Read Guardian Dragon: Paranormal BBW Dragon Shifter Romance (Paranormal Shifter Romance) Online
Authors: Molly Hart
Guardian Dragon: Paranormal BBW Dragon Shifter Romance (Paranormal Shifter Romance)
>>>*MUST READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING THE BOOK*<<<
Prince Lucas sat down restlessly on the jet as he tried reconciling his thoughts about his return home.
Everything had happened so fast he barely had time to comprehend what the future held for him. This was supposedly what he had been prepared for all his life. It was what he was born to do, what he was expected to do. Right until he was exiled from his country for murdering his father. Even his siblings didn't believe him; they were the first to hang him out to dry.
And now, six years after had settled down in another country, made a life for him, that's when his country called him back.
So much anger and resentment was boiling through him back then, he had deliberately refused to follow up on the happenings in his country. If only he had known things had truly gone bad.
According to the reports one of the royal court elders sent to him with a long letter, a tribe on the outskirts of his country had been attempting nonstop to take over the country. His country that had once been filled with wealth and beauty was now suffering in poverty, hunger, despair and unrest.
Some oracle master discovered that only a royal child, born with a fire burn-like mark could successfully heal the land and bring it back to its glory; a dragon lord, they had said.
An irresistible smirk crossed his face: a dragon lord. If the elders have any idea how close to home they were, maybe they would do well to respect him more.
It was obvious they still believed he killed his father, and that was why they only agreed to bring him back home and give him the throne as a title. They seemed to have other plans, but Lucas had his own nicely schemed out. He was nobody's lapdog; he would prove his innocence, one way or the other. And after... after would hold a new song for him.
When he was exiled, he had nowhere to go, no money to live on. He was lucky to have the contact Mark Shaw, a bodyguard who had once escorted a friend of his father. On calling Mark up, without much ado, Mark hooked him up with a job-a well paying one. He had crashed at Mark’s place for months before he had enough money to get a place of his own.
Life had kept up that way until one night when he came back home from work and discovered a palace guard, with the royal seal and a letter from the elders.
The guard had stayed with him until he arranged to make the journey back home, to people that failed him when he needed them, to people that turned their backs on him instead of listening to him, and now he was about to save them, help them out of the dilemma they were in.
He couldn't help imagining how his homecoming would be. Would they give a party befitting a king, a royal blood or a peasant? Would his siblings accept him with open arms? His two elder brothers already had their share of the throne, but had to step down when things were going bad. At least they knew what was good for them by stepping down quickly before they had a mob on their hands. His other three younger brothers didn't dare attempt taking the throne.
He wasn't surprised when only security escorts were at the airport to receive him.
Immediately when he got to the royal compound, he barely had time to look around before he was dragged off to meet with the elders.
The elders consisted of seven elders elected from the town and royal extended family. The elders could only be replaced upon their death. Their job was to stand as the wise ones; they advised the king on actions to be taken, and they made proposals on how to improve the city. In the case when there was no king on throne, and instructions weren’t made available by the previous kings, then the elders would be in charge. And judging by the little of the city Lucas had seen while being driven to the royal compound, it showed every bit of how the elders had failed too in the last two years of their rule.
The door was opened for him as he stepped into the room.
"The prodigal son returns," said one of the elders,
Lucas looked him over but he looked to be new. “I seem to remember you begging for my presence," he replied, staring deeply at the new elder, not satisfied until he saw the man cringe and shuffle uncomfortably on his seat.
"Lucas lets not begin with that," said Thomas, the eldest among all elders.
"I am here as requested, but I will not stay a second longer if you fail to address me in the proper terms. I am of higher royal blood, am I not?" He asked, pacing round the room with ease and confidence.
"Prince... Prince Lucas, please take a seat," said Thomas after much silence around the room.
Lucas looked around the elders deliberately, subtly passing a message that even though they ran him off and dragged him back, this time he would do things by his terms. They would do things by his terms. Then he proceeded to sit at the head table.
"As you must have seen on your drive up here, the country is in a serious dilemma," said Thomas.
"You father’s bosom friend, whom we all know is a sorcerer. He had a vision-"
Thomas was interrupted by the new elder. "Says he had; for all we know it might be a hoax."
"Let's not start that now, we already agreed," hammered out about three or four of the elders in chorus.
"You agreed and dragged me along. This... this murderer is not fit to be a king," he blasted indignantly.
Lucas let out a loud laugh as he watched the elders get into a heated argument over him. When the argument was almost turning into a fist fight, he stood suddenly with so much force that the chair he sat on fell back with a loud bang. That definitely got the elders’ attention.
"You, what's your name?" he asked, pointing at the new elder.
"Xavier," the new elder answered.
"Xavier, I understand that as an elder you deserve to be accorded some level of respect; however, you will do well to remember that I am a Prince. You will watch your tongue. And the rest of you, our country is in too much trouble for you to be wasting energy nagging like a bunch of sissies. Do you understand me?"
The elders all looked away, eyes cast down in embarrassment.
"Good to know we are in agreement. Now, about this birthmark, what does it have to do with me? Why am I here?"
He watched in amazement as all the elders shared a knowing look between themselves.
"If you truly have the birthmark, then you'll be our new king," said Thomas, with every other elder nodding in agreement.
Without saying a word, Lucas stood up and began to strip off his clothes till he stood nude in front of the elders. He turned his left butt cheek to the elders, and then he lifted his arm up and showed them the second birthmark under his arm around his ribcage.
He heard the elders gasp out loud.
"He could have faked it," whispered Xavier to the others
"Maybe, but we only told him of one birthmark; there is no way he would have known that the sorcerer actually said two," countered one of the elders, shushing Xavier.
"That's it then, we have a new King," exclaimed Thomas. He stood up and bowed towards Lucas.
The other elders stood up and followed suit.
A brief coronation ceremony for the new King Lucas was held by the end of the day.
Just like he expected, his brothers refused to welcome him. But as their new king, they had to respect him.
Alexis May stood, jaw slack as she listened to her brother, Frank, who kept on trying to seek some form of compassion from her.
"Are you crazy?" she yelled at her brother.
"Just stay calm. It’s not as bad as it seems."
"Not as bad as.... Frank, I'm just about to lose my shop and now you are telling me that some loan shark that you borrowed money from thinks of me as some kind of repayment method. And I should stay calm?" She fumed with anger.
"I know it sounds bad," he grumbled, shifting and moving around uncomfortably.
"Frank, are you insane? What do you expect me to do?"
"We'll run. You'll see, everything will work out just fine."
"Why did you make the deal with them? What were you thinking of?" She asked sadly, exhausted from all the emotions shooting through her.
"I thought I’d be able make a quick turnaround with the money," he whispered, staring at his feet.
"When do we leave?"
"We have up to the end of the week. I just need to get some few things ready for us," he said, giving her a reassuring look that he knew was going nowhere with her.
Unable to make any other words come out, she turned and left for her room. The last time her brother had borrowed money from the wrong people, she had to sell the last of their late parents’ valuables in order to settle the debt.
Frank was the only family she has left, no matter what she couldn’t abandon him, or he her. They had lost their parents when they were teenagers and Frank was the eldest at age sixteen, he refused to let them be taken to any foster home. He had pulled every stunt he knew to keep them off the government radar and at the same time, he found a way to put food on their table. It wasn't until when they both turned eighteen individually that their late parents’ attorney released the meager inheritance their parents left for them.
She could understand that every street smart stunt that Frank pulled was because he wanted them to be able to afford to live comfortably. When they had moved to the capital five years ago, she was able to get a small shop to rent cheaply, in which she sold gift items. However, between then and now, her shop had run down. She couldn't afford to pay the bills and all her capital for the business was gone. She had been the one providing food, clothes, rent, all the other bills, keeping her brother out of trouble as much as she can. Not that she was complaining, but it really hurt her to be losing so much at the same time.
***
Alexis stood in the shadows in the garden she had hid in. She didn't dare come out. She couldn’t say for the life of her why she had convinced her brother to let her attend the king’s engagement party. She had always wanted to attend, but all her fantasies of how the party would be like were just fantasies and nothing more.
She stepped deeper into the shadows as she saw a tall, suited man walking towards her direction. He looked like he just walked out of Greek mythology. His body was perfectly carved with muscles, wide shoulders that supported and balanced his height.
She stopped short when her back hit a tree. Perplexed, she knew she had nowhere to turn.
She instantly recognised the man as the king as soon as she could see his facial features more clearly.
"Hello, hope I didn't startle you?" asked Lucas as he came upon a strange, gorgeous woman hidden in the garden
"No sir," she answered.
"What's your name?" he asked, looking closely at the woman.
He realized just how beautiful she was, with delicious curves that were bound to keep his hands very busy, if he laid hands on her. She wasn't rail skinny like 95% of the women he was used to. No.... she was curvy in all the right places, with her height almost reaching his shoulder and her hair tied up in a knot. Her lips beamed at him as she looked up at him.
"Alexis May, your Highness," she said, not knowing how best to greet royalty. She stretched out her hand for a handshake.
He smiled as he took her hand and brought it to his lips. He placed the softest kiss on the back of her hand, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Call me Lucas," he said, refusing to break eye contact with her
"That's not proper," she whispered, still deeply mesmerized by his intense gaze on her.
"Maybe, but call me Lucas as I call you Alexis."
"Okay... Lucas."
His smile widened at the sound of his name on her lips.
"Come, let's find a place to sit," he said, pulling her along with him, his touch and heat doing so much to her.
"Shouldn't you be at your wedding?" she asked, puzzled.
"Engagement party and no," he answered uninterested.
"But it’s your party, you are the groom."
"It's their party and they have no groom." His tone of voice told her to put an end to the topic.
He had been playing the elders’ conversation in his mind on repeat. They had called him barely a week after he took the throne, that the clan causing trouble and threatening to take over the throne had agreed to back off, if the king married their daughter.
He had told them off instantly, refusing to force himself into marriage, especially to a woman he knew without doubt after he met her once, that she wasn’t his mate. However, the elders refused. They insisted his sacrifice would for the best.
He kept on refusing even up to the second he left the hall for the garden. His mind filled with thoughts until he stumbled upon Alexis. And now... He couldn't resist smiling as he looked at her, chewing on her lower lips, discomfort showing on her features.
"Okay," she whispered.
"So why are you hiding out here instead of enjoying the party?"
"I thought it would be different," she stammered.
"Tell me about you, Alexis," he asked.
"There is nothing to tell," she countered immediately, pricking his senses that she had a lot to tell.
"Even so, nobody refuses their king in saying even the tiny part that there is," he said, amazed at her brazen look.
Her body yearned for him in ways she could scarcely understand. "Maybe you could tell me about yourself," she said meekly, her cheeks flaming red with her thoughts.
He smiled, picked up her hands and once again, he lowered his mouth to her skin. The heat of his tongue in the palm of her hand was astonishing, and incredibly intimate. He ravished her now, lacing his fingers through hers and spreading her hand wide, slipping his tongue in and out between her parted fingers.
The tips of her breasts tightened, and sensations she could not name swirled through her - heat and a curious discomfort. Despite her efforts at control, she knew he heard her breathing grow unsteady. She felt as though her entire being was there, throbbing in the center of her palm.
The skin of her neck looked smooth as satin. He could hardly wait to taste it.
He bent his head, inhaling the scent of orange-flower water drifting up from her hair. Slowly, so that she could feel the heat of his breath, he dropped his lips to hover at hers.
Her rational mind stopped working and the purely sensual, purely feminine part of her brain took over.
His gentleness was unexpected, as was the slow, soft way he touched her mouth. But this was a man who was taking nothing. Instead, he was giving, teasing, enticing. He was drawing her out, awakening her senses, and creating a need in her that she had never known she possessed.
"Alexis."
Her name was just a murmur against her mouth, with his accent thickening and his distinctive pronunciation that turned it into a drawn-out sound as his lips covered hers.
His caress was slow and seductive, his mouth smoothing over hers, his tongue sliding over her lips, teasing its way into the cleft between them, enticing her to open to him. He tasted of the coffee he had drunk and the deeply personal flavour of his own skin that held an essence she couldn’t get enough of. One taste and she was addicted.
She felt herself respond in a deeply physical way. She responded to his kiss as a woman, a fully grown, sexually mature adult woman. It was the only thing she could do because of the way that his mature male sexuality called to her.
Her heart was thudding heavily, the sound of her pulse throbbing inside her head like thunder in her ears and deep inside her something was flowering, something she had never known before. It was hot and it was hungry and it was so powerfully needy that there was no way she could hold it back.
Long moments later, he broke the kiss. She blinked up at him, trying to catch her breath.
Before he could get hold of her she turned and fled from the garden. He tried to catch up with her while avoiding been seen by anyone.
He stopped short when he saw her drag a man, probably a few years older than her, along with her.
From the dark shadows of the garden he could see her hurried departure with the man beside her.
Jealousy shot through him at the thought of another man with Alexis. He couldn't bear the thought of another man laying his hands on his woman. The thought of Alexis being his woman made his heart swell. He couldn't wait to truly make her his woman.
With anxiety, he retreated back to the deepest, darkest part of the garden. Carefully removing his clothes and hiding them, he transformed into a dragon and flew away, following the direction his instincts led him to as he followed her scent.
He watched and followed the car the man with Alexis drove, with her in the passenger seat, till they reached outside the state.