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“First came the Cosmos, then the Gods. Their untamed powers manifested in magical beings—the first Beasts of Air, Water and Earth; Raptors, Serpents and Feline Predators. Then came the strongest of all: Dragons.”

— From the lost oral histories of the Zodiac Scrolls

“What are they saying? I can’t hear this far away,” Ere grouched, crowding closer.

“Maybe I should shift surreptitiously back into Beast form. My senses are much sharper as dragon.”

Right, Ben thought. Like a gigantic, scaly serpent looming over the sparse copse of trees wasn’t conspicuous.

“We’re supposed to be giving them privacy to come to an understanding,” Lizzy whispered, even though they were standing far away enough not to be heard.

Nor, as Ere complained, could they hear what was being said between Diana and Jing.

“What kind of understanding?” Ere asked archly.

“How they’re going to combine their forces to fight the four of us and steal the egg?”

He lifted one brow at her in challenge.

“Well, three of us. Since you’re a useless human.”

“Lizzy is the one who negotiated this cease fire and potential truce,” Ben reminded his sire, just barely controlling himself from smacking Ere upside the head for needling Lizzy.

Usually, Ere’s “particular” personality didn’t bother him. Even entertained him. But where Lizzy was concerned, Ben was unreasonably protective.

“You’re right,” Lizzy said calmly, not rising to Ere’s bait.

“I’m not particularly helpful in terms of brawn and fire power if things go sideways. And, yes, the fact that they might turn on us is a possibility.”

“However,” she said when Ere opened his mouth, forestalling him, “it’s a slim probability. You didn’t see what I saw. They don’t really want this enmity. Jing, for sure. And Diana…she just needs to realize what she wants even more than revenge.”

“And what might that be?” Ere asked reluctantly.

“Love,” Lizzy said simply.

“Hmph,” Ere grunted, crossing his arms.

They fell silent for a few minutes, watching the pair from the corner of their eyes, trying not to act as if they were staring, even though they were.

At first, Diana and Jing faced off with standoffish body language. She, with her arms crossed; he, with hands on hips. Gradually, her arms moved to wrap about her waist as if she was trying to hold herself together. And his arms fell to his sides, his whole body leaning toward her, as if he was trying to hold himself in check.

Even more time passed, and they started moving closer to each other. They probably didn’t know it, was helplessly drawn to one another. Until, finally, he lifted his arms, clearly wanting to hold her, and she clearly wanted to be held. For she staggered the last couple of steps to close the distance between them and laid her forehead against his chest.

His arms slowly, carefully, enfolded her. Her own loosened too to clasp around his waist.

Ben turned more fully toward them to have a better view.

They were both shaking visibly. She seemed to be shuddering with sobs. He repeatedly stroked her back and kissed the top of her head, whispering fervently into her ear.

Lizzy’s hand found his, and Ben linked their fingers.

“It’s going to be all right,” she said, smiling up at him.

“True love heals all wounds.”

“How did you know?” he asked. “What did you do?”

She shrugged a little, seemingly shy about her newfound Gift.

“I didn’t do anything. It seems that my self-imposed imprisonment in the Celestial Realm wasn’t wasted time across all these earthly millennia. I’ve watched over humans all the while, and I recall just about everything I’ve seen.”

She peered up at him through her lashes.

“You don’t think I’m a peeping Tom, do you?”

He shook his head.

“You were learning,” he said. “You watched us because you were curious. And, I think, we grew on you. You started to care more about us.”

“I did,” she admitted.

“It was very gradual, for gods aren’t made to care about fleeting mortal lives. Let alone empathize in any sense. But there were certain stories and experiences that touched me more than others.”

She looked toward Diana and Jing.

“Their story stuck with me. When I touched her wrist, my…my Gift somehow brought up those memories. But the difference was that I could see both sides, hers and Jing’s. Because I watched over both of them.”

“Like an omniscient storyteller,” Ben said.

“Not omniscient per se,” Lizzy argued, nose wrinkling thoughtfully.

“More like—objective. I guess because of my time in the Celestial Realm, I have the ability to bring more perspectives to an individual’s experience. Because I’ve seen the experiences of others around them too.”

“But how were you able to get her to listen and tap into those memories?” he asked.

Her thumb stroked the Dream ring he wore on his middle finger. She reached for his other hand and did the same to the Song ring.

“Maybe some remnant of my powers still remains,” she wondered out loud.

“I could create worlds and weave fantastical realms as a god. Maybe all that’s left now is the ability to weave that spell for a few brief moments, not quite creating a new reality so much as inviting a person to dream. To lose themselves for a while.”

She stroked the Song ring and looked up at him.

“And to hope,” she said.

“I know now why I kept only the Dream and Song treasures from the dragon quests. They help amplify our deepest desires and wishes, and give us the courage and strength, the unbridled joy of endless hope, to reach for them.”

“I demanded them from you,” Ben recalled from their confrontation in Bangkok thirty years ago.

“And I handed them over willingly,” she returned. “You needed them more than me.”

She reached up to cup the side of his face in her palm, her eyes shining with love and bittersweet regret.

“You were so hurt then. You’d carried your hurt for so long.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, even as his heart clenched in memory.

“You were so furious with everything,” she continued softly. “With me. Rightly so, of course. I have been impossible to love. Yet…”

“I’ve never been able to help myself,” he husked. “No matter the incarnation. No matter what happened between us. Loving you was the easiest thing to do. It was waiting for you to love me back that killed me.”

Literally .

They both thought it in their minds.

He’d died for his love of her when she was the Pure Goddess and he was Byakko. He’d died a second time when she didn’t truly love him back as Lilith.

He opened his eyes and let her see his heart and soul, his dreams and hope. Tremulously, she smiled.

Then, she outright beamed.

“I love you so, Benjamin Larkin D’Angelo,” she vowed. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Learning you. After we take care of business here—avert a war and recover the last egg—will you take a leap of faith with me? Will you marry me?”

His answering grin felt like it was splitting his face, the unbridled joy all but bursting the seams of his corporeal shell.

He caught her up in his arms and spun her wildly around, making her squeal with delight.

“Ugh,” he could hear Ere muttering on the sidelines, stepping back to give them a wide berth.

“Guess I’m stuck with her now for a niece-in-law.”

Sorin elbowed Ere in the ribs none too gently, making him grunt.

But Ben didn’t pay them any mind. He was too busy tripping over his own tongue to answer her:

“Yes!” he shouted, raining kisses all over her face, making her laugh.

When he finally set her down again, held tightly all along his body, secure in his embrace, he rasped low, for her ears only.

“My love. My Mate. My wife.”

She hugged him back just as tightly, making him slightly breathless. She was stronger than she looked.

“Maybe I should have waited for a better time,” she said wryly, “but…things always seem to be a whirlwind with you. I bet you never have a dull day, huh?”

“Believe it or not, I have mostly dull days,” he said. “Well, I don’t find them dull, so much as simply normal. My day job is an ancient history professor, after all.”

“And by night you’re a fearsome dragon warrior,” she said with relish.

“Just as you’re an established archeologist by day…”

“And a dragon dreamer by night,” she supplied. “Actually, I dream of dragons day and night. I’ve always dreamed of you, Ben. Even when I didn’t know it.”

“Can we get this show on the road, folks?” Ere’s whine interrupted them.

“The other pair of love birds seem to have reached a happy conclusion, if their joined hands are any indication.”

After that, the two armies were instructed to stand down. They dispersed rapidly with their weapons and machinery as if they were never there in the first place. Diana and Jing left together after Ben made them promise to visit King Ramses. The Dark King of New England could help mediate between the opposing factions abroad. His court in New York City was a well-known neutral ground for all Kinds.

It didn’t take long for them to find and recover the last dragon egg from the bottom of the steaming lake. Lizzy waited on land with Sorin while Ere and Ben took the dive. The boiling hot water in the deeper recesses would have been too much for her human skin.

When they emerged as dragons, the egg clutched in Ere’s foreclaw, she went to them immediately. The four of them gathered around it as Ere held it in covetously in his arms, while Lizzy did her thing.

She stroked the gold and black egg until it began to glow from the inside out. The egg pulsed brightly until its tough shell was almost transparent, revealing the tiny dragon inside, before going dark again.

“Mine,” Ere and Sorin said at once.

“Yours,” Lizzy agreed.

“I never thought I would be a father…again,” Ere whispered, holding the egg protectively while his Mate held him.

He darted a shy look at Ben, and Ben nodded back.

“This time, I’ll do it right,” Ere vowed. “I’ll make this dragonling proud.”

You have always made me proud too, Ere , Ben said through their Beast link.

The other man sniffed as his lips quivered before he pressed them together determinedly.

“We must be off then, to hatch it,” he said.

Already, he was transforming into his winged black dragon form.

Who goes first, my gorgeous man, he said to Sorin, flapping his mighty wings as he lifted off the ground.

Your feathered ass is far more palatable for the egg than my scaly, bony behind. Remember how you hatched my original incarnation? Is it any wonder I fell in love with you at first sight?

Yet, you have such a considerable behind, Sorin said without inflection, just stating a fact. Quite disproportional to the rest of you.

They shot off into the sky together in their Beast forms, still bantering.

Are you calling me fat? Ere squawked with umbrage.

I’ll have you know…

Ben and Lizzy watched them go with matching grins.

“I really like him,” she said. “I like them together so very much.”

“Ere likes you too,” Ben promised. “He wouldn’t needle you like he does if he didn’t.”

“Even though a part of me was the Hydra?”

Ben grimaced a little.

“Well…”

“And the war of the gods that I made the dragons and other Beasts fight in led to Ere’s previous incarnation’s death and separation from Sorin?”

Ben cleared his throat.

“But you are also the one who put the enchantment in Sol’s skin so he could survive, be reborn as Sorin, and find Ere again when the time was right,” he pointed out.

“I don’t know that Sorin would thank me for it,” Lizzy said with a sigh.

“Those might have been the deeds of your past incarnations, Lizzy, but they are not you ,” Ben said staunchly.

“Souls might be the same at their core, but we learn to make different choices.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up on tiptoe as he bent down towards her.

“I choose you, Ben,” she said against his mouth, sealing her vow with a soft, heartfelt kiss.

“I’ll always choose you.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

They decided to fly from Yellowstone to Omaha, then drive a rental to Elkhorn, Nebraska, that very afternoon.

Lizzy was eager for Ben to meet her parents. Partly because she was so proud and excited to introduce her wonderful man, and partly because she wanted to cement the deal, so to speak.

To minimize the risk of him changing his mind.

Surely, meeting her parents would make things even more “official” between them. She didn’t want any doubt in his mind that she was a thousand percent serious about taking him as her chosen partner for life.

For all of their lives.

Because she was so eager, they flew by dragon air, avoiding at least one stop by plane and therefore cutting their flight time down to under four hours. Then, they stopped by Lizzy’s apartment in the city first, so they could both freshen up after their travels.

Lizzy might have used this as an excuse to jump her man in the shower.

She couldn’t help it. She practically climbed him like a spider monkey, though their slippery wet and soapy skin made things clumsier than she would like liked.

Clearly, seduction was not her forte.

But Ben didn’t seem to mind. He simply spread his muscular long legs wide, planted his big feet solidly, hoisted her up, and impaled her on his magnificent cock. Anchoring her to him in the best of ways.

They were in a bit of a rush, because Lizzy had called ahead and confirmed that dinner would be served at seven sharp. Her mother disliked any kind of tardiness intensely, so they were on the clock.

Notwithstanding, she still managed to squeeze in a hard, grinding fuck against the shower wall, before she worshipped his still turgid, pulsing cock on her knees and made him come again in her mouth.

Heavens, but she loved his taste. His scent. The guttural sounds he made. The way his eyes turned to slits and glittered at her through his wet, spiky lashes. The way he gritted his teeth and bucked his hips helplessly, utterly surrendering to her will and want.

And she wanted him like this.

Craved it.

All that power leashed for her. To set free only by her leave.

She loved taking him to the edge again and again, making him suffer in the most glorious ways. Then, making him break apart for her. Hearing his pulse pound through their Bond; his heart, thunder like a battle drum.

At last, when he lifted her up against him with shaking hands and took her mouth in a searing kiss, she sent a continuous litany through their link:

I love you I love you I love you I love you…

The joy he felt at her vow made her own joy multiply exponentially.

God! How she loved to make him happy. It was the most addictive drug in the universe. Ben’s unbridled joy.

When they were finally dressed and ready to head back out, the lock turned in the front door, and in came Meg, laden down with two large pet carriers and some travel bags.

“Oh!” she exclaimed when she saw Lizzy.

“Ohmygod!” she blurted when her eyes took in Ben right behind her.

“Meg! Your timing is impeccable,” Lizzy said, rushing forth to kiss her best friend on the cheek before taking a bag and a carrier off her hands.

Immediately, the contents of the carrier rocked and meowed. Lizzy put it down at once and opened the zipper to let Howie out.

“Hey, big boy!” she greeted, pulling Howie’s considerable floppy weight into her arms for lots of noisy kisses and face-in-belly nuzzling.

The feline purred loudly and grunted in ecstasy as she stroked his belly and behind his ears. How she missed her babies!

Meanwhile, Ben was introducing himself to Meg, who stood frozen just inside the entryway gawking with her mouth open. He relieved her of the second carrier and the rest of the bags, putting them on the floor so that her hand was free to shake his.

Meg darted a glance at Lizzy, still crouched on the floor with Howie, and now a hesitant but curious Carter too.

Wow , Meg mouthed at her, making her eyes round like saucers and flicking them in Ben’s direction to indicate what she meant.

Lizzy merely grinned.

Wow, indeed.

Finally, Ben let go of Meg’s hand, and they stepped back.

“It’s a good thing you called earlier,” Meg said after clearing her throat, but her voice still came out a little high-pitched.

Yeah, Ben had that effect on people.

His looks aside, there was just an overwhelming masculine presence about him that rendered bystanders speechless. All that testosterone and blatant virility were a lot to take in. His saving grace was that he possessed such an easy-going, affable personality.

For example, he seemed to know how his presence affected Meg. So, he put distance between himself and Lizzy’s friend, leaned a little against her kitchen counter to reduce his imposing height and tried to exude casual relaxedness. Howie, even Carter, left Lizzy to circle around Ben’s legs, rubbing themselves against him, demanding attention.

While he obliged them, Lizzy pulled Meg slightly aside and had to gently take her friend’s face in hand to physically turn her away from gaping at Ben.

“So, he’s the one, huh,” Meg said through slightly mushed cheeks.

Lizzy released her friend as she nodded.

“Yup. He’s The One.”

“Well done,” Meg said simply.

The understatement of the millennia.

Lizzy shrugged like it was nothing much, but her beatific grin gave her away.

“Thanks for bringing all the stuff over and taking care of my babies,” Lizzy said.

“Any time,” Meg waved aside.

“Really. I would be remiss if I didn’t pass along Cleopatra’s invitation for the boys to stay over whenever they want. I have so many pictures and videos of the three of them playing and cuddling, it’s ridiculous.”

“You should get Cleopatra a playmate,” Lizzy suggested. “I don’t know how long I’m going to stay here.”

She leaned in to whisper-shout: “I’m getting married!”

Both women clutched each other’s arms and squealed excitedly, jumping up and down.

Ben watched them with a small smile, and Lizzy looped him into their group. He laughed as they continued to jump up and down on either side of him.

“Good grief!” Meg exclaimed when they finally exhausted themselves enough to calm back down.

“I let you out of my sight for a few weeks and you come back with the most magnificent man I’ve ever laid eyes on, engaged to be married! Maybe I should book a getaway myself.”

“With Steve,” Lizzy reminded her of her long-time partner.

“Sure, with Steve,” Meg replied ruefully, eyeing Ben like he was the one who got away.

“I assume I’m your Maid of Honor,” Meg said matter-of-factly to Lizzy.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” confirmed Lizzy.

“Just tell me when and where.”

The two women hugged and squealed some more before Meg said her goodbyes.

After she left, Lizzy found Ben perusing her small apartment, studying the white tiger kite framed on the wall and the shelf of oddities she kept on display.

He turned to look at her with an added brilliance in his aquamarine eyes when he was done.

“A white tiger. A spotted leopard. And a gold dragon. Lizzy…”

“See,” she said softly, “I told you I’ve always dreamed of you.”

He wrapped her up in his arms and held her tightly.

“I’ve always wished for you,” he husked. “I’ve starved for so long for your love.”

“I’ll never give you cause to doubt my love again,” she promised, looking up at him, letting him see that she meant it.

They shared a long, deep kiss before reluctantly pulling apart.

“Ready to meet the Winters?” she asked.

“Lead the way, Lizzy mine.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

“Well.”

That was all Serena Lin said upon laying eyes for the first time on Ben, in the flesh.

Followed by:

“I approve.”

And really, that was all that needed to be said.

David Winters, on the other hand, took in Ben’s measure slowly and methodically. First, by the grip of his hand in their prolonged masculine handshake. Second, by taking in his posture and bearing with a critical eye. Third, by quietly observing how he treated Lizzy, cataloguing every expression, word, and touch.

After dinner, as David and Lizzy washed the dishes together while Serena interrogated Ben in the living room, her father said:

“You deserve the very best, my girl. And you found him.”

“I know,” she said, nudging her beloved father with her shoulder.

“I really do.”

“Good,” David said simply.

“It seems you’ve known each other a lot longer than a few weeks,” he noted after a few minutes of companionable silence.

“In a way, we have,” she answered.

She wasn’t sure how much she should reveal to her parents about the supernatural world they lived in, that now she was indisputably a part of. Eventually, sooner rather than later, she’d like to be honest with David and Serena.

But she’d check with Ben first. They had time.

Her father didn’t question her further on how she knew Ben; he just nodded with acceptance.

Later, they sat down together to play cards, as was the family tradition, but only when they had friends over, for three people made an odd number. Now, with Ben, they had the perfect number to play Bridge or Spades. Poker, too.

First, it was men against women. Lizzy’s team won, because Serena would have it no other way, and David tended to “let” his wife win, though he did it subtly. Then, it was Lizzy and Ben versus the parents. Her parents won, and Lizzy suspected that Ben was doing the same thing David did, in order to put that beaming smile on her mother’s face, and make her laugh that gleefully cackling laugh.

David side-eyed Ben and gave him a conspiratorial wink.

It was a done deal.

Ben was officially part of the family.

They stayed at her parents’ house for the night in Lizzy’s old room. And given that the weekend was coming up, they agreed to stay for that too.

David and Ben shared a look when they all turned in after an Audrey Hepburn classic.

“What was that look for?” she asked her Mate.

“Your father was just reminding me to be respectful of whose roof I was under and the status of our relationship,” Ben replied wryly.

“No funny business, in other words.”

Lizzy made a face but didn’t argue. David seldom imposed rules, but when he did, she always abided by them.

Ben laughed softly at her expression, pulling her close to kiss her forehead.

“Not to worry, sweetheart,” he soothed. “We can still kiss and cuddle to your heart’s content.”

“Naked,” she whispered saucily.

He leaned down to nuzzle behind her ear.

“Naked,” he agreed.