Page 2 of Smoke and Lure

Aodh pulled her back to his hard chest, then used his other hand to brush back her wild, unruly mass, courtesy of the annoying wind of their flight, to provide him with a place to rest his chin along the slope of her shoulder.

“You are my mate and carry my young one.Your comfort is my utmost care,” Aodh whispered for her ears only.“And once we return home, I’ll prove your weight is never too much.”

The heat from her face swelled and swelled through the rest of her body and caused her to go liquid.She sighed as she pressed her thighs together and forced herself to calm her hot response to Aodh until later...much later.She met the gaze of the Wise One.“Tell us, Drago.”

He huffed and swirled the lightest smoke around his big head as he raised it.Draig was my twin brother but the oldest.We were close, like you and Liekki, inseparable for most of our lives...until—

The rough texture of Drago’s voice in her mind was like the aged wood of an old, abandoned farmhouse.Once glorious in its stalwart charm, but with the wear and tear of life, only a splintered wraith remained a memory to the glory.

Even knowing he was in line to be the Mckenna because our uncle only had female offspring, Draig still allotted time to train beside me, and we took lessons together.I would have been his second when he ruled.It all began to change after an incident involving a bit of mischief on my part, a mouse in the bed of one of our younger cousins.I could not go fishing with Draig the morning when he met Jaseena.The beast’s voice rumbled with the humor of memories past.

She and Aodh remained silent, allowing Drago to tell the story in his way, even as the older male’s voice became saturated with the brogue of his childhood.

Draig confessed to me that he knew she was his from the moment he saw her stretched out on the bank, relaxing under the sun after a swim.He exhaustively described her with wild heather blooms adorning her array of thick, tight coils, her skin so radiant and brown thatit was as if the Great Spirit Himself had bronzed every lush inch of her uniqueness with the rays from the sun.I thought he was pulling my leg.We’d seen and bedded more than a few lovely Drahkelles, so I didn’t believe for a moment that a human female could hold a candle.

But, Draig swore itand begged me to keep cover for him so he could meet with her in the early mornin’.Draig was my womb mate, so it was not a hard favor to commit to, even though I’d try to warn him from seeing the human.The Mckenna forbade us from intermingling in such a way with humans.Back then, the Highlander Scots knew of our existence; we kept watch and protection over them until, eventually, even that had to end.

Why?Kai couldn’t keep herself from asking.

The dragon turned and stared at the fire for a moment as he considered,Humans and their damned wars.Will they never cease as such useless destruction?

Kai couldn’t help but agree with Drago’s words.Even the situation her kind was in now was partly due to earth-flaming wars.

The giant beast tucked its wings tight and rolled to his back as he continued, his rich voice thundering along the rough, cavernous ceiling.

It wasn’t hard for Kai to imagine him asa mischievous youth.

For weeks, I’d head out with my brother before dawn and make myself scarce halfway to the water’s edge to allow them privacy.Draig promised me nothing more was happening with Jaseena besides getting to know her, hand-holding, and a few chaste kisses.One day, our uncle, the Mckenna, returned to the keep after being away for months trying to assist in negotiations between Scotland and England to prevent a war.Everyone could taste its sour bite in the air.

Aiden and his men came up on Jaseena, and Draig locked in quite the heated embrace by tale.Mckenna Aiden was furious.Not because of my brother’s amorous actions.No.The elders encouraged Drahks to experiment in their third decade, the start of their youth prime.But Aiden’s wrath was because it was her.The Mckenna dragged Draig before the council of leaders.You see, what we didn’t know was that curvy young woman was the eldest daughter of Moorish man Siel, who had been the first-mate to Aiden when he sailed the seas over decades bringing in goods from all over the world to trade.It was one of the ways the Drakh added to their wealth at the time.

Drago shifted back to his side and gazed at them once more.When our grandfather decided to retire and called Aiden home to take his rightful place as Mckenna, Aiden decided to grant his long-time friend and confidant who knew of Aiden’s shifter truth one wish for his years of service and loyalty.

What did he offer him?Aodh ran a hand over her arms, seemingly absent-mindedly, just his need to touch her.

Kai didn’t mind because she enjoyed their connection.

The ship, his to command, or a section of property in the highlands.Siel had met and married a woman on the African island of Mauritius and wished nothing more than to retire and build a family with her on land that was theirs.For more than twenty years, Siel’s small family kept to themselves and lived in peace on the land with the protection of the Drahk, only to have Draig refuse to give up Jaseena and mate a Drahk when it was time for him to assume the mantel of Mckenna.

My brother was more than a little stubborn about what he loved.

Aodh squeezed Kai’s hips.

She glanced back over her shoulder and eyed Aodh.“Something to say, mate?”she whispered.

Aodh only winked and wrapped both his sinewy arms around her.

As you can see, Aiden didn’t want to go to his longtime friend and ask him to relinquish his eldest daughter.But the Mckenna feared Draig running away with the girl, a risk since Aiden had no sons to carry on his line.So, Aiden had no other choice.He offered Siel gold from his hoard if his old friend agreed to allow Jaseena to be Draig’s mate.When Siel heard his daughter’s confession of love for the rising Mckenna, the Moor agreed, but only if the union was also sealed under a marriage covenant.Siel said he had to know that the human world would recognize his grandchildren as legitimate.

Kai tried to hold back her gasp, feeling the weight of her worries in the recess of her mind.She loved Aodh and didn’t truly care what the world thought of their relationship.However, a small part of her still fantasized about knowing Aodh was not only her mate but also her husband, like what her parents had—and now she knew even her great grandparents.

Aodh sat still under her and behind her.She hoped that she kept her feelings in her heart and thatthose thoughts had not entered her mind.Kai didn’t want Aodh to think she didn’t believe he cared for her and held her as the most important to him outside of his responsibility for his Thunder.

She declared, “Because there were rings, I can assume Draig and Jaseena got married in some small traditional service.”

Yes, they mar-ried, Drago’s voice broke, sounding winded as he moved back to his belly on the crest of the pearly hill.It was clear he was tiring, but the snowy-white dragon continued to talk.There is nothing traditional or small about it.At the time, an enclave of Mage wasresiding within our borders; there had been formillennia.Our agreement with them and a union or two through centuries of our past is responsible for our shifting and smoke abilities.Aiden provided the gold for the blacksmith to melt into two rings.

One thing about Mage: they are wily sorcerers, so you must be careful about what you ask them.The head Mage soaked the rings in what she called a binding mix for three days before the nuptials.After my brother and Jaseena slipped them onto each other’s fingers, the Mage made them hold hands andthen wrapped a crimson-fire silk ribbon around them.She then smiled at Draig and Jaseena and declared they were bonded as one until death but added that their unity would continue through their generations as it was to be a firstborn for a firstborn—Mckenna and human.

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