The Imprisoned Dragon and the Witch (3 page)

As Sam continued to rub his arm, Ronan walked out and headed back to his office. He clearly heard his friend as he left. “Cruel, boss, very cruel.”

Ronan smirked as he continued down the hallway.

Chapter 3

Walking out of the elevator on his floor, his mobile started to vibrate in his pocket. Retrieving it then looking at the screen he quickly accepted the call. “Hello, Josef.”

Josef’s voice was his usual polite and slightly formal manner. “Hello, Ronan. We’re in the air and will be landing in about an hour.”

There was the sound of a chuckling baby in the background and Ronan could clearly hear Peri’s voice. “Gabe! Stop throwing him around like that. He’s gonna throw up on you and don’t come to me to clean it up.”

Ronan almost laughed down the phone at the images those words conjured up in his head. He caught himself and instead said, “Wonderful, the vehicles with drivers will be waiting on you. They’ll let me know when you’ve almost arrived and I’ll come down and get you and show you to our apartment.”

Josef exhaled sharply. “Gabe!” he barked out, Ronan hearing a “sorry” from the Wolf before Josef spoke again, “Wonderful, we’ll see you soon.”

As Josef disconnected, Ronan carried on walking, laughter now bubbling up inside him. He couldn’t wait to see the Wolf and Vampire with their child. It may be Gabe’s seed that had produced the child, but the boy was as much Josef’s son as he was Gabe’s. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind about that fact, none at all. Ronan fleetingly wondered if Josef dealt with the dirty diapers but dismissed that thought. He just couldn’t see his Sire engaging in that activity, he was sure Josef would pay a fortune for someone else to deal with that task.

Ronan was still smiling as he reached their offices, Starr was absent from her desk, so he walked on and into his own. Ronan made the call to ensure two large SUV’s would be at the nearby airstrip within the hour then sat back and thought about things to come. It was still morning, so they could get this show on the road today if Esther and Peri manage to perfect the “moving” spell. However, if not, he would prefer to wait until early tomorrow morning as the hike from the airstrip could take quite some time, even using their enhanced abilities.

Ronan’s agitation grew at the thought of postponing the mission, but he was aware of the pitfalls of arriving as the temperatures plummeted with nightfall. Starr, especially, was affected by the cold and he didn’t relish starting the mission so late in the day. He hoped Peri was indeed as powerful as he had been led to believe.

Opening his laptop, Ronan set about going through everything outstanding regarding other activities in order that he could then concentrate on rescuing the Dragon. They had worked so hard, for so long to discover the secret location. Now that he knew where the Dragon was being held, all he wanted to do was get in there and get the job done.  His thoughts wandered and his anger grew as he had visions of Starr being the one imprisoned. Ronan clenched his jaw as his anger rose, jerking as Starr’s voice interrupted the vision of his love being held in chains.

“What’s wrong, Fang? You’re looking all wound up.” Starr walked in and sat opposite him.

He could see the question in her face, together with worry. His little, or more accurately, his very large, Dragon, was worried about him. He couldn’t help the smile that appeared as he answered. “I’m okay,
mo chroi
, I was just thinking about the Dragon and then my imagination took over and I had a vision of you being held by those fuckers. Made me kinda angry.”

Starr’s body relaxed as she sat back in the seat, smiling over at him. “I will
never
get tired of hearing you say that. I know it means ‘my heart’ in Gaelic but it just sounds so darn sexy!
Mo chroi
.”

Ronan chuckled as she returned his words at him. Her Gaelic had improved greatly since they first met. “You are very welcome and if you like that then what about,
Tá tú go h-álainn, M’fhíorghrá
. Does that merit a kiss possibly?”

Starr laughed, getting up and placing her hands flat on the desk before bending forwards. He moved to meet her and her lips felt soft and warm against his. As his hand tangled in her hair, holding her so he could deepen the kiss he heard two things. One was his phone ringing and the other was Sam coughing.

Ronan pulled back and was pleased to note the blush on Starr’s cheeks, her pupils dilated as she sat back down. “What is it, Sam?”

Sam was leaning against the doorway, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter. “Well, boss, that phone ringing is to tell you that Josef and his ‘party’ will be downstairs in just a few minutes. Their driver has tried to call you a couple of times but apparently you didn’t answer. Now I can see the reason and I was just wondering if you would rethink me getting an assistant? I sure could use some of that ‘personal attention’ during the day.”

Ronan almost growled as he stared at Sam’s wide smile, “No, or rather, yes, you can but same rules. Old, married or something but absolutely no good looking unattached females.”

Ronan got up as Sam turned to leave. “Not fair,” he laughed over his shoulder as he went back to his own office.

Starr stood up, taking Ronan’s offered hand as they left his office. “Guess we go meet the guests. Sam, will you let Esther know that Peri’s here and ask her to come up to my apartment, please?”

Sam nodded, entering his own office as they passed by. Once again, Ronan hoped Peri was as good as everyone seemed to think she was. He really wanted to get this show on the road.

As they exited the elevator on the ground floor, Josef was walking in, carrying the baby in his baby-seat. The sight stopped Ronan dead in his tracks. His Sire was ancient and powerful and had made a name for himself as being cold, distant, hard and ruthless. The man before him still oozed power, but his demeanor was utterly changed. Josef was smiling down into the chuckling face of a beautiful baby boy whose hands were reaching up towards the Vampire.

After Josef came Peri and Gabe with a human female carrying a very large bag that appeared stuffed full of things for the baby. Ronan assumed the unknown female must be Tania. Then, two of his men started to carry in a load of stuff, from a stroller to a high chair contraption that looked as if it may also convert to a swing of some sort. More and more things appeared and Ronan’s eyes widened,
“Jeez, how much do you need for one small child?”

Gabe moved passed Josef, his smile wide as he saw Ronan. “Hi, Ronan, and this must be Starr. Lovely to meet you, finally. Ronan must be scared you’ll fall for me and that’s why he’s keeping you all to yourself.”

Ronan stiffened, knowing that the Wolf was only joking, but his words getting under his skin nonetheless. Starr was laughing as she moved to shake Gabe’s hand. “Hello, I assume you’re Gabe and I’m very happy to meet you. Hi, Peri and Josef, it’s wonderful to meet Ronan’s Sire and oh, this must be your baby. Isn’t he just adorable?”

Starr lowered herself so she was at the same level as the child whose attention was now totally focused on her. One small hand reached forward as bubbles were blown from the tiny mouth and Starr laughed, reaching forward and holding the soft fingers in her hand just as the baby blew an improvised raspberry.

Peri leaned down. “Josef, behave,” she said but her voice held her own laughter and Ronan was sure the child did it again just to see if he could make his mother laugh.

Josef stared right at Ronan, his face serious as he spoke. “So, you know where the Dragon is? When do we leave?”

Ronan nodded at Josef before glancing at the child again and wondered how such a small being could cause so much change in people’s lives. Looking back at Josef he stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations, Josef, Peri, and Gabe, this little one certainly seems to have caused a stir in your lives. Now, if you follow me, I’ll take you to our apartment where everything can be set up for the little one and then we can talk business.”

Peri and Starr stood up, making their way to the elevator as Ronan told his men to wait and then bring everything for the baby up to his place once they had gone. He didn’t think the elevator would take them all plus the stuff that was now littering the entrance way.

Starr and Peri chatted as if they were old friends on the way up, his mate having to look down at the smaller woman. Although his Dragon gave off an aura of power, Ronan could clearly see the change in Peri since he had seen her last. She was confident and obviously happy, but it was the power that he could feel rolling off her that had him smiling. Looked as if she was indeed as powerful as folks had said. Good. Meant they could probably get this mission under their belts today.

Peri introduced the human as Tania, he’d been right on that, and said that Tania would be staying with little Josef and they brought everything for the baby to last a day or two. Just in case. Ronan didn’t like the “just in case” but guessed when you were dealing with a baby, you had to factor in every possibility—like them getting stuck in the Rockies for longer than expected. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but if it came to it, then that’s what they would do. He was determined not to leave those mountains without rescuing the Dragon.

No matter what it took.

Ronan went on ahead and opened the apartment door, holding it wide for everyone to enter. As soon as they were all inside, Peri turned with a slight blush on her face. “Uhm, I need to feed the baby, plus I need to express some milk for when we’re away. I’ve brought formula, but it’s only for emergencies. Will you show me somewhere I can do that?”

Starr smiled, moving to take Peri’s elbow as Josef handed the baby to Tania, who followed behind. “You can use the spare room and set up everything in here for Tania and the baby. I hope it’s okay for you Tania, we don’t tend to have overnight guests.”

Ronan heard their conversation as if they were in the same room, but tuned them out as he turned to Gabe and Josef. He was just about to speak when his men appeared with the mountain of things for the child. “Just leave it all there, we’ll sort it out later.”

The men placed everything just inside and to the right of the door and then left quickly, closing the door behind them. Ronan went to the bar, “Want a drink?” he asked and both men shook their heads.

Gabe sat down on one of the large sofas and stretched out his long legs as Josef paced back and forth as he spoke, “No, we will need clear heads for this operation. Now, tell me all you can.”

Ronan left the bar, feeling uncomfortable taking a drink himself in the circumstances. He joined Gabe on the sofa, sitting at the opposite end and placing his feet on the coffee table. “Serge, one of my Wolves, is there with another three or four and keeping an eye on the entrance. We know that there is definitely dark magic involved but we don’t know exactly how many Witches may be inside or the layout. Once we get there, I was thinking...”

Josef butted in, a frown on his face, “How do we get to where your men are? I don’t want Peri traipsing through the Rockies, it’s far too cold and treacherous.”

Ronan nodded, “I agree, we’re flying into an airstrip not too far from Serge, and Esther, our Head Witch, is coming to teach Peri a ‘moving’ spell. We’re hoping that once we land, they can then perform this spell and get us to where Serge is hiding out. From there, it’s only a short journey on foot to the cavern. I’ve got men all ready and set to go and we’ll have both Peri and Esther to take care of the magic side of things. We’re also taking Esther’s assistant, Celeste, who you may find a little...strange. However, Esther assures me that she is very adept in healing magic and we may require her to help with the Dragon, as we have no idea what kind of state we’re going to find it in. We don’t know how long they’ve had it, exactly, but we are pretty sure it’s not gonna be healthy.”

Gabe growled and Ronan turned to look at him, the Wolf looking angry and uneasy. “What’s up, Gabe?”

Ronan watched while Gabe shook his head as if trying to regain some control over his beast before he answered. “Dark magic, I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime and the thought of anyone imprisoning any beast just to use it to gain power for themselves, makes me mad as hell.”

Josef smiled down at his friend, “I know, Gabe, but we’re here to help release the beast and we can only hope we’re in time to save it. Regarding the dark magic, I’m afraid I have to agree with my young Wolf here. I had hoped never to come in contact with it again.”

Ronan got up, walking to the door and opening it, hearing both the elevator and Esther’s soft footfalls. “Hello, Esther, come in and let me introduce you to...”

Esther entered and stopped just short of the seating area. “It’s okay, Ronan, I’ve met both of these gentlemen before, remember? However, it’s nice to meet you both under not quite as dire circumstances.”

Josef nodded and Gabe smiled, a cheeky look on his face. “At least I’ve got clothes on this time, too.”

Esther actually chuckled before turning back to Ronan. “Where’s Peri? I would like to get started as quickly as possible.”

Ronan pointed down the hallway. “Spare room, she’s feeding the baby and doing something called ‘expressing’ which I have no idea about, but she said she needed to do it before we left.”

Esther chuckled again, muttering under her breath as she walked away, “Men!”

*****

Peri was still expressing some milk for little Josef as Esther entered the bedroom. She smiled at the older woman and continued on, no hint of embarrassment at all. Starr was holding the baby and cooing into his face as he pulled on her hair. When she saw Esther she laughed, “Don’t tell anyone, I’ve got a rep to protect.”