Evander (Stratham Shifters Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Exclusive Book For You!

  Evander

  Cole (Bonus)

  Alexander (Bonus)

  Peter (Bonus)

  Nicholas (Bonus)

  Spencer (Bonus)

  Aris Preview

  Evander

  Cole (Bonus)

  Alexander (Bonus)

  Peter (Bonus)

  Nicholas (Bonus)

  Spencer (Bonus)

  Aris Preview

  Exclusive Book For You!

  Evander

  Stratham Shifters Book 4

  Sarah J. Stone

  Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Stone. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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  Other Books in This Series

  Aris (Book 1)

  Ilias (Book 2)

  Zarin (Book 3)

  Chapter 1

  It was the utter filth that drove him mad. The cold, dank, and moldy scent carried over into what little clothing he had. Aside from his own filthy skin, it was all he could smell most of the time. He scratched his arm and cringed when flakes of skin fell to the hard ground. He hadn’t been cleaned for weeks. It was his punishment, of course. They knew it made him crazy.

  And they used it as leverage to gain his cooperation. It wasn’t a hard choice for him. If he refused, the punishments could be worse.

  The lashings were nothing he hadn’t eventually learned to take. Physical pain was only on the surface. He could handle that. It was the other stuff that took its toll. Every day was the same. There wasn’t much he could do about it. They ruled him, and he wasn’t strong enough to take them all. If he was, Evander would have left long ago.

  But one day, he’d have his revenge, and it would taste better than anything he’d ever sunk his teeth into. That’s what kept him going. It would have been easy to get them to off him. They were easily riled and often killed without hesitation. It was one reason they were so feared among the dragon kin. Not many would move against them, and the tension showed in the ranks. He’d paid attention, listened in, and took note of everything, just in case he could ever use it to his advantage.

  The guard stood against the castle wall, glaring at him.

  Rinse and repeat. That’s what it was like for him. Day after day.

  It was the same guard he’d nearly killed just months before, but too soon the other guards heard his call and came to his rescue.

  It was a shame, really.

  Evander chuckled as he remembered that day. It was one of the best he’d had in a long time. It had taken the guard a full day to heal. Since the incident, Lyle had done everything in his power to make Evander’s life hell–not that it had far to go to get there. He was, after all, a prisoner to the Council. And they made sure he was reminded every single day that the only reason why he was alive was because they had decided to let him be.

  Assholes.

  He glared right back. The guard didn’t like messing with him anymore, but he also had the upper hand. Evander was stuck behind a wrought iron, locked gate, with only a worn cot and a thin blanket. The bitter chill from the cement floor soaked through the thin layers of his battered shorts.

  He was a dragon. Cold wasn’t an issue for him. Warmth, on the other hand…he shuddered, ignoring the chill that ran down his spine. It tingled along the scars as a daily reminder why heat was bad for him.

  He didn’t need to relive his horrors. What he needed was to get the hell out of the only place he’d ever known. He had no reason to stay, and every day he tried to figure a way out. So far, he’d come up empty.

  He heard the faint sound of Lyle’s headset before he snarled and barked out his responses. He wasn’t happy about something, and Evander wasn’t either. Usually, this meant it was time to face the Council and do something he hated. He was just tired. He didn’t want to fight.

  “Are they ready to off me yet?” He wasn’t joking, but he smiled anyway hoping to unnerve the guard. If only. He’d been waiting for that day since he was ten, and they’d taken the only person in his life he ever cared for.

  “Don’t we all wish,” Lyle muttered, and stuck the key in the lock.

  The lock was old, and a high-pitched squeal had him gritting his teeth. “What’s the matter, jealous the Council likes me enough to keep me alive?”

  Being able to taunt the guards was the only real joy he got out of life. It beat the daily boredom and loneliness. Most of the time, it didn’t bother him, but being a Golden Dragon made it harder to be locked away from his kin. He didn’t understand why it mattered that he wasn’t pure. No one could even tell he wasn’t, or so he thought. There were no defining features that said, “Hey, he’s not pure.”

  It was what it was. His mother didn’t choose to have an affair outside of her race. That choice was taken from her. His hand shook, just as it always did–a nervous tick that sprang up any time he thought of the woman whom he lost too soon. Lyle noticed and smirked as if he knew just what Evander was thinking about.

  “They don’t like you,” he said, and sneered. “You’re useful when necessary. But you’re nothing but a whipping boy.”

  And that truth sucked.

  Lyle wrapped his meaty hand around Evander’s arm, holding on like he would try to get away. His fingers dug into his flesh, but he’d grown immune to the pain. It no longer gave the reaction it used to.

  Where would he go, really?

  The castle was full of pure-blooded Golden Dragons and many other things that the Royals thought they’d kept hidden by keeping them locked away in the filthy dungeon.

  But he knew.

  And one day, their betrayal would backfire. Their day was coming. He knew it with the utmost certainty.

  The best thing of all: he’d be alive to help deliver the vengeance for all he’d lost.

  ***

  She couldn’t do it.

  Matt was the sweetest man she’d ever met. He grew up with a mom and a dad and siblings galore. He wanted to follow that same tradition with his own family someday. Callie didn’t feel that a pretty cookie-cutter picture fit her. She grew up with a mother, aunt, and cousin. No siblings. No father, uncle, or brother. Yet her life was full of love, and she was blessed in ways that even Matt didn’t understand.

  His family had buried secrets, and she knew deep in her gut that not everything was as it seemed within the walls of their home. She knew his mom didn’t approve of her. It was written all over her face every time they spent any time together. She played it off for Matt, though, because she desperately didn’t want to hurt him, but it was two days before the wedding, and panic was sinking in.

  Could she really marry into his family?

  Could she paste on a smile and pretend she was anything like his mother or his sister–hell, even his father?

  No. She couldn’t. It didn’t matter how much she loved him.

  Callie stared out the window and let the tear trickle down her cheek. It wasn’t fair to either of them. She couldn’t be what he wanted or needed, and she couldn’t bear to hide behind their riches and plastic hearts.

  If only she’d known before now. Her heart ached for more than just Matt or herself. She had this yearning–one she couldn’t decipher, but it was there nonetheless.

  Matt cleared his thr
oat. “It’s over, isn’t it?”

  She took a deep breath. He knew her so well. She turned toward him and held out her hand. “I can’t be what you need, Matty.”

  Her rolled his eyes at his old nickname but kept calm. “You don’t really know that, Callie.”

  “I do, though. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “But do you love me?”

  She reached for his hand and gripped it in hers. “I do, but sometimes, loving someone isn’t enough.”

  He laced their fingers, nodded, and swallowed before he blinked back his own tears. “I know.”

  “So, you’ll let me go?”

  “Yes.”

  And that was it. There was nothing more to say. They loved each other, but it wasn’t in that all-consuming, burning passion she desired. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Her soulmate was out there somewhere, searching for her.

  She only wished it would have been Matt. But he’d find the right woman for him, and he’d one day be happy she stopped the wedding.

  She wasn’t sure how long they stood with their hands locked together, but the light eventually faded into darkness.

  Chapter 2

  2 Months Later

  He knew his orders. He also knew they were keeping an eye on him. Every move was under their scrutiny. This was the furthest they had ever let him go, and it was his last and hardest task yet. Hell, if he even survived, he would be free from them. That alone made it worth it.

  The magic inside of him made him sick. It wasn’t his own. It was much, much darker, and it clung to him like smoke from a cigarette. The scent of it mingled with his own, trying to make them one. He refused. He wouldn’t allow the darkness to take him over. That demon would not win. In the end, it would be him laughing.

  Still, it disgusted him. He was tainted now and forever. No amount of nature’s magic would ever take it away, no matter what that demon said.

  Demons lied.

  Two months ago, when he was taken into the chambers, he felt their unease, their growing agitation. Something was going on, but no one shared anything with him. Other than what he was supposed to do, how long it should take, and when they expected him to come back.

  Once he learned of the job, he still didn’t understand, but he didn’t ask questions either. It was a very simple job. Only, he had a feeling it wasn’t what it seemed. He was being played, and a knot formed in his gut as he remembered how easily the magic swarmed him. He felt it just below the surface.

  Always there, his own beast was sluggish and pissed off, yet he couldn’t do anything about it. He was basically useless.

  “You will be spelled. We’ll see if you are a traitor or not.” The king smirked. “Your freedom has never been yours, but if you succeed where others have failed, you’ll be free.”

  Evander kept his face neutral. This was the first time they told him he would be watched. In the past, he felt he was followed, but something told him this time would be different. No matter, the words of freedom clicked in his mind, and his beasts’ head rose with eyes wide.

  Oh, how they had craved freedom.

  He nodded.

  “Very good. We will start right away. The sooner you complete the job, the better–for everyone.”

  He was intrigued. The King was freaking out over something, and whatever that something was, it was his job to get rid of it. He long ago killed his conscious. He’d had no choice. This wasn’t the first time the Council had sent him on errands, most of the time dealing with someone who’d pissed the queen off. She was a real piece of work, and even though it seemed the king was in charge, he knew it was her that pulled every string.

  She kept her eyes on his, batting her lashes and pushing out her pouty lips as if she was trying to seduce him.

  Yeah, been there, done that.

  He hadn’t wanted anything to do with her before, but after she used him–and then blamed him–he was done. King Jax had beat him to a bloody pulp. Evander was lucky to be alive, and the only reason he was still, was because his king understood that his mate was deranged, and knew she’d lied. But he still had to punish him for sleeping with his mate, no matter who initiated it.

  He shuddered. She was psycho. Period. He hadn’t even been able to finish, and that alone was why she ran to her mate, crying rape.

  “Let’s begin,” the king said, and stood from his throne, pulling him out of thoughts from the not-so-recent past. He made a gesture over Evander’s head.

  Evander spun just as a creature–one like he’d never seen before–was drug into the room. He wore iron shackles on both his ankles and hands. His eyes were blood red, and he radiated a darkness so strong that Evander nearly choked. His magic was strong. And now he understood how the Council was going to keep their eye on him.

  They’d employed–or rather, captured–a demon. His beast was enraged, and he hissed. Without much thought, Evander began to shift, but the demon, even within its shackles, froze his beast with just the narrowing of his evil eyes. He felt the icy chill of magic envelop his skin. He shivered as it seeped through his skin, and then he couldn’t move. His eyes were that of his dragon, his fingers claws, yet frozen in mid-motion.

  “Naughty beast,” the demon said, and chuckled. “You’ll be easy enough. Though, I can tell you’re a fighter.”

  Evander tried to growl–anything–as the guards shoved the demon toward him. The closer he came, the colder Evander became. And he thought the cold would never affect him.

  He had never been more wrong.

  The bus slowed at the stop, and Evander stood from his seat, allowing his sense to reach out and focus on his surroundings. The bus was empty to begin with, making it easier for travel. Being within the mortal world wasn’t something he liked, nor was it something he had a lot of experience with. He’d adapt just like always, but he was uneasy.

  The hairs on his neck rose as he stepped off the bus. The scent of gasoline and oil lingered in the air, but there was something else. He closed his eyes and let everything else fall away. A scent tinged in sweetness had his beast waking from the haze of the demon’s magic. Evander crossed the street from the bus station without paying attention to his surroundings. His dragon took over, leading him to a quaint little building. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it, but he was drawn to it for no reason he could think of. The lights were off, and the door was locked tight.

  He would have gone inside, but he as he moved in, he saw the sign that said ‘Closed.’

  ‘Mate.’

  Evander froze as a sliver of something akin to cold and dark fear clouded even the magic he carried. Did he hear his beast correctly?

  No way.

  He inhaled the sweet scent that lingered outside of the building and tried to find anything that told him if she was a dragon or not. Humans were off limits.

  Yet, he didn’t find even the smallest trace of magic in the air, other than his own.

  She was human.

  And she was his freakin’ mate.

  “No,” he whispered as he laid his hand on the door and sighed. A spark shot through his palm and traveled up to the heart he thought had shriveled up a long time ago. The cadence picked up, and it thumped in a panic.

  ***

  Callie opened the door to the shop and smiled at the sound of the bell above her head. It was the perfect addition, and she was shocked when she’d found there hadn’t been one when she first arrived a week before. Every business needed a bell.

  Period. That was her way of thinking. Silly as it might seem to others, she didn’t care.

  She stepped outside and sucked in a breath when she was blasted by the bitter cold. The temperature had dropped fast. She’d hoped to get some major work done before the storm, but it didn’t seem like that would be possible now. She squinted her eyes and looked at the sky. The sun was trying to come out, but the dark clouds shoved it back. Her heart raced, and even through the cold, her palms began to sweat. There was something she needed to do or see; something
was tugging at her, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

  It wasn’t the best of days to try to open the doors to the public for the first time, but she woke up with an urgency to come to the shop. She wasn’t one to ignore her gut, but the problem was figuring out the why behind the sick feeling in her stomach. She still felt anxious. Today was no different than every other time in the past. The chill soaked through her sweater, and she shivered. The likelihood of getting even one customer was slim to none, but that really didn’t matter.

  She was very superstitious and believed that magic was as real as she was. She felt everyone had a tiny bit of it in them, but it was those that embraced the gift that benefited from it. Her life was proof that her beliefs were true. She allowed the magic into her life. It slipped in and shook up her life any time fate deemed necessary.

  Even as a child, she listened to the signs, paying attention to all the little details around her. It had served her well her entire life. She’d even avoided getting taken by a local kidnapper when she was nine. Callie shuddered, remembering that day as if it were yesterday. It had shaped her life for both the good and the evil, vile, world she lived in. It taught her that everything wasn’t black and white, and there were wolves in sheep’s clothing that preyed on the innocent.

  She would never forget the day her panicked mother searched for her, while she hid in a small hole in the janitor’s closet at the mall. They had been in line, waiting their turn to pay for her new school clothes. Everything had been perfect that day. She loved spending the day with her mom, and then the hairs on the back of her neck alerted her to the danger. Without warning her mom, she slipped away. She just knew she had to hide. The knots in her stomach and the fear that slid down her spine was all she needed to know. There was no time to explain or be laughed off as acting like a silly child.

  She’d wandered off at just the right time. The man had been watching her. He was planning on taking her, but he didn’t realize he was also being watched. The police arrested him, and he was taken to jail. When it was all over, she cried for those that were never returned to their homes and thanked the gods she wasn’t taken, too.