Her Dragon Protector Read online

  Living at home and so close to his nephew also meant Jury got to be a kid for a while longer, which was nice. He enjoyed goofing off with Maddox, but that didn’t mean I missed the time he spent studying and working on his classes.

  He was a damn good kid.

  I dug into the chicken and potatoes mom sent, piling the mixed roasted veggies high on my plate. Maddox and Jury sat at Maverick’s desk and spun the chairs around. “Are you two really going to sit around and pester me until I’m done eating?” I took a big bite of chicken. “Mmm, this is good. Feel free to dig in.”

  As usual, Mom had sent enough for an army when it was only me here tonight. I’d make a plate for Carlos and put it in the microwave and still, there’d be leftovers to send back to the house.

  “We ate at home,” Jury said. “It’s Friday night and Black Claw has nothing going on, so here we are.” They looked bored to tears. I snickered and remembered how frustrating it was to be their age and bored. They probably wanted to run far away to find some fun.

  As I ate, as usual, my mind drifted back to Charlotte. It had been almost a week since she’d driven into my life. I’d managed to stay away the entire time, but my patience was wearing thin. I needed to see her, just lay eyes on her.

  “What are the odds that my Uncle Axel would end up with my Aunt Char?” Maddox mused as he spun in his chair. “That’s pretty cool, both parts of my life colliding like that.” He’d been raised with a stepfather in New Mexico. When Ava was barely pregnant, Maverick had been close to his first shift. An Alpha’s first shift was volatile, and Maverick’s was no exception. He’d lost his temper and beat a young, cocky dragon in our town nearly to death. We’d gotten out of town after that, disappearing without a trace. We were with my grandfather’s clan, using my mother’s maiden name, but Ava didn’t know that. She’d raised Maddox all on her own until she met his dirtbag stepfather.

  Now they were back and back together. It had all worked out in the end. And with Ava came Charlotte, my fated mate. If we hadn’t moved away, Ava never would’ve moved back to New Mexico with her son, never would’ve met Charlotte, and I never would’ve met my mate. Amazing the paths life took.

  “Well, it’s true. There’s no way I can deny it now after you all saw the way I reacted to meeting her the first time.” I really wished I’d handled it better and kept cool. She deserved to be the third one to know that we were mates, the first two being me and Asher. But now my entire clan knew, and they all waited with bated breath to see how our story would unfold.

  Great. Nothing like an audience. Especially a gossiping, interfering audience like a big pack of dragons.

  “Jury and I have decided to be bachelors forever,” Maddox said with a puffed-out chest. “Mates are too complicated and bring too many problems.”

  I snorted into my potatoes. “Okay.” Whatever they wanted to believe.

  Dragons didn’t always have fated mates, but we were social creatures. We wanted to settle, find a home. That’s why rogue or nomad clans were so rare. One dragon might have a stint in life of going rogue or going nomad, but they didn’t do it very long.

  We needed roots, family. A clan. And that usually meant a mate. It was something we couldn’t fight, a part of our dragon sides that pushed us, motivated us.

  Going so long without meeting anyone, after leaving Arizona and who I’d thought would be my mate, Jenna, had left me feeling bereft. Like I’d never find someone to spend my life with. It was a terrible feeling.

  Jenna and I had tried the long-distance thing for a while, but it never worked. We ended up arguing, missing calls, and generally feeling miserable. Finally, we’d agreed a clean break was necessary.

  Now I knew why. I was meant to be with Charlotte. Some higher power that I didn’t understand had put our paths together and we’d live our best lives in each other’s company.

  Fated mates could resist the pull, but I’d never heard of any that wanted to. Finding a perfect mate was a dream come true for most. Those who resisted were reported to never find true peace, never have true contentment.

  Maddox fixed me with a stare and arched an eyebrow. “I heard Mom and Aunt Char talking. Char is having a rough time. She’s been having nightmares about that asshole that beat her. Mom told her she thinks she has PTSD, but Char wouldn’t listen.”

  He and Jury went on to talk about PTSD, but my mind was glued to Charlotte. She was in pain. What if knowing I would do anything to protect her would help her feel safe again? I should’ve told her more clearly than just offering assistance that night in her room. I would’ve done anything to protect her. Down to laying down my life. Even though we’d just met, it was instinctual. I had to protect my mate.

  There was nothing that said I couldn’t be her friend, though. She was going through some serious trauma, and though being there for her as her mate wasn’t possible, I could be the guy next door. Get to know her a little in a platonic way. At least then I could check on her.

  I had to do something, anything without making it worse for her.

  On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store, making it just before they closed at eight. I’d had to hightail it out of the station five minutes early to get there, but I made it. “I just need two things, I’ll be fast,” I told the cashier, who looked very irritated that I was coming in under the wire.

  The ice cream was in the back of the store, but I jogged, grabbed three flavors, then swung through the produce department to grab a bouquet of flowers—not much of a selection in such a tiny grocery store, but it would do. They were bright and colorful and still perky, so I was happy with them. It wasn’t the right time for roses, anyway. Not yet.

  The cashier rang it up quickly, and I set out for Ava’s place before the ice cream melted.

  Hailey answered the door. “Mom! It’s Uncle Axel!” She gave me a quick hug, then took off deeper into the house, unconcerned with my visit.

  Ava walked out of the living room with Maverick on her heels. “Hey, Axel, how are you? What are you doing here?”

  I shrugged. “Fine. Here.” After shoving the bag of ice cream and the flowers into her arms, I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “There’s enough ice cream for everyone, but I didn’t know what flavor she liked, so I got three different kinds. You don’t have to tell her who brought the stuff, just that someone was thinking about her.” I knew I was rambling, but it kept me from running up the stairs to find Charlotte.

  Ava handed the stuff over to Maverick and threw her arms around me. I patted her on the back while Maverick watched bemusedly. She clung to my neck. I was pretty sure she was trying to comfort me. The only thing that would comfort me was the sight of Charlotte, but I wouldn’t even ask.

  “I know this is hard on you,” Ava whispered in my ear. “I know what it was like for Maverick before he could tell me the truth and Charlotte is in a much worse place than I was.” She finally let go of me.

  I rubbed the back of my neck. She’d hugged me hard. “I just hope they lift her spirits for a few minutes.”

  “I appreciate you not trying to bulldoze your way in.” Ava shot Maverick a consternated look. He probably deserved it. He was a bulldoze through life kind of guy.

  I was more of a strategically plan for my next move sort. “She’ll have all the time she needs. I’ll be here waiting for her when she’s ready.” Waiting and agonizing the whole time, but shit, I’d be there.

  After giving them both a nod of my head as a goodbye, I headed to the car and up to the manor. Mom tried to feed me again, and I wasn’t able to escape until I tried some of her blackberry cobbler. It filled me up, so I headed off to bed figuring I’d fall asleep fast with a full stomach after a long day of being bored at work.

  No such luck. I tossed and turned, the same way I had all week, thinking about Charlotte. What she was like, what she enjoyed doing, what she hated. What foods did she like? Did she want kids? Did she like cats or dogs more?

  I couldn’t wait to learn more about her and get to k
now her. That would be when I could get some peace and sleep.

  Sighing, I rolled over and prepared to spend another long night alone in my bed.

  Again.

  4

  Charlotte

  “It’s been a week.” Ava set a plate of pancakes down in front of me. I wasn’t sure where the kids were, but it was nearly noon. I’d been sleeping pretty late.

  Thankfully, Ava hadn’t given me a lot of grief about it. She’d been the perfect friend the entire week, giving me all the space I needed. “I know.” I dug into my pancakes, ravenous.

  If I’d learned nothing else this week, it was that I definitely eat my feelings. Why couldn’t I have been one of those women that can’t eat a bite when stressed?

  “Where is your head at?” She sat beside me and sipped a cup of tea.

  With a sigh, I contemplated her question. “It’s not great, Ava.” I’d been thinking about talking to her, anyway. She’d given me a solid week before trying to make me talk. It seemed fair to me. “I’m having nightmares. Vivid, anxiety-inducing… They’re so real.”

  “About the beating?” Her voice lowered with concern.

  “Yeah. It’s not always the same. But I’m always in pain and terrified.” Shoveling more food into my mouth, I washed it down with the coffee Ava had prepared with the perfect amount of cream and sugar. “And then I can’t get back to sleep for a long while after. I’m not actually sleeping around the clock, but it seems like it, I guess.”

  “Have the nightmares gotten any better?” Ava put her hand on my arm. “Maybe you should talk to someone.”

  “I thought about that.” Sipping the coffee with my best friend’s comforting hand on my arm was the safest and most comfortable I’d felt for the entire week. “I’m not against it.” I didn’t tell her how weak it made me feel to contemplate the need for therapy. I should’ve been able to move past this on my own.

  It wasn’t like I’d lived with the man for years. We weren’t even totally in love. The cohabitation had worked for us. We were in hardcore lust, sure. I cared about him, yeah. But head over heels deeply in love? Nah.

  I had hoped he was the one, though. But I’d learned by then not to hold my damn breath. I knew time would tell, and right up until that moment, I’d been happy with what time was telling me.

  Then, he came home drunk and was a completely different person. A dark, jealous, abusive person.

  If he was willing to hurt me that bad after six months, what would he have done at a year, or five years, or a decade? By then, I might’ve been dead.

  No, thanks. Not this bitch.

  What I’d attributed to passion had been rage simmering under his surface. I’d called his sadism stubbornness and opinionated.

  I was a blind fool. A weak, blind fool.

  “Has he called?” I had zero desire to speak to him, but I was curious if he’d even tried to find me.

  “I don’t know. I turned your phone off once you called work.”

  I’d hated telling them I wouldn’t be back, but it was for the best.

  After a few days of nightmares and feeling so low, I’d considered up and leaving. I had a little bit saved up—thank goodness we hadn’t combined our money—and I could afford to start over somewhere new. It would wipe me out, but it was doable.

  But leaving Ava felt like a blow that would put me over the edge. My friend was all I had left. My shitty family certainly didn’t care where I was or what I did.

  “Start by looking it up. You can use my office. Look up testimonies of other women who have been through it. Maybe you can find an online support group.” Ava stood and took my empty plate. “And build up to a therapist if you’re on the fence about it.” I listened to the sounds of her washing the dishes in the sink.

  She had a dishwasher, but it was already running. I should’ve stood and done them myself, but I’d learned early on she’d have no part of that.

  “Today, we’re getting out of the house.” She shut the water off with a snap.

  I turned in my chair to watch her dry her hands. “I’m still bruised.”

  The black eye had faded to a green and yellow hue, but that would stick around for a couple of weeks. Ava touched my chin, lifting my gaze upward and studying my eye in the light. “Concealer will cover it. Besides, we’re only going up to the manor.”

  My eyes widened, and my nerves jingled. “The manor?”

  That was Maverick’s parents’ house. And his brothers’.

  “Yep. Carla is doing a big barbecue. The party got cut short the other night. Most of the clan is gone, but she wanted to celebrate Maddox a bit more.”

  My heart pounded. I was the reason the celebration was canceled. I’d rolled up and passed out in the middle of them celebrating Maddox. “What were you celebrating anyway?”

  Ava hummed and turned to hang the towel up. “Oh, just Maddox graduating soon. An early party.”

  It was a damn early party. He still had several months till graduation. “I’m sorry. The party was cut short because of me.”

  She waved me off, swatting me with the towel she’d almost hung up. It hit my butt like a feather. “Make up for it by coming today.”

  I couldn’t refuse her, no matter what I wanted to do. Hiding in my room sounded much better, maybe binge-watching something online. But Ava had dropped everything to help me. I’d go to the barbecue.

  “Well, let me go see if I can cover this shiner. If I can, I’m in.”

  My ribs and torso were still sore, but the doc said nothing was broken, so it sure could’ve been much worse. We’d just gotten through Christmas, which Logan and I had spent together, ignoring both of our families. I wouldn’t have gone to mine no matter what, and Logan had said his family was too much drama for a new relationship.

  I’d understood, but now I wondered if he hadn’t been protecting me from them. Maybe he was hiding me, afraid they’d let something about him slip.

  As I applied several layers of makeup, I pondered it. I’d never met a single member of his family, not even over the phone. I’d seen plenty of pictures and met some of his friends, but for the most part, it had just been me and Logan.

  Should’ve freaking seen it. Damn it.

  I sighed and twisted my body on the little vanity chair in my room as I worked on my face. The ache had lessened over the last couple of days especially. I took anti-inflammatory medicine around the clock as well. That had a lot to do with it. Normally, I stayed away from any medicine. Then if I truly needed it, like now, it worked well.

  The makeup looked okay. Out in the bright sun, it would look a little heavy, but this time of year, surely we’d be inside.

  My hair was easy, thankfully. My mother hadn’t given me much good in life, but she’d given me her hair. Thick, blonde, with just enough waves to curl if I wanted and straighten if I wanted. If I left it alone, it was what the online bloggers called beachy waves.

  I had a tendency to gain weight and my pores were way too big, but at least I had good hair. Shaking it out, I gave it a spritz and sighed at my reflection. Too pale, too wan. I felt like a country mouse, and that wasn’t me at all.

  Coming back to myself after such a traumatic event was damn hard. But I’d get there. I was determined.

  I picked out a cute sweater and jeans. One of the few things I’d done over the past week was unpack. Ava had made it clear that I was welcome here for as long as I needed it. She’d told me she expected me to be here months, maybe longer.

  One day, I’d repay her kindness, somehow.

  But for now, baby steps. I smoothed the soft sweater over my stomach and ignored the tender spots. The jeans were more like jeggings, so they didn’t push against my stomach but still looked cute tucked into my boots, which were also comfortable.

  When I got downstairs, Ava was ready to go as well.

  “Where’s Maverick?” I asked.

  “He took a morning shift. Their deputy, Carlos, is taking the afternoon so everyone can be at the celebratio
n. They’ve got a probie, too, but they only leave him alone at night when the town is all asleep. Around here, that’s the least eventful time, thank goodness.”

  Nothing like the city. The cops all hated the night shift in the city. It was the craziest time with the most complications.

  “I guess I’m ready.”

  Ava took my hands and studied my face. “You look great. Did you contour?” She squinted. “I can’t contour.”

  Laughing, I squeezed her hands. “I’ll show you. If you can get it right, it’s gorgeous, but so many people do it wrong and look like zebras.”

  We walked to her SUV hand-in-hand. “We’ll walk another time. It’s cold and you’re still sore.”

  We laughed about makeup all the way up the long driveway to the manor. It came into sight with a snow-covered roof. The home was enormous, with multiple stories. High-set windows indicated it even had a big attic.

  “I wonder if it has secret passages,” I whispered as we parked. Peering straight up, I couldn’t see the top of the house from the inside of the car. She’d parked too close to the front door.

  Following her lead, I got out and looked at the piles of snow to the side of the driveway where they’d shoveled it away. Ava went to the back of the car and opened the trunk to reveal all kinds of goodies. “I didn’t know this was in here.” I laughed as I took in all the food.

  Two cardboard boxes loaded with plastic containers filled up the back of the SUV. She grabbed one.

  I leaned in to get the other, but she slapped my hand. I jerked it back and raised my eyebrow at her, relieved that her action hadn’t caused me to flinch. That had to be a good thing.

  “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to smack at you.” She set the box back down and hauled me into a hug as the front door opened. “I didn’t want you to pick it up and aggravate your injuries.”