SKYFIRE DRAGON
By
Natalie Kristen
For more books set in Shadow Point
GRAY BEARS
Marrying the Bear (Book 1)
Loving the Bear (Book 2)
Mating the Bear (Book 3)
Tempting the Bear (Book 4)
Taming the Lion (Book 5)
Embracing the Lion (Book 6)
BRIDES fur BEARS
Bad Bear (Book 1)
Brave Bear (Book 2)
Brash Bear (Book 3)
Big Bear (Book 4)
Mail-Order Bear (Book 5)
Dating Agency Bear (Book 6)
Guardian Bear (Book 7)
DRAGONS IN SHADOW POINT
Skyfire Dragon (Book 1)
Copyright © 2018 by Natalie Kristen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the author's written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author's written permission.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CONTENTS
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 FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
MARRYING THE BEAR
LOVING THE BEAR
A SNEAK PEEK
MORE BY NATALIE KRISTEN
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About this Book
Sky Fireblood never intended to stay in Shadow Point. He and his brothers have been run out of their hometown by the very people who were supposed to be their friends and neighbors. Sky doesn’t know what is wrong with his two younger brothers. They’re different. They’re changing, but no one knows why.
He sees Shadow Point as just a temporary refuge. Even their hometown wasn’t home to them.
This new town will not be any different.
Leia Bailey’s simple, peaceful and predictable life in Shadow Point is shattered when she is attacked by a strange, savage monster one night as she is walking home from work. Having grown up in the quirky and diverse town of Shadow Point, Leia knows that there are all kinds of paranormals around. But this is one creature that she has never seen before.
When Sky finds Leia in danger, something rises in him. Something powerful, ancient and deadly.
The moment his beast rises to protect Leia, Sky realizes what he and his brothers are.
Their lineage may be buried and forgotten, but now their dragons are awakening.
But something dark has descended on Shadow Point. And if Sky doesn’t stop it in time, he may just lose everything he holds dear—his mate and the town he has come to love…
* * * * *
CHAPTER ONE
Sky Fireblood threw all his tools into the back of his truck and nodded at his younger brothers. “Nice work,” he said.
Storm and Seath looked at the landscaped gardens in front of the new houses and grinned. “Yup. Looking real good,” Seath said smugly. “We should put up a sign: ‘Proudly landscaped by Fireblood Landscapers!’”
Storm whacked his baby brother lightly on his muscular arm. “Yeah. But this is Tristan’s project. He’s nice enough to get us on board, but we shouldn’t be so big-headed as to go around putting up our names on other people’s projects.”
Rubbing his arm, Seath made a face and mumbled, “I know, I know. I’m just saying.” He looked up at Sky, and Sky saw the apprehension and hope shining in his baby brother’s green eyes. “We’re doing good, yeah, Sky?”
“We’re doing real good,” Sky answered, clapping Seath on the back. So far.
Sky and his brothers had moved to Shadow Point about four months ago. They’d been drifting from place to place, trying to find a new town to rebuild their lives, until finally, they landed in Shadow Point.
Shadow Point seemed like the perfect place for them. It was a small, remote town with a very diverse, eclectic and eccentric population. Eccentric in a good way. The town was quaint and a little quirky, but the residents celebrated their differences and seemed to accept newcomers with open minds and arms.
The inhabitants of Shadow Point literally came in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors and species. There were humans, shifters, vampires, witches and a whole myriad of paranormals living in Shadow Point. Everyone was different, and no one cared how different they all were.
Sky and his brothers would blend in perfectly. And Sky saw that there was no shortage of work in Shadow Point.
The construction business in Shadow Point was booming, with new houses and buildings sprouting up in almost every corner of the growing town.
After doing some quick research and talking to some people in town, Sky realized that there were a lot of construction companies, but not enough landscaping companies so he had promptly set up a landscaping business with his brothers.
So far, business had been brisk. Fireblood Landscapers enjoyed a good reputation. Sky and his brothers worked hard and fast, and their list of satisfied customers was growing rapidly. Sky was grateful for the help he received. Quite a few of the construction companies in town referred clients to them and got the Fireblood brothers to do the landscaping for the houses they constructed. “Small businesses should help one another,” Tristan Gray, owner of Gray’s Domain had said affably as he waved away Sky’s profuse thanks.
Tristan was being modest when he referred to his company as a small business. Sky could see that Gray’s Domain wasn’t a small business at all. Tristan Gray and his brothers owned one of the largest and most successful construction businesses in town. The Gray brothers were big, burly bear shifters, all happily mated and fiercely protective of their families. But they were also helpful and generous with their friends and neighbors.
During the day, Sky, Storm and Seath were kept busy with numerous landscaping projects around town. They got to know Tristan Gray and some of the construction guys pretty well, but they always declined invitations to have dinner and have a beer together after work.
When the sun began to set, it was time to pack up and go home. And they would stay home for the rest of the night.
Shadow Point was
a really nice town, but the brothers weren’t going to fool themselves.
The residents of Shadow Point might be warm and friendly now, but they knew from bitter experience that even your oldest neighbor and friend could turn on you and run you out of town in a heartbeat.
For the sake of his brothers, Sky would keep his distance from the good people of Shadow Point.
The three of them would just stay low and stay out of everyone’s way. Everybody would be safer this way.
CHAPTER TWO
Sky looked around and saw the golden light of the setting sun glinting from the neat little houses and shops along the street. People were getting off work and the townspeople called out friendly greetings and stopped to chat for a while before making their way home.
People could be pleasant and agreeable.
Until they weren’t.
Sky shook away his dark thoughts and waved to Tristan Gray and his crew. Tristan and his men were putting the finishing touches to the last house on the street. Gray’s Domain had built the row of new houses on Misty Lane and Tristan had asked Sky if he wanted to do the landscaping for all the houses. The houses would be put on sale after the landscaping was done. “Houses with beautiful gardens fetch a much better price,” Tristan had told him with a grin.
“Hey, Sky, you got a minute?” Tristan called out.
Sky tensed and hid a grimace. He knew what was coming.
Tristan walked up to him looking a little apologetic. “I know you said you’re busy, but...” He shrugged. “My grandmothers aren’t taking no for an answer. They never do.” Tristan sighed.
Sky winced. “I...”
“Gramma and Ne-ma really want you and your brothers to come to their birthday celebration this evening,” Tristan said. “It’s just a small dinner. Well, it’s not really a small dinner, since we booked the whole restaurant,” he corrected himself with a chuckle. “Gramma and Ne-ma invited all their close neighbors and friends.” He saw Sky’s discomfort and added, “But my brothers, their mates and families will be there. You guys can sit with us.”
Sky glanced at his brothers who were waiting for him by the truck. “Thanks, but we really can’t attend.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“I’m sorry, Tristan.” He was. He really was. He genuinely liked Tristan and his brothers. And he kind of loved Gramma and Ne-ma too. Everyone did.
“My brothers and I would love to come to Gramma and Ne-ma’s birthday dinner,” Sky said sincerely. “But we can’t.” Please don’t ask me why, he silently prayed.
Sky saw his brothers fidget. Storm managed to keep his face expressionless, but Seath was doing a really bad job trying to hide his disappointment. Seath really wanted to go to Gramma and Ne-ma’s birthday party. So did Storm. And Sky.
Gramma and Ne-ma had a special place in their hearts. The two vivacious grandmothers had been the first people to come right up to them and make them feel welcome in this town. Sky and his brothers had been walking down the street, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible while exploring the town, when the two bubbly grandmothers bounded up to them and introduced themselves.
Gramma and Ne-ma had immediately embraced Sky, Storm and Seath as one of their own. “You boys are about the same age as our grandsons,” they’d said. “And you’re all alone in a brand new town. But don’t worry, you’ll get to know everyone soon. Welcome to Shadow Point!”
It seemed the two silver-haired witches knew almost everyone in Shadow Point, and they promptly introduced the Fireblood brothers to their grandsons, neighbors and friends.
Sky had a sneaking suspicion that it was Gramma and Ne-ma who’d persuaded Tristan to give Fireblood Landscapers this huge, lucrative landscaping job.
Tristan Gray and his brothers were good guys, and Sky really liked and respected them.
But he couldn’t get too close to them. He had to protect his brothers.
Sky jerked his thumb at his truck. “We really have to go. But please convey our birthday wishes to your grandmothers. Tell them to paint the town red, eh?”
Tristan sighed. “They did that last year. So this year, my brothers and I are making sure Gramma and Ne-ma can’t get their hands on all our red paint. Every can of red paint is accounted for and locked up in a very secret and highly secure location,” he added in a whisper.
CHAPTER THREE
Sky pulled his truck to a stop in front of his house and killed the engine. His brothers got out of the truck and began to make their way to their own houses. They’d rented the last three houses at the very end of the quiet street and they lived just next door to one another.
“I’ve got a pot of leftover stew,” Sky said to their backs.
Storm stopped but didn’t turn around. Seath spun on his heel and came bouncing over with a happy, hopeful smile on his young face.
“Did you say stew?” Seath said breathlessly. His smile faded a little as he mumbled, “I would have loved to go to Gramma and Ne-ma’s party. But stew’s good.”
Sky clapped his baby brother on his broad shoulder. Seath was the youngest but the kid was built like a tank. He was big and strong on the outside, but inside, Sky realized that Seath was still a sensitive, emotional twenty-year-old. Sky was thirty, and Storm was twenty-seven, but Seath was just out of his teens.
“Seath,” Sky said, wishing he could provide a better life, a better home for his two brothers. Heck, they couldn’t even share a home. His brothers were so worried they would infect him with their “disease”, they refused to sleep under the same roof as him. They insisted on renting separate houses so they could isolate and quarantine themselves from everyone, including their big brother, after dark.
It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t they hang out together after work and eat and relax together, like Tristan and his brothers?
“Let’s go in and have dinner,” Sky said firmly, almost angrily. “We’ll eat together. We can and should have dinner together. Come on. I’m starving.”
Seath began to follow him, before stopping suddenly. “But...” Seath glanced back and saw that Storm was standing on the sidewalk, watching them with a hard, bitter look.
“No,” Storm snapped. “Seath!”
Sky turned and grabbed Seath’s arm. “We can eat together. It’s just dinner. We...”
“Dinner’s not worth dying for,” Storm snarled. “Seath, move! Move away from him.”
“For fuck’s sake, you’re not dying!” Sky exploded.
“I wasn’t talking about me and Seath,” Storm said, his green eyes blazing.
Sky threw his hands up in the air. “I’m not fucking dying either.”
“You are safe, now,” Storm replied. “You haven’t exhibited any symptoms yet. But if we...”
“We work together, every single day!” Sky pointed out. “It’s not infectious! You are not infectious...”
“How do you know?” Storm said, cutting him off. “Do you know that for sure?”
Seath froze and backed away from Sky. “Storm’s right. We shouldn’t...”
Sky tried to control his rising voice and temper. “Stop it. If it’s infectious, I’d have caught it already. We work together every day, side by side. I...”
“We only work together during the day. But this...this...” Storm gestured furiously at himself, unable to find the right words. “This disease, these symptoms,” he spat at last. “They seem to manifest only in the evenings, or at night. Maybe we become infectious only after sundown...”
“You are not diseased!” Sky roared. “What you have is just...”
“What do we have?” Storm said quietly, taking a small step forward. “Do you know what we have? Do you?”
CHAPTER FOUR
When Sky remained silent, Storm continued, “Not even the doctors know what is happening. Heck, I don’t think they even believe us. No one knows what the hell is wrong with us!”
His massive chest rose and fell as he struggled to get his emotions under control. “We’ve been to so many doctors
, and we’ve gone through countless tests and scans but not one of those doctors could tell us what’s making these strange, bizarre marks and patterns appear on our skins,” he said, his face twisting. “These marks, they just appear and disappear at random. The doctors have never even seen these scale-like patterns on our bodies. When they’re running all those tests, the marks just refuse to appear!”
Storm paused to regain his composure. “The fact is, no one, besides us, has seen these strange red patterns on our bodies,” he went on, unable to hide the tremor in his voice. “The doctors think we’re imagining the symptoms, having some kind of complex or suffering from some form of psychosis. Didn’t that last doctor refer us to a psychiatrist? They think it’s in our heads, Sky. But we can’t control it, and we don’t know what it is!”
“Hey, we’ll figure it out,” Sky said, moving towards Storm. “We’ll get through this together...”
Storm shook his head angrily. “Don’t come closer, Sky. Whatever this is, we don’t want you to catch it. As long as we stay away from you after sundown...”
“Storm,” Sky called out but his brother had already turned away. Storm unlocked the door to his house and slammed the door so hard it was a wonder the windows didn’t shatter.
Sky sighed and turned to Seath. “Wait, Seath...”
“No, Storm’s right,” Seath said. He tried to give a brave smile and failed.
“Seath, just...just come in and have dinner,” Sky said. He pointed to his own house and let his arm fall to his side when he saw that Seath was already moving away from him.
“Fuck this,” Sky cursed. “Fuck this disease.”
“I...I’d love to have dinner with my brothers. And you know I love your cooking,” Seath said, pounding a huge fist over his heart. “I love stew, Sky, but—I love you more.”
With that, Seath turned and ran up to the last house on the street.
Sky started to go after Seath before he stopped himself. Silently, he watched Seath disappear into his house.
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