Alpha Dragon Awakes, part three: Outside the Veil, #3

By TJ Shaw

Part three and the exciting conclusion to the epic fantasy romance serial trilogy, Rogue Dragon Rising, marking the beginning of the Outside the Veil series.

With no memories to guide her, Amari Hawke seeks to discover the identity of the animal trapped inside her. Days away from Trinity, when her beast will appear for the first time, she must learn to communicate with her animal or she'll turn rogue from an unsuccessful shift.

Both Jaxon Blackthorn and his stubborn dragon have succumbed to Amari's charms even though her animal designation is unknown. Determined to use the power of his beast, Jaxon faces the impossible challenge of saving Amari while protecting her from rogue shifters determined to capture her.

Can the strength of their love achieve what has never been attempted in the shifter realm, a successful transition of Amari's animal and acceptance of her true heritage?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This book contains sensual dream sequences with reverse harem inferences. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forgotten Dreams Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Nov 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948175104

TJ Shaw

As a child, TJ Shaw thrived in the Arizona desert. By the age of five she was riding horses through cotton fields and by eleven bought her first motorcycle, a 125cc Honda dirt bike. Growing up with teachers as parents meant traveling during the summer. Hiking down to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon; fly fishing in icy rivers surrounded by breathtaking mountains; backpacking through national parks; surviving an earthquake in Mexico City; climbing the El Castillo, a pyramid in the ruins of Chichen Itza; sidestepping giant iguanas in the ancient Mayan port of Tulum; to exploring the Sagrada Familia, a Gaudi church in Barcelona, Spain were just some of her adventures. An avid daydreamer, she would lose herself in mystical worlds and far off places limited only by her imagination. Always athletic (400m state track champion, snow and water skier, boxer, swimmer), TJ garnered a scholarship offer to play college basketball, but chose an academic scholarship to Arizona State University instead. To put herself through undergrad and law school, she lifeguarded and coached swimmers before promoting into management for a multi-million dollar recreation facility. She worked as a researcher/bailiff for a criminal judge while studying for the bar exam and ultimately accepted a position as a Deputy County Attorney prosecuting felony crimes until she decided to patrol the streets as a police officer. Currently, she tells officers what to do as the policy and procedure writer for a police department. A writer at heart, she didn’t attempt to get published until Caller of Light. After placing (and winning) in several RWA chapter contests, she decided to find a home as an author for The Wild Rose Press. If there were additional hours in the day, TJ would tickle the ivories a little more, write about her dreams, and travel the world.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

PAIN OF THE PAST

Slade reached for the partial paw print on the forest floor and winced as blood dribbled down his shoulder. Jaxon had been right about one thing, Amari had slashed him good.

Ignoring the pain, he pressed his fingertips into the depression. The track matched a large cat. Still on his haunches, Slade twisted and scanned the clearing behind him. Smoke drifted upward from the rogue bodies he had torched earlier. Hidden within the undergrowth, the cat had watched the skirmish from this spot. Slade had sensed they were being spied on but had chosen to protect his alpha’s mate instead of locating the clandestine onlooker.

He frowned over his behavior toward Amari right after the attack. He’d charged her, intent on pulling her within the safety of his beast, but she had lashed out in confusion. Why he had felt the need to shield her baffled him. Aside from Jaxon and his cadre brothers, Slade couldn’t remember the last time he’d cared for anyone.

With a reluctant sigh, he admitted the little hedgehog had gotten under his skin. Her spunk, resilience, and refusal to be intimidated impressed him. Both he and his dragon had harassed their alpha’s mate to the point they’d made it a ritual, but she refused to be bullied. His animal shook its head in defeat. Somehow since meeting her, they had lost their teeth.

He opened his senses to the forest around him. Silence had settled on the woodland. Herbivores hid in their burrows and small predators cowered in their dens. Only the large carnivores would ignore the violent vibrations in the air and investigate the bloodshed.

His dragon sight pierced the gloom beneath the ancient oaks. Nothing moved. Lifting his head, he inhaled the air. Although the cat was long gone, he should still be able to smell it. This feline, however, had vanished.

Odd.

He couldn’t even tell if the cat had been a shifter, or a true animal. Logically, no true animal would have stuck around for the slaughter, which meant a shifter had watched the slayings, safely tucked away from the danger.

This forest belonged to Jaxon. Etiquette mandated all shifters passing through another’s territory inform the landowner. So, either the shifter lived on the estate, or had chosen not to reveal his presence. Since Slade had personally met all the cats under Jaxon’s employ, he didn’t believe the shifter worked on the homestead.

Why would someone hide in the woods, in the middle of the night, with rogues nearby?

Slade tucked a loose strand of hair behind an ear and turned around, searching for clues. Tension knotted his gut. He didn’t like unknowns, especially when the mystery involved Amari.

Why had the rogues wanted to capture her? Rogues were creatures of instant gratification. They didn’t contemplate or plan, they slaughtered. Where were they going to take her? And more importantly, whom would they have taken her to?

The familiar tremble started in his hands and spread throughout his body. He closed his eyes and willed the memories away. But like a determined dog with a bone, images of his past flooded his mind. He had been so young then, barely out of the nest, a newly transitioned dragon. Cocky and unafraid, he’d traveled the skies, exploring the world.

Wandering from one small village to the next, or more accurately, from one tavern to another, he’d lost himself to the hedonic pleasures of a young dragon—bedding anything and anyone he desired. Always promising his mother he would return home soon, months graduated into years.

After the Dragon Plague claimed his ma, Slade had no one. Alone in a big world, his debauchery escalated. In order to maintain his appetite of booze and women, he stumbled into the assassin trade and sold himself to the highest bidder. As his skills increased, so did his reputation…and his demand. To quiet his conscience, he buried his kills behind more alcohol, until he no longer remembered.

After a particularly well-paid assignment, he’d headed for the nearest town to lose himself in ale and willing women. He had been so drunk, he hadn’t even realized he’d been shot with a blow dart, until he awoke chained in a cell—his purgatory for the next five years.

Slade grabbed the sides of his head and shouted out his agony. He’d been episode-free for years. Why were the tortures of his past coming back to haunt him now? He squeezed his eyes shut, but the horrors seeped through the cracks of his shattered mind. His body trembled like a newborn babe. The forest enclosed around him, caging his dragon.

They broke him in that torture chamber deep within the mountain. He shouldn’t have survived. Jaxon should have let the Protectorate put an end to his misery, but for some reason, the goddesses had spared him while those deserving salvation had died. He fell to the ground and curled into a ball as more memories bombarded him. The hard, cold slab of his cell replaced the soft forest floor. Lost within himself, he relived every torture inflicted upon him, a meager penance for the judgment he’d exacted on his targeted hits.

In the lonely prison of his mind, the trees watched over him until rational thought finally battled up to the surface. He rolled onto his back and dug his fingers into the soft earth to ground himself to the present. Turning inward, he began the arduous task of rebuilding his shields. His beast shadowed him, offering comfort, but they were both broken. He had spoken true when he’d told Kip some things couldn’t be fixed.

Once his shields were reestablished, Slade elbowed to a sitting position and dangled his arms over his knees, acknowledging Amari had provoked the painful memories. He had seen that vacant stare in her eyes before, the look of lost ones no longer living inside their bodies. She was at the beginning of the end—her final transformation into a mindless rogue. Jaxon would be doing her a favor by ending her life now with the dignity she deserved.

Slade’s beast whined over his harsh thoughts and he snarled back, silencing his animal. Lowering his head into his hands, he grabbed his hair, frustrated over lashing out at his dragon. Both had suffered during those years of confinement.

Don’t worry, he soothed his beast. Like Jaxon, he didn’t have the heart to mercy kill her.

An owl’s soft coos drew him out of his misery and he pushed to his feet, his body aching from the echoes of his tortured past. Brushing the dirt off his hands, he stepped forward, leaving his temporary sanctuary behind. The oak trees would keep his secrets…and his shame.

He steeled his spine over the inevitable path he and his cadre brothers seemed destined to follow—watching the slow demise of their alpha’s mate. Somehow, he had to find a way to shoulder Jaxon’s pain. He would take it all if he could, even the resulting madness.

It was the least he could do for the man who had done more than just save his life. Jaxon had given him the opportunity to redeem his soul by offering him a second chance.

CHAPTER 2

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Sprawled across Jaxon’s chest, Amari inhaled his musky scent. With his essence firmly entrenched in her mind, the intimate contact eased her nerves so she could face the previous night’s images, shuffling through her head like a deck of cards. Somehow her animal had hijacked her body and had forced her to do things against her will. If not for Jaxon, she would have been lost to the chaos of her beast. Even now, she sensed his dragon shielding her, while Jaxon’s body protected and comforted her.

The monster inside her was nothing like Jaxon’s animal. Although Jaxon’s dragon might try to scare some sense into her, she knew it would never hurt her. Her beast, however, appeared willing to do anything to escape, even if it meant destroying her in the process.

She could sense her animal now, pacing over its captivity. As Trinity loomed, the nights were becoming more difficult. She used to love the moons, but the mounting energy in the air weakened the barrier caging her beast. Dread pooled in her belly. Soon it would breach her shield and be free, and she’d no longer exist.

Amari clutched Jaxon’s shirt. Sorrow filled her heart knowing her time with this magnificent man would be fleeting. He stirred and she inhaled a deep breath to control her emotions. Since Jaxon had planted himself within her psyche and showed no signs of leaving, she had to be careful with her thoughts now. Instead of being irritated, his presence filled a void inside her. She’d let him live there forever, if she could.

Mon est draco, he growled in her head. You’re shielding your feelings from me. Why?

Her throat tightened over her inability to communicate on the link they shared. Although she had improved on the cadre thread, she still tired quickly. Like drinking too much rose ale, her speech would slur and leave everyone interpreting what she had just said, much to Slade’s amusement.

I’m not shielding.

You lie.

Had she really just wanted him to stay in her mind forever?

I’m worried about next week, she confessed, not wishing to reveal the more troubling reason for her sadness, because she had yet to face it herself.

Long fingers curled around her nape in a claiming hold. He rested his chin atop her head. You feel the pull of the Trinity moon?

Her eyes filled with unexpected tears. Especially at night. My animal wants out.

Jaxon expelled a long breath. This is your transition year. Your beast has grown under your care and wants to make an appearance, so you shouldn’t fear what is in you. As a two-soul, transforming is natural.

She lifted her head. Jaxon’s ebony eyes glistened with warmth. Even as her heart swelled, reality wrapped itself around the life-beating organ and squeezed. But not for me. Not for someone who doesn’t even know her animal, or how to guide it through first transition. She thumped a fist against her chest. It’s so mad!

He kissed her forehead. Only because the Trinity moon calls to it, and it doesn’t know how to answer.

I fear what it will do once it gets out.

He smiled. Don’t you realize what your animal did last night?

She nibbled her bottom lip.

Your beast saved the mother and son herbivores. After what Slade told me about Leila and Shauna, I suspect it tried to save them as well.

Amari blew out a frustrated breath. How do I control it?

It’s not so much a matter of control but establishing a cohesive relationship. Together, you are one entity, one being.

How do I guide it through transition, when I can’t even communicate with it? She hated the rise in her voice.

Jaxon’s lips pressed in a firm line. I won’t let you go rogue.

She wrapped an arm around him and squeezed. Then tell me what I must do.

He sat up and leaned his muscled back against the headboard before encouraging her into the crook beneath his shoulder. At this point, I think a shaman is our best option.

Amari twisted her fingers in a nervous plait. What would a shaman do?

Shamans travel deep into a person’s psyche to help solve problems. They can be especially useful to those undergoing first transition.

How deep would he go?

Jaxon’s body tensed. He would follow the path you and I share.

She gritted her teeth, not liking that method…at all. He can follow the cadre thread instead.

Actually, he cannot. Since the cadre path is a higher link, it won’t get him to the grand barrier preventing you from communicating with your animal.

Anxiety wormed through her heart. She trusted only one man with such an intimate connection.

You will agree to this.

Although Amari couldn’t remember her life before losing her memory, from the curl of her toes, she had always resisted mandates. She squared her shoulders. And you’ll not tell me what I can and cannot do.

Jaxon’s eyes darkened like a thunderstorm rolling over the horizon. For a long moment, he didn’t move or speak. She had never seen him so…contained. Her inner voice shouted for her not to antagonize the blasted dragon.

Jaxon had left his nestling days long ago, maturing into a formidable alpha. Her life amounted to a speck, a filament of time compared to his. She should thank him for helping her, and trust he knew the best course to follow. So why did she feel she would betray the man who had become more important to her than the air she breathed by granting another access to their link? And why, for the love of the goddesses, could she only think of his lips on hers? Her gaze dropped to his glorious mouth. If her life was about to end in a blaze of glory, she could at least make the most of the time remaining.

As if reading her mind, which maybe he had, Jaxon palmed the back of her head and pulled her to his mouth. She pressed against him, her hand gripping the hard pectoral muscle beneath his aggravating shirt. His lips seared her skin. She crawled on top of him and groaned over the delicious press of his shaft against her sensitive flesh.

He nibbled her jaw. "Do you wish for this to end?"

His murmured breaths shot spirals of pleasure through her. Unable to trust her voice, she shook her head.

Then you must give the shaman access to our link.

She lifted to her elbows, his arms preventing her from rising completely. It won’t feel right.

He chuckled. It better not. That path is mine. I created it, and it belongs to me.

How will the shaman find it?

A muscle ticked in Jaxon’s jaw. He’ll imprint it from me.

Her lips pursed. Amari didn’t understand much about dragon-kind, but knew Jaxon did not share, and allowing another to take something from his mind wouldn’t be easy. You would give him access?

Jaxon’s eyes clouded. Under different circumstances, I would kill anyone who rode my link to gain entry to your mind, without hesitation or remorse. If we had more time, I wouldn’t even consider it.

She rested her cheek on his chest. But we don’t.

No.

Will you stay with me?

Every step of the way.

She pressed her lips against his neck, relishing the catch in his throat. If the shaman was the last-ditch effort to save her, she had to attempt it, no matter how uncomfortable the process would make her feel. Then call for the shaman, she whispered against his skin.

I already have, he said, squeezing her tight. I’m proud of you.

She snorted. I still don’t know if I can open up enough for him to help me.

He’s very good. Give him a chance.

I will. She nuzzled beneath Jaxon’s chin, enjoying the soothing strokes of his fingers on her back, until a rap on the door shortchanged her peace. Suddenly uncomfortable over straddling a very virile male, she slid off him, and would have put more distance between them, except Jaxon refused to let her go. From his frown and quiet growl, she stopped resisting so he could pull her against his side.

Enter, he bellowed.

The oak door, engraved with a black dragon breathing fire, swung open and Slade filled the threshold. She spotted the rip in his shirt and her cheeks flushed with heat. Although remorse pooled in her belly, she truly hadn’t been in her right mind when she stabbed him. His gaze settled on her, but instead of loathing, appreciation warmed his eyes. He dipped his chin to acknowledge her, then turned his attention to Jaxon.

Your shaman is here.

The hair on Amari’s neck rose over Slade’s abrupt tone. She took a deep breath, then cleared her mind. Although Jaxon’s men always kept the cadre link open for her, she had experienced the process of them initiating contact several times and hoped to use what she’d learned to open a personal connection with Slade only. Concentrating on the cadre path, it bubbled up in her mind and she latched onto it, searching for Slade’s darker essence. When his link rose, she followed his thread until she reached his outer shield.

Slade’s hazel eyes flickered in surprise.

She’d done it! She had traced his link and stood at his outermost shield, asking for entry.

If only I could do the same with Jaxon.

Instead of accepting her request, Slade ignored her to answer Jaxon’s questions about last night. Her concentration faltered, and she slipped away from his shield. If Slade didn’t join with her soon, she would lose his link completely until he either reestablished the connection, or she built up enough strength to try again.

Frustration blurred into anger. How dare he refuse her when she had worked so hard to request a link in the first place. Determined not to lose him, she dove into her reserves and channeled her energy. Intensifying her focus, she tuned out the men and lunged at his shield. They could have been discussing various ways to dissect her, for all she knew.

His lips quirked.

Her civility snapped. She pounded and kicked at his shield like a spoiled child. He could ignore her, but she wouldn’t surrender without throwing a proper tantrum first.

His eyes glimmered, but as much as she wanted to wipe the smug expression off his face, her energy flagged. Instead of hammering at his shield, she rested against it, exhausted. Just as she was about to slip away from his signature, Slade’s barrier disintegrated and she tumbled forward. In an effortless display of power, he latched onto her. Although it was customary for the person requesting the communication to expend the effort maintaining the link, Slade’s energy slid around her and took command of the connection. She gratefully acquiesced, letting his power fortify her waning reserves.

You want something, hedgehog?

She rolled her eyes. Crispin or Kip would have praised her for the accomplishment.

I’m waiting.

She hesitated. Now that she had his attention, she wasn’t sure what to say. Your shoulder? she asked tentatively.

His irritation bubbled along their path. Your sheep friend healed me.

She gasped. You allowed Sousa to knit your wound?

Slade shifted on his feet. She insisted.

Amari’s lips curved into a smile. You could have said no.

He frowned. I did. Also told her I eat sheep for breakfast.

Amari’s eyes widened. What did Sousa say?

He shrugged. At her age, she’d be too tough to chew. Then her hands were on me, he said with a shudder.

Amari giggled. Leave it to Sousa to put the unapproachable Slade in his place. Well if you’d been quicker, you wouldn’t have had to deal with her at all.

The gold