by Meg Ripley
That was Nikki’s cue. She leapt to her feet and scrambled around to the back of the trailer. The other men were waiting for her there. Nikki knew it was them, but there was still something strange about seeing a dragon, a wolf, and a lion standing in a trailer park.
“We’re here when you’re ready for us,” Garrison said, the words long and wispy on his dragon tongue.
Nikki cringed as she heard—as well as felt—a crash from within Raven’s home. Drake’s roar reverberated through her bones, and she hoped it was one that meant victory. “Is he doing okay in there?” She was jealous of their mental link with their leader.
“Fine,” Flint barked.
“All right. Let’s stick with the plan for now. Get me up there and we’ll be good to go.” Her fingers shook with excitement and she hoisted herself onto Garrison’s back. As a shifter herself, she’d never dared to ride on another person. But the dragon had agreed to this readily, and Drake had assured her they were all willing to do anything necessary.
Garrison lurched into the air, and Nikki’s stomach dropped like a stone. They didn’t have far to go, though, and as soon as he had her above the trailer, she swung her leg back over.
Just then, a massive ball of fire exploded from the roof of the trailer. It split the metal like a lip and sent Garrison rolling to the side. Nikki fell from the dragon’s back with a thump, sliding down the curved roof of the trailer. She desperately sought purchase, but her human fingernails did little good. Pulling her hand back, she thrust it forward as her claws extended. They punctured the metal and held her in place.
Hudson was beneath her as she clung to the back side of the trailer. He’d raised up on his hind legs to shove her upwards with his nose. Nikki finished her climb, lurching up to the top of the trailer.
The gaping hole in the roof allowed a view down into Raven’s kitchen. The witch didn’t seem to be any worse for the wear, even if Drake’s fur showed several burn marks. Nikki studied the situation. This wasn’t the plan. He was supposed to get her back through the front door, but Nikki didn’t want to wait any longer. Could she really do this?
A quick upward glance from Drake, and she knew he understood. They might not have their minds linked, but they communicated with each other on a completely different level.
Raven was off to the left, just under the intact section of the roof. “I told you before that you should stay out of my business,” she hissed.
Come on, come on, Nikki urged. No one could hear her. As much as she wanted her part of the fight to be in her true form, she was going to need her fingers for this. But she needed Raven to move just a little bit more. If she cast a spell at Drake from too far away, it could mean the end of everything.
The witch stepped forward, a ball of red light forming between her spread fingertips. “I’m a much more powerful witch than little miss rocks-and-weeds. You’ve messed with the wrong sorceress.” Raven took one last step, now centered beneath the gap in the thin metal roof.
In one quick motion, Nikki unsheathed the dagger and launched herself through the hole. Things had been loud only a second ago, but she could no longer hear the sound of the flames that still burned inside the trailer, Drake’s roar, or Raven’s threats. She heard only the air whistling past her ears as she took aim.
The blade crunched into Raven’s shoulder. Nikki’s weight dragged it downward, and the two women collapsed to the floor. She held onto the handle tightly as she bounced against the curling linoleum.
Raven let go of her ball of fire, and it singed the back of Nikki’s calf as it went flying off to join the rest of the flames. “It burns!” she screamed as she twisted her head around to look at the knife, her dark eyes wide with fear. “What the hell is that? It burns!”
For a second, Nikki wondered if Fern had been wrong about the dagger. Was it just a poisoned knife, destined to give the witch a nasty scar and a chemical burn? But a sweep of blackness was descending over Raven’s arm closest to the wound, the skin crackling and puckering as the infection settled in. The dark color moved up her neck and down her legs as Raven clawed desperately at the knife.
Nikki scrambled away, not wanting to touch her any longer. Drake, too, moved away from the body that was burning from the inside out, ushering Nikki toward the exit. But she had to see this thing through.
Raven’s skin parted, showing a brilliant red underneath that looked like hot magma under cooling stone. She opened her mouth and emitted a blistering roar, but it was too late. She shattered into a cloud of ash. Black flakes of the former witch danced in the heated air, and it was done.
Nikki and Drake joined the others outside, where they all moved off into the shadows near the edge of the trailer park. They melted back into their human forms, knowing they’d already caused enough of a scene.
“I think that about takes care of that,” Garrison remarked as he watched the flames lick into the night sky.
Flint scratched his head, looking disappointed in the dim light. “I don’t know. I didn’t even get to use any of my toys. I think we could’ve made this even more fun.”
“Save it for next time,” Hudson advised, his hand slapping down on his friend’s shoulder. “We just got to use Fern’s special weapon instead of one of yours.”
Garrison gave Drake a serious look. “Guess it’s about time we head back to headquarters, now that business is taken care of here.”
Nikki felt her stomach drop at the idea of Drake leaving, even though she understood who he really was and what that meant now. He hadn’t come to Eureka with any idea of joining a clan, getting a job, or starting a new life. This was just a mission.
But Drake met his friend’s gaze with a firm nod. “I appreciate your help with this, and I know you need to get back. But I’ve got a few things I need to wrap up here first.”
Garrison’s lips pursed, and Nikki had the distinct impression he was trying to hold back a smile. “Sure thing.” He moved off into the night with Hudson and Flint on either side of him.
“We can still stop somewhere for a celebratory drink, right?” the wolf asked the dragon just before they were out of earshot.
Drake put a hand on Nikki’s arms as he tried to guide her in the opposite direction, but Nikki stood her ground. “Everything okay?” he asked.
She smiled at him. Just being near him made her body react. She needed Drake in a way that she couldn’t quite explain, and she could feel her emotions toward him reflecting back at her. Now that the spell had lifted, it was ridiculous that she’d ever thought she was fated to someone else. “Just fine. Wondering if you’re too badly injured.”
“No, nothing I can’t handle. I figured we should head back to your clubhouse, maybe call your clan together and explain to them what happened.” Drake started walking again.
Nikki laid a finger on his arm, stopping him with the slightest touch. “That can wait. I think we need to talk about something. Something Fern had mentioned.” They’d been busy enough trying to take care of Raven, and Nikki had been happy enough to focus on that for a little while, but there was no sense in waiting any longer. She could see it in his eyes just as she knew it lived within her.
He nodded as he turned, pulling her into his embrace. His body was hard against hers. “Do you think it’s true? That we’re meant to be together?”
She let her hips sink against his. “I think that must’ve been one hell of a spell Raven had cast on me to make me not see it. And really, I did see some of it even before I took the antidote. I know you’re mine.”
“I know you’re mine, too,” he admitted as he pulled her closer, bending his head to let his mouth cover hers. He slid his lips slowly against hers at first, experimentally, but as her own body responded, he deepened the kiss until she could no longer tell where her lips and tongue ended and his began.
“I want you to stay with me tonight.” She was breathless when she pulled away, desperate for more.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’d heard you were a strong woman
. I guess you really don’t beat around the bush, do you?”
“Do you want me to?” she teased. “I think I’ve waited long enough. I’m not going back to my place though. There’s plenty of room for both of us at the clubhouse.”
Nikki shook her hair as her bear emerged, her ears softening and folding, her face extending into a muzzle. She let out a loud bellow of relief as her shoulders widened and her claws dug into the earth, and as she closed her mouth, she felt the sharpness of her teeth. She took off across the moonlit field with Drake hot on her heels.
Even feeling his presence near her in their animal forms quickly proved to be too much. She needed him, and she didn’t want to start this part of her life in any place that reminded her of the old one. Nikki was back to her old self, but she was also a completely different person, one who’d changed. They’d reached the deepest part of the forest, furthest away from any sign of civilization.
She felt her body tighten with anticipation as she stopped near a tree and let go of her bear, taking on her human form once again.
“What’s wrong?” Drake had pulled up behind her, upright and just as human as she was.
Nikki cradled his jawline in her hands, her fingers exploring the hard ridge of bone beneath a day’s worth of stubble. Even his scent excited her, the musk of a man mixed with the fragrance of the woods. “Nothing at all. I just can’t wait any longer.”
His eyes were dark with passion as he focused on her lips. “You shouldn’t tell me that unless you mean it. You don’t know what you do to me.”
“Oh yes I do,” she countered. Her blood sizzled under her skin as she felt the way her body fit against his. If she had to be under a spell, she didn’t mind this one.
“Is that so?” he asked gruffly against her neck as he pushed her gently against the rough bark of the tree. He captured her mouth in his once again, his lips seeking, craving, devouring as his hands roved down her back and cupped the solid flesh just above her thighs. Nikki felt her body dissolve against his as they slipped down to the thick carpet of pine needles. It welcomed them with its earthy aroma, as did the moonlight that bathed their naked forms. She traced her fingers in the hair on his chest and against the muscles of his shoulders, wanting to learn every square inch of him in both forms.
She wrapped her legs around him, demanding. This was no time for foreplay, and with the way her body was already raging, she knew she didn’t need it. There would be time later, but right now, she hungered for the final dance that would undo everything else that had happened over the last few months.
Drake seemed to understand and feel that need as well, and he claimed her body with his own. He inhaled sharply through his teeth as he plunged into her. Nikki clung to him as her core turned to lava, her body accepting his hardness into her softest depths. Her head reeled, intoxicated and euphoric.
Their bodies pulsed and pounded, completely entwined in each other. Drake raked his lips over hers, and she felt his warm breath in bursts against her skin as he gasped with pleasure. Nikki shuddered around him as she reached the pinnacle of this mountain they’d been climbing together, and Drake surged inside her as he skyrocketed to the summit.
Epilogue
Nikki stood in the front yard, watching as the final touches were put on her new home. She had a whole new life in front of her, one that she wanted to enjoy, and she needed a different place to start it.
“How’s the reception out there in the middle of nowhere?” came a familiar voice.
She turned to see Drake on his cell, the special one issued to him by the SOS Force. Hudson was on the screen. “It’s great! Like you’re right here. You’ve really improved video calling, Hudson.”
“That was the goal. With you living on the complete opposite end of the country, I wanted the clearest signal and the most secure connection. Think it’ll work well enough for meetings?”
“Absolutely. And with us being more spread out like this, it means we can dispatch to various parts of the country more quickly.”
Nikki came up behind Drake, propping her chin on his shoulder as she beamed at the phone. “Hi, Hudson.”
The tech guru raised one blonde eyebrow. “Am I interrupting? Do you need Drake for something?”
She smiled a little wider. “I always need him.”
“All right, all right. Hudson, I’ve gotta go. Just give me a ring if you need me.” He disconnected and turned to Nikki. “I wasn’t sure how it would work out if I wasn’t near headquarters anymore, but I should’ve known right off the bat that Hudson would come up with something.”
“Do you regret it?” she asked, knowing that being fated to her had changed his life far more than it’d changed her own.
“Regret what? Being here with a beautiful woman, in a beautiful town, and living my life to the fullest? It’s a rough destiny, but I think I can handle it.”
She playfully slapped his arm and gestured with her head toward the house.
“What do you think?” she asked Drake, who stood next to her.
He smiled. “I think the construction workers need to get the hell out of here.”
She understood him, just as she always did. There was a deeper understanding between the two of them than the telepathic connection they had now that he was part of her clan, and she loved seeing that spark of mischief in his eyes. “I want to know what you think about the house.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, his strength holding her hard against him. “You forget that I’ve lived in some pretty primitive conditions. This could be a cardboard box for all I care, as long as I get to be with you.”
“Yeah? Where are we going to keep all of Lindy’s hair bows then? Clipped to one of the flaps?” Nikki had bonded with the little girl in a way she hadn’t imagined possible. Lindy seemed to feel the same way, constantly asking Nikki to go for a walk with her or to hit the mall. Nikki gladly took advantage of any free time to spend with her.
Drake laughed, a beautiful sound that made Nikki’s insides tingle. “Okay, in all seriousness, I love it. You did a wonderful job designing it.”
The construction foreman walked by just then. “Everything is all buttoned up for the day. I’m waiting on a couple of parts to finish up the downstairs bathroom. Should be in by Wednesday.”
“No rush.” Nikki waited patiently while the workers packed up the last of their tools and drove off. Before they even reached the end of the driveway, she was racing for the double doors at the front of the house. She giggled as she heard Drake following her, and even though she reached the entrance first, he grabbed her around the waist as soon as she made it into the foyer and scooped her up into his arms.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?” she asked with a raised brow.
He growled as he nuzzled her neck. “I’m taking my mate upstairs to break in the new house.”
It was truly a house designed for people like them. With wide doorways, sturdy floors, granite countertops, and recessed light fixtures, it could handle a few shifts here and there. Not that they planned on needing to change within the confines of the home, but they could if they wanted to. Nikki wanted to live her life without restrictions, and she knew that was exactly what she was doing as Drake carried her up the wide staircase to the master suite.
The movers had already brought in all the furniture, which included a massive king-size bed. Only a simple fitted sheet covered it for the moment until Nikki had a chance to go shopping for a new comforter. That didn’t matter, though. Drake threw her down so that she bounced against the mattress and quickly climbed up after her. He pinned her wrists on either side of her head as he pressed his lips against hers. “God, you taste good.”
Nikki wrapped her leg around him, keeping him pressed against her. “I’m not the only one, then. I don’t ever want to stop kissing you.”
He planted another kiss on her lips before moving down to her jawline and trailing them down her neck to her collar bone. “No?”
&
nbsp; “No.” She sucked in a quick breath as he whisked her shirt and sports bra up over her head, paying full attention to each of her breasts. His hands skimmed her ribs, making her feel slim and sexy. Drake had that effect on her. It took only a glance and a touch to make her feel like the hottest woman on Earth.
“Works for me.” He unbuttoned her jean shorts. “As long as I get to kiss you back.”
Nikki wasn’t about to let him have all the fun. She snagged handfuls of his cotton t-shirt in her hands and pulled, desperate to feel his skin against hers. She flung it to the side, not caring where it landed. “You’d better.”
He’d shimmied her shorts down her legs and now had his fingers just inside the waistband of her panties. “Is that a command? Now that you’re my Alpha?”
It was the game of power they both enjoyed playing. Nikki had accepted him fully into the clan, and the rest of the members were more than happy to welcome him. He was a powerful and charismatic man, and she knew they’d have no problem accepting him as second in due time. But she was still the one in charge, and she wasn’t the type of woman to give up her power just because a man demanded it.
Of course, Drake never demanded anything of her. He gave her a look of appreciation when he heard her take command of her clan and issue orders. He loved her for who she was; he wasn’t interested in changing her.
Nikki slipped his boxer briefs down. “Not as your Alpha, but as your mate.”
Drake pressed his naked body against hers as he kissed her lips once again. “Then that’s a command I’m more than happy to follow.”
She kissed him back as she wrapped both legs around him this time, demanding that he do what they’d gone there for.
“What, no foreplay tonight?” he taunted, his hardness pressing against her most sensitive spot.
They’d fallen into a joyful habit of exploring each other’s bodies and pleasures once they’d finally had the freedom to do so. Nikki loved to turn him on. Given the dedication Drake had given to caressing every inch of her body with both his hands and mouth, he must’ve felt the same way. But there would be more time for that later, and the burning need she felt for him was about to explode inside her. She bucked her hips against him. “Later, if you’re good.”
