Dragons For Hire: A Dragon Shifter Romance

by Sadie Sears

  Everything was different. My vision was sharpened times a hundred. I could see the detail of every snowflake that fell, see the individual colors of the sun. The rainbow of colors I could see now was so much more detailed and intricate than just the day before.

  I couldn't wait to share this with Shae. It would be wonderful to share a flight with my favorite person in the world.

  Cam stretched out his neck and roared, letting sparks fountain into the air above him, evaporating all the snow in the air around us. I giggled at his antics, and more growls and laughter came from my snout.

  Can you hear me?

  Cam’s voice in my head made me gasp. He’d told me we could talk like this, but he’d given me time to get used to everything, and I’d forgotten.

  Oh, my goodness, Cam, this is amazing!

  We soared over the town, weaving back and forth around each other, but staying close. I followed when he flew out toward the mountains, and the sight of the snow falling on everything was breathtaking. I tried hard to stay on his tail as we circled back. I didn’t want to be away from him.

  The moment he’d bitten me, something had clicked. This was meant to be, and I felt it now as strongly as he had before. How had he lived with himself when he thought it might not work out? How had he not gone stark, raving mad?

  We continued flying until I began to tire. You’ll build up stamina. We’ll fly every day, and before you know it, you’ll be able to fly for miles and miles.

  When we went back home, Cam showed me how to shift into my larger dragon. We had to take turns because in that form, we took up most of the back yard. No way two of us would've fit. Shifting back and forth was surreal. There was no pain, and it happened easier each time I did it. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to accept Cam’s bite. If I’d known the magic that came along with a shift, I would’ve tied Shae up and dragged her along.

  Not really, but still. It was pretty freaking amazing.

  Leath, Lila, and the girls returned with painted faces and pizza for dinner, and we shared a wonderful evening with our friends and new family.

  The claiming ceremony was set for Thanksgiving to give the girls time to adjust to their abilities while they were off from school. The clan slowly trickled in through the afternoon with carloads of decorations and food. We’d been up all morning cooking as well. Vince came downstairs about the time all the rest of the clan began to drift in. He looked bleary-eyed but perked up quickly. “Hey, I forgot what day it was!” He held out his hands for high fives, and both Zoe and Shae hit one of his hands. “Are you ready?”

  They squealed as only preteens can and jumped up and down. “We’re so ready,” Shae said.

  “Beyond ready,” Zoe echoed.

  Lila gave me a weak look. “I’m already exhausted,” she whispered.

  We finished up the decorations with Vince’s help, and before long the barbeque grill was going out in the backyard, despite the snow—what did we care about snow, after all—and the kitchen smelled like baking cookies. Everyone was here and we’d decided to treat it like a huge birthday party. In a way, it was the rebirth of our girls.

  When everyone was there and all had eaten, I looked around at my new family. All of the Dragons for Hire team had come, including Mitias. Lila was there, of course, but so was Gretta and her oldest friend, Justin. Glenda had come as well.

  The home overflowed with love and excited energy. I was beyond nervous, but I also couldn’t wait to show my daughter the world as a dragon.

  “We asked the girls if they wanted a speech,” Lila said.

  “But they said no,” I finished. “So we’re just going to get on with it!”

  Everyone chuckled, and the girls’ faces turned bright red with embarrassment. I couldn’t have been prouder that Shae had made up her mind. She was determined that this was what she wanted.

  I’d considered waiting, but how could I not give her this gift? I couldn’t wait to show her this world.

  The girls stepped forward and held out their hands, but Gretta interrupted at the last minute. “Wait!” she shouted.

  Everyone turned toward her. “I forgot this part,” she said. “I know everyone was worried about it hurting, so I brought some lidocaine.”

  We paused the proceedings so Gretta could use her tiny needles to numb the girls’ arms. “Give it a minute,” she said.

  When they couldn’t feel us touching their arms, we continued.

  At the same time, I bit Shae and Lila bit Zoe, our teeth sinking deeply into their skin. I hadn’t expected it to be so easy. It was a bit unnerving, really. Energy flowed between us, but nothing outwardly happened, as it hadn’t when the bites had been between our mates. Both girls gasped. Almost immediately, they saw the differences.

  Zoe backed away and looked around with wide eyes. “Let’s go fly!” she yelled.

  Leath and Cam burst out laughing, and Leath held up his hands to try to slow her down, but the next thing we knew, we all had to duck for cover as an enormous dragon erupted in front of us, ripping Zoe’s clothes to shreds.

  She roared, confused, then found her wings and took off. “She’s such an odd size,” I mused to Cam as Lila and Leath quickly stripped to follow.

  “That was her large dragon,” he said. “But she’s only what, three quarters grown? The dragon will get bigger as she gets older. We’re lucky it wasn’t full size, or we would’ve all been injured, I’m sure.”

  “My turn!” Shae screamed.

  How were they figuring out this stuff? It had taken me several minutes to get my bearings and be able to fly. Shae morphed into her larger dragon as well, but luckily everyone was still well out of the way after scrambling when Zoe shifted.

  No way I was stripping in front of everyone. I stepped out of my shoes and pants, then let my dragon take over and shifted into my smaller form, streaking after Shae, Zoe, Leath, and Lila with Cam hot on my tail.

  This was what I’d waited for. As I flew, a white feather drifted past me, just out of the way of the wind created by my wings.

  Riley, letting me know he was here, and he was pleased with my new family.

  24

  Damini

  Spruce was the kind of picturesque town found on postcards across the US. I absolutely adored it, and I’d only just arrived. I pulled my scarf tighter as I walked down the recently cleared sidewalks, snow falling heavily around me. On the corner ahead, I saw the sign for Snowshoe Brew café and picked up my pace.

  Before I stepped in the door and the warmth inside, I noticed the park on the opposite corner of the intersection. Several kids were laughing and screaming, throwing snowballs, and building snowmen. It’d been a while since I’d been so carefree that I was tempted to join them, but that probably would’ve been weird. Besides, I was supposed to be meeting a friend I hadn’t seen in a while.

  I smiled as the curly-headed blonde girl pegged a dark-haired girl in the head with a snowball before I finally stepped into the café. Christmas decorated every surface, from the wreath on the front door to the enormous tree in the corner. Garlands were strung up across the front counter, and glass cylinders with red, green, and gold balls inside were centered on every table.

  Grinning at the beauty of it all, I grabbed a hot cocoa with marshmallows from the counter and found a seat to wait for Jessica, unzipping my thick coat. As much as I loved the majesty of the weather, I hoped it stopped snowing soon. My family would be expecting me back by nightfall, and I wasn’t sure how well the tiny place maintained their roads as opposed to my home in Boston.

  Beside one of the windows that overlooked the intersection, a group of incredibly attractive guys sat. In fact, there was a high concentration of good-looking guys there for such a small town. One with blond hair kept looking out the window at the park, and I wondered if the girl with the good aim was his. When his eyes turned toward me, they sparkled with a number of colors.

  Dragon shifters.

  Now that I looked closer, the whole table see
med like they were dragon shifters. There was one with green eyes and another with almost amber-colored eyes. My hand drifted to the necklace under my shirt and my throat locked down. This was no place to get emotional over an old flame.

  Before I got too deep into that train of thought, Jessica walked in the door. She shook the snow out of her blonde hair and grinned when she saw me. We’d been best friends since our college days back in North Carolina, and though she’d come to see me a few times in Boston since, this was the first time I’d visited her hometown. She’d managed to chase her journalism dreams, but my degree was wasting away somewhere while I took care of my family’s estate.

  I stood when she walked over and gave her a hug. “Oh, Damini, it’s so good to see you,” she squealed.

  “You, too.” We sat and she warmed her hands on her cocoa mug. “I can see why you came back here. This place is adorable.”

  “I’m surprised your parents let you come here alone,” she replied with a snort. “I half expected to see them sitting in the corner watching you, especially with all the activity that’s been happening around here lately.”

  My parents were very overprotective. My mother was a Pakistani immigrant and retained a lot of her conservative side. I’d thought they were going to have a conniption when I’d told them about my college plans.

  Glancing around, I leaned over my mug dramatically. “What kind of activity?”

  “I’ll never understand why you didn’t just tell your parents off and put that degree to good use.” Jessica laughed and shook her head. “Besides all the supernatural activity in town, we had a whole dragon clan move here this past spring.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Or, I guess you could say they moved here because of the increase in activity.”

  I nodded to the table I’d noticed earlier. “Yeah, I think I found some already.”

  Jessica hummed appreciatively. “Yeah, the ones I’ve seen so far have been the best kind of eye candy. I interviewed two of those guys right there after a wizard attack in the spring. The blond is sweet, but I hear he’s taken now.”

  The hot cocoa was delicious now that it didn’t scald my tongue. “So, you think that’ll let up out there any time soon?”

  “Probably not,” she replied. She waved a hand at me. “What’s with the get-up, anyway? You needed hiking boots to tackle Spruce’s crooked sidewalks?”

  “I wanted to tackle some of the trails, actually. You want to come?”

  Jessica looked at me like I was crazy. “Are you serious? That is a really bad idea this time of year.”

  “Oh, come on, I do this kind of stuff all the time,” I reminded her.

  A young man sidled up next to our table. “Sorry to eavesdrop, but your friend is right,” he said. “The trails are really dangerous right now. It isn’t safe.”

  “Yeah, you tell her, Reggie,” Jessica said. “And that’s coming from a local wolf. If you can’t trust them about the danger in the woods, who can you trust?”

  The man gave us a sheepish grin and moved along, a tray balanced on his hand. I turned back to my friend. “Look, I’ve hiked in worse conditions all over the world. I can handle a little of the rugged North American woods. I’m actually looking forward to it.”

  Jessica didn’t look convinced. “If you go missing up there, who is going to tell your parents?”

  “I’ll be fine, I promise!” I reached across the table and grabbed her hands. “I have all the safety equipment I could possibly need, plenty of supplies, and I’ve done this tons of times. It’s fine.”

  “Where exactly are you going?” she asked, tapping her finger to the table. “I need exact coordinates, so I know where to send the rescue team.”

  I snorted but handed her the map I had tucked in my coat pocket. She pulled her phone out and snapped a picture of the spot I had circled. Even though she was being difficult, it was nice to know she cared so much.

  “You had better call me when you get back this afternoon and let me know you’re safe.” Jessica stood and hugged me again.

  “I will.”

  I grabbed my day pack out of my truck and tugged it on. There was still another mile to the trailhead, but apparently Spruce’s little road management system didn’t care to go up that far. Either way, walking would be easier than trying to drive that steep mountainside road anyway. It felt safer on two feet than four wheels.

  I adjusted my beanie snugly over my dark hair and wrapped my scarf across my mouth and nose. The snow had finally started to ease up some, and I noticed that the clouds had broken up just a bit. With a hop in my step, I headed up the road. Maybe I’d get lucky and get amazing views and see some frozen waterfalls.

  The fresh snow crunched underfoot, another older layer underneath. I guessed they really must not clear the roads out that far. After walking for another two hours or so, I realized the trail I’d been following had disappeared at some point. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the clouds that had started breaking up had decided to reform and snow began falling again.

  Turning back, I followed my footprints until they stopped. The snow had buried them, so I didn’t know where the trail was. Looking around, I made my best guess and kept going. Surely, I’d paid enough attention to landmarks to be able to follow them back.

  Until I came to a cliff I definitely didn’t recognize. What I could see of the view, around the low clouds rolling in, was amazing, but now I was starting to get worried. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. I’d been a little cocky.

  I took a step back to try again, but my foot crunched down into the fresh snow and through the old layer of ice. The step made me lose my balance and I fell back on my ass, my ankle twisting at a painful angle.

  “Gah!”

  Pain shot up my calf, and I jerked it out of the snow. I managed to stand upright and tested my weight on it, but there was no way I could get back to the trailhead on that leg. Leaning against a sturdy tree, I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

  “Awesome,” I mumbled to myself. “No bars. What else did I expect?”

  I slid down the tree and pulled my pack off, setting it beside me. Digging through it was a whole different kind of pain. Who’d packed this? Some kind of maniac in a hurry, obviously. I should’ve fired myself from doing those kinds of things.

  But the one thing I was looking for was nowhere to be found: my emergency satellite messenger. I started pulling things out one at a time, making sure I hadn’t just overlooked it, but no. It just wasn’t in there.

  Then I remembered. The last time I’d seen it, it was sitting on the dash of my truck. How in the bloody hell had I forgotten that, of all things? That was probably the most important item in my entire pack.

  Taking a deep breath, I rolled up my pant leg to look at the damage. Oh, there was definitely some swelling already. Okay, so, injured ankle. I had no idea how far away I actually was from the trail since I’d gotten turned around. The snow was falling so heavily that even my most recent footprints were already gone. No one else would be out hiking in all of the snow and freezing temps.

  Worst of all, Jessica and that wolf guy had been right. The hike had been a really bad idea.

  Maybe if I tried hobbling back the way I’d come, I could get to a place someone would find me if they came looking. No, that would be stupid. That was the way I’d gotten hurt in the first place. Everything around was a blanket of snow, snow, and more snow. Fog was rolling down the mountain toward me, and soon I wouldn’t even be able to see.

  How would anyone else find me?

  But I wouldn’t give up.

  I just prayed that someone nearby could hear me yelling for help.

  Book 4

  The Dragon Savior

  Dragons For Hire: Book 4

  Sadie Sears

  © 2020

  Disclaimer

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other ele
ctronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are all fictitious for the reader’s pleasure. Any similarities to real people, places, events, living or dead are all coincidental.

  This book contains sexually explicit content that is intended for ADULTS ONLY (+18).

  1

  Damini

  “Help! Somebody help me, please!” Rubbing my ankle, I tried not to sob with desperation and fear. Crying would just create moisture to freeze on my face, making me colder. That wouldn’t have helped anything. I sucked in the deepest breath and plugged my ears. “Anybody?” I screamed, pushing with my diaphragm, giving it all the juice I could. The sound ricocheted off the nearby trees but was absorbed pretty quickly by the snow. Nobody would hear me outside of a few yards away.

  I knew it was fruitless. There wasn’t anybody out there to hear it. I was alone. Why, why hadn’t I listened to Jessica? She’d told me not to take such a hard trail while it was snowing. At least she’d been smart enough to take a picture of where I’d intended to hike. When I didn’t check in with her, I hoped she’d send someone after me. I just had to make it until then.

  Unfortunately, that was several hours I’d be sitting in the snow with a bum ankle. Moaning, I leaned against a tree. Jessica was born and raised here in Spruce. I should’ve listened to the expert. Did I listen? Hell, no.

  Why was I so damn stubborn? Not to mention how much I hated being wrong. Especially to Jessica, who had been right so often when we’d been roommates in college. Every time I’d turned around, she was unintentionally making me feel as dumb as rocks.