Bureau Under Siege

by A. K. Michaels

  Sam and Charmaine looked a little surprised but neither said anything as Ronan allowed Starr to pull him away and over to an open area of grass. “Stay here,” she said and let go of his hand, moving on before stopping and turning to face him.

  “You sure you’re okay?” he asked again as she almost hopped from one foot to the other.

  “I need to change now,” was all she said as she shimmered before him. His mate disappearing and her glorious Dragon taking her place.

  Ronan’s enhanced hearing picking up Charmaine’s gasp and shocked words, “Oh my God! She’s beautiful!”

  “Yes, she sure is!” he thought as he walked towards her, picking up speed and leaping upon her back. Settling into the dip made for a rider and his hands gripping the holds set into her hard, black scales.

  “You ready?” she asked as she unfurled her massive wings.

  “Yeah, let’s go home, mo chroi,” he answered as her wings started to beat, taking them up into the night sky.

  As they left the Pack land behind, soaring higher into the air Ronan felt Starr relax beneath him. The tension within her body slowly leaving as her great wings beat a rhythm, taking them home.

  *****

  Creed stood still, waiting until the last Wolf had disappeared from sight before turning around. His senses almost immediately honing in on Veronica. She was pulling one of the litters piled high with clothes, on her own and her limp looked more pronounced than it had earlier. He took off after her, falling in step at her side before reaching to help pull the load.

  “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? I can do this on my own!”

  Long brown hair swished up and around as she turned to glare at him. “I’m just trying to help. I didn’t mean to offend you, Veronica.”

  Creed saw her pupils start to dilate before she shook her head, turning away. Her voice indignant as she spat out, “My name’s Ronnie and just who the hell are you anyway?”

  “My name’s Creed and I’m...” he got no further as she butted in.

  “Oh I know who and what you are, Creed. Your reputation is well known, even to us stuck out here.”

  “Well, Veronica, I’m not quite sure how to take that but let’s get this load to where it’s to go.”

  She turned, her eyes darting to his quickly before looking away. “I can do it on my own. I do everything on my own.”

  Creed’s lips twitched up. “If my reputation precedes me then you know I usually get my own way. I am going to help so just let me know where this needs to go.”

  Her eyes flashed with anger, her mouth in a tight line as she obviously tried not to keep her eyes on his. Creed wished she would look at him, let him see her dark pools of golden brown properly. “Fine!” was all she said as they started onwards.

  “So, where are we taking this?” Creed asked, his lips still twitching upwards.

  Her face turned towards his. “The communal hall over there.” She nodded off to the right towards a large cabin.

  “Okay, I can take it from here.” Creed stepped over the wooden pole to stand within them, their bodies almost touching. Veronica almost jumped away, stumbling in her haste to move away. Creed moved quickly his arm grabbing hold of her arm to halt her fall.

  As soon as his fingers touched her, his breath left him, completely and utterly, as his stomach clenched. “Holy fuck, she is!” he thought as he saw her flinch, her eyes turning to his with fear and amazement.

  “Just who the hell are you?” she whispered.

  Creed stared down into her upturned face, taking in her wide eyes, small nose and full, luscious lips. For the first time in decades he felt emotion deep inside him, taking a deep breath to steady himself before replying. “I think I’m your mate,” he whispered back.

  *****

  Ronan held on as they flew homewards, his senses and strengthening bond with Starr telling him something wasn’t right. “Starr, talk to me, what’s wrong?”

  Ronan felt the beast beneath him quiver. “I told you I need to be Dragon more often while pregnant and I just had my very first panic attack. My heart almost beat out of my chest with the need to turn. I had to fight it back or I would’ve hurt you and anyone else standing close by. I can also feel our baby so much more today and it’s a little scary.”

  “What’s scary, my love, tell me and maybe I can help.” Ronan frowned, not liking the idea of his mate being scared or anything.

  “I’m going to be a mother. Of a Dragon. A Dragon that others will try to catch, a Dragon that has only my garbled memories of our race. A Dragon that I have no idea how to bring up.”

  Ronan leaned forward, along Starr’s powerful neck and placing his face on her. “Firstly, WE are having a child, you’re not doing it alone. Secondly, I will not let anything happen to you or my child, no way no how. Thirdly, whatever memories you have will be enough because we’ll make our own. Together, as a family, we’ll make our own memories for our child. Oh yeah, and fourthly, this little one might be something else entirely, not just a Dragon. After all, it’s got me as its father so we have no idea exactly what to expect. Whatever it is though, we’ll face it together. Okay?”

  The long neck before him moved from side to side before the head turned around, those violet eyes spearing him with the intensity of her gaze. “Thank you, I guess it’s still hard for me to remember I’m not alone anymore.”

  “You’ll never be alone again, Starr.”

  A loud roar erupted from Starr’s beast, flying faster and faster. “I love you, Ronan!”

  Ronan laughed. “I love you too, Starr. More than you’ll ever know, baby.”

  The Dragon flew higher, faster, then dropped down in an almost vertical dive. Ronan holding on for dear life as Starr maneuvered in the sky, doing things a beast of her size should not be able to do…but did.

  “Can’t you feel it? Our baby, can’t you feel it, Ronan?”

  Still hanging on, Ronan tried to concentrate, pushing his senses toward his mate. A little sliver of something catching his attention. “What the hell is that?” he thought as his mental powers almost tickled his brain with…something.

  “Yes!! That’s it. That’s our child!”

  Ronan sucked breath into his lungs as his entire being was overwhelmed with intense feelings of love and protection. Several moments passed before he thought to send some of his own thoughts towards the tiny thing housed within his mate. Centering his thoughts and feelings, he then pushed a feeling of love towards their child.

  The Dragon twitched beneath him. “Starr! You okay?”

  “Yes! I felt that and so did our child. We have the proper bond, Ronan! We have the bond!”

  Laughter erupted from him. “I can only assume that’s a good thing?”

  “I didn’t know if we would have it, what with you being a bloodsucker ‘n all, but we do. You have no idea how happy that makes me, Ronan.”

  “I think I do, mo chroi, because I’m feeling kinda elated right now. So, how does this work? Will we know what you’re carrying? And just how far does the bond go?”

  Ronan’s heart was beating very fast, his body full of excitement and love for his mate and child. He was damn sure he had never felt as happy as he did at this precise moment.

  “Yes, as I get farther along I’ll know if it’s a girl or a boy but we’ll only be able to let our baby know of our love. It’s still a baby so we won’t have any kind of meaningful contact with it, just the bond that grows stronger and stronger.”

  Ronan nodded to himself. “I guess that makes sense. It’d be kinda weird if we had a conversation with a baby.”

  Laughter escaped him again as he thought on trying to explain this to Sam. His best friend was gonna freak but hell if he knew how to explain this to him.

  “Dragons may be magical but even we can’t talk to babies. But, we do have a very strong bond with them, even before they’re born. Now, my love, what say I get us home so we can have some time to ourselves?”

  Ronan heard the meanin
g in her words, his reaction immediate as his heart rate sped up again. This time with excitement of a completely different kind. “Sounds like a plan. Come on, I’m sure you can fly faster!”

  “You asked for it, buster,” Starr replied before taking off like a bullet towards home.

  Chapter 15

  Ronan jumped down from the Dragon’s back, still amazed at how quickly they managed to reach home. Starr landing softly on the roof, his hand gently rubbing her scales before he leapt off, moving away as he waited on her changing.

  After a moment or two when still the Dragon was before him he stepped forward, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

  The great beast shook its head from side to side, before she spoke in his head. “I’m not sure, my Dragon doesn’t want to relinquish itself. It’s very strange and I have no idea what’s going on. It’s never happened before.”

  Ronan moved closer, his hand running along the side of the beasts face. “Is it because of what you said about staying Dragon longer now you’re pregnant?”

  “I think so, it’s the only reason I can think of, but I can’t stay Dragon all the time. Well, not here in the city I can’t.”

  Ronan frowned, this could pose a problem if Starr’s Dragon refused to surrender to his mate’s wish to transform. “Hell, Starr, we’ll need to move you if this keeps happening. Somewhere safe, where you can change whenever you want.”

  “Hold on, I’m almost there.” Starr’s voice in his head sounded strained, not something he had heard before and he watched worriedly as the great beast shimmered and Starr stood gasping for breath.

  Ronan ran forward, taking her in his arms before picking her up, carrying her to the stairs leading down to their apartment. “You okay, Puff?”

  Starr laid her head on his shoulder, her body trembling slightly. “I just feel tired and I never feel tired after going Dragon. It usually invigorates me but she just didn’t want to let go.”

  “We may have to re-think the pregnancy, Starr. If you need to transform more often and for longer then the city is not the best place for it.”

  Ronan felt her nod. “I know but where will I go? I don’t want to be away from you.”

  “You won’t, we’ll work something out. Leave it to me and I’ll see what I can come up with.”

  Starr snuggled closer, her lips kissing his neck as he opened their door. “Hey! Thought you were tired?” he said with a laugh as he carried her inside.

  “I’m not that tired! Now, where was I?” Starr’s lips latched onto his, her tongue darting to gain entrance to his mouth as he groaned with passion.

  “Take me to bed,” Starr murmured, her fingers gripping his hair to hold him in place.

  “You sure?” he asked, still worried about her comment on being tired.

  “Hell yeah! Didn’t I tell you that Dragon’s hormones go wild in pregnancy? Yeah, I’m sure I’ve told you. You’ll be working hard to keep up with my demands, Fang.”

  Laughter bubbled up from his chest, “Oh I think I can manage that!” he chuckled as they reached their room.

  Placing Starr on the bed she flopped back as he undressed her slowly. His lips kissing each piece of skin he uncovered, his hands caressing lightly until she was whimpering with need. Her clothes littered the floor as he flung his own to join them before lying beside her and taking her into his arms.

  Their lovemaking was less gentle than he had planned with Starr taking over, flipping them so she rode him hard. Her head flung back as she moaned in ecstasy, his hands holding her hips and moving her easily upon him.

  His fangs erupted. “Starr!” he exclaimed, his need to feed from her growing each second.

  Starr’s head lowered, her eyes flashing when she saw his fangs, smiling sensually before lowering her neck to his mouth. Ronan pierced her skin, the ambrosia that was his mate’s blood flowing into his mouth. His taste buds came alive as he tasted his mate fully before swallowing the first mouthful slowly.

  As soon as her blood assaulted his senses he drank freely, savoring every drop as his bite took them to heights no human would ever know. Starr screaming with abandon as he held her tight, taking a little more of her blood before retracting his fangs from her throat. Her body still quivering beneath his fingers as he gently stroked her slick back until she came down from her high.

  “Jeez, that was good!” Starr snuggled against him.

  “Good? Good? I’d say it was fucking glorious!” Ronan tipped her over onto her back, his body covering hers as he laughed down at her. “Shower?” he asked, Starr giggling, nodding in agreement.

  Rolling off her he got up, picking her up easily and heading to the attached bath. “Hey, did you see Creed at the funeral today? He was acting a little weird, kept looking around as if he was searching for someone.”

  Starr frowned. “No, I didn’t notice but how can you tell? That he’s acting weird that is, I mean, he always seems to act a little weird to me.”

  Ronan smiled. “More weird than normal then, I wonder what was up with him.”

  “No idea,” Starr said with a smile, “and I’d rather not be thinking of Creed while we’re showering together, Fang!”

  “Sorry, now let’s get you all nice ‘n clean.” He started to soap her body, seeing her relax under his hands he cleansed her fully before wrapping her in a towel. “Sleep, Puff, you need rest.”

  Starr grabbed a towel, rubbing furiously at her jet black hair, throwing it over her shoulder as she walked. “Yeah, I know, come on Fang.”

  Ronan felt the happiest he had in his life watching his pregnant mate do something so ordinary as toweling her hair. His heart was full of love as he dried himself before following her, stark naked, back to their bed.

  *****

  Creed paced back and forward as Veronica sat on the steps leading to her small cabin. Her frown and crossed arms barring the way both physically and metaphorically to her home. His own emotions were in turmoil, not quite understanding how this had happened. A vampire rarely found their truemate and he already had lost his so how could this She-Wolf be his too?

  “So, Vampire, what happens if I tell you to just take a running jump? What if I don’t want a mate? Up ‘til now I’ve done okay on my own so why would I leave here and go with you?”

  Stopping, Creed turned his eyes towards her, his eyes locking with hers. “You can do whatever the hell you want, Veronica. But, I’m guessing you know how these things work and usually we don’t get much choice in the matter.”

  Veronica’s eyes lit up with anger as she spat out, “I’ve told you! My name’s Ronnie! Stop calling me Veronica!”

  “I happen to like Veronica.” Creed kept staring, his eyes never leaving hers, “Ronnie sounds like a guy at a bar, not a beautiful woman.”

  Her arms uncrossed, eyes widening. “Beautiful? You think I’m beautiful?”

  The shock in her voice surprised him. “Could she not see herself in the mirror?” he thought as he took in her petite features. “Of course I do. Are you blind?”

  Standing up quickly she placed her hands on her hips. “No! I’m not fucking blind but I am lame! It’s you that’s blind!”

  Stepping forward Creed closed the distance between them, with her standing on the top stair her face was slightly above his. Seeing anger and upset clearly in her eyes he shook his head. “No, I’m not blind and you are not lame as you put it. You have a slight limp caused by an accident so stop making out you’re a cripple.”

  Veronica’s face turned red with anger. “Firstly, how the hell do you know what happened to me and secondly, I’m a freaking Wolf, do you have no concept how any kind of weakness is looked upon in a Pack? Do you? No! I bet you fucking don’t!”

  Creed’s arm snaked forward, his fingers running down the side of her face, expecting her to pull away. “You are anything but weak, Ronnie, and I know because I asked Jason about you.” He was surprised when she stayed in place so he carried on. “I could sense you before we even got here and as soon as we did, your sce
nt almost took my breath away. I saw you. You saw me. But you turned and walked away so I asked your Alpha.”

  Her face moved towards his hand. “What did he say? That I’m the only She-Wolf of my age still unmated and he would love for you to take me off his hands?”

  “No.” Creed’s hand moved to the back of her neck, holding her in place. “He said none of that but he is aware of why I asked and gave me his permission to pursue this.”

  “I don’t need anyone’s permission, for anything, Vampire,” she said but she didn’t attempt to move away from him. “In fact, I do just ‘bout anything I want. I’m not good at taking orders so if you’re looking for a nice docile Wolf to keep your bed warm then you better go look elsewhere. ‘Cause that’s not me!”

  “Oh I most certainly don’t want a docile woman, Veronica.” He saw her eyes flash again at his use of her full name. “A docile woman is definitely not something I would be even remotely interested in. In fact, the truth is, I wasn’t looking for any woman. Wolf or otherwise. This is as much a shock to me as I think it is to you.”

  “Hmm, now, do I believe you? Or not?”

  Creed moved quickly, snatching her head forward and covering her lips with his own. The little gasp as he did so causing his ardor to flame into overdrive. He kept his eyes open, staring as hers fluttered closed, his hand so dark against her pale skin as he held her in place.

  His heart beat way to fast, his ardor straining against his zipper as his lips continued to cover hers. Slowly, so very slowly, she started to relax, her mouth opening so his tongue could gain entrance. As soon as it did he pulled her into his arms properly, holding her against him as her hands bunched up in his dress shirt.

  Creed could hear her heartbeats increasing, faster and faster until he worried she would have some kind of coronary. He forced himself to remove his lips from hers, any doubts he may have had disappeared at their contact. Veronica’s eyes opening with wonder and distrust clearly showing.