Emilia’s dragon dropped down out of the sky to follow the contours of the mountain until they finally reached the head of the valley and followed the freshly flowing stream toward the clearing where their journey began.
It was surreal to land in the middle of the night, with the village asleep all around them. One by one, they dismounted and moved to the edge of the clearing while Emilia shifted. Once she was back to her human form she joined them, her arms folded as she leaned against Thorn.
“You look terrible,” Thorn told her.
“I feel terrible.” She gave a faint smile. “All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for a week.”
Thorn bent down and picked her up, cradling her against his chest, despite her protest. “You carried us all that way. Now it’s my turn to carry you. Patrick, lead the way.”
Sage arched an eyebrow at Patrick. “You heard the man. Lead the way.”
“I don’t need carrying,” Emilia said firmly, but she didn’t struggle against her mate’s arms.
As they walked up through the quiet village, Patrick could see the lights were still on at his grandparents’ house. They had waited up, knowing the weary travelers would return.
“There you are.” Lupe emerged from the darkness. “Your grandma thought she heard you.”
“Were you hiding in the bushes?” Patrick asked and then looked down at his granddad’s hands. “With a shovel?”
“I didn’t know if it was you.” He grasped the shovel firmly. “We were worried in case you poked a hornet’s nest by going over to visit those Stone Claws,” Lupe admitted.
“And they had their own dragon to ride here on?” Patrick asked, but he hugged his granddad all the same. “I’m surprised you didn’t try to shoot us down.”
“Thought had crossed my mind,” he admitted with a grin. “Not really, Thorn called and said you should be back sometime tonight.”
“He did?” Sage asked.
“Satellite phone, standard issue for any adventurer.” Thorn grinned and patted his backpack.
“Is Emilia all right?” Lupe asked, catching sight of Thorn holding Emilia in his arms.
“Yes, it appears I’m not capable of walking on my own two feet,” Emilia told Lupe.
“It’s been a long couple of days,” Patrick explained and turned his granddad around. “We can tell you all about it in the morning.”
“Not now?” Lupe asked with disappointment.
“No, we need to sleep.” Patrick reached out for Sage’s hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I thought I could come over to your place for the night. Less trouble for Hetty and Lupe.” She avoided his eyes when Lupe looked at her and was about to say, it’s no trouble, but Patrick nudged him gently in the ribs and, for once, Lupe kept his mouth shut.
“Good idea,” Patrick said quickly.
“You two go on, I’ll see Thorn and Emilia back to my place. You go get some rest.” Lupe patted Patrick on the shoulder. “It’s always good to have you home.”
“It’s always good to be home,” Patrick answered as he took Sage’s hand and led her toward his house.
“I thought Lupe would insist I should stay there and it was no trouble,” Sage told him as they reached the bridge over the river and paused to enjoy the sound of the running water. This would never get old, neither would having his mate right next to him.
“He was going to. But I stopped him.” Patrick glanced sideways at Sage. “Let’s get home.”
Sage nodded. “Your home is my home.”
“And your home is my home.” He hooked his arm around her neck and kissed the top of her head. “When George and Nana get here tomorrow, are we going to tell them you are moving here?”
“Yes. After I’ve told them about the Stone Claws.” She took hold of the hand he had looped around her shoulders. “I wondered about asking my brothers to come over, too. But I chickened out.”
“You think they’ll be unhappy about you moving here?” Patrick asked as they reached his small house and opened the door.
“I don’t know. I think Luke will be happy and Marcus will be scared.” She followed him into the house. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“My lips are sealed.” He switched on the lights and they dumped their backpacks on the floor. Patrick opened the fridge and took out two ice-cold beers.
“Oh, yes, please.” She accepted the bottle and leaned back against the counter, taking a long drink and closing her eyes in ecstasy. “That is so good.”
Patrick surveyed her from across the kitchen. Even after two dragon rides and a fight, he wanted her. Right now. He swallowed down a mouthful of beer. He needed to make sure she was okay, a lot had happened in a short space of time. A lot they hadn’t had time to talk about. “Are you okay with everything that happened?”
“You mean am I okay that my people worship dragons?” She cracked a smile. “As long as none of them expect me to get on my knees and worship them, I’m good. How about you?”
Patrick shrugged. “I don’t really see myself as connected to the events that happened hundreds of years ago. Sure, we lived with the consequences, but that’s being set straight, and I want to focus on the future, not on the past.”
“I’m sure the irony of us being mates isn’t lost on you, though.” She took another swig of her beer, looking more relaxed.
“No, it’s not. It’s like all these things had to happen for us to arrive right here. You and me.” He finished his beer and walked across the kitchen to her. “Do you know what would make this all complete?”
“The pitter patter of tiny bear paws?” Sage asked, placing her empty beer bottle down on the counter.
“You read my mind.” He frowned briefly. “Although in my mind, it’s the pitter patter of tiny wolf paws.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and have one of each.” She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pressed his body close to hers. “But we have to make them first.”
“We do.” He slid his hands under her thighs and lifted her up so her bottom rested on the counter. He rubbed himself against her, and she wrapped her legs around him, urging him on.
“You know, you have to actually put it inside me.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear before nipping on his earlobe and then sucking it into her mouth. He jerked against her and groaned.
“Are you sure you’re not too tired?” he asked, his fingers already tearing her shirt from her body.
“You can wake me up anytime,” she purred as he slipped his hand inside her shirt and cupped her breast in his hand. Sage bit her bottom lip as he rubbed his thumb over her nipple.
“You’re right, you are waking up.” She gasped as he lowered his head and grazed his teeth across her nipple, then nipped it through the fabric of her bra.
Patrick eased his hips up and down, rubbing against her, driving her insane. Sage’s fingers plunged into his hair and she cradled his head against her, but it wasn’t enough, they wanted to be naked in each other’s arms, skin against skin.
As one they moved, tearing at each other’s clothes, undoing buttons, belts, and buckles, anything that stood between them. When at last, with Patrick’s help, she’d wriggled out of her clothes, he lifted her back onto the counter and spread her thighs apart.
Dropping to his knees, he kissed her sensitive bundle of nerves, before plunging his tongue inside her intimately. The hiss of Sage’s breath through her teeth aroused him further, he needed to take her now.
Rising to his feet, he guided himself into her, filling her with one powerful thrust of his hips. Sage wrapped her arms and legs around him as if they were truly one being in space and time. In and out, he thrust harder, deeper, wanting to be everything to her and more. His lips kissed her skin, his fingers stroked her flesh, driving them both toward a climax that took them to new heights and a deeper understanding of the other.
In that moment, when pleasure consumed them, they truly were bonded mates with no fears for the future or cares f
or the past. The present was theirs and that was all that mattered.
Chapter Seventeen – Sage
“Morning.” Patrick kissed her shoulder and she snuggled closer to him, wanting to climb inside his skin.
“Good morning.” Sage stroked his hair and kissed his face. “We should get up, George and Nana were traveling here before dawn.”
Patrick groaned. “I’d like you to myself for a few more minutes.” He pulled her close, and she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely. Her need for him was intense.
Sage hooked her knee over his thigh and guided him toward her. He was already hard, aroused as much as she was by the nearness of her mate. Now that the questions about her ancestors had been answered, she was ready to move on with their lives, ready to spread her wings and fly. Maybe not as far or as fast as a dragon.
Patrick rasped his tongue over her nipple, bringing her attention back to sex. Sex, glorious sex. And it was glorious with Patrick. Sage loved the sensations he evoked in her body as he slid in and out of her. The friction was incredible, building and building until she was ready to explode.
She sighed, her inner walls gripping him as he erupted inside her, his seed filling her as he cried out her name. Sage clung to him, placing small butterfly kisses over his face and neck as her orgasm subsided. Inhaling his scent, she couldn’t imagine a better way to start the day.
Patrick brushed her hair off her shoulder and kissed her skin. “I could get used to waking up like this every morning.”
“Me, too. Now, if I could just get you to make me breakfast in bed, my life would be perfect.” Sage grinned as he pulled his head back and looked at her. “A girl can dream.”
“About life being perfect or breakfast in bed?” Patrick asked.
“Both.” She giggled and pressed her forehead to his. “But life is never that simple.”
“I could make you breakfast in bed,” he offered.
“You could, but I don’t want to keep George and Nana waiting. I’m sure they already know we went to visit the Stone Claw Clan.” She slid away from him and put her feet on the floor, noting the ache in her muscles from the dragon ride.
“Why don’t you shower, and I’ll make us breakfast. We can eat together downstairs when you’re ready.” Patrick jumped out of bed, not showing any signs of aching muscles.
“Do you mind?” Sage asked as she gathered up her clothes and headed for the shower. She had one change of clothes in the backpack she’d taken on their journey to the Stone Claws, the rest of her luggage was still at Hetty and Lupe’s place.
“No.” He kissed her on the lips as she passed him. “See you in ten minutes.”
Sage entered the bathroom and switched on the hot water. Stepping under the powerful jets of water invigorated her, waking her up as she washed the dirt of their travels from her hair and skin. Standing here in Patrick’s bathroom, it was as if none of it had ever happened.
When she learned about her ancestors, she’d never imagined flying on a dragon across the wide ocean to meet them. Who would? But now that she had, now that they were real, what did that mean for her and her family? Would her brothers want to go and meet their kin? Or would they be content to carry on as they were?
Those were the questions going through her head as she switched off the water and towel dried her body. Maybe she was asking herself those questions to keep her mind off telling Nana that she planned to come and live here in the River Wolf Lands. She didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but she was convinced it was the right thing to do.
But what if her family thought she was abandoning them?
She sighed. Every time she came to terms with her decision, she torpedoed herself with an argument against moving.
Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, she swung her still wet hair over her shoulder and left the room, running downstairs to find Patrick, coffee and a whole mess of pancakes.
“Wow, those smell amazing.” She sat down next to him at the table and sipped her coffee before putting two pancakes on her plate and squirting maple syrup on them.
“Hetty taught me how to make them,” Patrick said, his mouth full of the syrupy goodness.
“Nana taught me to cook.” She sighed as she bit into the soft, light pancakes. “I hope they understand my decision.”
“It might take time, but they will. I’m certain they want the best for you. They want you to be happy.” He forked more food into his mouth and swilled it down with a gulp of coffee. “Sometimes it takes families awhile to see that it’s the best thing.”
“Like you and your mom and dad?” Sage asked.
“Like my mom and dad.” He grinned as he sipped his coffee. “Is that fate’s lesson for me?”
“Accepting that sometimes people have to move on even if you don’t like it?” Sage asked.
“Exactly. All these years I’ve been sore at them for moving away for the sake of work. And now I’m expecting you to do the same.” He leaned back in his chair, ankles crossed under the table.
“Not quite the same, I’m moving because of this mate of mine.” She cocked her head sideways. “But work is involved in that, too, isn’t it?” Sage drained her coffee cup and stood up to clear the plates away.
“Leave them. I can do them later. We should get over to my grandparents’ house. I’m not sure how early Emilia and Thorn will be up, but we need to discuss what happened with everyone and Magnus was due to arrive with George and Nana early this morning.” Patrick got up from his seat and grabbed another pancake from the plate as they headed out of the door.
The sun was up, it was around nine thirty in the morning, and the village was just coming to life. The sound of children playing in the schoolyard filled the air and a farmer was working along the side of the river making a secure area for his livestock to drink.
“Morning.” Patrick waved, and the farmer waved back before continuing with his work.
“Are we going back up to the dam this morning like we planned?” Sage asked. She wanted to get a good look to document any changes in the water flow, then they would decide whether to remove more of the debris blocking the river’s flow down the mountain.
“Yes, after we’ve spoken to everyone. I know George wants to have a look at the river. We’ll have to shift and run on four paws, though, since it’s too late in the day for Emilia or Magnus to take us.”
“I expect Emilia and Magnus will have other plans for today anyway.” Sage looked up at the mountain in the distance. “She’ll take him to their father’s grave, I expect. Although I suppose they will have to wait until this evening.”
“I’m going to offer to help them move his bones. If that’s what they decide to do,” Patrick said solemnly, following her gaze.
“I think that’s a great idea. They’ll need all the support they can get.” Sage trailed her hand along the rail along the side of the bridge as they crossed over it. “I’m sure they’ll eventually find peace knowing what happened to their father.”
“He died protecting those who were weaker than himself. He was a hero.”
“To the Stone Claw Clan, he was.” She sighed, a melancholy mood seeping over her. “To the rest of the world, he didn’t even exist.”
“It has a huge impact on your life, doesn’t it?”
“What, finding out dragons are real?” Sage asked as they neared Hetty and Lupe’s house.
“Yes, you go from thinking they are born of myth to riding on the back of one and suddenly everything seems possible. It opens up worlds you never knew existed. Because surely if one myth if real, then another could be, too.”
Sage laughed. “You mean the next thing we’ll see is a mermaid swimming down this new river of yours?”
“Never say never,” Patrick said as he stopped outside of the house. He leaned forward and kissed her lips. “You have taught me that. I was beginning to think I would spend my life alone, and now I have you.”
“And I have you.”
“A
nd you both have some explaining to do.” Nana stood in the open doorway, looking from one to the other before her face broke into a broad smile. “Hello, Patrick. I hope you realize what a lucky man you are.”
“I do.” Patrick hugged Nana, much to her surprise. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Oh, dear,” Nana joked.
“All good,” Patrick assured her. “Sage is lucky to have had you in her life.”
“Is he buttering me up for something?” Nana asked suspiciously.
“He might be.” Sage forced a smile onto her face. “We should go inside.”
“We should and then you can tell us all the news,” Nana said, taking hold of Sage’s hand and holding it tight, as if she were never going to let it go. Sage suspected Nana had a good idea about her daughter’s decision to move to River Wolf. But she was going to want to hear it from Sage herself.
“Here they are.” George got up from the kitchen table and came to congratulate them. “Welcome to the family, Patrick. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Because that means you are no longer the newbie?” Sage asked lightly as she hugged George.
“It might be.” George hugged her right back as Sage flanked around the room. “Where are the others?”
“Emilia woke when Magnus arrived, and they flew up to the mountain.” Hetty sounded worried as she looked at Patrick and Sage.
“Will someone tell us what is going on?” Lupe asked.
“We will. Over coffee.” Patrick sat down and Sage joined him, holding his hand, drawing strength from him.
“You went to find the Stone Claw Clan?” George asked, prompting them, when they both had a steaming cup of coffee in their hands.
“Yes,” Sage said. “We visited the village in the mountains where they used to live and took photos of the drawings in a cave. You’ve seen them, haven’t you, George?”
“I have. The ones of particular interest were those depicting the dragon children.” George was very focused as he listened to the tale Sage told him.
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