Dragon Guard: Earth Dragons Series: Book 1

by Hartnady, Charlene

  “Friendship has nothing to do with it. Alex has a better rack.” Shale put his hands up over his chest, pretending to grope imaginary breasts. “Not by much, I must add but—”

  “Bull-fucking-shit!” Mountain growled. “My female has amazing breasts.”

  Alex felt her cheeks heat, she wanted to die right there on the spot.

  “What are you talking about?” the king asked.

  Shale chuckled. “This definitely isn’t Alex Bell,” he spoke to the king. “Aside from the hand marking and the hair, her…” He gestured to her boobs with his head and eyes.

  Page folded her arms across her chest, wishing the ground would open and swallow her.

  “Don’t!” Mountain warned.

  “Certain areas are not as well en—”

  “I said not to fucking go there,” Mountain rasped.

  “Okay, okay.” The king held up both hands. “You’re sure?” he asked Shale.

  “A bit touchy, Mountain?” Shale chuckled.

  “Fuck you!” Mountain snarled.

  “I’m very sure.” Shale was grinning broadly. “I’m just teasing you, bro.”

  “It doesn’t mean she’s not a slayer,” the king said. Ignoring Shale’s jabs.

  Page had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

  “She’s not!” Mountain growled. “I will prove it soon enough!”

  “Even if she isn’t a slayer, it doesn’t mean you can keep her.”

  She felt Mountain tense. She heard him pull in a breath.

  “Don’t say it! This isn’t going to be my decision. I will contact Blaze and discuss it with him. Blaze is in charge of the hunt. Whatever he decides will be final.”

  She could hear Mountain grind his teeth.

  “What will happen to me?” Page asked.

  The king turned those hard, dark eyes on her. In that moment she was thankful that Mountain was there. “You will need to prove that you are not a slayer. We will then release you back into human territory.”

  No more Mountain.

  No more…this…whatever they had going. Probably nothing but she felt a pang at the thought anyway. She finally nodded.

  “Why are you here? Why did you come?” The king narrowed his eyes. He still didn’t believe her.

  “I came to find my sister. To find Alex. I was told that she helped a dragon escape. That they were possibly partners, that they might have a relationship. I assumed they would have come into dragon territory. That they would be hiding here. I decided to take a chopper into your territory. I was unarmed. I realized that I might be unsuccessful. In fact, it was probably a stupid thing to do. I never ever thought I’d be shot from the sky.”

  The king pushed out a breath. “That does tie in with some information that came through a few days ago. Beck has left his people to be with a slayer…Alex, your sister. She and Beck are in a relationship.”

  “What?” Mountain gasped “He left?”

  The king nodded. “Your female here was blown from the sky and Beck thought it was Alex. By all accounts he was stricken. Took off like his ass was on fire. Initially, we all thought she died in the crash. After hearing from him, we assumed a random female had been killed. It turned out to be you…and you didn’t die. It’s all quite confusing.”

  “I almost did,” Page mumbled. “Who is Beck?” she asked, knowing the answer.

  “One of the Water dragons,” Shale answered. “The dragon Alex captured. The one she helped escape.”

  “See!” Page said. “I told you she left the organization.” She turned to Mountain. “I told you she helped him. She’s a good person. They are together.”

  Mountain was frowning heavily, he looked to be deep in thought. His eyes brightened as they landed on her. He looked back at the king. “Beck would not leave to be in a relationship with a female who is evil. He wouldn’t want to be with a slayer. Beck is a hard male. He would eat someone like that for breakfast. Male or female, it wouldn’t matter.”

  “I agree,” Shale said. “It doesn’t compute. I couldn’t see Beck being with a female who was an evil bitch.” He frowned. “But maybe he has been led astray. Pussy could have that effect on a male.”

  The king elbowed him. Shale grunted. “It’s true,” he said, rubbing his arm.

  “I am going to put the female in your care for now,” the king said. “Just until I hear back from Blaze.”

  Mountain put his other arm around her. “I will fight any who try to take her.” His voice was so gravelly it caused gooseflesh to rise on her arms. A shiver to run down her spine. He sounded so convincing, she almost believed the whole thing.

  The king shook his head. “Do you know what you’re doing, Mountain?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation.

  “Are you sure you are thinking clearly? You have…feelings for this female?”

  “Yes.” Again, no hesitation. “I have feelings for her. I want to mate her.”

  Her heart sped up and for a moment she felt panicky. Just until she remembered that this was an act. That it wasn’t real. It sounded real. In this moment it felt real, but it wasn’t.

  “So you keep saying,” the king muttered. “I take it you checked her for a tracker? Please tell me you checked her.”

  “Thoroughly.” Was it just her imagination or had Mountain smiled when he said that? It sounded like he had smiled. As it stood, she had to bite her lip to hold back a giggle at the thought of how Mountain had checked her. She had to bite harder when she thought about how thoroughly he had gone about it.

  The king frowned. “Good. Guard her. She is your responsibility. You may not claim her though.”

  Mountain growled, sounding like a lion, or a cougar or something. “I have been guarding her and will continue to do so. I don’t want to wait with the claiming. I wish to claim her as soon as we get to my chamber. It will be safer that way.”

  “It is no use claiming her if you can’t have her. I am sure we will hear from Blaze soon.” Pity clouded his face. “No one will try to take her ‒ not until we know for sure.”

  “You don’t expect for the news to be good,” Mountain said.

  “Depends on what you would call good.”

  “You know what I mean.” Mountain sounded irritated. “This is my female. You don’t think I’m going to be permitted to keep her. Being told I have to give her up would be…a problem for me.” His jaw worked.

  “No,” the king shook his head, “I would be very surprised if Blaze lets you keep her. You should prepare for the worst.” He shrugged once, that look of pity back.

  “I want to talk to him,” Mountain growled, sounding more like an animal. “I wish to plead my case.”

  “Allow me,” Shale said. “I will talk to Blaze on your behalf. You are too emotional about this. It might not come across in a way you would wish.”

  She felt Mountain relax, he even sighed. “Okay, thank you.”

  “No problem!” He leaned forward and tapped Mountain on the arm. “You have always been good at reading people, especially humans. I trust your judgment with this female. I will come and see you as soon as we hear from Blaze.” Shale tried to hand the pants to Mountain again. This time he took them. Shale glanced at the king. “Isn’t that right, Granite?”

  The king nodded. “Sit tight until then.” He gave Mountain a solemn stare.

  “Where is Obsidian?” It felt like Mountain had pulled back from her, like he was looking around them. That name was familiar, but she couldn’t place it right then.

  “Your guess is as good as ours.” Shale shrugged. “You know how it is with him, the male disappears for days on end. There was a reported sighting of him near the southern quadrant. Our males have been instructed to stay away. It’s safer for them that way. He can be rather testy in his scales.”

  “Nah, Obsidian is far testier in human form.” Mountain said.

  “Don’t look so worried,” Shale went on. “You know him. He’ll turn up soon enough. Rock has been in charge during your absenc
e. He’s been running the various teams, ensuring that all our bases are covered. Keeping eyes on all corners of our territory. Not an easy task.”

  “Not considering how vast our territories are and how limited our resources are,” Mountain spoke more to himself. “Rock will have his hands full.” Mountain looked deep in thought.

  “I’ve been helping him,” Shale added. “We did end up investing in radar equipment. Blaze agreed yesterday.” He smiled broadly.

  Mountain smiled as well. “That’s great news.” Then he seemed to realize where he was. “We’ll discuss it later.”

  Shale nodded.

  Running teams? Ensuring that bases were covered? Radar equipment? “I thought you were a trainer?” she blurted the question without thinking. “That doesn’t sound very…trainerish?”

  “Training?” Shale frowned.

  “Training is a major part of my role. It is the most important part,” Mountain countered.

  Shale snickered. “Mountain told you he’s a trainer?”

  She nodded.

  “You are not a trainer. You’re trying to win this female, buddy.” Shale widened his eyes. “This is one of those times when small dick syndrome can come in handy. You can boast a little, you know?”

  Small dick syndrome? Huh! That didn’t make any sense. Page frowned. Mountain had no problem in that department. She wasn’t sure what Shale was talking about. Loads of the guys around them right then were naked ‒ not that she was looking. In fact, she was trying hard not to see them. It couldn’t be helped though. At this point, she could state that although dragon shifters as a whole were ridiculously well hung, Mountain still lived up to his name when it came to his package. He lived up to it big time.

  “For the last fucking time,” Mountain growled. “I don’t have small dick syndrome. You need to stop with that shit. You’ve used the same line for years. Ever since we were teenagers.”

  Shale chuckled, locking eyes with him. “That’s because it’s still funny.” He looked at her. “Your boyfriend over here is far too modest. He pretty much runs the show and is the highest-ranking non-royal Earth dragon we have. Every single male you see here reports to him. There are a whole lot who aren’t here right now, who do too. He’s a big deal. A trainer?” He laughed. “I don’t think so.”

  Holy shit!

  “Okay, Shale, that’s enough,” Mountain said. “We are headed for my chamber. My female is tired and hungry. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. I don’t have small dick syndrome and had planned on telling my female more about my position as soon as I trusted her enough. When I first met her, I thought she was Alex Bell. I was then convinced for a time that she might be a slayer. I didn’t trust her right off the bat. Didn’t want her thinking I was anyone important.”

  That stung! He still didn’t trust her enough. Why hadn’t he set the record straight?

  “Then Smoke came crashing in on us before I got the chance. Not that it’s any of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse us, my lord.” He put a hand on her back and directed her towards the doors that led inside the lair.

  Everyone’s eyes were on them. The large balcony was stuffed to the gills with shifters, as was the hall inside. Mountain kept an arm around her shoulders. Most of the guys stepped out of the way, making a path for them. One or two were a little slow doing so and elicited a growl from Mountain. He was pushy and possessive and ‒ lord help her ‒ but…but… she liked it.

  It felt like it took forever before they were finally through the doors that opened from the balcony to the lair. “Maybe we should have gone to look for Alex first,” she whispered as they rushed through the hall. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come here,” she added, feeling nervous.

  “We will talk when we reach my chamber.”

  Chapter 12

  It felt like they walked for a long time. In reality it couldn’t have been for more than five or ten minutes. The lair was beautiful. Nothing like she expected. Gleaming floors, bejeweled chandeliers, beautifully carved wooden doors. Rugs that looked like they might just be Persian…as in, the real deal. The hallways were long and wide. The ceilings impossibly tall.

  He finally stopped and opened a door. Her jaw dropped. The views were magnificent despite it still being dark. The large expanse of star-littered sky was still enough to stop her in her tracks. To have her forgetting, just for a moment, about the dark that came along with them. Then he flicked a switch, which illuminated the apartment.

  It was large and spacious. All open-plan. The bed was the main feature. It was huge, bigger than anything she’d ever seen. It had four posts and beautiful white linen. There was also a large oval tub which sat in front of the vast windows. To the right was a lounge and dining area, as well as a small kitchen along the one wall. It was modern, with a gas hob.

  “The bathroom is through there.” Mountain pointed at two doors. “The one on the right is the toilet. There’s a shower on the left, unless you want to take a bath. It would be great for soothing sore muscles. I could run you a bubble bath, get the jets going.”

  “Sounds good.” It did. It sounded heavenly. “What about you though?”

  He smiled. “I’ll pop in the shower and then I’ll order some food while you are relaxing in the bath. A couple of steaks, unless,” he raised his brows in question, “you wanted something else?”

  “Steaks would be great. Thank you.”

  “Sure. I can see how worried you are, and I need you to know that it’s going to be okay.” He took her hand. “We’ll work this whole thing out. I’m hopeful, even if Granite isn’t confident, that Blaze will give his permission. We will be able to move freely after that. I’ll be able to accompany you. I’ll help you find Alex and we can get to the bottom of all this.”

  “Who is Blaze? He sounds important.”

  “He’s the king of all the dragons,” Mountain said.

  “Oh. Granite is a king as well? There is more than one king?”

  Mountain nodded. “We have four kings, one for each tribe. There’s Earth,” Mountain touched a hand to his chest, “I am an Earth dragon. We have dark flecks blended into our chest markings. Then there are Water dragons ‒ Beck, your sister’s mate, is a Water dragon; they have green flecks. Air dragons have blue threaded into their markings, and Fire dragons have pure golden markings. Each tribe has its own king. Blaze is a Fire dragon, he rules us all. His word is final. Fire dragons can breathe fire. We all have an ability.”

  “Wow! That’s interesting.” Page knew about their fire-breathing ability but assumed that all the dragons could do it. She couldn’t remember exactly what she had been taught on the matter. “So, only Fire dragons can breathe fire?”

  “Yes. At least up until recently, but that’s a discussion for another day.”

  “Okay. I knew royal dragons had golden chests, but I had no idea beyond that. What is your ability?”

  “We have the least interesting of the abilities.” She waited for him to elaborate.

  When he didn’t, she decided to go ahead and ask. “You keep playing stuff down. Your job and now your ability. You won’t even tell me what it is?”

  “Fine,” he sighed. “We can blend in with our surroundings. It’s saved my ass a good couple of times.”

  “You blend in?” She frowned. “As in, like a chameleon?”

  “Exactly right. Only, we are much better at it than the reptiles.”

  “Oh.” She widened her eyes, as realization dawned. “Ohhhh! Back in the forest, when that dragon was onto us ‒ the one who nearly found us ‒ you covered me with your body and pressed us against a tree. Were you…camouflaging us?”

  He nodded. “Yes, that’s exactly what I was doing. I am able to camouflage visually and also my scent. It is why I covered you with my body.”

  “That’s impressive.” She smiled at him. “Way better than breathing fire.”

  He grinned. “I planned on telling you, by the way…about my job here. I needed to be careful though. I hope you understa
nd.”

  Page shrugged. “You needed to make sure I wasn’t hiding a tracker.” She stifled a laugh, grinning instead.

  “Exactly.” He slid his arms around her, nuzzling her neck. “I might just need to keep checking for those. I can’t…be too careful.” He spoke between kisses.

  His mouth felt good on her skin. He used his teeth to nip at her earlobe. It felt amazing, sending shivers through her. Mountain pulled back. “I’ll go and run your bath now, before I’m tempted to…claim you.” He gave her a wicked smile.

  “Since you brought it up,” she squeezed his hand, preventing him from pulling away completely, “thank you for saying all that. For putting yourself out there like that. I mean, you told your king ‒ Granite ‒ you had feelings for me.” She made a face. “That you want to mate me.” She laughed in a quick, nervous burst. Not because of what she was saying but because of how he was looking at her. Almost like… “I mean, it’s funny, right? Because you couldn’t possibly…” Why was he looking at her like she’d just trodden on his favorite toy? Stomped all over it and dumped it in the mud.

  Thank god Mountain grinned just then. Thank the lord he began to chuckle along with her. For a second she’d started getting worried that maybe he had meant it.

  “We don’t even know one another,” she giggled. “No wonder he’s finding it hard to swallow.”

  Mountain kept on laughing. “Actually,” he was grinning broadly, “it’s not so hard to swallow. Shifters don’t mess around when it comes to these things.”

  She bit back her laugh. He couldn’t be serious. “Yeah, but so soon? Come on, really?”

  “When I told you we don’t mess around, I meant it. Seven years of courtship would never happen. I don’t say that to hurt you.”

  She made a snorting noise. “I know that.” He’d mentioned it before. Heck, seven years was long for anyone.

  “Seven weeks would be a long time for a shifter. Seven days…now that’s more our style.”

  “Days?” Her eyes widened. He had mentioned something along those lines before but…it couldn’t be.

  “All I have done is, hopefully, bought us some time. That’s if I get the go-ahead. Let’s wait and see what happens. We can discuss it once we hear back. You should get out of those clothes.” She watched as he walked to the tub and turned the faucet on. Listened as water began to run into it with an initial splatter. “I’ll get you something clean to wear,” he said over his shoulder as he poured some foam bath into the tub.