Her Dragon: An Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 2) Read online

  My thoughts were consumed with the previous day. The vampire attack had been so sudden, so unexpected, that we’d lost one of our own. Even if I hadn’t known Virion well, I felt Cash’s loss deep inside me. My heart ached as the elderly man’s kind face flashed through my mind. He didn’t deserve to die like that, and Cash didn’t deserve to watch him go. Not now. Virion should have died of old age with his family surrounding him.

  I stopped in the middle of the hallway, my eyebrows furrowing. This was all the fault of the vampires. Whether Jett was involved or not, they had to be stopped.

  But how?

  I bit my lip and wracked my brain for answers. I was the damn Silver Shifter, the uniter of clans. I should be better at this. But this was all new to me. I closed my eyes and sighed. My mates weren’t going to like this, but now more than ever, we needed to continue the tour. We needed to unite the clans and fight back against the vampires.

  My stomach growled, ruining my internal tension. A small smile tugged at my lips and I shook my head at myself. Okay, breakfast first, and then I’d plan to do what no Silver Shifter had done before.

  I continued down the hallway into the kitchen. I’d been so distracted with my own thoughts that I hadn’t realized the delicious smell of bacon wafted my way. My mouth began to water as I approached the counter wrapping the room. I leaned between empty chairs, pressing my palms to the cold countertop.

  Bacon sizzled on the large stainless steel grill built into the center island. A dragon shifter with a dark beard and blue eyes glanced up at me, a warm smile on his face.

  “Good morning, Ariana,” Peter said.

  Coming into the kitchen to see breakfast nearly ready was the stuff of dreams. Eggs were cooking beside the bacon, and from the warmth emanating from the toaster, I had a feeling that it was nearly done too.

  “Morning,” I greeted. “That smells awfully good.”

  “I made it just for you.” Peter winked, though the look was all in good fun.

  “You don’t know how much I appreciate that,” I said. I slid onto one of the tall stools, balancing precariously on the edge in my effort to lean over the counter and watch my meal being prepared. I could get used to having my own chef.

  “Morning,” Owen yawned as he entered the room. He combed a rough hand through his long hair and blinked sleepily.

  Somehow, that crazy bedhead made him look even hotter than usual. A smile crept up my lips as I reached out and grabbed his shirt. I gave it a small tug, and he answered with a smile of his own. He stepped between my legs and took my face in his hands, tilting my head up to kiss me.

  My heart raced as he brushed his lips across mine. The intoxicating scent of sandalwood surrounded me, competing with the allure of bacon.

  Before he had given me more than a quick, chaste kiss, he leaned away, a teasing smile on his face as he sat in the stool next to mine. I gaped at him. All of that build up and he was really going to leave me hanging?

  I narrowed my eyes at my mate, earning me a small chuckle.

  The clatter of plates returned my good mood. I turned to find my breakfast before me--perfectly round, juicy red strawberries lined up beside my bacon, eggs, and jam-slathered toast. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. After my transformation to a dragon, no wonder I was famished.

  Owen thanked Peter as the chef laid a plate in front of him as well. “Let’s eat,” he said, picking up a fork.

  I didn’t need any more prompting. Something about all the years locked away in a cell made hesitating impossible. I dug in, taking several large bites of toast before groaning in delight. The sweet and sour taste of raspberries burst on my tongue. I wanted to chew slowly and savor it, but my body was having none of that.

  “This is amazing,” I mumbled through a mouthful of eggs.

  Peter tilted his head back and laughed, nearly sending his chef’s hat tumbling right off his head. “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Do I smell breakfast?” Maximus entered the kitchen next, looking far more awake than Owen had when he first entered.

  “You do,” Owen said before I could answer with my mouth full.

  Maximus took the stool on my other side. He slid a hand down my back as he did, making me arch into his touch and shiver with pleasure at the same time. He pushed a glass of water my way, and I downed a big mouthful before clearing my throat.

  “Thank you,” I said. My cheeks heated with embarrassment. I was still getting used to the sudden touches from my mates.

  “No problem.” Maximus nodded my way before claiming his own breakfast. Peter added a mug of coffee in front of the wolf alpha, and Maximus gave a quick thank you before digging in.

  When my breakfast was nearly done, I finally started to feel my hunger abating. Damn, I was almost full. There were still a few strawberries left and half of my scrambled eggs, but the bacon was long gone. I licked my lips and sat back, feeling a food baby developing in my stomach. I held my hand over it and sighed blissfully.

  “No one appreciates my cooking like you do, Ariana,” Peter said. He grinned, flashing his teeth as he plated the rest of breakfast and began to shut down everything for the morning.

  I was about to answer when the ding of the elevator interrupted me. I peered at the kitchen door until a young man, maybe younger than me, appeared in the doorway.

  He looked between everyone, confusion crossing his face. “I have a message. Where is Cash?”

  “Right here.” My dragon mate appeared in the doorframe, suspicion narrowing his eyes. “Who is the message from?”

  “The council,” the boy said. He handed a folded note to Cash. “They want to meet right away. They’ve specified a location on the twelfth floor because of yesterday’s…”

  “Attack,” Cash supplied. He opened the note and his eyebrows furrowed. “Fine. Thank you.” He waved off the boy, who nodded quickly and scurried off.

  “Another meeting?” Maximus growled. “Your council can’t do a thing without you, can they?”

  Cash sighed. “We were just attacked, Maximus.”

  I reached out to Cash, and he took my hand, squeezing firmly. “Be nice,” I directed my comment at Maximus, who levelled me a look.

  “It’ll be quick,” Cash said. “I don’t want to spend any more time with them than necessary, but with Virion gone, they’ll need leadership now more than ever.”

  My heart twinged, and I tightened my grip on his hand. Cash gave me a grateful smile and pulled me out of my chair into a quick hug. I hummed appreciatively and wrapped my arms around his waist. I wanted to sink into him and never leave, but then I realized his chest was rumbling. He was speaking, and I hadn’t heard a thing he said.

  “...it’ll only take Ari and I half an hour tops. Then we can decide what our next course of action is,” Cash was saying.

  “We should get out of here,” Maximus said gruffly. “It clearly isn’t safe anymore.”

  “We’re continuing with the tour,” I interrupted. I had already decided that morning, and no one was changing my mind.

  “What?” Maximus snapped.

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Owen said.

  I gave him a grateful smile as I twisted in Cash’s arms. Once I was facing them again, Cash’s arms still tight around my waist, I faced off against an angry Maximus and an understanding Owen.

  “You can’t be serious,” Maximus grumbled.

  “We need unity now more than ever,” I said. I tilted up my chin up in challenge. I wasn’t letting him bully me out of this. “I need to see every clan and let them know I’m here. I need to strengthen the bond between us.”

  Cash chuckled softly, his chest shaking against my back. “You’ve been thinking this through.”

  I nodded. “I have. You all want me to be the Silver Shifter, but you don’t want me to get hurt. I understand that, but you have to understand I can’t be locked in some cage, even one for my own protection. I want to participate. I want to unite the c
lans so we can fight off the vampires together.”

  Maximus’s hard gaze softened. He tilted his head as he regarded me with pride. I could feel the swell of it through the bond. He knew I was taking charge, and from the heat licking my brain, he liked it.

  “Go to your council meeting,” Owen said suddenly. “We’ll leave for bear territory when you get back.”

  “We’ll keep watch so you’re safe while you’re there,” Maximus said.

  I unweaved myself from Cash’s hold before taking up a hand from both Owen and Maximus. I squeezed hard, and kissed them each on the cheek before letting them go. “I’ll be back soon.”

  Both of my mates gave me a quick nod and a kiss goodbye before I slipped out with Cash towards the elevator. We’d barely stepped inside and began the descent when I found myself glancing over at my dragon mate.

  He looked better than last night. His color was returning, and he wasn’t rubbing his shoulder every other minute. Next, I’d need to get some food into him. Then he’d be ready for the journey.

  “You like what you see?” Cash flashed a grin.

  Damn. He’d caught me staring.

  “Of course.” I shrugged and feigned nonchalance, but I inhaled his his dusky bonfire and cinnamon scent as he moved closer. Before I could blink, I was pressed up against the wall of the elevator.

  Then the doors dinged.

  Cash frowned, and I laughed. “Save that for later.”

  His smirk returned. “There will be a later.”

  I slipped past him into the hallway. Instead of an old-fashioned hall with dark marble floors and gold trimmed walls, I was greeted by pale grey walls and a linoleum floor. Wow. So the dragons did have normal office levels in this enormous skyscraper.

  Cash weaved his fingers through mine and tugged me out of the elevator and down the hall. I looked for the usual paintings of alphas and old sconces, but there were none. Fluorescent lighting lit the hall, which was a simple row of wooden doors with a large window at the end.

  “We don’t normally come down to these floors,” Cash explained. “But they had to find a backup with the council room in shambles.”

  I snorted. In shambles? Last I saw, it was overrun by vampires. It had to be a massacre of blood and broken furniture at this point.

  Cash led us to the end of the hallway, giving me a great view of the city street below. Just as I began leaning towards it to get a better look, he opened the door and pulled me into a large conference room with windows lining the right hand wall. It was bright inside and seemed far too Wall Street to fit the usual dragon aesthetic. What did they even use this floor for?

  The council stood at our arrival, their swivel chairs pushing back from their typically-robed selves. The dragon council did not fit the business class description that the room demanded. Instead, they looked worried, weary, and dressed for a costume party.

  “Cash,” Anton said. He nodded in greeting before turning his attention to me. “And Ariana.”

  I smiled and nodded back. “Good morning.”

  “Thank the Dragon God you’re all right,” Genevieve said. She leaned against the table heavily, making me wonder if she’d been injured yesterday as well.

  “Thanks to all of you,” I said. I scanned the faces that had given us the time to escape. If it hadn’t been for them, who knew what could have happened.

  Genevieve waved off my concern. “We’d do it again in a heartbeat. Cash is our Alpha and you are the Silver Shifter. Your lives are worth far more than ours.”

  Laurence snorted at that, and I sighed before dragging my gaze over to my least favorite member of the Dragon Council. His black eyes narrowed at me, and his smirk twitched at the glare Cash was giving him.

  Cash stepped forward and took the seat at the head of the table, but only after wheeling over a second chair for me. I smiled as he held it out and waited for me to sit before pushing it in. Once we were both seated, the council didn’t hesitate to unleash on us.

  “How could this have happened?” bellowed one of the councilmen who’s name I was unfamiliar with.

  “And in our own home?” another councilwoman growled.

  “They attacked our alpha,” Laurence said, his smirk dissolving into an angry scowl. “The damned vampires are getting too cocky for their own good.”

  Their voices escalated with each word. It was clear the dragon council had been riled up after yesterday’s events.

  “You need to do something,” Laurence snapped. Suddenly all eyes were on me.

  I blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “You’re the Silver Shifter,” Laurence spit out the title like a curse. “You need to do something about this.”

  “Wait a minute,” Cash growled, but Laurence cut him off.

  “Enough of your coddling. You and the other alphas have been keeping her to yourselves for long enough already. She needs to learn what the real world is like. She needs to take responsibility for who she is and what she must do.”

  Cash sprang to his feet and slammed his fists on the table. “That’s enough!”

  I shook my head as my chest squeezed. I couldn’t bear to see them fighting after yesterday. Virion had just died, and they wanted to fight about how my mates were trying to protect me? Hell, no. I stood up and held up a hand to quiet Cash’s next words.

  “I understand your frustration and your fear,” I said, trying to sound as reasonable and placating as I could. “But you need to save your energy for the vampires. They are the enemy.”

  “And what do you plan to do about them?” Laurence snapped.

  “I plan to unite the clans,” I said. My palms began to sweat under the intense gazes of the council. “If war is coming with the vampires, that’s what we need to do. We need to have each other’s backs instead of sitting here bickering.”

  Laurence blinked at me in surprise. At least that shut him up.

  Cash laid a hand on my lower back, calling my attention to him. “I know you can do it, Ari. If anyone can unite us, it’s you.”

  I smiled despite the tears suddenly burning the back of my eyes. I sucked in a breath and blinked quickly to be rid of them. I hadn’t realized it before, but Cash really did believe in me. I could see it in the intense green of his eyes. He thought I could unite the clans, even if I had no idea how I was going to do it.

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  Cash reached forward, cupping my cheek. His thumb traced my cheekbone, and I wanted to melt beneath his touch.

  Genevieve cleared her throat. “Apologies for the interruption, but we’ve all been curious to know. Forgive me if this comes off as rude, but… Are you forming some sort of harem, Ariana?”

  Was that what I was doing? I had four mates, I was sure of it. Did that make a harem?

  Genevieve raised her hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not trying to accuse you of anything. I know it’s not the way of most wolves, but it’s quite common for dragons.”

  “We’re actually relieved,” Anton said. “We all thought you were simply Maximus’s mate, but here you are with our alpha.”

  “It’s a miracle,” Genevieve said.

  “I...don’t know if I’d go that far,” I muttered.

  Anton grunted his agreement with the other dragon. “We’re proud to call such a powerful person as Silver Shifter one of us.”

  They were accepting this far better than I could have expected. Not only were they okay with me having multiple mates, but they weren’t shouting at me for it like the wolves had. Would the other clans accept me like the dragons? Or would they react like the wolves had?

  My chest constricted as the thought hit me. I hoped they would accept me, just as I hoped the wolves would come around in time. Whether they did or not, there was no stopping the facts. I was their Silver Shifter, and I had four mates. Whoever had a problem would just have to deal with it.

  “Thank you,” I said. I blinked back my tears and steeled myself. “Cash is one of my mates. So is Maximus, and so
are Owen and Jett. Together, we will unite the clans.”

  Cash beamed down at me, his eyes filled with warmth. I wrapped my hands around his hips, wanting to drag him flush against me—but I didn’t. Not with the entire council staring at us.

  Instead, I laid a chaste kiss on Cash’s cheek before gently pulling us apart. From the heat flickering in his gaze, I knew he felt the same reluctance at parting. But we could give in to our passions later. For now, we had four shifter clans to unite.

  14

  Ariana

  When we exited the dragon clan’s building, I didn’t expect the enormous black SUV that awaited us. I blinked in surprise as Cash led Maximus, Owen, and me to the vehicle with dark, tinted windows and two bodyguards with sunglasses standing on either side.

  “We’re travelling in style to bear territory,” Cash announced. He grinned as he motioned at the SUV.

  Though it was a nice car with a sleek paint job, it only served to remind me of the last time we’d been attacked by vampires. A shiver descended my spine, and I wrapped my arms around myself.

  “Nice,” Maximus hummed his approval as he inspected the SUV. “And you brought along the dragon fleet Ariana was promised?”

  Cash shrugged. “We’ll have some backup following us.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the identical SUV parked a few meters back beside the sidewalk. Two men sat in the front seat, nodding hello to their alpha.

  “Better safe than sorry,” Owen said. “Let’s get our girl home.”

  Owen wrapped an arm around my waist and ushered me over to the back door of the SUV. He opened it for me, and helped me in before sliding in beside me. “You’re going to love bear territory,” he said, grinning. “And my family, of course. They’re so excited to meet you.”

  My heart thumped at the thought, and I gulped down my nerves. “How big is your family exactly?”

  Owen slung an arm around my shoulders, keeping me pressed close to him. “Big.”

  I gulped again. Though I was excited to meet the bears and Owen’s family, I’m not sure I was ready to meet the dozens and dozens of people I was picturing.