Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (34 page)

I shook my head and stepped back from Dragon.
I heard Claire chuckle and knew my face turned bright red but I
chose not to acknowledge my embarrassment. "Where were we just
now?"

"That was a cabin I own in Alaska." Dragon
was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "Do you think you'd
like to go there for our honeymoon?"

The scene flashed back into my mind but this
time Dragon was moving faster, and I couldn't stop the orgasm that
overcame me. He caught me before my legs gave out and held me
against his chest while I shuddered in his arms.

"Donovan, you should be ashamed of yourself,"
Claire chided, but the effect was ruined when she laughed.

"Don't worry Claire, I'll find a way to get
him back some day." I pulled back from Dragon and tried not to
collapse in a quivering mass at his feet. Perhaps I should have
been upset with him but the vision had felt so good I really
couldn't be too angry about it. "I will accept your invitation for
an Alaskan honeymoon on one condition."

"And what condition would that be?" he asked
cautiously.

"That you make me a member of the mile high
club on the way there of course."

Dragon picked me up and turned us around in
circles. When he set me down he pulled me close and whispered, "I
love you Mrs. Drake." Then he kissed me passionately until Claire
had to remind us that members of the press were roaming all over
the resort and pictures of us naked in the main conference room
wouldn't be good for our public image.

Shortly after that Dragon left to meet with
Garrek and Claire walked with me to The Gateway. I rehearsed for
the rest of the afternoon and barely had time to get ready before
it was time to meet Dragon for the ceremony.

After my lunch with Garrek I found Solomon
and asked him if there was any way he could strengthen the wards.
He said it shouldn't be a problem after the wedding but for now,
they were almost completely nonexistent.

"I kept getting feedback from the wards every
time another crooked politician came through the front doors.
Normally the magic has no trouble determining whether a being wants
to do us harm or not, but all of these wedding guests seem to have
a hidden agenda that is not completely on the up and up. It makes
them just shady enough that the wards don't want to admit them.
When I thought about what could happen when Travali tries to cross
the wards I decided it's best to just shut them down. I'm afraid
we'll have to rely on our own instincts and senses for security
until the wedding guests have departed the resort," Solomon
explained.

Not good news, but not completely unexpected
either. I asked him to keep me informed of any changes and left in
search of Rook. He wasn't in any of the usual places and I finally
found him in the casino settling a dispute involving a couple of
drunks who seemed to believe they were being cheated. With a mental
push I convinced them both there was nothing to be concerned about
and sent them on their ways.

"Sometimes I really wish I had the ability to
do that." Rook confessed as we made our way through the crowd to
his office.

I shrugged. "Sometimes it comes in handy, but
nothing can compare to what you can do."

"I might agree with that if my hands weren't
tied by so many rules and if there was enough magic left in this
world to make a real difference. I miss the days when I could take
my time and see how everything plays out before I go back. Now I
have to act so quickly that I'm not always sure going back is the
best thing to do. But if I don't do it right then, I won't be able
to go back far enough for it to matter. You have no idea how
aggravating it can be. Like with Serafina the other night. I barely
made it in time to save her, but had I gone back any farther I
would have passed out and not been able to help her." I could hear
the frustration in his voice and wished there was something I could
do to make him feel better.

We reached his office and walked through the
door. When it closed behind us I clapped him on the back. "Maybe
someday you'll meet a conduit. Then all your problems will be
solved." According to their legends conduits allowed times demons
unlimited access to the source of their power. For that reason many
time demons spent their entire lives searching for a conduit even
though there was almost no chance of actually finding one.

"Yeah, and maybe someday Angela will fall in
love with me and we'll live happily ever after," Rook replied
sarcastically.

"Stranger things have happened, have faith.
Look what the fates have done for me," I pointed out.

"Yes, but Angela won't be around for another
four hundred years while I wait for a miracle." Something was
definitely off with Rook. He was pacing back and forth in front of
his desk and looked a bit disheveled.

"What's going on here Rook, talk to me." I
perched on the edge of his desk.

"It's Angela. I usually only see her once
every few months but because of these body dumps, she's been here
almost every week. I don't know what it is about her. I haven't
been with another woman since the first time I met her. That was
six years ago Dragon. The closest I've come to having sex is when
I've let Rita or Vivian feed off me and they project what they feel
into my brain. It feels damn good but when it's over I feel like
I've done something wrong. Sometimes I go to the spa and let the
empaths into my head. They can see my fantasies and they make them
seem so real. In my mind I've fucked Angela in every position
imaginable. How fucked up is that?" He threw his hands in the
air.

"I knew you were attracted to her but I had
no idea your feelings were this strong." I didn't know what else to
say.

He stopped pacing and faced me. "If I were a
shapeshifter I would swear she's my mate. When I think of sleeping
with another woman I feel like I'm cheating on Angela. And when I
think about her fucking anyone but me, I want to slaughter every
male who's ever looked at her. I've felt this way for so long and
usually I can keep a lid on it, but this case with the body dumps
has her so upset. I can't stand by and watch how it tears her apart
and not do anything to comfort her. But she won't accept anything
from me. She thinks I'm a monster and she doesn't even know I'm a
demon yet."

I sat there stunned for a moment trying to
come up with anything that would make him feel better. "Would it be
easier on you if I took over police liaison duties for a while? At
least until whoever is dumping these bodies is caught?"

Rook fell back onto the sofa and held his
head in his hands. When he looked up he seemed to be pulling
himself together. "I don't know Dragon. Maybe that would be for the
best. Angela has an eighteen year old daughter, Rachel, who's mixed
up with drugs and prostitution. She's doing everything she can to
keep her kid out of trouble but police detectives work long hours.
All of the victims that have been dumped along our shores have been
young girls who could have easily been her daughter. She's so
worried that Rachel will be next, and from what she's said, she
might be right."

"If Angela thinks you're such a bad guy why
did she tell you about her daughter?"

"We've been able to help her in the past when
she didn't have any other leads. I'm sure she thinks we got the
information through some kind of illegal means, but at this point
she's willing to accept any help she can get. She wants to put a
stop to these murders before she gets called to a scene and finds
her daughter face down in the sand."

"What can we do to help her?"

"Once this wedding is over I plan to launch a
full investigation. I think there's more to these body dumps
anyway. They're just too close to the resort and obviously someone
is trying to make them look like vampire attacks whether that's
really true or not. We need to find out who is doing this. Vampires
trying to cause problems for us or humans who think a little bad
publicity is just what we need? Even if Angela wasn't involved I
think this is something we need to take care of." Rook leaned back
and looked up at the ceiling. "It's so hard to sit there and let
her believe the worst about me. I wish I could just tell her the
truth, but honestly would a human think that's any better?"

"I understand how you're feeling, more than I
would've a couple of weeks ago. When I realized Serafina was my
mate I had no idea how I was going to tell her the truth or if she
would accept me once I did. I only made it through all of this
because the mating bond forced the issue when it marked her. I'm
thankful every day that she handled everything as well as she did.
I don't have any advice to offer you about Angela. If she weren't
immune to vampire mind control I'd say tell her everything. If she
didn't take it well we'd just erase her memories. But we can't do
that in her case. If you told her the truth and she chose not to
keep it quiet, we'd have no choice but to silence her
ourselves."

Rook sounded so defeated when he said, "I
know, and I don't want it to come to that. I won't put her in that
kind of situation just because I'm too selfish to leave her alone."
He got up and went over to his desk. "You're probably here for
this." He handed me a folder and I flipped through it.

Recognizing his need to change the subject I
moved on to business. "So, no luck identifying Scarlett's
impersonator?"

He shook his head. "Not so far. We've
narrowed down the possibilities but there's just no way to know for
sure who it was. Are you going to warn Serafina that someone has
been impersonating Scarlett?"

"No, not yet, she's been under so much stress
lately and she's with child. I don't want to give her anything else
to worry about."

"It will make it more difficult to keep her
safe but I get where you're coming from." He came around and leaned
against the front of his desk beside me.

"I plan to take her to my cabin in Alaska
tomorrow night anyway. We're going on a honeymoon and we'll be gone
for at least a week. Maybe by the time we return you'll be able to
sort out whatever is going on around here."

"That should be enough time for me to ferret
out our traitor. If not, we'll have to talk about setting a trap
when you get back, even if Serafina has to act as bait." He looked
at me expectantly.

"I won't veto the idea without even
considering it, but you know that's something I'd only allow as a
last resort." I trusted Rook. If he thought that was the only way
to find the traitor, then I'd have to give his advice serious
consideration.

"That's all I can ask. Now, we should both
start getting ready for the wedding or we'll be late and Garrek
will be displeased."

"Speaking of Garrek, he's really pushing for
a war with Travali. I don't know how much longer I can hold him
off."

Rook considered that for a minute then
shrugged. "Depending on how this next council meeting goes it might
not matter. There are pretty strong convictions on both sides of
the Oblivion debate. A peaceful resolution might not be
possible."

"True, but I hope you're wrong." I knew he
was right but I didn't want to think about what could happen if the
supernatural world went to war.

We went our separate ways and planned to meet
up later on the beach where the wedding ceremony would take
place.

The wedding went off without a hitch. The
bride was lovely, the decorations were flawless and all I could
think about was sneaking off for a moment alone with my beautiful
mate. She wouldn't allow it of course, but I kept up a steady
stream of suggestive visions trying to change her mind.

When the bride and groom were pronounced
husband and wife Serafina returned to The Gateway to prepare for
her big debut. Her mother, Josephine, was still in town and I was
happy she'd be able to watch Serafina shine on stage tonight. They
hadn't had much time to visit with everything that was going on and
I thought we should invite her for an extended stay. Maybe we could
find a position here at the resort that she could fill. I wanted
Serafina to be happy, and having her mother close by when the baby
was born would mean a lot to her. I'd have to speak to Claire and
see how Josephine was holding up with all the strangeness around
her.

All of the wedding guests were slowly filing
into The Gateway and taking their seats. I would be sitting at
Garrek's table along with a Senator from a neighboring state,
Travali and Bran. I knew Travali only brought him to get under my
skin, but no matter how hard I tried not to let it bother me, it
did. Bran had been like a brother to me when we were growing up.
His betrayal had been so unexpected that I hadn't believed it was
true until I heard it from his own lips. He'd been so angry and
jealous. If only I'd paid more attention. Without the blood of a
traitor Travali's spell never would have taken hold.

"So I hear your mate is quite a delectable
sight," Bran commented from beside me. I was standing behind my
seat and he'd just strolled up to the table. I glanced at him. He
hadn't changed much in all these year. His height and build were
similar to mine and his dark blonde hair curled just above his
collar.

"She is more beautiful than I could have
hoped for, but I wouldn't think that would matter to you. From my
understanding Travali doesn't share well, and with Malachi out of
the picture he'll be looking for a new boy toy. Since you're here
as his date, I'd guess you'll get the honor of sucking his dick
later tonight."

Bran just chuckled and flopped into his
chair. Garrek and Ivanna joined us and we all took our seats. Just
before the lights dimmed Travali sauntered in and found his place
on the other side of Bran.