Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove)

by Dana Marie Bell

  He shouldn’t be inside the Throne. What were you thinking? You know better. He’ll betray you!

  The earth beneath her feet rumbled. Hell. The beast was waking up, responding to her rising panic. She had to do something, fast, before Dragos erupted from the earth.

  “I wish to speak to my brother now.”

  “You don’t always get what you want.” A flash of pale blond hair streaked with orange made Mina wanted to cheer. Greer and Ash were stepping out of their trees, responding to Mina’s anger and fear. “Haven’t you heard that song before?”

  Ash glided silently across the Throne to stand beside his Queen, his green eyes flashing a warning at the intruder. In his hand his silver sword gleamed. Her guardian meant business, and Vasile would not be getting into the Throne any time soon. He would die before he’d finished planting a single foot over the line.

  “And you are?”

  Greer bowed, his sunny hair a bright spot in the Throne. His brown eyes twinkled merrily. “Greer Berkley, at your service. Or not. That depends entirely on whether or not you’re a dickhead.” He tilted his head and leaned back against his tree, his calm, smiling face not fooling Mina for a second. She’d known him far too long. “You’re not a dickhead, are you?”

  Vasile growled, the tone so low it was almost inaudible.

  “Ashton Ward, and you’re trespassing here.” Ash’s expression was cold, remote, the sword held at the ready by his side.

  “So I gather.” Ash rated a far more wary glance than Greer had. Mina could have told Vasile that, of the two, Greer was far more dangerous. Everyone dismissed him as a nonthreat, someone to mock or ignore. No one saw the man coming, and if they did?

  Well. None of them had lived to tell the tale.

  When her two guardians acted in tandem, all hell broke loose.

  They’re here now. They can keep you safe. When Dragos awakes, send him home.

  A crack appeared in the earth. “Shh.” Mina sent soothing thoughts to Dragos, hoping to keep him silent, still. Vasile was not going to harm her. She wouldn’t allow it.

  “Vasile.”

  Mina blinked. The voice in her mind was gravelly, sinful. Dragos, but...not. Dragos’s beast was aware of her, worried for her. She tried to respond, hoping he’d hear her. “It’s all right. I’m safe. Ash and Greer will protect me, I swear. Go back to sleep.”

  With a rumbling mental sigh Dragos settled back down.

  When she focused her attention once more on Vasile the man was pale. “That was—”

  “Dragos. Yes.” She smiled grimly. “I suggest you not wake him.”

  Vasile nodded, his expression thoughtful but his skin still pale with shock. “I had thought that he’d overcome his affliction.”

  “Being a vampire is not an affliction.” She wouldn’t necessarily call it a gift, but affliction implied that Dragos was some sort of abomination, and that she would not tolerate.

  Vasile grimaced. “It is to us.” He straightened his spine and held up his hand before Mina could protest. “I mean him no disrespect, but when Dragos became a vampire, our people turned against him. Worse, my father was the one leading the charge. I had hoped...” He glanced away, and for a moment his cruel expression became sad, lost. “No. It doesn’t matter what I had hoped.” His expression was once more set in cold, cruel lines. Mina was becoming more and more convinced it was a mask Vasile wore to protect himself. “Tell him to meet me when he awakes. I won’t wait long.”

  With that, Vasile took off, straight up into the air, the flicker of a wing sudden and shocking. Vaseli Ibanescu was gone in the blink of an eye—only the still swaying branches marking his passing.

  Greer sighed happily. “You meet the most interesting people when I take a nap.”

  Ash rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword. “Dragos?”

  Mina responded without thinking. “Mine.”

  Over my dead body.

  Ash jumped, staring at her with a shocked expression. “Mina?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Who the fuck was that?”

  “You heard it?”

  “Clear as if the speaker was standing next to me.” His gaze sharpened. “Right where you’re standing, actually. But it wasn’t you. It was someone else.”

  “I heard it too. Whatever is going on, it’s coming from the outside, not in.” Greer’s brows rose. “Someone’s been sleeping in your head.”

  Mina scowled as Ash smacked Greer on the back of the head.

  They were right.

  The voice that had been keeping her from Dragos, the one that had locked her in the Throne, wasn’t hers.

  * * *

  “Vasile was here.”

  Dragos froze, the dirt and debris he’d been brushing from his clothing forgotten. “Oh?”

  Mina nodded. She was keeping her distance from him again, something he intended to remedy before too much longer. “He says your father is coming for you, and to beware your other brother.”

  “Trajan.”

  “Is that his name? I thought he said Lawrence or something.”

  Oh, hell no. That hadn’t occurred to him. If Vasile already knew about Mina, Laurentiu soon would too. Vasile always had been a daddy’s boy, more so than Trajan. “My father’s name is Prince Laurentiu Ibanescu.”

  “Prince of Dragons.”

  Dragos tried desperately not to growl at Greer. The pain in the ass had been harassing him since he’d woken at twilight. Blurting out that there even was a Prince of Dragons could wind up killing someone—namely Dragos. He’d had more than one supernatural hunter come after him over the years, and not because he was the mayor of Maggie’s Grove. “Yes.”

  “I always said you were cold-blooded.” Greer grinned as Dragos flashed fang at him. “So you’re a vampiric weredragon, huh?”

  “I’m a vampire.” It wouldn’t do to reveal all of his secrets, especially to Greer. Now that the ruling dryads had rejoined Maggie’s Grove society the man gossiped like an old church lady, just without the clingy garlic-and-incense smell.

  Greer was grinning like a loon. “Still, it must be cool to know you can use your mighty dragon breath to fell your enemies.”

  “He can do that anyway. He just has to forget to brush his fangs.” Ash was studying him closely. “You’ve begun to bond with Mina. Her oak has accepted you.”

  Dragos’s brows rose. How did Ash know that? “It’s none of your affair.”

  Ash tapped his fingers against his thigh. If Ash felt the need he would attack without hesitation. He was the one Dragos trusted most to watch Mina when he couldn’t do it himself. Ash was the guardian—the one who watched out for all of them, protected them. Ash wouldn’t truly rest until Mina was cured and Iva was restored to them. “I believe it is.”

  Dragos cocked a brow at him, hoping to get the man to back off. These were Mina’s closest friends. He didn’t want to alienate them, but he would finish his bond with Mina or die trying. “Would you want me to interfere with you and Selena?”

  “Yes, please, thank you. He’s been a miserable bastard recently.” Greer made a face. Dragos guessed he was supposed to look like a dour Ash, but instead he merely looked constipated. “Boo hoo, the witch doctor won’t kiss my boo-boos.”

  “Like you’re having any better luck with Mollie.” Ash smiled. “By the way, how long has she been dating Carter?”

  From the expression on Greer’s face it seemed he didn’t appreciate his friend’s comment at all. Maybe it was time Dragos got them back on track and off their nonexistent love lives before blood was shed. “Gentlemen—”

  “Dragos? Could you come here for a moment?”

  Dragos was at Mina’s side before she’d finished speaking. “Yes, dragă Mina?”

  “Um.” Her eyes went wide and she took a step back. “You heard about the voice in my head?”

  “It’s not you.” And now that he could hear it as well, he could tell her that with utter certainty. “I’m not certain who it is. They’re attempti
ng to mimic your voice, and have, for the most part, succeeded.”

  “To the point where I was ready to toss you out of here the moment you awoke.” She grimaced, and he could hear the voice nattering at her, urging her to do just that.

  Dragos scowled and targeted the voice. “Du—te dracului.”

  For just a second he felt the intruder, felt their startled response, before they pulled away from Mina. He wasn’t going to fool himself. The presence wasn’t gone. He could still sense it, lurking in the darkness of Mina’s mind, ready to pounce the moment she began to doubt again.

  He had to find who was harming his sotiei, and soon. It was unacceptable that she suffered in any way.

  “What did that mean?”

  Dragos smiled, his fangs fully elongated. “I told the voice to go to hell.”

  “Oh.” She looked down at something in her hand. It was her cell phone. He wasn’t about to ask how a woman who lived in the woods kept her electronics charged. Therein lay madness. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just got a text from Dominic Davis. He says your Renfield is at the mayor’s office and he’s frightened.”

  Shit. Now what? “Dominic or Eddy?” Dominic was the town treasurer, and a good friend. If Eddy had gone looking for him and been afraid, Dominic would take care of him. The man might look like an awkward dandy, but he was far more powerful than anyone gave him credit for. He just chose to hide it under a layer of geekiness.

  He was hiding, and Dragos was more than happy to help him. If people knew what Dominic truly was, they would make the poor man’s life a living hell.

  Dragos could relate. He’d hidden his light for so long he wasn’t certain it was there anymore. The vampiric beast that lived within him often tried to override his common sense.

  “Eddy. Says he’s got, and I quote, ‘a muncher on his tail,’ but he wouldn’t tell Dom more than that.”

  “Text him that I’m on my way.” He cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry, my dear. Ash and Greer will guard you until I can return.”

  “Damn skippy.” Greer sounded far too cheerful.

  Ash merely nodded his agreement.

  “We need to talk about your family, Dragos.” Mina sighed. “But your Renfield needs you. Go. We’ll be safe enough here.”

  “We?”

  She blinked, startled. “I meant... What I mean is...”

  Dragos growled. The voice was sneaky—he’d give it that. He hadn’t even felt it stir, and he’d been watching for it. “Who are you?”

  “Leave us alone.”

  His beast roared to the surface. He took hold of Mina’s arms and stared into the dark depths of her eyes. “Mina is mine.” He threw every bit of power he had at the voice, tossing it out of her head.

  Mina screamed, the trees in the Throne swaying violently. “Stop it, make it stop, make it stop!”

  Dragos stopped pushing, and Mina collapsed in his arms. Dragos bit back a curse as he picked her up and placed her on her throne. “Call Selena.”

  Ash put his hand on Dragos’s shoulder. Dragos fought the urge to rip it off, literally.

  Ash must have heard the low growl Dragos couldn’t contain. “Go. Take care of your Renfield.” Ash’s expression was fierce, his tone grim. “I swear to you, no further harm will come to our queen within the Throne.”

  Greer nodded, cracking his knuckles. “You can leave here. She can’t. Find out what’s going on from the outside while we work from within.”

  He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Leaving Mina now was like ripping out his soul. The pain was that deep, that far-reaching.

  But...

  Damn it all to hell. Eddy was afraid, so afraid he’d left the safety of the mansion to try and find him at his office. If Eddy had known where the Throne was, he had no doubt the Renfield would have been pacing outside the sacred circle, waiting for Dragos to save him.

  “Go.” Mina’s words were wracked with pain. “You kicked the voice out for now. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

  Dragos bent and took her mouth like a ravaging conqueror—the anger and anguish at leaving her side warring with his need to check on his Renfield. “Stay put.”

  She saluted him with a weak grin. “Aye aye.”

  “I mean it. Even if you feel like you can leave the Throne, wait for me. If the voice comes back, it could send you into a panic attack, and neither Greer nor Ashton could return you to here fast enough to keep it from being overwhelming.”

  Ash pushed at Dragos again. “Go. We’ll take care of her.”

  “Dude, get out of here already.” Greer’s lazy grin sharpened. “We’ll keep her from being too stupid to live.”

  Dragos rolled his eyes and took off, confident his sotiei would be right where he’d left her when he finally returned.

  It didn’t take him long to arrive at city hall—a small building that housed his office and the administrative staff of Maggie’s Grove. The old Federal-style home had multiple fireplaces and an old-world charm that soothed him every time he entered the building. The floors might creak a bit, and the banister might be thicker than his hand, but this, just as much as his mansion, was home to him.

  “Dragos. Thank the Goddess.” Dominic raced toward him, his glasses askew and his hair standing on end. “Eddy ran in here as if the hounds of hell were after him. He kept saying someone was going to eat him. You know I’d protect him as best I can, but...” The smaller man shrugged.

  “He is, Dom, I swear.” Eddy’s voice, coming from the directly behind Dominic, sounded muffled.

  “Who, Eddy? Who threatened you?” Dragos entered his office, not surprised in the least to find his Renfield cowering under his desk.

  This was getting to be a habit.

  The boy was popping cookies into his mouth faster than Dragos could see. If he didn’t slow down he’d choke himself. “Rajah.”

  Dragos blinked. Who in blazes was Rajah?

  Eddy rolled his eyes and swallowed the mouthful of Oreo goo that had muffled his words. “Trajan.”

  Dragos saw red.

  How dare his brother threaten his Renfield, the son of his heart?

  “Wait! It wasn’t a threat, I guess. I mean, not like a threat threat. I’m not sure—I don’t think he meant it that way. He could have meant it that way... Oh God, what if he meant it that way and not the other way? Not good, so not good.”

  “Um. What?” Dragos blinked, his beast receding as Eddy panted and tried to shove another cookie in his mouth. His hands were shaking so badly he missed.

  Huge green eyes dominated Eddy’s pale face. “I don’t even like guys, Dragos.”

  Dragos took a deep breath. It took him a moment to get himself under control. He didn’t know whether to laugh or scream.

  Eddy was Trajan’s mate? Trajan? The brother who’d once agreed with Laurentiu that love between men should be punishable by death? That Trajan?

  Things were about to become complicated.

  He leaned over the edge of the desk, ignoring the way Eddy jumped. The boy should have sensed him, but he was so caught up in his own head he barely registered others around him. That made him vulnerable, a situation Dragos found intolerable. “Are you all right, Eddy?”

  Eddy shook his head, that flop of hair he called bangs landing right in his eyes. “Nope. Not one tiny microscopic bit.”

  There was only one way to take care of this. Dragos nodded, threw back his head, and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Trajan Ibanescu!”

  “Oh, shit.”

  Eddy dove for the door, but it was too late. Trajan appeared, striding through city hall as if he owned it. “You rang?” His grey eyes, the same ones all the brothers shared, stared at Eddy with so much hunger Dragos felt like a voyeur.

  “Eddy is frightened, and my sotiei is under attack. As my Renfield, I am concerned that he might also come under fire.”

  Trajan’s nostrils flared, but that was the only sign he’d heard Dragos.

  “Dragos? What’s going on?” Kate’s strident
voice battered at his ears, her heels clacking on the hardwood floors in a staccato tempo.

  Trajan reacted as if there were a threat. He turned, placing himself between Eddy and the door of the office, hissing furiously.

  Eddy whimpered. “Oh my God, he did mean it that way.”

  Dragos pinched the bridge of his nose. “Eddy, he’s protecting you.”

  “Because he doesn’t want his lunch snatched away by the ho-bag?” Another cookie was shoved into Eddy’s mouth, the crunching sound loud in the sudden, stunned silence.

  He bit his lip to keep from laughing as Kate glared at Eddy. “Dragos, what are they doing here?”

  “Eddy is my Renfield, Kate. He’s allowed wherever I am.” He ignored Trajan’s snarl, knowing it for what it was. It would be intolerable for Trajan to hear that someone else, even a blood relation, had a claim to his mate, especially before he’d managed to lay claim to the boy himself. “Trajan is...blood.”

  Kate reached around Trajan, trying to touch Dragos. “Surely they can take their little discussion elsewhere?”

  He stepped back, almost tripping on Eddy. The idea of her fingers on his skin was repulsive. “I think not.”

  She stiffened, her hand gradually pulling back. She reached for the fob on her purse, worrying at it as she bit her lip. The sweet scent of cinnamon filled the air. “But Dragos, didn’t we have a lunch meeting scheduled? Surely your Renfield can take care of your friend without your help.”

  He shook his head, confused. “Meeting?”

  “But, Dragos—”

  Kate cut Eddy off before he could finish his sentence. “Don’t you have something Renfieldy to do? Like cutting your wrists or answering phones?”

  Trajan sneezed.

  Being what he was, that sneeze produced a small ball of flame that landed right on Kate’s skirt.

  Kate jumped back with a shriek, dropping her purse and screaming her head off.

  Dragos shook his head. What had he been thinking? He had no meeting with Kate today. The council meeting wasn’t until next week, and he had nothing to go over with her until a few days before.