Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance

by Ashley Stewart

  Beside her Faelon’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body twitched violently then stopped just as abruptly. Blood began to flow from his nose and as she tried to lift his head, remembering as a child how her mother dealt with her nose bleeds, his body stiffened making it impossible.

  “No use now little human.” Gabriel’s sneer made a mockery of her tears and her urging Faelon to hold on. “He will die before you get word out to the dragon healers.”

  “You son of a bitch!” she yelled at him through her tears.

  Chapter 5

  “You have to go,” Faelon said weakly as the tears ran down her face and she screamed at Gabriel hysterically. “He injected me with rose poison, you can’t help me,” he gurgled around the blood flooding his throat.

  “No!” she screamed. “I won’t leave you!” but moments later as his hand fell away from her shoulder and his body went limp she knew he had died. It was all so surreal and as she thumped his shoulder and called him a bastard, she lowered her head to his chest and cried.

  “I will give you some time alone,” Gabriel said and walked out of the room. She was not sure how long she stayed there but when her tears had finally dried, anger consumed her. She stayed there as the seconds turned into minutes, weeping against his chest, willing him to breathe again. She had heard from the supernatural groupies, of which she could be classified as one, that alphas of any kind were impervious to the toxins that could kill a weaker member of their clans. She prayed against all odds that his unresponsiveness was his body fighting the toxin. When she could finally move, she heard nothing around her, but the anger did not decapitate. She could barely contain herself and so she put it to good use.

  Gently moving off the bed as if not to wake a sleeping God, she pulled on his discarded T-shirt and the pants she had been dressed in and kissed his cold lips.

  “We will come back for you,” she said as a lone tear slipped down her cheek. In times like these she was often faced with her own mortality, but she had no time to wallow. She took a small penny from the coins on the table next to her and rolled it to the doorway. No electric sparks fired and she placed her toe through to test it for sure. When she wasn’t electrocuted, she grabbed the letter opener from the pile on the ground and silently made her way through the dark halls. Her eyes adjusted quickly and when she was certain she was alone, she headed to the stairs ahead of her. She made it to the landing and was about to peer out the thin glass windows ahead of her when the lights came on.

  “And where do you think you are going?” Gabriel’s menacing voice asked her. He moved quicker than her human eyes cold follow to slap her across the face. She flew across the room, lucky enough to land with a thud on the couch that was to the side of the stairs- righting herself with a great amount of effort.

  “I need to thank you,” he said walking towards her with a gun pointed at her forehead. “I waited for years for the dragons to drop their guard and it took a woman to do that. A special woman, because they rejected every other I sent their way. Maybe I will spend some time after I kill them getting to know why you are so special.”

  His last words were a promise she knew nothing good would come of, and somewhere inside her she wished Faelon and Jetson had killed this menace when he was a child. He stepped towards her and raised his hand again, but her eyes widened in surprise and she lifted her arms to protect her face as a large shadow broke through the expanse of glass behind him.

  A huge black dragon burst through the shattered glass and grabbed him with its talons as Gabriel turned in surprise. The eye of the dragon fell on her as arrows were fired after it. Looking into its eye she recognized the man it had once been- Jetson.

  A poisoned arrow fell dangerously close to her and Jetson’s wings flapped pulling him back through the window and out into the sky with a screaming Gabriel in his grasp. Two other smaller dragons hovered at the space where the window used to be and shot fireballs at the men who swarmed into the room around her. As the smell of burnt flesh assaulted her nostrils, the dragons attacked the men on the outside. She ran to the window just in time to see Jetson throw Gabriel’s body in the air and scorched him with the powerful blaze that left his snout. In a matter of seconds, Gabriel’s screams were a mere memory and his body was reduced to the ash that floated down from the sky.

  Zadie could not help but smile at the sight of Jetson’s powerful wings taking him back to the window. He was breathtakingly gorgeous, and as she backed away giving him room to enter she ran her fingers across the soft feathery scales that provided an armor far more impenetrable than a bulletproof vest.

  He landed and shifted to his human form pulling her against his nakedness and kissing her cheeks. He eased her away from him and gave her the once over to make sure she was okay and then hugged her again.

  “I am ok,” she whispered ageist his bare chest. “But Faelon...” her words trailed off as she pointed to the room above the stairs. He took them two at a time and she followed admiring his strong naked thighs and the way his ass looked in the moonlight.

  Dragon or human, he was a magnificently regal work of art.

  Chapter 6

  She made it to the landing just in time to see him punch a hole in the wall and scream in pain at the man he had loved and lost.

  “Not so loud,” came a faint whisper from Faelon and they both stood shocked wondering if he was speaking from the grave. “Get me out of here,” he whispered again and they both rushed his side.

  “You are alive,” she said to him kissing him as tears of joy ran down her face. Jetson ran a finger through his hair in relief before gently urging Zadie aside and picking up Faelon’s body.

  “We have to get him to the healer and one of my men will carry you,” he said and walked out the room his wings extending from his back as he placed a kiss on Faelon’s cold lips. “Hold on my love,” he said and walked down the stairs. By the time he got to the window, his body was half human, half dragon and his eyes blazed red as he took to the skies and shot off.

  One of his men stood beside her and spoke. “I will carry you,” he said and shifted to his dragon form then lowered his head.

  Zadie recognized it as an invitation to hop on and as she did the dragon slowly walked to the window and took flight. She held on for dear life, her heart thumping out of her chest as they caught up with Jetson, who carried Faelon like the precious cargo he was.

  “I will have to go ahead of you,” he said to her then turned his head towards the dragon she rode. “Get her to me safely.” His gaze caressed her face as he shot off with an unbelievable speed.

  “Whoa!” she hollered forgetting for a moment that she had to hold on. As she felt herself sliding she grabbed the dragon’s neck and enjoyed the sights below her. As they flew over the city, she looked down at the lights and smiled. To be able to take to the skies like this represented a special kind of freedom.

  Ten minutes later the dragon turned on the wind and came in for a soft landing on the roof of a mansion nested in the hills. From what she had seen from the sky it was gorgeous.

  She hopped down and ran a hand across the dragon’s neck in gratitude. He closed his eyes and ran the soft scales on his face gently across her cheek. She knew she would like this member of the clan.

  “Thank you, Mikhail,” Jetson said stepping through the doors with light flooding behind him. The dragon bowed his head and waited patiently for news of his other alpha before taking flight. “He will live,” Jetson told him and Zadie could feel her heart skip a few beats with joy.

  She squealed with glee and demanded to be taken to him. Jetson took her hand and led her through the doors and down a hall to a room where a doctor was busy looking after Faelon. His eyes fluttered open as she entered.

  “Welcome home,” he croaked and she hugged Jetson in joy before bending to kiss Faelon’s lips.

  “Can I slap him?” she asked the doctor who looked at her in amusement at the question.

  He laughed and then conceded mu
ch to Faelon’s dismay. She pinched him instead and yelled, “Don’t you dare do that again! Any of you!” She pinched Jetson too for good measure.

  Though it was not their fault, she was sure they chalked it up to the insanity known to be a woman’s trait. She then kissed them both before sitting at the edge of Faelon’s bed.

  “So when does the next adventure start?” she asked them and they looked at her as if she had just upped and lost her sense. She laughed at their expression and looked forward to what life as the chosen mate of the dragons would bring her.

  She was sure it would be spectacular.

  Rhythm of Three

  Bisexual Ménage Paranormal Romance

  Chapter 1

  Jaden couldn’t be bothered with a pesky little meeting of the human Faction. The wolves were expected to live alongside the humans to keep the peace. But if it came to blows, the humans were the inferior species.

  Jared found that they could pack a serious punch, as evidenced by a call to arms not long ago. He experienced it first hand, over fifty years prior. He had just moved when the elders called a formal meeting to remind the wolves that they were no longer in charge of things.

  Pastor Jacob, was a well-liked elder, he was incorruptible and fair. The Sheriff of El Paso County was the second in command. If violence did break out, he’d take care of it. However, the downside was that he wreaked like decomposing wolf kill.

  Samara was the town’s pathologist. She was brought on to spin the media and tabloid reporters away from the truth. Surprisingly, Jaden kept his distance. It wasn’t because she was old and wrinkly, she was oddly sinister. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but his instincts told him to steer clear.

  Skyler had no idea what her gift was. She was undeniably stunning with red flaming hair and freckles dotting her cheek bones. Her lips were marked by a scar at the top. It appeared to be a previous war wound and that made him interested. He had seen her around a couple times and his wolves said she was a best friend to the humans.

  When a replacement needed to be made by the Faction, it wouldn’t be a surprise for it to be her. The first time Jaden saw her defined curves, his stare couldn’t be broken. She was walking down the streets of El Paso, wearing a loose fitting palazzo pant that blew in the wind. Her torso was covered by a fitted blouse, her ample breasts refused a bra.

  He was smitten since then, his eyes took her in as her thick thighs and scrumptious ass waltzed in the church. They were having a meeting, Jared’s gaze turned to his lover Meekel. He was usually too bored to do anything but put his feet up on a table and sip on the ceremonial wine. Meekel was sitting astutely gazing at the woman who walked in.

  His bronze Brazilian skin glowed as he glanced at Skyler again. It seemed clear that their post pubescent loins were standing tall. She was a rare specimen that they craved.

  “Okay good, everybody is here,” Father Jacob said.

  The members of the Faction moved to take their respective seats. As luck would have it, Skyler was seated between them both. A big toothy grin covered his face. Jared wondered what the meeting was about. The demons were among them, no doubt.

  “I have a bone to pick,” the Sheriff spoke.

  He was loud as he took control of the meeting, he always did. Skyler rolled her eyes in disagreement as she took a sip of water. They all had drinks sitting in front of them. Jared’s first instinct was to stop right there. Unfortunately, he was once bitten and twice shy. The classic conditioning famed psychologists spoke about.

  Suddenly the complacent meeting of the Faction was turning ugly fast. The wine had been laced with silver. It wasn’t enough to kill the two alphas, but it had weakened their defenses momentarily. It lasted long enough for the Sheriff to try to chop Meekel’s head off.

  It wasn’t the first time they’d killed the members of the Faction and it had to be built anew. The hatred for the wolves was not to be underestimated. As they grew older, by half a century, they’d both developed a tolerance for silver. However, in its raw consumption it could be detrimental to any human. He had to fight the overwhelming urge to stop Skyler from drinking it.

  The Sheriff spoke about wolves killing what the humans hunted. Jared and Meekel ignored his incessant rambling and focused indirectly on the energy flowing from the woman between them. They had long since been searching for a mate, an Omega to their alpha after the humans had killed Shera. She was the one they had loved for close to a century, despite the stringent no co-mingling rule. Skyler was an eye-catching incentive to fill that position.

  For many years, an incomplete feeling had haunted them. But the passion emoting was enough to burn any city to the ground. Each mated alpha couple needed an omega to complete the pack. A woman strong enough to handle them both, physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually. She’d have to manage a pack the way they were called to. Shera was that and so much more, they mourned her untimely passing for decades.

  Eventually, the sting of the loss dulled somewhat. But they still felt the gaping hole her absence left. Skyler hadn’t ever been so powerfully drawn to any other woman before. They both had that extra something that only time would tell where it’d take them.

  “Are you listening wolves?” the Pastor asked.

  Jared, the more diplomatic of the two, spoke up. Meekel had hunger in his eyes, but he had to be the voice of reason,

  “Yes, we are.”

  His effect was severely flat. His gruff voice hid his discontentment. Skyler’s eyes were on his lips as they moved,

  “Sheriff, if I have to pay you another penny more each month, I can promise you that I would rather kill you. So, there will be no increase in incentive.”

  His eyes glowed red, intensifying the moment. He could hear Skyler gasp, hoping he was right. She was naïve and didn’t know the evil that walked among them,

  “We don’t care what the humans say about hunting prey!”

  Meekel took a sip of wine from his glass,

  “Humans and wolves hunt. To be frank, the humans kill more of the forest animals than wolves do. We only venture out under a full moon. So, you should be having a meeting with your mindless puppets.”

  The Sheriff stood up, his face was flushing red with the cold slap of insolence the wolves threw his way. But before he could speak Skyler silenced him,

  “At some point in time Sheriff Dobson,” she all but sang sweetly,

  “You have to realize that the position is less about getting rich and more about keeping the balance in El Paso.”

  Jared hadn’t bothered to get to know his last name, but the sound of a sweet voice would forever be etched it in his mind. And the words she spoke were nothing short of the whole truth. It was the one thing that made the Sheriff stand out, more despicable than all the others in the tribunal. His greed knew no bounds.

  Skyler’s cold words shut him up and he sat back in a huff, plotting his next move to gain wealth. From there the meeting lasted another forty minutes with issues being brought forward about the rather inconsequential matters of the city. The Mayor, who was conditionally involved, stepped inside during the last five minutes, but even his position was not enough to make the wolves stay. He’d been directly responsible for the death of Shera.

  As a teenager, they agreed to allow him to live as long as they did, as long as they didn’t have to deal with him. Unbeknownst to the humans, the wolves would take him out soon. His every breath was an insult to their very existence.

  Chapter 2

  Skyler watched the two men walk out of the church intently. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought she’d see a bolt of lightning as they exited. She couldn’t quite remember where that idea had come from. She knew she’d heard when vampires and werewolves entered a church, strange things happened. God was likely to strike them down with a bolt of lightning. It was Spanish folklore, the people in El Paso had deep Spanish roots and they’d

  She watched the door swing open and the men step out into the late summer heat. She fig
ured God was either otherwise occupied or not concerned with the doings of humans.

  “Stay away from those two,” the pathologist warned her following her gaze.

  Skyler was confused,

  “How do I do that if we are supposed to work with them to maintain order?”

  “Work with them?” she sipped on her water,

  “This arrangement here is not a working arrangement, it is a reminder to the wolves that they may be more powerful than we are, but we can tug on their strings anytime we like.”

  The arrogance in the woman’s voice was sickening. Skyler realized she had been misled to believe something that wasn’t true. The Sheriff wanted money, the pathologist wanted power, and she was in need of a serious drink. The Pastor was the only one who seemed to be on his rockers the right way, but even that could change. She looked at the hushed conversation he was having with the Mayor and decided relief was needed from the present company.

  “I will be heading home,” she told the pathologist and got up to leave.

  She didn’t so much as glance at the Sheriff. He was still stewing in his anger of assumed wrong. Maybe she shouldn’t leave them all here without her, they could plot to kill her, but she couldn’t subject herself to them any longer.

  The unease she felt on exit was eased as both followed suit before the door could close behind her. The next meeting was to be in a week. She’d keep an eye on the happenings in town until then. In the meantime, having a drink and some pool games to get out of the sweltering afternoon sun was on her agenda.

  The entire town was in a festive mood because the one long running street festival would begin the following day. There would be la musica galore, food to fatten even the skinniest beast, lots of alcohol to go around and many babies would be made in back alleys, bathrooms and the swanky motels and hotels that lined the streets.