IRIS

CHAPTER 70: IRIS
~Gabriel’s POV~

“I can’t believe we flew on a fucking dragon!” Kai said to me. Any other time, I would be elated, but right now, my mind was focused on something else.
Kai and I walked back through the swamp on our way to the witch’s hut. I have the dagger in my back pocket. She said I needed to bring it back to her once I have it. I turn to Kai.
“You kill me if I attempt to sleep with her.” I say through gritted teeth.
“I’ll smack you around a few times, don’t worry.” Kai said to me. He was eager to get in a few hits without my Lycan knocking him the fuck out. Both he and Tanner always liked to get free licks on me. This one I would happily give Kai. I need my ass kicked for what I put Harper through. I called and left a message a few minutes ago. I had to stop at a payphone, I know old school, right? We had to land outside of the town and walk the rest of the way. I couldn’t fly into town on a dragon’s back and expect the human military not to be after me. Mine and Kai’s phones died a long time ago. Since we haven’t been in my truck, we had no way of charging them. I plan on being home in three days. That’s the amount of time it will take me to get there once I leave this shit hole. I pass back through the invisible border that surrounds the witch’s old shack. There she stands like she has been waiting on me.
“Gabriel, back so soon?” She walked up to me and took my hand. I looked back at Kai, and he raised his eyebrows like he was giving me a warning.
“Mika, don't let me lose control. You know what to do.” I said to him.
“I do Gabriel, I got you. Don’t worry.” He said back to me. I took a deep breath and followed the witch into her house. The door shut and she started to talk.
“How did you manage to defeat the dragons?” She asked me.
“It wasn’t easy, but I am stronger than I look.” She stared at me with amused eyes.
“I bet you are.” She slid her hands under my shirt, running her fingers over my abbs. I felt heat start to rise and my lust was beginning to build.
“And the dagger?” She asked me.
“Yes, I have it.” I grinned at her. She held out her hand.
“I thought you said we would finish what we started.” I took her hand and walked to her bedroom. She giggled.
“That I did. Such an eager boy you are.” I looked back toward her. She shut her bedroom door and walks over to me and pulls my shirt up and over my head.
“Keep control of yourself Gabriel, it’s just that fucking witch doing her thing again.” I ignored Mika and grabbed her hips pulling her into me. I couldn’t wait to get back here to her.
“I thought you could show me how experienced you are.” I said. I could smell her arousal. I growled out lowly and gently grabbed her by the neck. She moaned out in pleasure.
“My kind of man. I didn’t take you as one who liked it rough.” I gave her a menacing grin.

***FLASHBACK***

~Gabriel’s POV~

“Forgive me King Gabriel. I have been expecting you. Our elders have been eagerly awaiting your arrival for weeks.” We were in a big stone room. It was large enough to hold up to ten full sized dragons easily. We sat at a round table. There were five dragons including the king here with us.
“How did you know I would be coming?” I asked him.
“Some dragons have magic powers. One of our elders has the ability to see into the future, though things change often depending on decisions. We know that Iris sent you here. Her information is limited. The dragon kingdom is private. We have a very small circle of allies that we trust. We are able to tell who is being truthful and who is not. I can tell that you have come here with the best intentions. I hate to inform you that Iris has not sent you here with your best intentions in mind.”

He continued. “Iris is the original witch. She created the Terminal Stone. She has been an enemy to our people for centuries. It was my son who was taken as a baby and used as the sacrificed dragon for the stone’s powers. He is our prince, and an extremely gifted dragon. He is trapped in that stone and has been for years. He stopped aging the moment his soul entered the stone. We can extract his soul. We need the stone here, so our elders can release him. We searched for the stone for years upon years with no success. The witch had it hidden too well. She knew we would be able to find the stone, so she used powerful magic to conceal herself and the stone until it was tucked away somewhere. She recently told Thane Kago where he could find it after they formed an alliance to raise Hades from hell. You already know they seek immortality. Witches grow old but they are not immortal. Iris is coming up on the limit of her life. Once Thane gained all his power, he turned against Iris. Now she is desperate to obtain our weapon to retrieve the stone. She has another vessel in mind to use it. The witch and her newfound partner are both after Harper.”

I couldn’t stop the low rumble in my chest. Someone else is after Harper other than Thane. “Once the Terminal Stone links with Harper’s powers, there will be no stopping whoever controls the stone. Iris sent you here to either kill me or for me to kill you. Either way it would be a win for her. Her plan is to eventually have you out of the way to make access to Harper easier. Oh, and don’t fall for her witchy tricks. She is very good at getting what she wants.”
“Do you know why she would try to seduce me?” I asked him. “Why would I be tempted to sleep with her when I only want Harper unless I am not in the witch's presence.”
“I see she has used her famed seduction spell. If you were able to leave without being in her bed first, then you are much stronger than you think. Who knows why she would have a reason to seduce you? She always did enjoy a good chase. Mated werewolves are her favorite. I’m sure she gets a rush from being the cause of a mated female’s pain. Sick, I know.”

I felt anger building. I knew that fucking witch had a motive for coming onto me. I growled out lowly.
“I want to go after Thane right now, but even my army can’t take out Thane’s army alone. He is working with Hades and is drawing some of his power from him. As you can imagine, he is immune to fire, just like you. By the way the blue flame is the hottest, you were able to withstand it with ease. I can say the moon goddess has blessed you with immense abilities that you have yet to discover. With that being said, you have proven worthy enough to carry the dagger. Iris told the truth when she said it was to cut the stone from Thane’s chest. Once this war begins, you have the dragon kingdom on your side. I want my son and the prince of our kingdom back. Thane has a couple of warlocks at his disposal right now. He is almost ready to release Hades. We may have a week till we must make our move.” I nodded at him.
“Thank you, your information has been most useful. We will get your son back, and we will end Thane.” King Leyden stood from the table and patted me on the shoulder.
“I know you are in a hurry to get home to your mate. I can have one of our warriors give you a ride back to the swamp. I know you have a witch problem to take care of before returning home.” He grinned at me.

***END FLASHBACK***

~Gabriel’s POV~

“I thought you could show me how experienced you are.” I said lowly. I could smell her arousal. I growled out lowly and gently grabbed her by the neck. She moaned out in pleasure.
“My kind of man. I didn’t take you as one who liked it rough.” I gave her a menacing grin.
“Oh, I do, but not with BITCHES LIKE YOU!” I roared out into her face. She tried to shift out of my grasp, but my hand tightened around her neck. She had both her hands around mine, clawing and trying to pry my hand open. I was enjoying this. My eyes turned solid black, and my fangs extended. I reached behind my back to retrieve the dagger and pulled it around to my front and held the blade in front of her face. The dagger glowed red. It had scales as a hand grip. “This must be what you were desperately seeking huh… Or was it my death that you were after? Either way you felt like it was a win for you right?” Her eyes got big. “You tried to separate me from my mate. I am going to enjoy watching you burn.” I threw Iris to the ground and placed my knees on her chest. Her screams became muffled gurgles while I cut her throat from ear to ear. She was bleeding out when I stood. I casually walked out of her shack and over to where she had a fire burning under her cauldron. I pulled out a burning log and threw it into her front door. Her house went up in flames like I had poured gasoline on it. The barrier around her shack disappeared and I knew she was dead. Kai patted me on the shoulder.
“Let’s go home, man. We have a war to plan.” He said to me.
“Hell yeah, I have my girl to get back to. I have a lot of making up to do.” I can’t wait to see Harper and hold her. I’ll be damned if a fucking witch comes in between what Harper and I have.