Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

The discovery of fire dragons was council business, and the chimera hadn’t wanted to cause a panic, so news hadn’t spread yet. Still—when the storm dragon had found his mate, one of the fire dragons had trailed him all the way to his home.

Of course, the same fire dragon was now safely behind bars at Sky Home, the seat of the council of elements. And there was no way the fire dragons could have followed Damon across the ocean. Not this quickly, a least, and probably also not without being noticed. Still...

“I’ve got a favor to ask,” Damon said.

The sheriff gave him a curious look.

“This is officially council business, and I’m not supposed to tell you. But when I was in Iceland—I was hunting for fire dragons.”

Shocked, the sheriff drew in air through his teeth. “But all fire dragons are dead.”

Damon laughed bitterly. “So we thought. It seems they’ve lived underground since the Middle Ages. And now they have returned. They found me and Autumn. They attacked several times. That’s why I flew her here.”

“Does the council know—no, of course they know,” the sheriff murmured. “Are we in danger?”

Damon shook his head. “The council’s out in Iceland now. That should keep those fire-breathers busy. But just in case, keep an eye out for anything strange. And if a dragon should approach, treat them like an enemy until you can see who it is.”

“Understood,” the sheriff said, his eyes narrowing as he seemed to mull over Damon’s words.

“I’ll fly out every morning and evening,

” Damon said. “Just circling the valley, testing the breeze. That is, if the council doesn’t call me back. They landed in Iceland hours ago and were planning to pretty much stay in their dragon form for a week, flying up and down the entire country until one of those cowards dares to show his face.”

“Better them than me,” the dog shifter murmured dryly. “Can’t say I’d look forward to facing off with a dragon. Let’s see. We’ve got the falcons, the eagles, that new vulture boy who hasn’t found a mate yet—and our turtle doves, which I’d hesitate to send out against a dragon.”

“And you’ve got me,” Damon said firmly. “This is dragon land. You know I’d protect you with my life. I don’t want any of you to get into a fight with a dragon, understood? Keep your eyes open, and if there’s even the smallest sign of a fire dragon approaching, evacuate. He’s not after you, anyway. They’re after the council—and they don’t care if anyone else gets hurt in that fight.”

“Okay,” the sheriff said, grimacing as he swallowed what was left in his cup. “Not the good news I was hoping for—but I guess it could be worse.”

“It can always be worse.”

They shared a small smile. They’d always gotten along well—the grizzled dog shifter was a stickler for rules, but loyal and fair, and just as protective of the small town as Damon was.

“We got the town through that hurricane five years ago,” Damon said, “when we were without power for a week, remember? We’ll weather this, too.”

The sheriff knocked on wood. “Was hoping for more dragons in this town,” he said, “but more the tiny ones. Little earth dragons. Think we can expect that anytime soon?”

Damon looked out of the window, where Autumn was laughing helplessly as one of the tiny fox cubs clambered up her shoulder, curiously nosing at her hair.

“I hope so,” he said softly. “With all my heart.”

Chapter Thirteen: Autumn

The town was incredible. It looked like any other small town, nestled between green hills—but nearly everyone Autumn had talked to that day had been a shifter. She’d thought that dragons were a lot to take in, but that was before she’d seen a toddler repeated shift back and forth between his human form and a tiny, furry fox cub.

Everyone here seemed so at ease with being a shifter that Autumn couldn’t help but be charmed. It was a town unlike anything she’d ever seen. Still, the people were happy and welcoming, and just as curious about her as she was about shifter life.

Of course, the one question everyone seemed most eager about was whether she’d stay—and whether she and Damon would get married.

Mated, she reminded herself.

It had all seemed so easy when she’d been alone with Damon—but having so many strangers interested in her all of a sudden was quite intimidating. Not that there was anything wrong with it.

She’d immediately felt right at home chatting to Melissa, the fox shifter with her brood of fox cubs. But she’d also made certain to go over to the bear shifter afterward, who’d been noticeably cooler, but had quickly warmed up when Autumn asked her about what sort of cakes Damon’s grandma used to make.

“No one in this town knows more than me,” Cynthia the bear matriarch said proudly. “Born and bred in these woods. I used to spend a lot of time over at the dragon’s place—Damon’s grandma as good as raised me. My own ma was very sickly—not that she’d ever showed it to us kids, bless her. But Damon’s grandma always made sure she had enough time to rest. And she taught me all her secret recipes.”

Cynthia winked at Autumn. “Now, if you want to impress that boy, come visit me one of these days, and I might help you out with a few of the family secrets...”