by Eve Langlais
Dragon Reborn
Dragon Point Five
Eve Langlais
Copyright © May 2017, Eve Langlais
Cover Art by Yocla Designs © June 2017
Edited by Devin Govaere, Literally Addicted to Detail, Amanda Pederick and Brieanna Robertson
Produced in Canada
Published by Eve Langlais
http://www.EveLanglais.com
E-ISBN: 978 1988 328 69 0
Print-ISBN: 978 1988 328 70 6
All Rights Reserved
Dragon Reborn is a work of fiction and the characters, events and dialogue found within the story are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is completely coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without permission in writing from the author.
Contents
Introduction
Prologue
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
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Also by Eve Langlais
Introduction
Can the betrayer be forgiven?
Samael screwed over the only family he ever had and alienated everyone else. As if his life doesn’t suck enough, someone captures him for his valuable Golden genes. For a while, his life turns dark. Painful. He’s ready to give up.
No one is coming for me. No one gives a damn, except for one crazy woman. A sexy and dangerous woman who decides she wants him.
I’m not crazy. I’m a dragoness.
Deka knows she’s the center of the universe, but sometimes, even the almighty sun has to act when her main squeeze disappears.
Samael might not yet recognize that they’re mates.
But he will. She won’t give him a choice…
First, though, she has to find him.
An ancient enemy has captured her stud. It is going to be super dangerous getting him back.
Awesome, because Deka thrives on risk—and will do anything for love.
Prologue
The prisoner lay in a huddled heap, cowed in his cell. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
It amused to watch the Golden pretender before his captivity, thinking he owned the throne. Ruling over his meager territory and the Septs as if he had the right.
None of them did.
The hatred burned brightly for those pompous dragons who thought they were so great. Not really in the grand scheme, more like silly little ants scurrying about not realizing what was coming.
He learned through the judicious use of pain just how insignificant he was. Now, the Golden heir, the one who thought he’d rule them all, would serve instead. He would help beget a new world order. My order.
But only once he took that final step.
He must give himself to me.
In the meantime, patience was required.
Soon. So soon, the world would burn. The day crept ever closer when humanity and dragons and all lesser creatures would bow or die.
The darkness of the cloak, a deep and lush fabric not found on Earth, flowed from the crown to past the toes, moving sinuously toward the door of the cell as if bound with smoke.
A wave of the hand and the locks disengaged. The barred entrance swung open, allowing access to the prison and its occupant.
The days where the Golden one would rise and attack were gone. Beaten into submission, and not all blows by the hand. The punishments that flailed the mind were so much better.
The body lay curled in the corner, head tucked, the tail wrapped around the body. Gold scales, dull and matted with filth and despair, rustled in agitation. Trembled in recognition.
Shivered in fear.
It had taken some time to break this one. Many pleasurable moments full of screams and pain.
But in the end, the man who’d once had it all, the dragon who thought he would inherit the throne, crumbled.
The first of many.
A hand reached out to touch the prize, the long, lithe fingers tipped in black nails. They brushed over the scales, vibrating at the power and magic contained within.
The captive dragon flinched, the head rearing back, causing the cloth collar around the neck to ripple the fine chain holding it down. Holding the beast prisoner.
From almost leader to pathetic ruin.
My secret weapon. But a weapon that couldn’t be revealed too soon. Things still had to move into position, but when the time came, nothing would stop the coming war.
The world would suffer wrath and vengeance for what they’d done.
And burn.
Chapter One
Eschewing an appointment—those were for people with news of lesser importance—Deka sailed into her Aunt Zahra’s office.
“Samael is missing,” Deka announced to the Silvergrace matriarch before flopping into the club chair in front of the desk.
“Is that really the news you’re using to justify barging in?” An arctic gaze pinned her.
“Well, yeah, it’s important news. Samael is missing.” The travesty. The horror. The where the hell is the future father of my babies? It was a big freaking chunk of news. “You’re welcome.” Now, Auntie could act to find him.
“I already knew he was gone. Remiel told me.”
No surprise Zahra knew. As Sept matriarch, not much evaded her steely-eyed gaze.
“So when are we assembling the Sept to find him?” With Deka at the head of the posse, ready to save the day. Then he could thank her with a great big—
“We aren’t assembling anything.”
Say what? Hadn’t she marshaled the Sept, mobilized their forces?
The reason why became clear. “I get it. You haven’t launched a search party on account of Remiel wanting to find his brother himself.” The love of a sibling, so cute—unless they tried to hone in on your dessert. Then you stabbed them with a fork.
“Actually, Remiel would prefer Samael never show his face again. He’s still got some deep-seated issues.”
Samael might have had a hand in keeping his brother locked in a pit with his memories wiped. But surely Remiel wouldn’t hold a grudge forever?
Deka swung a leg over the arm of the chair and twirled a strand of hair. “Given the king is all happy now and ruling us all, surely he wouldn’t mind Samael coming back. Maybe letting his little bro hook up with someone in the family.” Ahem. Me.
“No,” Auntie replied, not bothering to peek up from her stack of paperwork.
The abrupt reply didn’t deter Deka. Auntie probably needed help in understanding the importance of finding Samael.
“Aren’t you curious at all as to where he’s gone?” Deka certainly couldn’t handle not knowing. She’d been watching his house—the mansion vacant and up for sale since Remiel took over—and hadn’t seen a single sign of Samael.
Rifling through his closet showed he hadn’t packed a bag or taken his passport and that he didn’t like to wear briefs. At least she didn’t find any.
Just like me. Goin
g commando meant less laundry, and Deka was all about keeping things simple for their staff.
With his house being a bust, she’d had to rely on electronic means to monitor him. As yet, she’d seen no activity on Samael’s bank accounts, credit card, Netflix, or his favorite porn website. Nor had he placed any orders at his favorite restaurant for an extra large, double pepperoni, mushroom, olive, bacon, extra cheese with chipotle sauce smearing the base. Deka had left a few hundred in cash with the owner, along with orders to contact her if Samael called.
Extreme? Not really. Deka simply took her stalking seriously.
How else am I supposed to find my man?
“I really don’t care if he’s disappeared from public sight. More than likely, he’s gone into hiding. Between his unholy union with that Crimson pretender and his treatment of our king, he’s probably worried someone will assassinate him.”
Over my dead body. I’ll protect you, muffin.
“He’s too valuable to kill.” Even with his list of crimes, Golden blood coursed through Samael’s veins—and he also had super sperm wearing glittery capes sleeping in his balls, waiting to shoot from his cannon dick. And, yes, she giggled each time she thought of the little bullet-headed fellows firing off into her vagina.
Genetics gave him, if not a free pass, at least a chance to live a long life—probably in captivity as a breeding bull.
Unless I save him. Once he became her mate, she’d keep him safe. Male dragons were rather rare and precious. Kind of like unicorns—which no one liked to admit had been eaten into extinction by dragons.
Shhh.
“Why this continued interest in him?” Zahra lifted her head and stared at Deka, the directness of her gaze unnerving. However, Deka had been the object of many stern gazes in her life and simply shrugged.
“It just seems like we should be paying more attention. What if the wrong sorts got their hands on him?”
In other words, what if some hussy with designs on his body dug in her claws. Then Deka would have to murder her, and that might start a war, which would be fun but messy, especially since the humans now knew that dragons existed. She’d heard there’d been a rise in demand for giant crossbows that fired harpoon-sized arrows.
It meant the training all dragons went through had been amped up a notch. They weren’t being complacent about their safety and survival. Ever since they’d been almost wiped out, they’d learned how to survive.
And fight.
“I really don’t care if another Sept snatches him.” The matriarch arched a brow. “Don’t tell me you haven’t gotten over your obsession with that man.”
“He’s mine.” Of that, Deka had no doubt. From the moment she’d first seen the guy, his golden hair perfectly combed—in need of a ruffle—and the smirk—that totally said, “take off your clothes”—she’d wanted him.
But someone was telling Deka she couldn’t have him.
It’s not up to her to decide.
Zahra still blathered. “You do realize with the return of the Golden king we no longer need to enforce breeding protocols. You’re free to mate, or not, as you choose.”
“Then I choose him.”
A heavy sigh. “I would prefer, and I know your mother agrees with me, that you select someone else. He’s got bad blood.”
“Golden blood.”
“He’s tainted. You’ve read the reports we filched from Parker’s labs.”
Ah, yes, good old Parker, the wolf shifter who’d outed cryptozoids to the humans. Now, everyone suspected his or her neighbor of being some kind of enhanced being. The sale on silver and shotguns had shot through the roof. The zappers in the yard got bigger as folks tried to prevent any fairies from taking over their green space. And swords, along with armor, were making a comeback as wannabe heroes thought to go on quests to find dragon treasure.
As a side note, armor was the number one reason most quests ended abruptly. The most common of that being drowning.
Deka realized her aunt was staring and shrugged. “I know what the reports say.” She’d read every single medical one. Her mother surely meant for her to check them out, given she’d put them in her special safe. “Samael D’Ore is definitely the brother of one very majestic Remiel D’Ore. But he’s not a full-breed like the king. The maternal half he inherited makes him part of the Gold Sept.”
“It’s the other half that worries me,” admitted Zahra. “There is something about that boy…” She pursed her lips and pointed a manicured finger at Deka. “Forget Samael. Find yourself another man. You can even consort with a human”—no mistaking the sneer— “if you’d like. Your mother has been working with the other Septs’ scientists to figure out the serum to help transition the wyverns. A few have ascended into their true shape.”
“Which is awesome.”
It truly was. For centuries, the dragons had enforced brutal breeding programs to ensure their continuity. It led to a few cross-eyed cousins and blathering idiots. Male dragons were few and far between, and while humans tasted delicious—and not just in a basted-over-the-fire-with-rosemary-and-garlic kind of way as endorsed by Aunt Claudia—they couldn’t make real dragon babies. Progeny between a dragon and a human were known as wyverns, sterile hybrids that did nothing to continue the family bloodlines. Unless they got injected with a special dragon cocktail to force them to ascend.
Blah, blah, all kinds of science. The details didn’t apply to her because she planned to make babies with a dragon. A Golden dragon…
“Forget that tainted misfit.” Zahra still shook that finger. Deka’s tummy rumbled for French fries. “Or face the consequences. You know the king has said we are to leave his brother alone.”
Forbidden. Was there any tastier treasure?
“But—”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Zahra narrowed her gaze at Deka. “I know that look. You will stop that train of thought this instant. And I will ease one fear. Samael will not be touched. The Septs have been warned of what will happen should they capture Samael and try to use him to steal the throne. And that includes us.”
A ruthless king. And a handsome Gold one at that. It was enough to make a girl swoon, especially after Remiel’s first throne speech, broadcasted via Skype, to the Septs around the world. It was a great speech, short, to the point, and ended with, “Betray me and die.”
It got resounding applause. Who didn’t want a tough ruler who declared that any who disobeyed would find themselves crushed to a pulp? Remiel was arrogantly powerful like that, and Brand’s sister was super lucky to have him as her mate.
Deka was also green with envy. She wanted a man who could pulverize his enemies like a bug, too. Not that she wasn’t capable of smooshing them herself, but think of how much fun couples night would be. Smiting some foes, maybe getting some treasures for the hoard—you could never have too many Pokémon collectibles—grabbing a hoagie, and then sex.
Good sex. The kind that didn’t have a gal worrying she’d accidentally put her lover in traction.
Again.
Stupid Silvergrace family lawyer now had her make potential partners sign a waiver before she got wild with them. It tended to kill the mood.
“Why does this say I promise not to sue if, during the course of sexual intercourse, you break my bones or rupture my organs?”
“Just a precaution.”
“Is it a precaution to list side effects such as blood in my urine, paralysis, and death?”
Many walked at that point; some even ran. It meant her poor vibrator was going through a lot of batteries lately and would soon join her collection of plastic penises that couldn’t keep up with her appetite.
But I bet a big, strong Golden dragon could.
Now if only her matriarch would agree.
Deka amped up her argument. “What if it’s not one of the Septs who takes him but that freak-ass bitch who pretended to be Anastasia for a while?”
Some mysterious figure with glowing red eyes had messed with dragon politics. The
y should be hunting her ass down. Instead, the Septs had retreated and closed ranks, fearful of getting into a fight. No one wanted to join the fate of the Crimson Sept, decimated in number and dropping from second most powerful to last.
Zahra slid a sheaf of papers aside in order to begin signing the next set. “We’ve no reason to believe that entity has any interest in us any longer.”
“No interest? She gave us a head.” Literally. They’d yet to come across the body.
“The head of our enemy. A fitting gift, if you ask me.”
Deka kind of agreed, still, all this no-you-can’t-go-find-the-hottest-thing-since-spicy-margarita-night-at-the-pub shit was ruining her fun.
A heavy sigh left Deka. “I don’t understand why you’re not more worried.”
Zahra braced her hands on her desk and leaned forward. “Dragons don’t worry. Especially not about other beings. Everyone knows there is none greater or more powerful than our kind. We are the top of the food chain, the true leaders of this world, and now that our king has returned, we shall take our rightful place.”
“Our rightful place better not mean wearing skirts and shit,” Deka mumbled.
“If you ask me, the day women shortened their skirts and started wearing pants was when things got messed up. Back in my day—”
“When they’d just learned to make fire.”
“—a lady did not chase after a man.”
“That’s not what I heard. I heard you tackled Uncle and told him you’d tell everyone he got beaten by a girl unless he took you to the debutante ball.”
Aunt Zahra glared. “I see your mother has been yapping again. She obviously remembers things differently. And it has no bearing on the here and now. When our king truly rules the world, you will curtsy and wear a dress.”
