than most and shrouded in a cloudy mess of magic, but it’s there, intermittently. Thankfully, the beast cannot sense us…yet.”

  The warriors’ anticipation turned to anger and the need for vengeance with confirmation that the traitor was just a few feet away. Always more empathetic than most, Aidan spoke cautiously and flooded their common link with a calmness Devon admired, “Take a breath, Brothers. Stick to the plan. We’ll have…”

  His words were cut short as Lennox roared, “OH FUCK!” And a matching shout of “OH SHIT!” came from the other side of the small door they were trying to access.