Dragon in Distress

by Crystal Dawn

  Zodiac Shifters Series

  Book 2

  Dragon in Distress

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Virgo

  By Crystal Dawn

  @ Copyright 2017 Crystal Dawn

  Cover by Raven Blackburn

  Eagle Editing

  Proofreader Tammy Payne

  This book is a work of fiction. All contents, including names, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to persons, living or deceased, or to businesses, locations or events are completely coincidental.

  None of this work may be used, reproduced, exchanged or transmitted by anyone, except the person the book was purchased for. Any reproductions of this book in any part or any form must be done with the express written permission of the author or not at all.

  Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

  The thing about Virgos…

  Generally you’ll find them to be hardworking, loyal to a fault, kind, practical, and they have an analytical mind which are all strengths. The flip side of the coin is most are shy, worry too much, they are workaholics often forgetting to enjoy life, and they are overly critical, not only of others, but also of themselves.

  They love animals, books, nature, are clean freaks, and tend to eat extremely healthy foods. Rudeness irritates them, they don’t like to be the center of attention, and they hate to have to ask for help.

  Virgos are extremely cautious, paying the closest attention to the slightest detail with a deep sense of humility. Their approach to life in general and any situation in particular is methodical so nothing is left to chance. They are also often tender.

  An Earth sign, Virgos are organized as well as conservative in all things. Even the rare messy Virgo has well defined goals and outlooks for their life and dreams.

  Their ruling planet is Mars, so many Virgos are good in communications of all kinds especially speech and writing. Possibly this is why many end up being writers or journalists. Sadly, the sign is often misunderstood because of its name. They live their lives fully, not becoming jaded, but experiencing everything as if it was the first time. Virgos are people pleasers, so a good number of them go into service positions or become caregivers.

  Phoenix Under Fire: A Zodiac Shifters

  Book 1

  A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Aries

  There is a battle brewing and the witches are looking for allies. Annie's father plans to force her to mate a male of his choice at the behest of his brother. She wants her fated one and casts a spell to find him. Problem solved, right?

  Ramiros wakes up with sand up his nose. What happened to his nice comfortable bed? When he finds the person who dumped him on the beach thousands of miles from home, there will be hell to pay. He almost felt sorry for the fool who'd chosen to mess with a Phoenix.

  As this book ends, it leads to Dragon in Distress which is more enjoyable and easier to understand if read after Phoenix Under Fire.

  Prologue

  The ball had gone well, all things considered. The war against evil? That was ongoing. Life was changing and so was the paranormal world. Annie was stretching her magical muscle and her skills had grown enormously. Her relationship with her mom was stronger than ever, but she and her father, not so much. Some things had been decided and one of those was Ram and Annie would stay in Orlando for now. Another was Ram would be heading the investigation into Hubolla and where it was operating currently and where it might go in the future.

  Their presence was needed for the battle that eventually would rage between the evil intent on ruling the world and good that just wanted to stay in the world. The fight was on now and would only continue to simmer until more fighting broke out. There were suspicions that some factions of wolves, vampires, and dwarves were negotiating with Hubolla for power they would never have otherwise, but proof was lacking. Right now, there were areas Hubolla seemed to be targeting along the coast of Florida that some of these groups were concentrated around.

  Meanwhile, her father was plotting and planning more unfortunate unions. Something was up with her father and she wasn’t sure what it was. He’d never been the warmest person and it was a sure thing that not everyone liked him. Annie herself had seen many things lately that she didn’t like about him.

  Sophie had come to her in tears. “Your father is intent on mating me to Boris the dwarf.”

  “I’ve heard he’s a dashing guy. Are you sure he’s not your fated one?” Annie had to ask. Contrary to the stories, dwarves were not necessarily short or ugly. Many were sarcastic and often disagreeable. Some, like Boris, were attractive. He had white blond hair, a body to die for, and gorgeous blue eyes.

  “I like Boris, but neither of us wants to be mated to anyone, but our fated mate. Boris has found his, but his father is prejudiced against harpies.”

  “Did you say harpies? Where do they live?”

  “They’ve spread out all over like most paranormal kinds. I can’t do the spell, but I must get someone to do it now. Your father is pressing my dad and he’ll give in to his big brother like he always does.”

  “Okay.”

  “Did you just agree?” Sophie asked as if she couldn’t believe it.

  “Yes, I’ll do it, but you can’t tell anyone. Okay?” Annie pressed.

  Sophie squealed happily and jumped on Annie squeezing her so hard she couldn’t draw in a breath. “Must breathe!”

  “Sorry.”

  “When do you want to do this?”

  “Now. Right now, if we can,” Sophie decided.

  “Okay.” Annie cast a spell and a list floated in front of her. She tore it in half. “Here, we need this stuff. You spell that half and I’ll spell the other half.”

  “Is it okay to cast a spell for something we can easily do without it?” Sophie asked uncertainly.

  “Do you want to do it now or in two days after we track everything down?” Annie asked.

  “Now, we have to do it now,” Sophie began to cast spells for each item separately.

  Annie cast one big spell for everything on her list. Since she had begun to study magic with other witches, not just her father, she had been taught ways to recharge her magic. For whatever reason, her father had never taught her that. She cast another spell to have her kettle waiting for them with a fire under it and the supplies she’d just gathered already in it. It had saved so much time doing it this way.

  A few more minutes and Sophie was done too. Ram walked in while they prepared. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re going to summon Sophie’s mate,” Annie explained.

  “Poor guy. I hope he ends up in a better place than I did,” Ram prayed.

  “We’ll be popping into the swamp to do the spell,” Annie admitted. She knew Ram didn’t want her going anywhere alone with the evil on the rise, but surely this was safe enough.

  “Not without me, you aren’t,” Ram insisted.

  Annie shot Sophie a helpless look. “It’s take him or forget it.”

  Sophie sighed heavily. “Fine, but he’ll stay out of the way, won’t he?” Annie shrugged. Mates rarely stayed out of the way from what she’d seen, not only in her mating, but in that of those around her. If Sophie had that expectation, she must not be very observant.

  “What are we waiting for?” Ram asked. Annie could tell he wanted to get this done and get back. Fine.

  Annie whispered the spell that flashed the three of them to the place in the swamp where she used her kettle. A big black kettle that sat over a fire bubbling with all the contents including those Sophie had been holding which had been added in transit. Sophie looked at her empty hands and then at Annie.

&
nbsp; “It was easy.” Annie answered Sophie’s unasked question about the ingredients she’d been holding. Annie moved to the kettle and stirred the contents. It was nearly ready since it didn’t require much cooking time. “Now remember what I explained to you, Sophie.”

  “Yes, I get it. He could show up when you cast the spell, he could turn up somewhere else in a week. All the spell does is draw him to me. There’s no guarantee of how or exactly when,” Sophie repeated. “Can we do this now?”

  “Fine. Are you sure you’re ready?” Annie asked one last time. After all, this was a huge step.

  “Yes, do it now!” Sophie replied and she was highly emotional.

  Annie stirred the potion thoroughly one last time before she said the incantation. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment and she thought Sophie’s results would be like hers. That was before all hell broke loose. There was a blinding flash of light and she could smell brimstone. Was Sophie’s mate a damned demon? A shape began to take form then blurred before it finally sharpened and it was huge. The beast was massive with red scales on the top and greenish gold scales on the bottom. The red scales on his head looked almost like a cap.

  The scaled beast glowed and smoke puffed out of his mouth. The creature appeared to be sleeping with only the in and out movement of breathing obvious. Suddenly, fast enough to make Annie nearly jump out of her skin, its head raised and the one eye she could see popped open. It was red and angry looking. Streaks of energy flashed in his eye almost like lightning would streak across the sky and his pupil, black as the night, was an oblong slit running from the top to the bottom of his eye.

  “It’s a dragon!” Ram stated the obvious.

  “Who has summoned me here?” A voice asked that rumbled like thunder.

  Annie and Ram stepped away from Sophie and pointed at her. No one wanted to be dragon food. Hopefully he wouldn’t burn or eat his fated mate.

  Chapter 1

  Fated Mates

  Sophie was stunned. A dragon! That was the last thing she had expected. They’d been thought extinct for hundreds of years with the stories about people running into one thought delusional. Her uncle should be happy. Having a dragon as an ally was a real coup. They were fated mates, so she was sure he would agree to their mating regardless of how disagreeably he looked right now.

  “You’re my fated mate.” She declared. Surely he could feel the pull?

  “I need no mate. You should never have summoned me.” The dragon said.

  “What’s your name?” Annie asked.

  “I am Knossos.”

  “I’m Annie, this is my mate Ramiros, and your mate Sophie.”

  “Sophie.” He said in a rumbling low voice. “I’d say I’m pleased to meet all of you, but I’m not.”

  “I guess it’s true that dragons are disagreeable.” Ramiros observed.

  “Easy for you to say. You weren’t woke from a millennia of sleep to find yourself in a swamp.” Knossos said.

  “No, I woke alone naked on the beach with sand up the crack of my ass and my nose as if I’d been rolled in it.”

  “Weren’t you angry?” Knossos asked.

  “Yes, until I saw my lovely mate. My kind live to find our mates. It’s considered a blessing to finally find our one.” Ram explained.

  “There was a time my kind felt the same.” Knossos admitted as he changed into a handsome man with hair the color of cinnamon and eyes a chocolate brown.

  His skin was pale, the color of milk. He was well muscled and tall as one might expect a dragon to be. He didn’t look as dangerous or as grumpy in human form as he had as a dragon. The transformation had happened in a split second, the quickest change Sophie had ever seen. Admittedly, she’d been sheltered and was only now allowed out among other kinds on her own.

  “What changed?” Sophie asked. She needed to know, wanted to understand why her mate wouldn’t want her.

  “Dragons are on the cusp of extinction. We went into hiding hoping at some future point things would be safe again for us. This is not such a time. My magic tells me there is more danger now than ever before.” Knossos admitted.

  “You are right. There is a battle being waged that may see an evil taking charge of the world that will prevent any kind from being free.” Ram explained.

  “Our plan is to sleep through this battle.” Knossos admitted.

  “If the evil wins, this world will never be safe for your kind.” Ram declared. If you don’t claim your mate now, will she even be around in the new world you wake up to?”

  Knossos growled. Sophie wasn’t sure if he was upset at the thought she might not be around to be claimed later or still just upset about them waking him. “I will go with you to see the truth of these things myself. Pray you aren’t trying to fool me.” He warned.

  “If only that was so. I was cast in this unexpectedly too, but ignorance doesn’t guarantee safety.” Ram assured. “Annie will spell us to our headquarters. Once you’ve had time to settle in, you and I will discuss this male to male.” Knossos just grunted.

  Sophie could already see he wouldn’t be easy to figure out and he wasn’t the talkative type. Since they were fated mates, and she could feel the draw to him, didn’t that mean it would all work out? She hoped so because draw or not, right now she was a little scared of him. Boris the dwarf was looking better all the time.

  In seconds, they were back at the phoenix headquarters. Sophie had no idea what Ram was, but sometimes she wondered if he might not be a Phoenix. She had dismissed the thought because they were legendary, right? But now that she’d found her own dragon, and they were supposedly extinct, she was reconsidering her guess.

  Not for the first time, she wished she was a stronger witch. She couldn’t transport others, could barely transport herself and not very far. While she was younger than Annie, she wasn’t that much younger and should have learned some of these skills. Part of the problem might be her father had refused to let her learn anything beyond what her job required. Since her job was still entry level, it didn’t require much.

  Her day consisted of spelling powder to keep pets off certain areas, spelling lotions to heal minor skin irritations, and spelling small charms to make the wearer feel protected from small irritations. Anything more complicated, was left to witches of a higher level, Annie being at the highest level in the company. There were witches higher than Annie, but they worked for witch kind, not customers.

  Sophie understood she was standing at the edge of her old life. One way or the other, things were changing and for her, more than anyone. It made her wish she was brave, like Annie, outgoing and draw men in like Gertie, or smart like Pru. Annie and her sisters all had something going for them being gorgeous. Knossos couldn’t deny his mate if it was one of them.

  Instead he got poor Sophie. He knew she was pretty, all supes she knew were at least pretty. It wasn’t that she hated herself either, because she didn’t. Annie said it was a Virgo trait to be hard on yourself and others, but Sophie saw talent in others more than deficiencies. She seemed to be the only one around that was sadly lacking.

  “What’s your sign?” Sophie asked Knossos. He looked surprised as he considered the answer.

  “Virgo. What about you?”

  “I’m Virgo too.” Dear goddess, could two Virgos even live together? Sophie did horoscopes as a hobby and she made a little money on the side since her father took her money. Supposedly he was saving it for her future. The future he was about to help ruin by siding with his brother if Knossos didn’t step up.

  Now she had even more to worry about. “It’ll be alright.” Annie whispered, but how could she possibly know unless she’d gained the gift of prophecy. Well-meaning relatives saying don’t worry only made her worry more.

  “What is this place?” Knossos asked.

  “It’s the headquarters of my people’s business. It’s also where my mate and I are living right now.”

  “And your people are?” Knossos asked.

  “He won’t tell y
ou in front of me. It’s a need to know basis and I don’t need to know.” Sophie said.

  “I’m sorry.” Annie whispered.

  “It’s okay. I’m used to it. My parents never tell me anything either. I actually don’t think my mother knows anything, it’s hard to say.” Sophie admitted.

  “Once you mate, you’ll be free of that.” Annie observed.

  “Yes, but will I mate a dragon or a dwarf?” Sophie asked sounding as miserable as she felt.

  “What do you mean by that?” Knossos demanded. His eyes turned blood red with electricity crackling in them. It looked like a mini lightning storm in his eyes circling his pupils. She stepped back in a combination of awe and fear.

  “Don’t fear me.” Knossos said softly. “I would never harm you.” It wasn’t much, but at least it was something. But not harming her didn’t mean he intended to accept her.

  “My father who leads our family plans to mate Sophie to a dwarf. It’s a political alliance to strengthen our world against the coming evil. It’s the reason Sophie was desperate enough to have you summoned.” Annie explained.

  “She didn’t do the spell herself?” Knossos asked frowning.

  “No, she doesn’t know how.” Annie admitted.

  “I sense her magic is almost as strong as yours. How can she not be trained?”

  “Our fathers are brothers. They determined it best if she was kept to a rudimentary level in magic. I don’t know why. They tried it on me too, but I snuck away to learn.” Annie admitted.

  “And she could not?” Knossos asked.

  “She’s standing next to you. Don’t judge her. Our circumstances were very different.” Annie explained.

  “How would that be?” Knossos said in disbelief. “She is not as capable as you?”

  “I had siblings that took some of my parent’s attention. She was an only child for a long time.” Annie replied.

  “Okay. I see she has a champion in you.” Knossos observed.