“As a passenger?” Ian asked.
“Nope…his dragon will be flying with mine,” replied Logan.
A squeal was heard as Zane and David entered. “I can’t believe I’m going to see two dragons tonight. Can I have a ride?” David asked, his eyes sparkling at the thought.
“It depends on what happens tonight,” answered Logan. “Maybe just before dawn.”
“Thanks,” Zane said, pleased with his mate’s excitement. “That’d be fantastic.”
“What would be fantastic?” asked Dakota as he and Slate joined the group.
“A ride on a dragon!” David exclaimed.
“I thought we were going by car,” said Slate, concern for his mate rising again.
“We are,” Logan replied. “The flight might happen later. Do you all have your phones?” With affirmative answers from each, he took Kieran’s hand and said, “Good. Groose will direct you to the right car. Your drivers know where to go. Once you’re in your location, please text Kieran to let him know. During the mission, you will also text or call Kieran if you have anything to report. Any questions?”
“Yeah, will we be driving up together or separately?” asked Slate.
“Together. Once we arrive at the loch, your drivers will head to the location assigned to you,” Logan answered. Then, hearing no further questions, Logan opened the suite’s door, letting everyone pass before following them out with his mate.
~/~/~/~/~
“Fuck!” the man rose from the chair, stomping away from Reif’s research. “Nothing fucking new!” Stalking around the small cottage, his anger grew with each step. Eventually, he found himself at the table again, snarling as he stared at documents that weren’t revealing their secrets to him. Roaring with frustration, he swept them away, watching as they floated to the floor at his feet. Then, after peering out the window, he disappeared, leaving a wisp of smoke.
~/~/~/~/~
Reif glanced up at the sky after leaving the pub, relieved to see clouds moving in. Turning in the direction of home, he ignored his beast who was snorting in anger at heading away from their mate. Reif wasn’t sure what to do about the sea serpent but he knew he’d better figure out something fast because their connection was growing stronger every minute.
At some point, he’d have to come clean about his mate to his father, but now, considering the recent attack on him, Reif was loathe to dump another problem on his head. On the other hand, maybe the elders would know of a cure that could break the connection with his mate and, the soonerthatcould happen, the sooner he could get back to the search without his beast rebelling.
Pulling his collar up against the cool, damp, evening air, Reif sped up, now nearly running in his eagerness to get home and change into his clothes for tonight. Rounding the corner, he strode down the lane, trying to soothe his beast, hoping that it would help control him later that evening. Unlocking the door, Reif had just stepped inside when the scent hit him.Goddammit!He stopped, sniffing the residue of smoke, realizing he’d just missed his father’s attacker.
A low growl escaped him as his eyes spotted the papers scattered on the floor. Reif looked around the room and when he saw nothing else had been disturbed, sighed with relief and gathered up the papers, putting them back on the table. Walking over to the bookcase, he pulled out a volume and opened it, making sure the document was still hidden within its pages before replacing it. Though he wasn’t surprised at the man’s appearance—his fatherhadwarned him—he was taken aback at how fast it happened.
Dropping down on his couch, he stared off into space, trying to guess what had changed.It can’t be the deadline because my father would have said something. Maybe it has something to do with my mate.A loud roar from his beast echoed through his body.Okay, I got it…it has nothing to do with my mate.
Whatever it was, Reif would handle it because when it came down to it, there wasn’t any other choice considering what the consequences of failure would be. But he was pissed off; it had taken him a long time to get this close to the end of his search and he’d be damned if anyone was going to fuck it up. Dropping his head back, Reif closed his eyes and, as the room grew dark, his day’s exertions took their toll and sleep claimed him.
~/~/~/~/~
Looking out the window while Oracle was in their bedroom getting dressed for dinner, Maximus’ mind kept returning to the conversation he had with his son. It was hard to believe Daniel might have the power of materialization—he thought only witches and warlocks had that ability.But, obviously, I was wrong.
After the call, Maximus searched his memory, hoping it would provide the answer Steel needed but found nothing. The only other option he could think of was Mystia. Her library had grown since he’d left to marry Oracle but he knew she still read each ancient tome added to her collection.
Coming out of the vortex, Mystia was surprised to find her adopted son alone; she thought he and Oracle would be at dinner. “Maximus?” Mystia called softly, wondering why he looked so dejected.
Maximus turned, giving a wide smile as he saw her. “Hello, mother.”
Gliding over to him, Mystia gave him a hug before saying, “Bon soir,mon bébé, what’s the matter?”
“Please sit,” Maximus said, waving her to the sofa, “I need to ask you about Daniel.”
“Daniel? Is he sick?” asked Mystia.
Sitting across from her, Maximus said, “No, not exactly. Steel called me earlier to tell me Daniel made a rabbit appear twice today. I’m guessing it’s the power of materialization but I don’t believe it was mentioned as one of his attributes in the myth that described him.”
“And this worries you?” asked Mystia.
