Epilogue
She felt the call of a man in pain. A man caught in the throes of hellhound poisoning with only a few days to live.
A man whom only she could save. Clapping her gloves together to remove the dirt she’d collected while planting potatoes, Claire squinted as she looked over her shoulder for the tenth time that day and shook her head when she saw no one was there.
Damned prophecies are gonna be the death of me.
Making her way to the top of the mountain she and her family had called home since Lugh, the Celtic God of the Sun, had given it to her ancestors several millennia ago, Claire entered her cabin, slammed the door, and walked directly to her room.
Throwing her gloves in the dirty clothesbasket, she took off her hiking boots and pulled on her favorite pair of cowboy boots.
Filling her pack with everything she’d need for a month-long trip, the Leader of the Clan of the Sun left her home through the back door, still cursing Fate and the Universe for what she was about to do.
Heading toward the garage, Claire stopped as soon as she’d cleared the shade of the White Ash tree that was older than her and at least thirty feet tall.
Throwing back her head, she watched the clouds above her and sighed.
To any other being, they would look like simple fluffy white puffs of air in the sky, but to this matriarch, they told a story.
She could see how the man whose spirit called to hers for help had been injured while saving others.
He was honorable and strong, a true warrior.
A man who could threaten her hard fought independence.
A man she could call her equal. This man also was a shifter, one of the most revered of all shifters… a dragon.
Kneeling down, she unchained her German Shepherd, Duke, and commanded, “Go find Homer. Stay till I come for you.”
The dog she’d saved from certain death at the hands of an evil shaman looked at her with an understanding most humans couldn’t muster.
He wagged his tail and headed down the mountain to the home of the Chief of the Choctaws, only looking back when he was almost out of sight.
She could feel her canine companion telling her in his own way to be safe and hurry home.
I’m gonna try, Duke. I’m sure gonna try.
Claire threw her leg over her Harley and took one last look at the sky.
She would have to travel day and night for three full days to reach the man they called Rory in time.
There was no doubt in her mind the small cluster of clouds she saw moving against the flow of the others was a sign his clan had sent trackers to bring her to their brother’s aide.
It was what she’d have done had the roles been reversed.
Any other time, Claire would’ve waited for them.
It was what she’d been taught. How those of her kind had survived for thousands and thousands of years.
Never rush in, let them come to you, her mother’s motto floated through her mind.
She snorted aloud at the misguided teachings of her people.
Just because her mother and grandmother and every matriarch of her clan since the beginning of time would’ve left the man’s fate to chance, it was not something Claire was willing to do.
This one was different. There was more at stake than just the life of one man or the soul of a dragon king who’d given his very freedom to ensure the continuation of all creatures of the light—this one was personal.
The rumble of the engine of her Soft Tail coming to life eased her tension, cleared her mind, and forced her to face a fact she hadn’t even yet truly admitted to herself.
The man and his beast, the being Claire Featherstone was riding off to save…
was her mate. Like the real deal, forever and ever and always together mate.
It was the first time in five millennia a true mate to the Leader of the Clan of the Sun walked the earth.
She should be overjoyed. It was what her kind had been waiting for…
literally forever. This one man could ensure her continued humanity. And the continuation of her clan.
It should be a blessing.
So why does it feel like a curse?