Carrie and the Dastardly Dragons: A Paranormal, Bully Romance (Fated Mates Book 1)

by Ava Mason

  The other guard stared me down. “Do you have the right permissions to be here?”

  “Yes,” I lied.

  “Last I heard, you were a Queen’s guard.” His hard eyes stared into mine but I met his glare, folding my arms across my chest.

  “Exactly,” Carrie interjected. “The Queen herself gave us permission to be here. Or do you want me to call her and tell her that one of her guards is trying to block us?” Carrie’s lie sounded convincing to even my own ears, although I was pretty certain that she’d be able to talk Easton or Hunter into backing us up, if necessary.

  The guard stared at her for a solid ten seconds, then looked down. “Fine,” he grumbled.

  “Go on back.” Ethan waved us on. “I’ve just given you access to his door.”

  “Thank you,” Carrie said, turning to me with a smile. I didn’t hesitate to take her through the barrier but she sucked in a deep breath, and I suddenly remembered how it felt my first time. Most magical barriers gave you a funny feeling, but this one was a sharp pain. I hastily pulled her through it and she recovered quickly, giving me a small smile. Then she looked forward, waiting for me.

  An uneasiness swirled in my stomach as I led her towards room 410 and I slowed down, trusting my instincts, and motioned for Carrie to hold back. But there was nothing. Just a long, white hallway. I pulled out my gun, just in case, and approached the door with caution. I glanced back at Carrie; she was staring at me with apprehension on her face. The hallway was silent, with the exception of the humming lights overhead.

  I reached out, waiting patiently again for the scanner. The door unlocked, and I paused, my gun held in front of me.

  When nothing happened, I reached forward, slowly pushing the door forward.

  The wolf was inside, sleeping silently on his side.

  He looked harmless enough, and the collar on his neck was enough to stop him from shifting if he awoke.

  But instead of feeling relieved, the tension inside me notched up a bit. I looked around once more, and motioned Carrie forward. She entered the room slowly, eyes darting around. Her shoulders lowered in relief when she saw the wolf sleeping peacefully on the bed. She shut the door behind her softly, then turned towards me, waiting.

  “I’ll try to wake him.” I moved inside and she stayed just inside the door, one arm across her stomach, the other at her mouth. She was chewing on her bottom lip again. “I’m sure it’s fine,” I lied, the tightening feeling still in my chest. I leaned over, still holding the handgun in my hand, and shook the wolf. “Hey, wake up.”

  The wolves’ shoulder slowly sunk to the mattress, revealing his face. His very dead face. His eyes were glazed over, staring off in the distance. I gasped and took a step back, blocking him from Carrie’s view. “I think there’s a problem. Go get the guards.”

  “Why?” She took a step in, and that’s when I heard a soft pop and a thud. I grabbed her arm, yanking her deeper into the room, and shoved her behind me.

  “Something’s wrong.” I managed to speak in a low, calming voice. “The wolf’s dead, and I think that that other guard just killed Ethan.”

  “‘But—”

  “Just stay here, let me take care of this.” I glanced behind me. “Trust me, okay?”

  She nodded, eyes wide. Trusting that she wouldn’t do anything unexpected, I pulled out my phone, texting Ben. Then I shoved it in my pocket and crept towards the door. My heart pounded and adrenaline pumped through my veins. Focusing my gift, I slowly reached for the guards. Fear and determination blasted me and I grunted, trying to keep it together. Something definitely wasn’t right with the guards.

  I slowly opened the door, just a peek, but couldn’t see anything useful, just white walls, white doors.

  “Carrie.” Her head snapped to me, her chest rising with deep breaths. “I’m going to go out there. If something happens to me, shut the door and bar anyone from entering, until you hear Ben on the other side, okay?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I’m not letting you go out there. Let’s just wait for him to come down here.”

  “We can’t. If there’s any chance we can get to Ethan in time to save him, I have to take that risk.” I reached forward and she jumped forward into my arms. I pulled her close, taking in the deep breath of her vanilla and rose smell. Her fear also spiked through me, and I ran my hand down the back of her hair, trying to calm her. “Look, we’ll be fine.” I leaned down, looking into her eyes. “Okay? This motherfucker isn’t going to kill me, I promise.”

  She nodded, eyes still wide, uncertain if she should believe me. But that had to be enough for now. I let her go and turned towards the door. “On the count of three, okay? Get back towards the back wall.”

  Her head bobbed as she backed up. Once I felt she was a safe distance away, I curled my fingers around the door handle and slid it open. It creaked and I winced, waiting for something to happen. When nothing happened, I peeked out.

  The other guard was standing at the end of the hallway, his gun already out, trained on me. He shot it and I jerked back into the room. I sucked in a deep breath and held it, then peeked back out, aiming for his head. At the last minute, he moved and I missed. The sound of his responding shot reverberated around the room, and even though it was only a soft puff, it was loud in my ears. I ducked once more but didn’t wait a second longer to pop out again. This time my aim was true and the bullet hit him square in the forehead. Blood splattered the wall behind him and he fell to the floor.

  I waited a moment, giving him time to move if he was somehow still alive. The door behind opened and I yelled for Ben, jumping out of the doorway and running down the hallway. Ben cautiously stepped in, his own shotgun out in front, but the guard on the floor didn’t move.

  Ignoring him, I ran towards Ethan and instinctively took his pulse. He was definitely dead. The ‘guard’ had done a mash up job of shooting Ethan, blowing the side of his face off and it disgusted me. I closed my eyes and turned away, trying not to let it sear into my brain.

  Too late. I saw it, even with my eyes closed, the look of Ethan’s half blown off face impressed in my mind for the rest of my life.

  “You okay, man?” Ben stood behind me, his hand on my shoulder.

  I opened my eyes, swallowing down the terrible feeling I had inside. I could still feel the remnants of Ethan’s surprise and fear, as well as Ben’s fear. He was trying to hide it but you couldn’t hide a damn thing from an empath.

  I sucked in two large breaths, efficiently building my walls back up. When I was feeling better, I stood back up and marched towards Carrie. She’d been right all along. Whoever was responsible for this had inside access. This was definitely a cover up for something more sinister than we’d thought possible.

  16

  Tallon

  The next few hours were spent buried under protocol. Both Ben and I had to give our statements, and the bodies had to be taken care of. The killer asshole guard was fairly new but he’d passed every background check put on him. He had a brother and a sister, and was from a human mother and a dragon father. There was nothing in his file to indicate he would be a traitor; we would have to dig deeper.

  Edward, one of the superior officers for the Authority, showed up to escort Carrie and me out of the building, with a promise that he would look into it personally. He shared his thoughts that the wolf was killed intravenously. We had spies without our own network.

  The idea wasn’t new but to actually see their betrayal right in your face; it left me feeling raw inside.

  The drive to take Carrie back to the guest house was a quiet one, and some time during the way back she’d put her hand on my knee.

  To comfort me, I supposed.

  I hadn’t even realized that she’d done it.

  I was torn between feeling warmth that she was so kind to do it, and feeling guilt that I should be the one comforting her. So I placed my hand on hers, feeling prickles up my spine at the touch. She turned to me and gave me a small smile, one
that meant she didn’t mean to show any happiness after one of my friends had just died. I smiled back to let her know it was okay.

  When we arrived at the guest house, I parked and turned off my LandCruiser and didn’t move to get out. We sat in silence, watching the sky turn from blue to a red orange - the sun was just beginning to set.

  It felt like the longest day of my life.

  One filled with both triumph and grief.

  I turned to her, noting the wildness of the waves in her hair. It wasn’t plastered down with hair products meant to straighten the curls, but left to show her true, animal nature. Her lips were plump, just the right fullness without being too showy. Her caramel colored skin, contrasted by her light blue t-shirt, was muted in the light of the setting sun, and the temptation to run my fingers over it was powerful.

  For a moment, I allowed my thoughts to wander, to question what her tits, hidden under her modest shirt, looked like. Would her nipples be darker than her skin? Or would they be a light shade of pink?

  I turned towards her and her eyes were on me instantly, watching my every move carefully.

  “Thank you,” I croaked out, still feeling the buzz of death under my skin.

  She crooked an eyebrow. “For what?”

  I moved in my seat, edging closer towards her. “For not freaking out. For suggesting we look deeper into the wolf. You were right to trust your instincts.”

  She nodded, not answering, and I took a chance that I wouldn’t scare my little lamb by leaning even closer. Her hand tightened on my knee, and I slowly let down my wall to interpret her thoughts. She was queasy from the day but a dullness towards it showed me that she had dealt with death before.

  “That must’ve been hard for you, telling me your doubts out loud, considering the way we treated you at first.”

  She didn’t respond, though her anxiety notched up a bit at the mention of our shared history. I traced her cheek, and pink marred her cheeks under my finger. She blushed so prettily, in such contrast to the brown of her skin. I wanted to see her face flame red when I closed my mouth over her cunt, tasting her humiliation through her sweet pussy.

  “Are you a virgin?” I asked, just to see her blush more.

  “No.” Defiance flamed in her eyes but she gave me what I wanted; a soft red flushing over her chest. “Are you?”

  I laughed and the red in her chest moved upwards to flame her cheeks.

  Wanting to taste her shame, I leaned in and slowly snaked my tongue across the delicate skin of her neck.

  She tasted divine.

  A slip of her tongue, a soft moan, barely there, escaped her lips and it made me smile. She was turned on.

  Not surprising, given the looks the Dragon Goddess gave me. I used them to my full advantage any chance I got. But still, I knew how skittish my little lamb was, so I didn’t give in and jerk her to me, fucking her cunt right here in the car like I wanted to.

  Instead, I placed tender kisses along her neck and jawline, slowly tracing circles across her stomach with my fingers. She wrapped her fingers around the nape of my neck, pressing me to her, twisting her head to the side to allow me more access. I was tempted to suck on her pebbled nipples right through the thin cotton of her shirt, marking her as mine for the evening. Instead, I leaned up and took her mouth.

  Her gasp took my breath away and I groaned into her mouth as my dick raged, swelling against the zipper of my pants. Need seeped through me, making me impatient. But it was too small in this fucking LandCruiser for me to take her like I wanted to.

  It was fine for a quick fuck but I needed space for the way I wanted to splay her out underneath me, watch her tits bounce as I pounded into her. Watch her sensual lips scream my name as if I was the only one who could fulfill her. Then I would take her ass, watching it jiggle as my dick thrust in between two perfect globes, while clinging to her breasts.

  God, the things I wanted to do to her.

  My annoyance notched up at the slow pace; I usually didn’t have to work so hard to fuck women.

  I ran my hands down inside the front of her jeans, snapping her button and she stilled. I kissed her again, hoping to distract her, moving my hand back up to her stomach to her tit, rushing things along. The LandCruiser would have to do, for now.

  “Do you like this, baby?” I squeezed it.

  She moaned softly, making need pulse through me. I had to be inside her, now. I ran my hand down, squeezing her cunt over her jeans. “You gonna give this up to me, little lamb?”

  She suddenly burst out into laughter, dousing my mood immediately. I bent back to look into her face, which was lit up with elation.

  “Give this up to me,” she choked out between laughs.

  I growled, leaning down to nip at her upper lip. “Don’t make fun of me.”

  “I’m not, I swear.” She laughed even harder though, and now my own face reddened; I hated being made fun of. If she wasn’t a girl with great tits, I’d punch her in the face just for daring to laugh at me.

  Instead, I leaned back in my seat, silently fuming, as she continued to laugh softly. At the look on my face, she tempered it quickly. “I’m sorry.” She gave me a contrite face but she wasn’t sorry at all. She was still so fucking amused. She reached for me and I allowed it, if only so she could beg me for forgiveness.

  “I’ve never heard anyone call me, a wolf, a little lamb.” She gave me a pointed smile, showing her sharp teeth. “It’s sweet that you think I’m so innocent.”

  I eyed her cautiously, with renewed respect. No, she was right. She wasn’t a little lamb. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  “It’s fine.” I rubbed my face, tired now. There was still a little bit of light left but it would be dark soon. If she wasn’t going to give me what I wanted, I could easily find it elsewhere. “I’ll walk you inside.”

  “Oh, what a gentleman.” Her voice mocked me but I didn’t call her out on it. Instead, I opened my door and took in a deep breath. I’d allowed my dick to do the thinking for me, which was only the right choice about seventy-five percent of the time.

  But if I was going to win Carrie over to rub it in Denver’s face, I had to think with the gray matter in my head, not the thick muscle in my pants. I gave her a coy smile. “Can I at least hold your hand while I escort you inside?”

  “Sure.” She smiled, and it was genuine. I took her hand and led her towards the door, my mind already on where exactly I would go to find a good fuck for the night.

  Suddenly, a wave of magic hit me square in the chest, and I staggered back. It had come from left field, and I fell to the ground, pulling her with me. The magic continued pulsing into me like a fire bolt and I grit my teeth as my dragon ripped through me, the skin on my arms and legs turning to scales. My back burned as skin shredded, my wings clawing to come out.

  What the hell was going on?

  Carrie was on the ground next to me, also struggling with her wolf. Fur lined the tops of her fingers, and she let out a moan, trying to keep a hold of her shifter magic.

  “What’s going on?” I yelled, still struggling to stay in my human form. I didn’t like it when I didn’t have control over my dragon. She panted, sucking in large breaths, but I knew by the look on her face that she knew what was going on. “Carrie, tell me.”

  She scowled, the magic slowly subsiding and I just lay there for a moment, breathing in.

  Shit, my shirt was completely shredded. I looked up at her. “Carrie, did this have something to do with your Alpha?”

  She slowly crawled to her knees, large rips in her clothes too. She chewed her bottom lip, not looking into my eyes. “I’m not sure.”

  “Don’t lie to me. If your Alpha is a danger to this country, to our Queen, you have to tell me. She shouldn’t be here if she’s going to put the dragons in more harm.”

  Her face shot to mine, fire raging in her eyes. “If you dare do anything to my Alpha, even to touch a hair on her head, or do anything to her baby, I will kill you.” Her wolf power
pulsed into me, causing me to take in a staggering breath. Her eyes flashed, her wolf close to the surface, and I knew she was barely keeping herself from shifting. She stood up, staggering, still drunk on the magic we’d just experienced, and pointed her finger at me. “I was right about you. All you care about is your stupid life, with no thought to what anyone else is going through. Stay away from me and the rest of my pack. Don’t come near us again.”

  Another wave of magic ran through us, causing her to teeter on her feet, then she turned around and ran towards the guest house, a look of alarm on her face. Growling, I climbed to my feet, fighting against the magic, and ran after her.

  She didn’t pause to make sure I was leaving when she got to the door, just slammed it behind her. I pulled out my key card and yanked the door open, not bothering to make sure it was locked behind me. I chased after her, knowing she would know exactly where to go.

  A high-pitched scream filled my ears, and as I closed in on the room, I realized it was coming from Elizabeth, their Alpha. She was curled on the bed, making a keening noise, arms wrapped around her stomach. The mirror on the dresser shattered, and I jumped on Carrie, my instincts taking over. I covered her as broken mirror rained down on us and I felt pricks as the glass cut me. In an instant, she threw me off her and tried to dash towards her Alpha. Another wave of magic hit us, stronger than anything I’d felt before. It was so strong I couldn’t breathe. It hit us square in the chest, pushing us away from the bed and across the floor until we hit the far wall of the room.

  The magic, angry pulses of blue, pushed and shoved against everything. The furniture in the room rattled, and everything began to shake as if the Earth itself was trembling.

  “Lizzy!”

  Easton appeared in the door way, and he fought to get into the room. He pushed against the blasts of magic that pulsated from Lizzy with his own dragon magic. Behind him, Hunter was fighting with just as much magic. They barely made it into the room, and as if the baby was trying to make a point, the magic that pulsated from Lizzy only grew stronger.