The Dragon’s Throne 1

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Blurb:

A dragon shifter, paranormal, royalty romance novel. Part 1 in The Dragon’s Throne series. Who would’ve thought that a regular broke girl like me would suddenly be the top pick for a dragon King? Hey there, I’m Anna Greely, your average human in a world where WereDragons are running the show, and humans?

We’re pretty much yesterday’s news. Now we have this new dragon in charge, Prince Eli, and he’s just crowned himself king. First thing on his agenda? Claiming me, the timid little orphan who knows next to nothing about the dragon court.

Why would a smoking hot dragon king want anything to do with me, anyway? Am I actually queen material, or just part of his game? The thing is, in a world where dragons rule, you don’t get to say no. And one thing is for certain: whatever he decides to do with me my life will never be the same again. Get answers in this weredragon romance book by Lucy Fear.

Chapter 1

Twenty-five years ago, Spring 2045

Isabel Greely sat on the quilt, her curly red hair brilliant in the bright sunlight.  The birds singing in the trees and the rushing water of the nearby Missouri river soothed her soul.  Life in Aldeia wasn’t easy, and she was glad that John had brought her to this beautiful place near the edge of the human territory to relax and recharge after a difficult week.  She’d been working harder than normal, and her fingers were sore from the dresses she’d sewn to sell at Festival. 

On the west side of the Missouri river was Aman, the place where dragons lived freely in the vast wilderness that had once been the northwestern part of America.  Their territory extended all the way to the ocean and beyond, their wings giving them access to places that humans could only dream of.

The two species had lived in peace for as long as Isabel could remember, with each keeping to themselves to maintain the treaty that had been signed the year of Isabel’s birth, twenty years before.  The only time the two got together was at Festival on the first day of each Spring and the last days of Summer. 

“Are you excited for Festival?” John asked, pulling her closer so that her back was against his broad chest, his arms around her.

“I’ve sewn more dresses than I ever have, all in the queen’s favorite color.  I hope that she’ll notice them, but if she doesn’t, surely others will like the beautiful shade of purple I was able to make this year.”

“Did you make any other colors?”

“I did,” she said, leaning back and enjoying the feel of his arms around her as he listened intently to her telling him about her craft. 

More than anyone she had ever met, John loved to hear anything and everything about what made Isabel happy.  Even the most mundane things about Isabel’s life intrigued him and she knew that he genuinely enjoyed her company.

 Besides being head over heels in love with him, that interest had been one of the reasons she had married him, and why she couldn’t wait to start a family with him. They’d been trying for some time.  But like anything else, starting a family took time, and Isabel had to remind herself that patience was important.

“I hope that you saved yourself something beautiful,” he said. 

“I did.  I saved two dresses; one in sapphire and one in jade.”

He kissed her neck, sending shivers up and down her spine. 

“Don’t tell me that you’re already ready to go again,” she laughed.  “I just got dressed again.”

“I’m always ready for you,” he said, kissing her shoulder,

“Well, I’m exhausted, and we should be heading back to Aldeia now if we want to get there before curfew.  The sun will be setting soon.”

“We have to-” he started to say, but his words were cut off by an angry shout.

“Woman, come back here!” a man’s voice bellowed from across the river.

“I will not tolerate you speaking to me like that,” the woman shot back, her body obscured by the trees.  “You’re being an ass and I’m not going to deal with it.”

“Just come home, please,” the man said, his voice softening a bit, even though Isabel could still hear the anger beneath the surface.  “Lauren, I’m begging you, be reasonable.”

“I’ll come home when I’m good and ready.”

“Fine.  Stay in the woods for all I care,” the man said, his anger rising again.

John held his finger to his lips, grabbing up their quilt and shoving it into the picnic basket he’d brought.  He grabbed her hand and took her to the edge of the tree line, looking across the river at the statuesque woman with long, raven hair that hung to her waist in stick straight strands.

The man had already left, but Isabel didn’t have to ask who the man was who’d been shouting in the forest and begging this stunning woman to come with him.  Even without her trademark purple dress, Isabel knew exactly who it was.

“It’s Queen Lauren,” she whispered to John, who held his finger to his lips again and shook his head to keep her quiet.

The Dragon Queen stood near the water’s edge, looking into a pool that swirled around some boulders, her cheeks still flush with her earlier rage.  She was so busy looking into the water that she didn’t even notice them there, just fifteen or so yards away at this narrow part of the river.

 Lauren stepped onto a boulder, and then another, moving across the low rocks until she was in the middle of the river where the sun beat down on a particularly large, flat rock that hovered just inches above the churning rapids.

Every now and then, a swell would lap against the boulder, sending fine spray around her and dampening the rock. 

Lauren put her head back and threw her arms out at her sides, soaking up the sun as angry tears slid down her face. 

“We should go,” John said.  “This isn’t for us to see.”

Isabel nodded, feeling guilty for watching the queen while she struggled to calm her anger and dry her tears.  Isabel had been in her shoes, angry at the world and wanting nothing more than to be alone.  She didn’t want to take that away from Lauren, even if she was the queen.

Isabel took a step back, tripping on an exposed root and stumbling backward into a bush. 

“Who’s there?” Lauren called out angrily, then Isabel heard her scream and the sickening sound of her splashing into the rapidly moving water.

Isabel went rushing forward with John, scanning the river desperately to see where Lauren was.  When her head bobbed up from the swirling foam just a few yards away, Isabel breathed a sigh of relief.

“We have to help her,” John said, grabbing Isabel’s hand and pulling her to run along the shore behind him. 

“She can just shift and fly out,” Isabel argued as John shed his shirt and stripped down to his boxers.

“No, she can’t.”

“Help me!” Lauren yelled, then sputtered as the current dragged her under before letting her surface again.

“Why doesn’t she just shift?” Isabel said again, her voice trembling with helplessness.

“Because dragons can’t shift when they’re pregnant,” John said, letting go of Isabel’s hand when she stopped in her tracks.

She’s pregnant? Isabel thought. 

“Help me, please,” Lauren called out again, her desperation tugging at Isabel’s heart.

“John, you have to save her,” she called out just as John’s feet hit the shallow water on the river’s edge and he dove in.

Isabel ran along the water’s edge, heart pounding as she watched John swim toward the place where Lauren had gone under again.  He dove down, and came up almost instantly, dragging Lauren up, out of the water and beginning the agonizingly slow, one-armed backstroke toward the closest shore.

Isabel kept running, trying to keep up as John struggled valiantly against the current that was still dragging them both downriver.  John’s arm was wrapped around Lauren, who had gone silent and looked like she might be unconscious.  But then, Isabel saw Lauren’s eyes fly open, and the woman began flailing in John’s arms for a moment before she realized that she was being rescued.