The Alpha Dragon's Secret (Dragon Shifters of Kahului Book 1) Read online

  The Alpha Dragon’s Secret

  Dragon Shifters of Kahului (Book 1)

  Brittany White

  © Copyright 2019 by Brittany White

  All rights reserved.

  In no way it is legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

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  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

  Epilogue

  Join Me

  About the Author

  1

  Sara

  Powerful waves licked against the sandy shores of Peahi Beach. It was so early; the sun was barely peeking above the cloud cover. By the afternoon, there wouldn't be a single cloud in the sky. The wind blew Sara Winter's hair back from her tanned face. She tilted her face up and inhaled deeply. There was a scent associated with the beach. It was difficult to explain, but it was one of her favorite things. Most people thought of coconut and lime. When Sara thought about the beach, she imagined the tangy scent of salt and seawater, the way the sand squished between her toes, and the warmth of the water against her bare skin.

  Sara spent the majority of her time out here on her surfboard. Sometimes it was glorious, but sometimes the waves won, and she'd find herself flung off her board with a mouthful of saltwater at the end of it. She wouldn't give it up for the world, though.

  She stood at the edge of the water. Her toes curled in the warm sand as she studied the pattern of the waves. There was never a time someone could call the waters calm, but some days, there was a peace around the beach. Today was one of those days. The sun beat down on her bare shoulders as she debated when she wanted to ride out.

  She set her board down and twisted her hair up in a messy bun, careful to keep it secure but not too tight as to gain a headache.

  "Girl, you gonna stare at it all day, or are you going to get out there and get you some?" One of her best friends and surfing partners, Jillian, stood beside her wearing a grin on her wide, happy face. Her dark curly hair was loose and floppy and curled around the bottom of her chin. She never wore it up. Sara's hair was the opposite. If she didn't do something with it, she'd come out of the ocean looking like a drowned rat.

  Her friend wore a one-piece suit this morning. Normally they wore wetsuits, but today was more fun than serious practice. The sky was blue, the weather was warm, and it was a Saturday. Never a better time to get out and ride the waves.

  "I'm gonna get me some," Sara said happily as she picked up her board and walked into the water.

  She could hear Jillian beside her, following, but the roar of the water soon drowned out all sound.

  The water became deep enough for Sara to hop on her board and paddle out. There was a massive wave forming ahead, and if she was quick enough, she'd catch it. Her teeth gleamed white as she grinned.

  The surf was up, baby, and she was going in.

  Thirty minutes later, Jillian and Sara dragged themselves out of the water and back to their towels. They both flopped down, laughing.

  Ella, one of their other surfing partners, wore a bright yellow bikini and held a book. She loved surfing, but she loved to read more. Today, the plot of her latest mystery won out over the allure of Peahi. Jillian shook her curls violently, spraying Ella with water.

  "Aaack!" screamed their friend as she tried to salvage her book.

  Jillian crowed with laughter. Sara rolled her eyes and adjusted her towel. She loved the beach. What she didn't love was getting sand in her sensitive areas. One would think a professional surfer wouldn't care about that kind of thing, but sand was sand, and it wasn't the most fun thing to deal with, especially living in Kahului.

  Once she had her area to her liking, Sara slipped on her sunglasses and laid down. Jillian and Ella bickered away as Sara thought about the last few years. Her life had not been easy, but her hard work early on was paying off in a big way. Orphaned, Sara grew up in the Hawaiian foster care system. Coming in at an older age, she was never adopted. Every single time a couple came in, Sara would have to squash down the hope in her heart. She knew they would go straight to the cooing infants rather than an inquisitive thing like her. Sara did the only thing she could over the years; she read as much as she could and endeared herself to anyone she could in the hopes she'd find parents of her own.

  When she turned 16, any hope she had waned, and she began researching how to attend college. Her love of books and learning led to a fully funded academic scholarship at the University of Hawaii. Sara graduated early with honors and earned a degree in Food Science.

  Less than a year later, she started her own business as a private chef and catered to some of the richest clients in the state. Hawaii was known for a lot of things, but they were behind the times when it came to good food. Sara had changed that, earning a pretty penny in the process.

  Growing up in foster care without a penny to her name ensured Sara had socked away almost every dollar she earned. To save up, she'd lived in a hostel with a ton of traveling foreigners with the blessing of one of the women who'd worked at her foster home. She'd paid the woman a pittance and cleaned the dormitories once a week. In return, the woman had kept her fed and housed.

  Sara stretched under the far-reaching rays of the rising sun and smiled. Her life was turning out exactly how she hoped it would. A lot of the money she earned was currently in the stock market, making her a sound twelve percent per year. Even now, she meticulously budgeted her food and shared a rental home with her three other friends to keep costs down. This left her with just enough money to pursue her true passion: surfing.

  Hawaii was a difficult place to grow up in if you weren't somewhat of an outdoor enthusiast. She'd discovered surfing when she was barely a teenager, and every opportunity she had, she was on the beach learning. Fast forward several years, and Sara was now one of the top-ranked pro-surfers in the world.

  She had Peahi Beach to thank for that. Nicknamed "Jaws" for its killer waves, Sara had purposely moved to Kahului to be closer to it. Five days a week, she was here with her friends, practicing their hearts out.

  "Earth to Sara," said Ella.

  Sara blinked and sat up, her sunglasses slipping to her nose. The temperature was beginning to heat up a little. In a few hours, it would be a balmy 72 degrees. "What?"

  Jillian snorted with amusement. "Dinner. What are we having?"

  Sara slumped back down on the towel. "It's 9 a.m.," she protested. "You two are like children."

  "Think of it as a compliment," Jillian said. "Not many people get to live with the premier chef in Hawaii."

  Sara snickered. "Former premier chef, you flatterer."

  "We're used to a higher standard of living, Sara," Ella retorted. "You've spoiled us with your delicious offerings, and now we can no longer eat out. We're ruined."

  Secretly pleased, Sara allowed a small smile to form on her mouth. "Brats," she retorted. "You buy
the groceries, I'll fix the chow."

  Her eyes were closed, but she could hear her friends high-fiving each other. "Done!" they shouted simultaneously.

  Sara adjusted the glasses on her face and shut her eyes, enjoying the feel of the wind on her face and the softness of the sand beneath her. These were the best days of her life. Good friends, good food, good waves, and the potential for her to nab the leading spot for surfing in the world.

  The possibilities were endless. She planned to reach out and grab them with both hands.

  Sara was sopping wet. She flipped over her soaked hair and blindly fumbled for the microfiber towel somewhere above her head. She loved her curls, but they could be a massive pain in the ass sometimes, especially with how much she loved the sea. Every time she surfed, she had to come home and go through a rigamarole of a haircare routine just to ensure her curls didn't flail above her head like Medusa.

  Carefully wringing the water out, she scrunched her hair a little and reached over for the hair gel. She popped open the cap and squeezed an obscene amount of it into her palm. Sara carefully applied the gel, went over her hair with the microfiber towel once more, and then grabbed a regular towel.

  Stepping out of the shower, she padded over to the massive mirrors over the sink. She loved this bathroom. In her opinion, it was one of the best parts of the house. The cabinets were a pretty teal color, and the floor was a wood-look ceramic tile. The mirrors all looked antique, and the wooden borders around them shot through with hints of gold gave the place an old Hollywood look. Whoever designed it knew the importance of a good bathroom to a woman.

  Sara stepped forward and peered into the mirror. Her nose wrinkled a little when the first thing she saw was freckles. It was par for the course a lot of times when you were cursed (or blessed depending on who you asked) with red hair. Before she started to surf with vigor, her skin was fair, a stereotypical peaches and cream. Now, after finally getting out of the orphanage for good and discovering all the wonders of Hawaii and Kahului, she sported a year-round golden tan. It was easy to do in the state. The weather stayed pretty much the same no matter what month it was. Her time spent outdoors lent gorgeous golden highlights to her red hair, and the tan only served to highlight the green in her bright hazel eyes.

  She dropped the towel and slipped on the day's clothing. Sara wasn't one for ceremony when it came to her wardrobe. Athletic shorts, tanks, t-shirts, and yoga pants were usually the uniform of the day. If she went out somewhere and needed something a little more upscale, she usually grabbed one of the athletic dresses from her closet. Short-sleeved but in a flattering shape, they were good enough for the casual atmosphere of her community.

  Today, it was a pair of athletic leggings and a three-quarter sleeved, royal blue tunic. She slipped on a pair of flip-flops, fluffed her hair out again, and picked up the mess in the bathroom she'd made.

  Within a minute, she was out and listening to her friends bickering over what to eat for lunch. She couldn't help them with that. Sara usually made dinner for everyone, but she left them all to their own devices when it came to all the other meals.

  Carrie, her other surfing partner, stood with her head in the fridge. "How come we have so many groceries and not a thing to eat?"

  Sara was pretty sure it was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway. "Because none of you leeches can cook."

  A burst of laughter came from inside the fridge. "I love how you're so humble!" Carrie said, her voice slightly muffled.

  Sara grinned at her friend's slim back as she stepped around her. Opening the top cabinet, she pulled out a large mug that said, "If in doubt, paddle out." She popped a coffee pod into the machine, set the mug underneath the nozzle, and hit the power button. Within seconds, the smell of fresh coffee hit the air. She took a deep breath and went over to the kitchen window to stare out at the surf. It wasn't Peahi; they had to drive to get there, but it was still beautiful ocean for as far as the eye could see.

  When her coffee finished, she pulled the mug off and doused it with a liberal dose of cream and raw sugar. Sara didn't consume a lot of sugar, but she couldn't pass it up in coffee or tea. Desserts were minimal in their home and usually consisted of fresh berries with some type of cream or custard. She wasn't a cake or cookie person. Or, wouldn't allow herself to be at least. Those things were bad for the waistline and bad for her bottom line. Nutrition was everything when you were a pro athlete.

  She made her way back to the window and listened half-heartedly as Carrie continued digging through the fridge muttering about how there was nothing to eat.

  The surf today was calm, but as the day went on, she knew it would pick up in strength. Far out in the horizon, something began to swell. A perplexed frown formed on her face.

  "What the hell?" Sara whispered more to herself than anyone else. She leaned forward, as close to the window as she could without touching it, and squinted so she could try to see what was happening.

  Within seconds, all three of her friends were crowded around, all trying to get a look.

  Something was out there, rising from the depths of the sea.

  "Is that a whale?" asked Jillian, her voice awed.

  Carrie shook her head. "Way too big to be a whale. From this distance and how well we can see it, that whale would have to be a hundred feet long."

  "So what is it?" Ella asked.

  No one could answer her.

  They all watched as something resembling some kind of pod breached the top of the water. It was iridescent almost, though it could be a trick of the light. They were too far away to make out any real details of it, but it looked almost like Sara would imagine a unicorn horn would look. Pearly white with traces of blue, purple, and green. It was cylindrical and bobbed and weaved along with the waves of the sea.

  Fear trickled down Sara's spine, leaving cold fingers of doom in its wake. Something unnatural was out there. Something not of this world.

  Sara shook her head. That was a weird thought. It was probably just sea trash. Nothing to worry about. Right?

  "It's beautiful," Carrie whispered.

  Sara looked back at her friend. She was enraptured, her gaze locked upon whatever was floating gently in the water. She frowned.

  "Carrie?"

  Her friend didn't answer.

  "Carrie!"

  She blinked at looked at Sara. "What?" she asked, her voice annoyed.

  Sara stared at her. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," she grumbled.

  But the sense of unease wouldn't leave her. Something was out there.

  Whatever it was, it probably didn't bode well for the island.

  2

  Daegal

  Danger is coming.

  The voice whispered inside of his ear, disturbing his dreamless sleep. He shifted only to find how cramped his quarters were.

  Danger, Daegal.

  Wake.

  For the first time in thousands of years, Daegal Kingsford, the only son of the dragon king, opened his eyes.

  Water beat at the sides of the capsule he was in. He slowly took in his surroundings and noticed three of his most trusted compatriots resting beside him. Daegal slowly stretched the sleep of the dead from his limbs and pushed himself upright. Right next to him lay Sebastian. He was a big bastard, muscled and massive all over. No wonder the capsule was so cramped.

  He shoved his friend and cursed at him in Dragon tongue.

  Sebastian grunted in his sleep and rolled over, but Edvard, who was right next to him, woke up. "Daegal?"

  "Here," he said. "I don't know how long we've slept." He looked around at the structure they were in. It was dragon skin and usually only formed as a way to protect dragons who've gone to the deep sleep. The fact they were all in it was concerning. His thoughts raced back to the island they'd all lived on. As soon as he remembered, he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

  "Thousands of years if I had to speculate," said Daegal. "There's no telling what changes the Earth has wrought w
hile we slept."

  "Wenches," Sebastian grumbled. "As long as the Earth still has wenches, our long sleep was worth it."

  Gregor was the last to awake. He had a head of chestnut colored hair, and his chin was smooth as a baby's bottom, even after all these years. Daegal and the others made jests at his expense about it. Even after the sleep of ages, he still didn't need to shave. Dragons could shape themselves the way they wanted. He preferred to look this way. His friends suspected some form of sorcery, but Gregor just didn't like to be hairy. Unlike his counterparts who currently looked like starving settlers.

  Daegal's chest rumbled with amusement. "Figures the first thing you would think of is a pretty woman." He had other things on his mind. Like the voice who'd woken him up. It warned of danger and faded away as if it had never been.

  Was there danger? Or was this someone's idea of a terrible joke?

  "First, we sink the pod, then we slowly swim to the surface to investigate." He looked at each of his friends. "Aye?"

  "Aye," they all agreed.

  Daegal's ice-blue eyes glowed, and he punched through the top of the pod. Sunlight streamed in, bright and blinding. All of them let out harsh growls and threw their arms up to shield their eyes.

  "You couldn't have punched the bottom out first?" Sebastian yelled.

  "Silence," Daegal said. He punched another hole through the top. From the surface, it must have looked like a chick punching out of an egg. This was something entirely different.

  Three dragon lords and a prince were about to walk the surface of the earth again.