Dragonlord: A Dark Shifter Romance

by Delta James

  Bridget loved him more in that one moment than she had ever loved anyone, including her daughter. Not only did he accept she had a child, but already thought of her as his too.

  “Her name is Ciara and she is six years old. She is beautiful, courageous, and smart...”

  “Like her mother,” he said, gently kissing her.

  “Will you insist on turning her?”

  “Is that what concerned you, beloved? She will remain wolf. The only way to be made a dragon is to have the dragon’s tongue enter your back passage and initiate the change. She is my child as well. If one of my brothers should awake and either he or one of his sons wants to take her to mate when she is of age, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. But Ciara will remain true to her heritage. We will have to ensure that there are wolf-shifters who wish to swear fealty to us so she will not be without her own kind.”

  “I don’t know that Ruari will give her up...”

  “Had you found your lost city and established your sanctuary, surely you meant to have her with you...”

  “But I hadn’t been made dragon...”

  “So, would you have secreted her away? I will not have your former alpha worry about your or Ciara’s safety. I will tell him you have joined your life with mine and that I will raise her as my own.”

  “It might go easier if I were with you...”

  “It might, but I have an overriding need to keep you and the child that grows in your belly safe here at home.”

  “Can I not become my dragon when I am pregnant without harming the baby?”

  “A dragon’s baby? You can; my earlier concern was if you had been carrying a wolf-shifter or some kind of hybrid child in your womb that the transition might have destroyed it. But our baby will always be safe with you.”

  “Then let me come with you.”

  “No. You will remain at Tintagel.” He held up a hand to ward off her argument. “That is the end of it. I shall fly to Eire and return with our daughter.”

  “Gideon...”

  “Enough, my true heart. I will not brook your disobedience in this. I feel it only fair to tell you that being pregnant will not save your backside should you choose to disobey me.”

  “Ciara may be afraid of you; she loves Ruari and the pack. If I’m not there...”

  Gideon’s laughter cut her short.

  “She is her mother’s daughter, no doubt, which means her courage most likely exceeds her ability to consider her foolishness if the prize is great enough. Do you really think she would pass on the opportunity to climb on a dragon and go for a ride?”

  Bridget thought for a moment and smiled; Gideon was right.

  He nodded. “I can see I am right. Our daughter is headstrong like her mother.”

  “She is also a born female wolf-shifter. They will not be inclined to let her go without a fight.”

  “They are wolves; I am a dragon. They cannot defeat me in battle.”

  “Of course they can. They would be more than willing to kill you to keep her; you would not kill them to take her,” she said with quiet assurance. “Not that you couldn’t, my true heart, but you wouldn’t subject our daughter to that. It gives them a decided advantage.”

  He nodded and smiled at her use of the endearment. “What if you gave me something she would recognize as yours... or told me something that she would know came from you? I will find a way to get close to her, reassure her that it was you who sent me, and spirit her away.”

  Bridget laughed. “Ask her if she remembers what I did to her father when she was a small child to get even with him for going into battle without taking me. It’s one of her favorite stories.”

  “Dare I ask?”

  “When her father first saw me, I was up to my elbows in fish guts. When he told my father he was my fated mate and claimed me as his own, I refused to go along...”

  “Of course you did,” said Gideon with amusement.

  She grinned at him. “In any event, I hit him across the face with a dead mackerel trying to get away. From then on whenever I was angry with him, I’d find some way to get even with a dead mackerel. So, when Ciara was four, her father was going into battle. He refused to let me go with him and when I insisted, he spanked me and gave orders that I was to be confined to our chambers until he returned. I gave Ciara a dead mackerel to slip deep into her father’s saddlebags. Most of the pack knows that part of the story. What most don’t know was that she didn’t put it in his saddlebags. She managed to get it into the tip of his sword scabbard. It took them the longest time to figure out where the stench was coming from. And as he’d had his sword in and out of its sheath, he punctured the damn thing numerous times and from then on his scabbard smelled of dead mackerel.”

  Gideon laughed. “So, if I tell her where she hid the dead mackerel, she will know you told me.”

  “She should. And only she knew I was looking for the lost city to establish the sanctuary.”

  He pulled her close. “I will convince her that her mother is now my mate and that I will stand in her sire’s place as her father.”

  They descended the stairs and were greeted warmly by those who were either living in the castle itself or had made a camp of sorts in what would be the outer bailey. Gideon drew her to him and kissed her long and hard.

  “Cadan, watch over my true heart.”

  “As if she were my own,” he responded.

  “And you, Song of My Heart, are to remain here and care for the baby you carry. I will go get our daughter.”

  Gideon discarded his clothes and Bridget put them in the cylindrical carrying case. She watched as man turned to dragon. When the great beast turned back to them, Cadan and the others stepped back. Bridget stepped forward and embraced his head as he rubbed it against her. He picked up his clothing and the small treasure chest. She backed away to give him space and marveled again as Gideon’s powerful wings lifted him from the earth and he turned once more to Eire.

  “Gideon,” Bridget called as she waved. “My a’th kar milweyth moy es ow brothel.”

  He laughed, a deep rumbling dragon’s roar. Her pronunciation of the old Cornish saying was atrocious, but he knew the sentiment was genuine. She had said, “I love you a thousand times more than my mackerel.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Gideon flew out to sea and saw his fishing fleet following a school of fish toward the east. Bridget was right, those men might have valuable information that they weren’t even aware of. He took refuge among the clouds and flew with speed toward the girl he already thought of as his firstborn.

  He located the village of Dundalk and landed a short distance away. Setting down and returning to his human form, he dressed and headed into town. He settled down at a back table in the tavern and represented himself as a traveler who had lost his horse. The patrons of the pub were friendly and readily accepted a stranger who was buying rounds for the house. They were quick to tell the story of the missing former mistress and the way her horse and a magnificent stallion had been returned in her stead. Ruari, the alpha of Dundalk, had offered a large reward for any information leading to her safe return. Gideon had brought the rest of the bride price for Bridget to leave when he spirited Ciara away with him.

  Gideon headed to the public stables, rented a horse, and headed for Castle Dundalk. He admired the surrounding countryside that was dotted with prosperous farms. He was cresting the hill and saw a small horse coming up from what appeared to be an old burial ground. He reined his horse in and watched as the little girl looked around to ensure she wasn’t seen and then galloped away to the west. Gideon grinned, quite sure he had just had the first glimpse of his daughter.

  He rode in what he thought was most likely a parallel route to Ciara’s. He directed his horse up to the top of a hill with a commanding view. Ciara sat atop her mount on the edge of a riverbank scanning the area to the western horizon for as far as she could see. Gideon tethered his mount, removed his clothing, and shifted to his dragon form. As he didn
’t want to be spotted, he trotted and then galloped, picking up speed as he spread his wings and lifted off from the hilltop. He hugged the ground and went downriver from Ciara’s position. Counting on her having her mother’s curious and fearless nature, Gideon flew down the river to where he knew she would see him.

  As he glided past her, barely skimming the water, he heard Ciara gasp and then giggle with delight. He turned his large head to confirm what he had hoped to see. His daughter, his beautiful daughter, was not the least bit afraid of seeing a dragon. She was enchanted. He landed close by and she approached him.

  “Hello,” she called softly as though she feared she would frighten him. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”

  Unlike other forms of shifters, dragons could speak in a human dialect in their shifted form.

  “I am Gideon, Lord of the Earth. Would you be Ciara of Dundalk?”

  She nodded. “I am. How do you know me?”

  “I am friends with your mother.”

  “You know my mother? She went to find us a new place to live. I didn’t think she’d be gone this long. Have you seen her? I miss her. Uncle Ruari is very angry with her.”

  “I suspect he is just worried about her safety.”

  “My mother can take care of herself. She is the daughter of a fisherman.”

  “Yes, she is. She told me about a trick the two of you played on your father when your mother was angry with him.”

  Ciara lifted her chin defiantly. She was definitely her mother’s daughter. “He deserved it. He should have let Mother go with him.”

  “Perhaps he was only trying to keep her safe.”

  “You’re a boy dragon. You wouldn’t understand. Males don’t understand that we she-wolves can take care of ourselves.”

  Gideon nodded. “I can see that. Drakaina, what we called female dragons, are very much the same way. But we males are arrogant and overly protective, especially of those we love. Would you like me to take you to your mother?”

  “Can you do that? How do I know I can trust you?”

  “Your mother sent me. She told me that only you knew she was looking for the lost city of the humans to establish a sanctuary for those she-wolves or other females who wished to be mistresses of their own fates. And that you were the one that put the dead mackerel in your father’s sword scabbard.”

  Gideon’s acute sense of hearing picked up the shouts of men who he suspected had been sent to retrieve Ciara and return her to the keep.

  “Can you take this small chest and put it with your pony? Can you write?”

  “Yes, my mother taught me already to read and write. I can do numbers as well.”

  “That’s wonderful. There’s a blank piece of paper and pencil in the chest. Can you write your aunt and uncle a note letting them know that your mother sent me to bring you to her? I’m sure you’ll be of enormous help to her at Tintagel.”

  “Is that the name of the lost city?”

  Gideon smiled. His daughter had a keen intellect for a small child.

  “In a way, I suppose Tintagel has been lost as well. And I have promised your mother than we will establish a sanctuary for those who need it. Can you add a note to your uncle that the treasure chest is the one I promised him and that you are coming with me so I can take you to your mother?”

  She nodded and did as Gideon asked.

  “If I’m leaving my pony, how will we travel on foot fast enough to stay ahead of the search party? I can hear them now. Uncle Ruari will be very cross with me. I’m not supposed to leave the castle without his permission and an escort. But they don’t want to ride where I want to go... and they don’t like to gallop.”

  “When we get to Tintagel, we shall find you a wonderful horse to ride, but for now, how would you like to climb up on my back and ride me?”

  Ciara’s face lit up and her smile and dancing eyes made Gideon’s heart clutch in his chest. She was most definitely his true heart’s daughter and so already had a piece of his heart. He offered her his leg and she scrambled up onto his back. The search party was just cresting the hill above the river when Gideon trotted away from them and lazily flapped his wings. Making his takeoff as gentle as possible, he banked back toward the riders so they could see Ciara was with him. He heard her call to them and saw her wave out of the corner of his eye.

  Wanting to return her to her mother as quickly as possible, Gideon flew a direct course for home. He stopped several times to ensure that Ciara was not overly tired or afraid. She was neither; in fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Gideon flew out over the ocean and then turned back to approach Tintagel.

  “Is that it?” Ciara called. “Is that our new home?”

  “Yes,” Gideon called back. He roared happily to announce their arrival and could hear Ciara laughing with delight.

  He landed softly and helped her down from his back.

  “Ciara!” called Bridget, running toward them.

  “Mother! I rode a dragon, Mother! Did you see?”

  Embracing the little girl, Bridget lifted her up and twirled around as their people came up to meet her. Gideon found some privacy so he could shift and get dressed. Cadan was waiting with a horse and the two rode back to the main keep. As he watched his true heart and the child he already thought of as his run to greet them, Gideon knew he was home. They would be ready for whatever was coming, but for now he meant only to bask in the love of his true heart, their daughter, and the child yet to be born.

  * * *

  The men entered Castle Dundalk and were greeted by both alpha and mistress.

  “There was a cask of gold and jewels attached to Ciara’s saddle. Inside were two notes, one from her and the other addressed to you. The note from Ciara said that her mother sent the dragon to take Ciara to her.”

  “And you just let them go?” asked a distressed Arielle.

  “She got up on the dragon’s back by her own choice. It looked like he turned so we could see she was safe on top of him and unafraid. She waved and called to us. She seemed quite happy.”

  Ruari opened the chest. As the guard had said it was filled with coins and precious gems, along with two notes. One was obviously from Ciara and the other read:

  Ruari of Dundalk,

  I am Gideon, Lord of the Earth, and call

  the stronghold at Tintagel my home.

  As you have probably realized, I am the

  last of the dragons.

  Your brother’s widow is my true heart,

  much like your fated mates. She has

  become one with me and as I write this

  is preparing for our bonding ceremony

  and to carry the first dragon-shifter to

  be born in millennia.

  Bridget tells me that wolf-shifters have

  no comparable tradition, but I offer

  this small token as a gift in the hopes

  that there can be peace between us.

  Gideon

  P.S. Ari—Gideon has come for

  Ciara at my request. She is my

  child and will be raised as a wolf.

  I never found the lost city but my

  dragonlord has offered sanctuary

  to those who need it. Be happy

  for me. I hope to see you

  again.

  Always,

  Bridget

  Ruari growled. “We have no way to know if he speaks the truth or what he has done to Bridget.”

  Arielle, his mate and mistress of Dundalk, smiled. “But we do. The postscript is from Bridget. Anyone might know that Arielle is mistress of Dundalk, but only those who are close to us know me by my nickname. And I recognize her hand. It is from Bridget; I’m sure of it.”

  “Bridget could be his prisoner,” argued Ruari.

  Arielle shook her head. “If that were the case, she would never have told him of Ciara’s existence.”

  “You can’t be certain of that,” growled Ruari.

  “I assure you, my alpha, I can. I am w
ell aware of the lengths a mother will go to in order to keep her child out of harm’s way.”

  Ruari hugged her close. “I know you hear the other women talking...”

  Ari cut him off with a deep and sensual kiss before placing his hand on her lower belly.

  “I know firsthand what I’m talking about,” she said quietly.

  Stunned, Ruari looked down to see her grinning at him. He scooped her up and swung her around in his arms as those who had seen and heard her admission cheered.

  “Send riders to Gareth and Alaric. Tell them the news. Connor?” Ruari said, calling for his beta. “Take a small escort and head to Tintagel. See for yourself that Bridget and Ciara are safe and happy. If so, tell the dragonlord I would propose a meeting between himself, Gareth, Alaric, and me. If what Gareth has heard from the Old Continent is true, it might not be a bad thing to have a dragon on our side.”

  The End

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