Summer Shifter Days

by V. Vaughn

  Obviously done with her, the Draoi nodded his head and Damon fell in behind him like the good minion he appeared to be. Hell, Melanie had even forgotten the guy was there, he’d been so quiet. Not willing to let Cleland get away without answers, she growled, “Do not leave this room without telling me what in the sam hell is going on.”

  Already in the hall with the door shutting the Draoi called out, “Oh darling, I’m sorry I forgot to tell you…it’s your wedding day. You and Damon will be married at the height of the Blood Moon.”

  Son of a bitch! I didn’t see that one coming.

  5

  “Who knew there were so many Blackthorn trees?”

  A smack to the back of Jace’s head was quickly followed by a growl. “Would’ve been easier had you remembered the red blossoms before this morning, dumbass.”

  “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” He hung his head and hoped he hadn’t thrown away his only chance at finding his mate.

  “Y’all give the guy a break. He’s worried about Melanie, frustrated at being away from her, and it’s not like every one of you hasn’t screwed up just as bad, if not worse, in your lives.” Kyra scolded.

  “But mo chroi’,” Royce began but was quickly cut off.

  “But nothing, Roy, I mean it.” The look the tiny witch gave her much bigger mate was scary and the way the giant of a Guardsman buckled under her glare was comical.

  Jace almost bust a gut when Lance quipped, “Be careful, grandpa. I’m still waiting for her to turn you into a toad.”

  “Dammit, Lance,” Royce bellowed but was cut off as laughter filled the cave where they were camping.

  “Seriously, big brother, when are you gonna learn?” Rory chuckled.

  Giving up, Royce grunted something unintelligible under his breath and stepped out of the cave. The laughter died down as the Guardsmen packed up their belongings. Kyra sat in the back, working on a spell to scry for not only Melanie but the use of Dorcha magic. Jace looked at all the men he was proud to call brethren. Some of them he’d known since his first transformation, others he’d met in just the last week but none of that mattered, they were all there to help him find his mate. They were all family.

  “Whatcha daydreaming about, loverboy?” Liam asked and he bumped Jace with his shoulder on the way by.

  “Nothing…Everything…Oh hell…Melanie.”

  Liam chuckled as he threw his pack on the pile with the others. “Yeah, well, tell me something new. That shit’s been going on for months.”

  “I know. It’s just that…”

  “It’s just that you’re afraid we’re not gonna make it in time, that you’re not going to make it in time.” Rory cut in from somewhere behind him.

  Before the young Guardsman could get turned around, the Leader of the Blue Thunder Force was standing next to him with his hand on his shoulder. “Look, Jace, I don’t have a mate yet, but I’ve seen firsthand what some of these guys have gone through to claim theirs…”

  There were murmurs and grunts of agreement from all the mated Guardsmen and “Hell, yeah” from the little witch before Rory continued. “You’ll find her. Have faith. My one piece of advice is, and remember this is coming from an unmated dragon, make it official as soon as you can. Don’t let her get away from you again. You got a keeper there. I never believed the crap they told us when we were young about the Universe not making mistakes and Fate not being denied but looking at Dev, Roy, and Lance, I gotta say if those losers get to spend eternity with great women, then you and I’ve got it made.”

  Rory ducked just in time to avoid being hit by the flying boot Lance had thrown and a half eaten apple courtesy of Devon, but the punch delivered courtesy of his big brother landed right in the middle of his chest. Jace watched while Rory tried not to flinch but finally gave in with a half-laugh, half-wheeze. Once again the cave was filled with laughter, thankfully lightening the young Guardsman’s mood.

  “Paybacks are a bitch, big bro.” Rory wheezed.

  “Aren’t they though, little brother.” Royce snickered, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

  “As fun as all this is, we need to get moving. We’ve wasted enough time chasing our tails. I’m ready to find Jace’s mate and kick some dark wizard ass. What about y’all?” Kellan’s proclamation shocked the group into silence. For him to speak more than three words at one time was a miracle.

  Nodding, Rory made the call. “You heard the man, let’s get outta here.”

  Kellen led the way and by mid-morning they had reached an entire hillside and valley covered in red blossomed Blackthorn trees. Jace’s best guess was about thirty-square miles were covered with the black barked trees covered in blood red flowers.

  Kyra dropped to the ground, pulled out all her witchy goodies, and began what she’d earlier explained was scrying. Kellan was once again meditating or focusing or whatever it was called, looking for any sign of Melanie and the men that had kidnapped her. For the next two hours, Jace paced, then looked over Kyra’s shoulder, then paced some more. He would’ve gone to look over Kellan’s shoulder, too, but had to admit the guy still scared the crap out of him. The young Guardsman would spend most of his life indebted to the scarred man for all he’d done to find his mate, of that there was no doubt. But there was something deep in his eyes that was just scary as hell, it made Jace jumpy.

  “Deep breaths, bro, deep breaths. You’re gonna stroke out and then we’re gonna have a big ass bronze dragon trampling the countryside.” Liam teased.

  “I know but the more time that passes, the harder it gets.”

  “Look, I have no clue what you’re going through, but you better buck up buttercup. We’re gonna find her and you better be ready to say all the right things and make all the right choices. ‘Cause something tells me your mate will take no indecision, especially after the last few days.”

  “You’re right.” Jace took a deep breath and held it for a minute while he concentrated on their silent mating bond. Slowly exhaling, he pulled from the strength of his dragon who gladly pushed as well. Together they looked for any sign that Melanie was okay. For the first time, other than her cryptic message, he could feel her. It wasn’t as strong as it had been in the past and definitely felt like it would break at any moment, but it was the spark he needed to get his shit together.

  Opening his eyes, he started to yell his joy to his brethren, but Kyra beat him to the punch. “Hot damn, I got a line on a shitload of black magic. It’s got to be them!” The little witch was all but jumping up and down as she packed up her supplies and yelled for her mate.

  Kellan’s shout came on the heels of Kyra’s. “I got her. She’s about twenty miles due north of here, underground, and pissed as shit from what I’m picking up.” He paused and looked right at Jace, furrowing his brow, and frowning for just a second. “Something’s changed. I can sense her magic now and it’s strong. Strong like Kyra strong and just as white and pure. No wonder the Draoi wanted your girl. She’s got chops.”

  Jace knew he should be worried at Kellan’s proclamation but instead he was proud, prouder than he’d ever been. He’d known she was strong but had been worried how a human would fit in with a clan of dragon shifters and their families. He’d seen how Kyndel, Grace, and Dr. Malone, mates of his Commander and other Guardsmen, had dealt with it. But those ladies, although human, still had ‘special’ qualities that allowed them to deal with mates that could turn into dragons. The knowledge that Melanie was also magical was the best news he’d gotten in a long time.

  Unable to wait a moment longer, he looked to Rory and Royce who were conferring with the other Guardsmen and yelled, “Can we get the hell outta dodge? I gotta girl to save.”

  They all laughed and shook their heads as Rory answered. “Give us a minute, kid. I keep telling you we’re gonna get your girl back, don’t blow the game in the last few minutes.”

  Jace smirked at Rory’s sports analogy as he made his way over to the powwow. It was quickly decided that they would follow the d
irections Kyra and Kellan agreed upon. Once they were within two miles of their destination, the entire group would find a place to hang out until the sun was completely down. Once it was truly dark, Pearce and Declan would call forth their dragons and take to the sky. The deep midnight blue color of their beasts would provide the perfect cover for them to scout the area with the highest concentration of dark magic that Kyra had located.

  “I’ll go limb to limb through the trees. I somehow doubt those dimwitted dark wizards will expect a black panther to be part of the gang.” Jace chuckled at Max’s incredible arrogance. On anyone else it would be irritating but on the King of the Big Cats, it seemed fitting.

  Trekking through the forest of Blackthorn trees seemed to take forever. Rory and Royce had agreed that they should not use their enhanced speed to avoid the Dorcha sensing the use of dragon magic. The closer they got to their target, the stronger the stench of black magic became. It wasn’t overpowering, like when they’d been chasing Andrew. This time it was a sprinkling that slowly became a mist that he knew would become a dense fog before it was over.

  The trees were so dense and the red blossoms so plentiful in the part of the forest they were in that the shards of sunlight, which had been breaking through during the day, simply ceased to exist. That coupled with the growing prevalence of dark magic caused an eerie sensation to skitter down Jace’s spine and his dragon chuffed a warning.

  Cue the creepy music, I swear I’m in a Wes Craven movie.

  He was just about to share the joke with Liam when Kellan’s fist flew into the air, the military signal for halt. The Guardsmen paused and waited. Their tension spiked in the few seconds it took for the retired marine to turn around and address the group.

  “The clearing we’ve been looking for is just over that ridge.” Kellan motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. “We need to wait here. The sun will be down in approximately two and a half hours. It will be dark enough for dragons in about four.”

  “All right, you heard the man, grab a bite to eat and get some rest. Only four hours until we kick Dorcha ass and bring Melanie home.” Rory looked right at Jace when he mentioned the young Guardsman’s mate and the rest of the Guardsmen nodded their agreement before breaking formation and dropping their packs.

  During the next few hours, Jace ate, paced, questioned Kyra to see if she’d come up with anything new, and basically drove everyone crazy. The sun went down and Rory called them all together. After rehashing their plan to infiltrate the coven. Jace had to keep reminding himself to pay attention. All he could think about was getting to Melanie and killing anyone and anything that stood in his path. His dragon roared in agreement.

  “I just want to make sure y’all understand that the clearing is some sort of ‘holy’ place for the Dorcha. Black magic is permeating damn near every rock, tree, and molecule of that place. Blood has been spilt there, lots of blood. It’s a place of power for them. Here are protection amulets for each of you.” The little witch began handing all thirteen members of their search party the small silver discs with leather cords she’d spelled while they’d been waiting. “Just be careful.”

  Royce put his arm around Kyra’s shoulders, pulling her close to his side, and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. The scene made Jace envious for the time when he would again hold Melanie in his arms and proclaim his love for her. He also wanted to kick his own ass for all the time he’d wasted tiptoeing around instead of claiming her as his own and keeping her safe.

  I will be correcting that situation just as soon as possible.

  The feel of magic on his skin drew his attention. Jace turned just in time to see two full grown dark blue dragons take flight. His own dragon growled and blew smoke, pushing to be allowed to do the same thing. Only the reassurance of the man that the beast would be allowed to avenge their mate’s abduction kept the winged warrior at bay.

  Rory had given the signal for them to get into formation. Max went from man to panther in the blink of an eye. With the flick of his tail and a flash of glowing green eyes, the Leo disappeared into the forest. Werecats and dragons could not share in mindspeak as humans, but recently it had been discovered they could while in animal form. It was decided Max would relay anything he saw to Declan and Pearce and they would inform Rory.

  Kellan had just started to lead their group through the forest when Declan and Pearce located the clearing. They reported seeing a large circle drawn with salt and ash surrounding a stone altar with thousands of black candles illuminating the entire area. As they continued to fly over, witches and wizards dressed in gowns and suits exited a large stone doorway.

  “We need to move our asses!” Jace bellowed.

  “Calm down, young’un, can’t go rushing in there and risk getting your mate hurt. Take a deep breath. Max is almost in position.” Rory commanded.

  Jace growled his irritation but stayed in formation. He listened intently as Declan and Pearce relayed everything they saw. For the hundredth time in the last hour Jace focused all his strength and all the power of his dragon on their silent mating bond. He prayed to the Heavens for help. He begged the Ancients for guidance. He pleaded with Fate and Destiny to show him the way to his mate. He did everything in his considerable power to make contact with the woman that had become the center of his world.

  Declan’s report broke through his prayers. “Max is hanging on a limb just above the coven. He reports a classically dressed old man leaning heavily on a cane and a young man in a tux have just exited the tunnel. He’s sure from the way the rest of the attendees are bowing and scraping that the older gentleman is the Draoi. And best guess is the other is his second.” The Guardsmen in dragon form paused and Jace doubled his efforts to reach Melanie.

  It was Pearce’s voice that sounded in Jace’s mind after just a few moments of silence. “A wizard, I’m guessing is their Holy Man, just entered the circle and is chanting. Everyone but the Draoi are watching the priest. The old man is focused on the mouth of the tunnel, like he’s waiting for the guest of honor.”

  After a brief pause, he added, “The guest of honor has arrived and she is gorgeous. I guess it’s her wedding day from the look of the dazzling gown…Son of a bitch! It’s Melanie!”

  Jace didn’t have a chance to respond because as he opened his mouth, Melanie’s voice sounded in his mind. It was stronger than before but still distant and her words made him run through the forest, roaring her name.

  “Jace, I sure as hell hope you can hear me. I really need your help. I have to figure a way out of here or you need to show up with the cavalry. Within thirty minutes, I’m gonna be married to a douchebag named Damon. Please don’t let me become Mrs. Douchebag.”

  6

  She knew she sounded like a damsel in distress begging to be saved by her knight in shining armor and that went against everything she believed in, but with no other prospects to be found, she was willing to swallow her pride. If she were forced to marry Damon, then she would truly be trapped for the rest of her life, which for a witch can be a very long time. There was no such thing as divorce in the coven. When they say until death do you part…they were being literal. Melanie was also sure that Cleland would have rigged the ceremony with some mystical trapdoor. Something promising dire consequences to not only her but anyone she cared about if she tried to run.

  Looking in the mirror, admiring her stunning gown, trying to forget who purchased it for her and what it stood for, she admired the beautiful way Hannah’s sister, Alicia, had styled her short dark hair and applied her makeup. Melanie wished she was wearing it for a different man at a different ceremony far away from her crazy ass grandfather and his mindless followers.

  Shaking her head, Melanie turned away from the mirror and stared out the window into the dark night, trying with all her might to teleport somewhere, anywhere but where she was at that moment. Of course, nothing happened thanks to the Dampening Spell she’d felt the Draoi put on the room night before last. She knew they would be coming to g
et her at any moment and cursed that she hadn’t been able to escape. Every plan she, Hannah, and Sarah Beth had come up with either required more time to pull off or would expose the people she held most dear as traitors to the Dorcha. There was no way she could let that happen.

  Jace was all she’d been able to think about for the last few hours, not that thinking of him was a new occurrence, since the moment she’d first seen him, he’d been a constant distraction. It was as if he’d invaded her brain in the same way he’d captured her heart all those months ago. She’d been mentally kicking herself for never telling the amazing man what she felt for him. It wasn’t that there hadn’t been time or that she feared rejection. There was something deep in her soul that said he held the same feelings for her. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t come up with a good reason why she hadn’t told him, just that she hadn’t and now she feared it was too late.

  Panic made it hard for Melanie to breathe as the knock at the door she’d been dreading sounded. Without waiting for her to answer, the young man that had delivered her dinner on several occasions opened the door and walked into her room. He was a good kid, misguided, and sure to die a horrible death led by Cleland, but a good kid all the same. She hated that she couldn’t remember his name.

  “Are you ready to go, Miss Whelan?” He smiled brightly, like she should be happy about being forced to marry Damon. Then she realized neither he nor anyone in the Dorcha- aside from said groom, the Draoi, and Hannah and her family- knew that this was anything but another in a long line of arranged marriages in the coven’s history.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be, kid.” She mumbled under her breath and walked towards the door.

  Ever the gentleman, her escort stood waiting in the doorway, his arm crooked for her to hold onto. As they walked down the cavernous stone hallway, they passed members of the Draoi’s guard every twenty feet or so.