Dangerous Decisions (Obsidian Flame Book 3)

  “Daughter of mine,” an ethereal voice whispered and wrapped around Misha. “I shall show you that which you already know…”

  Misha’s breath caught. She squeezed the stone edge of the bowl. The cloudy water cleared to reveal Hank’s handsome face, crystallizing in perfect detail. The water rippled. Shadows swirled beside his face. Out of the murky depths another face rose, the features crystalizing until Misha stared at her own reflection.

  Normally, if an ispolin found their true mate, happiness overcame them. Pride, gratitude and overwhelming excitement and anticipation.

  Not Misha.

  While hollow echoes of all those feelings tingled in her limbs and heat raced through her body from the thought of consummating a mating bond with Hank, these were not the emotions overwhelming her mind, body and soul. Nope.

  Dread coursed through Misha’s veins.

  Why was this happening to her? Didn’t she have enough to deal with? What had she done to spite the Mother Goddess to pair her with such a mate? Not only was Hank a dragon, which ran a gamut of all kinds of trouble, he was so serious and lacked social skills. His idea of a date was probably hunting cute squirrels.

  A dragon mate.

  She had a dragon mate.

  She pushed away from the scrying pool and sank to her knees.

  Praise for novels by J. C. McKenzie

  Shift Happens

  “SHIFT HAPPENS has excitement, intrigue and lots of danger. I love the whole cast of characters and how they played a part in the story” –Fresh Fiction

  Beast Coast

  “I loved this book as much as the first. There are secrets, surprises, and all manner of supernaturals.” –Paranormal Romance Guild

  Carpe Demon

  “The story keeps the adrenaline pumping and spine tingling tension building throughout the story with well written scenes full of vivid details that capture the imagination and make it easy for the reader to become engrossed...” –Literary Addicts Book Community

  Shift Work

  “It’s a terrific series and if you like supernatural reads, with a side of romance, the sort with solid and intense plots, gripping and very real dangers, hard choices, supernatural people some of whom can be selfish, cruel and bloodthirsty…You’ll be hooked.” –Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews

  Beast of All

  “This time out, J. C. McKenzie has outdone herself with high-velocity action, soul deep emotions and one of those finishes that you want to replay over and over!” –Tome Tender

  Dangerous Dreams

  “This new world promises to be an adventurous one full of snark, passion, thrills, romance, danger and wonderful characters and I can’t wait to read the next one.” –Stormy Vixen Reviews

  Dangerous Liaisons

  “Loved this story and loved Raf and strong, stubborn Lara and I can’t overlook Lara’s dragon who brought humor to this story.” –Paranormal Romance Guild

  The Good Griffin

  “THE GOOD GRIFFIN is as addictive as a double shot of espresso, only without any of the withdrawal symptoms.” –N. N. Light

  The Shucker’s Booktique

  “Is there anything sexier than a man who wants to do more than just twine his aura together with another woman? Because if there is I simply don’t know if I can handle that kind of blatant sexuality.” –Romance Novels For The Beach

  Be My Love

  “When this book ended I think I actually sighed. Not because I was happy it was over! No, it was just so darn sweet I couldn’t help it." –Romance Novels for the Beach

  Books by J. C. McKenzie

  Conspiracy of Ravens

  Nevermore

  Queen of Corvids

  Shift Happens

  Beast Coast

  Carpe Demon

  Shift Work

  Beast of All

  Dangerous Dreams

  Dangerous Liaisons

  Dangerous Decisions

  The Good Griffin

  The Shucker’s Booktique

  Be My Love

  DANGEROUS DECISIONS

  AN OBSIDIAN FLAME STORY

  J. C. McKENZIE

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Dangerous Decisions

  COPYRIGHT © 2019 by J. C. McKenzie

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: jcmckenzie@jcmckenzie.ca

  Cover Art: Ravenborn Covers

  Publishing History:

  First JCM Publications Edition, 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-7752251-9-5

  ISBN: 978-1-7752251-8-8

  To Wendy,

  Thank you for all the support over the years.

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank Wendy P., Karilyn Bentley and Nicole Flockton for beta reading and providing valuable and honest feedback. My writing is stronger because of you.

  Also thanks to Ravenborn Covers for the beautiful cover and Lara Parker for her amazing editing chops. Yes, I named one of my dragon shifters after her.

  I liberally took pieces of Bulgarian history and locations to fashion together a fictional historical world for my background story with Ilana, Edgar and Romano. The information is mostly taken and twisted from the Middle Ages, but I took some liberty in the details to make it work for my story. If I offend anyone with historically inaccurate details, please accept my apologies.

  And to my readers—thank you!

  Chapter One

  Misha stood in front of a large oak desk with cool air brushing over her bare legs and waited for the death knell. In a small office intended for an underpaid manager of a storage facility, the tin walls and lack of windows added to the trapped feeling rolling through her body in waves. Trapped like tuna in a can. A large desk lamp and sunlight streaming through the open door behind her illuminated the murder in Father’s gaze.

  Louis Granger, the leader of the ispolini giants and her father, slammed a stack of newspapers and magazines on the flat surface between them. His subtle cologne almost masked the paper and sweat smell fused with the interior of the office. With high cheekbones, a long nose, and hooded, close-set eyes under thick, dark brows, the older Eastern European man embodied his Bulgarian ancestry…and currently, barely contained rage.

  She didn’t need to read the headlines announcing the engagement between Lara Stone and Rafael Dragoi. Nor did she need to see the fury splashed across Father’s face to understand the severity of the situation.

  The mobile phone in her hand burned her palm. Not because the battery overheated, but because of the messages it contained. She read the text on the screen and shoved the phone in her shorts’ pocket without replying. She hadn’t answered her phone in days. She didn’t know what to say to her friend.

  Birds crowed outside. Bulgarian giants attracted crows and other harbingers of death, though no one knew why. Right now, Misha would give anything to sprout wings and fly away with them.

  “Your friend is a dragon.” His cold whisper sent chills down her arms. He always spoke quietly when he was enraged. “And the Astarot’s mate.”

  “I didn’t know,” she said.

  “How could you not know?” He sank his fingers into the magazine pile and squeezed. The glossy paper squeaked and ripped.

  She swallowed. What the hell could she say? She’d w
orked with the fiery redhead for years and bought Lara’s story of being a mage. How could she know the lethal machine fighting beside her also housed a dragon? Lara had kept her beast well hidden…just as Misha concealed her own true nature. But unlike Lara, Misha didn’t boast powerful supernatural skills. Nope. Female ispolini had next to nothing besides the willpower and ability to survive the arrogant males in their society.

  “She’ll strengthen the dragon leader’s position. They’ve already broken the curse and unearthed our mole in their ranks,” Father continued.

  In Misha’s defence, there never really was a curse to break. Instead, the ispolini took an age-old story for the feud between the ispolini and the dragons and used it to their advantage. Father and the previous ispolini leaders manipulated events in the vilest ways—murdering women and female children—to make the dragons believe the Astarot was cursed, doomed to an early grave unless he found his true mate.

  Since the true mate was identified, located and killed with ispolini magic before the Astarot found them and the dragon leaders also fell victim to ispolini assassins before their thirty-fifth birthday, the lie became a reality. An ispolini-fulfilling prophesy. Repeated events, generations of inflicting the same pain on the same family and insiders in the Astarot’s dragon clans helped propagate the curse until it became an accepted fact of life for the Astarot.

  Until Raf. Lara had evaded her childhood assassins and for the first time since the ispolini began recording their efforts, the dragon leader found his true mate and avoided death. Now, the dragons weren’t only aware of the falsehood behind the “curse,” they knew the lengths at which the ispolini went to in order to keep the lie alive.

  If Lara found out Misha was a part of the same family, and the daughter of the man responsible for her parents’ death, she’d never forgive her. Misha could barely look at herself in the mirror nowadays.

  “Lucky for you…” Father’s voice dragged her from her thoughts. “We can salvage this.”

  “What?” Misha stammered. She brushed her dark curls out of her face. “How?”

  “We’ll use your friendship with the Astarot’s mate to bring down the Dragoi clan, once and for all.”

  Misha opened her mouth only to close it again. A war of emotions stabbed at her heart. What should she do?

  What could she do?

  Did she follow Father’s orders and carry out his life’s vendetta against the dragons as she was raised to do, or did she follow her heart and avoid ruining her only friend’s chance at happiness? Misha sucked in a breath of stale office air. Was Lara even her friend? Or had that been a part of the dragon shifter’s act?

  “You’ll text your friend back.” He jerked his chin toward her pocket that vibrated with more unanswered texts. Of course, he heard the rattle of the phone with his supernatural hearing. “You’ll answer your friend, and you’ll agree to meet her.”

  “But—”

  Slap! Louis slammed his hand down on the desk and snarled. “You’ll do as you’re told, girl.”

  She bowed her head and braced as an invisible weight settled on her shoulders. Her stomach dropped. Guilt ate at her insides like acid because Misha knew Father would get his way.

  Misha always did as she was told.

  And she hated herself for it.

  Chapter Two

  Hank stood in front of the dragon leader’s desk and waited for his best friend to speak. The sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind Rafael Dragoi, bathing him in a halo of gold, while simultaneously blinding Hank. Feminine perfume still clung to the air. Raf’s mate, Lara, must have visited before Raf called him in here. Hank’s muscles ached from his morning workout, but the weariness of his limbs had nothing to do with his unease.

  “You need to tell her,” Raf finally said.

  Hank groaned. Now, he knew why his friend looked like he sat on a porcupine without wearing any pants. “How?”

  Raf sat back in his office chair. It creaked under the weight of his muscles. “Usually words are involved.”

  Hank growled. Easy for Raf to say. Words always came easy for the Astarot, leader of all the dragon clans. Hank wasn’t known for his conversation skills. He was known for breaking things, usually limbs and jaws.

  Sometimes skulls, his dragon piped up.

  We crush those, he corrected.

  Raf shrugged. “You have to talk to her, bud. She’s noticed you’ve been avoiding her since we took down the mole. She thinks she did something wrong.”

  Hank balled his hands into fists. “I kept meaning to say something. When we discovered her true identity, it wasn’t the time. Or the place. We had to move fast to take down that asshole. And I was shocked.” It still boiled his blood that one of their own actively participated in the destruction of dragon-kind. They’d mercilessly grilled Sergei, the former leader of the Emerald Dragon Clan and ispolini spy for hours, then days, then weeks. But nothing. They made little progress into discovering his true motives or finding the base of the ispolini operations.

  The traitor would take his secrets to the grave.

  If Hank had his way, that burial date would’ve already occurred. Raf still believed they could learn something from their captive.

  Raf drummed his fingers along the top of the desk.

  “And now it’s been too long,” Hank muttered.

  “She’s going to figure it out.” Raf pushed away from the desk and stood.

  “Possibly.”

  “Probably. And I can’t keep this from my mate much longer. You’ve placed me in an uncomfortable position.” He paced on an imaginary four foot runway behind his desk.

  Well, fuck. Raf had him there. Despite their blood bond, nothing came between a mating bond and nothing rivalled its potency. Hank straightened his suit jacket for no reason other than to hide his discomfort. The soft fabric slid under his fingers.

  Hank envied Raf. Every unmated dragon did. Hank would give anything to find the perfect match for his soul and the person meant to calm and complement his dragon. Anything. But finding her was the most unrealistic dream. He didn’t believe his uncle. How could there possibly be a mate for everyone when the number of dragon males far exceeded those of females? Logistically, it wasn’t likely. Some males were just fated to be alone.

  “Waiting longer will make it worse.” Raf buttoned his business jacket.

  “You’re right, of course.”

  Raf grinned, his emerald gaze flashing. “I know.”

  Asshole.

  “It’s better if it comes from you.” Raf walked around his desk and clasped him on the shoulder. “Just make sure she knows you asked me to stay quiet so you could be the one to tell her. I don’t want an irate mate demanding to know why I kept secrets from her.”

  Of course, Raf worried about himself. He wasn’t the one who had to face that hellion of a fire dragon and reveal a secret. “I’m touched with your concern for my well-being.”

  Raf grinned again and squeezed his shoulder before letting go. “You’ll be fine.”

  Hank tried to smile but the result was more of a grimace. He trusted his friend with his secrets and his leader with his life, but sage advice when it came to women? Particularly this woman who’d turned their lives upside down?

  Not so much.

  Chapter Three

  Misha set her free weights down on the labelled stand and let the sweat run down her face. Lara and Raf’s personal gym surpassed the local sweatshop she’d frequented, but she found working out solo lonely and less motivating. Without company to keep her honest and accountable, she struggled to push her workouts further and despite everything else in her life turning to crap, she was glad Lara called and invited her over. Father and his goons couldn’t follow her here.

  The moment Lara squeezed Misha in greeting, Misha knew she couldn’t betray this woman. The whole workout consisted of Misha trying to talk herself into and out of blurting the truth. Her stomach churned with conflicting emotions, including indecision and guilt.<
br />
  Lara slammed her water bottle on the bench and surveyed the room. The stunning redhead glistened with a fine sheen of sweat, her lips curled away from her teeth.

  “You’re scowling again,” Misha said. When Misha agreed to meet, Lara seemed relieved and told her she could use the backup—an intriguing choice of words. When Misha showed up fully armed, Lara had laughed and explained she hadn’t meant that kind of backup. Good thing, too, because the guards took Misha’s guns and wouldn’t return them until she left.

  “I don’t buy your ‘busy with an assignment excuse,’” Lara broke her silence.

  “Huh?”

  “But I get it. I’d be a little intimidated, too, if you suddenly, without warning or explanation, revealed a secret identity and abilities, and shacked up with one of the most powerful supernatural leaders in the country.”

  Well, didn’t that just make her feel like an asshole? Guilt punched Misha in the stomach, but she clamped her mouth shut and swallowed the truth. She forced a smile on her face. “Sorry.”

  “Whatever.” Lara waved her apology away. “You need to help me break out.”

  Misha hesitated. Her gaze flicked to the single exit with a guard posted on the outside. That’s the last thing she needed to do. If Lara escaped the compound without an escort, Father would swoop in like a greedy seagull and carry her away. Misha couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t know what she planned to do, but she knew she wanted her friend safe. Why would Lara want to break out, anyway? “I thought you were happy with the Astarot.”

  “I am.” Lara’s bitter tone suggested otherwise. “I’m beyond happy with Raf. But I’m unimpressed with this place.”

  Misha cocked her head and studied her. What the hell was she talking about? Misha executed a slow turn, arms wide, head back. “This place doesn’t smell of sweat or mould and has state of the art equipment, much better than our gym.”