Amethyst Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 5)

by Terry Bolryder

  He froze, lips pressed into a hard line. His jaw ticked. “No. It’s different.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, sitting up slightly, still straddling him. Her robe was open, and her soft thighs loved the feel of his hard body, so huge beneath her.

  What would it be like to be underneath him? Would she ever get to the point she was fine with that?

  A part of her hoped so.

  “How is it different?” she asked, reaching out to touch his hair. It was unexpectedly soft. She touched a purple strand. “This isn’t real, right?”

  “No,” Dom said. “That was Zach’s idea. His mate is a hairdresser, and he thought it’d be funny to put my color in my hair.” He shrugged. “I don’t really care.”

  She lifted the strand, studying it in the morning light. “But it’s really this black, naturally?”

  “Like my soul,” he joked, but she looked at him sternly.

  “That’s just it,” she said. “I don’t know anything about your soul. Other than you seem to be a good person, even if you don’t share much with anyone. I still don’t see why it’s different. Why I should be vulnerable and show you my secrets, but you shouldn’t.”

  He looked to the side, showing her a profile so perfect her breath caught in her throat. “You don’t like shifters. I’m even worse than most in the weird department.”

  “I don’t hate weirdness,” she said, turning his head back to face her. “I hate forcefulness. You’re proving to me you’re not really about that.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “That was my fault for following Zach’s advice. And the other dragons. A lot of them found pursuing was what women wanted.”

  “Maybe women who aren’t broken,” she said, her eyes dropping.

  “Hey,” he said, lifting his hand as if out of habit and then lowering it again. “Look, you aren’t broken. You’re just bruised. Bruises can heal. You just gotta be easy on yourself.”

  She nodded. She still loved the feel of being on him, but maybe that was enough for now. She slowly moved off of him, feeling her body’s reluctance but her heart’s relief, and heard a tiny mew as she set her feet back on the ground.

  Dom looked over with a groan. “I should check my timer. It’s probably time to feed them again.” He ran a hand through his hair, totally exhausted.

  “You should go get some rest. I can get this feeding.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she said. “It’s the least I can do. You watched me and the kittens last night. You could use some sleep.”

  “I hate sleep,” he muttered, shocking her, giving her one more clue to the puzzle that was him. He grinned wryly. “But it’s kind of necessary for functioning. So I guess I’ll take you up on it.”

  He stood, stretched, and looked down at the box. “You know how to do it?”

  “I have all the instructions. I saw them do it, and I’ve done it once with you. I think so.”

  “Make sure it’s the right temperature, and make sure they don’t eat too much, and make sure they’re lying down, and—”

  “I got it,” she said, putting up her hand with a laugh. “You get to bed, sleepy dragon.”

  She realized belatedly there was nothing in her tone that suggested anything but affection in the word dragon, and he looked as surprised as she was that she’d said it. She folded her arms, waiting for him to leave, as another blush burned through her.

  He was polite enough to pretend not to have noticed the moment, and she was relieved.

  “All right,” he said. “And while you’re at it, if you can think of a name for the other little boy, I’d be grateful.”

  “The one with the gray tail?” she asked, looking down.

  “Yeah,” he said. “And you might want to think of something unisex in case my hunch is wrong.” He grinned. “I’m not often wrong, but when I am, I really screw up.” He sobered. “Like with you.”

  She snorted. “You’re doing fine now,” she said. “Now get to sleep. I’ve got kittens to feed.” And bruises to consider how to heal.

  “Good night, Lana,” he said.

  “Good night.”

  And then he disappeared out the door, leaving the room a little colder.

  Lana made sure the kittens were warm and tucked in around the heating pad as she got the formula together to make downstairs.

  Life at the mansion was changing quicker than she’d ever planned, but she was loving it.

  She wasn’t herself yet, but she could at least feel her old self peeking out of the shadows, wondering if it was safe to come out.

  Maybe soon.

  Chapter 6

  “Can’t believe I’m falling for a dragon,” Lana muttered to herself, caressing Spot’s head and laughing at his attempt to reach up and bat her with one soft, tiny paw.

  “What?” Bridget asked, looking over while still holding Marshmallow, or Mallow as she’d come to call her. “That was a quick turnaround.”

  Lana wasn’t even aware she’d spoken loud enough for her friend to hear, but she didn’t really mind. She was done keeping secrets. She needed people to talk to. She wouldn’t get through this alone. Dom had taught her that last night.

  “Yeah, well, a lot happened yesterday,” she said.

  “Besides the kittens?” Bridget asked.

  Lana nodded.

  “Well, aren’t those just abominably cute?” A sardonic voice cut in, and Lana looked up to see Alistair, the diamond dragon, staring down at them with those piercing rainbow eyes. He’d helped Dom rescue her and was good to Bridget—anyone could see that—so Lana overlooked the fact that he was a shifter.

  Even if Dom was making her see shifters differently.

  Alistair crouched next to the box and lifted the last kitten with the gray tail, examining it curiously. Alistair had a cruel kind of beauty, sharp and engaging, but almost too much. There was really no other way to describe him. His long, white hair softened his hard edges, but he was still probably the most morally gray of all of the dragons.

  Bridget was good for them that way, with her strong views of right and wrong.

  She’d turned an apathetic almost-villain into her own personal hero.

  “What’s this one’s name?” Alistair asked as his cat Scrangey came up behind them. Scrangey had been a stray in the dungeon where Alistair had been imprisoned, and he’d brought him with them when he’d saved Bridget from an attacker and run.

  Were dragons always saving people?

  “We don’t have a name for him yet,” Lana said. “Though Dom told me to think of one.”

  “Where is Dom, anyway?” Alistair said, standing with the kitten in his arms. “Yesterday, he was all over the kittens all day.”

  Scrangey let out a scratchy-sounding mew and jumped into the box, curling up on the warm heating pad and grooming his black-and-white fur.

  Lana smiled, but Alistair looked down in consternation. “Scrangey, that’s not for you.”

  “It’s okay,” Lana said. “The kittens like it. See?” She put Spot in, and he toddled over to Scrangey, who pulled the kitten in by the scruff and began to groom it. Spot immediately began purring.

  “I’ll be damned,” Alistair said. “Scrangey’s a mom.”

  “A dad,” Bridget said.

  Alistair just stared. “Well, if you’re fine with it, I’ll let him stay.”

  “I’m glad for the help,” Lana said. “The shelter worker said keeping their body heat regular is really important for kittens.”

  “When do they need to be fed again?” Bridget asked.

  “In a few hours,” Lana said, stretching.

  “Alistair, why don’t you go see if someone can get breakfast started?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “I came down to get you—”

  Bridget’s eyes shot to Lana, as if she were trying to tell him she had to talk to her friend and wanted him to leave, but Alistair wasn’t getting it.

  Lana flushed and focused on the kittens. She couldn’t expect
to take preference over Bridget’s fiancé, but she had been looking forward to talking to her.

  A heavy arm slid over Alistair’s shoulders. “Come on, dude. Let’s make the ladies breakfast.” It was Dom, looking handsome and refreshed, thought still a little tired.

  She thought she could see a little pep in his step, though. Maybe from the kissing? Either way, she appreciated him taking Alistair so she and Bridget could talk.

  After last night, he knew she needed it.

  When the two men had walked away, Alistair protesting, Bridget gave Lana an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Dragons.”

  “Obsessed, right?” she asked.

  Bridget nodded, then quickly corrected herself. “Not obsessed like Galen, though.”

  Lana sighed. “You know, I’m realizing I’m not dealing with that as well as I thought.”

  Bridget put her hand in Lana’s, the touch soft and feminine and welcome. Safe.

  Lana bit back sobs. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes, and she wiped them away. “Oh gosh. I’ve only just started talking, and it’s like a dam has broken. It’s Dom’s fault. I had everything plugged up so well, and then last night, he was so sweet, and it all just broke.”

  Bridget gave her a quiet squeeze. “I had a feeling something was wrong, but I wanted to respect your privacy. I guess I should have pushed harder.”

  “It’s not your job,” Lana said. “You saved me. You came for me when no one else did. It’s not your fault I got involved in that fucked-up situation.”

  “Yeah, how did that happen?” Bridget asked. “You haven’t wanted to talk about it, so I haven’t asked. But how did they get you?”

  “You remember a while back, I was in a local newspaper for saving a kid who had run out into traffic, and it went sort of viral on the web?”

  Bridget nodded. “With your natural sense of helping people, I wasn’t at all surprised.” She gave her friend a warm smile and pushed her blond hair behind her ear.

  “Well, I was. By two men showing up at my door, asking for an interview. Others had come, so it wasn’t weird. But no sooner had I opened the door than everything went black.”

  “Oh my gosh,” Bridget said. “Then what?”

  “They took me to that first compound, the one you and Alistair were at. They were doing experiments. They had other humans, too, primarily women but some men. The only thing in common was we’d all done something to gain notoriety for being selfless. I don’t know why that mattered, though.”

  Bridget shook her head. “Me neither. Might mean something to the dragons, though.”

  Lana sighed. “I told Zach all of this when I first got here. Sort of a debriefing so I didn’t have to go over it again later and could give him the most details while it was fresh. He didn’t say anything about it. Maybe he would if I wanted him to. But I think he understood I just wanted to get through it and get over it.”

  “Sometimes you can’t just get over it unless you go through it,” Bridget said. “I mean, not around it. Not avoiding it. But through it all again, as much as that sucks.”

  Lana nodded, swiping the last of her tears. The panic had been short and sharp, and she once more felt like herself. The odd thing was each time she had one of these outbursts of emotion and acknowledged what had happened to her, she felt a little bit better after.

  Perhaps this was the way to heal.

  “I’ve been really difficult, haven’t I?” Lana asked. “Not trying to get to know the dragons. Getting mad at Dom.”

  “Well, he has been kind of a dumbass,” Bridget joked. “I mean, those notes, for real.”

  “Maybe they were a bit cute, though,” Lana said, surprised to hear herself defending him.

  “Girl, what did he do to you last night that has you defending him? Since you’ve been here, the two of you have been at odds. He hasn’t been giving you the space you need.”

  Lana shrugged. “He was there for me when no one else was.” She didn’t like the look of guilt in Bridget’s eyes. “I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty. Look, I don’t want to be your burden.”

  “You’re my friend. You’re never a burden. I guess you’re always so cheerful and strong, I just didn’t see what was going on. So what did Dom do?”

  “He heard me crying,” Lana said, feeling a hot flush as she spoke. “He came to cheer me up. Then let me talk about the things that were hurting me. Held me. And then… I guess this is the part that touched me most. He waited until I fell asleep and went to get the kittens, came back, and slept in the chair across from me all night so I wasn’t alone.” She pushed an errant curl back. “And you know, it was funny. He said he’d keep the nightmares away, and I really did have no nightmares for the first time in months.”

  Bridget’s eyes were watering now, and she set down Mallow and swiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her gray sweatshirt. “Dammit, Lana. You never deserved all of that shit to happen to you. It isn’t fair that people can do that. Mess someone up and leave them with nightmares for days.”

  Lana shrugged. “Just a part of life, I guess.”

  “So then what happened?” Bridget asked. “Because I still don’t get how any of that led to the way you’re looking at him.”

  “He’s my friend now,” Lana said.

  “You were literally sparkling when you looked at him. Quietly, but for sure.”

  “Sparkling?”

  “Lighting up. Like your old self,” Bridget said.

  “Funny, I was thinking the same myself. Okay, maybe I kissed him.”

  Bridget’s jaw fell open. “What?”

  Lana put up a finger to shush her, looking around in alarm. “Look, I don’t want everyone to know. But it’s like when Dom backed off, stopped being just a relentless shifter pursuer, and was kind to me, something opened up. All I could see was how hot he was. How handsome. And I just… wanted him.”

  “That’s great,” Bridget said. “Not that you wanted him, exactly, but that you were able to feel something other than bad things.”

  Lana nodded.

  “What are you going to do next?” Bridget asked.

  Just then, the men approached, Alistair walking determinedly forward, Dom catching his arm to pull him back.

  “Let go of me. I’m getting my mate.”

  Dom sent Lana apologetic eyes that he couldn’t keep Alistair distracted long, and Lana felt heat warm her from head to toes as their eyes met. Electric and tingly.

  She turned away to stroke Spot.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Alistair said, reaching down to pull his mate up to standing. As he did, he pulled Bridget into a deep kiss, weaving his arms around her and enmeshing them like they could become one person.

  Lana caught her breath, somehow wanting that same intimacy with someone so bad, yet wanting to run from it all at the same time.

  Dom cleared his throat, and the two pulled apart. Then he reached out his hand for Lana to pull her to her feet. “Let’s go eat,” he said, leading her to the dining room.

  The long, intricately carved wooden table was dark and shiny and covered by a long, white table runner, on which were dishes filled with sausages, eggs, biscuits, and jam.

  She sat across from Dom and next to Bridget and listened as Alistair talked about what Zach and the others were up to. Ruby and Sapphire were still going on scouting missions, and Zach was still waiting on the oracle for an update and communicating with the other dragons in the region, the modern ones who worked in pairs.

  Lana found it hard to pay attention with Dom seated just across from her, a hot, intent look in his piercing blue eyes that contrasted so much with his dark hair.

  Kind of like his kindness contrasted so much with his often gruff, pushy demeanor.

  He was blunt, almost as if he’d never really learned proper social behavior. Then again, she got the idea he’d been alone a lot in his life, and that didn’t help.

  She fiddled with her eggs, and Dom frowned.

  “Eat,” he said, gesturing.


  She did, forcing down food even though it was hard when her stomach was fluttering like a butterfly in the wind.

  When breakfast was over, Alistair grabbed Bridget’s hand and led her from the table, telling her he had plans for the day. And Bridget gave Lana a glance, asking silently if it was okay to go.

  Lana nodded. She couldn’t do much more self-revealing even if Bridget stayed. She felt raw and sore.

  Dom looked over at her thoughtfully, drinking the last of his milk and setting his glass down with a thud, causing little drops to litter the tablecloth. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “Thanks for giving me some time with Bridget.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t do more,” he said. “Dragons.”

  She laughed. “Is that how you’d be as a mate?”

  He sighed. “As much as I’d like to say otherwise, probably.”

  She was quiet at that, poking at the other side of her biscuit, no longer hungry. She didn’t know if she was depressed or heartened at hearing how Dom would be as a mate. If he was just her friend now, had he given up on that? Did she want him to?

  “Do you want to do something fun?” he asked.

  She looked up sharply. “Like what?”

  He stood, putting aside his napkin, and came over to take her hand. “Just as friends. I promise.” So she let him lead her away from the table and out toward the backyard.

  “What are we doing?”

  “You’ll see,” he said, striding down the marble steps leading onto the plush grounds, surrounded by trees. “Just something I used to do when I was upset. Feeling overwhelmed.”

  She jerked back. “What?” There was an odd crackling in the air, and she could swear Dom’s eyes flashed to slits again.

  He licked a finger and put it up in the air. “Good weather for flying.”

  “Oh no,” she said, taking a step back. “No, no, no. I know what that’s like. Fucking terrifying. Not doing that again.”

  He frowned. “Was it that bad when I brought you back here?”

  That whole night had been awful. She’d been glad to be rescued, but she still wasn’t home. Still wasn’t back to normal or safe.

  Her world would never be fully safe again it seemed. Not while Galen was out there.