by Kayla Wolf
Marked by the Dragon
A Paranormal Romance
Kayla Wolf
Copyright © 2019 by The Wolf Sisters Books.
All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of the book only. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form, including recording, without prior written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Chapter 1 – David
Chapter 2 – Quinn
Chapter 3 – David
Chapter 4 – Quinn
Chapter 5 – David
Chapter 6 – Quinn
Chapter 7 – David
Chapter 8 – Quinn
Chapter 9 – David
Chapter 10 – Quinn
Chapter 11 – David
Chapter 12 – Quinn
Chapter 13 – David
Chapter 14 – Quinn
Chapter 15 – David
Chapter 16 – Quinn
Chapter 17 – David
Chapter 18 – Quinn
About the Author
Books by The Wolf Sisters
Chapter 1 – David
The landscape below him was achingly familiar. David usually loved flying more than anything else, but today there was an itching in his shoulder-blades and a twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach that were making the whole process deeply uncomfortable. Every downstroke of his wings felt like it was bringing him closer and closer to disaster, and he’d never felt so unpleasant in the air.
It had nothing to do with the weather, of course. The sky was clear and bright, and beneath him, the vast expanse of thick, fluffy white clouds looked for all the world like a sea of cotton wool. On another day, he’d have been diving and weaving among the clouds, enjoying the way the trailing white mist clung to his body or was disturbed by his wingtips. But the playful spirit with which he usually approached the sky wasn’t strong in him today. His destination was weighing too heavily on his mind.
He couldn’t have stayed down in his little cabin forever, of course. He knew that, on some level—had known that for the full century he’d spent down there. A tiny little wooden structure, perched on the side of a steep hill that dropped down to a little human town in the valley below… and, more importantly, an exquisite view of the sky from the balcony. No light pollution to speak of, so the stars glowed in all their glory every night. He’d worked hard on the little place over the years, replacing worn boards, installing more and more modern appliances to keep his human shape well-tended… but it had never been intended as a permanent home. No, he had responsibilities to return to. His father could only be put off for so long—for all that he’d spent a full month claiming that there wasn’t enough cloud cover to risk flying back home.
He ducked below the cloud cover now, knowing that he was getting closer to home. He knew he should be happy to be getting back to his family. And to some extent, he was. It would be good to see his sisters, at least. They’d come to visit him a few times over the years, down in his little cabin, but William had never been willing to let them stay too long. Was he worried that their older brother would corrupt them somehow, pull them away from his domineering influence? David could feel the tension in his shoulder blades beginning to build up, and he heaved a sigh, trying to shrug it away.
That was the problem. Not home, not the community of dragons he’d come from… but his father. William was one of the oldest dragons in the valley, and it was clear to anyone who’d spent more than a few minutes around him that he felt that his seniority entitled him to much more authority than he had been given. As a result, he was resentful, waspish, prone to holding grudges and waging year-long disputes with people just to prove some vast, complex moral point that seemed to change from day to day, depending on his mercurial moods. They’d gotten worse over the last hundred years, those moods.
Ever since their mother had left.
His little sisters hardly remembered her, David knew. Even his own memories of her had been blurry—he’d been so young when she’d left them, barely fifty years old, still learning the ins and outs of shifting forms. And his sisters had been infants—twins, a rare but joyful occurrence for dragons. As a younger man, David had spent hours wondering whether it had been the arrival of the girls that had been the last straw for his mother. After all, she’d left not long after they’d arrived, leaving them her green eyes and absolutely no explanation as to where she’d gone, or why.
Had William been a different man before his soulmate left? Almost certainly, David thought—but it wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you could just ask someone. Dragons mated for life and the disappearance of a soulmate… well, it was unheard of. David wasn’t even sure how many other dragons in the valley knew about what had happened. There were probably rumors, of course—but David had never had much time for gossip. And when his father’s temper had gotten unbearable, he’d pulled roots and run. Not very far, he always consoled himself—he wasn’t like his mother, he hadn’t left for good. He stayed in contact, he’d always promised to come back when he was needed.
And he’d been true to that promise, he thought resolutely as he landed on the familiar rocky outcrops that marked their mountain home. The little valley was in a remote and treacherous place in the Rocky Mountains, all but inaccessible to humans—which suited its draconic inhabitants just fine. Over the millennia since the valley had been first settled, a series of caves and caverns had been carved out by dragon claws, deep into the heart of the mountain. In the valley, herds of deer roamed, good hunting for those among them who still chose to eat in dragon form, and a river provided them with all the fresh water they needed. For their other needs, it was easy enough to stop by the local human settlements.
But there had been a few changes since he’d left, David noticed as he shifted form—the landing he’d chosen only had a human-sized entrance. For a start, there were curious shining black panels affixed to the stone on the opposite side of the valley. He’d noticed them as he’d flown in, and from here they caught the sunlight strangely. New decorations?
”David!”
A familiar voice caught his ears, pulling him out of his reflections—and a grin split across his face as he turned to meet its owner.
”Rosaline!”
”How could you tell?” An old joke. David’s twin sisters hadn’t been identical for very long. Rosaline had taken a pair of scissors to her beautiful blonde hair at an early age and maintained a fiercely short cut ever since. Olivia, by contrast, had refused to touch the wild mane of blonde curls that she shared with her sister. The last time he’d seen her, it had been down to her waist. At any rate, it made it easier for the other dragons of the valley to tell the green-eyed sisters apart.
”Where’s Liv?” David asked as he released his sister from the bone-crushing hug he’d pulled her into. It seemed strange to only be greeted by one of them.
“Don’t ask,” Rosaline sighed, flicking a hand in irritation. “Dad decided he’d actually turn up to a council meeting a month ago and make a scene and Olivia’s still handling the fallout.”
”Is Alexander angry?”
”No, though he’d have every right to be.” King Alexander had a great deal of patience. He’d only been in the position of king of the valley for a few years, but he’d certainly earned David’s respect in that time—and he wasn’t alone. The majority of the dragons of the valley loved and supported Alexander just a
s they’d supported his mother as queen before him. Unfortunately, William was a significant outlier. “Let’s not talk about all that garbage, though. We always get stuck on Dad. C’mon. Let’s have tea.”
Their home was just as he remembered it, David noticed, smiling nostalgically despite his unease at the prospect of seeing his father again. But his eyes widened as he saw Rosaline wander into the kitchen and flick a switch on the stove before setting about filling a pot with water.
”Am I dreaming? Electricity?”
“Oh, did we not mention? The new queen installed it a couple of years back. Didn’t you see the solar panels on the heights?”
”I’m seriously out of the loop,” David said faintly, taking a seat at the little table in the kitchen. It seemed that the human-sized section of their home was getting more use than he remembered, he reflected, glancing around. William had always been a traditionalist who favored their draconic forms unless it was absolutely necessary to shift. Had he gone back on that conviction?
”Dad hates it,” Rosaline said cheerfully, clearly following his train of thought. “But he’s spending more time as a human anyway. He likes coffee more than he likes his stupid archaic traditions, I guess.”
”How are you, Rosie? It feels like a century since you came to visit.”
”I’m bored,” she said, shrugging as she waited by the stove for the water to boil. “Super bored. It feels like the last few years have been the most eventful we’ve ever been through, and yet the most exciting thing that’s happened for me is an electric stove.”
”There’s been more excitement than I’m used to,” David agreed, grinning. “All that stuff with Amara—”
”Oh, don’t get me started. Everyone’s been gossiping nonstop for the last six months, and I think they’ll keep going for six years at least.”
Amara had been a resident of the valley until quite recently. She’d come down to stay in the cabin beside David for a few months for some soul-searching—and not long after, had learned that she was the rightful queen of a shifter settlement down south. She’d been reigning there for six months now—alongside the four men she’d met while reclaiming her crown, all of whom had turned out to be her mates.
”Is it the royalty thing that interests them the most, or—”
”Or the four soulmates? Take a guess.” Rosaline rolled her eyes. “Half the settlement’s jealous, the other half’s convinced it’s some kind of hoax.”
”Four mates seems like a lot,” David said thoughtfully. “I can’t even imagine having one.”
”That’s because you’ve always got your nose in a book or in the sky,” Rosaline teased him, coming over with a teapot and two cups. “Your soulmate would have to be a star for you to notice them.”
”What about you?”
”What about me? Finding my soulmate? Doubt it. Not up here.” She shrugged. “How could I? It’s a full-time job looking after Dad, and he’s direly opposed to us going to the local shifter meetups. I’m stuck here.”
David tilted his head, not used to seeing such an unusual look of bitterness on his sister’s face. Rosaline had always been the optimist of the family, cheerful, practical and forward-thinking, and always with hope for the future. He sipped his tea, studying her face carefully. If even Rosaline was feeling the strain of living with their father, how was Olivia managing it? His other sister had inherited a little of their father’s negativity. She wasn’t nearly as bad as he was, and tempered it with pragmatism, but her moods tended towards the dour if not balanced out by her twin’s positive outlook.
”I’ve been away too long,” David said gently. “I’m sorry.”
”Oh, who could blame you? Dad was always worse to you than us.” Rosaline smiled at him, her old self again for a moment—though he could see the worry lingering in her eyes. “Anyway. You’re back now. Maybe with three against one, we have a shot.”
”A shot at what?”
That voice always cut to the core of him. No matter how old David got, that voice always made him feel like a child again. It felt odd to hear it out loud, and he realized with surprise that William must have made the shift to human. That was unlike him. It must be a special occasion. David braced himself internally, then rose to his feet and turned to greet his father.
There he stood, in all his glory. A dragon’s human form only tangentially related to their actual chronological age, but William clearly felt that his seniority ought to extend to his two-legged form. His once-blonde hair was now bright silver, cut short around his face, where his fierce green eyes blazed from a craggy, foreboding countenance. He was a tall man, lean and wiry like an old lion, and David could feel his heart beginning to pick up with the anxiety that William’s presence always caused in him. The feeling that he’d done something wrong, that he was a disappointment, somehow. A feeling that wasn’t helped by the grimace on William’s face.
”Late. Three days later than you said.”
”The skies were clear,” David countered. “Anyone looking up from the ground would’ve seen me.”
”Excuses,” William snapped. “Though I suppose I should be grateful you came home in the first place.”
”Dad,” Rosaline said, moving over to put a calming hand on the old dragon’s forearm. He shrugged it off, though David could see that he’d settled a little. Rosaline had always been good at that—at steadying their father, guiding him out of the worst storms of his mercurial moods. David felt a pang of acute regret that it had been so necessary for her to develop that particular skill.
”You said you had something important to discuss with me? In your letter?”
”What letter? Oh.” William’s eyes had clouded for a minute, but then the anger blazed to life in them again. “Of course. It’s the king. You’ve got to work with us against—”
”No, Dad,” Rosaline said quickly. “That wasn’t it. Remember? You talked to me about it when you were writing the letter? Where you want David to go?”
His father had gotten worse, David realized, a sick feeling lingering in the pit of his stomach as he watched the careful way Rosaline was guiding the conversation. He should have come back years ago, helped his sisters handle the old man. It was possible that William would be more lucid if he hadn’t been all but abandoned by his son.
”We all want you to come back to the valley,” Rosaline said, her sharp green eyes resting on William’s furrowed brow—David could see that she was choosing her words with care, trying to manipulate their father’s mood. “But obviously it’s a bit crowded if you move back in here, isn’t it, father? Especially when you’ve been using David’s old room for all your research.”
”Checking lines of inheritance,” William agreed, giving David a sharp look. “I think I can prove that Alexander’s not the rightful king—”
”Yes, all that important work,” Rosaline said quickly, clearly keen to move on from the subject. “But we want you to be back in the valley so you can see us all and spend time with us, be a part of the family again.”
”My heir,” William said fiercely. “My son and heir.” David glanced at Rosaline. He didn’t feel like much of an heir—and it was becoming abundantly clear that Rosaline and Olivia had done more than he ever had to support this family. But William, it seemed, was something of a traditionalist. “Yes. You’ll build a home on the territory we own at the north end of the valley.”
David frowned. “We own territory up there?” Nobody ever went to the north end of the valley. It was all rock and dirt up there—nothing grew, no herds roamed, and the river went nowhere near it. This was the first David had even heard of the piece of land being of value to anyone—let alone belonging to their family. “Since when?”
”Don’t ask questions,” William snapped. “I got it from someone a long time ago, if you must know. You’ve spent a hundred years fussing with that cabin down south, I imagine you’ll establish quite a handsome estate on the land down there.”
”I can,” David said blan
kly. “I mean if you’re sure that’s what you want?” He asked the question of William, but his eyes flicked momentarily to Rosaline, who gave him an almost imperceptible little nod, eyes flashing with gratitude. This was clearly a sore subject with their father.
“When have you ever paid any mind at all to what I want?” William said in a low voice—and just for a minute, David could have sworn he saw a glimpse of emotion in the old dragon’s eyes that was far from the anger and stubbornness he was used to. But before he could pursue the subject, William turned away. “I’m returning to my real form. This flesh is a prison.”
And just like that, he was gone, striding out through the door David had only just walked through. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of his dragon form’s wingbeats outside. David looked at his little sister for a long moment. Her mouth twisted.
”Sorry.”
”You’re the last person who has to be sorry,” David sighed, dropping into his chair again and putting his head in his hands. It felt like he’d run a marathon though the conversation had lasted barely five minutes. “God, I’d almost forgotten what he was like. Has he gotten worse, or have I just been away a while?”
”He’s gotten worse.” Rosaline looked up sharply. “Liv’s back.”
”One day you’ll tell me how you do that,” David said, grinning at his little sister. Rosaline and Olivia had always had an eerie sense of where the other was—hide and seek had rapidly become a pointless game when they were younger because both girls could find the other in seconds. A twin thing, maybe.
Sure enough, within minutes, Olivia came through the same door William had stormed out of so abruptly, pushing her enormous mane of golden curls behind her ears. Her face lit up when she saw David, and he pulled her into a hug, grinning as she squeezed him almost uncomfortably tightly.
”Been a while, baby sister,” he said, grinning. Olivia had only been born a few minutes after Rosaline, but she was still the baby of the family as far as he was concerned. “How’s the royal family?”