Read The Mating Season: Werewolves of Montana Book 6 for Free Online Page B

yours.”
    He actually did have nice feet. Long, square and tipped with perfect toes.
    “Big hands, big feet, big paws,” she told him.
    His grin turned wicked. “Big something else too.”
    Flushing, she darted away, kicking at the surf. His words made her belly curl with anticipation and she needed space. Everything was moving far too fast.
    “Don’t go far.” Worry sharpened his voice.
    “Don’t be such an old man,” she called back.
    “Old man?” he sputtered.
    “You are more than fourteen hundred years old.”
    Niki placed her sandals out of reach of the tide, and squatted down by the water’s edge. After all these years she was finally at the beach, and determined to make the most of it. She began to scoop out handfuls of sand, shaping them into walls and turrets.
    Tristan joined her, giving her a dubious look. “What is that?”
    “A castle, silly.”
    Kneeling in the sand, he frowned. “It looks like a lopsided house.”
    Niki flung seawater at him and he ducked.
    A dim memory tugged at her. Castles. Turrets and opened doorways, and magick, shapeshifting silver dragons who soared into the air, then slept in the courtyard by the gatehouse. Her mind slipped into shadow and she found herself staring at the sand, willing it to take shape…
    “Whoa,” Tristan murmured.
    The lopsided structure she’d made from sand had vanished, replaced with a tall, foreboding castle that looked as if a master artisan had crafted it with intricate tools and brushes.
    She touched the castle with a shaky finger. “Tristan, you did this?”
    “I did nothing.”
    Niki stared at the tall castle, with its majestic turrets, moat, bridge, the keep, and the replica of a sleeping dragon lying in the courtyard by the gatehouse.
    “I did this?”
    “You recreated it. Castle Baldwin. Our home,” he said softly. “You lived there with me.”
    A sense of unreality washed over her. “But…I cannot.”
    Tristan took her hand, gently stroking her fingers with his thumb. It felt soothing, but inside, she shook badly. What was happening to her that she could imagine a castle and conjure it out of thin air?
    “I need to tell you, Nikita. In order to claim you as my bride and save your life from the virus, I obtained permission from the goddess Danu to make a potion. The potion you ingested contained droplets of my blood which contains my magick. It also contained a droplet of blood of the three other members of the Brehon. Part of our magick now resides inside you.”
    As she stared at him, he added, “Not a significant portion, but enough to endow you with magick that enables you to conjure more than mere clothing out of thin air, as you do when you shift back from your wolf form.”
    She felt as if her world suddenly tilted on its axis. “If this is so, why are you so worried about me being vulnerable?” There was much she didn’t understand.
    “Because you do not know nor understand how to harness that power. It takes time to learn, and you need a safe place for me to teach you.” His voice deepened. “If they knew of your abilities, there are Others who would harm you, and drain your powers to use them for evil.”
    Niki glanced up and saw the Lupine couple from the elevator strolling along the shoreline. Suddenly their carefree innocence no longer seemed innocent. They took on a new meaning and threat. Was this what power meant? Always seeing threats everywhere? Freedom suddenly took on a new meaning.
    “Is there no place that is safe here, on Earth?”
    He shook his head. “I must take you with me to Tir Na-nog. When you enter my home world, you will be safe from all harm,” he said softly. “You will be stronger, and healed from the injuries your earthly body has suffered, and better prepared to carry my child.”
    Heart pounding, she stared at his fingers laced through hers. Sex. He talked about when he would bed her, and impregnate her, for that was his ultimate goal. Suddenly faced with this prospect, her