Ink Ever After

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Dante met my gaze and nodded with a sigh. “I’ll let you both help me.”

  I grinned and cracked my knuckles. “Good, then. Now let’s kick some ass.” I dove at my dragon and laughed as Dante moved as if he’d had hours to make a decision. My dragon was fast.

  I spun around and punched at him, making contact after the fourth attempt. Dante hit back, and then we were on. Sweat poured down my back and the sides of my face, and I had to blink it out of my eyes. I just smiled as we went at each other, sparring as if we had all the time in the world.

  When we wrestled to the ground, I let Dante pin me. Our dicks slid against one another, and I let out a groan. Dante’s hair curtained my face, and I ran my hands up his back once he freed me.

  “I love you, dragon,” I whispered. “Just thought you ought to know.”

  Dante’s face softened and he lowered his head. When his lips brushed mine and sucked on the bottom one I about passed out.

  “Don’t do this again,” I said softly. “Don’t shut us out.”

  “I won’t,” he promised, and I knew it was the truth.

  A soft cough from the doorway pulled me from my thoughts, and we both looked over at Nadie.

  I about swallowed my tongue.

  She stood there with her blonde hair framing her face and falling over her shoulders. And there was a bow.

  A bright red bow.

  And only the bow.

  It wrapped across her chest and stomach and slid between her thighs. How the hell she’d done that on her own, I would never know, but I couldn’t wait for Dante to unwrap her. And if I were lucky, she’d let me help.

  “I figured you boys would be done soon. I could use some help with your present.” She winked, and Dante pressed closer to me.

  Our dicks pulsated, and I wanted to strip us both and get even more sweaty and dirty. Oh, so right.

  When Nadie held out one arm and shook the jar of honey in her hand, I almost came.

  “Oh, and Jace, baby? I have a present for you, too.”

  I met Dante’s eyes and grinned.

  Sex with my mates and honey? There really wasn’t anything else a bear like me needed.

  FOUR

  Dante

  I was an idiot. I had spent so much time making sure everyone could rely on me, I hadn’t let myself breathe. And while I loved the way my mates took care of me, I knew I had to do better. For me. For them.

  So, I made promises.

  I would hire another manager for the bar.

  I would meet with the Conclave and work on a plan so all of the work—or most of it, anyway—didn’t land on my shoulders.

  And I would make sure I made love to my mates every fucking day I could. Because the night before hadn’t sated me in the least.

  I had a millennia or more in my future with my succubus and my bear, and I would be damned if I’d let it all go to waste because I couldn’t ask for help.

  And I would thank the goddess every day that they knew how to stop him from sabotaging himself. Sex helped, of course, but it was their love and determination that made me remember who I was. What I wanted.

  “Are you ready to go, my dragon?” Nadie asked. She’d put on a leather coat and knee-high boots to go with her jeans and tunic. I would make sure I remembered to ask her to keep the boots on later.

  Jace tightened the backpack on his shoulders and grinned. “I’m ready if you are.”

  I nodded then shifted. The sensation of shifting into dragon wasn’t painful. Or rather, it might have been, but now it was a warm ache of memory and truth. Soon I stood on four legs, my claws resting on the ground. I took up most of the clearing in the backyard. Nadie smiled up at me like I was her everything, and Jace did the same.

  If only they knew they were my everything.

  Well, perhaps they did know. I told them as many times as I could.

  They climbed up on my back and I stayed still so I wouldn’t jostle them. Once they were situated, I looked over my shoulder and nodded. They waved, all snug and warm on my back, and I knew it was time.

  I took off, letting the wind flow over my scales and under my wings.

  They hollered and whooped in happiness, and I dipped and dived, making sure they were secure no matter what. That they were safe.

  They’d seduced me into happiness and into a world where I knew I wasn’t alone.

  They were my bear, my succubus.

  And I was their dragon.

  For eternity.

  My Queen

  A Dante’s Circle Short Story

  Author Note: My Queen is a short story set in the Dante’s Circle World. It’s a peek into the lives of Amara, Tristan, and Seth on Amara’s coronation day. It’s best of you read their book, An Immortal’s Song (Dante’s Circle Book 6) first.

  “Are you sure we can’t go back to the fae realm and pretend I don’t have to do this?” Amara asked as she ran her hands over her new ball gown.

  She hadn’t worn a ball gown since prom, and even then, it didn’t really count as a formal. Not like this. She’d been too poor for anything nice and had worn whatever she’d been able to find.

  Today, however, she wore a sparkling lavender gown of silk and diamonds. It flowed to her feet and had a long train.

  While it wasn’t her normal day-to-day outfit, it was her ensemble for her first day at court.

  Yes, she, Amara Young, was going to court.

  Not the kind with a gavel, but the kind where she ruled over her new people as their Queen. She’d already tried to pinch herself awake, but it hadn’t worked.

  “You’re going to be fine,” Tristan, her fae mate and a prince in his own right, said as she walked behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her close.

  She immediately relaxed, her body sinking into his. He wore a suit, coal-grey with a similar color tie. He looked professional. Like he knew what he was doing.

  Thankfully, one of them knew because she was freaking out.

  She’d become a siren only a few short weeks ago when she’d mated Tristan and Seth. After a series of unfortunate events, she’d become the Queen of the realm. It wasn’t her fault that the blood in her veins happened to be royal. It also wasn’t her fault that the former Queen had lost all sense of reality and had forced Amara to protect those she loved.

  So now, instead of being home with her mates on a Saturday evening, she was wearing a ball gown and learning how to be a Queen.

  “You look lickable,” Seth, her other mate, said as he prowled into the room. He wore a dark black suit with a green tie to match the teal of his eyes. She was so blessed that this merman loved her just as much as the fae did—that the two men loved each other, as well.

  She smiled at him and tilted her head. “Are you talking to me or Tristan?”

  He grinned, that dimple of his peeking out. “Yes.”

  She laughed then, realizing finally, after a long day of preparing for what she was going to do, what she was going to say that evening.

  They’d gone to her new palace—or rather the old palace that was now hers—early that morning and had sequestered themselves within her rooms. Those who had been part of the court for longer than she’d been alive were preparing everything for her down below. Tonight, she would be formally introduced and would have to speak in front of a crowd.

  And when that was over, the real work would begin. She’d have to learn each and every name of those around her. She’d have to form her own cabinet while continuing to learn the vast history of her realm. Then she would need to listen to the worries and fears of the tenants of the land while learning how to shore up her defenses in case there was ever an attack.

  There were hundreds of little things for her to do, and yet she knew if she kept thinking about it, she might freak out even more.

  Seth gripped her chin and brought his lips to hers. She sighed into him even as Tristan’s hands tightened on her hips. Her body ached for them, but there was no time…not yet.

  “
You can do this,” Seth said softly. “I have faith in you, and will always be by your side. I am a warrior of my people, and now, I am your warrior.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she kissed his chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I am your prince, my siren, your aide, your right hand,” Tristan added. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  She smiled at her men and took a step away from them, her chin rising. “I’m ready,” she said finally. “Let’s do this.”

  Her men gripped each other’s hands quickly before letting go and ushering her on. She made her way through the open doors and down a hallway, her mates and fate following her.

  Or rather, she was following her fate.

  When she entered the large throne room, hundreds of sirens turned to her, their voices silencing abruptly.

  “My Queen,” Tristan said softly. “They are waiting for you.”

  She hadn’t realized she’d stopped moving. At Tristan’s words, my Queen, she raised her chin and went to stand in front of her throne.

  Seth stood beside her, Tristan on the other side. “My Queen, you are magnificent,” her merman said under his breath.

  She smiled then, knowing she could do this because she wasn’t alone. She’d prepared a speech before she’d come, and now she couldn’t remember a thing she’d written.

  “Thank you for coming here tonight,” she said to the room, her voice stronger than she thought it would be. “I know I came to you on a path that no one thought possible, but no matter where I came from, I am here now. I know some of you will resent me for that, and I understand. But know that I am still going to be here no matter what. For those of you who wanted change, I know this isn’t what you thought would happen, but now that it has, I want to work together to ensure that our people, that the sirens, thrive.”

  She paused as some clapped while others nodded in assent.

  “I want us to be a people who are known for our strength, as well as our compassion. No longer do I wish us to be feared for what we are, but rather known for what we could be. I know this journey will be long, and we will make mistakes, but I hope that one day we will find a way to work together. Strong. United. And with a song of triumph.”

  The crowd bowed toward her, and she wiped a tear from her face.

  These were her people; the men at her sides her future.

  She wasn’t alone anymore.

  She was strong. She was a siren. She was loved.

  She was a Queen.

  A Long Night

  A Dante’s Circle Short Story

  Author Note: A Long Night is a short story set in the Dante’s Circle World. It’s a peek into the lives of Eliana and Malik during a sleepless night. It’s best of you read their book, Prowled Darkness. (Dante’s Circle Book 7) first.

  JONAH

  I’ve lived through wars, palace coups, a battle that took my leg, heartache, and a man who had become my best friend falling in love and having a child. Yet tonight of all nights seemed to be one of the longest of my life.

  Baby Penelope hadn’t slept two days, her tiny aching lungs screaming out in pain when they weren’t coughing. Her parents were beyond exhausted, and as much as they might not want me to, I knew it was time for me to step in.

  Malik and Eliana’s child had her first cold.

  Pen was almost a year old now and a fierce little lion cub. But even the strongest lion could be felled by a cold.

  As could the cub’s parents. Malik was the strongest lion I knew, the King and Alpha of their Pride. Eliana was a Phoenix. She had literally risen from the ashes after saving her mate’s life.

  And now, as I made my way through their living quarters in the large palace, I knew it was time to step in.

  Malik and Eliana needed to ask for help. And though either of them could have asked anyone in the palace or in most of the other realms, they hadn’t. Pen was their child, and they would do anything for her.

  So as Pen’s protector and Malik’s second, I would do what they couldn’t.

  I would let them sleep.

  I walked into the nursery and held back a sigh. The room had been decorated in soft creams and yellows with bees and giraffes dotting the landscape. Why Eliana had decided to decorate a lion cub’s room with prey was beyond me, but my Queen had an odd sense of humor. And whatever made Eliana happy, in turn seemed to make Malik happy.

  Currently, my Queen was pacing back and forth with a very angry baby in her arms. She murmured sweet words to Pen, but nothing worked. Malik paced with her, a frown on his face as he followed his mate and child.

  “Jonah,” Malik said, his voice a little hoarse. “What are you doing here? It’s your night off.”

  I just shook my head and held out my arms. “Give me my charge and get some sleep.”

  Malik let out a growl. “We can take care of our daughter.”

  Oh, lions. They just couldn’t let someone help.

  As I was a lion myself, I could understand that. But enough was enough.

  “You are exhausted and must meet with the Djinn tomorrow. You only have about eight hours left and you need to get some sleep. Let me hold the baby and you go hold your mate. You can trust me.”

  I’d added that last part on purpose, of course. Nothing got Malik riled up like mentioning trust and honor.

  “How could you doubt my trust?” Malik roared. He was a lion, after all.

  And because her daddy had roared, little Penelope had to roar, as well. Only hers came out as a cough, and Eliana started crying.

  She quickly wiped her face and handed her child over to me. The strength of this mother always awed me, and tonight was no different.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Eliana said, her tears drying. Seriously, her grace and strength surprised me daily. “The medicine is working, but not fast enough, and I hate to see her in pain.”

  I nodded slowly while cradling Pen to my chest. “Pen senses you two are exhausted and hurting for her. Go to sleep and come back in the morning. You said it yourself, the medicine is working. It just takes time. Let me help.”

  Eliana kissed my cheek, and that’s when I knew Malik was beyond exhausted. The other man hadn’t growled at the contact, and that told me about his state of mind more than anything.

  Each of them kissed Pen’s head before staggering away to their bedroom. I hoped they just fell into bed and slept for as long as possible. They truly needed it.

  Now alone with my charge, I rocked back and forth with Pen in my arms. I wasn’t the baby whisperer, and there were countless others that could do a better job than a lion with one leg and scars covering his body.

  But I was here, and now I could at least take the burden off my friends’ shoulders.

  “I would sing to you, little one, but I don’t want you to cry harder,” I whispered.

  Pen kept sniffling, but she had stopped screaming. That was a plus, at least. Her face was a blotchy red, and she had snot and tears running down her face, but she was still the most adorable baby I’d ever seen.

  She tugged on my beard, and I held back my wince. She could pull as hard as she wanted as long as she gave her lungs a break. When she was distracted, I quickly moved to the changing table and wiped her face. She kept blinking up at me with wide eyes and opened her mouth to perhaps scream again.

  As I didn’t want her to hurt those tiny lungs, I started speaking. She quieted immediately as I told her stories from my childhood and folk tales my mother had told me when I was a young cub.

  Hours later, I found myself with my own voice hoarse and rocking in the rocking chair in the corner, but Pen was sleeping soundly in my arms.

  Of course, she wasn’t exactly how her parents had left her.

  “She shifted!” Eliana exclaimed as she rushed in. “I didn’t know she needed to shift.”

  She hovered over me, and I handed over her cub, exhausted myself, but happy I could help if only for a night. She held Pen close, though the cub slept on. Malik walked in, a carafe of coffee i
n his hands, as well as three large mugs. His eyes widened at the sight of a lion cub in Eliana’s arms, but he seemed to recover before Eliana looked at him. Now pride radiated off his face, and I knew they would be okay.

  Bones achy and in need of a nap myself, I stood up. “She’s been sleeping for a while now and should continue to do so.”

  Malik hugged me close, and I sighed. It was good to be able to help my friends. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, but think nothing of it. I would like to think that one day if I find my mate and have a child as precious as yours, you would do the same.”

  Eliana blinked wet eyes at me. “Of course, Jonah. You don’t even have to ask.”

  And that was why we were best friends and trusted each other so simply. We never needed to ask. What was a long night after ages of having each other’s backs?

  I laid a soft kiss on Pen’s sleeping head and limped my way out of the nursery. I had done my deed for the night, and perhaps one day, just one day, I’d find that peace of my own.

  Their Wicked Future

  A Talon Pack Novella

  Author Note: Quinn and Gina almost sacrificed everything to save their Pack and their mating in WICKED WOLF. Sixteen years later, they're ready to take another step. They've spent their lives putting others first, as well as raising Quinn's son from his first mating, now it's time to finally think of their future.

  Their Wicked Future is a short story set in the Talon Pack world. It’s meant for readers of the series and can be read at any time after Mated in Mist (Talon Pack Book 3). I hope you enjoy Quinn and Gina's little slice of life!

  ONE

  Quinn wanted to bash his head against the wall, but that probably wouldn’t help much. It may help some of his aggression, but not all of it. And considering he’d been born a wolf and had lived with his other half for a few decades, he should be used to the fact that his wolf kept riding him hard.