Chapter One
Wes Dalton barely resisted tearing off his stupid, confining blazer, and reminded himself of why he was standing backstage inside a human casino in Reno, Nevada dressed to the nines.
He owed Ashley Swift and the American Department of Dragon Affairs—ADDA—more than one favor. And to repay it, he'd agreed to be one of the dragon males auctioned off for the night, the proceeds going to charity.
In other words, he'd have to put aside his usual dominance and tendency to take charge like he did as clan leader and follow the whims of some stranger.
Even with rules in place, Wes wasn't looking forward to it.
His inner dragon—his other half and the second personality inside his head—snorted. Don't act like it's the worst thing in the world. After all, the rules mean we don't have to kiss or fuck anyone.
True, but some human females obsessed with dragon-shifters might try to break those rules and that wasn't something he wanted to deal with. Regardless, I don't like being away from PineRock even if it's for just an evening.
A lot had happened over the last nine months back on his clan, ever since one human and then another had come to live with his people. Not only had a mutiny been brewing among a handful of his clan members, there'd also been more than one attempted murder. And even though all of the traitors had been caught and dealt with, Wes still worried that someone had been overlooked and would try to attack the humans again.
Humans that meant the world to their mates, ones who'd also won the hearts of many of his clan members. The thought of them being forced to flee to another clan for safety was unfathomable.
His beast replied, We have our trusted team watching over them and the clan. Not to mention the humans' mates will guard them, too. One night away won't hurt anyone.
Wes mentally sighed. You only say that because you're looking forward to people bidding on us.
His inner dragon stood up a little taller inside his mind. Damn straight. If we're lucky, it'll be a human female who'll help slake my itch.
Your itch for sex is not going to be fulfilled tonight.
You never know. It could happen.
An approaching charity coordinator, a female ADDA employee he'd never met before in person but only through video chats, approached him and cut off his reply to his dragon.
The only good thing about the night so far was that one particular ADDA employee wasn't involved with the charity auction—a female named Ashley Swift.
Because if she were, Wes didn't know if he could go through with the auction. She was, after all, his true mate. Not that he could ever claim his fated mate since she worked with ADDA, and relationships were strictly forbidden between their employees and dragon-shifters.
And Wes's clan needed his leadership too much for him to throw it all away for a female, either. Some leaders might walk away for their true mate, but Wes had hundreds of people counting on him. That was more important than his own selfish desires.
His dragon, on the other hand, kept fighting tooth and nail for her.
Thank fuck Ashley wasn't here tonight. Because if she had been, his dragon would've fought against any other female winning them.
For once, it seemed as if Wes had a lucky break.
The ADDA female smiled up at him—her name was Jennifer Sakamoto if he remembered right—and he pushed all thoughts of Ashley aside.
She motioned toward the stage. "You're our final bid for the night and are up next. You have the cell phone we gave you and the special list of contact numbers, just in case anything goes wrong?"
Even though Wes was a clan leader, ADDA didn't completely trust any dragon-shifter inside one of the human cities. Not even in a place like Reno, which was constantly full of tourists and its fair share of interesting people, meaning Wes's height and distinct tattoo would often go unnoticed.
His dragon snorted. Until our pupils start flashing to slits.
Ignoring his beast, Wes nodded. "I have both things, though I hope I don't need either of them."
"Good. Then just remember to smile and stay quiet on stage, and we'll do the rest." Jennifer paused and added, "Thank you again for doing this. The orphaned dragon program desperately needs all the money we can raise as more and more half-dragon babies are abandoned at our front doors."
The orphaned dragon program helped relocate babies left on ADDA's doorstep, usually by a human who'd had an unapproved fling with a dragon-shifter. "Of course. And remember what I said earlier—PineRock is more than willing to foster some of them, too."
After bobbing her head, Jennifer turned, and he followed her to his final waiting spot at the side of the stage. Through the curtain, he heard the applause die down, and the emcee's voice filled the room again. "Thank you, Ms. Johnson, for your generous bid! Enjoy your night with the handsome young gentleman from Clan StoneRiver. Now, the next man up for a night on the town is a very special guest indeed. Have you ever wondered what a dragon-shifter clan leader is like? Well, ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over! Welcome our final partici
pant, Wes Dalton, who is the leader of Clan PineRock."
Taking a deep breath, Wes entered the main stage and did his best to smile. The bright lights made it hard to see at first, but as everyone sat down and the clapping slowly ceased, his eyes adjusted, and he double blinked at the packed room.
He'd heard how the ADDA-sponsored orphan charity auctions were popular, but seeing it in person was different than hearing about it. There had to be somewhere between two and three hundred people in the room.
Most of which had some sort of numbered card in their hands. He wondered how many would bid for him.
His dragon shrugged his wings. Most of them. We are the greatest catch of the evening.
Just as the emcee began the bidding process, Wes noticed one of the females in the crowd lifting a numbered sign. The human was a familiar one with dark hair piled atop her head and dark blue eyes he'd never forget.
He stopped breathing. After all, he'd only ever seen Ashley Swift in her buttoned-down shirts and pants, but tonight she was in a tight-fitting black dress. A dress that revealed more creamy, pale skin than he'd ever seen from her before.
And she was staring right at him, her numbered card raised in the air.
She was bidding on him.
Both male and beast wanted to roar, rush off the stage, and make a beeline for her.
Ashley, their fated mate, should be the one who claimed their night. After so many years of saying he couldn't have her, a pounding need coursed through his body.
Both man and dragon wanted Ashley for one night, even if that was all he'd ever have.
The thought of her not winning made him clench his fingers into fists. She was so close and yet still so far.
As the bidding continued, he barely listened to the dollar amounts. He couldn't look away from Ashley's eyes, made all the brighter by her makeup.
Damn, she was beautiful. And while it was as dangerous as hell to wish it, he wished with everything he had for her to win.
However, he had no control over the situation, and he fucking hated it. Wes was used to being in charge, making decisions, and steering the future of his entire clan.
And now all he could do was wait and hope like hell that Ashley wanted to win this as much as he did.
Resisting a growl, Wes did his best to control his emotions and waited to see who won.
It was foolish for Ashley Swift to attend the special ADDA charity auction for many reasons. The place was full of dragon-shifters and other ADDA employees she was usually forbidden to dally with outside of work hours. Every other year, she'd been able to resist and stay home.
But not this time. No, this time there was someone in the auction she'd always wanted to know better. Ever since she'd met Wes Dalton over three years ago, she'd been dangerously drawn to him.
No, more than drawn. Whenever their eyes met, her heart raced, and it took a hell of a lot of effort just to keep breathing.