Ancient Enforcer
Page 1
Ancient Enforcer
Ancients Rising
Katie Reus
An ancient dragon warrior determined to protect what’s his…
Former general Mikael lost his clan, his family, everything, thousands of years ago. Now he’s awakened in a new world that’s trying to rebuild. He and his brothers are ordered to live with Avery, a human female, and her younger brothers. Avery is nothing he should want. She’s too soft, too sweet…too happy. But he can’t stop his growing obsession with her.
The human female who threatens his jaded heart…
House flipper Avery is no stranger to heartbreak, and knows that the ones you love most can stab you in the back the quickest. When she’s asked to shelter a bunch of dragon shifters, her instinct is to say no. Until she meets the ragtag group of males who are struggling to adjust to the new world. Against her better judgment, she agrees to take them in. Even if the gruff Mikael has heartbreak written all over him, she can’t help but fall for the sexy dragon a little more every day. But when a threat from his past emerges, promising to tear their world apart, things suddenly change between them. As they race against the clock to save her family, Mikael must risk everything and claim her before it’s too late.
Ancient Enforcer
Copyright © 2021 Katie Reus
Cover art by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs
Editor: Julia Ganis
Digital Formatting by Author E.M.S.
* * *
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.
Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book. This purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload this book to a file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Table of Contents
ANCIENT ENFORCER
About the Book
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Dear Readers
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Complete Booklist
Dedication
For Piper and Jack, the inspiration behind the dragonlings. (And the silliest pups a writer could ask for.)
Prologue
Two months before The Fall
Mikael stared out the window of the home the Alpha of New Orleans had just brought him to. After waking from a millennia-long sleep, he and his brothers had just been passing through so they’d checked in with the Alpha. Originally they hadn’t planned to stay long, but they all liked the territory.
He and his brothers had already been “vetted,” as King put it, but the Alpha still required that they have what was the equivalent of a babysitter. A human female, of all people. It made no sense. If King had said a dragon female would be keeping an eye on him, he would have understood—dragon females were the fiercest of warriors.
But this human was apparently going to be their new boss at a construction site as well. King had offered him a job there and had hinted that if this worked out, he would like Mikael and his brothers to be on the pack’s security detail.
Mikael wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He wasn’t sure about anything since waking from a long Hibernation. He and his brothers were still adjusting to this new world where humans were in charge of things—and the world appeared quite dysfunctional. Things were very different than when he’d gone to sleep millennia ago. Supernaturals weren’t out to all humans, only to a small group.
Most humans had long since forgotten about his kind’s existence. The city of New Orleans was different, however—many people knew of supernaturals and accepted them. There was a deep magic here that sang to his dragon half. It was the same with his brothers so they had decided to stay.
To test the waters.
So here they were, waiting to meet this “babysitter” or guardian as King had called her. He’d assured Mikael and his brothers that they would like her—he said everyone did.
King stepped into the living room suddenly with a litheness that was usually reserved for feline shifters, and motioned that the three of them should follow.
Mikael and his brothers did, making the short trek out to the back patio that had a bunch of overhead lights strung up in a crisscross pattern, potted plants, and big umbrellas shielding a good portion of the patio from the bright sunlight.
But all he could focus on was a pretty human standing in between two human males, her stance protective even though the males were bigger and taller than her. It was clear there was a familial relationship, given the shade of their skin and the shapes of their eyes and mouths.
He flicked a brief glance at the two males, but his gaze strayed right back to her. Her chocolate-brown hair was wild and curly. It was pulled back into a ponytail, and under the sunlight, wild streaks of red shot through some of the strands. Her skin was sun-kissed and glowing and… He realized King was staring at him.
He blinked and cleared his throat.
“Mikael, this is Avery. She’s been gracious enough to allow you and your brothers to live here,” King said.
“We appreciate it very much,” he said, stepping forward and closing the distance between them. He held his hand out in the way he had seen humans do, but only because he wanted to touch her, to feel how soft her skin was.
Her cheeks flushed a delicious shade of pink against her bronze skin. Her hands were soft but had little calluses that he liked. He probably held her hand a little bit too long, because one of his brothers cleared his throat.
Not wanting to come off like a weirdo, he turned to her brothers and shook both their hands as well. “These are my two brothers, Casimir—you can call him Cas—and Ivyn. We promise to be good roommates for as long as you will have us.” How about forever? his dragon half purred.
He ordered his other half to be quiet.
Her smile never wavered as she looked at all of them and he understood why King had said he would like her. She was like sunshine incarnate. There was a glow that rolle
d off her. Hell, even her scent was intoxicating—like sunshine and sweet, fresh peaches.
“King explained that you three have just woken up and are still adjusting to the world, right?”
His brothers murmured affirmations behind him even as he nodded. He still hadn’t stepped away from her, hadn’t put any distance between them. That was not happening any time soon. He liked being close to her too much. This whole sensation was strange. He had not spent much time with humans, but this one… He inhaled again.
“Well, I’ve worked with various supernaturals over the years. There are a ton of bears in construction,” she said on a laugh. “So anything you need, I’m sure we can help out. The only thing I ask is that if you’re going to bring someone back to the house, give us advance warning. I don’t want to walk in to find strangers here. Also, no wild parties, please.”
“We will bring no one back here,” he said immediately. “And have no parties.”
She seemed startled by his vehemence, but her smile remained in place as she nodded. “Okay, then. That’s perfect. So I should also warn you that even though we’ll be living together, I won’t be cooking for you guys just because I’m a woman.”
“We would never expect that,” Ivyn said from behind him. “In fact, I love cooking, so if you have any requests, just let me know. I’ve been experimenting with a lot of recipes lately.”
Mikael watched as her eyes widened slightly and pure joy rolled off her. He was going to have to punch his brother in the face for that later. He was suddenly overcome by the most insane need to be the only one to make her smile and laugh.
He vaguely remembered talking to King after that, saying goodbye and promising to basically be on his best behavior, but all he could really do was soak in the warmth and presence of Avery.
Avery… He let her name roll around in his head. Perfection.
He would never leave New Orleans now, not as long as she was here. That was something he knew on an intrinsic level. It should have scared him, being tethered to some place—to someone.
It did not.
“What the hell was that?” Ivyn asked him hours later once it was just the three of them upstairs in Mikael’s new bedroom. They didn’t have much so it hadn’t taken long to get them settled.
He’d chosen the bedroom closest to Avery’s.
“What are you talking about?” He shut the closet door and turned to face his brothers, who were staring at him expectantly.
“The way you went all moonfaced over our new babysitter,” Cas said, quoting him when he’d grumbled about having a babysitter.
Moonfaced? Where did his brother come up with this? It must be a human phrase he had learned. “Her name is Avery,” he growled, his dragon flaring to the forefront. “She’s being kind enough to let us live here. You will be respectful.”
Ivyn elbowed Cas. “Told you. He’s totally smitten.”
Cas laughed lightly and fist-bumped Ivyn—something they had recently picked up. “You were correct. I concede.”
He blinked, realizing they had been messing with him. “You guys are assholes.”
“That may be true,” Ivyn said. “But we weren’t the ones practically drooling all over our new roommate.”
“You two better keep your distance from her. I would hate to have to gut you and feed you your entrails.” The words came out as a growl, which only made his brothers laugh uproariously. Yep. Assholes.
Chapter 1
After The Fall
Mikael stepped through the front door of the three-story brick building downtown and looked around. He’d received a phone call about twenty minutes ago from King, saying that he was needed here. Since it was after work hours and Avery was home with Mikael’s brothers—meaning that she was protected—he’d slipped out.
“Thank you for coming,” King said as he stepped out of a half-open door where two other wolves were sitting inside talking quietly.
He shut the door behind him. In jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved black T-shirt, the male with brown skin and his wolf in his eyes reverberated with power. Especially for one so young—King was only a hundred or two hundred years old per Mikael’s information. But energy sang around him, a soft, lilting melody right underneath the surface.
Mikael thought the place they were standing in was called a lobby. There was a cluster of chairs off to the right, exposed brick along two of the walls, and a big desk to the left that appeared to be a hundred or so years old. The only reason he even knew that was because his Avery—who was not really his at all—liked to tell him about different types of designs, and he paid attention to everything about her.
“What is this place? And why am I here?” He didn’t like being separated from Avery for long. His dragon rippled impatiently underneath his skin, wanting to get back to her.
Always.
“This way.” King’s expression was dry as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
Mikael had been a general long ago, was used to giving orders and undertaking covert missions, though he’d always had an Alpha, so he knew how to take orders as well. His dragon hadn’t quite decided if he was fully committed to following a wolf, but he found he liked this young Alpha, regardless. They strode down the quiet hallway decorated with random artwork on the walls, and Mikael could smell plenty of humans behind some of the doors. But not many supernaturals.
That was interesting. Then he scented two very familiar humans, Avery’s two younger brothers.
King jerked open the door and Mikael’s eyes widened.
Anthony and Riel were stretched out on a hard-looking bench against a wall, both dozing, their soft snores filling the air. Mikael narrowed his gaze on Axel, the annoying lion who liked to flirt with Avery. The lazy male was a little farther down the same bench, reading a paperback book, one leg crossed over his knee, looking perfectly at ease as he glanced up at Mikael.
Axel gave him an obnoxious grin. “You’re here to bail me out, dragon? I’ve gotta say, I’m touched… Also, I’m not even sorry about last night.”
Mikael took in the lion’s rumpled appearance, his torn shirt, the jeans ripped at one of the pockets. It looked as if there was…some type of frosting in the lion’s thick hair. Mikael didn’t respond, but looked at King instead.
It was clear that the wolf was fighting a bit of amusement.
“I’m afraid to ask what happened,” Mikael muttered.
King lifted a shoulder. “I don’t actually know. There was a fight, that much I’m clear on. My people are still trying to figure out what started it.”
Around that time, Anthony and Riel both stirred, sitting up. Anthony, the youngest, looked at Mikael with wide eyes. “Did you tell Avery we’re here?”
Mikael was an ancient dragon warrior, millennia older than the two human brothers, but the young men were more afraid of their older sister, who was not even thirty. Mikael understood, however, because while he wasn’t afraid of her, he never wanted to disappoint her. “It’s just me, younglings,” he murmured. They might not be supernatural, not dragons, but he still viewed them as his to protect. “What happened?”
The two human males flicked a glance at King, who still stood next to Mikael, all humor and amusement gone as he stared them down like the Alpha he was.
“May I have a couple minutes alone with them?” Mikael asked. It was pretty clear this place was a makeshift holding center. Not a jail exactly, but given the bruised and bloodied knuckles of both brothers, and Axel’s condition, it was clear they’d all been in a fight. He also scented blood in the air. Faint though it was, it still lingered.
King nodded and stepped out. Mikael knew the male would hear every single word he said even from outside the room. At least it would give the young humans the illusion of privacy, however.
“You two got into a fight?” That didn’t sound like the two young men he knew. “Did the lion start it?” Mikael crossed his arms over his chest. He knew he was intimidating to them and that they looked up to him. He would
use that to his advantage.
“Hey! I didn’t do shit,” Axel grumbled. “I was just there to have a good time.”
Anthony looked at the floor, studying his scuffed-up sneakers. He was about twenty-three, but looked even younger in that moment.
Riel’s jaw jutted out. “I got into a fight, I started it. And I’m not sorry either.”
Anthony’s head snapped up. “It’s my fault! My ex-boyfriend was there and he said something nasty about my mom.”
Their mother had died from cancer ravaging her body.
“So I punched him right in his stupid smirking face,” Riel continued. “He was trying to hurt Anthony and had the nerve to talk shit about our mother. Screw him!”
Mikael simply nodded. “Punching him sounds like it was likely the right decision.” Speaking ill of one’s mother was simply not done.
Both men looked surprised but settled back on the bench.
He flicked his gaze to Axel. “Why are you here?”
The lion just grinned and shrugged.
Mikael gritted his teeth, deciding that he was going to ignore the lion today. He turned back to the brothers. “Are you ready to go home?”