“Which could have been a lie to protect us.” Emilia clasped her hands together and stared down at them.
“There is a cave high in the mountains. It’s difficult to get to…” Patrick began. “There are paintings on the wall. Made by the Stone Claw Clan. It was where they sheltered when the dragon came. After we’ve seen the rockslides, I’ll take you there.”
“It’s a difficult climb,” Lupe warned.
“I was thinking about that. What if we left before first light and flew up there?” Patrick eyed the dragons nervously. “If you don’t mind another passenger.”
“Not at all,” Magnus said quickly. “Any new information we can find will help us.”
Thorn put his arm around Emilia’s shoulder. “If there is a story here to unearth, we will do it together. Wolves, bears, and dragons.” He fixed his attention on Patrick. “Perhaps this can be the beginning of a new era. One where wolves, bears, and dragons help each other.”
“I’d like that.” Patrick cast a sidelong look at Lupe. “Although I’m not the one who needs persuading.”
Lupe mumbled something unintelligible, then jumped, his questioning gaze resting on Hetty. Thorn looked down at his empty dish, afraid he would burst out laughing and ruin the moment as Lupe rubbed his leg.
Hetty opened her eyes wide and tilted her head toward Thorn and the others. With a scowl, Lupe fixed his attention on Thorn and said, “It’s time to put the past behind us.”
“And it’s time to put the dishes in the sink.” Hetty stood up and busied herself clearing the table.
“Can I help you?” Emilia asked, quickly getting up and helping to clear the table.
“Thank you, Emilia.” Hetty studied the female dragon shifter carefully, a smile playing across her lips. “I hope I look as good when I’m a few hundred years old.”
Emilia’s hand flew to her face, stroking her smooth skin. “I keep thinking all the years will catch up with me and I’ll wither away,” she confided.
“I don’t think that’ll happen.” Hetty leaned forward and said, “I don’t think your man will care what age you look. Or what you were, or even if you’ve still got your own teeth.”
Hetty was right, Thorn loved Emilia for who she was, he only hoped she knew that. If she didn’t, it was up to him to make sure she understood the depths of his feelings for her every day.
“I’ll get some blankets and show you where to sleep. We have two spare rooms, so George, do you mind taking the couch?” Lupe asked as he busied himself organizing everyone.
“Couch is fine with me,” George replied. “I don’t know how much sleep I’ll get, though. This day has brought too much excitement for a man like me.”
“I’ll give you a hand, Lupe,” Magnus followed him out of the room, despite Lupe’s insistence that he was fine on his own.
A half-hour later, Thorn was snuggled in bed with Emilia. He smiled softly into the darkness, he’d never imagined snuggling could be so incredible. Inhaling her scent, he kissed Emilia’s neck and pulled her closer.
Emilia sighed and turned around to face him, draping her leg over his thigh possessively. “What do you think of the River Run Wolves?” she asked, sliding her hand down over his butt and squeezing it.
“I like them.” He threaded his hand between their bodies and stroked the underside of her breast. “I’ve met people like them before. Villages where the young people leave to make new and better lives for themselves.” He lowered his head and grazed her nipple with his teeth through the fabric of her T-shirt.
“When they show us the rock fall.” She stroked his hard length with her hand, applying just the right amount of pressure. “What do we do?”
He hooked his arm over her thigh, lifting her leg higher and sliding a finger along her sex. She was wet, the heat from her body exciting him.
“We see if we can increase the water supply to the town. If they want us to.” He inserted his finger into her slick heat. “Wetter is always better.”
She giggled and squeezed his cock harder, using her free hand to fondle his balls as she kissed his neck and then sucked his earlobe into her mouth. He jerked forward involuntarily and almost came prematurely. “You are a tease.”
“I’m not teasing,” Emilia told him firmly and grazed his hardened length with her nails. “I’m playing for real.”
He closed his eyes, ready to succumb to her touch, but he knew if he entered her he’d come in seconds. He had no willpower at all around Emilia. She exploded his senses and left him wanting more.
Pulling back, he flipped her over onto her back and slid down her body, kissing her soft belly. Lower, he kissed her inner thighs and pressed his hands against her knees to spread her legs wider. Emilia plunged her hands into his hair in anticipation and urged him to kiss her intimately. He was not going to disappoint her, but he was going to take his own sweet time and drive her to the brink of insanity first.
He stroked her thighs, kissing her skin while she moaned and writhed beneath him. It was his turn to tease. Thorn moved slowly but deliberately, each kiss, each stroke of his fingers drawing closer to their destination. A warm rush of arousal washed over him. His final destination was to bury himself inside her and make love to her until she came around him. To take her to new heights and leave her sated. Or perhaps over-sated.
“Get on with it, bear shifter,” Emilia gasped as he caressed her thigh with his warm breath.
“Patience, my darling dragon.” He ran a finger along her outer lips and she eased her thighs wider, her fingers threading almost painfully through his hair as she arched her back and offered herself to him.
What man could refuse such a sweet, sweet offering? Pushing his finger inside her, he ran his tongue over her mound, and then flicked her clit rapidly.
Her breath hissed, and she moaned as he grazed his teeth across the too sensitive bundle of nerves that were the center of her world as he licked and kissed her there. Lost to all else, she pressed her mound forward, urging him to finger her harder. Small mewling sounds escaped her mouth and her voice rose higher as her orgasm rushed toward her.
Slick sounds filled the room as he plunged his fingers deeper inside her, his fingertips stroking her inner walls until she exploded around him, her body tensing as her orgasm slammed into her.
“You are good, Thorn Manning.” Emilia, now recovered from her first orgasm, pushed him onto his back and slipped her leg over his thighs, straddling him. “Now it’s my turn.”
She curled her fingers around his hard length and lifted herself up so she hovered over him, the tip of his cock brushing against her. Slowly, she lowered herself down onto him. The head of his cock slipped inside her slick heat and he closed his eyes in ecstasy.
Emilia giggled and lifted herself up, leaving his cock waving in the air. “Not fair,” he growled, and slipped his hand around her shoulders, pulling her back down onto the bed. Thorn hovered over her body, and she arched her back and wrapped her legs around his waist.
“Dragons don’t play fair.” Emilia lifted her head off the bed and nipped his bottom lip before claiming his mouth with hers. Easing his hips forward, he entered her, burying himself inside her as their tongues entwined. “Make love to me, Thorn. Chase the past away.”
Her confident exterior slipped as their eyes met, and he stroked her cheek, his fingers brushing away a stray tear as it trickled down her cheek. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” She buried her face in the crook of his neck. “I don’t want to ever leave you.”
“Hey, you won’t.” He threaded his fingers through her hair and coaxed her to look at him. “Why would you leave me?”
She shrugged. “Coming here, the stories of dragons. Of a dragon who might have been responsible for killing my father. What if he’s asleep in a cave somewhere? What if he wakes up?”
“Then I’ll protect you.” He smiled, and she rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever happens, whatever we find, we face it together. You are not
alone.” His heart ached for her. Being alone for so long must have been unbearable.
“I wasn’t really aware of being in the cave, and yet a part of me knew I was there, felt the endless years passing by with no hope of it ending.” Emilia rested her head on the bed. “Not exactly pillow-talk, I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. I want you to be honest with me and I want you to know I’m here for you, no matter what.”
“Even if my teeth fall out?” Emilia covered her teeth with her lips as she spoke.
Thorn chuckled. “Even then.”
“I never thought I would love my mate the way I love you. Not so soon.” Tears glittered in her eyes. “I always thought my parents got lucky. My mother and father loved each other. At least my mother loved my father, I was too young to remember him and how they were together. But when my mom spoke about him, I could feel their love. It was as if I could reach out and touch it.”
A smile played across his lips. “I love you, too, Emilia, in a whirlwind romance, never thought this could happen to me kind of a way.” He lowered his head and kissed her. He was still buried deep inside her, sheathed by her inner walls.
“Maybe you could show me how much you love me.” Emilia flexed her inner muscles and tightened around him.
“Anytime.” He eased himself out of her, before thrusting forward. Every part of him wanted every part of her. The good and the bad, the soft and the hard, the rough and the smooth. They were meant to be together, not even time could keep them apart, and as he buried himself inside her, his essence filling her, he knew they were exactly where they were supposed to be.
Fate had led them down a path, one they didn’t choose, but tomorrow, they would perhaps learn to put it behind them once and for all.
Chapter Eighteen – Emilia
They rose before the sun and headed outside, after a quick breakfast of fresh bread and fruit, along with copious amounts of coffee.
“Let’s go back to where you landed,” Patrick suggested. In his hand, he carried the amulet, and for a moment, Emilia was hit by the urge to grab it from him and fly away.
Her lack of trust in anyone other than Magnus and Thorn was an issue she must overcome, and she hoped today would take her one step closer to conquering her suspicious nature. Before Perry had put her under the spell, she had seen good in everyone, but blind faith in people had led to her downfall.
Was it a downfall? her dragon asked. We are happier now than we have ever been. We are freer than we have ever been.
Her dragon was right. In the past, women were treated as the goods and chattels of men. In this new world, she was an equal. She was respected by Thorn and the other men, she had a voice and an opinion that counted.
“What are you smiling about?” Magnus enquired as she fell into step with him and linked her arm through his. Patrick, Lupe, Thorn, and George were talking about the mountain and the water supply, while Ruby lagged behind as she spoke to Harlan on her phone.
“How we have changed. In the short time we have been awake, we have changed so much.” Emilia looked up and her brother. “Love has changed us.”
“It has. For the better. In this new world, we are free. No constraints from class or fortune. Ruby tells me we can be whatever we want to be.” Magnus looked over his shoulder at his mate.
“And what do you want to be?” Emilia asked.
“I am going to learn to work alongside Ruby in Harlan’s business. The technology takes some getting used to, but computers are the most amazing thing. You can learn anything from the internet.” His voice filled with wonder. “And what about you, Emilia?”
“A family.” Emilia’s wants were simple. “I suppose I’m not ready to be a modern woman after all.”
“Raising a family is one of the hardest yet most rewarding things in the world.” He grinned. “Fiona told me that over a pint of good ale.”
“I would like to know Fiona more. She and Harlan lived through the times we slept. I’d like to learn about all the changes,” Emilia told Magnus.
“Promise me one thing, Emilia.”
“What?”
“Do whatever makes you happy.” They came to a standstill next to the others and waited for Ruby to join them. “This is our second chance and you need to grab ahold of it and not let go.”
“I promise,” Emilia replied solemnly and threaded her hand into Thorn’s. Her mate looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. “Ready to fly again?”
“With you, always.” Thorn looked at the sky. “We have an hour before dawn. We should hurry.”
“I’ll shift first, and carry Lupe and Patrick,” Magnus announced. “They can guide me. The rest of you can follow.” He glanced at Ruby and then Emilia, a strange look in his eyes, and she knew he didn’t trust the wolves either. As usual, Magnus was doing his best to protect the rest of them.
“We’ll be close behind,” Ruby assured him. “Are you ready, George?”
“Always.” George grinned, his teeth showing white in the soft darkness before dawn.
The air shimmered and Magnus shifted into his dragon. The wolf shifters took a step back, and Lupe held onto his son’s arm. “Incredible,” he said in awe of the mighty dragon who stood before them. The veil of darkness did nothing to diminish the presence of a dragon. If anything, the shadow of dawn made the dragon loom bigger and when his head swung around on a sinewy neck, there was no mistaking the power and strength of the mythical beast.
Patrick’s hand closed around the amulet in his pocket and a cold fear gripped Emilia. But what good would it do the wolves? If he opened the amulet, and the barrier surrounded them, Patrick and his father would be trapped, too, and eaten alive most probably. Did they mean to sacrifice themselves in the same way Chin Shan sacrificed himself?
“Are we really gonna ride a dragon?” Lupe asked nervously.
“We are, Granddad.” Patrick put his hand under Lupe’s arm and half dragged him toward Magnus, who turned his head and huffed at the two wolf shifters.
“He doesn’t bite,” Ruby said. “Well, not too hard, I guess.”
“Funny,” Patrick said with a grin. “You want to explain how we get on?”
“Sure.” Ruby stepped forward and shoved her phone into her back pocket. “Magnus, crouch down for me.” She placed her hand on his shoulder and Magnus lowered himself down so Lupe could climb on his back, with plenty of encouragement and support from Patrick.
Once he was securely seated behind Magnus’s large horny spine, Patrick climbed on behind him. “Hold tight, Granddad.” With those words, Magnus’s huge dragon launched himself into the air, his wings flapping hard. As the gloom of early dawn swallowed him, all that told of his presence was the steady thrum of his wings.
“So, do we trust them?” George asked pointedly as they stood together in a huddle.
“Yes,” Thorn answered.
“You do?” Emilia did not hide her surprise.
“They want answers as much as we do. And if we can return the water to the valley, Hetty might get her sons back. So yes, I trust them.” Thorn shrugged. “Not everyone is a bad guy.”
“I will remind you of that if anything bad happens.” Ruby slapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go, I don’t want to lose my mate.”
“You don’t think he can handle himself against two wolf shifters?” Thorn teased.
“Thorn, be nice,” Emilia warned him as Ruby scowled at the bear shifter.
“Come on, where’s everyone’s sense of adventure?” He held out his hands as if pleading with them. “This is awesome, we’re learning about people who walked this earth hundreds of years ago.”
“You two are particularly well suited, aren’t you, Emilia?” Ruby glanced into the sky as if still sensing Magnus.
“We are both well suited to our mates,” Emilia answered. “I have never seen my brother so excited about life. Even more than when he was commissioned to paint members of Parliament.”
“He did what?” George asked,
intrigued.
“Later, let’s go!” Ruby walked a short distance away and shifted, which immediately diverted George’s attention.
Within minutes, the two dragons were flying fast and true after Magnus, racing side by side, matching wingbeats. The thrill of flight filled Emilia, and she wanted to tip her wings and spiral around and around with sheer joy, but she was acutely aware of Thorn on her back, and so she resisted the temptation.
They caught up with Magnus in a low-sided valley. Below them were ancient trees and scrubby bushes, bordering what could be a dried-up stream bed. At the top of the valley, they would find the boulders that dammed the river that once fed the village with water. However, before they reached the end of the valley, Magnus changed direction, heading west toward a higher peak.
Emilia started to relax and enjoy herself, the early morning dew coated her scales as they skimmed a grassy plain, and she shook her head, spraying water droplets into the air. As the first rays of sun peaked over the horizon behind them, the droplets sparkled like stardust. Life and love surged through her veins fed by the freedom of this moment.
Magnus altered his course once more and climbed steadily upward as he followed the contours of a high cliff face. Cresting the mountain range, he dropped down sharply to land on a small ledge, where he waited for Patrick and Lupe to slide off his back before shifting back to his human form. Emilia landed next, and then Ruby, both waiting patiently for their passengers to climb off before they shifted and joined the others at the mouth of a cave.
The chilly air surrounded them as they stood deep in shadow under the mountain. “This is the cave,” Patrick said. He pointed further down the mountain. “The Stone Claws settled just down there. Their soil was fertile, and probably still is.”
“Why didn’t they move away if the area was prone to dragon attacks?” Thorn asked.
“Where would they go to?” Patrick shrugged. “They came here because they had nowhere else to go. They settled here and built their homes. Perhaps the dragons arrived later. No one knows for sure.”
Thorn nodded and walked to the edge of the ledge and looked into the distance, but it was too dark to see. “I’d like to explore the area in the light.”
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