Shifter Queen (Dragons & Phoenixes Book 3) Read online

  Blurb

  When my home in the city dome is burned to the ground, I retreat to my Dragon Lord boyfriend's territory where he’s been keeping my little half-brother Omari safe. I need a moment to regroup and catch my breath in the aftermath of dear old dad Emberich's multiple attempts on my life. I figure I deserve a break, right?

  But then a phoenix shifter from King Emberich's court shows up and wants me to be involved in a coup. Apparently, I'm one of the only blood successors, someone with a legitimate claim to the throne.

  If I'm the best they've got, they're in trouble.

  I’ve got too much mixed blood and I don't fit in anywhere—not in a city dome with humans, not among the dragons, and certainly not with the phoenixes. But maybe this is the only way to get Emberich off my back.

  And, more importantly, the only way to protect Omari.

  Hey, maybe my dragon shifter grandmother, Queen Cinira, could help. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm in way over my head.

  And I'm only sinking deeper.

  Shifter Queen

  Dragons & Phoenixes Book Three

  Miranda Martin

  Nadia Hunter

  Copyright © 2018 by Miranda Martin

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Red Hot Preview: Dragon’s Baby

  Chapter One

  Morning light was just starting to stream in through the sheer curtains, already bright even this early. The windows could be blacked out with a switch, but they were set to go clear when the sun rose in the morning. A natural alarm clock, one that I really needed need today.

  I hadn't slept well all night, thoughts circling and refusing to leave me alone. At least it was finally morning. I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut again, feeling the effects of the restless night of sleep.

  We were going to my grandmother's territory today.

  Grandmother. It still sounded so strange to me. I'd been planning to visit her sooner, but so much had happened in the time since I found out I had a grandmother at all. To make matters worse, now I was forced to go under less-than-ideal circumstances. It seemed like that was just how we were going to keep meeting, with a threat looming. But I couldn't change that. I also couldn’t stop worrying about it.

  After hearing Sven out, we'd decided this was bigger than just me or Ashur and his skein—we needed someone else to weigh in. Someone else to talk this over with. And Cinira Park, my grandmother, was our best bet.

  Even though I'd only met her once, there was no denying that she cared about me, that she must have cared about my mother. Hell, if it hadn’t been for her, I probably wouldn’t have made it out of Emberich's palace alive.

  I felt my entire body tense at the thought of him.

  Emberich. My biological father and all-around-unhinged monarch of the phoenix race. He was a real piece of work.

  I completely understood why Sven and others would decide they needed to rebel, change their leadership by force if necessary. I wouldn't want to be led by someone so power-hungry and selfish either. How could you trust someone who would kill his own children attempting to consolidate his power base? No, he wasn't fit to be a ruler of any kind, let alone one that had the power of the entire phoenix society at his beck and call.

  I wondered if he'd started out as he was or if the position had brought out the worst in him. In any case, I guess it didn't really matter how he became what he was. Still...

  Sven reaching out to me had been a shock, to say the least. He'd taken a big risk to contact me. A potentially deadly risk. But I was under no illusion that he or his group had reached out to me for any other reason than that I was literally the only choice. Dear old dad made sure he cleaned up after what he seemed to consider his mistakes. Or at least possible threats to his power.

  Taking into consideration the fact that there was a faction of his people looking at me as a possibly more peaceful leader, maybe he wasn't paranoid, but simply ruthless. He knew he wasn't universally liked. He didn't want his people to have a clear option in someone who shared his bloodline.

  From the information I had, I knew of only two of Emberich's offspring for sure. Me and Omari. It was the latter that had made me decide that I really needed to do something. It didn't feel like I had any choice. If I decided I wanted to live my life in constant fear of someone coming after me, that was one thing. I was an adult and I could make that choice if it was the right decision for me.

  But I didn't want that life for my baby brother. He deserved better. He deserved a normal life, or at least as close as he could get to one with our circumstances. And I'd do everything in my power to ensure that happened.

  Which brought me back to the trip to Cinira's territory today.

  The information from Sven about the brewing rebellion in Emberich's court was way too sensitive to trust to any remote channel. It was the very reason Sven had taken a gamble and simply shown up in Ashur's territory, knowing full well he was putting his life in danger by stepping into it unannounced and uninvited.

  Historically, dragons didn't like phoenixes during the best of times, and the dislike bordering on hate was mutual. Add that to invading someone's territory without permission-- Definitely not conducive to one's long-term health.

  But Sven had been right about needing to say his piece in person. The very act of coming in person lent a certain amount of legitimacy to his claims.

  We needed to tell Cinira face-to-face as well. I had no idea how she was going to take it.

  When I'd gone to Emberich's to complete the job I'd later found out he had commissioned just to get me there, Cinira's interaction with the Phoenix King had hinted at a long-running relationship of some kind. Perhaps just one of adversaries, but they'd definitely had multiple interactions in the past.

  She'd been the one to warn me about him and there wasn't any love lost between the two of them. But that didn't mean I could be assured of her reaction. There was no telling how she'd take the news until we were actually in the middle of the discussion. I could not shake my nerves even just thinking about it.

  Sighing, I turned my head. Ashur was still asleep next to me, his face softer.

  The full force of his personality wasn't on display with his eyes closed, but he never looked less than powerful, even fully relaxed like this.

  Whenever I looked at him, my eyes wandered. I was becoming a terrible ogler. But it was just so warranted.

  The covers were pushed down to his lean hips, revealing his broad shoulders, his well-muscled chest, his cobblestone abs. My eyes lingered on the soft trail of hair that led down from his navel to...other things.

  I felt a stirring of interest—not a surprise. It was a little embarrassing how quickly I reacted to just the sight
of him. My gaze traced its leisurely way back up to his face. Familiar now, but only more attractive because of it. I knew the man behind that sculpted face, and the man was even more attractive than the packaging, nice as it was.

  I took in the strong jaw and dark slashes of eyebrows. The hollows of his cheeks, highlighting his strong cheekbones. The way his morning stubble framed his full mouth. His hair fell over his forehead, the dark strands streaked with blond from the harsh sun. I knew it was as silky to the touch as it looked. I brought my hand up to brush it away from his face.

  His eyes opened immediately, the crystal-clear glacier blue awake and aware instantly. He was a light sleeper. I was still getting used to how he woke completely alert.

  "Mm." He brought his hand up to capture the back of my head and brought it down to his lips. "Still worried, huh?" he murmured, his voice morning rough.

  "Yeah. Can you blame me?"

  He rolled towards me and wrapped an arm around my waist, the heavy weight comforting.

  "No, I don't blame you." His eyes softened as he cupped the side of my face. "No matter what happens, I'll still be there to kick any ass that needs kicking."

  I snorted out a laugh, which I knew was his intention.

  "I don't want you kicking my grandmother's ass. But thank you. That's very...weirdly sweet."

  He grinned, his hand sliding down my back to cup my ass.

  I felt my interest rise.

  "Well, maybe what you really need is a distraction," he suggested in a low voice.

  "A distraction, huh?" I murmured, feeling the heat already building.

  It was never far from the surface around him.

  "Uh huh. And I know a no-fail way to accomplish it," he teased, that wicked light in his eyes as he rolled us so he was on top, the weight and heat of his body sinking into me.

  "Do you?" I asked, raising a brow as I slid my hands down his bare back. "Are you going to enlighten me?"

  I palmed his bare ass, giving it a testing squeeze.

  Perfect, just like the rest of him. And the change in position had some other very interesting parts of him bumping into me. Neither of us were wearing any clothes. His eyes went to half-mast as he rubbed his erection against me, the hot length searing.

  "Yes," he said simply, his eyes darkening now.

  He leaned down and kissed me, and pushed my legs farther apart with his hands. I guessed the time for teasing was over. I hummed in the back of my throat, wrapping my legs around his hips as I kissed him back, feeling all my worries falling away in the touch of his tongue against mine, in the feel of his erection sliding through my folds. Hitting me in exactly the right spot. I moaned into his mouth.

  Gripping my hips, he angled me so that I was even more open to him, so his length moved against me in an even more thorough caress. My hips thrust up against him, out of my control. The sharp sensation was almost too much. He broke the kiss and slid his face down my neck, to my breasts. Bringing them together, he sucked on them, the force hard and fast. And just what I wanted right then. But I also wanted more. Sliding my fingers into his hair, I pulled his head up.

  "Now," I demanded, pushing up against him. "Inside me."

  He didn't waste time or argue. Pushing one my legs up and out, he met my eyes, the expression in them hot, his mouth wet and swollen from my kisses. I was drowning in the blue of his eyes as he slowly pushed into me. I still wasn't used to the thick length of him and the way he stretched me. I didn't think I ever really would be. I bit my lip as he slowly pushed in, using small thrusts to work himself deep inside me.

  I felt invaded in the best way possible.

  His jaw was clenched when his hips finally met mine, his length throbbing inside me. I could tell he wasn't far off from his end. The thought sent another wave of heat through me. He lowered himself onto his forearms, kissing the side of my neck, giving me time to adjust to the feel of his body in mine.

  He started moving.

  My fingernails dug into his shoulders as he thrust smoothly in and out, his hand reaching between us to rub at my clit, his rhythm slow and even.

  I felt filled.

  Surrounded.

  Wonderfully overwhelmed with sensation.

  He kept to that slow, even roll of his hips for the longest time.

  Until I was teetering on the very edge, needing...something else.

  Something more.

  "Ashur..." I moaned, my head tossing from side to side as the complaint left my lips.

  "Shh. I have you," he murmured soothingly. He rose up, braced on his hands now. His eyes met mine again, his cheeks flushed, sweat sliding down his temple with the effort of holding back.

  And then he let go.

  I slapped my hands up against the headboard to brace myself as he thrust into me hard.

  Oh, yes.

  That was what I wanted. Then he hammered into me, my orgasm tearing through me at the third fast thrust. I arched hard under his working body, feeling the pleasure sing through me, burn through my nerve endings like a fire spreading in my veins. Too much. And just enough.

  Ashur shuddered above me as I clenched down on him. He let himself go too. I felt the kick of his orgasm inside me, in the stillness of his body, in the low sound he made as the pleasure tackled him as it had me.

  I kissed his chin, his neck, his shoulders. Everywhere I could reach as he finally relaxed, his skin hot and damp with effort. Letting out a long breath, he layered his body on top of mine, still buried deep inside.

  I wrapped my arms around him, kissing his forehead, smoothing his hair down.

  "I am thoroughly distracted," I said quietly into his hair, smiling. And I really, really was.

  "Good." He looked up at me. "I don't think I'm up for another attempt quite yet."

  I laughed and he grinned back at me, his gaze warm.

  "Just let me know whenever you need—"

  A knock at the door had both of us freezing.

  "Mia? Ashur?" The sound of the doorknob rattling. "Why is the door locked?"

  "Coming, Omari!" I called out as Ashur chuckled quietly, pulling out of me gently. "We'll be right there!"

  And there was no more time to spend on worrying or distractions.

  I had a six-year-old to deal with.

  Chapter Two

  We drove to Cinira's territory.

  Apparently, flying in as dragons would be considered an act of aggression, even though they knew we were coming. I understood, especially when I thought back to that first time I saw my grandmother, flying into Ashur's territory in her dragon form, leading her skein to attack his city. Maybe a bit of a double standard at play there, actually.

  But they'd come to a truce since then, a surprise after the history they shared.

  To say Ashur and Cinira had gotten off to a rotten start was putting it mildly. Cinira had held a decades-long grudge against Ashur's skein, believing they had something to do with her daughter's disappearance. Even though she now knew that the culprit was Emberich, it was difficult to shake off that many years of animosity. Not surprising when those years included some very real violent attacks like the latest one that occurred. When you'd sustained real damage, in both injuries and lives lost, the initial reason for the animosity wasn't the only one to hold a grudge anymore. It had built upon itself in an ugly way, like those things tended to do.

  So we made an extra effort not to fuel the flames that definitely hadn't quite been put out yet, despite the understanding between Cinira and Ashur. I'm sure her people were as skeptical about it as Ashur's. To show that we meant no harm, Ashur and I had driven out alone, much to his own people's dismay. They didn't want him going to his recent enemy's territory without more protection, never mind that she was my grandmother.

  It did sound idiotic when they put it that way. I knew they weren't sure of me at this point. Ashur and I hadn't been together very long and I had a suspicious-looking genetic makeup. Complicated was not even the half of it.

  Thinking of all that,
I'd offered to go alone. But Ashur had just given me a look.

  "Yeah, I don't think your grandmother is luring you in to hurt you," he agreed. "But I'm not letting you drive into anyone's territory alone. Definitely not the first time." He'd looked over at Enzi and Hathai with a firm stare. "I'm going. This is no longer an issue between our skeins." He'd looked at me then. "It is a family issue."

  Yes, it had made my heart flutter. I'd never had support like this before. I couldn't take it for granted and I never wanted to get to a point where I did.

  They'd backed off, but I knew they still weren't happy about it. That was my thing. Winning friends left and right. My often-tapped talent.

  So we'd gotten into an armored vehicle and driven out. It felt odd to be alone in a car with nothing around us. In the city dome and in Ashur's building, we were never very far from people. I looked out the window as we drove, thinking about that and the upcoming meeting. As we continued, I noticed the landscape started to change. Ashur's territory was flatter overall, with the city standing out for its very height in that level topography.

  Cinira's territory was different. As we neared it, things began to get rockier, less even. Striated, multicolored rocks started rising from the ground in different shapes and sizes, a forest of free-form natural sculptures. Warm oranges and reds, sedate beiges, even some deeper blues. My eyes scanned them, enjoying the change of pace.

  A large shadow passed over us as I looked out. And then another. Very familiarly shaped shadows. I looked up to see the lavender dragons silhouetted by the sun, the light glinting off their scales as they soared above us.