I'm holding my father and Talya's newborn baby. She's incredible. I love her smell, her softness, and her little wrinkles of baby fat that make me want to pinch her. I've smiled more in the past few days than during the past twenty-four years.Life goes on and this birth proves it. My father has nine children. My siblings all came for the birth and brought their mates, even Roland.Derrick is perfect for my brother. It took seven years for my brother to find him. Roland told me he saw Derrick across a room and he knew instantly. It was so bittersweet for me, though I was incredibly happy for him. They live with the Northeast Clan where Derrick comes from. They tell me stories of Nicolas, a fellow wolf, and his pack-cats and wolves much like my father's mixed pack. My brother is deliriously happy and I'm happy for him.I've written the clan history and gathered information from anyone willing to speak to me. Some of the stories from the female cats have been hard to listen to. It's i
Even after twenty-four years, life would be easier with alcohol. If I can say one good thing about my miserable existence, it's that I haven't had a drink in all these years. Anger, desolation, guilt, and hatred are my drug. I don't wish to spread my wings. I just want death. And now I will accomplish what my heart desires most.I'm not claiming a bride.The curse can take my worthless life and be done with it. While the excitement of claiming usually begins to build in the immediate years before the ceremony, these years have been the worst for me. I only fly out when the need for food forces me to hunt. I haven't seen a single person or dragon in ten years. Well, except a few weeks ago when Bastian came. I barely remember the threat that I made so many years before about considering dragons my enemy and Bastian gave no sign that he cared. I said little to him during his visit and only half listened to his boring diatribe. He said something about forgiving myself, but that will neve
I ride naked as he shows me his realm. It's more beautiful than any place I've ever seen. He flies me through the mountains, across great rivers, and over the ocean that he says separates his realm from Laryn's.As the sun rose this morning, Roxanne took me to her castle where the other dragons waited. They made me eat before taking me to Sarn. I met Ashrac. He was such a handsome boy and full of questions."You are part wolf?" he asked with excitement dancing in his eyes."Yes and you are part dragon," I replied.His chest puffed out. "I am all dragon."I smile at the memory as the wind flows through my hair and my legs clasp Sarn's neck. He lands in soft grass and shifts once I'm down from his back. We make love for hours. It's only my rumbling belly that finally calls a halt to our activities."I can offer nothing but meat," he tells me. "I must hunt and we can build a fire to cook it.""I wish to hunt with you. You be my eyes and we will find our dinner together." I shift to
I fly to the village without the usual burning joy that I've always felt before. The white gowns of the brides flutter in the light wind. My heart doesn't increase its pace at the sight. I don't want one of these women, I want Sierra.I wait for the crashing sensation that usually tells me who the one special bride is. And I wait. I fly over once, circle, and fly over again. Sierra wants me to love this bride. Those were her final words. I stop fighting fate and open my heart to my next bride. "I will try," I tell the wind.I'm not sure what's happening when the clouds above me begin to spin. Several humans are walking toward the center of town where they will kneel to me as I claim my bride. They stop walking. No, they actually freeze in mid-step. Everything but the clouds swirling above my head stops. Not even the gowns of my brides move with the wind.A beautifully winged Pegasus carries a woman as they charge from the clouds. I shake my head and look again. They're real... I thi
She is my true mate. My power builds and my violet light passes from me to her until we are one flashing glow of perfection. Her wolf's power blends with mine in seamless harmony. I have never felt this degree of rightness. I could only share a small part of this energy with my brides. Nothing like what is taking place right now. Sierra's cry floats on the wind and my shout follows. The light explodes around us. It reaches over a hundred yards in all directions and the ground shakes with the power of our release. We are mates. We are one. We are forever.I hold her long after our bodies calm. The glow around us dissipates slowly. If we were in the dragon realm and she my bride, she would have already transcended to dragon. It matters not. She is my mate-a wolf with a dragon's heart."I love you," she says against my chest."And I love you. I'm sorry it took the extra days to get here. I had to say goodbye.""I am sorry for everything you've lost." She's leaning up gazing at me with
PART FOURHera's CurseOne hundred thousand years I curse your kindEach century you will findOne human woman, not your mateThis curse is now your fateAlone.This should be easier after losing so many brides, but it's not. Each memory presses harder into my soul and I drown a bit deeper with each one. I can't even walk through the halls of my castle without remembering Meagan's sweet giggles. Meagan never lost her sense of humor even at her advanced age when death finally claimed her. I miss her laughter, her smile, her sense of humor and ability to brighten my life. It's only been six months but each wretched day feels like a lifetime of loneliness.A noise to my right has me turning my head. I catch a glimpse of just the top of a human head. Pepper. I'd recognize that crazy gold headpiece anywhere. Meagan gifted it to her when Pepper was a young child. She's a strange girl, or I guess a strange young woman now. She lost her hair as a child before she left the earth realm
My heart is beating rapidly and a fine sheen of sweat covers my skin. The dragon almost caught me in his room. My fingers hum where I ran them across Tahr's chest. I bring my fingers up and run them over my lips while I inhale his scent to calm my nerves. He's incredibly alluring even in sleep. I could bypass his silky shoulder-length brown hair, strong jaw, blue eyes that change to the most stunning silver, a single dimple in his cheek that I saw one day when he smiled at Meagan, and a body that no human male could ever rival... if not for the inexplicable energy.It's the energy that attracts me.I'm hidden within an alcove in the dragon's main wing. It's one of my favorite tucked-away spots to observe him without him knowing. Meagan asked me to watch over him after she died, she was most adamant about it. I owe her everything and never told her that I would have done it anyway.I think about the day Meagan and the dragon brought me here as a child. I'd lived in constant pain for
I creep up the stairs, thankful when I make it past the children's ward monitor. Charlotte is a few years older than I am and she has found her permanent job within the castle. She's kind and softhearted, especially with the children, but she would not approve of me going anywhere near the dragon's tower now that Meagan is gone.She also knows it's far past time that I find my place within these walls and settle into a job. Meagan was the only person who never rushed me into a decision. I miss her tremendously. With a small sigh, I begin climbing the stone tower stairs and for the hundredth time think on the options open to women. I could work in the kitchens, which are hot and uncomfortable most of the year. I could ask for a cleaning assignment, which would be incredibly boring. I could even work with the children or the elderly, which I've given serious thought. There are a few caretaker positions open to feed and water the animals, but those are usually held by the men. A few of t