Pregnant by the Dragon King

by T. S. Ryder

Darius jumped back to his feet as the bear stumbled. He followed it up, punching the bear in the kidneys. An arm flew back. He ducked, but it clipped him on the top of his head. The sheer force of impact made him stumble. The Thunder roared, swinging the knife at him. Darius blocked him, using both arms against the bear's one. The force of the blow still forced him back a few steps.

  In the back of his mind, Darius knew that the shifters around them were shouting, that somewhere was Cleo's voice as well, telling him not to give up. His muscles strained as he fought to keep the knife from plunging into his body.

  A huge fist sunk into his stomach. Pain exploded through his body, blinding him. He was just able to keep his hands wrapped around the thick wrist, to keep the knife away. His heartbeat had nearly stopped from the blow. When a second one came, stealing his breath, Darius did the only thing he could.

  He lunged forward, clamping his teeth in the shifter's shoulder. The hand with the knife jerked and the bear pulled back. Darius took the opportunity to put distance between them, spitting out blood. It tasted awful like he had dragged his tongue through diesel.

  The bear inspected his shoulder. It was dribbling blood, but the wound was superficial. It would be healed before Darius had a chance to get his breath back. His lungs felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.

  "I should have expected such a low blow from a vampire," the bear growled.

  "Low blow?" Cleo shouted from somewhere. "You're the one with the knife! If this were a fair fight you'd already be dead, but you're too much of a coward to face him on equal footing."

  The bear turned, snarling. Darius saw the opportunity to attack – but he was just able to draw in a single breath. If he attacked now, his strength would be greatly diminished. The Thunder would easily turn the attack against him.

  "And as for you, you wuss of a vampire, just take him out!"

  Darius couldn't help but smile. Always directly to the point. It was exactly what he needed. He didn't bother wasting time looking for his wife in the crowd.

  He ran forward, springing off the ground right before he clashed with the bear. The shifter spun on his heel to follow him, but Darius kicked him hard in the face before landing lightly and driving his knuckles hard into the bear's abs.

  The bear gasped for breath a moment, but raised his knife again and shook off the blows. Rage was still in his eyes, but there was something else as well. Desperation. Pain. And even as they continued to trade blows, Darius suddenly felt a surge of sympathy for his opponent. If their positions had been reversed and it had been Cleo to die… wouldn't he have done the same thing?

  There were only two options for the shifter. Revenge or death. There was nothing else for him. Not without his mate.

  Silence fell around them. It was just the two of them, fighting for so much more than their own lives. And when Darius twisted the knife from his opponent's hand and drove it through his throat, there was no joy on his face. There was no fear in the Thunder, either.

  "I'm sorry," Darius whispered, pulling the knife back out.

  The bear sagged, and he caught the massive brute and lowered him slowly to the ground.

  "I'm sorry for killing your mate," the vampire whispered. "I hope there's an afterlife where you may be rejoined with her."

  He got to his feet and backed away from the bear. Glancing around, he saw absolute fear on the faces of the shifters. Maybe that was a good sign. His shoulders slumped as he gestured to their Alpha.

  "The last thing he sees should not be the face of his enemy."

  The shifters stirred. A second man, almost as big as the bear he had just defeated, stepped forward. "Take your mate and leave. We will do as was promised and leave vampire territory."

  Darius nodded at him. Nobody challenged him as he went to Cleo's side. Tears shone on her face and there were red scratches oozing blood on her arms. He picked her up, holding her close, and started walking. He knew in his gut that the shifters would honor the agreement their Alpha had made. The war, at last, was over.

  If only there was a way this could have ended without violence, he thought sadly. But at least it is over now.

  Chapter Ten – Cleo

  The sun shone brightly through the leafy foliage of the elm tree that Cleo and Ed sat under. The sisters had a blanket spread out under them while Ed carefully cradled her newborn nephew. Cleo smiled at the sight. Even though she knew that baby vampires, just like the adults, couldn’t contract diseases, she had been nervous about bringing her son to the hospital Ed lived in. He was going to age at the same rate as humans until he hit adulthood, but, at the moment, he just looked so small and helpless.

  Seeing how her sister beamed made her glad she had decided to come visit.

  "He's so cute," Ed crooned. "What's his name?"

  "Tobar. I wanted to name him Eduardo so I could call him Ed after you, but Darius said that it was too close to Edward. Tobar was his father's name, so we decided on it."

  "What's wrong with Edward?"

  Cleo shrugged. "He said that there are already too many princes named Edward and that we wouldn't be adding to the list."

  "Why is he a prince?"

  "Oh!"

  Cleo shook her head. She had been so concentrated on her little son that she hadn't even remembered to tell her sister about the many changes that had happened over the past two months. The Rebeluna pack had kept the Thunder's terms of the fight against Darius. They had retreated from vampire territory, taking with them all the shifters fighting against the vampire armies.

  With them gone, shifter incidents had virtually stopped. King Iosif had publicly praised Darius for staking his life on the chance to drive them out. And just last week, there had been a huge celebration for three days and nights, at the end of which Iosif declared Darius his new heir. It was everything the two of them had hoped for.

  "Darius was adopted by the king," Cleo told her sister, deciding to leave out the complicated politics of it all. "He's the prince now, and he's going to be king someday."

  Ed stared at her with wide eyes. "That means you're a princess!"

  Cleo nodded. "Yes. It does. Speaking of Darius, he should be here soon. He said he was going to come spend the afternoon with us."

  Both sisters looked around. Ed pointed, although she was very careful to keep cradling Tobar's head. "There he is! And Gordon is coming, too."

  "I see them."

  Cleo stayed where she was, smiling at her husband as he and his friend approached. Both of them returned the smile. Ed started to fidget, trying to smooth her hair one-handed while still holding the baby. Her eyes were glowing, and Cleo felt her own smile widening. Since she and Darius shared all their secrets, they had been visiting her sister often.

  Gordon came with them quite a bit, and Ed had developed quite a crush on him. Cleo's own relationship with the vampire was improving as well. They weren't friends, but they were getting there.

  "Hello, lovely ladies," Darius said, bowing to the both of them. "Do you mind if we join you on this fine day?"

  "No, you can join us," Ed said. "Gordon, sit next to me. I have a new cat’s cradle trick I want to show you."

  Cleo retrieved her baby as her sister started rooting around in her pockets for the string. Gordon sat beside her, a patient smile on his face.

  I'll have to remember to thank him for being so good with her, Cleo thought. It's not just a show, he really does listen to everything she says and doesn't get tired of her. She needs people like that.

  Well, maybe everybody did. But Cleo didn't care about everybody. She cared about her sister, and she was glad that she had a real friend that wasn't there because he was being paid. Although the staff at the hospital were terrific, Ed needed to have friends from the outside world as well.

  "Let's go over to the bench to play cat’s cradle," Gordon suggested, offering a hand to Ed. "I think Darius has something he wants to tell Cleo."

  "Okay."

  They went off, leaving Cleo alone with her baby
and husband. The human turned a puzzled look on the vampire. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

  Darius was grinning. It stretched from ear to ear, and he looked so excited he was practically glowing. This was something special, Cleo could tell. But her husband shrugged, as though it was no big deal. He plucked a blade of grass from the ground and teased her nose with it. Cleo batted it away.

  "Don't keep me in suspense."

  "Okay. Well, I've been doing some research and asking around. I've arranged it so that Ed can come visit us at the estate regularly. And not just a drive out and drive back here. I'm getting a room set up for her there, too."

  Cleo's jaw dropped. "Can we really do that? She doesn't do well outside the hospital."

  "I've spoken with all her doctors, along with many other professionals. None of them see a problem with her leaving for short vacations. I've already hired a special staff to look after her at the estate and here, to minimize disruption of her routine. And it's not like we're going to let her run out of her meds, is it?" Darius brushed Cleo's hair from her face. "I know you feel guilty for not doing more, even if there wasn’t really anything more you could do. You were right, she needs professional caring, but we can facilitate that at the estate now."

  A warm feeling of love swept through Cleo and she kissed her husband, tears pricking her eyes. "Thank you."

  "You're not crying, are you?" Darius' soft voice was teasing. "The baby hormones are still getting to you."

  "Yes." Cleo laughed as she wiped her face. "I think you did that to me on purpose, getting me pregnant so you can tease me about my emotions being all over the place."

  Darius kissed her again, taking the baby as he did so. The tiny bundle of blankets looked so delicate in his arms. He beamed at his son. "Did you hear that, little man? You have made your mother an emotional wreck. But that's okay, isn't it? Because we don't have secrets from each other anymore – except for surprises and presents."

  "I'm glad we decided on that policy," Cleo said. "Sharing secrets. I didn't realize there was so much about my life that I wanted to share with you until I started telling you."

  "I'm glad, too. And I'm glad that you're my wife." Darius stroked Tobar's fluffy dark hair. "I'm glad we have a son. I'm glad we have peace. I'm glad that I'm the king's heir, but I'm gladder that I was able to save you. I could keep going forever."

  Cleo nodded. She understood the feeling. There was so much to be grateful for. But most of all, she was grateful for her husband. That he loved her. That she loved him. She leaned into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. Yes, she had everything she had fought for. But she had far more than that.

  She had love. And even if everything else was taken from her, she knew that love would sustain her the rest of her life.

  *****

  THE END

  The Gorilla Shifter's Captive

  Description

  A curvy girl in witness protection PLUS a sexy billionaire shifter who is her new boss PLUS a drug lord on their heels!

  Mack thinks the craziness of her life is over when her testimony puts a drug lord in jail for murder. Finally, she can concentrate on the animal rescue shelter she is trying to set up.

  But life has other plans, and with Gedge still going after her, she instead ends up in witness protection...

  Whisked down to Florida, Mack is placed with the eccentric billionaire Oliver Bishop, whose mansion is so far from civilization that she can't even get a cell phone signal. He requires a caretaker with experience with exotic animals, and since she used to work at a zoo, she fits the bill perfectly. Mack expects that she's there to care for his menagerie, but when she arrives she finds the only animal there is Oliver himself.

  Eccentric is one thing, but Mack comes to realize that Oliver is something else entirely. He walks around bare-chested, doesn't shower for days and never picks up after himself. But the longer she stays with him, the more he brings out her own wild side...

  With the threat of the drug lord's vengeance hanging over her, Mack still can't help but wonder–exactly what kind of beast is Oliver Bishop? Does he crave her body the way she craves his? And can they escape the drug lord’s men? Find out now.

  Chapter One

  US Marshal Tom Meyer handed Mack an information packet while the fluorescent lights in his office flickered. "Here's everything you need to know about your new identity, Bertha."

  "Mack," she corrected, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, taking the packet. It weighed heavy in her hands, almost as heavy as her heart. "I thought that since Gedge got convicted, I could finally go home."

  The past two years had been very difficult for her. Not only had she had to relive the moment when she saw her boss, a kind, elderly man who wouldn't hurt a fly, get shot in the head at point-blank range, but she hadn't been able to see or talk to her family in all that time, either. She missed her life terribly.

  Meyer gave her a sympathetic smile. "You got him put away for murder. A man like Gedge isn't going to just forget that, and he's still got people on the outside. But don't worry. You'll love your new job. Oliver Bishop reached out to us specifically looking for someone in witness protection. He doesn't want a permanent worker."

  Mack flipped through the first few pages of her packet. She skimmed the information about Bishop.

  "We've done a thorough check, and his house the best place to keep you hidden for the next three months until we get you set up in your new life with your new identity. And you're the best qualified to work for him, with your experience with exotic animals."

  "What, does he have his own zoo?" She looked up, her eyes narrowed. "Who is this Oliver Bishop, anyway?"

  "Only the richest person you've never heard of. He owns ten thousand acres of land down in Florida, and he's richer than God. He's a little strange, but I'm sure you and he will get along just fine." Meyer chuckled, as though he actually doubted his words.

  I quit my job at the zoo for a reason, she wanted to say, but bit her tongue.

  After all, arguing with the guy who was meant to keep a crazed drug lord from killing you wasn't a good idea. She still had nightmares about the murder sometimes, and seeing Gedge's hateful expression every time she sat in court, telling lawyers and juries what she had witnessed, always left her shaking and cold.

  She had hoped that now Gedge was in jail, she could go back home to her family and work on her dream of opening an animal rescue center.

  Seems like that dream will never come true.

  "Margret Simmons," she read, reading the name she would have to get used to. In three months it would be hers. She made a face, but it could be worse.

  The only thing she had been looking forward to in this whole mess was having an excuse to get rid of "Bertha" as her first name. She had been named after her mother's mother, and she knew that any attempts to legally change it would have ended in too many tears to bother with. She was satisfied going by her last name most of the time, although her mother still insisted on calling her Bertha. And so did Meyer, for some reason.

  "Am I keeping my name until I get relocated to my new home?"

  Meyer smirked. "You ought to take the time to get used to your new name, but you're going to be so far away from civilization that it won't matter."

  That sounded ominous, but Mack nodded. She tucked the packet into her backpack; it would give her something to read on the trip to Florida.

  To most people, going to Florida for three months free of charge might seem like a dream, but Mack was dreading it. With the heat and humidity there, her hair was going to end up even more unmanageable. It wasn't quite curly and wasn't quite straight. No matter how she cut it or how many styling products she used, it always ended up a bushy mess on top of her head. She was also what her mother deemed 'a big girl' and had always had trouble dealing with high temperatures.

  Mack sighed as she slumped in her chair. "At least I won't have to waitress anymore."

  Meyer stood. "You should go and say go
odbye to your family now. We'll set them up with new identities here soon, but until then you can't have any contact with them, understood?"

  This was going to be the hardest part. Mack was very close to her two younger brothers and her parents. An irrational part of her brain wondered how they were going to get along without her for another three months. Which was ridiculous, after how long they had already been getting along without her.

  "After two years of not having any contact, I'll have half an hour to catch up with them before another three months of no contact."

  "They are going to be fine. Gedge won't go after them," Meyer assured her, but that only made Mack's anxiety for her family kick up another notch.

  Still, she put on a brave face as she swung her backpack on and went to say goodbye. She tried not to let herself think that this might be the last time she ever saw them. Who knew what the future held? Hopefully, it's better than the past.

  ***

  Even before they arrived at their destination, Mack knew she was going to hate every second of the three months she spent living here. She was used to the subtle greens and browns of the semi-arid desert she grew up in.

  At least it was a cold day, and even though it was summer, Mack could get away with wearing full-length jeans to help control her thighs and her plump calves. She carried most of her weight from the waist down, and with the right pair of jeans she managed to look decent, but forget shorts, skirts or bathing suits. The highest heels on the planet couldn't save her legs.

  Florida, on the other hand, was all green and wet. She'd be forced into shorts for sure. Breathing felt clogged up and like she was in a sauna. Even with the air conditioning in the US marshal's van going full blast, she thought she might die from the heat.

  Her impression of Florida wasn't helped by the fact that the road they were driving on wasn't really a road. Though it was paved and in excellent condition, there hadn't been a road sign or another vehicle for almost an hour. Trees with giant leaves that Mack didn't know the names of leaned over them, blocking out the sun, and the forest was so dense that there could have been a hundred drug lords just inside the tree line having a tea party, and they'd be completely oblivious.