by Anna Lowe
She half ran, half crawled uphill. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the dragon — Hravo? Cyrk? — circle back for another pass. When she was a yard from the emerald, she dove for it and pressed her entire body into the ground, panting silently. Praying she wouldn’t feel the dragon’s talons close around her flesh and lift her bodily from the ground. She clutched the gem as the air pressure changed, signaling his approach.
Then, whoosh! The dragon swept overhead, making the ground shake. Or was that her, trembling where she lay?
A second later, she jumped to her feet, holding the Lifestone. Wondering what the hell she might do next.
Run! Kai roared into her mind as the dragon hunting her pulled a tight turn and came back for another pass.
The sky flashed with fire as the dragons fought overhead.
“Cyrk! Get her!” Morgan roared. His booming voice was gritty and garbled.
Tessa froze when the smaller dragon spotted her. Then she sprinted for the ridgeline as Cyrk took up the chase. The air pulsed with each beat of his massive wings. When the raspy sound of his breath paused, Tessa cringed. The dragon was inhaling, ready to attack her with flame. She glanced back just in time to see his huge mouth open, and—
The emerald warmed in her hand. She whirled, holding it up as the dragon exhaled. The air crackled around her, and orange flames shot around the sides of her body. But there was no burn, no searing pain. Just a furnace of heat and the scream of a frustrated dragon who shot past her, stymied.
He would come back for another pass in seconds, she knew. And then what? She couldn’t play dodge-the-dragon on this tightrope of a ridgeline all night. Sooner or later, she’d slip and fall. That, or Cyrk would find a way to grab her and—
She glanced around. She had to do better than simply avoid Cyrk. She had to kill him. But how?
Hide, Tessa! Kai roared.
She shook her head. No hiding. She had to fight. If not with a powerful dragon body, then at least with her wits — and whatever power the gemstone in her hand possessed.
Molokini was a long, thin, crescent of an island — the remnants of a volcanic crater, long extinct. The ground tilted toward the sea at a forty-five-degree angle to her right, where she’d nearly tumbled into what had once been the caldera side. To her left, the island fell away in a rough, rocky cliff. She peered over the edge, all the way over scooped ripples of rock to the raging swell two hundred feet below.
Come to me. The rocks below, awash in raw ocean, gnashed their teeth.
She whirled, spotting Cyrk return for another pass. Certain death on both sides.
Certain death… The thought stuck in her head.
Her heart thumped as the craziest plan of her life formed in her mind. She lowered herself over the cliff’s edge until her feet hit rock. The wind had sculpted just enough of an indent into the cliff for her to stand in a shallow cave. She pressed herself back against the rock just as Cyrk zoomed overhead. A moment later, with one wingtip straight down and the other slicing the sky, he flew along the cliff’s face, looking for her — so close to the island that his belly practically scraped it.
Tessa’s fingers tightened around an imaginary sword. If only she were like the heroine of one of the books she’d read as a kid. But no sword. No means of self-defense except for the green stone in her fist.
“I want her alive,” Morgan screamed in the midst of his fight with Kai.
Cyrk flew at her with eyes that glowed red. Red enough to tell Tessa he might not comply with the alive part.
“Why should I spare you, wench?” he spat, releasing another plume of fire.
Tessa held the Lifestone up, cowering against the cliff. She screamed into the roar of the fire as it hit with the force of a battering ram, making her lurch. An inch farther and she’d topple over the cliff.
Cyrk streaked past, breaking off his attack with an angry flick of his tail.
Tessa barely ducked clear of the tail then watched Cyrk bank out over the sea, preparing for his next attack — a frontal attack that would pin her against the rock.
She clutched the emerald, but something told her even that wouldn’t save her from the onslaught he was about to unleash.
Kai’s dragon voice boomed overhead, and the sky flashed with light that might have passed for fireworks if she hadn’t known there were three dragons warring up there.
She bared her teeth and faced Cyrk. Maybe she really did have some dragon blood in her genes. Enough to make her want to spit fire back.
Cyrk opened his huge mouth, taunting her. “Try spitting fire, little human. Try.”
Her knees wobbled, and she forced herself to take in a deep breath. She would need it when his fire surrounded her, the way she needed air for a deep dive.
You won’t survive the next one, a voice whispered in her mind. You need to get away.
Tessa wanted to scream. Get away? She’d love to get away. But she had about eight feet to maneuver on one side and ten on the other. That, and the two-hundred-foot drop to the breakers below.
Think! she screamed at herself. Think!
But it was impossible to think with a dragon coming at her head on. All she could do was scuttle sideways like a crab hiding under a ledge — a ledge nowhere near deep enough to shelter her from her foe.
“Die, little human. Die,” Cyrk roared.
Boone’s words echoed out of the depths of her mind. Shiny things, precious things…
Tessa glanced at the emerald. Would it be enough to distract the dragon?
She looked up and found Cyrk closer than ever. Her mind filled with its own roaring sound along with the wave of heat that accompanied a flash of her temper.
“Come and get me!” she screamed, suddenly mad. Frustrated and furious, like she’d never been before. What right did that brute have to come between her and her mate?
The dark sky in front of her blazed into blinding light, but she held her ground.
One second longer, she ordered her wobbly knees.
Another second, and you’re toast, another part of her mind cried. The human part, she realized.
Wait, she barked again, sensing dragon blood stir in her veins, giving her strength.
“Come and get me if you dare!” she screamed as Cyrk rushed onward, blasting her with fire.
“Watch me, stupid girl,” he boomed back.
“You can’t have it!” she goaded, holding out the gem.
“Oh, but I can,” Cyrk snickered, his eyes fixed on the emerald. His beating wings were so wide, they blocked the stars from sight, locking her in a bubble of flame. The temperature around her doubled as his flame closed around her, groping at her body.
“Try,” she goaded him, squinting against the heat. “Just try.”
In two… she told herself, steeling every muscle in her body.
“Die, little human,” Cyrk cried. “Die.”
Tessa’s inner countdown hit one, and she darted sideways into the sliver of space along her tiny ledge.
“You d—” Cyrk started.
“You die,” she murmured, backing away as he crashed into the cliff. His head hit first, and his neck bent at an unnatural angle a split second before momentum brought his body in from behind with a slam. The flames cut off immediately, just like the red glow of his eyes.
Tessa scrambled backward as the dragon’s body fell toward the sea. She nearly cheered — but then her heel slipped on smooth rock, and she pitched forward.
She teetered, flapping wildly at the air with arms that refused to become wings. She kept her right hand closed tight, determined not to lose the Lifestone. Waves spurted upward in a huge splash as Cyrk hit the surface, and she wondered if she would be next.
Tessa! Kai screamed into her mind.
His voice was a lifeline, giving her just enough strength to pull back and crumple into a nook in the rock. She sat there, panting and wide-eyed, not quite able to think.
When more flames erupted around her, she covered her face. Something flutter
ed past the corner of her eye, and she gaped as a flaming dragon streaked by. Not spitting fire, but on fire.
Bye-bye, Hravo, Kai roared as the body sizzled upon contact with the sea. Now you, asshole…
“Morgan,” Tessa whispered, looking up, hoping to see him ablaze, too.
The dark red dragon shot into view, followed by Kai and a long, seeking flame.
“Kai,” she whispered, pressing back into the rock.
The two dragons roared and sped forward until their bodies slammed together with a crash that made Tessa wince. Then they grappled at close quarters, wings beating at the air as they clawed and bit.
It was terrifying yet mesmerizing, and Tessa gaped at the sight. Just when she despaired that Morgan might win the upper hand, Kai would twist out of his grip and counterattack.
Another scream pierced the night, and Tessa whipped around to the right.
“God, no,” she murmured, sinking back against the rock.
There was another dragon, soaring over from Maui. One with fresh wings and claws that pinched at the air, itching to join the fight.
Tessa’s cry of despair turned to a cheer when Kai’s voice boomed into the night.
Silas!
Silas? She sat down, half in shock. Never had she been so glad to see a grouchy dragon in her life.
She sat trembling. A week ago, she didn’t even know shifters existed. Now, she was cheering one on.
Morgan broke away from Kai, backpedaling in the air. Then he executed a quick turn and flew desperately for the horizon.
Enjoy the woman while you can, he roared at Kai, making Tessa’s blood run cold. I’ll be back. For her — and for the stone.
She shivered, watching Kai race after Morgan in furious pursuit. A moment later, he was just a sleek form in the night, barely visible but for intermittent blasts of fire.
Silas flew after Kai and Morgan, but he seemed to hold back, and Tessa wanted to scream. Why wasn’t he helping Kai hunt Morgan down?
Tears streaked her cheeks, and she rocked, wanting to curse Silas — until it dawned on her. Silas was letting Kai fight his own fight. Letting Kai vanquish the enemy honorably.
She squinted into the night, then gasped when a thick strand of fire broke out. A dark form tumbled toward the sea. Down, down, down…
She cried out when a huge splash erupted on the surface of the sea, then sat back, panting. Was that Kai or Morgan who had just plummeted to his death?
The emerald glowed, warming her hand, and her heart beat faster.
“Kai?” she whispered, staring at the dragon circling toward her.
A pair of blue eyes glowed in the night, making her gasp in relief.
Tessa, Kai called, searching the cliffs.
For a moment, she couldn’t move, paralyzed by a thousand emotions. Then she leaped to her feet and waved both hands, grinning like a fool even though that was a dragon racing up to her and not a knight in shining armor. But it wasn’t just any dragon. It was her mate.
Tessa, Kai called in exhaustion and relief. His chest puffed out a bit as he came closer, though, and his huge mouth curled in a dragon grin to tell her he was okay.
And just like that, she found the energy to smile, too.
She put a hand on her hip and did her best to play it cool. If she squeaked or trembled now, she’d never live it down. So she went with the brassy approach.
“Well, it’s about time, mister.”
Is that right? Kai grinned, hovering in front of her.
His wings cast the fresh night air toward her, cooling her skin while his eyes bathed her in warmth and love.
“Lifestone. Dragon blood. Mates,” she said, ticking the words off like a list. “Boy, do you have a lot of explaining to do.”
Kai looked at her, a little chagrined, but a second later she burst out laughing and held her hand out. “Come to me, my mate,” she called, loud and clear. “Come to me.”
Chapter Eighteen
One day later…
Tessa blinked in the noon light. She stayed very, very still on the soft expanse of Kai’s huge bed in case it had all been a dream. But no, the man spooned around her body really was Kai, and the swaying palms outside were the genuine thing. Sunlight glinted off the Pacific, and the silk sheets felt cool on her skin.
Maui. Koa Point Estate. Kai.
His arm was curled around her body, and their fingers intertwined. Slowly, so as not to wake him, Tessa lifted Kai’s hand and smoothed the skin. Had her gentle lover really transformed into a ferocious winged beast the previous night? Was Morgan truly dead?
Kai’s fingers twitched and stroked hers as he murmured over her shoulder. “Morning.”
His voice was so deep, so hushed, she could feel it in her bones.
“Morning,” she whispered, turning in his arms to come face-to-face.
It wasn’t quite morning, but it sure felt like it. A new day. A new life.
The moment she spotted his glowing blue eyes, her breath caught. Dragon. Lover. Mate.
It really had happened. It really was true.
He tugged her without a word and held her tight, making her soul sing. So much had happened in such a short time, but it felt as though years had gone by. Years to get to know what a good man Kai was. How faithful and utterly devoted to her, his mate.
She sighed and stroked his broad back carefully, mindful of the wounds he’d sustained.
“Told you,” he murmured, reading her mind. “Shifters heal fast.”
“Tell me you don’t at least feel sore,” she said, pulling back.
Kai smiled, stretched an arm high, and immediately winced. “Okay, maybe a little sore.”
“A little.” She snorted.
“I forget about it when I’m with you.”
She smiled. Yes, he certainly had pushed the pain aside when they’d finally returned to Koa Point in the wee hours of the night when he’d taken her to bed — but not to sleep. They’d made love for a long, needy hour — partly for human comfort, partly out of sheer animal need, bonding in a way that meant forever, even though they hadn’t uttered the word at the time.
“So, you call that explaining, huh?” she’d joked afterward as they held each other tight.
“I call that proposing to my mate,” he said, gazing deep into her eyes.
“Mate,” she whispered as joy pulsed through her veins.
“It’s forever, Tessa.”
“I want forever.”
“With me.” He stuck a thumb at his own chest as if he wasn’t convinced.
“Forever,” she assured him.
“Still so much to explain…”
She’d kissed him, turned in his arms, and settled against his chest. “Tomorrow. Right now, we really, really need to sleep.”
In spite of everything, she’d slept like a log, and when she woke, her body ached in the most pleasant way possible. Her skin was scraped all over from the rough Molokini soil, but the afterglow of intense sex won out, so the overwhelming sensation was that of warmth and satisfaction. Soul-deep satisfaction.
“Knock, knock,” someone called from the veranda doors.
Tessa ducked and buried her face against Kai’s chest, and he pulled the sheet over her naked body before growling back.
“Damn it, Boone…”
“Hey, don’t kill the messenger,” the wolf shifter called back. “Silas wants you two down in the next hour.”
Boone spoke as if he came to Kai’s every day expecting to see Tessa, which made her grin. The men were a tightly knit band of brothers, and yet she felt accepted. Well, at least as far as Boone was concerned. The question was, what would the others think?
She hugged Kai tighter. Whatever her reception was, one thing was nonnegotiable. Kai was hers, and she was his.
Kai sighed. “A whole hour, huh?”
“He’s feeling generous,” Boone said. “If we were still in Special Forces, it would have been thirty seconds. I think he likes your mate.”
Kai growled a
warning, and Tessa heard the wolf’s light footsteps retreat.
“I get it, I get it,” Boone called. “Your mate. Nobody else’s. See you in an hour.”
Kai flopped on his back, and Tessa rolled to her side, squeezing nice and close.
“So now what?”
Kai ran a hand along her thigh, making her blood heat once again. “Two options. We either tackle the big questions…”
He didn’t sound too enthusiastic, and frankly, neither was she.
“Or?”
“Or you let me show you how a dragon loves his mate all over again.”
“Option two,” she whispered, rolling on top of him, “Definitely option two.”
He grinned and slid his hands lower, and the fun started all over again. In bed, in the shower, on the floor, making Tessa lose track of time and place until she was right back where she started — namely, deeply satisfied, curled up with her man, and wondering if she’d dreamt the whole thing.
But then Kai checked the clock and groaned. “Time to get moving.”
He rose and offered her a hand, pulling her into his arms when she reached her feet.
“Hey,” he whispered, smoothing her hair. “What’s wrong?”
She kept her chin tucked over his shoulder. “You mean, other than facing a dragon, a wolf, a tiger, and a bear all over again?” She thought back to her very first evening on the estate. “Of course, I have my own dragon on my side this time.”
He tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. “You always did, Tessa. From the very first night.”
She gulped. What had she done to deserve this man?
Kai nodded firmly. “To the end of my days. I swear I’ll always be there for you.”
She ran a hand along his cheek, then sighed. “What about the guys? What will they think?”
The corner of Kai’s mouth twisted upward. “Don’t tell me my tough mate is intimidated by those puppies.”
Now it was her turn to groan. “Rottweiler is more like it. Well, Hunter and Boone are fine, but Silas still scares me. And Cruz…”
Kai shook his head. “Cruz is all bark and no bite. Well, maybe not literally…”
She smacked him on the arm. “Thanks. I feel much better now.”
