She did not want to be responsible for starting another war. Goddesses, please no.
“Have ye ever wondered why they took ye’re magic, my girl?”
Only a thousand times before noon, especially after what Xierrah told her.
“Ye threw a huge arse boulder in their way, Harlow. Now they may nae stick to the shadows for their dirty work,” Xierrah continued. Hearing the crass word fall from an ancient dragon’s mouth gave her pause. Roll with the times, she guessed.
“You have an idea of their next move? If any?” Grayson spoke up as Zane wrapped a warm, protective arm around her midriff.
Her uncle gave a disgusted grunt. “The night before ye’re father died, he contacted me with a warning of betrayal within our ranks.” Her uncle clasped his hands and gave a brief pause, the pain of his loss evident in the deeply etched creases that marred his weathered face. “He’d witnessed something within the palace of the Circle that had him worried enough to break the laws of the government he’d sworn to protect in order to keep the peace fer his loved ones. We were to meet the next mornin’.”
“Instead, he was found dead. Said to have passed in his sleep,” Grayson added, the puzzle pieces clicking together for him as well. “Within the months of his funeral, you were stripped of your powers under the pretense of breaking the law. I believe they were looking for a window and found it.” Grayson’s tone took on a lethal edge.
“What could I have possibly done to the Circle that would make them fear me? I’m a healer like he was.”
Zane’s fingers wound tight into the loose material of her sweater. “It should have been us protecting you then and now.” He turned her to face him. “Please forgive us.” Jaw tense and his muscles strained, shame shadowed the depth of his gaze as it flowed between their new connection as mates.
“No.” She bit out the word with a healthy dose of force. “No, Zane. Neither you nor Grayson should feel sorry or remorse. I got myself into this. Besides, you both have a job and your pack depends on you. What kind of person would that make me if I took you away from women and children that count on you? So, no, don’t go there.”
“What did we ever do to earn such loyalty?” Grayson’s words dropped an octave and she felt the tug of humility in his words.
“You love me,” she whispered to them. No doubt all the preternatural beings in the room could overhear anyway. Too bad for them.
Dakan stepped forward and leaned their way. “If I c’n break up the tender moment, I’d like to get back to the possible apocalypse we’re tryin’ to avoid here.”
A chuckle caught in her throat and her heart doubled for her newfound friends. Even if they were a little doom and gloom.
All heads turned to Dakan. “Back at ye’re home in the woods there was a stench surrounding the area, one of magic and of shifter. How is it that the werewolf had magic?”
About that. Grayson had said it wasn’t them running around her property. She stiffened with alarm; all humor dropped. “What do you mean a stench?”
“What we didn’t get around to talking about back in the room before you slipped away.” Grayson tipped his head up and nodded at Dakan. “The scent he’s talking about belongs to a killer we thought dead for a year now. Either the Silver Circle is dabbling in necromancy or the feral shifter we buried really wasn’t dead. You tell me which is more plausible.”
“I think a little of both,” Dakan added as he produced a file to his elder. “There’s black was magic at work before our fight with the elders and I’m convinced our blood was being used to do the conjurin’. Somehow several vials are missing from our laboratories here. The traitor your brother was talkin’ about. He sold them to the Circle. The Seer was able to get the last of the vials back.”
“Thank the goddess for that. So, war averted?” Harlow asked.
“We believe so, my dear. But it’s good to have answers.”
She arched a brow and watched as her uncle flipped the jacket of the file over as Dakan continued. “This is the man we scented on your property.”
A man that looked as if he preferred the woods to four walls and a good shower stared back at them from the pictures. Filthy clothes and shaggy matted hair couldn’t hide the dead look in his yellow eyes or the fact that she recognized the crooked nose and high cheekbones.
Grayson peered over her shoulder and grabbed the picture from her hands with a curse. “It just doesn’t seem fucking possible. We buried this man— shifter, warlock… whatever the hell he is. Let’s hope he stays dead this time.”
“How did this go undetected within the Circle? Among the witches and warlocks serving under the elders? Not every one of us is bad.”
Xierrah pushed up from where he held down the large oak desk and crossed his arms over a broad chest. “When a spell is performed by a gathering of witches or warlocks, the magic becomes untraceable.”
“Of course.” How could she have missed the obvious?
“And he’s also the one we believe killed yer father.”
“Then I feel no remorse for his death.”
Chills flushed her skin and her heart dropped to the floor like a cement block.
Grayson eased her with a hand on hers. “We sorry, baby girl.”
Her father’s death didn’t go unpunished. At least she had that. And now a new family.
“We can never let war break out. We must stand watch.” She held each man’s gaze.
“Aye, lassie,” the Elder agreed.
“Our numbers are already depleted We c’nno’ afford a war or risk being killed off fer good. It’s been centuries since the last birth of a Draegon.”
“Longer since any of us have felt the pull of a mate.”
A haunted look passed over Xierrah’s expression. Haunted and lonely. His brother Dakan did fare much better where he stood by the window looking out over the skies. Her soul wept for them both.
“Do you not have mates?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“Nae, lassie. Humans are frail creatures. Centuries have passed and we have faded into legends.”
She canted her head a little. “What about female dragons?”
Dakan huffed. “All dragon shifters are born male. We must mate with humans and births are rare to begin with. Our mates must find us. We will feel the call when we are close to our intended.”
“And that hasn’t happened for centuries,” Xierrah finished for his brother.
Harlow’s heart hammered in anguish for her new friends and family. She prayed to all the goddesses they found the love and connection she’d found with Grayson and Zane.
“What now? Now that I have my powers and I can speak to dragons, what does that spell for me?”
“When I hit ye with my magic back at yer place as ye lay dying on the floor somethin’ inside ye crumbled and a new magic flared to life. It called to the magic I fed into ye. If ye’re anything like yer father, yer healing will double in strength, ye’ll be able to continue to speak to us in shifter form, which ye already know, and with yer mates. Ye’re of the oldest bloodline, Harlow. Draeonian by blood and witch by birth. Shifter by matin’.”
“You’re one of a kind, baby girl.” Grayson and Zane pulled her deeper into their embrace. Protective and possessive. She felt it without a word between them. “Now we go home. Our pack needs us. Your sisters need you. And we make sure our people are safe.”
Harlow turned to her men. “Are you okay with this? I had no idea I was a part of so much more than just the Silver Circle.”
Grayson stroked a lock of hair “You’re a part of us. Our blood, our magic. Our souls. Didn’t we say that last night?”
He had a point.
“Promises are promises. I rather feel we’re the lucky ones earning ourselves a powerful mate with a heart of gold.” Zane followed up with a smile.
“You’re amazing, kind men. I’m so glad I didn’t die tonight and I have you to thank for that. Take me home, boys. I have a sudden urge deep inside me.”
A
deep growl worked up the back of their throats.
She turned to look at the Elder and her new friends. “And I have to thank you. I would have died had none of you stepped in when you did. I can only hope you find your special someone like I have. After today, will we see you again?”
“Aye,” Dakan gruffed. “We need mates of our own, like yer sayin’ and we willnae find them within these walls.”
“I can play hook up witch anytime you like.” Leaning into Grayson’s arms she raised her hand and called her magic. “Let me know if you need a little help with a love potion or two.”
A round of laughter broke through the chamber.
“Here’s to new beginnings and leaving the past where it belongs.”
Goddesses willing, Zane’s words were prophetic. For now, they were safe from the Circle and they had retrieved the last of the stolen dragon blood.
One thing was for certain, she was finally home in her men’s arms, protected by their love and their bond. She was twice mated and it felt so good.
Grayson and Zane leaned in. “Forever bound, baby girl.”
“Forever claimed,” Grayson finished over their connection and then they sealed it with a kiss.
Epilogue
Wearing nothing but the glow of the fire, both Zane and Grayson lay sprawled next to her, sated and utterly gorgeous. Their golden skin smooth and perfect. The giant bed looked dwarfed with both of them cuddling her in the middle. Zane’s leg weighed her down where he had his thrown over hers. She looked between her men and couldn’t help the happy feeling bubbling inside.
It’s been six months since their encounter with the Silver Circle and meeting the Draegon Warriors. That experience had been a rush, but nothing compared to waking to her mates cocooning her between them. Her protectors, her warriors, her mates.
Six wonderful months. The much-needed time undisturbed by one problem or another allowed them to grow. And not just her, Zane and Grayson. Sleepy Briar found peace from the strong hand of the Circle. Her coven sisters were finally able to find peace with their own mates.
Grayson’s stirred beside her, his hand coming to rest on her stomach.
And then there were the little ones.
Twins due in September.
“You should be sleeping,” he mumbled against the top of her head, musing her hair.
“Maybe.” She rolled to her side. “Or, I might have a better idea.”
She brought her lips to his, sliding her leg over his thigh. Already on his side, this cock easily slid between her thighs.
“Is our mate still hungry for her men?”
Zane woke, stroking her bare leg from the back of her knee up to her ass, massaging the plump flesh.
She groaned, arching into his touch.
“I’m horny,” she breathed huskily. An almost constant occurrence since becoming pregnant back at the Dragon’s hidden fortress.
“We know. We can feel you, baby girl.” Grayson buried a hand in her hair and angled her head just right so he could devour her mouth in a feverish kiss.
A heavy blush warmed her skin. It hadn’t been an hour since they’d last shared her body, worked her between them until she’d fallen into a deep sleep.
Caught between them, Grayson’s luminous gaze raked over her face, down her throat, and stopped on her nipples. Heat flushed, causing her greedy peaks to pebble beneath his heated look before he brought his attention back up to her face.
Yet, here she was begging them for more.
Zane snaked an arm around her waist, his warm lips against the dip of her neck. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered she’d be lost without her men. Hey completed her. One without the other would leave her heart aching for the other.
“Shh, sweetheart. You’ll never be without us.”
“Never know a day you don’t know our love and devotion for you.”
The whole mind-reading thing came in handy. It made showing her emotions so much easier when there were never enough words to express how she felt for them. How her love only grew and she doubted with the whole of her heart there would ever be an ending to how much that love grew for the rest of their lives. Between them was the safest place she could be.
“Our mate wants us to make love to her, Grayson.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to have lots of babies running around here. She can’t help herself.”
Harlow laughed softly. “Shameless, I know, but it’s true.” She wanted a big family. The more the merrier.
Grayson captured her hands in his and placed them on his chest. The light dusting of hair tickled her palms. “What a beautiful smile.” He brushed a kiss across each cheekbone, regarding her with a soft expression. His mouth crashed into hers, the tip of his tongue pushed past her lips and claimed her mouth completely. All too quickly he pulled back, her lower lip caught between his teeth.
“Are you wet for us, sweetheart?”
His hand slipped between her thighs. His rough finger a delicious stroke over her aching clit.
Desire pooled between her thighs, provoking a husky growl from both her men. Shock plunged through her body. Grayson had developed a deep fetish for her mouth, and with a sigh, she savored the taste of his lips back on hers.
She stole a phrase right out of her coven sister, Sadie’s, book… Holy goddesses, did the man know how to kiss a woman!
Grayson’s cock hardened and pulsed against her midriff, bringing her attention around to him. Zane’s just as impressive along the crease of her ass.
Grayson ran his fingers along her thigh in a slow, sensual glide. As if he wanted to savor every square inch of her body, lay claim to his property all over again.
Each caress served like a bolt of electricity to her heart.
Each beat a blow to the constraints, allowing her to melt into Grayson’s chest.
His hands moved from their hold around her waist and stroked up to cup her breasts, lifting, working the fuller flesh until her nipples pebbled, desperate for their attention. “You have the loveliest breasts. So perfect and sensitive to my touch.” He demonstrated by stroking her extended nipples then pinching them.
Fire shot through her, the nerves alive with instant excitement.
She bowed her back and pushed herself deeper into his hands. Warm lips encased her dusky tips.
“Tell us again, little witch. Tell us what you want. Let us hear it one more time.” Zane worked the muscle in his jaw against her shoulder, his voice dark, hungry. Grayson’s heart pounded beneath her touch, the beat bold and steady, like the men she loved. Now she understood the need for them to protect those around them even if she didn’t realize how much she needed it.
Her heart swelled with a wash of pride and adoration for both men.
“I want you both.” Her answer came out as a breathy plea. “Please take me now and stop teasing me.”
Between them, she reached for Grayson’s cock. Hot come slipped from the head.
“Spread wide for us.” Zane lifted her leg opening her fully to Grayson. He dragged the come soaked head through her slick juices before he wedged himself between her folds, the bulbous head of his cock nestled at her entrance.
Her breath quickened.
“Grayson,” she sighed, eyes flitting closed. Slick juices spilled from her channel leaving her thighs wet for them.
Mindless bliss settled over her and for that one second before he penetrated her, everything stilled. The air around them, the past, the future. Everything ground to a halt and it was just them I that moment.
Grayson pressed forward; her pussy flaring open. Taking him as he inched his way into her channel, closing what little space existed between them.
Deeper.
Her walls clenched, flexed around his shaft. She was his. And Zane’s.
The mad urge to thrust forward until she had all of him overtook her. Strong fingers parted her ass cheeks. Zane caressed the sensitive entrance with his fingers, smearing her juices over her ass, preparing her for him.
He pushed until only the tips of his thumb entered causing her to gasp.
Grayson took over holding her leg wide. Every muscle in his body rippled as he took her slowly.
She whimpered in anticipation, unable to move from where Zane held her steady.
“Easy baby, let him take care of you. When he’s fully seated in that sweet pussy I’m taking what I want. Your tight ass will take all my cock and I want to hear those delicious moans for us. Can you do that for us?”
God, she could scream with the ecstasy they filled her with and everyone three towns over would hear.
She nodded, whimpering, waiting for him to deliver on his promise.
“I can barely wait to have your ass, so tight, milking me, stroking my cock,” Zane whispered against her ear.
“Watch him take you, baby girl. Watch that cock sink into you, claim you.”
Zane soothed her with his whispered words as Grays pushed all the way in and pulled out to stroke the head of his cock through her wet slit. “God, you’re so fucking tight. Hurry up, Zane. Fuck her. She’s burning up with need.”
Heat sizzled between them so hot it made her face flush and her body shudder with pent-up energy.
Zane applied lubricant to his fingers before sliding them inside her again. First one finger and then another. In a scissoring motion, he worked her back entrance, stretching her for the thick girth of his cock.
He dragged a torn plea from her to hurry. “I need you,” she whispered. She plucked her nipples, tightening them between her fingers and baring down.
Grayson stilled; his shaft fully seated inside her channel.
Zane’s shifted his hips, pressing the head of his cock to her clenched entrance. The engorged head of his cock opening her, claiming her.
As he worked inside her, the burning increased. The heat turned her veins into rivers of molten lava and she could barely breathe. Pleasure-pain shot through her and she reached around grabbing for him. He took her hand as Grayson anchored her between them with a strong hand on her hips.
Twice Mated Page 10
