Dragons Don't Cry (16 page)

The words faded and without another thought,
I shifted, tearing my clothes, bursting into my true form. I
approached my red dragon mate.

“You are no longer as large, Bastian.” Her
red eyes shown with merriment.

“You are tiny compared to me, female.”

She looked to the sky. “I want to fly.”

“What’s stopping you?” I watched as she
spread her wings.

“Gather the magic, pull it from within
yourself and help your wings.”

She cast a red glow. She knew what I spoke
of, because she carried the magic deep inside. Acasia lifted from
the ground and I followed.

“Thank you, Goddess,” I whispered.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Acasia

I was a dragon.

Fire breathing. Flying. Awesome. Dragon.

The pain I’d suffered was but a memory.
Thoughts swirled through my mind. I would never leave Bastian
behind. We would be together for all eternity. I swooped down to
the lake like I’d seen Bastian do a hundred times to skim my talons
through the water. I over calculated and too much of my body hit
the surface. My wing caught and I tumbled, rolling across the top
before sinking under.

“Stupid female.” Bastian’s talons hooked
beneath my wings and brought me to the surface while I sputtered.
His great wings flapped with my weight and he flew me to shore.

“Show off,” I muttered, though I wasn’t at
all upset. Bastian would catch me, he always had. “How do I shift
to human?” I asked.

“Humph. Pull the magic in and think of your
human body.”

I ignored his snort and did as he said.
There was a short burst of pain, but nothing like the past few
days, and I stood on two feet. I looked at my hulking dragon. He
shifted before I could ask.

His kiss was a million times better than his
first one. It was only for me and my lips for him.

“I love you, Acasia.”

“I want to fly again.” I smiled when he
groaned.

“No lakes.”

I laughed loudly. “You’re no fun.”

“Stay in human form and I will show you
fun.”

Desire flared through me. “I will shift and
we shall fly home. I want a soft bed.”

Bastian changed form. “What are you waiting
for, mate?”

My transformation was slower. I had to think
about it, and Bastian’s laughter floated into my head.

“Last one to the lair is the red spawn of a
demon.”

I pulled the magic in and shifted. Used it
again to lift off and flew through the air to catch Bastian. He
stayed only a few feet in front of me. I still couldn’t believe I
had wings—huge, red, glorious wings.

We landed on the bedroom perch and I moved
away from the edge. I wasn’t confident enough in my ability to
shift quickly and didn’t want to take any chances. Yes, I knew
Bastian would catch me, but I desired him too badly to play
games.

I pulled the magic in and thought of my
human form. This was awesome. Bastian stood at the doors waiting. I
ran into his arms, throwing myself at him from a few feet away.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” I said
covering his face in kisses.

His fingers threaded through my hair and by
pulling it, he stopped my crazy sporadic lips, taking my mouth in a
soul-shattering kiss that went clear to my toes. He backed us up
until he fell backward on the bed, bringing me with him. Never
releasing my mouth, he lifted my hips and thrust into me. Yes, I
could fly, but nothing compared to the feeling of Bastian inside of
me. My mate, my everything.

He wasn’t slow or gentle. He was perfect.
The pressure before my release took me by surprise. Magic thrummed
inside my center. Was this what Bastian felt before the red light
exploded? We were two dragons now. What would happen? The magic
built and I could feel it pressing outward from beneath my
skin.

“Don’t be frightened,” Bastian rasped
against my neck before licking and biting.

My heart thundered loud in my ears, the
smell of him enflamed my senses. The magic grew.

“Ahhh,” Bastian yelled out.

That was it, all I could take. I let go. My
skin turned to flames. Fire burst from our joined bodies. It didn’t
hurt. It was the most exquisite feeling I’d ever known. My loud cry
echoed his. The flames rose higher until we were an inferno of pure
power. I didn’t pass out, but as my body calmed, I worried that we
caught the lair on fire.

Bastian laughed. “No, it’s a fire only the
two of us can feel. Though I’m sure it was seen from realms
away.”

My laughter filled the room. “You knew this
would happen?”

“I’ve heard of it, but never thought to
experience the magic of joining with a mate.”

I started kissing him again, moving my lips
down his body. His neck, chest, and abs, slowly moving to the part
of him I wanted to kiss the most.

“You are a greedy mate.”

“Are you complaining?”

“No,” he groaned as I kissed the tip of his
cock and swirled my tongue around him.

It’s hard to describe the jolt I felt. It
was like a small burst of electricity running through my body.

Bastian sat up. “The dragons come; they’ve
crossed into my territory.”

His glorious cock would need to wait. “Our
territory, mate. I felt them too.”

He looked at me, his teeth flashing with a
smile. “Our territory, but it may take a while for me to
remember.”

“I’ll remind you each and every day. What do
we need to do?”

“You will stay here and I will go out and
speak to them. They are too close for you to go out on the perch
without them seeing you naked.” He gave me his dragon look. “They
are not seeing you naked.”

He stood from the bed, leaving me behind.
His cock continued at full mast, and I smiled as I smacked my
lips.

“Naughty dragon,” he said over his
shoulder.

After he walked through the doors, I jumped
from the bed, ran out of the room and through the library to the
tower perch. They wouldn’t see me naked, but they would see me with
my mate as dragon. I pulled the magic in. In was easier, my shift
and liftoff more fluid. I rose to the columns and flew through,
grazing the tip of my wing on the stone. They’d spread farther than
I could feel them, though I felt the scrape.

“Ow.”

I lifted up over the lair and could hear the
men talking.

“There is another dragon in our realm. Where
did he come from?” demanded Sarn.

“We will kill him for entering without
requesting permission.” This came from Tahr.

I noticed Laryn staying back, not speaking.
The four men stood on the perch in all their naked glory. Ah oh, my
mate would not be happy, but I couldn’t help my laugh. As one, they
turned toward me, leaping from the perch. All except for Bastian.
He shook his head in obvious exasperation.

“Hi, boys. Did the new little dragon scare
you?” I breathed fire with my laughter.

“Acasia?” This was the first word Laryn
spoke.

“Yes, it is I, the dragon coming to throw a
little terror in your male-dominated world.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Bastian
shift. He charged the other dragons, scattering them away from
me.

Sarn wasn’t intimidated by Bastian’s charge
in the least. His stunned voice held reverence as he looked to
Bastian. “You’ve mated.”

“Yes, he’s mated, you ignoramus. I’m right
here. Don’t speak around me or I’ll burn your balls off.”

Bastian coughed a small burst of fire, but
now I had everyone’s attention.

“May I touch you, Acasia?” Oops, Laryn was
an idiot.

Bastian’s roar, complete with a huge burst
of fire, placed a cloud of smoke around us. “Move away from her,
Laryn. You and I have unsettled business and I do not wish to kill
you in front of my mate.”

“You’ve truly mated, Bastian. I’m sorry for
what I did, but you’ve given us hope. Please may I touch her?” Pure
need sounded in his voice. Unabashed, stupid, deadly need.

The roar thundered through the skies, and my
dragon attacked.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Bastian

I’d been through too much over the past few
days. Laryn took me over the edge and nothing but fury clouded my
vision. I hit him, causing the two of us to spiral downward. I
vaguely heard Acasia’s cry, but I had one goal—Laryn’s head
separating from his body.

I managed to flap my wings a few times
before we hit the ground, but it didn’t help the pain of the
impact. Laryn rolled, and instead of coming up on his feet, he
shifted, making himself completely defenseless against me. He lay
awaiting certain death. My roar vibrated through the air and the
ground beneath us, but he didn’t move or shift.

I stopped, shook my head, and fire spewed
from between my jaws. My eyes almost popped from my head when
Acasia landed in front of Laryn.

Laryn, his voice defeated, spoke out, “No,
my lady, let it be.”

Acasia looked over her shoulder at a naked
Laryn, which only ignited my rage to a higher level if that was
possible.

“Shush, Laryn. Your grief makes you an
idiot. I have trouble believing you’d have survived this long if
you were so stupid all the time. If you ever touch me without MY
permission, I will bite off your hand and swallow it whole. Now be
quiet while I calm my mate. We were in a wonderful sexual position
when three dragons interrupted us. I would like to get back to
pleasing my dragon and not saving your worthless hide.”

She walked closer before finally stopping to
face me. The other two dragons landed. No one spoke; they waited
for me to kill Laryn. As quickly as my anger had risen, it melted.
My brain started working again. I’d proven my worth for my mate by
not seeking immediate vengeance and placing her before my pride.
Now she stood between that same pride and my lifelong friend.

I turned away. “Sarn and Tahr, would you
mind seeing Laryn out of my territory? As my mate said, we have
unfinished business.”

I rose into the air leaving the others
behind. Acasia rose too. It felt as if an invisible thread ran
between us; I just hadn’t realized what the pull was. Instead of
flying to the perch, I headed to the tower. There was another way
my mate could please me.

I slowed as she swooped through the columns.
Her great head turned in curiosity, and I flew up close behind her.
My talons sank into her shoulders and I nudged her long neck with
my chin.

“What are you doing, dragon?”

“Claiming my mate, and it won’t be complete
until it’s happened in dragon form.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Holding my laughter back
after the shocked tone of her question was difficult.

“I have a rather large erection that needs
taking care of.” I pushed her lower inside the tower as I
spoke.

“Bastian, you cannot.”

“Oh yes, my fair lady dragon, I can.” Our
landing was a little harder than expected, but her startled gasp
gave me a chance to curl my legs under her back ones. My jaws
opened and clamped on her neck.

I proved a dragon would have his mate in any
form, and she loved it.

***

Acasia

Six months later…

“I will kill you, dragon.” My roar rivaled
my mate’s. I couldn’t find him. A few days before, I’d discovered I
was pregnant after feeling poorly. Bastian informed me he’d smelled
the change in my body several weeks ago, but hadn’t said anything.
I was angry then, but nothing like I felt right now after reading
the book he gave me on dragon lore. “Where are you, you red spawn
of a demon?” The name fit on occasion and this was one of them.

Five minutes later, I found him at the
bottom of the tower.

The nerve. He had bolts of cloth, unfurling
them and spreading them in piles around the floor. In stunned
disbelief, I watched him fluffing the material into a large circle.
Fire exploded from my jaws catching the material on fire.

Bastian looked up at me while I rested on
the perch a hundred feet in the air. “That was childish.”

Oh, the nerve. “You bastard.”

“Tsk. Tsk. Now I need to raid the coffers
again and find material soft enough for my lady.”

“You are out of your fucking mind.” I flew
off the perch and attacked his head. He dropped to the floor, and I
could see his chest rising and falling with laughter.

“You just couldn’t keep your hands off me in
dragon form and now this… this… and you laugh.”

He rolled over and looked up at me unable to
hide his mirth. “The book has been in the library the entire time.
You could have found it and read about the mating habits of
dragons.”

I landed, my disgust taking words from my
throat. I had too many thoughts on how I could kill him.

Click, click, click.

My talons hit the stone floor.

Click, click, click.

Bastian’s eyebrows lifted.

I speared him with my red eyes.

“I am not,” smoke left my nostrils, “laying
an egg.”

To be continued in Dragons Don’t Love,
Laryn’s Story…

Dear Reader,

Sometimes a story takes over everything and
refuses to let go. That’s what happened with Dragons Don’t Cry. I
had two deadlines for other series but could think of nothing but
Bastian and his world.

While working out the curse in my head
(originally from a witch), a friend and Fang Chronicles reader,
Kaya Afia, posted a small snippet on Facebook… Zeus created man
with two heads, four arms, and four legs, split him in half so he
forever looks for his soul mate. Kaya asked the simple question,
“Why hasn’t an author used this in a book?” My curse was complete
and my fingers flew over the keyboard creating Dragon’s Don’t
Cry.

I’ve received hundreds of emails, blog, and
Facebook comments about Ivan being the last Fang book. Somewhere in
one of these back and forth commentaries, a reader inquired about
combining Fang Chronicles with the Dragon series. This opened
another door for me and I decided I could make it happen. I looked
for the dialog where this conversation took place but was unable to
find it and give credit where it’s due.