Smolder (Clan of Dragons Book 3) Read online

  SMOLDER

  Book #3

  CLAN OF DRAGONS

  by

  Nancy Lee Badger

  Copyright © March 2017

  by Nancy Lee Badger

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web without permission in writing from the publisher.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. AMZ

  Cover illustration copyright © 2017

  by Nancy Lee Badger

  All rights reserved.

  Books by Nancy Lee Badger

  Clan of Dragons

  Spark

  Smoke

  Smolder

  Kilted Athletes Through Time

  My Lady Highlander

  My Dark Highlander

  My Hunted Highlander

  White Mountains Thrillers

  Shiver

  Ignite

  Highland Games Through Time

  My Honorable Highlander

  My Banished Highlander

  My Reluctant Highlander

  Highland Games Through Time Boxed Set

  Dragons

  Dragon Bites

  Southern Fried Dragon

  Dragon in the Mist

  Dragon’s Curse

  Military

  Unwrapping Chris

  Find all of Nancy’s Books on her BLOG

  Where Happy Ever After Takes the Road Less Traveled

  DEDICATION

  Well, here we are again, with another book derived from my imagination. When a writer’s love for Scotland tangles with the beasties in her head, a book about dragon-shifters is the result. I dedicate this book to my readers who have enjoyed my previous books with dragons filling the pages. They have asked for more. Be careful what you wish for! Please enjoy the continuing saga in my Clan of Dragons series.

  THE STORY

  Nancy Lee Badger brings you another story filled with Scottish dragons and shape-shifters. She again fills her paranormal fantasy with romance and danger, and with characters you will remember. Some will tug at your heart. Others will make you wish for their demise. SMOLDER is the third book in the series, Clan of Dragons.

  As a white doe, Fiona searches for her friend, Cliona. The snows have melted across the Island of Skye, and she tracked her from their northern herd, to the Black Cuillin Hills, and to a fairy pool. Shifting into the human form Cliona had shared with her, Fiona swims and enjoys using her new human limbs. When a dragon lands along with two humans, she overhears them talk about a festival. Would Cliona head to a village?

  Dougal’s scales tremble with anger. Tasked with the safety of his kin as they travel to the village of Morbhan to celebrate Beltane, and the coming of spring, he shifts into a human form. He would rather fly across the sky or race through the forest as a red stag. Spying the white doe, the one he has searches for, for months, he follows her. Pirates, a villain, and drunken celebrators keep him from his task. Will he ever find the doe that pricked his interest and make her his?

  A dragon-shifter in pain wants nothing more than to fly, and he sure as hell kneels to no one.

  Table of Contents

  Books by Nancy Lee Badger

  DEDICATION

  THE STORY

  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

  CHAPTER 23

  EPILOGUE

  Dear Reader;

  FREE EXCERPTS

  Spark, Book #1, Clan of Dragons

  Smoke, Book #2, Clan of Dragons

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  AUTHOR NOTES

  Books by Nancy Lee Badger

  Author Bio

  Connect with Nancy Lee Badger

  CHAPTER 1

  Isle of Skye

  Scotland

  Fiona splashed cool, clear water over her head, and raised her face to the sun. Relaxation was a momentary gift, and she had vowed to enjoy her newfound pleasure of swimming in a fairy pool. The Isle of Skye had several pools crafted by fairies, beneath the peaks of the Black Cuillin Hills.

  She snorted.

  Shaking water droplets from her twisted curls, she kicked closer to the waterfall’s turbulent base. She wasn’t a mindless newborn bairn. She suspected the cascading water might have had something to do with the creation of deep pools of crystal-clear water.

  I stopped believing in fairy tales, long ago.

  Diving beneath the fall’s thunderous shower, she opened her eyes and explored the bubbling pool. Rock walls and fallen boulders, smoothed from years of rushing currents, created tiny caves. She would love to explore every crevice, but she needed to breathe. Maybe if she shifted into a Selkie she would be able to stay beneath the surface, but she’d never seen one of the mythical beasts purported to be seals, that could come ashore as humans. A shark would be an easier shift, since she had watched them hunt in the sea, fishing for their next meal. However, sharks lived in the salty ocean, not fresh water.

  Breaking the surface, away from the falls, Fiona took a deep breath. As spring woke across Skye, the air was fresh, but cool. The fragrance of heather and budding rowan trees was calming to an otherworldly bent on self-preservation. Her mission could wait a little while longer. She’d find another herd to join, after she figured out what had happened to her friend, Cliona.

  Fiona’s current human shape was due to watching Cliona shift into a human. When she’d confronted her, Cliona admitted she’d seen a human female while traveling near the northernmost tip of Skye. As a shifter, Fiona had never considered changing into a human. She adored life as a red deer, but the ability to shift into a human who could swim in a fairy pool came as quite the surprise. She had used Cliona’s human form, since shifters needed to see an example before shifting, though they could change certain aspects, such as skin tone, eye or hair color, but she saw no need to change a thing. Cliona sported long, beautiful brown hair that caught the light and looked made up of various shades. Her brown eyes were also a lovely feature, and Fiona hoped she’d gotten that aspect correct.

  In her deer form, saying she was a red deer only confused her, because she chose to run through the forests as a doe with a white hide. Something in her genetic make-up would not allow her to adopt the golden-red fur of Skye’s normal herds. The color caused many problems, one of them being how Grady saw her. As the alpha stag in their herd, his opinion mattered, and if she wished to stay white, he’d said, “You can find yourself another herd.”

  Tears burned behind her eyes, and she dipped her face in the cool, clear water to wash them away, but she could not wash away his harsh words. Many of the stags disagreed with Grady, but unless they wished to challenge him, they could do nothing to help.

  As a mature doe, she enjoyed coupling with various males of the species, but they should have mated in secrec
y, since it infuriated Grady. She had no hope of birthing one of their kind. A white deer was an aberration. The older females said they had never heard of a white doe carrying a fawn to term, so she lifted her tail to just about anyone.

  Anyone, but Grady.

  Could that be why Grady objected to her staying with their herd? He was never nice to her in front of the others, which was the initial reason she had refused his private advances. Having sex with someone who treated her with contempt gave her the nerve to say no. Her body was all hers.

  The new human form was beginning to grow on her, especially now that the weather had turned pleasant, and most of the heavy snow had melted away.

  She floated on her back, another trick she discovered her body could perform, and gazed up at the nearby mountains. She filled her human lungs with crisp, fresh air scented with heather. High above her, the Black Cuillin Hills reached toward the heavens. Tall and jagged, they were partially topped by snow. Melting snow created waterfalls, which in turn filled the fairy pools.

  Cliona had visited this area, and shared a description of its beauty with her. There were streams and small ponds farther north, near their herd, but the water in these pools was different. The smell, the taste, and even its silky softness against her human skin was altogether different. Better, invigorating, and making her cares float away, until she remembered that the only reason she was here, was because she had thought she might find Cliona swimming.

  She isn’t here.

  Was it so wrong to enjoy herself? Once she found her friend, would Cliona be upset that she had chosen her human form to emulate? Without spying another human during her journey, all she had were the stories. The stags warned all the does and fawns never to stray to the southern coast where pirates came ashore. There were several dwellings to the west, and a village.

  “I’ve never seen a village. I wonder what it be like?” Her human voice sounded odd to her ears, but Cliona had schooled her in the language. She claimed she had ventured into the village many years ago, and simply listened. The things her friend had shared about the buildings, the people, and the food made her want to visit, at least once. Practicing both shifting into a human and speaking the language would help, but she had no plans to head to the village, unless she couldn’t find Cliona anywhere else.

  Swim now, search later, she thought. After such a brutal winter of deep snow and little food, the herd had dwindled. Some had died, others had moved south. She had traveled southeast, to track down Cliona, and get as far away from Grady as possible. No one from her herd knew where she’d headed, so she saw no reason to give up her luxurious swim just yet.

  With her eyes closed, and floating on her back, the first indication of a problem was a shadow, followed by the loud flapping of wings. The strange sound startled her. Her eyes flew open, and she sank like a stone. Surfacing, she sputtered and choked on the water she’d swallowed. Brushing her wet brown hair from her face, she gazed up at the sky. All she saw was a blue spring sky dotted by puffy white clouds.

  Had a vulture or hawk passed overhead? Seemed unlikely, as their wings would not have made a sound, nor could their small bodies hide the sun. Until she knew what had flown nearby, she would keep to the deeper part of the pool.

  A thud shook the water, and a few small boulders tumbled toward her. She managed to suppress a shriek. With only her eyes and forehead above the surface, she looked all around her, only to find a huge creature had alighted above her on a rock-strewn outcropping.

  A dragon?

  As more small boulders tumbled into the pool, she hurtled under the waterfall with one swift kick. A hidden cave gave her ample room to hide, while she figured out what to do.

  She’d seen a dragon, once. One afternoon, last summer, Cliona had disappeared. While searching for her friend, a dragon flew overhead. The entire herd stood guard over the fawns beneath the thickest branches of the trees in the forest, because hiding was the only recourse. No one could fight a dragon and survive, yet Fiona had stuck her white head out far enough to see the dragon fly away.

  This dragon was a different color than the one she’d spied last summer. Through the falling water, she could make out two colors. Red and black. When the creature walked closer, and dipped its head to drink, she watched the horns on its huge head quiver, as if listening.

  She held her breath, gripping the cave wall to keep still. Its mouth opened, and sharp white teeth became visible as it drank. The red scales covering its muzzle glistened like blood, and the thin wings, folded over its back, looked like membranes carved of raven’s feathers.

  Fiona wasn’t afraid. Instead, she marveled at the sight of it. She secretly prayed it could not detect her hiding beyond the curtain of water. She ought to retreat into the small cave, and ensure her safety, but she yearned to reach out and touch its broad nose. Before she could do anything so foolish, soft footsteps and a human female’s laugh grew closer.

  The urge to cry out and warn whoever walked close to the beast made her cover her mouth with her hand. Since she could overhear their conversation, the dragon might hear her. Sacrificing her life to save a stranger’s made no sense, but she stepped closer to the falling water.

  I have to try.

  However, when she spied a human male walk right up to the dragon, and slap the side of its neck, she halted.

  “Listen, you ugly beast, your landing was a mite rough. Do you wish to harm Vika and her bairn?” the young lad asked.

  The dragon’s roar was terrifying. Would it eat the lad, and turn on the female? Fiona had no power to stop the creature, not unless she shifted into a dragon. However, even if possible, she feared the cave was too small, and her view of the monster was not enough to do the job well.

  When the dragon dipped its head, and continued to drink, Fiona relaxed. When the pretty female drew closer, the dragon lifted its muzzle from the pool. Water cascaded from its mouth, and splashed the female. She laughed louder.

  Fiona remembered that Cliona’s human form was pretty, or so she claimed, so this female was, as well. Their features were similar, but this stranger’s hair was flame red, with streaks of gold. Her skin was a bit pale, but they had just come through a bitter winter. She was not as tall as the male, who appeared younger. For all she knew, they could be mated. The lad’s hair was bright orange, and freckles dotted his cheeks. They wore dark colors over their bodies, possibly wool. The lad’s ended at his knees, and the colorful cloth wrapped up and over one shoulder. She sniffed the air.

  “Aye, ‘tis wool.”

  The female’s dress covering her was a simple lighter color, and she pulled a dark cloak tighter, covering all her flesh.

  I wish I had something to cover mine

  Both smiled at the dragon, so Fiona dropped the hand covering her mouth and concentrated on listening. If she was to search for Cliona in a village, knowing more about its residents might make her task easier. When the dragon spoke, she had to snap her mouth closed again.

  “I apologize, Vika dear. I sometimes forget me own strength. Unlike me brothers, I be not accustomed to being treated like a Highland pony.”

  “I forgive you, Dougal,” the female, Vika, said.

  Dougal? The dragon has a name, and can speak to humans?

  Fiona ought not be surprised. Hadn’t she learned their language? Even so, she shivered. Standing naked on the rocks inside the cave chilled her human skin. Compared to the fairy pool’s unusually warm water, her predicament was so absurd one might think it funny. Her lack of a deer’s hide was beginning to be quite uncomfortable, but she wanted to hear more.

  “Sister, sit yourself down on this rock and soak your feet. I pray the water will feel good. See the wildflowers? Spring be blooming, just like you.”

  “I be not a blooming flower. I have grown as big as a cottage. Oof! This babe kicks!”

  “Vika, I mean you no disrespect. A lass expecting a babe be always a sight to behold, although you be a mite pale,” the lad said.

  Fiona loo
ked closer as the female took his hand and turned. She was obviously expecting a fawn, or babe, and needed the lad’s assistance to sit. When she pulled the hem of her gown up, and dipped her feet into the pool, a big grin transformed her face. She picked a bunch of small blooms and held them to her nose. She was quite lovely, and Fiona wished she could think of a way to meet her and her dragon.

  Humans and dragons?

  Fiona assumed that the deadliest predator in their woods was the wolf, but their numbers dwindled every year. Human hunters were a big problem, but the deer herd’s members learned at a young age how to hide and keep quiet whenever humans traveled near.

  The young man referred to the female as his sister, but Fiona could not take her eyes off the dragon. He was magnificent. Could he be the female’s mate? Odder things had occurred on Skye, yet witnessing this group made her head spin. Had Cliona gone off to join the humans and dragons? She’d never get an answer freezing her naked limbs in a cave. She’d rather resume swimming lazily in a fairy pool.

  Once the intruders were on their way, she would find the village nearest the pool, and locate someone who knew of her friend. When the lad started to remove his clothes, she stepped farther into the cave. If he decided to see what hid behind the waterfall, he might discover her hiding spot.

  “Vika, please hold me plaide?” The lad removed a strip from around his waist and dropped the woolen cloth. He handed it to his sister, then removed the leather covering his feet. “And me boots?”

  “Set them over there. They be covered in mud,” she answered.

  “I wish I could swim with you, Orin,” the dragon said.

  “Why not shift and join me?” the lad answered.

  Dragons can shift? I was right!

  The notion made no sense. Dragons were the largest creatures on Skye, and the deadliest. Why would they wish to shift into anything else?

  “Nay, lad. Your sister might enjoy the sight of me manly bits in human form, but her mate would tear me wings off. Another day, perhaps?”