"Are you sure? Weren't we supposed to turn left back there? I REALLY thought --"
"Bunny, we're looking for a county road, not an interstate," Sebastian said, grinning and watching Shamira grip the steering wheel that she was wanting to strangle it. Sebastian had been the one to propose a quick trip down to Macon to investigate the faerie colonies and disappearance, since Shamira was still sort of in Shane's doghouse.Shane had finally agreed, but had asked them to take Bunny along on her first enforcement mission. Before they left, Renata had chuckled and told Shamira that if Bunny didn't get out of the house for a bit, Clara was going to kill her. Clara could only handle so much of the overly perky new vampire, and that limit had been passed.So the three of them were driving all over the Macon area, making contact with faerie colonies and asking about any disappearances. They were out looking for the last colony on their list and were having a bit of tro"We felt the push, but they weren't able to get past our shields to locate us. We're sure of that at least. We haven't lost anyone since. We may not be big, but no one comes into a faerie colony with hostile intent who isn't willing to pay a price.""I am quite willing to believe in the power of the faerie race," Shamira replied."If this is a morning star issue as you say," the Princess said, trembling now with anger, "then they must be stopped. Our people should not pay the ultimate price so that some human can feel powerful for a moment. It is barbaric.""I agree. Had you heard of such disappearances from other colonies?""Only from Sunshine Downs. It's near Savannah. They lost a couple several months ago and were wondering if they'd run away up here. They pretty much circled the wagons after that, much like we have. They're the oldest colony in North America, so they have enough power to keep their shields and still check their messages."
---------- --------------------Back at the house . . .---------- --------------------"You got into a shootout . . . with police," Shane said calmly, his voice as chilly as a winter night.Shamira was a little surprised by her chilly reception, but plowed forward regardless. "Yes sir. We tried to make a break for it, but they had a third car." She'd already explained everything, so she wasn't sure why she was repeating herself.Shane looked over at Sebastian. "And you felt this was the best course of action.""It was Shamira's call and yeah, I thought it was the right one. She tried to avoid loss of life first, but they weren't going to give a choice. They were hunting magical beings. She spotted the cuffs right off, they were behaving weird for cops, and then when we popped their magazines afterward and saw the silver bullets --""This was a very dangerous situation," Shane interrupted. "The Tribunal meeting is just a
------------ ---------------The next day . . .------------ ---------------They say that when you sleep that you resolve personal issues and tend to be less depressed than when you went to sleep. Needless to say, not all such ideas are absolute rules. When Shamira pulled herself out of the back of the SUV, she had a crick in her neck and a scowl in her heart.She went straight to the firing range to get her ranged weapons training in. Her reflexes had improved since her death, leaving her able to cluster her shots together at will. She was practicing with a modified M-16 when she got some unexpected company.Banshee was smart enough to wait until Shamira had emptied her clip before making her presence known. It wasn't that she was afraid the other vamp would intentionally hurt her, but the message the doms had all gotten from Shane indicated that the girl wasn't in a stable frame of mind. "Are you ready to work on your spider wrangling?
----------- ---------------Two days later . . .----------- ---------------They had actually let Shamira out after of her cell after the first day, but she'd cursed at Banshee, spit on Shane, then turned and stepped back into the cell on her own. The hunger kicked in on the second day, and they actually slid her a blood pack which she refused to consume . . . at first. She hadn't eaten at all since before her trip down to Macon, and vampiric hunger was much more intense than anything she had experienced when human. She drank and cursed herself, though she wasn't sure why.In the last three days, she had gone from loving her new life, loving her purpose, and basking in the feel of family, to suddenly feeling about as alone as she ever remembered being. Shamira could never go back to being the woman she had been before, but she couldn't imagine being around any of these beings anymore. She knew that she'd brought a lot of it on herself, and she wi
Shamira was stunned. She had known how she'd felt about Clara, but she'd underestimated the girl's feelings about Shamira. Again, she found herself cursing Shane for putting her in this position. She gave Clara a head start because both women needed a chance to cool off. Before she got back to the house, she saw Sebastian waiting in the shadows next to the house."You want something?" she asked."You, secured to a wall and glowing with sexual satisfaction," the dashing werespider said, "but given the circumstances, I'll settle for a talk. If you're up to it."Shamira nodded. "I'm tired and I'm hungry, so make it quick.""Shane asked me to take over the investigation," he said. "Looking for the morning star trade."She nodded again. She suspected as much. "Congratulations," she said, not meaning it at all."I told him I didn't want it. It's your baby, the ideas are yours --""Sebastian, don't cross him because of me. YOU
She took a deep sniff and then, "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice highly unfriendly.Renata strolled out of the darkness. "Damn hard to sneak up on you, you know that? We miss you inside," the werejaguar added, tilting her head toward the house. "But you probably don't much care, do you? Shamira, I'm not going to apologize for what I did. Shane says to put someone in the cell, I do it. I can't let how I feel cloud my judgment or stop me from my duty. None of us can. But Banshee and I both hated what Shane wanted us to do and we told him so. How long are you going to hold this against us?""I'm immortal. I guess that means I can hold grudges a damn long time. And what is this about telling him how mad you were after the fact? That's like making your last stand after the Alamo has burnt to the ground. Too little, too late." Shamira turned to walk away."So that's it?" Renata said, her frustration spilling over in her voice. "You're going to ali
"Please. I wish to speak to you, but wanted to greet this charming young man first.""I'll let you two get to business then," Sebastian said, kissing the Representative's hand and then backing away."Charming turncoat," Shamira muttered. "Yes?""Yes what?""You wanted to talk to me?""Why is it that you are the only one here who seems less than thrilled to accommodate me?" Alessandra asked amusedly. "Now that I have had a chance to meet Lord Stapleton's were contingent, I would like to have a smaller gathering with just the vampires of Shane's line. I so rarely get to visit family," she ended in a whisper meant for Shamira alone. "Please, escort me to the dining hall."Shamira looked over her shoulder. The dining hall was clearly visible through a set of double doors. "It's right --""I want you . . . to ESCORT me . . . to the dining hall. I would like your presence there for the dinner. And to think everyone has been te
Shane looked like he was contemplating something. "If you can make it back before the Representative needs you, perhaps you should visit your donor tomorrow. If she finds anything, you can make a second visit, but otherwise I need the whole staff here barring emergencies out in the territory. Lacroix will be here for the meeting, so if he is involved, it would be best if we knew before he steps foot on our soil.""Yes sir." Shamira turned and walked away, putting a spring in her step as soon as she was out of Shane's view. The dining hall was mostly cleared out except for a few pockets of discussion, still buzzing over what was just revealed. Clara wasn't there, but she saw Sebastian."Hey, Shane gave the okay to go ahead and start investigating you-know-who," she said when she got close."Excellent. So does that mean you're talking to the boss again?"Shamira glowered for a second, then released the tension in her shoulders. "I want to
------------- ---------------------Eight months later . . .------------- ---------------------"Aodh, could you please help Kira and Arthur get the kids settled down? Company will be here soon," Shamira half-shouted, half-sighed. Being a mother to a nest of little dragons was exhausting. Since defeating Jonas, four more eggs had hatched, giving her another Sea Serpent (this one a female), a female Horned Dragon from the Far East, a male Stone Dragon from the Rocky Mountains of the United States, and a male Quetzalcoatl from Central America.Luckily for Shamira, baby dragons mature quickly given the right guidance. Aodh was already able to understand human language and was the emotional and intellectual equivalent of a teenage human. That was not always a good thing, but most of the time it was a blessing. Aodh, being the "big brother" of the group, helped direct his younger siblings as much as he could. He understood what had happened to his rac
"She seems quite . . . enthusiastic," the Shepherd said from behind her. "But can she multi-task?""She can do many things at once," Shane assured his guest.Shamira just knew that she that her dress was being lifted up, exposing her minuscule panties. Those were ripped off with ease, and then her sex was penetrated from behind. The Shepherd had to be kneeling as he took her, but he did not seem to mind. She had cock in her mouth and pussy, and that made her happy. The Shepherd felt long but slim, making it easy for him to slide in and out of her with rapidity."Prepare to accept a symbol of my power over you," Shane said, withdrawing his member from Shamira's mouth. He pointed the head at her face and ejaculated, coating her face with streams of his seed. It dripped from her nose and mouth and cheek, which he seemed to please him. He zipped up and stepped away, allowing everyone in the room to see her face.Shane leaned over and whispered into he
----------- ---------------A week later . . .----------- ---------------"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You have the number of where we'll be and --"Arthur and Kira were both grinning from ear to ear as Shamira acted like a nervous parent. The two Renfields had once again agreed to babysit the young dragons, along with Katar and his flock, while Lord Stapleton's house had a special dinner to celebrate their recent success in finally quelling the rebellion from Southern Georgia. The Tribunal, as told by the three present members, had expressed the whole body's approval to Shane and his people.The dinner would be held nearby in case Shamira needed to get back quickly, but Archimedes thought things would be able to be kept in control. The spell-casters had come up with talismans that would temporarily allow the dragons' caretakers to communicate telepathically with the young reptiles, and there was a huge number of guards to make
------- --------------------That weekend . . .------- --------------------"So that's pretty much been my life," Shamira finished. She had just recounted her recent life-changes to an already shell-shocked sister, who every now and then just asked Shamira to stand back up just so she could assure herself that the paralysis was gone.Samantha's eyes drifted over to the the dragon Aodh, who seemed to just as curious about her as she was about him. He managed to be around constantly, so much "underfoot" that he was almost cat-like. He was obviously beginning to understand spoken words. "Don't put your nose there," was a phrase he had learned quickly, because Shamira thwacked him hard when he went sniffing people in inappropriate places. Katar had curtailed such admonishments a bit by reminding her that this was how dragons investigated things."He's just so . . . big!" Samantha said happily, then walked over and let the dragon sniff. Aodh
--------- ----------------An hour later . . .--------- ----------------"Well, looks like I'm getting a visit," Shamira said after finally getting off the phone with her sister Samantha. Apparently being able to walk again and turn into a dragon was kind of a big deal. Who knew? She looked over at Kira and Arthur Blanks. "You guys gonna be available to babysit a while this weekend?"Kira was tossing bits of beef jerky to the Thorn-Tail while Arthur was sitting on the deck of the pool watching the Sea Serpent swim underneath. "Yeah," he said. "I think we can manage.""Katar, do you and yours have to be heading back to South America at some point? I hate the idea of just keeping you here indefinitely if you've got things needed doing."* The entire flock is here, and this is a momentous time. * Katar directed his next thought so that only Shamira could receive it. * We heard what you said to the elf. We will remember you for defe
Shamira had one clawed foot on the back of one dragon, trying to keep it still while she kept her eyes on the enormous above-ground pool that had been constructed nearby. Periodically, a little head, and by "little" she meant the size of a bowling ball, popped up shyly out of the water, looked around, the dove under the surface again. There were a lot of strange people in the barn, as well as two larger dragons and a large number of Lesser Dragons. Shamira had the sinking feeling that she would never have free time again.The new addition that had hatched turned out to be another male. He was also a Sea Serpent, which was a type of Moon Dragon. Archimedes had identified it quickly based on some old pictures and they had quickly gotten it to the pond while the pool was being built. The Sea Serpents could breathe above and below the surface and could live in both salt and fresh water. And they could apparently get big. Really big.According to legends, six hundred fe
Shamira's mouth hung open temporarily. What DID she want? There were so many things from the carnal to the mundane that it was hard to decide. Then she looked at Clara, and that was all it took. She grinned.An hour later, she and Clara were sitting on a sofa in one of the trailers watching the enormous HD television that Shane had acquired quickly and at great expense. There was a bowl of popcorn on the floor, a couple of beers, and the two women were watching a pay-per-view romance movie."A first date," Clara chuckled, reiterating what Shamira had asked for."Well, it's a little overdue, don't you think?" the other woman said, feeling a little dorky. She was laying down on the sofa with her head in Clara's lap, glad to have a quiet moment with a woman who meant so much to her. The baby dragon was asleep, while Kira and Arthur were having the time of their lives keeping an eye on the massive reptile as well as talking with the Lesser Dragons. Shane was d
--------- ------------------A week later . . .--------- ------------------Turning into a dragon . . . cool, but complicated. Being the only one who can get a real dragon to eat, sleep, and not set the surrounding countryside on fire was complicated and annoying. Trying to corral one Greater Dragon who wanted to go play with a flock of Lesser Dragons? REALLY annoying.*Everybody stop! * she projected in her most authoritarian voice. Apparently having the power of a full grown Moon Dragon had some advantages, because the dozen or so Lesser Dragons, each the size of large dog but smart as a human, all came to a complete stop and then tried to look inconspicuous. They had been playing what was quite possibly the noisiest, most destructive game of "tag" that she had ever seen played. There were paths through the woods around the farm where trees had literally been trampled by several tons of ancient reptile in pursuit of much nimbler prey.
-------------- --------------The next evening . . .-------------- --------------Shamira was glad that dragons apparently slept most of the day away, because the young one was far too exuberant when it was awake. It did not seem to have any problem obeying Shamira's commands while she was in human form, but she still morphed back into a dragon most of the time because telepathy was more efficient with the youngster. One thing she discovered . . . convincing her companion to bathe would not be a problem. They went out exploring the property under cover of darkness and found a large tank stocked with fish. The little dragon dove right in and seemed to be having the time of its life. Shamira joined in and admittedly had a lot of fun splashing around.They hunted another cow, did some flying around the countryside, and Shamira spent a lot of time projecting behaviors into the young one's head, trying to impart some sense of what was acceptable