Dark Legends, page 349
Chase smiled when Kati walked into the room. “Hey, everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to ask you a question.” She bit her lip before sitting on the couch on the other side of him. “Can you teach me how to defend myself?”
Chase nodded. “I don’t see why not. If you’d like, either I can teach you or we can find a class you like, or both. Classes will help you spar against other people and teach you different techniques I can’t.”
Kati nodded and he noticed that she was still biting her lower lip. “Is there anything else, Kati?”
Sighing, she looked at him. “Do you think I’m weak?”
Chase smiled at her, understanding her concern. “You’re not weak, Kati. You’re a teenage girl who got attacked by men and demons. I can show you a few things that might help and maybe as you develop your magic, you’ll develop your own ways of protecting yourself and your sisters.”
Kati smiled and he saw a little doubt left in her eyes before she nodded. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” he said with a grin, and when she stood up he stood up too.
Kati started to walk out of the living room before turning to look at him. “My sister sacrificed a lot to keep us together, although she’d never admit it. She deserves someone who sees how amazing she is. I am glad it’s you.”
Chase smiled at her. He noticed how different her stance was when she was defending her sister. Scott was going to have his hands full when she gained confidence and could stick up for herself. “I’m glad it’s me too.” He winked at her. “And I think your sister is amazing, four sisters and all.”
Violca and her sisters had a bond he found envious. He enjoyed being around them and knew he and Violca would need to figure out how they wanted to proceed. He knew they were mated, but since they’d just met, she might want to take things slowly. Plus, since she was living with and raising her sisters, she had to think about what kind of example to set.
Chapter Sixty-One
The girls’ lives were pretty much back to normal. Everyone was in school and Violca was at work. Chase knew it bothered her that she hadn’t heard from AnnaBelle, but he didn’t think it was that big of a loss. Her friend had betrayed her.
Chase had spent the last few nights sleeping on the couch. Well not totally, he would move to the couch during the night, before the girls woke up. Eva and Kati both knew, but Violca was still trying to figure out how to talk to the two younger girls about it.
Viktor was due to come in that afternoon. Scott was going to pick him up and bring him to the house after his plane landed. Scott had stayed away for the last few days, but Chase knew it was killing his friend. Scott wanted to check in on Kati and make sure she was okay, but was trying to respect Violca’s wishes. Violca had agreed that Scott could come over on the weekends to help teach the girls some self-defense techniques. All the girls were going to learn some basic ways to protect themselves physically. At night, the older girls read some of their mother’s book, learning more and more about their family history while trying to learn how to use their magic.
After spending lunch with Violca, Chase swung by the younger two girls’ school. Just in case, he had started picking them up, and Eryk was helping out by taking Eva and Kati home. The initial threat was over, but he knew Viktor’s brother was still out there, plotting something.
Chase knew Viktor well. The war had cut the number of dragon shifters in half. Most had lost someone in their family and some families were lost completely. Viktor would always do what he thought was best for his people, but he could be rough and hard, pushing people to see what they were made of. He smiled because as scary as Viktor was, he knew his mate would stand toe to toe with him when it came to her sisters. His mate was fierce and powerful in her own way. Viktor was his king, but Violca was his mate, and he would support her, always.
Hearing the bell ring, he leaned against the car, smiling when he saw Angyalka. Sari came out a few seconds later, smiling brightly and ran toward him. Chase felt his heart swell, surprised at how quickly these two little girls had wormed their way into his heart. He noticed a few of the moms checking him out, some of them whispering, obviously trying to figure out who he was and why he was picking them up.
Not even the prettiest among them held a candle to his mate and her strength and he ignored them, laughing when Angyalka and Sari practically tackled him.
“How was school, girls?” Chase asked as he took each one’s hand.
“My teacher made me do a picture of my favorite animal, so I drew a dragon.” Chase chuckled as Angyalka continued her story, “My teacher said they don’t exist and that I should draw something else. I was going to tell her that they do, but I remember you telling me that it was a secret, so I drew a big black kitty and told her the cat’s name was Uncle Scott.”
Biting his lip, trying not to laugh at her story, he said, “I’m sure Uncle Scott will love to see your picture.” Turning, he looked at Sari. “How about you, short stuff, anything exciting happen?”
Opening the door, they both crawled in the back, buckling themselves up while he got in the front. “A few of the girls were teasing me because their mommies think you’re cute.”
“Why were they teasing you?” Chase asked puzzled by kids’ train of thought.
“The moms said you would leave my sister ’cause she has all of us and no guy would want her since she comes with so many bags.” He glanced at her reflection, seeing she was upset before she continued, “Are you going to leave because you don’t like us?”
Chase shook his head picking his words carefully, thinking that Violca and he needed to talk to the girls soon. “No, sweetie, I love you guys and I’m not going to leave your sister. They were just being mean because...well, some people are just mean.”
Sari nodded, accepting his answer and the girls both began to chatter. Chase halfway listened, making the appropriate comment when needed. He found he really didn’t like the idea of Sari being picked on, and really hated that the stupid ‘moms’ at her school were talking about Violca. Instead of recognizing what a wonderful thing she did by keeping her family together, they talked about how they think she couldn’t keep a man. Only a boy would not recognize Violca’s worth and look at her raising her sisters as too much of a challenge for them.
When Chase pulled up to the house, he saw Eryk’s car pull up right behind them. Heading toward the house, Eryk jogged up to him. “Hey, Scott said he and Viktor should be arriving about six.”
Chase snorted. “Great. So he should be pulling up about the same time Violca gets home.”
Eryk stood outside with him as the girls headed into the house. “How’s Violca feeling about Scott and Kati?”
Chase smiled, knowing Eryk was asking out of concern for his brother. “She finds it a little weird that with one scent and one look, Scott knows Kati is the one, but as long as Scott’s willing to let Kati have a normal teenage life and not interfere with that, she said she’ll not interfere.”
Eryk snorted. “I understand why Violca wants Kati to have a normal life, but it’s going to be hard for Scott to watch Kati date.”
Chase nodded. “Yeah, it will be, but when we talked about it, he didn’t want to be the reason Kati missed out on something. He knows, in the end, Kati will be his. He said fate has already decided that. He might have to be patient and wait. At least he knows who she is, and he doesn’t have to wait as long as I did.”
Eryk chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, you didn’t look like you were suffering,” he said, opening the door to the house and going inside.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Violca couldn’t help but smile, coming home to Chase and the girls. Chase was so good with them. She was a little surprised that Scott’s SUV wasn’t there. She was nervous about meeting Chase’s king. Chase told her that Viktor was a good man, but he was used to being obeyed. Violca had been on her own for so long, she didn’t take orders well, and she wanted the girls to have as normal a life as possible.
Walking in the door, she heard voices coming from both ends of the house. Angyalka and Sari came running down the hall, stopping when they saw her. “We’re going to go get pizza with Eryk.” Sari announced.
Looking up, she saw Eryk coming up behind them. “We thought you could use some time with Viktor, alone, so we’re all going out for pizza.”
Kati and Eva came from the kitchen area, smiling at her. “Hey, we were just about to go and grab dinner.”
The girls gave her a quick hug before walking out the door. Eryk smiled, nodding in her direction as he followed the girls outside. Feeling Chase, she turned to see him standing in the doorway.
“Viktor and Scott should actually be here in a few minutes.” Chase said, walking over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist before brushing his lips against hers.
Violca stiffened in his arms and he brushed his lips against hers again. “Relax, just remember, he has you and your sisters’ best interest at heart. And the final decision on what happens is yours.”
Knowing he was trying to be supportive, she raised an eyebrow, biting her lip. “You have my back?” she asked as she heard Scott pull up.
He nodded. “You’re my mate and I’ll always have your back, I promise.” Chase said, kissing the top of her head.
Taking a shaky breath, she smiled and Chase took her hand as she turned and walked toward the door to let them in. Seeing Scott first, she smiled at him and noticed that he looked a little uncomfortable. She wondered if it was about Viktor or about being around her. She chose to believe it was about her, because if it was about Viktor, then she would have to admit she was really nervous.
Viktor walked in behind him and Violca felt her eyes widen when she saw him. He stood taller than either Chase or Scott, stooping to get in the door. When he looked at her, she found herself almost lost in his startling, blue eyes. Chase squeezed her hand and she realized she was staring.
Viktor nodded in her direction before reaching his hand out to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Violca.” he said with a faint English accent.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Viktor.” Violca replied and gestured toward the couch. “Would you like to have a seat?”
Viktor sat in one of the chairs while Chase sat next to her, putting an arm around her, in support. Violca saw Viktor stiffen and look at Chase before glancing at her, his startling blue eyes zeroing in on her neck. She could actually feel Chase’s mark on her pulsing as Viktor’s lip curled. “You marked the witch as yours?” The words were said between gritted teeth and she felt Chase stiffen beside her.
Before he could reply, Violca’s eyes narrowed. “I marked Chase as mine, and I’m more than just ‘the witch.’”
Viktor smiled and Violca could see his canines poking out the side of his lips. “No, you’re not just the witch, you’re one of five whom he was sent to protect, not to fuck.”
Before Violca could say anything, Chase growled low next to her and she could feel his body vibrating. “What I did with her, Viktor, is none of your business. All you need to know is she’s mine, and you will not talk to her like that.”
Viktor chuckled at his words and Violca’s eyes narrowed. Her anger built at his arrogance and she could feel Chase tense up next to her. Viktor raised his hand in surrender. “Since you felt free to mark her, she’s your mate and yours to protect. I expect you to have them all packed and moved as soon as possible.”
Standing up, Violca looked down at Viktor, who raised an eyebrow. “What the hell do you mean packed and moved? This is our home.”
Viktor looked at her almost sympathetically. “Violca, the fate of more than just my people rests on you and your sisters. It would be easier to protect you all, if you move to my home.”
Violca paced back and forth. “I won’t have my sisters locked away. They need to have as normal of a life as possible. My sister graduates next month, I can’t just uproot her.”
Viktor got up and walked toward her. Violca tilted her head up, meeting his eyes, and his voice softened as he spoke to her. “Violca, I’m not trying to lock you and your sisters away. We’ll come up with a way to keep you safe, while letting you live as normal a life as possible. My people have found a safe haven where they can hide in plain sight, and plenty of space to hide when their dragons need to shift, when Chase’s dragon needs to shift.”
Violca glanced toward Chase. His golden brown eyes met hers and he nodded at her, seeing the question on her face. He told her he would support her in every decision, regardless of what she chose. Biting her lip, she thought about what Viktor had told her. “I’d like to talk to Chase about this alone.” Viktor nodded, and she looked at Scott, who was watching her intently. She knew her decision affected him too, but her first priority was to her sisters.
Viktor looked toward Chase. “We’ll leave you two alone to talk. My brother seems to be regrouping, according to what Kassandra has heard so far.” He looked back to Violca. “I understand your need to protect your sisters, my goal is to help you, but also to protect my people, little Earth witch. I hope we can come up with a solution, quickly.”
Violca watched as Viktor and Scott left the house. Sitting down next to Chase, she felt his hand come out and squeeze her hand reassuringly. “Our lives will never be the same, will they?”
Chase shook his head. “Not exactly, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
Biting her lip, Violca nodded. “We’re going to have to talk to Eva and Kati. I couldn’t make life changes without talking to them first. It’s their lives too, and it wouldn’t be fair to them.”
Chase nodded, pulling her against him, his hand gently stroking her arm. “I think that sounds like a good idea. You’re probably the first person to stand up to Viktor in a long time. I don’t think he was expecting that.”
She grinned. “Well, as long as you have my back, I can do anything.”
“Always, my witch, always.” Chase said before kissing her. Moaning into the kiss, she smiled when she heard Chase’s stomach growl and he pulled back. “Let’s eat before the girls get home.”
Epilogue
After arguing with Viktor, Chase finally got him to agree to let the girls finish up the school year before moving. Violca was sad to be leaving her childhood home, but knew her sisters’ safety was more important than the house.
Viktor was going to send people to fix the cabin. They were going to sell the house, but keep the cabin under a company name so that way they could still feel a connection to her parents. Plus, once Chase told Viktor about how her mom had buried the book there for her to find, Viktor didn’t want to take a chance that her mother might have hidden something else out there. There was even some debate about doing the same thing with the house, and renting it out, just in case, but that wasn’t fully decided yet.
Brandon probably took them moving the hardest of all. The case he was working on blew up and some evidence came up that would have him going to Arizona. There were some bodies found that had similar wounds and a matching signature to his serial killer. This could be a career case for him. His captain told him that he couldn’t believe a rookie caught the case, but since he did, he was being watched closely. Viktor was also keeping an eye on Brandon. When they talked about his ability, Viktor mentioned that they could use a guy like him.
Chase felt bad that Violca was sad to be moving away from Brandon and knew she was still upset about AnnaBelle. Brandon went to her condo downtown, only to find it empty. Violca never brought it up, but he saw her looking at her phone sometimes, like she was waiting for a call.
Pulling up to the house, Chase noticed an envelope taped to the door. Walking to the door, he saw Violca’s name on it and pulled it off. The girls were inside sitting around the table looking at old pictures and laughing. Violca looked up at him and smiled. Walking over, he brushed his lips against hers before handing her the envelope. “Hey, this was on the door for you.”
Frowning, she took it, opening it carefully. Chase watched her face as she read it, seeing her eyes mist up. Before he could ask what was wrong, she handed it to him.
Dear V,
I’m sorry for everything that happened. I promise, before Micah, I was never jealous of you. I love you like a sister and I don’t know what happened, or how to explain it. One day, everything was perfect then I was… I’m so sorry, I understand if you never forgive me.
All my love, AnnaBelle
P.S. Please tell Kati and your sisters I love all of you and I’m sorry.
Chase looked down at Violca. He saw relief in her eyes and was glad she had some closure before they moved. Sitting down at the table with them, Chase put his arm around Violca, who went back to going through pictures with her sisters. Chase looked around the table and realized this was what he and his dragon had been missing. Love and family. He was finally right where he belonged.
Continue with The Dragon Ruby Series Book 2 The King’s Fire
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About the Author
Leilani Love is a proud mother of two very active boys. She loves traveling to new places and meeting new people wherever she goes. Thus far, Leilani has visited Paris, DenBosch and Amsterdam and hopes to one-day return. On her next trip she hopes to be able to make stops in Scotland and Italy. Currently residing in California, she has also lived in Hawaii, Florida, Alaska, Virginia, Texas, Washington and Oregon. She loves to read books and has a passion for various genres. Her love affair with dragons began when she was young and she still dreams of having her own dragon and Black Panther. For now, she is content to write about them in her books.
