Ancient Protector

by Katie Reus

  Ancient Protector

  Ancients Rising

  Katie Reus

  Even as he fights for their future…

  With the world still rebuilding after massive dragon attacks, famous singer Star isn’t willing to rely on a stranger to protect her family—though dragon shifter Lachlan is difficult to resist. Something about him is strangely familiar, but she doesn’t understand why. He’s already helped Star rescue her sister from a recent abduction, but trust doesn’t come easy when his kind has nearly hunted her race to extinction. When her sister’s kidnapper launches another violent attack, Star has no choice but to accept Lachlan’s aid. But no matter that he’s stepped up to protect her, she’ll never allow the ancient Scottish dragon into her heart.

  They’re bound by the past.

  Lachlan lost the woman he was meant to mate millennia ago. Unable to live in a world without her, his pain drove him to hibernation. He never thought he would move on—until Star. He’s well aware the feisty shifter is his new destiny, so if tailing her to New Orleans is what he has to do to be near her, then so be it. When Star is attacked, Lachlan resolves to protect her at all costs. And he won’t have to do it alone. It will take Lachlan, his clansmen, and Star’s misfit band of friends to rain fiery vengeance down upon their enemy if she and her sister are to ever be truly free. Only then can he claim her and discover the shocking truth that lies buried in their past.

  FIRST IN NEW SERIES

  Ancient Protector

  Copyright © 2020 Katie Reus

  Cover art by Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  Editor: Julia Ganis

  Digital Formatting: Author E.M.S.

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book. This purchase allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the right to resell, distribute, print or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload this book to a file sharing program. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Table of Contents

  ANCIENT PROTECTOR

  About the Book

  Copyright

  Dedication

  PART I – Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  PART II – Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Dear Readers

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Complete Booklist

  Dedication

  Thank you to Claire Robinson, Erin McRae, and Toni & Gary Anderson for helping me with the Scottish phrases and language.

  Part I

  Before The Fall

  Chapter 1

  Starling, better known as Star to her millions of fans, stepped out of the luxurious en suite into the bedroom she and her band were using before the big show in a few hours.

  “Breathe,” Bella snapped at her. Bella, her PR manager, and also one of her best friends, gave her a pointed look. She’d pulled her long, inky black hair into a tight chignon and done some sort of swooping thing with her eyeliner today, giving her eyes an even more dramatic look. And in typical Bella style, she’d worn an all-white pantsuit with a sheer red camisole peeking out from the V of the buttoned-up, fitted jacket. She looked like the boss she was. Yeah, Star was the Alpha of their misfit pack, but Bella kept them all in line and organized. “Breathe in and out, slowly.”

  Star pasted on a smile because at this point they weren’t sure if they were being watched by the owner of this massive estate in Wales.

  Star was a world-famous singer but she was also very private, and Oscar—aka Osgar, Alpha of the Rabec clan and the ancient dragon shifter who owned this place—liked mysteries. He also liked things that didn’t belong to him. Something she knew firsthand because the monster had kidnapped Star’s sister.

  Star was here to get Aurora back. They all were.

  For an entire year they’d been searching for Aurora, and now that they’d found her, they weren’t leaving without her. Star would burn this entire place to the ground before she did that.

  Bella’s snapped orders were a reminder, however. Because as of now they had to assume they were being watched or listened to at all times. They’d scanned the suite for listening devices and hadn’t found anything, but they weren’t taking any chances. “I know, I’m just nervous about the show tonight.” Lies, lies, lies. She didn’t give a crap about the show. None of them did. Her only goal was to free her sister and escape.

  They’d already accomplished step one of their plan—getting the invite to this exclusive estate. It had only taken a damn year. An entire year’s worth of planning had finally culminated in this one night.

  There was no room for error because her sister’s life depended on it.

  Hell, all their lives depended on it. Because if they were caught by Oscar or his clanmates, it would be a battle to the death. And she had no doubt that they would end up revealing themselves to the humans here at the manor.

  Because Star wasn’t walking away without her sister, even if she had to reveal to the entire world what she was. The humans would get a big surprise when they found out they weren’t at the top of the food chain.

  “You look fantastic so I hope you’re ready for the first part of the evening.” Bella pulled out her tablet and started tapping away on it even though Star knew the woman had their entire schedule memorized.

  Star glanced over at Brielle, who was standing by one of the oversized, bullet-resistant windows. Gauzy cream-colored drapes were pulled over them, but Brielle was still peering outside at the fountain in the middle of the formal garden. Past that, a huge stage had been set up so that tonight’s show would take place under a blanket of stars. The stage itself had been set up days ago, a huge monstrosity large enough to hold multiple bands and production people at a time.

  “Why do I have to do this stupid auction?” Star grumbled. She wasn’t acting now for potential cameras or listening devices; she really did hate this part of the evening. But she hadn’t been able to say no to the celebrity auction. She had to appear agreeable and easy to work with because they hadn’t wanted to risk getting cut from the band lineup—and losing their invite to the estate altogether.

  She was only one of the headliners, and if Oscar decided on a whim to cut her out of the show, sure her fans would have been disappointed, but the show would go on without her. So Star was taking part in a stupid �
��celebrity auction.” All she wanted to do was start the show because while she was singing and creating a distraction, part of her team would be breaking Aurora out of the underground dungeon they were ninety-nine percent sure she was being held in.

  “Wah, wah,” murmured Brielle, not looking away from the window. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a long braid, showing off sharp cheekbones. The tiger shifter was about five feet eleven and stunning both in human and tiger form. “Want some cheese with that whine?”

  “Yes, please don’t whine,” Bella added. “It’s not becoming.”

  “I never promised that,” Star murmured, half-smiling even as the ball of tension curled tighter in her stomach. They’d come so far and were so close to their endgame.

  “Come on.” Bella sighed and linked her arm through Star’s. “Time to get out there.”

  Bella was about five foot two, petite and graceful as almost all feline shifters were. Bella was a rare snow leopard shifter. Her great-grandparents had emigrated from the Sichuan Province in China soooo many years ago, given how long shifters lived. Bella spoke eight languages and was one of the smartest people Star knew.

  Bella was also one of four snow leopards on Star’s crew. Which was why the majority of supernaturals who knew that her band was in fact supernatural assumed that Star was a snow leopard as well. And she liked it that way. Snow leopards might be rare but they were shifters just the same as all the others across the planet. There was no reason to kidnap her for that alone. But if anyone knew what Star was… If Oscar figured out that Star was Aurora’s big sister, they’d all become targets because he would want to kidnap Star too. Quickly she banished the thought.

  As they headed for the door, Brielle peeled off from where she was standing near the window and reached the door first in a few long strides. Brielle’s twin sister Harlow was waiting outside and they fell into a formation around Star and Bella as they headed down the long hallway. Both tigers had been allowed knives—which were discreetly hidden under their black jackets. But there were no guns allowed on the premises, which was more of a country law than anything.

  Not that it mattered. None of them needed guns or knives. Not when they could use their claws or turn into animals. And Star didn’t need anything but her fire and power.

  “The announcer will call you up on stage and the bidding will start at ten thousand,” Bella said.

  “Ten thousand?” Brielle murmured from her position in front of Star. “Seems like too much for such a scrawny thing.”

  “Hey!” Star protested.

  “I’m just saying, I’ve seen you in the morning with bed head before your coffee. You’re scary.”

  Behind them Harlow simply snickered but didn’t say anything, which was pretty standard for the twins. Brielle talked shit and Harlow laughed.

  Star sniffed imperiously but was glad for the bit of levity. She needed to stay in control, and not focus on the fact that her sister was in this compound, so damn close and yet so far. Because if she focused too much on that, she would lose her mind and put everyone else in danger. So she understood what her friend was doing, understood that she was trying to keep her calm.

  “As I was saying,” Bella continued. “The bidding will start at ten thousand and from there it will go up. You know what an auction is like. Afterward, I’ll introduce you to whoever the highest bidder is and promise to set up a date later.”

  Star simply snorted. She understood that it was for charity, but why not just give the money to charity instead of bidding on a date with her and a bunch of others?

  “Sounds good,” was all she said instead as they stepped into an oversized ballroom with a couple hundred people already there. These were the VIPs who’d been let into the estate early before the big show in an hour.

  Now that she was out in the open, she kept her fake, “superstar” smile in place. It was go time.

  Before she could move farther into the room, suddenly Oscar was there—huge and imposing. Star resisted the urge to suck in a breath. She could sense the power rolling off him and had a feeling that humans could even feel it too. They might not know what they were experiencing, but they would understand that this male was a predator. And right now as he looked at her with far too much curiosity, her heart rate increased.

  “Mr. Rabec,” she said, keeping her voice light and pleased even though she wanted to set his ten-thousand-dollar suit on fire with him still wearing it.

  He smiled at her, all charm and grace dripping from him, but she saw past the thin, civilized veneer. His dark eyes had a vastness to them, a deadness. “Star, I’ve told you to call me Oscar.” His voice was lightly accented, a weird British and maybe Norwegian mix. “I hope you’re excited about the auction tonight.”

  “Oh, of course,” she lied through her teeth.

  He chuckled lightly, probably scenting her lie, but whatever. His sandy brown hair was thick and gorgeous, and again, she had the urge to just shave it all off. “I know it’s a pain but it’s for such a good cause. I’m sure you’ll fetch a nice price.”

  Eww, gross. She kept her smile in place. “Well, it’s all for a good cause.” And that was the truth at least.

  “You know, I must say you have the most unique colored eyes. I think I’ve only seen that shade on one or two others in my life.” He watched her closely then.

  She resisted the urge to squirm under his scrutiny and laughed lightly. “Well, I’ll tell you a secret,” she said, leaning in slightly. “I’m wearing contacts. Purple is all part of my branding.” She was wearing contacts—clear, useless ones for this reason exactly. If a supernatural someone commented on her eye color—and boy, did they ever—she could say she was wearing contacts and not lie.

  “Ah, of course!” Something inside him seemed to ease then and he turned away as one of his security goons murmured something to him. “Well,” he said, turning back to her. “Good luck at the auction. I cannot wait to hear you perform tonight.”

  “Thanks.” She might have murmured something else polite but her blood had chilled over as Bella started leading her through the room.

  Despite the throng of people in the room, a chill rolled over her but she fought it off. For the charity auction she’d opted to wear a Band-Aid-sized sparkly, purple dress. Purple was her signature color—she hadn’t been kidding about the branding thing. The color thing was Bella’s idea and her friend was a freaking genius when it came to PR stuff. And if it hadn’t been for her, Star wouldn’t have shot to stardom as fast as she had. Yeah, she could sing, but all that other stuff? She was clueless about. Thankfully Bella, and Lola, another member of their crew who was in charge of marketing and web stuff, knew what they were doing. Not to mention Lola had another skill: hacking.

  Because of her friends, they were able to enact this rescue plan. It was something Star would never forget for as long as she lived. Blood didn’t always make you family.

  As they stepped farther into the ballroom, Bella moved a few feet away from Star as a couple photographers moved toward her. The picture takers were all corralled behind a set of ropes, even in the huge ballroom, which Star thought was a smart move on the organizers’ part. Star was aware of the twins nearby, but ignored everyone as she put her hand on her hip, turned her left foot out and gave the cameras her left side. Which according to Bella was her best side.

  “Is it true that you’re dating Mason Brown?” one of the photographers yelled out.

  She simply smiled and posed for another picture, ignoring the question. The name sounded vaguely familiar—maybe he was an actor. She certainly didn’t know the guy, however.

  Moments later, Bella swooped right back in and guided her toward a waiting area next to the stage. This area had also been roped off but there was a table set up with bottled water, flutes of champagne, caviar and a bunch of other stuff. Apparently this was only for the people being auctioned off. “Here you go. Auction starts in four minutes,” Bella murmured. “You’re the first one up.” Then her frie
nd disappeared back behind the ropes and started talking to the PR person of another individual involved in the auction.

  Someone she recognized from a television show, though their name was escaping Star at the moment, had a microphone and notecards in hand as they prepped for the auction.

  The whole room was a cacophony of noise with well-dressed people, mostly in formal dresses and dark suits. But she was taking in the exits, scanning for familiar faces. Axel, who was the only male in her security team, was off now doing recon with two of her backup vocalists. She trusted them to do their part in all of this, but was still nervous. She couldn’t help it. Her sister’s life depended on it.

  Beyond the roped-off area near the stage, servers carrying trays of champagne flutes milled about, blending into the background incredibly well. Unlike the glittering dresses of so many of the women here, the servers wore all black and a few of them looked as if they doubled as security as well. She couldn’t know for sure, but according to what her team had found out, Oscar had strictly locked down his entire estate and had private security—aka his own dragon clanmates. So if she had to guess, some or all of the servers were dragons. But about half of the guests had to be human.