~

 

“Tell me that I’m having a senior moment and that I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing, because I really don’t want to be seeing what I think I’m seeing…” Connor rushed out on a grimace, and got an exasperated look from his mate.

“Oh, you’re seeing what you think you’re seeing, and even if you don’t want to see what you’re seeing – tough – suck it up, vampy.” Vicky hit back with a snort.

“A true alpha…?” He rolled his head on his neck and then his shoulders followed.

“A true alpha…”

“That’ll be … problematic…” Connor sighed.

“I promise to protect you,” Vicky said, babying him.

“Ha-ha!” Connor sniped back with a curl of his top lip and followed it up with another sigh. “I’m going to be very thirsty after fighting that damn beast, which is where you come in.”

“Go suck a squirrel,” Vicky bit back.

“Not right now, but I reserve the right to do it later…”

“I’m not sitting on the damn sidelines and letting you fight a true alpha by yourself,” she snorted her contempt for him and his reasoning. “What do you take me for?”

“A witch. A mate. My mate, and a general pain in the…”

“Finish that sentence and you’ll be growing a new set of balls…” she hissed back.

“Fair enough,” Connor shot another look at the pages of the book and sighed once more…

“Will you stop sighing?”

“Not until I’ve had my fill,” he shot back.

“It’s annoying…”

“Now you know how it feels to live with…”

“Balls!” She warned.

“Not saying another word…” Connor shrugged, “Maybe a few more. Like … here’s a word … D-r-a-g-o-n.”

“Yes it is…”

“I can see that. I’m just saying. Two myths, the stuff of legend…”

“Well, vampires are a myth and a legend to some lucky unenlightened people, but I got stuck with one.” She returned fire and Connor shot her a confused stare.

“Tell me, how is it that you get to spit venom and nasties at me, but when I do it – with love, charm, and sarcasm … you get to hand me my most prized possessions …” she shot him a scowl and it jolted him to the fact that he hadn’t included her as number one in that list… “After the castle, of course.” He grinned.

“I’m female. It’s allowed.” Vicky said with a lofty tilt to her chin and ignoring his sarcasm.

Connor hummed for a long moment.

“Let’s see what we have here…” he said, reaching for the book, and Vicky slapped his hands away…

“No touchy – feely…” She hissed.

“I already did when I bought it out of the archive and it didn’t bite me…” Connor reminded her.

“You were a means to an end,” she said, reaching down and carefully lifting the book from the floor, keeping it open on the right pages. “I’m its intended audience.”

“I feel used.”

“And I’m a walking blood bank, get over it.”

 

~

~

~

 

“A mate?” Zana gave a slow nod of her head. “Remind me to kill the watchers if I get out of this one alive…” she muttered, more for her own benefit that for theirs.

They hadn’t told her that part. If she’d have known about it then … hell, she probably would have still turned up for the job.

“Congratulations…” Landon growled out. His eyebrows tried their best to cover his eyes from view and to meet in the middle over his nose, as he scowled good and hard back at her. “What’s coming?”

He tried again to get the answer to the question that was clawing inside of him, every bit as much as his beast was doing.

“The dragon has awakened…” Zana said as if it was an everyday occurrence.

Landon turned his head to offer a questioning look towards Dexter and the man was staring back at him in disbelief.

“Dragon?” Dexter said towards alpha, as if the man had just dropped trail on his boot.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t say dragon…” Landon shrugged his broad shoulders.

“Well, you’re older, ever heard of a dragon?” Dexter asked, and Landon pulled his head back on his neck and regarded the man as if he was doing a raindance in the middle of a thunder storm.

“Big thing, ugly, wings, breathes fire…” Landon bit out each word…

“Funny,” Dexter snapped back.

“Not as funny as the; you’re older, line…” Landon growled. “How damn old do you think I …” he stopped in mid-flow and eyed his friend…

“Connor!” They both said together.

“The vampire,” Zana snorted. “Yeah, that’ll help … not.”

“Ok, Miss Gloomy, you wanna tell me what we’re supposed to do with a damn dragon? Invite him for barbecue?” Landon growled…

“Wouldn’t need a match…” Dexter shrugged.

“Cute,” Landon shot him a death glare.

“Mine…” George growled, and everyone’s attention snapped right back to the man.

He didn’t ask, and she didn’t offer, but then, she didn’t make a move to stop him either as he dipped his head towards her neck to take her scent at source…

“Gotta love you guys way of saying hi…” she grumbled.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t wanna sniff you,” Landon offered back with a crooked smirk.

George growled a long hard warning at the bear alpha, but he didn’t break off from devouring her scent.

“I said; I don’t want to sniff her … damn, true alphas are deaf…” Landon grumbled.

“With no sense of humour,” Dexter shot back.

“Are you seriously telling us that there’s a dragon?” Landon demanded.

He didn’t like it – that was a game changer.

“I’m not only telling you that there is a dragon. I’m telling you that it’s coming this way…” Zana assured him.