Violca's Vow (Book 2.5) (The Dragon Ruby Series) Read online

  Violca’s Vow

  Leilani Love

  Copyright 2016 Leilani Schweitzer

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

  Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

  Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.

  No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

  Inquiries about additional permissions

  should be directed to: [email protected]

  Cover Design by Scott Carpenter

  Edited by Cecile Jagodzinski

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

  Table of Contents

  Other Books by Leilani Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Other Books by Leilani Love

  Violca’s Dragon

  The King’s Fire

  Violca’s Vow

  Coming Soon

  Kassandra’s Wolf

  This is book dedicated to my friends. Scott for always encouraging me and my beautiful covers. Melissa and Lisa who both take the time to let me bounce my crazy ideals off them. Love you all very much. You guys mean the world to me!

  Chapter 1

  Chase’s head snapped back as Viktor landed another right to his jaw. Seeing stars, he glared when he saw a smirk on Viktor’s face. “You’re distracted,” Viktor said as they started to circle each other.

  “What makes you think I’m distracted?” Chase asked before landing a jab-cross combo that connected with Viktor’s jaw.

  Viktor chuckled, wiping the blood from his lip. “Normally you’re a lot harder for me to hit.”

  Chase took a deep breath and lowered his guard. With his composure restored, he grabbed two water bottles, tossing one to Viktor. “Violca’s insisting on talking to Lazzaro. She wants to know why he thinks they can help him.”

  Grabbing a towel, he wiped his face and the back of his neck. Lazzaro had tried to have him kidnapped in order to get the Grey sisters and have them lift the curse that one of their ancestors had placed on his people. The curse was thought to be the reason vampires weren’t able to walk in the sunlight. Chase had always believed this was a myth, but if Lazzaro took the time and effort to blackmail Aithne, then he obviously considered it true.

  “Your mate volunteered to accompany her,” Chase announced, fighting a smile when he saw Viktor’s eyes flash neon blue and heard a low growl. Lazzaro had blackmailed Aithne by kidnapping her sister, Ally, using her love for her sister as leverage to force her to kidnap Chase. In the end, together they helped her save her sister, and she turned out to be Viktor’s mate.

  “You would think my mate would have learned to stay away from him,” Viktor mumbled before taking a big swig of his water.

  Chase couldn’t help but chuckle at his king’s words. “I hoped your mate would talk her out of it. Instead they are trying to figure out the best place to set up a meeting.”

  “I blame you for telling Violca what Lazzaro said.”

  With a shrug, Chase found himself smiling as he thought about his mate. He didn’t keep secrets from Violca. She had been curious why the Vampire King would have tried to kidnap him, so he told her. He had never guessed the old tale about vampires being confined to the night because of a witch’s curse was true. Lazzaro, either had proof or was desperate to risk starting a war with dragons.

  New to her powers, Violca had no idea if she could help him or his people. But his mate was a soft-hearted and believed that helping the Vampire King would cause a truce between his people and theirs.

  “She wants to try and make a truce between our people and theirs. She feels that if your brother Dmitri is recruiting, we should too.”

  Viktor snorted and nodded toward the door. “Maybe she’s right. We do need to be more aggressive. Between the Orion hunters and my brother, too many of our people have gone missing. The guards are starting to get stretched thin between protecting our people and fighting off the hunters who are intent on killing every supernatural they find.”

  Chase followed him out of the gym and they headed upstairs, both lost in their own thoughts. Chase understood as king, Viktor’s primary goal was to protect his people. Chase’s first goal was to protect his mate. Violca and her four younger sisters were important to his people. The fate of the dragons rested with the five Earth witches.

  “When does Aithne get back?” Chase asked.

  Viktor let out a growl and Chase tried not to smile at his old friend. Aithne had left a few days ago to help Kassandra, one of Viktor’s close guards, track down information about an attack on one of the dragon families. The original rumor was that they were attacked by the Orion Hunters who had found them out, but it was also rumored that Viktor’s brother had been spotted in the area. “Tomorrow. Kassandra says she has been a great deal of help. There is proof that both the hunters and my brother were both there, but as far as who attacked the family...”

  Chase nodded, knowing that Viktor hoped it was not his own brother. The attacks had become more frequent and most of his people had started to get scared. They wanted their king to eliminate the threat. The more panicked they got, the more they threatened to take things into their own hands and join the prince in his hunt for the Dragon Ruby to release its power. The ones not threatening to leave had started to look to Violca and her sisters to solve their problems and bring balance to their lives.

  With a nod, he and Viktor parted ways in the hall. Chase headed upstairs to the room he shared with Violca. He opened the door with a smile at the sight of her sitting on the floor. She was biting her lower lip surrounded by wedding magazines. Her sisters, Eva and Kati, had brought them a few days ago so that she could begin planning for the big day.

  “Eva would be glad to see you are looking over wedding stuff instead of pouring over your mother’s book,” Chase said, and grinned when she jumped at the sound of his voice.

  She stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to laugh as he walked over to her. Bending down, he gently cupped her cheeks as he gave her a passionate kiss. Violca moaned softly as her lips parted and she sucked his tongue into her mouth. His dragon let out a soft growl of pleasure. Chase broke the kiss with a smile when she pretended to pout. He pushed a strand of her dark hair back behind her ear. “Should I ask you what you were concentrating on? You looked way too serious for it to be about the wedding.”

  Violca continued to work her lower lip, and he smiled as he looked down at her. Chase could see she was considering her answer, raising an eyebrow when she paused a little too long. He bit back a grin when Violca blushed.

  “I was trying to figure out why Dmitri would be stealing artifacts from other supernaturals and risk attacking his own people,” Violca answered with a small sigh.

  Offering her a hand, he helped her up to her feet and wrapped his arms around h
er while he looked into her violet eyes and inhaled her scent. Her scent alone was enough for both him and his dragon to feel content. Chase still marveled at how kind fate was to have given him a woman who was as selfless as Violca. Putting her first was the easiest thing Chase ever did. “I don’t know. Could be he’s hoping for leverage over them.”

  Violca nodded and he watched her continue to nervously bite her lower lip. Unable to help himself, he kissed her, sucking her lower lip into his mouth. Nibbling on it before releasing it, he loved the way her violet eyes darkened. “I take it you don’t totally agree.”

  “If his goal is to get everyone on his side to make us find the Dragon Ruby and release its power, pissing everyone off would not be the way to go about it. What could Dmitri hope to gain?”

  He had often wondered that himself. Having watched Dmitri grow up, he couldn’t make sense of the wayward Dragon Prince’s actions. It seemed like he was indeed going out of his way to piss off everyone. If the only goal was to cause a war, then he was succeeding. “I don’t know, my love,” he answered honestly. “What I do know is that I am holding the woman I love and that I am in need of a hot shower.” With a wink, he bent down and picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom and enjoying the sound of her laughter. “I believe you need a break from all this…wedding planning.”

  “I have to get the girls in two hours,” Violca said as she playfully reached up to nibble on his earlobe, causing a shiver to run down his spine as he set her on her feet in front of the shower.

  “Two hours,” Chase said grinning at her as he reached down to grab the bottom of her shirt. “What can I do with you naked and wet in the shower for the next two hours?”

  Violca giggled as he took off her shirt. She reached up and brushed her lips against his. “I don’t know, but I am looking forward to finding out.”

  With that, she stepped back and he watched as she wiggled her hips and slid off her jeans. Stepping out of her jeans, she smiled at him over her shoulder before turning the water on. Chase’s eyes were drawn to her ass as she bent over. Quickly removing the rest of his clothes, he came up behind her, grabbed her hips and pulled her tightly against him. “I love these little lacy things you wear,” he said, whispering against her neck as he held her to him. “They make the best sound as I rip them off your body.”

  His hands grabbed the sides of her small panties and he ripped the material from her skin. The sound of her gasp caused him to growl and his cock to jerk. With a small nudge, she stepped into the shower and he followed close behind. Wrapping his arms around her waist, his hands went to her breasts, cupping them before pinching her already hard nipples as the warm water hit them both. “I also love the sound you make and how your body is instantly ready for me when I rip them off.”

  Violca moved in his arms and her eyes met his as she turned him around so his back was against the wall, water hitting both their bodies. A wicked gleam grew in her dark violet eyes as she slowly licked her lips. “You have two hours to show me.”

  Bending down and capturing her lips with his, he let out a growl. Chase’s hands slid down her body, grabbing her firm globes as he ground against her, whispering, “Yes ma’am.”

  Chapter 2

  Violca smiled at the girls as they ran out with the other kids when the bell rang, announcing that school had ended. The light shimmered off her sister’s pale white hair, drawing everyone’s gaze to her. Sari’s locks were as dark as Angyalka’s were white. Their only similarities were the matching twinkling blue eyes and mischievous grins that they both wore.

  “What trouble did you two cause?” Violca asked as they both gave her a hug.

  “We got invited to a sleepover,” Angyalka announced, her voice squeaking in excitement.

  “You did, huh?” Violca asked biting her lip. Her sisters’ excitement could be easily seen through their dancing eyes. Violca, not wanting to disappoint her sisters, had to figure out how they were going to work that out for them. The girls invited people to play at their house but had only occasionally gone to one of their friends during the day. The guards always knew in advance and they tried to make sure not to be seen in order to give the girls the feeling of being normal. So far, she had not allowed them to go stay the night at anyone’s house. Since the school year had started only a month ago, it hadn’t been that big of a deal, but now she’d have to talk to Chase. “Who invited you over?”

  Sari, not to be left out, said, “My new friend Madison. Her birthday is Saturday, so her mom said she could have a sleepover. Can we go, V? Please.”

  `Shaking her head as both girls started to plead, Violca laughed. “Let me talk to Chase and see what we can arrange.” Both girls cheered and she held up her hand. “That’s not a yes. It’s a maybe.”

  The smile they both gave her let her know they didn’t believe her and she shook her head. “Get in the car, brats. I am sure you both have homework.”

  The girls scrambled in the back of the SUV, laughing as they continued to chatter. Violca listened to them as she pulled out and away from the school, waving to a few of the moms that she had met as she drove off.

  The girls continued to talk about their day. Violca heard them discussing their new friends and Angyalka started to tell them about a substitute teacher they had. Her name was Luna and according to Angyalka, she was very pretty and nice to her.

  “I wish she was my teacher,” Angyalka says with a small pout.

  Violca grinned. Angyalka’s current teacher gave them a lot of homework and according to her, didn’t smile that much. Violca wasn’t surprised that with the first substitute her sister instantly wanted her to be replaced with the new one.

  When they got to the house, the girls got out of the car and ran up the few stairs that led into the house. Following behind them, she yelled out for them to start their homework. Kati would be home soon from her first meeting with the homecoming committee. Eva had promised that she’d hook her sister up with a college guy for a date if she signed up for the committee. Violca made Eva promise that it was only if Kati couldn’t find her own date.

  Scott, the shape-shifter panther who had imprinted on Kati, was not happy about the situation. The tension from him was growing and Chase had talked him into taking an assignment looking for one of Viktor’s friends. Scott was due to come back in a few months to check in and participate in the wedding party. He wanted to tell Kati about imprinting and after a huge “discussion,” they agreed to wait until she had one semester of college. Violca wanted to wait longer, but Scott worried she would meet someone when she went to college.

  She liked Scott and even knew her sister had a crush on him, but it was difficult knowing a grown man had imprinted on her teenage sister. Violca had no idea how to handle it or what to do. She just wanted to give her sister some time to grow up before Scott told her.

  There was no guarantee that she would accept him, but Scott wouldn’t wait so long that she might fall in love with someone else. Violca noticed the way her sister looked at Scott when he wasn’t looking, she didn’t think that a lack of attraction was going to be an issue. Scott had met Kati when she was being tormented in school and felt insecure about herself. Violca knew that Kati would not be happy if he saw her as anything but his equal.

  Heading toward the living room, she heard the sound of Chase as he helped Angyalka with her math homework. She was starting to learn algebra, and Chase was much more patient about teaching her then Violca ever was. Walking in, she noticed Sari sitting at the desk near the table using the laptop, while Chase and Angyalka sat on the floor, using the coffee table near the couch.

  Chase looked up at her, his light brown eyes flashed gold as he smiled at her, letting her know his dragon was just below the surface and was happy to see her. She could feel it in the mating mark on her neck. Humans were unable to see the bite mark on her neck that marked her as his. Most supernaturals could see the mark, and the ones who could not see it could smell his scent mingling with hers. Their upcoming wed
ding was a formality, because the mark they shared bonded them in ways she still didn’t totally understand. It gave her comfort all the same.

  Blowing him a kiss, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Taking it, she saw a message from Aithne. Glad to see her friend would be back tomorrow, Violca smiled because she knew that they would go back to planning their meeting with Lazzaro. Chase had been slowly coming around to the idea. She would never go behind his back, but she was determined to find a way to help save Chase’s people and end the war. Ending the war was the only way she could see to help keep her family safe.

  “Who’s that?” Chase asked, watching her face.

  “Aithne. She said she’ll be home tomorrow.”

  With a wicked grin, Chase winked at her, “Viktor told me earlier. He’s getting cranky.”

  Violca laughed, thinking she did see him snap the other day at one of his guards. He’s always patient with the girls but seemed a little short with the men. Aithne had a fiery temper to go with her red hair and she had no problem standing up to Viktor. Aithne stood up to him, she challenged him in a way that only a woman who loved him could.

  Hearing the door open, she saw Viktor coming out of his office. Biting her cheek to keep from smiling, she raised an eyebrow. “We were just talking about you.”

  Viktor smirked and she laughed, thinking she saw a small blush on his cheeks. From the laughter behind her, she thought Chase might have seen it too. “I just came to see how the girls’ homework was going.”

  Violca snorted and shot him a look that let him know she did not believe him. His dark blue eyes lit up and he gave her a look before walking over to the desk that Sari was working on. Viktor had been helping her write a history report.

  Violca walked toward the kitchen to make dinner for everyone, but smiled at Chase before leaving the men to help the girls. She loved to cook and Viktor’s staff didn’t mind that she had taken over most of the dinner cooking duties when they had moved in. Since she couldn’t work, she found she had too much time on her hands.