Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  Viktor smirked. “Yes, he has been. I haven’t told Aithne exactly how helpful just yet.”

  Chase chuckled. He knew Viktor was proud that their mates’ plan had gone so well. The information that Lazzaro had been sending had helped them several times since the meeting they’d set up. But having to swallow one’s pride and admit that you were wrong to fight it for so long stung. So far, neither female had rubbed it in, but then again he doubted they knew how much information Lazzaro had sent them.

  “Violca wants me to go over to give Lazzaro an invitation to the wedding personally and pick up two books he has for her.”

  “Having him at the wedding would be a formal way to announce to everyone that he stands with us,” Viktor remarked, looking Chase over, concern etched his face. The fact that Lazzaro attempted to kidnap him in order to get close to Violca still stung, and Viktor had commented that he was surprised at how well Chase was dealing with the changes.

  “It would get rid of all the rumors and strengthen both of our positions. You know he’ll probably bring a guard or two with him.”

  Both of them were quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Chase glanced at his watch and got up. “All right, I promised to go pick up the girls from school for V so she can finish up with the decorators.”

  With that, he got up and headed out of Viktor’s office. As the girls got older, he found it was getting harder and harder to protect them, especially with their growing desire for independence. Kati went to the high school and they rotated which of the guards would stay at the school when she stayed late. He knew the two younger ones would start wanting to do more after-school activities soon, and that would require more planning and more guards. He found himself hoping this war would be over soon and his growing family could just stay safe until then.

  After picking up the girls and helping them with their homework, Chase went out on patrol to relieve some of the guards. The guards were constantly making their rounds, ensuring the surrounding woods were free of hunters and Dmitri’s men. There was the occasional sign that someone had been trespassing where they shouldn’t but so far they haven’t been able to figure it who it was or where they went.

  Done for the night, he headed up to his room, eager to see Violca. The sound of the shower water running gave him a mental image of his mate naked, water cascading down her body. His cock instantly reacted. Kicking off his boots, he took his shirt off, tossing it onto his dresser. Then he hopped into bed, waiting for her to come out, and undid the top button of his jeans to get comfortable.

  No longer hearing the shower, he felt his dragon’s impatience grow. When the door opened, he watched as Violca stepped from the bathroom, her towel barely covering her full, perky breasts and hanging just below her full, round bottom. He bit his lip to keep from moaning aloud and saw her lips curve up in a seductive smile as she grabbed her lotions from the nightstand.

  She placed her leg up on the bed, and began to rub lotion into her skin. Chase’s eyes followed the line of her thigh and he wished he’d turned on the light. The towel caused just enough of a shadow to hide her core from his view. She switched legs and he reached down, adjusting himself. When Violca was done with the lotion, she moved to put it back on the dresser and he quickly came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, hands coming up to squeeze her firm breasts through the towel. “Tease,” he whispered in her ear before he gently started sucking on her earlobe.

  Her body shuddered in response and Chase reached up, pulling the towel from her body. Violca turned in his arms. Licking her lips slowly, she put her hand on his chest and gave him a push back. “Take off your pants, Chase.”

  He reached up and unzipped his pants, watching the hungry look in her dark violet eyes as he obeyed her command. He saw her eyes go to his semi-hard cock before looking up at him. “Was there anything else I could do for you?”

  She slowly took two steps toward him and put her hand on his chest, forcing him to take a step back until their bed touched the back of his thigh. With a push, he landed on his back. “Now I expect you to be a good boy and follow my directions.”

  Chuckling, he watched her put her knees on each side of his body and crawl up slowly. “I live to serve,” he said with a smirk before she kissed him.

  TWELVE

  THE DRIVE to Lazzaro’s took most of the day. Chase pulled up to the gate right as the sun started to set. The human guard behind the gate, obviously expecting him, just nodded to someone and the gate slowly opened. The guard was dressed more like a biker than one of Lazzaro’s typical guards. Chase wondered if he was one of the humans who hoped to become a vampire, or a friend of the wolf clan that guarded him.

  The guard gestured for him to proceed before stepping out of his way. Chase drove to the front of the two story neoclassical house and parked his SUV in the driveway. The door opened before he could even knock, and he was surprised to see a young female werewolf greet him. The girl looked like walking sunshine when she smiled brightly at him. “You must be Chase. Lazzaro said you’d be stopping by. He’s down the hall in his study.”

  Pointing the way, she gave him one more smile before walking outside. Chase couldn’t help but watch her golden hair catching the sunlight, and he noticed the guards outside eagerly trying to get her attention. She looked to be in her twenties but he knew that, as with him, looks could be deceiving.

  Shaking his head, he closed the door before going down the hall. A light coming from the open door led him to Lazzaro, who was sitting at a desk reading an old scroll.

  “Please, Lazzaro, don’t concern yourself by standing up,” Chase said, taking one of the seats opposite him.

  “I didn’t realize you were a woman and needed me to rise when you walked into a room, Dragon,” Lazzaro replied calmly, his head slowly rising so that his icy blue eyes met Chase’s.

  “Too bad. I made sure to dress extra nice for the occasion. You did work so hard to get me here and all.” Lazzaro smirked at his comment as he looked Chase over. In a pair of boots, black jeans, and a simple gray T-shirt, Chase almost felt underdressed sitting across from Lazzaro, who was always dressed in a tailored suit.

  “Don’t be too upset, Chase. I didn’t want you dead. I just wanted to have a discussion with your mate. I didn’t think you’d take my calls, so I had to think of an alternative. What’s the expression? No blood, no foul?”

  Chase watched Lazzaro and had an urge to punch the smirk off his face. During that little skirmish where Aithne faked delivering Chase to him, there was blood. No one was truly hurt, but there was blood when they fought to rescue Aithne’s sister, Ally. The fight was over almost as quickly as it had begun. The longest fight was between Viktor and Lazzaro.

  “Violca said you had some books you wanted her to look at,” Chase said, ready to begin the long drive back home.

  Lazzaro walked over to a large bookcase, grabbed two books, and handed them to Chase. Both books were very old; Chase could smell the real leather that had been used for the covers. The one on top looked like it had a family crest on the cover.

  “Be careful with those,” Lazzaro said. “They’re very delicate.”

  Chase reached into his jacket pocket and handed Lazzaro the invitation. “Violca wanted me to make sure you had a formal invitation to the wedding and the reception.”

  Lazzaro took the invitation and leaned back, eyeing Chase.

  “Will you be bringing the female wolf that just left?” Chase asked, curious about Lazzaro’s relationship with the pack of wolves he surrounded himself with.

  Chuckling, Lazzaro shook his head. “No, I told your mate, I would be bringing a member of the guard and that would be it.”

  “I’m curious how it is you come to be surrounded by so many wolves? These aren’t the same ones your father hired,” Chase asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

  The look Lazzaro gave him was one of surprise. Dragons and vampires usually avoided each other. One night when Chase was younger and getting into tro
uble, he ran into Lazzaro’s father and his wolf guards. Each wolf had a tattoo on his face. That particular tattoo marked the wolves as a clan from the south that was available for hire.

  “They come because of the girl you saw leave here,” Lazzaro answered.

  Chase raised an eyebrow at that vague statement and waited for Lazzaro to continue. When he didn’t, Chase responded, “I have a hard time picturing you dating that young wolf-shifter.”

  Lazzaro chuckled softly and smirked. “I don’t know if I should be offended or not, Chase. Most women find me very attractive.” Chase gave him a look and Lazzaro laughed out loud. “First, that young wolf wasn’t as young as she looked. Hope is close to fifty years old, but don’t tell her I told you that.”

  Hope barely looked to be twenty. All shifters aged like a normal person would, until around their twentieth birthday. Once they hit twenty, the aging process slowed down. The fact that she looked even younger than she should piqued his interest more. “So, since the truce, you have sent Viktor a ton of information but haven’t mentioned your werewolves. Is there something you’re hiding?”

  With a look that said he knew he was being manipulated, Lazzaro stared in silence before taking a seat on the other side of the desk. Chase fought the urge to smirk, as Lazzaro appeared to be choosing his words very carefully.

  “The guards that used to work for my father would freelance on the side. I heard them once talking about how they were hired to assassinate two young wolves, twins, a girl and a boy, who were expected to inherit control of their pack upon their parents’ death. Apparently, the female had imprinted on the next alpha of the neighboring pack. The parents made an agreement, a few years after she was born, that would bind both packs. Once the documents were signed, the parents died in an accident. The betrothal contract gave control to her fiancé until the two young wolves came of age. The female’s brother, the older of the twins, would gain back control of his pack. The fiancé would only inherit both packs if both were gone.”

  Chase listened to Lazzaro’s story and wondered which wolf pack Hope was born into. He didn’t remember hearing about an entire pack of leaders being wiped out, and the news surprised him. From the timeline, it would have been shortly after Dmitri started his crusade to find the Dragon Ruby. “I don’t remember hearing about any packs losing an entire ruling line.”

  Lazzaro shrugged. “You wouldn’t have. When their parents died, everyone thought it was from an accidental fire. Since the twins went missing, they’ve been presumed dead, so the fiancé just took over the pack per their pack leader’s wishes.”

  Chase thought about that statement, about the twins going missing. He never would have thought that Lazzaro would be the type of person to rescue anyone, let alone two young cubs. “How does missing twins lead to you being surrounded by a bunch of werewolves now?”

  Lazzaro shot him a grin. “They come because of Hope. Some of the men of her pack got kicked out and found her. Since then, every year more and more of them have showed up.”

  It was interesting that her pack found her if Lazzaro was hiding her. Chase wanted to ask if Lazzaro had set that up, but doubted the Vampire King would admit to being so manipulative. He was a little surprised Lazzaro had shared so much as it was. He would need to talk to Kassandra and see what she could find out about this pack of wolves and the twins that Lazzaro had taken the time to save.

  “You said there were twins, a girl and a boy. Where’s her brother?”

  “Her brother’s name is Damien. He has decided that he wants a simpler life…so, he runs a bar in some small town,” Lazzaro said dismissively. Lazzaro worked hard to keep rule over his people; the idea of someone throwing away his leadership probably seemed unfathomable.

  Tucking the books under his arms, Chase nodded. He knew there was nothing left to say, and that he should probably talk to Kassandra. So far out of all Viktor’s guards, she was the one who was always able to find the answers they were looking for. The fact that the twins were wolves, and that their parents, the pack leaders, had died in a fire should be enough for her to locate them. And if she couldn’t, he knew the new queen would be able to. “I better get going. Violca’s excited to start reading these.”

  Lazzaro smiled at the mention of Chase’s mate and nodded. “Please, give your mate my thanks and tell her I look forward to seeing her at your reception. She’s a very interesting woman.”

  Chase felt a smile pull at his lips. “She’s most definitely that.”

  Lazzaro got up and walked him out of the office. Looking around, Chase noticed that the number of wolves in the front of the house had decreased. He wondered how many were wandering the grounds of Lazzaro’s huge compound and how many left with the female wolf, Hope earlier.

  Chase got in the car and saw Lazzaro standing at the top of the stairs. Lazzaro nodded to the guard at the gate, and watched as Chase backed out of the driveway. Chase glanced at the clock on the dashboard he and Violca would have an hour before the girls got up. Smiling, he thought about the best way to wake up Violca and enjoy that time.

  THIRTEEN

  AFTER THE GIRLS had all finished their dress fittings, Violca’s part of the wedding arrangements were done. Eva and Kati had stayed up with her late one night in order to help decide which traditions they wanted to use in the wedding. Her sisters loved the idea of using some of the customs that their ancestors used, and Violca felt her mother would be happy to find out that her daughters were keeping her traditions alive.

  Once the list was finished and handed off to Kassandra and the preacher, Violca was officially relieved of all other wedding duties. Her only input now was to approve things. Violca had to admit it was kind of nice. Plus, she was having a hard time putting down the two journals Chase had gotten from Lazzaro. It was interesting; technology had changed over the years but human nature, at its base, was the same.

  The journals were of a witch and a vampire who were attracted to each other. They were also both proud and vain. From what she had read so far, neither would ever go so far as to admit they had feelings for one another. She hadn’t gotten to the part in either journal where they admitted their feelings to even themselves. Violca knew she should skip ahead, but found she was enjoying reading it too much.

  When the door opened, Chase stepped into the living room. He grinned seeing her curled up on the couch. His golden-brown eyes met hers and Violca could feel both his and his dragon’s admiration and love for her.

  “You look comfy,” Chase said as he walked over to her and brushed his lips against hers.

  “That’s because I am,” Violca replied, smiling at him as he sat next to her.

  “Learn anything interesting about your ancestor?” Chase asked, motioning to the books on her lap.

  She winked. “Yeah, she could be pretty bitchy and liked to get her way.”

  “Liked to get her way, huh? I thought that was every female,” Chase playfully replied with a smirk.

  Laughing, she smacked his leg. Chase rubbed the spot she hit, pretending she hurt him with her soft love tap; she pretended to glare at him. “Who knew dragons could be so weak?” Violca taunted him, raising an eyebrow.

  Chase gave her a grin, took the books from her lap, and put them gently on the end table behind her head. “Weak, huh?”

  Violca giggled, nodding. “Very. I barely tapped you and you cried like a little girl. Angel can take a harder hit.”

  With a mock growl, Chase reached out tickled her sides. Violca laughed, squirming on the couch. Chase continued until she was out of breath. Laughing, she managed to breathlessly whisper, “Enough.”

  Chase chuckled, and leaning down, licked her cheek. He laughed when Violca scrunched up her nose and wiped her wet cheek. “Ew, that’s gross.”

  “What’s that expression…I licked it, so it’s mine,” Chase said and Violca noticed his eyes sparkling with laughter.

  Bringing her face to his, she licked his lips and whispered, “Well, if that’s how it goes…”


  Chase started laughing with her and she wiggled her eyebrows at him. “It’s most definitely yours.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and Violca smiled. “In a few days we’ll be getting married, Mr. Reed. Are you ready to make an honest woman out of me?”

  Chase put an arm around her, holding her close to him, while his free hand reached up and brushed the hair back from her face. Violca couldn’t help but smile when she noticed that they were more gold than brown, letting her know that his dragon was close to the surface and that it wanted her. His mark on her shoulder began tingling.

  “I thought it was you who was going to make an honest man out of me?” Chase smirked and Violca grinned, pulling him down to give him a kiss.

  Violca felt Chase shift as he deepened the kiss. She parted her legs as he settled on top of her on the couch. Breaking the kiss, Violca nibbled on his lips, making her way to his jaw. “We should stop; any minute now one of the girls could walk in.”

  Violca heard Chase’s soft moan as she continued to nibble along his jaw to his ear. When she sucked it between her lips, she heard his soft hiss of pleasure. Pulling back, he looked down at her and gave her a very playful smirk. “The house is going to be empty for at least an hour.” Sliding his hands up her sides, his hands cupped the underside of her breast. “Plenty of time for me to enjoy this beautiful body.”

  With a laugh, Violca pulled his face back down to hers. “Then you better get started.”

  Violca felt Chase smile against her lips before he kissed her. Her lips parted on their own, and she moaned softly as his tongue glided against hers. She arched up, pressing her breasts into his hands as she slid her hand into his hair.

  Her nipples hardened, pressing against the lace material and begging for his attention as he continued to gently knead her breast. Violca knew Chase loved teasing her by prolonging their pleasure until neither one of them could hold back.