Charming the Alphas (Hex My Heart, #5) (7 page)

“I think yer mates will be somewhat jealous of our connection.”

If dragons could grin, Obsidian had a huge, albeit mischievous, one plastered across his snout.

“
There’s more at play here than we thought. Let’s get back.
” The second dragon whose name she still didn’t catch spoke up and glided closer to their right. Lucian, tucked flat across the ridged back, looked over and tossed her a wink, oblivious to the cold and her newfound talent.

“Who’s we?”
she mentally sent back. “The dragons,” she answered aloud to Zane, who nailed her with a wide-eyed look of astonishment. She gave him points for rolling with the punches.

He grunted. “That’s new.”

She nodded. “Apparently there’s a lot of that going around tonight.”

Heat flushed her cheeks and she tried to sit up, but Zane held her in place as a fresh wave of snow-laced wind nearly knocked them loose from Obsidian’s back. Hades on fire, that smarted. On the flip side, she welcomed the cold to fight the fever raging inside her. And she welcomed the warm arms of her lover.

She let her lashes fall. How was it that she could now hear dragons speak? That talent normally only went to dragon-blooded shifters. Question after question plagued her mind.

Forgive me, but why were you at my house?

Yer father was a—
Obsidian paused, and she thought he’d leave it his words unfinished.
A friend to the Draegon Elders, Marabelle. And me
, he added with a hint of nostalgia
.

“You knew my father?” she spoke aloud to include Zane.

“Hold on.”

A quick up-current forced the dragon into a steep ascent. Zane held her in place as they climbed higher in the night sky. Fingers dug into Zane’s shirt, she coaxed her fear of heights back into check.
Just don’t look down and you’re all good.

Even with her eyes clamped shut, her stomach lurched into her throat.

“Look, Mara.”

Zane’s words had her eyes flitting open. Ribbons of magick intertwined with stars to create a lavish canvas of jewels. Sapphires, rubies and ambers all ready to fall into the palm of her hands at the simplest of commands and for that one moment, it was only her and Zane. It almost made all the nearly lethal encounters tonight worth being here in this moment with him. They only needed Lucian with them to make the moment complete.

A sense of hope rose in her chest. Maybe not all was lost after all.

“
We’re almost there.”

Like a veil that hid another world, mountains she’d never seen came into view. Just as quickly her vision began to blur. Everything faded into silhouettes. Her head fell against Zane as all the magick left her body. Silvery light bathed her with its warmth until she couldn’t fight the calm. Unfettered, she let the current carry her away.

C
ool silk skimmed along her skin as she turned to her side. Tension wound tight in her chest and heavy fists pounded against the sides of her head.

Seconds ticked by and the fuzzy memories slowly evaporated until little inklings of the last few hours came into focus. Talk about a hangover. Nothing knocked a witch on her ass faster than a supped up magickal overdose.

An unsettling silence brought her awake and she sat up, fully alert. Warm golden light poured over the entire room. Flames flickered beyond the partially opened double doors opposite the bed.

The bed. Knees pulled to her chest, Marabelle scooted upward and gathered the cream-colored sheets in her hand to bunch around her chest.

Huh. Odd. She didn’t remember undressing herself, or ordering the luxury suite at some swanky hotel, but here she sat in the largest bed she’d ever seen surrounded by opulent furnishings all highlighted by soft lights from the sconces perched on the wall every few feet.

Her breath caught as her gaze drank in several overly large tapestries that created artistic petitions between the lights. Each piece covered massive sections of the walls.

She slipped from the bed positioned on an elevated platform and immediately let out a sigh. How did they heat their floors? She needed the secret yesterday. In Sweet Briar everything froze, including the toilet seat when winter closed in on their small town. For a brief moment, she stood there and took it all in down to how smooth the stone flooring felt against her bare feet.

From her angle, the low light rippled across the floor to create a hand-chiseled appearance and caressed the soles of her feet with each step. Her attention flitted between plush loveseats, the bed ample enough for three with countless throw pillows and a now mussed comforter, to hand-carved doors that led into what appeared to be a bathroom bigger than her apartment.

The size of everything seemed so...so big. As if it was designed for giants. Or giant creatures with a fetish for silk. It covered every piece of furniture. The sight brought images of her spread out beneath her men as they lavished her with their affection. Speaking of, where were they?

Slowly she made her way around the room, stopping at each cloth depiction of jewel-colored dragons soaring in formation, armor decorating their massive chests, while fields of flowers and open skies were featured in another. Large mountains fanned across the background of each depiction. She twirled in a complete circle. Each of the seven tapestries completed part of a picture that made a whole. Fascinating, and such attention to detail. No place on earth she knew about looked this majestic.

Fingers buried into the soft material of her makeshift robe, Marabelle opened the double door separating the rooms inch by inch and peered around the edge.

Her heart stopped. Nothing like this existed in the High Council’s palace. Compared to their domed archways, pillars and marble... this place screamed true architectural genius.

An oval fire pit graced the center of the room and served as the source of the comfortable warmth fighting back the chill. High flames flickered and created a soft glow around the room.

She kneeled and ran a hand over the back of a carved dragon in midflight, her fingers finding all the contours of the scales and extended wings. Such great detail. Along the edge of the pit, several intricately designed dragons flew in unison, some larger than others. Male and female, she presumed. She leaned closer. In the tapestries, there’d only been dragons. Here, though, humans accompanied them. Women with long, flowing hair and full hips on display beneath tunic-like dresses hiked high as they straddled the backs of their dragons. The erotic tone of the images spoke of mates.

She couldn’t tell if they were human, witch, or maybe another otherworldly that could shapeshift. There was so much of the preternatural world she still didn’t know. Did dragons mate with other dragons? Did they mate with humans? Did it matter as it did in her world with Lucian and Zane? Marabelle pushed the thoughts aside and made her way deeper into the room.

Several plumper sofas positioned in small gatherings around the open space worked together with various lamps and earth-toned walls to create a homey feel. To her left one door led to the bedchambers while she assumed the ornate wooden doors located on the far wall to her back led out of the suite.

To her right and beyond the sitting area opened up to a balcony. One unlike anything she’d ever seen before. If she could fall in love with a place, this would be it. Like a giggly schoolgirl, she gave a little laugh and held her hand over her mouth. No railings or glass served as protection from walking off the deep end and finding out how high they were.

That could prove hazardous to a sleepwalker or someone with a love for booze, but when you had wings maybe it wasn’t such a problem. Stepping closer to the ledge, the ceiling abruptly opened into a semicircle to reveal thousands of stars sparkling in a wash of midnight blue.

She blinked several times. No way could this be real! Tempted to pinch herself, she folded her arms across her chest. Eyes closed, she let the events of the night wash over her. Standing here, it all seemed like far away memories that couldn’t touch her. If only the last year could be erased. A year without her magick hurt. But a year of living with the men who were supposed to be her mates was the real torture. Without her magick she refused to mate. They understood and loved her anyway, but there were times she wanted to kick her own ass. But how could she mate with Lucian and Zane when she wasn’t whole? They would give her all of them when she couldn’t.

Marabelle turned and walked back to the bedchamber, the train of her sheet in tow. Stacked on a chair by the bed, she found her clothing folded and her boots set to the side. A new sweater replaced the ripped one and a note sat atop in Lucian’s writing and ended with Zane’s signature at the bottom that simply read
Wait for us
in smooth black ink.

Those two never did anything without the other. Her presence in their life served as proof of that. Both worked hard to make her feel loved and protected.

She’d done a royal job of screwing all of that up tonight. How did she repay their kindness and love? Hades on fire, what kind of mate material did that make her? She put them in the middle of death’s path with her actions. Wasn’t that the opposite of what a mate did? She closed her eyes and bit at her lip to stave off a wash of curses better left tucked away in the back of her mind. Several deep breaths later she unclenched her hands and made quick work of slipping back into her jeans and sweater but left the boots off for now.

Both Lucian and Zane wanted a forever with her. After tonight, they probably thought they’d made it out lucky. And could she blame them? Lightly she ran her fingertips over each bite mark on either side of her neck. She didn’t know why they’d bitten her. Within a couple of days the partial claim they had on her would fade into nothing. After that, they could return to their lives and be free of her insane life. Before they could leave though, she owed them an explanation and a thank you for saving her life. For however long it may last.

What she knew in the way of werewolves didn’t amount to much. The magickal laws that bound them to their mates were a mystery for the most part. She did know one thing from the last few months of being with Lucian and Zane. Werewolves claimed with their bite and hot, sticky, kinky all-nighter sex that you felt for days. So the mated females of her men’s pack said. From the smiles on their faces, she had no reason not to believe them. That had her heart kicking up a notch and soft heat skimming along her chest.

Without both, she wasn’t fully claimed. At this point, the trouble she stirred up would reap some nasty repercussions. Putting them in the middle of it could didn’t seem fair. She had to think of their pack too. Tonight’s small showdown would escalate and affect them all.

Marabelle rubbed her temples. Most of what the healer had said went unheard as she slipped in and out of consciousness, but a few words whispered along the back of her mind. If they didn’t fully claim her soon, the magick of the dragons that played tug of war with hers would build until eventually she’d go crazy or it would rip her to shreds.

Neither option sounded fun, but her options were limited. When mating became a forced subject, they had no business getting mated no matter how much she loved them and wanted them in her life. Despite what the healer had said there had to be another answer.

Determination pushed aside the inkling of fear that wanted to take root in the pit of her stomach. Someone had answers and she wouldn’t find them sitting around in a sheet with fantasies of a happy family life or woulda shouldas. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Obsidian knew more about her father than he let on. Her father’s death a little while before she lost her powers to the High Council burned a hole in her gut, but what could a lowly witch do in the eyes of Royalty? Maybe, with the help of the dragons, all that could change and something good could come out of her losing her magick.

Inklings of words from the healer broke through the fog. Marabelle closed her eyes and focused, when the low hum in her head kicked into a steady pounding again.

Think Mara.
The room had been spinning in loops. That much she remembered. Her stomach still felt uneasy. The old lady had placed her hands somewhere on her a few seconds before a liquid had been forced down her throat.

That wasn’t all. Her eyes sprang open. “Of course.” The healer chanted something over her in the same language as the spell Marabelle had performed back at her cabin. Maybe the healer could shed some light on why the dragon’s blood potion had failed earlier.

And why in holy Hades could she talk to dragons now?

“You look beautiful with such marvel and wonder in your eyes. Or is that mischief and plotting giving you that glow? Should I be worried or prepare to slay whatever sorrow that’s stealing such beauty from you, baby girl?” Lucian’s husky voice played with her senses and stroked along her sweet spot. It was currently buried beneath a mountain of guilt, but the man had a set of vocals on him that made her wet no matter what he said. How he did it with a mere inflection of his tone? Not a clue, but she loved it all the same.

Heat fused their gazes together as she turned to him, and the fire he stroked to life every time they were close caught momentum as it always did a second before he stepped from the shadows. Crimson red penetrated the once rich brown of his irises. Despite trying to work up some level of anger only love surfaced, and gratitude. He drifted closer and she matched him step for step.

“Tell me what’s wrong?”

Everything fell under that category. Listing it all wouldn’t help unless he found a way to help turn off her emotions. Life needed a freaking on-off switch. And a pause button.

She stiffened her spine and let out a deep sigh that ruffled the hair framing her face.

“You should know no harm will find you while we’re here. Unless you’re counting Zane and me. We plan to use every wicked trick in the book on you until you tell us everything that happened tonight.” Lucian cocked a brow and continued, unaware of her warring emotions his words stirred up. He leaned in and lowered his voice to whisper close to her ear, his hand pressed to the back of her head to draw her closer. She followed his lead. If only for one more moment with him.