Mated to the Water Dragon (High House Draconis Book 2)

by Riley Storm

  Victor nodded. “I wish some of the elders were awake. They would know what to do,” he muttered, making yet another signature.

  “Maybe,” Aaric agreed. “Maybe not. But you can change that. You and Cheryl need to awaken another, and soon.”

  “I know,” he said. “We will. Just…give me some time. I haven’t told her about that yet. She’s still having a hard time adjusting to being mates.”

  “She is?” Aaric asked, curious. “I thought she’d be happy. She loves you.”

  “Oh, she’s happy,” Victor said, managing to keep his smile down. “Very happy. But she’s going to live to be hundreds of years old, unless something bad happens to me.”

  “Ah, that,” Aaric said in sudden understanding. “That takes time. Olivia is still coming to terms with it and what it means. I don’t think they’ll be able to fully appreciate it until decades from now. I wouldn’t press her too hard about it.”

  “You’re probably right,” Victor agreed. “But are you not fearful for their safety? The vampires are back and they seem to have gained some sort of new power. We have no idea why they’re here, since it doesn’t seem to be to kill us.”

  “I’m not sure,” Aaric said. “But I know we need to find out. That will be our next task. To discover why they’ve revealed themselves, and why they’ve come here to Plymouth Falls. There must be a reason. We just need to find out what it is.”

  “Agreed,” Victor said, turning the page.

  Behind them, the door opened. “Hey guys,” Cheryl said, coming into the room. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Almost done,” Victor said, writing as fast as he could.

  “Almost done what?” she wanted to know, coming over to his side.

  Victor flipped the page, his hand moving in a blur. “Done!” he pronounced, pushing back his chair and snatching Cheryl up into a hug. “All done. This is for you,” he told her, setting her down and pushing the stack of papers into her hands.

  “What is it?”

  “That’s the transfer of funds to the city to cover our share of the project. Complete. We can begin breaking ground.”

  “Oh Victor!” Cheryl exclaimed, the papers going flying as she threw herself at him in another hug. “That’s wonderful, thank you. Thank you so much, both of you,” she said. “This is just what Plymouth Falls needs. With this investment and project, we can begin to reinvigorate this town, bring it back to life.”

  “And you can show your parents that you were right,” Victor added, kissing her on the cheek. “That you weren’t wasting your time here.”

  “Yes. Yes, I can,” she said. “Though I was hoping you would help me break that news to them.”

  “Oh. Sure,” he said, trying not to frown. “You’re going to call them?”

  “Well, not quite,” she said awkwardly.

  “What then?” he asked, confused.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aaric tiptoeing out of the room.

  “Well, I was hoping you would have lunch me with today,” she said with a tense smile.

  “Of course,” he agreed immediately. “But I don’t understand…”

  And then his mind figured it out.

  “Your parents are going to be there, aren’t they?” he asked.

  “Surprise?”

  Victor swallowed nervously.

  I guess it’s time to meet the parents.

  “It’ll be fine,” Cheryl said, grabbing his arm and taking him from the room.

  Victor didn’t protest. He knew it would be pointless. This was going to happen, had to happen. These were her parents.

  Just keep your calm. Don’t lash out and tell them that they’re assholes for the way they treated Cheryl and her desire to stay and help Plymouth Falls.

  “Meeting the parents, that’s exciting.”

  He glared at Aaric who was waiting in the hallway with a huge grin on his face.

  “Shut up.”

  Aaric just smiled wider and began to laugh. “So, you’re sticking around then?”

  Cheryl looked back and forth between the two of them, confused at the line of questioning.

  Victor didn’t even have to think about his answer. Not anymore. “Yes,” he said confidently. “I’ve got something to look forward to now. Between the two of you, I’ve had my eyes opened to the way I was acting. Though I still intend to take a long vacation with Cheryl once this vampire menace is over, I don’t see any need to leave. Plymouth Falls needs our help, Aaric, and I intend to do what I can to help it.”

  “A vacation?” Cheryl asked, piping up. “A long one? That sounds like fun.”

  “Indeed,” Aaric rumbled, reaching into his pocket. “Sounds like a fun honeymoon.”

  While Victor choked on his words and Cheryl giggled happily, the fire dragon pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and thrust it at Victor.

  “What’s this?” he asked, confused, taking it.

  “Something to help you start over,” the fire dragon said.

  Frowning, Victor unfolded the piece of paper.

  It was a check. A signed check. A very large signed check.

  “I’m happy you’re sticking around, brother,” Aaric said, nodding in response to confirm it was real and not a prank.

  “Thank you,” Victor said softly, not sure what else to say. “I…”

  “Yeah. I know,” Aaric said, a smaller but genuine smile on his face. “Now go meet her parents.”

  “Right,” Victor said, sobering as he put the check away. “I’d almost forgotten. Thanks for that.”

  Aaric grinned. “That’s what big brothers are for!”

  39

  “It feels really weird to be back here,” she said quietly, knowing that Victor would be able to hear her over everything without trouble.

  “Are you okay?” he rumbled, his hand finding hers, giving it a squeeze.

  “Yeah, yeah I’m okay,” she said. “It’s just the first time I’ve been back since…well, you know.”

  “Same,” he said. “But it’s different now.”

  It was different. Although neither of the dragons had detected any further sign of vampire activity anywhere in Plymouth Falls, they didn’t expect the construction site to be a hotbed of activity any longer.

  As it turned out the vampires had dug down deeper than the dragons had planned for. They had found the fake tomb and realized what they were looking for was no longer there. In both Aaric’s and Victor’s opinions, the construction site would be safe from now on.

  “I’m just glad none of the Thralls remembers what happened,” Cheryl said. “It sure made passing this off as a gas leak much easier.”

  Victor nodded. It hadn’t been easy in the aftermath, that was for certain. The sheer multitude of injuries and number of people involved had made sorting everything out more than a little difficult. Many, many people had blank spots in their memories, but some of them remembered bits and pieces of things.

  Not enough to implicate anyone or anything, but enough that Victor remained uncomfortable in the presence of so many of the workers. All it would take was for one of them to point a finger at him and say something incriminating. If more than one remembered, his secret could be in major jeopardy.

  So, he’d mostly remained absent from the site. But not today. Today he couldn’t, because it was a big day.

  Just not his big day.

  “There is one person who has made all of this possible,” a voice was saying over the sound system, speaking to the gathered crowd spreading out from the base of the platform on which they stood.

  “Typical mayor-speak,” he growled. “Doesn’t realize all the hard work put in by—”

  “Hush, dear,” Cheryl said, nudging him with her elbow. “You look grumpy.”

  “I do not look grumpy!” he protested, starting to turn his head.

  “Look forward. Smile, or else you look grumpy,” she said.

  Victor rolled his eyes but did as he was told. “Yes, dear.”

&n
bsp; “Much better,” she said. “Much better.”

  “Don’t get used to it,” he growled under his breath, though his smile was quickly becoming more genuine.

  “Everyone, please, the main project developer working behind the scenes, Cheryl Anders!”

  “Break a leg,” he said with a laugh as Cheryl stepped forward to shake the Mayor’s hand and accept the microphone for a brief speech.

  He’d heard the speech a dozen times before as Cheryl had practiced it on him, and so he didn’t need to pay attention to every word. She thanked her team first and foremost, inviting them to stand up from their seats behind her on the little raised stage. Then she thanked Aaric and Victor and the entire Drakon family for their generous investment in the town. He waved politely at that.

  “Fire it up!” she called at the end of her speech, and behind the crowd, one of the excavators rumbled to life.

  The entire construction site was levelled and flat now, void of debris, the cleanup crews having finished their work.

  It was time to break ground.

  Victor knew the crowd was all turning to watch the excavator make the first ceremonial scoop, to signify that construction was officially underway. While they all turned to watch, however, his eyes stayed glued to Cheryl.

  This was for her, he knew. This was her big moment, something she had been looking forward to for years, and he couldn’t be happier to be a part of realizing her dream. Plymouth Falls was going to grow once more, and she would be at the forefront of it.

  Her.

  My mate.

  Victor had never smiled harder in his life.

  40

  She pulled up in front of Drakon Keep.

  No. Not just Drakon Keep any longer. Now it’s something else. Something more.

  It was home.

  Getting out of her car, she smiled at Victor as he pulled up behind her in the pickup truck. Both vehicles were packed to the brim with items.

  “I feel like a princess,” she said with a giggle as he parked it and slid out. “I’m going to live in a castle. An actual castle.”

  “With a prince?” Victor suggested hopefully.

  She looked him up and down appraisingly. “Hmmm. Let me see you bow.”

  To her surprise and delight, Victor pulled himself upright and with a flourish of arms, bowed low at the waist, holding it for several counts before straightening. “My lady,” he said in a formal voice she’d never heard him use before. “Welcome to Drakon Palace. Shall I show you around?”

  He extended an arm, the entire time keeping a straight face.

  “You’ve done this before a time or two, haven’t you?” she asked dryly, though she let him take her arm and guide her toward the front steps.

  “I’m a little over a hundred and fifty, not including the century I spent snoozing,” Victor replied. “I spent a little time with some of the upper crust, yes.”

  She smiled. “Well, do I resemble the princesses?”

  “Oh, heavens no,” Victor cried. “Absolutely not.” He frowned. “Vile creatures, truthfully. No, my darling, you are far more wonderful a person, and your beauty makes them pale in comparison. You are the most wondrous sight I have ever set my eyes upon.”

  She laughed. “Oh, am I? What about the sight of me without any clothes on?” she teased, slipping from his arm and doing a little spin as they reached the top of the steps.

  “Well, in that situation, my eyes aren’t the only thing I set upon you,” he growled, pulling her close so that he could kiss her.

  “Is that a threat or a promise?” she whispered throatily when they parted. “After all, I have just moved somewhere new. Seems only appropriate that we should christen it, don’t you think?”

  “You read my mind,” Victor chuckled. “You read my mind.”

  Then, before she could react, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.

  “Ack! Hey, what the hell is this?!” she protested as he pushed the door open and carried her inside like she was his prize.

  “You wanted to be a princess, right?” he teased. “Well, this is how things went down back then. When a prince decided he wanted something, he took it.”

  Propping herself up on his broad shoulder, Cheryl stared back down the hallway, watching it go past with every step Victor took.

  “This is so not what I had in mind,” she muttered, though it was tough to keep a smile from her face.

  After all, Victor wanted her.

  And that, in itself, was something worth being happy about.

  “I love you, you big oaf,” she whispered into his ear as best she could.

  “And I you, my princess. My mate. My everything,” he rumbled.

  “Does that mean you’re going to put me down now?” she asked brightly.

  “Not a chance,” Victor said, obviously biting back laughter.

  Cheryl sighed.

  ***

  ***

  Thank you for reading Mated to the Water Dragon. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review so that others might enjoy the adventure as well.

  Next Book: Ice Dragons Caress

  Newsletter Signup: Click Here (Get a free bonus scene with Cheryl and Victor!)

  ARC Team Signup: Riley@HighHousePress.com

  Other Books by Riley Storm

  High House Ursa

  Bearing Secrets

  Furever Loyal

  Mated to the Enemy

  Shifting Alliances

  Blood Bearon

  High House Canis

  Savage Love

  Blood Mate

  Moonlight Bride

  Shadow’s Howl

  Royal Alpha

  High House Draconis

  Fire Dragons Bride

  Mated to the Water Dragon

  Ice Dragons Caress

  Earth Dragon’s Kiss

  About the Author

  Riley Storm

  Riley is one of those early-morning people you love to hate, because she swears she doesn’t need caffeine, even though the coffee-maker is connected to her smartphone. She lives in a three-story townhouse by the good graces of a tabby-cat who rules the house, the couch, the table, well, basically everywhere. When she’s not groveling for forgiveness for neglecting to pet her kitty enough, Riley is strapped in to her writing chair coming up with crazy worlds where she can make her own decisions of when feeding time is and how much coffee can be drank without her friends—of which she has three—holding yet another intervention that they threaten to post on the internet.

  Find her on:

  Riley Storm’s Amazon Page

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