Free Under His Claw by Viola Grace

at the owner’s table, so it was the best seat in the house.
    Their server came by and whisked her plate away the moment she finished it. They were very efficient without a lot of chitchat.
    She flipped through the dessert menu, and the manager came over and whispered in Regick’s ear. Her mate sat up and started to straighten his clothing.
    “Bring them in.”
    She decided on the crème brulee and was putting her menu down when a couple approached them. Regick got to his feet and greeted the other man. The blonde woman was staring at Zora with the same shape and shade of amber eyes that she saw when she looked at her grandmother.
    The face was that of her grandmother as well but the coloring was wrong. The man’s hair was a blue so dark, it was nearly black. His ears were slightly pointed, and they were pierced in six places down each curve.
    “Alamina.” Zora breathed the word.
    Alamina smiled. “Tsura. You are lovelier than I imagined.”
    “I thought you had passed on.”
    “It is hard to die when you are wed to a dragon. You stay around as long as they do.”
    Zora got to her feet and ran over to hug her great-grandmother. “I am glad you are here.”
    Alamina finally pried her off, laughing and wiping at tears. Her mate was standing next to her, exasperated.
    “Tsura, this is your great-grandfather and the first dragon in your bloodline, Darcash.”
    She extended her hand to him. “I am pleased to meet you, Darcash.”
    He smiled and took her hand. “May I have a hug?”
    She cautiously moved toward him and embraced him. He squeezed her and she heard him inhale in a long draw.
    When they separated, he nodded to Alamina. “Definitely our blood.”
    Regick laughed. “With this family’s penchant for running, you are definitely due your doubt.”
    They had a moment and the men chortled.
    Zora asked her great-grandmother, “Are you hungry? I was just about to order dessert but if you would like dinner, I could keep you company.”
    Regick nodded, “Please, join us and order what you like.”
    Darcash settled Alamina in her seat and took a chair next to her.
    Darcash looked at her with solemn eyes. “Are you the only one in your line?”
    “I am one of a line of daughters born to dragons. My grandmother, Charani, is your daughter. My mother, Lolli, gets a lot of her coloring from you. She has your hair.”
    He sat back as he heard that his family line went beyond him and his wife. “A line of daughters.”
    Alamina cocked her head. “Have you met my father?”
    Zora made a face. “Yes. That is how I ended up here. He traded his blood—meaning me—for an insult to King Olvadi. No one ever did give me the details.”
    “I hate what Alfonso made me into, but I could not imagine life without Darcash.”
    Darcash smiled, “She paced the shoreline every night for three months before I walked out of the surf to speak with her. When we coupled and the energy flared between us, I was sure she was my mate. She disappeared for a few months and I didn’t think anything of it, but when she disappeared again for two decades, I became concerned. I followed her and found her battling a nest of vampires in defense of a young woman. I destroyed the vampires and the young woman escaped, but Alamina was mortally wounded. I took her home and nursed her back to health. We have been together ever since.”
    Alamina smiled as she admitted, “I checked up on my girls via a scrying mirror. I always suspected you were doing well, though I was concerned about your mother. She was a wild one.”
    Regick chuckled. “The entire family will be here this week. I have set aside an upper floor of suites for you, and you can have the run of the building, and the city if you wish.”
    Alamina brightened, “They will?”
    “I called them all and asked them if they would come to bless the mating between Zora and myself.”
    Zora smiled. “He really did. He didn’t know if any of you would show.”
    Alamina smiled a beatific smile.