by Leela Ash
Drawn to the Dragon
Banished Dragons
Leela Ash
Copyright ©2018 by Leela Ash. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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DRAGON DREAMS
DRAGON PROTECTOR
DRAGON AFLAME
DRAGON’S NANNY
BANISHED DRAGONS
CAPTIVE TO THE DRAGON
DESTINED FOR THE DRAGON
PROTECTED BY THE DRAGON
STONYBROOKE SHIFTERS
DADDY SHIFTER’S VIRGIN
A SECRET BABY FOR THE SHIFTER
THE SHIFTER’S MAIL ORDER VIRGIN
DADDY SHIFTER’S FAKE FIANCE
THE SEAL SHIFTER’S SECRET BABY
CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA DADDY
NANNY TO THE SHIFTER
THE SHIFTER PROTECTOR’S VIRGIN
SECOND CHANCE WITH THE SHIFTER
OAK MOUNTAIN SHIFTERS
HER BILLIONAIRE SHIFTER BOSS
HER SECRET PROTECTOR BEAR
A SECRET BABY FOR DADDY BEAR
THE ALPHA’S MAIL ORDER BRIDE
THE ALPHA DADDY’S NANNY
DRAGONS OF KALDERNON
THE DRAGONS OF KALDERNON COMPLETE SERIES
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…and if you are interested, here is another series from Totally Romance Publishing that I think you may enjoy!
THE LOST CREEK SHIFTERS
The Lost Creek Shifters series is a collection of novelette length standalone Bad boy romances that fit together to tell the longer story of the ancient tale of the bear and wolf shifters in a small mountain town. Enjoy!
ARLO (Book 1)
SCAR (Book 2)
BLU (Book 3)
BODHI (Book 4)
KODHI (Book 5)
ZEKE (Book 6)
RIVER (Book 7)
Table of Contents
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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8.
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10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Epilogue
1.
Gavin sighed, tossing his wrench down on the ground and turning his eyes to the other shifters. He was the only dragon shifter out of all of them who hadn’t found his fated mate yet. It was really starting to take a toll on him.
The others hadn’t found it surprising at all. He was Gavin. Strong, intelligent, brave, but … well … nerdy. His huge, impressive brain didn’t have time to be encumbered with the wiles of love. It seemed natural to them that he should be left out of the equation and forever remain the go-to guy; the man with nothing more to concern himself with than matters of an intellectual and strategic manner. Love just didn’t seem to fit into the equation.
He gritted his teeth, scanning the faces of the other men, who had gathered with their families for a shifters-only barbeque. There were tiny children running around laughing and playing, their mothers catching some of them mid-air and scolding them for breaking the rules when they shifted into dragons to chase one another. What should have been a pleasant day had Gavin down in the dumps. He felt left out.
The only other man there with a frown deeper than Gavin’s was TJ, who had left his fated mate back on their home planet of Fiora back when they had been banished. They caught eyes and a short, silent look of understanding was passed between them. A couple of the children caught the troubled energy and slowed their running to stare at their uncles in confusion. Gavin smiled reassuringly at them and the child behind them nudged them forward. They moved on in their game reluctantly, giving each man a subtle look of hope.
“Don’t give up,” their faces said.
These sacred children really were something special. Gavin watched them continue in their game and shook his head in wonderment. There was a quality about them that was so peaceful and calming. They were keepers of an ancient wisdom and conductors of the shifter magic that allowed them all to exist in their perfect and natural forms. They were natural healers, highly sensitive to the things that were off in the world, and eager to help restore the balance.
Gavin would give anything to have a child like that of his own one day. They were truly remarkable. And so full of pure love. It was always encouraging to be around them, and he had done everything in his power to make it possible for their existence to come into being. He had spent countless hours repairing the device that helped to root out the potential Loni/Sun Dragon descendants so that no mistakes would be made. He had calculated everything so carefully, put everyone in the right place, organized countless meetings and dates, just to ensure that everybody would find who it was they were looking for.
And now that it was only himself left, he was utterly clueless.
The worst part was, the others were so wrapped up in their own happiness that they didn’t even notice how miserable he was. He didn’t blame them for it, exactly. It wasn’t a selfish type of selfish, necessarily. They had new lives and problems and joys to take part in with their new families that were exclusive to those units. He was pleased for them and loved them all as if they were his own blood.
It was just that he had almost expected that when it came his time to find a mate, everybody would be as enthusiastic about it as he had been for them. But they just saw his awkward mannerisms with women as an unfortunate sign that Gavin was the brains of the operation and nothing more, and that was okay. They were too busy to do anything but shrug it off.
“Hey, Gavin.”
TJ was beside him now, and Gavin let out a sigh.
“Oh, hey.”
“What’s on your mind?”
Gavin raised a brow and shrugged, gesturing subtly to the activity around them.
“I’m with you there, man.”
“Well, yeah, but … you can still rest easy at the end of the day knowing you at least found your fated mate. Meanwhile, I don’t even know if mine exists!”
“That’s ridiculous, man. Of course, she exists. Or he!”
Gavin raised his brow at TJ, unamused.
“Hey, human customs are sometimes a little … surprising. That’s all,” TJ said with a smirk. “There are just three simple steps, you know? Step one is knowing what you want. Step two is believing it’s possible. Step three is figuring out how much of your own bullshit is getting in the way of you knowing it’s possible. So, if you are fixating too much on it all, you’ll never find the girl–or guy–who is meant for you.”
“TJ…”
“Hey, you never know!”
“Well, fated mates do come in many forms,” Gavin admitted.
“That’s right. And my point is, it will happen how and when you least expect it,” TJ said, slapping Gavin on the back. “Even if it is a man, what would it matter if you are happy?”
“I’m not gay, TJ.”
TJ chuckled. “I know that. I’m just saying that maybe you are focusing too much on what you
think should happen. For things like this to work out, you can’t just be bracing yourself for it and obsessing. It messes with the mojo of the universe, you know? It’s like that human phrase, a watched pan never boils!”
“Pot,” Gavin corrected. “A pan is−”
“Whatever, man,” TJ said, shrugging it off. Gavin felt a minor surge of stress come and go. If a human heard him say that wrong…
“Pot,” he repeated sternly.
“Okay, a watched pot never boils. But you’re getting all hung up on how I’m saying it and not what it means. You can’t force things like this. You have to let it all go for a while.”
“Let it go?” Gavin exclaimed. “How do you expect me to let it go when there is so much riding on this? The magic that keeps our species alive is at stake. Without it, we are no better than the humans.”
“Humans ain’t so bad,” TJ said with a shrug.
“Aren’t,” Gavin mumbled.
“Ain’t is a human thing,” TJ pointed out.
“An uneducated human thing. Leave it to you to pick up lazy human vernacular, even after all the things I have done to prepare you all…”
Gavin sighed, disheartened.
“I don’t see what it matters at this point even if we do end up more human than shifter. I am never going to see my mate again anyway. None of this is ever going to be possible for me. And without my sacred child, how do we even know this will make any difference?”
“It’s going to be okay, TJ. We have to trust in fate to do as it must. Take your own advice, man. Let it go.”
TJ shrugged and nodded. “That ain’t a bad idea.”
Gavin gritted his teeth, and TJ laughed heartily, slapping his back again. “It’s all going to be okay, man.”
“Yeah…”
TJ walked off, still chuckling to himself and shaking his head, and Gavin sighed, lost in thought. Let it go? Was he really mucking up the path of the universe by caring so deeply about this? Was that even possible? How was he supposed to just let it go?
“Gabin!”
“Oof!”
A tiny boy of about two and a half ran into Gavin’s legs and squeezed hard in a hug. Gavin’s bitterness melted away to some extent and he patted the small child’s head.
“You’re getting strong, little one.”
At least when the other Dragon shifters were oblivious and absorbed in their own families and Gavin ended up alone, there were always the sacred children. Pure, kind-hearted beings who would be there for him when he needed them the most. That was good enough.
2.
Naomi gripped the steering wheel and swallowed the lump in her throat for the hundredth time that day. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. She knew it was for the best, but the change had truly been sudden and shocking. What had snapped in her? How had she come to realize that she simply couldn’t take any more of Stu’s bullshit? When had she reached her limit?
Was it when she had found out he had been cheating on her? Or when he had stolen her credit card to buy himself a gaming console? Or when she overheard him flirting with another woman using said gaming console? Or had it been when he had taken the very last fat-free yogurt out of the fridge even though she had specifically asked him to save it for her because she was starting a new diet?
Whichever event it had been, she had finally woken up one day and decided she couldn’t take it any longer. As much as she loved him, he didn’t show her any respect. All that mattered was how he felt, and she was never given the same amount of consideration he expected. It was unbalanced and narcissistic, really. All he cared about was making himself happy, without making any sacrifices for anyone else. He was like a giant child who did whatever it was possible to get away with.
“Mrewr.”
Naomi’s eyes flickered to the rearview mirror, and she couldn’t help but smile at the huge green saucers staring at her from the carrier in her back seat. She was grateful to be taken out of her thoughts for a while. She was tired of obsessing over Stu and what she could do to make herself better and more loveable to him. The real crime here was that she had let his opinion of her get in the way of caring about herself and her needs. She had given so much up in order to be the perfect little woman he seemed to want her to be. He hadn’t given up anything and just kept nitpicking at her to keep her in line. It was bullshit. And she was done.
“It’s going to be okay, Gumbo. We’re going to be fine.”
She was saying this just as much to herself as she was to her cat and sighed. Everything had to work out okay. What other option was there? Anything would be better than eroding her identity any longer for a man who didn’t deserve any of her efforts. She didn’t need him at all. Everything was going to be perfectly fine. Better, even!
But was it really? She was about to lose everything she had worked so hard for. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything hurt all the time and she actually loved Stu, the stupid asshole. But he didn’t deserve it. He took advantage of her time and again. Why couldn’t he just love her back?
Her eyes flooded with tears and she pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. Last thing she needed to do was waste gas over an emotional breakdown. She allowed herself to cry a while. The whole thing was very overwhelming. Finally, she took a deep breath and collected herself, glancing to the back seat, where Gumbo was quietly gazing at her. She could swear he was able to sense her mood. Cats were special.
“Yeah, everything is going to be fine from now on,” she said with a small nod. “We’re going to be fine.”
She took a deep breath and gathered her strength. Everything was going to be fine. There was no other option. Everything got better eventually, right?
With a firm, encouraging nod to herself, Naomi turned her engine over. And nothing happened. She narrowed her eyes, her resolve in the greater good winning out fading.
“What now?” she groaned, the lump in her throat threatening to form into full-fledged tears again. She tried the engine again and again, and each time, absolutely nothing happened. Naomi shook her head in exasperation, concerned that something was seriously wrong.
“Mrrrowr.”
Gumbo clearly wasn’t impressed, and she shot him a look.
“Stop judging me.”
Naomi stepped out, careful to avoid traffic as she circled the car to lift the hood, not knowing the first thing about what might be wrong. Everything seemed to be okay when she checked the oil and other fluids, then she went back to the driver’s seat and tried to start the car again. Nothing happened.
“Oh no…”
Gumbo was silent as she frantically did everything she could think to get her car started, her panic mounting. She was frazzled and overwhelmed, worried that if she didn’t make it to the hotel in time for check-in, she might be out of luck and have to sleep in her car for the night. That possibility was less than ideal.
Why had she done everything so spur of the moment? There had been no plan. No safety net. She could always try to get in touch with her friend Shirley, but Shirley had her own family to worry about and it would be a huge imposition to host a friend so unexpectedly.
Not only that, but all of her friends had told her from the start that Stu was bad news. Time and again, she had gone to them crying about her heartache and time and again, they had offered themselves to her as a way for her to escape her situation and start fresh. But she had always refused, to the point where many of them felt snubbed. Stu had a feeling they didn’t like him and would make her life miserable if he even suspected they had been speaking to Naomi. Eventually, she had found herself with few friends to turn to and withdrew from the rest just to keep Stu happy.
She couldn’t ask them for help now. Not after that. Not unless it was too desperate.
No, Naomi was going to take care of all of this herself. If that meant spending a night or two in her car with a grumpy cat, so be it. At least she would know she was okay, and she wasn’t relying on the kindness of people she had take
n for granted. She couldn’t forgive herself for that. This was her issue now.
An issue she had no idea how to deal with and that was only made more complicated by the fact that her entire future was now up in the air and she couldn’t even make it to her only thought-out destination because her car wouldn’t start. Why did it sometimes feel like the whole world was against her?
Naomi sighed miserably. She had always been a caring person. Probably more so than most people she had known throughout her lifetime. Most people were comfortable with using and abusing, and yet she was always the one who took in troubled souls like Stu and tried to see the good in them and nurture it. She was drawn to those with problems and did whatever she could to be supportive, but in the end, somehow, it always seemed to lead to heartache.
What was she doing wrong? Had she done something to deserve all of this? Why couldn’t she just seem to catch a break?
Naomi leaned back in the seat of her car and tried to catch her breath. Well, it was no concern, right? She just needed to call someone out to help her.
But when she reached in her purse to pull out her cell phone, she cursed in frustration. She had left it charging at Stu’s apartment. It had been a three hour drive back to Brookside where she had grown up from where she had lived with Stu. And now, she was stranded with nobody to turn to and no way to call for help. She was still a half hour drive from town and on a long, quiet country road that was untraveled by most, if not all, traffic heading to Brookside. She, of course, had taken the scenic route, thinking it would calm her. So much for that.
The lump in Naomi’s throat returned and her emotions began to bubble, once more, to the surface. Why was it that everything was crumbling to the ground around her right now? What did she have to do to make things work out in her favor for once?
With a sigh, Naomi let her head fall against the steering wheel. It let out a brief, startling honk and she gasped, her tears beginning to spill to her cheeks. Gumbo was silent in the back seat as she cried to herself. She couldn’t just leave the car to walk for an hour or two to find someone to help her. Her whole life was in this car. What was she going to do?
