The Dragon's Mate, page 1
The Dragon’s Mate
by Elle Boon
The Dragon’s Mate© 2021 Elle Boon
Edited by: Tracy Roelle
© Copyright 2021 Elle Boon
All cover art and logo © Copyright 2021 by Elle Boon
All rights reserved.
Cover by: Harvest Moon Designs
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
The Dragon’s Mate
The Dragon’s Mate, An Iron Wolves Novella
Copyright © 2022 Elle Boon
Cover design by Harvest Moon Designs
Edited by Tracy Roelle
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BAD WOLF,
Thank You
Author’s Note
About Elle Boon
Other Books by Elle Boon
THE DRAGON’S MATE
A Forgotten Love. A Hidden Bond. A Love Without Limits.
Asia’s memories of true-love are ignited— Can she find her way through the dark abyss that is her mind after the trauma she’s suffered? She’s found a slice of solace after giving birth to her daughter, but her heart yearns for the one thing she fears is lost forever, or maybe never existed. Her mate.
Jabari has felt pain and he knows all about loss— But when his mate is taken from him, his dragon will stop at nothing to find her. But first he has to kill his captors, escape, and regain his strength. He hasn’t shifted in centuries, but he will do whatever it takes to find his truemate.
Betrayed and broken— Asia and Jabari have suffered untold horrors. Will they be able to find one another, or will the evil out to destroy them discover their whereabouts before they get a second chance at love?
** Get ready for an exciting return of some of your favorite characters in an all-new story from Elle Boon’s Iron Wolves and her fierce dragons. You just might hear from the Fey Queen and the bad boy alpha Kellen and some of your other favorites. One thing I can promise you is you’ll always get a happily ever after within the pages of my stories. From USA Today Bestselling Author Elle Boon. **
DEDICATION
First and foremost, I’d like to thank all you amazing readers for loving my dragons and wanting more. I hope you enjoyed Egypt’s story... and are ready to find out about her mama. P.S. There’s soo much love in these stories so I hope y’all love my wolfies and more. Oh, and get ready, because the Iron Wolves Next Generation have begun, and they’ve started out with a bang. #xianmothereffingcarmichael Yes, that’s Xan’s son LOL.
To my amazing team of beta readers, y’all rock sooo effing hard. Thank you for all you do to make my books so amazing and help me keep my sheot straight. And last, but certainly not least, you readers are the best ever. FLOVE y’all soo hard.
XOXO,
Elle Boon
CHAPTER ONE
Jabari stilled. His dragon awakening from deep within. He didn’t allow hope to fill him at the prospect that he could reach the other part of himself. The beast had been gone for so long, or rather dormant for so long, he’d thought the bastards holding him captive had succeeded in their bid to kill what had made him who he was. ‘What is that delicious smell?’
No way was he going to risk answering his dragon in any manner. Fear the bloodsuckers would hear him kept him still as a statue, same as he’d been for longer than most of the fuckers had been alive. Instead, he pushed images to his dragon, showing him their surroundings. Four fucking walls, a ceiling, and a floor. That’s all he’d seen in hundreds of years. He’d been moved a few times, that he could remember. Of course, his mind was fuzzy with lack of any sustenance. Fucking bloodsuckers only gave him what he needed to exist, not truly live.
‘Why don’t we kill them all?’
He wasn’t going to waste time explaining to his beast the reasons as to why. Hell, if the dragon had been awake instead of whatever the fuck, he’d been doing all these years, they might’ve had a chance to escape. As it was, he could hardly hold his fucking head up, let alone escape. Jabari didn’t allow his anger to show, keeping his breathing normal, making sure his chest rose and fell in the shallow way it had done for so long it was his normal. The prying eyes would see nothing out of the ordinary if they looked toward him. Shit, he’d been locked in the cage so damn long the only things that were different, were the watchers.
‘The collar and chain’s magic are weakening. The dragon who betrayed us hasn’t come back to refresh the incantations that locked us away. Either the Verrat has died, or he’s found another fool to torture.’ He had twin uncles; twins who had been born to become rulers of their realm. His mother had mated his father, who had been a prince as well, but in the hierarchy of dragons, his uncles would’ve been the Dragon Kings. Nikai and Nadim were identical in every way, his mother said, except inside where it counted. While she loved them both, she said Nadim had a darkness to him. When she’d left the Royal Kingdom to marry his father, their parents had come to stay after Nikai took the throne. Not that his grandfather couldn’t hold the kingdom, his mother had assured them all, but his grandparents wanted to be near her and her offspring.
The first time he’d met his uncle Nadim, the cold eyes assessing him were like windows to evil incarnate. He’d hidden in his room until dinner that evening and wouldn’t have come down then if his mother hadn’t demanded his attendance.
He’d been young in dragon years. His inert magic and ability melding together quicker than most dragonlings, but his beast was harder to control. King Nadir, his grandfather had remarked during supper that Jabari reminded him of his oldest son, the King. Frost had coated the entire room as his uncle got up and left without another word. A year went by before anyone saw the male again. A year and then his entire world was decimated in a puff of smoke. It was so swift and effortless on the other dragons part, that to this day Jabari cursed himself a fool for listening to the bastard.
‘He is not who we need to focus on. The smell. Tell me. What is it?”
He inhaled, taking in the foul stench of rotting flesh the blood suckers stank of. The growl bubbling up his throat, he cut off. If he so much as flinched wrong, they’d heap punishment through the bars, relishing that he was completely at their mercy and unable to defend himself. With the collar and chains on, he could do nothing but allow them to take his blood, as much as they pleased. Some even tore at his flesh, uncaring he’d have huge gaping wounds until he’d heal. The healing was taking longer and longer. There were more times than he could count, that he wished and prayed they’d suck him dry. ‘I would never allow that,’ his dragon rumbled.
Again, Jabari didn’t point out that the beast had been dormant for too long. His opinion or whatever he was spouting didn’t matter.
‘I was protecting us.’ The eye roll he shot the dragon was emphatic.
A hint of apple spice filtered in through the stink, blocking out all else. It became a chore to continue to breath as he normally did. He fought to keep from inhaling deeper, wanting nothing more than to suck as much of the intoxicating scent within his body. He noticed two of the watchers lift their heads as if they were communicating, their gums peeling back from their lips. Stained yellow and brown teeth slapped together. Row after row of the sharp fuckers began to open and close on both males. Jabari worked to keep from tensing, his third eye the only thing allowing him to see his surroundings. He didn’t want to let on he watched them. Hell, fading in and out through months was a welcome relief.
Whatever the watchers heard couldn’t be good as they got to their feet and readied the cage next to him. The only time the space had ever been filled was when another being had been captured. Those poor souls hadn’t lasted long, mostly humans who had a hint of magic within them.
A SMELL SHE LOATHED wafted in, filling her senses. Cumin. The son of her King, Osamu was close. They were close in age, but she’d refused his advances at the last Heat. Her panther was in agreement with her that they didn’t want to mate just to mate. Sure, many of the females in the Claw were hooking up just to hook up during the Heat. None of the elders thought anything was wrong with it as the animals within ruled during that time. However, she never had the urges the others said they had. Maybe she was broken, or as her panther liked to remind her, they were waiting on their mate.
Not wanting to be caught alone with the arrogant prince, she slid between a couple of humans, meshing into a larger crowd. The Panther Claw came to some big rock with men’s faces carved into it. Humans apparently flocked to see it all the time. She’d tried to stay close to her parents in the crowd, but they’d been separated during a tour. Her panther wanted to hiss. She hated all the perfume humans wore because it made her nose twitch, threatening to send her into a sneezing fit. She needed to keep her panther in check long enough to put more distance between her and Osamu, find her parents, and hopefu
Goddess, she’d be eighteen shortly, which was young in panther years. Yet, it gave her the ability to choose to find a Claw outside of her own. In East Asia there were several she communicated with who had offered for her to come visit. Her panther purred at the thought of getting away from her Claw.
“Where is she, Sar? You know we have to do this, or we’ll be exiled. We have to think of the family.”
Asia froze as she heard her father’s low angry tone. However, it was her mother’s low sad tone that made her heart stop.
“Do you not think I’m aware, Ryuu? It’s all I’ve thought of since we came here on this...this death trip,” her mother cried.
Death trip? What are they talking about?
“Sakda said the enclave will treat her as a queen. She’ll get to choose her mate amongst them. I mean, look at her. She hasn’t even tried to find one amongst our Claw. Here, she’ll have a plethora of males, and she’ll be doing what’s best for our family even though she won’t know it. I wish there was another way. I wish I hadn’t messed up—” her father’s voice cracked.
She didn’t know what an enclave was, and she sure as heck didn’t want to be a queen to anything, let alone be forced into some Claw she didn’t get to choose. What had her father done that forced his hand into sending their oldest child away. Goddess, she needed to escape.
Behind her Osamu had to be searching for her with his little minions. To the right was the mountain with the men carved into it. With only one option open, she slid through the crowd, pulling her hair up and around her head, she secured the long strands. Her mind worked to figure out the best way to get away and hide. Running in her country, on land she was familiar with, wasn’t daunting. Here, on this foreign soil, felt like she was heading straight toward her own demise, or worse.
“You can do this,” she whispered. It didn’t take her long to reach a trail surrounding the tourist area. Her Claws familiar scents were faint, so she took off, shifting into her animal. Their magic allowing her clothing to shift with her. Many in her Claw couldn’t do the same, which was another reason the son of their king hated her. He was one who couldn’t. The little jerk was jealous of a little thing that was inherent to her. The Goddess blessed us all with things, he’d been blessed with his birthright. Obviously, she’d been blessed with parents willing to give her away. Tears burned her eyes at the memory.
She didn’t know how long or far she ran. No longer able to scent the Claw, she stopped to rest near a creek, drinking in the cool water. Her panther’s sides heaved from the exertion of her all out run. Where was she going to go or do? It wasn’t as if she had ID, or even looked old enough to get a job. Sure, she could speak English well enough, but it was clear she wasn’t American. If she stayed in her panther form, she wouldn’t need to worry about any of that, but human hunters were a real problem.
Panic flared in Asia Light’s belly as the scent of rotting flesh filled her nostrils. Who had her Claw bartered to give her to? What was an enclave? She’d been so stupid to flee without asking questions. She feared calling out to her parents through their link with the stench getting closer, unsure who or what could be moving without making a sound. Her animal was getting skittish having never been alone. She’d never felt like prey before.
America was a huge place, so different than where she was used to living in East Asia. The lush rainforest gave her a feeling of peace everywhere she looked. It’s beauty gave her lots of places for the big cat to roam, unlike where she was lying out in the open, easily seen.
She got to her feet, making a beeline to one of the towering trees, hoping to reach it and climb up to safety until whatever was coming in her direction passed. Her stomach rolled, the stink getting worse. Goddess, whatever it was smelled worse than dead fish floating in the water for days on end.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are, gatita.”
Her heart banged against her ribs. Whoever spoke had a strange accent. Deep and almost mesmerizing. She didn’t trust him, yet she wanted to go to him.
“Ah, gatita, you are trying to defy me. You’ll learn I don’t like my pets to disobey. I said come,” he snarled.
Her panther dropped her belly to the ground even as she tried to move back to the tree she’d chosen. The muscles in her legs shook with the effort to fight the command. Dear Goddess, what was happening.
“Ah, there you are.”
The sickening scent was so overwhelming, she retched, heaving all the water she’d drank all over the black shoes that moved into her line of sight. An irritated growl was followed by a kick to her side. Asia screamed within the panther’s body. She felt bones crack at the impact of that hit and when she hit a large tree. Dots floated in front of her eyes. She blinked, trying to get up and runaway.
Eyes watering from pain and the awful smell, she tried to move. “Please,” she whispered.
“Oh, I have no doubt you’ll please me very well, gatita. Now, shift back to my little kitty. I like it much better than this puny girl.”
Asia hadn’t realized she’d shifted. The pain forced her cat to recede. His order pushed her cat back out, her clothes ripping off of her was another pain as the material ripped. She hissed before she could cut it off.
“Grab her. Did you do as I said with the others?”
Her ears lifted slightly, wondering if they were referring to her Claw. Although she was angry her parents had agreed to give her to some enclave, she didn’t want anything to happen to them.
“The Panthers have been warned that there would be swift retribution if they so much as step foot back near our Enclaves. Their debt has been paid. Although, I don’t know how this female is worthy of—”
Whatever he’d been going to say was cut off by a gasp and gurgle. She had seen a lot of brutal things. In their world, they hunted prey to live, but they didn’t do it for sport. The being who’d taken pleasure in kicking her across the clearing appeared unfazed by ripping the other males head from his body. For that matter, he’d done it with one hand. The obnoxious odor fanning out from the two parts of the body so overwhelming for long seconds she dry-heaved until blessed Goddess, it turned to dust.
“You’ll get used to it, gatita,” the male said.
Asia was sure she wouldn’t. Goddess, she wished she’d have just been like the other females in her Claw and taken a male or ten. Maybe then she wouldn’t have been given to whatever these beings were. Whatever she was being taken to, she had no reason to believe that their queen wasn’t going to be treated anything like the one in her Claw. No, her nightmare was only just beginning. If she had the ability to end her life, she’d do it. The male whose life was just taken so swiftly was surely luckier than her. As for her parents and the Claw? They were all dead to her. Her heart thudded, thinking of her siblings. They too had to have known. Thinking about their farewells. The smug smiles as they’d waved goodbye and the eager way her sister had looked at Asia’s room. Yeah, they too were dead to her.
How long they travelled she didn’t know. The beings would walk, then flash from one point to another. Her stomach rolled with each move. As the bastard had said, she’d stopped gagging at the odor of them. She wondered if she was now drenched in their nastiness. Finally, after what felt like days but couldn’t have been more than a couple hours, they came to a stop. Her body was dropped like she was garbage. Which was funny since they were the ones who smelled worse than the oldest trash.
“Welcome home, Queen Gatita. You may call me Master Virote,” he said.
CHAPTER TWO
Asia blinked at the being before her. Call him Master? The fuck. She’d been brought up in a household where the males were the ones in charge. However, this being wasn’t of her Claw. He wasn’t a being of worth. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact he’d ripped the head off one of his own without batting an eye. Not to mention his personal hygiene was deplorable. In all honesty, she’d rather die than be his queen. Her panther tried to shove the human part of her down, wanting to live. Her animal didn’t understand the atrocities that lay ahead, yet Asia was all too aware of what was coming.
