Firefighter Dragon's Demi-God Daughter Read online

  They were a fun group, and as the night wore on, the Portuguese shifter named Davi brought out a giant box. “We have got fireworks for everyone,” he called out.

  The kids had a game planned out where several of the older ones shifted into their dragon forms and breathed huge plumes of fire into the air, while the others ran by holding bottle rockets.

  All of them were giggling, and all of them were shifters, even the ones with human mothers.

  The three humans had retreated inside, laughing at their children’s antics as they watched through the windows.

  Jackson wrapped an arm around her. “Do you think you might want one someday?”

  “A child?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve thought about it.” She turned in his arms. “What about you?”

  “Well, we’ve only been married for five months, but I’d be thrilled with a little boy or girl anytime.” He kissed the top of her head. “I asked your grandfather once.”

  “Asked him about what? Us having a baby?”

  “Yeah. It was back when I was about to propose, and I was curious. I wondered if he knew if our baby would be a shifter or not.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He didn’t know.”

  “I can’t believe he admitted that.”

  “He said he’d ask Apollo, but he never said anything else, and I didn’t ask.”

  She looked up at him. Somehow it had never occurred to her that their child might not be a shifter. She’d just assumed he or she would be like Jackson. But with her uncommon genes, maybe it would be like her, a descendant of Zeus. “Do you care? If the baby is a shifter?”

  He kissed her forehead. “I don’t care one bit.”

  “But what if he or she can’t shift?”

  “Then he or she can ride with their cousins. Any baby of ours will still be able to run, jump, and swim with our clan.”

  She sighed in relief. She hoped the baby was a shifter, for the child’s sake. She wanted him or her to fit in with his family. But she knew the clan well enough now to know that they’d never shun a child for being different. They would make sure her child was loved and welcomed in everything they did.

  She snuggled into Jackson’s arms. Soon, Nora came up to them. Unable to restrain herself, Helena grabbed the pretty young witch and held onto her. “Thank you. I know I called you and texted you, but I’ve been waiting for this moment. They weren’t my family then, but they are now. Thank you.” A burst of emotion rolled over her, much stronger than usual, and she felt tears drip down her cheeks.

  She realized she was clutching at Nora, who was standing there patiently. “You are most welcome,” Nora said in her lilting voice. “Never hesitate to call me if I can help.”

  “The same goes for me too,” Helena said. “If there’s anything I can do, I will do it.”

  Helena cleaned her face off and she hugged Nora again.

  She huffed a laugh as Jackson took her hand. “I’m a weepy mess tonight for some reason.” She dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. “I didn’t cry like this at our wedding.”

  Jackson just smiled at her, indulgent as always.

  They joined the rest of the group as they began to dance and sing with the kids.

  Once the fireworks were over, Clara, one of the humans, came out with trays full of food. Helena usually loved the types of canapes she was serving, but with a sudden lurch, her stomach rebelled.

  She covered her mouth with her hand. “I have to go inside,” she said to Jackson. She took off running.

  “Helena,” he said, coming after her.

  She did not make it to the castle. She threw up in the shrubs outside the front door.

  Jackson knelt beside her. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  It was true that she never got sick. Just like him, she was immune to human illness. None of the Gods or their offspring ever got food poisoning either.

  But she remembered her cousin, Artemis’s granddaughter’s birth two years ago. Her mother had vomited every day for six months. She began to count the days. With all the excitement of the impending Dragon Festival, she had lost track of her cycle.

  She wiped her mouth and Jackson helped her up. “Let’s get you inside.”

  Back in her room, she brushed her teeth and Jackson guided her to the bed, and helped her lean back against the pillows.

  Suddenly, she felt fine.

  But Jackson wasn’t. He paced and tugged at his hair. “I’m going to call Ares. Maybe he'll have an idea why you’re throwing up.”

  She got up and put her hand on his forearm. “Hey. I think I know why I’m throwing up.” She couldn’t stop her smile. “There’s only one reason for the child of a demi-God to throw up, other than an attack with dark magic”

  His eyes searched hers. “What is it? Tell me, dammit.”

  “I think I’m pregnant.”

  Jackson’s eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped open. “Pregnant?”

  “Yes. It just occurred to me that it was possible.” She put her other hand on his arm. “The timing is right.”

  “But we haven’t tried.”

  They had discussed it, but she had ultimately decided that she wanted to work in Portland for another year. Once the baby was born, she wanted to live with the clan. “No. But we knew this was what we wanted. The timeline just got moved up a few months.”

  He exhaled and sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow.” He stood up again, this time bursting with energy. “Sweetheart. This is amazing.” He kissed both of her cheeks. “How can we find out for sure?”

  “We need to go to a pharmacy and get a test.”

  “I’ll never get out of here without all the shifters noticing.” He opened his phone and pulled up a map, searching for the nearest pharmacy. “I could shift and fly. They wouldn’t notice that.”

  “No. Don’t take any risks. Just take the car. I’ll tell them I need to mail a file to the office.”

  “They’ll never believe that.”

  She shrugged. “Well, hopefully in an hour we’ll be announcing some good news.”

  “Do you want to come with me?”

  “Yes. That will make it seem more believable.” Her stomach swirled with anticipation. Somehow they made it to the car, and into the nearby small village which had a pharmacy open by some miracle, got the test, and then got back to the castle.

  She took the test, and five minutes later, two very bright pink lines popped up. “I was right,” she shouted. “We are having a baby!”

  She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh my. Do you think they heard me?” She glanced over at the open window.

  “No.” He looked out. “They’re having a diving and fishing contest in the lake. They won’t notice us.”

  She peered out at the scene in front of them, where the dragon shifters, both adults and children were lined up at the edge of the lake. Fallon, the Fae member of the family counted down and then waved a flag, and all of them jumped into the water, thrashing and swimming, even the youngest members of the family.

  She grabbed Jackson’s arm. “Just think, in three years, we’ll be out there watching our own toddler splash around in the lake.”

  His strong arms wrapped around her from behind. He kissed the back of her neck. “That’s the best plan I’ve ever heard.” As always, he held his hand out to her. “Let’s go tell them our good news.”

  She nodded. “Yes. Let’s tell them we’re going to be a family.”

  Thank you for reading FIREFIGHTER DRAGON’S DEMI-GOD DAUGHTER I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, may I ask you to please write a review HERE!

  It would mean the world to me. Reviews are very important and allow me to keep writing the books that you love to read!

  To read more books in “Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers Series” - CLICK HERE!

  Undercover Wolf Shifter (SNEAK PEEK)

  A Paranormal Night Club Series

  Blurb

  A hot-blooded
dragon princess forced to marry a monster. A wolf shifter cop with nothing to lose.

  ALIX

  I’ve always been in love with Zack, ever since we were kids.

  We grew up, grew apart, and he left our shifter world to live with the humans.

  I never wanted to be with anyone else.

  I’d stay a virgin for the rest of my life if I couldn’t have the one I wanted.

  But Vardok Caligo had other plans for me.

  He was a monster, a king who would destroy my family’s lands in a heartbeat.

  And he wants me to marry him...or else everyone I love will die.

  When I ran away to my brother’s nightclub in New York, I never expected to find Zack again.

  Now he’s the only chance I have to escape the nightmare Vardok has created.

  ZACK

  She was just a kid, my best friend’s little sister, but I secretly loved her anyway.

  Alix was literally a princess. I was a wolf adopted by her family. It’d never work out.

  So I moved on and moved away, spending my life looking for the one woman who could replace her.

  No one ever did.

  When she turns up in New York, it’s like a second chance.

  She’s more beautiful than ever. And more demanding.

  But I’ll move Hell itself to keep her safe.

  And if that means falling in love with her along the way…

  ...then sign me up.

  Can an undercover cop and a stubborn princess defeat the growing evil in the shifter world? Or will she become the Queen of Darkness?

  ***

  1

  Alix

  “And I assume she is still a virgin?”

  Alix hovered near the doorway, barely managing to stop herself from bursting into the room and throwing a fit. How dare her father sell her to another kingdom? And to Vardok Caligo, no less. Her father was guaranteeing her a life of misery, and for what? An “allegiance” with the Caligo region?

  “Ah… yes,” Her father, Gareth, sounded like he at least had the decency to be embarrassed by the question. “Yes, I believe so.”

  Vardok grunted. “Good. Good. I’ll not raise a bastard.”

  “Of course. That’s… er… understandable.”

  The nervousness in her father’s voice made Alix clench her fists. Why wasn’t he defending her and telling Vardok to go back to his kingdom alone? She fought the urge to shift into her dragon form and spray rivers of fire into the room.

  “She is of child-bearing age, correct?”

  “Yes. But she has often said she doesn’t want to—”

  “I don’t care what she does or doesn’t want. When she is my wife, she will only do as I want.”

  Alix’s heart sank as she leaned against the wall, suddenly unable to support herself. She had never wanted to marry. Since her brother, Braydon, had given up his inheritance of the Markonian throne, she had intended to rule as its queen when it was time for her to ascend. She’d never imagined a king by her side.

  Worst of all, she would have no say in this arrangement. She had heard rumors that her father was being forced to capitulate to the Caligo region to keep the peace, but she never thought she would end up as a pawn in their game.

  “I have watched your daughter for a long time,” Vardok said quietly. “She has grown to be quite beautiful. Are you sure she is a virgin?”

  “Yes.” Now Alix could hear a note of impatient anger in her father’s tone. Finally!

  “Bring her to me. I wish to inspect my new bride.”

  Alix ran in the opposite direction as her father called for a servant girl, Alyce. She pretended to be innocently walking down the hallway when the girl came upon her.

  “Your father wishes to see you,” Alyce said meekly.

  Alix managed a haughty nod. “Thank you, Alyce. That will be all.”

  Alyce scurried away, shifting back to her small, gray mouse form, and Alix took a moment to gather herself. She had never met Vardok Caligo before, but she had seen him from afar in his dragon form. He was a giant among dragons, a great dark beast that towered over the smaller dragons of the Markonian region. It was said that a blast of his fire could set entire forests ablaze, and that he used that fire to destroy anyone he considered an enemy. Or a nuisance.

  Alix understood her father’s nervousness, but she didn’t excuse it.

  Smoothing down the front of her tunic and taking a deep breath, Alix strode into the room with all the superiority she could muster. “Yes, father?”

  Gareth looked startled. “Alix, I need to speak with you about—”

  “Silence!” Vardok barely spared Gareth a glance as he fixed his gaze on Alix. She met his eyes insolently, somehow managing to hide the flare of fear she felt when he looked at her. In his human form, he was nearly a head taller than her father, with a wide chest and thickly muscled arms. His black hair hung past his shoulders, pulled away from his face in a loose braid. His eyes were a brillant, deep green, almost glowing in the dim light of the room. He smiled and showed his teeth; they reminded Alix of fangs, starkly white against the darkness of his beard.

  “I trust you know why I am here,” he said in a low voice.

  “Haven’t the slightest,” Alix said, folding her arms over her chest. She looked over to Gareth. “Is there something I should know, Father?”

  Gareth lowered his eyes, unable to look at her. “Alix, I…”

  “Your father has offered you to me in marriage,” Vardok said. The arrogance in his voice made Alix’s jaw clench. “To join our kingdoms. Isn’t that correct, Gareth?”

  Her father nodded, silent.

  “What if I don’t want this?” The question was out before Alix could stop herself.

  Vardok laughed and looked at Gareth. “Your daughter is amusing. She thinks she has any say in my decision.”

  Alix remained stone-faced, glaring at Vardok. His laughter quickly faded and in a heartbeat, he was standing in front of her, so close that her breasts brushed against his chest. Alix wanted to cringe away, but something within her decided that she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her disgust. She straightened her spine and lifted her chin, but it took every ounce of courage inside her to keep her eyes on his.

  “You think you’re brave, don’t you?” Vardok touched her cheek with the tip of his finger, slowly tracing a path over her jaw and down her throat. She could feel the barely restrained power in his movements. “What are you afraid of, little one?”

  His hand slipped around her throat, his thumb resting just at the top of her collarbone. He could snap her neck like a dried twig, and he wanted her to know just how easy it would be. Alix saw her father moving towards them and she held up a hand to stop him. Vardok was looking for an excuse to cause pain. She wouldn’t let him use her own father as a plaything.

  This was a test. He wanted to see just how brave she was. How far he could push her.

  “I’m not afraid of anything,” Alix said coldly, even as she felt the subtle squeeze of his hand around her throat. Let him strangle her. At least she would never have to marry him. “Least of all you.”

  Vardok slowly smiled, lowering his face closer to hers. His grip around her neck tightened and he watched her eyes closely, looking for a sudden flare of fear. Alix refused to oblige him. She kept her expression unreadable and blank, even though inside she wanted to scream.

  “You will not be so silent when I take you into my bed,” he said quietly, his eyes and smile growing hungry. “If you live through our wedding night, you will make a fine mother to my sons.”

  “No,” Alix muttered.

  “Oh, yes.” Vardok slowly released her neck and took a half-step away from her. He looked to Gareth. “We will leave for my home at first light. Say your goodbyes and have her ready by dawn.”

  With that, he left the room. To Alix, it felt as if she were finally able to take a breath after suffocating. In the silence that followed, she looked at her father, unable to hide her dis
appointment.

  “What does Mother think about this?” Alix asked quietly.

  “She has no say in the matter.” Gareth tried to sound self-important but failed miserably. “I take full responsibility.”

  “I am not something to be sold, Father.” Alix took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but the look of guilt in his eyes infuriated her. He knew he was wrong. “Especially to someone like him.”

  “Alix, you don’t—”

  “Please don’t tell me that I don’t understand. You are selling me to a monster… and for what? More land? How much is he paying you for me?”

  “It’s not like that.” Gareth suddenly looked like a tired old man. “I wish I could explain everything to you, but…”

  “But?” Alix’s eyes blazed. “But I’m just a stupid female? I wouldn’t understand it? Of course, not. All I’m good for is to have children and serve my husband, right?”

  “Alix—”

  “Enough,” Alix said, holding up her hand to silence him. “I have done everything in my power to be a good daughter to you. I have studied everything I could find in order to be a good queen to this region. I do not deserve this… and you know it.”

  Gareth opened his mouth to speak, but Alix simply shook her head and stalked past him into the hallway. Her mind felt as if it were vibrating with thousands of screaming thoughts. She couldn’t allow this to happen to herself. She would not be an incubator for Vardok’s bastards. All her life it had felt as if other people were deciding how she would live it. She had tried to obey and follow their rules, but in the end, she still ended up losing.

  No more.

  She knew what she needed to do. What she wanted to do.

  She headed out of the castle. To the Arch.