Dragon Chained (Zodiac Dragon Brotherhood #3)

Prologue

The cake was late. Maggie smiled at her guests as she doled out more tea sandwiches and sparkling pink punch.

An expectant dragon was always something to celebrate.

Successful dragon pregnancies, after all, were far rarer than the human kind.

Her best friend, Katie, had tried for years for this baby—a girl, the doctors had predicted—an incredible blessing indeed.

Everything had to be perfect for her special day.

Maggie had ordered the cake, a full sheet with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting, decorated with pale pink roses and baby bottles, from her favorite bakery, Honey Cakes on Elm Street.

But when she swung by to pick it up that morning, she’d been deeply disappointed to find the cake was missing.

The baker, Mr. Honey, was certain he’d fulfilled the order, but it simply wasn’t in the cooler.

The man seemed beside himself at the mistake, but Maggie struggled to show him any sympathy or understanding.

The party was that afternoon. She needed the cake.

Normally, she was a level-headed dragon.

Maggie worked among humans as an accountant, a position that easily blended into the background, and didn’t enjoy calling attention to herself.

But she’d spoken up about the cake. How could she throw a baby shower without one?

She’d even gently pressed into Mr. Honey’s mind, using her psychic dragon abilities, and was disappointed to find he was telling the truth.

Either one of his employees had misplaced the cake or given it to another customer by mistake.

“I’ll make it right,” the baker had promised. “I’ll decorate one from the case and deliver it to your house for your party, free of charge.”

Maggie had agreed, but here she was, surrounded by fifteen dragon women dressed in pastel florals and drinking foamy pink punch from crystal cups as the mother-to-be opened her second-to-last gift, and still, there was no cake.

What if it didn’t come? Everyone would understand, she knew, but Maggie couldn’t let it go.

She was a perfectionist who prided herself on her organization and planning skills.

She’d ordered that cake in plenty of time, Creator damn it all.

She swore to never order another thing from Honey Cakes bakery.

The chime of the doorbell lifted her spirits.

At last! She excused herself from the room and opened the door to find a human man holding a big white cake box.

“Finally,” she said, taking it from the stranger.

Weird. As her hand brushed his, a feeling of immense dread washed through her, the hair on her arms standing on end.

He drew his hands away quickly, pivoted on his heel, and strode toward his car at a fast clip.

She was relieved. Something was wrong with him. She’d sensed…darkness. With a shake of her head, she dismissed her instincts. She had a party to attend to. Maggie peeked into the Honey Cakes box to check that the cake was what she’d ordered.

And that was when the bomb went off.