The Mating Season: Werewolves of Montana Book 6 (33 page)

Pressing a hand to the slight swell of her belly where she suspected their child grew, the child conceived in love, she felt her throat close tight with emotion. “You’re sending me back.”

He gave her a solemn look. “I must.”

He went to a bed of flowers near the pool, and snapped one off. The flower was crimson, and glowed like stardust.

Tristan fetched the cup he’d drunk from, rinsed it in the pool, and then added water and the flower. He drank.

The silver suddenly returned to the tips of his shoulder-length dark hair, and the blue vanished from his eyes, leaving them brown once more. A silver aura ringed his body, pulsing with power. Gone too, was the scar from his face, the mark that she had stroked idly in bed, listening to the beat of his mortal heart while he held her close.

Tristan her love was gone, replaced by the immortal wizard.

“When I return you to Earth, you will be naked, for you must enter there as naked as the day you were born. I will ask Gideon to make arrangements for you with your pack. You will not be alone, my love.”

“Don’t go.”

“I must.” He gave her a steady look and spoke quietly. “Have you decided yet about drinking the potion? We could drink together.”

For all their time together, Tristan had shown her the power of making her dreams come true. She craved his touch in bed, and cherished every moment they shared. But the thought of leaving behind her family, the only life she had ever known, hurt her heart.

She hesitated. “If I choose to drink this potion, and become immortal, will our baby become immortal as well? So we can be a family?”

“Yes.” He went very still.

“But I will never see my other family again. My wolf pack.” Her voice broke. “Or Nia.”

“No. As an immortal you will have to reside here, with me, in Tir Na-nog. You cannot cross back and forth. Everyone must pay a price.”

“And you paid the greatest price of all,” she whispered. “You gave up your chance to be reincarnated with me so we could be mated and raise our children together. When am I going to be first in your life, Tristan? Only if I drink the potion?”

Tristan framed her face with his large, warm hands. “You always were first in my heart. I came back to you, Nikita. I honored our promise to be together again. I could never break it. Yes, I wanted a child, a babe of my blood to carry on my name, but I wanted you, needed you more, as you needed me.”

“You never left me.” She put a hand on her chest. “You stayed with me, here, always. But I need more than a memory of your love. I need you.”

“I will always be there, in your heart.” He placed a palm over her rapidly beating heart. “If you choose to remain with your pack on Earth, I will always give you the protection of my magick. If you needed me for anything, you need only call upon me and I will be at your side. I will never let anything happen to you again, my sweet.”

“Tristan, may I have a day to consider? To be with my sister again, and make my decision. Just one day?”

He closed his eyes. “One day. I can grant you one day, but no more. I will come to you in one day with the potion, and it will be your choice to drink. Or not.”

“It’s so hard to give up my family. I love Nia so dearly. But I want you and I to be together. To be a family, and have the chance denied to us in our last life.”

Tristan opened his eyes. He glanced at the sky. “Forgive me, Nikita.” He kissed her hand, his expression tormented. “Please return to me. I cannot force you into doing what I wish. The choice is yours. But if you decide to remain a mortal, take good care of our babe. I shall watch over you as I can. You will be safe with your sister and her mate.”

But I can’t have you as my mate. I can’t have what I want the most, a child conceived in love, yes, but a baby to raise with his father.
Tears swam in her eyes. “Tristan, please, don’t leave me.”

Mist swirled around their ankles as he stepped back. Tristan’s mouth worked as if he struggled with his feelings. He was the mighty Silver Wizard and had to remain strong.

The mist snaked upwards, covering everything but his face and the anguish there.

“I love you,” he whispered, as the vision of him faded into mist. “You have my heart, forever.”

And then the mist closed in on him and he vanished from her sight.

Chapter 18

An immortal’s heart could not break, so he had been told when Danu had made him the Silver Wizard. Yet here he sat, his heart shattered like pieces of fragile glass.

Tristan regarded his fellow wizards around the enormous round table in Xavier’s home in Tir Na-nog. Caedryn, the Shadow Wizard, Xavier, the Crystal Wizard, and Gideon, the Crimson Wizard. They met in the Crystal Palace, Xavier’s home, for the crystals in the palace gave them the most ability to foresee the future. Once they had met on neutral ground, but they were long past egos and concerns about the others’ powers.

Danu had never visited them here. She sat at the round table, her emerald gown spread delicately around her, its starlight patterns glittering. A fairy circled her, light glinting off the coppery sheen of its wings. The fairy settled on Danu’s shoulder. Tristan knew this fairy was Danu’s assistant, who remembered everything. The keeper of memories.

The goddess spoke, her voice as sweet and clear. “Gideon requested this formal conclave to address the matter of Drust, the dragon shifter who has entered Tir Na-nog. Gideon has formally petitioned me to bring Drust to Tir Na-nog…and elevate him to the position of the Brehon. A fifth wizard, to rule over the dragons and guide them.”

Tristan stared at the goddess and then looked at Gideon, feeling as if someone had whacked his knees with a tree limb. “What? I am the guardian of dragon shifters.”

“And they have grown out of control, Tristan. You know this,” Gideon said quietly. “While I was taking over your duties as you were escorting Nikita here, I dealt with them personally. They are powerful and require much time. Your hands are full with the other shifters.”

The two others shot him questioning looks, but said nothing. To give up his power over dragons? Impossible. The very territorial wolf inside him growled at the thought.

“Drust is a dragon, true, and one who has sacrificed much. He was my friend when we were mortal, and quite courageous.” Tristan struggled to keep his voice even. “But it takes years, perhaps centuries, to fine tune the abilities one requires to be a wizard to rule over Others.”

“We all had mentors,” Gideon pointed out. “I was your mentor, and you did fine.”

He didn’t like it. Didn’t like giving up one bit of control. True, his thirst for revenge against his friend died upon learning Drust did not betray him nor kill Nikita in her former life, but making him a wizard, an equal?

“He was your best friend once,” Danu said softly, the goddess gazing at him kindly. “You were two formidable warriors, fighting for a noble cause. If Drust becomes the fifth wizard, the guardian of dragons, you will mentor him.”

And then he recalled their friendship, the times they flew through the sky together, working as one, defeating many Fae. The battles they won had turned the tide against the Fae, and united all shifters.

“It would take some adjustments,” he said diplomatically.

Finally, Caedryn, the eldest among them, spoke in a deep voice.

“What has this OtherWorlder done, my lady, to deserve such responsibility?”

Danu nodded at Gideon. He stood and braced his hands on the crystal table.

“I obtained the records of Drust’s actions in the Shadow World. Drust has remained in there for centuries to mentor other dragons, so they may access the portal to Tir Na-nog and avoid being consumed by the Shadow World. He has acted as their guardian in the afterworld, and aided them so they could become reincarnated once more. He has shown exceptional courage, selflessness, and….” He looked directly at Danu as he spoke, “mercy. Such is the way of the Brehon.”

The goddess seemed to agree. “The time of dragons has passed, and the time of man has reigned. But among OtherWorlders, the dragons are endangered. It is Gideon’s belief, and I hold fast to this as well, that dragons are a special race who require their own guardian and judge. They need guidance from one of their own.”

Danu stretched out her hands and a crystal ball appeared in her palm. “I approve the election of this fifth wizard. However, I leave the final decision up to you. I will leave so you can cast your votes.”

Waving a hand, she tossed the ball into the air. It split into four sections.

Each section slid over to one wizard.

Danu vanished. Tristan toyed with his piece. He waited.

Xavier was the first. He squeezed his piece hard in his right hand, and suddenly an ethereal emerald glow pulsed on his skin.

Tristan held his breath. One ‘yes’ vote.

Slowly, Gideon did the same and a crimson glow pulsed on his skin. That made two.

Then Caderyn took his piece and shifted it to his left hand. Tristan watched, his thoughts secret and guarded.

The Shadow Wizard shifted his piece to his right hand and squeezed. A grayish glow surrounded him.

Three yes votes. He was the decider. He thought about the strenuous extra responsibility he would assume in mentoring Drust. There would be little time left to visit Nikita, to check on her welfare. So little time, when he already watched their few days together vanish.

Love or duty? Which would he put first?

Drust would make an excellent guardian. But I am too filled with emotion to think clearly about this enormous decision.

Tristan pushed his piece of the globe away. “It is finished, my lady. I am postponing my vote.”

She appeared before them, saw the glowing right palms of the other wizards. “What reason have you, Tristan?”

Disapproval rang out in her sweet voice. But he knew her, knew her wisdom, and he knew she liked directness and honesty.

“I returned Nikita to the mortal plane, back to her family and her twin, whom she loves very much. She requested one more day to make her decision regarding consuming the Blood Moonflower nectar, and becoming my immortal mate.” He gave her a level look. “I gave her the day you took away from us to call this meeting.”

The three others looked stunned. Danu did not. A little smile touched her rosy lips. She had always liked his directness and his boldness in dealing with her. “Go on.”

“I will decide upon Drust’s fate after Nikita has made up her mind.” He smiled ruefully. “My mind is too muddled to cast a vote now.”

Something flickered in the goddess’s eyes. “You have fallen in love with her all over again, Tristan. I see it on your face, my son. You were warned against this. It could be your greatest downfall.”

He shrugged to hide his concern. “If falling in love is such sin, then half the world would be in trouble. But perhaps there would be less bad poetry and more sports channels.”

The other three did not even move, though Xavier’s mouth quirked slightly upward.

Danu looked at him and laughed, the sound like tiny silver bells. “You always did amuse me, Tristan. Very well. I will grant you one more day. But no more.”

She regarded them all with a grave look. “If you decide Drust is to become the fifth wizard, he shall need much of your teaching to guide his people. And a special gift to keep them in line.”

She opened her palm and a delicate blue flame flickered on the surface. “Coldfire. Much more than any of you have the ability to summon. Drust would be known as the Coldfire Wizard, the fifth wizard of this conclave.”

His chest tightened as the others went still. They knew what this meant, as he did.

“My lady, why such tremendous power? Are the dark times you warned us about approaching sooner than we believed?” Tristan asked.

A little warning would be nice. But he didn’t joke about this, for it was too serious. If Drust became the Coldfire Wizard, he would help them form a formidable force to fight evil. They would have a greater chance. Remembering the horrors of war, of seeing his comrades struck down by the Fae, Tristan felt divided in half.

His decision was no longer a matter of simple duty in teaching a new wizard to guide and judge dragons. It was teaching a wizard who could help save thousands of lives.

If Nikita chose to remain mortal, he would have less time to spend with her on Earth.

Danu looked grave as she closed her palm. “Dark times are coming for OtherWorlders, indeed, and all must be prepared. It is so, and the dragons shall need a good, just guardian to unite them as one force to defeat evil.”

“Their magick is most powerful,” Caderyn murmured, and Tristan knew then that the Shadow Wizard’s vote had been cast only because of this reason.

With a little nod of her head, the goddess dismissed Gideon, Caderyn and Xavier. But she beckoned for Tristan to stay. He remained at the table, watching her with a guarded look.

One never knew what the goddess wanted…

“Tristan, of all my wizards, your heart needs mending the most. This is why I granted your request when you ascended to being the Silver Wizard. But beware, Tristan.” Danu folded her hands on the table. “Do not interfere with Nikita’s fate, for you will suffer the consequences.”