Drakon's Past by N.J. Walters ~ Excerpt

Constance Owens has a gift for finding unique items in the most unlikely places, which comes in handy since she buys and sells artifacts and antiques for a living. When she purchases a set of four dragon statues, she has no idea just how unique they are, or that finding them will thrust her into a world of secret societies, men who think nothing of kidnapping and murder to get what they want, and dragon shifters.

Nic hasn’t survived for four thousand years by letting his guard down, and he doesn’t trust anyone except his drakon brothers. The loneliness haunting him has been getting worse since all his brothers have found their mates. And when he finds the woman his drakon recognizes instantly as his fated mate, he doubts he’ll ever have what his brothers have, because it seems she’s involved with the secret society of hunters who have been hunting and capturing his kind for hundreds of years.

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Nic wished this situation had ended differently. He wished he’d been able to rescue Constance’s sister. He wanted to be her hero.

Which was stupid. He was nobody’s hero. All he needed to do was get those statues from her. He could take them and walk away, let her deal with the fallout with Dent.

But that would make him no different from the Knights. He’d also never be able to look at himself in the mirror ever again. His dragon might revolt if he tried. The creature was as fascinated with Constance as the human part of him was. There was something about her that drew him on a deep, emotional level, that called to his very soul.

She looked fragile and beaten, but he knew it to be a lie. The woman had a core of steel. Most people would have faltered and crumbled in the face of such adversity.

Not Constance.

Even as he watched her, she slowly straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. “You’re right. Dent will call again. After all, I still have the statues.”

“We still have the statues,” he corrected her. “I’m in this with you.” He put his arm around her and moved her into the shadows toward the door.

She stopped and peered up at him. He knew she wouldn’t be able to see him clearly in the dim light, but he could see her. He wished she hadn’t told Dent his name, but it had only been a matter of time until the Knights discovered his identity. He’d blown any chance he might have had of staying under the radar when he’d gone to visit Constance this morning. He hadn’t known she was being watched. Not that it would have made much difference. He had to have those statues, had to keep them out of the hands of the Knights.

“You get my sister back, and the statues are yours,” she promised.

He growled and leaned down until their noses were almost touching. “I’m not doing this for the damn statues.” And it was true. As important as the statues were, they’d become secondary. The only thing that mattered was protecting Constance and her sister. His dragon rumbled his agreement inside him. Both sides of himself were in accord.

“Then why are you doing it?” He heard the confusion in her voice. It made him crazy that she didn’t already know, didn’t understand that he’d do anything for her.

This was insane. Dangerous. He should walk away from her and the statues. He could disappear and not surface for years.

“I’m doing it for you,” he told her. Then he kissed her.