Dragon Flames

By Kathryn Kohler

IT'S NOT FINDING A MATE THAT'S HIS PROBLEM—IT'S WINNING HER OVER.

 

Xerxes is a dragon shifter who needs to find a mate soon or he'll die.
But, when Xerxes does find his mate, she's prickly, acidic, sarcastic, and not interested in a relationship of any type.

 

After they're forced to spend a few days in a secluded cabin together, she's drawn to him in a way she can't explain, a way that threatens to show a side of her she absolutely abhors—vulnerability.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lovestruck Romance
• Release date: Jun 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201483951

Book preview

PROLOGUE

First and foremost, let’s just get this out of the way—dragons exist.

There.

Now that we’ve settled that, let me explain something else to you.

Dragon families are a pain in the ass.

I assume that all families are, to a certain extent, a pain in the ass, but our families have the added torture of having a lot of traditions. And not just the kind of traditions that you have to adhere to because Mom’s going to be disappointed if you don’t. I mean, we are literally bound, by blood, to honor these traditions.

Pain. In. The. Ass.

So, my brothers and I, if we don’t mate, the sacred fire inside of us will burn us, consume us. And I’m not talking metaphorically.

Every dragon has what we call our ‘fire’ or ‘flame’. It’s what burns in our chest, gives us the ability to breathe fire and everything else that comes with being a dragon. But if we don’t tend to the traditions that bind us, then our fire can sputter out or will grow too wild and consume us. Hoarding treasure, for example, feeds the fire. It sparks something territorial in us, keeps us strong.

Finding mates helps to keep our fire from growing too large.

When we mate, that whole promise to love and cherish and honor? It’s not just words. It’s a bond. It means that we share our fire with another person. Literally. Once we mate, we can telepathically talk to our mate just like we can our clutchmates—our siblings—and our parents. Mates hold a part of our sacred being, our flame, inside of themselves, and that means that in a way we’re one being.

There’s also the whole ‘bearing children to continue the dragon race’ thing.

Problem is, finding mates nowadays? Not so easy. Back when we could just terrorize a local village until they handed over a maiden, no problem. Now, with so many people in the world and dragons forced into hiding, finding a mate isn’t so easy.

And time’s running out.

If we don’t find mates soon enough, my brothers and I will burn. The dragon flame inside of us will destroy us, consume us from the inside out, and we’ll be nothing but ashes, another cautionary tale for the younglings.

And so now, the rest of the family’s getting on our backs. We’re the only three left in our clan who haven’t mated yet and the pressure’s on.

Yeah, it’s annoying as all hell.

But, I could stand it, if it wasn’t for that creeping, burning sensation underneath my skin. The way my very bones are starting to feel warm. That heat that just won’t go away.

I need to find my mate soon.

Or there won’t be anything left of me but ashes.

Chapter One

XERXES

It’s quiet in the firehouse, for once. Most of the guys are upstairs playing poker, while Vyn and Malek are washing the truck out front. I savor the silence. I’m not exactly a people person and sometimes the energy in such close spaces could be too much, making me want to unfurl my wings and fly far away; screw the psych evals everyone would want me to take. But right now, with everything quiet, I could just relax.

You two are paranoid, I tell my brothers. Vyndaspes, or Vyn as most of us call him because it’s a damn mouthful and Mom was clearly on her ‘let’s find every dead relative we have and name our kids after them’ kick, just winked at me.

Paranoid? Vyn asks, walking around to get the other side, Or taking advantage of a perfect situation? It’s sunny, we’re firefighters, everyone’s out and about…

I think you might honestly die if you had to keep it in your pants for more than 48 hours, I inform him.

I’m the oldest--only by five minutes, but still--and I don’t know if it’s that, or something else, but I’ve always ended up being the responsible one. Malek wouldn’t know a conversation if it hit him over the head and Vyn seems to subscribe to the philosophy that if he can’t find any trouble he’ll just make some up himself.

Also, I don’t think virgins are in the habit of strolling up to shirtless firefighters, I add telepathically.

Vyn rolls his eyes at me, sending back, you don’t know that. Don’t stereotype them.

I’ve always kind of felt like the whole ‘it has to be a virgin’ thing is kind of nonsense, but apparently it’s got something to do with dragon DNA and human DNA mixing. Mom says that it’s also because whether the girl (or boy, if you’re a female dragon) knows it or not, there’s her dragon mate out there somewhere, and so something will always keep her from being with anyone else because of the subconscious pull towards her mate. Or at least, that’s how it felt for her.

Then again, Mom’s a hopeless romantic and always has been, so.

You’re not even looking for your mate, I tell Vyn. You’re looking for a girl to have a fun time with. You need to focus.

Vyn pulls a face. I’ve got plenty of time.

No, you don’t.

It’s an old argument, and one that I know is probably a lost cause. Vyn’s going to straighten out and find his mate or not, and if he doesn’t, it isn’t my responsibility. But it still feels like it is. Like I should be out there finding his damn mate for him so he doesn’t end up a pile of ash a few years down the line.

That’s the other scary thing. We don’t know when it’ll happen. There’s no strict cutoff age, like hey, if you’re thirty and you don’t have a mate you die. It’s different for everyone. Vyn could fall sick tomorrow and waste away in a few months. Or it could take him years. All I know is, we’ve all only got a few more years at the most. And for beings that can live for centuries, that’s a pretty short lifespan.

I’m not happy about this whole mates thing either, I tell him. Finding someone because you’ll die otherwise doesn’t really feel as romantic as finding someone that you genuinely like. What if I hate my mate? What if she hates me? It’s been known to happen. Plenty of mates get together without knowing or caring all that much about one another. Most of them grow to love each other but others…

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone I don’t like, and I certainly don’t appreciate there being a time crunch on my finding that someone. I like to do things in my own time. This whole ‘do or die’ thing weighs on me.

But it’s not like any of us have a choice, so. I’ll pick staying alive, thanks.

Malek grunts in that way that I know means he agrees with me. Malek… well, to call him talkative would be the overstatement of the year. He didn’t even speak until he was five. Dad thought he was mute for a while.

Hello? A woman’s voice calls out from the sidewalk.

I turn and see a pretty brunette standing there, a tupperware container in her hands. I sniff. Smells like brownies.

Probably one of Vyn’s admirers. He’s got dozens of them. God help him if they ever find out about each other, I doubt even Vyn’s dragon scales could save him from their wrath.

Do you need help with anything? I ask. It’s possible she wants to donate food to the firehouse. We tend to get that from time to time. There’s this one adorable little girl down the street, she’s six, and wants to be a firefighter when she grows up. She makes us pumpkin pie about once a month.

Oh, hi. The woman blushes and holds out her container. I just wanted to give these to you. As a thank you.

I take the container. Thanks.

I turn to go and put the brownies in the fridge. The guys’ll love them. But as I do, the woman starts talking again.

You rescued my brother from that forest fire a week ago, the woman goes on.

I turn back to look at her. It’s fire season in the hills, and despite everyone’s best efforts, campers and hikers still get trapped. I’m glad he’s doing okay.

Thanks to you, she says, putting her hand on my arm.

Ooooh, Xerxes, looks like you got an admirer, Vyn teases me through the bond.

I ignore my brother, and I gently shake off the woman’s hand. I’m just doing my job, ma’am. Thank you for the brownies.

I turn and walk into the kitchen before she can say anything more. If I linger, she’ll think she has a chance with me, and hell no. It’s not that I don’t care for the occasional one night stand, but I’m on the clock. I don’t mix business with pleasure. Especially not when the person is a rescue or the relative of a rescue. When I want to have some fun, I can go out to the local bar and find somebody. But not here.

I can smell the disappointment coming off of her in waves, but I ignore it. This job is important to me and if I sleep with this woman, she’ll tell other people, and then next thing you know everyone knows that if you flirt the right way you can get with Xerxes and just--no. People need to see me as a firefighter first and foremost and a man second.

I can pick up on Vyn trying to make a move on her, though. Sure enough as I walk back out, I see Malek’s retreated to the opposite side of the garage and is avoiding eye contact. Vyn, meanwhile, is leaning against the truck and giving the woman his I’d