by Jill Haven
His Devoted Dragon
Divine Dragons: Book 4
Jill Haven
Contents
1. Beau
2. Ace
3. Beau
4. Ace
5. Beau
6. Ace
7. Beau
8. Ace
9. Beau
10. Ace
11. Beau
12. Ace
13. Beau
14. Ace
15. Beau
16. Ace
17. Beau
18. Ace
19. Beau
20. Ace
21. Beau
22. Ace
23. Beau
24. Ace
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His Devoted Dragon
1
Beau
The oppressive Georgia heat beat down on me, the sun’s rays made even worse through the windshield. But that wasn’t what was distracting me. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, glancing up at the rearview mirror. I had just picked up the week’s rations of feed for the cattle and I was heading back to the farm, but something had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up straight.
It wasn’t the first time that week, either. The first time had been Monday, the second Tuesday. Today was Friday and while the paranoia had previously started to ease, now it was back in full force. Unease shivered down my spine, making me feel cold despite the warmth that surrounded me.
It hadn’t even been the same car each time, either. This one was a four-door sedan, dark blue in color like the driver was trying to be inconspicuous but only in big cities. In a part of Georgia where the majority of folks drove pick-up trucks like mine, it stuck out like a sore thumb. I was still in town, too, so I took an early right turn that took me out of the way, just to see if they would follow.
They didn’t. The tension that was clutching my ribs eased slightly, and my breathing came easier. I stayed on the back roads for a few minutes longer before turning back to the main street. I’d just paused at a stop light when a car pulled away from the sidewalk and idled out behind me.
My throat went dry, my hands clenching the steering wheel like I was going to break it. It was the car I thought I had lost. It was too much of a coincidence for them to be waiting on chance. No, they’d followed me somehow, or they were keeping track of me. It was an exasperating combination of frustrating and annoying. I couldn’t think of any reason for someone to follow me.
I worked on my farm, helped the hands, sold my produce and wares, then went to sleep and did it again the next day. I couldn’t think of the last day I’d taken off and I didn’t expect that to change any time soon. There was absolutely no reason for someone to be tracking me. It wasn’t like I did anything interesting.
I hesitated and took the next left, rerouting to the small downtown where I knew there would be foot traffic. This time the car behind me didn’t even bother pretending they weren’t following, staying about ten feet behind me. I made myself take a deep breath, then another. I wasn’t going to panic. I wasn’t going to lose it.
Once I got to the square, I pulled into the closest open parking spot, my eyes glued to the rearview mirror so I could see behind me. The smooth dark-blue sedan nonchalantly drove by, the heavily tinted windows making it impossible to see inside. There wasn’t even a hint to the driver’s identity, not a profile view or hair color or anything.
By the time I got my mind back under control, the car was too far away to get a license plate. I swore under my breath and my knuckles were white now, my grip on the wheel painful. My brain spun, trying to fit everything into place. It was hard when nothing made sense.
I backed out of the spot and headed toward home, taking the back routes and going indirectly. If someone was going to try and follow me again, I was going to make it difficult for them. The panic was twisting my stomach in knots, my whole body feeling like it was vibrating. What if someone was following me? What did they want?
I made it back to the farm without anything else happening and let out a slow breath. Maybe it had been one giant coincidence. Maybe no one was following me. I kept repeating that mantra to myself as I started unloading the feed and catching up with my workers, the sun beating down on us and sending sweat down my shoulders.
A man could dream, right?
The day passed slowly, the adrenaline pulsing through my body as I jumped at little sounds and twitched at images in the corner of my eyes. When I finally finished for the day, I nodded goodbye to my workers and headed inside the one-story ranch house I now owned. It wasn’t much but it was where my grandparents had lived their whole lives and where I had spent most of mine.
There was a pang of loss at the thought of them and I closed my eyes. It had been a year since they had passed away and it still hurt. I missed them, I missed my absent father, and the mother who had died when I was born. I was all alone. I didn’t mind it; it was just the way things were.
Goosebumps prickled down my skin as I stood just inside the door, staring around the living room. I usually didn’t bother locking the door, much less the windows, but with what had happened, I wasn’t taking any chances. My closest neighbors were a mile away and the majority of what was between us was farmland. No one came out to this part of town unless they were supposed to.
Or unless they meant harm.
Methodically I went from window to window, checking they were locked and secured. I checked the few doors and even checked the windows that were too small for someone to get in or out of. Maybe I needed a dog, something that could stay by my side. It wasn’t something I could think about or fix right now, so I had to make do.
When I crawled into my bed that night, sleep didn’t come easy.
Three days later, things weren’t much better. I stood out in the fields, supervising and helping out, the beating Georgia sun coating my shirt in sweat. Hot and muggy sucked, but it wasn’t like we could just not work. If we didn’t get the tomatoes and corn planted soon, they wouldn’t be mature enough to survive the first frost in fall.
“Beau!” The voice caught me off guard. I flinched, one hand clenching into a fist.
When I turned to look at him, my second-in-command gave me a puzzled look. “You okay? I called your name four times.”
“Yeah.” My smile wasn’t convincing, but I didn’t care. “I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
He didn’t look like he believed me, but he didn’t push, either. It was well-known that I kept my problems to myself. Besides, who could I talk to? No one else knew my parents were dragons, or that I was an omega. “Is the shipment ready?” I asked, setting down what I was working on and turning my attention back to what we had to have done before the end of the day. My tone made it clear that I was done with the conversation, and although he frowned, he let it go.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and by the end of it, I felt like I had worked forty-eight hours straight without rest. It was painful, being on edge all day. Every little noise, every flash, every car that happened to drive by the farm—the first thing I wondered was if it was someone coming for me, like the shifters had so long back. My grandparents had told me that they never meant well, and after learning that my father had banished me from my clan for whatever reason, I believed them. Maybe it was because I couldn’t shift. Maybe it was because I wasn’t a pureblood. Either way, it was their way of saying I wasn’t good enough.
Unease settled deep in my chest. Instead of going straight home, I sat on the porch and stared into the distance. I wasn’t certain how long I spent out there before I felt relaxed enough to go inside, but the sun wa
s nearly set and the light was dim. Finally, I made my way inside, locking everything up methodically as I went by. I changed into sweats and got into bed, but I didn’t see the point. Last night I had managed two hours of sleep. I wasn’t optimistic for tonight.
I turned the TV on at low volume, some variety program that provided just enough background noise that I wouldn’t hear every single sound around me. It’d helped with sleep a little bit, and at that point, I would take whatever I could.
Closing my eyes, I let my mind drift off. Or attempted to, anyway. I wasn’t certain how much time had passed before a voice pulled me out of the peaceful half-sleep I was in.
“He’d better be worth it.” The voice was harsh, grating, and far too close. My eyes flew open, but when I sat up and looked around, I couldn’t see anyone. My heart was starting to race.
“He’s a divine dragon. We can get a lot of money for him,” the other voice assured him.
“Where did he go, anyway?” the first voice muttered.
When it fell quiet, I hesitated. Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I had imagined things.
The shattering of a window near the living room proved that I was not crazy. I jumped out of bed and went straight for the gun I kept in my dresser, grateful that while I’d never had to use it, I knew how to protect myself.
I could hear them in the living room, bickering back and forth. I opened my bedroom door and poked my head around, gun held in front of me with the safety off. I wasn’t going to mess around. If they knew about my bloodline, it meant they probably were shifters, too, and I didn’t want to meet them unarmed or unaware.
The kitchen light flicked on and I saw someone walk into it, the faintest scent of wood-smoke hitting me. I didn’t know what that meant, but something inside me told me it was important.
Fuck. Confronting intruders really wasn’t something I wanted to handle while sleep impaired. Or at all, really.
“I’ve called the cops,” I said loudly, the gun pointed out in front of me. “Get out of here.”
“Shit,” the second guy swore. “We gotta grab him.”
I shot the floor two feet in front of me, my hands steady.
I wasn’t certain who screamed, but I thought it was the first guy. “Fuck this,” he hissed.
When they stood there for a minute longer, I fired again, this time further down the hallway. “Next shot goes into the first one of you I see,” I said placidly, surprised my hands weren’t shaking. It was like a calm had settled over me, the adrenaline being useful in a way I hadn’t anticipated.
I listened with blood pounding in my ears as they ran away, their movements marked by loud swearing and glass crunching under their feet from whatever they’d broken to get in. A car engine revved and tires screeched as it raced away from my house. Nearly tripping over my feet on the way to the front door, I stumbled out just in time to see the taillights fade in the darkness. I couldn’t say for certain, given it was the middle of the night, but it looked like the sedan that had followed me a few days before.
I closed and locked the door—not that it would do anything if someone really wanted to get in—and retreated to the kitchen, surveying the damage. My house was almost untouched, just a few papers shuffled around. If they had been looking for something, it obviously hadn’t been one of my belongings.
If what they had said was true, they’d been looking for me.
Unease prickled down my spine, reality starting to settle in. I sank into the chair at the small table I ate breakfast at, the gun still clenched in my hand. I flicked the safety on and set the gun on the table. The intruders had mentioned divine dragons, which meant they probably knew what I was. I didn’t know much about being a divine omega, but I knew I didn’t want to be someone’s possession. I liked the life I had now. It was easiest to just avoid shifters altogether.
I hadn’t been able to avoid them completely, and despite my best efforts, a face drifted into my mind. Blond hair, long on top and styled to the side, crystalline blue eyes, a strong jaw and a slight beard. A kissably plush mouth, a Cupid’s bow on top accenting a full lower lip. No, Ace wasn’t easy to forget. He and his friends had dropped by the farm looking for me some time back, and I’d sent them on their way. I didn’t deal with shifters, even delicious-smelling ones like him. Wood smoke, musk, but also a hint of salt like the sea. He’d flirted as easily as he breathed. I didn’t want anything to do with any of them.
Especially him.
But then Ace had taken me aside, dropping the flirting banter and his face going serious. He’d sounded so honest when he told me to call if I needed him. Like he meant it. Like he genuinely worried about me. The electricity had darted down my spine and through my body, each nerve under my skin becoming aware of him every time he touched me.
I shuddered at just the thought, my body reacting like he was there, like his hands were ghosting over me. Heat flared throughout me, my stomach tightening and my cock plumping up just at the thought of him. I tried to shove him out of my mind. He was a distraction. He was a dragon, a playboy, and not worth it. But if dragons were after me, I had to fight fire with fire.
I stared at the table, at the sticky note with Ace’s contact info tucked under my usual coffee mug. I hadn’t ever expected to use it.
Letting out a long sigh, I pulled out my cellphone and dialed the number. They were the only shifters I knew, and beggars couldn’t be choosers. I had a gun but I knew that didn’t matter much against dragons unless they stayed in their human form.
I glanced at the clock, then shrugged. He’d said to call any time. All I was doing was taking him up on it.
The fact that I wouldn’t be able to sleep until I talked to him was an absolutely inconsequential detail.
“Hello?” Ace sounded surprisingly awake for it being in the middle of the night. “Who is this?”
I took a deep breath, nerves prickling across my skin at the sound of his voice. “It’s Beau,” I said, hating that I had to call him but trusting him anyway. I was probably a fool. “I need your help.”
2
Ace
“I said I’d go on my own,” I grumbled, knowing what Tennyson’s answer would be before he even said it. “You don’t need to come with me.”
“If you tell me why, I’ll go home,” Ten said calmly, eyeing the airport in the distance with distaste.
I stared out the windshield as I drove and didn’t say anything. I wasn’t going to tell him why I was really going. Yes, Beau had called me and I’d wanted to help him, but it was more than that. I had always planned to go back, but this time, he’d reached out to me. There was one problem, though, and that problem sat right next to me. I was acting weird, and Ten knew me better than anyone else. Hiding stuff from him wasn’t easy.
I didn’t want to think about how my world shifted the first time I met Beau. A part of my heart thumped to life, tied directly to the human who’d stood across from me. It had made it just that much more difficult to be my usual, carefree self. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t something I’d chosen, wasn’t something I had factored into my life. But if what had happened to the others was correct, that meant something. It meant Beau was mine, a fated mate, something I’d thought only existed in legend.
Not that Beau had been particularly thrilled to see us. He’d thrown us out almost instantly, which led me to shelve the issue. Fated or not, I wasn’t the type to push anyone into anything. Besides, fated mates weren’t for someone like me. It was much easier to flirt with everything, sleep with what interested me, and move on from there. No commitment, no risk.
“You’re thinking awfully hard,” Ten said slowly.
I dragged my mind out of wherever it was and shrugged, putting a carefree expression on my face. “He’s a hot piece of—”
Ten’s eyeroll cut me off. “If you say so.”
I made a dubious noise, letting him know we were in a stalemate. He knew I was hiding something, and I knew he wasn’t going to let it go, but for the moment, he was lett
ing me get away with it.
I pulled into short-term parking, eyeing the airport dubiously. It would have been much easier to shift and fly, but too risky to be discovered. I wasn’t entirely fond of airplanes. I didn’t think any dragon was. Enclosed space, too many people, too much room and time for trouble. If I had to be in the sky, I wanted it to be under my own control.
“Are you ready?” Ten gave me a long, searching look.
“I’m always ready.” I winked at him and he snorted, but he let me change topics. We had a flight to catch and a problem to figure out.
As we walked into the elevator, I could feel the strange looks on us. Beyond being dressed all in black, Ten’s scars rarely went unnoticed. Humans were strange with their obsession with looks, their need to stare at everything that was different. In my line of work, if someone didn’t have scars, they probably hadn’t been working long enough.
“I’ll get us checked in,” I said, nodding for Ten to pause further back. He sighed, a fondly exasperated sort of sound that I got from him a lot. I leaned into him so I could whisper. “Don’t worry, I won’t fuck the flight attendant.” I winked at him.
Ten rolled his eyes, but there was a tug upwards at the corner of his lips. He knew I was joking. Dragons knotted during sex, and there was no way in hell you could do that with a human without them realizing that something was not normal. I’d done a good job keeping myself out of the way of the Enforcement Council until now and I planned to keep that streak up.
