Trusting The Betrayed (Rogue Dragons Book 1)

by Emilia Hartley

  These men weren’t normal. They moved with preternatural grace and speed. Within minutes, she’d heard them growl at each other like animals several times. Erik would remember that she was around and lower his glasses over his mismatched eyes again.

  The day she’d run into Casey at the grocery store, he’d left her all of a sudden. She remembered looking into the sky and seeing something that hadn’t made sense. Not until Casey had sent her the stuffed dragon. Even then, she’d told herself that it couldn’t be possible.

  There was no way she’d seen a dragon above town.

  Yet, she’d started to believe. Casey and Dillon didn’t give them away, but Gavin and Erik prowled like predators. Every so often, she’d catch Gavin cocking his head. The gesture reminded her of lizards.

  And so, her pencil scratched over the paper, marking the shapes for a creature she’d never thought she’d run into. Curled horns came into existence, framing a snarling muzzle. Scales and talons grew darker with every pass of her pencil.

  This beast was not her Casey, but she figured it had to be one of the men present.

  She sat back, a triumphant smile on her lips. Casey might have doubted her, but she’d gotten to the bottom of his mystery. Now, her mind spun with possibilities. Later, when they were alone, she wanted to know what his dragon looked like. It couldn’t look like the stuffed version he’d bought her. Casey’s dragon had to be more manly, more like him.

  Clutching the sketchbook close to her chest, she rose from her seat and went to lean against the railing beside Casey. He raised one brow but said nothing as she peeled the sketchbook away from her chest. At first, he seemed confused. Then his eyes landed on the dragon.

  “I saw it that day,” she whispered. “Didn’t believe my own eyes until now.”

  He searched her eyes for a long moment, but she stayed beside him and watched his shoulders slowly relax. Before he could move, she stood on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on his lips. Casey caught her and pulled her into his chest. She couldn’t melt into him with the sketchbook caught between them.

  But before she could set it aside, Casey pulled back.

  “Gavin!” Casey shouted. “Come check this out.”

  Gavin snarled as he marched toward them.

  Evangeline rocked on her heels then spun her sketchbook around and pointed at her sketch. “It’s you!”

  The image stopped him dead in his tracks. His shadows fled as his features softened. Slowly, he reached out, and she let him take the sketchbook from her. She warned him not to touch it when she saw him try to run his fingers over the image.

  “Pencil lead has a tendency to smudge,” she said, apologetically.

  Casey playfully punched Gavin’s shoulder. “She saw you the day you took off and perched on the top of the mountain.”

  Gavin’s shadows returned, darkening by the second. He shoved the sketchbook back at her before looking to Casey. “Just because she’s here now doesn’t mean she’ll stick around forever.”

  Heat unfurled in the pit of her gut. Scowling, she reacted without thinking about the consequences and kicked Gavin in the shin. He yelped and leapt back from her.

  Evangeline pointed a finger at Gavin. “Don’t make assumptions about me, dickhead.”

  Casey stepped forward and put himself between her and Gavin. The others fell silent, clearly stunned by her display.

  “Do you know who I am?” Gavin roared.

  “Buddy,” Erik said. “Cool it. Out here, you’re nothing. You just another part of the misfits clan. If anything, you’re the original misfit. Pull the stick out of your ass and admire the girl’s gumption.”

  She waited for Gavin to strike Erik, but neither moved. Gavin glared at Erik for a moment before turning that anger toward her. Little by little, it died. Even with Casey standing between her and Gavin, she still felt the urge to run and hide. Her lips trembled, so she pressed them into a tight smile to hide her fear.

  Evangeline crashed back into her seat as Gavin stormed away. With him out of sight, Erik picked up the conversation once more, acting as though nothing had happened. She appreciated his attempt to go on, but she understood why Nellie feared them now.

  Watching a man throw a table at his friend meant nothing until that anger was directed at her. The urge to run back to her apartment and hide under her bed was almost overwhelming, but if she turned tail now, she wouldn’t be able to keep Casey.

  The part of her that had given way to fear now pulled itself together. He gave her a look that bore a silent question. She nodded, unwilling to share how she really felt. Not yet, at least. Casey watched her like she was a scared rabbit that might scurry away.

  Was this what fate had prepared her for? Had it put her in the arms of men who wouldn’t think twice about hurting her, so she could see the good in these terrifying men? Though it had hurt at the time, she could now look back and see how strong she’d become. She wouldn’t run just because Gavin growled at her.

  She searched for him, now determined to make a friend out of him, but he’d vanished.

  “So,” Evangeline said. “Y’all can turn into dragons?”

  “I can’t believe you came to that conclusion on your own.” Erik pointed the grill tongs at her as he spoke. “Most humans would find any way to deny our existence.”

  Having known Nellie for the past five years, there wasn’t much that could surprise Evangeline anymore. She wished she could explain, but she’d promised to keep Nellie’s secret, and so her lips were sealed on that subject.

  She wrinkled her nose and cast a wry smile at Casey. “I think finding a mate makes it a little easier.”

  His spine suddenly straightened. She thought he would sprout wings and fly off into the distance like any other hot-blooded man facing a confession of love. Casey’s startled eyes softened, and a grin eclipsed any doubt that might have lingered. He swept low and plucked her from the folding chair so he could spin her around.

  A bubbling laugh slipped out of her as the world spun. He clutched her tight and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  Barely pulling back, he whispered, “You’re so damn sexy today. I like that I can see your legs through your pants.”

  Her heart flipped. Casey had finally called her sexy! All it’d taken was a pair of ripped jeans.

  She wound her arms around his neck and stole a kiss from him. Beyond them, someone cleared their throat. She didn’t bother pulling away to figure out who’d made the sound. She didn’t care.

  Casey didn’t seem to care, either. He carried her away from the others, towards privacy.

  In the distance she heard Erik call out to Gavin. “You wanted to tell me how to cook these ribs. Come back and finish what you started!”

  Gavin might have scared her shitless for a moment, but he was still Casey’s friend. Had he not been, Gavin wouldn’t have walked away to cool down. He would have acted on his anger, regardless of the consequences.

  There was hope for these guys. Fate had handed them a hard life, but only so they could grow into the people they were meant to be. Evangeline believed that right down to her core. If fate had prepared her for Casey, then she knew fate was busy with the guys, too.

  Away from prying eyes, Casey set her down. She spared only a moment to peer around and take stock of her surroundings. They stood beneath a copse of towering pine trees. The air smelled of earth and sap, a scent that spoke to her soul.

  “You’re not going to get me up against one of these trees,” she warned him. “I might be wearing my messy pants, but pine sap is no joke. I’m not risking getting that between my butt cheeks.”

  Casey’s smoldering expression dissolved as he gave in to laughter. Once again, he closed the distance between them to scoop her up and swing her around.

  “I never thought I’d have a mate,” he said.

  She held onto his shoulders, head light as the world blurred around her. The only constant was Casey, and that was fine by her. She would be there for him, a constant in his life th
e same way he’d become the security in hers.

  When he set her down, his joy slowly faded. His hands never left her, though. She leaned into him, trying to silently promise that she would go nowhere.

  “Do you really want to be my mate?” His voice was barely more than a whisper.

  “I don’t think I have a choice in it,” she said. When his face fell, she explained. “I love you, and I can’t think of any other way to spend my life!”

  His fingers grazed her shoulder as he pushed the collar of her shirt aside. She watched his lashes flutter over his cheeks as his eyes lowered.

  “I want to claim you,” he said. “It might hurt. If you’re not ready or if you don’t want to go through this step, then we can skip it.”

  “Do I look like the kind of person who shies away from pain?”

  The corner of Casey’s mouth quirked in a smirk that made her stomach do backflips. She tightened her grip on his arms as his head descended toward her shoulder. Barely a second later, he pressed his lips to her shoulder. She shuddered in his grip and recalled the way his teeth had grazed her skin before.

  His growl rumbled along her chest and pulled her nipples taut. The moment stretched on, making her heart race faster and faster, until Casey’s lips finally parted.

  Evangeline cried out as sharp teeth broke her skin. She expected pain, but sensation unfurled in her core and washed over her like an unforgiving tsunami. Her body spasmed, falling limp in his arms.

  That was not what I expected.

  Casey licked the wound like a cat trying to ask for forgiveness. She shivered, shock waves rolling through her until her fingertips tingled. She could barely hold onto him, let alone reach for him. He leaned back, eyeing her as he shifted her weight in his arms so he could wipe a bit of her blood from his lips.

  That was easily the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced.

  My mind has never been so blown.

  You’re never going to get rid of me now.

  Evangeline could think of a hundred things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t get her lips to function while the throes of climax still held her. Casey laughed, like he could tell, and helped set her back onto her feet.

  She wavered, but his sturdy arms held her tight until she could lift her arms enough to cling to his shirt.

  “I’m not going to…” Worry suddenly smashed through her happiness. “Am I going to become like you now? I’m sorry. I don’t know how any of this works.”

  Casey brushed a tendril of her hair away from her face. “I would have to shift and bite you in order to change you.”

  He fell silent.

  “Is that…is that what you want? Do you want a mate that’s like you?” Evangeline wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea.

  Of course, she wanted to feel strong around Casey and his friends, but she didn’t know what she would have to endure to become like him. The process of changing and then learning to exist as something she’d never been…it seemed daunting.

  He cupped her cheek. “I want you to be happy. And alive. There have been cases of women being changed into dragon shifters, but they’re very few and far between. Most women of our kind are born shifters, like my sister.”

  She gasped. “You have a sister?”

  Though Evangeline knew she loved Casey with every ounce of her soul, she still knew so little about him and the life he’d led before coming to her.

  “Oh, Daphne is going to have a field day when she finds out that I’ve found a mate. I apologize in advance for anything she might do or say. She can be a bit…well, let’s just say that the gate between her brain and her mouth is almost always open.”

  “I can’t wait to meet your family,” she said.

  ***

  Casey couldn’t believe his luck. He had a spring in his step as he and Evangeline made their way back to the cookout. She’d left her shirt slightly askew, displaying the new bite mark on her shoulder like it was a new tattoo.

  Everyone saw it, there was no ignoring the bite or the smell of sex that wrapped around the two of them even though they hadn’t actually gone that far. Casey smiled, proud to know that his claiming mark had taken Evangeline that far. To him, that meant he’d found the one. No one would ever be able to convince him otherwise.

  His sister would try. Daphne would fly all the way here just to tell him he’d screwed up by mating a human instead of a nice dragon girl. She’d yet to understand that mating wasn’t a choice they got to make. One day, she would learn that lesson for herself.

  He only hoped he would be there when it happened.

  Casey pulled Evangeline into his lap and cleared his throat. Gavin shot him a glare, but Casey wasn’t afraid of him.

  “We need to talk about what we’re going to do when Zander comes for us.”

  Dillon’s brows crashed together. He looked between Casey and Evangeline, as if to ask if Casey really wanted to talk about this in front of his human mate. Evangeline was a part of his life now. She would inevitably get caught in the crossfire. She deserved to know what was going on.

  “Zander is looking for a reason to dispose of us. We need to convince him that we’re not going to be a problem for him.” Casey wanted Zander to forget about them. To let them set up here and never cross paths again.

  “If he comes, I’ll take care of him,” Gavin growled.

  Erik seemed taken aback. “Do you really think we’d let you do that on your own? No offense, but even if you are your father’s son, there’s a chance you could actually win this fight if you let us help.”

  Evangeline stiffened at the mention of a fight. Casey tried to silently comfort her, but she needed to know about this. He would not let her live in ignorance because that would not end in bliss. Not in this instance.

  She needed to be prepared for when Zander came for them. If they had a plan of action in place, then she would be able to get out before Zander struck. Casey would be able to fight alongside Gavin and Erik with everything he had so long as he knew she would be safe.

  She’d become his everything. Casey couldn’t risk losing her just because Zander was jealous of his son. He eyed Gavin.

  “Are you going to fight?” Casey asked. “Or, are you going to sacrifice yourself to him?”

  Gavin didn’t respond. He kept his back to Casey.

  Casey told himself that now wasn’t the time to argue. Not when he had Evangeline in his lap and the air smelled of sweet, smoked meat. If Casey challenged Gavin now, Evangeline would be in the line of fire again. Casey would level the whole damn cabin just to keep her safe.

  “I don’t mind it out here,” Erik said as he threw himself into a chair and put his feet on the nearest elevated surface. “It’s a hell of a lot quieter out here. I know it doesn’t look like it, but this place has been good for me.”

  “This mountain is pretty,” Dillon said, nodding as if that’s what Erik had meant.

  Erik raised a confused brow. Casey wrapped an arm around Evangeline’s middle and leaned back into his seat. She twisted, pulling her legs up to sit sideways across his lap, and rested her head on his shoulder.

  Casey didn’t want to lose this. When he’d arrived, he’d assumed he would just drag Gavin home and get on with his lonely life. This little clan of misfits wasn’t what he had in mind, but now he wanted nothing else.

  He wanted to walk Evangeline to work, to fix everything that broke in her shop, and to make her smile every day of the rest of his life. He only hoped the rest of his life was a lot longer than the deadline Zander had given them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Evangeline wasn’t ready to go home. She didn’t want to sleep alone after the day they’d had. She deserved to cuddle up against Casey and listen to his dragon’s soft growls. She could see all the subtle ways the beast in him showed itself, from his eyes to the sounds he made.

  Casey promised her that he would show her his dragon someday, but said he wasn’t ready yet. Whole Evangeline was all too ready to grab her pencil and sket
chbook so she could draw the creature, she had patience. She could wait for Casey.

  Unfortunately, her excitement over his beast fizzled and she was left with fear of what loomed on the horizon. Casey had spoken of a fight. She recalled how he’d told her that he wouldn’t be in town for long. Later, when he’d given her the deadline to figure out what he was, he’d given her until October.

  Now, she wondered what awaited them in October. Casey had mentioned another man, Gavin’s father. From the sounds of him, he was not a nice guy. He wanted to hurt her mate and his friends. As a human, she could do nothing to protect them.

  And if she happened to get caught in the middle…

  “You would never…” Her question stuck in her throat. She couldn’t bear to lift her gaze from Casey’s chest for fear of seeing pain in his eyes. The question would have felt pointless save for the quiver that still shook in her gut.

  Casey’s broad hands slid down her waist. He pulled her tight to his chest and became an impenetrable wall against all that would harm her. It was exactly what she needed. A breath slipped out of her and she let her forehead fall to his chest.

  “You would never let anyone hurt me. Right?”

  Casey’s growl was answer enough. It ripped through the air and carried a promise of savage protection. She turned to press her cheek against him. Breath by breath, she sank into him.

  “When Zander comes for us, I’m making sure you’re as far away as possible.”

  “But what if something happens to you and I’m not there?” She didn’t know what she could do, but the thought of being unable to reach him in his time of need filled her with ice.

  Casey sighed and pressed his head to her chest.

  While he had crashed into her life at just the right time, his circumstances had not been so perfect. He had a war looming on the horizon. The way he spoke, it sounded like the four of them against one man, but the way he acted made it seem like they were up against an army.