My eyes opened so wide I was sure they were going to pop out of my head, then my jaw dropped.With every thundering step, the chaos I’d created fell to the background, and all I could see was him.Hell, I even forgot that the fifth Prince of Hell, the Demon of Greed, Mammon, was less than a football field away and had just said I was his bride.
Yep, I was shocked right out of my bobby socks, lost the ability to speak, and, in that moment, there was no other way I wanted to be.Looking into the Dragon, my Dragon’s warm, hazel eyes I could see my forever, and damn, it looked good.
Without hesitation and with one hundred percent confidence, which was new for me, I knew without a doubt that he was my Mate.He was the man made for me by the Universe.And under all those lovely bronze scales, he was one hunka-hunka-burning love.
Six-foot-four, with broad shoulders, pecs for days, and a six pack that made my mouth water, he was gorgeous with a capital G, and my hands itched with the need to touch every inch of him and run my fingers through his chocolate brown curls.The missing piece of my soul clicked into place, our minds connected, the Mating Bond in the depths of my soul connected with his, and that was when the real Magic happened.
In less than a heartbeat, I saw everything- and I do mean everything.I witnessed the day my Dragon, my Mate, the man made for me by the Universe, Guy Alexander MacAllen, was born, his childhood, his first shift, his life as a Warrior, and everything in between, even….
“Son of a bitch!”I spat.
I even saw the day that Fogarty entrapped him, set him up, and sentenced him to a hundred years in Arrhythmia.Oh, that asshole was going to pay.I would make sure of…
“Be gone, Dragon!”Mammon bellowed.“Bernadette is promised to me.She is the price to be paid.”
But my man was having none of that.
Without missing a beat, he slid to a stop beside me, wrapped his hand around my waist, and, as one, we turned toward Mammon, the bastard Demon Prince, morphed into a Lon Chaney, Jr.- like version of the Wolfman.Launching himself into the air with way too much confidence and ease, he landed about ten feet behind us, and he wasn’t alone.
Spinning as one, my Dragon and I stood tall as we faced the Demon prince.Standing at least eleven feet tall, he was flanked by two Hellhounds on either side, and all five of them were spoiling for a fight.The air became electrified.It bit at my arms and pulled at my hair.
Mammon was putting on a show.He was trying to intimidate us, scare us, make us relent.
“Fat chance.”I jumped as Guy’s voice floated through my mind, then grabbed on tight to the reassuring, comforting knowledge that we were one in everything.
Fat chance was right.
Guy’s hand tightened at my waist, grounding me.He was so confident, so steady, so sure, and all mine.His Dragon King, Anluan– Lou– poured so much of their supreme Dragon Magic into our Mating Bond that I experienced the feeling of gleaming bronze scales flowing down my spine.
“Stay behind me,”Guy gently warned.
“Like hell, Dragon Man,”I snorted
Before he could argue, Mammon lunged.
The Demon Prince moved faster than something that size should have been able to.The long, sharp talons jutting from the ends of his mammoth paws flashed in the glow of the light of my Containment Spell as he came straight for Guy.The Hellhounds followed, snarling and snapping, their jaws dripped black ichor that hissed when it hit the sand.
Guy shoved me back a step.A flash of Magic clapped over his head.
In a blaze of light and heat, my Mate transformed.The buzzsaw wings at his side snapped open with a thunderous crack that sent sand and debris flying.Ten feet of Warrior Dragon became fifteen in a blink.The long, thick claws protruding from his feet dug into the earth as he roared.The sound was so ancient and powerful it rattled my teeth and made the Hellhounds falter.
“Mine,” Guy snarled, his voice a beautifully mysterious mixture of man and Ancient King.“You do not touch what is mine.”
Mammon laughed, a deep, guttural sound that made me shiver despite my conviction to remain unmoving.“Bold words from a creature who doesn’t belong here.”
Then he charged.
Guy met him head-on.
Claws slammed into fur and flesh.Demon strength collided with Dragon Might in a violent clash that sent shockwaves rippling across the desert.One Hellhound went flying as Guy’s right wing whipped around, smashing it into the sand hard enough to leave a crater.
The other lunged for me.
“Oh, hell no, asshole.”Raising my hands, I let the Necromantic Magic flow.The Heatherton Enchantment, fueled by the ley lines and the bond blazing between Guy and me, was a sight to behold.
“Sit.”The word flew from my lips, cracking like a whip.
Lavender and silver energy crashed into the Hellhound, slamming it flat against the ground as Spectral chains erupted from the sand, wrapping tightly around its limbs and throat.It howled, struggling, but the Heatherton Enchantment held firm.My Ancestral Magic was steady and fierce.
