“They attacked us, My King.”
“That’s a lie, Nikai,” Belle in dragon form swooped onto the ground, a wound on her side was bleeding heavily.
“Who did this?” Nikai asked, moving up to Belle’s heaving side.
“Do not touch me. I’ll be fine.” Belle went to step away, stumbled and fell, rolling onto her uninjured side. As she did, she shifted into her human form.
Lula gasped, shifting herself. “Oh, Mama.”
Atika moved to protect her, Abyle on her other side, their growls as the dragons got too close letting the males know they would kill if they had to.
“Your males attacked first, Nikai, and your friend did that to Belle. I will kill him,” Creed said, moving toward the male in question.
Nikai tossed his arm out. “I will take care of him.” He got to his feet, moving toward the other dragon. “Why did you attack when I told you to hold?”
“We were protecting ourselves,” Gaiston said.
“I see what happened here. I’m a royal of the Dark House. Do you not think I can’t see into the past? The truth is right here.” He waved his hand, showing them what he saw like a movie scene. The vision of the dragons swooping down, aiming for the pink dragons without pause, without a care for their lives. Within the scene, their intentions flowed out, the black dragon’s magic making even their thoughts broadcast as if they’d spoken their deepest thoughts. They had no desire for the two females to return to their lands.
“What sorcery is this?” Gaiston muttered.
Nikai grabbed him by the throat. “It is not sorcery but power, you fool.” Without a pause, he ripped the other man’s head from his neck, tossing it toward Creed.
Creed batted it away. “Ew, why you throwing me that?”
“I thought you liked that kind of shit?” Nikai shrugged, letting the rest of the body fall to the ground. “Anyone else?”
“Well, you thought wrong. I do not now, nor have I ever enjoyed head. Wait, I mean I enjoy getting head, from my mate. Ah, sheot, fuck it. I’m going home and getting laid unless I need to kill some more dragons?” Creed growled at the other dragons staring at him with a look of horror.
“I think you can go, big guy.” Jenna patted his leg.
“Thank you, My Queen. And ah, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Reina about the head part.” Creed glared around him.
Atika covered his own laughter with a cough. He wasn’t going to have the eighty-foot fucker smack him around. “Where did she go?” he dared to ask, although, if he’d had his way, he’d have sent Lula off somewhere safe as well.
“Once the battle started, my demon was able to focus on who to kill and not to kill, so I sent her back home where she belonged. Of course, she’s going to rip my head off, not actually rip it off, but you know. Anyhoo, see you around, BFF. Kellen, you better watch it now, I got a best friend who can become a total freaky ass thing.” Creed saluted them before he disappeared.
When Creed flashed away, Atika let the laughter escape. He wasn’t going to call the crazy male his BFF, but they could be friends, if the other beast didn’t eat him. Wait, did he just say he was a freak? Hello pot said the kettle.
“Yo, pot, I don’t like bear, especially metal ones. Ew,” Creed said inside his head.
Chapter Nine
Lula knelt next to her mother, worried about the amount of blood she continued to lose. “Mama, tell me what to do. How can I make the bleeding stop?”
Nikai knelt next to her. “It’s from a dragon.”
She glared at the male. “What the fuck does that mean? I’m a dragon. I can fix her.”
“A female doesn’t talk to a male like that,” Nikai growled.
“This female does. Who are you to tell me how I should or shouldn’t talk to anyone? You told my mother to get rid of me, so you have no right to say anything to me.” Lula turned back to her mother, who was getting weaker by the second.
“I never told your mother any such thing. I didn’t even know of your existence until I saw a pink dragon through the Mist. Your scent was very similar to my Belle’s, but also mine, it was then I realized who you were. It was why I was coming for you both.”
“You lie,” Belle gasped, trying to sit up.
The acrid scent of her blood increased.
“Don’t you move, female,” Nikai roared, placing his palm over the wound. Golden light went from him to her mother. Lula had tried to heal Belle, but she couldn’t. Something was blocking her, but she didn’t know what, making her feel inept.
Abyle’s rested his comforting touch on her shoulder, followed by Atika on the other side. Her mates stood protective, ready to take on whatever came at her. “Your body is protecting our young, Lula Love,” Abyle whispered at her ear.
She jerked, her hands going to her stomach. During the battle she’d forgotten about their beast. The very fact they became one had amazed and freaked her out. However, this announcement was almost too much for her to take. She needed her mother to live so she could help her.
“What kind of child am I having?” she asked, Abyle and Atika.
“Our child. Does our beast disgust you? We don’t always merge into one, only when needed. Usually we are just two lumbering grizzly bears,” Abyle growled.
“Yeah, about that freaky fucking beast. You two out-freak Kellen,” Xan called.
“Goddess, he has no sense of self preservation, I swear,” Jenna muttered.
“He’s kinda right, though. I mean, I’m not saying I’m a freak, but those two becoming a fucking huge beasty-bear thing. Freaky as fuck.” Kellen clapped. “So, if we ain’t needed to kill, I’d like to go home and fuck my mate.”
“Do they ever shut up?” Nikai asked.
Belle shook her head, her color improving. “Only when they’re fighting or with their mates, but even then, it’s iffy. Jenna, can you flash us all home? I’m a little under the weather at the moment.”
“Halt, you cannot take Belle anywhere. Her life is tied to mine.” Nikai’s words dropped into the silence like a meteor on Earth.
“Belle, you were dying. I had to give you a piece of me to save you.”
Lula was sure she’d heard wrong, but she’d known the wound her mother had suffered was bad. “Was it just the one, or are the rest sentenced to death?” she asked, wondering which dragon she could kill. She’d kill all the bastards who’d tried to kill them.
“The one who tried to kill Belle is dead. The others were following his orders, as he was my second, and they thought they were my orders,” Nikai said, his voice low and deadly.
“What does this mean for my mother?” Lula let the subject go, her worry for the Dragon Realm meaningless as she held her mother, happy to feel the strength and warmth returning.
“She must come home with me.”
Belle sat up, shaking her head. “No way, Nikai. I won’t be accepted, and I won’t live like I did when I was young. I have a life and family who accept me as I am, damaged and all. I will not go back to a realm with people who look at me and my scales as if I’m less than.”
“You won’t be treated as anything other than my Queen, Belle. For years, I’ve searched for you. I’ve loved you, missed you, and longed for you. At my side, you will rule as you should have. Lula, you’re our daughter. You will have your choice of—”
Atika and Abyle cut his words off with a growl.
“Nikai, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m mated to two males of worth. I don’t want or need your approval. Mother, if you have to go with him to live, what about me, us?” she sobbed.
Belle got to her feet. “I don’t have to go with him to live. I feel the part of him inside me, which means he is a part of me now. Just as you gave parts of yourself to others, he did the same for me. I am not beholden to him.”
The black dragon stood up. “You’re right, you are not. However, now that I’ve found you, I will not let you go without a fight, Belle.”
Her mother gave a mirthless chuckle. “The same
way you fought for me the last time? If that is so, you might as well save your breath and just go home. Jenna, can you please help an old dragon?”
Before Nikai could say another word, Jenna flashed Belle away, leaving Lula standing there with Nikai and his men.
“I didn’t tell your mother to terminate her pregnancy. I would never have done that, ever. I loved her and would’ve loved you. I do love you both. I wish I could’ve...it doesn’t matter. Have a good life, Lula. May, can I check on you from time to time?” Nikai asked, his voice low and filled with anguish.
“Give me some time to come to grips with my new reality?”
He nodded, then pulled out a small silver ball with swirls of clouds inside. She eyed it warily.
“Take this. It is a way to contact me without having to come here to do so.” He held steady, waiting.
“Does it go both ways?” she asked, taking the silver orb.
Nikai shook his head. “I will not invade your world, if that is what you’re worried about. Having a piece of myself in your mother gives me access if I wanted, but I will not do so. I will earn her trust, or I will die alone.”
He turned away from them. Lula realized he’d created a dome around them so that none of his warriors would be able to hear what they said. “Nikai,” she called before he shifted.
Turning around, he paused.
“Thank you for saving my mom.” Lula held the silver orb up. “I’ll be in touch.”
He gave her a salute, touching two fingers to his brow, then he became a huge black dragon, his scales so dark they were a multitude of colors. She wondered what the other dragons of his house colors were, then shrugged. It didn’t matter because she wouldn’t be going there unless her mother was there, which didn’t seem to be the case.
“Let’s go home. I have dragon blood on me, and I think demon spit on me too.” Abyle shook his body in a comical way.
“What makes you think you have demon spit on you?” Lula asked, slipping an arm between each of her mates.
“You see, it happened like this...”
Lula roared as she listened to Abyle explain how Creed spit out a piece of dragon scale when Jenna had asked them not to kill any dragons. The poor male had already bitten the wing of one off, so he had to hack it up and hoped it would reconnect. Poor Abyle and Atika were too close and ended up with demon spit and dragon bits on them. She would be making it up to them in the sweetest and nakedest way, shortly.
If you’re hoping for a short story about Belle and Nikai...I think I might be writing it, and it might come out at Christmas. So, keep your eyes open for a cute little Christmas story about Belle and her Black Dragon!
(Title to be determined)
Thank You
Thank you for reading Their Dragon Mate! I hope you loved it! I hope you are ready for more and I hope I give it to you. Lord, I loved visiting my Iron Wolves and Creeedddd, “Sigh”. That demon has my heart LOL.
Did you enjoy the way Lula and her guys got their HEA and getting to see some of the others from previous books? I tried to write this so you could enjoy it without having to read the others. I’ve also got two more books coming up with The Leopards Witchy Mate and Royally F**ked that I’m really excited for y’all to read, so make sure you have your preorders in for them.
I think y’all will LOVE them (fingers crossed). I’m going to put a poll up in my reader group on Facebook to see which one of my series that needs a book to complete it (these are series that just didn’t do well so my muse stopped speaking) you would like to see me try to write this year since I might have some free time between now and January (Yay Covid LOL)
If you’re not a member of my group, be sure and join my Facebook group, Elle Boon’s Bombshells, to discuss all things Elle Boon books and see what’s going on or coming up in my book world.
Want to stay up to date on upcoming releases in all my series? Be sure to join my VIP newsletter here. I promise your inbox will be filled with the hottest dominating Alphas and exclusive content. Links to follow.
XOXO,
ELLE BOON
About Elle Boon
Elle Boon is a reader first and foremost...and of course if you know her, she's the crazy lady with purple hair. She's also a USA Today Bestselling Author who lives in Middle-Merica as she likes to say…with her husband and Kally Kay, her black lab who also thinks she's her writing partner. (She happens to sit next to her begging for treats and so takes a lot of credit). She has two amazing kids, Jazz and Goob, and is a MiMi to one adorable little nugget named Romy or RomyGirl (greatest job EVER) who has totally won over everyone who sees hers (If anyone says a hair bow is too big, they're crazy). She’s known for saying “Bless Your Heart” and dropping lots of F-bombs (I mean lots of F-BOMBS, but who is keeping track?).
She loves where this new journey has taken her and has no plans on stopping. She writes what she loves to read, and that’s romance, whether it’s about Navy SEALs, HOT as F**K MC heroes, or paranormal alphas. #dontlookdown is a thing you will need to google. "Wink" With all her stories, you're guaranteed a happily ever after, no matter what twisted thing her mind has come up with. Her biggest hope is that after readers have read one of her stories, they fall in love with her characters as much as she has. She loves creating new worlds and has more just waiting to be written. Elle believes in happily ever after and can guarantee you will always get one within the pages of her books.
Connect with Elle online. She loves to hear from you:
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Other Books by Elle Boon
Ravens of War
Selena’s Men
Two For Tamara
Jaklyn’s Saviors
Kira’s Warriors
Akra’s Demons
Mystic Wolves
Accidentally Wolf
His Perfect Wolf
Jett’s Wild Wolf
Bronx’s Wounded Wolf
A Fey’s Wolf
Their Wicked Wolf
Atlas’s Forbidden Wolf
SmokeJumpers
FireStarter
Berserker’s Rage
A SmokeJumpers Christmas
Choosing His Mate, Available in The Glittering World Anthology
Iron Wolves MC
Lyric’s Accidental Mate
Xan’s Feisty Mate
Kellen’s Tempting Mate
Slater’s Enchanted Mate
Dark Lovers
Bodhi’s Synful Mate
Turo’s Fated Mate
Arynn’s Chosen Mate
Coti’s Unclaimed Mate
Miami Nights
Miami Inferno
Rescuing Miami
Standalone
Wild and Dirty, Wild Irish Series
SEAL Team Phantom Series
Delta Salvation
Delta Recon
Delta Rogue
Delta Redemption
Mission Saving Shayna
Protecting Teagan
The Dark Legacy Series
Dark Embrace
The Royal Sons MC Series
Royally Twisted
Royally Taken
Royally Tempted
Royally Treasured
Royally Broken
Royally F**ked, Royal Bastards Coming September 29th 2020
Magic and Mayhem
The Lion’s Witchy Mate
The Leopards Witchy Mate, Coming Oct 2020
Standalone
Shaw’s Wild Mate, Coming Soon
A Cur
sed All Hallows' Eve Anthology
Their Dragon Mate, Coming Oct 2020
When Wendigos Prey by Nicole Zoltack
A Bedlam in Bethlehem Short Story
Genre: PNR
Copyright @ Nicole Zoltack 2020
About
Clarissa Tempest has dealt with plenty of bedlam in Bethlehem. There’s been a bit of peace now until she learns that a dear friend has died. Maybe now, she’ll face her fear and take her relationship to the next level because tomorrow isn’t a guarantee. But then, of course, there’s a body.
Chapter One
Don't miss your opportunity to get a F*R*E*E book from Nicole when you reach the end of this collection. Watch for the Reader Magnets links!
As I have countless times before, I stand before my parents' gravestones, but this night is different than the ones previously, when I had been frightened or worried or uneasy. A lifetime ago, it seems, because right now, for the most part, I'm in a fairly good place. Bethlehem has enjoyed relative peace since I first learned that vamps are real, that werewolves are real, that sirens and many other paranormal creatures believed just to be myths aren't figments of our imagination.
Things really do go bump in the night.
And I should know. My birth parents had been an angel and a demon.
But it’s my adoptive parents whose gravestones I kneel before on this beautiful early spring night. My fingers touch their tombstones, tracing the letters as a smile curls my lips.
“Tonight's the night, Mom, Dad. I'm going to do it. I'm going to ask Diego. I'm sorry, Mom. I just can't wait anymore for him to ask. I know you're old-fashioned and think guys should do the asking, but… Blake's gone. He's dead. He always thought that vamps would get him in the end, and he was right, the bastard."
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 130