CURED

PREQUEL TO CAVES OF THE DRAGONS

DAMIAN H. LA FLEUR

REDD ARROW PRESS

CAVES OF THE DRAGONS

Continue the Series:

A Dragon-Shifting Romance

Cave of The Dragons Saga Release Date

Veiled 12/19/21

Healed 01/02/22

Devoted 01/16/22

Unwanted 01/30/22

Destined 02/13/22

Hunted 02/27/22

Caves of the Dragons Box Set 03/13/22

Click HERE to go to Damian La Fleur’s Amazon library.

LOGO

Hello!

Welcome and thank you so much for taking the time to download ‘Cured’.

I hope you’ll enjoy this short read as Zion fights to reclaim the love of his life, Nora, and his family after years of separation and humiliation.

As an extra thank you, I’ve included a sneak peek of Veiled (book one) my Dragon-Shifting Romance Series called “Caves of The Dragons” at the end of this book!

I look forward to keeping you up-to-date with the upcoming release of my new series, Caves of The Dragons, and all the other books I have planned.

Meanwhile, thanks again for being here and enjoy this time to yourself for a brief escape!

Warmest wishes

Damian La Fleur

Copyright © 2021 by Damian H. La Fleur

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

1.  Supernatural Sightings

2.  Hopeful Desperation

3.  Theron

4.  Bargain

5.  Warnings and Threats

6.  Demon Slayer

7.  Miracles

8.  Run Away With Me

Sneak Peak At New Series: Caves of The Dragons

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Caves of The Dragons

About the Author

SUPERNATURAL SIGHTINGS

I’ve always loved the moonlit evenings; they remind me of Papa and his ridiculous yet scary war stories. His arms engulfing Janet and I into his warmth as Mama made us all cocoa in the kitchen, is a memory I’ve kept dear in my heart, even years after Papa and Mama’s death.

Now, as I watch the emergency medical technicians wheel my deathly pale and unconscious sister out of our home and into the ambulance, I know for certain that the evenings have been forever stained by this horrible image.

I fall helplessly to the ground, hands shaking uncontrollably as I weep for the only family I have left. Several thoughts of regret fill my mind as I berate myself for failing to notice the decline in my sister’s health.

My demanding work has kept me extremely busy, especially with the rapid spread of the deadly plague that had begun earlier this year, and the burden of finding a cure resting on us scientists. Janet, being a thoughtful sister, never brought up how I’ve been spending less and less time at home, even though I could see how much she missed our time together.

My eyes do a quick survey of our well-kept home. With Janet’s presence gone, it seems emptier than ever. Without my sister, I truly don’t know what I’ll do with my life.

Suddenly, as if fueled by renewed strength and determination, I wipe my teary eyes and rise to my feet. Just as I put on my heavy coat, ready to leave for the hospital, there’s a knock on the door.

Praying that my puffy red eyes go unnoticed, I yank open the door and come face-to-face with Kenneth.

“Theresa, I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?” My colleague and ex-boyfriend puffs out in uneven breaths as he pulls me flush into his arms.

I relax into his arms, allowing his familiar scent to calm me before withdrawing. “I will be . . . I have to be,” I tell him. “Come on, we need to start working on . . .”

“If you’re going to say the cure, Theresa, you know that’s all we’ve been doing, and there’s still none.” His eyes watch me like a hawk’s as he speaks slowly, trying not to upset me.

“What would you have me do then? Just stop? This is my sister, and I won’t let this plague kill her. If she’s gone, if she doesn’t survive, I . . .”

“Theresa . . .” His face takes on a pitiful expression, and he takes my shaking hand, squeezing it in the process.

I nod my head incessantly, like I’ve just been asked a question, “She’s only in the first phase, just the flu-like symptoms, and we have enough time to find a cure before the boils start to appear.”

Kenneth frowns with raised eyebrows. “It takes about two weeks before the boils start to appear, and there’s not much time after that for survival.”

“Two weeks is enough time,” I snap at him, before taking calming breaths. “Please, just, please. I can’t give up on her.”

Understanding dawns in his brown eyes, and he holds my gaze with the same determination I felt minutes ago. “I’ll do everything in my power to help her, Theresa, I promise you.”

I flash him a grateful smile, and we both leave the house, with me ignoring the pitiful stares of my neighbor. I don’t care what their resigned eyes convey; my sister is not going to be another statistic in this horrifying plague. Now more than ever, I’m resolute: find a cure that will put an end to it.

I let Kenneth lead me into his vehicle, and I’m unable to sit still during the ride to the hospital. As soon as the large, sturdy building comes into the view, I impatiently fling open the door, while avoiding the other vehicles in the street, ignoring the panicked voice of Kenneth calling after me.

Rushing past the waiting room, with a quick greeting to the receptionist, I head towards the room where those with the plague are being held, but I’m immediately pulled back before opening the door.

“Dr. Brook, I understand that it’s your sister in there, but you should know better than going into that room without donning the required kit.”

I turn to meet the disapproving glare of Dr. Clark, one of the doctors in charge of treating those with the plague. I mumble a quiet apology and take the attire being handed to me by one of the nurses before hurrying into a changing room and putting the mustard-colored jumpsuit, gloves, and face shield on.

My questioning eyes find Dr. Clark’s, and he sighs before gesturing me into the room filled with sickly patients and their weeping visitors.

I rush to the bed at the far corner of the room, where a mass of thick blonde hair is splayed onto the pillow, collapsing on the chair beside it when I take in my still unconscious sister.

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet?” I ask the doctor dejectedly.

His hands disappear into the pockets of his coat after adjusting his glasses. “She did, but she was in so much pain that she passed out again,” he says, just as a panting Kenneth enters, directing a glare at me before turning to Dr. Clark with a small, grateful smile.

I squeeze Janet’s hand, peering at her beautiful face and wondering when those pretty long lashes will flutter awake. Just as I’m about to ask the doctor how bad my sister’s symptoms are, my attention is drawn to the man seated beside the next bed occupied by a woman I assume to be his wife.

I watch as he enthusiastically narrates his encounter with a beautiful, scary-looking woman who had transformed into a pure white wolf, before tearing into the flesh of an average-sized elk in the deep of the woods when he was out hunting.

Kenneth rolls his eyes beside me, he also having heard the man’s story, and Dr. Clark speaks up. “We’ve been hearing this more and more recently,” he whispers. “Some of the townspeople have been reporting sightings of supernatural beings occasionally.”

“You’d think with the plague killing us all off, they’d have better things to do with their time,” Kenneth says, with a tone of annoyance.

“Perhaps the rumors and myths of supernatural beings immune to sickness and possessing immortality gives them some sort of hope that one of them will rescue us from the plague.” Dr. Clark smiles ruefully, placing his gloved hand on my sister’s forehead. “All we can do is hope, after all.”

Just like that, an idea—crazy as it is—forms in my head, and I know what I have to do.

HOPEFUL DESPERATION

“ Absolutely not!”

I flinch at Kenneth’s loud shout, which echoes through the span of the laboratory filled with our fellow scientists, shooting them a quick smile of apology before dragging the red-faced man before me to a secluded corner.

“Seriously Kenneth—scream louder, the whole town didn’t hear you.”

He scoffs, wiping a hand across his face angrily. “This isn’t a joke, Theresa. What you are suggesting is not only insane but completely ridiculous.”

“A joke? None of this is a joke, Kenneth. My sister is lying there unconscious and in pain, getting closer and closer to death, and you think I’m joking around?”

He sighs, actually having the decency to look apologetic. “I’m sorry, I just . . . it doesn’t make sense, Theresa. Just because different supposedly supernatural beings have been rumored to be sighted by a few townspeople, doesn’t mean it’s true. I mean, how you even believe this cockamamie story is beyond me. We are in the year 2000, for Christ’s sake, not the eighteenth century.”

“This bullshit, like Dr. Clark said, is hope to some of those people, including me, as of today. The only way to truly know if any of this is real is to find answers; isn’t that what our job is?”

“So, what? You’re just going to walk around looking for werewolves and vampires? Do you realize how stupid this is?”

My jaw clenches, and my hands curl into fists. “You promised me; you said you’d do everything in your power to help my sister. Was that just something you said to placate me, or did you really mean it?”

For once, Kenneth looks at a loss for words, as he desperately tugs at his scruffy, dark hair. He leans down, his gaze locking on mine, as he places both hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me, Theresa. When I said I’d do everything in my power to help Janet, I meant it. We’re so close to finding a cure by using the genetic code of those immune to the plague and we’ll work faster . . .”

I push his hand away, sniffling. “Oh please, we both know that’s a long shot, and even if it works, it’s going to be too late. My sister would be dead by then.” I take a step back when there’s no reply from him. “It’s clear I have to do this myself; excuse me.”

“Where are you going?” he calls, but I ignore him as I walk out of the laboratory and go in search of the answers I desperately need.

It doesn’t take long before I find exactly who I’m looking for. Head in his hands, the man whose exaggerated storytelling had prompted my newly developed theory sits alone on one of the chairs in the waiting room, and I hurry to his side.

Gently, I draw his attention by placing a hand on his forearm and speak quickly when curious eyes meet mine. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I couldn’t help but overhear your story earlier about the woman that turned into a wolf.”

“It’s not a story—it really happened,” the man, whose eyes had been lifeless, take on a bright shade of excitement.

I nod eagerly. “Of course, I didn’t mean to . . .” I trail off at his impatient stare. “I just . . . if you could tell me where exactly you saw this creature, I’d really appreciate it.”

He takes a long look at me before deigning me worthy of the information. “Deep into the woods, towards the mountains and those creepy-looking caves; although if you know what’s best for you, lady, you wouldn’t go looking for their kind. They are as deadly as the plague itself—if not more.”

I don’t wait for the man to finish his warnings as I have no intention of heeding them. Instead, I’m out of the hospital building before he can finish his sentence, hailing a cab and heading towards the thick woods.

The worry in the taxicab driver’s eyes, as if he’s sure I won’t come out of there alive, does nothing to convince me either as I step out of the car, armed with my duffel bag and the sedative injection I hurriedly and stealthily grabbed.

With as much confidence as I can muster, I head down the cleared path, letting the intermittent sound of crickets and tweeting birds calm me. I retreat into my thoughts, at the same time keeping a vigilant awareness of my surroundings.

The weight of the sedative in my hand gives me a bit more assurance that my much-skewed plan might work out as planned. Besides, I’m not stupid enough to confront a supernatural being if they truly do exist. All I have to do is quietly stalk one, inject it with the sedative, extract its DNA, and get the hell out of there long before it awakes . . . easy peasy right?

It takes me a while to realize I have been doing a very terrible job of being aware of my surroundings. Not only is there no longer a cleared path for me to walk on, the forest has gone completely quiet.

With shaky hands still gripping onto my lifeline, as tightly as humanly possible, I slowly turn around, looking for the path I followed to this very spot, only to find nothing but dense thorny weed and trees.

Why on earth did I think I could do this? My hand reaches into my duffel bag, and I pull out my mobile phone, ready to call Kenneth and tell him I was a damn fool, when the atmosphere completely changes.

Like a cold, wet thing crawling down my spine, the feeling overwhelms my entire being, leaving me quivering and very close to soiling myself. Just when my fight-or-flight instinct takes over, me choosing the latter of course, I witness the most incredible—and at the same time terrifying—sight ever.

There, shrouded in the darkness of the forest, is a man whose body breaks and reforms into that of a mighty reptilian beast.

Impossible . . .

Still, when those big yellow eyes meet mine, I know that the worst is yet to come.

THERON

The dull pain at the back of my head and the queasy tang of fresh blood floating through my nostrils are the first things I sense as soon as my dizzied eyes snap open. Head lolling to the side, with everything in sight a blur to my eyes, it doesn’t take long for me to realize my feet are no longer on the solidness of earth as I sit up and look beyond.

I’m in the air . . . perched on the back of a black-scaled dragon.

If I wasn’t so sure opening my mouth would lead to me vomiting all over the beast that had taken me hostage, I would scoff.

None of this seems possible or even real. . . . Yes, I know I deliberately set out in search of a supernatural being, but a part of me still didn’t believe they existed. How ridiculous is it to think mythical creatures like werewolves and vampires truly exist? Yet, fate had chosen to mock me greatly by making me fall into the hands of a dragon shifter.

When the beast makes a swerve to the left, I instinctively grip its hard scales, one hand tightening around its thick wide neck, while the other holds onto the duffel bag I surprisingly still have with me.

I begin to wonder why the shifter didn’t bother to take the bag from me and then realize, even in my hand, the bag and its contents are completely useless. I can’t inject the beast with the sedative if I don’t want us both plummeting to the ground with me ending up dead; neither can I pierce through the hard, unyielding scales with my needle to harvest the components I need while worrying about my escape later.

Defeated, I lie back down on the majestic creature and snap my eyes shut, letting it take me wherever it deemed fit.

Whatever plan or ideas I might have had regarding my escape, as soon as we touched the ground quickly fades, because the clever shifter chose his destination carefully. I don’t need a map to know I’m right in the middle of the high and dreary mountains we humans watch from beneath, never daring to approach or climb.

With its steepness and slickness from the elements, it’s impossible for humans to climb, making it the perfect hideout, or whatever the settlement is before me, for these beings.

As soon as the dragon laid its lion-like claws on the rocky earth, it’s leathery bat-like wings still beating ferociously, three bare-chested men, whose glowing eyes indicate their similarly inhumanness, immediately begin to circle us.

One of them, showing off his bared fanged teeth, yanks me off the beast, holding me against his chest, while another with a gruesome scar trailing from the right top corner of his temple to the left side of his chin, as if his face was split in two, grabs the duffel bag from my clutched hands, with little to no resistance.

Before me, the beast’s growl shatters the wind, and in the blink of an eye, the man I had the misfortune of seeing in the woods stands towering above me, just like the others.

His brown eyes meet mine, and a cruel smile forms on his lips, “I’m going to have fun breaking you, human.” His deep voice rumbles in his chest, and when he reaches for me, I quickly lower my eyes with a whimper.

“No,” the man holding me snarls. “She goes to the alpha first,” he bellowed to them all, and despite the growl of disapproval, none of them try to stop us as I’m dragged into one of the many caves littered across the mountains. The brown-eyed shifter who brought me here follows closely behind us.

I don’t hold on tightly to the hand of the man who led me into the cave because I believe he had spared me of whatever cruelty the others planned, out of the kindness of his heart, if he has one; rather it’s because the cave is so dark I can’t even see my own feet. However, judging by the glowing eyes of the two men, I can bet they see the dark cave as clear as the bright day.

I feel him before I see him, or should I say, I feel the terribly great and blinding power clinging to the man whose being is veiled by the darkness, like a doe-eyed lover.

“Alpha, I found the human sniffing around the woods with this.” The brown-eyed shifter gets straight to the point, holding up the sedative, which now proved completely useless.

What on earth had I been thinking?

His voice when he speaks, is both beautiful and lethal, cutting sharply into the air and awakening something within me that both excites and scares me to bits. “You know what we do to humans who trespass: do not waste my time with such insignificance.”

The brown-eyed shifter smirks at the man holding onto me tightly, who glares right back at him. “Of course, alpha,” he bows, leering at me as he reaches towards me.

I know what will be done to me once those hands are laid upon me, so I begin to trash and writhe, screaming wildly for anyone who would hear me and help.

“Get her out of here,” that beautiful voice snaps, causing tremors within me, and at the same time, another voice, old, powerful, and yet calming and reverent, fills my ears. “I am Theron,” it says. “Say my name.”

Without thinking, I obey the strange order. “Theron,” I yell, and the looming figure before us whirls around. Within seconds, glowing dark eyes are before me, peering unbelievably into my eyes and rendering me helpless.

“Mate,” the beautiful voice and the calming one speak at the same time.

“What?” I whisper in confusion, wondering what on earth my stupid mouth has triggered.

A sharp inhalation fills the dark cave. “Lock her up, and no one touches her.” This time, only the beautifully lethal voice speaks.

BARGAIN

I lap greedily at the water in the bowl that had been shoved towards me by the brown-eyed shifter whose name I quickly learn is Reese. There was nothing but hatred and disgust as he handed me my meager meal every time, but whatever their alpha had said must be holding him back, or I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t still be alive.

Theron . . . How is it that I know his name, when I couldn’t even see his face to ascertain if I’ve ever met him before? Yet, that voice had whispered it to me like it knew me and wanted me to know.

I shake my head, looking around the tent I’m currently tied in for any possible escape route. The danger of my situation is clear as day, and I want to get out of here and back to my sister, DNA components be damned.

Still, the thought of leaving the man whose face I haven’t even beheld makes me want to curl up and start crying.

What magic do these people hold over me?

“Theron.” This time I whisper the name into the silent tent and marvel at how right that one word feels coming out of my mouth.

Much like the last time, I feel him before his presence fills the tiny tent. “My beast must have desperately wanted me to turn back and look at you if he told you his name.”

Even with the dim light flowing into the tent, I have no trouble studying every inch of the Adonis now crouched before me.

His midnight-black eyes are the first thing I notice before letting my gaze slowly wander to his chiseled features—high cheekbones and a classic aquiline nose, set perfectly above his wide mouth. I bury the urge to run my fingers along his smooth brown skin and feel the hard ripples of his muscles while his eyes react to my touch. His equally dark shoulder-length hair is tied to his nape with a band, making it possible for me to study his strong brows, long thick lashes and dark stubble that splays the square jaw of his otherwise clean-shaven face.

“You are Theron,” I mumble stupidly.

He raises a well carved brow before shaking his head. “My name is Damien; Theron is the name of my beast.” He rolls his eyes when I continue to stare at him with a slack mouth and wide eyes. “And what, pray tell, is your name, dear mate?” he asks, his head cocked slightly to the side.

Ignoring his question and finally regaining my ability to speak, I ask “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“What?”

“Mate”

“Because you are my mate, although fate did choose the worst time to bring you to me.”

I stare at him in confusion. “What does that even . . .?”

“Why were you sniffing around the woods with a sedative, among other things, in your possession?”

It seems he has gone through my bag, which makes it impossible to lie to him, so I go with honesty. “I was tracking your kind, well, supernatural beings. . . . I didn’t even know dragons existed.”

“Dragon shifters,” he corrects, but I don’t care. “And what does a human want with our kind?” he asks mockingly. My adoring stare turns into a withering glare.

“According to myths and the rumors, your kind does not get sick or die. If this is true, then you are not affected by the plague killing off humans, which is why I need your DNA components to make a cure for my dying sister.” I say all this in one breath, while still maintaining my glare.

Seconds pass, and we stare each other down until he finally breaks the silence. “How are you going to do this? Are you some sort of . . .?”

“I’m a scientist,” I quickly cut in, hope blooming in my chest at the look of consideration on his face. “I’m guessing being your mate means something if you haven’t killed me yet, so I’m begging you, as your mate, please help me save my sister. If she . . . if . . . life has no meaning without her.”

His eyes narrow, and he looks like he’s about to argue but decides against it. “Fine, I’ll help you save your sister.” Just as I’m about to throw my arms around him in a hug, well as much as the chains holding me will allow, he continues. “I’ll help you on one condition.”

“Anything.” Even as I speak, my heart beats wildly against my chest.

Unflinching, he says, “I need you to make me a weaponized disease that’ll wipe out a clan of dragon shifters as well as its cure.”

With the image of my pale, unconscious sister flitting through my mind, I make my decision. “We have a deal.”

Killing off a clan of dragon shifters to save my sister; what could go wrong?

WARNINGS AND THREATS

I know the exact effect Reese’s sneer has on anyone brave enough to look him in the eyes because it’s the same effect it has on me every time. However, the reassurance that I won’t be skinned alive by the odious man since I am his alpha’s mate boosts my confidence a notch.

Speaking of mate, Damien had explained what it meant to me, right after ordering me to take whatever components I want from him, not his soldiers. His enlightenment explained my intense attraction to him, but it still makes no sense how I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with a man I barely know.

It had taken me a while to realize that Damien’s residence in the middle of the mountains isn’t permanent. Instead, it’s a base for his army as they are in the middle of war with another dragon clan; the Braxton clan, he had called them.

He wouldn’t tell me what the war is about; all he said was that my creation will help weaken a fair amount of the Braxton clan long enough for his own warriors to wipe them out. What would happen after that was left unsaid.

The hold on my sister’s hand tightens as the urge to kiss her clammy forehead rakes my body; but I can’t do it for the fear of exposing myself to the plague. I watch her sleeping figure, recalling how raspy and wary she had sounded after waking up for a few minutes, and decide that a bunch of dragon shifters in the middle of war is not my concern as long as my sister gets her cure, regardless of how selfish that sounds.

“Theresa!!!” Someone calls my name, just as I step out of the hospital building, and I turn around to see Kenneth walking briskly towards me.

As I take in his appearance, I realize he pales in comparison to the man who has declared himself my mate and wonder how I could have ever thought what I once felt for Kenneth was riveting. Even the way Damien speaks my name makes my toes curl and heart dance in delight.

“Where are you going with those?” His eyes travel to the large box filled with scientific equipment, portable enough for me to eject from the laboratory to Damien’s tented warrior base and use to create a cure as well as a weapon.

I continue to walk towards the large black van while he follows, ignoring the withering glare Reese is directing at the both of us from the driver’s seat. I turn to face Kenneth after dumping the box in the back seat.

“I really wish I could, Kenneth, but I can’t disclose anything right now,” I whisper, even though I’m sure Reese can hear every word we utter.

His hand slams against the van, causing me to jolt and Reese to growl, while I send him a quick glare of warning. “What do you mean you can’t disclose anything? You’ve been missing for three days, Theresa—three days. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? Then you show up, stealing equipment from the laboratory without telling me why?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kenneth, I’m only borrowing these, and I’m sure the chief medical laboratory scientist won’t mind,” I say, with a Cheshire grin.

“I do mind Theresa, just . . . just tell me what it is you’re up to.” Even as he pleads, I know I can’t tell him because the moment I do, Kenneth will cause a scene, and I have no doubt he will be killed swiftly by Reese in a bid to keep the knowledge of their existence from been revealed.

I sigh, hating the position I’m currently in. “All you need to know is that I’m working on a way to save my sister—to save us all. You have to trust me, please.” I don’t exactly know what he sees in my eyes that makes him relent, but instead of arguing, he pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly and whispering words I haven’t heard from him in a long time.

“I love you,” he says. “And, please be safe. I’ll call you.”

I nod, pulling back with a smile, before getting into the passenger seat and mumbling to Reese that I’m ready to leave whilst ignoring the two males sizing each other up.

A few minutes later, on our way back to the woods, the tense silence around us is broken by Reese’s gruff voice. “The alpha won’t like his scent on you.”

“Huh?”

His brown eyes meet mine, his face perfectly shaped into a scowl. “The hug you and your lover shared isn’t going to go unnoticed. I understand you don’t know much about us, but having another man’s scent on one’s mate doesn’t always go well.”

“Oh, um, Kenneth isn’t my lover. I mean, we did used to date, but we’ve been broken up for so long now due to our differences. He wanted to get married, have a family, but I wanted to focus on my career, and it just didn’t work out, so . . .” A grumble under his breath about women and how they talk too much immediately made me snap my mouth shut.

The car suddenly comes to a halt, making me jump in my seat, but Reese doesn’t seem to care. He turns in his seat, leaning towards me as my own back presses against the hard door. “I don’t know why fate decided to make your paths cross, but the last thing the alpha needs now is to be distracted. So do your job, help us win this war, and stay the hell away from him.”

Without another word said or checking to see if I concur, he starts the car and continues the ride while I try so hard to disappear into my seat.

DEMON SLAYER

“So, Kenneth?” The beautiful man who happens to be my mate, makes his way into the tent that has been strategically set up as my workplace for the duration of my time here, amongst the many others that houses Damien’s shifter warriors.

I look up from the microscopic, inhaling sharply at the electric feeling I get just by meeting his eyes, before leaning casually against the table in an attempt to look unflustered: something I doubt I do a good job of.

“I told Reese we’re no longer together,” I quickly explain, shuddering slightly, as I recall our conversation in the car.

Damien takes two large steps and stands a few inches before me. He takes a large sniff before baring his teeth, and I swear I see steam coming out of his nose. “Nevertheless, my beast doesn’t seem to like his scent all over you.”

Boldly, I whisper. “What about you?”

In the blink of an eye, the distance between us is closed, and we’re standing chest to chest. “My beast and I are one,” he whispers back into my ear, and despite how hard my heart is beating from having him so near, I stare back into his dark, soulful eyes.

With amusement shining in his eyes, he continues to hold my gaze, and it takes a full minute—yes, I was counting—before I look away, not out of fear, but because I can feel my body responding eagerly to his presence.

“Fuck,” he mutters, and then takes a step back.

“I know you don’t want me around while you fight your war and after . . .” Surprise shines in his eyes, but he doesn’t say a word, so I continue. “I understand; and as soon as I’m done making the cure . . . and your weapon, I’ll leave.” I assure him.

He sighs, like I’ve just relieved him of a great burden, before his eyes go to the mess on the table. “She must mean a lot to you.”

A real smile forms on my face as I think of my bright and vibrant sister. “She means everything to me. She’s the only family I have left, and I refuse to let the plague take her away from me.” My hand curls against the edge of the table fiercely, and I see Damien’s eyes on it. “After our parents died in a blizzard back in the city, I moved my sister to this town with the little money we had left and promised I was going to give her the life our parents wanted for us.”

I feel something wet on my cheeks, and it isn’t until Damien offers me a snow-white handkerchief before I realize I’m crying. I accept the little piece of cloth that smells so much like him and wipe my face furiously.

“If I hadn’t been so busy at the hospital, not coming home for days, I would have seen the symptoms; I would have known she wasn’t well . . .”

“You also would’ve contacted the plague, and there’d be no one going the extra mile to find you the cure you need.” He places his hand on my cheek gently. “You can’t blame yourself for the things that are out of your control; you can only move forward and do something about them.”

His fervent advice makes me think he’s no longer talking about me.

After Damien is long gone, I continue working for hours until my whole body starts to rebel against me, demanding rest. I step out of the tent, ignoring the men that have been placed at strategic points of the mountains to alert their alpha and the others of intruders, and venture into the far, hidden area I use to relieve myself. This camp was not chosen with a woman’s convenience in mind.

It is on my way back that I hear the loud scream of pain, and without thinking, I run in the direction of the horrifying sound. I yank open the flap of the tent, unbothered by the men who make an attempt to stop me from going in, and walk towards the sweaty, twitching man in the middle of the woolen bed.

I shake him awake and rear back quickly when he sits up with an earth-shattering growl and glowing eyes. “Damien, it’s me.” I tell him hurriedly as I begin to crawl back fearfully from him. “Damien, please, you don’t want to hurt me,” I plead until I realize it isn’t exactly Damien staring back at me. I try another approach: “Theron!” The growling stops, and his eyes turn curious as he cocks his head to the side . . . waiting. “I’m your mate.”

He sniffs the air and slowly relaxes before grabbing my arm and pulling me against his glistening bare chest. He buries his head in my neck, his arms firmly around my waist, after placing me firmly in his lap.

“Mate,” he mumbles, into my neck.

“Yes, mate,” I tell him, rubbing my hand up and down his back in an attempt to soothe him. Something about this otherwise strong, formidable man, reduced to a crumple of pain, makes me want to slay his demons.

“I saw them; I always see them . . . in my dreams, tortured, tormented, and murdered right in front of me.” I remain quiet, still continuing with rubbing his back as I patiently listen to him open up. “I see my father fighting to his last breath to protect us, and . . . and I see my mother, reaching out to me as the light leaves her eyes. They called them traitors, but they were wrong: my parents were heroes.”

I gently pull back, my legs still wrapped tightly around him, to let him know I’m not going anywhere. “That’s why you’re going to war,” I deadpan.

“I’ve been gathering rogues like me for years now, waiting, biding time for when they’re at their weakest and getting ready to strike. Perhaps that’s why fate brought you to me, for this, for victory.”

I let out a small smile, my hands rising to cup his face. “I’ll give you whatever you need; I’ll help you avenge your parents,” I promise him before bravely taking the leap and kissing him.

His hands tighten against my waist, and he pulls me closer—as close as we can get—groaning against my lips as I bury my fingers in his hair. Nothing could’ve prepared me for this incredible feeling, and I thank whatever god brought me to Damien as I kiss his demons away.

MIRACLES

I’ve done it. Ten gruesome days of relentless work, and I’ve done it.

Dusting off my heavy brown coat, I shrug it on and button it up right to my neck, leaving no room for the cold during my windy ride in the next few minutes. The joy in my heart at finally creating the cure that’ll save my sister knows no bounds, and I can’t begin to explain it, even if I want to.

However, the smile on my face wavers as a familiar figure drifts into my tent. “You will still do it,” I say, the disgust dripping from my tone, as I shake my head in disappointment and turn away from him.

Damien scowls at me, his heavy boots pounding against the ground, as he comes to stand before me. “You don’t get to be pious, Theresa; you are the one who created it.”

I whirl angrily on him, my eyes probably shining with rage as well as shame. “That was before I knew what you planned to do with it. You made sure to keep that information tightly bound to you and your warriors.”

His mocking scoff irks me, and I debate slapping him across his face. “And I suppose the promise you made to me while in my arms, the promise to give me whatever I need to avenge my parents meant nothing?”

Disbelief churns in my stomach. “Children!” I yell at him, uncaring of whomever hears our argument. “There are children in that clan—innocent people who had nothing to do with the death of your parents, and you will subject them to death by that horrible disease? What kind of a man are you?”

I had thought nothing of it when Damien asked me to go on a trip with him the previous day after I had excitedly told him I had successfully created both his weaponized disease and my sister’s cure. Instead, I had been eager to follow him, riding on his magnificent dragon as we flew away from the mountains.

It wasn’t until we reached our destination that I realized he had taken me to a meeting in the enemy’s clan; a meeting in which the equally powerful and ferocious alpha had called for a truce if Damien would accept leaving his lands—to never return.

Even I had felt roiling anger at Damien being banished from the lands he had been born into, and I was ready to unleash the disease. That was, until we were ready to leave, and I saw how full of life the clan was. Children running around while their mothers chased them; fathers, doing their best to provide for their family, and their beloved alpha doing his best to keep them thriving and not suffer from the brunt of war.

As soon as we were back in the mountains, I could no longer drown my guilt, and I let it explode. I begged Damien to call off the war and accept the alpha’s terms rather than wiping out an entire clan, but to no avail.

“Innocent?!” he boomed. “Those wretched people stood by and watched as my parents were butchered for crimes they didn’t commit.”

“Your parents were traitors.”

Even before I finish my dangerous sentence, I feel his strong hand around my neck, those fingers tightening as I struggle for breath. With wide eyes, I tap fearfully at his arm, gasping for air but his menacing eyes simply watch.

“Theron,” I whisper, feeling my head getting light.

As if he suddenly realizes what he’s doing, he lets go of me immediately with a gasp, but his unforgiving eyes remain on mine. “Go. Leave and take the cure to your sister. Just know that when I win this war, I won’t be coming back for you.”

“Your fight is with the alpha, not them.” I manage to say, before he walks out, without looking back.

I hold in the tears, evidence of my broken heart, and cling only to the hope of healing my sister throughout the ride away from the mountains on Reese’s beast. Perhaps the brutal shifter had been ordered by his alpha not to leave my side until my sister is cured because he didn’t leave my side even when we reached the hospital.

With no words exchanged between us, I venture into the building where my sister is slowly fading away, with Reese following closely beside me, and demand that Dr. Clark release her to me. I can’t yet afford people knowing about the cure, much less how I got it.

I put a call through to Kenneth, and he finds me within seconds. I don’t offer any explanation, but he silently obeys me when I beg him to help relocate my sister back home.

However, the strangest thing happens when Reese lays his eyes on my unconscious, boil-covered sister. The harsh shifter falls to his knees and declares her his mate. My sweet, loving, and gentle sister is mated to the brutal, cunning, and rough dragon shifter.

As if a part of her recognizes him too, Janet begins to spasm uncontrollably, and as chaos ensues in the hospital ward, I don’t think twice before plunging the syringe filled with the cure into her arm.

Like a miracle, we all watch as the horrendous boils all over her body start to fade, her pale skin flushes with rose blush color, and her gaunt face is suddenly filled with more flesh.

RUN AWAY WITH ME

I still don’t know how we got out of the hospital unscarred and in one piece, but with the help of Reese, we did. Damien must have thought ahead and had him stay with me in case something like this happened.

As soon as everyone present in the ward saw what the cure did to my sister, they had demanded we give them it too, and it had been nothing short of a commotion. Thankfully, Reese’s supernatural strength had gotten us out of there and fast, before it became an even bigger issue. I have no doubt tomorrow will have the reporters at my doorstep.

I hold on to my sister in the back seat of the van, grinning ear-to-ear, as I witness her marvelous improvement, sometimes catching Reese’s quick glance at her.

We could have continued on with my sister healed; it should have been enough, but the pang in my heart that was so well-hidden has returned in full force, and as we drive past the entrance of the forest that leads to the mountains, I am no longer unable to hold it in.

“Reese, I need to find him.”

The shifter nods in understanding, and the van comes to a halt. Turning to my sister, I quietly speak, “There’s something important I have to do, Janet, but I promise that I’ll be right back. Kenneth and Reese will stay with you.”

Although perplexed, my sister nodded, sending me off with a kiss on my cheek. At the same time, Kenneth issues a warning.

“Be careful,” he says, in a resigned tone, probably already aware that there’s nothing he can say or do to change my mind.

“I can take you to him,” Reese offers, but I shake my head no.

Being on that mountain, around his warriors and that godforsaken weapon I had created will only continue to strengthen his decision to go through with that war, but I hope bringing him to a neutral position will clear his head and allow him listen to me.

“He will come to me,” I say with surety and alight from the van.

I watch as they drive away, making sure they are well out of sight before heading back to the very place where it all started.

Calling out to him in a way that I know he won’t be able to resist, I yell out his beast’s name and within mere seconds, I see that magnificent creature flying in the clouds, its dark scales shimmering in the light of the bright sun as it heads down towards me.

“Your beast cannot deny me a thing, can it?” I say with amusement, as he shifts into human form, even before his talons touch the ground.

“My beast and I are one.” My heart soars at those words and what they exactly mean. “Why are you back?” His steely voice asks, bringing me out of my momentary lostness in his rippling, naked body.

I swallow, meeting his captivating eyes. “Don’t do it, please.”

There’s no change in his unwavering stance “We’ve talked about this; there’s no changing my mind.”

“Damien, wait . . .” I shout quickly when he makes to turn. “You wondered why fate brought me to you at a time like this, and you thought it was to help you win this war. You were wrong—we both were.” He turns fully to look at me, and I take that as my cue to continue. “I think fate brought me to you so I could remind you how good of a man you are: so I could stop you from doing something you’ll hate yourself for.” I take a bold step towards him, placing a palm on his beating chest as I whisper, “Fate brought me to you so you could build a future with me and let go of the past.”

“Theresa,” he whispers back, his head falling to mine as he wraps his hand around mine, keeping it on his chest. “I don’t, I can’t . . . they were my parents,” he shudders.

“I know.”

“They were traitors,” he admits. “But they were my parents, and they loved me. They were good to me.”

“You are a good man, Damien, and I know you realize those people don’t deserve to die for the sins of your parents.”

My mate lets out a choked sob and pulls away from me to thunderously yell into the silent forest before falling helplessly on his knees. I throw my arms around him, holding him tightly like I did that night, whispering words I didn’t even know I felt until that moment.

“I love you Damien. I love you.”

The shock on his face is milder than the one on mine when he repeats those words to me—I’m sure of it. “I’ve loved you since that night when I held you against me, and I should never have picked this war over you, over us. I’m sorry.”

A small, albeit excited laugh, escapes my lips and my mouth finds his; that explosive feeling racking through my body again, as his warm lips tenderly move against mine.

He pulls back just as I’m about to say damn it all and have my way with him, right there in the middle of the trees and bushes. “What am I supposed to do now? Without this war, I don’t . . .”

Running my fingers through his hair, I say, “We go far away; you, me, my sister, Reese . . .” I chuckle slightly at the idea of Reese been completely smitten by my sister. “We build our own clan, you and I.”

“They found out about the cure, didn’t they?” he gives me a knowing look, and I groan dramatically. He chuckles. “That’s the only reason you want to run away with me.”

I smack him playfully, although he has a point. “Kenneth will sort it all out,” I tell him, and he rolls his eyes at the mention of my ex’s name. “By the way, did I forget to mention? Your second in command is mated to my sister.”

“God help us all,” he mumbles through his surprise, and I throw my head back in wild laughter that soon has him joining me.

The End

BOOK ONE: VEILED

SUMMARY

Series Overview

Click HERE or on the book to place your Pre-order.

When Nora Payne is forced to move home to her hometown, it isn’t without misgivings and painful memories of the past. Her young son in tow, she decides to make the best of it. It isn’t like she has much choice but to make the move.

Vivid memories from the past haunt her, the monster who sired her child featured prominently in her nightmares. Zion Braxton, the one she trusted with her heart back then, turned out to be nothing that she believed him to be. Leaving town shortly after, it was never disclosed that Nora was actually carrying his child.

Meeting up with Zion unexpectantly the first day causes a string of events that cannot be reversed, not to mention the fact that Zion immediately recognizes her young child to be his son, being that the boy is the spitting image of him.

Zion, a dragon shifter—unbeknownst to Nora—has never forgotten Nora or the confusion that ensued when she left town. Will he be able to convince Nora that his love and devotion to her never ceased?

Veiled is about the journey the two must take to revisit the past and determine the truth, uncover the deception that others enacted to ensure the couple split up, and to forge a relationship for the father, mother, and son that had been missing for so long.

Click HERE to find it on Amazon!

Chapter One

Beginnings

Staring ahead, right at the very place that once brought me joy as much as it caused me pain, I inhale sharply in an attempt to control myself from bursting into tears, in front of my clever son. Even with my hands gripping the steering of my bright yellow, hand-me-down sedan car, I still struggle with control.

Part of me wants to scream at being back here. Another part that has discarded its shame a long time ago wants to turn the car back around and drive as far away from this miserable town as possible. The part of me that managed to instill enough courage in me to bring us back here wants me to suck it up since I literally have no other choice.

I’m seriously contemplating listening to the part of me that wants me to run and never look back when I feel a hand rest on my tense one.

“It’s okay; we can go back if you want.” The angelic voice that yanks me out of my nightmares every other night whispers to me.

I turn, coming face-to-face with striking blue eyes, the same ones that haunt me, but I know these are different as much as they are the same. This is my son, not my enemy.

I manage a smile that I hope doesn’t make me look constipated and wipe the sweat from my brows while squeezing his hand in reassurance with my other hand.

“No, Baby, I’m fine. We are going to be just fine,” I promise, not just to him, but to myself as well. I’ll be damned if I let this town break me again as it did before. “Come on,” I urge him out of the car and step out after him.

It’s a good thing the house we’re about to settle in still has everything we need, and we have my small car, or we’d be living in a barren house with nothing but our measly clothing.

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” Sam exclaims, as he pushes up his glasses a little.

I can’t help the pang in my chest every time I look at him and realize he is becoming more and more of his father’s spitting image. Except for his pale skin, which is beginning to even out and become more tanned, everything from his thick dark curls, searing blue eyes, and strong tall build—even at the age of eight—is all his father: the very man whose atrocities had me running from here in the first place.

I shake my head; I refuse to allow him into my head, not this time and not ever again.

“I know,” I reply to my son with a nostalgic grin, as I take in what he’s seeing.

The house I grew up in looks no different than how my father and I left it. Sturdy and homey, its beauty is incomparable, even though it stands alone in the deep of the town, just miles away from the dangerous mountains and caves up ahead.

I have heard stories about screams and screeches being heard from those caves, where no sane human dared to venture, but instead of being frightened when my dad warned me against ever going that way, I had imagined what it would be like to go on that adventure. However, I’m older now and know better. Those tales have been told to every child in this town to discourage them from going up the steep mountains and falling to their ultimate death.

“Can we go up there?”

My smile falls when I realize Sam hadn’t been talking about the house but the mountains and caves encased in thick fog, illuminated by the full moon. “No, Baby, it’s too dangerous up there. The slopes are too steep and slippery for anyone to reach even half the way.”

He pouts in disappointment but nods anyway, and I know he will obey me. That’s one of the things I’m grateful for in my son—he always listens. Even at a tender age, he seemed to understand how much of a burden I carried on my shoulders, and he always made things easier, one way or the other. I couldn’t have asked for a better son.

“Come on, let’s go in.” I lead him onto the porch, and he breaks his gaze away from the entrancing mountains.

“What about the boxes?” He turns towards the car.

“Don’t worry about them; we’ll get them tomorrow. Right now, Mommy is tired from the drive and needs to rest.” Thankfully we ordered a large pizza on our way here when it was becoming clear we wouldn’t arrive until late in the night.

My handsome boy shrugs. “Okay.” He then turns to me with a devious smile, and I already know what he’s about to say, so I beat him to it.

“Dibs on the biggest room,” I cry out in laughter.

“Mom,” he whines, his voice echoing through the woods. “No fair.”

“Sorry, buddy, but I win.” I ruffle his hair, because unlike most growing kids who loathe the gesture, it calms my Sam down.

“No, whoever gets there first wins,” he says, sticking his tongue out at me, as he takes to his heels and runs into the house.

Of course, I run after him too, the clatter of our feet and raucous laughter filling the empty house with the warmth it has been denied for so long.

“I’m going to get you,” I growl playfully and run after him into the master bedroom, tackling him on the king-sized bed, as I tickle him without holding back. Soon we’re both filled with exhaustion, and we lay, side by side, trying to catch our breath.

“Is it okay if I sleep beside you tonight?” Sam asks, his blue eyes pleading.

“Of course, Baby,” I smile with relief because I know if he hadn’t asked, I would have. Without my father here to protect me, my fear of this town threatens to devour me. “We’re going to be just fine,” I mutter to my already sleeping child.

Eyes fixated on the ceiling, in the room that once belonged to my father, I decide to face whatever ridicule I know is coming for my son and me.

To Be Continued…

Did you enjoy this sneak peak of Veiled Book One of The Dragons?

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CAVES OF THE DRAGONS

Continue the Series:

A Dragon-Shifting Romance

Cave of The Dragons Saga Release Date

Veiled 12/19/21

Healed 01/02/22

Devoted 01/16/22

Unwanted 01/30/22

Destined 02/13/22

Hunted 02/27/22

Caves of the Dragons Box Set 03/13/22

Click HERE to go to Damian La Fleur’s Amazon library.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Damian La Fleur is a #1 Amazon bestselling Author of Caves of The Dragons Saga.

He loves to write epic romance stories featuring strong independent lead characters within the Paranormal and Sci-Fi genres.

Damian grew up reading DC Comics first then transitioned to Marvel Universe where he fell in love with the sheer ruggedness and machimo of Wolverine of the X-Men. His two favorite dishes are Curry Goat and Chicken Tikka Masala.

He is married to an "Island Gyal" and has three little rambunctious boys to keep him busy in-between publishing short stories.

Damian loves spending time cooking with family and friends.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Caves of The Dragons

Logo

Welcome

Copyright

Contents

1. Supernatural Sightings

2. Hopeful Desperation

3. Theron

4. Bargain

5. Warnings and Threats

6. Demon Slayer

7. Miracles

8. Run Away With Me

Book One: Veiled

Sneak Peak At New Series: Caves of The Dragons

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Caves of The Dragons

About the Author