A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 11)
Read A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear Book 11) Online
Authors: R. E. Butler
Tags: #shifter romance, #Dragon Shifter Romance, #polar bear shifter, #dragon shifter
A Dragon for December
Wiccan-Were-Bear #11
By R. E. Butler
Copyright 2016 R. E. Butler
A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear
#11)
By R. E. Butler
License Notes
This book is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other
people of dpg. If you would like to share this book with another person,
please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re
reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased
for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you
for respecting the hard work of the author.
Cover by Vallerie Tibbs
This ebook is a work of fiction. Names,
charactters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s
imagination and not to be consttrued as real. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or locations is
coincidental.
Discllaimer: The material in this book is for
mature audiences only and conttains graphic sexual content and is
intended for those older than the age of 18 only.
* * *
Editing by Jennifer Moorman
* * *
Thank you to Joyce & Shelley for beta
reading, and much love to my Aunt B.L.
Table of Contents
A Dragon for December (Wiccan-Were-Bear
#11)
By R. E. Butler
Polar bear shifter December Merricks is
visiting her angel best friend, Allisandrea, in Cleveland. When the
February new moon rises, Deci heads into what she believes are
neutral woods for some hunting when she comes snout to fang with an
enormous dragon who is not only trying to swipe her prey but also
happens to be her mate.
Dragon Prince Tosh Okida loves hunting in the
woods of Culiver, the territory owned by his nest. When the new
moon rises, Tosh feels an incredible pull to the woods and goes
hunting. To his surprise he finds a polar bear roaming his woods,
trying to steal a buck. Not only is the feisty bear a thief, but
she’s also his mate.
With his mate by his side, Tosh can claim the
kingship of his people, but someone is hiding in the shadows and
plotting against him. When an innocent trip to the spa ends with
Deci kidnapped and drugged, her body is forced into a painful
mating heat. Will Tosh be able to get to her before she’s lost to
him forever and put down the threat to his throne, or will all be
lost in a flurry of fur and fangs?
Chapter 1
Polar bear shifter December Merricks pulled
into the visitor parking space at her friend Allisandrea’s
apartment complex. Alli had been begging Deci to visit for months,
and she’d finally taken Alli up on her offer to crash at her place.
Deci worked as a cook at a private shifter school in the mountains
of Pennsylvania, and two days earlier the negative temperatures had
frozen the pipes in the school, causing them to burst, which
resulted in massive destruction due to the flooding. The school was
closed for two weeks, which was plenty of time to veg out at Alli’s
and take a vacation.
She and Alli had been friends for almost ten
years. They met at a bridal show in New York City, where her
sister, Noel, had dragged Deci to help her pick out a gown for her
wedding. Deci loved her sister, but she hated shopping, and she
especially hated taking a long trip into the city just for that
purpose.
Deci and Alli bumped into each other at a
display for chocolate fountains. Alli, a fallen angel, had taken a
trip to New York City for her favorite author’s book signing and
had peeked into the bridal show out of curiosity. While Deci and
Alli chatted over chocolate-covered strawberries and marshmallows,
a friendship formed, and the two had been close ever since.
Deci returned to her job at the school and
kept in touch with Alli, who came to visit once a year in the
summer because, according to her, it was “too damn cold” in the
winter to be anywhere near the mountains. As a polar bear shifter,
Deci loved the cold. There was nothing better in her mind than
being in her shift and lumbering through the snow.
After grabbing her bags from the trunk of her
car, she walked to the glass security door and pressed the button
for Alli’s apartment. The door buzzed as it unlocked, and she
walked inside, stamping the snow from her boots before heading to
the stairs. When she reached the second floor, she found Alli
standing in the hallway, hands on her hips and a big grin on her
face.
“It’s about time you got here, woman!”
Deci smiled as Alli hugged her and then took
one of her bags. “Sorry, I got a late start. My sister called
because she’d heard about the flood and wanted to know if I would
come to her den. I think she’s trying to set me up with
someone.”
“She wants you to be mated and pregnant like
her. Sisters are good for that kind of thing.” Alli led the way
into her apartment and shut the door after Deci set her bag down in
the front room.
“She and Trag are happy together, but he’s
not her truemate. I told her I wouldn’t settle for anyone but the
one male who is right for me. It doesn’t matter to me if he’s a
bear or some other kind of shifter, or even a human.”
Alli rolled her eyes. “I bet she loved to
hear that. Noel is very pro-bear.”
“She is, but I’m not. I was always surprised
that she didn’t find a polar bear den so she could hook up with a
male who was just like her. That she went grizzly was
surprising.”
Alli snickered. “Went grizzly sounds like
something a guy does when he stops shaving.”
Deci laughed. “I missed you.”
“Me too. Let’s get you set up in the guest
bedroom and then we can eat dinner. I made you my famous takeout
from the Italian joint down the street.”
“Can’t wait.”
After unpacking her bags, Deci joined Alli in
the kitchen where she was removing the clear lids from aluminum
takeout containers. Each one held a different pasta dish. “I
remembered that you liked chicken Parmesan, but help yourself to
whatever you want. There’s definitely plenty.”
Deci gathered glasses and filled them with
ice and sweet tea and then joined Alli at the table. Deci placed a
thick breaded chicken cutlet on her plate, along with a generous
helping of spaghetti, and dusted it all with grated Parmesan.
“Wait, let’s toast,” Alli said.
“With iced tea?” Deci asked, smiling.
“It’s not the content of the glass. It’s the
heartfelt words.”
“What do we toast to?”
“Your vacation.”
Their glasses clinked and Deci said, “Thanks
for letting me stay. I’m looking forward to hanging out in
Cleveland, even though it’s not nearly as cold here as it is in the
mountains.”
Alli snorted. “You and your cold. It’s a
fricking freezer here in February. It’s just because you’re a polar
bear that you think it’s not as cold as it really is.”
“It’s all relative,” Deci said as she cut
into the chicken, her mouth watering at the savory scents filling
the air.
“I suppose. So, any plans to hook up with
some sexy guys while you’re here? Because I have some rules about
that.”
Deci snorted as she laughed. “You have rules
about me hooking up with someone?”
“Oh sure. Like…if he stays over, he
must
have a sexy friend for me to play with. And he
absolutely can’t leave the seat up. I will flip out.”
She chewed on her bite of chicken and tried
not to laugh too hard. She took a drink of tea and said, “No
up-seat business and sexy friends. Anything else?”
“It would be nice if he’d make breakfast for
your friend because I’m so awesome.”
Deci smiled. “I’m not looking to hook up with
anyone, but if I happen to fall onto someone’s dick at some point,
I’ll make sure he’s got a friend plus breakfast-making skills.
“
Sexy
friend.”
“You got it.”
Deci honestly wasn’t in the market for a mate
right now. She was only nineteen plus five, which according to the
long-life that most supernatural creatures had, she still looked
like she could be in high school even though she was technically
sixty-six. Noel thought she should have settled down years ago, but
Deci wanted to meet her truemate and didn’t want to settle. She
dated from time to time, but she hadn’t had a serious boyfriend in
years. Someday she’d find the male meant for her and then she’d be
glad she’d waited.
Alli shared the news about one of her
friends, Arissa, who was a vampire’s beloved mate and a Wiccan.
Deci had never met Arissa, but she felt as though she knew her
because of Alli.
“We can go to Fang tomorrow night. They’re
really hopping on Saturdays.”
Deci hadn’t ever been around vampires before,
and Fang was the club owned by the Cleveland coven. Shifter blood
was addictive to vampires because it was stronger than human blood,
and she didn’t want to become some vampire’s snack.
Alli rolled her eyes. “Don’t make that face.
They only feed on the people who work there. You’d have to make
arrangements to be bitten.”
“No thanks.”
“Fine, fine. I wasn’t suggesting you become a
midnight snack to a vampire. I was just thinking it would be fun to
go there because it’s a great club. There’s another club we could
go to; it’s more for shifters than vampires.”
“I guess you’re in the mood to dance,
huh?”
“Oh sure. I’m a regular twinkle toes.” Alli
wiggled her brows, and Deci laughed.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 2
Dragon shifter Prince Tosh Okida sat at the
long table in his home’s conference room and listened as one of his
dragons went over the nest’s annual earnings from the previous
year. The nest owned several businesses in Culiver, the dragon-only
town. Tosh’s ancestors had settled Culiver centuries ago, with the
intentions that it become a safe haven for their nest, and since
Tosh was the prince of the nest and the leader of their people, he
was in charge of the town as well. A lot rested on his shoulders
and had since he had taken over as prince fifteen years ago after
the passing of his father.
“Thank you, Huan,” Tosh said after the older
male had finished his report. Clearing his throat, he glanced out
the windows at the setting sun. “If there’s nothing else, we can
adjourn for the evening.”
Tosh’s uncle, Yuon, stood slowly. His uncle
was old fashioned and spent his time studying the laws of their
people. At almost five hundred years of age, Yuon was one of the
oldest dragons in Tosh’s nest. As shifters, dragons enjoyed what
was known as long-life, which meant they aged one body year for
every twelve years that passed. Tosh was one hundred years old, but
technically he was only twenty-four plus ten, so although he’d been
alive for a century, he could pass for a college student.
“Yes, uncle?” Tosh said.
“You are one hundred now, my nephew,” he
said.
Tosh frowned. “And?”
“Our people must be led by a king, and you
cannot take the kingship until you’ve found your mate.”
Tosh was well aware of his unmated
status.
Huan spoke up. “There is nothing in our laws
that states a prince cannot continue to lead until such a time as
he finds his mate.”
“Do you have a point, uncle?” Tosh asked.
“I believe your mate is not within Culiver. I
recommend you reach out to the Wiccans and have them do a seeking
spell. You may step down from your position while you search for
your mate and another can take your place, temporarily.”
The males at the table clamored in
disapproval. Tosh lifted his hand for silence. Suspicion filled
him. He knew that his uncle had always harbored some resentment for
not being given the leadership of the nest. Yuon was his mother’s
brother, and Tosh’s mother had died when he was young. His father
had never re-mated. His father had stayed on as king for many
decades, an excellent leader and a strong, honorable male. When he
died during a hunting trip, the elders of the nest had poured over
the laws, which stated in no uncertain terms that the mantle of
leadership passed from father to son. Yuon had been cut out of the
equation entirely, and Tosh had never really understood why his
uncle thought he should become king in Tosh’s place anyway.