Welcome M.A. Church back to Sunday Spotlight! She's sharing a bit from her new release, Dragon’s Hoard
To be loved by a dragon is to be treasured.
A hundred years ago, werewolf Alpha Montgomery took a risk
driven by desperation—he borrowed money from the ancient dragon Warwick
Ehecatl, putting up the pack lands as collateral. Now the debt is due, and
dragons don’t forget—or forgive. Warwick demands Montgomery’s son, Avery, and
three businesses as compensation. As an Omega, Avery knows he is basically
useless to his pack, so he might as well agree. He soon has second thoughts,
though. Warwick is fearsome, and he’s free to do as he likes with Avery.
Warwick knows his race’s reputation, and he even admits some
of it is deserved. But he’d rather cut off his tail than let his innocent
mate’s light go out. It won’t be easy, but buried deep, there’s something
between them worth safeguarding.
Cover Artist: Aaron Anderson
House Line Dreamspun Beyond | #5
Genres: Urban Fantasy / Werewolves/Shapeshifters
BUY LINKS
Excerpt:
THE SUBTLE lighting in the office in his house
cast long shadows that danced across the room. Burning wood popped and hissed
in the fireplace, the scent bringing back memories from yesteryear. Restless,
Warwick shoved back from his monstrosity of a desk.
The warmth of the fire beckoned, and seeing no
reason to deny himself, he strode across the floor. As he drew nearer, the heat
wrapped around his body, and he sighed. Bending, he held his hands out toward
the crackling fire. Once his fingers warmed, he straightened and turned.
With his back to the fire, he carelessly brushed
a long strand of hair behind his ear. He’d opened the blinds when he’d entered
his office in a hopeless bid for daylight, not that it did much good. Good
thing his eyesight was better than a human’s.
The day was dreary, rainy, and overcast. He
hated this time of the year. No matter how many layers of clothes he wore, the
endless chill seeped in. He much preferred heat and humidity, sunny skies and
warmth. His kind detested the cold.
Still staring out of the ground floor window, he
took notice of the foot traffic on the street, darting here and there like
worker bees. Paranormals mixed with humans—there was no hiding now. As with
anything else, there were those who thought the species should be separated and
those who didn’t. Werewolves had made their presence known sometime in the
1700s. Other paranormal beings had come out not long after.
Once the panic had died down, humans responded
fairly well. For the most part, anyhow. There were still squabbles, of course.
Humans didn’t seem to know how to do anything else. Fortunately they tended to
leave paranormals alone. More often than not, they were too busy fighting among
themselves.
What the humans were calling the Great War was
in full swing. Warwick brushed a microscopic piece of fuzz from his shirt, shaking
his head. Humans and their wars. Would they never learn? But there was no
denying it afforded him the opportunity to invest in their conflicts, and
dragons never passed up an opportunity to add to their hoard.
A soft knock at his office door drew his attention.
He inhaled, and the scent of hair cream, freshly pressed clothes, and human
teased his senses.
“Enter,” Warwick called.
Clarence Wiltshire, his clerk, opened the
office door. He started toward the desk but paused when he saw no one sat
behind it. Confident of where he would find his boss, he glanced at the
fireplace. “Sir, there’s an Alpha Theodore Montgomery of the Sunset Creek Pack
here to see you.”
Warwick pursed his lips. “Interesting.”
“I’ll say, sir.” Clarence bobbed his head. “It
must be catastrophic to send an Alpha werewolf to your doorstep.”
“Only one way to find out.” As much as he hated
leaving the roaring fire, Warwick crossed the floor, his footsteps muffled by
the oriental rugs, and returned to his desk. “Give it twenty minutes, then
escort him back. Also make sure to offer him a beverage while he waits.”
“He’s not going to like having to wait, sir.”
“I’m well aware.” Warwick picked up his absurdly
expensive tailored suit coat and slipped it on. “That’s the point.”
“Yes, sir.” Clarence smirked, then wiped any
emotions off his face, going back to the usual pleasant blankness he showed
prospective clients. “Twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” Warwick settled into his
comfortable desk chair. This was no casual meeting. He intended to throw the
Alpha off-balance by having him wait, but the ploy would also show exactly who
held the power in the room.
Twenty minutes later to the second, his
efficient assistant escorted Alpha Montgomery inside. Warwick stood and
acknowledged the Alpha with a slight bob of his head. There was no need for him
to bare his throat since he wasn’t another werewolf, not that he would anyhow.
Dragons were at the top of the shifter food chain. Nor did he offer his hand.
Werewolves tended to be snarly about who touched them without permission, the
silly creatures.
Alpha Montgomery acknowledged the greeting and
returned it, although his head bob was much more grandiose.
“Alpha Theodore Montgomery of the Sunset Creek
Pack, I bid you welcome. Please, join me.”
“Thank you.” Alpha Montgomery crossed the room,
his gait hurried. “I appreciate you seeing me without the courtesy of having an
appointment.”
“Yes, well, circumstances are usually dire when
people come to me, and often they don’t have time to make one. Have a seat.”
Warwick gestured at the plush wine-colored leather chairs in front of his desk.
He made a point of standing. Warwick would not sit first. Having another
paranormal look up to him was another way to reinforce who was more commanding.
Alpha Montgomery gritted his teeth. Ah yes,
there was nothing better than power games first thing in the morning.
As the struggle for control continued, Warwick
took note of his visitor. Like most werewolves, the Alpha was a large male with
muscles. Unless the wolf was an Omega, they were also hairy, above average in
height, and had dark hair and eyes.
Warwick ensured his features remained blank,
even as he smirked inside. Compared with a werewolf, he was not only shorter,
but less muscled. While the werewolf was bulky, Warwick was lean and mean. The
only thing he and the Alpha had in common was the dark hair Warwick also wore
long.
“Thank you.” Alpha Montgomery lowered himself
into one of the seats.
“Now, please, tell me how I may be of service.”
Satisfied his point had been made, Warwick sat behind his desk. Just because
the atmosphere was tense didn’t mean manners had to be left outside the door.
“I need a loan.”
“Most people do when they come to me.” Precise
and to the point. He liked that. Warwick opened a desk drawer and withdrew several
forms. “How much?”
Alpha Montgomery quoted a sum, and Warwick
lifted a shapely eyebrow. Surprising a dragon wasn’t easy.
“I see.” He pushed the sheets of paper across
the desk. “The forms are standard. Fill them out so I have an idea of what you
plan to put up as collateral for such a massive loan.”
“Collateral.” Alpha Montgomery tugged at his
collar in what Warwick assumed was an effort to loosen the suffocating
restriction from his tie. “I, ah, was hoping not to put anything up.”
Warwick swallowed the laugh bubbling up. “And I
was hoping to spend this winter on a warm, sunny beach—neither of which is
going to happen, unfortunately. If you want the loan, you put up collateral.
That’s the only way I do business.”
Alpha Montgomery scowled. “Do you know who I am?
The connections I have? The fact that my pack is one of the largest around,
that should be sufficient.”
“It isn’t.” Warwick coolly gazed across the
desk. “Alpha, you need the money. I have it to give. Paranormals only come to
me as a last resort, so I’m sure you’ve tried to obtain the currency elsewhere.
Am I right?”
Alpha Montgomery didn’t speak, but his scowl
said enough. So did the sudden spike in tension. The acidic scent of bone-deep
worry filled Warwick’s nostrils. He struggled to suppress the sneeze that
threatened.
“I thought so. If I loan you the money, you will
put up collateral,” Warwick continued. Arrogant werewolf. Did the Alpha really
think Warwick would loan him the sum he quoted with nothing more than his
signature? “And from the amount you requested, I’m going to demand every
property you own.”
“You can’t do that!” Alpha Montgomery’s claws
peeked out as he gripped the chair arms. “If I default—”
“I’ll take everything you own, kick your pack
off your land, and sell it to recoup my losses.” Warwick shrugged. “That’s the
price of doing business, my dear Alpha. Take the money or not. It matters not
to me.”
Alpha Montgomery growled softly. “You really are
a cold-blooded bastard, aren’t you?”
Warwick faced the Alpha. His eyes shifted into a
brilliant purple, the color of his dragon, with a slitted black pupil.
Scrollwork, only slightly lighter than the purple of his eyes, appeared upon
his eyelids and right below his eyes. His fangs, which appeared normal in human
form, lengthened. His fingernails grew to deadly sharp claws as he partially
shifted. “Indeed I am.” Menace, deep and thick, vibrated in his voice.
“Something you may wish to keep in mind, considering I can snap your neck with
little to no thought.” Warwick unleashed his power, which seeped through the
room, blanketing everything. A smothered gasp came from the outer office where
Clarence’s desk was located. It wasn’t the first time his assistant experienced
such, and no doubt would not be the last.
Alpha Montgomery straightened in his chair and
snarled as his own power rose to meet Warwick’s. Sweat beaded and rolled down
the Alpha’s face. The flames in the lanterns flickered, and the air shimmered.
But as quickly as Alpha Montgomery’s power rose, it dropped like a puppet with
its strings cut. The Alpha collapsed back in the chair, pale and shivering.
“By all the wolf gods,” Alpha Montgomery
whispered, horror finely etched upon his features.
Warwick, still composed as ever, finally allowed
the smirk that had been lurking to cross his face. “That was unwise, Alpha. You
may be powerful, but you’re nothing compared to me. I was centuries old before
you were ever born. Test me again and the next time, you won’t walk out of here
on your own two feet.”
Alpha Montgomery gulped.
“Now, are you filling out those papers or are
you leaving my office empty-handed?”
“F-filling out the papers.” Fear rolled off the
Alpha werewolf.
“Excellent.” Warwick leaned back in his chair
and returned to his wholly human form, pleased he’d made his point. “Now, make
sure to fill out the paperwork fully, please.”
Oh yes, today was going to be a good day.
