Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove) (5 page)

“My wolf would do everything in his power to free himself. He’s strong.”

“Do you think he’s dead?”

Noah closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes.” The question in Parker’s expression was answered before he could voice it. “As alpha, I can feel my immediate pack. He’s gone, and his mate confirms it. Damn it.”

Dragos scowled. “Van Helsings usually do kill their prey, but I’d hoped...” It was why he’d initially dismissed the thought of Van Helsings being involved. They knew Iva was still alive because her tree hadn’t died. Van Helsings weren’t known for capturing prey.

Noah shook his head. “You’re so caught up in Maggie’s Grove you don’t pay attention to the outside world. Times, they are a’changin’. The latest crop of Van Helsings has scientists who want to study us, dissect us to see what makes us tick.”

Parker shuddered. “That’s revolting.”

“It’s more than that, it’s dangerous. What if they figure out how to make vampires, or learn that werewolves are born, not made? What if they learn the DNA markers that make us what we are? With gene therapies and stem cell research, they could try and recreate the things the gods put in place.”

Dragos shuddered. “That’s why they’re hanging on to Iva and your beta.”

“I think so, yes.” Noah dropped his arms and sighed.

His night just kept getting better and better. “I want the wolves on border patrol.” Amara and Eddy returned, with two trays of tea and munchies. “Thank you, Eddy.”

“You’re welcome.” Eddy, looking a lot better, settled on the arm of the sofa next to Amara, who had sat next to Parker. “Something felt fishy with your brother, by the way.”

“Oh?” And here Dragos had assumed Eddy’s response had been more to what his brother was, not what he wanted.

Eddy’s expression turned distant as he tried to express what he’d sensed from Trajan. “There was a conflict inside him, as if he wanted to do one thing but was being forced to do another and he didn’t know how to fix it.” Eddy frowned thoughtfully. “He’s powerful, but there’s a light inside him that’s slowly being eaten away by this conflict.” Eddy looked up at Dragos, his expression sincere. “He’s not a bad man, Dragos. I think...I think he was trying to
joke
with you, not insult you.”

“What do you mean?” Surely his brother had changed. Hadn’t he? Was his beloved older brother still in there, not completely extinguished by Laurentiu’s hatred?

“When he said what he did about how the mighty had fallen and you got angry, I could sense his immediate remorse. I don’t think he meant to hurt you or make you angry. He feels...” Eddy suddenly looked baffled. “He feels good in my head.”

“So you don’t think he’s working with the Van Helsings? This is too much of a coincidence in my book, your brother showing up like this.” Parker stared at the Renfield, his eyes flickering with red light.

“No, I don’t. Not even my father would willingly work with Van Helsings.” Dragos rested his chin on his hands. “No. Something else is going on with them. Something you don’t have to worry about.”

“But we will, because we’re your friends, you idiot.” Parker stood and held out a hand to Amara. “If there are Van Helsings nearby, we’ll keep an eye out.”

“Discreetly, of course.” Amara grinned as bark flickered into and out of existence on her hands.

Someday Dragos would be used to Amara’s casual displays of power. Now that she’d found her mate, there was no longer fear in her. The rejections and taunts were in the past, and Amara had come into her own.

“Of course.”

* * *

Mina gritted her teeth
,
knowing that Parker and Amara had stepped through the magical veil that usually guarded the Throne.
Battle was about to be joined in the Throne
,
and there was nothing Mina could do to stop it.

An aura of evil hung over her as she moved through the Throne to confront Parker and Amara.
Thanks to her link to Mina
,
Terri would also be aware of their presence.
The vines gave her power here now
,
the bitch tapping into Mina’s connection with the forest.
Mina still wasn’t certain how the witch had gotten the drop on her
,
but one moment Mina was following Ash and Greer through the forest
,
and the next
...

Mina shrieked
,
pain tearing through her
,
more intense than anything she’d ever experienced before.
When it was over
,
she was panting
,
breathless
,
ready to collapse.

The hamadryad was here
,
and Mina was dead.

“
Parker.
”

Mina tried not to lose consciousness.
If she did
,
Terri would devour her
,
draining her power and killing her tree.

“
Hello
,
sweet.
”
Parker’s British accent was thicker
,
his voice mellow
,
nonthreatening.
Mina bet he could charm the birds from the trees if he wished.
“
Where’s Mina?
”

Terri paused.
“
Mina?
”

“
Oak
,
Terri.
Where’s Oak?
”

Please don’t remind her I’m here. Please, Parker.
If Terri remembered she’d give Mina more pain.

Terri shrugged.
“
Her?
Where she belongs
,
of course.
In her tree.
”

Mina managed to look up at Amara
,
only to find indifference on the hamadryad’s face.
Mina bit back a groan as one of Terri’s vines writhed against her skin.
It burrowed under Mina’s skin
,
twisting inside her like a giant parasite.

She wished with all her might that Dragos was here.
If the mayor had been present when Terri did this to her
,
Terri would
—

This time the pain was so intense she couldn’t even scream.

Slowly
,
the weeds ceased their movements
,
and Mina sobbed in a shallow breath.

Make it stop. I have to make it stop.

“
Do you want them to suffer even more?
Feed from me
,
Dragos.
Feed from me
,
and the others may go free.
”

Dragos?
Oh
,
thank the gods
,
Dragos was here.
The relief Mina felt when she realized it wasn’t Parker but Dragos who stood before Terri left her even dizzier than the pain had.

The cavalry had arrived.

When she mustered the strength to look up
,
Dragos was feeding from the abomination with all the joy of a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Her consciousness fading fast
,
her last thought was that the son of a bitch had betrayed her in the worst way possible.

* * *

Mina sat up with a scream that echoed through the woods.

“Mina!”

Her gaze darted to the edge of the Throne. She knew that voice.

“Let me in, Mina.” His crooning voice washed over her, tried to break her resolve.

She tried to throw off the remnants of the dream, but they stuck with her. Dragos was going to betray her. The belief was irrational, she understood that, but with the vision of him feeding from Terri was so fresh in her mind she couldn’t seem to shake it.

It had brought one staggering point sharply home. Dragos was a vampire. Mina was a dryad. There was no way he would be able to feed from her. Her blood would provide no nourishment, but if he bonded with her he would feed from no other.

She’d thought maybe he’d given up on her when she didn’t see him for two weeks, but apparently she’d been wrong.

She put all the power at her disposal behind her reply. “No.”

Red glowing eyes appeared before Dragos did. He was at the very edge of the Throne, allowing the branches of the guardian trees to whip at him, drawing blood. “Something frightened you,
dragă
Mina. Let me in. Let me protect you.”

“Protect me?” Mina stood, drawing the tattered remnants of her dignity about her. He could not enter the Throne. It was one of the few things she was certain of in the uncertain world. “I am the Queen of the Forest. I can protect myself.”

Terri had taken her by surprise, using her twisted power to tap into Mina’s very essence by spearing her with one of the vines. The Throne had allowed Terri in as she dragged Mina behind her, using Mina to begin taking control of the heart of the forest.

Mina would not allow that to happen again. Never again. She was safe as long as she stayed within the Throne.

It was only outside it that someone could hurt her.

The red of his eyes flared. “And I am your mate,
sotiei
. Allow me to stand by your side.”

She looked away from him. “Aren’t you supposed to be off feeding or something?”

“I will only feed from you.”

He would starve. He would die. “You know you can’t feed from me. You aren’t special like Parker.” The world’s only vegetarian vampire had fallen in love with the town’s hamadryad—something that worked well for both of them. Amara could feed Parker’s hunger, and Parker adored the ground she walked on.

“You don’t think I’m special?” He placed his hand over his chest and shot her a wounded look, but his glowing red eyes were anything but hurt. He appeared feral.

Starving.

She scowled, hating the thought of what she had to do. “You should go. Feed. Find someone to be with.” Someone who wasn’t her, wasn’t damaged.

“No.”

“I cannot accept you, Dragos.”

“Cannot, or will not?” His voice had turned soft, dangerous.

If he pushed now, he’d get through the barriers and attack her, turn on her...

“Cannot.” She stared him in the eye, hoping to convey that she truly meant it. “You need to leave me be.”

He smiled, and she remembered that the man before her was a predator used to hunting reluctant prey. “I don’t think so.”

She allowed some of her weariness to seep through, her shoulders drooping. Maybe if direct rejection didn’t work, he’d listen to desperation. “I’m sick, Dragos. Something’s wrong with me.”

“Then let me help you,
sotiei
.” He took a step forward, the energy of the protections of the Throne dancing across his skin, giving him a green glow. “Let me in.”

“No.” She shook her head, moving back. “Dragos—”

“I need you.” He took another step forward, grimacing in pain as the protections kicked in. Branches and vines whipped him mercilessly. The Queen had declared that he would not enter the Throne, therefore the forest would prevent it, killing the interloper if need be. “Mina.”

“I cannot.”

He collapsed as he took the third step, branches skewering his flesh. “Mina.”

Despite his pain, her name was spoken with such reverence she had to blink away tears. “Dragos. Please stop this.”

He smiled, blood coating his teeth. “My
sotiei.
How can I abandon you?”

“You’re not. I’m abandoning you.” Mina turned her back on him, prepared to walk away.

“Then allow me to die here, in your Throne, where my spirit can watch over you.”

She stopped. Dragos, dead. The very thought sent a pang through her. She closed her eyes, the warring emotions inside her making her sway on her feet. All it would take was one word from her, and Dragos would be gone forever.

She would never know his touch, never feel his kiss. Never know what it meant to be the
sotiei
of the most powerful man she’d ever met.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Vampires and dryads did not mate. Dragos should never have felt the pull, but there he was, on his knees, ready to die for her.

Mina released the protections, allowing him through. “This changes nothing.” She turned to find him on his knees, trembling, pierced and bleeding in multiple places.

One of the branches had gotten dangerously close to his heart, and her own almost stopped.

“Stubborn bastard.” How could he have kept coming, through all that pain? How could he have allowed himself to come so close to death? And for what?

Her?

“Mina.”

She shivered at the way he spoke her name, the seductive way it dripped off his tongue. His gaze was glued to her, watching her every move, his body still as a cat on the hunt. Only those blood red eyes moved, tracking her as she took another, involuntary step back.

She had a bleeding vampire—one who believed she was his
sotiei
—in the Throne.

She might as well have strapped a cracker to her ass, because Mina was about to become lunch.

Chapter Four

Dragos knew what he had to do. The beast within would accept nothing less. There was only one way Mina would give in, accept him as her mate.

He stood, ignoring the pain of his wounds, and began to walk toward her tree. If her tree accepted him, allowed the beginnings of the bond, his hunger would change. He would crave Mina even more.

They would no longer be only one vegetarian vampire in the world. There would be two.

It was a blessing and a curse Dragos was more than willing to take on for the sake of his
sotiei
. Parker and his Renfield, Brian, could teach Eddy how to deal with a vampire who no longer lived solely on blood.

But first, her tree had to accept him as Mina’s mate.

“What are you doing?”

The panic in her voice almost made him smile.

Almost.

The scream of fear that had echoed through the forest had terrified him. He’d been more frightened than he’d ever been in his life, and considering what he’d lived through...

He shook off the thought. None of that mattered now. Someone had attacked his
sotiei
, harmed her, and he’d been unable to reach her, couldn’t help her. When he realized she was alone in the Throne, it had done nothing to soothe his beast. Finding out the cause was her nightmares hadn’t eased his fears, not by a tiny bit.

Until they bonded he would be unable to help her heal.

The thought that she struggled alone was driving him to the brink. And if someone else was responsible for her pain, he would rip them apart with his bare hands. Many things could attack unseen, unfelt by the Throne. Dragos would do whatever it took to bind her to him, to delve into what, or who, had caused his
sotiei
such fear.

But first things first.

He reached the great oak, its branches towering over him, sheltering him, and felt a peace he hadn’t known since... Since ever. His mother had died when he was so young he didn’t even remember her. His father was a vicious bastard who’d sooner see him dead, and his brothers were almost as bad, following Laurentiu’s orders blindly. It was amazing to him, even now, that he’d managed to hold on to the small spark of integrity that allowed him to be a better ruler than his father had ever been.

He’d heard his mother had been a beautiful soul. He often wondered if his father had killed her.

Dragos smiled at Mina. “I will prove you are mine, and I yours.”

“Dragos, no.” Mina stepped forward, hand outstretched as if to stop him.

Nothing could stop him, not if he wanted to finally claim his
sotiei
. He placed his bloody hand on her Oak, and waited for its judgment.

He found himself sucked into an intellect so alien yet so familiar he felt overwhelmed. That intelligence delved into him, sought out his darkest places, basked in the sunshine he’d managed to hold on to despite his family and the trials he’d been through. It discovered his deepest secrets, taking them and accepting them without question. It acknowledged that he, too, had once been a creature of the forest, and still was at his deepest levels. It rooted out his pettiest feelings and his deepest desires, seemed pleased that in every corner Mina existed. It latched on to his feelings for Mina and turned them inside out, examined them, pulled them apart and put them back together.

It tested his worthiness to be Mina’s consort, and found him barely adequate. He’d allowed her to suffer alone, and her oak was displeased with him. He couldn’t blame it, but he’d only stayed away to honor her wishes. It dismissed his nobility. Its dryad had
suffered
, and Dragos, her mate, had done nothing.

He would strive harder, he promised silently, help her overcome her fears and drive away the nightmares. He would be there for her when he wasn’t in his day sleep, and when he couldn’t be there, he’d see to it someone he trusted was. He reassured the oak that he had only been trying to give her what she said she wanted—space, and time to come to grips with her changed status. She was no longer just Queen of the Forest. She was his
sotiei
, his everything, and he would grant every wish of her heart if it was within his power to do so.

It accepted that.

The great oak accepted
him
, the bond with Mina’s tree snapping into place inside him. He would forever hear it whispering in the back of his mind, helping him guard and guide his
sotiei
, protect her even from herself. And when the time came, when she bound him to her in the dryad way, it would also bind their life forces together.

He hadn’t known that was even possible without changing her, without becoming her sire as well as her mate.

The oak seemed amused at that. It was only a matter of time before he fully claimed her—and she, him. The oak saw no point in keeping him in the dark over what was inevitable.

By the time it was done, Dragos was ready to drop from pain and blood loss. The tree withdrew from his thoughts, leaving behind the knowledge that it was frightened for its dryad. Something
was
attacking Mina, but it couldn’t figure out what, or who. And until Yew was returned safely, she refused to commune with her tree—joining with it in the most intimate way a dryad could, becoming one with it. If she did, it would immediately know who, or what, was giving his
sotiei
such a hard time.

It was also the best way for a dryad to rest, to recover from wounds both physical and psychic, and to strengthen their bond with their tree. To kill the tree was to kill the dryad, and vice versa.

Dragos might have to move his office to the Throne just so he could protect them both.

The great oak laughed in the back of his mind, but Dragos could hear the budding affection. It was amused by his thought, but found it unnecessary. Mina was normally capable of taking care of herself, but recently she’d been agitated, and afraid. It didn’t know how to help her.

It believed Dragos could.

“What have you done?”

Dragos turned his attention to Mina. The sight of her standing there, still fearful, the light of hope slowly dawning in her eyes, nearly brought his beast to the surface. “Started the process of claiming you, my Mina.” He took his hand from her tree and began stalking toward her, slowly so as not to send her running. He wouldn’t take her from her safe place. Not yet.

She needed to be in the Throne, and he would make sure she stayed until she was ready to leave. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to start claiming his
sotiei
, and the first step was drinking her blood.

Once he did that, she would be his.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” He held out his hand. “Your oak accepted me, and I’m not going to force you from the Throne.”

“You won’t?” She gazed at him skeptically.

“No. Not until you’re ready.”

“You give me your word?” The suspicion in her voice stung.

He bowed. “On my soul, I will not force you from here unless the emergency is so dire your life, or the life of your tree, is in danger.”

She studied him for a moment before she relaxed. “I accept that.”

“Good.” He pounced, faster than she could react, and struck, sinking his fangs deep into her neck, starting the first half of the bonding process. She tasted sweet—a forgotten flavor, like elderberry wine on a cool, distant evening.

With the first taste of her blood he was addicted. No other would ever satisfy him again.

* * *

Dragos pounced on her faster than she could blink, his fangs piercing her neck. White-hot pain shrieked through her, followed quickly by a mind-searing pleasure so intense she never wanted it to end. Long pulls at her neck pulsed through her, like hands intimately caressing every part of her body. She screamed, the orgasm ripping through her going on and on as he continued to feed from her.

Something snapped into place inside her, the first hint that Dragos was in more than her veins.

She wanted more.

She wanted him inside of her.

Mina began tearing at his clothes, desperate to touch skin, to smell his scent, to taste his cock. She needed him like she needed her tree, with a desperate longing she’d never experienced before.

Dragos grabbed her, took her mouth like he’d taken her, so quickly she didn’t even protest. He swept inside her mouth with strong thrusts of his tongue. His claws ripped her clothing from her, the simple T-shirt and jeans melting away before the onslaught, her bra and panties quickly following, a shredded pile of cloth on the forest floor.

Dragos lay her down in the middle of the Throne as he continued to kiss her. When her back hit the soft earth he finally released her mouth, only to latch onto her breast.

Mina arched her back, forcing more of herself against his lapping tongue. Goddess, the sensation was so
intense
. Was making love with a vampire always like this? If so, she should have tried it sooner.

Dragos growled above her, his eyes burning red. “No thinking of other men.” His teeth nipped at her breast, drawing a tiny drop of blood. He slowly licked it off, his eyes closing in ecstasy. “You taste so good.” He opened his eyes, his gaze drifting down her body. “I wonder if you taste as sweet all over?”

Mina damn near whimpered, her thighs quivering in anticipation as Dragos licked a long line down to the top of her pussy. She clenched her hands into the dirt, digging deep into the loam as he took his first taste of her. His tongue moved from her hole to her clit, and he hummed in appreciation. “Delicious.”

Mina’s head felt like it was going to explode as he continued to eat her. The wet heat of his mouth was intoxicating. She began to thrust her hips against him, wanting more and more of that wonderful tongue.

When Dragos took her clit into his mouth and sucked, she grabbed hold of his head. Right there. She needed him
right there
.

With a shriek she came, her fists clenching in his hair, holding him in place until the orgasm ripping through her had dulled to a soft ache.

Still he loved on her with his mouth, not allowing the arousal to fully die. Soon she was once again clutching at his hair, trying desperately to drag his mouth back to her clit and keep him there.

When he turned his head and sank his fangs into the junction of her thigh, she almost blacked out from the pleasure. She had enough awareness left to know he’d rolled them so that she straddled him.

“Ride me,
sotiei
.”

She reached down and stroked him through his slacks. What did it say about her that the fact he still wore his clothes was an incredible turn-on?

“Free me and ride me.”

The demand in his voice was hard to miss, his eyes still glowing a feral red. She slowly undid his zipper, unleashing his beauty of a cock. She slithered down his body, intent on her prize.

Two could play at that game. He’d had his taste. Now it was her turn.

She took just the tip of his cock into her mouth, laving the slit with her tongue, tasting the bittersweet drops of his precome. He shivered hard beneath her. His body remained carefully frozen still as she tasted him to her heart’s content, the velvety-hard heat of him feeling right in her mouth.

How had she resisted him for so long? She felt like a veil had been torn.

She’d known since she was a little girl that Dragos was the one for her, but she’d been too young to claim him in the way of her people. She’d been a child—hiding away from the adults at a party she barely remembered—when she’d seen the most amazing man in the universe. Or so she’d thought. Tall, dark-haired, gray-eyed, he’d been a vision in a black tuxedo and pristine white shirt. He’d been standing in the garden of the mayor’s mansion, staring at the moon with such a sad smile it had broken her heart.

Then she heard her name being called and the moment was broken. Dragos never saw her, but she remembered him for years afterward. In that split second in the moonlight, just the two of them, her heart was captured by a wistful smile and gleaming gray eyes.

She hadn’t seen him since she’d come of age. Not until Amara appeared on the scene and forced the ruling dryads to leave the sanctity of their Throne and go back into the town.

She’d felt sucker punched when she saw him sitting next to Kate Hassell.

The woman had treated Dragos as her own, demanding his attention, his protection. She’d touched him like a lover, spoken to him with the ease of long familiarity.

It had pissed Mina off big time.

But Dragos... He’d seen her standing before him, and suddenly it was as if Kate no longer existed. His gaze locked on Mina. If he’d felt even a fraction of what Mina had, she was surprised his beast had allowed her to leave the town hall unclaimed. Kate was virtually ignored even as she shrieked.

Kate, in that one shining moment, had no longer been his lover.

Mina had.

Now he was claiming her in the vampire way. She’d have to claim him the dryad way for it to be complete, but not yet. Not until she got over her irrational fear of anything outside the Throne. She owed them both that.

Mina hummed, smiling around his cock as he moaned.

“
Now
, Mina.”

Mina’s brow rose at the command, but she obeyed. She was just as eager as he to join their bodies, to feel his cock stretching her wide. She rose to her knees and straddled him, stroking him till she was in position. She lowered herself onto him, groaning as he filled her. His pants were stiff against her swollen pussy, adding an extra element of excitement. She placed her hands flat on his chest and, leaning over him, stole a kiss that took her breath away.

He grabbed hold of her hips, his claws almost, but not quite, piercing her flesh, and began to pound into her. She lost control of the kiss immediately, too busy trying to catch her breath to continue.

He wasn’t treating her like she was sick, or broken, or wounded. He was treating her like a lover who could take it the way he wanted to give it to her. Rough and wild.

She loved it. For the first time in ages she felt whole again.

The sensations built inside her again, her orgasm cresting almost immediately as his pants rubbed against her clit. Mina cried out, tossing her head back as he kept pounding into her, never once slowing.