Shifters Gone Alpha (23 page)

Of course that never happened and now she was standing on a cliff, watching the waves, and wondering where her life had gone off the rails. The one thing she was sure of was that she needed to get rid of the candles and sachets. Until she knew what was happening, there was no need to leave evidence of her growing insanity for
just anyone
to find. Gathering up the candles and rubbing out what remained of the salt circle with the heel of her tennis shoes, Hannah threw the offending items into the surf and watched as they disappeared beneath the waves.

Turning, she started back to the lair in search of her mother. Hannah, her mom, her six sisters, and the remaining members of their coven had been given refuge with the Blue Dragons after their
Grand Draoi
had tried to steal his own granddaughter’s, Hannah’s best friend’s, magic in order to take over the world. Thankfully, Melanie’s mate and his brethren, the Dragon Guard, had found them just in time, stopped the ceremony, and saved them all from certain death.

It had been one of the craziest times in her life and that was saying something. Life within the coven had never been easy. Hannah and her family were white witches living among some of the darkest and most evil wizards the world had ever known. Her dad had called it ‘hiding in plain sight’ and had promised to get them out of there as soon as he could. Unfortunately as Fate would have it, he was killed before any of that could happen by the same man she had been forced to falsely pledge her allegiance to, their
Draoi
. Even all those years of subterfuge and sometimes fear didn’t compare to what she was going through now.

Walking deeper into the forest that separated the cliffs from the lair, Hannah thought about Liam. The vision of his gorgeous hazel eyes with flecks of gold that seemed to sparkle when he laughed pushed away the chill she’d felt just moments before. Her heart sped up as she remembered how soft his short dark hair felt against her fingertips and the way his tanned bronze skin warmed when she touched him.

He always made jokes about how tall he was, but it was one of the many things Hannah was coming to love about him. She had to stand on her tip toes and brace her hands against his broad muscled chest to kiss him. A chest she’d seen firsthand when he’d taken off his shirt during an exceptionally rigorous training session. The sun gleaming off his sweat soaked body had been the fuel for some of her most erotic dreams.

Hannah knew she was Liam’s mate. She felt the growing bond between them, recognized the place in her soul where part of his had taken hold, could feel the way he held her heart in his grasp, and longed for nothing more than to spend eternity in his embrace. It had been obvious he was about to state his intentions earlier that day. Her mate was not the best at shielding his thoughts, but then she’d had another of her episodes.

It was the weirdest damn thing and only getting weirder. She could always remember what she’d been doing right before when she woke, but had absolutely no knowledge what had transpired while she’d been adrift. Hannah was sure had Liam not been there during breakfast, hadn’t touched her hand, the blackout that threatened to take her would’ve been the longest so far. As it was, it only waited until she was alone and then took her for its ill-gotten gains anyway.

Coming up on the house she and her family had been given to stay in, she found her mother, Sarah Beth, and her sister, Alicia, wrangling the weeds in a long-forgotten garden. Their banter made her chuckle.

“You know if you just put a little effort into it, Alicia May, we can be done with this before the snow flies.”

“Mom, it’s spring. We’ve got forever before winter,” Alicia grumbled, obviously underwhelmed with her present task.

“My point exactly.” Their mother chuckled.

“Hey y’all. Find any gold?” Hannah hollered as she approached.

“As if,” Alicia huffed.

“Hello, dear,” her mother called, leaving the garden and meeting Hannah at the back door.

One hug later and they were in the kitchen, sitting around the table while Fiona, another of Hannah’s six sisters, made them all glasses of iced tea and a plate of her famous oatmeal cookies. Deciding to wait until she could speak to her mother alone, Hannah listened as her sisters giggled and gossiped about all the Guardsmen. They went on and on about their muscles, the way they trained day in and day out to keep the world safe, and most of all how each sister wanted to see them transform into their dragons. 

Growing impatient, Hannah caught her mother’s eye and motioned with her head towards the other room. Having six daughters, Sarah Beth was very quick to catch non-verbal cues and immediately stood. Quietly leaving the table, Hannah followed her mom into the living room. Before she could begin, her mom pulled her into a huge hug and whispered, “What’s wrong, baby girl?”

Surprised that her mom already knew there was a problem, Hannah pulled back and met Sarah Beth’s knowing gaze. A lump began to form in Hannah’s throat and she knew the tears weren’t far behind. It wasn’t that she was a crier or even someone that went to her mom for help very often, it was that Hannah was out of her depth and worried she might hurt someone if she couldn’t figure out and stop whatever was happening.

“Mom, I know you’re gonna think I’ve lost my mind, but here goes…”

It took about fifteen minutes to get through her tale, during which Sarah Bath sat completely still, focusing on her every word. When Hannah finished, she watched a myriad of emotions cross her mother’s face. Time seemed to stand still before Sarah Beth finally asked her first question.

“How many times has this happened?”

“Five times that I can remember, and one of those was the few minutes with Liam this morning.”

“And what does your mate have to say about all this?”

“My mate? How the hell…?” Hannah gasped.

“Give me some credit, Hannah Marie. I wasn’t born yesterday. Not to mention that when you two are within throwing distance of one another, you generate enough electricity to light LAX.” Sarah Beth chuckled.

Laughing despite herself, Hannah mumbled, “I should’ve known you’d figure it out.”

“You betcha, baby. I’ve had to keep up with six of y’all for so long, not much gets past me. Now, back to business. How long do these episodes last?”

“The longest one was today, just a little over three hours.”

“And you woke up on the cliffs, in a circle with all the makings of a spell, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Was all Hannah could squeeze past the lump in her throat that was now threatening to choke her.

“Take a breath, darling. You look like you’re gonna pass out.” Once again Hannah felt her mom’s loving squeeze of her fingers. “We’ve made it through everything that’s ever been thrown at us. We’re the McKennons after all. There’s no way whatever is happening with you is gonna win. As long as we stick together, we can do anything.”

Hannah immediately felt better listening to her mom give the same pep talk she’d given so many times. Pep talk or not, she knew her mother was right. There was nothing they couldn’t get through if they faced it together. Just as Hannah was about to speak her mom added, “The one thing you need to do is get that man of yours over here. Our white magic combined with his dragon magic will be damn near unstoppable. You might want to get Meanie over here, too.”

“But, mom, what if he thinks I’m crazy?”

Sarah Beth shook her head and chuckled. “Girl, that boy already knows about you and loves you all the more for it. I know you and Meli Rose have talked about what it means to be a dragon’s mate. In any other situation you wouldn’t be hiding from him but running into his arms.” Sarah Beth paused and looked right into Hannah’s eyes. She felt the weight of her mom’s stare and the unconditional love she shared. It was the best feeling in all the world. Before she could stop it, a single tear slid down her cheek.

Never one to miss anything, Hannah knew the minute Sarah Beth saw the tear and let herself once again be pulled into a hug. Her mother spoke without letting go. “You have to go to Liam and explain everything. Then come back here and we’ll figure out what to do from there.”

The last word was barely out of her mom’s mouth before Sarah Beth was pulling back and standing up. Hannah chuckled as her mom tugged on her hands until she was also standing. One kiss on the cheek later and Sarah Beth was ushering her to the door.

“Now, get outta here and don’t come back without your man. I’ll tell your sisters what’s going on and we’ll give Melanie and Jace a call. You have enough to worry about.”

“Thanks, mom. Love you,” was all Hannah could say as she made her way onto the front porch.

“I love you, too, darling.”

Walking as fast as she could without running to draw attention, Hannah thought about what Melanie had told her about the non-verbal communication between mates. She knew there were times she could feel what Liam was feeling or hear what he was thinking, but they’d never communicated through the bond she felt between them. Figuring it was now or never, Hannah reached through their link, surprised to find it dark and abandoned, so different than the other times she’d used it. Those times she’d been able to feel the warmth of Liam’s feelings, the light from his beautiful soul, and strength of his unbreakable spirit, but none of that was there this time.

Where could he be? Can he shut this mating thing off?

The longer she searched the mating bond for her mate, the more frantic Hannah became until she realized somewhere along the way she’d started to run. Stopping in her tracks and taking several deep breaths, she worked hard to get her emotions under control. Deciding she needed answers and sure she’d find her mate with his best friend, she headed to Melanie and Jace’s.

No sooner had she changed directions than the scent of sulfur and brimstone caused her eyes to water. Searching for the origin of the offending smells, Hannah was once again lost to the darkness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liam had been dreaming of Hannah when he was hit right in the face with what he could only imagine was a tidal wave. Spitting and sputtering, he opened his eyes to then be confronted with total darkness. Not even his enhanced sight could cut through the inky blackness that surrounded him.

Trying to sit up to escape any further deluge, his efforts were stopped short as he found his wrists tied above his head and his ankles tied together. Both seemed to be secured to what felt like huge hooks stuck into whatever he was tied to. Moving his torso the little bit he was able, Liam figured out he was secured to a hard rough surface that had to be concrete and as if that wasn’t enough, from the burn in his wrists and ankles he was sure his bindings contained silver.

Okay so whoever is doing this knows I’m a dragon and knows how to subdue a dragon. Great! Just freaking great!

Holding his breath, Liam listened for any clue as to where he was or who was holding him hostage. More frustrated than he’d ever been, with a headache sure to make him cross-eyed growing from the lump he could feel on the back of his head, the young Guardsman wanted to roar until the walls around him shook. The thought of letting his beast out to take care of whatever and whoever was threatening them both was close to becoming a reality. One that he knew was against all his training, but still a viable option as far as he was concerned. His dragon growled his approval, blowing smoke for emphasis.

Pushing his senses out as far as they could go, the one thing he was sure of was that he was dealing with black magic
and
demons. The scent of sulfur was slight and probably undetectable to human senses, but the brimstone was more predominant. Brimstone on its own didn’t always mean a piece of hell or one of its inhabitants had made their way to the surface, but when coupled with the stench of burnt Mandrake root and Wild Yam, it was damn near a sure thing.

“Fuck!” Liam spat under his breath.

A chuckle from the corner alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone and reminded him to stay focused. It wouldn’t do to get caught unawares
again.
Seemed like these people meant business.

The chuckle was followed by slow measured boot strikes against a cement floor. Every other footstep was followed by an additional click that Liam soon figured out was a cane.

I just saw someone with a cane. Who the hell was it?

Answering the question out loud he’d only asked in his head, he whispered, “Cleland.”

A high-pitched cackle Liam was sure could break glass came from the same direction as the footsteps and preceded the gravelly voice of the much older man, who until now Liam had only seen from a distance.

It was as if the darkness receded as the
Grand Draoi
spoke. “Well, well, young Guardsman, it seems as if you have been caught in my trap.”

Circling to Liam’s left, the leader of the
Dorcha
continued. “You see, it was you dragons that took everything from me…my power, my coven, my birthright. Seems only fair that I do the same to you. I must admit, I never imagined our little Hannah to be the mate of one of the mighty Dragon Guard. This is working out so much better than I ever could’ve hoped for. I’ve always known the McKennon family was the source of great power and because of that destined for great things, but never in my wildest dreams could I have guessed the little witch would be so useful.”