For the Love of Her Dragon (13 page)

Her
breath came fast and heavy and he knew it was the fury he felt all around him.
Before he could come up with anything to say, she took a step forward and shook
her fist at him, “But no more. That fucking ship has sailed. I refuse to waste
one more second of my life on
you
! I may never know the love of a mate,
but I have the love of friends and family and that will sustain me for all of
my years.”

She
leaned forward slightly and he saw fire dance in her eyes. When she spoke it
was deliberate and each word was another dagger to his heart. “I don’t want
you
,
Royce. Your shit can remain your shit. Keep it
forever
. Let it fester
and rot for all I care.”

He
stood completely confounded, unsure what to do or say or
even think
.
Then her last words reached his ears as she turned to leave, and what was left
of his world crumbled, “We could have had it all, but you blew it.”

The
minutes ticked by as he stood watching his future walk away from him and him
unable to stop it. Kyra had hit the nail on the head;
he blew it.
Fucked
up…
royally,
and it took losing it all to make him realize what a grade
A
asshole he truly was. Devon appeared at his side and the
pity on his face was more than he could take. He knew there would be more of
the same and they would all have some sort of advice that he really didn’t want
to hear, so he did the only thing he could…he left.

The
walk home was filled with a running loop of all that Kyra had said. The look of
complete betrayal on her face and the pain that seemed to radiate from her
every pore was something he would never forget, and he had caused it all, every
last drop was his burden to bear. It wasn’t until he heard his boots hit
the wooden planks of his porch that he realized he was there. He opened the
door and none of the joy he had imagined at returning met him. For the first
time since building his home almost eighty years ago, he realized how empty it
was, that it was a monument to all he had thrown away in his own
stupidity.

Sleep
eluded him. He grabbed his hundredth beer of the evening and prayed that it
would at least numb some of the anguish he felt, but it remained. The wooden
floors of his home had a whole new groove from his constant pacing. The sun
came up over the horizon and the memories of having Kyra in his arms came
rushing back. He relived the short time he had been with her, the only time he
would ever be with the one meant to be his. He wished for his cave by the sea,
if only to have the sound of the waves to calm his grief.

He
had just stepped out of the shower when he heard the front door open and close.
Rian
called out, “You alive back there, Bro?”

“Yeah,
let me get dressed and I’ll be right out.”

“Hurry
the hell up, your breakfast is
gonna
get cold,” Rory
added.

Great,
it’s
family bonding time,
he thought. “Be right out,” was his only response.

He
walked out to find a feast covering his kitchen table. “What’s all this?” he
asked.

“
Kyndel
and Grace were up early this morning, cooking up a
storm. I guess Sam had been at it too before she headed to the hospital with
Devon in tow. We were in the guest room and the smell of these damned addictive
blueberry muffins woke us up.” Rory popped a whole muffin in his mouth and
groaned like it was manna from heaven.

“
Ya’ll
could’ve stayed here. Heavens knows there’s tons of
room.”

Both
brothers stopped mid chew and shook their heads. It was
Rian
that responded, “No way, Bro. You needed some alone time after the ass kicking
you took.”

Rory
spit orange juice halfway across the kitchen and then continued laughing until
he could barely stand. Apparently, his loss and humiliation was funny to his
younger brother. Just the thought of last night had him standing and throwing
his half-eaten breakfast into the sink. Regaining his composure, Rory
apologized, “Dude, lighten up. I wasn’t laughing at you. Grow the hell up. I
just couldn’t believe that our diplomatic big brother, who reminded me to not
mention what happened last night all the way here, just let it fly like that.
I’m sorry I laughed, but you
gotta
admit that shit is
funny.”

Rian
jumped to his own defense, “I said don’t talk about it, all I did was explain
why we stayed at Rayne’s.”

“Po-TAY-to…Po-TAH-to,
Bro. You fucked up. Admit it.”

“I
will not.”

Unable
to keep the grin from his face even with the pain of the events of the previous
night still raw within him, he slapped both his brothers on the back. They may
be complete and total jerks, but they were his family and he loved them more
than his own life. He was sure they had shown up to provide a distraction. With
their goal accomplished, he grabbed a biscuit and another cup of coffee and sat
down.

“What’s
the plan for today?” Royce asked as he finished loading the dishwasher and made
another pot of coffee.

Rian
looked at his watch before answering, “We are to meet at the clearing in about
forty minutes.”

“Alright,
let me run and get my boots and we can take off.”

Just
as he was about to turn the corner into his kitchen he caught the tail end of
his brothers’ conversation. “You think he’s
gonna
be
okay,
Ri
?” Rory asked as
concerned as Royce had ever heard him.

“I
don’t know
Ror
, I just don’t know. Forever is a long
time to be alone.”
Rian
sounded sad and defeated,
something he had never heard from his older brother and leader of the Blue
Thunder Dragon Shifters.

Royce
felt hollow and empty.
Rian
was right…forever is a
really
long time
to be alone.

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

The
full moon was quickly approaching…quicker than Kyra wanted. She had finally
been able to figure out that whatever Andrew was scheming needed the power of a
full moon, and of course the little shithead was in luck, because the one
coming was a Blue Moon. Its power was twice that of any other…..
not
good news
. She had been keeping tabs on
the traitor through her Goldstone, but it was getting harder and harder as he
was exposed to copious amounts of black magic that nullified her white magic’s
reach.

With
only six days left, Kyra felt no closer to answers than she had when the whole
mess started. She was completely engrossed in a new
grimoire
that
Rian
had found her when the doorbell rang.
Grumbling about not enough hours in the day, she was stunned when she opened
the door to find the King of the Big Cats and his lieutenant standing on her
little porch. His cheeky grin said he had caught at least a little of her
grumblings and she couldn’t stop the blush that heated her cheeks.

Maximillian
Prentise
was a force to
reckoned
with in the shifter world. He was the undisputed King of all the Big Cats,
older than anyone dared ask and the most powerful creature she had ever
encountered, although his power differed from that of dragons or witches. His
felt as old as time and was a mixture of many cultures. As Max had amassed his
pride, which contained many species, he had been blessed with a part of each of
their origins and thus some of their unique magic. Not all of it was as white
and untainted as what she possessed, but it was of the Earth and nowhere near
anything dark.

Max
chuckled and she realized she was just
staring
.
“Well,
hell
, Max, you surprised me. Come on in.”

“Sorry
we didn’t call first. We were talking to Rayne and he said you might need some
assistance, so we popped right over.” She was sure the timber of the King’s
voice, combined with his slight Latin accent, had made more than one woman
shiver, but all she heard was his much appreciated offer to help.

Kyra
moved out of the way as both gentlemen entered the cottage she was calling
home. She was always amazed how cat-like their movements were, even in human
form. To the clueless observer she could only imagine how refined they
appeared, but no one that had ever seen them in action would describe them that
way. They were intense and savage, definitely someone she was glad to have on
her side.

Her
brow furrowed as she asked, “You practice magic?”

“But
of course,
bruja
pequena
.
Not as well as you, but we‘ve picked up a few tricks along the way.” He
winked and reached for a duffle that Juan Carlos, his lieutenant, had been
carrying.

She
cleared a space on the dining table and watched as Max unpacked bottles of
herbs and liquids, along with a huge box containing roots. Next came an
intricately carved mahogany box detailed with what she could only assume were
pieces of gold. Lastly, he pulled out a large piece of lavender velvet and
spread it over the area she had cleared.

“Now,
tell me what you know so far. The dragons are warriors, their explanation of
what you know was…spotty at best.” Max smiled and she could see the respect he
had for his allies.

“Well,
to be honest, I don’t know much. I spelled a Goldstone to peek in on Andrew,
but he and his band of merry idiots have been using so much black magic that it
is basically useless.”

She
dropped the pendant on the table and continued, “I did get a clear enough
picture of the full moon to know that whatever he’s planning needs that kind of
lunar power.” She knew it wasn’t enough, but she was just about at the end of
her rope. If Max couldn’t help, she would need to contact her mother, and Kyra
would rather chop off both her arms and try to swim than ask for
Calysta’s
help.

The
perceptive Leo picked up the Goldstone and whispered a phrase she couldn’t
quite make out, but was sure was ancient Incan. When he looked back up, his
deep green eyes were glowing and more feline than human in appearance. She had
heard that he could channel any and all of the cats he ruled at any time, but
witnessing his power was kind of freaky. A movement behind Max drew her
attention and she only then realized that the space occupied by the strong
silent bodyguard now housed a large golden brown panther with deep hazel eyes.
The spark of recognition in the animal’s eyes was amazing.

Max
followed her gaze and chuckled, “Juan Carlos has been with me a long time and
our bond runs deep. The use of magic from his homeland brings out his beast.
Never fear, the man is still in there and very much in control. Now, your
Goldstone should work a little better. I cleared away some of the taint. It
won’t last forever, but it may give you a look or two that could help.”

“Thanks!
And I’m not worried about Juan Carlos,” she barely contained the giggle that
threatened to escape. She felt like a kid at the zoo, but was embarrassed to
admit her thoughts.

“Let
me guess, you want to feel his fur?” Max asked with a twinkle in his eyes that
showed even a King could have fun.

She
nodded her head. “It just looks so soft the way it shines in the sunlight.”

The
werepanther
in question padded towards her. It was
not until he rubbed against her leg that she realized if he stood on his hind
legs he would be taller than her and probably outweighed her by a good fifty
pounds. Power surrounded the animal. She could feel it pulsing against its
containment, ready to spring forward when needed. Her hand touched the top of
the feline’s head as he circled her. One swipe from top of head to tip of tail
and she was convinced he was actually covered in the finest silk on earth.

The
spell was broken when Juan Carlos’ cat purred and the vibration against her leg
caused her to stumble. Before she could fall forward, Max was there to keep her
on her feet. He laughed out loud and her embarrassment faded away.

Juan
Carlos in human form and dressed as before appeared beside her, quick to
apologize, “So sorry, I forget how petite you really are. Are you okay?”

“Absolutely.
No harm done. Thanks for letting me feel you up.” She winked to show she really
was okay and the room erupted in laughter once again.

“Now,
let’s do what we came here to do,” Max said, ever the King. “I was told you
have a
grimoire
that contains very old magic.”

“Yeah,
Rian
brought it over a little while ago. I haven’t
gotten through much of it, and since it is all pretty much new to me, it is
slow going.”

She
lifted the heavy book right before Juan Carlos took it from her hands. “Let me
get that for you.” He handed the book to Max like it weighed nothing and she
was once again amazed by their strength.

The
King opened the volume and began reading with his lieutenant looking over his
shoulder. “Would you like some tea or something?” Kyra offered.

Neither
looking up from their reading, they answered in unison, “Yes, please.”