by Lucy Fear
THE DRAGON'S
WING
A PARANORMAL DRAGON SHIFTER ROMANCE
LUCY FEAR
Copyright ©2017 by Lucy Fear
All rights reserved.
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About This Book
On her first day working at the castle of the mysterious Brendan Drake, Rhiannon Woods tripped and fell right into the arms of the man himself.
Rhiannon had no time to be embarrassed as Brendan took an instant liking to her and decided to literally take her under his wing as his personal assistant.
However, Rhiannon had no idea that Brendan Drake was keeping a very fiery secret from her.
And Brendan had no idea that Rhiannon had a SHOCKING secret of her own....
Download now to start reading this modern day dragon shifter romance that fans of “Game Of Thrones” and “Supernatural” should love!
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER ONE
Prologue
When Brendan Drake had accepted the offer to come to Reno, Nevada, to fill one of the time slots at a week-long spiritual retreat, he had been quite skeptical at first. He owned over a dozen Druids and Dreams metaphysical stores all over the United States, and kept a warehouse to fill plenty of orders online as well, but it was only recently that he’d started to put on demonstrations of his particularly unusual set of skills, and many people still suspected that his teachings were a hoax.
He always wanted to be sure before he took to the stage that the crowd was really there to learn, and not just to gawp at the things that he could do, so of course Brendan had sent Rory Duncan, his publicist, to investigate the situation before he himself arrived.
“Everything here seems on the up and up, Drake,” said Rory over his cell two days before the show. “I’ve even checked security around here to be sure there won’t be another lighting incident like the one that happened there in France. Honestly, you’re lucky you’re still alive.”
“Luck had little to do with it, my friend,” said Brendan with a derisive snort. “It was pure skill that allowed me to foresee what was about to happen before it was too late.”
“Yes, sir, but even you can’t rely on those skills all the time. Someday you might be distracted and miss your opportunity to survive.”
“Rory, I’ve told you already, there’s nobody out there who is out to harm me,” Brendan insisted with an indulgent sigh. “Why would they be? I’m all about healing and helping others to learn a better way of life. People love me. They’re excited at the very thought that after thousands of years, there’s finally a shaman willing to show them the truth about our ways. It’s an exciting time for them to be alive.”
“Understood, sir,” Rory said, though it was obvious from his tone that he was not fully convinced. “Shall I expect your arrival sometime tomorrow night?”
“Yes, tell them it’s confirmed. I will definitely be there.”
“Great, boss; I’ll let them know right now,” he replied. “I’ve already booked you a flight out of Boston at two in the afternoon. First class, of course. Hopefully, that’ll give you enough time to sleep off your return from Paris tonight.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can always sleep on the plane.”
Chapter One
Rhiannon Woods scanned her excessively full inbox with tired eyes. It was certain that whenever she suddenly awakened for unclear reasons in the middle of the night, somebody of importance was trying to contact her there or give her a call. As was usually the case, she was right.
However, since it had been several months since she’d had any word from her older sibling, she was quite surprised to find a missive from Rory tucked neatly among the files. Blinking rapidly to clear the sleep from her eyes, she clicked to see what he could possibly be writing her about this time.
Rhi, it’s me. I know we didn’t part the best of friends after that little incident with Todd Hammond, but I’m starting to think I could really use your help. Have you taken those vacation days you were talking about yet? If not, it’d be great if you could take them out here in California with me. Give me a call either way, I really need to talk. Thanks, sis. You’re the best. —Rory.
“Not good,” she muttered with a frustrated sigh. “Not good at all.”
It was only four days before she’d intended to use her two months of collective vacation time on a well-deserved break from her job. As one of the most highly demanded CIA psychic investigators in her division deep in the heart of Virginia, she was completely deserving of the time. Things at the office had become really tense since her breakup with coworker Todd six months ago, and although she’d requested to be reassigned to a different city somewhere, her supervisor had been less than willing to oblige.
“We’re all adults here, Rhiannon, and you two are the best agents we’ve got on the team,” Margot had insisted. “Why don’t you just grow a pair and suck it up? You’re not the first woman who has ever been cheated on.”
“You don’t understand, Margot,” she’d sighed. “Todd was my first. I really thought we were going to go the distance. Somehow, he managed to hide his affair from me for two whole years. Some psychic I turned out to be. Being near him now is totally messing with my powers.”
“Why don’t you just take off a couple of months and get yourself sorted out? You haven’t used any vacation time in the two years you’ve been here. It’d be about time.”
And so, like it or not, Rhi had been allocated a two-month vacation, and she was all set to go to Colorado for a skiing trip. However, as her mother had pointed out more than once, she was a total klutz and her vacation choice was completely insane.
Not for the first time, she wished she hadn’t been a child prodigy who graduated high school at fifteen and college before she was even twenty. Now, at the ripe old age of twenty-three, she already had two years working at the most fascinating job in the world, yet other than the two months she’d tried living in with Todd, she was still a permanent fixture in her mother’s home.
Unlike Rory, who had kept their father’s name, Rhi had willingly changed her surname to Woods ten years ago, when Morrigan Duncan had given up her status as a widow and married Ed. The couple were like night and day, but it was obvious they were very much in love, and Rhi was like the daughter the man had never had.
Still, she was thinking that enough was enough. She had reached the age when she should be out on her own now, and she’d been planning on getting her own apartment after she returned f
rom her enforced exile. Of course, her parents were completely oblivious to that fact, and she intended to keep it that way.
“Hey, there’s my red-headed step-child,” Ed said with a grin as he brought her a glass of warm milk. “Looks like you couldn’t sleep again.”
“Rory wants to talk to me,” said Rhi with an exaggerated shudder.
“You don’t have to call him if you don’t want to.”
“I know—but he is my brother, and he sounds like he’s having some trouble.” She sighed. “I suppose I really ought to help him out.”
Ed shrugged as he walked away again. “Suit yourself, honey. Just be sure to avoid the end that bites.”
***
Rory grabbed up his cell phone and answered it with some urgency when he heard his sister’s ringtone. “Thank goodness you decided to call, Rhiannon. You had me worried there.”
“Brother, what’s wrong?” she asked him when she heard the stressed tone in his voice. “Something is troubling you for sure.”
“Well, you remember the man I told you I’ve been working for?”
“Yes, the shape-shifting spiritualist,” she said. “What about him?”
“Strange things have been happening to him over the last couple of months, and I’m worried somebody is up to no good,” he said with a sigh. “But even though he’s usually the most perceptive man I’ve ever known, Brendan simply refuses to believe that anyone would want to do him harm. He thinks just because he’s loved by the masses, he’s loved by all.”
“Well, that’s just silly,” Rhi scoffed. “Nobody is loved by everybody, no matter how good or kind they can be. But did you not tell me that this man’s been revealing magical secrets that all the shamans have been keeping completely unknown for several hundred years? Maybe there’s another shaman who really doesn’t like what your Mr. Drake decided to reveal. You never know.”
“What do your senses tell you, sis?” he asked, “Can you read any of the energy through the phone?”
“No, sorry, my gift’s been somewhat on the low end since Todd and I broke up,” she admitted, disgusted to have to say so out loud. “Margot wants me to take some time on my own and see if I can improve the situation, since it’s certain my powers can’t be completely gone. But I don’t see how anything can improve if I have to continue to work with the cheating, lying jerk I used to call my own.”
“Some men are just not worth the effort, sis,” he told her. “I believe I told you when he and I met that you should leave that one alone.”
“Yes, you did,” she grumbled. “But I’m the one who is supposed to be the psychic here. Why couldn’t I spot that for myself? I’ve just wasted two years of my life that I can’t get back, and gave my virginity to a man who didn’t deserve it at all. It’s so depressing, you know?”
“I’m sure it is,” he agreed. “But maybe the next guy you’re with will be the one. Sometimes life doesn’t give us everything we’d hoped for, but you know that the Universe will always provide what we truly need.”
“So, California, eh? It’ll be the first time I’ve gone there on my own.”
“If you help me out, you’ll get to call a really nice mansion home for the duration of your stay, and you won’t get bored in any way. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“How can you guarantee I wouldn’t be bored?”
“I need you to do a bit of your special detective work for me,” he explained.
“I thought you said Drake doesn’t believe there’s trouble around there.”
“He doesn’t, but I do,” said Rory. “Will you come out and help?”
“I’m not due to leave for vacation for another three days.” Rhi sighed. “I hope this sinister mystery you’re so worked up about is able to wait.”
“Oh yeah, totally,” said Rory. “I’ll get you a ticket out here, but it’ll only be for one way.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“You never know, sis. You’re unhappy at work anyway. You might even decide to stay.”
*
Brendan was feeling decidedly sleepy when he got off the plane from Boston to Reno. Luckily, this one-hour show in Reno would be his last one for a few weeks, and he’d be able to sit down and concentrate on updating a few things on his webpages. He looked forward to the return to his mountain retreat, where he always felt the most empowered.
Nestled high in the Sierra-Nevada range, Drake Manor had begun its life as a stone castle somewhere in the South of France, but he had bought it and had it moved and modernized. Now, it was a unique place of power he was proud to call his home.
Quite near the estate proper, Brendan also ran a large spiritual retreat where he and some of the others he’d taught his craft, enlightened about two hundred students at a time throughout the year. He enjoyed imparting his wisdom and helping others explore their own gifts, and he was thinking on the idea of expanding yet another of his twelve shops into another place to learn.
“Sir, there you are,” said Rory with relief as Brendan stepped out into the waiting area. “I was a bit worried, you know. I just heard they caught somebody in your terminal trying to sneak in a gun.”
“Well I’m sure whoever they were after, the gun surely wasn’t meant for me,” Brendan scoffed. “For one thing, why would they be trying to get inside the terminal when they could just as easily wait out here for me to arrive? Obviously that guy was bent on boarding another plane. But I’m too tired to have this discussion again. I just want to catch a bit more sleep before tomorrow so I’ll be fresh for the presentation.”
“Sir, maybe this time you could just refrain from shifting,” Rory suggested, wincing even before the protest came.
“I want these people to understand just what it is I have to offer them,” Brendan insisted. “Just telling them that I can teach them to shift forms as part of their spiritual training isn’t nearly as effective as the demonstration. You know that. If I don’t get paying students, eventually I wouldn’t be able to afford to go to where the people who are begging for help are waiting. You know that many of them could never afford to come to me.”
“Well, I’m sure once you’ve converted another shop or two, to attend the schools, it’ll be much easier for at least a few of them.”
“I long to be able to one day hold an event ten thousand strong, where all the participants get in for free, and they’re all eager to learn what I want to teach,” said Brendan with a sigh. “Can you imagine it, Rory? We could even televise.”
“Yes, sir, I truly admire your dedication to that dream,” he said, smiling. “I really hope that it will come true for you, and that I’m wrong about this thing.”
“Even if you’re not, dwelling on it is only going to give energy to the problem, and that’s not something that I’m willing to do,” Brendan said decisively. “Come on, let’s just get back to the hotel. We can talk about this issue when I’m not so tired.”
Dutifully, Rory led the way out to the car and they drove back to the hotel.
***
The following afternoon, Brendan did a modified version of his seminar, cutting it down to the allotted hour of time. He found about twenty people who wanted to learn more about his classes, and a great many others who at least took one of his flyers. He gave each potential student packets with detailed information on how they could get in contact with the nearest Druids and Dreams store to their homes, and he was feeling fairly good about the event as he and Rory headed for the door.
“Finally, after a whole month away, we get to go home,” he said with a sigh. “I tell you, Rory, I really enjoy helping people, but I love coming home to recharge too. I won’t want any unnecessary distractions for at least a week. I may even hold off visiting the school until Monday.”
“It’ll be a well-deserved extra three days, sir,” Rory agreed. “But I won’t be able to join you right away. I still have to gather up your four new aides before I can head back that way. I’ve already arranged for Nathan to come to Fresno and return yo
u to Three Rivers. As for me, I’ve had to book another hotel stay.”
“Well, I don’t foresee needing your publicity services for the foreseeable future,” he said. “I have no interest in doing another seminar for at least a week of Sundays.”
“Well, I can only guarantee you four of them, sir,” Rory said. “Your next event is about a month away. Fortunately, it’s only as far away as Sacramento, so there won’t be a need to stay.”
“That’s good,” said Brendan. “I really need to delve into some code and manage some of the links in the Druids and Dreams internet store. It looks like somebody managed to hack in and move things around. I was really annoyed to find out, to say the least.”
“You know, you could hire somebody else to take care of those things,” Rory pointed out.
“What, and spoil all my fun? I may be a billionaire, and I may donate to more charities than I can even count, but I’ll be damned if everything about my former life has got to change. I started this business using my own computer skills, and that’s exactly how it’s going to stay.”
“Yes, sir,” said Rory, holding up his hands as if to protect himself.
“Must you always be so dramatic?” Brendan complained. “You know very well I’d never willingly hurt you.”
“Of course I know, sir,” he smirked. “Only having a bit of fun.”
“You are so weird. But that’s probably why I like you. I never know what you’re going to do next, and every life needs to have the element of surprise.”
***
“Home at last,” said Brendan with a contented sigh as Nathan stopped at the manned booth just outside of Drake Manor. He didn’t need to speak to the man who worked inside, technically, but it took about a minute for the heavy iron gates to move aside, so the two gossiped a bit while they waited.
