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  Holden’s Mate

  Daddy Dragon Guardians

  Meg Ripley

  Copyright © 2018 by Meg Ripley

  www.redlilypublishing.com

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quoted passages left in an online review. This book is a fictional story. All characters, names, and situations are of the author’s creation. Any resemblances to actual situations or to persons who are alive or dead are purely coincidental.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; this copy is not available for resale or to give to another reader aside from any transaction through Amazon’s e-book lending program.

  Disclaimer

  This book is intended for readers age 18 and over. It contains mature situations and language that may be objectionable to some readers.

  Contents

  Holden’s Mate

  Steamy Shifter Romance Extras From Meg

  Sneak Peek of Alpha’s Second Chance

  Sneak Peek of Playing With Fire

  Sneak Peek of Ranger Knox

  Holden’s Mate

  Daddy Dragon Guardians

  1

  Leah straightened her dress and drew in a deep breath. It was just a night out at a bar with her friends. It didn’t mean anything, and there was no pressure. Just because Autumn and Summer insisted on calling it a divorce party didn’t mean that she had to feel obligated to hook up with someone and live the wild life like a college student again. It was going to be okay. She had even opted for a low pair of heels instead of the stilettos at the back of her closet, just to make it feel a little more like a normal night out with her girlfriends.

  As she stepped up to The Parlor and raised her hand to open the door, she was relieved to see that there was no knob; she only had to push. Leah carefully chose a spot near the middle of the door—where very few people had probably touched the old wood—and stepped inside. The establishment was a long and narrow one that stretched away on either side of her. The back wall behind the bar was painted a pale shade of yellow that contrasted with the dark wood trim and gave the place a bright but cozy feel. Two bartenders worked away busily, sliding drinks down the slick wooden surface and collecting tips in a large glass jar.

  “There she is!” Autumn squealed, waving Leah over to their table. “I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up.”

  “And I wasn’t going to stop her if she decided to go find you and drag you out tonight,” Summer piped up, running a hand through her pale, curly locks.

  Leah gave her friends a small smile as she sat down. She had met the twins back in college, and she knew they meant well. But it was strange for her to be out enjoying herself when she knew she ought to be at home, crying over a cup of tea. “I’m just not sure that I feel like celebrating. It almost seems wrong to be so happy about something so terrible.”

  Autumn shook her head, but her auburn hair stayed perfectly in place. Tonight, she had it combed neatly back into a high bun, letting her thick fringe of bangs hang down to frame her angular face. As usual, not a single hair was out of place. She looked more like an attorney or a banker instead of a witch who owned a new age shop with her sister. “You’re looking at it the wrong way. Sure, it sucks that you and Victor didn’t work out. But he wasn’t right for you, and you’ve gotten out of that situation. Why not be happy about it?” She tipped back her giant margarita glass and smiled.

  “I have to agree.” Summer leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms, showing off the oversized tunic she wore with her wildly-patterned leggings. She was nothing like her sister, and she always opted to be comfortable above all else. “You have a new chance at happiness, and that’s definitely worth celebrating.”

  “Easy for you to say; you’ve never been married.” Leah didn’t want to be catty about it, but this was one of the hardest things she had ever gone through. She’d known women who had gotten divorced, and she had seen it in their readings, but living it was a completely different experience.

  “Well, I have,” Autumn said authoritatively. “And I can tell you there’s plenty of cause for a party. Now, let’s get you a drink and start having a good time.” She waved to a waitress. “A margarita for my friend, here, please.”

  Leah put a up a hand to stop the young woman from heading back to the bar. “I don’t drink margaritas.”

  “You do now,” Autumn argued and waved the waitress away to fetch the drink. “Seriously, now. You were so upset when you found out Victor was cheating on you. We all knew he was a dick anyway, so why are you sulking? You got everything you wanted out of the divorce—even if it wasn’t much—and you don’t have any kids together. There’s no reason for you to ever see him again. Enjoy it. I dare you.” She narrowed her green eyes at her friend, willing her to do as she was told.

  “Maybe I should; I’d like to think I will, eventually. But you’ve got to admit this is one hell of a blow to my self-esteem.” Leah slunk down a little in her seat, the weight of it all still heavy on her shoulders. She and Victor had been separated for over a year, but knowing that all the official paperwork had been filed made things feel much more final.

  “Why? You’re gorgeous.” Summer leaned over and picked up several locks of Leah’s dark chestnut hair in her hand and let them fall slowly back to her shoulders. “And you’re fun and smart. You’re everything most guys are looking for.”

  Leah shook her head. “It’s not just that. I mean, sure, knowing that he was sleeping with that other woman definitely made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. But I’m a goddamn psychic; I hang a shingle out so people will come to me to find out about their futures, but I can’t even predict my own. Don’t you think I should have known he was the wrong guy?”

  Her mind flashed back to when she had first met Victor at a party. She had been far too drunk, and he had given her a ride home. Leah had been attracted to him, and it hadn’t hurt that he was intelligent as well. To top things off, he had believed her when she’d accidentally told him she had psychic powers. It was the kind of thing that would have driven most people away, no matter what kind of relationship she wanted to have with them. No one believed that psychics were anything but con artists with crystal balls. But Victor had seemed to understand, even though he had no supernatural gifts of his own. He’d never complained that she was being foolish when she became a psychic freelancer, and he’d even gone with her to a few conventions. It was the most support she’d ever received from someone without powers, and it had meant a lot to her.

  Autumn rolled her green, catlike eyes toward the ceiling as she thought. “Have you ever been able to predict things about yourself? I mean, it’s not like you know when you’re going to die, do you?”

  Leah had to admit she had a point. “No, and I wouldn’t want to. But it makes me feel like such a hypocrite. I managed to get a publishing deal for my book that claims it can teach people to tap into their own natural abilities, and then I get smacked in the face by reality. I fucking hate it.”

  “Maybe your spirit guides sent Victor to you for a reason.” Summer blinked her wide, green eyes. “Maybe you needed someone to help you get started on the right path, but it doesn’t mean you were meant to continue on that path together.”

  “Apparently not.” Leah easily remembered that fateful day when Victor had come home from work and set his travel mug down on the kitchen counter. It was a simple thing, an
d not a gesture that should have mattered at all. But Leah had picked it up to rinse out the remains of his coffee from that morning, and her powers had instantly kicked in. The kitchen had faded around her and turned into an office. A woman was kissing her husband—and it definitely wasn’t Leah. The image was so real that Leah couldn’t help but watch as her own husband’s hands unfastened the buttons of the woman’s shirt and worked their way up her skirt. She’d watched in horror as the two of them made love on Victor’s desk.

  Of course, she had gone straight to him with her accusations. That was the first time Victor had ever questioned her psychic powers, calling her a paranoid liar. But she knew as soon as she reached out and touched the lapel of his sport coat that she was right. Victor’s personal items didn’t usually give her much information; not like they did for strangers. But then again, she had always known all of his secrets up until that point. The waitress brought Leah’s drink, and she stared down at the salty rim of the glass as if it could help her understand what had happened.

  “I’ll have another one of those, please,” Autumn asked the waitress, and then turned back to Leah. “That’s okay. It just means you have the opportunity for someone new to walk down that path with you. Now you can find someone who really believes in you.” She smiled and looked off into the distance, lost in the romance of it all.

  “Victor believed,” Leah argued. “It was his idea that I should start booking myself for parties, and that was what really got me started in the business. I would probably be stuck in a dead-end job somewhere in a cubicle or working for pennies at a psychic hotline if it hadn’t been for him.” Leah had a real talent; enough that she had been able to make a living from it. Even without sharing the bills with Victor, she never had to worry about how she was going to live.

  Autumn tapped her finger on the table. “He had a good sense of business; I can’t argue with that. But I’m not just talking about someone who believes you can predict the future or see into people’s lives. But Summer’s talking about someone who believes in you as a person. Someone who helps you grow and change into the person you were meant to be.”

  Summer sipped her daiquiri and nodded. “I’m sure he’s out there. I believe there’s someone out there for everyone, even if it’s not the kind of person we’re expecting.”

  “Well, whoever it is, I plan on taking a long time to find him. I don’t want to date anyone for at least the next year. I’ll just take time to be myself and figure out what I want from life. Even then, it’s going to be a very long time before I get serious. If I get remarried before I’m fifty, then I want one of you to shoot me. Promise?”

  The twins laughed. Autumn reached across the table and touched Leah’s hand. “You’re never going to make it twenty years, girl. I get it. We’re in our thirties now. It’s not going to be as easy as it was when we were twenty. But we’re not dead yet, and you can’t just give up on yourself like that.”

  Leah’s phone beeped, and she was grateful for the distraction. No matter how much encouragement the other women gave her, she knew it wasn’t going to make her feel any better about her situation. She needed time, a lot of meditation, and yes, maybe even a few drinks. What she didn’t need was the text that showed up on her screen from Victor: Hey, can we talk?

  “I don’t like the look on your face.” Autumn watched Leah carefully.

  This was just too much. Although Leah hadn’t thought she felt like celebrating, she knew she should at least be happy that all those long fights with Victor were over. He had claimed that his affair didn’t mean a thing and that he still wanted to be with her, but that only made things harder. No. She wasn’t going to give in. Victor would say he wanted to talk. Then he would get her to go grab a cup of coffee together “for old time’s sake.” The next thing she knew, she would be at his new apartment and falling into bed with him.

  Well, screw that. He might be all turned on by the idea of messing around with her now that they were no longer married, but she wasn’t going to be treated like his toy. She’d been used enough, and she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She didn’t feel very strong, but she would just have to fake it until it really happened.

  Her phone beeped again, and she pointedly put it back in her purse. Leah grabbed one of the small cloths she carried with her and wrapped it around the stem of her margarita glass. She didn’t even like knowing what was going on in her own life; she sure as hell didn’t need to know what was going on in the waitress’. It was best to keep her psychic energies at bay for the night, at least as much as possible. Leah raised her glass in a toast to her friends. “Here’s to my new life, and whatever comes with it.”

  2

  Holden Reid glared at himself in the mirror. He was just so human. It had been one thing to take on this form back on Charok. It had served as a diplomatic common ground for all creatures who came to the Great Court to converse and work out political issues. It had kept things civil—at least for a time—since the natural powers of the inhabitants were all somewhat reduced when they were walking on two legs. But he wasn’t sure he would ever get used to the sleek cheekbones covered in rusty stubble, the waves of matching hair on his head that had replaced his spikes, or the haunting blue eyes that stared back at him in the mirror. He knew he could shift back into his dragon form whenever he wanted to, but there was rarely an opportunity on Earth.

  “Quit staring at yourself.” Xander leaned in the bedroom doorway, his dark hair combed back perfectly. “It’s about time to go.”

  “I was thinking maybe I should stay home and let the rest of you go out.” Holden turned away from the mirror and grabbed his shoes from the rack behind his door—awful things, but unfortunately, it wasn’t acceptable to go out in public with bare feet. “I’m sure Beau would rather go out than be stuck with the children again.”

  Xander gave him a level look that meant business. “Don’t even try it. It’s Beau’s turn to stay with them, and we already have everything set up. We’re not changing things now just because you want to be a stubborn dragon.”

  “Then couldn’t we at least find a different place to go? These human bars have such bad energy. Everyone there is either sad, angry, or both. Not to mention the rancid smell of old alcohol. I don’t see how this can ever work as a mating ritual.” Holden knew how important it was that they each find their mates. They were the last of their kind, and the younglings they had charged themselves with raising needed mothers as well as fathers. But he had his doubts that human women could ever fit the bill, and he hadn’t enjoyed their attempts at finding acceptable ones so far.

  “Trust me. I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject, and this is how they do it here.” He adjusted his glasses on his nose. “Unless you want to try online dating again.”

  “Fuck no!” Holden roared, spinning around to glare at his friend. At the bemused look on Xander’s face, he had to laugh himself. “I can’t say that went particularly well last time.” It had been an experiment for them, but not one that he was willing to conduct again. It seemed to draw out only the most desperate women, and they never looked the same in real life as they did in their pictures. He knew that physical attraction didn’t really matter, but it made Holden feel as though they had been lying to him.

  The two men went out into the living room, where Beau and Julian were keeping the children entertained. A living room of four dragon younglings seemed very full. They were younger than they appeared, already toddling about on two legs like human babies did. Beau sat on the floor with them, already in his role as sitter for the night. He had doled out snacks and sippy cups and was watching patiently as they emptied a bin full of toys. It was almost humorous to see the big blonde man so tenderly taking care of such small children. Finn, the child that had hatched out of the egg Holden had claimed when they’d made their escape from Charok, grinned at him from across the room.

  They had only been eggs when the War of Storms had broken out. The dragons had fought valiantly for the territo
ry that had been theirs since the dawn of time, but the ogres had fought harder. The dragons still might have won if the wizards hadn’t teamed up with the ogres and cast a spell that had instantly poisoned a vast majority of the great reptiles. Unfortunately, that had included their Queen, leaving behind the nest of eggs she had laid only a few months before.

  “Do you ever think it was a mistake coming to Earth?” Holden mumbled. Maybe they would have been alright if they had stayed on Charok. They could have escaped to the mountains and found the tunnels of their ancestors. It would have been a primitive lifestyle, but at least they would have known that the next generation was being raised on their home planet.

  “Don’t get started on that again.” Julian rolled his eyes and picked up Kaylee, his charge. They were the pair that looked most like each other, with green eyes, dark hair, and olive skin. It had been sheer chance, but it had worked in their favor. Nobody would ever doubt that Julian was her father. “We did what we thought was best, and there’s no going back. That spell was hard, and it was a one-time deal. Besides, we would be questioning ourselves just as much if we hadn’t taken advantage of it.”

  Holden nodded. It had been a risk, either way. And the rogue wizard who had agreed to help them get off their world and into a different one had been an old friend of Julian’s. “I just wish he had bothered to tell us about how this world worked beforehand. What do you think the Queen would say if she could see her children being raised as soft little fleshlings?”

  “I think she would say we’re very lucky that our kind is able to shift at such a young age,” Xander volunteered. “It’s clear from my studies that human children who look different aren’t easily accepted by their own species. If the children had any indication of their true nature—dragon scales, claws, you name it—then this entire journey would have been a complete bust. We’d be hiding in the mountains of Earth, instead.”