Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (22 page)

"The answer will come to you. Claire is
certain Serafina is the key to breaking the curse. The missing
piece will eventually be revealed. In the meantime you need to
focus on business. Malachi will be here tonight to negotiate the
terms for Travali's visit. We all need to be at the top of our
game. Doyle will be here any minute to discuss which concessions
we're willing to make and which demands we will not meet." Rook had
always been able to get me back on track when my emotions got the
better of me. I knew his own emotions ran just as deep as mine but
he rarely let anyone see them. He might laugh a little now and
then, but most of the time he kept a tight lid on his feelings.
Business always came first with him, and since his business was
keeping me and my mate safe, I really couldn't say I minded.

"Believe me; I have my eye on the ball.
Garrek couldn't have picked a worst time for this wedding. I have
to put up with Travali at the council meetings but he hasn't set
foot in my territory since he turned tail and ran in the old
country. It's probably a good thing I can't access my dragon right
now or I would likely barbecue any vampire that gets within a
hundred miles of Serafina. Just the thought of those parasites in
my casino has me shaking with rage." If I could get away with
telling Garrek no I would. Let him have his wedding somewhere else.
I couldn't understand why he was marrying the sex demon anyway.
Everyone knew they were all incapable of being faithful.

"Need I remind you that you are not only a
newly mated shapeshifter, you are also the Dragon King. We cannot
afford to go to war with Travali right now. Garrek hates vampires
as much as we do, but if we strike against Travali without good
cause, he will have to side with them or risk losing control of the
council. The council is too fragile right now. I believe that if it
weren't for Garrek, the council would crumble under the weight of
Oblivion. There are too many supernatural races that want to
enslave the human population and Oblivion would help them do just
that. Fear of Garrek is the only thing that keeps the councilors in
line, and fear of the council is the only thing that keeps the
peace in our world."

I grinned at Rook. "One day you will find a
mate and then we'll see how rational you are when it comes to
bloodsucking fiends entering our territory."

Before he could respond there was a sharp
knock then the door opened and Doyle strode into the room. He
glanced at the security monitors and stopped in his tracks then let
out a wolf whistle and said, "Who is that hot little piece of
ass?"

I had him pinned to the wall with my claws in
his throat before I even thought about what I was doing. Rook
appeared beside us and commented dryly, "Apparently it's not only
bloodsucking fiends I'll need to worry about."

It was exactly the right thing for him to do.
Had he told me I should let go of the wolf nightshifter in my grasp
I probably would have torn both their throats out. But with that
little bit of dry humor I was able to rein in the beast and release
my hold on my friend. I stepped back and ran my hands through my
hair.

"What the fuck just happened?" Doyle demanded
his rage evident in the blue ice of his eyes. Since his eyes were
usually a bright green I knew he was one of the nightshifters whose
beast did not fall back to sleep.

Since I was clearly in no shape to form
coherent sentences yet, Rook answered for me. "You just called his
mate a piece of ass."

Doyle looked dumbfounded. "Did you just say
what I think you said?"

"Yes. That woman dancing on screen is
Dragon's mate. She is the reason your wolf woke up this morning,
and she is your queen." Hearing the respect in Rook's voice when he
spoke of my mate filled me with pride.

"Fuck! I think I need to sit down." Doyle
fell into a chair and just stared at us. After a moment he asked,
"When did you find her? How long has this been going on?"

Rook perched on the edge of my desk. I
finally had myself under control and I sat on the sofa across from
Doyle. "She arrived at the resort when the dance auditions began.
Claire knew she was my mate and invited her here. I marked her
Friday night when you probably felt the first tremor from your
wolf. Then this morning the bond was completed and that's why your
wolf is awake. We cannot explain why the beasts would be awake but
still caged. Claire believes that Serafina will eventually set them
free," I explained.

Doyle took a minute to digest the news. "My
wolf has been damned annoying since this morning. I don't know how
much longer I can take his trying to claw his way out of me. At
least when he was asleep I didn't have to worry about him being
upset. It was like he wasn't even there. Now he's getting more
pissed off by the minute."

"I know exactly what you're going through. I
cannot release my dragon either. Well, aside from the two times my
claws have come out in a fit of rage." I smirked at Doyle. "But I
need to know if you're in danger of losing control. Can you handle
the negotiations with Malachi tonight?"

"I will not lose control of myself or my
wolf," Doyle growled.

Doyle was a brawler and with his size he
could hold his own. He ran the fight scene at the resort both above
ground and under it. He had a quick temper and he liked to fight.
It was risky to have him handle the negotiations without the added
complication of the spell breaking. Questioning a shapeshifter's
control was considered a grave insult but I needed to know if Doyle
could hold it together. As head of the largest wolf clan he was one
of the strongest shapeshifters I knew. But his wolf was also strong
and I couldn't let him lead the negotiations unless he was
absolutely sure he could handle it.

"I do not mean to insult you. If not for the
curse I would never doubt your control. But none of us knows what
will happen when the spell breaks. The beasts have been caged for
too long. You know that our animals must be let out regularly or
any strong emotion can make us lose control of them. Just last
night something set me off and my claws slid out while I held my
mate in my hands. If I'm vulnerable to a loss of control of that
magnitude, then I have to consider what could happen when other
nightshifters slip."

He studied my face for a moment measuring my
sincerity then bowed his head to me. When he looked back up he
vowed, "I will not lose control. The negotiations are too
important. No matter what I have to do, I will keep it
together."

I trusted Doyle to keep his word. If he
didn't believe he could maintain control he would have told me so.
"Okay then let's get down to business."

We discussed what we thought Travali might
ask for and what we could live with allowing him to have. We
covered everything from the size of his entourage to who might be
willing to play blood donor for his people. An hour later we were
finishing up when Rook brought up a point that none of us wanted to
think about.

"What if they want to bring Bran?" He studied
my reaction. Probably trying to gauge how well I could control the
dragon since this was a topic that usually pushed me right to the
edge of violence. Bran was the wolf shifter who betrayed us to
Travali. He was not affected by the curse because he was not loyal
to me. Since the end of the war he has served as Travali's lap
dog.

It was difficult to be rational when it came
to Bran but I tried to think objectively. "Every one of our people
would be honored to shove a knife into his heart and separate his
head from his body but we cannot exclude him without a good reason.
If we said that we could not guarantee his safety then I would be
seen as a weak leader. If we said we don't want him in our
territory because he betrayed us then it would look like we are
afraid of him. No matter how I look at the request it's best to let
him come just like we're doing with Travali. We don't like the
situation, but we don't really have a choice." I knew there were
red flames glowing in my eyes but I couldn't hold back the hatred I
felt for Bran. Rook nodded, satisfied that I could remain calm if I
was forced to deal with Bran.

With the meeting over I wanted to see if
Serafina could take a break for lunch. We all rose then Doyle
headed out the door which Rook closed behind him blocking my exit.
"I'd like speak to you about Serafina." He gestured to the chairs
for me to take a seat.

I sat down and asked, "What would you like to
discuss?"

He sat across from me and looked me in the
eyes. "I think it might be time to stop hiding who she is. I
thought she would be safer if no one knew who she was. But after
today, I think we also need to consider the safety of everyone
around her. You nearly killed Doyle without even thinking. Had he
known who she is and made the comment he would have deserved his
fate. As it is though, he had no way of knowing his comment would
offend you.

We also have to consider the chatter amongst
the nightshifters. The more time the two of you spend together in
public the greater the chance someone will put two and two
together. I mean, you start dating and all of a sudden the beasts
wake up? There's only one conclusion to come to. She is your mate.
Depending on who makes that conclusion the news could travel to
Travali very quickly. It might be better if we put the news out
there and control how it's spread. Right now she's just some human
dancer who our people might try to protect if she's attacked. Tell
them she's your mate and they would fight to the death for
her."

"I'll discuss this with her tonight after her
shift at Mystique. I agree with you, but I don't want to push
Serafina if she's not ready. There is also the matter of how to
spread the news. Should we just stop hiding the mating marks or
should we have a formal announcement? I don't want to make those
decisions without her." Whenever possible I would get Serafina's
opinion before making any decisions.

Rook snorted. "I don't think you'll be
discussing anything after she pulls a shift at Mystique. You can
bring it up in the morning when she can think straight again.

We left my office and went our separate ways.
Before I turned the corner I saw Claire approach Rook. Her back was
towards me but I could tell she was upset about something she was
telling him. He saw me start in their direction and shook his head.
I trusted his judgment so I continued on my way to see
Serafina.

She was still on stage at The Gateway
rehearsing with about ten other dancers. The way she moved her body
was so sensual, I would never get tired of watching her dance. The
longer I watched her though I realized something was missing. It
was the mating marks. I wanted to see her dance with my marks
displayed for the world to see. I wanted everyone to know she
belongs to me.

Renee came over to where I was standing and
watched the dancers with me. "I've been hearing rumors about you
and the new girl all day."

"Oh?" I could only imagine what was being
said about our adventures in Mystique last night.

"People are saying the two of you put on
quite a show in Mystique last night before you moved into the
privacy of a lounge where you stayed until the wee hours of the
morning." She was just bursting with curiosity.

"A gentleman would never kiss and tell
Renee," I told her seriously.

She snorted. "A gentleman wouldn't be in
public with a girl's legs wrapped around his waist and her dress
riding up so far her thong was hanging out."

"Is there any chance Serafina might be free
for lunch in the next few minutes?" I gave her my stunning smile,
the one I usually reserved for the media.

"If male smiles had any effect on me Solomon
would've gotten into my pants years ago. I'll let her go because
it's time to call it a day anyway, not because you asked so nicely.
But before you go, let me ask you one thing." She focused on my
face waiting for my reaction. "What's she covering up with one of
Solomon's rings?"

I shouldn't have been surprised but I was.
Renee had always been exceptionally bright and very perceptive. It
was the reason Solomon chose to change her over. I answered her
without betraying any of my shock. "That is a personal question
that you will need to ask Ms. Leroux. Now, if you don't mind, I
would like her to join me for lunch."

Dragon and I settled in at a table in the
employee cafeteria. It was late for lunch and early for dinner so
we had the place to ourselves. I had eaten about half my enchiladas
before I worked up the nerve to start a conversation. My coworkers
had been giving me sidelong glances all day until I finally asked
them what was up. They had a lot to say about Dragon and I wanted
to know if some of it was true. "So, I was talking to some of the
girls today."

"And did they have anything interesting to
say?" His expression said this conversation wasn't completely
unexpected.

"Apparently you haven't been seen in public
with a woman since before you were cursed." That little tidbit of
news had floored me. When Dragon told me it had been a while since
he'd been on a date I'd had no idea he meant more than four hundred
years. "According to Vivian and Rita you were quite the playboy at
one time. Then you met Scarlett and there was speculation that she
would one day be your queen. But after you and she had a falling
out there hasn't been anyone since. They said that rumors of our
escapades last night are flying around the resort and everyone is
dying to know more about me and why you've suddenly ended a four
hundred year celibacy run."

He had leaned back in his chair listening to
me with amusement curling his lips and sparkling in his eyes. At my
last comment he laughed out right before replying. "I can't believe
they think I've been celibate all these years." He chuckled some
more and then ran his hand over his face.