To Wed A Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Weredragon Warriors Book 2) (11 page)

“Do you...know where
they came from? Do you know what they are?” Nora asked slowly.

“They're aliens,”
Officer Smith smirked. “All of them. Aliens killing aliens.
Protecting aliens isn't part of my job description.”

Nora shook her head. “They
paid you, to look the other way. You knew they were going to kill
that old woman.”

“They had her!”
he screamed. “And you ruined everything! You ruined me!”

“They're killing the
innocent...”

“That's none of my damn
business!” he screeched, pointing to his eye. “Look what
they did to me! It's not my fault the old woman got away. It's
yours! Yours! Have you ever felt venom dripping into your eye, Miss
Garcia? I can assure you that the pain is like nothing you've ever
felt before.”

Officer Smith pulled out his
gun. “I'm sorry I have to shoot you, Miss Garcia. You have
your hand in your bag, and you threatened a police officer. When I
asked you to put your hands where I can see them, you sprayed
something in my eye, damaging it. See how red it is.” A thin
smile spread across his face. “I have cause to shoot.”

Nora dropped the pepper
spray and put both hands up. “Don't shoot, please...”

“I have to. If I
don't, I lose my other eye. That's the deal.”

“Don't do this, Smith.
You...”

“This is the last thing
I have to do for them. Then they'll let me go. I'll disappear, but
I'll be alive.”

“No you won't,”
Nora said sadly.

Smith squeezed the trigger.
Nora ducked as the gun went off.

Smith tried to shoot again,
but a rotund figure came flying out from a side alley and tackled
Smith to the ground. “Leave her alone, you crooked cop!”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE

Edriq jumped out of Zul's car
even before Zul could pull his car to a stop beside the curb. He'd
been about to leave the office when he received a call from Julia.
Julia had called the FabFit main line and requested to be put through
to him.

As soon as Edriq put the
phone to his ear, Julia screamed three words, “Nora! Marshall
Street...”

In a heartbeat, Edriq was out
of his chair. He wrenched the door of his office open and collided
into Zul.

“Woah, what's the rush?
I was just at the outlet near the corner. Thought I'd come give you
a ride home...hey! Where are you going?” Zul thundered after
him.

When Zul caught up with Edriq
and saw the look on his face, he knew. “I'll get you to her.
Come on, you're in no state to drive. Or fly.”

Zul knew all the shortcuts
and in a minute, he had pulled up in front of Marshall Street on
squealing tires.

Edriq and Zul raced into the
quiet street. The shops and offices were all closed for the day and
there weren't any residential apartments around. After dark,
Marshall Street was more or less a ghost street.

Edriq saw a policeman
pointing his gun at Nora. As he ran harder, a large roundish shape
came charging out of an alley. With a bellow, Mario landed on top of
the police officer. “Leave her alone, you crooked cop!”

Zul cheered and whistled.
“All right! A citizen's arrest! Yeah, take down that crooked
cop!”

“Mario! Nora!”
Edriq yelled.

“You know that guy?”
Zul asked.

“He works with Nora,”
Edriq snapped.

“Go, Mario!” Zul
hollered and pumped his fists in the air. “Yes! Sock him
again! Super Mario wins!” To Edriq, he said, “It looks
like we're not needed here.”

Edriq went to Nora and pulled
her quickly away from the fight. She looked more angry than
frightened.

“I'm going to help
Mario,” Edriq said, but Zul stopped him.

“Don't get your
knickers in a twist.” This was Zul's favorite phrase of the
month. “Stay with Nora. Mario's doing a great job, all by
himself.”

Edriq saw that Zul was right.
Mario was a force to be reckoned with. He had kicked the gun free
from the officer's hand and was sitting on the whimpering, sniveling
cop. Mario was a big, heavyset man. The crooked, spineless cop was
no match for Mario. Smoke seemed to be billowing from Mario's
nostrils.

Sweat poured down Mario's
face as he hammered the cop with his large, meaty fists.

“You murderer!”
Mario yelled. “Taking gold from the Slayors. Yeah, I heard
you! I heard you loud and clear, you scum!”

Zul finally strolled over to
Mario and put a hand on Mario's shoulder. “All right, big
guy,” he said gently.

Mario looked up, dazed. As
Zul helped him up, Mario mopped the sweat from his brow and blinked
at Nora. “You okay?” he panted.

Nora nodded and went to take
his arm. “I'm fine, thanks to you.”

Edriq shook Mario's hand
firmly. “Thank you. You saved my mate.”

“You saved Julia,”
Mario answered, still trying to catch his breath. “Thank you.”

Mario staggered back and very
nearly sat on the ground when Zul clapped him on the shoulder.
“You're one hell of a fighter, man!”

“Oh, you think so?”
Mario blushed and chewed his lip. “You know, I've been
thinking. And I...I was going to ask you...”

“Ask away, my good
man,” Zul said with a flourish.

“I want to help,”
Mario said earnestly. “My mom is a Dracan. And these Slayors,
they don't just kill Dracans. They hurt humans too. I don't want to
stand by and do nothing.” Sucking in a breath, he went on, “I
don't have a dragon in me, I'm just me but I want to do my part. I
want to fight, like you. I want to do my bit...”

“You are already doing
your bit, and it's a big, important bit,” Edriq said, putting
his hand on Mario's shoulder. “You're a paramedic. You save
lives, you help people, every single day. You are already part of
the fight. Some of the lives you save are Dracan lives.
Half-Dracans, human friends and families of Dracans, you've helped
them without realizing it.”

Mario nodded and smiled.
“Yeah.”

Zul was standing over the cop
who was moaning pitifully on the ground. Spinning a knife through
his fingers, Zul whistled. “Shall I...”

“No,” Edriq and
Nora said together.

Zul raised a brow at Edriq.

Edriq looked at the weak,
feeble human who was trying to crawl away. There were others like
him, Edriq realized. The Slayors had apparently realized the same
thing, and wasted no time in recruiting these humans to their cause.

There were humans who were
willing to betray their friends and families, turn their backs on
their duties and responsibilities, for gold. The planet Korra had
gold in abundance. The rocks and mountains were made of gold.

The humans took gold from the
Slayors, but none lived to enjoy it.

“Let him go,”
Edriq said, turning away with Nora. “The Slayors will find
him.”

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Nora smiled shyly over her
shoulder at her two bridesmaids. Amelia and Tessa grinned back and
gave her the thumbs-up. They arranged her long, lacy train and
Amelia whispered to her, “You look beautiful, Nora!”

“Yeah, you're so
pretty, Aunt Nora,” Tessa gushed. “Uncle Edriq can't
take his eyes off you!”

Nora took a deep breath and
looked ahead at Edriq, who was standing under the arc of flowers with
his groomsmen. Rohan was holding the rings for Edriq, and Zul was
busy winking at the ladies in the front row. They were having their
wedding on the sprawling mansion grounds, and a grand, red carpet had
been laid across the lawn.

The guests included Nora's
colleagues and some of Edriq's staff. Mario and Julia were also here
with their families and friends. It was a big gathering of Dracans,
half-Dracans and humans, and no one was really sure who was what.
Not that it mattered. Not one bit.

Nora saw Rohan nudge Zul when
the latter kept fidgeting and tugging at his bow tie. Rohan, the
king of the Dracans, was one of the groomsmen at their wedding. And
the Queen and the Princess were her bridesmaids.

She still couldn't believe
it. Could any wedding be grander than this?

Their guests included
half-Dracans and humans. There were some humans who knew about them.
Some accepted them and looked out for them. And some, like Officer
Smith, looked out for himself. There were all kinds of people.

Nora walked up to Edriq amid
thunderous applause and looked up into his lilac eyes. Handing her
bouquet over to Tessa, who was hopping excitedly from foot to foot,
she slipped her hands into Edriq's and nodded.

Together, they recited their
vows. In the Dracan language.

Everyone hooted and clapped
when Edriq took her into his arms and kissed her. Some of Edriq's
human employees thought that Dracan was some sort of New Age
religion. They didn't understand a single word, but they nodded and
cheered enthusiastically along with everyone else. Different strokes
for different folks, they figured. The blond, buff receptionist was
here and Nora heard him conversing with Mrs Vomae in fluent Dracan.
Most of Edriq's oldest employees were present as well. They had been
with the company for a long time and they were used to the diverse,
open and fair culture of the company. In fact, that was one of the
reasons they'd remained with the company almost all their lives. No
one was discriminated against, and it didn't matter where you came
from.

Nora linked her arm through
Edriq's, their wedding rings gleaming proudly on their fingers.
Turning to face their guests, Edriq cleared his throat and announced,
“Thank you for coming to our wedding. And now, it is my great
honor to welcome you to the wedding of Mario and Julia!”

Mario stood up and
straightened his jacket. Grinning and waving, he hurried to the
front, almost tripping over Nora's bridal train.

After giving Mario a quick,
one-armed hug, Edriq stood to the side and allowed Mario to take his
place as the groom.

She was still Edriq's bride
but even in her white, puffy bridal dress, Nora had another job to
do. It was a very important job indeed.

Excitedly, Nora scooted to
Mario's side and checked her pockets. She bet she was the only bride
with pockets specially sewn into her billowing skirts.

“Ready?” she
whispered to Mario.

He nodded wordlessly, his
eyes glowing with happiness.

Everyone got to their feet
and clapped wildly when Julia appeared from the house with her two
beaming sisters.

Mario gasped at the sight of
his beautiful bride. Julia walked towards him with her sisters
behind her. Her two younger sisters were her bridesmaids, and Nora
was Mario's groomswoman.

Nora pulled the rings out of
her pockets and held them out proudly.

Double weddings were the
best! There was double the joy and double the fun.

She couldn't wait for the
party to start!

* * * * *

End

About the Author

Natalie Kristen is a writer
who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark,
the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring
paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances.
She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and
writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to
follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest
news and updates.

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/NatalieKristenBooks

Blog:

nataliekristen.blogspot.com

Twitter:

@NatKristenBooks