by Katie Reus
“Yes. And I don’t know more than that. Greer is in there and will take the best care of her. We’ll go inside once we’re able to. Once we are explicitly invited. And not a second before.” He gathered his mate into his arms, pulling her close. He was tall even by dragon standards, but his mate was tall as well and fit against him perfectly. He set his chin right on the top of her head and sighed as she held him tight.
“I know I’ve been crazy,” she whispered. “I will deny it if you tell anyone I admitted this, but I’m scared for her. I thought I had a handle on it. I know worry is stupid. To quote a younger clanmate, I’m too old for this shit. But I keep having these stupid dreams.”
Startled by the admission, he leaned back slightly to look down at her. They told each other everything. And this was news. “Dreams?”
She nodded once. “I don’t think they’re prophetic, but they won’t stop. They’re nightmares more than anything. I keep seeing Victoria, Drake and their child swept up in a Hell gate. And this time we lose them all. Forever. I…” Swallowing hard, his strong mate buried her face against his chest.
“You’re sure they’re not prophetic?” He was old enough not to ignore dreams and what they could mean.
“Yes. They’re my worst nightmare come to life. I get the sense it’s just my long-buried fears, but it doesn’t make them any less hard to sleep through.”
“Come on. Let’s go find my sisters. You can start a fight with them and burn off steam.”
She let out a snort and wrapped her arms around his waist as they started down the sidewalk. Sparkly silver stars were attached to each lamppost, with garland wrapping around each one. And every house on the street had some sort of decorations, including one house with a life-sized Santa on the roof being led by blow-up dragons instead of reindeer.
“You know me so well,” Arya said, sighing.
Chapter 4
Bo glanced around the dragon-owned bar and grill as he and his mate stepped inside. They’d left their sweet little girl at home in capable hands—though he was already antsy to get back to her. She was only six months old and slept half the day anyway, but still. If their house hadn’t been warded with too many spells to count, he wouldn’t have left her at all. But it was Christmastime and he and Nyx needed to be here with friends. Luckily his mate had the gift of transporting anywhere in the world—as long as she’d been there or had a clear picture of it, they could get there. So now they were in Montana and later tonight they’d be back home on the Gulf Coast.
A few years ago, he wouldn’t have believed he was not only hanging out with dragons, but actually friends with some. Hell, it was hard to believe he had real friends at all, let alone a mate and half-brothers. For so long it had been him and his half-sister and a few that he considered friends, but nothing with the bone deep loyalty, and yes, love, he had for his new family. As a half-demon, he’d always kept himself apart. Now things were different. He was different. Because of Nyx.
“What’s wrong?” Nyx asked, wrapping her arm around his waist and looking up at him with such love and adoration that it still stunned him. He had no idea why the fates had put this sweet, adorable demigod, who couldn’t dance to save her life, in his path, but he would forever be grateful.
“Nothing. Just looking around for familiar faces.”
“Oh, there’s Arya,” Nyx said, smiling at the ancient dragon who looked surprisingly grim.
The tall, blonde warrior sat at a high-top table with two other female companions. The power that rolled off the two unknown females as he approached was staggering, but he kept his expression neutral.
“Arya, good to see you,” he said, even as Nyx went in for a hug. He wasn’t big on hugs or affection in general—except with Nyx and his siblings.
Arya half-smiled but it looked forced as she stood and pulled them both into a hug. She kissed the top of his head and patted his cheek once in a way that reminded him of his long-deceased human mother. “It’s good to see you too.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the tall female on the left, who was most definitely a dragon, asked tartly. She had long, inky black hair and silvery-gray eyes—exactly like Dragos and his sons.
Arya rolled her eyes even as she said, “Mira and Prima, my two sisters-in-law, this is Bo and Nyx.”
“What are you two?” the one named Prima asked.
Bo lifted an eyebrow. “It’s rude to ask that.”
The two females laughed hysterically as if he’d said something ridiculously funny. He glanced at his mate who simply lifted her shoulders.
“You’ll have to excuse these two bitches. They’re old and care little for manners,” Arya explained.
Next to him Nyx snorted and covered her mouth as she coughed.
Arya tilted her head slightly, looking at Nyx curiously.
“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve seen you walk up to strangers at shifter parties and sniff them—and steal their food,” Nyx said.
Now that pulled a real smile from Arya. “True enough.”
“I apologize if I’ve offended you.” Mira held out a hand, though she didn’t sound sorry at all. “I’m going to go with half-demon, half…human,” she said to Bo. Then she looked at Nyx and eyed her carefully. She tapped her mouth once then her eyes widened in slight surprise. “I know your mother. I don’t know your other half though.”
“Fae,” Nyx said even though she didn’t have to. “You know my mother?”
The woman’s expression shuttered slightly and she simply nodded.
“So, you don’t like her either?” Bo asked. He hated Nyx’s mother, the goddess of Chaos, and it was no secret.
The female turned toward him and nodded, a smile on her face. “I do not.”
“Then drinks are on me,” he said, grinning as Nyx pinched his side. As he waved a server over, he spoke to Arya. “Where’s Dragos?”
“You just missed him. He’s headed back to see Drake and Victoria.” Her tone was mild, revealing nothing.
“I texted Victoria before we left,” Nyx said, shrugging out of her jacket as she settled onto the seat. Nyx and Victoria were tight—Victoria had been one of Nyx’s bridesmaids. “But she hasn’t texted me back.”
“As of two hours ago, she’s on full bed rest now and not able to see anyone.” Bo hadn’t thought it possible, but there was a wealth of worry in the female dragon’s voice.
And if a female like her was worried about something, it must be serious. And Bo adored Victoria—everyone did. “Is there anything we can do?” he asked.
Arya gave him another forced-looking half-smile and shook her head. “No, but thank you for asking. She simply needs rest and space.”
“Space from us,” Mira said, her expression sullen.
“We have truly screwed up,” Prima added.
For some reason that pouty expression on the female, who he guessed had to be ancient, looked…ridiculous. One of his brothers was a half-dragon and was mated to a dragon, but sometimes Bo forgot exactly how emotional dragons could be. And when they got emotional, things tended to start burning.
“I think we need ‘party Bo,’” Nyx murmured, giving him a mischievous look he knew so well.
“Yeah?”
She glanced over at the three females who looked…deflated. “Definitely.”
Using magic that was as much a part of him as breathing, he ran his hands over his dark hair, turning it a shocking blue. Then he said, “We’re going to do shots. Unless you have preferences, I’ll pick?”
The three females looked at each other, then shrugged, though Mira eyed his hair curiously. “Nothing too sweet,” she finally said, leaning back in her chair.
“I’ve got just the thing.” He kissed Nyx on the mouth, hard, then slid off his seat. It had been a long time since he’d played bartender but tonight clearly called for it.
As he walked away he heard his sweet mate telling the other women that they’d love whatever he chose—and all he could think about was that as soon
as they checked on Victoria, they were going to head home and he was going to take a shot out of her belly button.
Then kiss every inch of his demigod.
Chapter 5
Victoria stretched out under the covers, grateful for the silence and to be in her own bed. She’d only bled a little and while it had scared her, Greer assured her she was fine as long as she stayed in bed. She’d simply been spotting. Considering her own training as a healer, and her DNP degree, Victoria knew that to be true as well. She just had to stop getting stressed, to let her body relax.
At a soft knock on the door, she slightly straightened up and smiled as Greer nudged the door open. Her friend stepped inside with a tray and a bowl of soup. Rich, loaded baked potato soup, if she had to guess.
“I brought you something warm to eat before you go to sleep,” Greer said, stepping fully inside. “Your mate is currently contacting everyone in the clan and telling them to stay the hell away from you.” She smiled softly as she handed the tray to Victoria and perched on the edge of the bed. “That male is scary when he wants to be. I don’t know why it surprises me.”
Probably because Drake was the sweetest dragon anyone had ever met. He could be just as savage as any dragon shifter when necessary, but inside he was a giant marshmallow. Which was part of the reason she’d fallen so hard for him. He appealed to her healer side on an intrinsic level because his capacity for love was so vast. He’d been trapped in Hell for fifteen hundred years and it hadn’t broken him. “I feel a little bad because I know this will hurt Arya, but I seriously need space right now.”
“Look, you have nothing to feel bad about. You’re looking out for yourself and your baby. Arya is a force of nature, and now with Dragos’s two sisters living here? They will run roughshod over you if you let them—which I know you already know. You…probably should’ve stood up to them a while ago—and I’m not saying that to make you feel bad.”
Victoria nodded. “I know. She just loves Drake so much, it’s hard to get too angry at her for being overprotective. But now I’ve got to pay attention to my health. I let the stress get to me and I never do that.” Normally she let things roll off her, but with a baby coming and this ridiculously long pregnancy, she could admit that she was nervous. Yes, billions of women before her had given birth and she knew it was natural and normal, but she was still scared. Shifter births were rarer than humans’ and they could be complicated. Ha, she was walking proof of what complicated looked like.
“Well, you’ve never been pregnant before either. Things change. She’ll respect your boundaries and show you more respect for this.”
“I know. But the healer in me still feels guilty. And I love her.”
Greer patted her hand gently once. “No guilt. No bad feelings. You just take care of you and relax. Because before you realize it this little guy is going to be here and you’re going to have your hands full.”
Victoria rubbed her hand over her belly in a protective gesture. Lately her little guy seemed to never sleep and was currently kicking away like a little maniac. Maybe that meant he was finally ready to see the outside world. “I’m ready for him to be here,” she said tiredly, picking up the spoon. “This is delicious,” she moaned a few seconds later.
“I wish I could take credit for it but Maeve made it.”
“I want to hire her as my private chef for the next couple months.”
Greer snorted softly. “Well, you’ll be happy to know she made two weeks’ worth of frozen meals for you and Drake, so you’re good to go. Because you know she’ll make more too.”
The news made Victoria want to tear up, but she resisted crying because she’d been an emotional mess lately. Pack or clan, they took care of each other. Since she’d joined a clan of dragons, they’d never once made her feel like an outsider. They didn’t care that she was a wolf; they’d welcomed her with open arms. Of course, since their Alpha female was a wolf too, it wasn’t exactly surprising.
“It’s done,” Drake said, stepping into the room, looking shockingly exhausted. Her mate was normally a machine, but her stress was clearly getting to him. They were linked by the mating bond and she hated that he was feeling all her stress on top of his own. At least the baby was okay. “No one will bother us unless we specifically ask for help. And Greer is the only one allowed into our house right now.”
“Thank you,” Victoria said, glad to see her mate and ready to be alone with him. “Have you eaten?”
He shook his head.
At that, Greer stood. “Then you get into bed right next to your mate,” she snapped out, all efficient healer wrapped up in a tall bombshell package. “I’m going to get you food too.”
He snorted softly and shook his head. “That’s not necessary, Greer, but thank you. I can—”
“I wasn’t asking, I was telling you. You two have been running yourselves ragged. Healer’s orders,” she said and pointed at the bed.
Healers in any clan or pack were well respected and Greer wasn’t joking right now. There wasn’t a hint of humor in her expression as she eyed him like a general watching a soldier. She was actually giving him an order.
Victoria’s big teddy bear mate simply nodded and slid into bed next to her, taking her free hand in his as he collapsed against the plethora of pillows. “Thanks, Greer,” he said tiredly, leaning his head against Victoria’s.
But before Greer had even made it back up to their room with a big tray of food, Victoria’s sweet Drake was already asleep.
She gave Greer a soft smile. “Sorry,” she murmured.
“No worries. I’m going to hang out here the rest of the night. I’ll crash in one of the guest rooms. Please text me when he wakes up. Let me take care of you guys right now. You both need it. And I don’t want you getting up for anything except to use the bathroom. Literally, no exceptions.”
Because Victoria was exhausted and because the bleeding had truly terrified her, she said, “I promise. And I’ll text you when he wakes up.”
* * *
“That half-demon is all right,” Mira said as the blue-haired male with mocha-colored skin headed across the bar, his arm firmly around his mate. A demigod. That was certainly an interesting pairing if she’d ever seen one.
“So are his brothers. And sister,” Arya added. “They’re all delightful.”
Delightful for Arya could mean a number of things. “How did a half-demon end up mated to a demigod?” Prima asked. “And one with such an unhinged sociopath for a mother?”
“Probably the same way our sweet brother mated such a raging lunatic,” Mira muttered, her emotions on edge tonight.
“Hmm, you’re touchy tonight,” Arya said, taking no offense to the “raging lunatic” comment. “Nyx is nothing like her mother.”
“She seems to be nothing like the first daughter Chaos had.” That had been… Mira couldn’t even remember how many thousands upon thousands of years ago that had been. Dragon brains were different than human brains, certainly. But they were also different than other shifters. Dragons were very long-lived and had to compartmentalize things in order to survive. It was why they went into Hibernation on occasion, or in her case, for a “long-ass” time, according to a twenty-two-year-old clanmate who used phrases and words that seemed ridiculous—if amusing.
“True,” Prima said, her gaze trailing over to Nyx and Bo, who were talking to Rhea—Conall’s fierce wolf mate and Alpha female of the clan.
Mira followed her twin’s gaze. It was strange to have a wolf as Alpha, but Mira approved of the warrior female. Instead of her normal, wild curls, the female had tight braids against her skull that formed into a braided bun—with a platinum pin in the shape of dragon wings covering it. “I haven’t seen or heard from any of the gods or goddesses since we arose,” Mira said. And she really didn’t want to talk about a bunch of boring, selfish assholes.
“It is because they fear us,” Prima sniffed.
As usual her sister was right. Gods and goddesses were insufferab
le and they feared—or at least steered clear of—dragons and other supernatural beings.
“Any news on your bear shifter?” Arya said, verbally poking at Mira.
She narrowed her gaze on her sister-in-law. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm.” Arya took another shot of whiskey, then chased it with a beer.
The half-demon had been right about the drinks. The whiskey was aged and burned just right as it went down. And the beer chaser was a wonderful combination. Not that she particularly cared about that now.
No, Mira found herself irrationally annoyed that the big, sexy bear shifter she wanted to play with hadn’t come to her yet.
She knew he wanted her sexually, and after the note she’d left him when she’d been in McGrath’s territory, that sexy, giant beast should have been here by now. She’d been asleep for millennia and a dragon female had needs. Males should chase females. Always. It was one of her rules. And that male should have hunted her down by now. She was spectacularly awesome, after all. “Want to battle tonight?” she asked Arya, desperate to burn off some pent-up energy.
Her sister-in-law smiled for the first time all night. Though Mira would never admit it—because Arya’s ego was too big as it was—she really did love and respect the female her brother had mated. “In human or dragon form?”
“Dragon first, then we shift to human—and use weapons, but no dragon fire in human form.” Those seemed like sensible rules.
“I claim flame-throwers!” Prima said, jumping to her feet before Arya had officially answered.
“And I claim crossbow.” Pure joy rolled off Arya as she stood as well.
“Maces for me.” Mira loved the heavy weight of them in her hands.
“What’s it going to be? Me against you two bitches?” Arya asked, all fierce dragon in her eyes.
Prima shook her head. “Not this time. We all battle each other. Each bitch for herself.”
