THE MATING CLAIM: Werewolves of Montana Book 14

by Vanak, Bonnie

  “Drust…”

  “So you need to get wet,” he rumbled in his deep dragon voice.

  Drust flew over the pool. Ten feet above the water, he dropped her. Naked.

  Lacey landed with a splash. Warm water cascaded over her, refreshing and energizing. She surfaced and sputtered. “Hey!”

  Equally naked, now as a Skin, he stood by the pool. Drust laughed, hands on his lean hips. “What is it you like to say? Be careful what you wish for?”

  Lacey wiped the water from her eyes.

  Treading water, she crooked a finger at him. “Care to join me? Or are you afraid because you can’t swim as good as I can?”

  He dove into the pool, surfaced next to her and drew her into his arms.

  “There’s no time like the present to practice swimming. It is a lovely day for a swim…and other things,” he murmured, and kissed her.

  As they made love again, Lacey tried let go of all her fears of the future. But she could not stop thinking of their past and how they had been lovers in her other life, the dreams she’d had of being Minda.

  Minda, who had died horribly in one of Lacey’s dreams, leaving Drust to mourn.

  And the fear remained inside her. Were they doomed in this life as much as they had been in the past?

  Chapter 18

  Sometime later, sleepy from the sun and the delicious sex in the water, Lacey napped upstairs as Drust returned to his reading.

  He could grow accustomed to this life. Making love with Lacey, then perching on the edge of her bed, watching her drift into a contented sleep. Lazing on the beach, reading…

  Each time they made love, he found himself falling harder the faster. Lacey brought out in him a whimsical side he’d forgotten about while spending time in the Shadow Lands.

  As a wizard, he took his duties seriously. But now with her at his side, he began to realize life, even as an immortal, could be fun.

  Lots of fun.

  He had also broken a rule for wizards, one that Tristan urged him to break.

  A wizard’s seed also contained his power. Drust deliberately left off a condom to fill Lacey with some of his power to push back the darkness he could see already taking hold of her. For now, it worked. But it was a temporary solution.

  He must find a way to dispose of that damn book.

  With a groan, he focused on the book again. Concentration was difficult. This was an exceptionally complex part of the book, talking about the creation of the Book of Shadows and how Caderyn created it for a witch he loved. Seemed the Shadow Wizard was crazy about a powerful witch with access to several spells. They decided to combine forces when he created the book, visiting the purgatory world of the Shadow Lands to gather information from witches who had died. There, he created the book, writing down everything the witches could remember.

  Caderyn knew he possessed something powerful and dangerous. So he added his own spell – the book could be destroyed instantly by tossing it back into the underworld where it was created.

  Unfortunately, the person tossing it back usually had to die as well. Not only that, but there was little chance for redemption and moving into eternal bliss in Tir Na-nog .

  Terrific. Not an option.

  Finally he reached the last page of the book. Nothing had been revealed. But…

  Drust sat up, blinking hard. Ah, here was the, as Tristan put it, loophole. The out for Lacey!

  A sacrifice of tremendous love can free a soul from eternity in the Shadow Lands.

  Slowly, he pondered on those words. What counted as a sacrifice of tremendous love?

  “You could have made this a little clearer,” he told the sky. “Thanks a lot.”

  But this was a magick book and words could be concealed. Drust summoned his powers, his energy, and laid a hand upon the page.

  When he lifted his hand, new words appeared. Crystal clear.

  Their meaning sent a cold rush through his body.

  To destroy the book, a wizard may take it himself into the Shadow Lands. The book will bond with him, however and he risks trapping his spirit in the Shadow Lands forever, never freeing himself. He may not shift into his animal form or call upon his powers to leave the underworld. Other wizards may coax him into leaving on his own, but mostly likely, a sacrifice of tremendous love is needed to free him.

  So not the answer he’d hoped to find.

  Ah damn, I’m so screwed. He buried his head into his hands.

  Using his powers, he sent the book back to its safe hiding place in the bookshelf cabinet. Thinking about this solution would only sink him further into gloom. He glanced at the sun slowly sinking into the sky. Nearly three o’clock. Perhaps he and Lacey would dine at another fine restaurant tonight. He wanted to cherish every moment with her.

  He sat for a few minutes, watching, as a few dragon shifters spotted him. They startled, gave him respectful bows and kept a healthy distance.

  Sighing, he remained sitting, suddenly uncomfortable because his people feared him. Fear under the right circumstances could be good, for it kept wayward dragons in line, but in a case like this, it isolated him.

  Lacey had never truly feared him. Maybe that was one reason he was falling in love with her.

  Sex doesn’t equal love. You can’t afford to fall in love with her. What if you can’t find a resolution to all this and she must die?

  He couldn’t think that way. Life was suddenly no longer right or wrong or black and white. The gray areas had drifted into his life with the high-spirited, daring Lacey and he could not dismiss them as one would ignore ocean flotsam.

  The sex had been amazing. No, it was more than sex. It was making love, that intimate feeling of being fully attuned with another living, breathing person after centuries of loneliness. Isolation and solitude in the purgatory of the Shadow Lands had worn his spirit down like water pounding against granite. As much as he’d tried to pretend the emotional pain of being alone had never tormented him, he could not lie to himself.

  Once Danu made him the Coldfire Wizard, guardian of judge of all dragons, he knew he couldn’t, as Xavier said, screw up royally. But Lacey, ah, Lacey.

  Lacey had blown into his strict, orderly wizard life like a welcoming ocean breeze. She disregarded the rules, lived life to the fullest and found joy in the simplest of things, like beachcombing for shells. She relentlessly battered against the barriers he’d erected to keep his life as the Coldfire Wizard orderly and disciplined.

  Restless, he dematerialized to Tir Na-nog , seeking Tristan’s counsel.

  He found the Silver Wizard in the gardens behind his home in wolf form, digging frantically at the soil. Tristan stopped, loped over to a nearby tree and lifted his leg, then resumed his digging.

  Bemused, Drust stared. “What are you doing?”

  The wolf looked at him and spoke. “Digging a den for myself and my mate and pups.”

  Drust raised a brow. “And your home no longer suffices?”

  The wolf sniffed at the ground. “Not quite. I want to hide them here until I’m certain the danger passes and mark my territory to warn off intruders.”

  Odd. Tristan was a powerful immortal and no danger existed here in peaceful Tir Na-nog . He went to the wolf, scratched behind his ears. “Tristan, what’s wrong? Why are you reverting to your wolf instincts?”

  The Silver Wizard materialized back into his human form. “I don’t know. You can take your hand off my head now, Drust.”

  Sitting back on his haunches, he regarded his friend. They had fought together for years as mortals, the dragon and the wolf, winning victories until Drust’s wife at the time betrayed Tristan to the evil Fae King during the Fae Wars. Tristan had freed him from the Shadow Lands and he owed him a debt he could never repay.

  Yet Drust suspected what haunted Tristan now was something he could do nothing about.

  “Why did you wish to hide Niki and the twins?”

  Tristan dusted off his hands. “She is taking them to…Montana.”

&nb
sp; He made it sound as if his family were venturing into the bowels of hell.

  “To visit Nia, Aiden and their child?”

  Tristan sat back, nodded. “I have visited Aiden and he’s assured me he will set double guards upon them at all times. Aiden would give his life to protect my mate and family. He’s a good Lupine. But I cannot shake the feeling something wicked is in the air on the mortal plane, and it will harm my beloved and our children.”

  A chill raced down Drust’s spine. “Then order them to remain here.”

  He sighed. “If I do, she will obey, but resent me for being overbearing and worrying. I cannot be with them at all times, Drust. I cannot protect them as much as I try, and I know she needs to have freedom as well. It’s a challenge, having a mate and children I love dearly.”

  Life was far easier as a bachelor. Once he would not have envied Tristan’s dilemma. But now he understood his friend’s fears, and his struggles to keep his marriage balanced and his mate happy. All he could do was offer friendship.

  Drust put a hand on the Silver Wizard’s shoulder, his own troubles seeming far less. “I am here for you if you need me, my friend. Simply call upon me.”

  Tristan’s dark gaze searched his. “Why are you here? Do you need my counsel?”

  “No longer.”

  The Silver Wizard gazed into the distance, as if trying to foresee the future. “Yet there is something that drew you here. And while you are here, a little advice. Wait here.”

  When Tristan returned in a moment, the wizard bore a wooden wand, carved with intricate runes. “Take this.”

  Drust turned the wand over in his hand. “Why? You told me we have no need of wands.”

  “Normally, no. But in certain circumstances, they serve to amplify our magick. After that incident with the demon in Lacey’s store, I realized you should have one. There is something about Lacey that requires extra protection. I can feel it. She is a magnet. A magnet that attracts bad things.”

  The simple wood stick felt heavy in his hands, heavy as the responsibility resting on his shoulders. He could feel it pulling at him, at the magick inside him, wanting to absorb it.

  “Lacey is not a magnet. She is a female dragon.” He growled a little. “Though she does attract males, which I do not like.”

  “Possessive much?” Tristan raised a dark brow. “Welcome to the land of the alpha male, my friend. Lacey attracts more than lusty males. She attracts trouble as well. Thus the wand. You will need it. It is a powerful weapon, so use it judiciously. In emergencies. Like those fire extinguishers Skins use when dragons like you have bad morning breath.” Tristan grinned his usual cocky smile, making Drust relieved. Perhaps his friend was merely overreacting about Lacey’s potential to draw in trouble.

  “My morning breath is better than yours. Let’s hope I have no need of this. In the meantime, are you letting your wolf get the better of you?”

  “I was, but no longer. As for you, are you taking lessons from Xavier in fashion? Those blue trunks are hideous.”

  Drust looked down. “I like them. Be grateful they aren’t lime green.” He pointed to the hole in the ground and shook his head. “Better fill that in before Niki or the children trip in it. And for the love of Danu, stop marking every place with your scent, wolf.”

  Tristan offered a lopsided grin. “I will try if you promise not to do the same.”

  “Dragons do not have the base instincts of wolves. We are higher on the intelligence spectrum.”

  With a final grin at Tristan’s scowl, he dematerialized back to Lacey’s bedroom.

  She was gone.

  Curious, he turned the wand over in his hand again. Perhaps best to test it first…

  Channeling a smidgen of his powers into the wand, he flicked it at the exterior wall. With a shattering roar, the wall exploded outward, showering the ground below with concrete and dust.

  Oops.

  Perhaps best to not test it anymore.

  Drust repaired the wall with a wave of his hand, and studied the wand with rueful insight. Best to find a safe place for this. He put it inside a drawer in his bedroom, chanted a spell to lock it with magick. Now to find Lacey.

  Searching with his powers, he found the tattoo on her wrist pulsing on the beach. Drust went outside to find her and discovered things had changed since the short time he’d left.

  Thunder grumbled in the distance. Indigo storm clouds scudded across the blue sky as beachgoers, chairs strapped to their backs, scurried away from the approaching storm.

  Hairs rose on up the back of his neck. This was no ordinary storm.

  He scanned the tawny sands.

  Most people had left, nudged into action by the ominous thunder. Two pretty dragon shifters sat on a striped beach towel, sunning themselves. Seeing him, they bowed their heads. The redhead was bolder, staring at him in clear invitation. The brunette giggled.

  “Ladies,” he murmured.

  “Drust, the Coldfire Wizard. Sire, it is a pleasure seeing you here. Care to join us for a cocktail?” The redhead held up a glass filled with pink liquid.

  He shook his head and looked at the water. A pod of dolphins, hunting bait fish near the shore, suddenly took off, heading north from the storm. Gulls and sandpipers flew east from the storm. Their behavior was normal, yet every cell in his body warned this was different.

  Lacey walked in the shallow water, her long braid swinging as she bent over to examine seashells. The turquoise blouse and white shorts showcased her figure and tanned skin.

  So absorbed in studying her, Drust almost did not see approaching danger.

  He felt it instead in gooseflesh that broke over his bare arms. It was such a novel feeling that he stared at his arms with abject fascination for a moment.

  And then he saw it and his immortal heart nearly stopped beating.

  A mini tornado rotated lazily on the water, looking natural. Except this was no mere weather phenomenon. Wind picked up, blowing granules of stinging sand into his face and bare torso. Squinting, he stared at the water.

  And saw the real threat.

  The shifters who’d flirted with him suddenly squealed and then shifted into their dragon forms, rising into the air and flying away from the Gulf of Mexico.

  Lacey continued shelling, as if oblivious. He was at her side in seconds, lifting her from the sand and jogging away from the water.

  “Hey, what gives?” she protested.

  Drust dumped her on the sand a good ways from the water. “Return to the house, lock all the doors and windows.”

  “If you would stop manhandling me…”

  She went quiet, staring at the water.

  The dark green tornado whipped from side to side and then he saw it.

  Three dragon heads perched on serpentine necks rose from the water. The beast snarled, showing rows of razor sharp teeth as it stood, its scaled body representing a dragon. Yet this was no mere dragon, but a mythical beast come to life, sprung from a nightmare.

  “What the hell is that?” Lacey’s jaw dropped.

  “Hydra.” Forget the house, no concrete structure could withstand this monster. The only resort was her dragon form.

  “Shift into your dragon and fly away!”

  His entire body stiffened as lightning shot from the clouds, striking the water. The Gulf of Mexico boiled in a fury.

  “Lacey, get back.”

  But she continued staring at the storm, oblivious of the danger. “Drust, something’s wrong. I can’t shift into a dragon.”

  The panic in her voice added to his own alarm. When he turned toward her, alarm turned into dread.

  Blood had drained from her face, and her tanned skin looked pale and sickly. But it was her eyes that indicated something was terribly wrong.

  Instead of a clear forest green, they were yellow, with slitted irises. Dragon eyes.

  The magick in his seed had faded, leaving the book’s dark influence to take over her soul…

  “Stop calling on your magick.”
He clasped her shoulders, hoping his own magick would help ground her, calm her down. “Think of yourself as human. Not dragon.”

  “But…”

  “Do it.” He put a note of command in his voice.

  Lacey took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and then opened them. They were a normal green.

  “Go to the house, lock all the doors and hide in the shower. Douse yourself with water so the creature cannot get your scent.”

  Panic flared on her face. “What about you? You can’t stay here alone and face that thing?!”

  “I’m immortal. You are not.”

  He waved a hand and she dematerialized. Inside the house, Lacey stood a better chance of surviving.

  Drust clothed himself in his wizard clothing, needing the comfort of familiar clothing for this fight.

  Wind whipped his hair, fluttering his clothes. Lightning burst out of the clouds, illuminating the sky as thunder cracked. The three-headed hydra swayed, moving toward him, its direction aimed at the house beyond and the woman he needed to protect.

  Fog snaked over the sands, obscuring view of the churning Gulf waters. Drust waited, reserving his energy. Silence descended, thick and menacing. He could not hear anything, not even the beating of his immortal heart.

  Wizards could die, Tristan told him. Their immortality did not mean they were invincible. They could suffer pain as well.

  Still, he waited. Muscles tensed, but like an athlete readying himself for competition, he remained ready.

  A dragon head popped out of the fog, mouth opened wide, ready to tear him apart.

  Drust transformed into his dragon form, growing, growing, until he became as large as the hydra itself. Taking to air, he blew coldfire upon the hydra head. It disintegrated, only to wriggle free from the stump and grow anew.

  His dragon eyesight saw the hydra in muted colors of black and gray. The creature lumbered out of the Gulf onto the sands, all three heads roaring as it stomped toward the rental house.

  Drust flicked his tail, creating a wind to dispense the fog. Then he flew above the snarling hydra once more and blew down coldfire, not on the hydra itself, but the sand surrounding it.

  Crystalized by coldfire, the sand became tiny shards. Weapons. Drust swooped down, closed his eyes, seeing the hydra in his mind’s eye. He beat his wings, sending streams of crystalized sand toward the hydra’s eyes. The creature screamed, blinded, thrashing its head about, but not before one set of jaws snapped at his vulnerable underbelly, ripping a large gash in his body. Drust winced, but held his ground, hovering above the sand, a dragon barrier between the hydra and the house holding Lacey. Blue blood dripped from the wound onto the sand.