Using Her Dragons: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Omega Book 3)

by April Canavan

  Using Her Dragons

  Omega Book 3

  April Canavan

  Using Her Dragons © 2019 April Canavan

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Author email: canavan.april@gmail.com

  Editor: Alecia Goodman, www.underwrapspublishing.com

  Cover Artist: www.cyberwitchpress.com

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  ISBN:

  For my MamaT. You taught me that the strongest women are the ones the rest of the world thinks are damaged and broken. I love you.

  Acknowledgments

  This story wouldn’t have been possible without the encouragement and help from my tribe. The group of women who make sure that everything, from the plot to the cover are perfect. Thank you to the people who make publishing possible for me. I literally wouldn’t be able to do it without you.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Also by April Canavan

  About the Author

  1

  Birthdays are supposed to be for fun, not for murdering your brother. The party raged all around Arielle. They were celebrating her twenty-first birthday, and all she wanted to do was leave.

  While the music was blasting, Arielle sat at a table with her very first alcoholic drink, hoping that someone would talk to her. Still at the same time, she really didn’t want that to happen. She watched the different couples spinning around the dance floor and smiled absently. She didn’t like to dance, but she did like watching the way everyone else moved around the dance floor.

  Even Danica, very pregnant, was dancing with her mates. All four of them were watching her carefully, and the female dragon was laughing at something they said to her. It was beautiful to see the way that Erik, Arielle’s brother, and the others doted on Dani. She’d been through hell and back, right along with Arielle. Hell, even Mary was dancing with Drake, the Dragon King. It was funny to see the way he practically panted after her like a lovesick puppy and Mary wanted nothing to do with him.

  They were the last, really. Mary and Arielle were some of the last female dragons left alive who were capable of mating. Although, rumor had it that there were other females in hiding trying to avoid being captured and forced to mate against their will. Arielle didn’t have to worry about that, though. Gilcurry was safe. A magical town that prided itself on safety and respect for all of its citizens, Arielle honestly felt a little smothered sometimes within its boundaries.

  Everyone celebrating her birthday was free, and that was something that Arielle was still wrapping her head around. Looking down at her wrists, she rubbed them absentmindedly, trying to get rid of the phantom feeling of being cuffed. She shook her head, but the room started to spin a little, and she realized that maybe the drink she had was a little stronger than she’d anticipated. Pressing her palms flat to the table, she focused on the way the people dancing around her were able to move, and the expressions on their faces. It was beautiful, and she hoped that one day she might be confident enough to do it. To dance in front of other people, but she couldn’t, not yet.

  “God I wish I could do that,” she muttered to herself. She didn’t care that she sounded petulant. Nor did she care that half the dragons in the building with her had the ability to hear what she said under her breath. Nope. She’d definitely had too much to drink, especially if she didn’t care about anything like that.

  Someone bumped into her from behind, and Arielle slipped out of her chair instinctively. She sat under the table, her breath picking up, because there was no way to avoid it. Gone were all pretenses. Panic had set in. Her vision narrowed, and black dots appeared. She couldn’t concentrate. Everything was rushing around her, and the wind was blowing in her ears. She clutched her chest, trying to calm her racing heart, but it wasn’t working. Arielle knew that she was having a panic attack, that wasn’t in question. She couldn’t even move until her heart and brain realized that there was nothing wrong, no one was coming to hurt her, and that she wasn’t in the dragon realm anymore.

  Long minutes later, she peeked out from under the table. She realized no one had even noticed that she wasn’t sitting at the table any more.

  Figures. Not even during her birthday was she really the center of attention. No, just like always, she was simply there. One more person in the background of everyone else’s life.

  When she finally crawled out and reclaimed her chair, Dani caught her eye again. This time, she was being escorted off the dancefloor, although it looked like she really didn’t want to go. Even though Danica had escaped the Mad King, and seemed to find her own sense of peace, she was still just as much a prisoner now as Arielle was when she was being held against her will in the dragon realm. The way her mates surrounded Dani made it seem like they were keeping guard over her, making it hard for her to move on her own. It must feel so suffocating.

  She shivered, and then took another sip of her vodka mixed with lemonade. The idea of mating with anyone was horrifying enough, but mix that with being mated, meant that you were tied to one person for the rest of your life. In Dani’s case, four mates. Watching them, Arielle made the decision that she wouldn’t find a mate. She had enough oppression when her father’s men tortured and held her captive. Being in a relationship was just going to trade one form of it for another, and she’d die before she let that happen to her ever again.

  “Hey,” Mary said cautiously from her side.

  Arielle turned to look at her and smiled, happy that the other woman knew enough about her hang-ups to announce her presence.

  “What are you doing? Aren’t you out there having fun keeping the Dragon King on his toes?” Arielle raised her glass towards the man in question and tried to hide her grimace. He looked so much like their father that it scared her.

  “He’s your brother.” Mary snorted. “I don’t want anything from him, but his crown. The crown that’s rightfully mine for killing your father, after all.”

  Arielle laughed, but Mary was right. By Dragon law, she’d won the crown fair and square by murdering the Mad King. Still Drake had been the one crowned. The people of the Dragon Realm chose a man they’d known their entire lives and left the female dragon who refused to mate with him out in the cold.

  “I’m so tired of being locked in the house,” she said sullenly. “I don’t know when or why I’ll ever be allowed to leave and it’s driving me crazy.”

  Mary shrugged, and chanced a glance over her shoulder where they both knew that Drake wa
s standing, his eyes locked on hers.

  “I don’t see why you can’t get a job. I mean, even Danica has a job.”

  Mary’s words were thrown out nonchalantly, there was no doubt about it. Arielle was hanging on her every word. She’d never thought of working. She could get a job, and then she’d technically be doing something for herself, and she’d be able to get out from under her brother’s supervision.

  “That’s pure genius.” She smiled, a real genuine smile, and Mary hugged her quickly.

  “One of my friends is the manager at a coffee shop. She was talking the other day about how one of their baristas quit out of the blue. I’m sure I could give her a call and get you a job, if you want it.”

  Arielle’s heart started to beat rapidly again, although this time it wasn’t out of panic. “Are you sure? You wouldn’t mind doing that for me?”

  Mary laughed, and slapped the table lightly. “Arielle, we have to stick together. I’d do anything for you. Especially after everything that you and I have gone through together. This is easy peasy.”

  Arielle tried her best not to burst into tears, but it was useless.

  “I can’t believe it,” she choked and then sobbed some more. “You’re so amazing.”

  Mary hugged her, rubbing her back soothingly.

  “It’s your birthday. You can cry if you want to, but I don’t want you to think I’m doing anything huge. This is something small, and you should get used to small things like this. You’re not trapped there anymore.”

  The hushed words hit Arielle in the chest, striking home in a way that she hadn’t expected.

  “Thank you, Mary. You really have no idea how much this means to me.” Arielle sniffed, and wiped her hand on the back of her long-sleeved black shirt. “I promise, I won’t let you down.”

  Mary patted her on the shoulder and then turned to face the approaching man with a false smile on her face.

  “What do you want, Drake?” She hissed at him, conveying all the venom that Arielle expected from a woman that was robbed out of her rightful throne.

  “It looked like my sister was upset,” he said distractedly. “I wanted to check on her.”

  “You’re not wanted here.” Mary shooed him away. “We’re going to dance, and we don’t want you to interfere with us.”

  Arielle tried to tell her that she wasn’t dancing, under any circumstances, but the words didn’t come. Instead, when she opened her mouth, something entirely different came pouring out.

  “I need to use the restroom first,” she said. Practically running away, left Mary and Drake to talk to one another while she went to the back of the club where the restrooms were located.

  There wasn’t a line, so she was able to get in and out quickly returning to the party. Everything was going well, until she almost ran into a man in the hall. Her panic kicked in again, but Arielle saw her brother a dozen feet away and she was able to sidestep the man.

  She turned to offer a rare smile, but found herself staring into a pair of eyes that were too familiar—too black, and too dead. She couldn’t look away, entranced by the man who couldn’t be there. It was impossible. She blinked, and when she looked at him again, she saw that it wasn’t him. His eyes weren’t black, the light had just hit them strangely. She took a deep, gasping breath, and fled across the room.

  She was hallucinating. He wasn’t the man her father had let attack her, over and over again even though she cried and begged him not to. She was wrong. He wasn’t the man that raped her every chance he got for years, telling her that she would never escape him. Promising that he would kill her if she ever tried to run from him. He wasn’t the man that haunted her dreams and made it impossible for her to trust anyone else.

  The music started to blare again, pounding a rhythm that should have put her at ease. Music normally relaxed her. The steady staccato of drums being hit usually brought Arielle to her senses and made it possible for her to breathe. Instead, all the bass did was cause her to panic more, and she had to escape before it got even worse. She raced through the club, trying to push through the dancers, but someone grabbed onto her arm.

  Arielle screamed, unable to control the terror that filled her mind. She struggled, unable to see the person who was pulling her through the crowd in the opposite direction from where she’d been heading, and she tried to get away. Her struggles were useless, though, and she started to think the only way she’d get away would be to shift and ruin everyone’s night.

  Thankfully, Erik appeared in her line of sight with a concerned look. He shoved through the crowd and was at her side in an instant, with Drake there a moment later. The man who had been holding onto her let go and ran. There was no other word for it. Arielle looked at her brothers, both of whom looked furious and were talking. She couldn’t hear anything still. The music was too loud and her blood was pumping through her veins in an adrenaline rush, making it impossible to hear a single word they said.

  She stepped forward, trying to go to her brother. Arielle needed the comfort of being in her brother’s arms; safe. Unfortunately for her, the room started to spin and she collapsed in the center of the floor. The last thing she saw before falling unconscious was a pair of booted feet at her side, and then everything was black and she welcomed oblivion.

  2

  Terror broke Arielle. Dread filled her bones and she was dragged from the dreams that were keeping her safe from reality.

  She panicked, again. Before she could stop herself, she was flinching away from her surroundings and was trying to protect herself.

  Don’t feel it. Push it aside. He’ll leave soon enough. The familiar mantra repeated over and over, almost on autopilot through her mind while she braced for what was going to come. Arielle squeezed her eyes shut and tried to regulate her breathing. Just like always, if he thought she was sleeping, he would do his thing and leave her in peace after. She could heal after, and maybe someone would rescue her from the personal hell that she lived in

  “Don’t disturb her,” Erik whispered, dousing her thoughts in cold water. “You don’t want to wake her up, trust me.”

  She was safe. She was in Gilcurry. The Mad King and his man couldn’t get to her. Her heart stopped racing, and she found herself covered in a cold sweat, and hoped that no one realized that she’d just gone through the most nauseating experience possible.

  No, she wasn’t in danger. Her senses came to life, and her surroundings broke through her haze. The couch was too comfortable. There wasn’t the scent of ash in the air. She wasn’t dying. She wasn’t in danger. She was most definitely at home, wrapped in her favorite blanket, and snuggled into her couch.

  Fighting the urge to groan in frustration that she was still having panic attacks, Arielle took a deep breath. She’d been free from her father for a year now. One whole year of not having to look over her shoulder and trying to keep herself safe. It didn’t matter that her brothers would kill someone for hurting her. Her insecurities and past history were still there, waiting on the edge of her mind—all the time. Her memories constantly haunted her, bringing her to her knees when she least expected it.

  Arielle tuned back into what was happening around her, and heard multiple voices in the distance. Erik and Drake were bickering about something in the other room, but she wasn’t able to quite make out their words. Of course, she could get up and enter the conversation, but chances were that they’d change the subject or simply stop talking altogether if she did that. She needed a few minutes to herself to try and come to terms with the fact that she was safe.

  After deciding that she couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening, Arielle took a deep breath and concentrated on listening. One of the benefits of being a dragon was that she had supernatural hearing, just like her brothers. She snuggled deeper into the couch and decided to eavesdrop on everything that her brothers were saying. There was no doubt in her mind that it was all about her, anyway.

  “She’s not safe here,” Drake rumbled in his deep bariton
e. “What we need to do is bring her back to the Dragon Realm to keep her safe.”

  Arielle was outraged, but she kept herself in check. She hoped that Erik would come to her defense. She didn’t want to leave Gilcurry. At least here, she was sort of free even if it didn’t always feel that way. It was better here than being trapped in the castle. Besides, she hadn’t told her brothers the full extent of the torture that she’d faced from their father’s command.

  “Arielle is never going to leave willingly,” Erik said.

  She smiled, happy that he was defending her against their older brother. With his next words though he went and dashed all of her hopes in an instant.

  “If you want her to go, you’re going to have to force her. She’s gonna be angry, but at least she’ll be safe.”

  Arielle huffed. Traitor.

  Drake sighed. “I don’t think we have a choice in this. Did you see the man who grabbed her? If you weren’t as close as you were, I have no doubt that he would have been able to get her.”

  Arielle had managed to block out the events leading up to her passing out. She’d forgotten, as miraculous as that was, that someone had tried to take her in the middle of her birthday party. Thinking about the way his fingers dug into her arm had Arielle rubbing her skin in an attempt to wipe away the disgusting feeling he had left behind.

  “Shit,” Erik mumbled. “I can’t stand to lose her, Drake. We spent our whole lives thinking that she died as a child. We could have saved her. We should have saved her. This is on us.”

  “No,” Drake said harshly. “This is on me. I stayed. You left. I should have known that there was something off. Something wrong. They didn’t call him the Mad King for nothing.”