"What the fuck?" Drace said. I looked over at Grumpy. My soul stuttered. "Is he supposed to look like that?" I rushed over. Came to a rocking halt before I crashed into him. "Grumpy? You okay?"He nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?"I gulped. "Um, because you look like you're stuck somewhere between a man and a dragon?"He laughed. "Yeah. Right.""She speaks truth, Tagan Ladon. See for yourself," Ari said. She waved her hand and a section of the clouds we were standing on rose and solidified into a silvered section of mirror. His gray eyes widened as he stepped forward. "No fucking way."Giant silver wings protruded from his back. And his face and chest shimmered with silvered scales. His hands had remained the same while his feet had transformed into those of the dragon form that Thane was currently inhabiting. Grumpy looked over at me. Then at Drace. "What the fuck?"She shook her head. "I've never seen anything like this in all of my 150 years."My mind ex
TUCK YOUR WINGS CLOSE AND DIVE, Drace shouted through my head. I pulled my wings in as close to my body as I could and shot through the air towards Stretch. I kept my eyes on her as I begged my body for more speed. I had no idea what I was doing, but I believed that between Drace and Ari, they'd help me save my mate. Open your legs and arms wide, Hollyn. Cup your hands, palms down, Drace said through the mental link. Thankfully, Stretch must have heard her because her arms and legs shot out into a big X. Her fall immediately stabilized from the twisting, turning mess it had been before. Is this what flying feels like? Stretch asked, her voice calm. I don't know, but you're going to feel what spankings feel like. What the hell was that, Sweetcheeks? Tag raged.You looked so sad. I thought maybe I could give you some more power like I'd given to Drace. That maybe you could have your dragon like Thane and Tove have theirs. I'm sorry. What the hell did we just talk abou
My body felt like it had been scrubbed over the washer and beaten against the rocks near the stream where we did laundry in the Village. My stomach heaved as my head throbbed and thrummed. My heart pounded in my ears as my eyes watered. I struggled to pull air in through my nose and push it steadily from my mouth. Over and over. All I could focus on was my breathing. Staying alive. That was it. Once my world righted itself, and my organs felt like they were back in their normal position, I sat up. The living room greeted me. We were back at home. I looked around, counted heads. Nodded. Good. We were all here. "Ari? What the heck did you do? And why?" My tongue felt thick and stupid inside my mouth. Reaching out, I grabbed Thane's hand in one of mine. Drace's hand in the other. "Grab Tove and Grumpy," I said. They each reached out until we made a lopsided circle. "Quod restituo dimittere." The room lit briefly as I called on my magic. My magic. It was so weird to know
I jumped forward as her body crumpled towards the floor like a puppet with cut strings. I hauled her up into my arms and moved behind Ari and Thane and Drace. They'd made a barricade between Brigid and Hols. "Does she still breathe?" Ari asked, not taking her eyes off her sister. I laid my ear to Hols' face. Felt the gentle puff of air against my cheek. "Yes." Saying it relaxed the band of fear around my chest. Allowed my lungs to expand, my heart to beat. "Where is Sidney?" Thane asked. "Where he belongs," Ari said. "In hell.""Good," Thane and I said in unison. "You don't even know what you've just done. You fools!" Brigid roared. "You've given the Villagers exactly what they wanted. You've released Patrick's power."I curled Hols closer to my chest. "Explain. Now."She stuck her nose up in the air. "Answer the man, sister. Or suffer the same fate as the idiotic coward you brought to hurt my granddaughter," Ari said, her voice hard as diamonds. Brigid didn'
I knew I was dreaming, that floaty awful feeling invaded my mind, weighted my limbs. I winced as something whispered in my ear. A familiar whisper. A horrifying whisper. "Hollyn, you've come to see me. What a pleasant surprise." Patrick Walsh said. Hard fingers gripped my arms as I tried to scoot away. "No. No. Get off me. Thane! Tagan! Toven!" I shrieked their names as I tried to pry his fingers from my skin. I called up my magic. I had magic. Lots of it. More than I knew what to do with. He laughed in my face as nothing came to my hands. Not even sparkles or glitters of magic. Just nothing. No. No. No. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not now. "You took out the one person who was keeping me contained," he whispered in my ear as he slid his disgusting tongue up the side of my neck. "My brother was too concerned with staying bright and light to worry about expanding his magic. He was a fool.""A fool obviously strong enough to contain you," I bit out as I frantic
Sweetcheeks' body jackknifed into an upright position as I was leaning down to pick up her unconscious body. The resounding smack of our heads had my ears ringing and my belly fighting to stay in place. "The fuck, cheeks?" I growled as my eyes watered from the pain. "Grumpy?" "Yeah. Who the fuck'd you think it was?" She flung her arms around me and started shaking like a withered leaf on a stiff winter's breeze. I curled my arms around her. "Hey. Hey. What's wrong?" I pulled her into the shelter of my body. "You've been sleeping for hours now. You're safe. You're in the penthouse." "Oh stars, Grumpy. I pissed him off. I punched him in the face. I'm so screwed. You guys have to let me go. If he comes, he's going to kill us all. I made him mad. He's going to be so angry." She immediately began pulling against my hold. Tried to climb from my arms. I tightened them around her until I felt like our flesh melded together. "Not happening. And you better stop trying to dit
"Like this?" I asked, my eyes pinched shut as I tried to keep the mental image of my magic clothes in the front of my mind. Silence. I cracked open one eye to see my men and Drace looking at me, their mouths all hanging open. Well, that wasn't very encouraging. I looked down at myself. I nodded. That's exactly what I'd pictured. Why were they looking at me like that?"Grumpy cleared his throat. "Sweet fucking stars, Cheeks. What did I tell you about that outfit?"I grinned. "That I could only wear it at home." I looked around the room. "Guess what, Grumpy? We're at home.""I'm going to go for a long walk. Is there a cold river anywhere around here?" Drace shot to her feet, already halfway to the door when she asked. "Never mind. I'll find something." She swung the door open and passed through it so fast, I was surprised her hair didn't get caught in the frame. I looked back at my men. "What? Don't you like it?" The strappy outfit I'd tried on at the store with Grumpy
I gritted my teeth as the raw emotions filtering over the connection from both Tag and Stretch had me reading the same email for the seventh time. I'd never had so many unanswered emails in a twenty-four hour period. Never thought anything could take that top priority in my mind. Hollyn was it. The only thing that could ruin my focus on work. Shift my brain from the puzzles of ruling the telecommunications industry. "Are you getting anything done over there or are you just peeping on your brother and your mate?" Drace asked from the couch. "These moony sighs make me feel like I'm back in high school."I grimaced on a laugh. She wasn't wrong. I felt like a hormonal teenager again. I shut my computer, resigned to the fact that no work was going to be done until after I could sate myself in Stretch's body. I moved back to the couch, flicked my gaze to the TV. Game of Thrones was playing. I winced. Not the best show to take my mind off sex. "Seriously?" I asked her. She smile