by Anya Nowlan
The Darkest Dragon
Shifter Grove Brides
Anya Nowlan
Contents
A Little Taste…
Copyright
1. Sabrina
2. Sabrina
3. Donovan
4. Sabrina
5. Donovan
6. Sabrina
7. Sabrina
8. Donovan
9. Sabrina
Epilogue
Bear My Heir Excerpt
Want More?
About the Author
Thank you for reading!
A Little Taste…
Considering his impossible size, one would have imagined the large black dragon to be of a lumbering sort, slow and unwieldy. This was the furthest thing from the truth. He was up on his feet immediately, his golden, slitted eyes pointed in the direction of the noise that had irritated him, the eternal dragonfire already swirling in the pit of his stomach.
As he laid his eyes on what had dared interrupt his slumber, ready to destroy any enemy, he found himself dumbfounded.
What in the name of seven ancestors…
For a moment that seemed to last forever, Donovan Silvertip, in his dragon form, and Sabrina Corrolie, in the only form she had – that of a shockingly sexy journalist – stared at one another. In the closest motion possible for a dragon, Donovan’s mouth fell slightly agape. Instead of being quite the comical sight it could have been, it drove Sabrina to a bellowing scream.
It scratched at Donovan’s ears and made something stir in him so violently that it very nearly floored him. Without realizing it, he must have given her a sight of the fire pluming in the back of his throat. With one breath, he could have reduced her to nothing but a smoking crisp, a husk of a person instead of the intoxicating being that stood before him.
Or, well, screamed before him.
Copyright © 2016 Anya Nowlan
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Darkest Dragon
Shifter Grove Brides
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be used, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means by anyone but the purchaser for their own personal use. This book may not be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Anya Nowlan. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material is prohibited without the express written permission of the author.
Cover © Jack of Covers
Sabrina
“I can’t thank you enough,” Sabrina said, fumbling around with her jacket and reaching over the seats for her big, stuffed backpack. “I had no idea there weren’t any busses from the airport. You guys sure know how to keep your town on the down-low.”
“Yeah, well, if you live in a community of people running from their pasts or their futures, staying off the internet sort of comes with the territory,” Slate chuckled, waving Sabrina’s hand out of the way and pulling the heavy rucksack from the backseat like it didn’t weigh a damn thing. “But are you sure about your little plan? There’s a lot better things to look at in Shifter Grove than that creepy old place. Especially with the weather being what it is.”
The look he gave her was damn near fatherly, dripping with concern. Even though there couldn’t have been more than a few years between Sabrina and the local pilot. She smiled and shook her head, her hand on the door handle.
The rain was coming down in buckets, and the street was little more than a river at this point. The last thing Sabrina Corrolie really wanted was to get out of the warm comfort of Slate’s pick-up truck and brave the weather, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do, right?
Or at least a dumbass who allows herself to be talked into the most inane bets, anyway.
“I got myself into this, I’ll get myself out. But I appreciate the concern. Now, you said I should look out for who again?” she asked, scouring through her spotty memory for the name Slate had offered her on the drive.
Being a Boston native, it wasn’t often that Sabrina got lost in the northern states. Even less so in the boondocks of Idaho, where the mountains were high, the cell reception almost non-existent and the weather dreadful.
To add insult to injury, it was the eve of Halloween and one of the worst fall storms the state had seen in decades was ravaging the region. Sabrina couldn’t think of a better time to be stuck in a place she didn’t know, especially considering what she had to do next.
“Well, I can’t say I didn’t try to talk you out of it,” Slate said with a sigh, giving her another one of those looks that made her wriggle uncomfortably in her seat. “You see the big sign there?” he said, pointing at a neon-lined logo that read ‘Austin’s Texas’ in big, bold letters.
“It’s sort of hard to miss,” Sabrina countered, earning a small chuckle from the pilot.
“Be sure to tell Austin that. He loves that dumb sign. Anyway, you walk yourself right in there and ask for Ares Goldplains. Everyone knows everyone around here, and seeing as you’re going to Snarling Dragon Mountain, he’d be the best guy to take you there. No one else really ventures up there other than the mining guys.”
“And you’re sure he won’t mind?” Sabrina asked, wrestling her jacket on and silently cursing herself for not wearing something warmer. “I don’t want to cause any inconvenience.”
“Don’t you worry your head about that. Ares never misses a chance to drive past there. He has an odd fascination with the place I’m sure you two can bond over,” Slate said with a roll of his eyes, absently flicking the windshield wipers to move faster, though it barely made a difference.
“Ares Goldplains. Right. Thanks,” Sabrina uttered, letting out a small sigh, her brows furrowing. “Guess I’m doing this. Thank you again.”
“Don’t mention it. Don’t let the evil spirits eat you up at Snarling Dragon Manor, alright?” he said with a chuckle and a wink just as Sabrina pulled on the door handle and hopped out. “I’ll see you on the plane in a few days!”
“Will do! And Happy Halloween!” Sabrina said, the latter part of her farewell getting slightly mangled by a yelp as she landed in a puddle that very nearly sloshed over the edge of her ankle boots.
Cursing under her breath, she slammed the door shut and ran to the bar Slate had pointed out to her, tugging the hood of her jacket over her head for the short sprint. Like it did her any good – by the time she stepped into Austin’s Texas, she was completely soaked.
The door closed with a thud behind her, and though she was met with a wall of scent and noise, it seemed, for a moment, as if she were the main attraction. The very distinct whiffs of beer and whiskey and the roar of country rock blaring from the speakers shell-shocked her for a second. Sabrina stood at the door, blinking her eyes and trying to adjust to the rowdy liveliness of the bar. At the same time, she realized that all eyes had been on her for a split-second and then off just as quickly, as if she’d never entered at all.
The vibe she got wasn’t scary or unwelcoming in the least, but it was certainly odd.
Shifters, she thought, remembering the bout of research she’d managed before buying her tickets on the only airline that would take her anywhere near Shifter Grove. I bet they’re all shifters.
Sabrina swallowed dryly and moved deeper into the establishment, her eyes tentatively rowing over the gathered people. Mo
st of the tables were full of patrons, laughing and chatting and sharing drinks. It was no wonder – Halloween fell on a Monday that year so everyone was out celebrating early, and seeing as it was a Friday, the bar would have probably been full anyway.
Jesus, it’s like I walked into a GQ photo shoot.
All the men appeared to be far taller than the national average, big, burly, strong and ridiculously hot. The last time she’d seen that many attractive guys in one place, she’d been sent to cover a firemen’s calendar shoot for the magazine she worked for – Lily’s. It was one of those sappy girly-magazines that every journalist vouched to never work for, chock full of sensationalist crap about celebrities and “Ten Best Summer Diets” articles.
But a girl needed to pay her bills, right?
Sabrina stalked over to the counter and pushed back her dripping wet hood, flicking some strands of wet auburn hair out of her face along with it. She’d been in town for about five minutes and already she’d manage to look like a complete trainwreck.
I bet Kace and Jessie will love it when I relay all this back to them, she thought, fishing out the phone from her pocket.
It still showed no cell reception. No wonder.
With a huff, she shoved it back in her pocket and squared her shoulders.
The sooner I get this over with, the better.
“Hey! Sorry! I’m looking for someone. I wonder if you could help me,” she called, waving at the tall, older-looking gentleman tending the bar.
He wore a plaid shirt and a look on his face that both commanded respect and sort of made Sabrina feel like she could tell him her life story and he’d make her feel like it was the most fascinating tale in the world. Got to love barkeeps.
“Sure thing, little lady. There ain’t no one here I don’t know by name,” he said, smiling and reaching a hand to her. “The name’s Austin.”
“Sabrina,” she replied, taking the offered handshake and finding her palm completely devoured by his. “Sabrina Corrolie.”
“So, who are you looking for?” he asked as she slid herself up on one of the high chairs.
“An Ares Goldplains?” Sabrina said, hoping against hope that she’d managed to remember the name correctly.
Despite what one would assume, she’d never been that great with remembering names. That’s why she carried her trusty voice recorder with her for interviews.
“Ah, sure. Ares! Someone here for you!” Austin hollered, making Sabrina jump slightly on her seat.
A second later, a steaming cup of coffee appeared before her, followed by a dry towel being plonked down next to it.
“Thank you!” she barely managed to utter to the retreating back of the hulking barkeep. As she was running the towel through her hair, the chair by her side was occupied so quickly and smoothly that Sabrina didn’t even notice until the man was sitting squarely next to her.
She yelped and almost knocked over her coffee, which was only saved by the quick reactions of the striking man. He had golden-blond hair and blue eyes with golden flakes in them. There almost seemed to be a glow around him, and when he smirked, Sabrina finally realized why the name had felt so familiar to her when Slate had said it first.
“Oh my god, you’re that Ares Goldplains,” she sputtered, covering her mouth with her hand as he stabilized her coffee cup, not a drop having spilled though she’d flailed around like the world was coming to an end and knocked it with her hand.
“The one and only. Considering you were looking for me, I figured you would have already realized this, though, Miss…” he said, trailing off with an arched brow.
Sabrina stuttered for a moment before sticking out her hand and receiving another utterly manly handshake.
Where the hell have I come to?
“Sabrina,” she said, a tiny bit breathless. “I was a huge fan of the Golden Dragons, just so you know.”
If one was to believe the internet, Shifter Grove was only known for the fact that it was by far the smallest place in the United States to have a major league hockey team, the Shifter Grove Shovelers. But even they had been a recent imprint upon the town. Other than that, it was supposed to have been a two-street (they’d recently put in the second one!), one-bar kind of hole where nothing interesting happened.
So far, though, Sabrina had seen enough hunky men to fill the fantasies of most of the female populace for the next decade or so, had her coffee saved by a bona fide rock star (former rock star, but it still counted, right?) and that seemed to only be the beginning.
“Always glad to hear that,” Ares said with a slight smile, though she could read from his expression that he must have heard that a million times.
“I’m sorry. That’s not why I was looking for you,” Sabrina rushed to add. “I was driven here by a guy named Slate, and he told me you might be able to help me. I need to get up to Snarling Dragon Mountain, and more specifically, to the old abandoned manor there. He figured you might be the guy to help me, since there isn’t a place that rents cars around here, it seems.”
Sabrina couldn’t help but blush a little. The whole situation was ridiculous. She was bumming a ride from one of the biggest names in rock – who’d disappeared a few years ago when he’d left the band he and his brothers had started – just to go up to a spooky house on a mountain that was rumored to have ghosts and spirits and all sorts of creepy things. And she’d come, apparently, pretty much entirely unprepared.
She’d been expecting him to snort a laugh and wave her off – what rock star had time to drive someone they didn’t even know to a random mountain outside of town on a Friday night!? Instead, Ares gave her a long, contemplative look before shrugging his shoulders with a sigh and turning to look at Austin.
“Hey Austin! Can we settle my bill later? I need to go indulge some insanity for a moment.”
“Sure thing,” Austin hollered back, pouring out a beer. “Don’t let the storm get you!”
Ares slid off the seat as seamlessly as he’d appeared on it, and Sabrina found herself staring at him in surprise.
This can’t actually be happening.
“So? Are we going, Sabrina, or are you going to stare at me all night? Those ghosts won’t hunt themselves, you know,” Ares said with a wink, turning to walk towards the door.
“Uh, sure,” she stuttered, throwing back her coffee and running after him a moment later, grabbing her bag.
Before she could even offer to pay, Austin had held up his hand and shaken his head sternly. Apparently wet, lost wanderers didn’t need to settle their tabs at Austin’s Texas.
“Thank you!” Sabrina called over her shoulder, feeling like she’d said that about ten times more since she’d gotten to Shifter Grove than she had in a year in Boston.
And she didn’t even mind.
Of course, a simple ‘thank you’ wasn’t going to be enough to get her out of the mess she was about the get herself into.
Sabrina
“So why are you going to Snarling Dragon Mountain?” Ares asked in a conversational manner as his big truck crawled up a mountainside that Sabrina wasn’t entirely sure was meant for driving.
Her hands were clutching the upholstery, as if that was going to save her if they tumbled over the edge of the cliff and into their untimely demise. She hadn’t even had time to consider that she was sharing a car with an actual dragon – the Goldplains being one of the few dragon families who were ‘out’ at that point – and how cool that was.
“It’s a long, dumb story,” she replied earnestly, trying to relax a little but finding her body fighting her every step of the way.
“We’ve got time,” Ares said, chuckling.
“Okay. Promise you won’t laugh?” she asked.
“I will promise no such thing,” he replied with a snort.
“Figures,” Sabrina sighed, meeting his smile. “Okay, so. I’m a journalist for a magazine called Lily’s, and I was drinking with a couple of friends who work there as well. We made this dumb bet when I started dating
my last boyfriend – who turned out to be an epic douchebag, just so you know – that if the relationship failed in less than a month, I’d have to ‘confront my fears’ and ‘jump into the unknown’,” she explained, abusing the hell out of air quotes as she did so.
“Which, in your case, is finding an obscure haunted house in the middle of nowhere?” Ares asked, looking genuinely stumped for the first time.
“Well…” Sabrina started, trailing off slightly. “Sort of, yeah. I have this dumb fear of scary houses. I used to binge on the movies when I was a kid, and I think that didn’t really help. I have these recurring nightmares of the house opening up around me and gobbling me up. When my friends were right about the ex – Jason – they got to pick what I did. We were supposed to all come up here and spend the night at Snarling Dragon Manor on Halloween together, but they both got sick, and Halloween’s on a Monday, so everything’s sort of out of whack.”
“But you came anyway,” Ares said with a nod, breaking hard when the road became just a tad too narrow. “That’s commendable.”
That’s dumb, is what it is, Sabrina managed to think.
She let out a screech, but Ares kept going after slowing down a little, and though Sabrina’s eyes were closed tight now, she didn’t feel the telltale sensation of plummeting to her death. When she dared open them again, the huge, lavish abandoned mansion she’d read so much about online loomed ahead.
“Holy hell,” she whispered, her breath hitching a little.
“Real beauty, isn’t it,” Ares said, his voice a bit wistful as he drove up to the building.
“The architecture is gorgeous,” she said breathily, leaning forward to get a better look.
It was a flat-roofed three-story building, all tasteful marble columns and granite awnings, ghostly-gray finishing and plenty of windows. It looked like something out of a legitimate scary movie, with the obvious signs of disrepair and the forgotten nature of the location.
