An Arranged Mating for Micah [A Dragon's Growl 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove)

by Marcy Jacks

  A Dragon’s Growl 4

  An Arranged Meeting for Micah

  Micah, an omega wolf with no worth, has just been offered a golden opportunity to mate with Van, a dragon warrior. The only problem is he doesn’t love Van—he’s in love with Stefan. But Van won’t take no for an answer, even when Stefan steals Micah out from under Van’s grip.

  Stefan loved the omega from the moment he first saw him. The only reason he never made a move was because Micah was a slave to the vampires, and Stefan didn’t want to give Micah a reason to fear him. With Van convinced Micah is in love with him, Stefan had to step in. There is no way in hell he’s going to hand Micah over to anyone for any reason.

  But when Van won’t quit, and when a confrontation turns dangerous, Micah doesn’t know if he can handle being taken away from the one alpha he’s ever loved.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 25,216 words

  AN ARRANGED MATING FOR

  MICAH

  A Dragon’s Growl 4

  Marcy Jacks

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  AN ARRANGED MATING FOR MICAH

  Copyright © 2017 by Marcy Jacks

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-435-8

  First Publication: July 2017

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  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 federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  legal@sirenbookstrand.com

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Marcy Jacks lives and works in Ontario, Canada, with her dog and she loves writing about gorgeous guys in tricky situations. You can reach her at authormarcyjacks@gmail.com.

  For all titles by Marcy Jacks, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/marcy-jacks

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Landmarks

  Cover

  AN ARRANGED MATING

  FOR MICAH

  A Dragon’s Growl 4

  MARCY JACKS

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “What if I don’t want to be mated to you?”

  Micah stared up at the dragon in question who’d asked him such a thing. He knew Van in a barely-acquaintances kind of way, and he knew the dragons were all searching for mates, but the way Van talked about it made it sound almost as if he’d made up Micah’s mind for him.

  Most of the other dragons sat around the table in the dining room, a table that used to seat the vampire elite of the state and now seated the dragons who had taken the property for themselves.

  Sethraghck, the leading dragon of his clan, cleared his throat. “I’m sure Van didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Then how did he mean it?” Lucian snapped.

  The alpha’s arms were crossed, and he seemed to be glaring daggers at Van.

  Micah ducked his head. He didn’t like being in the middle of this. He probably shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place. The only reason why Van got the idea in his head that Micah would make a good mate for him was because, after Lucian had beaten the hell out of Van, Micah found him and was one of the omegas to help nurse him back to health.

  He didn’t do it because he liked the dragon. In fact, Van’s constant coddling of the other omegas, the ones angry with Lucian’s mate for being one of the vampires that used to live in this house, well, it annoyed him.

  But he hadn’t wanted Van to lie there bleeding either. So he’d helped the man to his feet, walked him to his room, and called the omegas who were more skilled at first aid. Micah had helped to clean and bandage his wounds then went back to his own room and hadn’t thought about it since then.

  Until Van called for a meeting and said he wanted Micah for a mate.

  As soon as possible.

  Now Micah was stuck sitting there, stunned, and wondering how in the hell he was supposed to get out of this. The option to say no, to anything, had never before been there when he’d been a slave to the vampires. Now that he had it, he was scared to use it.

  And everyone else around the table was glaring at Van. Lucian looked like he wanted to knock the yellow dragon’s head right off.

  “Micah, I know it’s sudden, but after what happened, I know I could trust you, and you can definitely trust me. I can keep you safe, and you would never have to worry about anything ever again.”

  Unless Van got kicked out of the clan. It was lucky he hadn’t been, considering he and a few of the other omegas had once held Sorin down and pulled out his vampire fangs. That was why Lucian had beat Van in the first place. Sorin was Lucian’s mate, and Lucian hadn’t forgiven Van for that.

  “You sure you’re not just trying to get a foothold in the house to keep us from kicking your dumb ass out?” Lucian asked. His eyes were turning red.

  Van sneered at him. “No, taking advantage of someone smaller and weaker is your specialty.”

  Lucian damn near jumped over the table. “You mother—”

  Stefan grabbed Lucian and pulled him back. “That’s enough,” he said in that deep voice that made Micah shiver.

  His platinum brows were pulled together, and even without the ring in his left eyebrow, the man seemed to shine like silver.

  Dark olive skin and long platinum hair made him stand out from the rest of the clan, even from Seth, who was a red dragon.

  If Micah remembered everything correctly, Stefan was actually the second-in-command of the pack. He and Seth seemed to be keeping the most levelheaded out of everyone else around the table. At least they weren’t growling or glaring at Van.

  Lucian snapped his teeth at Stefan, but he said nothing. He just yanked his arm out of Stefan’s hand and grunted before standing still.

  Micah snuck a peek up at the alpha. Stefan barely looked at him.

  It was Seth who spoke to Micah. “Micah, we called you in here to confirm this, but from the sounds of it, this is as much news to you as it is to us.”

  Micah nodded, gripping his elbow and trying not to look at anyone. “I’m…I’m really sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Van, but I would like to not mate with you if possible.”

  He heard the deep intake of breath Van made and then the exhale. “Well, it’s all right. I thought when you
were caring for me…but that’s neither here nor there. I can wait for you.”

  Micah looked up at the man, shocked.

  Maybe Van took that to mean there was hope for them, which there wasn’t, because he smiled and nodded, as if to confirm that. “I meant it. I’ll take care of you. After what you did for me, I felt it right here.”

  He pointed at his heart. Heat rushed to Micah’s face. It wasn’t because he was flattered but because he was embarrassed.

  Even as he tried to duck his head and hide his face, he saw the way Van smiled from the corner of his eye, as if this was just giving him more hope there might be something there.

  “Micah,” Stefan said. “If you don’t want to mate with anyone, you know you don’t have to, right? We’re not like the vampires. We wouldn’t force that on you.”

  The vampires wouldn’t force a mating on anyone either. They would just fuck the omegas and then send them back to their tiny rooms when finished with them.

  Micah nodded. He knew what Van was asking for, but he didn’t want to come out and say that he didn’t think he was comfortable with the idea of mating with a man cruel enough to hold someone like Sorin down, abuse him, and then pull his fangs out with a pair of pliers.

  Micah was just trying to be decent when he’d helped Van to his room after his beating. He didn’t want to be in this position.

  And the one person he might be interested in being in this position with…

  He looked up at Stefan’s calm eyes then glanced away when he saw nothing for him in those silver depths.

  It was pointless to dwell on it, so he might as well not think about it. An alpha like Stefan, who was second-in-command to a powerful clan of dragons and one of the men who had rescued Micah from his imprisonment with the vampires…of course he wouldn’t be interested in an omega like Micah.

  Seth rubbed his eyes. “Okay, well, this was an embarrassing waste of time. Anyone else you want to tell me you’re getting mated to, Van, or was this the only one?”

  Van glared at his alpha. “He’s the only one. I wouldn’t be in love with more than one person. I wouldn’t do that to him.”

  Micah’s eyes flew wide. Love? Did Van say he loved him?

  No way. Holy God, that wasn’t possible. He had to stop the man from thinking such things. There was no way Micah could return feelings like that, and it wouldn’t be right to leave Van with the impression there was hope for them.

  He had to fix this. He didn’t want Van to think there was any chance of this happening or that Micah was just playing the chasing game. Micah didn’t know much about love, but he’d been around long enough to know it was what some of the omegas did with other omegas, or even betas, when they were in love.

  They said it increased affection somewhat. Micah wasn’t trying to get more affection from Van, or any of it at all. Why did the dragon have to think Micah wanted something with him? Why couldn’t his attention have been focused on any of the omegas who already clamored for his attention? Some of them spoke outright about how in love with him they were.

  Great. Something else for him to think about. Micah was definitely going to get into a confrontation with those omegas because of this.

  Stefan leaned to the side, whispering something into Seth’s ear. Seth listened, and he nodded. Whatever it was, it was spoken in such a hushed tone that even Micah’s excellent hearing couldn’t pick up what it was.

  He did know that it couldn’t be such a good thing when both men suddenly looked at him.

  Micah tensed.

  Seth spoke to the group as a whole. “Everyone leave us. Stefan and I are going to have a word with Micah.”

  Micah blinked. “You are?”

  “Yeah, what for?” Van asked, suspicion in his voice.

  Stefan didn’t exactly glare at him, but the frost in those silver eyes was something on par with what even Andrei could create, and Andrei was an ice dragon. “That’s not your damned business. If we wanted it to be your business, we would have told you.”

  Van’s cheeks colored miserably, his entire body stiffening.

  He suddenly looked at Micah. “If you need anything, you just call for me, got it?”

  “I don’t think they’re going to attack me,” Micah said softly.

  “And he’s not your mate to protect anyway,” Lucian said, throwing that little tidbit into the man’s face.

  Van flipped Lucian off, storming out of the dining room as everyone else got to their feet, doing as they were told.

  Micah stayed seated, a thousand different thoughts rushing through his head, and he couldn’t get a firm grasp on any of them.

  What if Stefan and Seth tried to convince him to take Van as a mate? What if this was something they seriously were considering?

  “Micah, do you want to be mated to Van?” Seth asked softly when everyone was gone.

  “Uh…” Micah didn’t know what to say to that. At all.

  What if this was a trick question? What if he insulted the alpha dragon by saying he didn’t want to be mated to Van?

  “I’m not…I don’t know how to answer that.”

  Something in Stefan’s eyes changed. He looked…sympathetic? Pitying? Micah wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he knew he didn’t like it.

  Van treated all the omegas like victims. That was exactly the reason why Micah didn’t like the man.

  On top of him hurting Sorin, that was.

  The fact that Stefan gave him that same pitying expression hurt. And annoyed him.

  “I mean, I do know how to answer,” he said, scrambling to pull together a spine. Anything to keep Stefan, of all people, from looking at him like that.

  “Okay, and?” Seth asked.

  Micah tensed in his seat. “And?”

  Seth waited. “You said you knew how to answer.”

  Well, hell. Now he did have to spit it out, didn’t he?

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to be mated to Van.”

  “Why?” Stefan asked.

  Because I’m in love with you.

  He wanted to say it so badly, but Micah didn’t dare let those words out of his mouth.

  He answered as truthfully as he possibly could while leaving out that information. “Well, what he did to Sorin. I didn’t like that. Sorin was our friend. He treated us nicely.”

  “Some of the omegas are unhappy that he’s now a protected mate of Lucian’s,” Seth said.

  Micah rubbed his arm. “They’re being stupid. Those are kitchen slaves or even the pleasure slaves. Sorin wouldn’t have had any contact with them because he never had to make his own meals, and he never used any of the pleasure slaves. Everyone else knows that he was good to us. Ask Miles.”

  Miles was a former pleasure slave and a favorite of Varrick’s, Sorin’s father. Miles was also mated to Seth, and they had a happy mating.

  Miles was one of the few pleasure slaves Sorin did personally know for that reason, and the entire house knew they were good friends.

  Of course, some of the omegas in the house saw Miles as something of a traitor because of that, but Micah didn’t feel like bringing that into this. It was all complicated enough.

  Seth smiled softly, nodding. “Yes, he’s mentioned it on a few occasions. I know Sorin’s a good guy. Lucian’s instincts wouldn’t steer him wrong.”

  Stefan spoke up. “Is that the only reason why you don’t want to mate with him? Because Van hurt one of your friends?”

  Micah blinked, not entirely understanding the question. “Is there any other reason needed?”

  Stefan pressed his lips together. “I suppose not.”

  Seth shook his head. “What my friend is trying to ask you is, would you be open to mating with Van if it hadn’t been for this? Was there some feeling there, and now you’re just…how do I say this? Holding yourself back?”

  That tension in Micah’s spine returned full force. “Do you want me to mate with Van?”

  “Only if you want to,” Seth sai
d. “Only if it will make you happy.”

  Micah looked at the red dragon, and then at Stefan, wishing with everything he had that he hadn’t heard that.

  He knew the dragons were looking to find mates among the staff. They thought it would strengthen the ties between the former slaves and the dragons, to help them see that they were no longer slaves but equals, as well as to build loyalty.

  If it would help Stefan, was it something he should consider?

  Micah didn’t much like Van, but he didn’t hate the man either. He was disgusted with what Van had done, but in his defense, Van had thought he was defending the omegas who were still frightened of Sorin.

  And it wasn’t like Micah could hope for any better. He was a former slave, uneducated, and he could barely read. Who else was going to want him?

  Van had said he loved him.

  The wolf ears on top of Micah’s head folded flat against his hair. Had he not already been sitting, his tail might’ve tucked itself between his legs.

  He couldn’t. As much as he thought about the potential upsides to such a thing, he couldn’t do it. He didn’t love Van, and the man was just too much.

  Too much, being not enough to describe him.

  “I don’t want to mate with him. I really don’t.” He was honestly scared out of his mind to ask the next part. “Are you going to make me?”

  “We would never make you take a mate if you don’t want that,” Stefan said quickly, his silver eyes gleaming, powerful arms folding over his chest, which only accented the muscles of his biceps.

  Why the hell did he have to be so handsome? Why did he have to be one of the first people Micah saw when he and the other omegas were being freed?

  “Was there someone else you had in mind? Or was that a no to mating altogether?”