The Dragon's Mate (Elemental Dragons Book 1)

by Emilia Hartley

Savannah grimaced. "I'd rather avoid that if I can." There wasn't ever going to be an easy explanation for her arm, as well as all the cuts and bruises she was sure she had elsewhere.

  Tom carefully cleaned her arm, making her hiss with pain, before closing the gash with the adhesive strips. Wrapping it up carefully, he put all the things away and went out to wash his hands. When he returned he sat opposite her and handed her some painkillers with a glass of water. Savannah watched him in silence, knowing that, at some point soon, they were going to have to talk about what had happened.

  “How does that feel?”

  She gave him a brief smile after swallowing the painkillers. "Much better, thank you." If she was honest, she'd tell him that her entire arm throbbed with pain and all she could think about was getting a bath to sooth the aches and pains in her body, but instead, she just tried to smile.

  He tipped up her chin with one finger. “Tell me the truth, Savannah.”

  His words cut deep and she twisted her head away. “I’m sorry, Tom.”

  Tom got to his feet, taking a few steps away as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know."

  “I hurt you,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Tom. I should have told you the truth.”

  “Yes, you should have,” he replied, heavily. Turning back, he looked at her distraught face, his heart tearing a little. She was the picture of misery, and, strangely, his heart was breaking for her. “But I understand why you didn’t,” he said, softly.

  Savannah’s eyes widened, hardly able to believe what he’d said. This wasn’t the reaction she’d expected. In fact, she’d expected him to leave her in the woods, so even what he’d done for her so far was more than she knew she deserved. “Why are you being so kind to me?” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t deserve this, Tom.”

  He gave her a half smile, sitting back down again and reaching for her good hand. “I’m doing it because I feel you deserve another chance,” he said, simply. His smile widened as he saw the shock on her face, melting away into disbelief.

  She swallowed hard, blinking tears away furiously. “But I betrayed you.”

  “You were going to betray me," he corrected. "But you chose not to." He leaned forward, desperate for her to believe him. "Look, I don’t know all the details, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not hurt that you lied to me, but that doesn’t change the fact that you stood in front of me, Savannah, to protect me from Lucas. He might have killed you if Dan hadn't been there." Letting out a long breath, he gave a quick shake of his head. "I can't believe you did that for me, Savannah. That shows me just how much your loyalty has changed. After all that I’d be a fool to be blinded by anger and not at least hear your side of the story."

  “At first, I believed everything Lucas said,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “I believed your pack had killed Dan in cold blood. But then I met you and Nick and Jo, and things started to change.”

  Tom’s eyebrows lifted. “In what way?”

  Savannah looked back at him, her face open and honest in a way Tom hadn’t seen before. “I saw how you and Nick are with each other. There’s respect and friendship between you. Nick doesn’t force you to do anything. No-one tells you when to shift and when not to.”

  "Lucas told you when you could shift?" Tom repeated, his eyes widening in shock. Lucas was more of a dictator than he'd realized.

  Savannah nodded. “Yes, he did. We were never allowed to question him. If we did, the consequences would be severe.”

  “He’d hurt you.”

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Savannah nodded. "After seeing how much of a family you guys were I realized that a pack shouldn't be run by threats and fear. I saw that there was a different way, and I fell in love with that - with you. Talking to Dan just made everything clearer."

  Tom nodded slowly. He was quite surprised to discover that he wasn’t in the least bit angry, but rather full of sympathy for what she’d gone through.

  "My plan was to tell Lucas that I was leaving, and then come back to tell you the truth."

  Brushing away the tear from her cheek, Tom let his fingers linger on her soft skin. “But then I had to go and spoil your plan by following you into the woods,” he joked, lightening the mood.

  “Yes, you did,” she replied, quickly. “But if you hadn’t, I’m not sure I would have survived.”

  The gravity of what had happened hit them both full force. “The pack’s not going to leave us alone now, that’s for sure,” Tom muttered, running a hand over his brow.

  “No, I don’t think they will,” Savannah replied, softly. “I’m sorry, Tom.”

  “Don’t be,” he said at once. “This was always going to happen. Lucas is determined to either have us join their pack or kill us.”

  “I guess so,” Savannah murmured. “Lucas isn’t the kind of guy to give up easily.”

  Tom grinned at her, breaking the current of tension that filled the room. “So, do you think you’ll stay?” he asked. His eyes twinkled at her, as heat burst from her core.

  Savannah gave a choked laugh. “Considering I don’t have anywhere else to go, I think I’ll have to.” Now that she’d left the Northern Wind pack, Savannah knew she’d have to get her things out of Lucas’ old place as fast as possible.

  “Good,” he replied. “My bed’s big enough for two.” Leaning forward, he kissed her thoroughly, hearing her sigh of happiness. His heart felt whole, his bear happy and content as he carefully held Savannah in his arms. For the first time, there wasn’t anything between them. He knew everything about her now and, despite what had happened, he was glad it was all out. She was his mate and he wasn’t going to ever let her go.

  Epilogue

  By the time Nick and Jo arrived with Dan, Tom and Savannah were sitting in the lounge area, each drinking a cup of coffee. Anxiety written on her face, Jo rushed over to Savannah, with Nick and Dan not far behind her. “What happened?” she asked, crouching down to look into Savannah’s face.

  Savannah shook her head. “It’s a long story, but I’m fine, Jo. I promise.” Remembering that Jo didn’t know she was a shifter, Savannah sent an uneasy glance at Tom. “Uh, I should probably tell you that - ”

  “You’re a shifter, yes, I know,” Jo replied, with a quick smile. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Her mouth falling open, Savannah stared at Jo for a long moment as a slight rush of embarrassment sent color into her cheeks. “You know?”

  “Yes, of course I know,” Jo replied, allowing Nick to pull her into a seat. “Savannah, I’ve known since the first day you arrived!”

  “How did you know?” Savannah asked, still surprised.

  Jo grinned. “Savannah, I live with two shifters - three, if you include Dan!”

  “What she means is,” Nick interrupted. “Is that I told her.”

  “Oh,” Savannah murmured, as laughter echoed around the room. “Right.” Suddenly, she felt a little foolish, but Tom’s arm around her shoulders soon settled her again.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I kept it a secret for all of 5 minutes before he bluntly told her,” Tom joked.

  “Oh, that was supposed to be a secret? Sorry,” though he said he was, Nick was not sorry whatsoever.

  “Anyway, Let me tell you what happened,” Tom began, giving them a quick rundown of the events. Savannah felt her face grow hot as Tom told them the truth about her, but a quick description of Lucas and what he’d done to her brought nothing but sympathy and a flash of anger to their faces.

  “So this isn’t over,” Nick mused, once Tom had finished.

  “No, it’s not,” Dan replied, shaking his head. “Sorry if we’ve made things more difficult for you all.”

  Nick grunted, his hand tightening a little around Jo’s one.

  Savannah braved a glance up at Tom and saw him look back at her, his eyes dark but a smile on his face.

  “Savannah’s going to join our pack,” he said, still looking at her bu
t speaking to Nick and Jo. “She’ll stay here with me.”

  Jo let out a whoop of delight. “I’m so glad! Finally, another girl to talk to.”

  “What about you, Dan?” Nick asked. “There’s not exactly a lot of space here but we could always use an extra pair of hands. Maybe train you up?”

  The relief Dan felt was evident on his face. “Thanks, Nick. I’d really appreciate that. I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

  “Then you’re welcome to stay,” Nick announced. “You too, Savannah.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, leaning over and resting her head on Tom’s shoulder. Finally, she’d found a home, a place she could make her own. It was here, with Tom. There wasn’t any fear or doubts, only love and a sense of security she’d never had as part of the Northern Wind pack. Tipping her head back, she looked up at Tom who dropped a quick kiss on her lips, making her smile.

  “So, now that we’re officially a pack,” Nick began. “Reckon we need a name.”

  “Not the Brewer pack, then?” Tom grinned, inciting a groan from Jo.

  “No,” Jo said, emphatically. “Definitely not that. We’ve already got Brewer Mechanics and this pack isn’t just about you boys anymore.”

  Silence ran through the room for a few minutes, as everyone thought hard.

  “The Alliance?”

  Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, as Tom’s chest rumbled in agreement. Nerves filled Savannah for a moment, before she realised they were all beginning to smile in agreement.

  “Suits us, I think,” Tom agreed. That’s what they were. Different shifters, from different places, with a human as well! Tightening his hand on Savannah’s shoulder, he pressed a quick kiss to her temple, smiling down at her.

  “Sounds like something you'd read in a comic book,” Dan laughed, his eyes twinkling.

  “Don’t you like it, then?” Nick asked. “After all, you’re going to be a part of it.”

  Dan shook his head, the grin still on his face. “Like Tom says, it suits us.”

  “The Alliance,” the others agreed, as a new sense of purpose filled the room. They were going to have to put a stop to Lucas and his dark intentions for their new pack somehow. Now, with Savannah and Dan in their pack, they were stronger than ever before, with a new bond between them all. Nothing was going to break them apart.

  Loved by the Alpha Bear

  Alpha Bears Book 3

  Emilia Hartley

  Chapter One

  “Good morning!”

  Nick groaned, reaching for his second cup of coffee. “Why are you always so darn cheerful in the mornings?”

  Dan shrugged. “Can’t help it.”

  “Try.”

  Chuckling, Dan went to get himself his own cup of coffee. He’d been settling into his new routine with the Nick and Tom at the mechanics, but they hadn’t quite gotten used to him. They were always slow and grumpy in the mornings, whereas he was always cheerful and ready to start work almost immediately. At least Savannah didn’t seem to mind, although she was always quite quiet in the mornings. Jo, on the other hand, wouldn’t come inside until she absolutely had to. Something about enjoying the cool morning air and watching the sun begin to spread its long fingers across the forest trees. Sometimes Jo sounded more bear shifter than they did, despite being the only one who wasn’t.

  “Good morning, Tom,” Dan grinned, as Tom came out of the back room, running a hand through his hair.

  “Hmph,” Tom grunted, shaking himself all over like a bear would shake water from its fur. “Too chirpy, Dan, as usual.”

  “So your brother said,” Dan replied, not in the least bit put off. He was getting to know Tom faster than he was Nick. That was probably because he was still sleeping on the sofa bed in the back room, right next to Tom and Savannah’s bedroom. All in all, it was quite cramped and could sometimes be a bit awkward, but there didn’t seem to be an easy solution. He’d offered to get his own place in town but, since they didn’t know for sure how or when Lucas was going to attack, Nick had decided it was best he stayed here.

  “Tom,” Nick called, as soon as Tom had grabbed a cup of steaming coffee. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  “Dan,” Nick continued. “You’d better hear this too.”

  Wondering what it was Nick had to say, Dan followed Tom over to the office seating area and sat in one of the comfortable seats. He couldn’t sense any tension at least, which was a good thing. They weren’t about to chuck him out of the Alliance pack or anything.

  When both Tom and Dan were seated, Nick began, “Listen, Tom, I’ve been thinking. Jo and I are living in the cabin, you and Savannah live here but so does Dan.”

  “Yeah,” Tom grunted. “So?”

  “So,” Nick continued, obviously a little frustrated with Tom’s interruption. “I’m getting the impression that it’s a bit small, this place, for the three of you.”

  Dan let out a shout of laughter. “You can say that again,” he replied. “Savannah wasn’t exactly pleased to find my underwear hanging on the radiator to dry last week.” If he was honest, Dan would admit that it had been a bit of an awkward moment, but what was a guy to do? It had been raining outside and he needed clean clothes! Tom rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it is,” he muttered. “But part of that is because Savannah lives here too. I don’t want to push Dan out.”

  Surprised at his consideration, Dan gave him a brief nod, seeing the acceptance in his eyes. He’d thought that Tom might want him out or to find a new place, but apparently not. This pack was the complete opposite to the Northern Wind pack. In fact, it was so different that it was taking him some time to get used to it all. Nick led the pack with respect and consideration, as opposed to Lucas’ way of fear and domination.

  “Right,” Nick continued, his smile widening. “Well, Tom, in light of all that, I was wondering if you wanted to build a place of your own.”

  Tom frowned, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “Really?”

  "Sure, why not?" Nick replied, stretching out his feet and crossing them at the ankle. "There are a couple of acres around the back of the shop we've never used, and since it looks like Savannah's going to be here to stay, you may as well build somewhere new. You can't keep living in the back of the shop, can you?"

  “No, I suppose not,” Tom murmured. “To be honest, Nick, this is the last thing I’d expected from you, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

  Nick grinned. “I know it’ll take a lot of work, but it means you’d have your own place. It’s a good reason to put down some roots, especially now that we’re an official pack.” He leaned forward, fixing Tom with a sincere gaze. “I looked at the finances and we’ve got the money, Tom. I’d be happy to help you when I can.”

  Tom's face began to clear, but suddenly, the frown reappeared. "What about the shop? There's work that needs to be done. You can't run this place on your own."

  “And that’s where Dan comes in,” Nick replied, easily. “Dan’s proving himself to be a good apprentice. He can easily help me out and it means his training will just have to go up a notch - you’d be alright with that, wouldn’t you, Dan?”

  Dan nodded, thinking to himself that he couldn’t imagine anything better. He had been quite surprised to discover he really enjoyed working with his hands, and that the smell of grease and oil wasn’t as bad as he’d first imagined. “Don’t let that stand in your way, Tom,” he said, in response. “I’m more than happy to help Nick out, in any way I can. After all, after what you both have done for me, it’s the least I could do.”

  Tom's face slowly cleared of the worry and concern it held before a slow smile began to spread across his face. "I suppose I could," Tom murmured, thoughtfully. "Nothing fancy, of course. No offense, Nick, but that cabin's not quite my style."

  “What’s your style, then?” Dan asked.

  “Basic,” Tom replied immediately. “Real basic but homely. Like a den.”


  Dan nodded, understanding exactly what Tom meant. The idea of having a cozy little place all of your own, without anything fancy, made sense to him.

  “We could look at getting the foundations done this week,” Nick continued, glad his brother was thinking about it. “Dan and I can help you with that before you take on the rest.”

  Tom nodded, sticking out his hand to his brother and then to Dan. “Sounds good. Thanks, Nick.”

  Nick grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Dan and I can manage things around here, so you can just focus on building your house. I’ll take care of whatever jobs we have going on here.”

  “I’ll go tell Savannah,” Tom grinned, throwing a grateful look at Dan before walking away.

  “What do you think, Dan?”

  Dan turned to face Nick. This didn’t exactly have much to do with him so he was surprised at Nick’s question. “I’ll be happy to help with whatever it is you need me to do, Nick,” he replied, slowly, wondering if that was what Nick meant. “I owe you guys a lot, so anything I can do…”

  “Thanks,” Nick laughed. “But that’s not what I meant.” He scratched his head, screwing up his face for a moment, obviously thinking about how to explain himself. “What I mean is that Tom and Savannah will be moving out as soon as the house is finished - which means you’ll be here alone. I was hoping you’d be okay with living here long term. After all, we’ll need someone to be here to watch the place for as long as Lucas is a threat.” His lip curled back, as a slight growl escaped from his chest. “And that threat doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.”

  Dan blinked a few times, trying to take in what Nick had said. He'd come from a pack where he'd barely been allowed a corner of a room to himself but now Nick was offering him an entire home? Sure, it was small, but it was more than Dan had been given in a long time. For once, he couldn't find anything funny to say. There were no wisecracks he could think of, so instead, he just stuck out his hand.

  “I’d be more than happy to live here, Nick,” he replied, honestly. “Thanks.”