Taste for Alphas: Paranormal Fantasy Shifter Romance

by Milly Taiden

  “Yes!” She nodded and bounced a little. “I saw the fire follow him until it got him both times.”

  “Right. If the scales are red, the attack is worse and the dragon will shoot out fire balls that divide into smaller balls seeking their target.”

  She opened her mouth in obvious shock. “But how do they know who the target is?”

  “They’re mentally controlled by the dragon.”

  Chapter Eight

  Morgan couldn’t believe her ears. She’d seen something nobody else probably had. “Is there another color?”

  “There’s a third color for the height of a life-threatening attack. If the scales are orange, the dragon will breathe fire blades. They shoot out fast, seek targets, and explode on contact.”

  “Holy shit. You guys are like war machines.”

  Had she not seen some of what he said, she would have a hard time believing it. “Who was the black dragon?”

  His features turned dark and serious. “He’s someone you don’t have to worry about anymore.”

  She had a feeling he didn’t really want to discuss the other guy, but she was curious. She grabbed his hand and held it. “Were you hurt at all?”

  His gaze traveled down to their joined hands and stared at them for a second. The heat of his warmth helped calm the trembling she still had inside. He squeezed at her fingers, massaging each and a soothing sensation relaxed the anxiety from before.

  “I wasn’t. I’m fine.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re not in danger again.”

  She blinked the hazy sexual fog away and frowned. “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “I will keep you by my side at all times.” She had to stop herself from laughing at his words. While she appreciated his help, she couldn’t depend on him being her bodyguard. She had things to do and he probably had a life.

  “You can’t do that, Tor. I have a job.”

  He glanced at her lips. “You were coming to spend time here in the next few days, right?”

  She searched his eyes and sighed. What was she getting into? “Yes.”

  “Then we will worry about the next few days first. We’ll handle the rest as it comes,” Tor said.

  She made a motion to get up but he pressed her back into the bed. “Stay. You still look very pale. Do you want something to eat?”

  She scrunched her nose. “A sandwich would be good.”

  He grinned and her belly did that butterfly effect it had perfected. “Anything in particular?”

  “Grilled cheese?”

  He laughed, the growly sound making her nipples hard. Damn, he even laughed sexy. “I think I can manage grilled cheese. You’re very low maintenance.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Lexi used to joke that when we went out in college I was cheap and easy because I only drank water. I now drink wine so she says I’m just easy now.”

  Another bark of laughter from him and she couldn’t help smiling herself. His reaction made her heart sing. His overall relaxation passed on to her and she swore she lost the anxiety she’d woken with, thanks to him.

  He got up and headed for the door. Before he got there, he turned and tossed her something she would be lost without—her cell phone. She exhaled a sigh and gave him her brightest smile. “Thank you.”

  “Lexi called. I spoke to her. I knew she’d be concerned. She doesn’t expect to hear back from you until tomorrow.”

  “That’s great. Thanks. She’d be so worried if she hadn’t heard from me by now,” she said and turned the phone on. He walked out and she glanced at her messages. Her mother had sent several text messages asking where she was, what was going on, and finally, was she okay.

  The last one did something to Morgan. Her mother didn’t send messages asking if she was okay. She replied telling her she was fine and with Tor. That should calm her. She then told her she’d be with him for a few days in case she needed to reach her. Her mother wasn’t a warm and cuddly type of person, so for her to ask this many times shocked Morgan. Her mother had built a lot of walls around her heart and emotions, so Morgan never really knew what her mom felt or thought.

  She glanced around, her gaze taking in the really large room, and wondered where the hell she was. By the height of the ceiling and the bedroom size, she knew the house was huge. It didn’t look like a guest room, though. She picked up the pillow next to her and brought it to her nose.

  It smelled just like him. Tor. Her body heated at the idea of being in his bed. Dirty images of them doing things together flicked through her mind. She had to stop right now before her body started doing weird stuff. That’s the last embarrassment she needed. She’d heard about shifter’s incredible ability to smell the littlest of things.

  She put the pillow down quickly when she heard footsteps. A tall man with tattoos and piercings all over stopped at the door. He had green eyes like she’d never seen. His hair was shaved at the sides with a long mohawk-like strip flowing down to his shoulders.

  A wide grin curled his lips. She wasn’t useless without her glasses, but damn how she’d like to see him clearer. Unlike Tor, he had a dirty bad boy thing going that even came across from his devilish grin. Tor had the quiet, possessive personality that soaked her panties.

  “Hi,” she waved at the guy at the door. “I’m Morgan.”

  “Hello, Morgan,” he said with a European accent she couldn’t place. “I’ve heard your name all week. I’m Clacher,” he said and leaned against the doorframe. “I heard you passed out earlier. How ya feeling?”

  “Good, thank you.”

  He nodded. “Glad you’re okay. I’ve gotta go. I only came to change before I head out, but I wanted to tell you that you’re in good hands with Tor. He’ll take very good care of protecting ya.”

  She didn’t really want to burden Tor with so much. She was there to help them. Or try, anyway.

  “It was nice meeting you,” she smiled.

  “You, too.”

  There was little time to think about what he said. Tor returned with two grilled cheese sandwiches and two different glasses on a tray. He placed it on the night table next to her and stood back, his massive body feeling like a warm blanket beckoning her to snuggle.

  “I didn’t know if you liked your grilled cheese with milk or iced tea, so I brought both.”

  She nodded and picked up the plate with the sandwiches. “Iced tea is fine, but thanks for the thoughtfulness. I don’t actually need two sandwiches, though.”

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how hungry you were and decided you being full was better than you being hungry.”

  Being near him made her feel so aware of her sexuality at the same time it electrified her hormones. It was so weird. She hadn’t felt sexual in too long. Hell, even her mother noticed. But with her ability to feel people’s auras and emotions, it was hard to date men. Regular men.

  They usually carried around emotional baggage or were detached, which made things awkward. Lexi had tried to get her to go out with some of the guys that volunteered at the shelter, but she’d refused. What was the point? It was like her sexuality had lain dormant.

  Her past relationships were always lacking something. She’d dated some nice guys, but none had ever broken down the door to her heart and made her feel like she was in love. Instead, she had allowed her need to figure out what was wrong with her dictate her relationships.

  She’d gone through four men that had given her sex, but not once made her heart feel full with love. Nothing. They’d always broken up with her, telling her she didn’t know how to open up.

  “I can’t thank you enough for the food,” she smiled. “I’m feeling much better now.”

  “I didn’t realize you could feel emotion so deeply,” he told her. She watched him pull a chair up to the bed so close, she could reach out and touch him. She had to mentally chastise herself to keep from doing something stupid like running her fingers over the top of his hand to see if his skin was as soft and warm as she i
magined it would be.

  “Yes. I’m an empath that’s emotionally and physically receptive to humans and fauna.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his beard. She wanted badly to offer to do it for him. “That means you connect emotionally with people and animals?”

  She nodded. “It’s why I felt the dragon so deeply. It was almost like his death,” she gulped. “Like I was living through it.”

  A deep line bisected his forehead into an almost fearsome scowl. “Are there other types of empaths?”

  “Usually someone will either be an emotional, physical, fauna, geomantic, or claircognizant. It’s rare to have more than one ability and even rarer to have the three I have.”

  He was quiet for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking. “I have a question for you, Morgan.”

  She smiled. “Yes, Tor?”

  “What’s the one thing you want most in the world?”

  She puckered her brow and considered lying but he’d know. Besides, what was the harm in telling him the truth? “Babies. I’ve always wanted my own children. It’s been hard to admit this to anyone else. My past relationships haven’t gone anywhere. I thought at this point in my life I’d have a family, children.” She sighed. “God, how I want kids. I love my patients but I want to go home to my own family. To my own babies. I want to bathe them, put them to bed. I want to hold my own kids. Give them love.”

  He listened intently. She thought she might have said too much and worried he’d been turned off from asking anything else personal.

  She ate in silence and once she was full, she put the plate on the tray. “Can you tell me about your history?”

  Chapter Nine

  Tor wanted to get in his bed and hold Morgan. Until her mate mark appeared, none of their dragons would know who she would mate with, but he didn’t give a shit. The longer he saw that vulnerability in her eyes and watched her bottom lip get tortured by her perfectly white teeth, the more impossible it was to ignore his desires. His human desires.

  When he met Sylvana, she’d appealed to his desires as well. But she’d tried to mentally lull him with promises of mating and being the one. He knew better. Still, Morgan wasn’t just some woman. She’d be one of his brothers’ mate.

  Her pupils dilated as she stared at him and her gaze dropped to his hands. “Please tell me about your history.”

  Fuck. This shit wasn’t getting any easier. He’d never be able to fight his dragon if it was the one who wanted to mate her, but at the moment, all he could think of was tasting her lips, feeling her hands slide down his chest and taking handfuls of her curves while he plowed deeply into her.

  It was the human side of him that lusted after her. “Our family’s old. There were many families at one point.” He never considered if he should tell her the truth of his heritage. Something told him he could trust her and his dragon agreed. “We’ve been on earth for about sixteen hundred years.”

  She blinked at him, her eyes widening. “On earth? Where were you before?”

  “Our home planet was in another galaxy called Leas One,” he said. He saw the pure interest in her eyes. Not the weird skeptical look he dreaded whenever he considered telling anyone their past. “Our planet was dying. There was a dark species of dragons living on the other side of the planet, the Noir. Their side of the world rarely got sunlight, so they lived in darkness.”

  “Why was the planet dying?” She leaned forward and the scent of lavender filled his lungs.

  “Lavender?” he asked before he had a chance to stop himself.

  She blushed and went to pull back but he grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “I don’t mean to pry, but our senses are incredibly developed. I’ve been getting a slight smell of lavender for a while now and I’m trying to decide if it’s perfume. I just wondered why lavender.”

  She smiled tentatively, and the sight made his heart skip a beat. She was so beautiful. Her hazel eyes turned a more golden shade, which he guessed had something to do with her emotions. Like his scales. She’d fit right in with them.

  “I find the scent of lavender soothing. Not too much or I get a migraine. But I like to use an oil diffuser at work to help me and my clients stay calm. I also enjoy taking baths with it before bed. What you’re smelling is the oil diffuser scent on my clothes probably.” She glanced down at her hands and then back at him. “Does that answer your question?”

  “Yes,” he licked his lips, wanting to pull her onto his lap and find out just how good she tasted. “I think lavender suits you perfectly.”

  Another wave of heat expanded in his chest. He liked that relaxed almost sleepy smile on her face. He’d let her rest more soon.

  “So why was your planet dying?” she asked again.

  “We lived in constant war with the Noir. The Drachen side of the planet offered the Noir the ability to share half of our land so they could grow crops and have daylight.”

  “That sounds really nice of your people.”

  He shrugged. “It would have been if the Noir didn’t want all the land. They refused the deal and instead chose to fight. War ensued for so many years, the planet was devastated.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly, placing her warm palm over the top of his hand.

  He glanced down at their hands. Hers was so small, so delicate. So perfect. He ignored the burning desire to sit on the bed next to her and take her in his arms. To hold her and make sure she was really okay.

  “It’s fine. We sent many of our explorer ships out to find a world we could survive in. We were growing desperate.” He recalled being a little kid and wondering if he and his family were going to die. He hadn’t felt that sick sensation at the pit of his stomach, like acid burning and destroying his insides, for a long time.

  “Eventually, we got news that one found a backwater planet. They were intensely behind on technology and laws. But we decided we’d blend in and hide in the background. There were other paranormals on this planet so we wouldn’t be alone.

  “Other teams felt this planet was too rugged and primitive but one of our elders swore we’d find mates here. She had more powers than all others. But still a lot of people refused to come. They found another world in a galaxy millions of light years away, as advanced as ours. A large majority went there.

  “My parents were leaders of the Drachen. They didn’t know what to do, so they gave people a choice. They felt this place would be easier for all of us to adjust to and the promise of mates for their children was too good to ignore. It was most similar to our own home planet. We could have kept searching, but we were out of time.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Our explorer team set things up for those that made it here. We were traveling a really long distance. A lot of people went to the other planet, but a many made it here.”

  “How did the Noir find you?”

  “They stole one of our ships and linked into our tracking system. They were easily able to find us here. It took them a while because they too tried to find a place they could use for their own without having to share it, but eventually they must have run low on supplies. It was a few hundred years later when they’d made it here, too.”

  “And what is it they’ve been doing that is wiping out your family?”

  He lifted her hand to his lips and watched her pupils dilate. He loved seeing that. She wanted him, and god, he wanted her, too. His dragon hadn’t made a move on her. Sure, he thought her good-looking and liked her scent, but it was his carnal desires that were raging for a taste of her. He tamped down his need and continued his story.

  “They decided this planet isn’t big enough for all of us. They’ve found and killed every Drachen mate. Sayeh teamed up with a witch that has been feeding him information every time a female has gotten our mate mark. There were many more of us, but through the centuries, once a mate was killed, the dragon would die.”

  “That’s horrible. So you guys are all that’s left?”

  “Yes. We’re the only hope f
or our race to survive on this planet. As it is, we never got in contact with the other group again. Some of our elders took our ships to search for them, but they never returned. We are it.” He said the words and felt the finality in them.

  She leaned forward and stared deeply into his eyes. “I promise to do whatever I can to help. Maybe tomorrow you can show me around so I can see what I pick up.”

  He nodded. “I can do that. I should let you rest. You’ve had an exhausting night.”

  “Thank you for telling me about your past, Tor.”

  He didn’t really want to leave. Fuck! Already he was getting too attached to her. He should know better. He wished Jae were there instead of traveling, but the mere thought of Jae guarding Morgan made him green with jealousy. He needed to control himself or he’d have big problems when the time came to let Morgan go to whoever she ended up mated to.

  Chapter Ten

  Morgan woke slowly. God. She’d had so many sexual dreams. All of them revolved around Tor and her inability to keep her hands off him. Not that he seemed to mind. Her senses told her he wanted her.

  That and the way he looked at her were pretty good giveaways. She shouldn’t get too close to him, though. She was supposed to help him find a mate. She couldn’t imagine helping him meet someone only to tell the future bride she’d slept with the hot as hell dragon.

  She was pleasantly surprised to find an extra set of toiletries in his bathroom, along with a pair of sweats and a T-shirt for her to wear. He must have come in while she was sleeping. The idea would normally freak her out, but not this time. Besides, she’d slept in the giant T-shirt he’d given her the night before. It hit her mid-thigh and looked more like a dress than a tee.