Realm of flames reborn b.., p.1
Realm Of Flames (Reborn Book 3), page 1
Realm of Flames
Reborn
M. Sinclair
LOST & BOUND PUBLISHING
Realm of Flames: Reborn Series (#3)
Copyright © 2021 by M. Sinclair in USA
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced/transmitted/distributed in any form. No part of this publication shall be shared by any means including photocopying, recording, or any electronic/mechanical method, or the Internet, without prior written consent of the author. Cases of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law are the exception. The unauthorized reproduction/transmitting of this work is illegal. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Editorial Team:
Refined Voice Editing & Proofreading
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The Union of Love & Madness
To my beautiful daughter, your early arrival into this world was the best reason ever to delay the release of this book.
Contents
Description
Prologue
1. Maya
2. Maya
3. Henry
4. Maya
5. Ledger
6. Maya
7. Maya
8. Maya
9. Atlas
10. Maya
11. Maya
12. Sai
13. Maya
14. Maya
15. Anani
16. Maya
17. Croy
18. Maya
Afterword
M. Sinclair
Published Works
Stalk me… really, I’m into it.
Description
We were leaving Earth and traveling to an entirely new realm… well, new for me. The Dreki realm. Before escaping Louisiana with my mother and meeting my mates, I’d lived trapped like a bird inside of a cage of Pastor Malcolm’s creation. I was free now. I was also starting to realize what that meant for myself, my mates, and my identity as a shifter. I may have had my wings cut, savagely severed by the hand fate dealt me, but I was becoming stronger and braver each day. There was an instinctual feeling inside of me, growing to the point that it wouldn’t be ignored, telling me that this trip to the Dreki realm had the possibility to change everything.
But what happens when secrets are revealed, showing how little I actually know about my own history? When I have to come to terms with some of the darker corners of my mates’ past? When I realize that Pastor Malcolm’s crimes may have been far larger than just myself?
How do I protect my mates? How do I keep Bella safe? How do I ensure that I don’t lose this small, perfect slice of reality that I’ve managed to find?
I was standing on the edge of a massive drop into a cruel pit of reality… luckily, this time, I knew I could fly.
This is a slow/medium burn fantasy RH that features a naive but strong MFC with a troubled past and a secret about what she really is. Come meet Maya and her protective and possessive dragon shifters! Warnings: Please be advised that the book contains darker themes such as child abuse, PTSD, swearing, and violence. Additionally, sexual themes are suitable for mature audiences +18. Cliff hanger warning - Dying in Flames, book 4 in the Reborn series, available for pre-order!
Prologue
Marco
There was almost zero chance of me being able to sleep tonight. I knew that. I’d come to terms with it, and considering the situation at hand, more importantly what tomorrow would bring, it was essentially unavoidable. The stress caused by that reality had me feeling wired as I tried to not tap my foot on the expensive carpeting that covered the floor of our hotel suite. Even the scent of fresh flowers and a faint breeze coming in from the balcony from the California coast did little to calm me.
There were just too many details and too many unknowns. Something that I was extremely uncomfortable with when it came to Maya. Letting out a measured exhale, I looked down at the woman in question, who was currently curled up against my side, her stunning eyes closed and her breathing deep and relaxed. The television lit up her peaceful expression and showcased her delicate, feminine features, her spattering of freckles, and the way her dark brown and gold hair seemed to surround her frame like a veil of silk. It was a gorgeous sight, and one that left me with a bit of awe as I considered taking a picture of her just so I could see her like this whenever we weren’t together.
I needed a new phone background as it was.
I shook my head, wondering where this side of me had come from. Never in my life had I viewed a woman like this, but with Maya it was unavoidable, and I found myself wanting to tell her just how beautiful I found her. Not just physically, either. Everything about her was appealing to the fullest extent. It was something I would have normally chalked up to being mates, but honestly? I think that even if we had both been human, there would have been a natural connection between us that was completely unavoidable.
On the television, the news flashed through different segments on mute, distracting me momentarily from my obsessive staring as I considered turning it off. I had yet to do so, though, because not only would it be darker in here, which meant seeing far less of my mate’s stunning features, but there was the possibility that I would wake her up while shifting forward to grab the remote. After everything she had been through and what I knew the next few days would bring? I was taking the opportunity to enjoy this moment of normality as she finally got some well-deserved rest.
Whatever ‘normal’ meant to us anymore.
Guilt infiltrated my chest, knowing that Maya’s experience in the world outside of her imprisonment had been anything but ‘normal’ so far, and I was in part to blame. My flight had lived a fair amount of time on Earth without anything massive or of note occurring, yet these insane past few days had shaped Maya’s perception of normality instead of the calm, easy lifestyle we participated in usually. Everything felt as though it was moving a million miles an hour, and I didn’t know how to explain to her that life wouldn’t and shouldn’t always be like this.
My biggest fear? I was worried that Maya would grow exhausted of this pace, assuming this was how life would always be, if I didn’t explain. That wasn’t something I was willing to risk, especially if it meant her not finding life with us as appealing as I was trying to make it. Despite her words expressing that she not only planned to stay but that she loved me, I had the strong and unbending urge to prove to her that we were worthy of her attention and affection. That she should continue to choose us as mates every single day because we could make her happy. That our consistent goal was to always make her as happy as possible.
I wanted desperately to show her that life was more than the insanity that had come to our doorstep so far. It was more than her ‘father’ following her across the country in order to kidnap her back to Louisiana because their coven needed Maya for some fucked-up cult fixation. It was more than some piece of shit from high school stalking her because of his fixed obsession with our mate. It was more than some asshole dragon council members that seemed set on complicating our life. More than the national media hyper-focusing on Maya and her every action. More than all of this bullshit.
That wasn’t even including the fact that I now had to whisk her away to a brand-new realm she had never been to before because there was something so unique about Maya’s phoenix form that I couldn’t begin to comprehend what it would mean if Croy’s prediction was correct. My brow dipped as I considered the strand of worries that worked its way through my head.
I didn’t like not knowing Maya’s origins. Not because it would make a difference to me, but because I couldn’t predict any future problems without knowing. I didn’t like not knowing why she continued to spike fevers or why her health sometimes declined rapidly. I didn’t like that I couldn’t even predict when her mating heat would hit. That alone was a concern enough to keep me occupied.
I never wanted Maya to feel scared or uncomfortable, and I worried that if it hit too soon, that could easily happen. Animal instincts for shifters had the tendency to be overpowering, and if you grew up with that knowledge it was far easier to accept than if you only found out you were a shifter a little over a week ago. If her mating heat did hit and she was unprepared, I was left with the fear that she would react in a way she’d later regret or would feel was rushed. I didn’t trust that any of us had the willpower to stop a version of Maya that was asking for anything, let alone in the midst of a mating heat.
So while I knew going to the Dreki realm was essential, especially because I had managed to arrange a private meeting with the royal physician, my concern wasn’t abated. In fact, I had a feeling I would never feel fully relaxed until I had a complete grasp on everything that could or would hurt Maya or threaten her happiness. It was something that would no doubt dictate years of obsessive focus, and I couldn’t have asked for a more fulfilling purpose. If taking care of my perfect mate was all I did for the rest of my life, I would be fucking thrilled.
It was the other shit that made it more complicated and messy.
Once we had a grasp on all of this, I planned on making sure Maya experienced so much more than the reality that she had been presented with so far. I wanted her to have lazy Sunday mornings where she could sleep in and spend the day relaxing at one of the many vacation properties that we owned across the Earth realm. I wanted to see her face light up as we explored each place that she talked about wanting to travel to, watching that stunning sense of excitement and wonder fill her face. I wanted to watch her move around our house in paint-covered overalls while she did whatever the hell she wanted to do all day long. I had the ability to give her that, and I would do my damn best to make sure she never thought that she had to do something again because it was ‘normal.’ I couldn’t express how glad I was that she wouldn’t be attending that stupid fucking school. I did, however, need to find a tutor. A female tutor, specifically.
That was one thing that I was glad Maya didn’t seem to mind. My overbearing sense of possessiveness and jealousy when it came to her. I mean, it wasn’t just me, but my dragon forced out my reactions far more than the others. I shook my head, thinking about our argument only the other day. I hadn’t been lying to her about ‘walking the walk’ and not just ‘talking the talk.’ I knew that a level of independence for Maya was essential after everything she’d been through.
Just because I knew something didn’t make it easier to accept in any way, shape, or form, though. It didn’t remove the urge I had to wrap her up completely and lock her in our house, in a contained, controlled environment where I could ensure nothing ever hurt her. It didn’t change the fact that every time someone threatened her happiness I felt a seething anger that had me acting in ways that I would normally be able to control. I didn’t like to make a habit out of killing people, but every time that someone hurt Maya? I was brought there. Partly because my dragon thought it was the easiest solution, and partly because I hated that someone would even question if they could hurt her, let alone do it.
I didn’t exactly take well to being questioned in the first place. Well, unless it was by Maya. Despite our continued attempts to dominate her when she did so, I found myself enjoying our back and forth, wondering how much of my dragon pushing forward it would take until she decided to listen to us. Somehow when it didn’t work, something that should have frustrated the hell out of me as an alpha, I found myself turned on.
Always fucking turned on around Maya.
A low rumble caught in my throat as I began imagining her on one of these many vacations that I planned on organizing. Immediately, one of the over-the-water cottages we owned in Bora Bora came to mind. I hadn’t even wanted to purchase the damn property when Sai had insisted on it, but the more I imagined being able to stare at every single inch of her golden skin laying out underneath the Pacific sun in a bikini? Or better yet, nothing? The more thankful I was for the purchase.
My cock hardened fully, imagining her naked on the water-level patio out back, laid out and napping, making it all too easy to just slide right between her silky thighs and spend my afternoon devouring her sweet heat until she was moaning out my name and her legs were trembling. Better yet? How easy it would be to roll her over and slam home inside of her tight pussy while biting down on my mating mark, making sure that the entire island heard those amazing sounds that came out of her perfect lips while I fucked her.
Shit. I honestly had no idea how I ever lasted inside of this woman. Even the thought of doing any of that shit had me feeling as if I was going to come in seconds. Although, if my cum wasn’t filling her up, I knew the action would feel hollow after experiencing the real thing. Despite my initial guilt, I was still far too pleased at the concept that I had come deep inside of her, marking her in such a primal and instinct-driven way. It also had me wanting to not only do it again, but to fill other parts of her with cum, specifically that mouth. I inhaled sharply, imagining my cum on her lips and how fucking good she would look on her knees staring up at me with my cock in her mouth.
This… I inhaled and tried to shake the overwhelming lust running through me. This was ridiculous. Why had I thought it would get easier after being inside of her? As if my frustration physically would have been eased in some way? No. This was far worse. Knowing what I was missing and not being able to justify waking her up to take just that. Because there was an instinct that rode me so much harder than my need to mate with her, and that was the one to take care of her. To protect her.
Which was why I would have to kill anyone outside of our flight that ever heard her soft, sexy moans or caught sight of her silky skin. They weren’t allowed to see or hear the small bit of heaven that I’d been blessed with and live. Honestly, not only was I a possessive bastard, but I knew that if they ever experienced Maya in that way, even in passing, they would try to take her from us. That alone was a death sentence in my mind. Our flight wasn’t perfect, but Maya was absolutely ours, and she had sealed that fate when she had accepted us as mates.
I just hoped that we were enough to make her happy. Most days I felt like we were, but the normal way that I would gauge that was skewed because the things that made Maya happy and were important to her were so different than what I could have been prepared for. I wanted to spoil my mate. I wanted to give her everything that she wanted and more.
If that happened to be ten more kittens, then so be it. As long as she went to bed every single night feeling loved and satisfied, I would give her the fucking world. I just wanted to find more ways to show the woman how much she meant to me, and while I think she knew it in theory, it didn’t remove the urge to do more.
I had the entire Earth realm at my fingertips, and I wanted to show and give her everything instead of being caught up in these goddamn politics that should have nothing to do with her to begin with. I knew the council was in theory a minor inconvenience, but that wasn’t including any of the shit we would have to deal with when we traveled to the Dreki realm.
Although, I really shouldn’t be that surprised by the council or anyone else’s reaction to her. Maya was a phoenix, and I knew some of the council members were from a time when they were more common than rare, rather than the generation we did, where the queen was the only one known to be a phoenix. So of course they viewed their value in a more traditional sense, especially when it came to making more fucking dragons, instead of seeing her as the priceless treasure that she so clearly was. One that they wouldn’t be taking away from me unless they also planned on killing me. An attempt I would have found funny at best and annoying at worst.
My brow dipped as I thought about the biggest issue with all of this. One that didn’t directly affect Maya but could, because if there was something we didn’t know about her species, it could have disastrous effects. I didn’t like being unprepared for anything relating to Maya, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the large question looming overhead.
If phoenixes couldn’t die, in theory, how the hell were they essentially extinct? I hated feeling as though I was missing something, and while Croy and Henry were doing their best to look into it, I found myself getting more frustrated and angry than anything else when it came to the concept of how interacting with humans and their culture could breed such dangerous results. Then again… we couldn’t completely blame the humans. No. There had been other realms and even dragons that had fought over the phoenix species rather than protecting them. Willing to get rid of them rather than to ever share them. Especially since mating with a phoenix came with benefits that I had only learned about in theory, but would sound appealing to the militaristic culture that we grew up in.
Not that I gave a shit about those.
A part of my soul, from the first day I had met her, recognized Maya as completely and utterly ours, so those minor benefits could come or go. It didn’t matter to me, as long as I had her. Trying to explain how it felt finding your mate, though, was virtually impossible if someone had yet to do so. Well, besides the overall feeling of surety. I knew without a doubt that Maya was not only my mate, the woman I loved, but the woman to bring together our flight, and hopefully… as long as it was something she wanted, the mother of our own whelps. A concept that had me nearly groaning as I tried to take myself from that thought process.
