“From the moment I met you, Isabella, you were the only person that made me feel the way you do. You’re everything I could possibly want. You’re the only person who truly makes me happy. And I want to continue to make you happy. I want to be your soul mate to the end of eternity and back.”
As he finished, he opened the box, showing a platinum band with a sizable, glittering pink gemstone at the center of a halo of deep-purple amethysts. The colors of their soul bond, the intertwining magic that made them what they uniquely were.
“Will you be mine, Isabella?” Chad asked from the bottom of his heart, still feeling surprisingly nervous in spite of the fact that they were already technically mated.
At that, Isabella leaned down, lips searing his, then pulled him to his feet as she wrapped her arms around him tightly, curves hugged against him.
When she pulled back, she was wearing the biggest smile he’d perhaps ever seen.
“Of course, you amazing dragon,” she said happily.
At that, Trevor and Petra cheered and clapped, Trevor’s whoops filling the living room of their gigantic mansion, and Chad felt like a family in all the best ways in that moment. And when he leaned down to take Isabella’s mouth again, she melted into him, reminding him of every wonderful moment they’d had and filling him with hope for every wonderful moment they would still create together.
It wasn’t long before Chad’s impromptu proposal shifted into eager discussions about the four of them living together in the mansion. Then they talked about plans for a double wedding they could host so they could invite the fae and other dragons they’d befriended unexpectedly in the area.
And when too much wine for Petra led to Trevor and his mate turning in for the night, Chad took his mate—now fiancée—up to the bedroom where he could show her exactly how he felt about her in every way.
Because when a dragon loves, he loves with everything he has.
* * *
* * *
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“I think she might be my mate, guys.”
For a prolonged moment, there was stunned silence.
“You’re joking, Garrett.” Hunter’s incredulous voice came through the receiver on the dashboard of Garrett’s truck.
“There’s no way you could possibly know that,” Grayson added.
The road ahead of their little convoy of trucks towing construction equipment, supplies, and a fifth-wheel camper stretched endlessly before them. They’d been driving for hours, since before the sun had even risen over the limitless flatlands of the Midwest.
They were getting closer to their destination, and Garrett’s map beeped, indicating a left turn. His truck and its cargo lurched as he slowed then turned off the main road onto a dirt path barely wide enough to fit his pickup. The ground rumbled beneath him as their vehicles disappeared into a wall of forest that called to the bear inside him.
“You sure this is the right way?” Hunter asked doubtfully. “Looks like this road hasn’t been used in quite a long time.”
“Yeah, it’s right. At least the map says so. Our client told us it would be here.” Grayson sounded confident as the CB radio crackled from some sort of interference.
Grayson was always sure he was right, even when he was wrong. It was the kind of cock-sure conviction that a decade of serving in the army probably instilled in a wolf as capable as he was.
“Well, all I can say is that the client has the kind of tastes only a shifter would normally enjoy,” Hunter said with a laugh. “Hey, maybe she is your mate, even if that would be crazy at this point.”
Grayson scoffed. “Unlikely. How would you know anyway? You haven’t even met.”
“I don’t know.” Garrett pulled the wheel to the right, avoiding a deep, muddy pothole. Low-hanging branches scraped along the trailer behind him. The scent of aged oak and dry leaves surrounded him, making his bear want to run wild for a moment. “It’s just something I feel deep inside.”
“They call that indigestion, my friend,” Hunter said.
“Ha,” Grayson said flatly.
A second later, a surprised, “Whoa!” came over the radio. “Damn pothole,” Hunter said. “How about warning a guy once in a while?”
“If you were paying more attention to the road and less attention to your own reflection in the rearview mirror, that wouldn’t have been a problem,” Grayson muttered.
But as much as Hunter and Grayson liked to argue, they had pretty much become like a family. Garrett smiled to himself as the banter went on.
Then his thoughts drifted to the calls he’d had with the woman he suspected to be his mate. Their newest client, Dawn.
She’d had the strangest request for him and his company.
Build her a house out here in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
The plans had been pretty easy to draw up. Nothing fancy, just a basic house that was barely the size of a cabin for most people. When Garrett had asked her about it, she’d been evasive.
He wasn’t sure why someone like her, who lived in the city, would want to put something down on a twenty-acre lot as far from civilization as possible. But he hadn’t prodded further, instead just moving forward with arranging everything so the job could proceed on time.
This wasn’t Garrett’s first time working on a project out in the wild. But usually it was for eccentric millionaires wanting a second or third summer home, complete with all the newest doodads, like an attached golf range or a ten-car garage.
Their last few projects had been like that. And they’d needed outside help. But now they were financially set for quite a while. It was nice to take a small project just the three of them could work on. Garrett couldn’t trust anyone more than he did Hunter and Grayson for being the hardest, fastest workers he’d ever had the privilege of building with.
Shifters just got stuff done.
So even if this tiny house in the woods wasn’t going to net them a lot of profit, it would be nice to mix things up for a change.
And it would be nice to finally meet Dawn.
“So what are the chances this is all a joke and the girl won’t actually be there when we arrive?” Grayson asked doubtfully.
“Fifty-fifty,” Hunter replied.
Garrett could see Hunter’s gigantic, gleaming white truck bouncing up and down behind him, traversing the rough road like nothing in spite of the heavy load he towed behind it.
The first thing the vain cougar would probably do once he got into town would be to find a carwash.
“Twenty bucks says she won’t be there,” Grayson said.
“I’ll take that. I mean, if she’s Garrett’s mate, then how couldn’t she be there?” Hunter’s voice was still teasing.
Garrett sighed. “She’ll be there. We’re just meeting there to go over the plans so we can break ground and get the foundation in ASAP. While it’s setting, we’ll get the frame built so we can put it up the second it’s ready to go.”
He’d felt oddly inspired by the architectural drawings he’d made for Dawn. He’d somehow managed to come in under budget and faster than his initially projected timeframe, too.
Hunter chuckled. “Maybe I should have brought a housewarming gift. You’re going to get this thing
built in record time, aren’t you?”
“It’s just smart business, dumbass,” Grayson said nonchalantly. “Shorter build time means quicker payoff.”
“I don’t know about you, but after those last few jobs, I could use a little vacation.” Hunter yawned. Driving always seemed to exhaust the cougar the most.
Bird calls interspersed with the noise of the bumpy dirt road beneath him rang in Garrett’s ears. In the background, the country music station he turned on whispered through the FM radio, barely audible as he’d turned it down whenever they talked.
Hunter didn’t always give them the same courtesy, sometimes going for miles blaring whatever old-school rock band was the flavor of the month before Grayson lost it and threatened horrible revenge.
Garrett could still remember the night he’d met both of them.
He’d walked into the bar of some rundown town he’d been working a job in and ran into Grayson, fresh out of the military with a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas. And then later that same night, by pure happenstance, Hunter had wandered into the same bar, headed back east to pursue some vague-sounding job prospect.
One night of drinking and storytelling had become two, and a week of hiring Grayson and Hunter on a trial basis had become years.
And in spite of their differences, in spite of the fact that a cougar, a wolf, and a bear had literally nothing in common, they’d become their own little pack of misfits, traversing the country and building everything they could.
“Honestly, though, Garrett.” Hunter’s voice was serious for the first time in a hundred miles. “How could you possibly know she’s your mate this soon? Should we be worried about you?”
“You’ve always been steady before,” Grayson said.
Garrett didn’t have an explanation. He’d never felt something like this before, so he had nothing to compare it to. Like having the ability to fly without wings might feel. A floating sensation that defied description. “I don’t know.”
Slowly, the country music he’d been playing faded into pure static as they lost reception.
“Well, we’re here for you, regardless,” Hunter said, breaking through the silence.
“Agreed,” Grayson said.
Just then, the trees began to thin out slightly, and Garrett saw a small clearing ahead that was no more than a quarter of an acre wide. Patches of grass and dry wildflowers grew here and there, the bright sun filling the center of it in golden majesty.
And in the center, standing next to a beat-up little blue car, a woman paced back and forth, clutching something in her hands.
His bear instantly called to her, and Garrett felt his entire body come alive.
She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
It didn’t matter what Grayson or Hunter said. That woman was definitely his mate.
* * *
Dawn clutched a piece of paper in her hands, making it crumple slightly. Miles of dense forest surrounded her on every side. Afternoon sun beat down as birds chirped and leaves rustled in the light breeze that carried the scent of oak and pine and fresh air.
It was beautiful here, but there was something eerie about it as well. Perhaps just how untouched it was.
She leaned against her car, glad it had survived the bumpy dirt road that led into the place. Once she’d recovered financially, she would probably be better off trading in her Toyota for something a little more off-road capable.
Nervousness coiled inside her even as the cool breeze helped offset the heat from the afternoon sun. She checked her phone once more, noting it wasn’t yet two o’clock.
Her contractors, BCW Builders, were due to show up soon. She hadn’t even met them and she’d hired them to come all the way out here and build her house. Would they be punctual or late like most contractors she’d met?
She began to pace back and forth a little, dead leaves crunching beneath her sneakers.
Sure, she might be a little bit nervous about all this, but no matter what, she was going to honor her grandfather’s dream. His legacy.
She checked her phone again. 1:57. Time really seemed to be much slower out here with only trees for company.
But it would be fine. As a graphic artist, as long as she had a sufficient list of clients and her trusty laptop, she could work from practically anywhere. And if she needed supplies or better internet to teleconference, the nearby town of Silver Lake was only a half hour or so away.
She’d passed through it on her way here, and it was as rustic and quiet as the pictures suggested. It was the kind of place the rest of the world passed by on its way to bigger, better things.
She fanned her face a bit with the copy of the title and her grandfather’s will in her hand, the afternoon sun starting to wear on her. Maybe she should ask Garrett to meet in town?
But before she could even pull her phone out of her pocket, she heard a low rumbling sound off in the distance, coming from the direction of the winding dirt road as it disappeared behind an endless row of trees.
The sound was barely audible at first. Then quickly, the noise of diesel engines and the rattling of industrial-strength chains pierced the relative quiet all around.
Dawn felt trepidation tighten her neck. Before this, she could have backed out. Now, the realization that everything was in fact happening and this wasn’t some fever dream was falling on her like a ton of bricks.
She straightened a bit, trying to look less nervous than she felt.
A huge blue pickup appeared at the end of the visible stretch of road, bumping up and down and pulling a fifth-wheel trailer behind it.
Beams of light poked through the canopy, making the blue paint glitter as it made its way toward her at a steady pace. Another truck, this one a pearlescent white with a polished chrome grille followed behind it, pulling a long flatbed with several machines anchored to it. Last was a black truck pulling another flatbed, this one with boxes and supplies and wood and bags of cement secured to it.
The three vehicles pulled into the clearing, forming a circle around the center, making Dawn and her tiny Toyota feel like ants next to the behemoth trailers.
Dawn tried to remember Garrett’s calming voice as they’d talked for hours on the phone about the project. They’d discussed everything from the architectural designs to little details like appliances and fixtures, and he’d always put her at ease.
Also, before she’d given the go-ahead, Dawn had spoken with several of Garrett’s references. Each of them had nothing but glowing reviews.
So Dawn had nothing to be afraid of, right?
The door to the big white truck popped open, and a man wearing a weathered, dark Stetson stepped out. Even from thirty or so feet away, Dawn could tell he was well over six feet tall. At first, he ignored her and reached his arms high into the sky, yawning as he stretched for a good long while, evoking the image of a house cat getting up from a nap. Then he straightened the branded tee shirt he wore.
“You finished yet?” Dawn heard someone call out, and she looked over to see another man jump out of the black truck. He wasn’t quite as towering as the first guy, but he made up for it in raw, chiseled muscle and a glare that looked like it could cut glass. The clothes he wore were the exact opposite of the first guy, a plain white shirt and beat-up jeans with black work boots. His dark hair was short on the top and shaved on the sides.
“Not quite,” the man with the Stetson and the stylish clothing said. He looked down, adjusting the oversized belt buckle he wore slightly, then, seemingly satisfied, nodded. “Now I’m finished.”
The other one grimaced, folding his arms, which were completely covered in tattoos, the designs far too intricate to make out at this distance.
She guessed neither of them was Garrett, from the looks of it.
So where would he be?
She looked at the blue truck that had led the pack and saw a large man working on something in the front seat. He then opened his door and came out, pulling a clipboard from the seat next
to him before he came around the front of the truck and into full view.
Just the sight of him made her heart skip a beat. He was by far the largest of the three, both in terms of height and bulk. His chocolate-brown hair was tousled, short but just long enough to show off just how incredibly thick it was.
He had a well-trimmed beard of the same color that accentuated a hard, masculine jaw. His shoulders were so wide he looked like a professional bodybuilder, and the blue and green flannel shirt he wore only emphasized the sheer breadth of his build.
As he strode toward her, clearing the distance between them like it was nothing with his long, powerful legs, she could see his rich amber eyes gleaming with little flecks of yellow in the afternoon sun.
She didn’t even have to ask. Somehow, her heart just knew he was Garrett, the owner.
But had she hired a construction company or a roving band of male strippers?
Built Fur Love Box Set
Also by Terry Bolryder
A Note From Terry
Most of my series go by species. Most of my books are standalone, but if you want to read them in order and see characters reappearing, here is my list of the order for each species. So just choose your favorite shifter!
Dragon Reading Guide
Awakened Dragons
These powerful, newly awakened ancient dragons are stronger, more vicious, more powerful, and ready to save humankind, if only they can decide to be heroes rather than villains…
Awakened Dragons Boxed Set (best deal!)
Onyx Dragon
Sapphire Dragon
Ruby Dragon
Diamond Dragon
Amethyst Dragon
Emerald Dragon
Rent-A-Dragon
These ancient, viking-esque dragons just woke up and are ready to get to work finding their mates and new lives in the modern world! Shenanigans and sexiness ensue!
Dragon in Love Page 17