Fated Dragons Complete Series: Books 1 - 5

by Emilia Hartley

  Where his life was his own.

  But a cry split the air and they both broke from the moment. Liana spun and raced from the room. Dane followed hot on her heels. The small girl had backed herself into a corner of the living room, crouched to become the smallest possible target. It seemed, that during the walk here she must have fallen asleep. When Liana laid the sleeping child down and left, she must have awoken alone and terrified.

  This time, it was Dane’s turn to crouch before her. He pulled the box of cheese crackers from Liana’s hands and slowly moved toward the little girl. She looked at him with hesitation. He sat down on the floor, legs crossed, and reached into the box for a handful of crackers. He popped a few into his mouth while Liana sank into the couch once more. He didn’t care about the dirt. It could be cleaned.

  This moment felt like something out of a dream. Although, the dream involved a clean child that was their own, not afraid, but smiling and full of joy. This would do, he thought. This was better than fine.

  But the child was not his own, he had to remind himself. They had to find her parents and get her to her real home. Dane had to remember this. He didn’t deserve this kind of happiness. It would serve him right if his mate hated him for the rest of his life. He wished he could, at least, make her happy while she was here, but it didn’t even seem like that was in the cards. His karma had screwed up even her life.

  The child scooched forward, inch by inch, until her tiny fingers could steal a few crackers from his open palm. She sat back on her haunches and crammed them into her mouth. He pulled back. Too many too fast and she would find herself sick. He doled them out to her, one by one while Liana watched from the couch.

  When he glanced back, he was surprised to find a smile on her face. His mate’s eyes were still at war, but she had found some kind of happiness.

  “She has magic,” Liana informed him.

  The small girl looked between him and Liana, taking in their words. He studied her. It looked like she’d been in the wilds for a while. There were layers of dirt beneath her nails and her skin nearly clung to her bones. How long had she been missing?

  “She held my fire in her hands without getting burned. I can’t say if she’s a dragonling or a witchling, or whatever else is out in this world, but I know she’s something special.”

  “What I don’t get is how someone lost her? Who can be so irresponsible with their child?”

  The sound of crunching crackers slowed. Liana’s gaze flicked to the girl and she leaned forward, her lips parted.

  Dane turned to find the girl mirroring his position, her legs crossed as she sat inches away from him. The girl swallowed her mouthful of cracker before meeting Dane’s eyes.

  “I was lost,” the small voice said. “I had to find the big dragon. The leader.”

  His heart nearly stopped again.

  “What?” it was all he could manage. Someone told this girl to find him? But, why?

  She leaned forward and pulled the box of crackers from his grip before he could stop her. She was quick, becoming comfortable quickly.

  “This place. It smells of him. You,” the girl said as she pressed a finger into Dane’s knee. “You smell of him, too.”

  “That’s enough of the crackers for now,” Liana said. She shoved herself up from the couch and came closer. “How about we get you clean and into some comfy clothes? What do you say to that?”

  The small child looked at the box of crackers longingly.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t let the big dragon eat them all. He listens to me.” Liana held her hand out to the small child. He watched as the child hesitated and then, in a moment of trust, planted her hand neatly in his mate’s.

  He watched as the two of them navigated the house like they’d always lived there. He followed after them, his hand tracing over the small of Liana’s back when he passed her, and pointed them toward the master bathroom. They could make a great big mess of it for all he cared.

  Once he supplied them with all the soaps and shampoos he could find, he retreated. There was too much reeling through his mind. It left him dizzy and his feet found him outside again. He wasn’t surprised to find the three goons sitting on his porch. Marc and Luc shared the swinging bench as though Luc could not stand to be away from his twin yet. Isaac sat in the Adirondack chair with his feet planted on the rough, wood table.

  Dane pushed Isaac’s feet off the table before falling opposite him. There was no cushion in the chair, and he spared a moment to wonder if he should invest in some. For Liana. For the small child.

  He cursed. Liana had no clue she was even his mate. She was not his wife, or even his girlfriend. She was simply a work associate at this point. The girl they’d found was certainly not his child. He didn’t have to go out and invest in child-proof locks for all his doors and cabinets.

  Neither were his.

  The beast roared inside of him. It was so loud that his ears rang and when he looked up, he could see Isaac’s lips moving, but couldn’t hear the words that were pouring out. He shuddered and shut his eyes. The beast would have to wait.

  They just had to wait.

  Once the beast was curled into a corner of his mind, hissing and snarling in defiance, but far enough away that Dane could focus again, he turned his attention back to the men before him.

  “You alright boss?” Luc asked.

  “Right as rain,” he muttered.

  “I was asking you if we should call the human authorities,” Isaac repeated himself. His eyes moved to the door every now and then in case Liana appeared.

  Dane shook his head. There was a story attached to the child, one that he found he was afraid of. It brought up memories that he’d rather not recall. Ones that haunted his dreams some nights and had him awake, sitting beside his mate because she chased it all away.

  “The girl isn’t human,” he began. “At least, that’s what Liana believes. The girl spoke, said something about being told to find the big dragon.”

  Marc snorted. “I’d say she found him. You’re not only the leader of the largest group of dragons in the US, but you’re also the biggest damned dragon I’ve ever seen.”

  It made Dane wonder if Marc had seen Gareth’s dragon. The size of that beast gave Dane a run for his money. They were easily the same size. But, here in the US, big dragon definitely meant Dane. Why was the girl told to find him? Who told her to find him? He hoped Liana was getting answers from the girl.

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  Chapter Seven

  Liana slowly descended the stairs. Her body was crying out with fatigue. She’d had little more to eat than a handful of American cheese crackers and while they quieted the grumble of her stomach, they didn’t last her long.

  Upstairs, she’d laid the girl out on Dane’s bed. It had been a long day for her, too. After scrubbing her clean of the forest that had followed her inside, Liana wrapped her in one of Dane’s shirts. He couldn’t be angry at her for digging through his clothing. There had been a kind of calm that had taken her over as she did. The whole room smelled of him. The bed, the drawers, everything.

  In the end, she’d wanted to curl up beside the girl and sleep, too.

  But, she couldn’t. Not in Dane’s bed. He would direct her to her own place. Surely, he had an apartment or a studio set up for her in this little ramshackle town.

  She found him outside, sitting on his porch with his feet propped on a low table while he looked out over the little town. There was a Styrofoam container near his feet and the smell of roast chicken filled the air, her stomach grumbling audibly.

  The sound drew his attention. He looked up at her with wide eyes, like he could see everything even through the dusky dark. He patted the place beside him on the bench. Liana hesitated. She really should go find her own place to sleep. She knew it might be moments before her body gave in entirely and she fell asleep where she was standing.

  But, her body betrayed her and she fell into the seat
beside Dane. Her side rested against his, his warmth radiating over her. He leaned forward, and she found she missed his touch until he returned with the Styrofoam container.

  “There’s a place just off the Territory that makes the best grilled chicken dinners,” Dane informed her. “It looks like a little shack beside the road, but you can smell it for miles. I think this Territory alone has kept them in business for decades now.”

  She couldn’t stop herself. She cracked open the container to find half a chicken along with a number of sides. The potatoes were salty across her tongue, but she dipped them in butter and ate them each in one bite. Her achy body relaxed, the tension flooding away.

  It had been awkward, at first, helping the small girl bathe herself. She couldn’t have been more than five and it caused a sharp ache in Liana’s chest every time she looked at the girl. The mud washed away to reveal sun-kissed skin and honey eyes. Her messy hair took a while to get all the twigs and mud out, but once she untangled the mess it became a sleek wall of black that ran down the girl’s back.

  Liana suspected the girl was mixed race. It was more than the color of her skin. It was the way her sharp eyes followed Liana around the room. The girl had to be more than she looked, but Liana couldn’t tell if she was a young dragon.

  “I didn’t call any of the human authorities about the girl,” Dane informed her as she stuffed her face with grilled chicken. “There’s a reason she’s here with us and not with her family. Someone told her to find me and I’m going to do whatever I can to help her, to keep her safe.”

  Liana nodded. She set aside the container and looked out into the night. “She didn’t talk much, but I did get a name out of her. Miri. I don’t know if that means anything to you.”

  Dane groaned. She didn’t know what that meant. His head fell back and the swing rocked beneath them. Their bodies fell closer together. She found she was comfortable. Her guard was not raised in defense. She was not prepared for a fight. Was that the new Territory, or was it Dane’s presence beside her?

  “Tomorrow, we’re scheduled to look at a site for the new American Dragon Embassy. After that, I would like it if you would accompany me to check up on a family outside the Territory. They are not my dragons, but I would like to know if my hunch is correct.”

  Liana wanted to go there first. There was a small girl sleeping a floor above them, separated from her whole world. To her, that should have been their top priority. But, she understood the importance of the Embassy. The girl was safe here. They had time to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

  Dane leaned into her. She could feel his eyes dancing along her skin and it left a warm trail where a girlish blush rose. Thankfully, it was dark and he probably didn’t notice. She didn’t need him to know the kind of affect he was beginning to have on her.

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper that was almost carried away on a stray breeze.

  She sat upright and turned to face him, somehow startled by the softness. “What do you mean?”

  His eyes met hers through the settling dark. There was barely an inch between their faces. Her heart thumped inside her chest, so loud, so oppressive that it drowned out the monster that lurked inside of her.

  “For everything you’ve done for us today. No one asked you to find Marc. He was not your problem. No one asked you to carry Miri all the way here or take care of her the way you did.”

  Liana wanted to shrug, wanted to wave it all off, but she found that she couldn’t move. She was trapped beneath Dane’s gaze like a young deer. The smallest movement would brush her lips against his. All she had to do was reach up and thread her fingers through his dark waves and pull his face to hers.

  She wanted to. She wanted him, this strong leader.

  Liana shot up from her seat, heart thumping. “Could you point me toward where I’m staying? I’m damned tired.”

  She wouldn’t get attached. Not to Dane. Not to the child sleeping in his room. It would cut her in half. Especially when they were inevitably hurt. This world was cruel to her kind. It was cruel in general. She could keep them safe, try her hardest to fight for them, but she would not fall in love.

  “I thought you could pick a room in my place. It’s too big for just me.”

  Her heart flopped. She glanced down at Dane. He looked up at her with earnest eyes before gesturing toward the door. Liana could have marched over to the funny looking house next door and crashed on the twins’ couch. She could lay down here, on the porch, and sleep beneath the stars.

  Instead, she sighed. She was too tired to fight him on such a small matter. She would get her own room; that was good enough for the time being. All that mattered was that she got some sleep so she could fight him in the morning.

  “You look ready to topple over at any moment.” Dane shot up beside her.

  She swayed on her feet. The monster inside her was too weary to do anything, too tired to even step back from him. The food sat heavy in her stomach, making her feel as though the world might drag her down at any moment. Her eyelids echoed the feeling.

  Dane laughed, a small, gentle sound before sweeping her into his arms. She barely had the energy to give out a small squeak of alarm.

  ***

  Dane hugged her body close to his chest. He could feel her heart beating a slow rhythm against his chest. It was soothing, like all his worries were going to melt away even if he knew they’d be there, waiting for him in the morning.

  There was a first-floor bedroom that he’d had outfitted for her while he was away. His dragons, his friends, had gone on an exuberant shopping spree on his dime so that they could make the room feel more feminine. He’d been careful and explained the kind of creature Liana was, in case they got too far ahead of themselves and bought a quilt with sunflowers on it.

  But, when he pushed the door open with his foot, he found they had, indeed, done a fine job of capturing the person he thought his mate was. The bed was wrapped in a satin comforter so dark he’d thought it black at first. Upon laying Liana down, he saw that it was, in fact, a deep, midnight blue. The satin was speckled with tiny, white dots that looked like stars.

  Laying there, she looked like a gift from the heavens. Already asleep, she rolled over and grumbled, reaching for the nearest pillow to grip it close to her chest. He laughed, low and rumbling when he noticed what it was she’d hugged. Someone had bought a stuffed black dragon and added it to the pillows on her bed.

  Dane desperately wanted to curl up beside her. He wanted to hold her close while her guard was down and shield her from the world beyond. But, no one would hurt her here. His mate was surrounded by people that respected her, that loved him. In time, they would grow to love her, too, because she would be their champion.

  Using all the restraint he could muster, Dane turned from the room and left her to sleep. He didn’t know the last time he’d seen her sleep peacefully. Most nights, Dane found her sitting outside and staring into the sky.

  Upstairs, he paused in the door of his own room. There was a small form laying across the king sized bed, taking up far more space than he thought possible for a child her size. He smiled. The sight was not unwelcome. In fact, it warmed his heart.

  As he pulled a pillow from the bed and tossed it onto the floor, fear struck him like a truck. The beast inside him growled, the sound escalating into an unbearable roar that shook the room around him. The girl on the bed stirred and he snapped back, forcing the fear and his beast back.

  Dane had long since been responsible for this family, this group of dragons that belonged to no one other than themselves. He should have been used to the weight of duty. He should have been prepared for the fear that bit so deeply. Earlier this very day, he’d come close to losing one of his own and it had enraged him so deeply that he’d nearly brought the house down around them.

  But, when he thought of losing Liana or letting anyone hurt Miri, fear bit down, deep and cold. It nearly made him freeze. Never would he turn eith
er away. Both found a way into his heart and they would stay there. Miri would be a part of him even if they found her family safe and unharmed. Liana would always be his one and only love even if she decided that she’d rather have Luc, or one of the other dragons, than him.

  He could deal with that kind of pain because it meant that both were safe and loved.

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  Chapter Eight

  The next morning found them on the road again. The skies were clear, so Dane had dropped the car’s top again. They were on the way to look at a new site for the Embassy, but Liana’s mind was still with the child they’d left in the care of Dane’s dragons. The women were nice enough, but Miri had been devastated to see both Liana and Dane leave.

  It nearly broke Liana’s heart. She’d caught it just in time and let her monster wrap around it, feeling her face go blank as emotion slipped away. That didn’t stop her from wondering if Miri was okay.

  Dane was right, though. They’d fought earlier, nearly screaming at one another over his decision. She was the only one in the group that could fight him, using her status as an outsider to challenge his opinion until he brought up a very good point. There was no way they could bring Miri to the family he wanted to visit.

  “What if I’m wrong and those dragons, the kind that still like to raid towns from time to time, are still there?” He’d leaned into her face as he spoke, anger burning around him. “What if she is their child and we get there to find a slaughter? Either way, that girl is in danger.”

  Her stomach had nearly sunk through the floor. She’d never heard of dragons still raiding towns, but the States were big enough and GOE facilities were so few and far between here that it wasn’t an impossibility.

  She had her work cut out for her here.