Falk Clan Tales - Chapter 90: Chapter 90

He’s a hardcore realist until she dares him to dream.
Nicholas Graystone’s Dragon is restless. He needs a mate—one who will overlook his gruff exterior. With something of his own to care for and protect, his angry beast might finally settle down.
But things in modern Maccon City are so very different from the life he was used to. Even after almost killing one of the legendary Falk Clan, those Dragon brothers generously invite him and his brother into the fold. How can he refuse?
Simple—he can’t. Especially not now that his brother is mated to a local Werewolf. Seeing Devine’s happiness has sparked something inside Nicholas. His own desire to find a mate by any means. But can the TopazDragon be redeemed before it’s too late?
Minerva Lykos is a Werewolf and renowned artist who needs a break. What better place to restore her creative energy than her old family beach house down in Maccon City?
Of course, the curvy she-Wolf isn’t expecting to meet her muse in the gorgeous Dragon who lives next door. Can she convince the hunky shifter to pose for her?
Things get heated between the sculptor and the Dragon in this Falk Clan Tale.
Prologue
T
he waves crashed, and thunder roared like monsters at war outside Castle Blackthorn. Nicholas waited for his brother to return from his latest assignment, nerves on edge.
Just recently Dragomir had started separating Nick and Devine when sending them to do his evil bidding. The Chief was often callous and cruel, and he cared nothing for the welfare of the Dragons in his care.
Nicholas wished he could rise against the false Alpha’s rule, but too many supported his claim. Or did they? It was all up in the air at the moment. The rumblings of discontent had been sown by Dragomir’s own hand.
Devine had been sent on this evil deed without Nick for backup, and that did not sit well with him. For the first time in his long history, the TopazDragon had tried to fight against the Alpha command in the tyrant’s voice. But Dragomir was slick and oily as an eel, giving his orders when Devine was not about.
Nick’s beast snarled and roared. He did not want to kill for Dragomir. The bastard had sentenced one of their own to death for the sin of simply having too much, and he’d chosen Nicholas as his blade.
He needed Devine to ground him before Nicholas was forced to carry out his duty. Obeying the Chief had been ingrained in his very blood, but he wanted to roar and burn down the whole damn island in protest.
Fuck Dragomir and his evil ways.
The Chieftain was full of poison and greed. He wielded the Graystone brothers like a warrior did his sword. The only reason Nicholas had not taken off to the skies was because of his brother. He’d been out on assignment for days, and that was, of course, the Chief’s game.
Separate. Isolate. Make wholly dependent. Then control.
But Nicholas was more than just a monster doomed to do Dragomir’s bidding. He had a heart. He had a soul. Devine and Nick both repeated those truths and often. They had to in order to survive.
His younger brother had been used by the tyrant as his blade, and Nick had been his hammer. The last hundred years might as well have been a millennium, as far as Nicholas was concerned.
He mourned the loss of their innocence and bore the guilt like a cross on his back. Nicholas had failed his brother. But as the explosions started and the sound of dragons clashing began, he knew the time to leave had finally come.
Screams tore from Nick’s throat as he tossed and turned in his bed, far away from the Isle of Pain. Images from the last days and the bloody battle that had raged on and on replayed themselves like some sick news broadcast again and again. He had fought to keep himself and his brother alive against the remaining Dragons who had hated them.
His old Clan had reason to. They blamed the Graystone brothers for being harbingers of torture and death to so many of their own, and they were right. Dragomir had turned them into that. There was much to repent for, and damn it, he was trying. But still the nightmares came.
Lightning crashed and thunder boomed along the stormy shores of the Atlantic. Nicholas woke up panting.
Fuck, he hated those dreams. Snow was falling outside his trailer, creating small drifts across the gravel strewn ground. He sat up and gazed outside of the small window to the lot where he was building his next development. His brother and mate were tucked away safely in the home he and Devine had built a few minutes’ drive away, and he was there, in the trailer.
Safe.
He co-founded Graystone Builders, a construction and real estate development company, with his brother, but this was his first solo project. Nicholas had needed something to keep his mind and beast occupied lately. The nightmares plaguing him were relentless, and it was all he could do to keep his beast sane.
Work was good for that. The business side provided a challenge for his brain, while the construction work allowed for him to blow off steam. He did not mind breaking ground and hefting materials about the lot while they waited for their permits to come through. Hiring all Shifter crews meant Nick did not have to hide his strength. None of them did.
His company was quickly gaining notice as being highly reliable. In a business where most dragged out contracts and failed to deliver, Graystone Builders were unique in that they worked hard and fast, providing safe, environmentally conscientious, reliable work delivered on time.
Of course, they had to pick and choose projects. It would not do for humans to get wind of the supernatural world, but there was plenty of work among their kind, and Nick preferred to develop his own properties.
The trailer was small and cramped, but it suited his needs just fine. Sure, it was Christmastime, and Sunny had complained she did not feel right about pushing him out, but truthfully, he could not stay at the beach house.
He did not tell her that, of course. Only a few weeks had passed since Devine and Sunny’s mating, and Nick was happy to give them space. He sure as fuck could not stay in the house, knowing what those two lovebirds were doing on their side of the house despite the soundproofing.
No way. Giving the new couple time to enjoy their honeymoon phase was the least he could do. A thoughtful gift, if he said so himself. Technically, he could’ve gone home. His side of the mansion was separated and sound-proofed, but Nick did not want to crowd the newly mated pair. He liked his brother’s mate. She was bright and happy—the complete opposite of Devine.
Sunny was exactly like her moniker. A local Werewolf from the Macconwood Pack, she was everything his brother needed. She and Dev deserved some space and privacy. They did not need his grumpy ass hanging around them all the time.
Memories of his nightmare crowded his brain and Nick walked naked to the mini fridge to grab a cold bottle of ale. The crisp apple taste was sweet and satisfying. That was the thing about New Jersey, plenty of local breweries, farms, and ranches abounded across the land, reminding him of days of old.
The click of the tab opening followed by a hiss of carbonization sounded loud to his sensitive ears and yet so satisfying. Nicholas downed it, breathing heavily as his keen gaze traversed the construction site. His night vision was excellent. The lot was secure, and his vision for the complex he intended to build was right there in his brain. A small series of townhouse like structures, but not for permanent residence. These would be rentals for supes needing a vacation spot or just some quiet time.
The Macconwood Pack Alpha had been onboard with the project, and Callius Falk, the Chief of his new Clan was, as well. This was going to be great, he thought, hoping the work would occupy his beast from the thing troubling him most as of late—finding a mate.
Nicholas’ gaze roamed over the lot and across the sandy dunes to the empty old house sitting a couple of hundred feet from the building site. That place was the bane of his existence. He’d tried to gain rights to the property, wanted to buy it, but it had been impossible to find the owner.
It was blocking the development’s access to the road, and he needed the owner’s permission to connect his driveway to it. Better to just buy the whole thing, but it was proving difficult. He would not give up his pursuit, though.
Truthfully, the damn thing was an eyesore—worn wood shingles, sagging porch, broken windows on the ground floor, and a whole damn flock of seagulls nesting in the attic.
His Dragon growled softly, the enormous beast restless and ailing. The desire to find a mate to steady his creature had all but consumed him over the past few weeks. But dating apps and countless meaningless hours in bars and nightclubs had yielded nothing.
“Easy, old boy. We still have time,” he told his Dragon.
Nick had so many regrets from his old life, and he desperately wanted the chance to right them. How many times had the sounds of his sins awakened him at night?
Too many.