Hearts Unleashed: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by C. D. Gorri

  And in that moment, Belle would always be grateful to the Fey Queen. For giving not only her, but her child a sanctuary.

  They’d found a place to belong. A safe haven. And she’d forever stay within Fey. For here they were safe, and she’d protect Fey and all within the realm. Like they were her people. Like they were her children. Just as Jenna suggested.

  Nikai stared at his brother as he lay dying. “You did what?”

  Nadim laughed, coughing up blood, the crimson fluid spilling like a river down his chin unheeded. “You stupid bastard, your precious Belle didn’t leave you. You made her leave. Or rather, I did. But she thought it was you.” Nadim coughed and tried to roll to the side.

  He looked around at the males watching the drama unfold. His brother had tried to kill him and destroy the Dark House from within. The fool thought Nikai hadn’t been aware of his treachery or the female Nadim sent to him. They both thought he would fall for her charms as she tried to weasel her way into his bed. Like he couldn’t smell his twin’s stink all over the female. Last night, he'd pretended to fall for their treachery, and like a snake, his brother had swooped in, claws out. Bastard.

  “Why didn’t you stay gone? You could’ve lived out your life on the Far Side as an exiled noble, but instead you waged war. A war that’s going to cost not only your worthless life but has cost the lives of our people,” Nikai grit out.

  “Oh, it’s always about the precious people. Or your fucking Belle. Don’t you get it. I win. I beat you,” Nadim crowed.

  Nikai stepped on the male who was his twin, his other half. The male who shared a womb with him and saw nothing but a shell of a male. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  As Nadim stayed silent, he pressed harder, giving no quarter. It was something he should have done all those centuries ago. Goddess, he was a fool.

  “Ah, look at you. The great King Nikai, wondering how the weakling little brother like me was able to get one over on you. It was so fucking easy. You believed what you wanted. Your love for your precious Belle must not have been so great, or you’d have searched harder. Yet you believed she left on her own because she didn’t want you.” He gasped. “It was you who didn’t want her. You came back calling her vile names and swore she was nothing but a diversion. Remember, brother?” Nadim coughed again.

  Nikai didn’t deny he’d bought the story her parents told them, nor deny the anger that suffused him when she’d left without a word. “What did you do?” he roared.

  Nadim licked his lips, his tongue forked like that of his dragon. Yet shifting other parts was impossible, thanks to Nikai.

  “If I were to offer you a chance to live if you told me what happened, would you take it?” He had no intention of following through with the offer.

  “Do you take me for a fool, Fratellodrak?” Nadim’s chest rose and fell with each labored breath.

  Nikai knew time was running out. He’d vowed to his parents he’d watch out for his brother as they’d left to visit his sister and her young a century ago. Every year, it was harder and harder not to kill the fucker. Now, as he lay gasping for breath, holding onto his very life by a mere thread, Nikai realized he wouldn’t be keeping his word. “I’ll take your memories then, Fratellinodrak.”

  Before slamming into Nadim’s mind, his brother lifted his arm, surprising him into stillness. A sword with dried blood from their enemies still coating the blade came between them. Nadim lifted his lips in a snarl. And then, for the first time in Nikai’s memory, his brother did the unthinkable; he slammed the dragon fire blade into his own chest, taking his life and his secrets with him. His lips still in a sinister smile, like he’d won a victory. And in a sense, he had.

  Nikai hated the bastard, and that he’d died with his secrets made him loathe him even more. Whatever the hell made Belle run from him must’ve been great. Nadim did nothing that caused Nikai pain in half measures. He winced, knowing he too played a part in Belle's leaving. He never forgot his stupidity and owned that. But what was it that Nadim had done? With the bastard’s death by his own hand, he’d forever wonder, as Nadim planned, or he wouldn’t have ended his life so quickly.

  He let his dragon have his body, roaring to the suns above him all the pain and anguish inside him. Flames shot out unheeded. His elite guards scattered, taking to the sky as far and fast away from him as possible. In the thousands of years he’d lived, fought, and searched, he’d never thought his mate left because of treachery. To find out he, the King of Dragons, was fooled by his twin, made him want to kill.

  His dragon soared for days, maybe weeks. He lost track of time, burning enemies he’d let live because they’d surrendered during battle. Now, the dragon showed no mercy. He’d become the Black Dragon, who was ruthless and heartless, the one that instilled fear by flying over lands. After countless days, and many deaths of his enemies, Nikai circled back to the one place he’d found happiness. On the outside of his lands, with the only female he’d ever love. His Belle’s home, where he’d claimed her heart and body, then shredded it, like the idiot his brother claimed he’d been.

  He stared at the beautiful little cottage his female both loved and loathed, with a hollow pit in his gut. She’d told him she’d found beauty within the walls and lands when she was with him, and she’d let him love her. Goddess, he’d loved her many times, with his body and his entire being. “My Belle, I will find you.” It had been hundreds of years, and still he ached to hold her.

  Present Day Thousands of Years Later....

  The tenuous bond between them nearly drove him mad when she’d left. The day he’d told his father she was his truemate, it was that bond that kept him sane until it snapped.

  His dragon raked inside him, tugging him toward the barrier between the Dragon Realm and The Mist. The sensation reminded him of the bond he and Belle shared, but the link snapped so long ago. The agony sent him on a downward spiral where he hated everyone and everything. His dragon burst from him, shoving the human to the back, unable to mourn properly until after they went on a rampage. The devastation he’d caused had the ability to make grown males shudder. He was the Dark Dragon for a reason. The only beings he cared about were his blood family.

  He was the perfect ruler, if you wanted a King who kept your kingdom safe by reputation alone. Dragons across the entire realm feared him. If you pissed him off, he’d act first, then listen to explanations. The problem was dead dragons found it hard to explain. Nikai, on the other hand, found it expedited problems, making them non-issues. Killing was what he excelled in. Of course, there were instances some shouldn’t have been killed. He would make reparations. He wasn’t a total monster.

  The pull became stronger, making his dragon eager to discover the source as they hurried toward The Mist. He was the fastest dragon in the realm, reaching the grey space in no time. The pull was one he’d missed for far too long. Nikai squashed the hope that threatened to rise. If there was one lesson he’d learned, it was that shit wasn’t always what it seemed. Even knowing that, he continued toward the sensation. His dragon’s wings extended further, beating at the air, ignoring exhaustion from days of battle. He didn’t allow the fear of losing the connection to slow them, arrowing toward the source.

  The strange spark had him landing with a thud, the dry surface cracking beneath his massive size. He didn’t bother with shifting into the smaller version of himself, wanting the extra defense and sight of his dragon. He lifted his snout and inhaled, hoping to suss out whatever called him. He’d avoided the desolate area of the Dragon Realm. A yearning, as if his soul was being torn from his body made it impossible for him to ignore the call and come investigate. Emptiness surrounded him, making his dragon rumble. He launched himself back into the air, circled the grey lands, searching for what tugged him there. “What sorcery is at play?” he grumbled.

  He scanned the sky, searching for magic, or something amiss, finding nothing other than an echo. His dragon wasn’t on edge, either.

  “What has called me to this pl
ace?” He wondered. An enemy would have no problem ambushing him if they were lying in wait.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of color. Chills ran over his scales as he thought he saw a cloud of light pink fill his sight. The last time he’d seen something as beautiful, it was his one and only love. His spirit climbed. He’d been so sure their souls aligned. His heart sprouted wings as if it melded with hers, soaring into the sky, only to plummet when she’d disappeared without a trace, taking his light and love with her. Everything he’d ever desired was gone, in one moment, one careless act, gone, just like she was. His fault. His brother Nadim’s as well. The fucker was lucky he was dead.

  Nikai dropped back to the ground again, inhaling for the scent he’d carried inside him of Belle. A dragon’s life was almost infinite, and with it, the ability to hold cherished items close. He was blessed or cursed, with the ability to recall the sweet smell of her natural sugary scent with exact precision. No other female came close to smelling as alluring, no matter what land he’d visited.

  He raised his snout to the sky, roaring at the remembered pain, the betrayal at her abandonment, and all he’d lost because of it. “Why did you leave me, Belle?” he growled, fire spewing from him. Before the embers fell onto the ground, he took to the sky and flew home, hating the memories and what he’d lost.

  Just before he rose over the mountain, he dared to take one last glimpse back, catching a glimmer through The Mist of a pink dragon, but not his pink dragon, not Belle, but a lighter one. One who made his icy heart warm. Fire flew from her, pain blazing out in an arc. A connection snapped into place. His dragon recognized the pink dragon as theirs. “A child. My child,” he rumbled.

  His dragon was relentless in battle, roaring all the fucking time. Unless he spent the nights in or around the home that he’d first taken Belle. Only then would the dragon settle, like the colossal beast did when he was close to Belle’s things. His family tried to tell him to find another female, convinced that Belle was nothing special, and any female would fill her shoes. He’d been young and foolish; he shouldn’t have listened. Goddess, he’d been so fucking dumb.

  The heartache and betrayal on Belle’s face were ones he’d always remember. They were truemates, bonded. The dragon elders didn’t believe a truemate bond could happen without a full mating, yet his and Belle’s souls had been weaving together. Now, he knew it was far deeper. A child. She’d been carrying their child. A pink dragon like herself.

  He didn’t give a flying fuck what the ramifications of that meant for him and his house. Dragons prided their royal status on many things, their scales being one. He was the King of Dragons because of his midnight scales and his royal birth, but he’d fought and earned his place. Having iridescent coloring meant he held more power than any other, just as his father and grandfather before him. He and Nadim were twins, yet not identical when they were in dragon form. His twin’s scales were a dull black, while Nikai’s were iridescent and shiny. And their personalities set them further apart. Nadim had been a treacherous fool. If he’d done as he should’ve from birth, trained the same as Nikai, they could’ve shared the throne. His twin always refused.

  For centuries the elders urged Nikai to mate with a female whose lineage complemented his house, but he wanted no female other than his truemate. And now, he hoped his Belle was alive. He wouldn’t rest until he found her, or their child.

  Of course, he took many lovers throughout the years, but none were given his heart. He’d found very little pleasure with females, but his body and that of his dragon needed relief occasionally. But he never slept with them, nor had he shared a kiss with another in all the years since Belle.

  His twin brother, may his soul rot in hell, tried to kill him many times. The memory of the last attempt was brutal and bloody, costing many lives. Even the female who swore her love to the bastard attempted to seduce Nikai. The duo didn’t realize he’d known it was at his brother’s behest. Foolish dragon, she was doomed from the start, playing games with him. Too bad his brother was too ignorant to comprehend that reality. Or maybe he did but was using her in his bid to overthrow him. “It matters not, for he is dead.”

  He might’ve been remorseful for his part in his brother’s death, but that time was long past. The brother he’d grown up with, taught to fly, and even protected from others, changed into a beast none of them recognized in the end. Nadim hadn’t blinked a slitted eye as he’d betrayed them, giving their enemy access to the kingdom.

  In the last several hundred years, his parents vowed Nadim only needed a female to temper him. His brother tried his damnedest to show he’d been tempered. However, behind that mask, he’d been sadistic to his core. As his twin, he should’ve recognized the signs, should’ve known his brother was twisted to the point of evil. But he hadn’t, until the female came. After his own Belle left him, he was hollow. His family didn’t understand the connection was more than just physical. At the time, he’d tried to explain his lack of interest was more, but they were adamant he needed to try. Belle was his female.

  His father waved off the truemate claim. He and the elders said dragons couldn’t sever a bond unless they were dead if it was real. They didn’t know his Belle like he did.

  “I will understand how you accomplished such a feat,” Nikai vowed.

  When it came time for him to take the throne, he’d ignored the murmurs that he needed a female at his side. He was brutal and deadly. That was what they needed for a king. Not a pansy-ass dragon that bowed down to all.

  He didn’t need a female to hold his title. You needed to have a heart to give to a mate. Nikai refused to take a mate, without being able to give her what was her due. Besides, the dragon females in his kingdom wanted nothing to do with him and his surly attitude.

  Belle, beautiful, uniquely perfect Belle with her shiny pink scales, who’d fought him with such sweetness, and loved him with even more softness, that he still ached for her every day and every damn night. Her name whispered through his mind as her image appeared before him. He saw her in his mind. The hurt in her purple eyes that he’d caused. The beautiful hue swimming with so much pain gutted him. Yet he’d been sure he’d done the right thing.

  “If I’d known she was carrying my young—I’d have—fuck,” he swore. “What could I have done differently?” He had only been the prince, not the king. His family could’ve had Belle imprisoned or killed. The young she carried would’ve met with the same fate, especially if she’d not been a royal color. His twin brother had been adamant she’d have been the death of not only him, but of their house. Since most twin dragons mated with the same female, and Belle hated Nadim, she’d never agreed to be with him. He didn’t plan to share Belle with anyone, let alone his brother.

  He was sure she couldn’t have been dead since his heart didn’t feel her loss. A truemate bond would know, he’d been told by others. When she’d disappeared all those fucking years ago, he’d lost it, roaring to the sky like a demented dragon. His fear that she’d been killed drove him nearly mad. Her parents reluctantly showed him her letter. Her words, written in a beautiful scrawl, blurred in front of his vision while he worked to hide his tears. His family admitted they too knew she’d left the realm, but his father denied his plea to track her. That knowledge was the only thing that kept him sane, knowing she was alive. It had to be.

  Many dragons didn’t agree that he was sane. But knowing she was alive was enough to settle him or rather make him not the crazed dragon who burned everything in his path. It took him years before he’d given into the urge to be with a female, and even then, it was only his body. He gave nothing else to them with no promises, not even a kiss—that was for his mate alone. Pleasure he gave and received, and then he was gone. Mercenary maybe but that was all he allowed.

  Now, knowing his female was out there and birthed his child, the feral dragon threatened to rip out of him and hunt down Belle. She and their young belonged to them. But he was older, more in control this time. An image o
f the pink dragon from moments before slammed into him. She wasn’t his Belle but their child. They belonged to him, and a dragon didn’t allow their treasures to be taken from them. His hoard was his kingdom, and all who were within it, but his greatest treasures were Belle and their young.

  Chapter Four

  Belle looked at her daughter as they waited for the great war to begin.

  “I’m sorry, mom. I didn’t know going to The Mist would bring the dragons here. I swear, I never would’ve gone there if I did.”

  She pulled Lula into her arms. Her greatest fear was coming to light, yet she didn’t blame her daughter for what was to come. Nikai and his hoard of dragons’ arrival was imminent and always had been. She wasn’t a foolish young dragon who thought love conquered everything, not anymore. The dragons wanted retribution; they’d want to destroy her. Their downfall would be her army. She took in the males who’d gathered to fight with her. They were a menagerie of shifters and other beings, ready to go to war for her family.

  “Lulabelle, I’d die a thousand deaths if I was given only one day with you. You, my precious child, are worth ten of me.”

  “Don’t say that. You’ve given up everything for me. I overheard you and Jenna talking.” Lula wiped at her eyes. “You could’ve stayed with—him if it wasn’t for me. You would’ve been with the male you loved if you hadn’t been pregnant with me.” Lula hiccupped a cry.

  Belle hated to learn that Lula thought, for even one moment, she’d chose any male over her. It didn’t matter that he might’ve been the one and only who owned her heart. For once she found out she had a life growing within her, there was no choice who she’d choose. A mate or her own child? Her own flesh and blood wins always.

  She pulled her daughter against her chest, staring over her shoulder at the twin bears who were Lula’s mates. Their matching fierce gazes met hers, letting her know they’d protect her with their very lives without saying a word. Belle nodded at them as she spoke to Lula. “I am nothing without you. You gave my life purpose and I’ve never, not once in all these years regretted my choice.” She pushed Lula back from her, needing to look her beautiful daughter in the eyes, seeing herself reflected in them. “Now, we must prepare. And you, you must go, Lula.”