Their Runaway Mate
Read Their Runaway Mate Online
Authors: Lori Whyte
Tags: #dragon shifter romance, #dragons and romance, #bbw romance, #paranormal romance, #mfm triad romance, #menage romance, #action and adventure romance hea happy ending
Their Runaway Mate by Lori Whyte
Copyright
Their Runaway Mate
by Lori Whyte
Copyright © 2015 by S. Paton. All rights reserved.
Kindle Edition
Cover by: S. Paton
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
License Notes
This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return o a reputable e-book retailer and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Their Runaway Mate
by Lori Whyte
Mannix Dragon Shifters Series Book 1 ~ A Paranormal BBW Dragon Shifter Romance
Two Dragons, One Runaway Mate
When Jasmine discovers she's been
sacrificed to the dragons
as part of a new Dragon Agreement, old fears surge through her and she flees in a panic. Elected by her neighbors to be given to the winged beasts, her life is no longer her own. She evades capture by the mob of creatures that descends upon her house to kidnap her, only to be unwittingly nabbed by one her first night as a fugitive.
She is surprised to discover Kylan, the
sexy dragon leader
who finds her, isn't what she expects, nor is his
drool-worthy second-in-command
, Dillon. Instead of forcing her to mate them,
they swear to protect her
until they investigate how she could have been chosen without her consent.
She risked life and limb to run from dragons after being selected, but now she wonders what type of life they could offer her. When they suggest she get to know them and consider being their mate, she finds their offer
more temptation than she can resist
...
Could being a mate to two seductive dragons be just what she was destined for?
Beware:
This is a sexy story with a happy ending and explicit scenes of a MFM ménage between a BBW and her two hot dragons.
~~~
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Chapter 1
S
he shivered in the glacier-fed creek. Cold water flowed around her, teasing her bruised and sore flesh, enticing her to stay in its icy embrace. But it lied.
It would be her death if she believed it.
She had to move.
If only she knew where she was. If only…
Then the forest animals hushed. The babbling of the quiet stream continued on but the birds' warbling and the squirrels' chattering were gone.
Hide!
But where?
No, it was too late. It was always too late.
The beast's wide wingspan filled the opening in the trees, obliterating whatever weak sunlight penetrated the heavy fog.
How had he found her?
His citrus yellow eyes narrowed upon seeing her. The weight of his stare pinned her in place. If she ran, the predator would chase, but she had no choice. She had to try to save herself.
As soon as she moved toward the stream bank, the dragon's sharp war cry skewered the air. She scrambled up the embankment. Her bare hands and feet slipped over the muck and wet rocks. She grabbed at the small tufts of grass and willow branches, praying for purchase.
A whoosh of air buffeted her, fanning the lingering water droplets on her exposed limbs.
"Help me!" Her scream was lost in the forest. Nothing could stop the inevitable.
Then she felt it at her back. The creature's muscled limb circled her waist and pulled her away from the mud, away from the water… away from the earth.
A paw with pearly white talons closed over her flesh. The beast held her tight against his massive chest as he lifted them into the heavens. His hot breath fanned over her wet hair, and she trembled against him, awed by his strength and soothed by his heat—
No!
She could not—would not—surrender.
Jasmine Gordon screamed and thrashed against her bedding. Her heart pounded. Sweat poured down her face. She gulped for air, bolted upright, and prayed for the nightmare to fade.
Her mother would have been so disappointed at her fear of dragons. She had been obsessed with the creatures, telling Jasmine tale after tale of what she called "the gentle beasts."
"
You are precious, my Jasmine, a true dragon's treasure
," she would say every night before turning out the bedside lamp.
But just after her mother died, which was by eerie coincidence also the year the government revealed dragons really existed, Jasmine's imagination had taken those stories and warped them into the dark tales of horror that now plagued her. Every night for more than twenty years, she suffered through the same terrifying episode, but now that she'd been shortlisted as a potential dragon mate, the dream had become more vivid.
She panted and wiped at her clammy forehead. She swore she could still feel the dragon's claw where it had pressed into the soft flesh of her belly. Her soft worn sheets tore under her clenched fists as she willed the panic to subside. She fell back to the mattress and reached for her cell phone on the nightstand. Her hand shook. It took three attempts before her fingers closed around the familiar weight.
It was just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream.
She said the words over and over in her head until her pulse slowed to a pace slightly closer to normal. Her bedroom was quiet and dim. The sun wasn't even up yet, which meant it was too early for anyone else to be in the doctor's office. She'd have to leave a message. The sleeping pills Dr. Wright had prescribed weren't working. She needed something different. Something stronger. Today.
She fumbled through the key lock to find her contact list. As she brushed her finger over the phone, an incoming video call sprang up. She tapped it and her Aunt Trixy's face, which was nearly as red as her hair, filled the screen.
"Aunty? You look flushed. Are you okay?"
"Get up. Hurry, girl, hurry." Trixy waved her hands frantically through the air. "The council has agreed to the dragons' ultimatum."
At the ominous words, a sudden icy chill wrapped over her. Her hand shook as she stared at her aunt's face in the small screen.
"What do you mean?"
"They are giving you to the dragons. Yours was the first name drawn. They did the blasted announcement a few minutes ago while the rest of the world was sleeping. Sneaky bastards."
***
Kylan Jaxon set his axe down and tried to squeeze a sliver of wood under the tight bereavement band at his wrist. The damned magic in it made his skin itch. The more he scratched the more it chafed, just like this mandatory mourning isolation.
He had loved his parents, and understood it was important to honor their deaths, but even they would have supported his request to postpone the official grieving for the fifth time or even indefinitely until the Dragon Council had secured the new amendments to the Dragon Agreement with the humans. The council, to which he was only an external adviser, disagreed. He still couldn't believe it. He'd been integral to the talks from the beginning—hell, there wouldn't have been a beginning without him. This was his fight, and he was missing out on the last battle.
After suffering three rogue dragon attacks in the past month, the humans had finally recognized their own peril and had renewed negotiations yesterday evening. He wished like hell he was in that room. These discussions were the first step in achieving a workable solution to everyone's problems. As chief of the enforcers within the dragon community, it was in Kylan's best interests to prevent dragon meltdowns from happening. Having access to mates was critical to that.
At least his cabin was Wi-Fi compatible and Kylan could get updates from his primary, Dillon Rilyx. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the screen. Still no word. Sonofabitch. The humans and council members had been behind closed doors for hours. If his colleagues messed this up, they were all screwed. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and looked east.
Sunrise would be sprinting across the horizon soon. He'd been chopping wood since midnight, too restless to sleep and unable to do anything else. With the damned band on his wrist, he couldn't transition to his dragon form, so soaring through the skies, his usual relaxation method, was impossible. As the negotiations had heated up over the last few months, he'd flown a lot. He rolled his shoulders. His muscles were warm from the work.
Kylan was halfway through stacking the wood when
Carmina Burana
broke through the quiet pre-dawn air. He should probably change that ringtone. He fished out his phone.
"What's going on?"
"We have a development," Dillon said.
"Talk to me about the meeting."
Dillon whistled. "Well, the humans have agreed. Can you believe it?"
"When do they announce the list of volunteers?"
"Already did."
"What?" Kylan froze. "What about the protocols we'd been discussing? What about the interviews?"
"Don't know. But they said they'd be announcing one name at a time until the dragon clans are balanced and the rogues settled. After that, they'll adjust as needed."
Kylan nodded. "Well, it's better than nothing, I guess."
"Yep. The first one is a baker named Jasmine Gordon. Sounds nice, hey? Some of the others have already headed over to her place. I'm on my way as soon as I get off the phone with you."
Kylan shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was happening faster than he'd expected. "I need you there to watch the proceedings. The volunteer needs to choose which clan she goes with. That part is critical if we want to get more volunteers in the future." He took a deep breath. "Damn, if I'd known they were going to start today I'd have had Jay and Bryan go with you, maybe even Morgan and Dirk too. This has to go right. Do what you can."
"I'll call you back later."
Within a few minutes of disconnecting, Kylan knew as much about Ms. Gordon as he could from the Internet. She owned her own bakery business and, based on the reviews, she was good at what she did. Why would someone like her volunteer to join a dragon clan? It didn't make sense, but a lot of things in life didn't make sense.
He flipped through several articles about her business before locating a photo of her. Hmm… Ms. Gordon was the epitome of what dragons typically found attractive. She was curvy in all the right places and had a pretty flush on her rounded cheeks. She wouldn't have any trouble finding a clan and a mate. Maybe she'd even consider his, the Mannix clan.
Dillon was a good ambassador for the clan, particularly when it came to women, and not just those addicted to Dragon's Tears. Before the humans had started limiting dragon interactions with human females, his boyish charm had tempted even the sweetest good girls into his bed. Kylan was sure Dillon hadn't forgotten any of his tricks.
It was possible she would choose him over the other clan representatives.
But even if she didn't, this was a breakthrough moment in the relations between their civilizations. After the Dragon Announcement decades ago, their lives had been thrown into chaos and everything had spiraled downhill from that moment. Not only did the human government try to limit all contact between their civilizations, but most mates had also fled to human settlements to wait out the riots and the vigilante hunters. Many of them didn't return. The few who did tried to sustain entire clans, but it was an impossible task. Despite the increased longevity they gained when they mated, the steady and heightened drain on their energy had reduced their lifespans until one by one they passed away well before their time. And yet, those brave women, his mother included, had refused to leave to save themselves.
Kylan tugged at the band on his wrist. The magic that bound it to his body wouldn't let him free for another thirteen days. If only he was there to make sure everything went smoothly and according to the dictates of the treaty… assuming they hadn't changed anything substantial in the last round of negotiations.