Dragon Chosen: The Dragon Lord's Bride Book 1 (Dragon Shifter Romance) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Rose Dumont was just your average office worker toiling away at her day job. That is, until she found herself captured and carried through a portal into a different world. She was one of a group of women, and their kidnappers informed them that one among their number would be chosen to be the bride of the local dragon lord.
Rose wasn’t going to wait around for that to happen and she manages to free herself. She flees into the woods only to stumble upon a dark manor house. Unfortunately, she soon realizes that she’s walked into new trouble, for the house is owned by the very dragon lord she sought to escape.
The handsome Lord William Thorn is an ancient creature desiring a mate, and Rose is just the person. She soon finds herself falling for his gentle eyes and sensual touch, and one thing leads to another. Before she knows it she’s neck-deep in magic and intrigue as her unlikely lover and she confront a venomous foe intent on stealing Thorn’s greatest magic: his immortality.

Leseprobe

DRAGON CHOSEN

THE DRAGON LORD’S BRIDE BOOK 1

MAC FLYNN

CONTENTS

Copyright

Author’s Note

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

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Sneak Peek: Dragon Sword

A Small Favor

When’s the Next Book?

Series by Mac Flynn

About Mac Flynn

COPYRIGHT

Dragon Chosen (The Dragon Lord’s Bride Book 1). Copyright © 2024 by Mac Flynn.

Published by Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form or by any or for any use, including recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author and/or artist. The only except ions shirt excerpts or the cover image in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel or on the cover are either products of the author’s or artist’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or artist.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for joining me on a journey through my imagination. If you’re looking for romance and adventure with a guaranteed Happily Ever After, then you’ve come to the right place. My books contain paranormal plotting and fantastical action, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.

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You can keep in touch with me by joining my newsletter or checking out my website for the latest updates.

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Thank you for giving my book a chance, and Happy Reading!

- Mac Flynn

CHAPTERONE

Life has a funny way of hitting you with a freight train and dragging you into the wilderness of fate.

My date with the locomotive came one foggy fall eve as I was walking home from my work as a librarian’s assistant. There I was with hardly a coat on after having been nearly suffocated by the stifling heat of the library.

“She could at least set the thermometer to seventy. . .” I mumbled to myself as I flapped the sides of my coat to draw in more of the cool air.

I paused and took in the view around me. The commercial street stretched out before me, as empty as a display coffin and just as quiet. With it being Friday night, all the employees had evacuated the vicinity. Nobody wanted to be caught dead or alive within five city blocks of their workplace.

I sighed and continued on my way down the lonely street with only the streetlights as company. “Come on, Rose. Just a few more blocks and you’re home free.”

My feet quickened their pace, but they couldn’t outrun the creeping fear that nagged me. Some primal instinct at the back of my mind told me there was danger afoot, and more so than your average night of walking through the darkened city streets. I kept looking over my shoulder expecting something to pop out.

I should have been paying attention to the shadows ahead of me.

A noise from somewhere made me freeze. My heart thumped hard in my chest as my eyes darted over the area. That’s when a dark figure stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley. Their towering height and build told me it was a man. He wore a cloak and hood which partially covered a roughly-made doublet with pants. Leather shoes with rough straps covered their feet, and the figure had a leather belt around his waist.

I nearly swallowed my tongue when two more emerged from the darkness behind him. They stood shoulder to shoulder with the smallest of the three in the middle.

I gave them a shaky smile. “Isn’t it a little early for Halloween?”

One of the caped figures drew a large dagger out of their belt. The glow of the streetlight glistened off the shimmering blade.

My pulse quickened and I threw my arms up before I took a step back. “H-hey, wait a second. If it’s money you want, you’ve got the wrong working girl.”

One of the figures stepped forward and stretched out one hand toward me. A small stone sat in their upturned palm, and a soft white light emanated from the rough orb. The person drew their hood back and revealed herself as a woman. She was about thirty with long brown hair that disappeared under her cloak.

A grin stretched across her face as she shook her head. “Oh no. We’re quite certain we have the right girl.” She turned her face to one side and nodded. “Go get her.”

The two men leapt forward like monkeys. I screamed and spun around, but I’d only gone a few steps when they caught me. One of them held my arms while the other wrapped a bandanna over my mouth. The stench from the cloth was disgusting and made me gag.

“I told you to wash that damn thing,” the other man scolded his companion.

His compatriot shrugged. “I figured it would knock her out.”

“Less chatter and more hefting,” the woman called to the pair.

The men worked quickly and my legs and arms were soon bound. One of them hefted me over his shoulder so I faced behind us. I was carried into the alley where the shadows were so deep I could barely see the litter-covered ground.

“I’ll never get used to this filth,” one of the men muttered as he kicked a can. “Looks like the worst parts of the pirate islands.”

“Then you’ve never seen the Hills of Slaughter,” the woman commented with a slightly bemused tone to her voice. “They’ve left more than just memories on those steppes.”

“I heard about that,” the other man spoke up as he adjusted my weight. “Didn’t they even leave the guns because they thought they were cursed?”

“Will you two keep quiet until we’ve reached the door?” the woman snapped.

The men were silenced by her irritation and we continued onward. My captors trudged along until they were about halfway down the next block. They were as shadows themselves, so quiet and unobtrusive were they as they slipped into another alley.

They hurried down the narrow street until they reached a door. This wasn’t any ordinary dirty alley entrance, however. A light caught my attention, and I twisted around to see that the door had a slight white glow around its border, and a fresh coat of white paint covered its front. The entrance also didn’t have a frame but rather seemed to float in front of the brick wall that surrounded it.

The woman grasped the fancy curved handle and opened it. I jumped as a fresh forest breeze wafted over me. Darkness lay beyond the door, but a few black outlines showed there was more than just a dingy room beyond the doorway.

And I knew I didn’t want to go in there.

I began to thrash in my captor’s grip. One of my flapping feet managed to hit him in the chin. He grunted and yanked me off him, spilling me to the ground. “Knock that off!” he snapped as he grabbed my arm with such a grip that I felt a bruise form underneath his fingers.

“Knock that off, Blake!” the woman snapped at him. “If you can’t handle the girl then let Saber carry her.”

Blake whipped his head up and scowled at her. “I can handle her if you’ll let me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and the light from the door let me see that a little bit of fear crept into his face. The woman spoke in a low, dangerous voice. “The women are not to be manhandled. Those were his specific instructions, and do I need to remind you what happens to those who disobey him?”

A sullen look slipped onto Blake’s face, but he released me. “No.”

“Good,” she replied as she nodded at his hand. “Now pick her up and let’s get going.”

CHAPTERTWO

I was again treated like a sack of potatoes and thrown over the shoulder of the ruffian. The man followed the lead of his compatriots and stepped through the strange door.

That’s when everything changed. The familiar stale smells of the city were replaced with an exotic mix of dry dirt and leafy trees. The sights were too dark to make out much, but trees surrounded us. The only city sights lay beyond the door. Even that disappeared as the woman shut the portal behind us. The moment she did, the border light vanished, as did the rest of the door, revealing even more woods behind where the free-standing door had stood.

The man named Saber shook his head. “I’ll never get used to that.”

“You won’t have to,” the woman pointed out as she patted her pocket from where she had drawn the stone. “This is our last trip. The stone doesn’t have a shine left to it. If one of these isn’t the right one then he’ll have to wait another century, and that means it isn’t our problem. Now let’s get going before those other girls think they want to be a hero and get out of their ropes.”

We trudged into the dense woods, leaving behind my only hope of escape. Still, hope itself wasn’t completely abandoned. The woman had mentioned other captives, or so I assumed they were. Perhaps a small rebellion could overtake these rogues and win us our freedom.

They have weapons, you dummy.

My heart fell just a little. I couldn’t argue with my inner thoughts. They were armed, and they probably knew how to use them, too. I’d only ever brandished a butcher’s knife at an insolent hunk of steak.

I was bounced along the rough trail for at least a mile before the path opened to a small clearing. The dwindling remains of a fire sat inside a ring of stones, and around that were three backpacks. A fallen log sat at the far end of the clearing, and four women leaned up against the wood. Like me, they were bound at the hands and feet, and gags stifled their cries as we arrived.

“Quit your whining,” the woman snapped at them as she stooped beside the fire and tossed a log onto the coals. Flames arose and licked at the sustenance, and in a few moments a fresh fire crackled in the makeshift hearth. “You’ll find out soon enough whether you’re to stay here or go back where you came from.”

I was set down on one end of the lineup, and Blake rejoined his compatriots around the warm fire. A chilly breeze blew over us, and I couldn’t help but shiver.

The woman grabbed a nearby three-footed cast iron skillet and set it over the fire. She lifted her eyes to us and wagged a wooden spoon in our direction. “Take off their gags,” she ordered her companions. “He might get angry at us if we send his bride to him hungry.”

Blake wrinkled his nose where he sat on an upright log. “But they’re just going to start yammering.”

She shot him a look of warning. “Better their mouths yammering than their stomachs growling, now do it.”

The pair of men grudgingly obeyed, and in a few moments we could all breathe freely. One of the women who sported a head of shocking red hair clamped her teeth down on Saber’s hand. He let out a yell and slapped her on the cheek. She jerked back and lost her grip, giving him time enough to yank his hand away.

“You damn bitch!” he growled as he cradled his wounded hand in his other palm. There was blood.

“You should have been more careful around that one,” the woman scolded him.

Saber spun around and glared at her. “Why don’t you try dealing with these things, then, Enna? You’re one of them.”

Enna threw her head back and laughed. “One of them? I tossed aside the life of a girl long ago, and I have the blades to prove it.” She leaned back a little and caught our attention with her sharp look. “You’ve had your fun, now just sit there and behave.”

“What are you going to do with us?” another one of the women spoke up.

Enna stood and sauntered over to our group. She stopped in front of us and put her hands on her hips. “Probably nothing, but that’s not up to me.”

The redhead glared at the men. “Then who is? Those assholes?”

Enna smiled and shook her head. “Nope. One of you gets the honor of meeting His Lordship, the Honorable Thomas Thorn. The rest of you will have your memories wiped and be returned home before the sun rises.”

“What about the woman who’s chosen?” I asked her.

A wicked smile curled onto the woman’s lips. “She’ll stay here as a plaything to the lord.”

A clamor of protest arose from us, but the rangers stepped closer and set their hands on the hilts of their swords. We shrank back from the sharp blades, and more than one burst into tears.

Enna laughed at her. “With courage such as that I doubt you’ll be chosen by him, and even if you were he’d be so disappointed he’d probably just eat you come breakfast time.”

My pulse quickened. “What do you mean by that?”

She shrugged. “I guess one of you is going to see. In the meantime, I suggest you eat the food we give you and don’t try to escape when your hands are untied. We know these woods far better than any of you, and if he finds you jaunting about he’s liable to eat you as soon as see you.”

Enna and the other two returned to the fire and prepared a ‘feast of bread and meat taken from a leather bag. We captives looked over the others, each of us sizing the others up and trying to decide who would make a better meal for this strange Lord Thorn.

Meanwhile, our captors had resumed their discussion about the fabled wealth of the Slaughter Hills.

“I bet those weapons are worth a fortune,” Saber commented.

“And not worth risking your life to get one of them,” Enna countered as she picked up a stick and stirred the coals around.

He scoffed. “More about that cursed stuff?”

Enna had a strange smile on her lips. “They are cursed, Saber. I’ve seen one of them. The poor fool who owns it keeps it locked in a case so it doesn’t wander around at night slicing open any neck it can find.”

“That sounds like a fool’s tale,” Blake spoke up.

“Then you go fooling around with one of them,” she challenged him as she tossed the stick into the fire and stood. “But after we feed these little hens their meal. Midnight is coming up and His Lordship wouldn’t like a broken toy.”

CHAPTERTHREE

Our captors plopped some of the meat on a few strips of wood bark they scavenged from the woods and moved over to us. The men knelt in front of us and untied our hands, but not our feet. They offered food to each of us, and we tried to chew on the bits of tough meat. I didn’t have an appetite, but I knew I had to keep up my strength so I managed to take a few bites.

One of the girls turned her nose up at the meal before she held the meat out in front of her, pinched as it was between two well-manicured fingers. “I can’t eat this.”

Blake glared at her. “What’s wrong with it?”

She scowled at him. “It’s meat. I don’t eat meat.”

Blake snatched the piece from her hand and shoved it into her mouth. “You do today.”

The woman let out a squeal of fury and surprise before she spat the contents of her mouth into the man’s face. Blake yelled and fell back onto his butt with bits of meat stuck to his nose and cheeks. “You. . .you bitch!” he snapped.

He lunged at her, but Saber intercepted him. Enna marched over to the brawling pair and smacked their heads. “Will you two knock it off?”

While they were distracted, I looked for a way out of this mess. I reached behind me and pressed my palms against the log at our backs. My fingers brushed over a sharp bit of branch, hardly more than a stub. Fortunately for me, however, it was a sturdy stub.

I quickly ate my meat and when the men came back around Blake grabbed my hands. “Time to tie you back up,” he cooed as he drew my arms behind my back.

He tied a tight knot around my hands, but the moment he moved away I began to rub the ropes on the sharp branch. My heart leapt as I felt my bindings loosen with each rub against the tree.

The other women finished their meals and our captors moved back to the warmth of the fire. For our part, most of us huddled against each other. All except me. I worked away at my ropes, and the minutes ticked into an hour. The black night grew darker, though the stars blinked brightly in the sky.

After ninety minutes I felt the ropes completely snap. The bindings dropped onto my legs and I held my breath, fearful the trio would have heard anything. They were engrossed in themselves, however, so I leaned down and untied my feet. In a moment I was completely free, and I scooted over to my nearest companion.

She turned to me and her eyes widened as she felt my hands work away at her ropes. I gave her a look of warning and she clamped her mouth shut.

“Hey!” My blood ran cold, and I whipped my head up. Enna had risen to her feet and her eyes were zeroed in on me. “What are you doing?”

The woman I was trying to help pushed her head into my chest. “Run! Get out of here!”

Indecision suffocated my reflexes, but the woman pushed up against me again. “Go on! You can help us by staying out there!”

Hope. That got me going, and I shot to my feet as our captors rushed over. I leapt over the log and they tried to follow, but the other women threw themselves in their path. The vegan even managed to bowl herself into Blake’s legs, tripping him up so he fell over the log.

I raced into the woods with no sense of where I was going. I only knew I needed to get as far away from that campfire as I could manage. After that, I’d figure out a way to go back and free the others, especially the one doomed to be the plaything of that fiend.

My heart pounded heavily in my chest and my arms pumped at my sides. I flew along the uneven terrain of fallen trees and brush. Just when I thought my heart would burst, the woods opened into a large clearing. A dirt road lay about fifty yards on my left and traveled ahead of me to the center of the glade. That was where the imperious manor stood, tall and wide and dark.

The style was more Tudor than cottage style, with thick beams between the floors and tucked between large whitewashed walls. There were two floors and a large attic, and the foundation was made of huge stones chiseled to perfect rectangles and placed side by side in four straight lines.

The tall paned windows were covered in shadows until I noticed a light behind one of the second-floor glass. My heart gave a flutter as hope was rekindled within it. Somebody was there! Maybe they would help me free the others!

I raced across the wide expanse of lawn that separated the forest from the home, and in a moment my feet pounded onto the stone porch. All was silent, and I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder at the woods. I was exposed in such a spot to my pursuers, but it was worth the risk as I pounded my fist hard against the wood.

“Somebody! Anybody!” I shouted. “I need help!”

The door hadn’t been latched properly and the portal swung open on creaky hinges. A large entrance hall presented itself to me, complete with a glistening wood floor and a staircase that curved up to a second-floor balcony. Doors on either side led into the wings, but they were shut to me.

I reluctantly stepped inside and my footsteps rang loud in the oppressive silence. “H-hello?”

The door slammed shut behind me.

I yelped and spun around where I threw myself at the portal. The door, however, wouldn’t budge even an inch, and there was no sign of a lock other than on the thick wooden handle.

That’s when I heard it. A soft groan from a floorboard above me. I spun around and pressed my back against the wall. My eyes flickered over every dark inch of the place, but I neither saw nor heard anything.

Still, time was of the essence. Midnight was fast approaching. I could feel it in my aching bones. The others needed my help before whatever would happen happened.

I crept forward and winced whenever my foot fell upon an old squeaky board. I’d seen the light in the upstairs right-hand wing, so that’s where I would look. All was dark as I eased myself up the stairs and took a right at the top. The corridor ran for the entire length of the house, but two perpendicular walls divided the upstairs just like the downstairs.

A hall was hidden behind the right-hand wall and ran from the front rooms of the house to the rear rooms, creating a cross of corridors. I had seen the light in one of the front rooms, so I crept forward toward the tall window at the end of the eastern hall. There were three doors on either side of me totaling six. I tiptoed up to the first and tried the knob. It was unlocked, so I opened the door and peeked my head inside.

What I found was a comfortable bedroom with a large four-post bed situated in the center against the exterior wall. A chimney to my left had a warm fire in its hearth, and the flames cast a soft light over everything. A dresser and vanity on the right finished off the furniture, while the floor was covered in elegant oriental rugs. The dresser was topped by a decanter set on a silver platter, and dark red liquid swam inside the glass.

Everything looked so clean and inviting, so I eased into the room. “Hello? Is anyone here?”

The door shut behind me, but it wasn’t the violent shut like the front door. I spun around to find myself staring at a handsome man slightly above average height. He wore a white shirt blouse and dark pants. His feet were bare, and his hair was short. He had chiseled good looks and a muscular frame, but not so hard as I was reminded of rocks.

What captured my complete attention, however, were the two gray horns that protruded from his forehead and stretched backward at an upward angle.

CHAPTERFOUR

A crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “Good evening.”

I gasped and stumbled backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed. They collapsed and my butt fell onto the soft covers. A musky scent wafted over me, wrapping me in a sensual warmth.

I shook off the strange effects and leapt to my feet. My legs shook so much that I looped an arm around one of the posts to keep from crumpling to the floor. “W-what are you?”

His eyes were a bright emerald green color, and in the dim light I swore they glowed just softly. “I am the lord of this manor. Who are you?”

This was no time for terror, so I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m Rose, and I need your help. These people kidnapped me and a couple of other women, and they’re holding them hostage for some lunatic.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Indeed? How did you manage to escape them?”

“I cut my ropes on a tree trunk, but-”