Elizabeth and the Thunder of Dragons: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (RH Fated Alpha Book 6)

by Ava Mason

  ELIZABETH AND THE THUNDER OF DRAGONS

  A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance

  Ava Mason

  To Joann, Stephanie, Sam, Kristi, and Emily

  I’m pretty sure I managed to use your form of growl somewhere in my book, even if it didn’t entirely make sense

  *Thankyou*

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  A note to my readers:

  Rage of Dragons

  1

  My muscles trembled and my grip on the bar threatened to slip. Sweat drained down my face and I was tempted to let go to swipe at it, but James yelled at me from below. “Higher, Lizzy.”

  I gave him the evil eye and he grinned lazily at me in response. So I kicked out at his family jewels.

  He jumped back, tsking and wagging his finger at me. “Not quick enough.” He sighed dramatically. “I’m disappointed in you, Lizzy doll.”

  “I’m not…” I lowered myself and then pulled myself back up, making sure to pull my chin way over the bar, even though my arms burned and my breathing came out in short puffs. “… your fucking doll.”

  He barked his response. “Then quit acting like one and get your ass over the bar. Every. Single. Time.” He checked his watch and growled at me. “Twenty more seconds, move faster to keep up with the guys. They’re already at a hundred and fifty.”

  I groaned, reaching deep inside me to push myself harder. I focused on the wall ahead of me instead of his impatient words. I only needed thirty to catch up, so I aimed for fifty.

  I felt light-headed and I swallowed down the urge to throw up, but I pushed myself harder, slowly catching up to the guys. James walked off, seemingly annoyed even though I had upped my output.

  “Time!” His voice called out across the small gym and we all collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. I stared up at the ceiling, my sweat pooling onto the matted floor. For the zillionth time, I cursed the sparse gym. Since we didn’t have a big one, or a lot of equipment, James had happily offered to coach us. He knew how to use our own bodies to train us, along with minimal equipment.

  I hated it and loved it at the same time.

  Christian reached for me, and his finger stroked my arm briefly. I glanced up at him, giving him a tired smile. Hunter crawled across the mat, then he lay on top of me, looking into my eyes. His whole body was drenched in sweat, but it didn’t bother me. I was just as bad. It dripped down his forehead onto mine.

  “Ready for the cool down?” He wiped his sweat off my face.

  I clasped my arms around him. “No.” I shook my head but he grinned, a spark lighting in his eyes. Then he got up and grabbed my hand, dragging me up off the floor to my feet. “Come on. It’s only eight hundred yards.”

  “Ugh, you know I hate you, right?” I sighed, leaning over to catch my breath. Then I called on my powers, using them to refresh me. After a second, I jumped up and darted towards the door. “First one done gets to jump first.”

  I saw a glimpse of his grin, and James’ scowl, before I made it out the door. Hunter caught the door before it closed and then we were running down the lawn. I made it to the edge, then turned around, hand bumping him on my way back up. I focused on the door, using it as a focal point as I sprinted back towards the house. I could hear him right on my heels and I lunged forward, slapping the house right before him.

  He laughed, then leaned on me. “Crap, I’m so tired!”

  The rest of the guys passed us as they began their cool down and I checked them out as they ran past me. Damn they were hawt; I was one lucky chick. James walked out the door to watch them, and caught me in Hunter’s embrace.

  “Next time, I expect you to pass the guys, Lizzy. You’re their alpha, you should be the strongest.”

  “Yes, sir.” I fake saluted him, and suddenly his dark blue eyes grew even darker, but he turned his back on me. “I’ll show you ‘sir’.”

  Without waiting for me to respond, he started jogging towards the rest of the guys. His light brown, wavy hair was pulled back into a man bun, and I was tempted to pull on it, like Gil in Anne of Green Gables.

  “How about I show you a proper salute, instead.” I mumbled, flipping him off.

  Hunter laughed, then started dragging me across the patio. “Come on.”

  “Where are we going? I’m tired. I just want to lay down in the grass.” My feet dragged because every muscle in my body complained.

  “You’ll see.” His eyes gleamed with mischievousness, so I gave in and followed him. He looked like he was heading towards the pool anyway, and that was a welcome sight.

  “I beat you. That means I jump first.”

  He smirked. “You would be right. Except you’ll be strapped to me, so we go together anyways.”

  “Ah.” I puffed out a breath. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Cuz I liked watching your ass too much.”

  I chuckled, slapping his arm playfully. When we got to the pool, he leaned over, pulling my laces apart. Then he lifted my leg for me, since they felt like weights, and yanked my shoes and socks off. I pulled off my shirt, leaving on my sports bra, while Hunter took off his own stuff, leaving only his shorts, and we jumped into the pool.

  The cool water was refreshing; it was hot already for so early in the morning and Hunter’s arms wrapped around me under water. When we emerged from the water, I settled my legs around his hips. He stared at me possessively, as he always did when James was around, and I wrapped my arms around him.

  He nuzzled my neck. “Are you nervous?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. I know that you guys know what you’re doing. Besides, if anything goes wrong, one of you can just shift and save me, right?” I’d never been parachuting before but I was eager to try. I wasn’t afraid of heights like most people from back home. Here it was common. I’d yet to meet a dragon afraid of tall buildings.

  Obviously.

  I stared over Hunter’s shoulder, watching the guys as they finished. James yelled at Christian to hurry his ass up, who came in last. Instead of pushing himself harder, though, Christian jumped on James, tackling him to the ground. I laughed, watching them wrestle and Hunter turned to see what I was laughing at.

  Easton and Avery were already stripping, getting ready to join us in the pool. Easton’s eyes were on us and Hunter took several steps forward, then pressed me against the wall. He ran his lips over mine, trying to get in a kiss before Easton got to us.

  Hunter and Easton had a thing going; each tried to cock block the other one as often as possible.

  While they both hated it when the other one did it, I found it pretty amusing.

  His lips tasted like pool water, and he leaned over to run his tongue up my neck. A hand gripped my thigh, prying us apart, and Easton’s head popped up.

  I smiled at him. “What’s up, babe?”

  “Just Hunter’s dic—” He didn’t finish because Hunter pushed him back under the water with a growl. I let Hunter go and just in time because Easton yanked Hunter’s legs out from under him.

  They both emerged from the water, grinning, and Easton left us to join Christian and Avery. They were splashing James.

  “Shit, stop!” James was bombarded by w
ater from all three guys. I watched them, grinning.

  As if James needed any more reasons to get the guys to hate him, he was a spectacular ass towards us during training. And they took every moment possible to torture him in return.

  As I watched them drench him, I thought of the lake near my house where a lot of the guys and I would go swimming in the summer. I sighed, just thinking about home. It had been three weeks since Aria had asked me to go home, but we weren’t allowed to leave yet.

  Every day I thought about it, wondering what was going on over there. I also couldn’t help but think about Aaron.

  Being with him seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Hunter caught my eyes. “Thinking about home?”

  I scrunched my face. “How’d you know?”

  He shrugged. “You have that look on your face. Plus, you’re pulling on your lips; that’s your tell.”

  I froze, realizing that he was right. I lowered my hand into the pool. “Is that how you win at poker?” Hunter conned me into playing strip poker a lot. Something he was very good at. And I was very bad at. I was getting better though.

  He grabbed my waist, pulling me closer and shrugging. “Maybe.”

  “You won’t tell me just because you want me naked first.”

  He grinned. “Can you blame me?” Then he leaned against the back of the pool and turned me around, holding me so that my back was to his chest. “You want to go back sooner, don’t you?”

  I sat in his lap, brushing at the pool water. “What if it’s terrible there? What if Scarface is hurting them? Or even killing people? Or … something? I need to at least see them.”

  I felt him nod. “I would, too, if I were in your position.”

  “Tell me again why we decided to wait?”

  He stood up, then turned me to face him, his hands on my shoulders. He looked into my eyes. “Lizzy, if you want to go home now, then just say the word. It’s your call.”

  I nodded, thinking.

  “But…”

  I knew there was a but.

  “But if we go in there blind, then it could be a big mistake. If it was just Garrett and your pack, then I’d say let’s do it. Let’s go now. But we don’t know anything about the other pack and what they’re capable of. Most of Ember’s men don’t know enough to tell us much.” He looked off in the distance, thinking. “They think that one of them may have some information. Everyone has mentioned him, in some way or another. But he’s not talking so they’re still working on him.”

  I sighed.

  “These things take time. Edward is in charge and I trust him. He doesn’t use methods that are known to give false information, which means that it takes longer. They’ll get him to talk, one way or another.” He took in a deep breath, then let it out. “Anyways. I don’t feel comfortable going in blind. But, you tell me, what do you want to do?”

  I mulled it over and realized that he was right. I just wished that we knew more about the other pack faster. I lay my head against his shoulder and groaned. “Ugh, you’re right.”

  He pulled my head up, clasping my chin to give me a quick kiss. “Look, let’s let Easton do his thing. Plus, Andre and the Queen are working their connections so that we have permission to fly a mission in the United States officially. I don’t have to tell you that that’s not an easy task.”

  I nodded, understanding.

  “So, for now, just train with us. That way you’ll know what to do once we go in. Also, if anything goes wrong, you’ve got the training to handle the situation.” He kissed me again, this time his tongue slid against mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck, nodding in agreement as our tongues tangled.

  I slowly pulled away, agreeing. “Okay.”

  “Besides, we’re still helping Edward with all of Ember’s crap. He can use someone else, but he prefers to work with us.”

  “I know.”

  “And I feel better helping him, too.”

  “I got it, I got it. I want that, too.” I licked up his face, grinning.

  “Eww, gross!” He pushed me back, dunking me under the water. As soon as I came out of the water, Hunter’s tongue ran up my face.

  “Ewe, you’re gross!” I splashed him, grinning, then nipped his chest softly, smiling. I gave him another light kiss before turning back around to watch the rest of the guys. James was completely soaked so he’d taken off his shirt, socks, and shoes. He was sitting on the side of the pool, dipping his feet over the side, talking to Christian. I glanced at Hunter and noticed the crabby look he was giving James.

  “What’s the deal between you and James anyways? I mean, I can make a guess, but I’d rather hear it from you.”

  He grabbed my hand and played with my fingers. “I could ask you the same thing.”

  I stilled; I didn’t want to talk about that. “I asked first.”

  He glanced at James, then he looked back at me, shrugging. “Nothing, really. I just don’t like him that much, that’s all.”

  “How long have you known him?”

  “Most of my life. His parents and my parents ran in the same circle.”

  I floated closer. “And…”

  “And, what?”

  “Did he steal your girlfriend or what?”

  He blew out a breath. “He wishes.”

  “Then what?”

  Hunter was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. I guess he just always seemed like he never took life seriously. He still lives off his parents’ money and doesn’t have a job. And he always seemed to think pretty highly of himself. I can’t stand guys whose favorite person is the one they see in the mirror. It’s annoying. And immature.”

  I nodded. “And you don’t think he’s changed.”

  He shrugged again. “I never had a reason to check.” He smiled, moving closer to me. “Why? What’s going on between you two? Why did the Queen bring him over that night?”

  His eyes were staring into mine intently and I glanced around, looking for an escape. Except I had nowhere else to go. I couldn’t hide from Hunter.

  No one could hide from Hunter once he had his sights on you.

  But I really didn’t want to tell him that my wolf had also claimed James. Especially since I knew how Hunter felt about him. I shrugged. “I’m not sure. She wants him to go with us to Tennessee.”

  “You’re not sure? Or, she wants him to go with us?”

  I lowered myself into the water, partially covering my face and slowly backing away. Was it possible to disappear in clear pool water?

  “Lizzy.” His voice came out low and he caught my wrist. “Don’t run away. Just tell me. I won’t be mad.”

  Oh, hell, I was embarrassed now. How on earth was I going to admit that my wolf wanted another guy? I really felt like an idiot. I couldn’t look him in the eyes so I stared at our clasped hands.

  “Hmm,” I tried to figure a way out of this. My main priority was letting them know I was happy with just them. That I hadn’t done it because I wanted more men. “Answer a question first.” I bit my bottom lip, thinking. “Tell me how dragon magic works. You know the, uh, the whole claiming process.”

  He was silent and I looked into his face; I was pretty sure he understood what was going on. Then he looked over my shoulder and I turned around. Easton was walking towards us. I took a second to admire the way his eyes moved over me possessively.

  “What’s up, guys? What are you talking about? And, why does Hunter look like he just ate a frog? Did he try your cookies again?”

  “Shut up!” I splashed water towards him. I’d tried making cookies the other day, with the promise from the guys that they not make fun of me if it went horribly wrong. Cooking I could handle, but baking? For some reason I could never get it down.

  Anyway, it did go horribly wrong. And that day I learned never trust the word of men who choked on cookies.

  They used every opportunity they could possibly find to remind me about it; they were never going to let me live it down.

  Hunter pulled me
close, taking me into his arms. “So apparently our little wolf here claimed James.”

  “I didn’t say that!”

  “But it’s true, right?” Hunter’s arms tightened around me and I felt horrible.

  I sighed, deciding I should just come out with it. “Fine, yes. That’s what Aria told me anyways. But I promise,” I rushed to get out. “I’m perfectly happy with you guys. It’s not like I did it on purpose. I don’t even get that anyways. What does that even mean?”

  Easton didn’t take the news as harshly as Hunter. His face was straight but his eyes looked amused. “Well, magic in general still has a lot of unknowns. But a lot of times an Alpha, or an upcoming alpha,” he gestured his chin towards me, “is always looking for the best way to strengthen her pack. So she claims certain dragon shifters for her own, always for the good of the pack. To make it stronger. So you may not understand why your wolf does it, but the Alpha inside you understands.”

  I let out a breath of relief. “So it isn’t always sexual, or anything like that?”

  “Not necessarily.” Easton met Hunter’s eyes, and then they both looked over at James. “Except in James’ case, he will probably expect it. If he decides to be a part of the clan, he will expect sex to come with it.”

  “Why?”

  Hunter answered me. “With his position as cousin to the Queen, James has never had to be part of a clan. Lots of times dragons may not have a choice, depending on family agreements and stuff like that.”

  “That’s not outdated or anything.”

  Hunter shrugged. “It’s life here in Aerwyna. And even though James doesn’t use it often, he has powerful magic; it’s in his blood. And so there have been several families who have petitioned the Queen to bring James into their clan, or, tried to seduce him into it. But he’s never agreed to it. And why should he? He has no responsibility, no desire for a family. He’s selfishly single and loving life.”