THE MATING CLAIM: Werewolves of Montana Book 14

by Vanak, Bonnie

  A sword appeared in Tristan’s hands. Lacey turned, presented her back and clenched her jaw.

  A whistling sounded in the air. Excruciating pain slammed into her. She roared, flames filling the sky as she stretched her neck in a dragon wail that was part anguish, part physical pain. Just as quickly the physical pain faded, replaced by soothing warmth.

  She turned, tried to flutter her wings with powerful shoulder muscles.

  Nothing.

  No use crying over lost wings. Lacey shifted back to her human form, clothed herself in a tank top and jeans and high tops with stars on the tips. She’d always loved soaring at night, looking up at the stars. That would not cease, only now she’d look down at her feet to ground herself in reality.

  Feeling her shoulder blades, she felt only a slight scarring. As if she’d scraped her skin on a pavement. The scars would fade soon.

  “You’re still a dragon,” Tristan said gently. “You do not have to shift back to your human form.”

  Lacey shrugged. “What’s the point? Without wings I’m nothing more than a big, clumsy lizard, except I loathe eating bugs.”

  But her joke only made Tristan shake his head. Was that a tear in his own dark gaze? “No, you’re simply beautiful. You’re a remarkable shifter, Lacey McGuire. Thank you.”

  He looked down at the delicate, yet strong glittering green-scaled wings in his arms. They were the size of surfboards and glinted in the sunlight. “It always amazes and humbles me what women will do for the men they love. Your sacrifices are a testament to your strength and spirit.”

  He placed a single kiss on her forehead. “Go rest.”

  “I need to return to my old life. Can you thank Skylar, Sebastian, Alex and Emma for me? And transport me back to my shop?”

  “Of course. I’ll give these to Drust immediately.”

  She felt herself hurling through space in a nanosecond and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, she was in the store. But instead of the dark, musty shop she’d expected, the lights were on and people milled about, examining items. Tara and Danica were at the register, attending to a long line of customers waiting to check out.

  Danica spotted Lacey and waved. Tara glanced up, a wide smile on her face. “Take over for me,” she told her daughter.

  She followed Tara into the back storeroom, totally confused, wondering if Tristan had chopped off her head instead of her wings and she now existed in some kind of odd afterlife. One where she was a retail success instead of the near bankruptcy she’d faced in her mortal life.

  But if this was the afterlife it wasn’t a bad one, for Lucky dozed on a soft dog bed near the door. Soon as she walked into the room, he raised his head, gave a happy woof, his tail beating the air as he raced toward her.

  Lacey crouched down, enfolding her dog in a hug as he licked her face. “Gosh, I have missed you so much, boy. Did you miss me?”

  More face licks gave the answer. She buried her face into his fur. “I’m sorry I had to leave you behind.”

  “He didn’t eat for two days,” Tara said softly. “That’s how much he missed you. Until Danica coaxed him into it with a very small spell.”

  Lacey frowned. “She used witch magick on my dog?”

  Tara spread her thumb and forefinger apart by an inch. “Just a titch. To stimulate his appetite. It worked, but he still wouldn’t eat until she placed the food here. And then we looked around at the shop, remembered the good this store did for witches, and we opened it up for business again. We paid the landlord extra to knock down part of a wall and have the two stores stream into each other.”

  Tara spread out her arms. “Coffee or tea and then potions and scented candles! They complement each other. Business has been terrific for us both.”

  Lacey offered a crooked smile. “Because you’re a good businesswoman, Tara. I’m not. It has nothing to do with me.”

  “You have the product. You tended it with loving care, my friend. You just needed a little boost…” Tara gave her a sage look, “and to stop denying your witch heritage. Accept who and what you are.”

  Did she have a choice now? Lacey smiled, still heartbroken over Drust, but a little more hopeful. “I already have.”

  Chapter 26

  The darkness felt oppressive and eternal.

  Drust sat at the table of the cavern where he’d sat century upon century, alone, not one soul to keep him company. A heavy weight settled on his shoulders.

  The guilt of the past, the hopelessness, and the sinking sadness that he’d remain here forever, no one remembering his name.

  All these feelings had vanished when Tristan and Nikita freed him. But he knew no one could free him now.

  The book was destroyed. He’d seen it evaporate like water in the desert. The price was his soul. No matter.

  Lacey was safe. Her sarcastic, carefree self could fly off, return to her previous life, enjoy life. Being a dragon, fulfilling her dreams. Soaring free and high into the sky.

  He sank further into depression. Self-pity. It clawed at him as he welcomed its familiar arms, the morass he’d known for longer than he’d been alive as a mortal.

  Caderyn popped suddenly into his cave. “Drust, the book is destroyed. You must return to Tir Na-nog .”

  “For what? For the goddess to use me to control her dragons, her flying shifters?” He waved a hand. “Be gone. I do not wish to leave. Everyone wants something from me. You, the others. Danu.”

  “That’s not the full truth,” Caderyn began.

  Drust arched a brow. “Oh? Only a partial one.”

  The Shadow Wizard tilted his head, as if listening to something. “Perhaps I am the wrong one to entreat you to leave this place.”

  He vanished, leaving Drust alone again. This time Drust welcomed the silence, the thickness in the air, the heavy grief.

  Lacey at least was free.

  Free to find love again.

  She never truly loved you, a whisper taunted him. She used you. No one will ever love you.

  A noise sounded at the entrance of the cave. He glanced up, frowning.

  “Go away Tristan. You will not convince me to leave.”

  Tristan and the other members of the Brehon had visited him twice. Each time he yelled at them and warned them away. He only wished to be alone.

  “I know, my friend. I will not. But this may change your mind.”

  Tristan brought forth a beautiful pair of sparkling green dragon wings and placed them on the table.

  “What is this?” He stroked the wings, knowing the answer even before Tristan spoke.

  “Lacey’s wings. She sacrificed them so you may fly free of here.” Tristan sank into a chair, running a hand through his dark hair. “Such a magnificent spirit, your Lacey. She gave you the one thing she cherished most, so you would know you are loved and you could fly once more. So your spirit would no longer sink into despair.”

  He could not speak. He could not even look at Tristan, only stare at the gift Lacey had given him, a gift from the heart.

  A sacrifice of tremendous love. Suddenly he recalled the words in Caderyn’s book. 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.

  Drust stood. “Help me attach these.”

  Tristan held the wings to Drust’s shoulder blades. Power infused him, a rush so freeing, he felt he could soar into Tir Na-nog itself. His heart swelled with love, not the love he held for Lacey, but the love she’d exhibited for him.

  “Ready?” Tristan gestured to the cavern’s entrance. “The exit is this way.”

  Drust nodded, smiling for the first time since he’d entered the Shadow Lands. “Let’s blow this joint. For good.”

  Chapter 2
7

  Funny how easily she slid back into a routine. Lacey spent the next two days working in the store, going over the new inventory with Tara and the marketing plan her daughter, Danica, had created. Business was booming.

  Funny how once all she wanted was money, and now that she had it, she didn’t care. Drust had left her stacks of gold in his treasure vault. Sebastian had taken her there to the vault, hidden deep inside a mine in a mountain, but she refused to take one coin.

  She’d rather stand on her own two feet to make it, especially now that she wasn’t really a dragon anymore.

  But she still missed Drust terribly.

  Later that afternoon, she took a break in the back storeroom. Tara had transformed the room into a comfortable break room, with a few chairs and a sofa, as well as a full-size refrigerator and microwave.

  Lucky dozed on his dog bed nearby as she drank water and sat at the sofa, wistfully wondering about Drust. Maybe her gift had been in vain, and wasn’t enough to lift him out of the Shadow Lands. Was there anything else he needed?

  I don’t know what else I can give him.

  Suddenly a brilliant light filled the room. Wincing, she shielded her eyes. It faded and to her astonishment, she saw Ciara, the immortal mate of Xavier, standing before her.

  Lacey bounded to her feet. “Hi. I heard you haven’t been at the reading group with Sonia. Is that why you’re here?”

  Her mouth wobbled. “If it’s for more dragon rides for Sonia, I’m out of commission.”

  Ciara gave her a gentle smile. “No, I’m here on official business. The goddess Danu requests your presence.”

  The water container slid from her trembling fingers and landed on the floor, spilling out. Lucky woke up, saw Ciara and gave a happy woof. The woman went and petted the dog as Lacey tried to gather her lost composure.

  Oh damn. She’d broken some rule, did something wrong.

  “Why?”

  Ciara smiled. “You will see. It is all good, Lacey McGuire. Danu sent me because you know me and it would seem less…scary.”

  “Not quite,” she muttered.

  “Take my hand.”

  She closed her eyes. Damn she hated teleporting…

  When she opened them, they stood in a lovely green field outside a magnificent stone castle. Fairies fluttered around her like dragonflies, their iridescent wings sparkling in the sunlight.

  “Where are we?”

  “The castle grounds of the Shadow Wizard. Danu has called a meeting of all the wizards of the Brehon and you are required to attend, Lacey.”

  Ciara pointed to a group of men in the near distance. “There. Go to them. I must leave you now. Good luck.”

  Ciara vanished.

  A group of men stood in the near distance. She began walking toward them, feeling uncertain and shy for the first time in her life. Such power radiated here, it felt like walking on a live wire. Yet it did not hurt her, only reminded her of the tremendous magick these wizards possessed.

  But she cared not for the other wizards. Only one.

  Her heart beat faster as she spotted one tall, black-haired wizard clad in blue, talking with Tristan and Xavier. Wings on his back stretched wide, beautiful forest green wings that shone like emeralds. The underside was pure cobalt blue.

  His wings had melded with hers, she realized.

  Tristan, facing her, pointed and smiled. As she got closer, he turned and saw her.

  He strode up to her, filled with power and purpose. Drust seized her face with both hands and kissed her. The kiss stunned her with its blazing passion and tenderness, his mouth claiming hers in brute possessiveness and such emotion it twined with her own feelings. Caught up in the emotional maelstrom, she could only wrap her fingers around his wrists and hold on, kissing him back.

  He kissed her as if his next breath, his very immortal life, depended on her. Lacey sank into him, feeling the power and the purity of his love wrapping around her like sheltering wings.

  When he finally, seemingly reluctantly, released her, he touched his forehead to hers. “My Lacey. My heart. My love and my life. There is no way I can thank you enough for freeing me.”

  Then he lifted his head and gave her a puzzled look. “But why… why did you do it? I must know. Being a dragon, flying into the sky and the freedom your wings gave you meant everything to you. You said you would rather die than not be a dragon who could fly.”

  Tears blurred her vision. “Oh Drust, you wonderful, crazy, stubborn wizard. I cherished my wings. I loved them, but I love you more. I’m not good at this love, poetry stuff. All I know is that I could soar and fly as a dragon, but without you in my life, it wouldn’t matter. My heart would be permanently grounded. I couldn’t bear to think of you suffering in that place.”

  He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around him, feeling the solid, firm weight of him. Lacey ran a hand along the edge of his wings. Her wings.

  When they broke apart, he touched her cheek. “Lacey McGuire, I can’t wait a moment more. I lost you before when we were mortals, and then I thought I lost you again when I went into the Shadow Lands. I will not lose you again. Will you marry me?”

  Tears blurred her vision. Maybe they wouldn’t have much time together with her short lifespan and his immortality, but she did not care. “Yes, yes!”

  They kissed again. Drust rubbed his cheek against hers. “Your wings are so beautiful, but not as beautiful as you, cara mine. Danu knows what you did and the goddess wishes to speak with you.”

  He guided her over towards a beautiful woman dressed in green, passing the other wizards who smiled encouragingly at her. Fairies flitted around them, following them.

  When they got closer, Lacey whispered, “What do I do?”

  “Just breathe.” Drust gave a waist a comforting squeeze.

  When they reached the woman, Lacey dropped to her knees. The goddess pulled her upright, her warm palms sending a surge of healing warmth through Lacey’s body.

  “Lacey, my child. Such a spirit you have. Your gift rescued our beloved Drust. In return for your great sacrifice of love, I have a gift for you.”

  Several fairies flew over, bearing with them two beautiful silver and blue dragon wings. Lacey gasped with wonder.

  Danu flicked out her fingers and the wings floated behind Lacey, attaching to her back. It didn’t hurt. Instead, it felt wonderful and freeing.

  She craned her neck to see. “They’re beautiful! Thank you.”

  “I thought to create green ones, but since Drust proudly wears yours, you needed blue wings like his.”

  Lacey stretched them out and laughed as she rose into the air about five feet and then descended. “They’re pure magick! I can even fly as a Skin!”

  “Indeed. When you wish them away, they will vanish, only to reappear on your dragon form. I have another gift for you, Lacey. A gift I seldom bestow on anyone, but the mates of my wizards. Immortality. If you will accept it.”

  As Lacey gasped, the goddess continued. “As Drust’s mate, you will live with him in Tir Na-nog, and you must be immortal to live there. You will aid him with your fellow dragons as well, for he needs a strong helpmate like you.”

  She bit her lip. “Will it hurt?”

  “No. It will take a little while, and you must drink a special potion each month.” The goddess’ eyes twinkled with mirth. “I believe you are familiar with it, since you borrowed it from Drust weeks ago.”

  A flush heated her face. “Um, you mean I stole it.”

  Danu smiled. “I believe the term Drust used was ‘swipe.’”

  Drust laughed.

  “I have questions,” she told the goddess. “I’m not all dragon. What if I can’t balance my witch half with my dragon? What good am I to him with other dragons?”

  Danu touched her cheek and warmth spread through Lacey, soothing warmth. “My child, Drust will aid you in this. He is pure dragon, with a dragon’s heart. You will find temperance.”

  Then her green eyes, much like
her own, twinkled with mirth. “Of course I would not expect you to suppress your natural high spirits. Tis the very thing that caused Drust to fall in love with you.”

  “Does this mean more fights with coldfire, except I get coldfire to fight back?” She grinned.

  “Coldfire is a powerful substance that can burn only in Drust. But you have a fire of your own, Lacey.” Danu touched her chest briefly. “Here. Inside you, burns a pure heart that desires to do good, and correct wrongs. A heart that can see past the black and white and knows that life is sometimes gray and filled with faults, but every second is precious and worth living.”

  Her lower lip wobbled as she fumbled for Drust’s hand. He squeezed it. “Thank you.”

  Danu’s wide widened. “No, thank you, Lacey. Thank you for having the heart to love and the courage to do the right thing.”

  Doing the right thing was easy. She turned to her love, her life, and he smiled at her.

  She planned to do it forever, with Drust at her side.

  As Danu promised, turning immortal did not hurt. Or if it did, the goddess had removed the pain for her. The process took place in Caderyn’s castle. Although Drust could not remain with her through it, he was waiting for her when Danu transported her back to his home.

  He wanted to leave planning the wedding up to her, but Lacey didn’t wish to wait. After fearing he was forever lost to her, she needed to be formally mated to him as soon as possible.

  Trouble was, everyone wanted to attend the wedding. Not only the Brehon wizards themselves, but many dragons. Seemed like every dragon on earth wished to honor Drust. All the Fae, the fairies and sprites, were clamoring to attend as well. And her personal friends Tara and her staff at the coffee shop, and her dear sister Evie and new mate Chase…

  Elopement seemed like a terrific idea, until Tristan’s brother-in-law Aiden Mitchell stepped forward and offered his ranch to host the affair.

  Surprisingly, the goddess herself helped with arrangements to expedite their special day.