Dragon Released (Reclaimed Dragons Book 1) Read online

  Dragon Released

  Reclaimed Dragons Book 1

  Terry Bolryder

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Also by Terry Bolryder

  Copyright © 2020 by Terry Bolryder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or 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.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Johanna paced around her coffee table, glancing once again at the ornate blue and silver envelope she’d received as part of a mysterious packet that had shown up on her front door.

  Puggles, her adopted pug mix, followed her in a circle, snorting as he went, thinking this must be some fun game.

  But what she’d read on the pages contained inside… it couldn’t be real.

  No way.

  She picked up the cover letter in thick paper with fine print on it that read “Congratulations! You are a beacon!” in bold at the top, scanning down the paragraphs that seemed to be talking utter nonsense.

  Yet it was all written so directly, so plainly, it was hard to ignore.

  “Did you hear that, Puggles? I’m a fairy, it seems,” Jo said to Puggles, who was taking a break and sitting back on his haunches.

  His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he looked up at her blankly.

  Jo, still trying to grasp the situation, continued to read to her dog. If for no other reason than to try to make sense of everything.

  “Well, technically a ‘beacon,’ according to this. But the person who sent this… whoever this ‘Ian, Light Fairy’ is, says I’m in need of protection and am being assigned a bodyguard.”

  She looked at the single Polaroid sitting next to the packet on the table. Even a few feet away, she could see piercing blue-teal eyes staring up at her from the photo. Eyes that seemed to be following her as she paced around the table, though it was probably just her mind playing tricks on her.

  She had half a mind to throw the whole thing in the trash. She wasn’t in the mood for scams. Especially ones that didn’t even try to be believable.

  But against her better judgment, she picked up the photo to take a better look at it.

  The man was more than handsome. He was gorgeous, with a perfect jaw that couldn’t be marred by his haphazardly shaven beard. High cheekbones, thick brows in a scowl, and full lips that were turned down in displeasure. But the harsh expression only seemed to make his unexplainable attractiveness even more stark, more supernatural.

  She glanced back at the pamphlet.

  “Attached is a photo of your assigned dragon protector during this transitional period,” she read aloud, scanning down the page. “If you do not have further need of his services after the appointed time period, you will be eligible for reassignment to another guard until your safety is assured.”

  Was this some crazy ad for a male revue or something?

  But as she looked over the paperwork again, there was no advertisement. No location for anything listed. And the only phone number was hidden in a small corner and noted, “In case of emergency only.”

  The man’s frown seemed to deepen on the picture in her hand, and Jo dropped the papers on the counter, picking up a half-finished glass of wine and taking a sip.

  Ever since the packet had arrived, she hadn’t gotten any work done on her cake project for tomorrow.

  “I’m not a magical being living in a world with wolves and dragons and faeries. I’m just a baker who bakes. Isn’t that right, Puggles?” Johanna said, thinking out loud. Puggles, bored now that Jo wasn’t pacing, was eagerly sniffing something in the kitchen by himself.

  Feeling her senses relax, Jo sat on her couch and pulled out her laptop. Next to her, she jotted ideas on a sketchpad for a unicorn cake she’d probably make tomorrow while her video editing program loaded.

  In a world where online content was limitless, she had to keep working just to make a living.

  And in reality, Jo loved her work. Loved being able to work from home, making people happy with her videos and recipes.

  But even as she tried to focus on the task at hand, her thoughts continued to drift to words that were sticking to her mind like superglue.

  There couldn’t possibly be anything true about it, could there?

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, making Jo nearly jump out of her seat. Puggles, more cuddle bug than guard dog, just looked at the door, confused.

  Get it together, Jo. It’s probably just those icing packets you ordered, silly, Jo thought to herself, getting up and moving to the door.

  But before she looked through the peephole, the image of the man in the picture flashed through her mind like lightning.

  What if he really was coming to her, for whatever reason?

  And what would she do if he did?

  2

  Stupid, stupid fae.

  Stupid humans.

  Stupid me for ending up in this position.

  Dallin fumed as he ate the sidewalk with long strides, heading toward his mission.

  And the only way he’d ever be free again.

  After a lifetime of planning revenge, he’d gone and had a change of heart at the last minute. But all thanks to the actions of the only people he considered friends and a very nosy woman who seemed obsessed with dragons, he’d gone from being free of all responsibility to being chained like a dog here in the human world.

  He was a dragon. A dragon hybrid, for that matter. One of the most powerful, feared beings in existence with the ability to control everyone and everything around him if he wanted to.

  So what the hell was he doing here, going off to guard a human woman like he didn’t have anything better to do than sit on his ass?

  Dallin huffed, glancing at the quiet suburb around him where he’d been dropped off like so much baggage.

  Simple but clean townhomes greeted him on both sides, and the late afternoon sun beamed down on him. Up ahead, a woman walking a stroller looked up at him, then immediately crossed the street, moving at an awkwardly quick pace to avoid him.

  At least people were still scared of him. That was good.

  He’d already seen Johanna’s picture, taken from a website or something so he’d know what she looked like.

  She was certainly pretty. Gorgeous even, if he was honest.

  But he had much bigger and important things to do than play at being personal security.

  Like finding Ultraviolet and talking some sense into his longtime ally and friend. Like continuing his search for dragons oppressed by generations of fae tyranny.

  Like getting this damn chain, which harnessed and limited his powers, off his wrist.

  Dallin made a turn, heading into a quiet corner of the neighborhood.

  At least so far, the fae princes h
e was reluctantly working with were making good on their promises to help his dragon brethren. And from the initial reports he’d received, Dallin had every reason to believe the too-moral, too-nice warriors were already making much bigger strides to free dragons than he’d made so far in his own lifetime.

  Really, they were doing a great job. He just hated to admit that any fairy could possibly keep a promise like that.

  And it still rankled since he wanted to be the one doing it.

  Granted, his plan had been to destroy everyone and anyone in his way to accomplish it, but that was neither here nor there now.

  Dallin could feel the bump of his phone in his pocket, and he considered calling his only contact—Ian, a light fairy he’d befriended and nearly murdered and then saved while still on his quest for vengeance—one more time before he reached Johanna’s address. But Dallin had been given strict instructions that he had one shot at protecting a beacon. Only one. And if he messed it up, there would be “consequences.”

  He shrugged. How bad could it possibly be compared to the torture he’d gone through to become what he was now?

  The sun caught the green glow of the emerald ring on his finger, and he raised his hand to look at it. Hammered silver metal surrounding a small, glowing stone.

  It was the only gift he’d been given before being sent on this mission. And, frankly, it was the only possession he had actually become fond of since being in the human world. Apparently, it was bound to him now, representative of his powers as an emerald dragon somehow, though the concept of being a dragon in the way earth shifters conceived dragons was still strange to him.

  After all, Dallin was no ordinary dragon.

  He nodded to himself, making one last turn. Damn, why had Ian dropped him off so far from the beacon’s house? Ian didn’t have to be so eager to get back to Liz all the freaking time, making Dallin walk so ridiculously far.

  The metal chain on his wrist clinked, and he played with the links between two fingers.

  This… contraption held his powers back. His strength. Even his ability to shift. And the only instruction he’d been given was that he’d have access to his powers if he ever really needed them. Whatever the hell that meant.

  He’d already been attempting to break the chain, though. See if he could use his abilities in spite of the glorified shock collar dangling on his wrist.

  So far, his tests had yielded… unpleasant results.

  No one would control him ever again after this, though.

  He looked up. This was it, the right address.

  And his key to freedom.

  He’d protect the beacon, do his job for however long it took, and be done with all of this nonsense forever.

  To his dismay, though, there was already a man on the beacon’s porch. He was young, maybe in his twenties, with khaki shorts and a polo shirt and a clipboard in his hand, and he was gesturing animatedly and blabbering about pest control or some bullshit.

  The only pest needing control is the one on the doorstep, Dallin thought darkly. But he stood back, waiting for the exchange to end so he could confront the beacon in private.

  He couldn’t see her from his vantage, but he could hear her voice, calm at first, but more resolute as she said, “No thanks,” for the second time.

  The person, who was clearly selling something, only got pushier. “If you’re all alone, then you need someone to take care of this for you,” the young man stated, moving ominously toward the door. “Here, let me inside and we can talk in more detail.”

  Dallin felt the hairs on his arms bristle at attention, his vision zeroing in.

  “No, good-bye,” the feminine voice said, and Dallin watched the door close.

  But the man stuck his foot in the door, forcing it open as his friendly demeanor seemed to fall into a darker, more sinister glower. “I wasn’t done yet.”

  And from the thoughts Dallin heard coming from the man, he wasn’t interested in selling her pest control anymore.

  Dallin leaped up the steps of the beacon’s quaint house, feet hitting the landing with a thud. His weight immediately snapped the man’s attention upward.

  Just in time for Dallin to grab the puny human by the neck, lifting him off the ground like a paperweight.

  Every muscle, every cell in his body burned with utter disgust for the casual, unprovoked evil inside this person. He could feel the beacon—Johanna—standing in the door behind him. Could sense her fear and shock and surprise, but he remained focused on the pathetic piece of human filth gagging for breath three feet off the ground.

  “When a woman says no, she means no,” Dallin said darkly, teeth clenching with rage.

  He could snap this man’s neck like a toothpick. Break him like a twig. Fold him twenty ways so even his next of kin wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

  All just because he could.

  Suddenly, from nowhere, Dallin felt a surge of energy through him, magical and green, pulsing in his veins.

  His dragon power.

  Somehow, for a moment, the chain wasn’t holding him back anymore.

  Perfect.

  “I’m… sorry… I’m…” the salesman sputtered.

  “Shut up,” Dallin commanded. Instantly, the man’s mouth clenched shut. Around them, the telltale green mist hovered like emerald dust.

  He might only have one shot at this. He needed to make it count.

  But he’d have just a little bit of fun first.

  “I want you to never knock, come near, or even think about this house ever again for the rest of your life. You’re going to go on a nice long walk, say… twenty miles, and when you’re done, punch yourself in the balls fifty times. Just so you have something to remember next time you think about hurting someone.”

  The salesman’s expression went blank. And when Dallin set him down, he immediately walked off, marching like a toy soldier as he did, never looking or turning back.

  “Good boy,” Dallin muttered.

  Holy shit, it worked!

  Dallin looked at his hands, surprised even at himself for the good fortune he’d stumbled upon. Maybe it had something to do with being near the beacon or maybe just dumb luck.

  If he could just tell her to go call Ian, have her ask for a reassignment—Landon and Ryder were certainly more interested in helping beacons than he was—then maybe they would give up on forcing him to be something he wasn’t. Maybe they’d finally see eye to eye with him and just leave him be.

  Either way, he was going to do both himself and the beacon a favor right now.

  “Are you… okay?” a soft, feminine voice asked from behind him.

  Sorry, Johanna. This is for both of us, Dallin thought to himself as he turned to face her.

  Her big, honey-brown eyes went wide as she looked up at him, and for a moment, Dallin regretted ever even thinking of using his emerald dragon powers on such a beautiful, seemingly nice person.

  But freedom was freedom.

  “Human, I want you to call the number in your pamphlet immediately and ask to release me from your service. Make it convincing. Say whatever you need to say to make it happen.” He folded his arms as he spoke, trying to not lose his nerve even though something deep inside him wanted to pull Johanna into his arms, not manipulate her.

  The beacon stood there, a full foot shorter than him, mouth agape.

  She was so gorgeous with that soft brown hair, that creamy skin, the honey-brown eyes, that he almost felt bad about what he’d just done.

  “I… What?” she asked.

  Was it working? This was the first time he’d been able to use his powers even once since coming to the human world. Maybe there was a delay because of the chain. Maybe it was—

  A blinding, excruciatingly painful shock of electricity hit Dallin like a thousand punches to the gut. Completely overcome, his muscles gave out instantly, and he fell to the side, tumbling down the steps of the beacon’s home and hitting the ground face first. But the cement on his face was nothing comp
ared to the continual stabs of electric pain that seemed to be taking their time going away after several seconds.

  Well, that didn’t work, Dallin thought to himself, mind going blank, senses going numb.

  In spite of it, the last thought that crossed his mind before he passed out was that Johanna was even more beautiful in person than she’d been in the photos.

  Maybe being her bodyguard wouldn’t be the worst punishment in the world.

  3

  For a moment, Johanna just stood there on her doorstep, too shocked and confused to move after watching… well, whatever had just happened.

  But seeing the huge man that had appeared from nowhere facedown on her sidewalk made her body jump into gear, and she quickly moved to his side to see what she could do.

  Had he had a heart attack? No, he looked more like he’d been tased, though there certainly wasn’t anyone else around who could have done it.

  Nothing made sense anymore.

  “Mister, are you okay?” She prodded the guy’s shoulder, hoping he’d move. Even lying down, he was massive, a wall of muscle and maleness.

  Being this close to him only further confirmed Jo’s suspicions. His face, turned slightly to the side, revealed masculine features and a beard that was better trimmed but still unmistakable from the one the man in the photo had.

  Was this a dream?

  Should she call an ambulance or something?

  Suddenly, he took in a long, harsh breath, eyes flying open. And without notice, he pushed himself off the ground, standing up and brushing himself off like nothing had happened. As though he hadn’t just collapsed like a falling tree a moment ago.