by Aidy Award
Tamed
The Black Dragon Brotherhood
Aidy Award
Copyright © 2020 by Aidy Award
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design by Jacqueline Sweet
Portions of this book were previously published as Touch of Fate
Acknowledgments
High fives and fistbumps to my writer peeps who keep me going. I’m looking at you Anna Michael.
Without the Level Up sprint room and the Colorado Romance Writers, I probably wouldn’t have half as much fun writing the books.
Special thanks to Becca Syme and her Better-Faster Academy and the QuitCast. I finished this book BEFORE the deadline because of your oh, so insightful coaching and talking me down off the ledge more than once.
Shout out to my Official VIP Fans!
Thank you so much for all your love and support for me and the characters I write. Your comments and messages inspire me to keep writing every day.
Extra hugs to you ~
Dale W.
Daphine G.
Debbie Joy G.
Heather R.
Jeanette M.
Kerrie M.
Michele C.
And great big thanks to my Official Biggest Fan Ever. You’re the best book dragons a girl could ask for~
Hugs and Kisses for you!
Helena E.
Alida H.
For all the nerdy, curvy, geek girls.
Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed.
Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them.
Carrie Bradshaw
Contents
1. Crash Into Me
2. First Contact
3. A Hot Tub Saved My Life
4. The Old Kissing Ruse
5. Alexa, Use the Force
6. Game of Gnomes
7. Sweet Fire
8. Orgasmpalooza
9. Shadow Warriors are the Worst
10. Fighting the Darkside
11. Hope
12. Sex and Magic
13. More Men Should Read Romance Novels
14. Soul Magic
15. Band of Brothers and Sisters
16. Save the Dragon, Save the World
17. Shattered Souls
18. Do You Know Where Hell Is?
19. Cult of the Dead
20. Together, Forever
A letter from the author
Also by Aidy Award
About the Author
Crash Into Me
Too many of Neo's muscles and ligaments were injured for his dragon to heal them. His wings couldn't keep him from losing altitude and he was falling behind the rest of the Black Dragon Brotherhood. The only things still intact in his entire being were his shard and his soul. And he wasn't entirely sure about his soul.
Fuck. He hadn't said anything to the other warriors of the brotherhood about how badly the new threat they'd discovered had destroyed his body. He was supposed to be their leader, and here he was, the first one to fall. He'd borne the biggest brunt of the recent attack, and his dragon hadn’t been able to heal him.
Neo? Boss man. You okay? Apollo was already using his power over the wind to keep Neo in the air. They were only halfway through the flight from the scene of the battle on the west coast, trying to fly back to Rogue. They had to let Jett and the other Wyverns know about the strange shadow warriors.
Dammit. He did not want to admit that he was hurt. Great fucking way to lead their first mission. First a failure to stop the earthquakes created by the shadow, then a retreat from warriors they couldn't even touch, and now he was going to crash like a youngling who didn't know how to fly properly.
Apollo, you're going to have to use your powers to get the others back to Rogue as fast as you can. Leave me. The Brotherhood and the Dragon Wyrs need to know we weren't able to fight off these shadow warriors.
What? Me? Apollo half fell out of the sky himself.
As the heir to the Gold Wyvern, the kid needed to dragon up. He had a lot of courage, but also a lot of fear about who and what he was. Join the club.
Yes. I'm not going to make it. You have to make sure the Dragon Warriors and the wolves are prepared to meet this shadowy threat from Hell. He'd done everything he could to smash their attackers to bits with his fists, and then tried using his tail and claws, but he had no idea how to hurt them. No one did. Every shifter or magical being they'd questioned was scared to death because nothing worked to defend against the shadow coming and stealing their souls.
They certainly weren't demon wyrms, or even Annunaki, because no known enemy created wounds with weapons made of shadow, wounds that wouldn't even heal when Neo shifted into his dragon form.
Neo assumed the forces of Hell were behind the attacks on the supernatural beings and his small crew. Unless Kur-Jara wasn't as reformed as Match had claimed and was still working with Ereshkigal.
Shit, the Black Dragon's name wasn't even Kur-Jara now. He wasn't even the Black Dragon anymore. Dude needed to choose a name. All of his crew besides Apollo were still nameless bastards with numbers for nicknames. He wasn't even a good enough leader to inspire them to pick what to be called.
The dragon inside him roared out as a new spike of pain shuddered through his wings. He dropped a thousand feet through the sky before Apollo's wind straightened him back out. Shadow be damned, he was going to crash trying to fly over these snow-peaked mountains.
If he died before finding out who or what these shadow warriors were, and why they were stealing souls, any Annunaki who even tried to judge him and take him to the afterlife would face the sharp end of his tail. He wasn't going down without a fight.
Except he was. Soon.
Pain jabbed at his chest and his dragon shuddered. This was it he was about two seconds from crashing into the side of the mountain. Listen up, team. I’m going to attempt to land and hide in the forested area ahead until my dragon can heal these wounds. Continue to Rogue, New York, and report in with Jett. Getting him the info about the shadow creating those earthquakes is the key to hunting the soul stealers. I’ll catch up as soon as I can.
He got “yes, sir” from his three brethren, a “got it” from Apollo, and a grumble from Not-Kur-Jara. That hell spawn was going to be the death of Neo. He directed his dragon voice only to Not-Kur-Jara. You make sure Apollo gets back safe. You got it?
Yup. A one-word response was more than he usually gave, so Neo would take it. He didn’t have time for cranky-ass bullshit.
His wings folded under a new wave of pain and he took a steep dive. Neo pushed his body to stretch his wings out again, praying for a response, but what he got was gusts of wind jerking him around, literally. Apollo. Leave me. Use your wind to get to Rogue. Now.
The other dragons yelled warnings, but Neo didn't have the time to care. He was too busy trying not to die. He narrowly missed the top of one peak and caught his talons on the snow and rock. That sent him careening into the valley below. Aw, fuck me.
Join the Black Dragon Brotherhood they said, it'll be life-changing they said.
He didn't need life-changing, he needed a damned lead on the shadow warrior threat and a way to defeat them. If one more family of wolves, coven of witches, or any other supernatural being came to the Black Dragon Brotherhood
pleading for his help…No, he wouldn't think of those who grieved their sons and daughters, fathers and mothers now. If he lived through this day he’d vow to rescue as many as he could and avenge those he couldn't.
First, he had to survive, the dragon inside of him taunted.
The Rockies’ enormous white-tipped peaks were too much for Neo to cross. Dark clouds engulfed his body and bounced and bumped him around until his teeth rattled. It was only a few seconds until he broke through the cloud cover and saw the land below growing in front of his face.
The miles of green trees and snow-capped mountains were so unlike the confining darkness of Hell. If fate decreed that he had to die anywhere, this would be where his soul would most be at rest, out in the open where he could see the sun and stars for evermore.
Not that he was giving up. No way. Never. If he could just level out to an angle that wasn't quite so steep, he might be able to skim across the land and stop, upright and alive. That is, if no large structures or natural formations blocked his path. Like the side of that mountain.
Shit.
Neo took a deep breath and drew his wings and body in for his last-ditch effort. A cannonball crash. He hadn’t tried one since he’d learned to fly as baby demon dragon, and even then, he hadn’t been good at it. Jumping butt first into a pit of crunchy lava stone from the ceiling of his cave and smashing his a forty-ton grown-ass dragon body into the side of the mountain were not the same thing.
He folded in his tail and tucked his wings around his body to make himself into a ball. He'd flip over at the last minute so his armored scales on his back would take the brunt of the crash landing. He figured he had less than ten seconds until he crashed.
Seven—
He cursed the shadow warriors one last time and pulled in his wings. Years of living Hell and battles alongside the Wyverns had given him more strength than most Dragon Warriors. He called upon the First Dragon to imbue him with more. He was going to need a lot of his supernatural healing powers to survive this crash. This was going to hurt like hell. Or worse.
Six—
His body continued its descent, but without his wings to guide him the turbulence pushed him into a downward spiral. His muscles strained. He needed to try and crash into some snow instead of the jagged rocks. He twisted just enough to adjust his trajectory toward the highest snowbank, but that put a flock of birds directly in his flight path.
He tried to roar at the little beasts to get out of the way, but the wind took his breath away. The first one struck his side and small explosion of his scales shook his tail. Shit.
He careened out of control and another bird hit his wing, taking out a chunk of flesh with it.
“Come on, come on.” Maybe if he sweet talked the universe into helping him not die, she’d do his bidding. Not like he'd had much luck sweet talking the ladies.
Five seconds to impact—
Sweat beaded on his brow and snout, dripping between his scales. His own efforts weren't going to be enough to save him. Where were the First Dragon and the White Witch when you needed them? Maybe they'd come to his aid if he made them a deal. “I swear to give everything I’ve got to defeating this new shadow enemy. Gimme just a little back.”
The ground rose up faster and faster. No way he was going to hit the snow patch now. Four seconds—
A gust of wind pushed at his belly, and he leveled out by the tiniest degree. Maybe the universe or the First Dragon were listening. This could be a good or a bad thing. Neo’s muscles trembled and shook under the absolute exertion of trying to get his wings to stretch out and guide him along the small eddy of wind. “That’s it. Thank you, whoever you are.”
Three seconds—
He skimmed the tops of a clump of dark evergreen trees, then dipped into them. The sound of breaking branches and the trunks smashing on his face, sides, and tail were louder than the roars of his fellow dragons and hurt more than the demon wyrm's fire in battle.
Two—
The last thought that flashed through his mind before impact wasn't of his brethren, their battles, or his life playing before his eyes. It was that the shard hanging over his heart glowed with the light of a whole damn volcano's worth of fire.
The light flashed as bright as a single flame in the darkest corner of Hell. His shard, the bit of his soul that knew when his fated mate was near.
One more second and he was either dead or...nope, probably just dead. How could fate do this to him now?
Fuck fate. He believed in the power of hope. He and his brethren never would have survived Hell without having hope that they would someday be saved. He had to hold onto that now. His life unshackled from the darkness was only just beginning, and this was not how it would end.
His wing caught on a tree that was too big to snap and he crashed face first into the ground. He rolled head over ass, skidding to a stop embedded deep into the ground and trees. His mind and vision went foggy and he pulled on that power of hope that he would wake up.
The last thing he heard before he closed his eyes and faded into an unconscious limbo was a soft, lyrical voice. That's right, Neo. Keep that hope alive. Your mate could use a dose of hope too.
He sunk into the dark oblivion of pain. But there in the darkness was one more voice, this one laughing...at him. Why are all my sons such douchecanoes? I guess crashing into the side of a mountain is one way to get your mate's attention. Oh goodie, look, light of my heart. here she comes. You've chosen well for him.
The lyrical voice laughed. Of course I have. They're perfect for each other.
Remember son, lots and lots of orgasms is the best way to please your mate.
First Contact
Kady ran back into her tiny house on wheels and rummaged through the storage space under her bench seat. Damn it, she really needed to get more organized. There was barely any room to move in this two hundred and fifty-five square foot place as it was. She and her big butt squeezed through spaces smaller than she ever expected she could. This clutter didn’t help.
“Where is it, where is it?” She shoved aside a pair of jeans she thought she’d lost, a shoe box without a top filled with old Pokémon cards, a spare set of keys to her old apartment, and a half-eaten bag of hedgehog snacks, before she found what she was looking for.
“Aha.” She pulled out the $19.99 telescope along with a chipped Death Star coffee mug tied to it with yarn and rushed back outside.
The view of the night sky from up here in the outskirts of the mountain town of Estes Park continually awed her. For the first time in her adult life, she could see the creamy haze of the Milky Way. But that wasn’t what had drawn her attention away from her Netflix marathon of STNG tonight.
She set up the tiny tripod on top of a nearby boulder and pointed the lens skyward. She bumped her glasses into the lens trying to get a good look. “Where did you go, little alien?”
A few minutes ago, she’d seen what she thought was a group of shooting stars. The longer she looked, the more it moved, and not in a straight path. She searched the sky through the small eye-sight until she spotted a blob burning through the sky.
“Holy guacamole.”
She couldn’t make out a shape, the power of the telescope simply wasn’t strong enough, but whatever it was bucked like a bronco. The horse, not the football players.
“No way that’s an asteroid or a comet or a weather balloon.”
Something man-made…or not made by humans at all, but by aliens…was falling straight to Earth and headed for her backyard.
“Sweet.” She was going to make first contact. Did the Prime Directive apply to her as a pre-warp society?
She glanced back up and the bronco ball of light was a heck of a lot closer.
“Oh, shitbuckets.” It was headed for her backyard. It was going to crash into the one piece of the world she owned, and destroy everything.
Where were Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and Steve Buscemi with their drilling machines and atomic bombs when a girl needed them?
The not-a-shooting-star quickly turned into a fiery ball. A spaceship shaped one, with wings, make that wing, a hull, and weirdly a tail. Hmm. Maybe this species of alien used nature as their designs for their space-faring vessels. That was a thing, right? Right. The Klingons called their ships birds of prey.
Great. Awesome. Alien spaceships were real. That meant aliens were real.
Hell, yeah.
But the ship was headed straight for her and it was breaking apart. What was that coming from the nose end? Oh crappola. Their crash landing was either going to kill her, or destroy everything she’d worked so hard for. Same thing.
Hell, no.
She had to do something and fast, or her tiny house and her beloved bath house were both going up in flames, not to mention Percy and herself.
No lightsabers, no magical spells, no prayers or affirmations to the universe were going to change the path of destruction aimed at her. What could she do but run?
Nothing.
So Kady ran. For about a hundred yards. A stitch hit her in the side so deep if felt like an attack of the killer seamstresses, slowed her down. She grabbed her side and tried to speed-walk. “I swear to you universe, if you let me save my house, I’ll never ask for anything again.” She gasped. “This week…or next.”
The fire in the sky was getting closer. Side-stitch be damned, she had to save her house. She’d worked too hard saving every penny she’d made since she was seven years old and being shuffled from one foster family to another to lose everything she had now.
She jogged a few steps, walked a few, jogged a few until her tiny house on wheels came into view.