Chapter 8
Mack landed near Miracle’s friend, who was tied from head to tail with ropes that were staked into the ground. There were four males in the clearing by the lake. Three wore dark cloaks and carried the scent of rotting wood and blood. He suspected they were wizards, and that the fourth male was Miracle’s former mate.
Leaping for the nearest cloaked male, Mack wrapped his jaws around his shoulder and shook him like a doll, bones crunching under the pressure. The male pounded on his head to try and make Mack release him. It took only a swift movement to let go of his shoulder and grab his throat, ending his life with a cracking sound.
Racing down the length of the dragon, he cut through the ropes with his sharp teeth until Tonya was able to shake the bindings off herself and rise to her feet. She roared in fury. Mack headed for Miracle, who was facing off against the other two wizards. Her former mate had disappeared. Mack jumped and landed on the back of one of the wizards, digging claws into his flesh.
Tonya screeched behind him, the sound so full of rage that the fur on the back of his neck rose. Miracle growled as the other wizard she fought used magic, shooting blue fireballs that exploded and sizzled against her scales. Mack attempted to lock his jaws around the wizard he was fighting, but the male rolled to the ground suddenly. Mack lost his grip and rolled off as the wizard struggled to his feet and recited something in a language Mack didn’t know. His fingertips began to glow blue, and a wicked smile curved his mouth as he lifted his hands at Mack.
A blast of ice hit the wizard. Tonya had joined the fray, using her ice power to freeze the male in his tracks. His skin turned blue, then frosty white. Icicles dangled from his limbs. With a roar that shook the trees, Tonya lifted one leg and smashed the wizard to pieces, his body shattering as if he were made of glass.
Mack turned to Miracle, but she had already killed the other wizard, snapping him in half with her powerful jaws. In the firelight he could see her parents on the ground, shaking their heads and helping each other to stand. They’d been trapped in a strange blue orb, appearing to be unconscious. Killing the wizards had stopped the spell that trapped them. Miracle lowered her giant head and gave Mack a nudge and a questioning purr. He growled, nudging her back.
“Miracle, are you okay?” her father asked as he joined them, one arm around her mother and the other coming to rest on Miracle’s snout.
Before she could make any kind of answer, a great roar sounded, and another dragon, larger than Miracle and Tonya, rose into the sky. He breathed an arc of fire into the night, and Mack knew in that moment where her former mate had gone.
He’d shifted into his dragon and come back for a fight.
Mack knew he was no match for a dragon head-on, but he had some tricks up his sleeve. He wasn’t about to let Miracle fight on his behalf. Lifting his head to the sky, Mack howled, daring the male to come for them.
* * *
Miracle was feeling so many emotions at once she could hardly think straight. Mack had killed one of the wizards and set Tonya free, and now that the other males were dead, her parents were okay, too.
But they weren’t done fighting yet. Tais had shifted and was coming for them, his big dragon body covering up the stars in the sky as he blasted fire and battle-cried. Mack had fought well, but he was fur and flesh. One direct blast of Tais’s fire, and her mate would be nothing but ash.
She would fight for Mack, because he’d fought for her. She screeched, letting out her dragon’s fury at Tais’s actions. He circled the clearing once then tucked his wings and dove toward them. She braced for the fire that she knew would come. It would reflect off her scales, and the burn wouldn’t be severe. She lowered her body and curled one arm around Mack to protect him as best she could. When the fire came as he swept close, she heard two more roars join them, and lifted her head to see her parents moving on either side of her as Tonya blasted ice toward Tais. He didn’t stop his descent, or the fire that poured from him.
Mack slipped from her grip and raced up her shoulder, his claws scrambling on her scales as he moved. He leaped from her and landed on Tais’s neck as her ex curved in the sky by them, burning the ground with his fire.
Miracle roared in worry, but then she saw that Mack had climbed onto Tais’s head and was clawing at one of his eyes. Tais screeched, shaking his head to dislodge her mate, but Mack hung on. Miracle and Tonya lunged into the air and grabbed Tais, jerking him from the sky. Mack leaped safely from Tais’s head onto Miracle’s back. One of Tais’s eyes was torn out, hanging from the socket. Her ex rolled to the ground and reared onto his back legs. Miracle’s parents rushed in front of her and Tonya, ready to fight. For a moment, Tais didn’t move, and then he lifted straight into the sky to flee.
The sound of rushing wings filled the air, and she could see the darker shadows of other dragons as they moved swiftly through the sky, heading right toward them. Tais attempted to fly in the opposite direction, but the dragons caught him. They lifted him high into the sky, tearing him to pieces. She didn’t want to watch the gruesome sight, but she knew she needed to see him meet his end.
Mack perched on her shoulders. Her parents and Tonya stood with her, watching as the male who had tormented her for twenty years was destroyed by the king and the elders. She recognized the king because he was one of the largest dragons in the clan. His nephew was no match for so many males.
The dragons used their fire to turn Tais’s remains to ash, which they ate. Then the males circled the clearing where Miracle and her family waited, shifting smoothly into their human forms as they landed. Miracle, her parents, and Tonya shifted, but Mack didn’t. He’d told her that wolves had to stay in their shifts for several hours, but dragons had the luxury of being able to change forms back and forth without delay. She knelt next to Mack, resting her head against his neck.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
He growled and sat on his haunches, watching the dragons as they spoke quietly on the other side of the bonfire that the wizards had made. Her parents sat down next to her with a groan.
“That was fun,” her dad said.
“Dad!”
“What? I haven’t fought in ages. Felt good.”
“You’re ridiculous,” her mom said, smiling.
“I thought he was going to burn the forest to the ground, the asshole,” Tonya said.
Miracle lifted her head from Mack’s shoulder and asked the king and the elders, “Are you all okay?”
“Yes,” the king said, standing before them with the elders at his back. “What happened here? We heard the battle cries and changed to investigate. Tais was fighting you all, and the scent of black magic is thick here.”
Tonya cleared her throat. “Tais tricked me into coming to Elon and Dina’s home. When I arrived, they weren’t there, and he drugged me. I woke up when one of the wizards forced me into my shift. Before I could free myself, they tied me down and threatened to kill Elon and Dina. They were trapped in some kind of spell, and I couldn’t get free. The wizards forced me to cry by pulling my scales off, and they collected my tears in vials.”
The king’s gaze settled on Mack. “This is your mate?” he asked Miracle.
“Yes,” she answered.
He was silent for a long moment, and then he said, “We’ll see you in the morning. Arrive at my home for the morning meal at eight sharp.”
The dragons moved away, shifting and rising to the sky as one. They circled, crying out, and then disappeared to the other side of the mountain.
“That was weird,” her mom said. “We haven’t had a meal at the king’s house since your mating day.”
Miracle hugged her parents, kissing their cheeks, and then hugged Tonya. “I’m sorry you were hurt because of me.”
She scoffed. “It’s not your fault that the king’s asshole nephew had a few screws loose. He should’ve been put down long ago. Our archaic laws keep females tied to males they don’t love, and let nutcases wander around free.” She turned her attention to Mack. “Do wolves have arranged matings?”
He shook his head.
“Must be nice,” Tonya muttered.
Miracle grinned. “Choosing a mate with your dragon isn’t just nice, it’s amazing.”
* * *
Miracle and her family shifted back into their dragon forms, and Miracle held Mack against her chest as she flew over the mountain and down toward a gated community. They shifted in front of a small home. Mack waited while they said goodbye to Tonya, who promised to meet them in the morning at the king’s home.
By the time they’d walked into her parents’ home and then everyone had showered and dressed, Mack was able to change back into his human form. Their bags were still at the airport. He suspected that they’d probably been destroyed by security, since they’d been left unattended. When he emerged from the bathroom wearing Elon’s jeans and a flannel shirt, Miracle was sitting on the bed waiting.
She ran to him, and he caught her in his arms, their lips meeting hungrily.
“Thank you for fighting with me,” she said, trembling in his arms.
“I couldn’t let you go to battle without me. They’re my family, too.”
She sniffled and rubbed her cheek on his chest. “I was terrified. I’ve never had to fight like that before.”
“Well, it was a first for me, too.”
He hadn’t been afraid to fight or die to protect Miracle and her family, but he’d been afraid that his wolf would be no match for the dragon. He’d thought he’d be ashed in two seconds and leave his mate vulnerable to her lunatic former mate. Fortunately, Miracle and her family were fierce fighters, whether they believed it or not.
They spent an hour talking with her parents before they were all ready for bed. It had been a harrowing few hours, and Mack was looking forward to a peaceful rest with his mate.
* * *
The next morning, Tonya was waiting in the family room.
She hugged Miracle tightly and then looked at Mack. “You need to properly introduce me to your mate, woman.”
Miracle chuckled. “Tonya, this is Mack. Mack, this is my kinda-crazy-sister, Tonya.”
Tonya gave him a swift hug and stepped back, hooking her arm through Miracle’s. “Welcome to the family. And I’m only mildly crazy.”
“Full-blown,” Miracle whispered under her breath.
Tonya shrugged. “I’m certifiable, but you have to be to make it in this family.”
Elon clapped his hands together and said, “Let’s go to the king’s. Then we need to talk.”
“Is everything okay, Dad?”
He hummed, a secret smile on his face.
The king’s home was only slightly larger than the others in the gated community, set against the back of the development. The wood front doors were carved with two fighting dragons, their heads thrown back in silent roars. Both doors swung open, and the king stood in the doorway. He was tall and thin, with graying hair at his temples and a piercing blue gaze.
He stepped to the side and gestured with his hand. “Come in.”
Their small group stepped into the home, and a female with pale white-blonde hair smiled gently from inside the living room. She and Dina embraced, and then she moved to the king’s side.
“This is my mate, Luisa, and I’m Dariel, king of the clan.”
Elon introduced Mack, and he shook hands with the king.
Dariel motioned to a long couch against a picture window in the living room. “Let’s talk for a moment before we break bread.”
Mack sat between Miracle and Elon, with Dina and Tonya on either side of them. The king and his mate sat on matching high-backed chairs. The chairs, like the couch, were covered with magenta fabric and embroidered with golden dragon silhouettes.
Dariel said, “After your mating to my nephew was annulled and he destroyed your workshop in retaliation, I forbade him from having further contact with you. I threatened him with exile if he attempted to harm you again. Please tell me, each of you in your own words, what happened with Tais.”
One by one, Miracle’s family spoke, beginning with her parents being attacked and drugged, and ending with Tonya being tortured for her tears. Miracle was crying silently next to him, and he knew she was feeling guilty for what had happened to her parents and Tonya.
Dariel said, “I would never have guessed in my wildest dreams that he would broker a deal with a wizard.”
Mack waited for an apology from the king, but none came. It didn’t surprise him in some ways, because if the king apologized then he’d have to admit that he messed up – by not protecting Miracle from her ex in the first place, and for not realizing how unstable the male was. The king didn’t seem like the sort of male who thought any of his actions were wrong.
Dariel stood. “Please join us for morning meal.”
Mack looked at Miracle as the king and his mate left the living room, and she whispered, “That’s as close to an apology as we’ll get.”
Mack thought that Dariel was probably the sort of male who thought apologies were a sign of weakness. He disagreed wholeheartedly. It took courage and strength to apologize, the very opposite of someone with weak character.
Their small group walked into the kitchen and sat at a table laden with breakfast food. Moments earlier, the conversation had been heavy as they’d listened to Miracle’s family talk about their ordeal. But as they ate, they discussed lighter subjects like the clan’s plans for spring planting in the community garden. Luisa asked Mack questions about his pack and home. When the meal was over and the dishes were cleared, Dariel folded his hands on the table and looked at Miracle.
“I’m aware that some of our traditions are…outdated.”
Tonya snorted, and then covered her mouth as her cheeks darkened in a blush.
The king arched a brow at her, but continued, “While I have no plans to change every law, the elders and I met last night after the battle and we’ve come to a consensus on one point: mates, whether they be dragon or other, are welcome in our community and clan, permanently.”
Mack glanced at his mate. Her brows were so high, and her eyes so wide, he was surprised she wasn’t grimacing in pain. When no one on their side of the table spoke, Mack said, “Thank you for your gracious offer.”
The king nodded. “If we don’t move with the times, we’ll die out as a race, and I for one don’t wish for that to happen in my lifetime.”
Miracle shook herself out of her stupor. “Thank you so much, Sire. My mate and I have much to discuss.”
After a few more minutes of small talk, Mack and his new family left the king’s house and walked through the community to his in-laws’ home. They passed the gardens, a wrought-iron-fenced plot of land in the center of the community. Once the snow had melted and the ground thawed, the clan would plant the fruits and vegetables they’d need for the season there.
“Dad, was the reason you were smiling like a nut earlier because you knew the King had changed his mind about letting non-dragons live here?”
Elon nodded. “He called to let me know about the offer.”
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Tonya said.
“What do you think about the king’s offer?” Miracle asked Mack as she wrapped her hands around the fence bars.
He turned to face her and leaned against the fence. “You’re home for me. Wherever you want to live, that’s where we’ll make a life for ourselves. Here or in New Jersey, I’m happy just to have you as my mate.”
“Oh barf,” Tonya said as she joined them. “Are wolves always so lovey-dovey?”
Mack snorted as Miracle bent and lobbed a ball of snow at Tonya.
“If you want to get me back, don’t hit me with snow. My dragon likes it too much.”
Miracle smiled at Mack, and his whole body warmed from the inside out. He didn’t think he’d have an opportunity to know what love was like again, but here he was, in the mountains with his dragon mate. And he loved every inch of her: her fierceness, her playfulness, her loyalty.
“I want to be with the pack. Whether you remain as alpha or not, I feel like this mountain hasn’t ever really been home for me, that I was meant for something different. And that’s you.”
“I hope there’s room for two more dragons,” her dad said.
“What? You told me you’d never leave the mountain,” Miracle said.
Her mom smiled gently at them. “You’re happy because you’ve found the one meant for you. You’re our only child, and we may not have too many more good years in us. We’d like to stay together as a family.”
“There’s room for you in Beyton,” Mack promised. “And in the pack.”
“How about me? I like that wolves don’t have arranged matings. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find my mate in the woods. He sure as hell isn’t in the mountains,” Tonya said.
“Room for another?” Miracle asked.
“You bet,” Mack said. He made a mental note to call Whisper and arrange rental housing for Miracle’s parents and Tonya, his sorta-crazy kinda-sister-in-law.
“I’m ready to celebrate,” Miracle said.
“Oh! How about hot toddies?” Tonya suggested as they continued their walk to Elon and Dina’s home.
“What are those?” Miracle asked.
“They’re gross is what they are,” Dina said. “How about hot mulled cider?”
“Now you’re talking,” Elon said.
“Sounds good to me, too,” Miracle said as she squeezed Mack’s hand. “How about you?”
“As long as I get to warm you up myself later, it’s good.”
Her cheeks darkened as she blushed, and she swatted him on the shoulder with a laugh. “My parents are right here.”
Her mom said nothing, but her dad gave Mack a wink. Her mother called him a dirty old dragon, and Tonya and Miracle dissolved into laughter that pealed through the air like the most joyful sound. It warmed Mack’s heart to know that his mate was now safe and happy. And although it didn’t change where they were going to live, he was thankful that her king had seen the wisdom of opening their community to non-dragon mates.