The Blackstone She-Dragon: Blackstone Mountain Book 8 Read online

  The Blackstone She-Dragon

  Blackstone Mountain Book 8

  Alicia Montgomery

  Contents

  About the Author

  Also by Alicia Montgomery

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  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

  Epilogue

  Author’s Notes

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 Alicia Montgomery

  Cover design by Melody Simmons

  Edited by LaVerne Clark

  All rights reserved.

  About the Author

  Alicia Montgomery has always dreamed of becoming a romance novel writer. She started writing down her stories in now long-forgotten diaries and notebooks, never thinking that her dream would come true. After taking the well-worn path to a stable career, she is now plunging into the world of self-publishing.

  Also by Alicia Montgomery

  The True Mates Series

  Fated Mates

  Blood Moon

  Romancing the Alpha

  Witch’s Mate

  Taming the Beast

  Tempted by the Wolf

  The Lone Wolf Defenders Series

  Killian’s Secret

  Loving Quinn

  All for Connor

  The Blackstone Mountain Series

  The Blackstone Dragon Heir

  The Blackstone Bad Dragon

  The Blackstone Bear

  The Blackstone Wolf

  The Blackstone Lion

  The Blackstone She-Wolf

  The Blackstone She-Bear

  The Blackstone She-Dragon

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  Sign up for my newsletter now - you can get a BONUS chapter of this book, as well as a FREE copy of my paranormal romance The Last Blackstone Dragon and my contemporary billionaire domination romance novelette The Billionaire Heirs.

  Chapter One

  The alarm clock chimed, its familiar ring-ding-ding sound pulling Sybli Lennox out of a deep sleep. Her eyes fluttered open and she reached over to her bedside table and turned it off.

  “Hmmm …” She sighed audibly as she sat up and stretched her arms over her head. What a strange dream. Her dream was … she shook her head. She couldn’t recall all the details, but remembered feeling really good. Like she was floating in warm water.

  Her inner dragon agreed. Whatever the dream was, it had been amazing. The creature inside her was content to just laze around in bed, but Sybil was not going to lie down and do nothing this weekend.

  I’m so looking forward to today. After all, it was the last weekend of the summer and they were having the annual Lennox–Walker barbecue at Blackstone Lake.

  She glanced over at her clock. It was eight o’clock on a Saturday, but she didn’t mind waking up early. It would give her a chance to clean up her apartment, have a cup of coffee, and get ready for the barbecue. She was already half-packed as they would be at the lake all weekend. It was going to be so much fun, and she was looking forward to spending time with her parents, brothers, and the rest of the family.

  She hummed cheerfully as she got showered, dressed in her favorite bathing suit and sundress, and finished packing. By the time she heard the knock on the door, she had just put her three bottles of sunscreen into her bag and zipped it closed.

  “Auntie Sybil!” Grayson Mills-Lennox greeted when she opened the door. The five-year-old boy raised his chubby arms up to her, and she obliged by picking him up.

  “Hey, squirt.” The scent of bear cub filled her nostrils, and her inner dragon glowed with happiness as it recognized the child. Sybil’s animal was especially protective over children, and probably one of the main reasons she decided to be a child welfare advocate. “Ready for the lake?”

  “Oh boy, am I ever!”

  “Grayson,” his mother, Georgina, warned. “You’re getting too heavy to be carried like that.”

  “Aww, Mommy, Auntie Sybil can take me. She’s strong, like Papa and Pop-pop.”

  Sybil laughed. True. As a dragon shifter she did have enhanced strength, even in human form, which was why she was always extra careful. “You’re growing real big, Grayson.” She put him down. “How much mac and cheese have you been eating?”

  “Lots!” the boy said proudly.

  “We should get going,” Georgina said. “Luke is waiting for us outside.”

  “I’m all ready,” Sybil proclaimed, then turned to Grayson. “Are you excited for the weekend, squirt?”

  “I am! Papa said that we’re going to go swimming, and then have barbecued ribs and.…”

  Sybil let the boy ramble on as she locked her door and then followed mother and son down to the first floor where Luke’s shiny new truck was waiting in the driveway of her apartment complex. She opened the rear passenger door and helped Grayson inside before climbing in.

  “Hey, Luke.” She squeezed his shoulder as she moved into the back seat.

  “Sybbie," he greeted back using his favorite childhood nickname. “Did you lock your door?”

  She rolled her eyes as she strapped Grayson into his car seat. “Yes.”

  “And you have the timers on your lights?”

  “Uh-huh.” She patted Grayson on the head, then put her own seatbelt on.

  “And you changed the batteries on your smoke detector?”

  “Seriously? I’m a dragon, remember?”

  Luke’s tawny gold eyes stared back at her, dead serious. “Which is why I’m asking. Do you remember when you were eight and you—”

  “Shush! That was years ago.” She put her hand up. “Fine. Yes, Mom,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “I changed the batteries last week.”

  “Good.” He nodded and turned to his mate. “Ready?” Georgina nodded and Luke put the truck in gear, then drove out to the main road.

  Georgina glanced back at Sybil. “You know he’s like this because he cares about you, right?”

  “And because you live in a dodgy neighborhood,” Luke added, looking at her from the rearview mirror.

  “It is not dodgy,” she said defensively. “It’s quaint.”

  “It’s dodgy,” he insisted.

  She huffed. “It’s near work, which means I save on gas, plus it’s what I can afford on my salary.” Her apartment complex was located in a less-affluent part of Blackstone, but it was also accessible to the highway that led to the next town. Although the Welfare Service Office was located in Blackstone, her division actually served the entire county, and most of her cases had her traveling into the surrounding towns.

  “You could live at the castle,” Luke pointed out.

  “So could you,” she shot back. Although he grunted and turned his attention back to the road, she saw the smile at the corner of his lips. Her brother had always told her how proud he was that she wanted to make her own way in life, despite all the advantages they had growing up.

  “He just wants you to be happy and safe,” Georgina said. “Right, Luke?”

  “You need someone to tak
e care of you,” he said.

  “Excuse me?” Sybil said, trying not to raise her voice.

  “You know what I mean.”

  She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You, Jason, and Matthew spent most of my teen years scaring off any boy who came near me, and now you’re complaining that I don’t have a boyfriend?”

  “I don’t want just any boyfriend for you,” Luke grumbled. “You should have someone who will respect you and treat you right. Then maybe, I might stop worrying about you.”

  “Now you sound like a nosy old lady, Grandma.” Sybil pouted.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t like guys or wanted to be single the rest of her life. She didn’t think she was bad looking. She was on the petite side, which meant every guy she met was taller than her; she’d been told she was pretty, with her heart-shaped face, dark lashes, and gray eyes; and she knew guys stared at her double-D boobs and shapely butt all the time.

  No, the problem wasn’t with this body; it was the other body. Her dragon was just too strong and powerful for most of the shifter men in town. Growing up, all the boys in her high school had been terrified of her dragon. She felt their animals cower in fear, even though she’d learned to control her dragon since she was a child. Plus, it didn’t help that she was the only daughter of the richest man in town who practically owned Blackstone. While all the girls her age were experiencing their firsts—first dates, first kisses, first boyfriends, first, ahem, times—she had been left untouched in the corner like the veggie dish at a potluck. By the time she went off to college, she had simply lost hope and interest in boyfriends and focused instead on her career.

  It didn’t mean she wasn’t open to the possibility. And, if she were honest with herself, she was envious of her family and friends. Everyone had already paired off, finding their mates, while she was left alone again. Even Kate—who swore off relationships—found her mate in Petros. What she wouldn’t give to even have a decent date with a nice guy. Just something normal.

  Georgina sensed the growing tension and cleared her throat. “So, it’s still about an hour to the lake. Why don’t we play a game? Grayson?”

  “Ooh! How about I Spy?”

  Sybil put all thoughts of boys, boyfriends, and mates aside. “Why don’t I go first?” She grinned at Grayson. “I spy, with my little eye, …”

  After their huge barbecue lunch, the whole Lennox–Walker clan decided it was time for a dip in the lake. Sybil sat on the shore, content to watch everyone have fun. Jason, Christina, Petros, and Kate were all playing chicken fight, the girls on their respective mates’ shoulders as they tried to push each other over. Ben and Penny were sitting on beach chairs, holding hands while they chatted softly. Matthew and Catherine were lazing on their inflatable tubes, while Luke was teaching Grayson how to swim. Meanwhile, Cassie Grimes was riding on the back of her great-uncle Tim, who was in polar bear form. Cassie’s dad, Mason and his mate, Amelia Walker, were sitting on the dock that stretched out from the shore. Laura, Amelia’s mom, came over and spoke with them, and when she left, the couple stood and walked toward the woods.

  She was glad Amelia was back, and also back with her mate. They had broken up a couple of years ago, but when Mason moved to town, they had reunited. Sybil knew part of the story, having been there when Amelia had been inconsolable in the wake of the breakup.

  Sybil was also the social worker who had checked up on Cassie when she came to Blackstone after an emergency removal from Mason’s ex-wife’s custody. She could have been vindictive, since Mason broke one of her best friends’ heart, but she was a professional. Besides, she’d read Cassie’s case file; not only had the young girl been abandoned by her mom, but Mason wasn’t even her biological father. Yet he’d stepped up and taken care of her like she was his own. She had to give him props for that.

  “Everything okay, princess?” Her father plopped down on the sand next to her and put an arm around her.

  “Hey, Dad.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, I’m good. Just thinking. You?”

  “Doing great, now that I’m here with all of you.” He flashed her a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  She laughed. “I’m fine.”

  “Work’s good?”

  “Yeah, same old, same old.” Her work was never boring, that was for sure, and some days, it was heartbreaking and exhausting. But seeing the kids smile made it all worth it, especially with what they went through. “I just—Dad?”

  Hank’s body stiffened, and his eyes began to glow. Sybil could feel his inner dragon stand to attention, and her own animal mirrored its sire. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her skin crawled. Danger.

  Her father stood, grabbed her elbow, and pulled her up. The tension in the air was palpable. She looked around her. Matthew, Jason, and everyone else who had been swimming were walking up to the shore. When Hank’s head whipped around, she saw what had sent all their senses on alert.

  There were five men standing there, right in front of Uncle James’ cabin. Now, Sybil was 100 percent sure they had not been there a second ago, nor had she sensed their approach. In fact, it was like they had just appeared out of thin air.

  Hank’s jaw set. “The kids. And the women—”

  “Christina’s taking them inside,” Jason said as he came closer.

  “Sybil, go with them,” Matthew ordered.

  “What?” She glanced back at the men, who had not moved an inch. “No way.” She looked around her. Luke, Uncle James, Tim, Petros, Kate, and Ben were coming towards them. “I’m one of you, remember?” Her dragon uncoiled inside her, ready to protect her loved ones.

  “If they need help—”

  “Then I’ll fly them off in a sec,” Sybil said. “But I’m staying here.”

  “They’re coming,” Jason warned.

  Hank turned to face the intruders, putting himself between them and his family. Matthew and Jason stood behind him, while the rest spread out behind the trio, flanking all sides.

  The five men walked toward them with deliberate steps. As they came closer, Sybil’s shifter instincts went into overdrive.

  Dragons.

  Five dragons had landed in Blackstone. But why? Sybil knew of the existence of other dragons in the world but like the Lennoxes, most kept a low profile. Her father and brothers never gave out interviews or allowed outsiders into their lives. As Riva had explained when they were teenagers, the Lennox Corp. Public Relations Department’s main function was to keep them out of the public eye.

  Of course, she couldn’t help herself: out of curiosity, she’d done a Google search for other dragon shifters but found very little information. There was a mention of a dragon in Chicago who lived in the tallest building in the world and one that lived in England or somewhere in the U.K., but there was not much else. It was like the existence of dragons had been scrubbed from the World Wide Web and the greater world in general.

  “You stop right there,” Hank said. His tone was calm, but the presence of his dominant dragon was unmistakable.

  The men stopped in their tracks. Sybil’s eyes narrowed at them. Each one of them wore different clothing, but they were definitely all dragons, though she sensed something was unique about each of them. But what?

  “Greetings, Henry Lennox, Blackstone Dragon.” The man in the middle, a tall, thin man wearing silver robes said. He had a pleasant voice with a slight accent Sybil couldn’t place. English? Irish?

  “Who are you and what do you want?” came Hank’s reply.

  Another man—this one short and stocky and wore an immaculate white suit—spoke next. “We are the Dragon Council.”

  “Dragon Council?” Hank echoed. “I’ve never heard of you.”

  “Of course not,” white suit said, his aristocratic voice almost a sneer. “Your ancestor, Anastasia Lennox got your clan banished from the Dragon Alliance when she defied dragon law and mated”—the disdain in his voice was evident—“with a co
mmon shifter.”

  Sybil bit her lip to stop her gasp, but beside her, she could feel Uncle James and Ben tense. She didn’t blame them, of course. He was talking about their ancestor, Silas Walker, a bear shifter who had married Anastasia Lennox.

  “Caesar, please,” silver robe interrupted. “That’s all in the past, right? Does it matter?”

  “What matters is why you’re here. On my mountain,” Hank said, his arms crossing over his chest. “How the hell did you sneak up on us, and what do you want?”

  “We Cloaked, of course,” silver robe replied matter-of-factly. “Have you never Cloaked before?”

  Caesar clucked his tongue and turned to silver robe. “See, Balfour? I told you, we don’t even know how they’ve regressed, being away from other dragons.”

  Balfour’s eyes flashed silver. “Please, Caesar.” He turned back to Hank. “Kindly excuse us. As Dragon Council, we put everything to a vote and unfortunately, my compatriot lost this one.”

  Hank looked at the men impatiently. “Will one of you just please tell me what’s going on?”

  “Since you are apparently unaware of the events of the past century or two, let me start from the beginning.” Balfour cleared his throat. “A few thousand years ago, dragon shifters lived peacefully with humans and all other shifters; however, through the centuries, humans began to hunt us down and thus, those of us that remained formed the Dragon Alliance. Each clan sends one representative to the Dragon Council, who then creates and enforces dragon laws. These laws are meant to keep us safe and ensure the survival of our species.” He paused. “When, uh, your ancestor, Anastasia Lennox broke dragon law, the Lennoxes were banished from the Dragon Alliance as punishment.”