by Alicia Banks
ELITE DRAGON'S HUMAN MATE
A DRAGON SHIFTER ROMANCE (ELITE SHIFTERS OF COLORADO BOOK 5)
ALICIA BANKS
Contents
Title Page
Elite Dragon’s Human Mate
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
How to Connect
Books In This Series
Books By This Author
Copyright © 2020 by Alicia Banks:
All rights are reserved.
It is illegal to reproduce any part of this Book in any form i.e. mechanical, electronical, printed, or audible form including storage information and retrieval system without any written permission from the Author, except brief quotation in a Book Review.
ELITE DRAGON’S HUMAN MATE (ELITE SHIFTERS OF COLORADO SERIES BOOK 5)
Elite Dragon’s Human Mate
BLURB:
A car crash started it all, ending a normal life for Cassandra and starting a whole new adventure for them both.
Just human
Out of the blue, a truck came around a bend and crashed into me.
I wasn’t hurt bad, but the driver just left.
I would never forget his face. Or his tattoos.
I thought I’d never see him again, until with a twist of fate, he becomes my boss.
There is danger at every corner with Antoine around.
He has to protect me and the animosity I felt at first, turns into something else.
Quickly it turns to desire, and every waking minute is spent thinking of him.
Fantasizing.
Planning.
I have to have him.
Recovering Loner
People suck.
I learned that long ago, and as I aged; life didn’t change my mind.
I kept to myself.
I stayed out in the middle of the woods.
Life was quiet and good.
Then I crashed my truck, while being chased by another’s enemies.
That crash changed everything.
I met Cassandra, the human that was going to be more to me than I could realize.
Soon, I started to see Cassandra as more.
I started to dream about her.
No matter what was going on, I had to have Cassandra.
I devised a plan, but my inner dragon had other ones.
My dragon won and Cassandra was mine.
With Danger threatening their new happy lives, Antoine is willing to do anything to keep the status quo.
Anything.
***
Chapter 1
Cassandra
“Are you okay?”
Cassandra may have said that she was okay, but she wasn’t. She felt like her head was hurt and everything was like tunnel vision and her hearing was off. She’d hit the steering wheel head-on, when the car hit her. It left a lasting mark on her forehead.
The driver of the other car had come to see if she was okay, but he didn’t make a move to help her, and he hadn’t said that he was going to call nine-one-one, either. Instead, he said he had to go, and she couldn’t believe it when he stood back up from his crouching position.
“I’m sorry, really I am. I am sure someone will come upon you soon enough.”
Just like that, he was gone. Cassandra hadn’t gotten a good look at him, but she’d seen a tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It was some kind of symbol. He’d handed her a napkin when he’d seen her bleeding, but that wasn’t going to do her any good. Cassandra didn’t know who it was that had come out of nowhere and hit her, and now was taking off.
She closed her eyes and time passed. The only reason she knew that was because it was now light around the car. She’d been driving into an interview early and it had still been dark. Now, though, the sun wasn’t completely up in the sky, but it was up more than it should have been. She checked her phone and cursed. It was not only about dead and had no signal, but it showed that she was already two hours late for the interview. It was one that she’d been looking forward to for some time, the perfect spot, but now Cassandra knew she was going to have to kiss it goodbye.
Cassandra cursed the tall man with dark hair and bright blue eyes. He’d had a calming voice and had even sounded concerned in the beginning. Once she’d realized that he was leaving her, though, Cassandra had felt completely different about the situation.
She looked around, taking stock of not only the car that was at least off to the side of the road, but her surroundings as well. She wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit if someone came down the hill where she’d just crashed into the other guy.
Cassandra felt like she was all in one piece, even though her head was throbbing, and she was sure that it was going to be cut and knotted for a while. It hurt when she touched a certain area, and the blood was an indicator that it was cut. Further inspection made it appear not that deep, but she was still troubled by the amount that had reached her shirt and down the side of her face.
She reminded herself that head wounds just bled more. It wasn’t bad. She tried the door, and it was wrecked. The metal wasn’t going to reopen. Cassandra had to climb over the passenger side seat and then push that door open. She was relieved when it gave way, and she was able to step foot back on solid ground.
Cassandra looked around again and saw no one. All she saw were dark woods around her, and she hoped that someone would pass, though she knew it wasn’t likely. Cassandra lived off the beaten path about twenty miles. She liked the solitude that it afforded her, as well as the sunrises that weren’t disturbed by any kind of noise, except animals that were stirring around. It was peaceful and she loved it, until that very moment. Cassandra wasn’t loving it all that much, anymore.
Now she knew she was either going to have to walk ten miles either way, with her head banging, or she was going to have to sit and wait. Other people lived out there, but they were like her, going into town when necessary. The job that she was interviewing for was going to be mainly remote. She was a writer and did better with quiet, and as long as she had a good wi-fi connection, she could do it anywhere. Now, though, she was going to have to look for another job.
Cassandra was sure that all of her worries were all on one guy. The man who had hit her, checked on her, and then left her. Who does that? she thought to herself.
It was a little chilly. She went to her trunk and was thankful that she had an extra coat in there. Her mind wasn’t made up on whether she was going to walk or if she was going to stay and wait. In the end, it was too cold to make her mind up either way, and she wasn’t even going to worry about it. She was just going to have to wait it out.
She got back in, warmed up, and tried to get her phone to have a few more bars. Cassandra was starting to really get cold and the anger for the man who left her was dissipating. She knew that she was trying her best to stay worked up, because it was warmer that way.
Cassandra needed to get up and move around. Staying huddled in the car wasn’t helping her and when she tried to turn it on to get the heater running, it made horrible sounds like it was going to explode, so she immediately turned it off and swore that she wouldn’t turn it back on.
No longer able to wait around, she got out of the car and hoped that her phone wouldn’t die before she found a place with a l
ittle bit of clearing of all the huge Redwoods that filled the area. It was hard to see the sky in some parts, so it wasn’t hard to imagine the difficulty of a signal getting through.
Cursing her luck and that stupid guy, Cassandra started walking toward her house. It was miles away, but at least there was a warm bed waiting for her. She just had to get there. At least it wasn’t too cold for the middle of November. It could be worse, Cassandra tried to remind herself. It didn’t help much at the moment, but she knew it to be true.
She wasn’t far, maybe a few hundred yards, when she heard something that she couldn’t imagine she would hear. Cassandra looked behind her, shocked really, when a tow truck started toward her. Cassandra didn’t know how the coincidence could be so good, but she wasn’t going to question it. It was one of those times in life where someone was looking down on her and had decided to help. In the current circumstances that she was in, it was time for her to accept the universe’s good-natured assistance.
The tow truck stopped by her.
“You look like you need some help.”
Cassandra looked at the name tag on the man’s shirt. There was something odd about it, but she read the name to herself and smiled.
“Yes, Nathan, I would really love some help. Would you mind helping me out? I don’t even need the car taken, just me out of here. You can drop me off at home and I will get someone else to pick it up. I doubt it will be able to move too far.”
“Well, it looks like I have some parts that might help you out.”
Cassandra scoffed, looking back at the beaten car and not seeing how in the world this guy would have what she needed. Anyway, was he going to do it on the side of the road?
“Unless you have a grey door to match, I don’t know how this can be fixed.”
“What if I told you that I happened to have one of those?”
“I would be shocked and wondering if you were some kind of wizard or something.”
She snickered, thinking she was being funny, because that was impossible, but Nathan wasn’t near as jovial as she was. He didn’t seem to get it, or just didn’t see it as humorous.
“Not a wizard, but a car much like yours was totaled and what would you know, there is an extra door in the back. Give me twenty minutes and I will have that other dent popped out and the door changed. You will be able to be right on your way.”
“It was making a weird noise, too. I don’t know if it is going to be safe to drive.”
“Hmmm, it has mechanical trouble, too?”
Cassandra agreed, though she wasn’t sure what was going on. Nathan came out of nowhere and now he looked confused, like he hadn’t known that it was messed up that way, too. He shouldn’t know any of it, anyway.
“Yeah, I think so. Like I said, if you could just maybe take me home, that would be alright.”
He looked like he was wrestling with something. “I was hoping that I would be able to actually help you and set you right.”
“It would help me greatly to get home out of this cold. It’s really windy and it’s cutting right through me.”
“Right, sorry. I don’t feel the cold much. Let me get you into my truck. Since you have mechanical problems, as well, I’ll have to tow it back to the shop. How about I take you home and bring it back when it’s done?”
“Wow, you would really do that?”
He agreed and Cassandra knew that she couldn’t pass up that deal. He was going out of his way to help her and Cassandra was grateful. She’d had a horrendous day so far.
“You never asked me what happened.”
“Well, it looks like you were hit by another car.”
“And he just took off.”
“I gathered that. Come on, let’s get you home where you’ll be warm. It looks like you’re having a bad day.”
Cassandra thanked him for his help and when his hand went to her shoulder, she saw something on his wrist. It looked like a familiar pattern she’d seen before, in that exact same spot.
Cassandra didn’t know what to think. She was already in the truck moments later and knew that she just needed to get home. Her mind was playing tricks on her, surely that is what it was. There was no connection between the two men. She had hit her head. She must have seen something else…
Chapter 2
Antoine
Antoine led the Sachrons into the woods, and he knew that they weren’t far behind him. They were on a crash course and he had to get them away from the town. He had grown rather fond of it and Antoine wasn’t going to have his chaos hurting anyone else there. Nathan had called him when he’d found out that they were close. He’d known that they would come for Antoine, just for helping him.
Nathan had an enemy that took over his life. It had taken over Antoine’s life, too, as the attacks became worse. Nathan had shown himself to be king, and a lot of people didn’t like it. They wanted to destroy him, so he couldn’t have what was rightfully his.
Since Antoine and Nathan were practically family, and definitely friends, Antoine had been added to the list of aggressors. Nathan had a new title, one that made him king of his people, but not everyone was happy about it. Some wanted to take the reign back, before he was able to make some changes that would affect the affluent. Nathan needed to be taken out, and everyone along with him that knew the truth of the bloodlines.
Antoine got the Sachrons out of his hair and away from his home. He called Nathan, to tell him about the attack, as well as to tell him about the girl that he’d hit with his truck. The Sachrons could still be trailing him, so he wanted to take them far away from there, just in case.
Antoine didn’t want to leave the woman out there, he wouldn’t have if he’d had another choice. Since it was Nathan’s drama that caused it all, Antoine figured he could help by checking on her and fixing her up.
He felt bad that he wasn’t going to be able to do it himself. He’d been too keen to check on her, before he took off, but it wasn’t enough, there was still doubt. He didn’t want anything to happen to her, and if she’d needed help, Antoine would have gotten it for the tiny brunette behind the wheel. She’d been hurt, but nothing that was life threatening. The beasts that had followed him were far more dangerous than the cut on her head.
He called Nathan again, after he didn’t pick up the first time. It should have been enough time. He needed to see how she was, make sure that the car was fixed and the human girl was on her way. While he couldn’t take it all away, he could mitigate the damage. Nathan didn’t pick up, though, so Antoine shifted to end his trail and went home. He waited for a call, deep in the woods where he lived.
Antoine didn’t much care for humans and he had lived by the rule of staying away from them as much as possible. He didn’t like to deal with them in any way. There was always something that was going on with them and since he’d never found one that was loyal, Antoine didn’t have much need for humans. It didn’t mean he wanted to do them harm, though. It was also easier to never be caught if he was never seen. Any time he came in contact with humans, he wanted to be as forgettable as possible. Checking on her, letting her see him, had been a mistake.
He called Nathan again on his satellite phone. It was the one way that he could get service as far out as he was. Antoine just wanted to know that she was okay. If something happened to her, she might make trouble for him, like start a police investigation. It was not at all what he wanted or needed. That, and he just felt bad for hitting her and leaving her like that to begin with. It was in bad form, surely.
When Nathan finally answered, Antoine sent him to check on the woman and told him he’d call him back soon. Antoine was anxious but knew that it would take time for what he asked for.
When he called back, Antoine tried to leave the nerves out of his voice, yet it felt impossible. He felt overly concerned, for no real reason, either.
“What’s going on? Was she alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, it was fine. She wasn’t very trusting, and you know she’s your neighb
or, right?”
Antoine cursed. He knew that there were a few humans out that far in the woods, but not many. Of course, that would be his luck, that he would have slammed into one of the only ones out there. Yeah, that made sense, he thought to himself.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, and the car is junked worse than you thought. She was talking about the mechanics of it, and I was floundering, man. You know I don’t know shit about cars.”
Antoine laughed. “Did she know more than you?”
“Probably. I told you that I wouldn’t be good doing this.”
“While I am getting better at being chased down by your friends.”
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s all good. So, what did you do with her?”
“I dropped her off at her house and told her I would get her car in to get it fixed. She was not happy. Apparently, she was on her way to an interview and you just ruined her day, week, month, maybe her life.”
“One of those, huh?”
Antoine had a lot of reasons to not like humans, but the reason that he didn’t like the females, even though many of his kind tried them out once in a while, was because they never shut up. They never stopped talking about things of little to no importance. It almost made him feel better about the fact that he’d ruined her plans.
“No, not at all. It was all running in her head a mile a minute. It was like she couldn’t shut it off, and I couldn’t either. She was projecting, and I will be the first to tell you, Antoine, she wants your balls in the blender.”
“Great. Do you think she’s going to go to police?”
“I don’t know. She’s pissed.”
Antoine groaned. “What am I supposed to do? You know that I don’t want cops sniffing around. They’re going to find this place, and then I’m going to have to move again. Great, just great!”
Antoine was working himself up and feeling helpless. One mistake, one miscalculation, and he was going to have to change everything. Again.