The Dragon's Charge (Tahoe Dragon Mates Book 4) Read online

  The Dragon's Charge

  Tahoe Dragon Mates #4

  Jessie Donovan

  Mythical Lake Press, LLC

  Contents

  Tahoe Dragon Mates Series

  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

  The Conquest

  Author’s Note

  Also by Jessie Donovan

  About the Author

  Copyright

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  Books in this series:

  Tahoe Dragon Mates

  The Dragon’s Choice (TDM #1)

  The Dragon’s Need (TDM #2)

  The Dragon’s Bidder / (TDM #3)

  The Dragon’s Charge (TDM #4)

  The Dragon’s Weakness / David & Tiffany (TDM #5 / 2021)

  The Dragon's Charge Synopsis

  Brad Harper has known that the human bar owner, Tasha Jenkins, is his true mate since he first met her by chance on a night out with friends. However, after his first mate ran off with a human, he’s held a grudge and tries to put distance between him and Tasha as best as he can despite working for her. But when both the human female’s bar and life are in jeopardy, he has no choice but to protect her. The only question is: Can he resist her?

  Tasha Jenkins likes setting goals and achieving them. It’s how she was able to establish a successful bar in Reno and be her own boss. However, when some troublemakers show up and start harassing her clientele, hoping to put her out of business, she struggles with what to do. Then there’s a threat to her life, and she finds herself swept into the unknown world of dragon-shifters, where one dragonman in particular seems to both hate her and want to protect her at any cost.

  When Tasha has no choice but to stay with Clan StoneRiver, she soon learns more about the dragonman who used to work for her. And just when she thinks she can maybe craft a new path forward, trouble shows up again. Will she be able to get her life back? Or will she find happiness in a place she never thought to look?

  NOTE: This is a quick, steamy standalone story about fated mates and sexy dragon-shifters near Lake Tahoe in the USA. You don’t have to read all my other dragon books to enjoy this one!

  Chapter One

  Brad Harper watched the human female named Natasha Jenkins as she smiled and handed a male his final order for the night.

  Even though he knew she smiled at almost everyone, he barely resisted digging his nails into his thigh.

  His inner dragon—the second personality inside his head—spoke up. You’re the one resisting her, so you have no say. You know she’s our true mate.

  Brad had known that fact since the first day he and his friends had walked into Tasha’s bar. Of course, who wouldn’t notice the female with black hair streaked with blue, warm brown eyes, and brown skin. Skin he wouldn’t mind exploring every inch of to better know the curves and valleys of her body.

  Not that he would act on his attraction. And you know why I resist her.

  His inner beast sighed. So Amber left us for a human male over a year ago. That shouldn’t make you hate all humans, especially not when it’s our fated female.

  For a dragon-shifter, a true mate was their best chance at happiness. Not guaranteed, of course, but the odds were usually better. Kissing one would also set off a mate-claim frenzy, basically a nonstop sex marathon that resulted in pregnancy.

  Because of that reason, all honorable dragon-shifters had to tread lightly around their true mates, especially if they were human and had no idea of what it all entailed.

  He replied to his dragon, Maybe you can dismiss Amber so easily, but I loved her with everything I had. I’m not about to jump into a true-mate pairing simply because the female showed up. Especially since humans require a lot of work and care, which I don’t have the patience for. So stop pushing me.

  Then stop getting jealous when other males smile at her. It’s all your own making. She could be smiling at us, if you tried to win her over even a little.

  Tasha winked at the tall male at the bar and Brad resisted a growl. It’s not entirely my own making. If David hadn’t asked me to take this job as a security guard, I wouldn’t have set foot near this place once I’d known about Tasha.

  David Lee was the leader of Clan StoneRiver, the dragon clan situated to the northwest of Lake Tahoe in California. Of course, David was more than just a leader—he was also Brad’s friend, one he’d do almost anything for. Which was why he had agreed to the security gig despite everything.

  Before his dragon could reply, Brad noticed two human males at one of the bar’s back tables stand up, and he watched their movements closely. All evening the pair had given both man and beast an odd tingling sensation, almost as if they were a threat.

  And yet they hadn’t done anything to merit his throwing their asses out on the street. Yet.

  Still, Brad suspected they were part of AHOL—the America for Humans Only League. Most people referred to them as the League, and they were a bunch of crazy fuckers who wanted to drive all dragon-shifters out of the US into other countries. They also targeted businesses friendly to dragon-shifters, with hopes of keeping the two groups separate for good.

  Not that any of the stupid assholes realized that dragon-shifters had roamed the earth as long as humans had. While Brad’s ancestors were mostly dragon prisoners sent over from Ireland hundreds of years ago—at one time the United States had accepted dragons from other countries in exchange for money and had contained them in prison reservations—many of his clan had always lived in the area, before any of the human European settlers had arrived.

  In other words, they had more claim than the vast majority of present-day humans did. Not that the League cared about facts or history. Their hatred guided their every action.

  The two males walked casually toward the bar, and Brad moved to the edge of his seat in case he needed to help Tasha. The pair placed an order like any other customer, but Brad didn’t move his gaze once. He was used to watching and noticing details. After all, his day job was as a Protector, which was what dragon-shifters called a member of their clan security teams.

  Tasha quickly served the humans two beers. One of the males took his and turned away. The other followed suit.

  However, just as they took a step away, one of them turned back around and hopped over the bar.

  Brad was up in a flash. Even with his supernatural speed, Tasha quickly ducked and then kneed the guy in the dick before Brad could reach her. The attacker dropped to the ground holding himself, and Brad went for the other guy.

  Right before he reached the human, the fucker pulled out a gun and aimed it at Tasha. Brad tackled him just as he fired, the shot going wide.

  He ignored the screams and chaos to pin the human to the ground, kick away the gun, and quickly check that Tasha was okay.

  She met his gaze and nodded shakily. Most people wouldn’t notice the minor detail, but Brad had studied the human for months. And she was never shaky.

  With a growl, he hauled the male human up and kept the man’s hands behind his back.

  The human tried to turn his head and spit on Brad before saying, “Get your fucking hands off me, dragon trash.”

  Brad didn’t pay attention to the threat. While laws prevented him from taking out old-style retribution, he could snap the human in half, if he so desired.
“Why did you try to shoot a human?”

  The other man, who he noticed was now restrained with Tasha’s knee on his back, shouted, “Don’t say anything.”

  His gut said there was a quicker way to see if his suspicions about the males were correct. So Brad managed to hold the human male’s wrists behind his back with one hand and pushed up the sleeve of the human’s arm.

  And there it was on his inner wrist, the tattoo all League members had—an eagle clutching a rifle in one claw and an American flag in the other.

  Fuck. There’d been an “almost” incident at the bar several weeks ago with a few League members. But since things had been quiet since then, Brad had thought they’d moved on. Especially since no dragon-shifters, apart from him, had set foot inside the bar in recent weeks due to warnings put out by all clan leaders in the area.

  Thankfully the human police arrived and took the two men. It was hard for Brad to simply hand over the two assholes since part of his job as a Protector was interrogating enemies.

  But the human police dealt with human criminals. So it had been for a long, long time in the US.

  His dragon growled. Which is fucking ridiculous. They tried to kill our mate.

  But they didn’t. And us getting thrown in jail would accomplish nothing.

  His beast grunted and sulked inside their mind. Brad understood the sentiment but also knew how important it was to follow the human laws, or he could risk the privileges of his entire clan.

  Once Tasha gave her statement, as did he, and everyone was cleared out apart from Brad and Tasha, he asked the human abruptly, “Did he say anything to you?”

  Tasha twisted her long hair in one hand, which was one of her tells that something was off.

  He knew her better than he wanted to.

  She sighed and let go of her hair. “Just the usual League bullshit. The cops said they’d keep a closer watch on the place.”

  Brad wished he could be that optimistic. “Out of all the places in Reno, they randomly picked this one? I doubt it. It’s probably related to what happened here a few weeks ago. It made you a target, for sure. So you need to either increase security or close the place for a week or two to let things cool off.”

  She rolled her eyes. “And you’re the boss of me since when?”

  He grunted. “No, I’m not your damn boss, and you know it. But I’m trying to keep you alive.”

  Her brown eyes searched his. “They pull this crap all the time to dragon-friendly businesses, Brad. Usually after one attempt, they fade away for a while. Even you know that. Why should this time be different?”

  “Because Duncan Parrish was here weeks ago, that’s why. He has friends in powerful places, and we all think he’s working with the League, but can’t prove it. The male is rich and influential and is used to getting away with anything. So when ADDA pulled rank on him and won, Duncan didn’t like it.”

  ADDA stood for the American Department of Dragon Affairs. They were in charge of all oversight related to dragon-shifters.

  One of their employees had been harassed in Tasha’s bar by a pair of League members, and afterward, the employee had gotten the dragon clans near Tahoe extra protection. Needless to say, Duncan and his lackeys hadn’t liked being thrown out, let alone the new security measures for the Tahoe clans.

  Tasha leaned against the counter and shook her head. “I need more than a suspicion to close the bar. This is my entire life, Brad. I won’t let a few assholes scare me away. Besides, you’re here to help me, and I thought you were the best?”

  “I am. But not even I can stop bullets flying at will.”

  The corner of her mouth ticked up. “I’m sure if there’s a way to do it, you’ll find it.”

  A small part of him wanted to tease the human back. But Brad refused to indulge, not wanting to encourage her in any way.

  He sensed his dragon about ready to speak up, so he hurriedly said to Tasha, “Joking around won’t change anything. You need to close the bar for a little while, period.”

  She raised her brows. “So they can target me at home? Hiding away won’t help me, if they’re truly determined.”

  The human was right. However, there was one place the League members would never set foot—Clan StoneRiver. For all their talk about hating dragons and wanting to get rid of them, they were cowards when it truly came down to it. Visiting dragon clans wasn’t part of their usual actions. Especially with ADDA monitoring the clans more than before.

  Not that he was going to suggest for Tasha to come live on his clan, though. No, he’d make sure her house was safe and then set up a constant watch. That might be a solution the human could live with.

  As she continued to stare at him, clearly waiting for an answer, Brad motioned toward the back door. “Then let me make sure you get home safe, at least. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

  “This isn’t your bar, Brad. And it’s not your decision to make.”

  Maybe he should be nicer to Tasha, given everything that had happened, but even if he had no intention of claiming his true mate, he’d sure as hell protect her. Which meant being truthful. “I know this is your place, Tasha. But you hired me to be security, and I’m not going to push aside my duty because you don’t like how I do my job.”

  As she studied him, he wondered if he’d have to lay out even more facts to get her out the door. But she finally sighed and headed toward the back area. “Fine, I’ll go home for now. If you weren’t so damn good at your job, I’d be tempted to fire you.”

  He grunted in response as his inner dragon spoke up again. She has noticed us. That’s good, very good. Maybe with time, you’ll tell her the truth.

  Not ready to rehash the same argument, he ignored his beast and instead ensured the coast was clear to see Tasha out.

  Just as they reached her car parked behind the building, he noticed all four tires were flat. There was also a piece of folded paper stuck under her windshield.

  As his dragon growled in warning, Brad ordered, “Stay here but stay alert. Something’s wrong.”

  The human female nodded, clearly still surprised at the slashed tires. Brad plucked up the note, opened it, and read, “This is your final warning. Shun all dragons or face the consequences.”

  There was no signature, but just a stamp at the bottom of the note with the League’s logo.

  He stormed up to Natasha, knowing the note had changed everything.

  She would have to come home to his clan after all. Which meant finding new ways to stay away from her while also protecting her.

  Brad handed her the note, and once she finished reading it, he stated, “You’re coming home with me tonight to StoneRiver. Don’t argue, either. Because none of your arguments are worth your life.”

  He gestured toward his car farther down the street and waited to see if Tasha would agree or if he’d have to act the part of barbaric dragon-shifter and carry her to his vehicle.

  Not because she was his true mate and his dragon was growling about her safety. No, Brad convinced himself it was because she’d hired him to protect her, and he prided himself on being the best. Nothing more.

  Tasha Jenkins wasn’t stubborn for the sake of it. Her perseverance had helped her over the years to achieve a lot of her goals. It was how she’d come to own a successful bar in Reno, one that had become even more profitable when she’d finally opened her doors to dragon-shifters.

  So when some assholes had tried to scare her, she’d tried to brush it off. It wasn’t the first fight or time a man had tried to harm her. When people drank too much, sometimes shit happened.

  But as she stared at the note in her hands about a final warning, and then glanced at her slashed tires, she knew that this was more than an idle threat to scare her. The crazy AHOL bastards might actually try to kill her.

  It seemed that when she’d stood by the ADDA employee Ashley Swift and her dragonman date over a month ago, she’d made some dangerous enemies.

  Since the jurisdictions were
all messed up when human and dragon worlds collided, like they did with the League, she didn’t have faith the police would take it all seriously despite their promises. They could entirely brush it off as ADDA’s responsibility and look the other way.

  In other words, she needed the help of dragon-shifters if she was to survive.

  So when Brad stated she was going home to his clan for the night, she knew it was the only option. So she nodded. “For tonight. But I plan on figuring this out, Brad. I won’t give up my bar this easily.”

  He grunted, took her hand, and guided her down the street.

  Tasha tried to ignore how warm and large his hand was around hers. In her experience, most dragonmen were sexy, muscled, and had some sort of draw that most human women—and quite a few men—had a hard time resisting.

  Not only was she determined to avoid being distracted by any man—dragon or otherwise—she knew Brad Harper didn’t like her much. He only worked at her bar as a favor to his clan leader, and most days he ignored her unless a security threat cropped up.

  The fact he had to protect her and watch out for her was probably nothing more than a nuisance. He most definitely wasn’t holding her hand because he wanted to. No, he wanted to ensure she didn’t change her mind.

  Which showed just how little he knew her. Because once Tasha made up her mind, she stuck to it until circumstances required her to take another look.

  They finally reached his small, blue car, and Brad motioned for her to stay put again. She watched as he inspected the engine and the undercarriage. It was strange seeing him do anything but sit in a corner and survey the room with his piercing blue eyes, like he did most nights at her bar.