Dragon Claimed: A Dark Kings Novella Read online

  Dragon Claimed

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Dragon Claimed

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  1001 Dark Nights

  Copyright 2019 Donna Grant

  ISBN: 978-1-948050-69-2

  Foreword: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose

  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Book Description

  Dragon Claimed

  A Dark Kings Novella

  By Donna Grant

  New York Times bestselling author Donna Grant brings you another sizzling Dark Kings novella.

  Born to rule the skies as a Dragon King with power and magic, Cináed hides his true identity in the mountains of Scotland with the rest of his brethren. But there is no respite for them as they protect the planet and the human occupants from threats. However, a new, more dangerous enemy has targeted the Kings. One that will stop at nothing until dragons are gone forever. But Cináed discovers a woman from a powerful, ancient Druid bloodline who might have a connection to this new foe.

  Solitude is sanctuary for Gemma. Her young life was upended one stormy night when her family disappears, leaving her utterly alone. She learned to depend solely on herself from then on. But no matter where she goes she feels…lost. As if she missed the path she was supposed to take. Everything changes when she backs into the most dangerously seductive man she’s ever laid eyes. Gemma surrenders to the all-consuming attraction and the wild, impossible love that could destroy them both – and finds her path amid magic and dragons.

  **Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.**

  About Donna Grant

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the author of more than eighty novels spanning multiple genres of romance. Her latest acclaimed series, Dark Kings, features dragons, the Fae, and immortal Highlanders who are dark, dangerous, and irresistible.

  She lives with her two children, one dog, and four cats in Texas.

  For more information about Donna, visit her website at www.DonnaGrant.com or www.MotherofDragonsBooks.com.

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  Discover 1001 Dark Nights

  Click here to explore

  COLLECTION ONE

  FOREVER WICKED by Shayla Black

  CRIMSON TWILIGHT by Heather Graham

  CAPTURED IN SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING by Tina Folsom

  DUNGEON GAMES by Lexi Blake

  AZAGOTH by Larissa Ione

  NEED YOU NOW by Lisa Renee Jones

  SHOW ME, BABY by Cherise Sinclair

  ROPED IN by Lorelei James

  TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  CARESS OF DARKNESS by Julie Kenner

  COLLECTION TWO

  WICKED WOLF by Carrie Ann Ryan

  WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING by Heather Graham

  EASY WITH YOU by Kristen Proby

  MASTER OF FREEDOM by Cherise Sinclair

  CARESS OF PLEASURE by Julie Kenner

  ADORED by Lexi Blake

  HADES by Larissa Ione

  RAVAGED by Elisabeth Naughton

  DREAM OF YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  STRIPPED DOWN by Lorelei James

  RAGE/KILLIAN by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON KING by Donna Grant

  PURE WICKED by Shayla Black

  HARD AS STEEL by Laura Kaye

  STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Lara Adrian

  ALL HALLOWS EVE by Heather Graham

  KISS THE FLAME by Christopher Rice

  DARING HER LOVE by Melissa Foster

  TEASED by Rebecca Zanetti

  THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION THREE

  HIDDEN INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

  BLOOD ON THE BAYOU by Heather Graham

  SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst

  DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice

  ROUGH RHYTHM by Tessa Bailey

  DEVOTED by Lexi Blake

  Z by Larissa Ione

  FALLING UNDER YOU by Laurelin Paige
/>   EASY FOR KEEPS by Kristen Proby

  UNCHAINED by Elisabeth Naughton

  HARD TO SERVE by Laura Kaye

  DRAGON FEVER by Donna Grant

  KAYDEN/SIMON by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  STRUNG UP by Lorelei James

  MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian

  TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti

  DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black

  THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely

  SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION FOUR

  ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley

  ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan

  SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg

  SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde

  RAZR by Larissa Ione

  ARRANGED by Lexi Blake

  TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti

  HOLD ME by J. Kenner

  SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst

  TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey

  HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton

  EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye

  BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright

  DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant

  TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James

  STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely

  MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian

  HALLOW BE THE HAUNT by Heather Graham

  DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige

  THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan

  NIGHT GAMES by CD Reiss

  NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby

  DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart

  COLLECTION FIVE

  BLAZE ERUPTING by Rebecca Zanetti

  ROUGH RIDE by Kristen Ashley

  HAWKYN by Larissa Ione

  RIDE DIRTY by Laura Kaye

  ROME’S CHANCE by Joanna Wylde

  THE MARRIAGE ARRANGEMENT by Jennifer Probst

  SURRENDER by Elisabeth Naughton

  INKED NIGHTS by Carrie Ann Ryan

  ENVY by Rachel Van Dyken

  PROTECTED by Lexi Blake

  THE PRINCE by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  PLEASE ME by J. Kenner

  WOUND TIGHT by Lorelei James

  STRONG by Kylie Scott

  DRAGON NIGHT by Donna Grant

  TEMPTING BROOKE by Kristen Proby

  HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS by Heather Graham

  CONTROL by K. Bromberg

  HUNKY HEARTBREAKER by Kendall Ryan

  THE DARKEST CAPTIVE by Gena Showalter

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:

  TAME ME by J. Kenner

  THE SURRENDER GATE By Christopher Rice

  SERVICING THE TARGET By Cherise Sinclair

  TEMPT ME by J. Kenner

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  Table of Contents

  Book Description

  About Donna Grant

  Also from Donna Grant

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights

  Foreword

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Epilogue

  Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Six

  Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights

  Discover More Donna Grant

  An excerpt from Ignite, Dark Kings 15, by Donna Grant

  Special Thanks

  One Thousand and One Dark Nights

  Once upon a time, in the future…

  I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.

  I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and

  the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast

  library at my father’s home and collected thousands

  of volumes of fantastic tales.

  I learned all about ancient races and bygone

  times. About myths and legends and dreams of all

  people through the millennium. And the more I read

  the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered

  that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually

  become part of them.

  I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher

  and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I

  would not be telling you this tale now.

  But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off

  with bravery.

  One afternoon, curious about the myth of the

  Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to

  see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar

  (Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then

  sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written

  and I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,

  the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand

  women.

  Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived

  in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged

  places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had

  never occurred before and that still to this day, I

  cannot explain.

  Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have

  taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can

  protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to

  protect herself and stay alive.

  Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.

  And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a

  point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.

  And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that

  he might hear the rest of my dark tale.

  As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new

  one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before

  you now.

  Prologue

  1995

  “Come on, Gemma!”

  She heard the shout from her brother over the driving rain and crack of lightning. Gemma lifted her arm to shield her eyes from the onslaught of water while struggling to keep hold of the leash for their dog.

  “Kyle!” she hollered when the animal bolted, tearing the leash from her fingers.

  But the booming thunder drowned out her words.

  “Gemma!”

  She glanced in the direction that her dog had run. She hated storms. Her parents and Kyle knew that. Why hadn’t they helped her? Anger seethed within her. They hadn’t helped because they wanted to leave Daisy behind.

  Well, Daisy was hers, and if she had to leave her friends and her home, she wasn’t leaving her dog.

  “Gemma!”

  She ignored both her parents, who were now shouting her name as she raced after Daisy. If she had to carry the forty-pound dog to the boat, then that’s what she’d do. Just as soon as she found Daisy.

  Another flash of lightning bathed the land in light, giving her just a glimpse of the dog as she headed toward the house. Gemma ran as fast as her seven-year-old legs would carry her. She reached the house and Daisy.

  “Hey, girl,” she said to the terrified dog. “It’s going to be all right.”

  It took her four tries before she was able to lift the dog. She shook badly, but at least she wasn’t trying to get free. Gemma knew her p
arents were going to be furious with her. She didn’t know why they were sneaking away in the middle of the night in a storm, but the fear in her father’s voice and her mother’s face let her know that the questions would have to wait.

  In less than two hours, they had packed up all they could and put it on the boat her father owned. She’d asked where they were headed, but her parents hadn’t answered and her brother had shot her an irritated look.

  Once she got on the boat with Daisy, she hoped someone would tell her something. She hated not knowing what was going on. Kyle didn’t care. He always said that their parents would tell them when they needed to know.

  Gemma stumbled and fell to her knees. She pitched forward so that she had to release Daisy in order to catch herself, but she managed to keep a tight hold of the leash and pull the dog back to her. Daisy seemed to like being held, so she didn’t put up a fight.

  “I’m coming!” Gemma shouted, hoping her family could hear her.

  She couldn’t see the dock through the driving rain and dark. Which was odd. There was supposed to be a light on the dock. She knew the way to the water, so she hadn’t gone the wrong way. But...why wasn’t the light on?

  Gemma walked faster on the incline, slipping on the wet grass. She no longer cared that the water hit her face so hard it felt like little pebbles. All she wanted was to be with her family.

  “Mum! Da!” she called as she reached the wooden quay.

  The waves crashed violently against the side of the isle, slapping against the rock and concrete.

  “Kyle!”

  Her eyes searched the area for some sign of the boat. Perhaps if she walked further out onto the dock she might see them, but some voice inside her cautioned her against going forward.

  Or shouting for her family again.

  Gemma stood shivering from fear and dread in the storm, her heart pounding as she realized that the boat and her family were gone. She squeezed Daisy so tight that she whimpered.