I jump up from the couch and start pacing the room. He said if we were interested to let him know, and he’d send us an envelope with directions on how to get to this compound. Until then, he couldn’t tell us anything.
I sidle up to the kitchen window to wait for Lily’s return, and my heart sinks as I think of her.
No. She’ll want this too, more than I, actually, and I can’t lead her into some trap. We haven’t survived this long just to do something reckless now.
Maybe that’s what this guy is after; what he’s good at. Luring our kind into a trap with something so tempting we can’t refuse.
I look down at his tattered business card in my hand, start to curl my fingers around it to crumple it and throw it away for good, but I can’t bring myself.
Suddenly, the back door swings open, startling me.
I yelp.
Lily gives me a curious look, then looks down at the business card in one hand, the cell phone in the other, then back to me.
“Mom? What’s going on?”
I sigh and point to the couch. “Take a seat, love. We need to talk.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
International Bestselling Author Susan James Pierce writes Paranormal, Sci-fi, and Contemporary Romance novels, and they all have the same thing in common - the characters' love defies all odds. Her "unputdownable" stories will make you laugh, cry, swoon, and keep you on the edge of your seat. Enjoy the ride!
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Their Dragon Mate by Elle Boon
Genre: Paranormal Romance - Menage / MFM
Dedication
First and foremost, I’d like to thank all you amazing readers for loving Lula and wanting her story. I hope y’all are ready for it and truly enjoy this journey she and her bears go on. P.S. There is a crazy demon sighting and as the saying goes...#dontlookdown. “Wink”. Oh, and if I can get my muse to keep on the same path, I just might have a surprise Christmas story coming out, so be sure and keep your eyes and ears open.
To my amazing team of beta Readers, y’all rock sooo effing hard. Thank you for all you do to make my books so amazing and help me keep my sheot straight. And last, but certainly not least, you readers are the best ever. FLOVE y’all soo hard.
XOXO,
Elle
Their Dragon Mate Blurb
A Forbidden Love. A Bond Tying Them Together. A Secret That Could Destroy Them All.
She’s always taken the path less traveled. They’ve always barreled through roadblocks. Can they find a way to be together without losing themselves?
Lula’s a Fierce Dragon... She’s given bits of herself to others when she was sure she had no mate of her own, even knowing it would cost her life at some point.
Atika and Abyle, Twins with A Purpose... They lived to protect their clan, until their brother took over as alpha. Just as they think they can relax, they meet their truemate. A feisty dragon female who runs from them.
The Triad Bond... Their beast won’t be denied, but finding their little dragon proves harder than they’d anticipated. However, once they bond with her, there’s no denying the love they share. What they didn’t foresee was a stranger from Lula’s past coming for her and her mother.
Will the trio have a chance at happily ever after, or will the Dragon King who lost his greatest treasures demand back, or kill who stands in his way?
Get ready for an exciting return of some of your favorite characters in this stand-alone...sort of “wink” story. You just might hear from the Fey Queen, the bad boy alpha Kellen, and what would a reunionish story be without #dontlookdown aka Creed.
Chapter One
Lula was a dragon female older than, well, she was older than the dirt on Earth. Much older than the wolfies her Fey Queen Jennaveve had claimed as her own, which in turn, Lula had now claimed. Now the bearies, they were another Goddesses’ creations, but since she appeared to be sleeping on the job, Lula being the awesome dragon she was, stepped up and did what awesome dragons do. Saved the day. Only when she popped her cute little dragon butt into the Alpha Bearies house with one of Jenna’s wolfies, what happened? Oh, two huge hunka hunka burnin love bearies went all alpha He-man on her. “You’re ours, female,” she muttered in a false baritone as she stood outside the Iron Wolves club, biting her thumbnail. Such a bad habit, but seriously, she had a few worse ones.
Okay, so she might have turned tail and popped out of there like a little beotch, but it wasn’t every day that a thousand-year-young dragon came across twin bearies, who claimed she was theirs. Nor was it every day that her inner dragon hussy said, ‘Yes please’ and wanted to strip out of the human clothes and allow them to claim her right then and there. Nope, she was not ready. She was still young by dragon standards. Not to mention she had an overprotective mama dragon who was older than...well, she didn’t know how old her mama was, but way older than a few thousand human years.
“You gonna stand out there all night, or you coming inside?”
She pretended the alpha of the Iron Wolves abrupt appearance didn’t startle her. Of course, the small flame that shot out of her mouth, burning the bush next to the entrance might be a slight indicator she lost control, but Kellen Styles didn’t say a word. Smart male. “I was thinking, Alpha.”
Kellen raised one dark brow as he looked at the bush, then back at Lula. “Try not to think too hard; that was my mates’ gift to me.” He folded his brawny arms over his chest. The tattoos on display flexed as he stood there, waiting. He really was a very sexy male, but he wasn’t hers.
“What kind of…bush was it?” For the life of her, she couldn’t make out what it was. The flames done made it nothing more than ash.
“A bleeding heart. And before you ask, it was beautiful with pink upside-down hearts. It had sentimental value.” Kellen nodded at the pile of ashes.
Lula took a deep breath, then waved her hand, the magic inside her taking away what she’d destroyed, replacing it with another bush like he’d described. “How’s that?”
The big bad alpha stared at the new bush, then at Lula. “Appears to be exactly like what was there, maybe even better. Want to come inside, or do you need another minute, or…”
“Is everyone here?” she asked, pointing at the packed parking lot.
“Yeah, the girls brought the babies for a moms playdate or some shit.” He shrugged.
She laughed at the disgruntled tone in his voice. “Sounds like fun.” She turned toward the door. “That’s between you and me, yes?” She gestured toward the new-and-improved bleeding hearts bush.
Kellen looked down into her eyes. “Unless my mate asks me, yes.”
“Good enough. Let’s go check out this mom’s playdate. I could use a drink, how ‘bout you?” Lula wound her arm through Kellen’s. It was strange how easy it was to be around the wolfies, especially since her dragon didn’t usually get along well with other species. Yet wolves and cats didn’t rile her, and never had. Now, bearies were another matter. She pushed the last thought to the back of her mind, determined to speak with the mates of Kellen and the others who were available. She needed to find out what the women had felt, and how they’d dealt with things when they’d come face to face with the men who might, or might not, have been their truemates. Not that she was admitting the twin bearies were hers, but you know, a girl needed to know these things.
Knowledge was power and all that sheot she’d been told all her life. However, she breathed fire, so there was that. Lula was sure she’d need all the power and knowledge for what she felt was coming. Deep withi
n her, there was an inner warning screaming that something big was coming, something much larger than a simple mating and for that, she wanted to be prepared.
When Kellen opened the door, the sound of a kid’s movie playing blared instead of the usual rock music, making the alpha wince and her smile. “Ah, how things have changed, my friend.”
“You ain’t seen shit,” he muttered.
She blinked and blinked again, not sure she was actually seeing what she was. “What is on those baby girls’ heads?”
Romie and Rebel stood faster than Lula thought two teen girls were capable, Rebel’s wolfie snarl filling the air with pure menace. “Who are you, and what do you want?”
Lula walked farther into the room, her head swiveling from big bow to big bow, stopping as she reached one of the mothers holding a cute little nugget. “Where did you get such creations?” Lula pointed at the child’s head. The bow in question was like an explosion of flowers in every color of the rainbow.
Lyric laughed. “They come from an online boutique called Little Booney’s Bows. They do these drops on certain days. It’s like all the mamas are online waiting for it like it’s Black Friday, but there’s a limited supply. We’re literally on the computer, or on our phones with the site up, gift cards downloaded and ready to tap our fingers to get our carts loaded online.”
“She’s not lying. I had to be her wingman last drop because there were”—he paused, making air quotes—“peplums or some shit she had to have.” Rowan caught the sippy cup Lyric lobbed at him. “What did I say?”
“You know they’re adorable, and you like how they look on her,” Lyric snarled, glancing down at little Harlow with affection.
Rowan set the little cup on the table. “I must admit, they’re cute, but my kid would be adorable in anything. She doesn’t need those fancy ribbons and shit.”
“You best watch your tone, or no nookie wookie,” Lyric warned.
“You forgetting who tops in this relationship, ‘darlin?” Rowan stood up, eliminating the space between him and his mate.
“My ears, they’re bleeding. Make him stop, Breezy,” Xan cried, pulling his mate onto his lap.
Lula laughed, clapping in excitement. “I love these big-ass bows. I think we all need them.” She waved, making sure each woman had one identical to her child in their hair as well, scaled up to fit their size. In her own, she wanted one like the rainbow one on Lyric’s little girl Harlow, only she added a bit of sparkle to hers, to avoid being just like the mother and child.
“Oh, we’re so cute. What do you think, Kellen?” She spun to face the alpha, her smile genuine for the first time since leaving the ones she wouldn’t talk about. Darn bearies and their growly ways.
The air crackled, familiar magic swirling about the space. Lula turned, excitement filling her at the thought of seeing her Fey Queen and the twin girls.
“You having a party and didn’t invite me?” Jenna asked, carrying two bundles in her arms.
“Oh puh lease, you know you’re always invited. Let me see them babies.” Breezy held her arms out.
“They’re teething,” Jenna warned.
Breezy paused with her palms in the air. “Are they teething like normal babies…err, I mean like, well, I mean. Shit, what I mean is...”
Kellen boomed out a laugh. “I think she wants to know if they’re sporting fangs like their fathers, or if they’re just teething like our little pups.”
“We’re trying to teach them to bite pups like yours, but our female keeps slapping us,” Damien said, popping in behind Jenna.
“Goddess, can’t a Fey visit her friends without you two worry wolpires following?” Jenna groused, standing on tiptoe to accept a kiss from Damien.
“Of course, you can. Just not today,” he agreed.
“Jenna, have you seen these bow things?” Lula asked, striding up to her.
“Oh man, now we’ll have another mama to contend with,” Laikyn moaned.
Jenna blinked at Lula. “What is on your head?”
“It’s these amazing bows from some Booney place online. They fight all these mamas to score on a drop day and bam, they get these for their babies. I just created one for all of us and they appear the same, but whatevs. Here,” Lula waved again, creating one for Jenna and her twins, making sure they matched their outfits. She’d learned a lot since being on Earth. One of those things was you always coordinated your accessories.
“Here, Breezy, take the twins. They won’t bite you unless you try to stick something in their mouth they don’t like, and they don’t like fingers or toes that aren’t their own in their mouths,” she warned. “Lula, you and I need to have a talk.”
Jenna grabbed Lula by the arm once she passed the girls to Breezy, ignoring the way her eyes went wide with fright as she took the babies. Lula glanced at the two gorgeous babies, whispering quietly to them to be nice to the wolfies.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they don’t bite you, Breezy. They’ll only bite boys.” Damien stared at Kellen, who growled, the sound low and dangerous. Lula really didn’t understand these alphas and their weird growling.
“Oh, I think I hear my mama calling me?” Lula tried to pull her arm away.
“Don’t try that shit with me, Lula, I know just what you’re doing, and it ain’t gonna work, even with these… whatever the hell these are on our heads. Who the hell thought it was a good idea to make them bigger than our babies heads in the first place?” Jenna ripped her bow off her head, glaring at the rainbow-colored ribbon.
“I can’t believe you just did that. Do you know how much time and effort goes into making those? Well, do you? Hours, and days, and mamas literally fight to get them. I had to create copies, and they don’t even have the little thingies on the insides with the label of the LBB on it showing they’re authentic,” Lula babbled, trying to distract Jenna.
The club melted away, swallowed up by a familiar field. “Alright, tell me what’s happened. I could feel your distress even from states away.” Jenna stared her in the eyes.
In all the years she’d known the Fey Queen, never had she ever lied to her. However, standing with her in the Garden of the Goddess, Lula wasn’t sure how to explain.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Jenna flopped down onto the grass, her long skirt billowing out around her.
“Are you reading my thoughts, Jennaveve?” Lula narrowed her eyes at the petite female she loved, thinking of sending a bolt of flames near her, not enough to burn, but maybe just the right amount to get her point across.
Jenna patted the ground. “Stop being a little beotch and sit. You and I both know if you throw your little flame at me, it’ll go back at you tenfold.” Jenna gazed over her shoulder, blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
“You do know smug doesn’t look good on you, right?” Lula plopped down next to the tiny Fey, making sure her long pink hair wacked the other woman in the face. Hearing Jenna sputter while she slapped at the long strands gave her a small measure of joy.
“Feel better?” Jenna snarled.
Lula crossed her feet and leaned back on her arms, staring up at the two suns. She’d almost gotten used to the single one on Earth. Strange how the Realms were similar yet different. “How do you like living on Earth compared to here?” she asked instead of answering.
Jenna lay back, closing her eyes. “If not for my mates, I don’t think I’d live there full-time, but I enjoy it. There’s a huge difference between here and there, mainly the air. Here, it’s so fresh. I think of a scent, and it’s permeating the air. On Earth, if I do the same, it can cause huge problems. I mean, imagine if I stand in the middle of Times Square and decide I wanted to smell cotton candy instead of car fumes. Yes, it would be much more pleasant, but I think humans would have a mass panic attack.”
Lula mimicked Jenna’s pose, head turning to face the Fey Queen. The startling purple eyes staring at hers so familiar. “I think I met my mates and their bearies, and I ran from them like a little
girl,” she blurted out.
“Well, I didn’t see that coming,” Jenna muttered, reaching for Lula’s hand. “Um, Lula dear, what exactly are bearies?”
Lula scrunched her eyes closed, praying the ground would open up and swallow her.
“You don’t really want the ground to swallow you. I saw this movie with my mates, who are still paying for making me watch that Freddy K guy with the knives for fingers. He swallowed this cutie patootie right through a waterbed. At least I think it was a waterbed. I’m not a hundred percent sure because he had this really old square television plop down on his stomach as he was sucked down through the bed. It was a dream thing where this…never mind. You don’t want to hear about that.” Jenna waved her arms in the air.
“Have you been drinking, Jennaveve?” Lula asked. What the heck was the other woman was talking about? Here she just told her she ran from her mates, and Jenna was talking about some guy swallowing some other guy through a bed of water with a television. Son-of-a-biscuit-eater, she really needed to talk with the wolpire twins about what they allowed the queen to drink. She was a nursing mother of twins for dragon’s sake.
“Again, you really should stop broadcasting your thoughts because they’re rude. I’ll have you know I’m not drunk. My mates have terrible taste in movies. Now, back to you and your…mates as in plural? Who or what the hell are they?” Jenna rolled to her side, propping herself up on her elbow.
Lula again copied Jenna, facing her. “They’re bears. As in twin bear shifters.” She closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion.
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 121