33. Tate

THIRTY-THREE

TATE

It had damn near broken my heart to hear that the girls hadn't wanted to be around me. That I'd become so much of an ass that the people I was bonding with couldn't stand to be in the same house as me. Making it worse was that I knew exactly why I was so damned edgy. That fucking spell. Every day that went by without claiming her sent my body into agony. The pain wasn't even something I could explain. It was some painful, irritating malaise that screwed with my emotions. The longer I held off, the angrier I got.

My dragon didn't help things. I wasn't quite feral yet, but things were slowly going that way. Over and over, like a chant, it repeated: mate, mate, mate, mate. Anytime I wasn't paying close attention, the dragon tried to take things into its own hands. Just the night before, while cuddling up against Harley, I awoke to find myself nuzzling her neck, my fangs already protruding, ready to bite and claim. The dragon didn't really understand why we couldn't do what we were being drawn to do. I had to be on my toes all the time—something else that had me mentally exhausted and put me in a shit mood. It was getting harder and harder not to sink my teeth and cock into Harley and claim her.

The hope that the curse might vanish once Emily was dead was wholly incorrect. The pull I felt and the pain in my body as I resisted, showed it was still in full effect. My feelings for Harley, and hers for me, were real. We weren't being forced to love each other. Our choice in the matter had been taken away from us, though.

At this point, I really thought that she might accept it. Even the possibility of her becoming like me didn't seem to terrify her the way I thought it would have. The problem was that she was pregnant. None of us knew what might happen to her or the baby if I claimed her while she was expecting. She was still three months away from giving birth. Ninety days of waiting, in slowly increased agony. My patience was being pushed to the edge, but I would have to shoulder the burden and struggle.

I pulled over about ten miles from Harley's house, hoping I was far enough away from any prying eyes that I could safely shift. It had been years since I shifted in the daylight, but I knew it was worth it as my body morphed. The freedom of body and mind that came when I shifted was almost enough to make me forget all my problems.

The breeze poured across my body and my wings as I rose into the air. Swooping low across the tops of the trees, then lifting high into the air on a warm updraft released some of my tension. A dragon's face couldn't smile, but in my mind, I was grinning from ear to ear, finally relaxed.

My dragon had been cooped up and was stressed out. Mostly from me holding us back from claiming Harley. It needed the release as much as I did. So when a flock of geese heading south for winter appeared on the horizon, I let him have his fun. The godawful honking sounds and the blood and feathers that erupted made the dragon happy and excited. His belly full, and our emotions content for the moment, we made our way back to the car.

Once I was back in the car, I was calmer and a lot more relaxed. The stress was still there under the surface, but it wasn't as bad as it had been. Regardless, I wasn't going to stop pushing until all my girls were out of harm's way. We'd hoped Emily could help with at least getting the hunters off our backs, but so far, there'd been no success.

The day after we found her body, all four of us had returned to her cabin. We'd searched everywhere, looking for clues or information, any hint of Emily's life. Blayne had found a stack of old identities under a loose floorboard. Yellowed birth certificates, passports, and tax forms. Even an ancient paper driver's license from the nineteen-thirties. She really had been much older than she looked.

Everything we found showed that, for the most part, she'd simply tried to live a normal life. Nothing there revealed to us why she hated shifters so much. Or why she would align herself with hunters. On my way back from my shift and goose buffet, the answers began to appear. Blayne called.

"Tate? You free?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess. What's up?"

"Get to the office."

"Can I ask why?"

Blayne sighed. "Miles's friend just showed up. She's got info on Emily."

A cloud of smoke poured from under my tires as I pulled the truck into a violent U-turn and sped toward the office.

"I'll take that sound of squealing tires to mean you're on the way?" Blayne asked.

"Five or six minutes. As long as I don't get pulled over."

"See you in a few."

Less than five minutes later, I pulled into the office parking lot, barking my tires as I slammed it into park. Attempting to stay professional, I didn't jump from the car and run inside. Instead, I did a weird speed walk and had to bite my tongue not to scream when I punched in the wrong code at the front door. Inside, Kennedy said hi and leaned across her desk, showing me a clear view of her ample cleavage, but I didn't even glance toward her. I made my way down to Miles's office and found the guys in there, with Siobhan sitting in Miles' chair.

Steff closed the door behind me as I entered. Siobhan looked much as she had when we first met her. Aloof, and powerful. They waited for me to take a seat before they started.

"Okay, now that everyone is here, can you tell us what you found out?" Miles asked.

Siobhan nodded. "It took some digging, and a lot of questions. I'll be honest, I don't usually get involved in the issues of other supernatural beings. This spell, though? It intrigued me. I wanted to know who had created and cast something so singularly interesting."

"Interesting?" Steff blurted out. "We might all die. Is that interesting?"

Siobhan looked him steadily in the eye. "Honestly, yes."

Steff looked nonplussed and closed his mouth, deciding he didn't want to ask any more dumb questions.

Siobhan continued. "There is an old warlock in the north woods of Michigan I have sporadic contact with, but he has an almost encyclopedic memory when it comes to witch culture and history. I gave him your physical description and a detailed recounting of the spell she cast. Almost immediately, he gave me a name. Emiladia Wardlow."

From within her robe, she extracted a piece of paper. She unfolded it and set it on the table for us to see. It was a photocopied image of a painting. It looked old, maybe from the sixteen or seventeen hundreds. The woman in the painting was young and lovely, dressed in clothing that had been fashionable then. Staring out at us was the face of Emily Heath.

"Holy shit," Blayne whispered, holding the paper up to examine it closer.

"She was the youngest daughter of the Wardlow clan. The clan had been working with a splinter group of dragon shifters. Something had happened, and they were slowly going feral. The Wardlow clan was trying to develop a new spell that could hold off the process, maybe even cure them from going feral."

"It seems, the process took too long. One day, while Emily was away in a neighboring valley collecting medicinal and magical herbs and roots, the dragons succumbed to the feralization. They attacked the clan's small village." Siobhan swiveled her eyes to me, and said, "It was a complete and total destruction. Men, women, children, babies, all of them. Emily returned some hours later and found that everyone she knew, everyone she had ever cared, ever loved, had been murdered, mutilated, partially devoured?—"

"Okay. We get it," I said as shame and guilt tried to bear down on me and crush me.

Siobhan raised an eyebrow. "Obviously, Emiladia was… distraught, to say the least. She became known in most Wiccan circles for her robust and unflagging hatred for shifters, especially dragon shifters. It was part of the reason my friend knew exactly who I was looking for. Her hatred for your kind was without equal."

I buried my face in my hands. I hadn't thought I could feel bad for Emily. This story changed that. A group of dragon shifters had taken everything she loved. If a witch had come to Lilly Valley and killed all my friends, Harley, and the girls, took everything I cared about? Could I have done the same thing she did? Would I become some shifter vigilante scouring the world, hell-bent on killing every witch I found? I wasn't sure, but I now understood her hatred, especially for dragon shifters. Most hunters had something similar happen in their background. It made it more understandable. I'd still destroy them if they came near my family, but it didn't make me any less empathetic.

"That's pretty much all I know." Siobhan turned to Miles. "I'll assume our dealings are done for now?"

Miles, who looked like he might be sick after hearing the story, nodded. "Yeah. If I need you again?—"

"I'll allow you to find me," Siobhan said and swept from the room, leaving the thick scent of magic in her wake.

"Harsh stuff," Steff said, rubbing his face.

"Yeah. No fucking wonder she wanted us all dead," Blayne said. "How does this help us, though? Does it?"

"It helps us get inside the heads of the hunters. We know how determined they all are," I said. "If all of them have something like that in their past, some stupid ass feral shifter did something like that, they'll die like a dog on a bone. These won't be guys who'll shit their pants as soon as they see us shift. It does help," I said.

I stood to go. As I grabbed the door handle, Miles asked, "You going home?"

I nodded. "I have a lot to think about."

Without another word, I stepped out and walked to my car. The drive home was a total blur. I almost missed the turn into the neighborhood. I nodded at Terry as I pulled into the driveway. He was sitting in his sedan, keeping watch on the house. There was so much going on in my head that I almost didn't notice the smell of food when I stepped into the house. I closed the door and sniffed the air. A wave of nostalgia swept across me at the scent.

I hadn't smelled that in close to twenty years. It was almost exactly like my mom's stew. How the hell? My stomach roared out, rumbling so loud that Harley heard it from the kitchen. She peeked around the corner, saw me, and smiled.

"Hey. I was working on dinner."

"I can tell." My voice was thick with emotion. "How did you get my mom's recipe? It smells just like hers. Wait, how the hell did you even know about her stew?"

Harley grinned. "I prodded Steff for information. He knew very little, so I took what he said and did my best. I wanted to make you happy."

In that instant, looking at her, food was the last thing on my mind. I walked toward her and said, "Put it on low, so it doesn't burn."

Harley saw the look in my eyes and did exactly what I said. Before she could get out of the kitchen, I picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. I gently eased her onto the bed and pulled my shirt off.

Harley looked at me and smiled as she unbuttoned her pants. "What do you think you're doing, mister?"

After I stripped my pants down, I looked at her and growled, "I'm going to show you how hungry I really am."

I was on her in a second. The desperation of my dragon surged within me, making things move faster. There was no foreplay here. Just lust and desire. I kissed her hard, sliding my tongue along hers. I slipped my hand down to her breast and took her nipple between my fingers, drawing a gasp from Harley. Our kiss deepened as I lifted her off the bed, wrapping my arms around her.

Harley's hand worked down between us, and she took my cock in her hand, stroking it gently. I sighed into her mouth and fought back the desire to claim her then and there. I could even feel the ache in my jaw, and my fangs wanted to erupt from my gums. Instead, I rolled her over onto her hands and knees.

I knelt behind her and slid my tongue into her, sweeping it back and forth. Harley moaned in pleasure and rested her forehead on the bed. I wanted every part of her, and I wanted it right then, but I also wanted this to last. I slid my tongue up and circled her asshole, making her gasp. She seemed to like it, so I slid my tongue in slow, luxurious circles until her pussy was dripping wet. Harley was pushing her hips against my face, and I slid a finger inside her while I kept moving my tongue on her ass, making her sigh with pleasure.

"Take me," Harley groaned.

My dragon responded by screaming a roar of joy inside my head, and I went to my knees and pulled her hips back to meet my cock. I slid into her pussy and clutched her ass. The sight of her bent over, begging me to fuck her, released an animal urge within me. I began thrusting, unable to hold back any longer. I leaned down and bit her between the shoulder blades, not enough to break the skin or claim her, but enough to satisfy the dragon for a few minutes. Instead of wincing from the bite, Harley moved her hips back against me, slamming her pussy onto my cock. My mind reeled into a passionate infinity.

Leaning forward, still thrusting, I stroked her hair and murmured, "Are you close?"

Harley whimpered slightly, then said, "Uh, huh. Fuck me, Tate, make me come."

As though I needed an invitation, I thrust faster, harder. Pulling her onto me, an explosive feeling built rapidly in my balls. I groaned as Harley started to convulse beneath me.

"God," she screamed.

I wasn't there yet, I kept moving, hearing Harley's breath grow ragged and gasping, as she began to come a second time. Her hands clutched at the sheets as she called out my name over and over. Finally, after I'd given her all I thought she could handle, I came. My body nearly burst as the ecstasy washed over me like warm honey. My thrusts slowed until I had to drop to the bed beside her. Harley's body was still twitching, and her breath came in short irregular spurts, but the smile on her face let me know that she'd enjoyed it as much as I had.

Moments later, after she'd recovered, she rested her head on my chest. My heart was still hammering away inside. She grinned at me and stroked my stomach.

"You know, if I'd known that would be the reaction, I'd have made that stew a lot sooner."