CHAPTER 37

~ Feral Embrace ~

 

 “What’s crawled up your butt?” Susie asks bluntly.  It’s been nearly two weeks since Nyle’s departure and Susie has taken to bringing Clara out to the barn at random times during the course of Callie’s time spent training with the Norse witch.  Now she is taunting Callie after she loses her cool during her magick lessons with Valgullveig. Obviously, the two blonds have really hit it off because they are exchanging knowing smirks.  Callie is normally very happy about the growing bond and what it might mean for Susie if her suspicions about the girl are correct.

Today, Callie honestly wishes they would just all go away and leave her alone even though part of her bad mood today is knowing Susie leaves tomorrow.  Her temper is getting the best of her and she doesn’t want to offend any of her generous new friends who are doing so much to help her get ready to take on her role as the High Dragon Queen, her mouth seems to have a mind of its own. 

“What?” she demands crossly and immediately regrets it.  “Sorry for snapping,” she tells her young friend sincerely before facing her goddess trainer.  “Look, Val, I’m just not right today.”

“You haven’t been on top of your game since your wolf went into battle and ended up injured,” Val observes dryly.

“Yeah, I know Nyle is safe and healing.  I know he could come walking through the front door at any moment.”  Her smile at the thought, though genuine, is somewhat tremulous.  “I’m truly grateful for that knowledge, because feeling my mate get hit with that grenade is something I never want to go through again.”  Her bottom lip trembles slightly at the recollection.  “But I miss him like crazy and I’m not happy about what he left to do in the first place.” 

She bites her bottom lip and looks away.  In truth, the dragon queen is angry with herself and it is making her patience short. Those infernal niggling doubts are back and she is just so very sick of it all.  She had honestly thought she had dealt with all of this, and yet this tiny kernel of insecurity is once again rearing its ugly head. 

“Honestly, Nyle’s continued absence is not the only thing that has me snapping like a rabid gator,” Callie admits before walking over to get a bottle of water from the ice chest she brought to the barn this morning.  Summer in Oklahoma is heating up fast.  Working in this old barn with the doors closed gets pretty darned hot.  Working when your inner monster is unhappy is even hotter.  And right now, Callie’s dragon is very unhappy with her and their shifter mate.  “It’s stupid, really.  I feel like an ass for dwelling on this when I should be out there quizzing those damn gargoyles about when their leader is bringing my mate back.  But they just clam up and kneel before me.  It’s useless trying to get any information from them.”

Valgullveig chuckles.  “Yeah, you can’t spit out there without hitting a gargoyle.  But I gotta admit, knowing they are there allows Morrígan and I to rest easier.”

“Me too,” Callie admits, dragging a hand over her sweaty hair.  “I just want my wolf to come home.  I want a bit of normal.”

“But that’s not all, is it?” Val queries knowingly.  Callie just bites her lip and shakes her head.

“Well, don’t just toss that half-ass hint out there and then leave us hangin’,” Susie rebukes sternly.  Callie can’t help but grin over at Val who is also smirking at the brash human girl.

Realizing that talking about it might actually help, Callie nods and moves to go sit on one of the bales of hay lining the north wall of the barn.  Susie and Val quickly follow.  Once seated, Val flips her hand like a queen ordering tea, and the massive barn doors open at both ends of the building, allowing the breeze to blow through and cool things off a bit.  “Screw this heat,” Val says glibly.  “I’m going to work on a spell to cool things off in here or find another place for us to train you.”

“Good idea,” Callie concedes.  “The spell, I mean.  Not finding another place to train.  My males would lose their ever lovin’ minds if I tried to train somewhere else.”  She smiles ruefully. “But cooling this old barn off does sound like a good idea.  After all, this is summer time in Oklahoma.  It’s just gonna get hotter and more humid as the summer marches on.  Late July and August will be even worse.”

Susie plops down on the hay bale beside Callie with the baby in her arms.  “Well, it is clouding up out there, I bet it rains soon.”  The quirkly blond rolls her eyes.  “Okay, enough talk about the sucky weather,” Susie prods in that relentless way she has.  “Spill, girlfriend.  You know I have to leave tomorrow, and I can’t leave you with a bug up your butt.  So tell me, what the hell is bothering you?”

When Val sits on another bale to the left, Callie fidgets with the water bottle for a moment before trying to coax Clara unto her lap as a way to forestall the discussion.  Finally, when the baby continues to babble and play with Susie’s blond curls, Callie shrugs and then says; “Uh… I don’t think I am the real dragon queen.”

“What the fuck!?” Morrígan la Fey roars from the open doorway.  Callie, Val, and Susie look up to see the Irish Raven and the Beast Realm’s Guardian, Mara Montgomery standing there looking mad as hell.  “If you are not the dragon queen, then please tell me why in all the nine hells are three of the dragon queen guides wasting their bloody time training you?”

“Uh…”

“Stop being a dumbass, Callie.  Get back to work,” the redheaded warrior mage shouts angrily.

“Cool your jets, la Fey, and let her explain.”  Mara strolls on into the barn to stand before Callie.  “Look, we all know she can take the battle form, so there has to be some reason Callie thinks she is not the real dragon queen.”  Mara’s smile turns sympathetic.  “Did something happen to make you doubt yourself?”

“More like something didn’t happen,” Callie snorts.

Morrígan pulls one of the hay bales around to position it in front of the gathered women for Mara and her to sit upon.  Once seated, she reaches for Clara who eagerly jumps into the arms of the most reviled witch in supernatural history.  Once she is settled with the baby in her lap, she glares at Callie.  “So, exactly what didn’t happen?”

“Our bond didn’t form,” Callie whispers sadly.

“What fucking bond?” the redhead demands.

“Stop snapping at me,” Callie responds with icy fury as her pupils elongate and the whites of her eyes begin to glow ruby bright in the dim barn.

“Yeah, and that right there proves you are who we say you are.  Damn few would dare to speak to me that way.  And yet, you did.  More importantly, you have the ability to back up your command.”  Morrígan sighs tiredly as she bounces the fussy baby upon her knee.  “You. Are. The. Dragon.”

“I’m not.  The bond didn’t take.”

“What bond,” Susie asks, clearly confused.

The silence which settles around the group of women is as oppressive to Callie as the Oklahoma heat and humidity.  She drains her water bottle before clearing her throat of the sob which is threatening to escape.  “Shortly before Nyle left to go track down leads on Dysnomia’s whereabouts, we uh, the three of us…”

“You went for the DP after reading my books?  Right?” Susie blurts out happily.  “Did you try any of the toys?”

“Jeez, Susie Q!” Mara says with a chuckle.  “You are soooooooo bad.  But soooooooo good at it.”

Callie blushes but nods.  “Yes, they found me reading Kulth and Nor’s story.”

“Oooooh,” Susie squeals delightedly and claps her hands to show her approval.  “Can’t beat sexy alien warlords double teaming their human woman!” 

“Yeah, that book is pretty hot,” Callie admits sheepishly.  “And then when Nyle found the training kit filled with butt plugs and beads and the like…”

Mara chuckles.  “Let me guess, your very naughty males wanted to play?”

“Oh yeah,” Callie admits with a happy smile on her face.  But she quickly sobers.  “Well, and one thing led to another and soon we … uh… we… they…”

“It sounds like Callie discovered the joy of double penetration,” Val supplies helpfully.

“Was it good?” Mara asks, genuinely curious.  “I’ve never been with two men.  Logan and I play,” she grins happily, “… some really kinky BDSM stuff, but I’ve never been double teamed.  I mated Logan when we were teenagers.”

“It was better than good,” Callie admits tearfully.  “It was the best sex of my life.  But the bond did not form.”

“Okay,” Morrígan says through clenched teeth.  “For the third time, what fucking bond?”

“Our mate bond,” Callie sobs.  “We aren’t true mates!”

“Bullshit,” Mara, Val, Morrígan and Susie all say in unison.

“Look, Callie,” Mara interjects.  “I was there the night you gave your mates the claiming bites, remember?”  Callie nods.  “I know the Claiming and the Transformation kind of got lost in the shuffle because this little one decided to put in an appearance,” Mara reaches over to tickle baby Clara.  “… but the mating bond fully formed with the exchange of bites.  There is no doubt, you three are true mates.  A blessed triad.”  Morrígan and Valgullveig both nod enthusiastically.

“But I thought the dragon would come out when the bond was fully formed?” Callie says feeling woefully confused.

Morrígan rises to her feet before handing the baby off to Susie.  “Please take the baby dragon inside because Mara and I are going to knock some sense into her Dragon Mommy.”  She turns to glare at Callie.  “You are fully mated.  You. Are. Dragon.  You are the queen high mother, now stand the fuck up so I can kick your ass!”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The sky is darkening and the air is thick and humid because of an approaching storm.  Callie uses her towel to wipe sweat from her forehead and casts a baleful glare at the sky.  The weather is matching her mood, darkening and ready to blow, as she makes her way across the yard from the barn and her latest four hour work out with Mara and Morrígan La Fey in the makeshift gym.  “More like a damned beat down with swords and battle axes,” Callie mutters as she rotates her head to work out some of the soreness before reaching up to wiggle her chin from side to side. She smiles when a popping sound signifies her jaw has finally popped fully back into place after being dislocated by a punch from Mara.  “Well, that’s something, at least.”

She chuckles dryly as she recalls her slave drivers insisting they needed “princess time” with baby Clara after they decreed the work out was over.  So those two bad-ass warrior mages strutted into Callie’s home in search of Val and Susie.  Of course, the adults have been playing nanny to Clara during combat training.  Honestly, Callie was relieved when the two dynamos actually left her on her own for a bit to wind down after that work out.  Her frustration over Nyle’s getting injured and his continued absence, plus, the tense way they left things between them all when he departed still has Callie’s nerves and temper on edge.

She’s been undergoing daily intense combat training, which has been a great outlet for her foul moods and frustration because Dysnomia still poses a threat.  Callie understands Nyle’s need to take the fight to the goddess, because she feels the same way.  But she has received some very wise counsel to be patient.  To prepare and be ready.  But there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the insane goddess of anarchy will return.  After all, she seems to have made destroying Callie and her child goal number one!

Callie has also been enduring what she has come to think of as Leadership Training with Logan ever since arriving in Lightning Ridge in preparation for their trip to the Queen’s Door.  A journey which is scheduled for September during the Autumnal Equinox.  And still, the mighty dragon has yet to emerge!  Callie can call forth her battle form with little effort, in fact she often spars and practices flight maneuvers, but nothing she has tried so far has coaxed the full dragon form into making an appearance.  In the back of her mind, Callie is beginning to believe that she’s not meant to actually take the form of a full dragon, that she has simply been blessed with some dragon-like characteristics and abilities because she has been charged with ruling a ridiculously massive realm of shifter-kind from a mind-bogglingly diverse myriad of backgrounds, customs, and beliefs.  Yeah, that’s not a tall order or anything, right?

However, voicing those niggling self-doubts is what got her butt kicked today by her trainers.  She decides it’s best to let that stuff go and not get bogged down in lingering insecurity when there is so much to do.  She stops at an old watering trough and turns on the garden hose which dangles from the free standing spigot to cool off.  Just as she has managed to soak herself from head to toe, she hears Kazar swearing loudly on the back porch. 

Since Nyle is still out of town, Kazar had planned to repair the rickety back porch today while Callie trained in the barn.  From the sounds of things, it is not going well.  Quickly making her way to the back of the farmhouse, she finds her vampire lover in what appears to be a full-blown rage.  Looking around for an attacker or any other reason for Kazar’s current state, Callie approaches cautiously.  “Kazar?  What’s wrong?”

When the ancient Egyptian whips around to glare malevolently at his cherished mate, she inwardly cringes at the sight.  Her beloved mate and gentle lover has been replaced by a mindless, rage-filled monster.  The handsome planes of his face have been transformed into the gaunt, dark, and brutal mask of a bloodthirsty vampire.  His lovely dark eyes are now glowing crimson with his rage and bloodlust.  Judging from the shattered lumber and broken tools strewn across the backyard, Callie can only assume that he lost his temper while repairing the back porch and somehow lost control of his inner monster. 

“Not now, Callie!” Kazar snarls with primal rage before he reaches down to pick up a splintered length of lumber and send it flying into the trees some two hundred and fifty yards behind the house.  The debris crashing loudly into the trees resounds through the Oklahoma summer afternoon, causing the creatures of the wood to fall silent as though they, too, are aware of just how deadly Kazar is at this moment.  “It is not safe for you to be around me right now.  Go. Away.”

Callie has long believed that Kazar holds the reins much too tightly on his darker nature because he fears he would not be able to control himself.  But Callie instinctively understands an ancient vampire, such as Kazar, has impeccable control.  But the unhealed emotional wounds from his time in the Nihility cause him to doubt his ability to control this side of himself.  “You won’t hurt me, my love,” Callie assures taking another step toward her mate.

“Stay back!  You don’t want me to unleash my savage side when Nyle is not around to bear the brunt of my monster’s desires,” Kazar growls viciously. 

“I do not want you to hide any part of yourself from me, my love.”

His jagged burst of laughter is utterly chilling.  “Yeah?  Well, I don’t fucking want to drive my female away once she finally understands the true nature of the monster she bonded her life to.”  Her savagely handsome vampire shakes his head slowly and turns his back to Callie in a blatant dismissal.  “If I give in to… this right now, you would hate me forever.”  Those painful words are like a dagger to Callie’s heart.  Before she can think better of it, she rushes forward to wrap her arms around his waist in a loving embrace.  “You are playing a dangerous game, little dragon,” Kazar snarls ferociously.

Before Callie can question her vampire, he turns to capture her mouth for a savage and lustful kiss, all while backing her into the wall of the farmhouse.  His primal ferocity steals her breath away as his fully extended fangs slash her lip.  When he snarls and begins to suck at the tiny wound, Callie whimpers her surrender and entwines her fingers in his thick, black hair to hold him near as she reciprocates the wicked kiss.  Her own sleeping animal lust ignites red hot as her skillful lover claims her eager mouth with lips, tongue, and fangs.  The kiss leaves Callie desperate for more, but her lungs are screaming for air.

When she pulls back to breathe, her vampire emits an involuntary hiss of displeasure over the lost contact and he mindlessly reaches out to reclaim his lover.  “I need…” Kazar growls before his protective nature rises to the fore and he rips himself away from his female mate, and turns his back to lean over panting as a human would do after running a marathon.  With his hands resting upon his knees, he closes his eyes because he is unable to meet her gaze.  A pain filled snarl is torn from his lips as the heady, intoxicating scents of her arousal waft to him upon the gentle breeze.  Kazar turns so that he can lean one hand against the wall to keep himself upright where he bends over, still gasping as though pushed beyond his physical endurance.  With his eyes clamped shut, he forces his darker needs into the background so that he can once again face his young, inexperienced mate without losing control. 

“Kazar?” Callie beseeches querulously, reaching out uncertainly to touch his shoulder.  A touch he shrugs off with a snarl.  “Did I do something wrong?”

At first, the vampire can only mutely shake his head.  After a moment, he regains enough control to speak.  “I need to dominate, Callie.  To take. To control and to utterly savage my lover.  I need to do… horrible things… to you,” Kazar admits reluctantly.  He finally opens his eyes which are blazing scarlet because his lust for blood and violent sex is so great.  Turning his head to glare at Callie who had once again approached him while he struggled to calm himself.  “I’ve resisted my darker needs since escaping the Nihility because I was afraid they would take over and I would never regain control.”  It is obvious to Callie that her vampire lover’s admission has cost him dearly.  “The need is too great to ignore any longer.”

“Then don’t,” Callie says simply as she places a gentle hand upon his forearm.  “I am here for whatever you need, my beloved vampire mate.  Don’t you realize that?”  She pauses when Kazar violently shakes his head as though to deny her words.  “Why not?” She demands imperiously.  “You and Nyle have always been here for me.  Is that not what mates are supposed to do for each other?”  She decides that his lack of an immediate denial is a good sign, so she continues.  “Kazar, my beautiful, sexy, and deadly vampire mate, allow me to do the same for you.” 

He ducks his head as though he wishes to hide his dark shame from her sight.  “I cannot, Callie.  No, I will not.  Don’t you see?  I need to let my darker appetites have free reign and I do not trust myself to do that with you. Not when Nyle is not here to protect you from me.”

This dark confession breaks Callie’s heart to know that her Kazar has been hurting this way and has refused to allow himself what he needs.  To realize her strong, confident vampire doubts himself so mightily is agonizing to Callie and she desperately needs to help him.  She opens her mouth to assure the vampire, but Kazar instantly moves to slam Callie’s unresisting body against the exterior of the old farmhouse.  Using his left hand, he pins both of her hands above her head while roughly gripping her throat with his right hand. “I fucking need to take absolute control, to inflict pain, and feed upon living blood.”

 “Do it,” Callie says quietly.  Despite her lack of volume, none would miss the weight of the command her words carried.  Her dragon is very close to taking charge.

“Yes, my male, do it,” Nyle’s commanding voice booms out as he approaches them from the side of the farmhouse.  He chuckles when both of his lovers turn to glare at him.  “Don’t let me interrupt.  Hell, I’d say this has been a long time coming.”

“She’ll despise me.”  Kazar’s agonized confession of his greatest fear comes out as a hoarse, inhumane whisper.  “I won’t risk it.”  He releases Callie’s hands and turns as though to take off, but Nyle’s shifter speed is a match for the vampire.  Grasping his left bicep, he slams the ancient Stone Cold against the wall alongside Callie.  In a flash, he has his longtime lover pinned just as Kazar had pinned their female.  Grabbing a handful of the vampire’s ebony hair, he pulls his mate to him for a kiss so savage it is tantamount to an assault.  When the lovers eventually break the kiss, Nyle growls ferociously.  “You want to claim Callie’s ass, vampire?  You want to fuck her raw and feed upon her blood?”

Panting like cornered prey, Kazar shakes his head in denial.  “No, never her.”

Nyle chuckles and turns his head to smile at their female who has been watching her mates in rapt fascination.  “Don’t take his bullshit personally, mo bhanríon.  Our sexy vampire is talking out of his ass because he is too scared to let us help him prove he still has the ability to meet his darker needs without totally losing control.”

“I know,” Callie affirms confidently.

“Shut the fuck up,” Kazar growls.  “If I do what I want to do to her… she will despise me!”

“No, she won’t,” Nyle says quietly before Callie can even open her mouth to speak.  “Fuck, she’s meant to be the godsdamn dragon queen!  The Fierce High Queen Mother!  Do you not understand that her own primal, animal side is riding her hard?”  Nyle smirks, almost evilly and leers over at Callie.  “Our sweet little mate has dark needs, too.  Fuck, she’ll not only handle your hidden monster and the things you want to do to her, I’m betting she’ll get off on it.  And if she doesn’t, I’m here to pull you off.”  The Celtic wolf scoffs denigratingly.  “Fuck!  It’s not like she’ll actually need for me to do that.  She can handle either one of us or both at once, all by herself.  Do you not see that she needs to know that we trust in her strength if she is going to move forward and really become the fucking dragon?”

Kazar closes his eyes and turns his head as though to hide some secret shame.  Nyle is momentarily floundering until Callie joins her males and gently grasps Kazar’s chin to turn his face to look at her.  “I think, my love, that you are ashamed that you need to do those things to me, your female.  That’s it, isn’t it?  That’s what has you so scared of letting go.”

The dry laugh that is ripped from the vampire is filled with self-loathing.  “I cannot do that to you, puella.  I will not.”  He scoffs and cuts his eyes away from his female mate’s imploring gaze.  “I cannot do that to you because you cannot even bring yourself to say the words much less revel in such monstorous treatment.”

For the first time ever, Callie resents Kazar calling her a little girl.  “Did you mean it all the times when you have called me regina meis, or was that just paying lip service to the little girl playing at being the dragon queen and mate to two virile and powerful males?”

“I meant it,” Kazar affirms.  “You are my queen.  You will always be my queen.  As such, I know it is not a good idea for me to subject your almost virgin ass to a harsh fucking while I feed on your blood.”

“Bullshit!” Callie says drolly.  “This is something you need, and it is something I am willing to give you… because I love you.”  She scrunches her lovely features and admits; “Besides, Nyle is right, my dragon bitch needs it.”

Kazar scoffs again but turns to tenderly cup her beloved face and gaze into her eyes.  “Beautiful girl, you haven’t even submitted to much more than light anal play.  I think you are afraid of it. I think letting go like that scares you.”  His expression turns almost derisive when he adds; “I think you are afraid you will come to like it too much.”

“Perhaps,” Callie admits, licking her suddenly dry lips.  She reaches up to trace the scars on his face.  “Perhaps I fear a great many things, and perhaps it is time for me to confront at least one of those fears.”  She bites her bottom lip and then confesses; “I was terrified of the fisting, but I tried it anyway and I loved it.  I was also afraid of anal sex and double penetration, but I also discovered I loved that as well.”  She smiles wickedly.  “I honestly think that I will love submitting to your darker, savage side.”

Kazar chuckles.  “But in those instances, Nyle was fully in control.  I am not certain that I can protect you, from myself.”

“Don’t worry about protecting me.  Trust me to protect myself.  Besides, I heal.  I’m strong.  Hell, I’m a freaking dragon.  Do your worst, I can take it,” Callie taunts playfully, but she means every word.

The vampire smiles sadly and shakes his head slowly.  “No, Callie.  Not like this.  I think you feel that you have something to prove because you have not yet become the dragon.  You’ve already stepped out of your comfort zone when you tried fisting and anal.  Submitting to your mates savaging your virgin ass is not something either of us would ever expect you to do.”

Callie shrugs.  “Maybe not, but maybe it is something I expect of myself.  Maybe I need to prove to myself and both of you that I am truly all in.  Maybe I want to do it because I desperately want to feel like a true triad, even during the darker times when we want to protect each other from ourselves.”  She sighs softly and admits; “Honestly, I think it’s just something I want to do.  Need to do.  My wants and needs are changing… becoming more…”

“Dragonlike?” Nyle supplies quietly.  Callie simply nods and eyes Kazar with the same hunger she would eye a medium rare ribeye steak after a three day fast.

“Callie, I need to fuck, to dominate, to subjugate, and feed … not make love!  Don’t you understand the difference?  The joining of our triad should always be about connecting at the soul level, not about satisfying my most base and savage needs.” 

“But don’t you see, Kazar?  You hide your darker needs from me because of my fears.”  She chuckles.  “Hell, for all I know, it’s because of your fears.  Perhaps you fear me turning away if you show me that part of yourself.  Don’t you think we should both stop hiding and embrace our true natures?”

“How do you mean?” Kazar asks, genuinely confused.

“I am a fucking dragon queen.  A dragon who will never achieve her true form if she avoids tapping into the beast side of her nature.”  She looks down and quietly admits, “Besides all of that, if you and Nyle would trust in me to be able to enjoy sex the way you two do without me, then perhaps I will finally feel like your equal and leave these moments of doubt behind once and for all.”

“You mean because we reign in our savage natures with you, you feel that you are not our equal?” Nyle inquires quietly.

“Of course, she does,” Kazar says as realization dawns.  “It actually makes perfect sense.  Everyone is telling her that Destiny doesn’t make mistakes, and that she is meant to be mate to two immortal males and to lead the new monarchy of dragon queens.  Yet, when it comes time for some down and dirty fucking, we pussy foot around with her and save the rough stuff for our man on man time.”

“I want to be a part of the savage, raw, and wholly carnal chemistry that I see between the two of you,” Callie admits quietly.  “I do not want my males to always hold back with me.  I do not want to feel left out.”

“You feel left out when Nyle and I love without you?” Kazar asks, looking genuinely dismayed.

“No, I feel left out that you two do not believe I can handle it.  The rough, savage joining of your bodies for the sole purpose of release.”  She smiles wickedly and purrs; “I want to fuck with the big boys.  I want to know that I am strong enough to truly submit to your needs, and to take exactly what I need from both of you when I need it.”

Callie can see that Kazar isn’t truly convinced.  Yet.  “Trust me, my love, to know what I want.  Trust me to handle actually getting what I want… okay?”  When Callie realizes her lover fears going too far and causing harm, she smiles and assures; “Besides, do you honestly think the dragon would allow you to go too far?”

Several tense and silent moments pass as Kazar searches Callie’s face for any signs that she is in over her head with her desire to submit to his savage needs.  Eventually, he smiles evilly as he brutally grasps her ass with both hands.  Callie gasps at the bit of pain, but smiles wantonly when her sex floods with heated arousal.  “I hope you truly mean that, puella, because I am going to fuck you like I have never fucked you before.  I will be rough.  I will hurt you.  I will expect immediate compliance, and I most definitely will feed upon your sweet, sweet blood while I fuck you.”

“Do it,” is her only response.

Kazar scoops Callie into his arms and carries her bridal style as he strikes out for the barn.  “Where are we going?” she asks as she wraps her arms around her lover’s neck and rests her head against his throat to signify to her total compliance and eagerness.

“The barn.  We need privacy and something solid to restrain your hands to.”

“Restrain me?” Callie squawks her surprise.

“Exactly,” Kazar purrs wickedly.  “Are you still all in?”

“All in,” Callie agrees despite her surprise over this new development.  In fact, the thought of being restrained, and at least theoretically helpless, at the whim of her vampire lover, is oddly… freeing, empowering. 

Once Kazar places Callie on her feet and Nyle closes the massive barn doors, she turns to her vampire lover and notices that his out of control, feral bloodlust seems to have been replaced by plain old lust.  Raw.  Carnal.  Decidedly delicious - savage lust.  Oh my!  She licks her lips as her chest heaves with each panting breath.  Her own potent arousal instantly matches her lover’s.  “Make me submit, Kazar,” Callie commands regally.  “Take everything you need from me.”

Kazar simply chuckles wickedly before ordering her to strip and handing her clothing to Nyle, one piece at a time.  None of the lovers doubt, not even for a second, that Kazar is in charge.  He is the top in this wicked encounter.  For just a moment, the near feral vampire watches as Callie obeys his command, but soon turns his full attention to Nyle, as their Celt carefully folds each item of clothing before carefully stacking them upon the pommel horse. 

Callie wonders if she should think it strange that her vampire seems more interested in the mundane actions of their other mate than her naked body.  That’s when she realizes Kazar is deliberately ignoring her, even though he adores her naked body.  The same naked body he desperately wants to dominate and claim in an utterly savage manner she had never even considered before meeting these two males and experiencing this gradual awakening of her dragon spirit. 

This marked and very deliberate lack of attention from Kazar and Nyle, makes her feel oddly objectified.  Almost diminished.  Callie realizes just a few months ago, heck weeks ago, she would have hated feeling this way.  But now, she’s reveling in the sensation.  Even without their lustful eyes upon her body, she knows that she holds power over these two potent and commanding males just because she exists.  Because they find her beautiful and desirable.  Because she is theirs, and they are hers.  A triad.  Fully bonded and complete in all ways.  In fact, she suddenly realizes the connection has been there all along.  Fully formed, and yet unrecognized as the trio has dealt with a myriad of issues.

When Kazar barks a command without even looking at her, Callie cannot help but smile.  An expression she quickly hides before moving to obey her lover.  “Callie, straddle the very end of that weight bench facing toward the barbell on the rack.”

Ten seconds.  Twenty seconds.  Thirty seconds… Finally, after what must have gone well past a full minute of Callie’s silent obedience, Kazar speaks again.  “Nyle, when I went back to our home, I retrieved your black duffle, it is stowed in that old feed bin over there.  Please retrieve it for me, and hand me the cuffs with the extra-long chain.”

Callie wonders if Nyle is deliberately taking his time in order to build up her anticipation of what is to come, or to instill fear.  Most likely, he’s giving her a chance to back out.  She almost giggles at the thought because her anticipation is already so great that the liquid evidence of her desire is trickling down her legs.  Strong and shapely legs which are beginning to tremble with her rising need.  No way is she going to back out.  She wants this.  Needs it.  She bites her lip, almost painfully, to remind herself not to call out to her mates.  Not to beg them for their attention.  No, she is devoted to the idea of patiently waiting for whatever her lovers, especially Kazar, might have in store for her.

Callie is so deeply inside her own head, so intently anticipating what is to come that she startles, just a bit, when Kazar speaks to her again.  “Callie, bend forward at the waist and grip the edges of the weight bench with both hands.  Do not lie down on the bench, simply hold your body over it.”

When she does as commanded, she realizes just how exposed her sopping wet sex and ass are in this position.  She smiles when she realizes that is just what Kazar intended when he gave the command.  “Ooooh!” A surprised gasp escapes her lips when she feels hands lovingly trail up the outside of her legs from knee to hip.  She is so familiar with her lovers’ touch, that she knows Kazar is on the left, while Nyle is touching her on the right. 

“So very beautiful,” Kazar murmurs.  His words sound… almost reverent to Callie.  “So very powerful and strong.”

“And all ours,” Nyle agrees before removing his hand to stand beside the bench as though awaiting something.  Further instructions from Kazar, Callie supposes.  Her instincts are verified when Kazar instructs Nyle to cuff Callie’s hands to the bench.  Nyle moves forward and kneels near Callie’s head on her right side.  Without uttering a word, he expertly snaps one cuff around her right wrist, and then loops the longer chain under the bench and snaps the other cuff on her left wrist.  The chain is long enough to span the width of the bench, but too short to allow Callie any movement, unless she releases the bench and lowers her hands.  Silently, he checks to make sure the cuffs are not cutting into her flesh.  When Callie looks up from her cuffed hands to gaze into Nyle’s gorgeous bearded face, he simply winks playfully before standing erect.

“Get naked, my wolf,” Kazar barks out his next command.

“Gladly,” Nyle rejoins, obviously enjoying this new game.  The powerful wolf shifter easily kicks off his heavy shit-kicker boots and sends them skittering across the dirt floor of the barn with a well-aimed foot.  “Anything for my sexy blood sucker.”  Callie gets the distinct impression this is a game these two deadly males and long time lovers have played many times before.  Only this time, Callie is a part of the game.  With practiced reverence, Nyle removes his cut to neatly fold it in half and hang it over the barbell resting on the rack, before reaching over his head to grip the back of his tee shirt.  He whips the garment off in that sexy way that men just seem to do instinctively and carelessly tosses it atop the cut.  When he notices Callie watching the show, he winks again.  “Like what ya see, baby?”

“I do,” Kazar and Callie say at the same time. 

His sexy laugh as he painstakingly releases each button of the fly of his jeans before dragging them down his trim hips and powerful thighs, makes Callie’s sex clench.  Especially when his long, thick, and very hard cock juts forward lewdly from his neatly trimmed thatch of ginger curls.  With his right hand, Nyle firmly grips the base of his shaft and deftly strokes up and down a few times, causing Callie to lick her lips eagerly.  Nyle simply chuckles knowingly as he lifts first one foot and then the next from his jeans before kicking them out of his way.  He assumes a wide and easy stance as he continues to slowly stroke his erect member and hold Callie’s rapt attention.

A vicious slap upon Callie’s ass makes her yelp in shock and she turns her head to look back as Kazar.  Their gazes lock and Callie realizes that Kazar’s earlier intensity is back with a vengeance.  “You want to taste Nyle’s big cock, beautiful?”  She can only nod, because at this point her need to experience everything with her males is pushing all rational thought out of her mind.  He simply laughs and swats her ass again before spreading her ass cheeks with the fingers of one hand and squirting a generous amount of lube on her near virginal rosebud.  Using only the tips of his talented fingers, Kazar teases her tightest entrance while his intense gaze holds her attention captive with promises of pleasure and pain to come.

Without breaking eye contact, he nudges her bare feet farther apart with a heavy boot.  Just as he slowly inserts the tip of one finger into her ass, he firmly pushes down on her lower back to force her breasts to rest upon the bench as her ass juts even higher into the air.  “That’s fucking perfect,” he hisses as he slowly buries his finger deeper into the tight recesses of her body.  With practiced ease, he slowly slides the single digit in and out of her snug hole, teasing Callie with just a hint of what’s in store.

“More,” she whispers in a wheedling tone.  Kazar’s laugh is positively evil as he simply rotates the digit a bit while roughly kneading the supple flesh of her right ass cheek with his left hand.  Callie swallows hard and mindlessly demands; “I thought you were going to fuck me already.”

Her lovers seem amused by her unsophisticated attempt at seizing control of the situation because they only chuckle.  Callie lifts her face from the bench to glare at Nyle, and is surprised to find him sitting at the head of the bench, with his heels tucked tightly to his ass and his knees splayed wide.  This position causes his impressive cock to jut out from his body in a most obscene manner.  The swollen head, glistens with pre-cum just inches from her face when she is facing forward.  But with each long, slow stroke of his member, he simply smirks at her increasing need and desire to taste his essence.

Callie suddenly realizes her males are not going to give her what she needs unless she begs.  “Please.  I thought you wanted to fuck my ass, Kazar.”  She cringes at the weakness of her plea, but she needs… more.  All of it.  And if begging is what it takes, she is willing to beg.

 “Only if you can take it,” Kazar taunts as he slathers a generous amount of lube onto her rosebud before easily inserting a second finger.  Callie moans and pushes back with her butt to wordlessly ask for more.  “Ah,” he growls.  “You took that well, my little mate.  I wonder if you will handle my cock so well.”

Nyle chuckles as he continues to lazily stroke his own cock.  “I told you, lover, I put her on a schedule of wearing increasingly larger butt plugs during her down time in the house.”  The wolf meets his little dragon’s gaze and demands; “Did you do your homework while I was away, aingeal mine?”  He chuckles again when Callie can only nod wordlessly as she watches him languidly stroke his cock before squeezing tightly at the base and giving her another sexy wink.  He turns to meet Kazar’s hard gaze.  “You see, my male, even though I was gone, I wanted to do my part to keep our beautiful girl interested in ass play.”

“I’ve noticed.  Wearing those damn plugs and beads and Geisha balls have left our girl hot to trot, and ready to fuck if I so much as looked at her in the evenings,” Kazar concedes in a gravelly voice as he roughly inserts a third finger into Callie’s ass.  He leans over her body to kiss and roughly nip her nape with his very sharp teeth before he asks; “Have you worn the largest weighted plug yet, puella?”

“I have,” Callie admits as she eagerly pushes back to encourage Kazar’s near savage finger fucking.  “I am discovering that I enjoy ass play very much.”

Kazar bites her nape without using his fangs before whispering in her ear; “I wonder if you will still think that way when I am pounding into your ass, hard.  Vampire hard.”

“Do it,” she groans gutturally, carnal need suddenly making her feel very emboldened.

Sanity momentarily seizes Kazar and he says; “If this becomes too much for you, my love, simply say Lotus.”

“Why lotus?” Callie asks, genuinely curious.

“Because Lotus was my young sister’s name.  If anything will get through to me when I am at my most brutal, rutting, monster mindset, it would be hearing my baby sister’s name evoked by my beloved female.”

“Okay.”  She moans as Kazar roughly pistons his fingers in and out of her tightest passage.

He halts his finger fucking to wrest her promise from her.  “Promise me, Callie.  I do not want you to learn to hate this kind of sex.”  A beastly rumble begins deep in her chest when he callously rotates and scissors his deeply buried fingers to stretch her tight anal muscles to make her ready for his cock.  “This is not just a passing fancy for me, beautiful one.  Dominating and claiming my lover’s ass while I feed is something my vampire nature demands to keep me sane.  It isn’t just a want, it is a need.  A need I suppress much more than I should, truth be told.”

“I promise,” Callie vows solemnly as she pushes back to take his fingers deeper.  “I will say Lotus if I need to stop.”

“Nyle, as much as I love watching you stroke that magnificent cock, I need your help.  Come lube up my cock.”  Nyle immediately rises from the bench and joins Kazar behind Callie, where the males share a savage kiss.  As their kiss continues, Nyle unbuckles Kazar’s belt before slipping the worn denim free of the button to slowly slide the zipper down and free the vampire’s throbbing cock.  They break the kiss so that Nyle can generously slather on the lube, and enjoy a few indulgent strokes upon his long time lover’s shaft.  “Thank you, my beloved male,” Kazar says earnestly.  “I won’t risk tearing her sweet ass when I begin to fuck her.  The scent of her precious blood right now would drive me over the edge.”

Callie knows that admission should cool her ardor a bit and act as a reminder that she is truly risking a lot by submitting to Kazar when he is in such a needful, feral state.  But by now, her need is beginning to take on a life of its own.  Even so, she is astounded at what comes out of her mouth next.  “Fuck me, Kazar.  Fuck my ass…hard.  Please.”

No words are exchanged as Kazar snarls savagely, withdraws his fingers to painfully part her ass cheeks.  In a single, savage thrust, he buries his long, thick cock deeply into Callie’s ass.  Despite Kazar’s prep, it still hurts and Callie shrieks in surprise.  The bloodthirsty vampire savors her cries, and simply begins to fuck her hard and fast.  The burning pain quickly morphs into intense hedonistic pleasure and Callie wails; “Faster.  Harder.  More.”

In a voice so guttural and gravelly that Callie can barely understand him, Kazar orders Nyle to fuck Callie’s throat.  Their wolf instantly moves to straddle the bench and stand before Callie.  She rises up on her elbows, and looks up into the eyes of her shifter lover as her vampire brutally pounds her ass.  “I want it,” she snarls. “Give it to me.”

Nyle tightly winds his hand into her long, damp hair and Callie opens her mouth wide in invitation.  They have played at rough oral sex many, many times as Callie learned the art of deep throating a long, thick cock, but she gets the feeling this experience is going to be unlike anything they have ever done before.  And she is desperate for it.  As Kazar continues to ruthlessly drive his cock into her ass, while harshly digging his fingers into her hips, her own inner animal, monster or beast, whatever it is, is clawing and clamoring for Callie to take it all.  To embrace this dark and deadly side of herself and her mates.  All of Callie eagerly opens to her lovers as Nyle slowly feeds his thick shaft deeply into her throat.  As he quickly builds up speed, thrusting in and out, her gag reflex causes her eyes to water and her mouth to produce copious amounts of saliva.  But her thoughts are not on any of that.  In fact, Callie is so far beyond the ability to think that she has simply become a willing participant in a ferocious sexual encounter between three perfectly matched beings of great power and heightened animalistic needs.  A mind bending orgasm tears through Callie and has her body thrashing between her males as wave after wave of primal ecstasy rip through her very being. 

Once her thrashing subsides, Callie is instantly drawn back into this complicated web of savage need and animalistic lust.  When Nyle comes all too soon for Callie’s liking, she greedily sucks him dry and licks her lips while the vampire continues his unrestrained assault upon her ass.  Callie tightens her grip on the bench and begins to savagely meet each and every single thrust of her vampire mate.  No words are exchanged as these two beasts take what they need from each other in perfect harmony.  The barn echoes with their wild snarls as Nyle moves to stand at their side to watch.

The wolf chuckles when he realizes that Callie is more than a match for their vampire, even at his most feral.  Kazar is finally showing signs that he is about to achieve his pinnacle.  He knows the vampire will no doubt want to feed upon their mate, and this worries him a bit.  It’s been so long since Kazar fed during sex, the wolf fears their vampire might take too much from their little dragon.  But he knows he needs to let these two see this through to the natural, or rather unnatural, conclusion.  This type of power struggle over dominance and submission is perfectly normal, if exceedingly savage in this case, among immortal mates. 

Kazar lifts his left hand from Callie’s hip, and reaches down to grip their female by her throat, and lifts her up as much as the cuffs will allow.  Callie snarls at the restraint, and Nyle can’t help but chuckle when Callie snaps the chain connecting the cuffs as though it were made of tissue paper.  She stands to her full height, and kicks the weight bench with the heavy barbells out of her way.  Nyle flinches when it flies into a wall, doing a considerable amount of damage.  But Callie and Kazar are locked in their lethal lover’s dance, as Kazar continues to fuck Callie’s ass. 

She laughs wickedly as her fingers curl around Kazar’s hand gripping her throat.  Nyle thinks she plans to pry his hand away, but she simply holds her hand over the vampires and tilts her head before snarling; “Take what you need and make me come.”

The moment Kazar’s fangs sink into Callie’s throat, they climax together.  But this climax is unlike anything that any of them have experienced before as it forces Callie into her dragon skin.  In just a scant moment, Kazar and Nyle also shift into their consort forms, her power dragging them into the shift along with her.  Callie’s snarls and growls cease long enough for her to order Nyle in his sapphire scaled dragon skin to come to her.  He obeys instantly, where she embraces him for a brutal kiss.  But the kiss doesn’t last long.  As Kazar continues to feed at Callie’s throat, she opens her mouth to bare fangs that are much longer than those she normally has in this battle form.  Instantly, Nyle realizes she means to feed on his blood.  He willingly bares his throat for her do so.  His consort’s heart compels to give his queen whatever she needs. 

Nyle roars his ecstasy to the heavens as Callie bites and drinks his blood.  Her feeding only takes moments, before she pulls away.  Kazar had stopped feeding upon Callie’s blood and withdrew his cock from her ass.  He is now standing there panting and rapturously watching Callie feed upon Nyle, so he is surprised when she turns to face Kazar.  “Nyle, take my blood and then Kazar’s,” she demands with a snarl before sinking her fangs into Kazar’s throat.  Nyle instantly obeys.  Callie only takes a small amount of Kazar’s blood as well.  And she watches patiently, as Nyle sandwiches her body between his and Kazar’s to bite into Kazar’s throat to take his blood just as Kazar does the same to Nyle.  Once all three have tasted each other’s blood, they slowly morph back into their naked human skins.

Their embrace once again turns gentle and loving as they come down from the savage high of what just took place between them.  Nyle kisses where he bit Callie as he caresses Kazar.  The vampire cups Callie’s face and stares into her now clear eyes.  “Forgive me for doubting you could handle me.”  He chuckles dryly and adds; “I’m not sure I can handle you.”

Callie laughs and rests her head upon Kazar’s shoulder.  “I think we are all three pretty evenly matched.  After all, you two are always telling me that Destiny and the Fates do not make mistakes.  We are meant to be together.  To operate in concert.  A strong and unbreakable triad.”

The triad remains in each other’s arms, sharing in the afterglow of the blood exchange and feral sex for several beautiful moments until Callie’s body begins to tremble.  She pulls away from Kazar and roughly shoves Nyle away.  “Something is happening,” she croaks before staggering for the door.  “I need Morrígan.  She’ll know what’s happening.”

Callie takes off, completey naked, at a preternaturally fast run for the house with her two lovers and protectors hot on her heels.  Just as she steps upon the partially dismantled back porch, a massive, ruby scaled beast rips from her body with an ear shattering roar.  The roof over the small porch splinters and wood shards, shingles, wind chimes, and hanging flower pots fly in all directions.  Nyle and Kazar are thrown at least fifty feet away to land on their asses by the explosive release of the mighty Ruathar Bànrigh, in all her regal, ruby, crimson, and blood-red scale covered, winged and horned glory!

Callie, now in the form of her mighty Ruby Dragon Queen, roars and trumpets her triumph for all to hear.  At least half of the normally stoic Gargoyle guard descend on the small backyard to screech a welcoming song for their fully formed Dragon Queen.  When she moves to unfurl her wings and stretch those muscles, she takes out the glass in a window of the old farmhouse.  Ooops! She thinks before she awkwardly tries to contain those massive wings and stalk away from the house so that she will not do any more damage.  Once she is midway between the barn and the house, she sits back on her haunches to contemplate the damage she has wrought.  The back porch is no more. Windows are shattered, siding is wrecked and she couldn’t be happier.  She nods regally at Red Wing and the rest of the gargoyles who take up positions behind her and to her sides.  Protecting her and basking in her draconian glory.  Her dangerous tail curls arounds her feet, and her wings finally come to rest at her back, neatly furled and at rest.  She cocks her head at her males, who were essentially forced into their consort forms by the awakening of the Dragon. 

Callie opens her mouth to address her mates, but she can only roar.  The sound of feminine laughter draws the beast’s attention back toward the home where the Raven is standing with Mara, Val, and Susie, who has the baby in her arms. “You cannot speak as the dragon.  Use your telepathy instead of shattering our ear drums with your nonsensical roars,” Morrígan laughingly instructs the mighty draconian beast.

Callie’s laughter comes out as huffing sounds, and smoke literally puffs from her nostrils.  Baby Clara, who has grown so much in the past weeks that she really isn’t a baby anymore, giggles delightedly and extends her arms toward the terrifying beast.  “Mamamama!”  When Callie doesn’t immediately come to her, the tiny girl shifts into her dragon form and kicks out of Susie’s embrace to fly to her mother, where she nuzzles her mother, dragon snout to dragon snout.  Once again, the gargoyle battalion celebrates with high frequency screeches and deafening roars of delight.  The consorts simply watch mother and daughter with obvious love and pride shining in their inhuman eyes.

Val is busily healing the scratches left on Susie’s fragile human skin by Clara’s unexpected transformation, but Susie is so enthralled watching mother and daughter cavort as dragons that she barely notices the pain or Val’s ministrations.  “Oh, my god!  They are so beautiful,” Susie breathes.

“Not as beautiful as the golden queen will be,” Val mutters under her breath as she heals the last of Susie’s bloody gashes.  But once she is satisfied with the state of Susie’s injuries, she turns to watch the dragons, mother and daughter, and two protective, ever vigilant, consort sentinels.  The smile that curves her beautiful lips is utterly enchanting.  “Aye, they are beautiful.”

“The introduction of the Ruby Dragon Queen and the princess will make an impressive statement at Teleióti̱ta come the Autumnal Equinox,” Morrígan says proudly before she discreetly wipes a single tear away.  Seeing this amazing culmination of centuries of hard work, deceptions, loneliness, secrets, and heartbreak has all been worth it.