Bloodrunner Dragon (Harper's Mountains Book 1)
Page 13
Deep within her, a long, loud, satisfied humming sound vibrated through her entire body. Her dragon stretched, and tendrils of power unfurled within her. If she did this, she was owning that she was okay and strong enough to protect them, guide them. It was a declaration that she was unafraid of The Unrest taking her. It was expanding her treasure and an oath to protect the ones she loved with her life. The decision was an easy one now because she wasn’t scared anymore.
A slow smile stretched her face as she felt them—thin bonds, barely there, linking her to each one of them. The wind picked up, whipping her hair about her face as she clenched her hands.
Ryder grinned like he could see her answer in her face. “Give us the order and make it official.”
Harper blew out a long steadying breath and jerked her chin to the drop-off behind them. “Air-Ryder and Novak Raven…go jump off a cliff.”
“Whoo!” Ryder yelled, stripping his shirt as he bolted for the cliff’s edge. He threw out his hands in the final second, jumped, and disappeared over the edge. And a moment later, his massive snowy owl appeared above the rim, coasting along the currents.
Weston stood and hugged Harper up tight, and before he followed Ryder, he turned to Wyatt and said, “You did good.” With a last smile for Harper, Weston sprinted for the cliff and jumped off. And then a raven with shiny black feathers beat his wings and glided beside the white owl with eyes the color of the sun.
Aaron stripped out of his clothes, and his muscles contracted in the instant before the massive blond grizzly exploded from him. He paced a tight circle around her, a soft, content rumble in his throat. And then there was Wyatt, standing slowly, such pride in his eyes.
She ran her hands up his chest, stood on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips to his. She squeezed her eyes closed, and the moisture that had built there spilled over onto her cheek. Easing back, Wyatt brushed her tear away with the pad of his thumb and whispered, “You saved me.”
But he was so wrong. He was the one who had saved her. She would live because of the land he’d found, because of the claiming mark he’d given her, and because of the crew he’d built for her.
My crew.
Harper squeezed his hands, then undressed carefully, savoring the moment. When she was ready and the breeze whipped against her bare skin, she gave her mate one last grin and ran for the cliff. Her arms caught the wind as she leapt off the edge, and for a moment, she closed her eyes and fell. She’d been brought back from the brink of death by love. By devotion. She’d been jaded and had hated her dragon for clinging too tightly to things that didn’t belong to her, but her inner animal had been right the entire time. If she’d given up on Wyatt, she wouldn’t have been gifted this moment. Harper gave her dragon her body and flapped her wings once, arching her back as she blasted away from the ground and aimed for the clouds.
When she looked at Wyatt, he was standing on the edge of the cliff, watching her with the same smile he wore as a boy when he watched her Change. Then he hunched inward, and the bear she loved rippled from his body. As she rose higher, he and Aaron paced along the cliff ledge, eyes on her, waiting.
She circled higher above her mountains. Beneath her, the owl and the raven flew a wide circle above the grizzlies on the cliff, and this was it. This was the moment she would bind them all.
The bears roared, the owl and the raven cried out, and Harper inhaled deeply and bellowed with them.
She wouldn’t be a victim of The Unrest, or fodder for vampires or wolves. She wouldn’t be alone ever again.
No longer was she a woman who didn’t belong.
No longer was she the dragon without a treasure.
Now and for always, she would be the keeper of these mountains, and the alpha of the Bloodrunner Crew.
Up Next in this Series
Aaron Keller gets his story in
Bloodrunner Bear
Coming May 2016
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Want More of These Characters?
The Harper’s Mountains series is being written as a standalone series, but if you would like more of these characters, check out T. S. Joyce’s bestselling Saw Bears, Fire Bears, and Gray Back Bears series, starting with Lumberjack Werebear (Saw Bears, 1).
Reading Order for Damon’s Mountains
Lumberjack Werebear (Saw Bears, 1), Woodcutter Werebear (Saw Bears, 2), Timberman Werebear (Saw Bears, 3), Sawman Werebear (Saw Bears, 4), Bear My Soul (Fire Bears, 1), Axman Werebear (Saw Bears, 5), Bear the Burn (Fire Bears, 2), Bear the Heat (Fire Bears, 3), Woodsman Werebear (Saw Bears, 6), Lumberman Werebear (Saw Bears, 7), Gray Back Bad Bear (Gray Back Bears, 1), Gray Back Alpha Bear (Gray Back Bears, 2), Gray Back Ghost Bear (Gray Back Bears, 3), Gray Back Broken Bear (Gray Back Bears, 4), Lowlander Silverback (Gray Back Bears, 5), Last Immortal Dragon (Gray Back Bears, 6), A Very Beastly Christmas (Gray Back Bears, 7), Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears, 1), Boarlander Bash Bear (Boarlander Bears, 2), Boarlander Silverback (Boarlander Bears, 3), Boarlander Beast Boar (Boarlander Bears, 4), Boarlander Cursed Bear (Boarlander Bears, 5)
More Series by T. S. Joyce
Bears Fur Hire
Husband Fur Hire (Book 1)
Bear Fur Hire (Book 2)
Mate Fur Hire (Book 3)
Wolf Fur Hire (Book 4)
Dawson Fur Hire (Book 5)
Chance Fur Hire (Book 6)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
For more Books from this Author
Visit www.tsjoyce.com for a full reading list.
About the Author
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. Experienced at handling an alpha male of her own, she lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.