Page 48 of Rurik
Rurik heldCharlotte’s hand as they stood in his apartment in Moscow, facing down his brothers. Charlotte had been brave when they’d flown back with Grigori and Madelyn, but she’d said little. But now she had to officially tell his brothers the truth and explaineverything.
The more difficult task would be having them believeher.
She trembled hard enough that he could feel it through her hand. The gold lighting from the modern chandeliers cast shadows between them, accentuating the distance between him and his brothers. He had put his body slightly in front of hers, just in case his brothers didn’t believe her and decided to treat Charlotte like a possiblethreat.
Madelyn and Piper were also studying Charlotte, Piper openly curious, Madelyn a little wary. Mikhail’s eyes glinted with mischief, though, which boded well, at least for Charlotte. Rurik knew his brother would most likely tease him for the next hundred years over this. He tugged Charlotte closer, lending her his strength and warmth. Her shakingsoftened.
“So this is your mate?” Mikhail asked,smirking.
He let go of Charlotte’s hand so he could put his arm around her shoulder. “Sheis.”
“Of all the women in the world to mate, you mate a MacQueen,” Mikhail mused with a wicked grin. “Perhaps we should have her secured? Handcuffed to a chair? Fair is fair, given your familyhistory.”
Charlotte tensed, leaning intoRurik.
“He’s teasing you, little rose,” Rurik murmured in her ear, then added louder, “And if he’s not, I’ll remind him who the stronger dragonis.”
Mikhail chuckled. “Fair enough. You can save the handcuffs for bed.” He winced when his mate, Piper, jabbed him in theribs.
Grigori tugged at his tie, still frowning. “Rurik, we have to discuss this. Your mate has reverse-engineered the drug that was used on Mikhail in London. Can you imagine if Drakor got his hands on it? He would use it against any dragon who dared oppose him, make them swear fealty to him out of fear. What if the Brotherhood decided to use it to eliminate us? We can’t have anything out there that can give our enemies the advantage. It must bedestroyed.”
“I know,” Rurik growled. “But the genie is out of the bottle. The Brotherhood will have her notes. We cannot live in a world of what-ifs. It exists. We must deal with thatfact.”
Grigori considered this. “Charlotte, could you make anantidote?”
“It’s certainly possible. I had planned on working on that next when I got back. My hope was that the Brotherhood would only use the serum for their own safety during interviews and interrogations, and then the antidote could be given uponrelease.”
“Good. We’ll need it in case Drakor learns of Charlotte’s formula. And if he does, we’ll have to alert the other houses aswell.”
“You have to relax, brother,” said Rurik. “You’re helping no one by acting like we’re on the verge ofwar.”
Grigori sighed, accepting but reluctant at the same time. “Very well. Are we still having dinner?” His tone was calmer, but Rurik knew that was only for Charlotte’s sake. The tension was rolling off his brothers in waves. But tonight was supposed to be a “meet the family dinner,” not an interrogation. His brothers and their mates walked ahead of them into the dining room, and Rurik held Charlotteback.
“Don’t worry, they will like you. It’s just…this news has everyone onedge.”
“I know. I hate that I replicated that stupid drug.” A tear rolled down her cheek, breaking his heart. He didn’t want her to ever be afraid, but reality had to befaced.
He cupped her chin. “I promise we will sort all this out. Besides, if you hadn’t made the drug, you might never have come to Russia, and I never would’ve found you.” He kissed her, trying to tell her with that kiss what words could not. He needed her in his life, and now that he had met her, had known the bliss of having a mate, he would never wish to change thepast.
“I know you are hungry, so why don’t we get some food? You’ll feelbetter.”
She smiled and wiped the tear away from her cheek with the back of her hand. “Okay.”
At the table, it took Piper and Madelyn some coaxing to get Charlotte to join into their conversations. She was still scared. He could feel the tension inside her through their mate bond. It was surprisingly strong, even tohim.
He hadn’t told her everything he knew about mates. His mother had once explained that such a strong connection so early on could be both a wonderful and dangerous thing. Someday he and Charlotte might be so close they would be able to share thoughts. Their powers would even be shared if they had both been dragons, but Charlotte was mortal. He buried the unwelcome thought that accompanied thatfact.
I will die, and my brothers will be left without a protector.Even if a new battle dragon was born to one of his brothers, it would need time to grow up, to train, before it could assume the duties Rurik had held for more than a thousandyears.
Rurik glanced at Mikhail and Piper, jealous of their luck. Piper had been a mortal, but she’d almost died trying to save Mikhail’s life. But an ancient ruby called the Dragon Heart Stone had allowed Piper to become a dragon. How it worked was a mystery, even to the oldest of living dragons. All they knew was that it had required an act of valor and sacrifice to draw the dragon’s spirit out of the stone. As far as he knew, there were no more of these, only stories of those who had been lost searching forthem.
No. These are the cards we have been dealt, and we must playthem.
He thought of the old babushka from Saint Petersburg, the way she had turned the tarot cards over, her wrinkled face deathly serious. He believed in magic—as a creature of magic, how could he not?—but he’d never given much thought to tarot cards before. It had given him chills to see how accurate the woman hadbeen.
He was silent most of the dinner, preoccupied. Charlotte reached over to clasp his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It pulled him away from the distracting path his thoughts had taken and forced him to remember that she was the one who needed him rightnow.
“So, the Brotherhood,” Piper began, taking a hasty sip of her wine. “What’s it like to be the little sister of a team of Buffys?” Mikhail and Grigori shared a puzzled look. Piper could tell nobody got the reference. “You know, vampireslayers?”
