American Dragons series Box Set

by Aaron Crash

  Liam had cast magic to see if anyone was looking for them, and someone was. Liam had finally pinpointed who had been scrying them, a Dragonlord from Australia, from the Queensland Primacy to be exact. That was who was flying in on them.

  Steven was done hiding—it was time to be found and, in turn, to find some answers. Answers about Mulk and his business partners, and more importantly, about the folks who had played a role in the death of his family. Steven also wanted to get information on exactly how many dragons wanted him and his Escort dead. So, they’d scratched a line in Mouse’s tattoo, the hurricane circle on her chest that kept her hidden from scrying eyes. And just like that, with one little scratch, they were visible to the world again.

  Steven shed his clothes, so he wouldn’t ruin them. Then he cast a Magica Defensio spell to hide from any human eyes that might be around. Unlikely, since it was so early, and Guernsey Reservoir wasn’t exactly on Wyoming’s list of must-see attractions.

  He shifted into his True Form. As a thirty-foot-long black dragon, he scooped up his jeans with a claw. Then he flung himself off the cliff and caught the wind in his wings as he hurtled toward the water. He shot across the surface of the reservoir and up the eastern side of the canyon. He wanted to do a little recon before he woke Mouse.

  He flew over the pines and crags, wings pumping gracefully, until he found the orange tent where Tessa and Aria had spent the night. He’d slept peacefully as a dragon, curled up with Mouse, their bodies hot enough to blister the plants around them. Back when he started, shifting into his Homo Draconis or his True Form had been difficult and had taken a lot of Animus. But as he’d levelled, his ability to process the mystical energy had improved greatly. The thought made him smile. At one time, even a little Animus healed him. Now, his cells worked differently, and it took a lot more Animus to repair wounds. On the plus side, being in his True Form had become second nature to him. It was his favorite way to sleep. Unfortunately, unless he was out in the boonies, sleeping as a full-sized dragon was simply too dangerous. As a Dragonsoul, he had to stay hidden from the humans.

  A light glowed inside the orange tent. That would be Tessa on her phone. Most likely Liam had texted them the warning, which was good. Liam was the most powerful Dragonsoul on Steven’s team, but he was also a strange one. He didn’t have an Escort and didn’t pursue battle, so he gained Animus slowly. Steven couldn’t imagine living that way. Liam mostly stayed in his Nebraska house, casting spells and recovering Animus—the mystical energy that powered dragons and some humans who had access to the dragon skill tree abilities. Like Tessa, their master Magician.

  Rounding out Steven’s team was William “Bud” Novak, their consigliere and liaison to the world of lawyers, money, and contracts. Bud’s father owned a big-time law firm and had taken Steven on as a client. They were fighting to get Mulk’s fortune transferred over to Steven—as was his right—but were having issues. The Novaks found themselves in a legal war; Steven wasn’t exactly beloved by the Dragonsoul community, and someone was actively blocking them with a team of lawyers from all over the globe.

  Steven wheeled away from the tent and checked the surrounding campgrounds, boat docks, and houses. Every one of them was empty. Good, he didn’t want humans around when the Australian dragon finally showed up.

  When he returned to Mouse on the western canyon rim, the red glow of the rising sun painted her crimson. He landed next to her and nudged her awake with his fearsome snout.

  Her yellow eyes flickered open. “Why are you waking me up? For the love of biscuits, it’s practically still night.”

  “We have about forty-five minutes until the Australian Dragonlord shows up. He’s flying in.”

  Mouse shifted into her human form, suddenly naked and beautiful. She rose, stretching, her arms above her head. Her little breasts pulled tight. Her nipples hardened. Lust tickled Steven, giving him a few ideas on how he’d like to spend the few minutes before the battle.

  Mouse was a slight woman, petite and slender, with long blonde hair and pixyish features. Behind her was a plastic box of supplies. She went over and dug out a little stove to boil water. She sighed. “Where’s Tessa when I need her? I totally don’t feel like making coffee. And yet I need it so.”

  Steven dropped his jeans from his claws and shifted human. Naked, he got the stove working and soon had water boiling. Mouse, with a blanket over her shoulders, watched him.

  He poured the hot water over Starbuck’s mocha powder. While he preferred his coffee black, when it came to instant, he might as well get something sweet. It wasn’t like the midnight espresso that Tessa was probably brewing up on her stove across the way.

  He handed Mouse the cup, and she sniffed it. She took a sip, eyes closed, still trying to wake up.

  “You seem to be pretty chill with this whole situation,” Steven said. “Are you sure you don’t mind being the bait in our little trap?”

  Mouse pinched her brows together. “First you wake me up, and now you want to talk? Fuck me.”

  “We have time,” Steven said, cocking an eyebrow suggestively.

  Mouse smiled. “You boys, always so horny in the mornings. But to answer your question, I don’t mind being bait. After all, the Dragonsoul community has certain ideas about me ... that I’m difficult, flighty, a drunk. That might have been true before you, Steven. Now? I’d like to think I’m a little easier to get along with.”

  “And you do drink less.” Steven sipped his mocha. Not bad. Starbucks had done a good job on making instant coffee tolerable.

  Mouse sighed. “Funny thing, I don’t miss it much. I have to say, I do miss all the money. Being rich your entire life kinda messes you up.”

  “Being poor does too,” Steven said. “Bud keeps saying we’re close, but he’s been saying that for a month. Lucky his cryptocurrency gambles are still paying off. Not that I understand any of how that works.”

  Mouse gave him a gentle look. “Steven, I didn’t mean to complain. The Jayco is comfortable. It’s good. We’re alive. You know I don’t blame you for anything, right?”

  “I get that,” Steven replied. “And eventually, we’ll have enough cash to build the Infinity Ranch, and then I can really pamper you. I just need to know how many Dragonsouls are gunning for me. It seems like the entire world wants me dead.”

  Mouse rose and walked over to him. She curled up against him. He loved how her bare skin felt on his.

  “I know it might feel like that,” she said, “but I think if that were the case, we’d be up to our asses in dragons. We cut through the hurricane circle last night, and bam, we have one big bad wolf show up on our radar. Once this fucker shows up, we’ll pump him for information.”

  Steven chuckled and pulled her closer. “I think there will be a lot of fighting and killing and not a lot of talking. But we can try. We’ve been practicing. Tessa figured out stun bullets for her Peacekeeper.”

  “And I have my next Exhalant ability ready,” Mouse said.

  Steven checked the dragon skill tree.

  <<<>>>

  TRANSFORMATIO (Head of the Dragon)

  Partial Transformation

  Homo Draconis

  True Form (Dragonsoul)

  Pugna (Tail of the Dragon)

  DarkArmor

  DragonStrength

  SerpentGrace

  ShadowStrength

  IonClaws

  Exhalants (Left Wing of the Dragon)

  Inferno

  ElectroArc

  Toxicity

  ArcticWind

  ShadowFlame

  ChromaticFury

  Veneficium (Right Wing of the Dragon)

  Magica Defensio

  Magica Cura

  Magica Impetim

  Magica Incanto

  Magica Divinatio

  Magica Porta

  <<<>>>

  After finally being able to use the Inferno Exhalant against Mulk, he’d leveled up not once but twice. He’d also unlocked two new abilities in the proc
ess: ShadowStrength from the Pugna abilities and Magica Impetim. He’d practiced throwing magic missiles, so he felt confident about that one. As for ShadowStrength? That one was far trickier. Liam was amazed at how fast Steven was gaining in abilities, but then the yellow Dragonsoul figured it was due to the Drokharis blood in him. Stefan’s power had been off the charts.

  Like father, like son.

  Steven blinked and let the skill tree go. He knew he probably should meditate before the battle, but they still had half an hour, easily. And he had a big, stiff problem between his legs.

  Mouse reached down and circled her hand around his shaft. “How about we make sure our Animus is topped off, huh? The coffee was fine, but I know a better way to wake me up.”

  Before he could answer, she knelt in front of him. He quickly forgot about everything except for her mouth and her strong hand. His knees weakened at the bliss of it. Mouse knew exactly what she was doing.

  The blanket slipped off her shoulders. Standing over her, he reached down to cup a breast in his hand. She was soft and warm, and he liked feeling the hard knot of her nipple against his palm. With his other hand, he caressed her blonde hair. He noticed she was caressing her own sex while she sucked on him. At one point, she stopped, held him, and shuddered through an orgasm. The smell of her, roasted almonds, filled his nose. Her skin glowed as a fresh surge of Animus flowed into her.

  Then she went back to working on him. After a month of sex, she could anticipate his every desire, and she knew how close she could take him to the edge without pushing him over it. That was the amazing part, having her stop right before he erupted.

  She finally drew back. “Oh, you are horny this morning, my Prime. But I want a little something as well.”

  He laid her down on the blanket, then knelt to push her legs apart. She was glistening and pink.

  “Should I lick you?” he asked.

  “No, I’m ready,” Mouse gasped. “And you’re not going to last long, which is good since we have a battle to fight. I’ve already come once. If you do me good, I’ll come again.”

  “But not with you on the bottom.” Steven loved how this next part would go.

  “Good point.” She swung him around. He lay back on the blanket.

  Mouse liked it on top, doing all the work. She straddled him, and he slid into her warmth. She rode him until she was coming again, rubbing her special spot as she rose and fell. Watching her orgasm triggered his own climax.

  The ecstasy was amazing, as was the Animus warming his chest. He knew he was glowing—burning like distant stars—they both were, but that was okay. The sun was up, shining down on them. No one would see the light.

  Mouse fell on him, and she kissed him sweetly.

  She said, “This Dragonsoul shit can be a pain in the ass, but I have to say, powering up through sex makes it all tolerable.”

  Steven grinned and then turned serious. “Maybe someday we won’t have to power up to fight. Maybe I can change things so all we’ll have to do all day long is have sex and laugh and eat.”

  Mouse rolled her eyes. “I don’t see that ever happening, Steven. But it’s a nice thought. And you’re sweet to think you can change fifty thousand years of Dragonsoul shit.” She paused. “But if anyone could do it, it would be you. You’re amazing, Steven, and I feel so lucky to be with you.”

  She colored. Yeah, she’d gotten mushy, and Mouse hated being mushy.

  She got off him, turned, and ran across the land, through the sage. She went from human to a dragon, smelling of almonds, fifteen feet long with wide wings and a slender tail. She launched herself off the ground and took to the sky.

  Flying down to the water, she used her newest Exhalant, ArcticWind, to breathe ice into a platform. Still a dragon, she landed on the layer of ice covering the reservoir between the sharp cliffs.

  Steven heard his phone tweet. He’d gotten a text. He retrieved it from his jeans. It was from Tessa. She and Aria were in position on the other side of the canyon, ready for whatever shit the Australian Prime pulled. Now, all they had to do was wait for the guy to show up and play his hand.

  Steven just hoped that in all the fighting he’d get a chance to talk to his enemy to see if he was only the first in a long line of dragons coming to murder the last scion of the powerful Drokharis family.

  Chapter Two

  RAHAAB DIDN’T KNOCK on the front door of Cassius Pine’s Aerie. No, too much had happened—he had no time for such human niceties. Even now, hundreds of miles away, Jaxon Wenck was going after Mouse, who’d finally appeared to the eyes scrying her.

  Rahaab doubted that Melissa “Mouse” Craygore would be alone. No, the Drokharis child would be with her. Perhaps Jaxon could take care of the problem that Rhaegen Mulk had failed so spectacularly to fix. Perhaps. But the ancient dragon didn’t think so.

  Rahaab flew down out of the morning sky as a silver dragon, fifty feet long, with white hair and gleaming white claws, which shimmered opalescent in the light. He landed on top of the mansion, which overlooked the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in northern Wyoming. In the distance, a geyser exploded out of the earth. Steam and water gushed into the air.

  Cassius’s Yellowstone house had a landing pad on the roof with a wrought-iron circular staircase leading down to an outdoor living room where a fireplace burned to fight the high-mountain morning chill. That was where Cassius Pine and his Escort currently lounged.

  The minute Rahaab touched down on the roof, Cassius leapt up from the sofa outside and flung himself into the air. He transformed into a mustard-colored dragon with a long beard that started yellow but ended deep black. The smell of him was strong—a sweet lilac scent mixed with the bite of sulfur.

  Cassius soared around on creaking wings then dove toward Rahaab, claws first. Rahaab spoke two words, “Magica Defensio,” and froze the dark yellow dragon in midair. He lowered his hands, and Cassius went flopping down onto the landing pad, a wide swatch of polished mahogany marked by the weather and by the claws of countless dragons.

  Cassius’s Escort took to the skies as well, but Rahaab’s wives took care of them like a brood of mother hens handling unruly chicks. They didn’t murder the other female dragons, of course, only subdued them. The women of Rahaab’s Escort were a force to be reckoned with: Bolour, a crystalline dragon hundreds of years old; Hwedo, a dark purple dragon from Africa; and his oldest wife, Shamhat, her green skin so dark that it almost looked like ink. While Cassius’s Escort outnumbered them two to one, they succumbed to the awesome power of Rahaab’s women. He knew that Shamhat would want to kill every single one of the Primacy’s females, but he had ordered her to stay her hand.

  Rahaab turned into his human form, a tall, slender older man with white hair. “Cassius Pine, my name is Rahaab.” He paused, giving the other dragon a flat, even stare. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

  Cassius turned his head. “That can’t be. Rahaab is a myth. Try again, asshole.”

  Rahaab put a finger to his lips. “A myth you say? I like the sound of that. Sure, I will be a myth. Perhaps only a myth could pluck you out of the sky. Perhaps only the wives of a myth could capture your Escort with such ease. I am Rahaab the mythical Dragonsoul. And I would have a word with you.”

  “Over coffee?” Cassius asked.

  “I prefer tea,” Rahaab replied. “The humans have done much with the plants of this world, but I would call their greatest achievement the steeping of various leaves in hot water.”

  The mustard-colored dragon transformed into a human with long, thick blond hair and stubble across his chin. He was relatively young, yet compared to the years marking Rahaab’s lined face, he was but a babe.

  Rahaab laughed lightly. “Why, you’re but a child yourself. Before you became a Prime, I believe you were a Ronin. Why the change?”

  “I got tired of working for imbeciles.” Cassius moved past Rahaab and went to the stairs. “I knew I could do it better. And Cornelius Craygore grew weak with age and comfort. Ending him
took some work”—he glanced back over one shoulder—“but I like work.”

  He started down the stairs and Rahaab followed. The living room was sumptuous. Some human woman, a Magician by the scent of her, came out with her hands glowing. She quickly stopped the spell she was casting.

  It was clear that her side had lost. Rahaab’s wives had bloodied Cassius’s wives. The six women that belonged to Cassius knelt on the stone. Bolour, Hwedo, and Shamhat paced behind them, eyes full of hate and promising violence.

  Bolour was Middle Eastern, a beauty with striking white hair and flashing lavender eyes. Hwedo was an African woman, tall and proud, with teased-out hair and a face that men would kill to look upon. And finally, Shamhat, a porcelain-skinned, dark-haired queen, was thousands of years old but still striking and powerful.

  Cassius tsked. “And I thought my bitches were tough. Oh well. Jasmine, get this mythical man some tea.”

  “Not a man,” Rahaab corrected. “Not even Dragonsoul. I’m something else, something ancient, one of the first of my kind to grace the dirt of this blue-green jewel.”

  “Yeah, cool. I’ll take a fresh cup of joe, Jasmine.”

  The Magician retreated inside the mansion.

  Cassius slipped on a robe. “I would offer your wives something to drink, but they’re on guard duty, obviously. So, Rahaab, why come out of the sky on this fine June morning? You looking to take my Primacy?”

  Rahaab laughed at that. He ruled the Earth from the shadows. Why step into the light to oversee one stretch of elevated rocks? He moved to the fire and let the flames warm his skin. He might’ve been naked, but he knew his power cloaked him far better than the finest silk. “I’ve come to tell you that Melissa Craygore has been found, finally. She’s at some muddy pond on the other side of the state. At this point, she might be dead, but I doubt it.”