by Maia Star
“We’ve got a surprise for you,” Scarlet says. “Something you’ve been waiting for for a long time.”
Kai’s eyes go wide. “You got me tickets to the new Star Wars movie?”
We both blink and glance at each other, then laugh. “No, no! Your mom means something else.”
Kai crosses his arm and cocks his head. “Then I have no idea.”
Sighing, I kneel in front of him. “Kai. Remember how a few years ago, you began to breathe fire?” He nods. “And remember how I’ve been teaching you to control that fire?” He nods once again. “And remember how I told you you’d begin to experience other changes like that? Like, you’d grow wings and a tail and turn all scaly and stuff?” He nods even more enthusiastically than before. “Well, I thought I’d teach you more, now that you’ve gotten a bit older.”
“You’re gonna teach me how to shift into a monster?”
Scarlet bursts out laughing.
Shaking my head, I grip his shoulder. “Uh, no. Not that. Not yet. But I do want you to start getting used to flying or being in high places.”
Understanding dawns on his face and he rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Oh! I get it! You’re gonna let me ride on your back after you shift and you’re going to fly around the city or maybe the ocean—”
“Kai.”
“Yeah?”
“Calm down, please.”
“Okay!”
Rising to my feet, I wave him after us as I walk away. “Come on. We’re going a bit further down the beach. I’d rather not scare everyone when I shift.”
Kai sprints on ahead, shouting in glee and spinning and whistling as best he can. Scarlet nudges me and races after him, mimicking his excitement. I grin from ear to ear and speed up, catching up to them in no time, running past and sticking my tongue out at them. “I’m gonna beat you guys! You can’t get to the end of the beach before me!”
Scarlet and Kai exchange shocked expressions and charge after me. While Kai is fast, he’s still nowhere as speedy as I am, so I slow down and watch as he and Scarlet slowly catch up. I wink at Scarlet, and she smiles, grabbing Kai and picking him. “I got him, Arthur! Go! Go! Now you can win!”
Kai rages in his mother’s grip. “No! That’s unfair!”
I turn around to jog backward, looking totally convinced I’ll win the race. I flip my hair like some pompous ass and then proceed to trip and fall over nothing. Scarlet pretends to be shocked and lets Kai go, and our son speeds on, running past me and sticking his tongue out at me. I smile back. If there were any moment I was convinced Kai was my son, this would be it.
I cry out in fake pain, slamming my fist into the sand. “Darn it all! How could I trip there and lose to a kid!”
Now at the end of the beach, Kai is jumping around, elated he beat me. Scarlet helps me to my feet and we stroll over, laughing as does a victory dance.
“All right, all right, speedster,” I say, ruffling his head. “Now, are you ready to fly high in the sky?”
“You bet!” he says.
“Then stand back. Both of you. Or else you’ll be squished!”
Waiting for Kai and Scarlet to step back far enough, I turn around and strip down. I shift into my dragon form in seconds, growing my scales, my tail lengthening, my wings sprouting. I snort out a bit of fire as I turn around and look at the tiny creatures I call my family. Scarlet takes Kai’s hand and leads him forward. “Now, remember, Kai, you hold on tight to your father. I’ll be on with you and will be holding you too. Just remember to be safe.”
Kai nods enthusiastically, and I’m sure he didn’t hear anything she said. I lower my back and let Scarlet help Kai climb on first. His tiny body on my back feels odd. Then Scarlet gets on like the experienced rider that she is. “All aboard!” she calls.
“All aboard!” Kai mimics.
Walking forward, I flap my wings and rise into the air. Kai is already screaming like he’s on a rollercoaster, but I trust Scarlet to keep him safe. I rise slowly, careful not to accidentally flip or go too fast. As I speed up to a more noticeable pace, further out over the water, I hear Kai’s cries of excitement, shouting at his mom as he points out the water below, the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. He’s amazed by everything, and that only makes me want to fly out even farther, maybe a bit faster.
Eventually, I decide to dive, which makes Kai and Scarlet scream in tandem, but then I’m leveling out, my stomach brushing the water and splashing some up for Kai to reach out and touch. He’s laughing like crazy.
His voice is wonderful to listen to. No matter where I am, no matter what I’m doing, if I can hear my son laughing, I can smile.
Five years ago, I thought I’d never smile again. But then I met Scarlet by chance again, and my dreams became reality.
Angling back towards the beach, I fly closer, letting Kai experience the city from a new view. I can’t wait to see where he’ll be when he’s my age
Dragon’s Omega MatchMate
(Dragon’s Match Mate Agency)
Book 5
By Maia Starr
Chapter One
Catarina
As I stood still, taking the insults that were flung at me, I realized that I never thought it would get to this point.
“Useless Omega,” Gregory, the Alpha of my clan, spat, his eyes raking over me with barely concealed lust. “Why would you dress like that? You already know that we have enough pups in the litter.”
I wished I could have talked back to him. Because these are the clothes you’ve provided me with, I would have said. And they’re not even that revealing anyway.
But as the Omega of the clan, talking back to the Alpha would have been a death sentence.
All of us were gathered in the luxurious downtown apartment of one of the clan Betas. If I had thought that no one would notice, maybe I would have taken more time to look around and appreciate the interior decoration. But, as it was, that would have only aggravated them more.
Clans of dragon shifters work in hierarchies. We’re born into them; it’s not really something you get to choose. Alphas lead the clan, Betas help the Alphas, then comes the majority of people, then the Omegas: the lowest of the low. We’re always female, always unclaimed, and always terribly treated.
Despite how far the modern world has progressed, in shifter society, we are nothing but tools. We’re meant for breeding and to let the members of the clan get out their anger and lust. It’s a life no one wants to live. But vocalizing that would only get me punished.
I just wanted to survive long enough to be able to escape.
And it looked like that day would be soon. My clan no longer had any use for me at the moment. They had plenty of pups, and as far as they knew, I was still fertile and any further breeding would lead to more litters.
We weren’t a very rich clan, despite having some well-off members. And everyone who wanted a child already had one.
So now it came down to what they were going to do with me.
I tried not to shiver at the thought and sat as still as possible where I was on the floor. I let my long dark hair fall into my face, retreating into myself. Maybe they would just decide to let me go. That would have been ideal, but it was unlikely.
“Apologies, Alpha Gregory,” I said, but he didn't pay attention to me.
“Let us go eat,” Alpha Gregory said. “Then we will decide what to do with this mutt.”
He kicked me in the side. Years of experience kept me from letting out a yelp as I fell over. I curled up into a ball in case any further attacks came, but there were none. I watched, somewhat surprised, as the rest of my clan filed into the dining room.
I had a moment then to appreciate my surroundings. I wouldn’t be expected to eat for another hour, at least. All I would be getting were leftovers. Omegas eat last.
The apartment was decorated with a warm and modern sensibility. The furniture was all shades of deep brown and red, and the walls were a spotless white. Art in black and white deco
rated the walls, and there were books everywhere.
I hung my head and tried my best to retreat into my mind. It was at times like these that I liked to daydream, especially about what I would do if I escaped. Maybe I would find a nice human man to settle down with, someone who had no idea that I was an Omega or what that meant.
Or maybe I could find other escaped Omegas, and we could create our own little community altogether. It was a far-fetched dream but one that I liked nonetheless.
It wasn’t too much longer, surprisingly, before I was called into the dining room. I stood before my clan, hanging my head and being careful to not make any eye contact.
“We have no more use for you,” Alpha Gregory said. “And we have discussed at length what it is that we shall do about that. We have decided to offer you up for auction with the Omega Hearts Agency. Maybe there will be some other clan that desires your kind.”
I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on the floor. Perhaps this could be my chance. Either it might be easier to escape from the other clan, or they might treat me better.
“Go pack up your things. They will send someone to get you tonight once your match is decided,” he said.
I nodded again, then winced when he roughly grabbed my cheeks, forcing me to look him in the eyes.
“You know, I’m going to miss this pretty little face of yours. Maybe I should do something about it.”
I winced, but the Beta whose apartment we were at put a calming hand on Alpha Gregory’s shoulder.
“We’ll get a better price for her if she’s undamaged. Best leave her as is.”
Alpha Gregory made me keep eye contact for a moment longer, then released me, flinging me away from him.
“Go. Before I change my mind and ruin you like the slut you are.”
I scrambled from the room, glad to be excused. I just hoped that whatever new clan I was matched with treated me better than this one had.
Well, I supposed it would be difficult to treat me worse, wouldn’t it? I was in quite the bad situation already; I just had to hope it got better.
It didn’t take me long at all to pack up my things. It definitely would have taken me a lot longer if I had to figure out how to get a suitcase, but I already had one, in the event that an opportunity to run away presented itself.
I considered for a moment the possibility of just leaving, but then I realized that now that my clan was expecting to get money for me, they’d hunt me down no matter what I did.
I just had to hope that I was not jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
After packing up my things, I settled in to wait in my small two-room apartment for someone to come get me. I pulled out my phone and began going through one of the romance books that I had downloaded earlier.
It was quite sweet and occupied my mind well as time passed.
Finally, there was a knock on my door.
I opened it to see two people. One of them was dressed in a suit and had spectacles on his face. He was older, and I assumed that he must be an agent from the Omega Hearts Agency.
The other was clearly a dragon shifter, and a Beta at that. He was handsome, with toned muscles, tan skin, and dark brown hair. His eyes were a brilliant gold, and they pierced me with their beauty as they examined me.
I could tell that there was lust in his gaze, and for the first time in my life, I thought to myself that I would not mind it if this man were to take me.
“This is the Omega?” the Beta asked.
The agent nodded. “Yes, this is her. As promised, she’s in good health and quite beautiful.”
The Beta leaned forward, grabbing my arm abruptly and pulling me to him so he could take a second longer to sniff and examine me. He roughly turned me around, hands curling into my hair as he lifted it to inspect my back.
In spite of myself, I let out a little yelp as he tugged on my hair, and I heard a smile in his voice as he spoke.
“She seems to be responding properly. Her previous clan said she was already broken? And she’s fertile?”
He released me, and I listened for the agent’s response.
“Yes, she is. If there are no problems with her, I’ll let you take her back to your clan now.”
“I’ll take her to the car,” the Beta said in a commanding voice that made me shiver from head to toe. “You grab her things. You did pack, didn’t you?” he directed this last part at me, and I nodded.
What, does he think I am a fool? Why wouldn’t I pack?
“Good, then let’s go.” He grabbed my arm again, pulling me along behind him to an expensive-looking car that waited for us in the street.
I recognized the clan insignia on the back of the car. It was that of our rival clan. Or rather, that of my new clan. Who would have thought I would be auctioned off to them?
“What’s your name, Omega?” the Beta asked as he pushed me into the back seat and strapped me in like a child. I definitely could have done that myself, but I held back the retort.
“Catarina,” I said, not sure if I should look him in the eyes. I opted against it and stared at my hands in my lap instead.
Apparently, this was the wrong choice as he roughly grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. The contact of his skin against mine sent another round of shivers through my body. “Look at me when I am talking.”
I managed to let out a squeak, and then, “Yes.”
“Call me Kyle,” he said and then released his hold on my chin.
“Yes, Beta Kyle,” I said, making sure to maintain eye contact with him this time. This got a nod of approval from him.
Then he shut the door to the backseat of the car and helped the agent load my things into the trunk. It was only a few moments longer before we were on the road, and on the way to my new home.
It was a strange feeling, knowing that I would be going to a new place. But from what I had seen so far of Kyle, this seemed like it would be a better situation than my last one. Even if I was being treated like an Omega, I hadn’t been hit or bullied, just sort of handled roughly.
But there was also a sense of care in the way that Kyle approached me, or maybe that was just my imagination. His eyes were certainly hard the whole time he looked at me, but I swore I saw a hint of softness in them.
We dropped the agent back off at the agency, then Kyle turned around to look at me.
“You’ll be staying with me.”
“What?” I looked up, surprised.
“You heard me. You’ll be staying with me from now on. It’s what Alpha James has decreed. He knows that I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
I nodded. I wondered what he meant by “taken care of.”
“Of course,” Kyle turned back around in his seat and started driving again. “You really shouldn’t expect it to be a permanent situation. It’s just until we decide what to do with you.”
I nodded.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Yes, Beta Kyle.”
“Good girl.”
Chapter Two
Kyle
It was difficult not to claim Catarina the moment I set my eyes on her.
She was lovelier than I ever could have expected, much more beautiful than even the agency led me to believe.
With long dark hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes, she was the picture of innocence. She almost looked how I might picture Snow White, if Snow White were a dragon shifter. I wondered, with some eagerness, what her dragon form looked like. Maybe it would be a beautiful pure white like her skin, or perhaps a lovely deep black like her hair.
Whatever she looked like, I just knew that I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off of her.
If I didn’t have to focus on the road, I would most definitely have been staring her down, taking in every bit of her slender frame and delicate features.
Finally, we arrived at my apartment complex. I parked my car and got out to help her out of the backseat, then grabbed her things.
I kept a tight grip o
n her hand as I led her through the lobby and to the bank of elevators. I put in my card and pressed the button to summon one, then waited.
She was just as silent as before. I couldn’t help but hazard a glance in her direction. How was she treated in her previous clan?
I didn’t see any visible bruises when I examined her, but there could be signs of physical assault beneath the clothes she was wearing.
I shook my head. I was being stupid. Why should I care how an Omega was treated by her previous clan? She was the lowest of the low, and deserved to be treated as such. A tool only for breeding and to help members of the clan get out their aggression. Property.
At least, that’s what I’d always been told.
The elevator arrived and I escorted her in, then pressed the button for the sixteenth floor.
I didn’t live in a penthouse, but my apartment was still one of the nicer ones in the clan, and one of the roomier ones too. It’s why I was chosen to house Catarina for the moment, that and my propensity for, well...
Let’s just say that my dick was a famous one.
The elevator arrived at my floor and I guided Catarina out and down the hall to the door to my apartment. I keyed my code in, and the door swung open, revealing the living room.
I liked to think that I had good taste when it came to decorating. Everything in the room was purchased antique, or from a company that made antique replicas. The apartment screamed twenties, but in a refined sense.
Think Gatsby’s mansion but in an apartment in the middle of San Francisco.
“I’ll show you to your room,” I said, shutting the door behind us.
Catarina looked up at me in surprise, as if she wasn’t quite expecting that. Which I guessed told me a lot about how she was expecting to be treated.
I was not going to treat her like that, though. Even if she was an Omega, she at least deserved her own room.