The Dragon's Match: Paranormal Shifter Romance (Hearts on Fire Book 3) Read online

  The Dragon's Match

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  Hearts on Fire series

  The Werewolf's Baby

  The Dragon Tycoon's Bride

  The Dragon's Match

  Copyright © 2017 Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the author's written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author's written permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

  About this Book

  Kieron Steel wants revenge. Tortured and enslaved for years, he is filled with hate and rage. There is no room for love and compassion in his heart. He is no angel, no hero. But everything changes when he charges into a raging fire and saves a woman who may be his one chance at redemption and happiness.

  Gena Martin is a tough, independent young woman who is busy taking care of everyone but herself. With a protective streak a mile wide, she isn’t afraid to stand up and do the right thing.

  But her courage and compassion lands her in deep trouble with some dangerous enemies. Just when everything seems lost, a tall, blond man with the face of an angel swoops in and saves her. One look into her angel’s tortured blue eyes and she is determined to save him right back...

  Kieron knows that to win Gena’s heart, he has to overcome his past and his demons.

  But Gena isn’t who she appears to be.

  Has Kieron found his mate, only to lose her to the dark, harrowing evil that has tormented and haunted him for so long?

  Will their love destroy or save them both?

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kieron Steel stood watching his younger brother with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. Lachlan was kneeling on the grass, sweat dripping down his face. He was struggling, straining to get his beast out but he was fighting a losing battle. He was trying his best. Kieron could see that, but his best wasn't good enough.

  Lachlan was on his hands and knees, and his whole body was shaking badly. Swallowing a grunt of pain, he looked up at Kieron with anguished eyes and shook his head.

  “I...I can't,” Lachlan said in a broken whisper. “I'm sorry, Kieron. I can't shift...”

  Kieron's eyes blazed with cold fire as he lurched forward and grabbed Lachlan by the collar. “You. Can. Shift,” he snarled. “Don't tell me you can't! You can do this, Lachlan. Don't give up. Just drag your dragon up to the surface and shift! Just do it, dammit!”

  Lachlan took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes briefly. “I don't think I can. My dragon...I can't feel it. My dragon may be broken, Kieron. It's not there...”

  “Your dragon is not broken!” Kieron roared. “You will not let that evil sorceress destroy your dragon! You...you are a dragon shifter, Lachlan.” Kieron's voice cracked. “Please. Please do it.”

  Lachlan stared at Kieron in silence and Kieron knew that his younger brother could see the desperation and fear in his eyes. Kieron’s anger was a mask for his fear. He was afraid. He was so afraid of losing his brother. Again.

  Lachlan had nearly died at Vanora's cold, cruel hands and Kieron couldn't bear to watch his brother suffer another death. The death of his dragon.

  If Lachlan couldn't command and control his dragon, he might lose his ability to shift altogether. His dragon would grow dormant, and he would lose the strength and powers of a dragon shifter. He wouldn't be able to heal quickly, and he would start to age rapidly and become susceptible to all kinds of diseases and illnesses. He would no longer be a dragon shifter. He would just be human. And human lives were painfully short.

  Kieron couldn't bear the thought. He couldn't watch his brother die.

  “Shift,” Kieron gritted out. “Shift into a dragon!”

  Lachlan took a shuddering breath and whispered, “Okay. I’ll do it. I’ll shift.”

  Kieron released his brother and stepped back. He scrubbed a hand down his face and fought to keep his emotions in check. He knew how difficult and excruciating this was for Lachlan, but now was not the time to be gentle and compassionate. Being soft now would mean the end of his brother.

  Kieron hardened his heart and kept his face impassive. He knew that Lachlan had seen the despair, desperation and guilt in his eyes. His brother understood how important this was to him. Lachlan was making the effort for him. He wasn't doing it for himself. He was doing it for Kieron.

  Lachlan didn't seem to care if his dragon never rose again. He was just happy and grateful to be alive.

  Kieron had overheard Lachlan telling Breene and Lester, “I don't mind living the rest of my life as a human. I was bled, tortured, cut open and had parts of me ripped out from my body. I was as good as dead. You guys saved me, saved us. Kieron and I will never forget what you did for us. I'm alive and safe now, and for that, I am grateful, every single day.”

  Kieron and Lachlan were safe and free now. The sorceress who had enslaved and tortured them was dead.

  But Kieron still woke up screaming and thrashing from his nightmares almost every night. In his nightmares, he always saw his brother, hanging by his wrists in a filthy cell in the dungeon. His memories were his nightmares.

  He saw his enemy, his tormentor again. He saw the sorceress, Vanora, holding a blade that had been dipped in a powerful potion, a potion created from Lachlan's blood. The blade sliced out pieces of Lachlan's living organs and the potion kept him alive. Vanora was determined to keep Lachlan alive so she could use his blood and organs for her spells and potions. She bled him daily and slowly drained his dragon of its power.

  While Lachlan was kept in human form, Kieron was trapped in dragon form. Vanora wanted a weapon, a savage, fire-breathing weapon that she could control and use to destroy her enemies. She threatened to kill Lachlan if Kieron didn't do her bidding.

  Both Kieron and Lachlan had been brutally broken, in body, mind and spirit. If Breene, Simone and Lester hadn't saved them, God knows what would have happened to them.

  Breene Magnus had taken Kieron and Lachlan under his wing after freeing them. In actual fact, it was Lester, that brave, loyal gargoyle, who had freed them from Vanora's power. Lester had risked everything to make sure that Vanora was destroyed once and for all so that she would never, ever hurt his beloved Master Breene and Mistress Simone again.

  Breene was a dragon shifter. His dragon was older, more powerful and stable. But Kieron suspected that age had nothing to do with the power of his dragon. Breene's dragon drew his strength and stability from Simone, his mate.

  Simone was Breene's human mate, and she was a loving, protective sister-in-law to Kieron and Lachlan. Breene had adopted Kieron and Lachlan as his brothers, and given them jobs in his huge construction company, Magnum Construction. So Breene was now their big brother and boss.

  Even though his room was far away from the main tower of the castle, Kieron knew that everyone could hear his screams in the night, even though no one ever mentioned it. Lester, being a gargoyle, was stuck in sto
ne form during the day but was extremely active and busy at night. Lester was Breene's best friend, but he was also the chief butler, housekeeper and chef in the castle. If Lester wasn't in the kitchen creating some new and wonderful dishes for their dinner and supper, he would be bustling around the castle, inspecting every corner and making sure that the daytime cleaning staff did a proper job. Kieron often woke up to frantic knocks on his bedroom door, and when he yanked the door open, it was to find Lester standing there with a large mug of hot chocolate in his clawed hand. The gargoyle never said anything as he pushed the mug into Kieron's shaking hands. The deep worry in his wide ruby eyes said it all.

  Kieron knew that the whole family was worried about him, but their worry and well-intentioned advice only frustrated him further.

  Breene and Simone kept telling him, “Give him some time.”

  But Lachlan didn’t have time. He was running out of time.

  No.

  He wasn’t going to sit around and watch his brother die.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Kieron shook his head hard, trying to shake away all the harrowing memories. But he knew that he could never really get rid of them. Once he closed his eyes at night, the nightmarish images would invade his mind.

  He would deal with his nightmares alone. Right now, he had to focus on his brother.

  “You're a dragon,” Kieron whispered. “A dragon!”

  It was just the barest whisper, no more than a breath but Lachlan heard him. He heard the plea in Kieron's voice, and a brief look of pain and sorrow crossed his face. “I'm sorry Kieron...”

  “Don't say that!” Kieron snapped. “Don't...” Don't fucking apologize!

  He glared at Lachlan, hating the sight of his brother on his knees and hating himself even more. He should be the one kneeling in front of his baby brother and saying sorry. He had failed to protect his brother. Lachlan had almost died, but he would not let Lachlan's dragon die now.

  “Shift!” Kieron hissed through clenched teeth. “Shift into your dragon, Lachlan! Do it!”

  Lachlan bowed his head and a drop of blood plopped onto the grass. Lachlan dragged his hand across his nose, smearing blood over his face and hand.

  Shit! Why was it so hard?

  Kieron lifted his face to the starless sky and stared into the vast blackness. He knew his brother was suffering but he couldn't stop now. He had to press on, push harder, force the shift…

  They were on the sprawling lawn in front of the castle, and the water fountain was brightly illuminated behind them. Lester always switched on the lights in the garden at night to show off his prized rose bushes and beautifully manicured trees and flowering plants. Besides making sure that everything in the castle was scrubbed and polished to perfection, Lester was a meticulous, conscientious gardener. He loved growing new plants and watching them thrive and bloom under his care. The garden was Lester’s pride and joy, and he had done a wonderful job transforming the austere castle grounds into a beautiful, charming wonderland.

  Kieron didn't care for the beauty that was all around him.

  He wanted to see only one thing.

  Lachlan's dragon had been weakened, but not destroyed. It could still rise.

  “Come on, come on,” Kieron urged.

  Lachlan grunted and growled, his whole body shivering and jerking. His t-shirt was sticking to his tall frame as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Like him, Lachlan was tall and broad-shouldered. Even though he wasn’t as brawny and muscular as Kieron, Kieron always knew that of the two of them, Lachlan was by far the stronger one.

  Lachlan had the steel will and grit of a fighter. No one could have endured such extreme pain and suffering for so long. Lachlan had been mutilated, cut and bled almost daily, and yet he had survived the horrific, harrowing torture with his mind and will intact. He never gave up. He suffered in silence, alone, in the dark, but he never stopped fighting. He fought to stay strong, sane and alive.

  Lachlan let out a sudden, strangled cry of anguish as he started convulsing. There was the sound of bones snapping and muscles tearing as his body tried to change form.

  Kieron's eyes widened when he saw smoke curling from his brother's nostrils. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, it's happening...”

  His dragon was rising. Scales shimmered over Lachlan's human skin and his body bulged and contorted.

  Lachlan screamed, and Kieron had to stop himself from lunging forward. He wanted to hold his baby brother and tell him that it was all right, that he had done enough and he could stop now. He didn’t have to put himself through this torture, he could stop now, he didn’t have to do this...

  Instead, Kieron glared at the back of his brother’s blond head and hissed, “Finish it. Finish the shift, Lachlan!”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kieron's claws stabbed out and bit into his palms. He remembered the first time he shifted back to human form after being trapped in his dragon form for so long. The shift had been messy, excruciating and he had almost lost control of his mind and body. He had almost ripped himself in half in the process.

  Lachlan was going through the same thing now. He was tearing himself apart so he could force his dragon out.

  Kieron watched as his brother's fingers turned to claws. He tried his best to ignore the blood oozing from Lachlan's mouth. He couldn't stop now. He was so close.

  Hearing Lachlan's screams of agony was ripping his heart and soul to shreds. Stop, please stop, you don't have to do this.

  Kieron pushed his claws deeper into his palms, so he could bleed together with his brother. He couldn't back down now. He had to do this. Lachlan had to finish this.

  There was another sickening crack as his bones tried to snap into their new positions. Lachlan coughed up blood and made a rattling, gurgling sound. He raised his head weakly to look up at Kieron.

  Kieron gasped in horror.

  Blood was leaking from Lachlan's nose, eyes and mouth. Skin and half-formed scales were falling from his arms, exposing the raw flesh underneath. His face was twisted in pain and confusion, and his body contorted and heaved, unable to complete the shift. Lachlan was unable to move forward and he couldn’t reverse the change. He was stuck and in terrible agony. His dragon couldn’t rise fully, and was thrashing within him, clawing savagely at the human.

  Lachlan raised a shivering, clawed hand to Kieron, begging for his help. He made a terrible retching sound and vomited blood so dark it was almost black all over the grass.

  “No! No, Lachlan!” Kieron knelt beside his brother and tried to hold his convulsing body. “Just shift! Push the shift through. Don’t stop now! What...”

  There was the sound of pounding footsteps and angry, urgent shouts. Breene and Lester were rushing towards them, and Breene's eyes were glowing silver, his dragon glaring out of his stern, furious face.

  “Step away from him, Kieron!” Breene bellowed.

  “I...”

  Breene ran up and shoved Kieron away forcefully. “Don't touch him!”

  “But...” Kieron staggered back and stared helplessly as Breene and Lester crowded around Lachlan.

  Breene spoke rapidly to Lester before taking a step back and shifting effortlessly into dragon form. The silver dragon lowered its head and exposed the side of its neck to Lester. There was a small patch of smooth silver skin at its neck that wasn't covered in scales, and Lester immediately used his razor-sharp claws to make a small, precise cut across the skin. Fresh blood oozed out, and Lester hurried back to Lachlan. As Lester lifted Lachlan's head up, Breene bent down to let his blood drip into Lachlan's mouth.

  Once Lachlan had ingested a few drops of dragon blood, his shaking subsided and his twisted body began to knit itself back to human shape. His bleeding stopped and his eyes finally closed.

  Breene shifted back to human form and went to crouch at Lachlan's side. “Carry him to his room. Make sure he eats when he wakes up. He'll need the energy to heal,” Breene ordered Lester.

  “Yes, Master.”

  The
re was a soft cry and Kieron saw Simone rushing towards them. Simone was waddling as fast as she could down the castle steps, cradling her pregnant belly. The poor woman was panting and wheezing by the time she reached them.

  “What are you doing out here?” Breene growled at his mate. “You shouldn’t be running around...”

  “Good God!” Simone gasped when she caught sight of Lachlan's bloodstained face. She placed her hands protectively over her swollen belly and stared at Breene and Kieron. “What happened?”

  Breene didn't say anything out loud. Kieron knew he was communicating with his mate through his mind.

  When Simone turned to look at Kieron, he saw the reproach and heartache in her eyes. Simone was their sister-in-law, and she loved them dearly. She was a human woman with no special powers, yet she had fearlessly battled Vanora on Kieron's back. At that time, Kieron was just a mindless, murdering dragon under the control of Vanora. Vanora had ordered him to attack Breene and Simone, and he had obeyed her command. He had almost killed them. And now...

  “Oh Kieron,” Simone whispered sadly. What have you done?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Kieron watched Lester and Simone hurry back into the castle with Lachlan. He tried to follow them, but Breene stepped in front of him and blocked him.

  Breene’s eyes were no longer silver, but the pain and anger still burned in his stormy gray eyes.

  “I...I need to see him,” Kieron said, trying to push past Breene.

  “Stay away from Lachlan,” Breene snarled, gripping him by the shoulder.

  “I just...”

  “No. You have done enough, Kieron.”

  Kieron closed his eyes, trying to tamp down his rage and pain. “I won't let his dragon die! He...”