by Maia Starr
He pushes me back when I don’t step away immediately and the two shift into their giant dragons, standing in Maxen’s way. The bear, though, doesn’t seem the least bit fazed and rushes them anyway. Reed spews fire at the charging bear, a heat so intense I can feel it from here, while Hayden goes to meet Maxen’s charge.
Hayden and Maxen clash just beyond the impact of the fire, which forms a line on the ground, forcing Maxen back. The dragon and bear slash and roar and slam into each other, trying desperately to get the upper hand. My heart thumps to the rhythm of each attack, and I can’t tear my eyes away again.
Reed charges over the line of fire as well, attempting to corner the bear, but Maxen has other plans. As soon as Reed crosses, he darts around them both, running straight for me. I feel a sense of deja vu as the bear is inches from me once again. I spin to avoid him, and suddenly his paw is scooping me up...and sending me flying through the forest into the air. Maxen rushes off in the opposite direction.
Apparently, he can abandon me if it means his life will be saved.
But now I’m hurtling dozens of feet in the air. I cry out, and then I see one of the dragons charge ahead of me and shift, human arms outstretched, ready to catch me.
I land in Reed’s arms moments later, and we fall to the ground. He softens the landing for me, so I come out unscathed. He smiles at me.
I’m too busy looking for Hayden to smile back.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hayden
I know instinctively that Reed and I are on the same page. When Maxen goes to toss Erika, Reed is already shooting off to catch her. I chase Maxen.
It wasn’t an impossibility that Maxen would forsake Erika for his own life. That’s just the kind of man he is. And yet it still makes me beyond angry. How can he even call himself a shifter, leading a life of abuse towards people like he does? I have so many questions, so many reasons to poke his mind, yet I know I’ll never get the answers I seek. All that matters now is that I kill him.
Chasing down Maxen in the forest isn’t easy, but he’s not exactly trying to hide where he’s running. He’s frantic. Afraid of dying. I don’t think he was expecting Reed and me to catch up, because he’s scrambling to live another day. If he leaves now, he’ll come back to try again.
I can’t let that happen.
Shifting back to my human form as a way to more easily get around in the forest and to lure Maxen into attacking me, I rush forward with abandon. He takes the bait, looking over his shoulder, turning on a dime and opening his jaws to snap me up. I leap over him and shift, my shadow instantly engulfing him.
In a matter of seconds, I fall and crush him, placing one foot on his neck and the others on his limbs, keeping him on his back. He doesn’t shift back, but instead, roars wildly in my face.
The next second, his neck snaps, and Maxen’s roar cuts off. It’s completely silent, save for my huffing and puffing. The bear underneath me goes limp, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. I stare down at him, unsure if he really is dead or not, and even when I gently climb off of his body, I still wait to be proven wrong.
But after a few minutes seeing absolutely no movement, no breathing, I realize this fight is over.
Maxen is dead.
I switch gears since there’s still more to do. Like save Sven’s life, for instance.
Hurrying back to the clearing where Reed and Erika are, I quickly embrace them both.
“What happened?” Erika asks. “Did he slip away again?”
I shake my head. “Maxen is dead. It’s over.”
Erika just stands there, clearly unsure of how she feels about his death. As much as I want to comfort her, my mind is still on Sven. “Look, Sven still needs our help. Can you stay strong right now, Erika? We need to get back to him and wrap up his wounds before he bleeds out.”
Erika, without missing a beat, nods. “Yeah, he takes priority right now. Let’s go!”
And so we rush off, Reed carrying Erika in his arms so we can move faster. We get to the area Sven is still resting in minutes later to find him sitting up, shivering. He spies us and grins from ear to ear. “It went well, I take it?”
“Maxen is dead,” I say, kneeling down. “We can talk about that later, though. We need to get you home. Now.”
Sven grunts. “Fine. What, are you gonna carry me?”
I nod, stepping back. “I'll carry you all. Reed will keep you both steady on my back.” So I shift and kneel down, allowing the three to climb onto my back. Reed helps Sven climb up, though Sven utters a series of rapid swears as he’s forced to stretch and hurt his wounds to get up. Once everyone is seated and Reed’s got a tight hold on Erika and Sven, I lift off, angling towards the cottage.
In less than a quarter-hour we’re back in the cottage, Sven laying on a couch while Erika and Reed wrap bandages all around his wounds. He’s not bleeding out as fiercely as before, so my mind begins to wind down and I come to sit down in a chair next to the trio after guarding the door. It’s a habit I won’t get rid of anytime soon.
Silence permeates the room as we sit, all staring at each other.
Eventually, Erika clears her throat. “It’s really over, isn’t it?”
I nod. “How are you holding up?”
“As well as anyone can, I guess…”
“And the baby?” Reed asks, leaning forward. “Is...do you think the baby is okay?”
Erika’s smile is enough to brighten the whole room. She pats her stomach. “Yes...my baby is fine.” She pauses and looks to each of us in turn. “I know I’ve said this before, but I want to reiterate this now. I love every single one of you. And, I want you all to share me and the baby. If you can’t, then I’ll be leaving .”
Sven grunts as he tries to sit up, but I place a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down. He grumbles at me but turns his attention on Erika. “I think I can probably speak for us all right now, but none of us wants to lose either of you. We’ll share you because that’s what we need to do.”
I look to Reed and see him smiling. “I agree. There’s no way I can stomach losing you after all this.”
Now all eyes are on me.
“Well, Hayden?” Erika asks, her voice quiet and gentle and pleading. “Will you stay with us?”
I bellow out laughter, slapping my knee. “After everything we just went through to keep you here, you think I’d leave?” Shaking my head, I meet her eyes. “I’m here with you all until the day I die.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Erika
It’s hard to put into words how vibrant my life has been this past year since Maxen was killed. Instead of one partner, I had three and a baby to pop out down the line. Every day was wild and fun, and I actually began to smile daily.
Even now, I’m smiling, living the best life I possibly could with the people I love the most.
“Hey, Erika! Want any more orange slices?” Hayden calls from a dozen feet away, crouched over our oversized picnic basket.
I glance over my shoulder and shake my head. “I’m good for now.”
“What about Felicity? She want anything to nibble on?”
Grinning, I look back at the baby girl bundled in my arms. Most of her body is wrapped in a warm blanket. Felicity is snoozing quietly, her eyes shut, her tiny wisps of red hair nearly hidden in the folds of the blanket. Her little nose wrinkles as a breeze passes over us.
“She’s fine,” I say, quiet enough so as not to wake her.
Then Reed is scooching over, gazing down at our baby. “I swear, every time I see this girl, I just want to cry a river of happy tears.” He gently pokes her nose, causing her to make a soft sound. “I can’t get over how squishy she is. She’s gonna be as handsome as me.”
“No, she’ll look as tough as me,” Sven says, coming up from the pond and leaning over to block the sunlight. “I bet she’ll be pretty tall.”
Reed shoves him off to the side. “Move, you elephant! Don’t cover our darling girl in shadows. All babies need sunli
ght to grow. That’s a hard fact right there.”
“Uh-huh,” I say, still grinning like a fool. I can’t stop staring down at my child, at my baby girl. She’s beautiful beyond words.
Felicity was born a month ago. She was a bit late, but I didn’t blame her for taking her time. It’s not like there was any reason to rush being born. There was no Maxen to deal with, no fears to think about. All I wanted was to see her healthy and happy...and so far, I’ve gotten what I wanted.
“Man, seriously, though,” Reed says. “I wonder what type of girl Felicity will grow up to be.”
“Maybe she’ll be into music and ask us to learn how to play the guitar or drums,” Hayden says, coming over to sit in front of me, completing our little circle.
“Or she might develop a love for film,” Sven says, rolling his shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind helping write a script or star in one of her student films.”
I laugh. “As if she’d put one of her fathers in the film.”
“Hey, I’m a great actor!” Sven says. “I could even be a Hollywood star if I really tried.”
The rest of us are laughing our heads off as Sven smiles.
Felicity stirs as I rock back and forth, and she’s making all sorts of sounds as her eyelids flutter open.
“Oh, she’s awake!” Reed says. “Look, look, our baby girl is awake.”
“Look at those eyes,” Sven says, waving at her. Felicity stares back at his hand, probably wondering what the heck he’s doing. Her eyes are light blue, sparkling in the sunlight. I look up at Hayden at the same time he looks up at me. We smile warmly at each other as Felicity begins to cry.
“Oh, Felicity, everything’s okay. We’re here for you, all four of us!” I say, rocking her and bouncing her in my arms. “Shh, everything is fine. Relax.”
Eventually, she does, stopping her crying and staring up at me, seemingly mesmerized.
“Oh, she definitely loves you,” Reed says, grinning just as wide as I am. “I don’t think she’ll ever grow up to hate you. She’ll probably take out her frustrations on one of us.”
Sven puffs out his chest. “She can pummel me all she wants with those tiny fists of hers. I’ll pretend every single time that she’s stronger than me by falling down and pleading for her to stop.”
Hayden chuckles. “That just sounds horrifying.”
Jumping to his feet, with Felicity watching him, Reed hurries over to the picnic basket. “We should take a picture!”
“You’re always taking pictures,” I say.
But Reed isn’t fazed. “One more picture can never hurt. Hurry up, you three, go stand by the pond and look pretty while I set this thing up on a timer.”
All three of us groan in unison and then laugh. Felicity seems to groan along with us.
With Sven and Hayden pulling me up to my feet, we all saunter over to the edge of the pond, the trickling waterfall in the background. I position myself in the middle, with Sven to my right and Hayden just behind me. Reed quickly sets up his camera on the ground, setting the timer and then rushing over to stand to my left. “Everybody, smile!”
Hayden rests his hands on my left shoulder, and I briefly show him a smile before turning to the camera.
The camera goes off, flashing, and Felicity cries out at the sudden bright lights.
Reed rushes to check how the picture turned out, and Sven and Hayden help me calm our baby girl down.
I don’t think I could have asked for a better life.¶
OTHER SIZZLING SHIFTER BOOKS
Dragon’s Surrogate MatchMate ( Book 1: Drgaon’s MatchMate Agency)
As a powerful dragon shifter, I had everything I wanted.
Everything except for the one thing that mattered most.
A baby.
Dragon’s Nanny MatchMate (Book 2: Dragon’s MatchMate Agency)
My human nanny has no idea who I really am.
A powerful dragon shifter.
She also doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.
Dragons And Faes (Mated To A Fae): The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
She’s my fated mate and I’m about to capture her.
I don’t have a choice.
She’s a human and dragon hybrid.
A threat to my existence.
A threat to my world.
Special Ops Dragons: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
This Special Ops Shifter collection contains four books that burn with sexy dragons, and their obsession to save and protect their mates. Chiseled abs, fake marriages, and hot single dads will keep you awake at night… and have you burning for more!
Dragon Shifter Island: The Complete Series(Books1-4)
An island full of sexy dragon beasts, that will do whatever it takes to protect and claim their mates!
Wolves Of Silverwood Island: The Complete Series(Books1-4)
Hot shifters who will go insane without mates. Women on the run from dangerous past relationships. Can these shifters protect and claim these women as their new mates, or fail to protect them against the monsters hunting them?
Alpha Shifters Of Salem: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Dreamy alpha shifters are roaming around the town of Salem ready to claim and protect their mates. Expect to find hot single daddies, innocent nanny’s, secret babies, unexpected pregnancy’s and much more sizzling action primed to keep your pages turning all hours of the night.
Bear Lake Protectors: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Welcome to Bear Lake. Full of dreamy bear shifting alpha bad boys who will do whatever it takes to protect and claim their mates by any means necessary. Get all this hot sizzling action in the full and complete Bear Lake Protector series!
Other Books By Maia Starr
If you enjoy my books then you are in for a treat! See below for a list of boxsets or some standalones on my more recent work. All FREE on KU !:) Enjoy !
Sci Fi Alien/Weredragon Romance
Protected By The Aliens: The Complete Series(Books 1-2)
Warriors Of Ition: The Complete Series(Books 1-4)
Aliens Of Xeion: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Weredragons Of Tivuso: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Zenkian Warriors The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Dragons Of Kelon: The Complete Series (Books 1-6)
Dragons Of Udora: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
Aliens Of Jenalk: The Complete Series (Books 1-4)
About the Author
Thank You for reading! I truly hope you enjoyed my book. I am a passionate writer that is OBSESSED with Paranormal Romance. I have been writing since I was a little kid and never looked back! I look forward to interacting with all of you and bringing you new hot and steamy Paranormal Romance books.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH ME:
Sign up to my newsletter to stay updated with all my new releases, and free giveaways!
You can also like and follow me on Facebook!
Feel free to email me at [email protected]
P.S..If you are a passionate romance reader and love reading Paranormal Romance books. I would LOVE for you to join my ARC Team. My team is full of passionate readers that receive my books for FREE( prior to release!) in exchange for an honest review. I only have 10 spots so if you feel that person is you email me at [email protected]
Thank You !
Maia Starr
GET YOUR FREE COPY NOW!
Your Exclusive Prequel Bonus
Dragon Protector(Dragon Shifter Island Prequel)
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/bxbp926341
GET YOUR FREE PERSONAL COPY NOW!
ayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share