Her Halloween Treat (Dragon Force - A Holiday Mini Series - Book One - Nature Dragon)

Emerald searched the ground as he flew over the houses.

‘She has to be in one of these houses. I can sense her,’ Maverick growled.

‘She’s scared,’ Emerald said, anger vibrating his voice.

‘She is.’

‘I am going to kill everyone who has touched her!’ Emerald roared.

‘First, let’s find her,’ Maverick grumbled.

‘Should have kept better care of her.’

Maverick sighed. Yes, they should have. They both felt guilty for losing their mate. If Lyra dies, neither of them will survive.

“There!” Emerald roared into the night sky. “I can hear her screams!”

‘Which house?’ Maverick looked at the three houses on the small street.

If you could call it a street.

‘Doesn’t matter. Our mate is in trouble! Burn them all down!’

‘Emerald! No!’ Maverick shouted when his Dragon dove down to the houses. ‘Innocent people live there!’

Emerald’s roar vibrated everything around them as he landed in the middle of the street.

A door to one of the houses opened, and a man with a gun came running out. The doors to the other houses opened, and more men came running out, guns in hands.

‘No innocents here!’ Emerald growled.

‘What about Lyra?’ Maverick asked.

‘She’s our mate,’ Emerald said, then blew flames at the closest house.

‘Emerald!’ Maverick shouted.

The house went up in flames, and the men standing around the Dragon opened fire.

~🎃~

Lyra cried as she tried to shove the man off her. It was no use; he overpowered her. She screamed when he tore her panties away. She whimpered and closed her eyes.

‘No, no, no. Please God, no.’

The roar of a Dragon had her eyes popping open.

“What the fuck?” the man on top of her growled, looking behind him at the window.

Lyra chuckled, “you are in trouble now.”

He glowered at her, then shoved himself off her and went to the window. He pulled back the curtain, and his eyes bulged out of his head.

“There’s a fucking Dragon out there.”

Lyra couldn’t help it. She started laughing so hard she had to hold her side. Emerald found her.

The man turned to her with the dirtiest look she had ever seen. Shit, maybe she shouldn’t have laughed.

“Why aren’t you afraid of the Dragon?” he demanded.

Lyra couldn’t help but grin. “Well, you see. You took me from my mate,” she said, pointing out the window. “And now he has found me and has come to take me back.”

The man turned back to the window, terror in his eyes.

“This was supposed to be an easy mission. Take the girl, hold her until Williams drops out of the running for mayor, then let her go,” he said, shaking his head.

“But you didn’t plan on letting me go, did you?” she asked, watching him. “That is why you don’t have your mask on.”

He turned to her and snarled. “I still don’t. This was just for fun,” he said, pointing at his dick then at her.

Lyra moved off the bed and headed for the door. The man jumped at her, missing her by mere inches as she made her way to the door.

A loud crash and the man’s screams had her turning. Green flames engulfed the room. The man continued to scream as he tried to put himself out.

Lyra looked around with a whimper. Emerald was burning down the house. But why? Why would he harm her? Does he think she did something with the man? She looked at the man who was convulsing on the floor, flames licking his body, burning him to ashes. She turned back to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. Of course, it’s locked!

She turned just in time to watch the flames take over the room, including her. She screamed and whimpered as she fell to the floor, covering her head with her arms.

Death didn’t hurt as bad as she thought it would.

~🎃~

“Emerald!”

Emerald stopped burning the houses and turned his head up to look at his fellow Dragon.

“Stone,” he said when Andrew’s red Dragon landed beside him.

“What are you doing?” Stone asked, looking around at the burning buildings.

“Making sure they never touch our mate again,” Emerald growled.

“Emerald, what about Lyra?” Stone asked, looking at his longtime friend.

Emerald turned to the house he had heard his mate scream in and shifted.

Maverick ran to the front door. Ignoring his Dragon’s green flames, he shoved the door open and ran inside.

“Maverick!” Andrew shouted from the street.

Dragons can survive their own flames, even man-made flames, but never cross the flames of another Dragon—unless their flames are the same color as your own.

“Lyra!” Maverick bellowed through the house. ‘If she’s dead, I will never forgive you,’ he growled at his Dragon.

‘Up the stairs, hurry! The floor won’t hold much longer!’ Emerald shouted.

Maverick ran up the stairs and started shoving doors open. When he came to a locked door, he used his weight and shoved the door in.

“Lyra?”

“Maverick?”

Maverick stared at his mate. She was hunched on the floor, her arms over her head, green flames licking at her body.

“Thank God!” Maverick hollered as he rushed to her side.

Lyra looked up into her mate’s brown eyes and smiled.

“Why aren’t I burning?” she asked.

Maverick shook his head. “Emerald promised that his flames wouldn’t harm our mate. And I guess he was right.”

Lyra chuckled as Maverick helped her to her feet. He took her into his arms, and she cried against his chest.

“It’s okay, I’m here. I will never let this happen to you again,” he promised. “I am not worthy of you.”

She hiccupped and punched him in the shoulder.

“Yes, you are—you idiot. It wasn’t you’re fault.”

Maverick shook his head. “I am your protector, your guardian, your mate.”

Lyra looked up into his eyes and sucked in a breath. They looked incredible with his green flames surrounding him. She looked at herself and laughed; her body was covered in green flames, and she feels no pain. It actually warmed her—heart and soul.

“We need to get out of here. The floor is about to collapse,” Maverick said, watching Lyra as she admired the flames surrounding her body.

“Right,” she said with a nod, looking back at him.

Maverick and Emerald growled at the same time when they saw the start of a bruise on her cheek.

“Who did this?” Maverick sneered, his hand gently touching her cheek.

Lyra lifted her hand to her cheek then turned to the man on the floor who wasn’t a man anymore—only ashes.

Maverick followed her eyes and sneered at the ashes. He looked back at Lyra and saw something in her eyes that worried him. He looked down at her torn pants for the first time, and his Dragon took over.

“That beast! He will pay!” Emerald roared.

“Emerald,” Lyra said, gently touching his arm. “He’s dead.”

Emerald sneered and moved past her. His head started to shift, and she worried he might hurt her and himself if he fully shifted inside the house. She went after him and stopped when his snout blew the ashes of the dead man. They flew into the air, and he blew his fire into them, evaporating the ashes. He shifted back to his complete human form and turned to her.

“I guess that’s all I can do,” he said with a snort, then gave Maverick back control.

“Damn it, Emerald. You need to stop doing that shit,” Maverick growled.

The floor shifted, and Lyra squealed.

“Maverick!”

Maverick turned to Lyra and cursed. He ran to her and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry, Love,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.

Lyra whimpered as she held onto him. She may survive his flames, but can she survive the floor collapsing from under them?

~🎃~

“What is taking them so long?!” Andrew bellowed, watching the house burn.

“I heard Emerald roar. Do you think they’re okay?” Daniel asked.

Andrew snorted. Lyra’s scream had them both running to the burning house.

“We can’t go in!” Daniel shouted.

The sound of a firetruck had them both turning with a grunt. How are they going to explain green flames?

A loud crash had them turning back to the house. The second floor caved into the first floor—Maverick and Lyra still inside.

~🎃~

Lyra opened her eyes and coughed. Wow, that was a lot less painful than she had thought it would be. She turned her head and sighed with relief when she saw Maverick looking down at her.

“Are you okay?” he whispered.

She nodded and looked around them. Flames were still licking at them, but there was something new surrounding them. Something that wasn’t there before. She sucked in a breath when she realized it was Emerald’s wings. Maverick’s Dragon had wrapped them with his wings.

“Emerald,” she whispered, reaching out to touch one of his wings.

“You are ours,” Emerald growled.

Lyra looked up into his green eyes and smiled. “Thank you for coming for me.”

Maverick’s lips stretched into a wicked smile.

“Mine,” Emerald growled, then claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

The flames danced around them as they kissed. They were so into the kiss they didn’t notice the flames go out or hear the men hollering for them.

“Emerald!”

Andrew’s voice penetrated through the kiss, and Maverick pulled back.

“I think we have been rescued,” Maverick said with a smirk.

Lyra smiled and nodded. Emerald pulled in his wings, and they looked up at Andrew, Daniel, and the three firemen who had rescued them.

“Get them out of there and to the hospital!” one of the firemen shouted.

“Let’s go,” Andrew said, reaching to help Maverick up.

Maverick took Andrew’s hand and pulled Lyra up with him.

“You should have seen the look on their faces when they found a ball of Dragon wings,” Daniel said with a laugh.

“Not the first humans to have seen Dragon Shifters,” Maverick grumbled.

“Lyra!” Daniel said when he saw her torn jeans.

Lyra looked down at her jeans and frowned. Maverick growled and lifted her into his arms.

“I can walk,” she whispered against his shoulder.

“Let’s just get the fuck out of here,” Maverick snarled.

“Lyra?” Andrew whispered, looking into her face.

Lyra shook her head and laid her head against Maverick’s chest. She didn’t want to talk about it, not yet.

~🎃~

Lyra watched the male nurse as he checked her over. She’s fine. Why were they fussing over her?

“So, you survived some odd fire?” the nurse asked, looking at her.

Lyra nodded. “I survived the fire, yes.”

“Hmmm,” he said, looking at her chart.

“Do you really work here?” Lyra asked, eyeing the nurse.

The man laughed. “Of course, I work here. So, you were raped….”

“No,” Lyra growled. “I never said that and what kind of nurse are you to ask questions like that?”

“I….”

“Miss Williams?” a woman said, walking into the room. “I am Doctor…,” she didn’t finish what she was saying as she stopped and stared at the strange man in the room with her patient. “And you are?”

“A new nurse,” the man said, backing away from the doctor.

The doctor shook her head. “I know all of the nurses here. Who….”

The man took off out of the room.

“Emerald!” Lyra hollered.

~🎃~

“Do you think he actually raped her?” Andrew asked, watching Maverick pace the waiting room.

Because Maverick wasn’t her family or husband, he was denied entrance into her room. Which was just plain dumb. But the male nurse who had told them said that it was policy…

“Emerald!”

“That’s Lyra!” Maverick growled.

The nurse who had kept them from her room ran past the door, and Maverick ran into the hall. He looked the way the man had come and the way he left then growled and followed him, Andrew, and Daniel close behind.

“There he is!” Daniel shouted, pointing to a black man in scrubs trying to get past the people crowding the entrance.

They chased the man outside. Emerald took over when they saw the man and jumped him. He took him down and pinned the man to the ground, growling in his ear.

“What did you do to our mate?” Emerald sneered.

“Nothing, I swear. I was just getting information…owe!”

“Information on what?!” Emerald demanded, pulling the man’s arms behind his back.

“My boss wanted to know what happened! I swear that’s all. Just wanted to know what the scum did to her. They were only supposed to hold her until Williams dropped out. They weren’t supposed to touch her!”

Emerald loosened his grip on the man and moved to stand. Andrew and Daniel helped their captive to his feet, and Emerald let Maverick have control again.

“Who is your boss?” Maverick asked.

“I…I can’t tell you; they will kill me.”

Maverick growled. “Do you know what my beast did to the last man who pissed him off?”

The man swallowed. “Valtore,” he whispered.

“Dick,” Daniel grumbled.

“Should have known it was him,” Andrew said with a shake of his head.

“I bet he is hoping to run if he gets Williams to bow out,” Daniel said with a shake of his head.

“Give me your phone,” Maverick said, holding his hand out to Andrew.

Andrew handed Maverick his phone, and Maverick dialed a number he hoped never to dial.

The fucker is going to pay for what he put his mate through.