For the Love of Her Dragon

For the Love

of

Her Dragon

By Julia Mills

Copyright © 2014 Julia Mills

All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express
written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a
book review.

DISCLAIMER
: This is a work of
fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are
either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictional manner.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely
coincidental.

NOTICE:
This is an adult
erotic paranormal romance with love scenes and mature situations. It is only
intended for adult readers over the age of 18.

Edited by Lisa Miller, Angel Editing Services

Cover Designed by Linda Boulanger with Tell Tale
Book Covers
http://telltalebookcovers.weebly.com/

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Book #4. Who would’ve ever thought it possible? This
has been an amazing ride and I look forward to even more fun and magic with the
Dragon Guard and whoever else may make their presence known. None of it would
have been possible without the amazing readers that took a chance on a new
indie author who chose to write about
dragon shifters
of all things.
Thank you for the bottom of my big ole southern heart – YOU ARE AMAZING!

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU goes to my beta readers, Tonya
Allen, Cindy Barton, Charlene Bauer, Stacey Bradley, Karen Branch, Charlene
Cain, Bonnie
Dahl-
Rediske
,
Tammy Hall, Lia Hearn, Rosemary Hendry, Rose
Holub
,
Laurie Johnson, Rebecca Larsen,
Debb
LaVoie
, Audi Lewis, Karen
Mikhael
,
Lisa Miller, Kathy Moore, Susan Newman, MJ Prater, Anna
Salamatin
,
Jacklynn
Sizemore, Carrie The Book Fairy, Bridget
Thomas-Parker, Cindy Turner, Sandy
Elens
Vogel, Janna
Ward, Melanie Williams
YOU ARE THE BEST!

Thank you to Linda Boulanger, who from my crazy
character descriptions creates the most breathtaking covers I could ever imagine.
She is magical! THANK YOU COVER MASTER!

Also
by Julia Mills

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

Her
Dragon to Slay, Dragon Guard Series #1

Her
Dragon’s Fire, Dragon Guard Series #2

Haunted
by Her Dragon, Dragon Guard Series #3

You can do anything you
put your mind to…All you have to do is BELIEVE!

Thank you, God.

To my girls, Liz and
Em
, I Love You. Every day, every way, always.

To Emma Edwards, the
absolute best writing partner in the world. You are BEAUTIFULLY BRILLIANT in
every way. Is it Wine Day yet?

To Charlene Bauer aka
Bold, absolutely the best right hand anyone could ever ask for. She is my
friend, my sounding board and cracks a mean whip. Thank you from the bottom of
my heart! I couldn’t do it without you.

FOR
THE LOVE OF HER DRAGON

Index
of the Words of Love of Original the Dragon Kin

Table of contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

EPILOGUE

The sound of boots
hitting the wet ground drew Royce to the mouth of the cave he had called home
for the last thirteen days. In the distance, he could see his brother
Rian
, Head Elder of the Blue Thunder Clan of the Dragon
Shifters and winner of Most Arrogant Brother of the Year one hundred and fifty
years running, making his way towards him. His daily visits had grown old on
day one and did little more than exponentially add to Royce’s nasty attitude.
Deciding to prepare for the inevitable lecture, he moved back to his camp chair
by the fire and stirred the logs in an effort to calm his turbulent mood. All
was wasted when
Rian
called to him before he had even
crossed the threshold, “So tell me
little
brother, how long are you
going to hide in these caves?”

“Hide?
What the hell are you talking about,
Rian
? I am
not
hiding,” Royce answered through gritted teeth, ignoring the ‘little brother’
dig. So what if the asshole was an inch taller and a year older, he had grown
soft over the years and Royce had no doubt he could take him in a fight. The
thought of using his pompous ass of an older brother’s face to work out some of
his frustration
almost
brought a smile to his face.

“Aye,
brother you are. You’re hiding from the wee lass with platinum curls and violet
eyes,”
Rian
answered with a cocky grin that made
Royce grit his teeth and the brogue of their ancestors.

“Damn
you! Stay the hell outta my head!” Royce barely contained the roar he felt
building.

“Tsk
Tsk
Tsk…did I hit a nerve?”
Rian
held up his hand to keep Royce from lashing out again. “If you don’t want the
entire clan to see what you’re truly feeling towards the little witch, I
suggest you learn to shield your thoughts while you sleep. It’s obvious that no
matter how hard you fight it, the mating call has its hooks in you.” His
brother raised one eyebrow and smirked, “At least I have the decency to block
you out before your ‘hormones’ take over. I’m not sure the younger of the clan
will be so courteous…should your thoughts reach them.”

Rian
chuckled and Royce worked hard to control his temper. He was well aware of
where his thoughts regarding Kyra went when he let his guard down. How could he
not think of her in all the ways a dragon shifter was supposed to think of his
mate? She was, after all, the One promised to him by the Universe. She was
absolutely gorgeous. Yes, she was short, only five foot two, but she was a
force unto herself. Her long platinum hair reached to her waist and was both
straight and curly and seemed to just be shy of being tamed all the time. Her
violet eyes were vibrant and expressive and held a wisdom that went beyond her
age or her experience. She seemed to glow with energy and exuberance, and her
heart seemed to lead her no matter the magical power she wielded. But that did
not negate the fact that she was a witch, and no matter what he felt for the
beautiful woman, he would
not
mate with her. She was witch! A
fucking
witch!

At
first, he tried to justify it with the fact that Kyra’s father was human, which
worked for about five seconds; just long enough for him to remember the other
half of her lineage. The half that came from one of the most powerful and
highly regarded white witches in all the world,
mommy dearest
, the Grand
Priestess
Calysta
St. Croix. That alone gave her
immense power. Power that crackled and sparked all around her. Power that he
knew could twist and corrupt even the purest of hearts. Although, he had to
admit, that he felt nothing but goodness and light in Kyra, and for a few brief
hours every day when he was so tired he just dropped onto his pallet, his
treacherous mind and heart imagined a life with her, but he knew there was
no
way
he could trust it. Everything could change in the blink of an eye and
he was not going to be caught unaware, not again. He would fight Fate with his
last breath. A lonely, loveless life was better than living every day waiting
for his mate to turn in to a power-hungry piece of trash that would slay all he
held dear to gain the power she thought she deserved.

He
shook himself from his thoughts. One glance at his brother and he knew
Rian
was just gearing up to spout more BS, and true to
form, big brother did not disappoint. “Even if I hadn’t been able to see the
turmoil in your head, I’ve had visits from Stefan. Not only is he the clan’s
Spiritual Elder…you
do
remember that he’s also our uncle and the man who
helped raise us after Mother’s death, do you not?”

“You
know I really hate when you get the high and mighty ‘I’m the Head Elder’ tone
in your voice,
Ri
. And you
know
damn
good and well that I remember who he is and all that he’s done
for us. That’s
precisely
the reason I wanted to talk to him. Stefan was
there when mother and Rhianna were killed. He tried everything in his
considerable power to keep our mother and sister with us. It was he that
identified the spell
Ilsa
had been trying to work and
sanctioned her execution when father was unable to do little more than breathe
and grieve. Who better to know how I feel about witches than he?”

“That
was a long time ago Roy and the Universe does not make mistakes…”

“SHUT
THE HELL UP!” Royce roared, letting all the frustration, anger, and
helplessness he felt at the cards Fate had dealt him freely flow.

For
the first time that he could ever remember
Rian
just
stood, staring…not speaking, not spouting pious recriminations, just waiting to
see what would come next. It was something Royce had never experienced in his
very long life; his brother was actually listening. Royce took a deep breath
and began again, “I understand what a wondrous gift a mate is, but Kyra is a
witch and I
cannot and will not
live my life with a witch…white or not.”

He
let his head fall forward into his hands and sighed, the weight of all that had
happened in the last six weeks bearing down on him like a boulder. How could
the Universe, in
Her
infinite wisdom, pair him with a
magic practitioner? Yes, Kyra was beautiful and intelligent and had a heart ten
times bigger than her tiny five feet two inch frame should be capable of
containing, but she was a witch!

He
spoke his thoughts out loud, “I have seen her capacity for goodness.
Hell
,
I could actually
feel
her agony and regret as she apologized to Grace
and Lance for unknowingly helping Andrew.” He turned and watched as
Rian
took the seat across the fire, still not speaking.

“I
damn near cried
myself
when she knelt before Sydney and apologized,
promising with complete sincerity that she would do everything in her power to
stop the man that had almost taken her new daddy from her. I can feel that her
intentions are pure, but what scares me is the power I feel within her; it is
immense.

“I
know Rory and I were much closer to
Ilsa
than you.
Father always took you with him, making sure you learned everything you needed
to know to become the next leader of our clan, but you have to remember how
much we trusted her. She was like a second mother to us all. She took care of
us, kept us out of trouble, made us all believe she was
family
and then…
”

Tears
filled his eyes and the lump in his throat grew so large that he could barely
breathe. A memory so strong it felt as though he had been transported back in
time began to unfurl in his mind and he was helpless to do anything but let it
play out.

There
in front of him was the home where he and his brothers had spent their youth,
looking the same as it had all those years ago. He could see the beautiful
stained glass windows that decorated every turret, each depicting a famous
dragon in the throes of battle. His fingers itched with the need to touch the
ivy that lovingly grew in every nook and cranny of the brick structure, and he
almost laughed out loud remembering all the toys that he and his brothers had
hidden from one another in those tangled vines, only to be found and used for
ransom in one of their many games of war.

He
watched as a much younger version of himself made his way around the house, a
large buck slung over his shoulder and a huge smile on his face. His father had
dispatched him that very morning to rid the lair of the deer that continued to
raid almost every garden. It was with great satisfaction that he remembered
hanging the carcass from the tree while others of their clan began to gather
and congratulate him on his hunt.

The
hair at the nape of his neck stood on end, just as it had so many years ago,
when his mother’s blood-curdling screams cut through that beautiful fall day.
The earth shook from the responding roar of his father’s dragon, miles away.
Unable to stop the flood of memories that had irreparably changed his life, his
heart raced and sweat rolled down his back as he watched a younger version of
himself race through the house and up the steep wooden staircase that led to
the bedrooms. Just as he reached the door of his parent’s room, his point of
view changed. No longer was he an innocent bystander, but an active participant.
He had slipped into his much younger body, doomed to relive one of the most
horrific events of his life. The actions that had rushed by and fought for his
attention only seconds before now moved in slow motion.

Fury
and disbelief caused bile to rise in his throat in reality just as it was in
his memories. His mother,
Riona
, hands extended over
her head, was tied to the bedposts, legs stretched wide and knees bent with her
feet secured, just as was their custom during a pure dragon birth. The coppery
scent of fresh blood flooded his senses as it dripped from the dagger that was
clenched in
Ilsa’s
hand, their long time nursemaid.
The chant that escaped her lips was guttural and ominous, nothing like the
sweet melodious voice that had sung him to sleep more times than he could
count. He watched, helpless to stop what pure evil had already set into action,
as the blade descended and cut a wide path through his mother’s already ravaged
abdomen.
Riona
fought with all her might against her
restraints while begging for her most trusted companion to stop the madness
that had obviously befallen her.

Royce
raced forward and grabbed
Ilsa
by the waist, turning
as he went in an effort to get her and her deadly stiletto as far from his
mother and unborn sister as possible. The one time confidant struggled to stay
upright while still slashing her blade in
Riona’s
direction. In her bid to escape Royce’s grasp,
Ilsa
tripped, her blade missing her mark and plunging into Royce’s shoulder, ripping
his skin, tearing tendons and muscles, stopping only when it grated against his
collarbone. Unable to pull her blade free, the nursemaid began tearing at his
face and chest with her nails that had somehow become talons since he saw her
that morning at breakfast.

As
he battled to control the rampaging woman that had attacked his mother, the
room filled with members of their clan, all attempting to save his family from
what looked to be certain death, even for a dragon of her breeding and power.
Out of the blue, wave after wave of pain, anguish, anger, and fury threatened
to drive him to his knees. His father had finally reached his mother and with
no thought except of his ravaged mate, his usually well-secured shielding blew
away. All the outrage and pain from what his beloved was suffering rolled
unchecked through the unique bond the Head Elder shared with all that had
pledged their allegiance to him. From clan member to clan member, their
turbulent emotions added to their leaders, making the room thick with a mixture
of anger, sorrow, and a growing need for retribution at what had been done to
their queen.

With
one last burst of energy, Royce subdued
Ilsa
and
handed her off to several clan members, who proceeded to bind her hands and
feet and gag her. He immediately made his way back to his mother’s bedside and
stood opposite his father and brothers. His father gently held his mother to
his chest, unfazed or unaware of the blood that ran from her body or the tears
that stained his cheeks. Never had his father been a man that let his emotions
show, but there was no denying the depth of anguish and fear the older dragon
felt when faced with the loss of his mate. As he watched, his father attempted
to infuse his mother with the strength and incredible healing powers of all his
years and stature. Royce could see the majestic blue-green dragon that lived
within his father attempting to push to the forefront, the need to save his
mate just as powerful as that of the man’s. The sheer strength of the beast
caused its image to be transposed over and around his mother and father.

Movement
at the door alerted him to the arrival of his Uncle Stefan, the clan’s
Spiritual Leader, and Niall, one of the oldest and most powerful healers of all
dragon kin. The crowd parted as the Elders rushed to aid
Riona
.
His brothers backed away, allowing the men to kneel at the bedside. They laid
their hands upon his mother’s still bleeding stomach and began the Healing
Chant. Within seconds, the entire room was enveloped in the revenant verse of
healing and prayer meant to call upon the Universe and add strength to the
couple as they fought with all that they were to heal the damage done to the
once peaceful, vibrant woman.
now
clinging to life in
her mate’s arms.