Dragons Don't Forgive (2 page)

Her stare remains intent and she
continues to be unaware of the danger she’s in. “I know nothing
about dragon shifters. Is the air warmer because you’re angry?” she
asks in her calm melodic voice. Insane!

“
You’re crazy.” I fight the
need to grab her shoulders and shake her. “I could turn you to ash
in the blink of an eye. Don’t think your bear shifter blood will
save you.”

I’m surprised when her laughter fills
the cabin. She really is nuts. I watch as she continues laughing
until finally she wipes tears from her eyes. “I’m not a bear
shifter,” she says, letting me in on her inside joke. It wasn’t
that damn funny.

“
Then what the hell are
you?” I demand.

“
How about I show you,” she
replies as she stands.

“
How about you get the fuck
out,” I return sternly. It shocks me that the fire inside me
settled low in my gut at her laughter. I’m even more stunned at
what she does next.

She quickly unclips the fastenings
holding her bustier and lets it drop to the floor. I gulp in a
breath at the sight of her breasts. They’re small and firm and
perfect. She unzips her too tight, body-molded shorts and pulls
them down her legs along with her panties. If you can call the
string contraption that catches for a split-second on one foot a
form of clothing at all. The heels and thigh-highs are next. She’s
a pro at rolling the stockings down her legs and making my dick
hard. I’m so fucking turned on I forget my need for alcohol. At
last she stands naked before me like it’s the most natural thing on
earth. And she’s exquisite. It doesn’t matter that my stomach
continues rumbling or that my head aches so bad I want to scream,
my cock wants to bury itself deep between those gorgeous
thighs.

“
None of that,” she says
with a tinkling laugh as she looks at the part of me that’s growing
to the point of combustion. A cool burst of energy runs across my
skin and in the next blink, she’s a large wolf with a red pelt of
dense fur that looks soft enough to roll in. She shakes her entire
body starting at her head and her fur puffs out more. Her tail is
down and sweeps behind her with an unhurried slashing movement back
and forth. Her brown eyes are the same as she carries in her human
form. I’m looking at about one-hundred and fifty pounds of wolf
completely stunning in her wildness. I’m back to needing a
drink.

I’ve only seen two bears shift. I felt
their magic when it happened. Very similar to hers. I don’t even
realize I’ve reached out my hand until her tongue makes a slow warm
slide across my palm. I’m sure I don’t taste good. I can’t believe
I’m looking at a wolf while my cock remains thick and ready. I’m a
pathetic bastard.

I know she can understand me if I
speak, but I’m not sure she can cast her thoughts into my mind
while she’s in wolf form. That’s a clan thing here in the earth
realm and I’m not part of her clan. I can speak and hear her
telepathic thoughts if I choose, but I don’t care to reveal this
secret just yet. I wonder if she’s part of the bear clan. If not,
she most likely accepts being unable to communicate in her wolf
form. It’s actually quite hard to resist yelling my telepathic
voice into her stubborn head, though.

For some reason my rage builds again.
It’s been uncontrollable for months thanks to the liquor. I’m back
to just wanting her gone so I can continue my one-dragon pity
party. “Get out,” I yell and point to the partially open front
door. The room grows warmer, but she remains standing a few feet in
front of me, her tail giving a continual swish. Who does she think
she is? I’m dragon. I don’t need her prancing around on two legs or
four. I don’t need her making me think of all the things I can’t
have. I’m totally unworthy of anything good or in her case
beautiful and innocent. It doesn’t matter how sexy her clothes are.
Her innocence comes through loud and clear. And because of it, I
refuse to touch her.

There are twenty-four years before I’m
granted another claiming for a bride. Sex with willing females is
one thing, but Sierra makes me feel things I have no business
feeling. She’s not a one-night fuck and I know it. Her twin
brother, Roland, would kill me, or at least try. He’s been
standoffish from the beginning and at first I thought his a typical
bear shifter personality. Then I figured out it was because he’d
seen the way his sister looks at me. Maybe he even noticed how I
look at her when she’s not watching. And now, I’m fully aware that
neither of them are bears.

Sierra finally turns and with a swish
of her tail, she runs from the cabin. Now I can be alone to wallow
in more guilt. I don’t deserve her kindness, I don’t deserve to
live, and I sure as hell don’t deserve to have her in my bed. I
lean down to the floor and snag one of her thigh-highs and bring it
to my nose. It’s not Calista’s scent, but it holds the sweet herbal
tang of a woman. I can’t help the tears that fall as loneliness
swamps me. Death would be a welcome escape.

Chapter Two

Sierra

That didn’t go well at all. Not that I
really expected it to. Hell, the man is stubborn. I’ve watched him
for a year now. Watched him drink himself into a stupor for at
least two-thirds of each day. He paid Dmitri a mountain of gold to
stay at the club or the vampire would have booted him out months
ago. Roland, my twin brother, isn’t happy that a dragon shifter has
been under the same roof as me. Not that my brother spends too much
time being happy. The only person grumpier than him is
Sarn.

It doesn’t help that the damn dragon
shifter is the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Even with
pasty, white, detoxifying skin, he’s beautiful. His shaggy head of
dark blonde hair needs washing and cutting. I’d give anything to
run my fingers through the strands and do both jobs. More so, I
want to sink into his odd-colored eyes. The pupils turn amethyst
when he’s angry or aroused, as I just discovered. The violet hue
does strange things deep inside me.

I shake my head because now I’m lying
to myself. He affects me right between my thighs in my sex. A
burning ache of need builds whenever he’s around. My inner wolf
grows erratic and I worry if I let her rule, I’d have Sarn on his
back with me straddling his cock within a minute of entering a room
with him.

Dmitri was almost at the end of his
hospitality regardless of Sarn’s gold, so I broached the subject of
drying out the angry dragon shifter against his will. I think one
year is long enough to be angry at the universe. I know little
about the dragons and their world. I only learned of their
existence when I came to work early one morning with my
brother.

We are both past the age of sexual
consent for beastkind. We need mates, but the elusive magic that
chooses our life partner hasn’t materialized. We came to Dmitri’s
territory because we were restless and needed change. The nightclub
was the perfect escape. My father, Ivan, wasn’t exactly delighted,
but he knew where one of us went, the other followed. More times
than not, it’s me pulling my brother from some scrape or another. I
was a hellion as a child, but when I reached twenty-one, something
in me settled. Not that our parents noticed. Roland is the golden
child and can do no wrong in their eyes. I alone know his secret
and when the time is right, Roland will tell our extended
family.

Most shifters only have one clan, but
Roland and I were raised in our early childhood by Marcus and Amy,
the liege vampires of the Southwest Clan. Then we went to live with
our father when he finally found another mate and settled down. I
don’t remember my mother, though her death destroyed my father and
he left us for years while he grieved. The mating bond is
devastating when one half of a pair dies. I might not understand
how our father could leave us for that long, but I don’t hold a
grudge. With my past, I think that’s why I have so much sympathy
for the dragon. In my mind, he needs to find something to live for.
Not that I think I’m it, but he needs distraction from his pain and
I may be able to help with that.

Roland and I have two clans, and now
we work at the nightclub alongside a third clan. We seem to fit in.
Well, as much as any outsider can fit in with a bunch of reticent
bears. Honey, a bear shifter, and his mate, Mandy, who is a wolf
shifter, have been visiting her family, so she hasn’t been around
during the past few months. With her absence, I’ve grown
companionable with Dmitri’s mate, Nikka. She’s mute and I can’t
mind-share with her because I’m not a member of her clan, but that
never stops us from communicating. I remain in wolf form and head
to her home now. I need a sounding board.

Vampires are unable to produce
children, so Nikka, a cat shifter, mothers the entire clan. She’s
amazing and I’ve seen her get between two fighting bears three
times her size and put them in their place. She bows to no one and
she is also the last person you want to be on the outs with. For
such a gentle woman, she is fierce when push comes to
shove.

I shift to human and enter her home
naked. Nikka doesn’t mind me walking around without clothes, but
Dmitri has rules. I head to the clothing cabinet and take out a set
of unappealing sweats that look like they’ll do. As a wolf shifter,
I’m smaller than most of the bears, so the clothes are baggy. I
don’t care how they fit as long as I follow Dmitri’s ridiculous
house rules. I roll my eyes when I pull the hem of the shirt over
my head. Vampires are strange when it comes to nudity. Unlike
shifters they aren’t as comfortable seeing everyone naked. In a
shifter home, nakedness is more the rule. When a beastkind child is
young, it’s impossible to keep clothing on them. They shift back
and forth between their human and beast form rapidly so parents
don’t bother. And though Nikka is shifter, she gives into her
husband on this point. I glance up and Nikka is gazing at me with a
knowing smile. I have no doubt she knows my every thought on the
subject.

“
You can tell him I obeyed
his rules,” I say and watch her grin widen. “I need an ear so I can
whine a bit and get a few things off my chest.”

Her smile disappears. She turns and
walks to the large sectional couch, sits down, and pats the space
beside her. I sit then swing my butt around so I face her. I pull
my knees in and wrap my arms around them. It isn’t very ladylike,
which suits me just fine. I’ve never considered myself a proper,
boring lady anyway.

Nikka waits patiently for me to start
talking. I take a breath and let the entire story out. “I’m
enthralled with the dragon shifter. I have no idea why. Dmitri told
me of their bride claiming nonsense.” I hold up my hand when she
shakes her head. “I know they have no choice and I know it’s some
type of curse. I have sympathy for his loss but that doesn’t mean
I’m happy about it. When he’s near, I can’t take my eyes off him.
He is nothing but a big, bad, ball of heartache and it makes no
difference to my wolf at all. She wants to lay her claws into his
back as I ride his cock.” I drop my arm and feel utterly
defeated.

Nikka takes my hand and gazes intently
into my eyes. I feel her understanding.

“
I know I can just fuck him
and get him out of my system. It’s not like I haven’t had a little
experience with the opposite sex. I’ve just never felt quite this
way.” Nikka shakes her head slowly. “No, it’s not the mating bond.
It’s something different. I’ve scented mated pairs and this isn’t
about mating. Thank the Goddess for small favors.” A slight giggle
escapes me and I continue. “I know the dragon will leave
eventually. I also know there is a mate out there somewhere waiting
for him and that woman isn’t me.” Nikka squeezes my hand and I look
away as I speak again. “He has twenty-four years until the
claiming. There is something deep inside me that wants to make him
happy until he chooses his next bride even when I know it will kill
a part of me when he does.”

I don’t realize I’m crying until Nikka
pulls me against her soft chest and soothes my back. I rarely cry
and I have no idea what’s wrong with me. Loneliness maybe. Even in
the close-knit shifter community, I feel alone. My brother is the
only one who ever sees my tears. He comforts me much like Nikka is
doing now. But he has his own problems and even though I know they
are of his own making, he’s been the one in need of a shoulder
lately.

Roland is gay. He’ll barely admit it
to himself and refuses to speak to me of it. Our parents will still
love him, he just doesn’t understand that. He’s also a fierce
warrior. Who he loves makes no difference when it comes to
protecting the clans. He won’t talk to me even though we shared the
same womb and he is a part of my soul. Most days I just want to
slap him for being so stupid. And I’ve taken on an angry dragon
shifter who needs more than a slap upside the head. Even if
everything works out and we connect in bed and out of it,
twenty-four years from now, he will go to another woman.

Damn my life sucks.

I pull away from the warmth of Nikka’s
embrace and wipe my tears. I give her a half smile and say, “Thank
you. I guess I needed that. I just keep hoping the Goddess brings
me a mate so I can get on with my life and not feel this way. I
also know there are shifters hundreds of years older than me who
have never found their mates. I’m afraid I will be one of them. I
would even be happy to mate with another wolf and give up children.
It’s love I want.” I wipe away another escaping tear. “Having a mad
passionate affair with the dragon might alleviate some of this
pain. I desire him so very badly.” What I don’t say, because I have
no idea why I feel as I do, is that I want the dragon for more than
a quick affair. I want him forever, which is completely
unrealistic.