The Dragons’ Lost Mate (The Dragons of North Oak #1)

Chapter 1

Rowan

With my head tilted back against the worn leather seats of my truck, I let a drawn-out, suffering groan escape my chest. If I hadn’t been so damn exhausted, I would have continued through the sleepy small towns that littered the road to my destination—I didn’t have long to go.

But my vision had started to blur a few miles back.

Once my eyelids started to droop, and I drifted a little too close to the center line, I knew I had to stop.

I veered off the road, pulling into the first rest stop I could find. It wasn’t exactly clean or well lit, but it would have to do. I had been driving for days, and while I was a seasoned traveler, all I wanted was a hot shower and some sleep in a real bed, rather than in my battered SUV.

Once parked, I triple checked the doors were locked before pulling out my phone, finding an old friend’s number, and pressing call.

“Ro!” Griffin’s deep voice shouted my name happily, answering on the first ring.

“Hey, idiot.” I smiled softly. “I’m about two hours out. I had to stop and get some sleep, though, or I would be wrapping this car around a tree. I’m going to sleep in here and come in the morning, okay? I know you were expecting me tonight.”

“Whereabouts are you?”

Pulling my phone away from my ear, I checked my GPS, struggling because I was so tired. “At a rest stop somewhere called West Point. Do you know where that is?”

“Yeah, it’s not far at all. I could come grab you if you want? Drive you the rest of the way here,” Griffin offered.

I looked around at the desolate truck stop. My otherwise roomy SUV was starting to feel rather cramped after several days of sleeping in it. The cargo area and back seat were packed with supplies and my meager possessions, so the passenger seat had been my bed.

“Are you sure? I just parked. I only need a few hours’ sleep, and I can be back on the road.”

Griffin laughed; a sound so familiar it relaxed the nagging tension in my drained muscles.

“I’m already on my way. I’ll be there in under an hour.

It’ll be good to see you; plus, you’re needed here as soon as possible.

So don’t worry about it. You’re already in our territory, I can keep myself hidden. ”

I straightened in my seat. “Is Rory getting worse?”

“Not better. Not worse. But the sooner you get here, the better.” Griffin’s voice was pinched with stress.

Nodding to myself, I sighed. “I guess I’ll see you soon, then.”

When I flipped down the visor and looked in the small mirror, I took stock of my appearance.

I was looking a little grimy, but four days on the road did that to a girl.

My dirty-blonde hair was thrown into a messy bun, and the jeans and oversized T-shirt I was wearing were in need of a wash as well.

Still, at Griffin’s place, I could shower and eat something that didn’t come from a roadside diner or gas station.

After clicking the radio off, I checked the lock once more before reclining my seat and closing my eyes.

If I were lucky, I could get a few minutes of shut-eye before Griff turned up.

Sleeping in weird positions was a skill I’d honed to perfection over the years.

I wasn’t afraid of thieves—human ones, anyway.

My handgun lived under my seat, a great deterrent against pesky humans.

My eyes had only closed for what felt like a few minutes before loud knocking on my window jerked me awake. Standing at my window, beaming from ear to ear, was a very naked Griffin. He stood there, completely unabashed, his junk flapping in the breeze.

Smiling as I rolled my eyes, I reached back and grabbed the men’s T-shirt and sweatpants I kept on hand for situations like this. Griffin yanked the door open as soon as I disengaged the locks, pulling me into a big hug, not giving a damn about his utter lack of clothing.

“Rowan! It’s so good to see you!” He shoved his face into my hair before pulling back, his face scrunched up. “You stink.”

“Gee, thanks. I’ve only been on the road for almost a week to come and help you! And you’re talking crap about how I smell.” I laughed, gently punching him in the chest.

Griffin was one of my oldest friends. He had been in my life for almost as long as I could remember…

but that wasn’t much, considering I only had six years of memories.

Towering over me at six feet tall, with a mop of curly brown hair and matching eyes, he was like a German shepherd puppy, with ears and feet he still needed to grow into.

It was hard to believe he’d held an official position of power another lifetime ago.

He also happened to be a scaled, shifting monster who could take down any mammal on earth—but that wasn’t important. To me, he was simply Griff.

“Come on, stinky. Let's get you back to the den.” He took the clothes from me with a smile, quickly throwing them on and holding his hands out for my car keys.

“Are we staying at the den? Not your place?”

“Yup. I’ve been living there for the last two years, ever since I was made an enforcer.” He smiled, sliding into the driver’s side as I clambered into the passenger seat.

“Enforcer?! That’s awesome!” I bumped my fist into his shoulder, grinning at him. “It’s about time you got recognized.”

He grinned back. “I love it. I get to really help the horde. We’ve had a peaceful time. At least, until this…”

His face twisted in pain. Griffin often bore the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I knew that having one of his own sick was killing him inside.

Even before, when he was merely a nobody, traveling and still learning how various hordes ran, he cared deeply for the horde he had left back home.

“The kid will be okay. Can you tell me more about him?” As much as I wanted to spend the drive catching up, or maybe sneaking in a snooze, I needed to know what was waiting for me when I arrived in the heart of his horde lands.

“Rory Gerrard. Twelve years old. He got a stomach bug about two weeks ago, but it’s not getting any better. Our horde’s healer isn’t exactly the best, though. I had to fight tooth and nail with Alpha Wood to get him to agree to you coming here.”

“Your Alpha wasn’t keen on the idea of another healer?” I asked, my tired muscles tensing. I only offered my services to hordes and clans who requested me. The last thing I needed was to head into the horde lands if I wasn’t wanted.

Griffin grimaced as he threw the car into drive and sped out of the rest stop.

“Yes and no. We have four Alphas who lead our horde, but they’re absent.

Two of them aren’t even in the state at the moment, some sort of bullshit diplomatic visit with another group.

They hate the idea of outsiders, but I vouched for you, told them what you did for me while I was away. They accepted that we needed you.”

“Sounds… odd. Every horde I’ve worked with only has one or two Alphas. How are yours not tearing each other apart?” Leaning forward, I turned on the heat. It was a cold evening and, being a human, I didn’t run as warm as Griffin.

Sure, I was fairly knowledgeable about local hordes. Several times, I had worked with neighboring hordes. But Griff’s wasn’t one I had encountered before, despite it being one of the largest.

“The Alphas all have the same mate—or, at least, did. She died several years ago, and they haven’t really united since. They mustered up the strength to take over from the last Alpha when he got old and started to struggle, but they’ve never been the same.”

“That’s… sad,” I mused. Losing a mate was a sentence worse than death for most shifters. And for one person to mean so much to so many… that felt especially unfair.

“How many hordes have you worked with?” Griffin asked, turning to look at me.

Noticing the way I was rubbing my arms, he glanced around the car, reaching back and grabbing one of my blankets. He kept one hand on the wheel and passed it to me.

“Sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been around humans.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m exactly a normal human.

” I chuckled. That was an understatement, to say the least. “As for how many I’ve worked with, it must be at least sixteen at this point.

I like to keep moving, and I always end up helping wherever I land.

Over the last few trips, I’ve had Alphas reach out to me personally for my help.

I know the Alpha who borders your lands to the south, Freddie Lucas.

I worked with him in Montana last year.”

Griffin whistled. “You’ve been getting around, Ro. They’re going to love you at the den.”

My stomach shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the den. “I’m only staying at the den because I trust your dumb ass—I tend to avoid them.”

Usually, I would have been given a small house near the horde while I assisted. The space was useful and made me feel a hell of a lot safer.

Griffin quirked an eyebrow at me, studying my expression before flicking his gaze back to the road. “Why?”

Before I could even open my mouth, his face lit up in understanding, brows shooting up after being furrowed over those brown eyes. “Of course. You never know whether the dragon who hurt you lives there.”

I nodded, my stare falling to the floor while my chest pinched. “Though, would I even know if I came face-to-face with the bastard?”

“Ignorance is bliss?” Griffin laughed, shrugging one shoulder as he smirked at me.

“If you weren’t driving, I would stab you,” I grumbled, only making him laugh harder.

Griff beamed. “Luckily, I’m sitting next to a healer who can patch me up!” His laughter died down, and his expression dropped as he stared out at the road. “Do you think you’ll ever find them?”

“Hopefully not.” I absentmindedly ran a hand under my T-shirt, tracing the jagged scars that crisscrossed my skin. “Whoever did this to me wanted me dead; it’s probably a blessing that I don’t remember.”

I sighed, sinking into my seat as exhaustion screamed louder behind my eyes, a headache settling in.

“If I knew who it was, I would kill the fucker.” Griff’s voice was even, conviction ringing through his words.

“Get in line.” I sighed, tilting my head as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I haven’t gone near the west coast since it happened, though, so hopefully there are several states between me and whoever the hell it was.”

It was strange to think it had been six years since a dragon tried to kill me. And here I was, helping shifters, despite the fact. The problem was, I had zero memory of the bastard who’d left me for dead in a ditch.

Worse, I didn’t know if they would come to finish the job.