The Imprisoned Dragon and the Witch (2 page)

Ronan inclined his head, the Witch’s words making him feel slightly ashamed. “Okay, Esther, I understand and I’m sorry if I offended you. I’ll let you know when Peri arrives and you can liaise regarding your spells. Remember, it’s gonna be cold where we’re going. Be sure to dress appropriately, I don’t want you or Celeste getting hypothermia.”

Esther sat back down, the stiffness gone from her body. “Thank you and I’ll make sure we’re both dressed warmly.”

Ronan nodded before leaving, “Goodbye, Celeste,” he said quietly as he passed by the young Witch.

“Hmm, what? Oh yes, ‘bye, Ronan,” Celeste murmured to his back. He noticed she had retrieved her pen and was once again chewing on the end.

Chapter 2

Starr paced back and forth, her energy flowing rapidly throughout her body.
‘Jeez, I wish I could change,’
she thought as she was waiting on Ronan’s return. She was wound so tight her skin felt as if it was stretched taut over her bones. If only she were outside and somewhere away from prying eyes then she could transform and soar up into the sky. Going Dragon always calmed her and she wished she could do that now.

After what seemed like forever, she sensed and scented her mate. Raising her eyes she saw him walking rapidly towards her. His face looked a little… what? Troubled? As he drew closer she could see the tension lines around his eyes and knew something was troubling him. As he saw her he smiled, but she wasn’t fooled, not for a second.

Following Ronan into his office she immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Who says anything’s wrong?”

Starr chuckled as she sat down, leaning forwards and placing her elbows on his desk, her head in her hands as she stared at him. “Really? You’re going to try and tell me nothing’s up?”

Ronan sat down, placing his hands on the desk in front of him, an inscrutable look coming over his face. “Okay, Puff, you caught me and it still pisses me off I can’t hide things from you. It’s Esther. She insists on bringing Celeste along, says something ‘bout her being ‘powerful in healing’ and we may need her.
Damnú air
!”

Ronan finished using his native Gaelic, his tone as he said,
“Damn it,”
telling Starr an awful lot. She reached forward and laid one of her hands over his. “I know Celeste is a little, hmmm, frustrating is the word I’d use, but if Esther says we need her, then we should take her.”

Ronan moved one of his hands to run it up and over his face, through his hair as he sighed heavily. “I know that. I just didn’t handle it very well and then Esther got that look on her face...you know the one...the ‘I’m not taking any shit’ face she does so well. Well that got to me and I pulled rank and
Cac
! I guess I didn’t react well.”

Starr stood, walked around to stand at his back, her fingers kneading the tension she could feel in his neck. Ronan’s use of Gaelic to again curse telling her how upset he was. “Okay, so you were a bit sharp with Esther. I can understand that, Celeste is not the normal type we would have go on a mission and yes, I agree, she’ll probably annoy the hell out of the likes of Creed. However, I say again, if Esther thinks we need her then she has to come. You can get Esther some of those chocolates she likes so much to say ‘sorry’ after the mission, of course. Now, the jet is ready and I’m sure Sam has informed the Elites and Drake. So, all we need to do now is wait on Josef and, oh yeah, what did Esther say about the hike from the airstrip? Bet that didn’t go down well either, you implying she’s not up to the hike.”

Starr let out a small laugh as she continued to massage the taut muscles in Ronan’s neck and outwards over his shoulders. Ronan could feel himself relax under her touch and joined her in a short chuckle of his own. “No, she didn’t like it. Her solution is, as always, magic. She wants to teach Peri her
moving
spell and then move us all from the airstrip to where Serge is holed up. I’m not that keen on the idea but it would save us an awful lot of time and we’ve waited long enough to mount this rescue mission. I guess we just have to wait and see if Peri is as good as everyone keeps telling us.”

Starr stopped kneading, moving to the side and staring into Ronan’s eyes. “What? You don’t think Peri’s up to this? I thought she was very powerful. Is that not true? I don’t fancy getting magically moved by someone that’s not up to it. Ronan, we could end up somewhere miles away, or, all mushed up and goodness knows what! I think I’ll just go Dragon and fly in, at least then I know I’ll be okay and not all magically mushed up.”

Ronan reached for her, pulling his mate on his knee before placing a kiss on her lips. Almost instantly he was hard and Starr whimpered against him. He pulled away, a cheeky grin on his face. “I would never allow you to be ‘magically mushed’ and I’m sure Peri is more than capable. Esther won’t agree unless she’s sure that Peri’s up to the task, so don’t worry. I do like the idea of you going Dragon though, I could do with going for a nice flight on your back. Oh, now there’s something I would like right now...you, on your back.”

His finger traced her lips as he spoke, her tongue darting out to lick it before she tried to nip it with her teeth. She pouted as he withdrew it and nodded her head. “Me too, Fang. Any chance of a break?”

Ronan groaned, there was nothing more he wanted to do at this moment than sink inside his mate. However, he needed to focus on the mission and do his very best to ensure it was a success. Reluctantly he shook his head, “Sorry,
mo chroi
, I need to get the teams briefed on everything and then it won’t be long until Josef gets here. Later, Puff, later.”

At Ronan’s use of one of her favorite Gaelic phrases – my heart – she leaned forward and kissed the side of his mouth before removing herself from his lap. A lap on which she had clearly felt his arousal as she sat. She flicked her long, black hair over her shoulder and sashayed around the desk, throwing a look over her shoulder as she reached the door. “I’ll hold you to that,
mo chroi
.”

Ronan groaned again as he watched her leave, that ass moving so seductively that it almost had him calling her back to tell her that, yes they would have a “break.”

Sam rushed in, his eyes wide with excitement. “Okay, teams are in the conference room waiting on your briefing, Drake’s there too. Let’s go.”

Sam about turned and left, obviously assuming Ronan would follow. Saved from his lustful thoughts, Ronan adjusted his arousal in his pants and followed his best friend, blowing Starr a kiss as he passed her office. Her response was to stick her tongue out at him and he burst out laughing, Sam turning to see what was going on. Ronan shook his head and got his laughter under control as he carried on behind.

This time everyone seemed to be aware something very big was going down and not once did anyone approach the two Vampires as they moved with purpose through the hallways. Many eyes followed them though, along with murmurings and whispers. Ronan’s enhanced hearing picked up a snippet as he walked past. “Last time saw him like this was when he was trying to find Starr, wonder what’s going on.”

Ronan just smiled. Yes, he guessed that
had
been the last time he had become engrossed, or as some would say...obsessed...with a case. He didn’t care, he would do whatever was necessary to release this Dragon, just as he’d done what was required to find Starr when she was being hunted. Whatever...it...took!

Ronan pushed into the briefing room, walking purposely to the front and the head of the large desk that dominated the space. He looked around, taking in the members that Sam had picked for the mission. He noticed that Nicci was on one of the teams and shot a look towards Sam who was doing his best to ignore him. Ronan was aware that Sam had been trying to get Nicci on a date for ages but the powerful Elite Vamp had, so far, resisted his charms.

He watched as Sam sat next to her. “Hi, Nicolette, how are you this fine morning?”

Sam was giving Nicci his best smile and what he got in return was a scowl and a snarl. “I’ve told you not to call me that! Are you deliberately trying to annoy me? Or are you just dense?”

Ronan stifled a laugh as he saw Sam’s face fall, trying to come back with a quip and failing. All Sam managed was, “I like your name, your full name that is.”

As Nicci bared her teeth, Ronan took control of the room. “Okay everyone, listen up.”

He paused, making sure everyone’s attention was focused on him before continuing. “Serge has finally found what he was sent to the Rockies for. He’s found where the Dragon is being held prisoner and our mission is to rescue it. We will be flying to an airstrip nearby and then, hopefully, we will be ‘magicked’ in by Esther and Peri. Peri is a powerful Witch and is bonded to my Sire, Josef, who will also be joining us together with Gabe, who’s a Wolf. Josef is far more powerful than any of us, so he’ll be an asset. Gabe is one of the largest and deadliest Wolves I’ve come across…”

Ronan stopped to gather his thoughts, he knew he had to warn his men about Josef and Gabe’s over protectiveness regarding Peri and also knew he had to let them know the consequences would be dire. “Don’t let Gabe’s joking manner fool you. He is hard and lethal and he’ll destroy anything that even gets within striking distance of Peri. So a word of warning, if you want to keep your head attached to your body do
not
make any threatening moves while in her vicinity. He will not hesitate to kill anyone he even suspects of being a threat. As for Josef, let me just say, if any of you are stupid enough to try your luck regarding Peri, I can only say you would be lucky to get off with Gabe. If Josef is involved, you will be destroyed in a gruesome and painful way.”

Ronan stopped, looking around the room as some comments were made, Nicci’s being the most vocal. “For fuck’s sake! We’re going into a mission and we need to watch out for our
own
guys?”

Sam frowned at her as Ronan’s eyes came to bear on her, “What was that? Sorry, do you have a problem with my leadership, Nicci?”

Sam groaned as Nicci stared back, a defiant look on her beautiful face. “I’m just saying, we don’t usually have to worry about guys on our own team killing us…”

Ronan quietly stared her down until finally she started to fidget in her seat and her eyes left his. He could hear Creed snort in derision as Nicci started to look around, as if for support. There was none. “Nicci, I’m sorry, but when did this become a democracy? Did I miss that memo from the President? No? So, I’m still in charge and what I say goes. We need Peri on this mission, as the Dragon is being held by dark magic-wielding Witches and we only have Esther, who may not be able to deal with them all on her own. If we need Peri, then Josef and Gabe come along too, no question about that. They are both strong and powerful, so they’ll be helpful on the mission.”

Ronan stopped to make sure Nicci was listening properly, her eyes kept darting up to his then back to the table. “The only threat to one of us is if, and
only
if, we act in a manner that would be perceived as a threat to Peri. I’m telling you all now to save any possible confusion later
and
to make sure none of you think it would be funny to pull some sort of stunt. I’m telling you
all
in this room that scenario would not end well. Josef could easily destroy all of us and not break a sweat. So, are we clear?”

There were nods all around, even Creed, though Ronan saw the dangerous Vampire had an incredulous look on his face. As if he couldn’t quite believe there was a Vampire alive that could match him. Ronan was well aware of Creed’s power, but he knew Creed wouldn’t stand a chance against an angry Josef.

Nicci was still finding it difficult to meet his stare as he continued. “Once we arrive, I’m going to ask Josef, Esther, and Peri to send out their powers to give us as much information as possible about what we’re walking into. However, we won’t be sure of what we’re up against ‘til we get in there. The main objective is to rescue the Dragon. I’m telling you now, I’m not interested in taking prisoners, so if anyone puts up any kind of resistance you have the go ahead to use lethal force. Saying that, if someone surrenders without a fight, I will not condone killing just for the sake of it. Keep that in mind folks, as I will be keeping an eye on all of you.”

Creed snorted again and Ronan’s head swiveled to lock eyes with him. Creed had a reputation, a justified one, of being harsh on missions. “Got a problem?” he asked and watched the tick at the side of Creed’s jaw. A sure tell that he was angry.

Creed’s only response was a slight shake of the head, so Ronan continued. “Creed’s team will be Alpha and will go in with me, Starr, Josef, Peri, Gabe, and Esther. Sam will lead up Beta and Drake with head up the last of you. We’ll wait ‘til we’re on-site to decide exactly what’s happening, but that’s the lineup, folks.”

Sam stood up, coming to join him at the front. “We don’t have a time for departure yet so I suggest you all rest as much as possible and be ready to move at a moment’s notice. I think that’s all for now.”

Ronan watched everyone move, leaving the room quickly. He noted Nicci’s slight blush. Sam’s elbow digging him in the ribs, “Think you’ve squashed my chances with Nicolette. Thanks for that.”

Sam’s face had a childish pout as he watched the lithe form of Nicci leave the room. Ronan spoke quietly, aware of the enhanced hearing all around them. “I’m pretty sure you did that all by yourself, Sam. She hates getting called Nicolette.”

His friend tore his eyes from the receding back of Nicci, a silly smile on his face. “But it’s so nice, Nicolette, Nicolette, Nicolette. See, it just flows together so well and sounds so, so, feminine.”

Ronan chuckled, “Yeah, probably why an Elite guard doesn’t want to be called it. She’s strong, powerful and deadly, Sam, not a cheerleader.”

Sam scowled before breaking into a big goofy smile. “She could be a cheerleader for me any day! Thanks for that, my friend, I’ve now got that stuck in my head! Nicolette doing a private cheer just for me.”

Ronan punched him on the arm, hard enough to hurt and Sam moved away, rubbing the spot. “Keep your mind on the mission and
not
on Nicci doing
anything
for you privately.”