Dragon Eruption

by Amelia Jade

  For now she was staying with Rachel and Hector, living out of one of the spare rooms in their place. Noah still lived at the embassy, though they spent most of their time with the other mated pair.

  Mates. It was still a strange way to think of her and Noah. Boyfriend/Girlfriend. A couple. Engaged. Fiancé/Fiancée, those were all things she was familiar with. Even husband and wife.

  But thinking of Noah as her mate, that was new and unusual. Not unwanted, just, different. She was rapidly adjusting to it, however, and had exactly zero objections to the idea that they would spend the rest of their life together.

  Speaking of which… She looked over at the clock on the wall. It was quarter after five. Noah should have been home at least half an hour ago. He was almost never late, and if he was, he texted her to let her know. So where was he? She went over and picked up Cooper from his crib, cuddling him tight to her as she went down the stairs.

  Before she reached the bottom the front door opened to admit her mate and the love of her life. They didn’t bother locking the doors. Anyone stupid enough to try and rob them was in for a very rude surprise.

  “Hello darling,” she said, sweeping down the rest of the stairs and into his arms.

  “Ahh, my family,” he sighed, kissing her before he whisked Cooper out of her hands, lifting him high into the sky. “And how are you doing today?” he asked with a happy growl, answered by a giggle from their son.

  Not her son. Their son. She’d first used the term that one night, but now she used it on the regular. The three of them had become a family, one singular cohesive unit. Over the past two weeks Noah had slotted himself firmly into the role of “Dad,” even adopting the moniker for use as he talked to their son, referring to her as Mommy. Every time he said it she wanted to jump him.

  Most times she did.

  “And where have you been?” she asked, giving him her best “You’re not in trouble but you had still better make it up to me” look.

  He grinned and kissed her again, longer this time, making sure he was thorough. When they broke apart she was breathing heavily.

  “Get dressed,” he said, evading.

  “I am dressed. Which I realize is something of a surprise when you’re around, but I do have clothes on.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Outdoor clothes, my love. Outdoor clothes. Put them on. Let me see the way your butt shakes those snow pants.” Noah waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the picture.

  Angela couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “You won’t be able to see much in a snowsuit. I’m not wearing one of those skintight ski-suits that you’re probably imagining right now, you filthy man.”

  He buried himself in her neck. “I’ll show you how filthy I am as soon as we get back,” he promised.

  The throaty purr to this promised her a very exciting time and she felt her body respond. “Damn you, Noah Landeau. You’re turning me into such a sex fiend!”

  “I can’t force you to be something you aren’t already.”

  She shivered, knowing that he was partially right. “Sure you can. By being so good in the bedroom you’ve made me comfortable enough to…well, it doesn’t matter what I do now,” she said primly, not giving him the satisfaction of putting it to words. Besides, he knew.

  “Well, let’s go. Then we can be back sooner and you can ‘not’ show me what it is you ‘don’t’ do.”

  Angela almost melted as he kissed her once again, his left hand dropping from holding Cooper to grasp her butt, squeezing tightly.

  “Okay,” she gasped, pulling back. “Okay. I’m going. You’re responsible for getting Cooper ready. Rachel isn’t here so he’s coming with.”

  “That was the plan no matter what,” he informed her, shucking off his shoes and heading for the nursery.

  “Whatever,” she said with fake sarcasm.

  Ten minutes and one diaper change later they were ready and had departed, following Noah, who was being more secretive than she could remember. He held her hand and they all walked together, with him carrying Cooper. One rather underappreciated aspect of his shifter strength was that he quite literally never got tired carrying their child around. While she still held him often, it meant no more tired, achy arms and holding him until she was numb from doing so.

  She was spoiled, and she knew it, but there was no way Angela could go back to being a single mother now. Having Noah as her partner was just way too perfect. They clicked. Half the time he took Cooper before she even had to ask, they rarely argued, and even then their arguments made the relationship stronger, never detracting from it. Although they meshed well, they were two different people, and Angela knew there were some aspects of him that she would never, ever be able to understand, or forgive.

  How anyone likes mustard and relish on their hamburgers is beyond me. Yuck. Disgusting. Ketchup all the way.

  But overall their relationship had blossomed into something unimaginable even three weeks earlier. The incident with Chase would always scar her, but she was also thankful for it, because it had given her Noah, a friend, lover, and companion who lifted her up every day, and made her happier than she could have imagined possible.

  “You’ve got that look again,” he said softly.

  “I do? Which one?”

  “The happy glow. The one where you never tell me why you have it.”

  Angela grinned, replying only with, “I know.”

  It drove him nuts. She loved it.

  “Okay, over here,” he said, suddenly stepping off the shoveled sidewalk and into the snow.

  Angela came to a halt, her eyes following his. She noticed the snow had been disturbed, her sharp eyes picking out several sets of back and forth tracks. Whatever it was he was taking her to see, they weren’t the only ones that knew about it. Curious, she went after him without asking where they were going. Noah wanted to surprise her, and she was determined to let him.

  That didn’t mean it was easy. They scaled a little hill and the ground flattened. It was mostly covered in trees and bushes, though Noah led them through that until they reached a clearing. She looked around, trying to picture where they were. She thought they were somewhere behind one of the Koche brothers’ property, but she wasn’t positive.

  “Okay, ready?” he asked, spinning on his toes so that he could face her.

  “Um, I guess? What am I ready for?”

  “This!” he said, and stepped away, pointing at the ground.

  It was then that she saw the snow behind him had been packed into an artificial shape. Frowning in concentration, she stepped forward, trying to make sense of it. The closer she got the more it resolved itself. It was a building. Not just any building though, it was a—

  “It’s a house,” she said. “Somebody made a snow house. Sweet. It’s really detailed,” she said, crouching down. The snow had been compacted with water it appeared, and then half-frozen into the shape of walls and the roof. The detail was actually exquisite. The roof overhung the walls a little; windows and doors were carved into it. Even very faint shingles.

  “This is impressive,” she said, rising up. “Who did it?”

  He smiled.

  “You?”

  “Took me two days,” he said proudly. “But the real thing is probably going to take a little longer than that.”

  Angela didn’t quite process what he was saying. “Well yeah, a real house takes a while.”

  Noah just nodded, waiting.

  Something about his look finally clicked everything together, his words and the intent behind it all finally registering. She took a moment to feel silly, and then gasped.

  “Wait, do you mean this is going to be our house?” she half-shouted, half-shrieked. “Because if you’re just teasing me, you’re going to be in big trouble!”

  He grinned and flung out an arm wide as she launched herself at him, mindful of Cooper.

  Yes, this is going to be our house,” he said, kissing her repeatedly. “Construction will start once the snow melts. I’ll be w
orking hand in hand with Koche Konstruction to ensure it gets done as soon as possible, so that we can give Rachel and Hector their house back.

  “Oh my God. You bought us a house!” she said, stunned.

  “Well, I bought the land. The house you see is just sort of a mockup. We still have time to design it all.” He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “I figured we’d compromise on design, and you’d get most of the say on decorating.”

  “Wise man I have,” she teased, leaning into him. Hard. “A wise man.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe you did this!”

  “Well, I finally got my money out of Cadia. It seemed like a good thing to spend some of it on,” he said with a laugh.

  She sensed the underlying tension in it however, and gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. By removing all his money from the Cadian central bank—which in turn then invested it into the human economy to grow it—and bringing it to him to then invest in Cloud Lake and directly into the human economy itself, he truly was making a break from his past life. There was no easy way to go back now.

  More and more shifters seemed to want to go this route, and she wondered how long it would be before certain forces within Cadia would try to do something about it. From what Noah and others had told her, the majority truly couldn’t care less. Only certain power-hungry and authoritarian sections would even notice. Unfortunately, those tended to be the most violent of the lot.

  Shaking her head, she put the depressing thoughts away and forced herself to think of the here and now. As a human she was safe, and her fears were mostly about Noah. But right now was a time for happiness, and she smiled up at him.

  “I’m not objecting, you understand. But you didn’t have to buy me, or us, a house. That wasn’t a requirement of mine.”

  “It was one of mine,” he said. “Did I mention I want to get some dogs? They’ll need some yard space.”

  She froze. “I’m sorry, did I just hear you say puppies. Like…plural?”

  “Maybe,” he said, hesitating. “Is…is that okay?”

  “IS IT?!” she asked, almost more excited over that revelation than the house. “I love puppies. I can’t wait! Oh, we’ll have to make sure we have a play room big enough for everyone, dogs and kids.”

  Noah stared at her. “We only have one kid.”

  “Yeah, that too,” she said, her son forgotten for the moment as she dreamt of puppies. “Oh we’ll have to go to all the places, to see which ones we like most of course. Lots and lots of puppies.” Her voice had taken a sort of unevenness to it.

  She had a thing for puppies. Who didn’t?

  “I can’t wait,” she said eagerly. “When does spring come again?”

  “It’s only December.”

  Shit.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Noah

  His phone went off almost simultaneously with Hector’s. They looked at each other before looking at their phones.

  “The lady?” he asked.

  Hector grunted an affirmative. “Odd.”

  Moments later other phones in the bar started going off. He looked over his shoulder to see the table where the Koche brothers were seated, all of them looking at their phones as well.

  “Come on,” he said to Hector, and they ambled over to join them. “Everyone just get told to meet at Pierce’s place?” he asked, motioning to the youngest Koche brother.

  Everyone at the table indicated yes.

  “Odd,” Gavin, the middle brother said. “Why would they all want us at once?”

  “Someone else is pregnant,” Kean said, grinning around the table. His mate Madison was several months pregnant now, and he’d been waiting for one of his brothers to start in the journey to fatherhood with him. “It has to be.”

  “You say that every time,” Hector said. “It’s never that. It isn’t that this time either.”

  “You’re probably right,” Kean agreed. “But a guy can hope.”

  “Yeah, hope that you’re having twins,” Maximus guffawed. He was the eldest of the quintet, a huge quiet fellow, who didn’t speak all that much.

  Everyone but Kean laughed at the joke. He went a little white in the face. Everyone knew he was ecstatic about becoming a father, and also scared shitless about being terrible at it.

  “Well, we shouldn’t keep them waiting, now should we?” Noah said, and all seven shifters filed out the entrance of their local watering hole, a basement pub two blocks from their little community on the north side of town.

  Trudging through the streets, they ignored the cold and grumbled about the snow. The cold was getting close to the point where they might consider wearing long-sleeve shirts, but it wasn’t quite there yet. The snow on the other hand had kept piling up. It had finally stopped an hour or so ago, leaving the ground covered in another foot of heavily packed snow.

  The banks on either side of the sidewalks were already five feet high, and they would be even taller once the plows got down on the streets. All that meant for the shifters was more shoveling at their homes. More work.

  “I bet they want us to get to work shoveling,” Hector muttered, drawing agreement from the others. “They were all texting each other or on some sort of female-only multi-line phone conversation. One of them said something and then the others all chimed in. It has to be.”

  They eventually made it to Pierce’s place. Oddly, the snow on the driveway had already been shoveled, piled high. Out on the edge of town the snowbanks with the additional snow came to their heads. Cloud Lake had seen a lot of snow that winter. It was only the end of January too.

  “Where are they?” Kassian Koche complained. “They said to meet us out front of Pierce’s place. Well, we’re here. Where are they?”

  “ATTACK!”

  The command was followed almost immediately a barrage of snowballs as women all along the line, far more of them than there were men, popped up from behind the snowbanks and hurled snowball after snowball at them.

  Noah ducked for cover, throwing himself up against one snowbank so that he was at least out of sight of those at the top. Most of the others had the same idea, exposing themselves only to the women on the far side. There were four men on one snowbank, three on the other. They were much safer that way. The women couldn’t aim that well.

  Or so they thought.

  “HEAVE!” another voice shouted.

  Great mounts of snow cascaded off the top of the snow forts and right onto their heads, covering all of them. Men howled. Women screamed in laughter, and the barrage of snowballs continued unabated as the men tried to extract themselves.

  But the women had forgotten one key thing. The men were shifters. Extraordinarily strong shifters. Noah, instead of trying to extract himself from the mini-avalanche, simply started digging into the snowbanks. It was clear to him now that the women had hollowed out behind them, giving themselves ledges to stand upon. Well, it was time to do a little sapping.

  He dug fast, bringing more snow down upon himself, but he didn’t care. Shortly after he started he broke through. The floor fell out under one woman, a friend of the others named Elle. He roared in triumph and started to rise up.

  Unfortunately, his entrance attracted the attention of all the women on that side. They turned as one to face him. At that short of range, none of them missed. He was driven back into the snow, bellowing with laughter. But others had followed his lead, and men erupted inside the snow fort. The battle turned soon after, with the women shrieking as they were given a taste of their own medicine, running for the safety of the house.

  “This is going to suck to clean up,” Pierce moaned as all told nine females scrambled inside, tracking in lots and lots of snow.

  Noah came up and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “You know we’ll help.”

  “I know, but it’s still going to suck to clean.”

  “I was talking about revenge.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” Noah said, feeling an evil smile come across his face as the other
men came up to stand nearby. “It’s going to be good.”

  ********

  ********

  This concludes Bigger Badder Bear Dad.

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  Baddest Bear Dad

  A Fated Mate Romance

  By Amelia Jade

  Baddest Bear Dad

  Copyright @ 2017 by Amelia Jade

  First Electronic Publication: September 2017

  Amelia Jade

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.

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