Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,53

his head back and roared, casting a spray of fire across the sky.

He wasn’t a murderer. He couldn’t do this. Killing Wallace wouldn’t bring Casey back. He couldn’t lose himself just for a moment’s revenge that would ultimately mean nothing.

Brady held himself aloft for a moment, then maneuvered into a dive. He’d get Wallace onto the ground. See him arrested and sent to jail for the rest of his life. He’d never be able to shift again. For some, death was preferable to that.

Suddenly, the weight in his talons became unbalanced. Brady glanced down and saw that Wallace had shifted back into human form. Brady’s grip on him was loosened. He began to slip out of Brady’s grasp one talon at a time. Brady could see his eyes widen as he realized that only one claw stood between him and a thirty-foot fall.

He slipped loose from the talon, screaming all the way as he plummeted to the ground. Brady heard him hit with a wet crunch. He’d landed on the trail leading to the cave.

That didn’t matter. Brady slowed his descent as he neared Casey and transformed back to human form as soon as his feet hit the water.

“No…” he whispered, his heart pounding almost painfully. He slipped his arms around her, cradling her close, bowing his head over hers as bitter tears filled his eyes. He spread his hand over her stomach, mourning that life, too. Once again, he had failed the woman he loved.

“I’m so sorry…” he breathed, rocking her gently, kissing her forehead and holding his lips against her skin for an extra moment. “I love you...I love you…” he whispered into her hair.

Casey coughed and shivered as she opened her eyes. “Brady…?”

Brady pulled away slightly, bewildered, not sure if he was hearing what he wanted to hear or…

Casey looked up at him, a faint smile on her lips and her eyes open wide.

Without a word, he pulled her up against him and held her as tightly as he could, choking back tears of relief as he buried his face in the hollow of her shoulder. He abruptly pulled away, suddenly serious again, and pressed the palm of his hand against her belly.

Casey covered his hand with hers, gazing into his eyes with a smile.

“He’s still here,” Brady whispered, his smile widening. “He’s still here!”

Now it was Casey’s turn to sob with relief. She melted against him as if she had suddenly lost her last bit of energy.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I should have said it sooner.”

“You’ve said it now. That’s enough.” Casey touched his cheek and gently guided him close for a quick, sweet kiss. “I love you, too.”

Brady’s smile slanted slightly. “Wild horses.”

“Yeah,” Casey said, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Wild horses.”

Epilogue

One year later...

“Are you ready for this?” Jasmine applied the last bit of blush to Casey’s already flushed cheeks and lowered her veil. “You look beautiful.”

Casey turned to look at her reflection. The wedding dress she wore had been Elana’s, a simple, soft floor-length tunic with a boatneck collar and a thin braided belt. She had brought the veil from the other side of the Arch, somehow managing to match the same shade of cream as the dress. She still carried a bit of belly weight from the baby, but the dress was forgiving.

“Where’s Alex?” she asked, turning away from the mirror. A flash of panic shot through her.

“Alex is with his grandmother,” Jasmine said soothingly. “She’s showing him off to all her friends.”

Casey peeked out of the window at the decorations below. Brady’s family didn’t halfway throw a party, that was for sure. The Arch in the garden had been strewn with garlands of white flowers. Near the castle, tables groaned with dozens of dishes; some were from Brady’s world, some from her own. Shifters moved about in their human forms, occasionally shifting when the mood struck them.

“I can’t believe this,” Casey said quietly. “This is actually happening.”

“It really is,” Jasmine said. “Finally.”

“Yeah,” Casey said with a laugh. “Finally.”

“Are you ready for this?” Zack re-buttoned Brady’s black tunic. “Judging from the way you buttoned this, you don’t seem ready.”

“I’m good.” Brady took a deep breath. “Are you okay? How’s your leg?”

Zack shrugged. “It’s okay. I limp around when I’m in this form, but when I shift, there’s no problem.”

“I still say Wallace almost killed you,” Brady said with a half-smile.

“And I say you’re full of shit because I kicked his ass. You just weren’t there to see it.” Zack’s attention was