Bitten by Flame (Dragonborn Daughters Book 1) Read online

  “They made you think I was dead,” Shae answered for him. “They controlled you with it. It’s a weapon, Colm. But it’s not just something to kill dragons with. They’re working on something to break fated mate bondings and trigger mating sickness.”

  “That’s how they controlled you,” I said, my horror growing.

  “Not completely,” Xander said. “I let myself go to the edge. Yes. Soon, I wouldn’t have been able to bring myself back. You brought Shae back to me. You protected my daughter. Regardless of who you are or what you’ve done, I owe you a debt forever.”

  “What about Bennet Harbor?” Cassia asked.

  “We got word out to operatives there,” Shae said. “The people went into hiding before Xander burned it down. They’re safe.”

  “That’s how you convinced them you’d turned,” I said. “Risky move.”

  “You have to walk a fine line to survive sometimes,” Xander said. We understood each other.

  “Oh, Colm,” Shae said. “I’m so sorry. You’re exposed now. Word of what happened here will get out. You can’t go back to…”

  “They’ll hunt you,” Xander said. “You’ll never find safe quarter in the Neutral Zone again.”

  My heart twisted. I held Cassia even tighter. “No,” I said. “But everything I care about is right here now.”

  Cassia kissed my cheek.

  “I said I owe you a debt,” Xander said.

  I nodded, stepping forward. I met Xander Brandhart eye to eye. “And I believe I know how I’d like to collect. But first, we have to go back to what’s left of the Lodge. I have a debt of my own to repay.”

  Xander’s eyes sparked. He set his jaw in a hard line and looked from me to his daughter. Then, he met my gaze once more and gave me a nod to seal our deal.

  Chapter 22

  Cassia

  “You’re sure about this?” my father asked. His eyes were tender, filled with love, but the new, dark shadows beneath them might take a long time to fade. It helped that my mother stayed by his side. She would bring him all the way back. Her love. Her presence. She was no shifter, no witch, but Shae Brandhart had powers all her own.

  It was quiet here. We’d all come to the big house on Angel Lake. My grandmother, Avelina, waited for us. She had some deeper lines carved into her face as well.

  I’d had to convince my father about Colm. He worried, like all fathers do. But, when my thousand-year-old grandmother came down the porch steps, her white hair flowing behind her, she’d walked straight up to Colm and cupped his face with her hands.

  “It took you long enough to find her,” she whispered. “Now, you take care of our Cassia, or I’ll make wolf bacon out of you and feed it to the fish.”

  A moment passed, then Colm’s face split into a wide grin.

  Later, we went down to the lake. Twenty years ago, we’d had neighbors all along the shore. They’d mostly moved out now. It was easier for them. Safer to be somewhere shifters weren’t. Though it had been a hard blow, I didn’t mind the quiet.

  “I’m sure,” I finally said to my father.

  “I can keep you safe here,” he said.

  “I know,” I said. “But you should know by now I’m capable of looking after myself. You also know I’ve been restless for years. Now, I know why.”

  “She belongs with Colm,” Shae said. “And it’s time for him to go home.”

  Colm had been down by the water with Avelina. As they came up, she linked her arm with his.

  “Oh, fine,” my father said. “She already seems to like him best.”

  My mother snorted into her sleeve. She rested her head on my father’s shoulder. There was another reason it was time for me to go. My father had a long road back. Regardless of how much of what happened had been part of his plan, thinking my mother died had scarred him deeply. It would do them both good to have time alone together. Angel Lake was their place. Not mine.

  “Well,” my father said, rising from his chair. “We can leave now if you’re ready.”

  Colm met my eyes. Smiling, I gave him a nod. I felt his heart swell along with my own.

  My grandmother came to me. I held out my arms, and she came into them. She towered over me. This woman had lived through so much. She was here when the dragons were hunted all but to extinction. She’d gone into hiding for centuries and protected her five sons. My father and his four brothers. She’d suffered the loss of her own fated mate, my grandfather, Magnus. While the rest of us had to adapt to the apocalypse, she just…knew.

  “I’ll come to you,” she said. “Once you get settled. I still have a friend or two up in Wild Lake.”

  I hugged her tightly. I thought I’d be sad today. Instead, I found myself excited to get started.

  I left my grandmother and went to Colm. She pulled my father aside to whisper something to him.

  “Are you scared?” I asked him.

  He drew in a breath. “A little.”

  My mother walked over to us. “You shouldn’t be,” she said. “Your parents just want you back. Trust me.”

  “They’ll have to forgive a lot of things,” he said.

  My mother touched his face. “They know you. They’ve always known your heart.”

  “I wasn’t there when my father needed me the most,” he said. “I was too headstrong. I didn’t have full control of my wolf. I thought I was ready to lead a pack of my own. I boxed my father into a corner by challenging his leadership. I know now he would’ve had to kill me. I was young and dumb, and he was right about everything. By the time I figured it all out, it was too late. The shifter attacks had happened and there was no way to get back to Wild Lake. He could have used me at his side. Members of his pack died because I wasn’t there to help my father defend them. Maria’s husband was one of the men lost.”

  “Shhh,” my mother said. “We all do things we regret. And the attacks weren’t your fault. We were all stuck in time and place afterward. You can’t change the past. But you can learn from it. Now you know never to take anything for granted. And you’ve paid your debt to Maria.”

  He had. When we went back to the Lodge after the firefight at Luna Point, Colm dug through the rubble and found the token the Ring had promised him. We brought it to Maria. Now, she had safe passage home if she wanted it.

  Colm’s eyes misted. My heart broke for him. He’d suffered such guilt for fifteen years.

  “Cassia’s my second chance,” he smiled. “And I swear I’ll never take her for granted.”

  “Time to go,” my father said.

  Colm took my hand. Traveling by dragon flight took getting used to. My father stepped back. The lake shimmered as he shifted. With his sheer size, he cast a shadow that darkened the entire lake.

  Colm and I went to his left wing. My mother went to his right. My own magic poured through me and my wings unfurled. Then, with a whoosh of air, my father lifted us all.

  We soared high above the lake and rolling hills. Wild Lake was only a few hundred miles to the north. From here, we could see the scarred ground where the Ring had driven the shifters back by force over a decade ago. Barbed wire and watchtowers carved the state into zones. My father wrapped his cloaking magic around us. It only took a few minutes before we crested the dense northern Michigan forests.

  Colm shouted directions, pointing out a landing site. Then my father banked hard right. He set us down gently in a clearing just beyond Wild Lake. From the air, I’d seen a large, yellow farmhouse beside a red barn.

  I felt Colm’s heart skip. Home. This was home.

  We climbed off my father’s wing. My mother stayed tucked to his side. Colm stepped in front of my father. He reached up and put a hand flat on his wide nose. My father chuffed, blinking his great, golden eyes.

  Their message to each other was clear. Colm reaffirmed his promise. He would protect me with his life. Always.

  Then, my father and mother took off. I’d see them again soon. Now, it was time for a different homecoming. Colm took me by the hand, an
d we walked up the hill to the farmhouse.

  At first, I thought it was deserted. Then, as we rounded the corner, I saw a figure sitting in a rocking chair on the wrap-around porch. She was old. Ancient. She had a shock of silvery-white hair and worked a pair of knitting needles with gnarled fingers. She set them down and turned our way.

  Colm froze. I felt love and grief pour through him. The old woman tilted her head. For a moment, I think she was trying to decide whether her old eyes were playing tricks on her.

  Then, slowly, her bones creaking, she rose to her feet. “Colm?” she whispered.

  “Cassia,” he said as we walked up to her. “I’d like to introduce you to someone very special. This is… This is Granny Pat.”

  Granny Pat made a strangled noise that was part laughter, part sob. She threw her arms around Colm and squeezed him tightly. She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and finally let him go.

  She turned to me and sized me up. I straightened my back, understanding on instinct this was a woman whose respect I wanted to have.

  “Cassia,” she said. “You’re a….well shit, what the hell are you?”

  I smiled. “Er…that’s a little hard to explain.”

  “No,” Colm said. “It’s simple. Cassia is mine.”

  Pat’s smile widened. “Well, of course she is. Come on in. I’ve got a room all set up for you.”

  I looked at Colm. He shrugged. “She does that. Granny Pat is always prepared. She…she’s…she takes care of everyone.”

  Then the air changed. A chorus of howls rose. They came from everywhere. Colm’s back went rigid. His wolf eyes glinted.

  Pat stood with her hands on her hips. “Well,” she said. “Now you’ve gone and done it. There’ll be one hell of a hunt tonight.”

  Two figures came from around the barn. Colm turned quickly. Still on guard, he pulled me behind him.

  It was my turn to wonder whether my eyes were playing tricks on me. The man who strode up the hill looked exactly like Colm. Only his hair had a bit of gray peppered through it.

  A woman followed close behind him. She was also dark-haired. Tears streamed down her face.

  Colm took me by the hand, and we met them halfway across the yard. Colm and his father stood eye to eye. His father’s nostrils flared. The lines in his face deepened.

  It took me a second to realize they were communicating telepathically. A beat passed, then Colm let out a choked sound. His father threw his arms wide and Colm went into him. He sobbed against his father’s chest. My own tears fell. I looked at his mother. Smiling, she bit her lip.

  Colm broke away. “Mom, Dad, this is Cassia. Cassia, this is my father, Malcolm Devane. And my mother, Laura.”

  Laura pulled me into a hug. “We’ve been waiting for this day. I always knew it would come.”

  “I’m sorry,” Colm said, hanging his head. “I know I’ve no right to ask this. To come here and assume you could forgive me for leaving when you needed me.”

  “Enough!” his father’s voice cracked and echoed across the yard. Colm went rigid.

  “Enough, my son,” Malcolm Devane said. “Did you think I would turn you away?”

  “I… I challenged you,” he said. “You’re within your rights to defend your pack.”

  Then Colm lifted his head, exposing his neck.

  “What the…”

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Laura said. “Malcolm!”

  Then Malcolm Devane cracked a smile. “Son, you think you were the first and only teenage Alpha wolf who tried to bite off more than he could chew? You’re alive. You’re safe. And I don’t care about anything else except for the fact that you’ve come home.”

  A shudder went through Colm. I think he was really ready to give his father the option to take him out. I made a note to kill him for that myself later.

  Laura went to her son. Fingers trembling, she touched his face, getting to know the angles and lines of it again. She traced her thumb along his scars. She pulled his head down and kissed them. She was happy. She stepped back and took her husband’s hand.

  “We’ve come a very long way,” I said. “And your son is the bravest wolf I’ve ever met.”

  Laura smiled. “We heard. They’re already calling it the Battle of Luna Point.”

  Colm and I exchanged a look.

  “Then we can’t stay,” he said. “If the Ring tries to retaliate because I’m your son…”

  “Then we’ll deal with them together,” Malcolm said. “You’re a Wild Lake wolf, Colm. There’s nothing you can do that will ever change that. And I meant what I said. This is your home. Forever. Yours and your mate’s. I’ll defend you until my dying breath.”

  “All right,” Granny Pat yelled from the porch. “I’ve heard enough talk about dying and at almost a hundred, I’m the closest to it. Get washed up. I’m making some fried chicken. Call the packs. We’ll have a feast!”

  “Oh,” Laura said. “I think the packs already know.”

  To prove her point, a new round of howling split the air. I saw Colm’s eyes glint bright gold. Fur bristled along his neck. His urge to shift was beginning to take hold. Laura met my gaze, then rolled her eyes.

  “Damn dogs,” she whispered, laughing. I laughed with her.

  Colm turned to me. “You don’t mind?”

  I went into his arms. “No. I’ll never mind. Just hurry back and wipe your feet off before you come into Granny Pat’s house. I have a feeling she’ll whip your ass if you don’t.”

  “I love you,” he whispered, and his lips found mine. He gave me a passionate kiss that curled my toes and left me breathless and blushing when he finally broke away.

  “I’ll find you later,” he said.

  “Promise,” I whispered into his ear. My arousal shocked me. My blush deepened.

  “Get gone,” Laura said. She looped her arm in mine and pulled me up toward the house. “Your girl and I need to get acquainted. I have a feeling she’s got quite the story to tell. Starting with just what in the heck she really is.”

  I opened my mouth to answer, then promptly clamped it shut. I had no earthly idea how I would even begin. But we would have all day.

  My heart lifted as I watched Colm and his father break away. They shifted in unison. Two powerful wolves. Their dark fur a perfect match. They bounded up the hill. When they reached the top, at least thirty more wolves broke through the tree line.

  It was magical. Exhilarating. Colm was free. His mother embraced me.

  “Thank you,” she said. “For finally bringing my boy back to me. Now, let’s go help Pat.”

  I walked up to the house with her. She listened with an open mind and a full heart as I started to tell my tale.

  Chapter 23

  Colm

  As a full moon rose, I went to the water’s edge. I knew the place. It called to me. Its magic stirred my nature. I climbed up the small outcropping of rocks. There, a flat stone jutted out over the water. I arched my back and let out a howl. The water shimmered below me.

  Then I felt her heat. Cassia came from everywhere and nowhere. I howled again and saw her winged shadow silhouetted against the moon.

  She was heat. Light. Energy. She glided down, her hair a rainbow banner behind her. She joined me on the rock. Her essence and mine. The fire and the wolf. It was time to answer that call.

  I shifted, rising on two legs. Cassia’s wings shimmered. She was naked and glorious. I reached for her perfect, round breasts, sliding the pad of my thumb over her nipples.

  Cassia let out a gasp of pleasure.

  “Here?” she whispered.

  “Yes,” I said. “It was always here.”

  She smiled. “I know. Somehow…I saw it in a dream.”

  I pulled her to me, kissing her, devouring her. She moaned against me. Her heat rose. I slid a hand between her milky thighs. God. She was so slick. I dipped a finger in.

  “Colm,” she gasped, her legs trembled. She could barely contain her own lust. Tonight. Now, she wouldn’t hav
e to.

  We were as free as we could be. Safe. Home. I felt powerful enough to spin the stars for her.

  Cassia lowered herself. Her wings fanned out beneath her.

  “You’re glorious,” I said, stroking myself as I stepped back to admire the view. Cassia arched her back. She let her knees fall open, beckoning me to her.

  She was a work of art with her flat stomach, high breasts, hips thrust out, wings shimmering in the moonlight.

  Magic.

  Mine.

  “Colm,” she whispered. I wanted to taste her. So I did.

  She threaded her fingers through my hair as I teased her with my tongue. I felt her judder with rising pleasure.

  “Not yet,” I whispered, my laughter low. “Not until I tell you.”

  “Hurry,” she said. “Colm, I’ve wanted this for so long.”

  “So, have I, my love. And it’s only the beginning.”

  I guided myself into her. Cassia wrapped her legs and her wings around me. So much heat. So much power. I thrust inside of her, sheathing myself to the root.

  My Cassia took it all. I drew her out. Coaxing every drop of pleasure out of her. She was a wild thing, bucking and writhing to match my thrusts. She took me so deep. Wrapping me in her magic and warmth.

  Then she exploded. I think the stars did spin with her. She cried out my name as her walls clenched around me.

  “Say it,” I whispered, nipping her ear. “I need to hear you say it.”

  “Yours!” she whimpered. “Oh, God. Yes. Colm. I’m yours. Always.”

  Then, I slid out of her and Cassia turned. She went on all fours, arching her back and keeping her round ass high in the air. Once again, her beauty struck me like an arrow through the heart.

  Mine. Forever. I would honor this woman. I would earn her.

  “Please!” she cried out.

  I felt her need. It took the air from her lungs. It made her fire burn even hotter. Sparks danced across her shoulders.

  My fangs dropped. My own lust pulsed through me. I guided myself into her again. Cassia moaned with pleasure.