Pib's Dragon (10 page)

“
You found my gem? What’s it like? Wait, you spoke my
true
name? How did you…Wil! I’m going to skin that wolf—”
Whatever he’d been planning on saying next was muffled as Dray
kissed him, only releasing him when Pib was leaning against
him.

“
Yes, I know your true
name, but don’t blame Wil. If he hadn’t told me, if we hadn’t found
the gem, I could have lost you.” He waited until Pib nodded before
continuing. “As for your gem, my lovely serval, it’s a beautiful
Taaffeite gem. Clear like a diamond with an internal fire of
yellow, black, and green. The same shades as your hair and
eyes.”

“
Oh,” Pib said
breathlessly, seeming at a loss of words.

“
It’s stunning, just like
you are.” Leaning down, he kissed Pib, trying to convey all of his
emotions in the one kiss. Pulling back, he saw the dazed yet happy
expression on his face.

Then Pib frowned. “But then, why am I
being called here? I don’t understand.”

“
I believe it has something
to do with a certain sapphire you took possession of,” Dray replied
smugly.

“
Why would that…oh shit,
that’s your gem!”

Dray laughed as Pib quickly wiggled out
of his embrace and raced to the gem, reverently picking it up and
holding it close to his chest as he turned to face Dray.

“
I didn’t know…but you
would have. You must have known I had it.”

Dray was amused to see Pib’s grip
tighten on the gem, as if he was expecting Dray to take it back.
“Yes, my mate, I’ve known about my gem for a very long time. When
you took it, I was able to reach out and mentally find it. The
contentment I felt coming from it let me know that it was my mate
in possession of it, but it didn’t tell me who you were. When I
realized it was you that was coming into my treasure cave, I
started to hope you had my sapphire. Once I found your gem, and
Wil’s suspicion was confirmed, I knew for certain that it was you
who’d stolen it. I think subconsciously I always knew.”

“
Oh. I liked to curl around
it in my serval form, it felt…nice,” Pib admitted, a light pink on
his cheeks.

“
I’m glad it made you
happy. It is yours now.”

“
Mine?” Pib asked
uncertainly.

The hope in his eyes would have made
Dray give him his entire treasure if that’s what he wanted. “Yours.
You are my mate, the only other person who can hold the gem, I
happily give it to you if it makes you happy.”

He watched as Pib focused on the gem in
his hands before raising his gaze to Dray’s. Determination filled
those beautiful green eyes, and Dray waited to see what he would
say. “What is your true name?”

Smiling, Dray mentally breathed a sigh
of relief. “Drayconis.”

“
Drayconis,” Pib repeated,
and the gem started to glow, filling the room with a blue
light.

Dray watched the magic wrap around Pib,
and suddenly, he was there in Dray’s mind, an immediately
comforting presence Dray had never known he’d wanted. He walked
over and pulled Pib into his arms, kissing him wildly.

“
I believe congratulations
are in order.”

Dray broke the kiss and released his
wings, spinning to face the speaker—a transparent woman in a
flowing gown, with a set of dragon wings seen behind
her.

****

Pib blinked, then focused on the woman
in his cave. Even though she was obviously there magically, being
transparent and all, with all of the magic protecting the cave, she
shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“
Um, thank you?” Pib
replied, unsure how to react to her presence. When she just smiled
at him, he decided to be blunt. “Who are you?”

Her laugh was musical, and Pib smiled
in reflex. Until she replied, “My name is Serena.”

Pib’s jaw dropped at the declaration.
“But, that’s what I decided to name the sapphire…”

“
Yes, I do apologize for
planting the idea in your head, but I couldn’t talk to you until
today.”

“
Pib, what’s going on?”
Dray asked, and it was only then that Pib noticed how close his
mate was standing to him.

Taking a step into his embrace, Pib relaxed and explained.
“I was curled up around the gem one day and decided to give it a
name.
Serena
was what came to mind.”

“
I see. May I ask how you
have come to be here, Lady Serena?” he asked politely.

“
Your gem, Drayconis. You are a direct descendent of a
dragon child that was saved many years ago by an ancestor of
Periwinkle. This formed the first link between dragons and
shifters. The two of you have been destined to be together for
centuries. I’m glad you finally found each other.”

Pib cringed at her calling him by his
true name, but didn’t object…at least not verbally. Besides, her
story was fascinating.

“
I know my ancestor saved a
dragon king’s child but I don’t know anything else. Who was the
child?” Pib asked, curious as always.

The smile on her face when she looked
at them changed her from beautiful to breathtaking.
“Me.”

Pib felt Dray tense and knew he was
just as shocked as Pib was. Before they could comment, she
continued.

“
You see, I was but a small
child at the time. I had my wings, but they weren’t formed or
strong enough to carry me. When my father was out getting food for
us, I went to explore and was attacked by some mercenaries. They
thought that if they captured a dragon young enough, they could
manipulate it or bind it until it was loyal to them and obeyed
their every command.”

Remembering all of the things Geraint
made him do while magically bound caused Pib to shiver and push
back against his mate, who immediately wrapped his wings around
them.

“
Your ancestor Rameel was
out that day. He was a black lion, the only one of its kind at the
time. He acted as a counselor between the various wolf packs due to
his size and the fact that as a cat, none of the she-wolves would
want to mate with him. No one wanted a hybrid offspring back
then—some still don’t, I would imagine—but love and mates cannot be
denied. Rameel attacked the mercenaries to protect me when they
started trying to cuff me. My father arrived just in time to save
Rameel from the cuffs himself. He offered his aid and the aid of
all dragons should Rameel or any in his line ever need their
help.”

“
How was he able to make that offer?” Pib asked, trying to
determine which dragon king could have made such a promise. He
remembered that there used to be a few, but having
only met Dray, and now Serena, he didn’t have a
lot of knowledge about dragons.

“
Because my father was
Drakk, king of all dragons.”

Pib felt Dray start to sway and quickly
turned and grabbed his mate, helping him sit on the carpet on the
floor, his wings hanging loosely by his side.

Kneeling in front of him, Pib kept his
hands on Dray’s arms, stabilizing him. “Dray? Are you okay? What’s
wrong?”

Dray’s laugh sounded a bit hysterical.
“My ancestor was the greatest king in all of the lands, and I slept
through my princess-guarding duty and lost my princess.”

“
I’m glad you did,” Pib
whispered. When Dray looked at him with shock, confusion, and a
little hurt, Pib quickly rushed to explain. “Think about it, Dray.
If you hadn’t lost your duty, you wouldn’t have hung around
Dragon’s Keep. You would constantly be moving from one location to
another, right?”

He waited until Dray nodded before
continuing softly. “Which means I never would have met you. I’m
sorry that happened to you, but if the alternative is that I don’t
have you in my life, then I’m glad it happened. You’re my mate,
Dray, and I love you.”

As soon as the words were out, Pib
realized how true they were. The two of them might not have been
together long, but they were mates. Although tears filled Dray’s
eyes, his smile rivaled the sun.

“
I love you too, Pib,” he
whispered back, leaning forward to kiss Pib.

“
As I said,
congratulations.” Pib turned to look at Serena. “I will leave you
for now, but I will be back, so if you have any questions, you can
ask them of me later. If you need me, just come here and call my
name. I will always heed the call of blood and family, and you two
are both. Blessings on your union, Drayconis and Periwinkle, may
you enjoy your centuries together,” she said, then
disappeared.

“
Centuries?” Pib asked,
turning to Dray who just shrugged.

“
We can ask her about that
next time.”

“
Okay, fine, but don’t get
any ideas about calling me by my full name.”

Dray leaned close until his mouth was
by Pib’s ear. “I wouldn’t dream of it…Periwinkle.”

Pib growled and pounced, pushing his
mate to lie flat on the carpet while the man just laughed. Until
the laugh turned into a groan when Pib unzipped him and swallowed
his cock. They were alone in his cave, and it was time for him to
drive Dray out of his mind with pleasure.

Everything else could wait.

****

“
I’m sorry, Your Highness,
we were unable to bring him back, you see there was a dragon
and—”

“
Silence!” Prince Geraint
roared at the kneeling soldier.

Of all the men he’d sent to catch Pib,
only this one had made it back. If he had to guess, this coward let
the others do the capturing and that was the only reason he was
still alive.

“
Is there anything
useful
that you would
like to add?” Geraint growled out.

“
No, Your
Highness.”

He could see the man trembling, but he
didn’t care. Unsheathing his dagger, he stormed over to the man,
pulled him up, and drove the dagger into his body. The man’s
expression of shock didn’t stir a reaction from him. He withdrew
his dagger and let the dead man fall to the floor.

“
Guards!” he
shouted.

As they came in, they skidded to a halt
at the sight of the body in front of him. “Your Highness, are you
alright?”

“
This man tried to attack
me, so I defended myself. Remove his body. My wife does not need to
see a scene such as this.”

He watched as the men bowed, then got
to work cleaning up. Turning, he walked over to the window and
stared out.

This isn’t over, Pib. You
will
be mine once
more. Only this time, there will be no escape.

Beany lives in Western
Australia. She first started reading romance novels in 2008, but it
wasn’t until January 2010 when her Kindle got delivered that the
world of erotic romance opened its doors to her, and she hasn’t
looked back. With suggestions and support from friends, her
muse—”affectionately” known as PITA—was finally able to break free,
and in January 2014 her first story was written. Since she can’t
put PITA back in his box, Beany has decided to give in and team up
with him.

She can be
reached at
[email protected]
or
visit her at
www.beanysparks.com