by Bonnie Vanak
“That was very scary. What will happen to him?”
He did not know. But deep inside, he had a sense that their punishment was benevolent, and intended for a reason. “Danu does nothing without a greater purpose. Let us return to the Mitchell Ranch. I know you are anxious to spend more time with your twin”
“Not as anxious as I am to spend more time with you.” She rubbed her cheek against his jaw.
They materialized inside the guest bedroom where he had nearly gasped his last breath. Tristan pulled Nikita into his arms, his heart no longer heavy. He kissed her again, and tumbled backwards onto the bed. Niki laughed as he rolled her over and straddled her soft body, eager for love.
“Are you sure you’re up for this? You just came back to life.”
“Very much so,” he murmured. “I was dying and I want to celebrate life with you. Our lives, Nikita, and the life growing within you.”
She caught a brief flicker of lonely vulnerability shadowing his expression. “You’re scared that something bad could happen to me again, Tristan. It won’t. I told you before, I’m stronger now. I’m not the Nikita from the past.”
“You were my life once, Nikita. And you are my life again, and my heart. I would have died over and over again, to protect you and keep you and our babe safe. Being separated from you caused more agony than the executioner’s blade. Not knowing if I’d ever see you again, hold you in my arms, hear your laughter and see your smile. That uncertainty became the knife slicing my heart over and over again.”
This was more than she’d dared hope for—a wolf who admitted how deeply he cared for her, and didn’t regard her as someone merely to carry his child and fulfill a promised legacy. He surrendered all his powers to save her, choosing love over his duties as Silver Wizard.
This was the Tristan from her dreams, the partner she’d always wanted who wasn’t afraid to share himself. And living with him and raising their child would prove to be as freeing, and as adventurous, as her dearest hopes and dreams.
She pressed a hand against her belly. “This time, we’re with you to stay, Tristan. We’ll never be parted again.”
As he began to kiss her, she glanced with anxiousness at the closed door. “Are you certain we have time for this?”
“More than enough,” he murmured, his heart filled with joy and peace. He smiled down at her. “We have eternity.”
Epilogue
This was going to be one hell of a reunion.
Drust took a deep breath and dematerialized, appearing in the courtyard of Skylar and Sebastian’s castle. Damn, the process still made him dizzy. But what the hell, he’d been immortal only a few days.
Or so it seemed.
And his target was all wrong. He’d wanted to end up in their living room.
“At least I didn’t materialize in the bathroom,” he muttered to no one in particular.
His great-grandsons, Sebastian and Alexander, were meeting within the castle. He had a little surprise for them. Actually, a big one.
Drust opted against doing the whole dematerializing gig again. Dragons were accustomed to flight. Being immortal and a wizard would take a little time, as Tristan advised.
Before leaving Tir Na-nog, Drust had drunk the goblet of Blood Moonflower, the secret and sacred fairy drink that all the wizards of the Brehon imbibed every six months to maintain their powers. As a new wizard, he had to drink once a week.
It had filled him not so much with power as purpose.
The goddess Danu had granted him immortality for a reason, and the reason started here, with family. Tristan had given him a parchment signed with his silver blood.
It was a start.
He walked into the castle through the open oak double doors. Hearing his kin’s voices, he followed them to the living room.
Skylar and Sebastian sat on the sofa, talking with Alexander, who paced before the great stone fireplace. Alexander glanced up, saw him and halted.
“Holy shit,” Alexander burst out. “Are you a ghost?”
“Mind your tongue before the lady.” Drust strode over to Skylar, and nodded. “My lady.”
Skylar’s mouth hung open. “I’ve seen your painting in the history books. You’re Drust!”
Alexander growled deep and Sebastian looked anguished. Drust held up a hand. “Before you go all dragon on me, I did not betray Tristan.”
The crown prince to the throne of Clan Drakon looked clearly irritated. “That’s not what Tristan said. Or what you admitted.”
“Control that temper of yours, Alexander. It will prove troublesome to you in the future if you are not careful,” Drust warned. He sighed. “Tristan told me you would not believe me any more than he had. So he wrote this to give to you.”
After he handed over the scroll and the three sat, reading it, he gazed at the ugly painting over the fireplace mantel. Another dragon. That should be me. I am their blood, not some paint-by-the-numbers dragon.
Alexander looked up, stricken. “It’s a blood oath stating you didn’t kill Tristan, and you didn’t have anything to do with Nikita’s death. But Pops, you said it was your fault.”
A shard of guilt pierced him. “It was my fault, Alexander. I failed my friend. As you go through life, you will find that family is most important and you will defend them to the death, but some bonds of friendship can be equally strong and important and deserve the same.”
Skylar rose, her lovely eyes wet. “I’m so glad you are innocent, Drust. Welcome to our home. I am most honored you are here.”
She glanced at the painting hanging over the mantel, and then at him. “We can finally replace your portrait. I really hate that dragon. He looks so…fake.”
Pleased, he smiled at her.
“But how are you here?” Sebastian looked totally flummoxed.
He drew himself up. “I am the new Coldfire Wizard, guardian to all dragons.”
“Hot damn,” Sebastian crowed, while Alexander paled.
“You?!” Alexander burst out.
He pointed to the chair. “Sit, Alexander.”
Alexander sat, looking even more upset. “Why are you here, Pops? Because I am a Shadow Jumper and I did something wrong?”
He gentled his voice. “You did nothing wrong, Alexander. But I am removing that power from you until I can teach you how to control it.”
Before Alexander could react, Drust went to him and placed a hand on his forehead, yanking the ability from his great-grandson. Alexander yelped and Sebastian winced.
Alexander rubbed his forehead as Drust resumed his seat. “That hurt. And that’s the only reason you’re here?”
He sat and looked at them. “No. I am a young wizard, and there will be a transition time until I fully take charge of all dragons. Until then, Tristan and I are working together as guardians and judges of dragons. I need your help.”
The trio exchanged glances.
“The coming days will be difficult for our kind, and the dragons must unite in all the clans. All three of you must initiate this.” He turned to Alexander. “You must set aside your grievances with Clan Tyrith. There is a special dragon there, Michael, who can teach you much. You may require his assistance in the future.”
He waited, watching Alexander grow red-faced as the prince struggled with his temper.
His formidable temper.
Alexander pointed at the fireplace and a flame shot out of his finger. Logs ignited. “No one from that clan can teach me anything. The dragons that attacked Em are from that clan.”
“Leave them to me, Alexander.”
“No.”
“Take heed, Alexander,” Drust warned, drawing on his newfound power. He fisted a hand. When he opened it, blue fire glowed there.
“Tristan and I will deal with justice for Emma. Is that understood?”
Alexander scowled, but nodded. “If you fry their asses, I’ll agree.”
“Frying their asses is not the first item on my agenda,” Drust said dryly. “But all of you are. You
are my legacy, and you must survive. Things happened for a reason.”
He turned to Sebastian and Skylar.
“Skylar, thank you for sacrificing your diamond scale. It served a dual purpose and helped to grant me access through the Dark Gate so I could pass through to Tir Na-nog. Sebastian, you went into servitude to Tristan for your impulsive behavior, but your sacrifice of your dragon’s heart gave Tristan the potion that saved Nikita from the parvolupus disease and enabled her to enter Tir Na-nog. Because of Nikita reuniting with Tristan, he finally returned to the Shadow Lands and convinced me to move on to Tir Na-nog.”
“What does all this mean?” Sebastian asked.
“The true reason why I agreed to become the Coldfire Wizard is to unite the clans, and—to protect all of you during the days and nights the other Brehon and the goddess Danu know are coming.”
Skylar clasped Sebastian’s hands. “What exactly is coming, Drust?”
He closed his fist, seeing the blue coldfire pulse brightly. “You need not worry about that, Skylar. It is far away. But you must all learn to work together, and you must begin now, for the sake of future generations.”
He gave her a gentle smile. “Including your own children. Congratulations, my dear.”
Skylar blushed.
Sebastian’s eyes rounded. “We just found out,” he said.
Alexander slapped his cousin on the back and kissed Skylar’s cheek. Drust watched them with satisfaction, his immortal heart beating hard. He was glad of the diversion, and that they no longer questioned him about the future.
He could not tell them the full truth.
He knew what was coming, and it filled him with dread.
What is coming? Only the night when wraiths are released from the Dark Lands, and possess the dead, forcing them to arise from their graves. The night of the dark soul when zombies walk among us, driven by the madness to eat the flesh of every living OtherWorlder that breathes, including the flesh of dragons.
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Thank you for reading The Mating Season. I hope you enjoyed it!
Would you like to know when my next book is available? You can sign up for my newsletter at www.bonnievanak.com, follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/bonnievanak, or like my Facebook page at http://facebook.com/bonnievanakauthor. Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.
You’ve just read The Mating Season, Book 6 in my Werewolves of Montana series. Alex’s book, The Mating Destiny, can be ordered by clicking here.
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Excerpt from
The Mating Destiny
Copyright © 2016 by Bonnie Vanak
She was dragon, and had fought every step of the way for what little she had. No parents to assist her, few friends within her own clan.
Only Sabrina, bless her, who understood her thirst for knowledge and desire to improve her status through reading.
But the damnable caste system in Clan Ciamoth could not be changed.
Still, Alex was here, with her now. In a brothel, and he had purchased her body. Taking a break from the bracelet, for her wrist was chafed and hurt, she stared at Alex. Emma licked her lips, studying his very nice buttocks as he knelt on the seat cushion to wrap his hand and test the bars again.
Khaki material stretched over the twin globes, cupping them tight. She wondered what it would feel like to cup his ass, to squeeze and knead that smooth skin as he lay atop her, and joined his muscled body to hers…
Alex, nude in bed with her. Arousal filled her, the wicked thoughts that haunted her long, lonely nights. He was strictly off limits, especially now after the warning from her attackers, but a girl could still dream.
“Is it true what they say about male dragons?” Em tried to avoid looking at Alex’s rather large, elegant hands and his long fingers.
He turned from the iron bars. “What?”
“That if a dragon’s middle claw, er, finger, is longer than his ring finger, it means he is, ah, endowed. At least an inch longer.”
Alex stared.
“You know.” Em pointed to her crotch.
He burst into laughter. “Em, that’s a myth.”
“Oh.” Heat suffused her chest and neck. She felt silly for bringing it up, but one of the girls in the basement had said it was true.
Alex held up his right hand. The middle finger was considerably longer than his ring finger. “It’s two inches, not one.”
“Oh. Ohhhh.” Now the blush spread like wildfire across her face.
A wicked grin touched his full, handsome face. “Would you like to see the evidence?”
“Um, that’s okay.” She rose off the bed and went to the table that held fruit and a pitcher of ice water to pour herself a glass. She drank deeply and set the glass down. It was getting hot in here. Too hot.
He took his polo shirt and studied the black marks magick had left behind on the knit fabric. Powerful magick indeed. The darkest kind. He put the shirt back on.
“I’d offer to launder that for you, but I’m afraid I don’t know where the washing machines are.”
“Em.” Alex twisted the gold signet ring on his left pinkie. He always did that when thinking. Maybe the ring was hard-wired to his gray matter. “This is serious.”
“Don’t I know it? I’m trapped here in a brothel, you bought me for the night and I don’t even know if they have my favorite pasta here or cable. I’m kinda out of luck. Plus I lost my phone. I hate it when I lose my phone. How am I supposed to tweet now? I was so looking forward to posting on Instagram and Facebook that I’d been dragon-napped and I was at a brothel, forced to wear a harem outfit and learn to like grapes and cheap wine.”
Crossing the room, he enfolded her into his arms. “You’re shaking.”
Like a leaf in the wind, but no need to tell him that. Even if she could disguise her fear with jokes, he could detect her scent. Dragons were excellent at sniffing out fear.
It made prey all the easier to track down, and kill.
She lifted her head and saw him staring down at her. “I’m not going to hurt you, Em,” he said quietly.
“Or eat me?”
The question was a hoarse whisper, though she’d intended it to be light and teasing. Alex’s mouth quirked in a slight smile.
“Not for dinner.”
But she caught his racing pulse, his dilated eyes and heard the heavy beat of his heart. “Maybe for…dessert. With whipped cream and a cherry on top.”
“No need for a cherry. You did buy a virgin, you know.”
His beautiful blue-green eyes widened to dinner plates. “Em…”
She cut in, not wanting to pursue that particular thread. “Alex, remember last year when you and I snuck into the Trolling & Strolling strip club because you left your wallet there after that bachelor party, and you saw the python in the stripper’s dressing room and you realized how hungry you were…because the strip club offered only cheese and crackers and hard liquor…and you ate him?”
“Em…”
“And I had to grab your wallet and the manager saw us and shifted into a grizzly bear and threatened to bite your balls off? Remember how scared I was?”
“Em…”
“This is worse.” She swallowed hard. “Much worse. I’m trying hard to pretend this is all a nightmare or a dream, because you are here and it’s a dream to be with you, but I’m so scared I feel like my heart’s jumping out of my chest.”
He smoothed back a tendril of hair from her cheek. “Em, I’m here. I will not let anything happen to you.”
Click here to pre-order The Mating Destiny!
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THE WEREWOLVES OF MONTANA
Werewolves of Montana boxed set
Prequel through Book 4.5
Prequel: The Mating Heat
Book 1: The Mating Chase
Book 2: The Mating Hunt
Book 3: The Mating Seduction
Book 4: The Mating Rite
Book 4.5: The Matin
g Intent
Book 5: The Mating Challenge
Lovestruck, a dragon story
Book 6: The Mating Season
Tristan’s story
Book 7: The Mating Destiny
Alex’s story
Book 8: The Mating Game
Xavier’s story, coming soon
Book 9: The Mating Ritual
Gideon’s story, coming soon
Book 10: The Mating Captive
Cadeyrn’s story, coming soon
MATING MINIS
set within the Werewolves of Montana world
SEDUCTION
OBSESSION
PASSION
REDEMPTION
TEMPTATION
www.Bonnievanak.com
The Mating Season
Copyright © 2016 Bonnie Vanak
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. With the exception of recognized historical figures, the characters in this novel are fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
