Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

SIERRA

T he drive back to the hotel seemed to take forever. It was giving me too much time to second-guess myself. But accepting my place in a millennia-old prophecy crafted by beings regulated to mythology felt right even if a bit mind-blowing.

I also began to worry about the magic I continued to feel building within me. Was it truly black magic I possessed? Or was it something so unique that neither my coven nor I had ever been aware a witch could hold? I needed to talk to another witch. I needed to meet Britt and the other mates and figure it out before I decided if I would use my power again.

My head, heart, and body were in an uproar at the moment, but I don't think it was because I said yes. The more I sat with it, and no matter how crazy any of what he'd told me sounded, I could no longer imagine my life without Mac in it. A knowing peace settled over me, and I smiled.

Binding myself to a determined, growly grizzly shifter where I'm guaranteed to receive a lifetime of chocolate Pop-Tarts plus an endless supply of orgasms, and all I have to do is accept him and his monster cock into my body? How could I possibly say no?

Secretly, I'd yearned to find happiness and love. Was what I felt for Mac love? It was certainly lust. But how could it not be? Haven't I often thought that I'd know instantly when the right man came along? So, falling in love so quickly should come as no surprise either.

I turned my thoughts and my gaze to the landscape. The ever-present twilight of Iceland during this time of year was like a magical blanket everywhere I looked. The aurora borealis providing a spectacular light show. Mac held my hand as he drove, but I kept my gaze off him, afraid if I looked, I'd jump him and cause an accident. I wanted, needed, both of us in one piece for what I had in mind.

Squinting at a large object above us, and not quite believing what I saw, I pointed at the windshield. "Um, not to sound too dramatic, but there's an effing dragon headed our way." Unbelievably, in the sky was a dragon riding an air current several hundred yards in front of the rental car. I gulped in air while attempting, and not succeeding, to not lose my shit. Because if there ever was a time to crack, this was it.

Mac let loose a streak of Gaelic that I somehow knew were not words of fear. My shifter was pissed off and his inner grizzly made itself known as well with a string of growls. Would he be able to keep from shifting until he got out of the car?

"Should we take cover or…"

"No, it's cockblocker number one. He seems to think we need a chaperone. He's mistaken. Stay here. I'll handle this." Mac pulled the car to the side of the road. "I need you to stay here. No matter what happens, don't leave this car. Lock the doors."

And he was gone, and I was left with my mouth hanging open, watching helplessly as Mac strode across the road and met the dragon in the field where it had landed. Chaperone?

Oh, hell no. He had another thing coming if he thought I was going to sit still while he… I mean, sure, he was a grizzly shifter, but even he wouldn't be able to battle a fucking dragon with talons bigger than his head.

My entire body began to vibrate. Much like what I'd experienced years ago, the uncontrollable power began to grow within me. Unlike any other witch I'd known, or any in the history of my coven, I didn't have to use a spell, a talisman, or a potion to draw on my magic.

Lucky me, my magic had always percolated when I was a teenager, waiting for it to be called. Or, as I quickly found out, easily tapped into when I was highly stressed. I wish I could say that I had learned some control over it before I left my coven, but it had taken almost a year to finally achieve the safe boring life where I'd wouldn't be triggered by anything remotely upsetting or exciting.

Would I be able to draw on it now after so many years of keeping it locked away?

I burst from the car before I had a plan in place other than I needed to help Mac and wound the dragon enough that my shifter mate wouldn't become its next meal.

Mac stood in front of the beast, his legs wide with his hands on his hips. He didn't seem to be speaking at all. I made it to his side only to see that Mac's head was tipped back, eyes closed, and he seemed to be in a trance. Shit. Raising my hands, I pushed the building energy within me toward the dragon who simply stared at me with a grin. Dragons could smile. Who knew?

Seconds before the blast hit the beast and exploded in a spectacular green-hued glow, the dragon's eyes narrowed. Then I heard Mac's voice in my head shout, "Sierra, no!"

Mac grabbed me around the waist and pushed my arms down to my sides. "Fuck me. I didn't think. Are you okay?"

What didn't he think? That I wouldn't protect him the way he's done with me since the moment he rescued me? Well, this relationship was going to be equal, whether he liked it or not. I'm not going to just sit by and wait for permission to use my magic and pop out babies or whatever his expectations were. Not that we discussed it yet or anything and oh my god, I was losing it. The hysteria from what I'd just done latched onto me and I let it drag me to my knees.

"Tell me you're okay, love." Mac's face was full of concern and here I was having a fake argument in my head over something he hadn't even said.

Nodding, I gulped for more air. "Are you?"

Relief washed over his features, then he looked back at the dragon. "Stay here. I mean it, Sierra. This time, stay put." He paused, then added, "Please."

"Well, since you said please." I sank down onto my butt and hugged my knees, staring after him as he sprinted to the unmoving monster.

But it was no longer a monster. The dragon was now a man. A naked man who had sat up and was rubbing his chest and shouting at Mac. And Mac was laughing. Was he crazy or had I just zapped another shifter?

The next thing I knew, Mac shrugged out of his jacket and held it out just in time to cover the front of the naked man as he stood. Wrapping the arms of the jacket around his waist, they began walking toward me.

The men were similar in height and build, but unlike Mac's full beard and wavy locks, this man had straight silver hair that hung to his shoulders. The closer they came, the sicker I felt. He didn't seem to be injured too badly, but there was a large dark bruise in the center of his chest.

"Sierra, this idiot is my brother, Quinn." He turned to his brother and said, "Quinn, apologize to Sierra for scaring her to the point she blasted you on your arse."

The men stared at each other. Mac crossed his arms and Quinn let out a string of words that sounded like the same Gaelic language.

"Maybe if you had answered our calls, I wouldn't have had to track your ass all the way to godforsaken Iceland." Quinn turned to me and said, "Nice to meet you, Sierra. No harm, no foul, okay? I also need to apologize for my much younger brother and his negligence in not informing you that I'm a dragon shifter. That's a hell of a blast you've got there. Britt is going to flip when she hears this."

Mac placed an arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close. I absorbed his body heat and almost immediately my shivering stopped. "I am sorry I didn't warn you, love. I just wanted to convince this idiot to be on his way so we could get back to the hotel."

By the time we made it to the car, some form of unspoken communication seemed to have taken place between the two. Before I could ask Quinn if he wanted to sit up front, he and Mac were patting each other on the back, then Quinn walked backward and shifted into his dragon form.

"Wait, he's leaving?" Craning my neck, I watched Quinn, er, the dragon's green scales as they glowed from the light of the moon. His leather-webbed wings pumped hard, creating a stiff breeze until he, the dragon, disappeared from view.

"I assured him the demons haven't been an issue since we encountered them at the portal and we're perfectly capable of making it home ourselves. I was hoping your first introduction to my family wouldn't have been so dramatic, but I guess we're not what you would call a normal family…hey, what's wrong?"

I never was good at masking my feelings and I wasn't sure how I felt. He obviously picked up on the change in my posture and expression. I was still on an adrenaline rush from using my magic for the first time in years, and now Mac says we could have been home two days ago. Was I mad? Yeah, a little bit. But I also wouldn't give back the time we've spent together for anything.

"I'm, uh, just processing everything that just happened. Could we maybe wait and talk when we get back to the hotel?"

"Sure. Of course. You've been through a lot." Mac opened the passenger door and helped me into the car, buckled me in then kissed me on the forehead for good measure.

I spent the rest of the ride back sorting through my feelings. After everything that's happened between us, and tonight's events, was I strong enough to once again bury my magic? I had a sinking feeling the next time I unleashed it, the person I wanted to hurt wouldn't be an immortal who could withstand the damage, and the outcome would be much worse.