Amelia laughed. “Not at all. I don’t think he’d want to cross you, Aunt Riva. It’s Aleksei’s dad. Can he come in?”
“Oh.” Sybil straightened her dress. “Of course. I asked him to come see me before the ceremony.”
“You’re all ready,” Dutchy proclaimed. “I’ll take my place with the girls.” Aside from being her dress designer, she asked the fox shifter to be one of her bridesmaids.
“Say hi to Ian for me,” Sybil teased. His Grace had been invited to be a groomsman and was Dutchy’s partner in the wedding line-up. “Of course, there’s other dragons around here, you know.”
Dutchy rolled her eyes and swatted her hand at Sybil playfully. “Ugh, you have one coffee date with a dragon, and you never hear the end of it.”
“I thought you said he was cute,” Amelia added.
“Yeah, but we’re just friends, I swear.” Dutchy gathered her things. “Nothing going on there. Never happened and never will. Anyway, see you on the other side.” With a wave, she and Amelia left the room, leaving through the side entrance that led to the sitting room.
Sybil didn’t want to say it out loud, but she was glad Dutchy wasn’t falling for Ian’s charms. Being with her fated mate was one of the most amazing and beautiful things in the world; she understood that now. She wanted the same for Dutchy, who had become one of her closest friends in the last couple of months. Dutchy was funny, lively, talented, but also kind and compassionate. She deserved someone who would love and cherish only her, and not the fickle dragon duke with the wandering eye.
“Sybil?” the former King Harald called softly as he entered through the main door. “Aleksei said you requested to see me before the ceremony?” He approached her, a worried look on his face. “Is everything all right? What’s the matter, my dear?”
“I’m all right, Your Majesty,” Sybil said with a curtesy. Her mother followed suit and her dad bowed.
“Please, no need for such formalities. I’m not king anymore not since I formally abdicated yesterday,” he said, then turned to Sybil. “And, my dear, I told you, when we are alone to address me as—”
“Pappa.” Sybil finished. “Anyway,” she looked at her parents and Harald. “Aleksei and I discussed and decided that I should tell you the good news, before we all get caught up in the wedding and coronation.”
“Tell us what—” Riva’s eyes went wide and she put her hand over her mouth. “Sybil!”
Sybil laughed. She never could hide anything from her mother. “Mom, Dad, Pappa: Aleksei and I are going to have a baby.” It was early yet, but they couldn’t deny it. A few days ago, they both heard it—the sound of the beating heart of their child, deep in her belly.
Riva let out a cry and both Hank and Harald whooped in joy. “My baby!” Riva exclaimed, wrapping her in another fierce hug.
“My dear Sybil,” Harald began. “You’ve … you’ve made me so happy.”
The tears of joy and the light in Harald’s eyes were so real, Sybil wanted to cry. Despite the former king’s insistence that he wasn’t depressed over his dragon’s loss, Sybil could see the sadness in his eyes and that some days, his smile wasn’t quite genuine.
Today though, it was like the old King Harald was back and she knew she and Aleksei made the right decision to tell him now. Sybil, after all, knew how deep the depression could go, having spent time visiting Willa in the last few months. Or tried to, anyway, as the former Ice Dragon still refused visitors.
“Look at us, crying like old women.” Hank cleared his throat. “Well, now that you’re getting married in an hour, I suppose I don’t have to get my shotgun anymore.”
“Dad!”
The wedding and coronation had been beautiful. No, Aleksei thought, it had been perfect. Of course, they could have been married in their pajamas, and it would still have been perfect. As long as Sybil was his wife and queen, he would have been happy.
But, he understood that his country needed this, after what they had suffered. A royal wedding and welcoming a new queen would lift everyone’s spirits. The wedding, then the coronation had taken place in the Royal Chapel, which was followed by a carriage ride to the palace. It seemed everyone in the Northern Isles had filled the streets of Odelia to greet their new King and Queen.
Aleksei tried to convince his father not to abdicate, but he was determined. “A dragon must rule,” King Harald had said. “And besides, you’re ready, my son. With your mate at your side, you will breathe new life into our kingdom and take it into the future.”
Despite his facade, Aleksei knew the loss of his dragon hurt much deeper than he had let on, which is why he wanted to tell him the good news as soon as possible. When he returned from talking with Sybil, he came into the Crown Prince’s rooms with tears in his eyes, so speechless that he could only embrace his son. Aleksei had hoped that a grandchild would help anchor his father’s sanity and keep him from spiraling into depression.
The celebration after the ceremony and coronation was small and simple by royal standards, as they didn’t want anything too extravagant for themselves. Instead of having an opulent reception, they decided to share as much as they could with the people of the Northern Isles, and the entire main street leading up to the palace had been turned into a street fair with lots of entertainment and free food and refreshments for anyone who could come.
But everyone who was important was here. Sybil’s entire family and all her close friends had arrived from Blackstone and other parts of the world. He didn’t invite any of the other alphas, aside from Ian MacGregor, or members of the Dragon Council as he wasn’t sure he was ready to reveal their secret to them and the rest of the world. There was going to be another reception at Blackstone Castle the following week, and that was the “official” celebration, at least for the rest of the world and the Dragon Alliance. Frankly, despite the bother of all this wedding business, he couldn’t wait to rub Matthias Thorne’s nose in the fact that he got Sybil and she was carrying his heir. Petty, yes, but he was King now and he could be allowed such things every now and then.
On his side, the ministers and advisers who would soon be serving under him, plus the noble and dragon families of the Northern Isles were also in attendance. He had even spotted Jarl Solveigson and his daughter. He couldn’t very well not invite them, especially with all the people they had saved before and after the attack. Aleksei had his doubts about Lady Vera, and was worried that she might upset Sybil, so he asked the Dragon Guard to make sure she didn’t try to ruin their day. Much to his surprise, Lady Vera seemed subdued and even curtsied to Sybil as they came down the receiving line.
“What are you thinking of?” Sybil asked as they sat on the dais in the middle of the ballroom. She had been watching the antics of their flower girl and ring bearer—Cassie Walker and Grayson Lennox—as they ran around the ballroom, sliding around in their socks on the smooth floor.
I’m thinking of how I’d like to be alone with my wife now. When she blushed, he clucked his tongue mentally. Am I still doing that to you? I must not be doing something right.
She giggled. “Oh, you’re doing everything right, my King.” Sybil was getting better at not broadcasting her thoughts to other dragons nearby, but there was just too many of them around in the room, which is why she avoided using it for now.
He lowered his voice. “As King, my first proclamation is that this party is over, at least for us, so that I can go make love to my Queen.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “I need you, Sybil.”
Her lips parted and gaze went half-lidded. “Then what are we waiting for?”
The party was in full swing, and with a signal to Rorik, they were able to slip away. Sybil laughed as they chased each other down the hallway like a couple of children. When they got to their rooms—their new private suites as King and Queen—Thoralf was there, waiting for them.
“Your Majesty.” He kneeled down and kept his head bowed.
“On your feet, my friend,” Aleksei said. “You are no longer
Captain of the Guard.”
“Aleksei!” Sybil admonished. “You can’t do that! Thoralf is your friend! He’s loyal and good and—”
“Sybil,” Aleksei said gently. “Thoralf asked to be relieved of his duty as captain. But he will remain part of the guard. Rorik will replace him.”
“Is this true?” Sybil asked. “I know you’ve felt guilty all these months about King Harald, but you couldn’t have known that would happen.”
“But I should have, my lad—I mean, Your Majesty.” His face was drawn into a serious expression. “As Captain of the Guard, it should have been me. I pledged to protect the king and I failed.”
“No!” She tugged at his arm. “Aleksei, you can’t possibly accept his resignation.”
“Like, I said, he’s not resigning.” Aleksei sighed. Sybil couldn’t understand, so he would do his best to explain. “I have released Thoralf from his duty as captain—temporarily—so that he may go on a quest.”
“A quest?”
“I requested it, Your Majesty,” Thoralf explained. “With Gideon’s help, I have found some evidence that there is a way to reverse the effects of The Wand.”
Sybil gasped. “There is?”
“Gideon’s not certain … the texts are vague, but there might be.”
“And Thoralf asked that he be allowed to go and find this cure,” Aleksei added.
“I must, to restore my honor.” Thoralf’s tone was serious.
She let out a deep sigh. “I suppose … I mean, if you could, that would be great, but you’re a good friend to my husband. A brother, practically. We will miss you. Please,” she reached out to squeeze his hand, “come back, whether or not you find a cure.”
“I … cannot promise you, but I will do my best.” He bowed again. “I must go, but I wanted to congratulate you and tell you how deeply grateful I am to you, Queen Sybil.”
She blinked. “Me?”
Thoralf gave her a sad smile. “You have brought so much happiness to the kingdom, and most importantly, my friend.” He glanced at Aleksei. “I always knew you would be a good king, Aleksei. But with her at your side, I know you will be a great one.” He gave a final bow before he left and walked away from them.
“Do not be sad, Sybil,” Aleksei soothed. “I’m sad that my friend has to leave, but honor is important to Thoralf. Whether or not he finds a way to restore my father, I think it’s vital he go and do this.”
“If you say so.”
Now, he steered her into their bedroom. On to more important things.
“Aleksei!” she laughed when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he confessed as he walked them into the room.
“And you waited this long because …”
He dropped her into the middle of the bed. “Because I didn’t think you would enjoy it this much, lyubimaya moya.” Even now, he could see the desire in her eyes, blazing bright like the flame of her dragon. He shrugged off his jacket and began to undress.
Slowly, she reached behind her to unzip her dress, then pulled the front down, baring her breasts to him. He let out a soft growl, watching as the rosy pink tips hardened under his gaze. “Sybil.” He crawled over to her, reaching out to release her hair, letting it tumble down her shoulders like an ebony waterfall. He kissed her, full and deep. I love you.
And I love you. He heard it almost every day from her, but the words still made his heart skip a beat. She was truly his, mind, body, and soul. Every day the mating bond grew stronger, and now, as she carried his child, he knew that it could never be broken.
Mine. Mate. Finally. Truly.
He tugged at the rest of her dress impatiently, nearly ripping it off her in his haste to feel her naked skin against his. He touched her everywhere, their minds linked so intimately he knew what she liked and what pleased her. And when he made love to her, he did it slowly, savoring the feel of her around him. It was the most beautiful feeling in the world to be connected to her in every way. He brought her to orgasm again and again, until she was begging for him to come inside her.
He cried out her name as she clasped around him, milking him and making him shudder in pleasure as he spilled his seed inside her then collapsed on top of her.
“My Queen,” he whispered in her ear.
“Your wife,” she corrected. “And first and foremost, your mate.”
“I’ll call you whatever you want,” he answered back. “As long as you are mine.”
Dear Reader,
It’s not quite The End.
There’s a special Extended Epilogue chapter.
It happens a few more months into the future.
And we see a glimpse of how Sybil and Aleksei’s life as king and queen.
Of course, I may give you a glimpse of upcoming books.
(Like what happens to certain grumpy Dragon Guard. You’ll never guess who I’m planning to pair him up with!)
Sign up for my newsletter now to get the special chapter!
You’ll get access to ALL the bonus materials from all my books and my FREE novella The Last Blackstone Dragon.
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Alicia
Author’s Notes
Written on September 17, 2018
I can’t believe the Blackstone Mountain Series has come to an end. Originally, it was going to end with Luke’s story and the girls would have their own spinoff, but I just couldn’t Blackstone yet.
Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout this saga. I hope you enjoyed all their stories. And if you you enjoyed my books, please do leave me a review. As you know, I’m a self-published author and I’m doing this mostly on my own. Reviews help me know what you like (and what you don’t like), but they also help other people make their buying decisions. Even a less than stellar review can help ensure people who only want to read my books will buy it.
So, a little bit of background on the story:
When I started writing Blackstone Mountain, I knew where I wanted to begin and where I wanted to end. Actually, the story begins even BEFORE The Last Blackstone Dragon (Hank and Riva’s story—FREE btw). I told you about my fascination with robber barons and how Lucas Lennox was a dragon shifter/robber baron character. However, going even further back, I had a vague idea of what happened with Anastasia Lennox and Silas Walker (and I definitely knew the dragon would be female) and why the Lennoxes were kicked out of the Dragon Alliance, but didn’t have the story tied up.
It was right around when I started Ben’s story (The Blackstone Bear) that the idea began to form in my head. What if Anastasia was running away from an arranged marriage? Maybe it was another dragon—and what if he were a prince?
Then, inspiration struck—Sybil needed a mate, someone who could handle her and unexpected. BOOM. Aleksei the dragon prince came to mind (and boy, oh boy, did Sybil basically claim him!). I planted the story of Anastasia and Silas in The Blackstone She-Bear. Honestly, it was one of my favorite scenes to write!
Hmmm … maybe I’ll write a short story with Anastasia and Silas. Or maybe I’ll finally get around to writing Lucas Lennox’s story of how he met his Swedish countess (whose name happens to be Sibella). Think I should do it? Let me know by dropping me a line at [email protected] Or maybe you want me to move on? I have so many more stories to tell. I have Dutchy’s story, J.D.'S story, Cordy’s story, and now I know I’ll probably have to write about the Dragon Guard, the Silver Dragons, Air Dragons, Rock Dragons, Sand Dragons, and let’s not forget the wolves of Lykos! Which one should I do next? Let me know!
But for now, I’m going to be leaving Blackstone for just a bit and I’ll be going back to True Mates. I’m working on Jackson’s story, but I won’t spoil it anymore - you’ll just have to read it when it comes out on December 4, 2018.
All the best,
Alicia
tone She-Dragon: Blackstone Mountain Book 8
The Blackstone She-Dragon: Blackstone Mountain Book 8 Page 20
