Blane (Stratham Shifters Book 5) Page 5

  He looked at her pale face memorizing the lines from the strain she suffered on a daily basis. No one else in the room said a word. He inhaled and pressed his cheek to hers.

  His beast whined.

  ‘Summerland.’

  Blane froze. He didn’t even breath. The way his beast said that one word was enough for him to realize things were bad.

  “Summerland.” He repeated out loud.

  “What the hell is Summerland?” Max broke the otherwise quiet in the room.

  He balked when Blane glared at him. “Summerland is where Supes go when they pass on. Before their final death. She’s so close to being gone.”

  And that was now the giant elephant in the room. If she was in Summerland, getting her back would be next to impossible, and now he had a request from the Witch’s council, because there was no way he had the power to bring her back. From what he’d read about the afterlife, Summerland was a place of the Supe’s dreams. It was the in between and lured them into a state of bliss so they wouldn’t want to go back

  Free will and all. But it wasn’t what it seemed. Everything was perfect on the surface until a clear choice was made—then it could become the Supe’s hell. He didn’t need it to get that far for Dallas. If it did she was as good as stuck, and there wasn’t anything he or anyone else, for that matter, could do about it. He needed to move fast.

  He refused to lose his mate. He’d rather die than live out his long life alone knowing he’d lost his only real chance at happiness.

  No, not going to happen.

  ‘Let’s save our sleeping beauty.’

  He and the beast had never been in such agreement. He needed Dallas. His beast needed Dallas.

  Chapter 8

  Jaz

  He stood in the shadows, watching and waiting. He wasn’t particular about which beast he killed first. They all needed to go. Not only was it something the council wanted, but it was what his brothers needed. He deserved to get vengeance for what the Halflings did. They took his brothers from him, and for that they would suffer. With Ike and Lon gone he was on his own. He hated the Stratham dragons, and he would do the council’s bidding only because he wanted to.

  Now was the perfect time to strike or so it seemed, but he still wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to jump in halfcocked and get his ass offed too. He was playing it smart; listening, learning. The king was in the hospital with his queen. Babies, go fucking figure. Like the world needed more half breeds. And who knew what these vile beings would be like.

  He listened to what was going on inside the house. It seemed he found two very strong weaknesses and he was about to blow their world apart. A new mate was dying. He could easily take her and then the male, Blane would be as good as dead. At least he knew what was going on around this weird magical powerhouse of a town. It seemed the Halflings needed their true mate in order to survive. They needed to share their second beast. How crazy was that shit? He couldn’t imagine giving up his beast; better yet to a woman—a human one at that. Jaz shuddered just thinking of what that would be like.

  Not only no, but hell no.

  His dragon was a part of him, and fully him. These dragons carried two beasts it seemed. And even though that sounded pretty damn great on the power front, it really made no sense. It also made him question the King.

  His king.

  Were these Halflings a threat? Was that why he was so hell bent on having them killed? Jaz realized he wasn’t the smartest of the bunch, but by listening in silence he learned more about the why behind the council’s actions.

  Jaz chuckled. He wouldn’t even have to do anything to get rid of two of them bastards.

  Just as he was about to ease closer to the house he heard a howl in the distance. His body shuddered. If the council thought the Halflings were abominations than he thought wolves were. They shouldn’t exist, and now he realized there were some close by. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath allowing his sense of smell to expand, and it was then he realized, not only were there wolves, but there was a whole damn pack of them—across the border of the dragon’s land.

  How the hell had he missed that?

  ***

  After sitting for hours and forming a plan that could rival Ike’s, Jaz smiled to himself. It was perfect. He’d found that the one named Blane was leaving town and lucky for him, he was taking that witch with him. That left the rest of the others vulnerable to his attack. He would pick them off one by one. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe he could take them all on, especially not the king. Now that there were children involved he would be even more fierce. No, he’d have to come up with something brilliant to off him. In the end they would all die, including the newborn infants he’d heard the one named Max talking about.

  These dragons were wimps. They were all about bonding and family.

  “Yeah, I used to be that way too, bastards.” He huffed. “Until you fuckers took my family away.”

  He stepped further into the shadows when the lanky one with blackish, blue hair paced to the large bay window. He folded surprisingly muscular arms across his chest and peered right where he’d been standing.

  Jaz sighed when the beast didn’t realize they were being watched. He’d have to be more careful when he plotted his revenge. He didn’t want to end up like his brothers.

  “I will not end up like them.”

  Not far in the distance from where he was standing behind a large tree he heard a cry that sounded so pitiful he knew it was a wolf. And it was being hurt. He smirked wondering what happened. He was so curious he left his post and stalked silently towards the wooded area. The closer he came, the louder the cries became.

  Chapter 9

  “You’re really bringing her with us?” Bev said and glanced at the very unconscious Dallas. She studied her and shook her head. “I wish I knew how to pull her out, I owe you after all, but apparently my powers don’t reach that far.”

  Blane watched his mate breath in a slow rhythm. It was almost like she was sleeping, but the problem was, it was far worse than that. “I couldn’t just leave her, besides, maybe your witches will help.”

  Bev actually giggled. It was the first time he’d heard her do anything of the sort, but he raised a brow wondering what was so funny.

  “Why would I leave my mate behind?”

  She shrugged and faced out the window for a second before turning back to him. “I’ve never heard a dragon sound so loyal. That’s all.”

  He rolled his eyes. Her disdain for dragons had to be for a reason. She hated them so much, and he wasn’t surprised from what he’d seen, but the tribe had done nothing but try to gain her trust, especially since Will was so attached.

  “Fair enough. But you have to learn to trust.”

  She scoffed. “I am too old to change, boy.”

  “Not really. You’re young by witch standards.”

  She smiled a real smile showing perfect white teeth. “That’s nice of you to say, but I’m getting old.”

  “Getting, is the key word.”

  He drove around the curves with ease happy the council wasn’t too far away from home. Lucky for them the headquarters, as he liked to call it, was in Kinketta. The drive was about an hour but getting there would be tricky. Due to human sensibilities, they built their home nearly on the outskirts in the near the mountains, warded by strong magic and woods. It was the perfect private land, but going on their property wasn’t something Blane was looking forward to. The magic would affect him in ways he wasn’t too sure of. They had to protect themselves, but if Bev was powerful, they were Magic.

  He should have been more nervous about going into another Supe’s territory, but he was in a way invited. He also didn’t think they would cause him any harm. From what Bev said witches and dragons usually got along and held strong ties due to their magic being able to mix. He wondered if they would try to use his own magic against him.

  Hopefully he wouldn’t find out.
/>
  “They won’t hurt you. In fact, they’ll be thrilled to have a Purple dragon in their midst. It’s me that should worry. I have no clue what my punishment is going to be.”

  “Have you been in trouble much?”

  He glanced at her and she shrugged. “I’ve done my fair share of things to piss them off.”

  “Like?”

  “None of your business. This was child’s play. Something I hadn’t even meant to do.”

  “We all know that, but they might not understand you were trying to help and the magic backfired.”

  She laughed. “My magic has backfired for a long time. Part of my quirks I guess you can say.”

  “Then why do magic then if it has a way of messing up?”

  “The same reason you shift even knowing a mortal might happen upon you. It’s in your blood. You have to do it.”

  “Fair enough.”

  ***

  Bev

  She was a nervous wreck. This wasn’t the first time she had to go before the council, but it was the first time they were going to send the hunters for her. It wasn’t something she was proud of, and she knew this time there was no way out of the trouble. Anything could happen. Heck, she might not even get to leave. If that was the case she’d never see the light of day again. Merida had always hated her, and she never knew exactly why.

  When Blane turned down the gravel path to get to the large castle structure nerves fluttered in her stomach. It had been a long time since she stood before her council, and it didn’t get easier with age. She still felt the same she did so many years ago because of her interactions with Marcus. She shook her head. There was no reason to go there. That was long in her past never to haunt her again. Thinking about him only led to dread and sorrow. All the pain she suffered because of love.

  “You’re upset,” Blane announced.

  Bev wiped her mind. “I’m fine.”

  He raised a brow.

  “Fine I’m nervous, but otherwise I’m okay.”

  “I came as your support. Just because Willow asked me to do it doesn’t mean I won’t stick to my commitment to you. I need us to show a level of trust and respect. What if the council punishes you harsher because they feel the tension between us?”

  He had a point, but she didn’t want to admit it. No matter how right he was. She needed to let her guard down and let him in. “The last time I was in this situation I’d been seeing someone that witches don’t approve of. He was a terrible influence. When Merida told me to stop seeing him, I rebelled. I ended up pregnant, but I lost my one and only son.”

  That should suffice.

  “So, you fell in love with someone your council didn’t approve of, and to top it off had your baby taken from you. Why did you get into trouble? Wasn’t that punishment enough?”

  She was shocked by how sincere he sounded and how comfortable she felt with talking to him. “You would think, but my powers were stripped for seven years. After I got them back I swore I would never make the same mistakes again. But since then, my magic hasn’t been the same. It’s why I use it so much. I’m trying to re-bond with Mother Earth and find a way to get rid of the side effects of my magic. It takes a lot of develop a gift, you know that.”

  “I do. I still haven’t fully developed mine either. But as you talk about side effects I have them and they aren’t of my doing either.”

  “You feel emotions?”

  “Yes, and it’s hard to be around people.”

  “But yet you do it every day.”

  “It’s bonding with my beast, allowing him freedom, yet keeping the reins.”

  “Not an easy feat.”

  She hadn’t realized how close they’d come, but he drove around the final bend and the place she called home for so many years came into view. It looked exactly the same as it had all those years ago. She let out a breath and sighed when he parked the SUV right in front of the building.

  “Let’s do this.”

  She opened the door without response. For him this was easy, but for her, this was going to dredge up too many memories. She wasn’t sure why Marcus’ memory kept resurfacing. It had been so long. At the ripe age of 67 there was no longer any reason to fear the council. She was at the height of her power—or so she thought. And she was weak by a witch’s standards. Seven years without magic would do that to a witch.

  She’d always blame the council for all the flukes. They shouldn’t have ever taken it from her, Fate was angry with her for shirking her gift.

  Blane walked around the car and held out his elbow. “My lady,” he said.

  She knew he was trying to relax her. She felt the slightest bit of his power wash over her, but it didn’t work. “Nice try.”

  His shoulders dropped. “You felt the change, didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did. Now let’s get this over with. Get your mate.”

  She waited until he slid Dallas from the car and cradled her in his strong arms. It was almost depressing seeing how sweet he was with her. She started human. She was fragile and near death, and he carried her as if she were the most delicate thing in the world.

  “Lead the way.”

  Bev lead them up the stone steps and opened the door holding it open for him to walk through. He didn’t even seem to want to shake her. Once he walked through the door she followed shutting it behind her and shivered. The cool air of the hall covered her skin in goosebumps. She hated this damn place.

  “Where are we headed?” Blane asked pulling her out of her thoughts.

  “Straight ahead.”

  The hall was long and seemed never ending, the council chambers at the very end. “You’ll know it when you see it. Double doors. Should be opened. They know we’re here. They’ve been waiting for me.”

  He walked in front of her and for the first time she felt protected by a dragon. His pace wasn’t fast or slow and Bev ignored the tremble that worked through her. She shouldn’t fear the council like she did.

  At the end of the hall, the doors were opened and Blane walked in without announcing himself.

  Bev followed suit. She smiled that he had no clue about the etiquette.

  “Beverly, you made it,” Merida said by way of introduction. “And as promised you’ve brought a Purple dragon—and a blue one.”

  “His mate, Elder. She’s ill.”

  The woman scoffed. “I see that, but how is that even possible?”

  With the witches distracted by the dragons Bev was able to compose herself. She needed that spare few minutes to get the nerves under control.

  “She had cancer,” Blane said.

  “And she is a dragon?” Merida stepped down and nearly floated towards them. Not that she gave Bev any attention.

  She went to touch Dallas and Blane growled.

  “Careful, I am not going to hurt her. I just want to see.”

  “See?”

  “Merida is a talented seer.”

  “More than talented, Beverly.”

  “May I?”

  “How about we deal with Bev’s situation first. I’ll lay her down on the couch if that’s all right?”

  “Very well, I will study her momentarily.”

  ***

  Blane laid Dallas on the small couch and went to stand next to Bev. The witch was sitting back at her chair behind the dais. There were four others, but they were silent. It was clear who was in charge.

  “Beverly, you come to us being charged with using your magic with negative intent—again.”

  Blane went to speak but he found he couldn’t.

  “This isn’t the first time you have broken the rules, and this time you sent a dragon into another realm and he nearly died.” The witch sighed. “Do you have any idea what could happen to us if a dragon were our enemy? Well do you?”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose. I was only trying to help. He was sick and his mate, Willow, couldn’t do anything to help him. He seized in public. Human
s could have seen. We don’t want Stratham to become a place of fear. As of now all Supes can walk among the humans.”

  “That means nothing to us. We don’t use magic in public period. You could have been spotted. And you teleported on top of it to get them off the street?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did you feel that was necessary?”

  “The sun was up, and in the town, it was the time when the humans wake and start their day. He was too heavy and there was only a limited amount of time before someone saw. I did what I thought was best under the circumstances. If they knew about dragons, they’d realize all Supes, including witches, were real.”

  Blane stayed silent while Bev told her story giving her reasons for why she broke the rules. He had no idea that witches were so strict.

  Then Merida’s attention was on him.

  “You dragon, you’re here on her behalf?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She chuckled. “And who are you to the man she almost killed?”

  “He’s part of our tribe, a brother.”

  “And you’re okay with siding with Beverly for her misdeeds?”

  “We are all aware what she did was stupid. We also know that everyone makes mistakes.”

  “And this mistake almost killed your brother.”

  “But he is fine now.”

  “But he could have died.”

  Blane sighed. “I knew that, but his mate was able to bring him back. It was wrong what she did, but since he’s okay there is no grudge, at least on my part.”

  “But this dragon holds a grudge. Would he get revenge?”

  Blane thought for a moment. Zarin could be an ass, but Willow wouldn’t be happy if he even thought about revenge. “No, he is leery of her though, and probably won’t ever fully trust her.”