Table of 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
Chapter 16
Book 1: The Missing Queen
Book 2: The Ripple Effect
Book 3: The Lost Tiro
Book 4: The Long Journey
Book 5: The Final Leg
Dixon
Stratham Shifters Book 6
Sarah J. Stone
Copyright and Disclaimer
Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Stone
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Website: www.sarahjstone.com
Contents
Title Page
Copyright and Disclaimer
Dixon
Witch Academy Box Set
Special Invitation
More From The Author
Chapter 1
Melody sat in shock, but really, she shouldn’t have been too surprised. Her uncle wasn’t the most unpredictable man. Once he set his sights on something, nothing could change his mind. He’d left her alone for months, and she was finally starting to believe he’d let her do as she always planned. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as she listened to him sprout on and on about the ‘perfect’ mate for her. She chuckled to herself.
Like she’d let her uncle set her up with a mate. He wouldn’t know a good match if it slapped him in the face. He should know better really. She wasn’t sure what made him think she would mate with a man twice her age. It certainly wouldn’t be a love match.
She wouldn’t wed the male he’d picked for her. Not in a million years. Fifty wasn’t that old. Yet he treated her as if she were some old spinster. There was still time to find her soul mate. He was out there somewhere—maybe in the human world. She’d thought that for years now, but Talbot was yet again trying to wed her off to the highest bidder. She really didn’t think that was the best way to find love. Not that he even knew the true meaning of loving someone, unless loving oneself counted.
It wasn’t as though she had many offers, and only from those who wanted to treat her like a breeder. Melody shook her head in disgust. She didn’t want to marry out of a dirty bribe. She wanted to find that one man who complimented and completed her. The same way she would for him—or her. The Fae didn’t usually include preference to gender. Love was love. That’s what she was taught, anyway. She couldn’t fight Fate any more than she could bring her parents back.
Was it too much to ask for—to find the right one for herself?
It was if Talbot had anything to say about it. She huffed when he sighed.
“Now, Melody, it’s a great offer. An alliance with the West is just what we need. You’ll be treated like royalty. He’s the King, dear. You couldn’t ask for better.” The older man rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. “You won’t find a male of Sirk’s status in any other territory that would even consider the likes of you.”
Now the true face came forth. She gripped the fabric of her dress between her fingers and squeezed her knees together to keep herself seated. “I don’t think you understand, Uncle, I won’t wed for an alliance. That isn’t love.”
The man waved a hand and scoffed. “Love isn’t everything, darling.” He leaned back in his chair as if he were contemplating her choice. “Your father would be so disappointed in you. He would want you to do what’s best for our people, and wedding Sirk is just that. It’s your duty…”
That was it, she wouldn’t settle back and let him take away her future, and to use her father against her?
Ludicrous.
“I will not let you manipulate me. I say no.” She stood with enough force the chair scooted back nearly tipping backwards. She didn’t bother to right her wrong as she stomped to the door. There was nothing that could get her agreement. She’d wrapped her hand around the knob ready to pull it open, but he knew exactly how to play her. She gripped the metal so tight her knuckles went white.
“I guess Haven will do then.”
Those few words froze her. Not her baby sister. Haven wasn’t ready to wed. She was far too young. Melody turned around and faced the vile man. “Haven won’t do.”
Talbot threw his hands up in defeat. “Sirk wants a female of the Calicaski line. There are only three of you and Hanna is far too young to be wed. That leaves you—or Haven.”
Tears filled her eyes, knowing her hopes of finding her soul mate were being ripped right out from beneath her. If she refused, Haven would be forced to wed Sirk, and if she stayed she would. But her sisters would be safe.
That’s all that mattered, right?
Melody didn’t want to cave. Her whole life was filled with duty and honor, and she was tired of her uncle making every choice for her, as if she didn’t have a voice. She wanted a voice—her own, not some skewed view on life that Talbot drove into her mind. Life had to offer more than this. She shouldn’t be destined to be wed to a male twice her age. One that was rumored to have gone through multiple wives in the last decade. She didn’t want to end up like the other females. She knew the truth, though. Her father would have never forced her—alliance or not. He would have given her a choice.
She shuddered, but her thoughts went to Haven. She couldn’t leave her sister to do this. The decision was hers. She was the eldest of their line. The protector. He shoulders slumped knowing what she had to do.
She either agreed to be betrothed to Sirk or Haven would take her place. They were far too outnumbered, and she couldn’t take a chance that her sister would end up caught in a marriage she didn’t want. It was a females’ place to listen to the males. The world she lived in was old, and no one deviated by the laws. But out in the real world, she knew that she could be free. If only she could leave this place that had turned from beauty to darkness since her parents died thirty years before. Everything had changed with her uncle in charge.
For years, she’d been planning to leave, but something always held her back. She couldn’t abandon her sisters, not after their parents died. Then they warred with the South for five long years. The North, her home, was hurting from their loses, still. Now there was even less females then there had been. The males’ numbers had dwindled by a quarter. It was not a good time for them. Uncle Talbot and her two sisters were her only family left. Soon there wouldn’t be enough standing for them to keep their status. Soon the North would fall into shambles like it had over two hundred years before. It was her father and mother who had saved them all. They fixed all the wrongs and lived their lives truly honored among their kind.
She wasn’t her mother. She couldn’t fix what was broken. The North needed new hands to lead them, and those hands weren’t her own. Forming an alliance with the West wouldn’t hurt them, but it certainly wouldn’t help them in the way Talbot thought. He had grand ideas of royalty again, but the North was too far gone. Even she knew that. He was just grasping. Sirk wouldn’t fix the North. He’d take it over and it would no longer be. But she would have to take that chance.
She r
efused to let the tears fall. She wouldn’t show him any sign of weakness. Let him think he’d won. “Fine, I will wed him.”
Talbot laughed in glee and clapped his hands together. “Sweet Melody, oh, my dear, you have made the correct choice.” He wiped his eyes and nodded. “You’ll see.”
Melody didn’t believe him for a second. And she couldn’t bring herself to share his joy. She knew her uncle was getting a payout. That’s how it always worked. He would take his riches and flee, forcing her and her sisters to suffer the consequences of his actions. She nibbled her lip wondering how she would get out of it. There had to be a way, but first she had to talk to Haven. Her sister needed to know the plan their uncle had devised.
“This will be our ruin,” she warned and yanked the door opened. She didn’t wait for a response. She didn’t need to hear what he had to say. Instead she stormed out of the room leaving her uncle in his utter madness.
Because after all, that’s what it had to be. There was no better explanation. He’d fallen into his greed, and nothing or no one could stop him. Her father leaving him in charge of their estate was the poorest decision he could have made. Uncle Talbot would wring them dry until the North would no longer be. He signed their lives away to the West. She shuddered.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
She wouldn’t let them win even if that meant taking herself and her sisters out of Faerie for good. There was nothing left for them, anyway.
She needed a plan—and fast, but how could she save herself and both of her sisters from a life her uncle tried to force upon them?
***
Dixon was sick and tired of living every day the same, but he was stuck. He had no idea how to make the changes he wanted for himself. Something niggled at the back of his mind. It was as if he was missing a vital piece in his life. Deep down, he knew what it was, but he had no clue as to how to find the one thing he was lacking in his life. So, until he figured that out it was the same thing day in and day out. Every day, he went to work, put in his ten hours and then he’d ride. Years ago, he was surprised when he found that he wasn’t lion enough for horses to dislike him. In fact, he seemed to have an affinity for them. It was probably one of the only good things that came out of being a dud. That, and being able to get nicely drunk. Most shifters metabolized alcoholic drinks too fast, so it did them no good. But he was able to get well and truly wasted. It helped pass the time. Then he’d drive home and fall into bed before he had to wake up and do it all again.
Bac was the only friend he’d managed to make in Kinketta. From what he could tell, the big grizzly didn’t much care for people. Strangely enough, he owned and ran the bar Dixon visited each night. It had taken some time, but after months, he and the large man had a silent agreement and formed their idea of friendship. Kinketta wasn’t what he considered a major city, but it was bigger than any of the other smaller towns that surrounded the area, it’s where all the locals came to find excitement.
It wasn’t anything like the cities he’d lived before, but it beat having his ass handed to him by every female he happened across. Talk about an ego burst. Female lions were tough by design, but the fact he couldn’t even defend himself properly against themmade his life a joke. No pride wanted him. He was useless, they said. How was it his fault he was a dud? He didn’t ask to not be able to shift. Hell, the lion roamed inside of him anxious to be let free—but it just wouldn’t happen. No matter what he tried, the beast lay inside of him, with a body that deemed it dormant, but the problem was—his beast was very much its own entity. An entity that wanted freedom and wasn’t about to give up.
No one knew why he couldn’t shift. Rumors spread that he wasn’t even a Pure. Everyone called him a freak half-breed. He grew tired of the bullies and the taunts, so he bulked up and fought his way through it all. Only it didn’t gain him the respect he deserved. Instead, it made him even worse of an outcast. He went from pride to pride, trying to find his place, only to be shunned.
Fuck the beast. Who needed him?
Not Dixon. No. He found his way among the humans, and that’s how he lived his life—human. The beast inside of him hated being locked away, but there was no way he could let him out. He’d tried.
Oh, how he tried.
For twenty years. Nothing ever came of it, and he learned to accept his defect. He couldn’t shift. Plain and simple.
“Another shot?” Bac asked.
Now, that was someone who understood turmoil. The large man lost his mate and was beat within an inch of his life. He’d never told him how he freed himself or where he’d come from, and Dixon never asked. It wasn’t his place, and he had a feeling his buddy didn’t like to relive those days. Losing a home was one thing, but losing one’s mate—that was probably the worst possible thing for a shifter. Hell, he was surprised Bac lived. Most mated couples would follow the one they lost within months, but not his giant friend. He fought for his life, even if he wasn’t happy.
Just as Dixon didn’t like to relive being bullied and beat his whole life. They’d connected. It was a no ask, don’t tell kind of relationship, but it worked for them. They ate and drank together. They checked out females, but he didn’t think Bac ever took another female home.
“Yeah,” he said. “Or another five.”
Bac chuckled. “One of those days, eh?”
“One of those lives,” He shook his head. “I just can’t shake this feeling.”
“What type of feeling?”
He downed his shot and shuddered loving how the burn of the liquor coated his throat. “I don’t know. But it’s been days now. Something is gonna happen, just don’t know what—or when.”
“Something bad?” Bac raised a brow. “Did you piss off another husband?”
Dixon laughed. Humans and their monogamy. It wasn’t his fault the wives cheated. He didn’t care. They said they wanted him, he took them. It was the only thing he gave himself. “Nah, I haven’t been with a woman in weeks.” And that was the sad truth. He loved women, but for some reason he hadn’t had an inkling to take one home.
“Wow, that isn’t like you. You dyin’ or somethin’?”
Hell if he knew. Maybe he was. “Nothing like that, I don’t think. But this feeling it’s in my bones. And it’s going to drive me mad.” He leaned in in whispered, “The beast, he won’t settle. It’s not like him.”
Bac nodded as if he understood something Dixon didn’t. “Your beast may not come out and play, but he sure is trying to tell you somethin’. Maybe you ought to try listenin’ sometime.”
“Yeah, right. This beast has been nothing but a hassle my whole life.”
“Don’t knock him, man, one day when you least expect it—” he slammed his hand down on the counter “—boom, you’ll be him. He’ll take over and because of your hate for him…”
Dixon sighed. He didn’t hate his beast. Not really. He just didn’t like him or understand him. How could something so raw and powerful be living inside of his body, yet he was so weak? It didn’t make any sense. How could he be a shifter—yet not at the same time. Life didn’t work that way. “I don’t think so. I’ll never shift.”
His bartender buddy put two shot glasses down and poured the whiskey in each one. “Never say never,” he said and nodded to the shot.
Dixon rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe it for a second.
The beast growled and paced inside of him. The unease settled in the pit of his gut, much like the shots. He wasn’t even able to drink and be sober like a real shifter. No because of his defect he could get drunk with the best of him. Only difference—it wore off faster. He metabolized it faster. Just made him drink more. Being drunk meant he didn’t have to think.
And not thinking was a very good thing for him. He didn’t like to be that man. The one who whined and dwelled on things he couldn’t control. But the longer he stayed sober, the more he thought about how much Fate hated him. How much of a failure he was. So much so his own family kicked him to the c
urb once they realized he wasn’t ever going to be like them. He was trash, and that’s how he’d been treated most of him life.
And if that wasn’t a bitch.
Chapter 2
Finding Haven was the easy part. Telling her about her conversation with her uncle wouldn’t be. She and her sisters all knew their uncle had ulterior motives, but neither of them knew as much as her. She kept as much as she could from them hoping to protect them longer, but it seemed now she had no choice. This wasn’t something that could be ignored. Especially if she found a way to get them all out of Faerie. She’d need them to help her. Being the eldest, she should be the strongest, but it seemed the power of their line skipped her in the matter of defense.
Melody sighed and walked down the secluded path away from the others. She didn’t need others to stare of her with looks of pity or worse. Her parents had been gone so long now, but still she and her sisters were always avoiding others. Her sisters meant well, but it was time to move on. And now with her uncle taking over her life completely it was only a matter of time until everyone knew about her future—one she didn’t want.
Her sister’s favorite place to be was in the garden she cared for. It was almost as if she belonged with the wild. Melody loved that Haven found a place to be at ease with everything going on. She needed that. Melody walked barefoot on the cobblestone avoiding sharp rocks with ease. She’d taken this path many times before in search of her own solace. Only she never found it—not like Haven had.
Her sister sat in front of the Fernonia flowers—her favorite—and bowed as if she were praying to the gods. Maybe she was, Melody didn’t know, but right now she needed the most convincing prayer. It was the only way they’d get through these dark times. And that’s what they were. Dark and gloomy. Full of angst and sorrow. That’s how Melody felt. Never before in her life had she felt so lost, so out of control of her own destiny. It was as if Fate needed entertainment, but that couldn’t be right, could it? Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to take her choices away would she?
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