The Dragon's Magical Bride, page 1
The Dragon’s Magical Bride
Yelena Casale
Tina Moss
Dear Reader,
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Nocturne Falls has become a magical place for so many people, myself included. Over and over I’ve heard from you that it’s a town you’d love to visit and even live in! I can tell you that writing the books is just as much fun for me.
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With your enthusiasm for the series in mind – and your many requests for more books – the Nocturne Falls Universe was born. It’s a project near and dear to my heart, and one I am very excited about.
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I hope these new, guest-authored books will entertain and delight you. And best of all, I hope they allow you to discover some great new authors! (And if you like this book, be sure to check out the rest of the Nocturne Falls Universe offerings.)
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For more information about the Nocturne Falls Universe, visit http://kristenpainter.com/sugar-skull-books/
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In the meantime, happy reading!
Kristen Painter
THE DRAGON’S MAGICAL BRIDE
A Nocturne Falls Universe Story
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Copyright © 2018 by Yelena Casale & Tina Moss
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction and was made possible by a special agreement with Sugar Skull Books, but hasn’t been reviewed or edited by Kristen Painter. All characters, events, scenes, plots and associated elements appearing in the original Nocturne Falls series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Kristen Painter, Sugar Skull Books and their affiliates or licensors.
Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or Sugar Skull Books.
Published in the United States of America.
Contents
Welcome from Kristen Painter
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
To the readers.
You make it all possible.
Praise for the Works of
Yelena Casale & Tina Moss
“A Touch of Darkness rockets you along a pulse-pounding story and sucks you into the characters. You'll want to cheer for Cassie's feisty spirit and loyalty and you'll come to love Gabe and all his wonderful flaws.”
- Award Winning Author, Heather McCorkle
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“An imaginative twist on the concept of angels and demons, complete with the requisite conflicts between duty and love, as well as the issues of loyalty and betrayal.”
- Night Owl Reviews
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“Moss’ Code Black is a near-future tale of paranormal humans living under the repressive Northern American United Government, chugs steadily along with occasional fireworks….A cast of vampires, psychics, and shape-shifters delivers…witty quips that round out this solid example of the genre.”
- Publishers Weekly
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“The introduction to the Paranormal Crimes Division (PCD), Code Black, promises to be entertaining and tense. Humor is never far from the surface, which comes in handy because the world they patrol is treacherous and fear-inducing.”
- RT Book Reviews
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“A unique mash up of all things paranormal, readers are treated to the unique crafting of a crime stopping force comprised of shapeshifters, vampires, and god-like beings! Reader’s looking to fulfill their Alpha male, bonded-mate desires will not be disappointed, as Ms. Moss fills the pages beginning to end with hot and hunky males. Ms. Moss delivers an action-packed, suspenseful romance that will keep a reader turning the pages!”
- InD’tale Magazine, Stephanie Lodes
Chapter 1
The phone rang for the fifth time that day and Mirna Turan, daughter of the great Turan clan of the ancient order of the Celts—or so her family liked to proclaim—threw a bright yellow decorative pillow in the general direction of the annoying piece of technology. Not quite the ladylike move her mother tried to hammer into her as a child, but one that her grandmother would most definitely approve.
“Stop!” she yelled. “Stop calling me! I’m sorry!”
The phone continued ringing, three more times by her count, before blessed silence settled in the room.
“I can’t take this much longer,” she muttered, covering her face with her hands. “Where the heck is the dragon’s eye?”
She hoped her grandma hadn’t forgotten to send it. Knowing the old bird, she would probably end up with a vial of snake’s blood or a serpent’s tongue or a rabbit’s foot or who only knew what instead of what she needed. Not that those ingredients were their actual namesakes, of course, but one never could tell with Granny what you would end up getting. The matriarch of their family and head of their order of druids had a wicked sense of humor.
Her cell signaled another message had been left. That made number twenty-three from her ex in the last hour.
She sighed.
John wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, at one time Mirna thought she loved him. Yes, he could be intense, but that was to be expected from a werewolf. When she had met him at the library where she worked, he had appeared sweet and sexy. More importantly, he was something familiar in a place that knew nothing of Mirna’s world. Magic and the supernatural still hadn’t taken its spot in the sunlight, as her father liked to say, so best to remain in shadows. Surrounded by humans, that was easier said than done. And so, there had been John.
Looking back now it was easier to see clearly. She didn’t need a shrink to explain to her that it wasn’t the man she had loved, but the idea of love itself. Loneliness had a nasty bite to it. Love sounded so much better.
And that was not even considering the fact that bespelling someone against their will, especially when it came to love, went against the magical community’s code of conduct. Even if she never truly felt like a member of the witch community in Nocturne Falls, she understood full well those rules applied to her all the same.
Alas, it was too late to bemoan what she did. She had her mistakes to rectify.
If only the stupid stone would get here already.
The phone rang again and Mirna jumped. “You have got to be kidding me!”
She considered not answering it once more, but today had been particularly bad. It wasn’t even noon yet and the calls had been incessant. Each voicemail turned uglier and uglier, until it raised gooseflesh on her arms. Maybe she could at least get him to relax for a bit.
She grabbed her cell and put it to her ear.
“You have to stop calling me!” she blurted out before he had a chance to say anything.
A pause met her outburst, then an older woman’s voice came through the line. “We haven’t spoken to you yet, ma’am. This is our first courtesy call.”
Mirna breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through her hair. She hadn’t realized how much the calls had shaken her until it wasn’t him. Collapsing on her sunflower bedspread in a heap, she collected her thoughts.
“Oh, sorry,” she said with a refreshing thread of calm to her tone. “I thought it was someone else. How can I help you?”
“Are you Mirna Turan?”
These days she often wished she wasn’t, but she answered, “Yes.”
“We have a package for you here at the Nocturne Falls Post Office,” the woman said.
Mirna’s heart gave a heavy thud. The dragon’s eye. The same stone that Granny was supposed to send to her here—in Philadelphia. Like a million miles from there! Okay, not a million, but why was the stupid package still in Nocturne Falls? And why were they calling her?
“Okay.” She tried not to let the frustration creep into her voice. “When can I expect it to arrive here?”
“It won’t.”
And out the window went any ounce of composure she had managed to keep. “Excuse me? What do you mean, it won’t?”
“We can’t send it to you.” The voice on the other end sounded like an exasperated teacher trying to explain something to a student for the tenth time.
Mirna sighed. Goddess Brighid, give me strength and patience today. Straightening to a cross-legged position on her bed, she asked, “And why not?”
“Because whatever is in that package is preventing the transfer via ley lines.”
Great. Nothing could be easy. Murphy’s Law. “So, what do I do? How do I get the package?”
But even before she heard the dreaded answer on the other end of the phone, Mirna knew what it would be.
“You have to come and get it yourself.”
Naturally. Whoever this Murphy was, she had a bone to pick with him, and he owed her a stone...and a new non-psychotic boyfriend...and a spa day because she was seriously in need of one after all this. “Ma’am, can you please forwa
“Miss, we don’t do that here. What do you think this is?” The post office clerk managed to sound like an outraged crone. “This is Nocturne Falls, and we don’t deal with the regular post. You have to come and pick up your package, or we can call the sender and tell them to take it back.”
Mirna retrieved the yellow pillow where it had landed earlier at the foot of her bed and bit into it to stop from screaming.
“Miss?”
She collapsed again, throwing a hand over her eyes. “Fine, I’ll be there tomorrow to pick it up. Do not call the sender.”
This must be my punishment for putting a spell on John, she thought bitterly. That’s the only explanation.
Well, she’d take it like a big girl. She would go to Nocturne Falls, retrieve the package with the dragon’s eye, visit Granny, and release John from her mistake. Then, life would return to normal, she would have her world back in Philly—such as it was—and concentrate on her studies and career. There, a foolproof plan. What could go wrong?
Mirna laughed and threw her legs over the side of the bed to motivate herself to rise. It didn’t work. What could go wrong, indeed.
Trying to keep thoughts of mishaps away, she pulled up her emotionally battered self and insisted on the chin up approach. Although she had to return to the place that she had run away from after high school, the idea of seeing Granny made it better. She hadn’t visited her in Nocturne Falls in...well, in a while. She had often made her grandmother make the trek out to see her, not wanting to return to her childhood home. But wherever the location, Granny’s visits always lifted her spirits. Needless to say, the old bird would seriously chew her a new one if she found out what she did, but Mirna wouldn’t think about it.
When her cell rang again, she ignored it and forced herself to cheerfully march into the closet to start packing.
When her stupid smartphone started to play the voicemail, she didn’t react.
“Mirna, you can’t run away from me,” the message said. “I’m coming for you.”
Not for the first time, she wondered if she should get away from her new life. She had fought so hard for it, but it wasn’t turning out how she had imagined. She loved being a librarian and rummaging through books on a daily basis. Yet, being surrounded by outsiders, people who were so different from her, didn’t make her feel smart and sophisticated. It didn’t open her mind to new ideas as she had hoped, or allow her to bask in other cultures and adventures. It just made her feel alone.
She could go back to the comfortable familiarity of Nocturne Falls and Granny permanently. Couldn’t she? Packing a green sweater into her carry-on, she pondered the idea. What would it be like to live there again? As an adult. She pictured the center of town with its true to life gargoyle statue, Keller’s Sweets-n-Treats with their vintage candies, the jewelry store with its Fae owner, and the woods outside the town where Granny lived, and...Dani.
Her face heated as she remembered her best friend. Meeting in middle school, they had both felt like social outcasts, she a druid so different from the rest of the witch community, and he a dragon without the ability to shift. Kids could be cruel anywhere, even in a place like Nocturne Falls. So their outsider nature drew up an instant friendship. Goofballs with more than enough free time on their hands, they had delighted in causing as much mischief as possible, especially pranking his two older sisters.
“Oh my! The jelly beans.” She burst into giggles as she recalled a particularly harrowing incident in which they had replaced all of his sister Regina’s fine gemstone collection with jelly beans. “She didn’t talk to us for a month.”
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried to envision Dani now. It had been years since she had seen him. She couldn’t even say when was the last time, but the biggest impression was from their high school graduation. Having grown into his body, he filled out at over six feet tall, but those puppy dog eyes and shaggy hair hadn’t changed. And so his bangs had covered his brow under his cap, and his gown spread over his broad shoulders, making it more tent-like than ceremonial. When her own gown had fallen all the way to her ankles, they had pointed and laughed at each other for so long, they almost missed their walk down the aisle. Later, she had to poke him so hard in the ribs to wake him when his name was called that he stumbled from his chair and up to the stage.
Yes, Danila Smirnoff, dragon who couldn’t shift, best friend, and ultimate daredevil was more than enough reason to return to Nocturne Falls. But a permanent change of address?
“No.” She eased the last of her belongings into her tiny suitcase. “That’s an illusion.”
Good memories were often stronger than bad ones, but they couldn’t change everything. Recalling her parents’ tearful goodbye as they decided to return to Ireland and away from the perceived prejudice against their kind was enough to snap her back to reality. Granny had refused to be pushed from her home and insisted on the kindness of the people in their town. Yet, her parents hadn’t been persuaded to stay, only allowing her to live with Granny for the remainder of high school.
“Yet, what happened after?” she chided her memories. “You didn’t cross the pond either, as they say.”
Choosing to leave Nocturne Falls had been the hardest thing she had ever done. But she wanted a fresh start, and so she did not return to her parents’ ancestral home either. She needed to carve out a life for herself, a brand new journey somewhere no one knew her.
“Yeah, and boy, did you get your wish, ah Turan.” She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. The big grey eyes were her father’s doing, the pouty lips and round cheeks her mother’s. The auburn hair came from her grandmother, and the upturned nose belonged to her late grandfather. Every inch of her appearance had been inherited from a member of her family, all that she was coming from somewhere else. And so she asserted her independence and left behind everything she ever knew, everyone she ever loved.
Narrowing her eyes, she gave that reflection a hard stare. “No use complaining. The past is the past, and the future is what you make of it.”
The truth didn’t entirely ring in her words, but she would follow them nonetheless. As much as she missed Granny, her childhood home, and most of all her best friend, she would not give up her freedom, even if it hurt. No, she would return to Nocturne Falls for a brief few days, visit Granny, pick up that stupid stone, and come back to her exciting little life.
Or so she thought.
Chapter 2
Danila took off his construction hat and wiped the day’s dirt from his hair. Building homes on the outskirts of Nocturne Falls for people in need might sound like an honorable venture, but when the summer heat hit and the humidity swelled to near a hundred, nobility sank in a sea of cranky and dang tired.
“Phew. Can you believe this? Must be triple digits today.” Jax reached for his tenth bottle of water, guzzling it down in a few mouthfuls.
“You’re not kidding.” Danila didn’t waste the chance to chug a bottle of his own before the foreman barked at them again. He gave the old man a hefty stare. His dark brows creased toward his nose and his brown eyes blazed fire. He stopped just short of opening his mouth with a retort.
The sun was heading into the hills and quitting time peaked on the horizon. If they cut out fifteen minutes early, well...too bad. The day had gone into the mud from the opening orders. Jax and he had worked a solid two hours, framing the wood into shape, only to have Tiny Malone—aforementioned foreman and least likely to make a decision—shift the plans. Their dithering leader had no business in his position, and the entire team suffered for it. Without a strong captain at the helm, it made every job that much harder. Yet, as a dragon shifter, Danila had no claim to that role. He was lucky the crew agreed to work with him at all.
