Dragon's Hoard Read online

  Dragon’s Hoard

  By M.A. Church

  To be loved by a dragon is to be treasured.

  A hundred years ago, werewolf Alpha Montgomery took a risk driven by desperation—he borrowed money from the ancient dragon Warwick Ehecatl, putting up the pack lands as collateral. Now the debt is due, and dragons don’t forget—or forgive. Warwick demands Montgomery’s son, Avery, and three businesses as compensation. As an Omega, Avery knows he is basically useless to his pack, so he might as well agree. He soon has second thoughts, though. Warwick is fearsome, and he’s free to do as he likes with Avery.

  Warwick knows his race’s reputation, and he even admits some of it is deserved. But he’d rather cut off his tail than let his innocent mate’s light go out. It won’t be easy, but buried deep, there’s something between them worth safeguarding.

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Sneak Peek

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

  Coming in November 2017

  Don’t Miss Dreamspun Beyond!

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Somewhere in the house, the grandfather clock chimed out the hour. Before it finished striking three o’clock, Avery snapped his head up. There was that damn scent again—that same dark and delicious fragrance he’d noticed the night before. Now that he was a little more clearheaded, he was finally able to pin down what it smelled like—chocolate. It reminded him of the decadent chocolates his mother bought from overseas.

  His mouth watered from the yummy, hot, chocolate aroma. He loved the treat, loved the rich creaminess and the smooth, silken texture as it melted on his tongue. But it didn’t usually make his cock hard, and the damn thing was standing up at attention.

  His heart gave a hard thump, then a flutter. Its pace picked up, the nearer the smell came. Trying to ignore the frantic beating in his chest, he focused on the steady tread of footsteps coming closer.

  Did his father not notice it? Or was it just him? Fuck, is this what mated couples talk about when they refer to a compelling scent? Any questions he might have had last night about what that scent was to him were now answered. He didn’t know whether to howl happily or run from the room.

  The damn dragon was his mate, no question about it—not if everything he’d always heard was correct. Slowly he turned in his seat to stare at the door. The fluttering in his chest increased at his mate’s authoritative knock.

  Alpha Montgomery looked up. He sniffed, then wiped all emotions off his face. “Come in.”

  The door handle turned inch by agonizing inch. Avery’s breath tangled in his chest. Oh gods, open the damn door already! That fluttering in his chest turned into a relentless beat. He clenched the chair arms as he watched, breathless, as the knob turned.

  Prologue

  THE subtle lighting in the office in his house cast long shadows that danced across the room. Burning wood popped and hissed in the fireplace, the scent bringing back memories from yesteryear. Restless, Warwick shoved back from his monstrosity of a desk.

  The warmth of the fire beckoned, and seeing no reason to deny himself, he strode across the floor. As he drew nearer, the heat wrapped around his body, and he sighed. Bending, he held his hands out toward the crackling fire. Once his fingers warmed, he straightened and turned.

  With his back to the fire, he carelessly brushed a long strand of hair behind his ear. He’d opened the blinds when he’d entered his office in a hopeless bid for daylight, not that it did much good. Good thing his eyesight was better than a human’s.

  The day was dreary, rainy, and overcast. He hated this time of the year. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, the endless chill seeped in. He much preferred heat and humidity, sunny skies and warmth. His kind detested the cold.

  Still staring out of the ground floor window, he took notice of the foot traffic on the street, darting here and there like worker bees. Paranormals mixed with humans—there was no hiding now. As with anything else, there were those who thought the species should be separated and those who didn’t. Werewolves had made their presence known sometime in the 1700s. Other paranormal beings had come out not long after.

  Once the panic had died down, humans responded fairly well. For the most part, anyhow. There were still squabbles, of course. Humans didn’t seem to know how to do anything else. Fortunately they tended to leave paranormals alone. More often than not, they were too busy fighting among themselves.

  What the humans were calling the Great War was in full swing. Warwick brushed a microscopic piece of fuzz from his shirt, shaking his head. Humans and their wars. Would they never learn? But there was no denying it afforded him the opportunity to invest in their conflicts, and dragons never passed up an opportunity to add to their hoard.

  A soft knock at his office door drew his attention. He inhaled, and the scent of hair cream, freshly pressed clothes, and human teased his senses.

  “Enter,” Warwick called.

  Clarence Wiltshire, his clerk, opened the office door. He started toward the desk but paused when he saw no one sat behind it. Confident of where he would find his boss, he glanced at the fireplace. “Sir, there’s an Alpha Theodore Montgomery of the Sunset Creek Pack here to see you.”

  Warwick pursed his lips. “Interesting.”

  “I’ll say, sir.” Clarence bobbed his head. “It must be catastrophic to send an Alpha werewolf to your doorstep.”

  “Only one way to find out.” As much as he hated leaving the roaring fire, Warwick crossed the floor, his footsteps muffled by the oriental rugs, and returned to his desk. “Give it twenty minutes, then escort him back. Also make sure to offer him a beverage while he waits.”

  “He’s not going to like having to wait, sir.”

  “I’m well aware.” Warwick picked up his absurdly expensive tailored suit coat and slipped it on. “That’s the point.”

  “Yes, sir.” Clarence smirked, then wiped any emotions off his face, going back to the usual pleasant blankness he showed prospective clients. “Twenty minutes.”

  “Thank you.” Warwick settled into his comfortable desk chair. This was no casual meeting. He intended to throw the Alpha off-balance by having him wait, but the ploy would also show exactly who held the power in the room.

  Twenty minutes later to the second, his efficient assistant escorted Alpha Montgomery inside. Warwick stood and acknowledged the Alpha with a slight bob of his head. There was no need for him to bare his throat since he wasn’t another werewolf, not that he would anyhow. Dragons were at the top of the shifter food chain. Nor did he offer his hand. Werewolves tended to be snarly about who touched them without permission, the silly creatures.

  Alpha Montgomery acknowledged the greeting and returned it, although his head bob was much more grandiose.

  “Alpha Theodore Montgomery of the Sunset Creek Pack, I bid you welcome. Please, join me.”

  “Thank you.” Alpha Montgomery crossed the room, his gait hurried. “I appreciate you seeing me without the courtesy of having an appointment.”

  “Yes, well, circumstances are usually dire when people come to me, and often they don’t have time to make one. Have a seat.” Warwick gestured at the plush wine-colored
leather chairs in front of his desk. He made a point of standing. Warwick would not sit first. Having another paranormal look up to him was another way to reinforce who was more commanding.

  Alpha Montgomery gritted his teeth. Ah yes, there was nothing better than power games first thing in the morning.

  As the struggle for control continued, Warwick took note of his visitor. Like most werewolves, the Alpha was a large male with muscles. Unless the wolf was an Omega, they were also hairy, above average in height, and had dark hair and eyes.

  Warwick ensured his features remained blank, even as he smirked inside. Compared with a werewolf, he was not only shorter, but less muscled. While the werewolf was bulky, Warwick was lean and mean. The only thing he and the Alpha had in common was the dark hair Warwick also wore long.

  “Thank you.” Alpha Montgomery lowered himself into one of the seats.

  “Now, please, tell me how I may be of service.” Satisfied his point had been made, Warwick sat behind his desk. Just because the atmosphere was tense didn’t mean manners had to be left outside the door.

  “I need a loan.”

  “Most people do when they come to me.” Precise and to the point. He liked that. Warwick opened a desk drawer and withdrew several forms. “How much?”

  Alpha Montgomery quoted a sum, and Warwick lifted a shapely eyebrow. Surprising a dragon wasn’t easy.

  “I see.” He pushed the sheets of paper across the desk. “The forms are standard. Fill them out so I have an idea of what you plan to put up as collateral for such a massive loan.”

  “Collateral.” Alpha Montgomery tugged at his collar in what Warwick assumed was an effort to loosen the suffocating restriction from his tie. “I, ah, was hoping not to put anything up.”

  Warwick swallowed the laugh bubbling up. “And I was hoping to spend this winter on a warm, sunny beach—neither of which is going to happen, unfortunately. If you want the loan, you put up collateral. That’s the only way I do business.”

  Alpha Montgomery scowled. “Do you know who I am? The connections I have? The fact that my pack is one of the largest around, that should be sufficient.”

  “It isn’t.” Warwick coolly gazed across the desk. “Alpha, you need the money. I have it to give. Paranormals only come to me as a last resort, so I’m sure you’ve tried to obtain the currency elsewhere. Am I right?”

  Alpha Montgomery didn’t speak, but his scowl said enough. So did the sudden spike in tension. The acidic scent of bone-deep worry filled Warwick’s nostrils. He struggled to suppress the sneeze that threatened.

  “I thought so. If I loan you the money, you will put up collateral,” Warwick continued. Arrogant werewolf. Did the Alpha really think Warwick would loan him the sum he quoted with nothing more than his signature? “And from the amount you requested, I’m going to demand every property you own.”

  “You can’t do that!” Alpha Montgomery’s claws peeked out as he gripped the chair arms. “If I default—”

  “I’ll take everything you own, kick your pack off your land, and sell it to recoup my losses.” Warwick shrugged. “That’s the price of doing business, my dear Alpha. Take the money or not. It matters not to me.”

  Alpha Montgomery growled softly. “You really are a cold-blooded bastard, aren’t you?”

  Warwick faced the Alpha. His eyes shifted into a brilliant purple, the color of his dragon, with a slitted black pupil. Scrollwork, only slightly lighter than the purple of his eyes, appeared upon his eyelids and right below his eyes. His fangs, which appeared normal in human form, lengthened. His fingernails grew to deadly sharp claws as he partially shifted. “Indeed I am.” Menace, deep and thick, vibrated in his voice. “Something you may wish to keep in mind, considering I can snap your neck with little to no thought.” Warwick unleashed his power, which seeped through the room, blanketing everything. A smothered gasp came from the outer office where Clarence’s desk was located. It wasn’t the first time his assistant experienced such, and no doubt would not be the last.

  Alpha Montgomery straightened in his chair and snarled as his own power rose to meet Warwick’s. Sweat beaded and rolled down the Alpha’s face. The flames in the lanterns flickered, and the air shimmered. But as quickly as Alpha Montgomery’s power rose, it dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. The Alpha collapsed back in the chair, pale and shivering.

  “By all the wolf gods,” Alpha Montgomery whispered, horror finely etched upon his features.

  Warwick, still composed as ever, finally allowed the smirk that had been lurking to cross his face. “That was unwise, Alpha. You may be powerful, but you’re nothing compared to me. I was centuries old before you were ever born. Test me again and the next time, you won’t walk out of here on your own two feet.”

  Alpha Montgomery gulped.

  “Now, are you filling out those papers or are you leaving my office empty-handed?”

  “F-filling out the papers.” Fear rolled off the Alpha werewolf.

  “Excellent.” Warwick leaned back in his chair and returned to his wholly human form, pleased he’d made his point. “Now, make sure to fill out the paperwork fully, please.”

  Oh yes, today was going to be a good day.

  Chapter One

  One Hundred Years Later

  “HAPPY birthday to me.” Avery sighed heavily at his reflection in the mirror.

  Today, according to pack law, Avery officially became a man. His one hundredth birthday party was going strong downstairs, and here he hid in his bathroom. Unable to stand the unhappiness in his eyes, he turned away.

  Avery was a monumental disappointment in every conceivable way. Although none of his family ever said so, he knew. He couldn’t help but know. His father, Alpha Theodore Montgomery, already had four pups who were daughters. What he desperately needed was a male pup—a male Alpha pup.

  What he got was Avery, an Omega.

  Things might not have been so bad if Avery’s special talent—a gift all Omegas were born with—had been something useful. But no, what Avery had ended up with was the ability to identify metals, stones, and minerals. A couple hundred years ago, that might have been extremely beneficial, but in this day and age? With the technology humans had? It was worse than useless.

  A knock on his door dragged his attention away from his less-than-celebratory thoughts. Avery left the bathroom and entered his bedroom but stopped a few feet shy of the door and delicately sniffed. That was his oldest sister, Mandy. Her he could stand, so he opened the door. “Hey.” Quickly he moved out of the way as she swept in.

  Mandy wore an off-the-shoulder, slim ruby-red dress with cascading sleeves and a dramatic side slit. Like the rest of their kind, she had the perfect figure, which the dress showcased. Her dark hair hung loose around her shoulders.

  “Looking good, sis.”

  “Thank you.” Mandy’s presence was so huge that any room she entered, she dominated. Avery envied her that. “People are noticing you aren’t at the party. Mother said you need to come down.”

  Avery nodded. But instead of leaving, he sat on the side of the bed, fighting off a shiver. The last place he wanted to be was downstairs. So what if he officially became a man today? What did it matter? He wasn’t the Alpha his father so desperately needed. No, he was a burden and that was all.

  Mandy sat next to him and rested her hand on his knee. “Are you okay?”

  “Okay?” Avery’s strangled laugh had a slightly hysterical edge to it, which was so not what he was going for. “I’m not sure anything is going to be okay ever again.”

  Mandy sighed. “Avery, hon—”

  “No, don’t.” Avery glanced at Mandy’s hand, then up into her chocolate brown eyes. Her mere presence comforted him, something his other sisters were unable to do. “You should be the Alpha, you know,” he blurted.

  Mandy’s lips tightened. “And you know our pack law says it has to be a male.”

  “Then our laws need to be changed, because that’s ridiculous. You have what it takes to
be an Alpha.”

  “Everything but a penis.”

  She was right, as unfortunate as it was. According to the laws in their pack, since she was born female, she couldn’t be pack leader. Supposedly women didn’t have the viciousness needed to lead. Ha! The males of their pack obviously needed to get their attention off their dicks once in a while.

  He couldn’t lead any more than she could because he’d been born an Omega. Omegas weren’t aggressive. They didn’t like to fight, and more often than not were thought of as gentle. In paranormal society, gentleness equaled weakness. Omegas were treasured, but they were often handled with kid gloves since their poor, tender feelings could be so easily bruised. Such treatment made him want to bite something. Hard.

  Avery would rather try to work things out than resort to his fists to end an argument. He wasn’t arrogant, cunning, or manipulative—all Alpha traits. His lack of such was a massive problem. Who would assume the Alpha position when his father stepped down, if he wasn’t challenged first, was a glaring question they couldn’t ignore for much longer, especially since his birthday was today.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. I think you’d make a great Alpha,” Avery said.

  “I appreciate that. Too bad many don’t agree with you.” Mandy patted Avery’s hand, then stood. “Come on. We better get downstairs before Mother sends one of our sisters up here.”

  “She already did: you.”

  “And aren’t you glad it was me?” Mandy smirked.

  “Pitifully so.” Avery had four sisters: Mandy, Michelle, Megan, and Michaela. Michaela was the only one not mated and was still living at home.

  “I don’t know whether to be insulted or amused.”

  “Go with amused,” Avery suggested, then laughed at Mandy’s scowl and followed her downstairs.

  Night had long since fallen. As they made their way to where the party was being held, he glanced out a bank of windows. Fluffy clouds drifted across the brightly shining moon. The air was clean, brisk, and cool. Duty called, but that didn’t stop him from wishing he could shift and run, just get away from all of this.