A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 11) (13 page)

“I present to the nest Prince Tosh Okida and
Princess December Merricks, who have joined together in truemating
according to our laws, to be granted the titles of king and queen,
lawful rulers of the nest for the length of their lives. Will you
accept them as your king and queen?”

The nest erupted into cheers, and Tosh could
feel the acceptance of his people. He was finally claiming the
crown that had been his father’s.

“Will you pledge an oath, Princess
December?”

“I will,” Deci said.

“Do you swear to honor your king, to love and
protect the nest to the best of your abilities, and to always act
with fairness and justice?”

“I swear.”

Quon lifted the tiara and set it on Deci’s
head. The delicate emerald-and-diamond covered tiara sparkled in
the sunlight. It was formed of white-gold ivy, with leaves made of
emeralds and studded with diamonds.

“Will you pledge an oath, Prince Tosh?”

“I will,” Tosh said.

“Do you swear to honor your queen, to protect
her and your children to the best of your abilities, to uphold our
laws, administer justice, and act in all fairness?”

“I swear.”

Quon lifted the crown that had been in Tosh’s
family for generations and placed it on his head. The white-gold
crown of ivy was heavy on his head, and the weight of it reminded
him of the great responsibility that being king brought with
it.

“May your reign be long and good, as sweet as
orange blossoms, and as lovely as the emerald stones in the queen’s
tiara. Arise, King Tosh and Queen December.”

Tosh helped Deci stand, and they turned to
face the nest.

“Long live the king and queen!” Quon
shouted.

The nest repeated his words and then cheered,
the forest coming alive with the sounds of their joy.

Tosh turned to face Deci and cupped her face.
“You’re the most beautiful queen in the world, and you’re all
mine.”

“I love my tiara,” she whispered, reaching up
to touch it.

“I had to make good on my promise for you to
have one. You wouldn’t be a proper queen without a crown.”

Her gaze searched his and she smiled, her
eyes glistening with tears. “I feel like we’ve come so far in a
short amount of time, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, or
with anyone else. I’m ready to start the next chapter of our
lives.”

“Me too, sweetheart,” he said, bending to
kiss her.

The nest cheered louder, and Tosh and Deci
broke the kiss with smiles. Deci wrapped her hand around his bicep,
and they waved at the nest as they strode down the makeshift aisle
and headed for the mansion, where the celebratory meal would be
served. The traditional roasted venison meal had been ruined by
Deci’s abduction, but Liu, Gen, and the other caretakers in the
nest had quickly prepared another meal.

As Gen, Liu, and the other helpers scurried
ahead, Tosh said, "How do you feel, my queen?”

“Like I’m dreaming.”

“Neither of us is dreaming, but if we were, I
hope to never awaken. You’re
my
dream come true.”

“You’re mine, too.”

Chapter 13

Deci doodled on the edge of a notepad while
the phone buzzed in her ear. It had only been a week since she and
Tosh had been mated and crowned, and her schedule had filled up
fast. The nest females had not had a leader since Tosh’s mom had
been killed, and they were anxious to have someone listen to their
issues and help them. First on the agenda was remodeling the spa
that had been the scene of her abduction.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Yolanda! It’s December Merricks. How are
things going with the school?” she asked the administrator of the
school where she worked.

“It’s coming along well. The students are
anxious to get back, and I’m sure the parents would like to get
their kids out of their hair as well. What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to let you know that I won’t be
coming back to work. I’ve met and mated my truemate, and I’ve
already had people pack up my home.”

“Oh, that stinks! Well,” she said with a
laugh, “I mean that’s wonderful for you. Congratulations! But it
stinks for me because you’re a great employee.”

“I’m sorry for the short notice, but I had to
wait for someone to come back to the office so I didn’t have to
leave my resignation on the answering machine. My life has taken a
hectic turn. I don’t mean to leave you high and dry, so I have a
friend who is willing to come and help out for a while if you need
someone to fill in.” Alli had said she’d be happy to sling food for
shifter school kids. She thought it sounded like fun.

“That’s very sweet, but we have a temp agency
that we can reach out to. If I do end up needing an extra hand,
I’ll let you know, though. Good luck with your mating. I hope you
have a wonderful life.”

“Thanks, Yolanda. Take care.”

Deci slipped the receiver back into the
cradle and then pressed the intercom.

“Yes, ma’am?” Jun asked, her voice slightly
tinny through the system.

“When is the dinner with the females?”

“In two hours.”

“Good. I’ll see my next appointment, and then
I’ll get dressed.”

Deci had set up a meeting with the females
who were the mates of the leaders of the various groups in the
area. Tosh had offered to take her to meet them personally, but she
decided she’d like to get the women together in one place, and her
new home seemed like a good location. The males were going to meet
with Tosh in the library. Dinner was being served in the dining
room, and then they would have dessert in the library with the
males.

After meeting with a young female who needed
financial aid to go to college, Deci turned off her computer and
went to the room across the hall to see Jun. After the banquet to
celebrate their coronation – and much later after Tosh had ravaged
her a few good times and she’d nearly lost her voice from screaming
his name in pleasure – Tosh had told her that she needed an
assistant. As queen, the nest females would be reaching out to her,
and without the buffer of an assistant, Deci would find herself
very busy and without any help.

She could have asked Liu to be her assistant,
but she decided to ask Jun. The pretty female had been in the
library long enough, and her vast knowledge of the history of the
nest had already proven to be invaluable.

“I’m going to shower and dress. Is everything
ready?”

“Yes, ma’am. You’re in good hands.”

She smiled. “I know I am. See you in a little
bit.”

Deci hurried upstairs and found Tosh looking
like a wet dream as he strode from the bathroom with a towel
wrapped loosely around his waist and water droplets from the shower
glistening on his skin.

She growled and he grinned. “I was all by my
lonesome in the shower, sweetheart.”

She slid against him, wrapping her arms
around his waist and tugging experimentally on the towel.

“I’ll make up for it if you join me for
mine.”

“I love how you think.”

* * *

Tosh watched Deci fuss with the centerpiece
on the dining room table, pushing the flowers this way and that and
making what he could only guess were imperceptible changes. He
leaned against the archway, smiling as she bent over the table to
straighten a piece of silverware. His dragon trilled, and she
straightened and looked over her shoulder, blushing. He loved to
see her blush.

“It looks wonderful,” he promised.

“Thanks.” She joined him and settled into his
arms. He kissed the top of her head.

“When is the last time that the leaders all
got together?”

He thought for a long moment and then said,
“There was a new shifter group that came into the area a while ago
– white lions. The bear den invited their entire group and all the
leaders of the other groups to a dinner in their honor. Not all the
leaders are mated, though.”

She nodded. “Right. Midas the tiger king is
still single, and Mishka the vampire leader is.”

He’d been surprised that Mishka didn’t send
his regrets. Although each of the shifter groups had an alliance
with the vampire coven, the groups didn’t usually hang out.
Vampires, at one time, had held shifters against their will to feed
from them, and shifters had long memories.

The doorbell rang, and Deci straightened,
going on her toes to brush her lips across his. “Thank you for
indulging me in this.”

“I’d give you the moon if you asked for it,
poacher
.”

Her eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile
crossed her lips. “Thief.”

Gen opened the door and introduced Adriel and
Filene, the king and queen of the bear den.

Filene shook Tosh’s hand and then embraced
Deci. She handed her a fabric wrapped gift, which turned out to be
an embroidered, leather top made by her son Ash.

“I can’t wait to wear it!” Deci gushed.

“It’s the tradition of our people to bring a
handmade gift for newly mated females. Our son Axe went hunting for
a white deer for the hide as an homage to your polar bear.”

“It’s so beautiful. Please thank both of your
sons for me.”

Next came the alpha wolf, Adam, and his mate,
Cinder; then Jesuit the falcon king, Chance the white lion king,
and their shared mate, Danica; followed by Midas, and finally
Mishka.

Each female brought Deci a mating gift.
Cinder, who was a special kind of hybrid Wiccan-wolf, brought a
charm, which resembled a dream catcher, to hang over the bed. The
charm promised to ensure that their mating bed never grew cold.
Danica brought a woven container of potpourri, which was made from
the royal flower garden.

As the males and females parted ways, Deci
blew a kiss to Tosh, and he winked at her.

“Congratulations on your mating,” Midas said
as Tosh entered the library where the females would join them for
dessert. He sat at the large round table, which had been placed in
the room just for the dinner.

“Thank you. Thank you all for attending,” he
said. “While I would do anything to please my mate, I do think she
had the right idea in us getting together. It’s important to me,
the same as it is to all of you, that the people I love and care
for are protected. Sending a few of our people to guard the Wiccans
on the full moon isn’t going to help us get to know each
other.”

Jesuit nodded. “Danica feels alone at times
because she’s the queen. She doesn’t know if nest females are
friends with her because they like her or because of her
position.”

Adriel said, “There aren’t a lot of female
bears. Filene was thrilled to get this invitation.”

Gen announced their dinner. Unlike the
females who were dining on lobster and crab ravioli and other
fine-dining foods, the males were eating what they enjoyed best –
rare steaks, loaded baked potatoes, and plenty of good beer. Except
for Mishka, who smiled pleasantly, and watched as they ate.

While the meal progressed, they discussed
issues relating to their various shifter groups, and Mishka shared
that the anti-vampire group, The First Church of Humanity, was
still a problem for them. Tosh was thankful that there were no hate
groups targeting dragons. He didn’t want to think about how
concerned he would be if a group of people decided to try to kill
his entire nest.

Shaking out of the dark thoughts, he smiled
as the library doors opened and the nest caretakers arrived with
chairs, with the females following close behind. Tosh moved his
seat over enough for a chair to be placed for Deci, and when she
sat next to him, he lifted her hand and kissed the top.

“How was your dinner?” she asked.

“Delicious but missing my sweet mate.”

She blushed lightly and he kissed her.

“I can’t wait for dessert,” she said.

“Me too,” he said with a whisper, his voice
dropping to a husky tone.

Her blush deepened and the others at the
table began to chuckle, trying to hide their amusement.

Changing the subject with a wink, Deci said,
“When the spa is open again, I’ve invited the females to come for a
day of pampering.” She glanced at Mishka. “I’d be happy to invite
Arissa, too.”

“I’m sure she would enjoy it,” Mishka
said.

The evening wound down, as stories were
shared and the history of their different groups were rehashed.

When all but Mishka had departed, he turned
to Tosh and said, “Our interrogation of the human scientists from
the warehouse is completed, along with the intel that was received
from the warehouse. I’ll have Brone email you the official report.
In short, however, the scientists were trying to find a breeding
drug that would throw a shifter into a heat cycle so great she
would be unable to resist having sex with any male around. They
were planning to sell the drug to the highest bidder. They were
hoping to eventually be able to test it on humans.”

Deci shook her head. “A human isn’t equipped
to go through a heat cycle.”

“I think that was the point. It was being
tested on shifters first, and then it would be eventually diluted
for humans. There are apparently humans who would like to make
their females insatiable.”

Deci shivered and Tosh pulled her a little
closer to him. “What did you do to the scientists?”

“They’re dead and they will never be found.
Their work is gone. The drug that had been stored at the warehouse
was destroyed when the building was, and the instructions for how
to make it are now lost forever.”

“Good. I’d hate to think of anyone else being
hurt with that drug.”

Tosh agreed.

Mishka smiled at Deci and kissed the top of
her hand. “Thank you for the warm welcome to your home.”

Deci and Tosh said goodnight, and then Gen
shut the door, flipped the deadbolt, and engaged the security
system.