Page 2 of The Mating Claim
As the whip descended again on her back, Lacey made a vow. Never again would she cry in front of someone to give them power overher.
No more mercy. Some day she would findMelanie.
And in the shadows, she would make her scream…and scream…and neverstop.
Chapter 1
Love wasa myth to Lacey McGuire. Certainly as much as she wished to find it, searched far and wide for it, love had evadedher.
Now a powerful wizard had taken away her one shot atit.
“You killed my father. The father I’d never met, the only man I’ve ever searched for all these years, the man who was my ideal. You destroyedhim.”
Lacey stared at Drust, the immortal Coldfire Wizard. Okay, maybe her father was only ideal in her mind, because she’d met him briefly and at the time she had no idea who he was. But that didn’t excuse Drust’s actions. The guardian and judge over all dragon shapeshifters executed the one man she’d pined for her entire 25years.
Drust rubbed his chin, covered with a well-trimmed black beard. His striking blue gaze met her strickenone.
“I told you, Lacey, I had no choice. Miles Wharton presented a grave dangerto…”
The pressure in her head threatened to cut off her air flow. She could not breathe, could not think, nor even hear the words uttered in his deep voice. Words failed her suddenly. She could only move her mouth up and down like a goldfish caught in a glass globe. Drust was the cat, sharp talons trying to swipe the fish out so he could play withit.
He’d always played with her like a cat did, threatening to punish her for breaking one rule or another. Usually she shrugged off his threats. But this time, she could notrebound.
Bottles, vials of potion, bundles of sage sailed through the air towards Drust’s head. The wizard deflected each one with littleeffort.
“Lacey, I willexplain…”
“Explain this, you dickwad,” she yelled, tossing another bottle at him. “He was myfather!”
“I know. But he had gone quite mad and there was nocure…”
Lacey tuned him out, grief spiraling out of control. She never cried in front of anyone, not since the day her foster mother whipped her until the tears came. That day, Tristan, the Silver Wizard, had rescued her and her foster sister Evie and delivered his own punishment toMelanie.
But now Tristan wasn’t her guardian or judge anymore. Drust was – the powerful Coldfire Wizard was a dragon shifter himself and ruled over the fates of all dragonshifters.
A warm hand gently clasped her shoulder. Maybe he meant it as comfort. She jerked away, not wanting histouch.
“The Book of Shadows you are hiding is not meant for mortals, Lacey. This is why your fatherdied…”
She didn’t care that Drust could vaporize her in a heartbeat. Or that he stood there, a shadow of anguish in those deep blue eyes, lookinghelpless.
Helpless as a centuries-old immortal wizard couldlook.
Drust slid a palm over her cheek, cupping it. He lifted her face to meet his gaze. She wanted to struggle free, but captivated by his touch, she didnot.
Instead, she looked at his face and those piercing blue eyes, filled with mystery and shadows. And perhaps a touch ofcompassion.
“So frail,” he murmured. “Yet strong. Ah, you are young, but in your eyes, I see an agelesssoul.”
Her mouth wobbled as the tears threatened to spill over. The wizard seemed intrigued byher.
“I would kiss your tears away, if that would ease yourgrief.”
The whisper was so faint, she might have imagined it. Drust, the powerful dragon wizard, wishing to kiss her? Lacey blinked and saw a potent mix of desire and tenderness in hisgaze.
Equally drawn to him, she felt like a moth beating delicate wings against a fire. Dragon though she was, Lacey couldn’t help the emotions careening through her, sending her spiraling out ofcontrol.
Overriding the grief and rage was a hot mix of desire and confusion. Why was she attracted to this wizard? She had never been drawn to men of power. Instead, she avoided them and sought to rescue those subjugated tothem.
