A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 11) Read online

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, and then she looked at Tosh. “Guards?”

  “Whenever you leave the nest, Tai and Zhen will be with you.”

  “Do you really think I need guards?” she asked, glancing at the males and then back at her mate.

  Tosh’s eyes narrowed. “I have guards. Do you think you’re less important than me? Do you think I would take your safety any less seriously than I take my own?”

  “I’ve never had a guard before. I’ve never needed one.”

  “You do now. Tomorrow night you’re going to be queen. While I don’t believe that anyone would harm you, it’s better to err on the side of caution.”

  A small part of her wanted to argue that she didn’t think she needed guards, but she wasn’t really interested in fighting with Tosh. Aside from the fact that he very clearly was serious about her having guards, she appreciated that he wanted to keep her safe.

  “When we have kids?”

  “We’ll add guards as we need to, as our family expands.”

  She kissed Tosh and said, “Okay.”

  He looked surprised. “I thought I might have to convince you that it was the right thing to do.”

  “Oh?” She leaned to his ear and whispered, “You can still convince me later.”

  He chuckled. “It’s a date.”

  The males growled their approval as Deci agreed to the guards. She slipped from his lap and said, “I’m going to call my sister and then make sure that Alli is coming to the spa tomorrow.”

  “Spa?” Tosh asked, twining their fingers together and kissing the top of her hand.

  “Meiling said that it was tradition for the females to be pampered before their mating ceremony. There’s a spa here in Culiver, owned by the nest, right?”

  He nodded, releasing her hand. “I think the females are taking to you very quickly, my mate.”

  “Well, so far it’s just Jun, Meiling, and Liu, but I hope the rest of the females will like me.”

  “I know they will,” Tosh promised.

  Blowing him a kiss, she left him in the office with the guards and headed to the bedroom, pulling out her phone and dialing Alli.

  “Hey, babe,” Alli said cheerfully. “How goes mated life?”

  “Very well. I wanted to make sure you knew where the spa was for tomorrow.”

  “Yes, I got a very nice text message from a dragon female named Liu with directions and a picture of the spa building.”

  “That’s Tosh’s assistant, Gen’s, mate. She’s very sweet.”

  “How did the dress stuff go?” Alli asked.

  Deci opened the bedroom door and moved to the French doors as she looked out over the expanse of woods. “Really good. I think the dress will be beautiful. They’re doing my hair up with braids and ribbon that’s the same color as the dress.”

  “Cool. Can’t wait. I haven’t been to a wedding in ages.”

  “It’s not technically a wedding,” she reminded her.

  “You’re still going to be mated at the end of the night. Mating’s better than a wedding anyway. You can divorce a guy if he turns out to be an asshole, but mating is for life.”

  “I’m glad Tosh isn’t an asshole,” Deci said with a laugh.

  “Me too.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven.”

  “You got it, babe.”

  After ending the call with Alli, Deci called Noel and told her what had happened. “You’ll get an invitation to the mating ceremony probably first thing in the morning. It was mailed express to you.”

  “It’s our denning time,” Noel said.

  “I know. I don’t expect you to come on such short notice, but I wouldn’t mate anyone without letting you know. We’re the only family each other has.”

  There was a long pause, and then Noel said, “Are you sure he’s your truemate? I only ask because he’s not a polar bear.”

  “Neither is your mate,” Deci pointed out.

  Noel sniffed. “I know that, but he’s a bear. Dragons are so different from our kind.”

  “Maybe physically, but it doesn’t matter to me what my mate shifts into. It only matters to me how I feel about him, and my bear and I are very happy.”

  “Well, I’m glad then. After the winter season, I’d like to invite you and your mate to the den. Would he come with you for a visit?”

  As if Tosh would let her go anywhere without him. “I know he would.”

  “Good, then it’s settled. Have a good mating and crowning ceremony. I can’t believe my baby sister is going to be a dragon queen. Mom would have been tickled to pieces.”

  Deci smiled at the thought, suddenly feeling a little sad at the fact she had no family who would be with her when she mated with Tosh. She had known that, of course, but talking to her sister and being reminded of the truth of her family situation had tainted her happiness a little.

  “Take care,” Deci said.

  “I will, and you take care of yourself, too.”

  Ending the call, Deci opened the French doors and stepped out onto the lanai. Someone, probably Gen or Liu, had swept the snow from the floor. Her socks didn’t protect her from the cold, but she loved the cold anyway. She put her phone in her pocket and settled her hands on the top of the balcony, looking into the woods. It was beautiful out – a quiet morning, the sun glinting on the icicles hanging from the tree branches and making it look as though the world was being decorated just for her.

  Somewhere deep in the woods, dragons were working on the preparations for their mating and crowning ceremonies. Tomorrow night at sunset, she and Tosh would be mated and crowned. Her dragon prince would become a king, and she would stand by his side as his queen. She’d never pictured herself as royalty. She’d never been one of those girls who wanted to grow up and be a princess, but she was thankful she’d found the perfect male. It didn’t matter to her that Tosh was a prince, or that they would be the leaders of the nest when they mated. The only thing that mattered to her was that they cared for each other, and eventually they would love each other. Already she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. He’d swiftly claimed her heart as easily as he’d claimed her body the night before.

  It was funny to think that their relationship had started off with him swiping her kill in the woods. Now, of course, she’d share all of her kills with him, and some day, she’d help to teach their kids how to hunt, the way her parents had taught her.

  * * *

  The following morning Deci reluctantly left the bed where Tosh had rocked her world all night to get ready to go to the spa. She showered quickly, and when she walked back into the bedroom, she found her bags from Alli’s on the bed. Her angel friend lounged on the disheveled bed.

  “I thought you were going to meet me at the spa!”

  The two friends hugged tightly.

  “As if I could pass up seeing your new digs,” Alli said. “It smells like sex and sweet dreams in here.”

  “Oh?” Deci asked with a laugh.

  “I brought your things. Is your car here or do you need me to help you get it from wherever you left it?”

  “Gen brought it here for me.”

  Nodding, Alli said, “I know you said I didn’t have to see you until eleven at the spa, but I figured you would want your undies and stuff. Unless, of course, your dragon king prefers you naked.” She wiggled her brows in an overly suggestive way.

  “Well, he does, but there are other dragons who live in this house, and he doesn’t like anyone else to see me naked, which is just fine with me.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet,” Alli said. “I knocked on the front door, and this old dragon answered. That’s the assistant, Gen, I take it?”

  Deci nodded as she unzipped the suitcase and began to unpack her clothing. Most of the clothes were too wrinkled to wear, but she did find a pair of leggings and a long sweater that weren’t too bad. After dressing, she dumped the other clothes into the laundry basket and tucked the empty bags into the closet.


  “What’s it like having servants? Is it cool or weird?” Alli asked as she followed Deci into the bathroom.

  “A little of both. Gen and Liu are very intuitive. Tosh and I were talking in bed when Gen knocked and brought in breakfast for us. We were both starving and had been talking about going down to the kitchen to raid the fridge.”

  “That’s cool.”

  Deci plugged in the hair dryer and dried her hair while Alli poked around in Deci’s travel makeup kit. There were things Deci missed from her home, like her flat iron and her favorite makeup brushes. Tosh had promised that tomorrow several of the males and females from the nest were going to her home to pack her up. She’d expected to need to travel to her place and do all that at some point, but Tosh had pointed out that there wasn’t a need for her to go back when they had people willing to do it.

  To her surprise, Gen had already arranged for the utilities to be turned off, and for her keys to be turned into the apartment manager when their people were done packing her up. She still needed to call her job and quit, but there wasn’t anyone in the office to answer her call, so she would wait until the school opened again.

  When her hair was dry, she and Alli headed to Tosh’s office so she could say goodbye.

  Tosh had been in his office working on the details for the ceremony when Alli had shown up.

  “This is my friend, Alli,” Deci said.

  Tosh shook her hand and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Alli’s blue eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Thanks for taking such good care of my friend. She’s amazing. You’re lucky to have her in your life.”

  Deci blushed as Tosh growled lightly. “I know I am.”

  “We’ll be back in a few hours,” Deci said.

  “I’ll try to manage not to slip into a spiral of depression without you,” Tosh teased.

  “I know it’ll be hard.” She kissed him goodbye, twice for good measure, and left with Alli.

  In the kitchen, Deci introduced Alli to the dragons joining them for the day.

  “This is Meiling and Jun. They’re in charge of all we do today at the spa. And these two guys are Tai and Zhen, and they’re my guards.”

  “That’s a nice perk,” Alli said, smiling at the guards. Both males smiled back at her briefly, and then Tai disappeared down the hallway that led to the garage.

  “Mistress, we’re ready whenever you are,” Zhen said.

  “I’m good to go. I haven’t been to a spa in ages.”

  “Today will be a blessed day for you, mistress,” Jun said, shyly hiding the scarred part of her face as she spoke. “When the sun sets, your new life starts.”

  Deci said, “It started the moment I met Tosh. This just makes it official.”

  Alli shook her head and made a fake gagging sound. “Are you going to be mushy the whole time?”

  “Probably,” Deci said with a laugh.

  The small group followed Zhen out to the garage. The two dragon females climbed into the third row of the large, dark green SUV. Deci and Alli sat in the second row, and Zhen sat in the passenger seat.

  “Did you go out dancing the other night?” Deci asked Alli.

  “It ended up not working out. I had called my friend Cella, who is a vampire, and we were going to meet at Fang, but she called to say that the coven was having some kind of party, and it wasn’t a good time to hang out.”

  “That stinks. Have you ever dated a vampire?” Deci asked.

  “No, but I do like to stick to immortal creatures for between-the-sheets-tumbling, and there aren’t a lot of immortal kinds out there.”

  “Who else besides vampires and fallen angels?”

  “There’s a variety of elf that are immortal, but they’re rare and stick to the Fae Realm. Also Pegasus.”

  Deci’s brow quirked. “Pegasus? The horse with the wings?”

  Alli smiled. “Yep. I’ve never actually met one, but I heard that Pegasus are only born male – the offspring of a god and a bird shifter.”

  “A god? Like Zeus?”

  “Sure. Did you think that gods and goddesses weren’t real?”

  “No, I know they are – shifters descended from gods and goddesses. I just had no clue that gods were still diddling shifters.”

  Alli laughed loudly. “Oh, babe. You’re so funny. I think some of the old gods are the definition of horny old men.”

  “I know falcons are around. There’s a whole city of them in Northern Ohio. But what other kinds of bird shifters are there?”

  Jun spoke up. “All sorts, mistress. Eagles, hawks, and the reclusive owls. I read in our old texts that there used to be pterodactyl shifters at one time, too. They’ve all but died out as far as I can tell, but the other bird shifters are around.”

  “Cool. Man, I’d flip out if a god appeared in my room and wanted to make a baby with me. How does that conversation even start?” Deci asked.

  Alli shook her head. “The immortals can be very persuasive. I’m not sure a shifter would even know they were with a god anyway, unless he or she told the truth. Gods and goddesses can leave their realm and stay on earth, but they lose a good portion of their power, which makes them vulnerable to being destroyed. They like to one-up each other, so a vulnerable god or goddess would have a target on his or her back. Anyway, enough about immortal creatures. I’m getting bummed out thinking about how few immortals there are in Ohio right now. I’ll never get laid again.”

  “Maybe you’ll walk into that vamp club next time and meet your truemate,” Deci said.

  “You never know,” Alli said.

  The SUV stopped in front of the entrance to the spa, which was housed in a pretty brick building in a strip mall, next to a small electronics store, a pharmacy, and a grocery store. All the stores were owned by the nest, but everything was closed in preparation for the ceremony that evening. Deci couldn’t believe how neat it was that the nest was excited for her and Tosh to join together.

  Zhen opened Deci’s door and offered her his hand. As she exited, Tai said, “I’ll be waiting in the parking lot. Zhen will accompany you into the spa and wait until you’re finished.”

  “Won’t you guys get bored? You could take off and I could call you when we’re done.”

  Both males looked at Deci as if she’d sprouted a second head. Zhen shook his head vehemently. “There’s no way we would leave, mistress. It’s our duty and honor to guard you.”

  Alli stifled a giggle, and Deci said, “Okay. Thank you for being here for me.”

  Zhen bowed his head slightly. Deci, Alli, Meiling, and Jun strode into the spa. Zhen locked the front door behind them because the spa was closed for the day to everyone except their private party. He settled in a chair near the door, his gaze alert.

  The scent of eucalyptus and citrus reached Deci’s nose and she inhaled. “It smells so good in here.”

  Two women wearing white smocks and long, black skirts appeared, bowing their heads. Deci scented discreetly and found them to be dragons. Meiling introduced them as Io and Ehra.

  “This way, mistress,” Ehra said.

  Both females turned on their heels and walked down a long hallway. Sconces flickered on the walls, casting dim, relaxing lighting that Deci found wholly enticing. The sound of soft music echoed around them as they followed the two dragons.

  The dragons stopped in front of an open door. Inside were two massage tables covered with green blankets. Flickering candles on a shelf unit in one corner were the only lights in the room.

  Ehra motioned to the tables and said, “Mistress, you and your friend can disrobe here. When you are ready, we will return.”

  When Deci and Alli entered the room, the door shut behind them. Alli turned to look at the tables. “This is like one of those rooms where couples get rubbed down together, right?”

  Deci chuckled as she moved to one corner where two chairs sat with two small baskets tucked under them. She toed off her shoes and put them in the basket and began to remove her clothes. “Y
eah. Have you ever had a massage before?”

  “Not in a place like this,” she said as she joined Deci and began to undress. “The last time I had a massage was years ago, before these kinds of places were all the rage. How about you?”

  Deci shrugged. “It’s not really my thing. I grew up in a frugal house, so this kind of luxury feels strange to me in a way.”

  Alli moved to one of the tables and lifted the covers. “You’re going to be queen tonight. You should definitely get used to luxury.”

  After Deci stripped down to her panties, she climbed onto the other table and settled the warm sheet and soft blanket over herself. “I don’t feel any different.”

  “What, being queen?”

  “Well, they call me mistress,” she said, fiddling with the edge of the blanket, “but I don’t feel like I’m qualified to be queen. Just because Tosh and I are mates, suddenly I’m the one who is going to be leading the nest with him. I’ve got zero training. Tosh grew up knowing he would someday be king.”

  “Destiny.”

  Deci hummed, looking at the ceiling and the candlelight that flickered across it. “If the school hadn’t flooded and left me without anything to do for two weeks, I might not have come to visit you. We’ve been friends for years, but you’ve always come to see me, and not the other way around.”

  “I don’t have to work, so I can come and go as I please.”

  “Lucky.”

  “Meh. Good financial planning. When you live forever, you have to be smart about your money. But anyway, you’re going to be a great queen. And that Jun is a sweetie and very knowledgeable. I bet she’d give you queen lessons.”

  “I thought of that, too,” Deci said.

  The doorknob turned, and Deci and Alli stopped talking while Meiling and Io walked into the room, pushing two metal contraptions.

  “It’s time to begin, mistress,” Meiling said.

  Chapter 8

  Meiling closed the door on the princess and her angel friend so they could undress. Then she hustled the three other dragon females into the employee locker room.

  “What are we doing back here?” Jun asked. “I thought we were going to all work together on the princess?”