Kiss of Frost (The Dragon Stone Saga Book 1)(26)

"What did he say of Isobel? Where is my sister?" Beck practically jumps on us as soon as we shut the door behind us.

"They've got her mate. That's why she's been helping them." Ann raises a placating hand. "She should be arriving with Dayphis in the next day or two."

Beck curses. "I must get her back. And her mate."

"We're not sure if her mate is with her…"

Beck's eyes change to that lighter grey color and I know he's upset. "She will not survive without her mate. We must get him back. If we get her and they still have him and they kill him, she will die if they've bonded."

I rock back on my heels in shock. "I didn't know about that."

"I know. I have a lot of things I need to tell you." He reaches for me, his hand cupping the back of my neck. "I must also find my family, mate. I am sorry that I must put anything before us learning everything we can about each other…"

"No. I get it. And I wouldn't have it any other way. We've got a long time to get to know each other in and out. But your family has a limited time before they're in danger from Dayphis." I hook my arm around his waist and lean against him, letting him know without words that I'm not going anywhere.

"Now that we know where Dayphis is going to be, we can call in reinforcements to help us get your sister back. It isn't going to be easy to pull it all together on such short notice." Ann's expression is pinched as she thinks it through.

"But we can do it. We can call in favors with the lycans, and the coven will help, right?"

"Of course they will help. But we'll have to speak with the lycans. It might be best to send Jem over there. She knows them best."

I snort. Yeah, she knows them well. She'd been in a long-term relationship with the alpha. To this day he has feelings for her but Jem says he's not her mate, and she didn't want to lead him on. "This could get messy."

"I know, but what's a little more mess added to what we've already got?"

"Hey, Jem!" I call, hoping she can hear me and doesn't have earbuds in or something while she works on her sleight of hand.

Footsteps sound and she rounds the corner, a curious expression on her face. "You rang?"

"We found out where Isobel will be. With Dayphis when he arrives. They've got her mate; that's how they're controlling her. We need to get them out from under Dayphis's control and to safety."

"Holy shit. Okay, so what's the plan? I'm getting the ring back tomorrow, and we'll figure out how to free Beck's brother. We'll have two dragons on our side. It should be no problem, right?" Jem looks to Beck for confirmation.

"If they've got her mate and she's bonded with him, if they kill him, she'll die too. I know that if Ivy were in danger, I'd sacrifice everything to save her. I'm not sure what years of servitude have done to my sister." Beck's broad shoulders rise and fall and he pauses to draw in a deep breath. "I'm not sure what will happen. Dragons are best not messed with when it comes to their mates." Beck's hand tightens on the back of my neck and I rub my hand up and down his side, reassuring him.

"Okay… so we need more manpower. Do we know who will be with Dayphis?" Jem asks.

"Desmond says the whole coven will be there and that the warehouse will be heavily warded and guarded. For all we know, they have other dragons besides Isobel," Ann points out.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like what you're going to ask me to do?" Jem frowns, looking between Ann and me.

"We need you to get the lycans to help us."

Jem pushes her hands in front of her. "I don't know if I can do that, guys. Things didn't end well last time we broke it off."

"I know, but we don't have another choice. We need you to take one for the team here, Jem. He'll do whatever you ask. You know he adores you." I plead with her, giving her my best puppy dog expression.

"Yeah, that's the problem. He's going to want something in return."

"Offer him a favor from the coven. He won't say no to that. Especially with his fight with the other Alphas in the area."

Jem blows out a breath, her bangs blowing upward on her forehead. "Fine. I'll call him and see if I can go meet him after I get the ring."

I look to Beck. I know it's not a perfect solution and it could end badly but at least we might be able to get two of his siblings back tomorrow. So long as everything goes as planned.

"What if things don't go as planned?" Beck asks.

"Then we'll come up with another plan until we get the results we want." I look up at my mate, meeting his gaze and letting him see the determination in my gaze. "We've got each other. That alone is enough to make magic happen."

"This is true, little witch." Beck drops a kiss to my lips. "You know I would spend another thousand years in that cursed stone if it meant that I got to spend the rest of my life with you by my side as my mate."

I melt against him, happiness thrumming through me. I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow. Or the next day. But I know that with Beck by my side, we'll handle it. Together.

The End…For Now

Continue the Dragon Stone Saga in book two, Up In Smoke.