Whoot! Dragon's Hoard is on the Coming Soon page at DsP! Release date: 17Oct 1, 20
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.
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
House Line Dreamspun Beyond | #5
Genres Urban Fantasy / Werewolves/Shapeshifters
Excerpt:
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.
