Dragon's Whisper

by Sophie Stern

  Dragon's Whisper

  The Fablestone Clan, Volume 4

  Sophie Stern

  Published by Sophie Stern, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  DRAGON'S WHISPER

  First edition. January 31, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Sophie Stern.

  ISBN: 978-1386267676

  Written by Sophie Stern.

  Also by Sophie Stern

  Alien Chaos

  Destroyed

  Guarded

  Saved

  Alien Chaos: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Bundle

  Anchored

  Starboard

  Battleship

  All Aboard

  Abandon Ship

  Below Deck

  Crossing the Line

  Anchored: Books 1-3

  Anchored: Books 4-6

  Club Kitten Dancers

  Move

  Pose

  Climb

  Dragon Enchanted

  Hidden Mage (Coming Soon)

  Dragon Isle

  My Lord and Dragon

  The Dragon Fighter

  A Dragon's Bite

  Lost to the Dragon

  Beware of Dragons

  Cowboy Dragon

  Dark Heart of the Dragon

  Once Upon a Dragon

  Catching the Dragon

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 1-3)

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 4-6)

  Dragon Isle (Collection: Books 7-9)

  Good Boys and Millionaires

  Good Boys and Millionaires 1

  Good Boys and Millionaires 2

  Honeypot Babies

  The Polar Bear's Baby

  The Jaguar's Baby

  The Tiger's Baby

  Honeypot Darlings

  The Bear's Virgin Darling

  The Bear's Virgin Mate

  The Bear's Virgin Bride

  Office Gentlemen

  Ben From Accounting

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Staff Sergeant Polar Bear

  Master Sergeant Polar Bear

  Airman Polar Bear

  Senior Airman Polar Bear

  Red

  Red: Into the Dark

  Red: Through the Dark

  Red: Beyond the Dark

  Return to Dragon Isle

  Dragons Are Forever (Coming Soon)

  Shifters at Law

  Wolf Case

  Bearly Legal

  Tiger Clause

  Sergeant Bear

  Dragon Law

  The Fablestone Clan

  Dragon's Oath

  Dragon's Breath

  Dragon's Darling

  Dragon's Whisper

  Dragon's Magic

  The Hidden Planet

  Vanquished

  Outlaw

  Conquered

  The Wolfe City Pack

  The Wolf's Darling

  The Wolf's Mate

  The Wolf's Bride

  Standalone

  Saucy Devil

  Billionaire on Top

  Jurassic Submissive

  The Editor

  Alien Beast

  Snow White and the Wolves

  Kissing the Billionaire

  Wild

  Alien Dragon

  The Royal Her

  Be My Tiger

  Alien Monster

  The Paralegal

  Roses in the Dark

  Honeypot Babies Omnibus Edition

  Honeypot Darlings: Omnibus Edition

  Red: The Complete Trilogy

  First Shift

  The Swan's Mate

  Eternity: A Vampire Romance

  The Feisty Librarian

  Polar Bears of the Air Force

  Wild Goose Chase

  Star Princess

  The Virgin and the Lumberjacks

  Resting Bear Face

  Shifters at Law

  Seized by the Dragon

  The Fablestone Clan: A Paranormal Dragon-Shifter Romance Collection

  Star Kissed

  Club Kitten Omnibus

  Okami

  Savored

  Contents

  Dragon’s Whisper

  Previously

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Author

  Alien Beast

  Chapter 1

  Honeypot Darlings

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Dragon’s Whisper

  The Fablestone Clan: Book 4

  Sophie Stern

  Copyright © 2019 by Sophie Stern

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Nicole has made more mistakes in the last few months than most people make in a lifetime. She got involved with an evil organization and found out too late just how terrible they are. Now everyone's out to kill her: the scientists, the dragons, and perhaps most of all, her former lover.

  Living among the dragons wasn't supposed to be easy, but it was supposed to be safe.

  She didn't realize just how long they can hold grudges though.

  Lee doesn't have time for drama. He doesn't have time for much of anything anymore. He's too busy trying to figure out how the dragons can finally break free from the oppressive forces that keep sending danger their way.

  He needs a break.

  A vacation.

  Anything.

  He doesn't know what he needs, but it's certainly not Nicole.

  Not her.

  Not the betrayer.

  When the past comes back to haunt them, Lee and Nicole are forced to go head-to-head, and Lee isn't sure if he's going to make it out of this in one piece. If Nicole doesn't kill him, she just might break his heart.

  Previously

  Nicole

  They still don’t trust me.

  I get it.

  I probably wouldn’t trust me, either. Not after everything that happened. Not after I fucking shot Lawrence. I think about that moment constantly. Running it over and over in my head, I wonder why I didn’t do things differently. Just like I didn’t see things were wrong with my ex, I also didn’t see things were wrong with Bernie.

  I should have known.

  Now I’m living in the clan, working to earn my keep, but it’s not where I want to be. I’m not happy here. They don’t like me. There’s always someone watching me, waiting for me to screw up. I know they’re looking for any excuse to kick me out of here, and I hate that. I hate being the reason the dragons are tense and on edge.

  I need to get out of here.

  I need to run away.

  If I can escape, if I can get far away, then they’ll be safe, and so will I. I won’t go back to Lucky. I can’t return to my old apartment. That life is gone: dead and buried. I can start fresh, though. I can start new. I just need to make a plan, and then I can get away.

  I can escape.

  I can be free.

  It’s the middle of the day and I’m in the bakery, stocking the shelves for the dragons who work here. I don’t get paid. As the resident human everyone lov
es to hate, I kind of just take the odd jobs no one else really wants to do.

  When the door jingles, I realize I’m going to have to leave the stockroom. No one else is here taking orders right now: it’s just me. The others are all out on break. They figured I’d be able to handle something as simple as taking orders for half an hour.

  “Coming,” I call out. I push the bag of flour onto a shelf, wipe my hands on my apron, and go to the front of the store.

  Then I stop dead in my tracks.

  It’s him.

  He’s here.

  My heart soars until I see the scowl that crosses his face as he recognizes me.

  “Oh,” he says. “It’s you.”

  Chapter One

  Nicole

  I swallow.

  Hard.

  He still looks just as good as he did before, all of those years ago. He’s still tall and lean, but with broad shoulders and muscular arms that seem to be perfectly designed to wrap around me when I’m scared. He towers over me. Even in his human form, it’s no secret that he’s not really a man. No. Not with those eyes. Not with the way he fills the room. It almost seems hot in here, suddenly.

  Stuffy.

  I catch my breath, but don’t say anything to him.I can’t find the words. While speaking has never seemed to be an issue for me, now it suddenly feels like an impossible goal. If I knew how to form words once upon a time, that skill has vanished from my list of abilities.

  What would I say, anyway?

  Judging by the way his eyes pierce mine, he knows exactly why I’m in Fablestone. He knows exactly who I am, what I’ve done. I’m not under the impression that he came to the bakery just to see me, either. No. He’s here because he wanted something to eat. Me being here is just an inconvenience.

  “What...can I get for you?” I manage to squeak out. My voice sounds hoarse and sick. I sound terrible. Scared. I don’t really care that I sound this way. It’s how I feel, after all. I am afraid. There are so many things I’m afraid of that I don’t even know where to start.

  So I’ll start with him.

  I’ll start with feeling scared of the way he looks now and the way he looked back then. Back when we were in college. Back when we had big dreams of saving the world together. I’ll think of how scared I was when he rolled over and kissed me in bed, when he asked me to marry him. I’ll think of how afraid I was at the idea of that sort of commitment.

  I’ll think of the look on his face when I said no.

  Now, Lee doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me.

  Hard.

  Stone faced.

  It’s as if he never knew me, never loved me.

  Maybe he didn’t.

  Maybe this is all just one big cosmic joke. Maybe it’s just nature’s way of being like, “Haha! Got you!” He was the first boy I ever kissed. I don’t think I ever told him that. He was the first one I ever did anything with.

  And I just wasn’t ready.

  Suddenly, my heart hurts just as bad as it did the day he walked away. It’s been years. It’s been ten damn years and I still can’t breathe when I think about Lee. I can’t think about him without having my heart crack. The little scars I thought were healed really aren’t so strong at all.

  I swallow hard as tears well up in my eyes.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  He just stares at me.

  My hands come together and I start wringing them.

  Please say something, I silently beg. Anything. If he could just speak, then maybe this wouldn’t seem so terrible. Maybe I’d be able to forget how I betrayed the creatures of the forest. Maybe I’d be able to forget about the way I let them all down.

  But he doesn’t speak.

  Lee just stands there. The world seems to stop as I look at him, and finally, he turns his back on me. I have to physically stop myself for reaching for him, for trying to get him to come back. I have to stop myself from trying to get him to turn around and just look at me.

  He didn’t really look at me.

  He saw my eyes, but that was it.

  And all I saw was anger in his.

  The Lee I remember wasn’t angry. Not until that last day. Not until I said I wasn’t ready for marriage. Not until the day he left. He thought I was saying that I didn’t love him, but that wasn’t it at all. I was scared. Afraid. I was just a kid. 19 might be old enough to get married legally, but my heart? My heart was still so terrified at the idea of committing to something so big.

  Maybe I was wrong.

  Obviously, I was wrong.

  And now he’s here.

  And now he’s gone.

  I stare at the door, watching the space where he left. For awhile, I let myself wonder what my life would be like if I hadn’t gotten swept up in an evil organization. What would things be like if Lee and I had stayed together? If I had been braver? Bolder? If I had been more clear as to what I needed or wanted or was able to give, maybe things would have been different than they are today.

  Maybe he wouldn’t have walked in here, taken one look at me, and decided that I wasn’t worth his time or energy.

  Today, in Lee’s eyes, I wasn’t even worth a smile.

  Finally, I take a deep breath and start stocking the shelves. They aren’t going to stock themselves, and by my calculations, I only have twenty minutes until the bakers come back from their lunch break. They aren’t going to want to talk to me, either, so I might as well finish up my work as quickly as possible. Then I can go back to being invisible.

  At this point, I’m able to complete tasks easily. I’ve been here long enough that things like placing flour in the right bins, washing the measuring cups, and even organizing the recipes for each type of product is simple. I’m able to do almost everything by muscle memory.

  I’m almost finished when I hear the bell ring above the door again. For a brief second, I let myself believe that it’s him, that he’s come back to talk to me. Does he want to clear the air between us? Does he want to apologize for how he acted a few minutes ago?

  Maybe he walked out of the bakery and started thinking about me.

  Maybe he remembered all of the fun we had together.

  Our relationship ended poorly, yeah, but maybe time does heal some wounds. Maybe Lee is ready to talk about how things ended between us. We’ve both grown up and moved on. We should be able to talk like adults, right?

  “Just a second,” I call out. “I’ll be right there.” I wipe my hands on my apron and take a quick glance in the little mirror on the wall. I’m convinced it’s only there so we can make sure we don’t have flour on our noses before talking to customers, which happens more often than I care to admit. I take a second and look at my hair, my face, my skin. Once I’m satisfied that I’m flour-free, I paste a smile on my face, and I head out of the storage room.

  When I enter the front room of the bakery, though, it’s not him. It’s not Lee. It’s someone else.

  Something else.

  It’s not a dragon.

  I can tell by the man’s shifty eyes that he’s not human, but he’s not from here, either. He’s not a member of the dragon clan. I don’t claim to know each dragon that lives here, but I know most of them. I can definitely recognize dragons by their mannerisms. At this point, the idea of people not being able to tell dragons and humans apart seems foreign to me.It’s like when you have friends who are twins and their differences seem obvious to you, but others can’t tell them apart. I can’t pinpoint exactly what makes a dragon shifter a dragon shifter. They just...they’re just them.

  “Can I help you?” I manage to ask, but it’s obvious that this man isn’t here for food. Not for muffins, anyway. Not for pastries. He snarls, just a little, and he doesn’t take his eyes off of me. He’s staring at me like he’s hungry or angry.

  Maybe both.

  He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he breathes in loudly, dramatically. His shoulders fill the space in the doorway, blocking the exit. No one else can come in. No one else can go
out. He’s got my full attention.

  “Did you want to place an order?” I ask quietly, but I already know that he doesn’t. He sneers, narrowing his eyes, and I realize that I won’t be going back to Henrietta’s at the end of my shift. I won’t have the chance to say goodbye, or to thank her for letting me live with her for these past months. I won’t have the chance to pack up my stuff, or clean out my room, or see Lee again.

  This man isn’t going to let me go. He’s not about to let me leave the bakery, and I’m all alone. The other bakers are still on their lunch break. Lee won’t be coming back to check on me. No one else has any interest in stopping by the shop while I’m the only one here.

  The problem is that right now, I don’t really care about any of that.

  I don’t have the energy to be afraid.

  I’m too damn tired.

  Three months I’ve lived with the dragons. Three months since they caught me and refused to release me. I’m not exactly a prisoner, but I’m not exactly free to go, either. My “new job” at Lucky wasn’t the great world-saving opportunity I thought it would be. Instead, it was a cover for a company dedicated not to saving dragons, but to hunting them. When I went with my colleague, Bernie, on a dragon hunting trip, I thought we were going to rescue sick dragons.

  I thought we were going to give them Dragon-X.

  I thought we were going to save them.

  I didn’t realize we were effectively signing their death certificates.

  I didn’t realize we were going to hurt them.

  When the camping trip I went on with my colleague turned into a nightmare, I realized everything I thought I knew about my company, about my place in it, was wrong. I wasn’t on a mission to make the world a better place. I was on a secret journey to destroy it, and that knowledge makes me feel sick inside.

  I tried to catch a dragon, to help it, but he ended up catching me and depositing me in Fablestone: one of the dragon clans in Westbridge Forest. That dragon found his mate, sort of thanks to me, and they’re living happily-ever-after while I’m sitting in a clan full of dragons who hate my guts.