Dragon 3 Chapter 15 (Patreon)

I was the last to wake up the next morning. I reached over, finding cold sheets next to me.

Apparently, Jadelyn had been right; I had needed the sleep.

Rolling out of bed, I got dressed. As I was rustling around, getting my clothes on, Jadelyn bumped the door open with her hip, holding a breakfast tray.

“Good. I was wondering when you were going to wake up.” She smiled brightly at me. “Eat in here or out in the kitchen?”

“I’d like to join all of you for breakfast.” I replied, and she turned back around.

Once I finished getting dressed, I followed after her.

The girls were lounging around, enjoying their own form of breakfast. Morgana and Scarlett were bonding while cleaning knives and guns, while Kelly manned the waffle maker.

Jadelyn was whipping about the room, preparing everything else needed for a lovely breakfast. She had put the tray for me on the counter.

Walking in and seeing Morgana and Scarlett spending time together, even if it was over ammunition, warmed my heart. When I’d met Morgana, she had employees, but she hadn’t had real friends. I knew it was hard for her to get close to people, and I was proud of her for trying.

“Morning sleepy head.” Kelly said, checking the waffle iron.

“It is sort of odd seeing you all act so domestic.” I replied.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m still a girl. And for the most part, I live a normal life. Or at least, I did before I started trying to woo a dragon.” Kelly winked at me. “Although I guess this is far more domestic than that.” She pointed a fork at the two cleaning guns.

Morgana looked up from her current project. “This is very domestic if you work as a mercenary.”

“Or security guard.” Scarlett piped up.

“What about me?” Jadelyn asked.

I smiled, grabbing her and pulling her over. “You are the glue that holds all of us together. You’re essential.”

Seeing her satisfied smile, I kissed her forehead and wandered over to the counter. My stomach had woken up with all the amazing smells. A dragon had to eat.

I started in on my breakfast. The plate was filled with strawberry waffles with bananas and some chocolate chips on the side to mix in.

And I smothered in enough syrup to fill the little cups of the waffle grid, as life intended. I ran my fork along the top, distributing the sugary goodness across the waffle before grabbing my first bite.

As the first bite melted in my mouth, I moaned, going to take another before I had even swallowed.

I worked to make sure each bite had just the right amount of syrup. I realized just how much my life had become about balance. There was the need to balance the amount of time and love and intimacy I had with each of my women. I was sure I’d get it wrong sometimes, but I was dedicated to making this life with them work.

“Thank you for the waffles; this is fantastic.” I said, after devouring a few bites.

Kelly perked up at that. “Thank you.”

“You two want to bring your projects over here?” I wanted us to all sit together, like one family.

Jadelyn snapped to attention, moving to grab some hand towels. She got them down on the counter before the other two could lay their oily weapons all over her white marble countertop.

After I got up, I kissed Morgana and Scarlett on the lips. I got a little buzz as I kissed Morgana, which only made the feeling of Scarlett’s fluffy tails even more enjoyable. I found myself a bit distracted as Kelly jumped in.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” She asked, amusement in her voice.

“Tyrande already sent over a schedule for the week.” Jadelyn laid her phone down on the counter for us all to see. “I’ve forwarded it to all of you, but today will be their first day at the magic range.”

“They must be eager to get the trap set.” I speared a banana on top of my next piece. “We’ll go and mess around at the range ourselves?”

“That’s the plan.” Morgana agreed. “It’s a good time to play with magic, too. I’m hoping we might be able to have you harness your own.”

“I’m more worried about learning to fight in the air.” I said. “Angels are going to be in play when they come.”

My mates paused.

Scarlett gave me a concerned gaze. “But that would mean you intend to shift into a dragon at some point. Expose your secret?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, I nodded. I’d been slowly accepting that the time was coming. It wouldn’t be long before I was pushed to show more people my secret as attacks kept coming. I’d do anything to keep my women safe. And I still owed Yev an explanation. I hoped she’d keep my secret, but who knew what she would do in the heat of the moment.

The world was soon going to know there was a gold dragon in town.

“Hush. There’s something about the Bronze King.” Kelly pointed to the TV, which had been running in the background.

A hauntingly beautiful woman in what looked like a belly dancer outfit stood before a podium loaded up with microphones. She looked mostly human, but a snake tail wound around the side of the podium, telling me there was more to her.

Her eyes were covered with a thin white cloth as she spoke into the microphone. “The Bronze King will hold a press conference next week in response to the new dragon in Sentarshaden. It is his intent to protect all dragon kind, and it saddened him to see the world's response, as this new dragon has become known to the world. He is planning several announcements.”

She lifted herself away from the microphones, even as camera flashes bombarded her. I wasn’t surprised when she slithered away on a snake tail rather than walked.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Gorgon.” Morgana said quickly. “She’s one of the Bronze King’s women.” She went back to cleaning her weapons, not interested. “I love it. The cocky bastard sends someone to tell the world he’s going to open his fat trap a week in advance.”

I turned, surprised at her apparent distaste for the Bronze King. “Not a fan?”

“He’s old, cocky, and suddenly a concern for me.” Her eyes roved up and down my body. “You are an anomaly. I’m not sure how he’ll react.”

“Anomaly?” Kelly asked.

I realized she didn’t know all of my secrets.

“I’m not just a gold dragon. If I want to, I can shift into a silver dragon, too.”

“Oh. That’s… odd.” Kelly stumbled over what to say. It didn’t sound like it concerned her, though.

“When we get back, I’ll look through my library with you.” Morgana promised. “But the Bronze King is a problem for another day. Today, we focus on saving the green hussy and setting a trap for the templars. And to do that, I agree, you should get training and experience fighting in your dragon form.”

“How? It isn’t like he can just dragon up somewhere and fly around.” Kelly poked at the next waffle to see if it was done. “He’d need a massive space that was protected from onlookers.”

“Up in the Highaen tree is about the only place he could practice without being seen, but that means we’d have to let Tyrande in on the secret.” Jadelyn pondered.

I remembered when we arrived; I had seen sparks of something large and magical flying up in the boughs of the massive tree. Morgana could make spaces, and she made the atrium and expanded the space in her bar, but I thought making a space big enough for me to fly would be out of her ability.

“Maybe Yev has a place she can fly?” I suggested. Once again, I knew we’d need to tell them the truth to use it, but I’d planned on apologizing at some point, anyway.

“We’ll figure out something for you, even if I have to go buy a small country for you to play in.” Jadelyn patted my hand reassuringly, but the idea of her buying a small country did not put me at ease.

“Maybe we’ll hold off on the small country. Save that as a backup.” I joked.

When my secret came out, it would be nice not to spend so much time trying to remain hidden. Heck, I could even fly us back to Philly.

Thinking about Philly, I changed the subject. “How are we going to manage living arrangements when we get back to Philly? Do I need to get a bigger place?”

The girls all looked at me, then at each other as silent questions flit between them.

“Jadelyn has some obvious advantages.” Kelly said slowly. “But I’m not sure you should live with her parents given the… noise level… you can bring out in each of us.”

Morgana snorted. “I think his apartment next to mine in The Atrium has obvious advantages.”

“Too small.” Scarlett voiced her opinion. “We can’t bring him into the sorority house, and I don’t see us all waiting a year.”

Morgana set down a reassembled gun. “I can make his space larger and connect it anywhere we want. I’m back at full strength. That means there’s little I can’t or won’t do to make all of this more comfortable for him.”

The idea of upgrading my place in Morgana’s magically constructed space was certainly appealing. “Just how big could you make it? Could I fly around?” I asked hopefully, but knew it was unlikely.

The whole group paused and turned to Morgana.

“I haven’t tried something that big. But that was when I was conserving myself. At the very least, it would take me weeks to make.” She tapped at her lips. “I think it is unlikely to be enough space to practice much more than flying in circles.”

Figures. I’d been hopeful we had a quick fix. But at least we had options for our home in Philly.

“I like the idea of connecting that space to Scar and Jade’s sorority room, and another connection to Kelly’s choice of home, either the bunker or her dorm room.”

“You put it in the bunker, and a bunch of bitches are going to be wandering into your bedroom at night.” Kelly warned me. “Which reminds me.” She looked at the other girls. “Hestia can make a potion for my betas to get fertile and frisky with their bitches, but she needs dragon semen to make it.”

Scarlett burst out in laughter. “We have buckets of it on demand.”

“I am not some fire hose.” I grumbled.

“Big enough.” Morgana said, and they all agreed while Kelly stared at me wide eyed.

“Holy shit, you’re that big?”

I held my hands up in surrender. “No, they are exaggerating.” She’s seen me naked, but I didn’t think she’d seen me at full staff.

“Only slightly.” Jadelyn sighed. “You should have seen how worn out Scar was getting when she was trying to satisfy him alone.”

All this talk was making my cheeks burn. I focused on the news for a break.

The word ‘templar’ caught my attention on the ticker as it just scrolled past, and I grabbed the remote to turn up the volume.

“The long-standing truce of the knights’ templar was formally broken today, as iron-clad evidence of them capturing shifters in Germany has surfaced.”

“Well, Tracey, it's a sad day for the paranormal world. We all often worry about being hunted, and to see the Knights Templar returning to medieval scare tactics is a disappointment.” The other anchor threw in his opinion.

Given what I’d seen in Austria, I thought it was unlikely they’d stopped hunting paranormals. But it seemed like they were becoming less concerned about hiding it.

Things were heating up, and I was concerned about bringing women I loved into the fire.

But as I scanned the room, I knew that none of my women were weak hearted.

Jadelyn might be the weakest in a direct confrontation, but she had her own strengths and a heavy hand to play should someone come after her or any of us.

Morgana was a legendary fighter, centuries old, with more experience than anyone I knew in combat.

Scarlett ran what was likely the world’s finest security services.

And Kelly was the first female alpha werewolf. She still had room to grow, but having seen her father, I knew she’d be a force to be reckoned with.

I shouldn’t question if these girls were going to get hurt, but who would get hurt trying to take them out.

“Seems like the templars were already on the move before we poked the hornet’s nest.” Morgana said, pointing at the TV. “There’s no way that wasn’t planned a week ago.”

I nodded, thinking about what she’s said. “Do you think they knew about Yev before she transformed?” It was odd they’d be able to assemble and move so quickly.

Getting the gear and the people ready to hunt a dragon was likely a several week operation, and they were already prepped to go when we’d entered their base the day after her reveal. Something seemed off.

“Either way, it doesn’t change our next steps. Gear up, and let’s head over to this magic range.” I finished my waffle, only for Kelly to put another on my plate.

“You are a growing dragon, from everything I understand. You need to eat.” Kelly smirked.

Folding it over, I bit viciously into the side of the waffle as I stood up. “I’ll eat on the way.”

I was stuborn like that.

***

When they said magic range, I’d expected some secret out of the way building in the corner of the city.

But I was dead wrong.

Right off a busy street, the massive building stood with big red storefront letters.

“Ace’s Range for wands and magic.” I read it aloud as we walked up.

“You can shoot guns too. Magic and wands have a higher rating for the building, though.” Scarlett said, pushing open the door for our group.

Jadelyn went in ahead of me, once Scarlett stepped inside and checked it first. Scarlett had argued against her coming, but Jadelyn had been firm that being with Morgana and I was one of the safest places she could be.

Scarlett had eventually bent under her relentless pressure.

Jadelyn bounced through the door and up to the counter. “We’d like…” Her eyes scanned the board behind the counter. “A private blasting room for seven.”

“’Fraid I’m all out.” The lady said with a tired shrug.

“Maybe Tyrande beat us to it.” I added. “We’re here to shoot with Tryande.”

“Sure you are.” The clerk chuckled. “Let me check here. Yep, they’re not here.”

She did not, in fact, check anything.

Jadelyn held up a finger for everyone to wait and put the phone to her ear. “Tyrande, we’re here. Can we join you in your room? Uh, huh. Come out, they don’t believe my mate.”

The lady at the counter raised a skeptical eyebrow, but we waited for about thirty seconds before Tyrande herself came out.

At that, the clerk raised her hands in surrender and let us through without issue. She knew when she was beat, Jadelyn had that effect on people.

“Glad you guys could make it today. Yev has some steam to burn off.” Tyrande gave a nervous chuckle. “Hope you guys aren’t skittish.”

She led us down the narrow hall and opened door number two.

As soon as she did, an explosion went off in the room and air rushed out to greet us like a punch in the face.

Tyrande wasn’t worried though, she just smiled a crooked smile.

Yev was standing inside, a sheen of sweat clinging to her as she stood there, arm outstretched, palm facing down range. “Oh. You guys made it.” She said, turning around to greet us.

I looked around. The range was split into two areas.

There was a lounging area, complete with some drinks sitting in a bucket of ice and a few untouched appetizers.

Then right next to the lounging area was a platform, standing over what looked like a blasting chamber. Beyond the platform was a ten foot deep bowl and a thirty yard range.

Magical constructs were being reconstructed before our eyes, as a display in the lounging area read out some numbers from Yev’s latest blast.

“This is pretty cool.” I said, stepping over to see the numbers. It calculated both her penetration and her overall power in numbers. “What’s the measurement?”

“In grams of TNT. Or rather, the explosive equivalent.” Tyrande explained.

“So she just put out a blast equal to twenty thousand grams of TNT?” That was a solid blast.

“That would be like a stack of TNT the size of your torso.” Morgana helped me visualize what level of bomb she was packing.

Surprisingly, my plastic explosives experience had been limited despite working as a mercenary. Morgana often went in guns blazing. But I could imagine the damage of an explosive that size.

“Want to give it a try?” Tyrande asked our group.

“Sure.” Jadelyn stepped up, eager to show off. On the platform, she tapped on the screen. When she finished, a large werewolf appeared down in the blast chamber.

“Hey! Why are we shooting werewolves?” Kelly disagreed with the target, crossing her arms in protest.

Jadelyn gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, it’s the default.”

Kelly grumbled something about being the ‘default’ paranormal.

But Jadelyn continued on, walking up to the edge of the platform.

As she walked, she sang, her voice picking up and carrying itself into the air.

It was a harsh lifting tune before she bent sharply at the waist and screamed. Ripples filled the air in front of her as the scream had an almost visible quality to it as it launched at the target.

As her scream rang out, I found myself on edge, but also immensely curious to see what she could do.

I watched as the werewolf down below took the brunt of her siren ability. The magical construct exploded as if it had been hit by a truck going eighty.

Jadelyn turned with a smile on her face and a few beads of sweat running down the side of her cheek. “How’d I do?”

I looked at the data. “Four thousand grams of TNT. Good job, babe.”

She still frowned. It wasn’t nearly what Yev had done, but she was trying to compare herself with the raw fire power of a dragon.

“That’s amazing for a siren’s scream.” Tyrande said, clapping. “We can’t all compare to Yev here. She blows me out of the water too.”

“Let’s see it.” I encouraged her, hoping she’d be more comparable to Jadelyn and make her feel better.

Tyrande took the challenge, jumping up on the platform.

“Highaen are masters of frost magic. It’s based on the environment around their tree.” Morgana said as I watched Tyrande. Her sharp elven features a mask of concentration as she stood on the platform, starting down at the target below her.

She held up one hand. Her magical eyes seemed to swirl with power as mana gathered into a small blue sphere in her hand.

“Oh, wordless magic.” Jadelyn said. “Hard stuff to pull off.”

Tyrande shot the little blue ball out into the center of the blasting area, and it exploded into crystalline shards. The shards pierced through the werewolf target.

“How’d she do?” Jadelyn was eager to measure herself.

“Six thousand.” Kelly said before I could think of a way to soften the results.

But Jadelyn didn’t seem to mind, knowing her limits already.

“That’s incredible, Tyrande. Frost magic isn’t known for its sheer force.” Jadelyn encouraged her friend.

“Thanks. Who else is up?”

Scarlett raised her hands in surrender. “I only have illusion magic. Kelly might be an alpha, but pack magic doesn’t do much like this.”

“Alpha?” Tyrande looked heavily confused.

“Yep.” Kelly perked up. “First female alpha. I’ve got a lot of shit to figure out, but it’s working so far.”

“That’s freaking awesome!” Yev held her hand up for a high five. “You go, girl.”

I was suddenly feeling like I was surrounded by maybe a little too much girl power.

“I’ll give it a shot.” Morgana stepped up, and we all paid attention. Morgana was always a bit of a mystery in her abilities. I was just as curious as the others about what she’d show us.

She tapped on the screen several times, and not just one target showed up. A dozen heavily armored rhino men popped up. “It isn’t always about raw power.”

She swished her hand in the air several times, each of her fingers seeming to catch the fabric of reality. In response, a shower of slashes that made the air blur around them descended on the rhino men.

The dozen rhino men slid, as they were each cut at different angles. Their bodies toppled to the floor before the constructs vanished. The read out barely registered any explosive power, but yet the results were plain to see. She was lethal.

“Zach, why don’t you give it a try? I want to see what Jadelyn’s husband can do.” Tyrande turned her attention to me. The other girls looked over at me too, curious about what I would do.

AN - We'll end the chapter there. *Evil author laughter fades into the background*