Zephyr: House of Storms: Dragon Guardians Book 8 Read online

  Zephyr: House of Storms

  Dragon Guardians Book 8

  Scarlett Grove

  Contents

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  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

  Also by Scarlett Grove

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  An Omega’s fire … Charity Morning is a werewolf Omega held captive by Raze, a cruel Alpha who wants the power her mating thrall can give him. When a vision shows Charity her true mate, she flees to him. But will the cool, controlling man she finds be any better? An Alpha’s strength … Aaron Blake must prove his worthiness to become his pack’s new Alpha. To claim Charity as his Omega, he must fight off the other males who want her … and then pleasure and dominate her in bed until he earns her trust. Only then, with her true submission, will their mating be complete. A deadly challenge … As Aaron and Charity realize that their mating is much more than a tradition, Raze and his pack track the Omega to her new home. They want her back--at any cost. Can Aaron defeat them all, or will Charity lose him before they can confess their true feelings? Super hot read. 18+ Steaming hot love scenes and mild violence. HEA Standalone novella.

  Under the light of the full moon, Avery experiences a night of endless pleasure in the arms of a seductive stranger. When she witnesses his transformation into a wolf, she's convinced their passionate encounter was part of an otherworldly dream. But her pregnancy test confirms it was all too real and now she must find the father of her child.

  1

  Zephyr sat at the dashboard of the computer in his laboratory and watched the data roll across the holographic screen.

  "Human activity has tripled in the last week. At this rate there will be a catastrophic event in the next thirty days,” Azure, his AI informed him.

  "I would like you to run some simulations of multiple scenarios, including various levels of disclosure. The purpose is to predict the reaction of humanity, and if it will be more or less dangerous to reveal our existence to them at this time."

  “Compiling simulation data.”

  "Inform me immediately when they are complete.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant Zephyr," Azure said.

  Zephyr rubbed his temples, standing from his chair. He was exhausted from long hours in the lab. Even after discovering the formula for a vaccine against the vampires, he and his team still hadn't determined a way to administer it across the world. The attacks on humans had not diminished. They had increased.

  Since the emergence of all the other dragon houses, the pressure on the House of Storms had increased hundredfold. It wasn't that Zephyr wasn't pleased with their arrival — on the contrary, it presented an excellent opportunity. But while the House of Storms and House of Flames were distracted by introducing the new arrivals to their world, it seemed as if most of them had forgotten their primary mission. He understood that everyone needed a break — he did too — but there was still so much to be done.

  Zephyr made his way to the kitchen, his stomach begging to be filled. He hadn't eaten all day. In the kitchen he found JoJo and Hanish, eating turkey sandwiches and feeding Tor.

  "It's good to see you, Zephyr. You made yourself scarce lately.”

  "There is still so much work to be done.”

  "Now that the other houses have awakened and we’ve found the vaccine, we’re home free.”

  "That is true in some respects," Zephyr said, “but the full truth is the human race may be too far gone, psychologically. The vampire attacks have introduced a strange new reality to them. And there's no going back.”

  "The human race is going to have to find out about us sooner or later," Hanish said.

  "Sir," Zephyr said, growing concerned about his captain’s flippant attitude. "There may be better or worse ways of going about the transition. If we can avoid alarming them, it would be preferable. We have seen that humans can be irrational and chaotic when fear drives them to a mob mentality. There's no telling what they might do if they learn the truth. We are already experiencing the beginning of such possibilities. Azure predicts a catastrophic event within the next thirty days if we remain on this course.”

  “That should change once we distribute the vaccine. Continue with your research and let me know what else you find," Hanish said, turning back to JoJo and his son. Tor made a giggling noise and slapped his hand on his food tray, sending a spray of applesauce into the air. Both his parents gushed with delight at the display. Zephyr shook his head, starting out of the kitchen.

  "Zephyr," Hanish said behind him. Zephyr turned back to face his captain.

  "What is it, sir?" Zephyr asked.

  "Why don't you focus on finding your mate and leave all of this worry about the humans’ reaction until something actually happens.”

  "Now isn't the time to be concerned about my mate, Captain," Zephyr said.

  "Now is the perfect time to be concerned about your mate. We’ve had the most progress against the vampires since our arrival on earth. It's time to relax, recharge, and celebrate. Sometimes things just have to take care of themselves.”

  Zephyr knew he wasn't going to convince Hanish of anything right now. His captain was in his own little world with JoJo. Perhaps Zephyr was overreacting. But, as much as he wanted to tell himself that and trust his prince, he knew it wasn't true. They were so close to having the peace and prosperity they had all hoped for, now wasn't the time to relax. Now was the time to dig in and work harder.

  As he approached the door to the basement, he realized he’d forgotten to get anything to eat. Zephyr gritted his teeth and turned toward the front door. He left the house and headed to the garage. He grabbed the keys to the white Tesla, slipped through the door, and sat behind the wheel. He quickly pulled out of the garage and made his way through the shields and onto the road toward the highway. He needed to get away from the lab and clear his head.

  Perhaps he should just relax and enjoy the fruits of his previous labors. Perhaps focusing on his work was just a way to distract himself from the fact that he hadn’t found a mate yet. As he sped along the road and turned toward the coast, he realized how difficult it was to be without one.

  "Have you made any progress on the simulations, Azure?" Zephyr asked through the mental link.

  "The first analysis is complete, Lieutenant Zephyr," Azure said.

  "Yes?"

  "With the base variable of dispensing the vaccine but taking no further action, there is an 85% chance the human psyche will be driven to world war."

  "85%." Zephyr shook his head. "Those are not good odds.”

  "The human psyche is unpredictable," Azure said. “But it is predictably unpredictable."

  2

  Maia stood aboard the deck of the ship of the House of Tides, staring down at the vast blue-green planet below. She ached to swim in the shimmering blue oceans of the planet and feel the warm sunlight on her skin. She held her daughter to her chest and s
melled the babe’s sweet scent. Her love for her child was boundless and she ached to see all of her children again.

  Duchess Maia of the House of Tides was the only adult female dragon in all of the galaxy. They called her Dragoness Prime, but she didn't feel much like a prime anymore. Most of her people believed her dead. The Prince of Tides had made sure of that. The father of her dear, sweet Waverley had spread the rumor in the very last hours before the end of their world.

  Ever since the cataclysm, he’d kept her captive aboard his ship. In the months that the dragons had searched for a new home, Maia had contented herself with taking care of her daughter. Now that she had awakened on Earth, all she could think about was being reunited with all her children. And maybe, in this new world, where the humans had evolved into Dragon Souls, she could find her own fated mate. Her one true love.

  Prince Current of the House of Tides wanted her to be his. Since she could bear young with any male, she could also be claimed by anyone. But it was not a fated love. Prince Current believed it only fitting that she remain loyal to her own house and become his mate. She had refused to lay with him all this time, but that hadn’t kept him from persisting.

  Maia had never been with a man. All of her dragonkin had been artificially inseminated. The eggs she had produced were born to a virgin dragoness. She had a deep affection for all the princes whose seed she had grown. One no more than any other. She knew in her heart that none of them were her fated one.

  Finding the love of her fated, the eternal bond of mates, was the one true dream of her heart. A dream she had sacrificed in service of her people to produce the last dragonkin in existence. When she was declared a Dragoness Prime in her third year of life, it had become her destiny. But now that destiny was fulfilled, and Maia wanted something for herself.

  She put her sleeping baby in her crib and walked across her room, looking at the holographic projection of the world below her. Prince Current had allowed her this much. Even though he wouldn't allow her to leave the ship and experience the world the way the men had.

  Their old enemy, the vampires, had found their way to Earth and were currently wreaking havoc with the native population. The primitive creatures the dragons seeded had evolved over the million years she’d spent in a stasis pod. During that time, they’d created a vast advanced civilization.

  But the seed of dragon nobility had been corrupted by the interference of the vampires. And the primitive roots of the humans’ animal ancestry remained at the core of their being. All three influences clashed, causing them to act in chaotic and unpredictable ways. They were on the brink of complete social meltdown because of a rash of murders and disappearances they could not explain. Maia’s heart went out to them. In some ways, all of humanity were their children.

  She looked back at Waverley. Her heart burst with love for the child. Maia loved all of her children so very much, and she missed them every day. She hadn't been allowed to see them since the escape from Dragonia. Prince Current kept her existence a secret.

  In some ways, the dragons who had escaped the cataclysm were the best of their race. Although Prince Current had joined the rebellion against the elders and had left the dying world, she could see he was more aligned with the elders than the noble hearts of the rebels. Current wanted to dominate and control her. He wanted to keep her for himself.

  Maia was biding her time, waiting for the day when she could leave the ship and find her own way in this new world. He wouldn't be able to keep her here forever. Not now that they had all awakened, their mission a success. The possibility of the men finding their mates was right before them. She wished more than anything that Current would find his one true love and release her from this hell he had created.

  The door to her room slid open and Prince Current stepped inside. He had a dark look in his eyes as he stared at her. She had been crying. The projection of the Earth played on her holographic screen. He crossed the room to her and took her in his arms. Leaning in, he attempted to kiss her, but she turned away. His lips fell on empty air. He stepped back, angry at her continued rejection.

  "Have you any news from the houses on the surface?" she asked.

  "They have been sharing information about how to court human women.”

  "That's good news.”

  "Just because the males on the surface appear to have found their fated mates, doesn't mean all of us will. The safest thing for you and I is to stay together.”

  "Of course," she said, turning away and staring at her child. "But what if?

  "If my fated mate lives among these humans," he said with a sneer, finishing her thought "I expect you to stay with me and raise our daughter. We are water dragons. Our house must stick together.”

  "There is no taboo against mixing with different types of dragons," she said.

  "Are you interested in one of the other men?"

  "Of course not," she said stepping away from him. She walked to the holographic screen and stared up at the projection of the Earth below. It was so beautiful. A tear slid down her cheek. "It's just that I might make new friends. I've been cooped up in my chambers for so long. I would like to meet the other dragons who escaped. And… who knows… maybe my fated mate lives among the humans.”

  "A Dragoness Prime should never mate with a human." He said ‘human’ as if the world left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  "But what if we could both have our true love?" she asked, turning and crossing the space between them. She gripped his crossed arms and gazed imploringly into his eyes. “We could be happy. We could find love."

  "Love is an outdated idea.”

  "Love is never outdated." She turned away again. "Love is everything.”

  "I understand you are just expressing your soft feminine emotions. That is the way of your kind. I wouldn't deny you that. But as your mate and your Prince. It is my responsibility to correct you and to remind you to be rational.”

  "I'm not irrational," she said, losing her practiced cool with him. “How could we care for our children if we didn't love? How could we remain loyal to each other if we didn't love?"

  "Those are real questions. It’s not that I don't understand where you're coming from. But in times like these, we must do what is right for the race and for our house. It is a greater and higher love than the love of mates for each other, or of parents for their children. It is the love for our entire species. You and I must have more dragonkin. Purebred dragonkin conceived without the messy interference of human DNA. And it is because I love our kind so very much that love for each other is not required. If you would allow it, we could come to love each other in time. I’m sure that if you search your soft, female heart, you will see that I’m right.” He turned and stared at Waverley in her crib.

  "Of course you're right," Maia said, fear gripping her gut.

  "Then you agree to be my mate."

  "I will… think about it. You know it's hard for me to give up on my romantic dreams and to be as rational as you."

  He nodded, seeming to accept that explanation. He turned on his heel and hurried out of the room. Maia picked up her daughter and held her close. The tears welling in her eyes seemed too scared to freely roll down her cheeks.

  "We will be free, my darling," she said. “I promise you. Love is real and love is true. It is the most important thing in the universe, and I will not give up on mine. It is my love that brought all the dragonkin into the world. I will believe in love til the last breath in my body.”

  Waverley cooed up at her mother and patted Maia’s cheek. The tears finally broke from their prison in the corners of her eyes and flowed unabated down her cheeks. Maia sniffed back the tears and smiled at her beautiful daughter. Her aqua blue eyes gazed expectantly at her mother. Maia didn't want her daughter to see her cry.

  "I will be strong for you, my darling. I will be strong in my love, and I will never give up. I will never give up my dream. Just because I am the last female dragon in the galaxy doesn't mean that I don't deserve to h
ave my own happily ever after.”

  3

  Zephyr made it to the ocean and parked the car at a bluff overlooking the sea. The storm clouds had rolled in, casting the world in a heavy gray hue. He gripped the steering wheel and let out a long sigh. His eyes focused on the distant horizon. Ships were coming into harbor, trying to beat the storm.

  Light dustings of snow still clung to the earth, reminding him that they were coming into their second year after awakening on Earth. Things had changed so much since the day the storm dragons had emerged from the ocean. It was hard for even a thousand-year-old dragon to believe everything that had come to pass in so short a time.

  He watched a fishing boat motor toward the harbor and wondered if his love would soon reveal itself. He had so very much to do and so very much responsibility on his shoulders. When he returned to the storm the mansion, he would commence with arranging how to dispense the vaccine across the planet. Now that there were ten unencumbered ships, they could easily traverse the planet in just a few weeks. But that would require gaining the agreement with all the other houses. It was an obvious solution, but actual execution of the meetings had yet to commence. He reached out to Akash through the mental link, needing the diplomat’s help in arranging such meetings.

  "How are you this afternoon?" he asked Akash.

  “We are well. The baby is growing and everyone is happy. Ragnar and I have come to an agreement about how to raise our son and we are all getting along quite well for the first time in… well… maybe forever." Akash chuckled through the mental link and Zephyr could appreciate his crewmate’s happiness.