THE PROTECTOR

by Abigail Owen Fire's Edge, #4 Publication Date: December 7, 2020 Genres: Adult, Entangled: Amara, Paranormal, Romance

SYNOPSIS

The cousin of the High King, Lyndi Chandali has lived with the constant threat of being pawned off as a political prize. A rare, female-born dragon like Lyndi can’t truly mate—not in the way it counts. Which is why she's kept her distance from a certain sinfully delicious Beta. Instead, she's built a life for herself giving orphaned dragons in the Americas a home.

As Beta of his team of enforcers, Levi Rowtag is a fighter first, last, and always. His job is to protect—his team, the shifters in his territory, and the stubborn woman hell-bent on fighting with him at every turn. He knows from the moment they first meet what she’ll never accept—they are destined to be mated.

But with the kings at war, the enemy is now coming for Lyndi. Worse, he’s coming for her orphans, too. He’ll have no choice but to defy his king and go rogue if he has any hope of protecting them all...and finally claiming his mate.

EXCERPT

Finn looked around the room. “I’ve called everyone in because I’ve just heard from the Gold Clan.”

Levi stilled. His clan?

“You mean the Alliance has?” Kanta asked in his scratchy voice, like he’d inhaled too much smoke every day for thousands of years. Methodical and logical, the green dragon was the rock of the team. He’d always reminded Levi of an ancient forest, all ebony skin, deep green eyes, and still, unwavering peace.

Finn shook his head. “No. I mean directly from the king himself.”

A ripple of disbelief passed through the room as they all shifted on their feet at the news, though no one spoke. The entire purpose of the Alliance was to be the conduit the kings used to communicate with their people in the region. Kings didn’t just bypass that governing body to speak directly to smaller groups. Even enforcers.

Dammit. I should have been here. “You saw him?” Levi asked.

Finn nodded. They’d all met Brand Astarot, the new King of the Gold Clan, in person a while back. If his alpha had seen the man, he couldn’t be an imposter.

“Is the war over?” Lyndi asked.

“No.” The grim expression, even for Finn, only worsened as his eyes ignited again. “He’s calling all gold dragons loyal to the throne back to the clan.” His eyes shifted to Levi.

If Levi hadn’t been standing in front of his entire team, he might have stumbled at the impact of those words, like taking a dragon tail to the gut. As it was, a sensation of falling from a great height slammed through him.

Recalling all gold dragons? Holy shit.

Trying to contain his own reaction, Levi crossed his arms and happened to catch a glimpse of the king’s mark on his right hand, the magically tattooed emblem of the house of Astarot. A mark of loyalty to his king and his clan.

Fuck. The word went off like a series of grenades in his head.

Everyone else must’ve hit the same reaction after the initial shock, because the room erupted in sound. A cacophony of voices protesting loudly, astonished, and under the stunned anger, fearful. No one had ever been called back since being assigned here. Never. Not in centuries.

What the hell did this mean? If the king needed dragons on his side, the war was escalating. What if all the kings started recalling the dragons scattered throughout the world? Hell, the clans were already split down the middle, with the Gold Clan’s allies being the Blue and Black Clans. Was Finn going to be next?

How can I leave the team? That thought, more than any other, carried the bitter tinge of panic, a sensation he didn’t encounter often. Like swallowing his own bile.

The Alliance barely tolerated the Huracáns. The neighboring Alaz team of enforcers straight up hated them after what happened in Yosemite last winter. The dragon shifter colonies were in disarray, teetering at the edge of full-on rebellion. All of that, and the team was barely functioning, at the weakest they’d ever been. Vulnerable. Half their numbers were currently made up of newbies. Many of their trained, experienced enforcers had scattered or died. Deep, the former alpha of their team, was off doing gods knew what. Rune, the former beta who had gone rogue, was still in hiding. Aidan and Sera were on the run. Titus was dead.

Fury followed the fear and shock, as if he was passing through the stages of grief in rapid succession. Damn the gods. No. I won’t go.

But he couldn’t refuse an order from his king. It would mean going rogue, and that would force him to have to leave the team anyway. He served as an enforcer at the pleasure of the king.

Lyndi.

Her name whispered through his mind on a tidal wave of every other thought hitting him at once. He didn’t dare turn to look at her.

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ABOUT ABIGAIL OWEN

Do you love plots that move hot and fast, feisty heroines with sass, heroes with heart, a dash of snark, and oodles of HEAs? You do?!?! Welcome!

Abigail Owen is a multi-award-winning author of paranormal romance and upper YA/new adult fantasy romance. Other favorite titles include wife, mother, Star Wars geek, ex-competitive skydiver, spreadsheet lover, Dr. Seuss quoter, eMBA, organizational guru, Texan, Aggie, and chocaholic.

Abigail grew up consuming books and exploring the world through her writing. She attempted to find a practical career related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric (Technical Writing) and an MBA. However, she swiftly discovered that writing without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it. She currently resides in Austin, Texas, with her own personal, swoon-worthy hero and their two children, who are growing up way too fast.

Abigail also writes award-winning steamy contemporary romance and romantic comedy as Kadie Scott (kadie-scott.com), and sweet contemporary romance and Amish romance as Kristen McKanagh (kristenmckanagh.com).

For the latest news and exclusive excerpts, subscribe to Abigail’s monthly newsletter (http://eepurl.com/c-D2Cf) or join her Facebook fan group – Abbie’s Awesome Nerds (https://www.facebook.com/groups/AOsAw…)!

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Wednesday, December 09, 2020