CHAPTER SIX
– ERNESTINO –
“Nario is in his own cottage. I’ve put one of the guards on stakeout to make sure we will be notified if he goes anywhere,” Ivano says through the phone and I let my gaze settle on Lilliana who is making spaghetti in my kitchen. “The team scanning the mine with the camera ball will let us know if they find any tunnels. Anything else, boss?”
“For now, I think it’s best if we keep Cleo’s pregnancy between the four of us.”
“Of course, we should celebrate your mating and pregnancy first. I’ll make sure to let Cleo know and have her stay home for the upcoming few days,” Ivano instantly replies.
A tired sigh rips from me. “I don’t care about any celebration. If word got out two females of our clan are expecting it would raise unwanted attention. After decades of no pregnancies and then one after the other a lot of mated couples would want answers, other clans as well. Answers we don’t have or want to share at this point. Besides, we have enough to deal with as it is.”
“Understood, boss,” he rumbles.
“Thanks, Ivano. That’s it for tonight. Unless there’s an update, let me know. If not, I will see you tomorrow morning at the office. Oh, and Ivano?” The business part is handled and I let some warmth seep into my voice to tell my brother-in-law, “Congratulations once again. Go home to my sister to celebrate.”
“Will do, boss. Goodnight,” he rumbles and breaks the connection.
I let my phone slide back into the pocket of my jeans while my gaze stays locked on my woman. She seems completely at ease in the kitchen and is setting the table.
“Anything I can do to help?” I ask as I step into the kitchen.
She places the big pot of spaghetti on the table and turns to face me. “Yeah, there is. Any chance I could talk to your dragon for a second?”
I frown and wonder what’s going through her head. “There is no one or the other. When you’re talking to me, you’re talking to both of us.”
Placing her hands on her hips she firms her tone when she says, “Okay, then let your dragon answer my question.”
My fucking dragon croons inside my head the way she’s referring to wanting him and only him. Great ego polishing.
“Ask,” I grit.
She likes me , my dragon croons inside my head.
I’m pretty sure the nod Lilliana gives me isn’t for the permission I just gave, but more about the fact she saw my pupils flash when my dragon spoke up.
She shoves two fingers against my shoulder and is suddenly in my face when she snarls, “You listen to me and make sure to brand these words inside your head real fucking deep, buddy. There is no way, no how, no reason, even if you think it’s the only way to save the clan that puts you in a situation where you feel the need to self-destruct. You get me, buddy? Never. I will bring you back to life even if you turn to red mist just to kill you myself. Under no circumstances are you going to off yourself, okay?”
She loves me. She doesn’t want us to leave her. I barely manage not to mentally roll my eyes at my dragon’s reaction. The fucker seriously has a bigger ego than me.
“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you to raise our son alone.” I shoot her a wink to lighten the mood.
She grabs the front of my shirt and yanks on the fabric. “I’m not kidding here, Ernestino. How the hell do you want me to deal with the fact you have a button inside you which can be pushed at any damn moment?”
I cover her hand with mine and soften my voice to ease some of the raw emotions I feel taking over her body. “This rarely happens, darlin’. For a dragon to see no other way to get the better outcome when it comes to the clan, it needs to be a critical situation.”
Her hands are still holding the fabric of my shirt in a death grip. Promise her , my dragon urges and the overwhelming feeling to take all her worry away fills my veins.
“We promise,” I murmur.
“Thank you.” She flattens her hands against my chest. “Okay, with what you just mentioned, it makes no sense for the prisoner to self-detonate, right? Or does every torture session end in a blast?”
I cup the side of her face and lean in to brush my lips against hers. “No. In the past we’d either hold some hostage for an exchange, and if they are tortured and have given all we might get out of them, we have killed them ourselves.”
“So, not everyone is a suicide bomber,” she muses and steps back. “Do you think Nario knew what he was doing? I mean, he didn’t even give the guy a chance. Why else would he have sewn his mouth shut? We should question Nario.”
“Later.” I point at the food. “First you’re going to sit down and eat.”
She huffs and plunks down on a chair. No more words are thrown back and forth because she attacks the food, piles a load on her plate and practically inhales it. The spaghetti is amazing, and I would love to have some more, but instead I nudge the leftovers in her direction.
A few minutes later she’s patting her stomach. “I had no clue how hungry I was until the spaghetti entered my mouth.”
I shoot her a grin. “I’ll be sure to remind you to eat. You’re very driven in anything you do and seem to forget your body needs fuel for two now.”
“Driven? Bordering on obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or so my brother keeps telling me. Of course, everything is always a contest when it comes to us, so you could say he’s to blame.” She frowns and murmurs, “Normally, I don’t have a problem with fueling my body. Everyone seems to think vampires live solely on blood.”
I take the empty plates and rinse them off. “The way your kind can’t stand the scent of garlic, doesn’t have a reflection in the mirror–”
“And have to be invited before I can enter a home?” she snorts. “Yeah, right.”
Placing the plates in the rack, I turn to face her and lean back against the counter. “Well, at least you know one of the dragon shifter’s darkest secrets. How about you? You’re not just a vampire with your mother being the one with the angelic touch. What other abilities do you have? We both know it’s you who allowed my seed to take root inside your belly, and you’re also the reason why Cleo is pregnant.”
Her eyes go wide. “Dude. I didn’t do shit when it comes to Cleo. You do know I’m a girl, and how a man supplies the sperm for the egg and all? I didn’t do shit. Ivano is the one who knocked her up.”
“I’ve been going over things inside my mind, and I have to agree with Cleo. There is no other explanation. You’re the winged protector mentioned in the legend. Hell, you basically saved my life by stepping into it. If it weren’t for you, I would have gone home and accepted the deal Tony offered.”
She points a finger at me. “You’d be a dead man and this clan would have to pick a new leader. Probably one of Tony’s highly trained men who he put in place by letting them join the foster program and therefore had a fair chance for the job.”
I slowly bob my head. “Balance, fertility, the fierce way you’re protecting this clan even if I treated you like shit the first two weeks. You didn’t say a word to your father and yet made him contact me to share crucial information. You are the protector, Lilliana.”
Rubbing the back of her neck, she murmurs, “I’m not denying the fact I’m a protector. It’s basically what I’ve been trained to do. Though, it’s totally different from the expectations you have. Do not make me into something I’m not.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I gently remind her. “If you don’t feel comfortable enough around me yet to share, I’d understand.”
She gets to her feet and comes to a stop next to me.
We’re leaning against the counter in silence for a few heartbeats before she whispers, “I can taste a lie when I talk to someone.”
“Well, that’s a neat trick to have.” I chuckle.
She chuckles along with me until she falls silent for a breath or two. “I have a lot more I probably don’t know about. There are a few abilities I experienced by accident, a few I stopped using because they drain me, either mentally or otherwise. There isn’t exactly a manual when a crossbreed is born, you know?”
I sneak my arm around her waist and pull her flush against me.
“You know what’s funny?” Her voice is somewhat muted against my chest.
“What’s that, darlin’?”
Pursing her lips, she huffs in frustration and states, “I’ve been here two weeks, am mated with a dragon, and haven’t so much as seen one in all my damn life.”
Seems I screwed up more than I think I did by handling everything but my woman over the past two weeks. Sliding my fingers around her wrist, I gently guide her out the door.
“What are you doing? Where are we going?” The questions go on until I have her in the clearing near my cottage.
Coming to a stop, I tell her, “Way past due to see your mate shift.”
Her eyes gleam with excitement. “Really?”
The corner of my mouth twitches and I give her a nod. A grunt rips from me when our bodies collide as her mouth covers mine. My hands go to her ass to make sure she feels my instant hard-on. Fuck. This woman is completely in sync with my body’s needs. I groan and swirl my tongue against hers once more before regretfully ending the kiss.
I place my forehead against hers. “I want nothing more than to bury myself inside you again, and I will. First, though? You’re going to see all of me.”
Lilliana grins and says in a playful tone, “Stripping bare, no more secrets, you and I against the world? Well, it’s more like a threesome with you and your dragon.”
“A threesome, eh?” I rumble. “Sorry, darlin’, me and my dragon are one. There will always be us against the world when it comes to you and me. As for secrets? We’re fated mates which means we are linked to spending an eternity together. There’s no fucking way I want to have secrets between us.”
She rubs her hands together in glee. “Okay, let’s get this one-man show on the road. Get naked dragon man.”
Shaking my head, I listen to my woman’s order and strip.
“How much room do you need? Would this be enough?” she asks and steps back as I walk to the middle of the clearing.
Raising my voice slightly I tell her, “Stay where you are until the shift is complete.” I have to repress a chuckle when her attention is fully devoted to the sight of my cock. “Are you curious if it doubles in size? Adds some scales for added pleasure?”
Her eyes go wide. “Holy shit, well now I’m damn well curious. Go, shift. I’m gonna stay right here.”
This woman. Unique in her kind, and definitely when it comes to her train of thought. I take a deep breath and start to visualize the shift by mentally embracing my dragon. The air around every inch of my skin starts to blur and vibrate while my body changes. Scales erupt, dragonhide replaces skin, my face turns into a snout, sharp teeth, claws, wings. It’s as natural for me as flipping a light switch.
Learning to shift starts when you’re a kid, changing your hand to talons, concentrating, working on it as you grow. Over time the shift is fluid and can be done in the blink of an eye. Quick, painless, and sometimes without a single thought.
I give a full body shake and look up at the spot where Lilliana is standing. She’s walking toward me and the heat, along with the appreciation in her gaze makes my heart leap. No fear, no repulsion, she’s completely enthralled.
“Cream,” she muses. “Not completely, more like a pearl glow or something. Damn, dude, your color is magnificent.”
Her hand touches my dragonhide and it ignites pleasure to shoot through my veins. I croon and it causes a twinkle in her eyes.
“Like that, eh, dragon man?” She chuckles. “I rather like the fact that you can’t talk. If we ever have a fight, you should shift so I can rant without having you say shit that would make me even angrier. Yeah, definitely. Great idea. Wow. I truly have the best true mate of the century.”
I huff and the grin she’s sporting grows bigger.
“I’m just kidding.” Her lips brush against my nose and my whole body freezes. Her voice is a mere whisper when she says, “Maybe not completely kidding because I do like the part where you can’t interrupt and can’t shift back so you can only listen to me.”
Tilting my head, I give her a little nudge, wondering why she would need a situation like this and hoping she will share what’s on her mind.
The tips of her fingers brush the scales between my eyes. “Earlier you asked what my abilities were.”
“Let me check if we’re completely alone first. And yes, it’s one of my abilities. My mother can do a mental head count as well.” She closes her eyes and inhales.
She has my full attention, and this ability can be very useful in battle. Her outer appearance doesn’t give away what’s going on inside her head and there are multiple questions roaming around in my head. Fuck. No wonder she picked this moment to talk about her abilities.
“We’re alone.” Lilliana’s face grows serious and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a sense of vulnerability when she takes a step back and says, “I’m going to show you something and I’d like for it to stay between us. Nod if you give me your promise.”
She pulls her shirt over her head and I grit my teeth when I see her reach for her back to unleash her bra.
“You already saw my breasts, Tino.” Her voice is stern. “Promise me, and I promise it’s not my breasts I’ll flash at you.”
I give her a slow nod and she instantly cups her breasts when her bra falls away. Within this moment the oxygen is sucked from my lungs when wings burst from her back. Motherfucker. My woman, my mate, she is the winged protector. I wouldn’t go as far as blood angel because her wings aren’t the angel kind. No, they are more like…like mine. Leatherlike skin. They are black and have a talon at the tip.
She sucks in a sharp breath when they disappear just as fast as they appeared. Quickly, she puts her bra back in place and pulls on her shirt.
Wagging a finger in front of my snout she says, “You promised, this stays between us. I don’t want the whole winged protector hanging over me.”
She starts to pace and seems to ignore me when she rants, “There are a lot more things I found out about myself as I grew up, and I’m sure I have more abilities, but the whole touch a person and make them fertile? What the actual fuck? That’s just weird. I’m not in the business of pointing and shouting, you get a baby, you get a baby, you get a…yeah, weird. Okay, let’s change the subject.”
Coming to a stop, she places her fists on her hips and asks, “How did the previous clan leader die? Obviously, it had something to do with Marshgloom dragon shifters. It was an arranged marriage, right? Shit. You can’t talk. Okay, you should shift back now.” Placing a finger on my nose she whisper hisses, “Not one word about what I showed you.”
I breathe some warm air through my nostrils in reply.
The corner of her mouth twitches. “Huff and puff all you like. We don’t have secrets between us, those were your words. Now we’re working on trust issues. I gave you one I never told or showed anyone. My parents and brother know I have active powers and can fling bodies through the room with a flick of my hand, but supernatural strength is a given. Out of the ordinary freaks people out and makes them look at you differently.”
She fucking shrugs as if it’s nothing while her words shock me to my core. No one knows about her wings? Not even her parents? Lilliana steps back and gives me the space I need to shift back and not hurt her in the process. When I step forward with my human foot, I rush toward her.
“Why wouldn’t you share something so fucking crucial with your parents, or your brother for that matter?” I wonder. “That shit is fucking huge.”
Wincing, she grumbles, “It freaked me the fuck out the first time they broke free. I literally sneezed and they burst from my back. Hurt like a bitch too. Then there was the little issue of me not knowing how to use them or make them pop out again. It made the decision of keeping the wings to myself easy.”
I rub the back of my neck as I process the information overload.
“You’re going to keep your promise, right?” she presses. “I don’t want anyone looking at me like I’m a weirdo or some unique thing with a legend up her ass who will shit rainbows and make it all good for everyone. Seriously, I’m just a vampire with wings, nothing angelic about it.”
Snatching my jeans from the ground, I pull them on and tell her, “We’ll keep it between us,” and mentally add, for now .
Knowing my mate has fucking wings, was with my sister who instantly became fertile, allowing her mate to impregnate her…all while there hasn’t been a pregnancy in decades?
Yeah, there’s no doubt in my mind; Lilliana is the winged protector. The blood angel from the legend, and the one who will save our clan from extinction.