Cursed Wolf: Urban Fantasy Shifter Stand-Alone (Creatures of the otherworld Book 1)

by Brogan Thomas

  He growls. I bite down on my lip in response. One of Aragon’s big hands wraps around my waist. The other goes to the back of my neck.

  Aragon leans forward, curling around me, crushing my body against his muscley hard chest. Oh my God. My heart jumps, missing a beat, and my tummy flips with more dancing butterflies. We are so close together that his face blurs. I close my eyes. I can feel his breath on my lips. I lick my lips, trying to get any trace of his taste that might be left on them. As I do, my tongue catches his mouth. I hum with appreciation. Aragon closes the tiny gap between us and kisses me, his full lips surprisingly spongy.

  The kiss at first is gentle, then with swift graduation more intense, harder, deeper. I gasp. Aragon’s tongue, as if it has been waiting for an invitation, slips into my mouth and tangles with mine.

  I cling to his forearms, the only things keeping me stable in my dizzy, swaying world. The stubble on his face rubs my skin, but I don’t care. I groan into his mouth. He pulls his lips slightly away and whispers, “Breathe, Forrest…” I gasp in a shaky breath, belatedly realising I had neglected to breathe. Oxygen is so overrated. How can anyone kiss and breathe at the same time?

  I inhale his smoky dragon scent. I want to breathe him, lick him, and eat him up.

  I’ve had a taste, and unequivocally I realise it will never be enough.

  Aragon gently kisses my gasping lips and pulls away from me.

  I slowly open my eyes and blink up at him; my lips are tingling in the best way. I give him a bright smile and with a grin say, “That was my first kiss, and I am so glad it was with you.” I bite my lip and bounce with excitement. “Could we please do that again? I will get better if we practice.” I stop bouncing and meet his heavy-lidded eyes. “Will you teach me, Aragon?” Aragon groans. Shit, that is an incredible sound.

  I stare at my knees, feeling a little shy; I am twenty-seven, for God’s sake. I needed to get this whole thing down.

  “Practice?” Aragon’s voice is deep and smoky, “I would love nothing more than to practice everything with you.”

  Yay. I nod. I refrain from doing a fist-pump.

  I give him a beaming smile, grab his hand, jump off the counter, and attempt to tug him towards the bedroom.

  Do I just take my clothes off?

  Or is it better if Aragon removes them?

  I worry a little. Hopefully Aragon knows what he is doing. I tug, but Aragon doesn’t move; instead, he reels me back into his arms.

  “But we’re going to go slow, Nutty. So that’s enough for tonight.”

  What! What? Noooo. After that speech, that epic kiss—what? Well, that’s disappointing. I huff, I even stomp my foot.

  “Spoilsport,” I mutter under my breath. We go into the living room, and I throw myself down on the sofa.

  I am not sulking.

  What is it about Aragon that brings out my immaturity?

  Aragon shakes his head at me, his eyes dancing. He sits elegantly beside me as if he has a suit on and not the borrowed jogging bottoms and t-shirt. He takes hold of my hand and plays with my little finger.

  “May I stay over? To sleep? I would feel uncomfortable leaving you, what with the storm.” I grin at him and nod like crazy. Do I want the handsome dragon whom I have just kissed to stay the night? Do I want to wake up with his arms around me and the smell of him filling my nose? I am not daft—no way I’m going to say bloody no.

  I jump up with a squeal and run towards my bedroom to get ready for bed.

  THE SILVER DRAGON

  That was the best sleep that I have had in years. It is unbelievable, how much I missed him, and since he has come back crashing into my life, I feel so grateful. I have at least a week off work, and I can spend it getting to know Aragon again.

  I so need to work on this practising kissing and stuff, to add to my adulting portfolio. I admitted I was in love with him. He didn’t say it back, but that’s okay. I will make Aragon love me.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” Aragon says below me. I am lying on top of him, all snug in his arms, back to being the little puzzle piece that fits so perfectly with him. I feel his words rumble through his chest. I shouldn’t be worrying; Aragon is here with me in my bed and for the first time in a long time, I feel safe and complete. He cuddles me to him and kisses my forehead.

  “Nothing,” I mumble.

  “Liar,” Aragon says gruffly, “I can feel that brain of yours going crazy. What has you worried?” he whispers into my ear. Aragon gently rubs the back of my neck—seemingly unconcerned about the horrible bite mark. I tip my head and look at him. He brushes the hair from my face.

  “Do… do you… Aragon, do you love me?”

  Aragon’s whole face softens as he meets my eyes, and I see the truth shining in them.

  “I love you more than anything in this world. You are my treasure. I will spend the rest of this life with you, if you will do me the honour. When we’re no longer on this earth, I will spend my new existence searching for you. You are the other half of my soul, and I am only ever complete if you are in my arms.”

  My eyes widen with shock. I huff out a breath and blink at him. Tell me how you really feel. Wow. Phew, that makes me feel better.

  In comparison to Aragon’s words, my snotty “I love you” seem kind of shit.

  “Oh, urm, okay thanks…” I whisper.

  “In my office, I was in total awe of you. You were so endearing, with the dress and the antics with the water glass.” Aragon chuffs and takes the rogue hand in question and kisses it. “When I read the report delving into your life, knowing what you had to endure...it was distressing. I was devastated. I wanted to make things easier for you. I have been alive for a long time, and you hadn’t had any chance to live.”

  Aragon sits up, and with his hands on my hips he lifts me, turning me around to face him. My legs drop either side of him—he is so wide that they don’t touch the bed. He tucks my hair behind my ear and cups the back of my head, meeting my eyes.

  His eyes hold conviction.

  I bite my lip to hold in a moan. Oh, this is nice. Warmth pools deep in my stomach.

  “Able to partial-shift at twenty-three, and when you used your fire magic, I was so damn proud of you. It also frightened me to death. How the hell was I going to keep you safe? You’d already dealt with so many men trying to control you. You had just shifted to human it would have been inappropriate. I couldn’t throw myself into the mix.” He places my hand on his chest and traces my warrior mark. “You would have run a mile. So I thought if I could be your guardian, I could officially protect you, and you could get to know me and trust me. Then we could build from that. I wanted to give you what you needed at the time, and it certainly wasn’t a foolish dragon.”

  I lean forward and kiss his chest. “You're not a foolish dragon. You might be old, ancient even. I love you for you anyway. It is more about your soul than the body that houses it, and my soul is ancient too.”

  Aragon moves quickly, and he flips me over onto my back. I let out a shriek of surprise. He rests his forearms on either side of my head, holding his weight above me.

  “Who are you calling ‘ancient’?” Aragon leans down and runs his nose across my jaw, blowing his breath gently across my skin, making me all goosey. I wiggle away, and he follows me, blowing gently into my ear. I half-giggle and half-groan.

  “Now stop worrying, I have spent over four years without you. I am never letting you go.” Aragon kisses my nose. I beam a smile at him; he groans deep in the back of his throat. His chest rumbles above me, vibrating in almost a purr. “Would you like to practice this morning?” Aragon, coos at me. I giggle, and then I smack my lips to his in answer.

  * * *

  “I have to go and handle a few things; I might not be back until tomorrow morning. Please try to keep out of trouble until I get back.” Aragon gently kisses my swollen lips.

  Lucifer grumbles at him. My dog isn’t impressed with the new man in my life. He has been grumpy all d
ay and will not do anything that he’s told.

  “No problem.”

  “I’ll come back with a car.” I laugh, imagining Aragon with his knees to his chin as he squishes himself into my tiny blue Citroen. Honestly, the car isn’t that small, Aragon is just that big.

  He goes to pull off his top...oh my God!

  I realise he’s going to shift and I am getting a show. The t-shirt slowly rises and an eight-pack appears…I know conventional shifters do this all the time. But as I have already established, I am not normal, and I have never seen a man undress.

  “Fuck, seriously. It’s like you’re photoshopped.” Bow-chicka-wow-wow dodgy music plays in my head as I ogle his beautiful body. He is seriously cut; the man is that perfect, he doesn’t look real. I refrain from the urge to give him a poke. Aragon hooks his thumbs into the waistband of the jogging bottoms, and he slowly reveals his lower half. I almost swallow my tongue. I gulp, I blink, and I stare at his toes.

  He has excellent feet.

  Okay, okay! I don’t get a good look at his penis.

  I’m purposefully avoiding it; penises freak me out. I have never seen a live one before, in the flesh. And Aragon’s penis? Gulp. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that his monster penis will be proportional to the rest of him…oh my fucking God I’m freaking the fuck out!

  I think I need a paper bag.

  “Coward,” Aragon says with a deep throaty chuckle as he prowls past me. I get a lovely view of his bottom.

  His bottom is total perfection; I follow him, trying to keep my tongue in my mouth. I have a massive urge to run at him and bite his bum.

  When we’re outside, Aragon gently grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger and gives me a sweet kiss with his squidgy lips.

  “I love you; I will not be long.” He then vaults over my fence, into the field in which he crash-landed just last night, and he shifts.

  His dragon is incredible.

  He must be the most exquisite creature I have ever seen. Just like Aragon in his human form, Aragon’s dragon is silver. He is way bigger than our house; he’s breathtaking.

  Aragon’s elegant head is long and flat with a rounded nose, and several impressive sharp silver teeth poke out from the side of his mouth. I can see my faint reflection in each and every one of them. He has four horns, two at the front of his head and two at the rear facing backwards. A lean neck runs down into a solid muscular body covered in silver scales that catch the light and reflect it. It’s the perfect camouflage; you would never see him in the sky unless you knew where to look. The skin underneath him is slightly darker. He has four strong limbs that allow him to stand, sturdy and intimidating. Each leg has five digits, each of which ends in a pointy, curved silver claw.

  Aragon’s giant wings start from his shoulders, and he is holding them behind him and slightly away. The wings are bat like. The membrane of the skin is thick, and I can see the flexible bone structure through the wing. At the top of the curve of each wing is a curved silver claw. His tail, from what I can see, is substantial, muscular, and covered in the same silver scales, and it’s tipped with what looks like a silver blade.

  Aragon watches me as I take him in, and I realise with delight that he has been posing his various body parts for my inspection. I can feel the slight tremor of the ground when he moves. I find that I am leaning entirely over the fence. I hold my hand out, palm up, wanting to stroke him. His big head ducks and he slowly—being mindful of the fence—lets me run my hand across his nose. Wow, his head is the size of my car.

  Aragon’s scales are soft, like silk to my touch; for some reason, I imagined he would feel hard like he was armoured, or like metal.

  “You are so beautiful,” I whisper, the awe evident in my tone. He puffs out a breath that blows my hair back. I can’t help but giggle. I lean forward and kiss his soft nose.

  “Fly safe, Aragon, and I will see you soon. Drive carefully on the road coming back as well; the roads will be icy. Oh, and message me when you get home, so I know you’re safe.” Aragon huffs out another breath, and I think if he could, he would roll his eyes. But instead, he backs away and gives me a nod.

  Aragon moves to a safe distance and then goes from standing to launching himself into the air with such agility, it’s as if he weighs nothing. The way he moves is with such grace. I watch him go until I can’t see him anymore.

  I shake my head; it’s inconceivable that I am telling another person that I love him and asking him to be safe. It sounds silly out loud, saying “please be careful” to a humungous dragon. But Aragon is mine.

  He loves me; no one has chosen to love me before. I have decided that there’s no going back for me.

  These scary feelings I have...I am going to embrace the shit out of them.

  The wind picks up, and I grumble as I totter my freezing self back into the house. Aragon’s naked bottom has made me neglect to put on a coat.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  “Forrest, wake up.” I feel the whisper of my mum’s lips on my cheek. I groan. My eyes are heavy-lidded with sleep.

  “Mum, what’s happening,” I rasp.

  Awareness creeps through me. I’m alone in my room, it’s the middle of the night, and my phone is ringing.

  Wow, that was freaky.

  Another moment in time comes back to me, when my mum did a similar wake-up in the middle of the night. That moment changed my life forever. I lost my pack and my childhood as a result.

  I roll onto my side and slap the bedside table in search of the handset. After a few seconds of fumbling, my fingertips knock the phone, and I grasp the bloody thing. I wince at the bright screen—the mobile is doing its best to sear my eyeballs. I close one eye and squint with the other. The blurry name comes slowly into focus. Huh, Ava. Something must be wrong if she’s calling so late. I rub my eyes and answer.

  “Hi Ava,” I say curiously, trying not to yawn.

  “Hi, Forrest. Are you okay to talk?”

  “Yes, what do you need?”

  “I didn’t want to ring you, but unfortunately I’ve not got a choice. The case with this serial killer and the girls...it got picked up by international news. Unfortunately, it will be all over the UK media by the morning. They’ve named you, Forrest, and now the shifters know that you’re alive.” Ava sighs down the phone. I groan. My heart misses a beat, and my tummy cramps with worry. Oh, for fuck’s sake. “I’m so sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Daniel knows that you’re alive and he’s on the warpath.” Ahh, shit. Now I feel fully awake. My nerves are buzzing, and the excess adrenalin sloshes through my system, making me tremble. Any second now, I’m going to freak out and drop the phone, so I switch the handset to loudspeaker. Okay, this doesn’t sound good.

  What is it about me and my talent to tempt fate? Fate, the fickle bitch, is getting involved again big-time. I know I said I wanted to deal with Daniel when I was in that bloody basement, but come on, I wanted it for once to be on my terms, not his. That fucking wanker is never going to leave me alone.

  “Forrest, Daniel’s financials have lit up like crazy.” Ava continues, “Over the last twenty-four hours, he has been hiring mercenaries, and paying good money, too. I wanted to let you know that Daniel is coming, and he’s going to find you, Forrest. He’s going to find you fast.”

  “Ava, how long do I have?”

  “Hours…if you're lucky. The information currently shows that Daniel has at least thirty guys. Of those men, at least a dozen are well-trained mercenary shifters; the rest are paid thugs. I will send you everything I have on them and keep you updated. I can track them anywhere there’s tech.” Hours. I cringe.

  “Thank you so much, Ava,” I say. “I am sorry I did a shit job of keeping my head down.”

  “I’m sorry that I am not giving you enough time to prepare. It’s been four years, and I have so many people to monitor and protect—”

  “No, please don’t. Ava, I royally fucked up—this whole damn mess is my fault. I should have kept my he
ad down better.” I rub my face in frustration. “I didn’t think that my name would go international with the media. Hindsight is a great thing. I feel like such a fool...I told the girls my name like an idiot, a proper idiot.

  “Would you please keep me updated?” I ask, my voice a rasp.

  “No problem. Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you. Bye.” I sit on the edge of the bed and put my head between my knees. After a few minutes, I dial Aragon.

  “Nutty, are you all right?” His deep chocolatey voice rumbles.

  “Ava called. Aragon, I’ve fucked up…” I explain what has happened.

  “You have alerts around the house and a strong ward in place. We will know if anyone comes within miles of you. I won't let him touch you.” He growls.

  “Aragon, I am so sorry.” My voice breaks. “I have been selfish. I should have dealt with Daniel when I had the chance, but I chose to run away from my problem. I should have stayed and fought him. I should have spoken to you. I should have done so many different things. I’m a bloody coward, and I feel so ashamed.” My eyes fill with tears.

  “Hey, you are not a coward. Everything happens for a reason, Forrest. The journey you have been on, becoming a warrior? That’s important. You have saved so many lives, and you have grown. You did what you needed to do at the time, and remember, I chose to help you leave. It was the best thing to do for you at that time, the safest thing. The only person that’s responsible for this mess is Daniel. You cannot control everything or plan for every outcome. What’s done is done. If you need somebody to blame? Blame me; I left Daniel alive. When Madán broke your bond, I should have hunted him down. At the time I wanted vengeance, and killing him wasn’t enough for me—I wanted to make him suffer. You think with age you gain more wisdom. That is true...but even ancient dragons get it wrong. None of us is infallible. We all make mistakes, and now, Nutty, we’re going to fix this mistake together. I’m on my way.”