She looked at the beast in front of her.

  To think that only a day before Carter had been inside of her, had been making love to her, and now, he was standing in front of her as a dragon.

  She had heard him and seen the way he reacted to the accusations… she knew deep down he hadn’t had anything to do with the death of her dad, but there were still some unanswered questions.

  It all seemed so crazy, and yet it made perfect sense.

  It didn’t frighten her… she loved him, she had fallen for him hard and fast, and now she felt his energy running through her veins and she knew they were joined together forever.

  But that creature that had come for them… That was something else. Something dark and nasty. It had surprised her out in the lobby of her building, dragging her out from her home and forcing her into the club, wrapped away and blindfolded and waiting in darkness. Its skin had been ice-cold and its breath fetid. She didn’t know what it was, she hadn’t even seen its face… but it had felt like a corpse.

  She trembled as she remembered.

  She looked up at Carter, at how he looked down at her as the dragon. She had heard and seen him shift from a distance and down below, and as soon as he had changed the evil had gone. One of them had been upstairs with him, and one of them had been down with Aubrey, holding onto her and dangling her there like bait, wanting Carter to run to her.

  But it was as if they hadn’t bargained on his dragon turning up. Either that or they weren’t aware of how much power he could wield.

  She smiled meekly and stepped forward. She realized she had been keeping her distance and didn’t want to offend him. This was her man; she had nothing to fear… He loved her, and he was her protector now.

  The dragon was so big ‒ its entire body was taking up the whole of the dance floor and filling the club ‒ it was clear that if he wanted to, he could burst through the roof of the building and fly away with her on his back and they could be out of Lone Reach in a matter of seconds… but his eyes looked sad and it pained her to see him that way. It was as if he were ashamed to be the dragon… and she didn’t know why.

  She reached out and touched the side of his face and the scales were so warm and smooth, not at all like she had thought they would feel. She didn’t know what she had expected, but maybe something cold… like a snake. He nuzzled into her hand and she smiled. His breathing was low, but he was clearly so powerful; he could kill her in seconds, but he was being so loving and gentle.

  She leaned forward and kissed him on the top of his nose and rubbed her hand over his head.

  He was her dragon.

  They were joined, body and soul.

  She wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in, the scorching scent of fire, masculinity, and power. It was intoxicating.

  When she stood back, the dragon rose up on his back legs and began to move away, toward the other side of the room, and she could see the look in his eyes changing as if the human Carter was coming back to the surface.

  She stepped back too, going right to the red velvet curtains that separated the room and the lobby and she stood on the other side of them, peering through the gap and waiting for a sight she was so intrigued to see.

  Carter roared, and she saw him spin and his body begin to jerk; he shrank in size and then his scales shed and skin began to appear in their place, his nose and limbs returned to normal size and in a heartbeat, it was all over and he was lying on the ground, the naked man she had fallen in love with.

  She pushed her way out of the curtains and ran to him. He was lying there, his face covered in blood. He had, no doubt, been attacked by whatever it was that had come for them.

  Aubrey cradled him in her arms, and even though he was so big and muscular, she still wanted to try and support him as she helped him to his feet.

  Once he was dressed, they sat together at the bar downstairs. Carter dabbed at his face with a damp cloth to clean the blood from his lips. Aubrey helped him, making cold compresses with clean bar mops and ice and holding them against his forehead.

  “What happened here?” she asked him once they had both calmed down. It had been such an emotional few days. They had gone from the high of relishing in their new love to breaking up, to then being attacked by something evil, and coming back together… And of course, she couldn’t shake the words that the evil entity had bellowed through the club… Something about the dragons having started a fire…

  “I don’t know what that was,” Carter admitted. “But it was clearly something dangerous, and it wanted to destroy us and the rest of the dragons.”

  Aubrey nodded.

  “Do you think they have something to do with Martin Hall disappearing?” she asked. “He was so cold… his skin… so cold and hard, like a corpse almost… He didn’t feel alive.”

  She shuddered as she said it and had to blink away a tear.

  “My clan had nothing to do with the fire all those years ago Aubrey,” he said seriously as he looked into her eyes and dropped the cloth from his chin. “I want you to know that. It’s something that has divided this town for over a decade… It has caused so much unrest among the shifter packs and we don’t have anything to do with the wolf clan because of it. Indeed, they always blamed us, but we always knew we were not responsible, that it was dark magic. Maybe the creature that came here tonight had something to do with it… maybe they were the ones to blame, they certainly seemed to know a lot about it.”

  “He did, didn’t he…,” Aubrey said, thinking about all that had happened. “And it knew where I lived… so it could have been the one who sent the note.”

  “Yes,” he nodded.

  “It just seems so weird, why send that to me? Why try to break us up and try to make it look as if you had something to do with my father’s death?”

  Carter paused for a moment and then he smiled sadly.

  “I think they used you to get to me,” he said. “Whatever these things are, they’re watching us closely. They know I’m the alpha, and they clearly know I’m with you… they wanted to drive a wedge so they could capture you and use you as bait to lure me here. They never would have got to you if I had been by your side.”

  He rubbed his head as if he couldn’t believe he had been so stupid.

  She looked at Carter and could see the pain inside of him. He was sad because of the fire… And she knew deep within herself that his kind couldn’t have done it. The dragons were good people and they had nothing to gain by destroying a part of their town. There must have been something else that happened, something darker that none of them were yet sure of that they were up against.

  “I don’t know who that person was…,” he said. “I don’t know what he meant, and I don’t know what happened to Martin Hall, but one thing is clear, he wanted to drive us apart tonight, Aubrey, but like I’ve told you before, I’m not going to let anything hurt you. I am yours and I’m here to protect you until the end of time.”

  She smiled and walked closer to him, pressing herself up against his chest. He was still battered and bruised, and his lip still bled slightly, but she nuzzled into him and put her head on his shoulder, breathing him in.

  He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, and she couldn’t believe that she had fallen in love with a man that could turn into a dragon. She couldn’t believe anything that had happened over the past few weeks, but she knew her life had changed beyond all comprehension.

  She had found the man she was meant to be with, and she had discovered that her town, Lone Reach, was not all that it seemed. It had secrets and magic, and somewhere along the way, her father had once been caught up in it all too. He had been friends with the shifter clans, he had roamed the mountains with them, and it made her feel an even deeper affinity to her connection with Carter.

  Maybe her dad had been the beginning of her fate. He had paved the way for her and Carter to meet by being friends with his father and telling her all those stories when she was a child, making her imagination run wild and also preparing her for what was to come. Maybe, in some way, her dad knew she was fated to be with a dragon. The thought was comforting, and she held a hand to her heart and silently thanked her father. She felt as if she could finally heal and let him go.

  She still loved him dearly, but now she had found a man to help look after her too… Even if she had always thought that she would go it alone. It turned out she didn’t have it all figured out, and she was so grateful to Carter for breaking down her walls and showing her how to love and learn to trust.

  For someone who had never wanted protecting, suddenly, Aubrey could never imagine being without her dragon man. He had worked his way into her heart, and now, she was never going to be alone ever again.

  19.

  Two Weeks Later…

  The club was bouncing, and the music thundered through the floorboards as Carter and Victor stood in the office and looked out over the scene below them.

  The revelers were dancing to the heavy music that rumbled through the building, the lights flashed a rainbow of colors and the atmosphere was electric and full of fun. It had been a crazy few weeks, but things were finally starting to feel more back to normal. Even if they were no further forward in figuring out what had happened that night.

  Carter looked at the dancefloor and remembered, with a shudder, the feeling of seeing Aubrey so vulnerable… The way she had been captured and put there as bait for him, and the way the whole thing had unfolded. It had been a strange encounter, but one that had served in some ways a positive purpose. Since the night in the club when they had been attacked, Carter had spoken with Victor and they had decided it was time to try and bring the packs of Lone Reach back together. Clearly, there was something out there that wanted to destroy them, to drive them apart and watch them fight and grow weak.

  He was wise enough to understand that the wolf, bear, and dragon packs would be stronger together, and so he had met with Mason, leader of the bears, and they had talked about building bridges with the wolves.

  He knew there was a long road ahead, but he felt good to be on it, nonetheless. And now, he wasn’t doing it alone… he had his woman by his side.

  Carter turned and walked with Victor to the door of the office where they left and began to walk down the stairs to the first and then ground floor. The VIP tables were fully booked, and he couldn’t help but reminisce about the night that had changed it all. The night Aubrey had come into his life and made him a better man.

  They stood and surveyed the dance floor and the hustle and bustle of the club, and Carter took note of each security guard, making sure they were in the right places and looking nice and alert. Since the attack, he had amped up the security and made sure the club was well-protected at all times. They couldn’t take any risks. He even had someone up in housekeeping watch all through the day and night.

  He may have been overreacting, but nothing was too much when it came to Aubrey’s safety… He loved her so much, he couldn’t risk anything happening to her. Especially, when a man was still missing in town. They may have been trying to help the cops find Martin Hall, but after the night at The Dragon Pit where Aubrey had been kidnapped and almost killed, Carter and her had pulled back slightly from trying to dig too deep. They would still help in anyway they could, and Carter was already looking into setting up some new security measures throughout the entire town, it was something he held close to his heart.

  He turned and saw her sitting at the bar, chatting away with Mia, and he smiled and knew she could feel him. As he knew she would, Aubrey turned and looked over her shoulder and their eyes connected, locking in on each other as the fire raged within them both. They had their deep physical connection, and their physical one as well. He loved that she always knew and could sense when he was near.

  Carter stepped toward her and wrapped her up in his arms.

  His woman.

  The girl who changed his world.

  He leaned in and kissed her and was so grateful for this moment, even if it was just sitting in the club, on a Friday night, with his girl and his cousin… He didn’t need anything more than this.

  Life was perfect in every way, and even though he knew there were challenges ahead, for him, his pack, and the town of Lone Reach… He was so glad that he had Aubrey by his side… because with her, he knew he could achieve anything.

  Her love had saved him.

  And his had saved her.

  They truly were fated to be.

  …have no fear…the story of Lone Reach will continue in book 3, coming soon…in the meantime…

  Return of the Wolf

  Damaged Pack Shifters 1

  Pamela Avery

  Leela Ash

  Copyright ©2019 by Pamela Avery & Leela Ash. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  1.

  “The old man may be in trouble.”

  Seven simple words and yet their effect was so powerful that the man listening at the other end of the line immediately surged to his feet, his throat dry as he demanded with a croak, “Bo, what the hell does that mean?”

  Those words from Bo put Derek in a serious sweat because of the entire Damaged Pack, Bo was the most taciturn and least given to exaggeration.

  “Calm down, Derek. I said, he may be in trouble. I’m not certain yet.”

  There was no need to explain who “the old man” was. Derek knew Bo meant Joshua, the craggy old man they had all come to love and respect like a father. Joshua was more than a mentor; he had picked them all up off the streets— all five of them. He’d dusted them off and set them on the right track to being amazing people with something to offer the world. When they had all discovered they had magical abilities that allowed them to turn into different mythical creatures, Joshua had been the one to teach them to hone their strengths; he had taught them to hide their abilities from humans. He had taught them to watch each other’s backs, and when the five of them had voted to name themselves the Damaged Pack of Weirna, Joshua had cheered them on.

  Derek ground his jaw testily. Why was Bo playing semantics? He had known Bo since he was a kid, and not once had he caught the other man in a lie or an exaggeration. If Bo said the old man may be in trouble, it meant the old man was in the very thick of it! Bo was the master of understatements.

  For all his wonderful traits, Joshua Cox was also a very stubborn old man. He would never admit that he needed help. And Bo was just as stubborn, Derek thought in exasperation. If Bo was calling now, then he obviously needed help with Joshua’s problem, but he would die before he would admit it.

  There was only one possible solution.

  “I’ll be on the next plane out!” Derek ground out. The words were tight in his throat as memories of Weirna threatened. It was the only real home he had ever known, but then it had turned out to be his doom too. He shoved the memories aside; he needed to focus more on the good and on Joshua.

  “Hey, hold your horses,” Bo interjected in a gruff tone. “You don’t need to do that— yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “Things haven’t progressed to that point just yet. Heck, I haven’t even contacted any of the others as it is.”

  “What’s been going on, Bo?” Derek demanded.

  “I’m not sure. Just some vibes I picked up. I’m gonna watch him a little more and get back to you.”

  “I’ll call you in two days.”

  “Two weeks, Derek. Give me two weeks. Oh, and you won’t be able to reach me. I’ll reach you.”

  The line went dead.

  “Yo man, they’re here,” someone shouted as Derek returned his phone to his pocket, deep in thought.

  He raised his head slightly, sniffed the air a little and then relaxed. The little crowd of ten people were next to harmless; one sniff could tell him loads about an entire room full of people. It was his unique gift.

  Derek looked around at his surroundings; natural vegetation on every side, just the way he liked it. Tall forest trees, dense shrubs, the scent of rotting leaves, faint scent of dried animal blood, and wet earth; he was in his element.

  He looked at the men, women and two kids assembled before him; they were tourists looking for a good time in the wilds of Kenya. Dexen Resort was his idea; his and his partners’. They had set it up in a place few tourist resorts dared to use. The area was closer to the jungles of Kenya and offered exposure to more wildlife and the government had been on the verge of cordoning it off when he had appeared and offered to buy it. They had been dumbfounded but when he had managed to drum up financial support from his partners, they had gladly let him have it. The area was wild and untamed but with funding and help from his partners, he had made the resort into a luxurious paradise. It had become a veritable Mecca for the more adventurous tourists because Derek was famed for taking tourists to places where angels feared to tread and bringing them back safe and sound. No wild animal had ever harmed anyone he was leading around. In a matter of three years, Derek and Dexen Resort had quickly become sought-after throughout Kenya. He had been travelling all over Africa for the past decade, picking up experiences and adventure; the last three years, he had settled in Kenya.

  He loved Kenya. It offered one of the most exotic wildlife tourisms of any place on earth and something about the African country and its virgin, raw, naked appeal drew him and enthralled every last one of his senses.

  Ever since he had come here as a wildlife tour guide, he hadn’t looked back. He had adapted so fast and become so knowledgeable about the area, and even the language, that all the locals loved him. Everywhere he went, local women pressed food on him, and young local girls tried to rub their breasts against his arm, their dark eyes filled with silent, wicked promises smiling into his.