Dragon's Choice

by Juniper Hart

  Sawyer lowered her mouth to his stomach as she gently kissed the area just below his naval. She unbuttoned his pants and lowered his zipper, revealing his large cock. She continued to pull his pants all the way off and discarded them on the floor.

  Taking it slow, Sawyer moved down and kissed his thigh, giving him playful bites as her mouth moved closer to his manhood. Using her tongue, she applied pressure from the base of his shaft and moved upwards to the tip. His uninhibited groans encouraged her to keep going. She settled her mouth over his length and moved in a rhythmic motion, while also using her hand to intensify his pleasure.

  She felt him pulsating, signaling he was about to climax, when in one quick motion, he flipped her so her back was against the mattress with him inside of her. Her legs encircled his muscular body, and she squealed with delight as he ravaged her. Her body began to quiver along with his as they climaxed in unison, both panting from pleasure.

  Sawyer looked into his inviting eyes and said, “So much for not being with me, huh?”

  Atticus voraciously kissed her once again. “I can’t pretend I don’t love you. I want to be with you. I can’t bear the thought of anyone else touching you or winning your affection.”

  A woman’s voice began screaming from the hallway outside of Sawyer’s living quarters, and it only took a second for both Sawyer and Atticus to recognize that it was Flavia.

  “Atticus! Atticus!”

  Flavia sounded terrified.

  “I’ve got to go,” said Atticus as he raced to put on his pants.

  Sawyer raced to her closet and put on the first thing she could grab: a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She rushed outside of her room to find Flavia and Atticus in the hallway.

  Flavia was hysterical. “It’s missing. It’s missing. What are we going to do?”

  “Flavia, what do you mean it’s missing? What’s missing?”

  “The fiery willow tree.”

  “No. It can’t be.”

  Sawyer wanted to know what they were talking about, but it was obvious they had more on their minds than explaining to Sawyer what was happening.

  Atticus began giving orders, “Flavia, take Sawyer to your living quarters. Everything needs to be put on complete lockdown. Initiate all security measures. He then began yelling for his guards, who appeared instantly. “Gather half your force, and protect my sister and Sawyer. The other half are coming with me.”

  “Atticus, no, you can’t go by yourself,” screamed Flavia. “I’m just as powerful as you, and I’m definitely more powerful than all of the guards put together.”

  Atticus contemplated his sister’s words, but then refused. “Flavia, I will not let you die. You will take Sawyer with you. The guards will help protect you from whomever is coming after us. The thorn won’t kill them.”

  Flavia agreed, and she lifted Sawyer over her shoulder to move faster to the safer destination. When they reached Flavia’s living quarters, they hid in Flavia’s bedroom. Dozens of vampire guards were stationed around the room, with dozens, or maybe hundreds, of more guards protecting the two women from outside of Sawyer’s living quarters.

  Sawyer used the silence as her opening to find out more. “I thought the fiery willow trees were destroyed? And how can a whole tree be missing.”

  “Well, we destroyed all of the trees, except for one. And, it’s more like a plant than a tree. It’s only about twelve inches tall.”

  “Why did you hold onto the one tree? Why not destroy them all?”

  Flavia made eye contact with Sawyer. “We saved it to kill you.”

  Sawyer’s eyes widened. “Kill me? Why?”

  Flavia rolled her eyes, annoyed that Sawyer couldn’t keep up. “It was before we knew you. We needed a way to defeat you.”

  “How would it kill me?”

  “It wouldn’t kill you unless you were a vampire. The plant has thorns, which are about the length of a pencil eraser. The roots of the plant are harvested for the drug that is causing so may problems. But, the thorns from the plant can kill us. They are harmless to everybody and all other vampires. However, the thorns can kill Atticus and me if they are lodged into our hearts. It’s our only weakness.”

  “Lodged in your hearts? But, they are so small! Your killer would have to get so close. You could stop them.”

  “A simple dart gun would do the trick, Sawyer. I am sure our enemies have developed something much more sophisticated.”

  “Even if you get the tree back, how do you know they won’t keep the thorns?”

  “There were two thorns on the tree. We have to get it back.”

  “You said you found other fiery willow trees growing a couple hundred years ago. What if they have those thorns?”

  “It takes about one thousand years for one thorn to grow. Those other trees weren’t very old. Very few people know about the thorns. The vampires who found those other plants only wanted to the roots to create the drug.”

  Flavia paced the floor, sighing every few seconds. Her nervous energy made Sawyer even more nervous. “That’s it. I can’t stay here. Sawyer, I am leaving you here. You will be protected.”

  Sawyer heard Flavia shout some orders at the vampires, and then she was gone. Sawyer was alone with dozens of vampires. She didn’t know if she should try to strike up a conversation or just sit still. She chose to keep to herself.

  What if Atticus and Flavia die? How can I live without them? Sawyer’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion and a shouting match from outside of the bedroom door. She didn’t recognize any of the voices.

  “Where is she? Tell me where she is!”

  “How could you turn against Atticus? He’s trusted you for 500 years.”

  “He turned against us! How could he keep that vile girl alive?”

  The door swung open, and dozens of vampires stormed in. They moved so quickly that Sawyer didn’t know what was happening. She raced under the bed; some were protecting her, while others were out to kill her.

  Fingers wrapped around her ankle and pulled her from her hiding place. The vampire lifted her from the ground by her ankle and held her in mid-air.

  A familiar voice yelled, “Marco, Let her go!”

  It was Atticus.

  “Gladly,” a threatening voice answered, who Sawyer assumed was Marco.

  The vampire released his grip on Sawyer’s ankle, and she came crashing down to the ground. She tried to stand up and rush to Atticus, but Atticus reached her first.

  “Are you all right, Sawyer?”

  “Yes, I’m—”

  Marco cut her off. “Atticus, kill her, or I will.” Marco said with a snarl as he bared his fangs.

  Sawyer looked up, sickened by the scene around her. Vampires lay dead throughout the room. So much death lately! The events seemed to be happening in slow motion.

  Atticus was screaming something, while Marco laughed. Sawyer turned her head slightly as a small gush of wind and a quick buzzing sound whooshed past her ear. Sawyer turned to see Atticus clutching his chest, and as she looked up to his eyes, they changed from a brilliant blue to the dead, red eyes that all the other vampires had. Her eyes moved back down to his chest to see blood pouring out from under his hand.

  “The fiery willow,” said Atticus, barely above a whisper.

  A loud scream made Sawyer turn to see Flavia standing in the room.

  “Get away from him, all of you,” came a loud, piercing scream as Flavia saw her brother dying before her eyes.

  Flavia ripped through the crown of vampires, killing anyone in her path. The room cleared, as nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

  Flavia knelt down next to her brother, who was now lying on the ground. She stroked his hair and sang a song in a language Sawyer didn’t recognize.

  “What can I do?” asked Sawyer, afraid to hear the answer.

  Flavia looked at her with tears in her eyes. “Nothing. I found the plant in Henry’s room and burned it, but it was missing a thorn. Sawyer, I don�
�t know what I am going to do without him. He’s all I have left.”

  Sawyer looked down at Atticus. She had fallen in love with the man who lay before her. He had protected her, loved her, and now he was going to die in front of her.

  Sawyer remembered the prophecy and knew what she had to do. The last carrier of the Vasile bloodline will spill blood to balance the magic. She looked around for a sharp object and found a broken piece of glass from a vase that had been on Flavia’s nightstand.

  Grasping the glass in her right hand, she slashed her left wrist.

  “No! Sawyer, what are you doing? There are too many vampires here; they will kill you if they smell that much blood!” screamed Flavia.

  Sawyer didn’t listen. She placed her wrist over Atticus’s mouth, and let the blood flow. His body was lifeless, but it was all she could do to help.

  Flavia didn’t stop Sawyer until she noticed the color draining from her face.

  “Sawyer, it won’t do any good. He’s gone. The thorn pierced his heart.”

  Atticus’s face started to twitch, and Sawyer let out a sigh of relief as Atticus opened his eyes, which were once again a brilliant blue. When he realized he was drinking Sawyer’s blood, while also taking her life, he flung her wrist from his mouth.

  He was alive. Sawyer was relieved, but knew it was too late as she felt weak and knew she was dying. She watched as Atticus bit his own finger to use the blood to heal her wrist. He could heal her wrist, but he couldn’t replace her massive loss of blood.

  Blackness surrounded Sawyer, and she heard faint voices, but everything felt like it was happening in a dream rather than in real life.

  “Atticus, you have to change her. She will die! Move out of my way, I’ll do it.”

  “No! I will.”

  The voices ceased. Sawyer felt nothing.

  7

  The pain was unbearable. Every nerve in Sawyer’s body was alive with the feeling of agony. She cried out, but no sound came from her voice. What is happening? Am I dead? Is this hell? Why won’t it stop?

  Cold. She felt cold. Then, she was numb. Sawyer opened her eyes to find Atticus stroking her hair, while Flavia sang the same lullaby she sang to Atticus.

  “Sawyer, we thought we lost you,” shrieked Flavia. “It worked. I thought it was too late. I’m so happy you’re alive!”

  “I don’t feel alive,” said Sawyer. “I feel numb, and I am really hungry. I don’t think I have ever felt so hungry.”

  “You need to eat, my love,” said Atticus, as he continued to stroke her hair.

  Atticus barked orders at the vampires standing on guard. “Bring four bags from the blood bank. Hurry.”

  “The blood bank?” questioned Sawyer. “Am I—” she couldn’t finish the question.

  “I had to, Sawyer. You would have died,” said Atticus.

  “But, what about the prophecy?” asked Sawyer, with a worried tone in her voice.

  Flavia answered, “We don’t know yet. But as soon as we knew the transformation started to take place, vampires started disappearing left and right.”

  The guard arrived with the blood. Sawyer was still amazed at how quickly vampires moved.

  “You can’t possibly expect me to drink that,” said Sawyer, an utter look of disgust on her face.

  “You’ve lost a lot of blood, Sawyer. You have to drink it to get strong.”

  Sawyer turned up her nose, but then caught a whiff of the blood as Atticus opened a bag. Her mouth began to salivate, and the metallic scent increased her hunger. Atticus raised the blood bags to her lips, and she drank, satiated by the warm liquid and shocked by how much she enjoyed the flavor.

  “You saved my life, Atticus. Thank you.” She paused. “What does this mean, you know, for us?”

  “Sawyer, you saved my life. I love you. Now that you’re immortal, I don’t have to worry about losing you after mere decades. I want you by my side, as my lover and as my queen.”

  Epilogue

  Are you sure we’re safe?” asked Sawyer.

  “Yes, when Atticus changed you, all vampires who had taken drug from the fiery willow tree vanished. The vampires they created also vanished. The prophecy foretold of our victory over the vampires who took the lives of innocent people,” explained Flavia.

  “I still feel sad that Henry died. Did Henry turn on Atticus because of me?”

  “Of course not. Another one of Atticus’s guards said that Henry had the drugs long before you got here. The other guard never knew that Henry actually took the drug. He thought he was turning it in to Atticus.”

  “He was so nice to me in the beginning.”

  “He was working for Marco. He needed to get close to you,” explained Flavia.

  “What about the thorns?”

  “All the plants and thorns have been destroyed. And like I said, if for some reason a plant starts growing, it takes one thousand years for a thorn to form.” Flavia zipped up Sawyer’s dress. “Now, you must stop asking questions about the past and focus on your future. Today is your wedding day, after all.”

  “Yes, it is!” said Sawyer, enthusiastically. “Do I look okay?”

  “I knew you’d look like a goddess when you became like us. I was right.”

  Sawyer looked in the mirror and gazed at her reflection. The flawless skin and her perfectly toned body made Sawyer feel like she was looking at someone else. Her eyes had kept their bright green color, and like Flavia and Atticus, she could spend time in the sunlight without burning.

  “Let’s go, Sawyer. Atticus is waiting.”

  “Thank you for walking me down the aisle, Flavia. I don’t have anyone else to give me away.”

  “I am not giving you away, Sawyer. I am gaining a sister!”

  The women walked to the ballroom where the wedding was taking place. The doors opened, and Sawyer locked eyes with Atticus as she walked down the aisle. He looked lovingly upon his bride, obviously pleased by her appearance. Sawyer took no notice to the tens of thousands of vampires in attendance.

  Atticus reached for Sawyer’s hand as Flavia took her seat. Words of love and devotion were exchanged, and the crowd cheered as the couple shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

  Atticus whispered, “After the party, how do you want to celebrate our union? I thought we’d go to Rome or maybe the Galapagos Islands.”

  “That sounds lovely, but I really want to go back to our bed and christen it as newlyweds!”

  “I like the way you think, Mrs. Sawyer Klassen.”

  “I couldn’t be happier, Atticus. I never thought I would find someone was wonderful as you. And I have Flavia in my life, too. I’m so lucky.”

  “You’ve finally found your family, Sawyer.”

  THE END

  Bonus Content: Shifter Romances

  Part I

  Protecting His Mate

  By Lucy Penn

  1

  Miss? Can I get a refill, please?”

  Lola Waters groaned quietly and turned around with a forced wide smile on her pretty face. An older gentleman was sitting at the table behind her, holding up his coffee mug, which was already half full. He wore a goofy grin that exposed the precious few teeth he still had left. Lola wanted to yell at him, but she forced the kindness back into her heart and replied with a, “You bet”.

  She grabbed the coffee pot from behind the counter and returned to the man’s table to give him a refill.

  “Thanks, honey,” he said with a chuckle.

  Lola tried to ignore her impulse to strangle the old man and rushed back into the kitchen to see what was keeping the order for table four. The businesswoman there kept giving her dirty looks laced with impatience. Oh, life was fun.

  “Hey, Charlie.” Lola peeked her head through the small window that separated her from the cook. “What’s up with the burger for table four? I think that lady is going to go ballistic if she has to wait much longer.”

  “Just finishing up,” Charlie replied. “She wanted it ‘very well done,�
� remember? ‘Very well done’ takes more time.”

  “Yeah, but you forget that none of our customers understand the basic laws of physics,” Lola joked.

  While Charlie finished putting the order together, Lola stopped a second to take a much-needed breather. It was funny, but she’d always thought that being the owner of a diner meant she wouldn’t be waiting tables and losing her mind. Then again, she’d never actually thought about working in a restaurant again, let alone being the one in charge of it.

  Six weeks ago, Lola had received word that her grandmother had passed away. She’d never really been that close to her grandmother, but it was still pretty shocking to lose her, even more so that her grandmother had left her a small building as an inheritance. Over the years, the building had been a variety of shops and offices, but it had been vacant for almost six months when her grandmother had passed away. Now it was hers.

  The inheritance couldn’t have come at a better time. Lola had been having a hard time finding a good job with her art history degree. She’d once entertained the idea of going to grad school and then teaching at the college level while continuing to work on her own painting, but she was out of money and she was burnt out on school. It was time for an academic break.

  Back then, she had still had her job as a secretary for the call center of a local cable company. At least, she had, until the company got bought out and moved the location of the call center out of state. Luckily, this building had fallen in her lap, so she moved across the country from California to South Dakota.

  Lola had worked in a diner throughout high school, and she knew the business well, so she’d secured a business loan using the building as collateral and opened up the Crazy Bear Diner a little over two weeks ago. She still wasn’t sure about the name, but when she called her friends back home, they all loved it.

  Every day, Lola thought to herself that it may have been a horrible mistake. The work was hard, the hours long, and the customers could be insane to deal with, but the diner was actually doing great. Anytime she felt like strangling a customer, she just had to remember that.