Only she needed to deliver some bad news first. Robert stroked her back as he stared at a map laid out on a table in front of them. She pointed toward the mountains. “You killed the Queen. The dragons will be in chaos. Temporarily. A new queen will be born. Unless the eggs are all destroyed before she arrives. They’ll have laid all their most important eggs there.”
Robert bent over to look. “Damn, we’ve never traveled so far into dragon territory.”
“We,” she corrected herself, “I mean the humans did. Hundred years ago. I had the pictures and the books left in the cave to instruct you where to find the eggs.”
“We couldn’t read human.”
Oh, it had never occurred to her they wouldn’t figure out the language. The wolves had rebuilt machines, she’d assumed they’d work out the writing as easily.
“Well, we can correct that.” She bit her lower lip. Robert’s heat made her want to squirm. Only they were in a room with people who could certainly smell her level of sexual interest and knew exactly what they had been doing on the floor in the other room. Although, she found she didn’t care. A knowledge of other people’s business had to be a constant in werewolf life. “Anyway, during the chaos, you’ll have to rid the world of the eggs. We never did. Hence, the resurgence of dragons.”
“We’ll go.” Robert nodded. “Inform Command and get the eggs destroyed.”
“No.” August interrupted. “You’re taking her and going home.”
“Brother.”
“You’re mated, Robbie.” He looked at the rest of the room. “Only single males can be part of our secret group. We’re all dead, remember? No mated male would ever pretend to be. You killed the queen. Take your mate home and have a life. It’s why we’ve fought for so long.”
“What about you?” Dougal interrupted. “You should come home, too. We can all be together. Mom and Dad, they’re almost in transition, before they leave it would give them such joy to see you again—to have all their sons back in a single place with mates and maybe future grandchildren.”
“Not for me.” August shook his head. “Never was. War or no war I was never staying home to be any kind of family man. Reform the pack. I’ve got dragons to kill. Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome.”
Robert’s scent didn’t noticeably change with Auggie’s announcement. He must have known his twin felt the way he did. “I wouldn’t abandon you for anything in the world and I don’t think Tatyana would want me to either.”
Robert shook his head. “We’ll all go together, August.”
“Hell.” He shook his head. “The only thing which is going to help me through what has to happen—burning eggs—will be knowing you’re all at home rebuilding. Why else should any of us bother to go through the destruction? Go home, Robbie. And for fuck’s sake, stop denying you’re Alpha. It’s getting old.”
She laughed, covering her mouth. The present wasn’t the time for amusement and yet the way August put things, she couldn’t help her snicker. She must not have been the only one because before long everyone in the room was laughing, hard. Except for Robert. He crossed his arms. Robert’s twin was not amused although she knew from watching him he almost never was.
Why should then be any different?
****
Four months later...
When she’d first come to live with the pack, or what was becoming the pack, Tatyana assumed everyone would see right through her, know something was off with who she was and where she’d come from. Robert hadn’t wanted anyone to know she’d been human. Too many questions and too much risk from everyone coming home after years of war. Who knew what kind of psychological damage even people who cared about them had been through?
No one had ever guessed a thing.
They’d told everyone she was a Knox cousin and their statement remained unquestioned. If she seemed off, they never mentioned it, and hell they were all off since the war anyway. Four months and August had not come home.
It weighed on her mate. The piece of their family who was missing and couldn’t be filled...
She glanced up at the sky. Her own family was gone. Unless Jocey got on a shuttle to find out what happened to her, they’d never see each one another again. She mourned the loss of Gordon, of seeing her father again, but not her sister. The human exodus was complete, they’d be forever thought a myth.
“I think you’re going to be fine.” She hugged Lena. Wolves liked touch, she had quickly gotten used to it. “Baby is strong, healthy and one of these days will come out and say hello. You’re both doing well.”
She’d never imagined practicing werewolf medicine either. It seemed, however, she had a knack for it. Lena struggled to her feet. “Thanks, cousin.” Lena winked.
“Welcome.” She cleared her throat. “Sex. It’s great for getting babies to come on out. Lots and lots of sex.”
Lena laughed. “You’re so awesome.”
“She is.” Robert rounded the corner and sat next to her. For the man who hadn’t wanted to be Alpha, he took to it as if he’d been born for the role. Most werewolves would argue he had. Alphas were born not made.
After hugging Robert, Lena waddled home. Before she left the porch, she looked skywards and watching her do so made Tatyana sigh. Would there ever come a time when they wouldn’t look for dragons? It had been a month since they’d seen a flying lizard and it had been sickly, dying, before it crashed to the ground. They’d burned the body and the whole day had felt as if it were a cleansing, sending the dragon’s body to the heavens with the smoke which turned it to ash.
“You’re deep in thought.” Robert tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
She nuzzled him. “When I’d been watching you, I didn’t want to be a werewolf. I wanted you but not this.”
“And now?” He kissed her cheek.
She suspected he knew the answer. “I’m sorry it took a war to bring me here. I’m sorry for so much death. If I’d been alive two hundred years ago maybe I could have prevented it.”
“Tatyana, you’re not allowed to take on the responsibility of the universe. I’m not going to allow it.”
“As I was saying,” she laughed. “I wouldn’t wish war on anyone. That being said, I’d have run happily to my werewolf destiny if I’d ever known how it would feel to be here with you, to know I’ll wake next to you every morning. I watched you my whole life. I didn’t realize I was waiting.”
“Yes, well, what can I say? You were always going to be mine, sweetheart. I’m the Alpha, apparently. I get what I want.”
She smiled when he kissed her. The skies could fill with dragons. As long as she had Robert, all would be as it should be. Always.
****
August bent over the hatchlings. He hated to kill them once they’d broken through the outer ring of the egg. He shook his head. The only good dragon was a dead dragon. These fuckers weren’t getting out to cause any of his kind pain.
“Well?” Homer looked at him. His three men waited for his orders.
“We’re going to have to figure out how to go deeper into the egg caves.” Auggie shrugged. “They aren’t getting to make any more queens. Not while I live and breathe.”
He was the bringer of death—to dragons, anyway.
August Owens had never been made for peace. “Burn them.”
Thank you so much for reading this book. Please consider giving it a review, it really makes a huge difference in the life of an independently published book. I love hearing from my readers, please find me at www.rebeccaroyce.com where you can sign up for my newsletter. I’m always on Facebook and Twitter too so come and say hello! Or shoot me an email at
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Other books by Rebecca Royce...
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Evermore
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Her Wolf
Summer’s Wolf
Wolf Reborn
Wolf’s Valentine
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Alpha Wolf
Angel’s Wolf
Darkest Wolf
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Fallen Alpha
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Alpha’s Strength
Alpha’s Sacrifice
Alpha’s Truth
Alpha Enticing
Hidden Alpha (coming soon)
The Capes
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The Conditioned
Eye Contact
Embraced (coming soon)
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Dragon Wars
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