Bearing Her Wishes (3 page)

With Saul away from the estate, Leiv’s chores diminished to a handful of agricultural duties. He longed for the friendly chats and conversation during their drives. As the days passed, he found other ways to hasten the passage of time. The bear shifter consulted a homesteading book from Saul’s library, spread out the plans for an additional smokehouse, and by the end of the week, he had constructed a fine secondary structure for processing their overabundance of meat.

The whole time he worked shirtless beneath the sun, the sensation of being watched never faded. She was there somewhere, and while he couldn’t smell her on the wind, his preternatural senses certainly perceived her presence.

Leiv’s suspicions were confirmed when he misplaced his screwdriver and abandoned his work to fetch a second. He made it only a step before he recognized the weight of an object in his jeans pocket. She’d given it to him somehow with her magic, but he didn’t want Mahasti’s help; he wanted her
company
.

By the middle of the month, Leiv had successfully transformed his frustration into productivity. He stocked the freezers, the pantry, and made enough cheese to fill a hobbit’s storehouse. Hell, he even began a personal garden for Chloe, Saul’s mate, and laid a trail of stepping stones to it from the veranda. Bear shifters of his species weren’t normally social creatures, but for the first time in all of his adult life, Leiv felt lonely. The temptation to head into the mountains and seek out company among the bears had never been stronger.

But true bears were also solitary, territorial creatures and none of them would have him either.

The hounds had a different thought on the matter. They provided furry companionship and eagerly greeted their caretaker. Leiv ensured the pair had full bowls before he retired for the evening.

Sleep didn’t come easy for Leiv most nights. It seemed he had barely fallen into true sleep when both Caucasian shepherd dogs sent up alarm howls. Leiv leapt from the bed and burst from the cabin in his human flesh. Within three steps he dropped to all fours in his bear shape. As a shifter, he ran more quickly in his ursine form than he did as a man on two legs. The magic that imbued his people granted him preternatural speed to close the distance between his door and the estate in under a minute.

Ghouls.
Leiv recognized their foul scent on the breeze; a rotten, carrion stench carried to his sensitive nose.

Mahasti stood out like a star in the night. Composed of pure flames, she burned white hot at her center, the fire shifting to gold and red where her hair should have been. A brilliant ball of fire struck the closest intruder but the creature barely slowed its pace. The djinn vanished in a puff of smoke before the ghoul reached her, only to reappear behind it. A raging inferno burst from her hands and engulfed the undead monstrosity. Its dying shrieks filled the air.

Two more crossed the expansive lawn, stinking shadows moving in the dark. Leiv intercepted one with a mighty swat, tearing his claws through decaying flesh. He mauled the monster until it was a smear on the grass then turned his ferocity on the third assailant as Mahasti’s flames consumed the first.

“Leiv, the house!” Mahasti cried out. The flames surrounding her flickered and dimmed enough to reveal her terrified expression. She disappeared, leaving curling wisps of smoke behind.

Only one thing could put so much fear in her voice.

Her lamp. Someone must be in the house!

The third ghoul didn’t stand a chance. Leiv charged the creature and trampled it into the ground. The ovcharkas rushed in behind him to finish off the job but Leiv didn’t stick around to ensure it remained down. He pounded toward the house and shifted the moment he hit the front veranda.

He raced through the dark house, familiar with the layout. The stairs into Saul’s subterranean hideaway were easier to handle as a man. He leapt down half of the last flight where he was immediately assaulted by the smell of an open grave. Dirt, decay, and moldering flesh accented the copper tang of blood.

Leiv transformed as he burst into the open vault. His 800 pound bulk crashed into the vampire fleeing for the vault exit. The feral bloodsucker hissed and sprang back to elude him, aided by his lanky frame and faster reflexes.

I only need to strike him once. Only once,
Leiv thought. One blow from his massive paws would be enough to knock him down for the kill, but cornering a vampire was easier said than done.

Snarling, the rangy vamp feinted to the left then to the right. With Mahasti’s lamp tucked beneath one arm, he darted toward the door. An acrobatic twist flipped him into the air, but Leiv reared onto his hind legs and slammed the vampire down to the earth again. They snapped at one another, the faster and much quicker vampire weaving between each blow then snaking beneath him.

Shifters held a unique immunity to the bite of a vampire, but it hurt like a bitch. Claws slashed him, followed by a fist to the ribs that nearly cracked his bones. It would have pulped a lesser creature’s torso.

They fought like wildcats, a bear versus a metaphorical lion, all gnashing teeth and flashing claws in the flickering torchlight.
I won’t let him take her. I won’t.
Given motivation, Leiv ignored the pain and dragged the frenzied vampire across the stony floor. Hot, living blood splashed across the rocks as his opponent gashed him with a lucky blow to the chest.

The pain sent Leiv stumbling. He almost collapsed, but he knuckled through the pain and lunged forward. Using his considerable bulk, he slammed the vampire into the ground. He ignored the wild strikes glancing against his face and chest in favor of tearing his enemy limb from limb. Mahasti’s lamp rolled away across the floor.

Stained with blood, Leiv struggled to remain on his feet to go in for the kill. He crumpled to the floor as glittering smoke streamed from the lamp. Mahasti’s form coalesced between him and her would-be abductor, her form flaring as hot and bright as dragonsfyre. The vampire, despite his audacity in raiding a dragon’s hoard, fell back before her rage.

Leiv watched through a pained haze as the vampire went up in flames. The acrid scent of burning flesh and charred bone overwhelmed his sensitive nose.

The world around him temporarily blurred, and when it came back into focus, Leiv was surrounded by the comforts of a guest bed, in his human guise, as Mahasti bathed the blood from his body. He jerked up into a sitting position and winced.

“The vampire?”

“Dead,” Mahasti said gently. Her fingers touched his uninjured shoulder and eased him back into a laying position.

“He tried to take your lamp.”

“He failed because of you. Thank you. Many have tried, and many will fail. He is the first to attempt such a foolish act during Saul’s absence.”

“Should we tell—”

“No,” she said clearly. “We will not interrupt his time away from home. If we tell him he will only rush back and he deserves his time with Chloe.”

“Yes, yes. You are correct.” Her gentle touch smoothed his brow and encouraged him to close his eyes.

“I should have been more mindful,” Mahasti chastised herself. “He slipped past my defenses and you’ve been hurt because of it.”

“It was nothing. These are flesh wounds, Mahasti. By morning, I will be well.”

Mahasti scoffed and touched her fingers over the pink line extending from his right pectoral to his navel. “You are healed
now
because of my magic, Leiv. Saul permitted me long ago to use the full extent of my abilities on you. Now rest well and recover.”

“Mahasti—”

Jasmine-scented smoke surrounded Leiv one more time. It wrapped around his senses and pervaded every fiber of his being, sweeping him away into peaceful dreams. When he awakened nearly twelve hours later, he was tucked safe and warm in his bed and she was nowhere in sight.

No further attempts were made on Mahasti’s lamp during Saul’s absence, as if the dark ones sensed their efforts would be futile. Leiv patrolled the acreage excessively alongside his dogs Anton and Anastasia, traveling in his bear form while securing the property.

Two weeks later, Saul’s phone call from Texas summoned Leiv to prepare the car and head out early to beat the Los Angeles traffic to the airport. He took pleasure in handling the top-of-the-line vehicle, overpriced but filled with lavish comforts appropriate for a CEO of an upscale Hollywood production company.

To the world, Saul Drakenstone was the elusive heir of a deceased executive who built the company from the ground up in the Fifties. In reality, he was a dragon who established the business himself as a means of accumulating a larger hoard. No one in Hollywood faulted Saul for his strange quirks and habits, and with Leiv’s father Ivan serving as his personal assistant and driver, he learned enough about the mortal world to safely invest centuries of wealth. The rest remained safe in Saul’s dragon horde, a vast cavern system filled with gold, silver, unpolished jewels, and historic treasures. And Mahasti’s lamp.

With Ivan dead and gone, Leiv now fulfilled the role as one of Saul’s personal liaisons between mortals and dragon kind. Mahasti and Leiv knew him best, and they had adapted to his funny ways.

Dressed with his chauffeur’s hat in place, Leiv met them at the curbside arrival and alighted to load the pair’s luggage into the trunk.

“Allow me to take your bag, Miss Ellis.”

Chloe smiled at him. Tired circles beneath her eyes told the expected story. She and Saul must have had an enjoyable, if busy, month-long vacation in Texas. Leiv packed both pieces of luggage into the trunk and returned to the driver’s seat. After he buckled in, he twisted around to face the pair in the rear.

“I have champagne chilled and ready for you. Shall I open the bottle before we depart?”

“None for me, Leiv.” The blonde woman shook her head. “You know what I’d really like? A burger and a Frosty. After all the swanky places Saul took us to for meals I’m ready for some fast food.”

Saul shrugged and spread his hands. “As she says.”

Leiv consulted the vehicle’s GPS unit to narrow down an acceptable location nearby.

“It’s so strange riding in the back seat,” Saul’s mate commented five minutes into their drive. “I guess it makes sense for you to pick us up from the airport and all, but I still don’t get why Saul never drives himself places.”

Saul grumpily uttered something under his breath. “He tried to teach me once. It was an effort in futility.”

Despite Saul’s three centuries of age, he had never learned to operate an automobile. Granted, the man had no rival while controlling a carriage or cart and buggy, but given a wheel and stick shift, he fell apart into a pile of frustration that only deteriorated into road rage as other motorists tried his nerves. He could be eager to learn a human habit in one moment or incredibly set in his ways in the next. Unfortunately, driving an automobile was a skill that never reached Saul’s bucket list; he firmly resisted.

“So I’m curious. What do you do when Saul’s away, Leiv?” Chloe continued her interrogation. Leiv liked her, but generally, she never remained quiet for long.

“I maintain the grounds. You know this, Miss Ellis.”

“And…” she pressed.

“That is all.”

“Nothing for fun? You don’t hang out with the guys? Hunt? Fish? Surf? This is California, so people surf all the time, right?”

“Fish, yes. Surf, no,” Leiv told her as Saul chuckled and relaxed in his seat. His friend made no attempt to call off his inquisitive woman, apparently entertained by the spectacle of Chloe firing one inquiry after the next.

Greasy burgers and a chocolate shake finally brought quiet to the vehicle. With the excuse of wanting to give the pair privacy, Leiv raised the partition and increased the radio volume. The remainder of the drive went smoothly without interruption. Leiv dropped the couple off in front of the house then took the car to the garage.

To his surprise, Saul showed up as he was finishing an interior cleanup to air the smell of grilled onion from the car. Chloe had the manners to take her trash with her, but her quick meal left behind an enticing aroma and made Leiv’s stomach rumble in protest, urging him to retreat to the cabin for a late dinner.

A dinner he wouldn’t have anytime soon if his suspicions about Saul’s visit were on point. Sighing, he moved around to the front of the vehicle with a spray bottle and rag in hand. He detested automatic car washes and always detailed the vehicle himself, inside and out, as if it were his own possession. In some ways it was, since Saul entrusted everything to him.

Say something or he will continue to stare.
Nothing was more unnerving than receiving a dragon’s complete but silent attention.

“After all this time, Saul, why do you not learn to drive? You have much better control than you give yourself credit for.”

“Humans and their cars are fragile,” Saul replied ominously.

“Bah. You will not shift forms during a traffic jam, or if some foolish mortal cuts you off. I will teach you.”

Saul raised his brow then glanced around the spacious garage interior. The finished cement floors gleamed beneath a fresh coat of polish recently applied during Leiv’s lonely week. “While this has been an adequate attempt to distract me, I did not visit to discuss becoming a motorist. We are alone, Leiv. Alone to converse in absolute privacy.”

He must not know of the attack, if my petty troubles remain his primary concern.
“Has Mahasti not told you of the news?”

Saul’s smile wavered. “What news, my friend?”

“An attack took place while you were away. A vampire breached our defenses and took Mahasti’s lamp.”

Saul tensed. “What?” The words hissed past his clenched teeth.

Leiv gave Saul the rundown on what occurred during his vacation, watching his friend become all the more angry with each passing second.

“You should have called me.”

“Mahasti and I handled it. As I have said. It is all good now, yes?”

Saul huffed indignantly and muttered under his breath. Leiv continued his work and wished the dragon would let him be. As usual, luck was not with him; Saul continued his interrogation.