© 2019 by Rinelle Grey

  www.rinellegrey.com

  All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  About the Author

  Blurb

  It was the best news story of her life - dragons hiding in the Australian outback. But she might have found something even better than a story.

  When the leader of the enemy dragon clan offers small town newspaper reporter Rita a deal she can’t pass up—he’ll give her the location of one of the sleeping dragon princes if she keeps him away from his clan—she can’t possibly say no. Trouble is, Prince Warrian is quite a handful.

  Luckily, he isn't at all her type.

  So why she can't stop thinking about him.

  That wish, that craving flooding through her veins, that was going to get her into trouble.

  Because the best story in the world isn't worth having one of those dragons angry at her.

  Distracting the Dragon is Part 1 in the new Dragon Forged Serial.

  Join Rinelle's Dragon Clan and be the first to hear all the latest news - new books, freebies, exclusive scenes, updates, and more.

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  Chapter 1

  The road was pitch black past the reach of Rita’s headlights, the darkness broken only by the blue and red flashing lights of the police cars ahead of her. She kept her distance, although it was a public road and no one could stop her following.

  Her hands shook on the steering wheel. She couldn’t tell if the reaction was caused by fear or excitement. Or some weird, twisted, exhilarating combination of both. She followed the police cars towards Mungaloo, struggling to wrap her head around the fact a dragon rode in one of those cars.

  A dragon in his less scary human form, true, but still an honest to goodness dragon.

  And not just any kind of dragon—this one was the leader of the enemy dragon clan.

  She wasn’t sure why she was calling him an enemy. He wasn’t her enemy. She had no real ties with the other dragon clan, the Rian clan. Verrian and Lisa might have given her some information, but it had been because they wanted to use her connections, not because they wanted to help her in any way.

  She couldn’t afford to take sides. A journalist needed to search out the truth, not start with a preconceived notion. And it was time she learned more about the Trima clan.

  Even if the Trima clan leader, the dragon sitting in that police car, did send a shiver up her spine.

  She wasn’t going to let a little trepidation impede a good story though. She’d been up close and personal with dragons in the middle of a fight, and she felt like a veteran at this point. One little dragon in human form wasn’t going to stop her.

  She reached for her phone and pressed the voice memo function.

  “Ultrima actually agreed to go with the police without any coercion that I could see,” she said out loud in the darkness of the car. “There’s no way he considers the police a real threat. Even though there were at least twenty officers, that’s no problem for a dragon to take on single handed.”

  She stared at the flashing lights ahead, trying to make sense of it all, while beside her the phone dinged, indicating it had stopped recording when she’d fallen silent. What on earth had motivated the dragon to let himself be taken in for questioning? She could think of no reason at all for him to agree to leave his mountain lair and the rest of his clan. Except…

  “Then again, the police do have guns.” Rita said musingly, trusting the phone to pick up her words. She barely heard the ding as she felt silent, staring ahead, lost in thought. Were dragons afraid of guns? Could a bullet hurt them? She had no idea how thick their scaly hide was.

  Rita bit back a growl of frustration. There was so much she didn’t know. All this was pure conjecture. But the one, single, undeniable fact—that the police had arrested a real, live dragon—was still the best news story of her life. And that was on top of Verrian and Lisa’s information, which meant she’d had some pretty good ones in the last week.

  If only she could convince the police to let her have some details.

  That wasn’t likely. Rita knew that. But eventually they’d have to tell someone something. The fact that Ultrima had flown over the city and hundreds of people had taken pictures of it meant the news about dragons was already out there. The public would start demanding details soon. And if she was the one hanging around…

  That thought spurred her to toss the phone onto the passenger seat, press her foot down on the accelerator, and remain as close to the police cars as she dared. She was hot on their tail as they pulled into the tiny Mungaloo police station. She pulled up out front, knowing the car park only had enough spaces for the four police cars pulling in now. Besides, if she was too close, she’d have no chance to take any photos.

  She wound down the car window and pulled out her camera, glad all the police were far too busy milling around to pay any attention to her. She focused on one of the cars in the middle, the one she already knew contained the dragon, and held her finger on the shutter, waiting.

  Three police officers surrounded the door as Ultrima stepped out, as though they could somehow stop him transforming into a dragon and attacking them all. Rita snapped several shots, even though she could see little more than Ultrima’s blond head, and only that much because he was half a head taller than the officers swarming around him.

  She winced at the clicking and whirring of the shutter, even though she knew the police were too distracted to bother with the noise.

  As they moved and jostled towards the police station, the throng of officers parted for a second, and she had a clear shot. As she snapped the photo, Ultrima’s head turned, and he stared straight down her lens.

  A shiver ran through Rita, and she almost dropped the camera, even as her mind told her finger to click again, to take another picture, to capture that alien looking face staring straight at her with an unreadable expression.

  The police didn’t even notice, but the dragon had heard the whir of the shutter over all the other noises surrounding him.

  For a moment, she was tempted to start the car and drive as far away as she could. Memories of this very dragon flying at her car and breathing lighting when she’d been rescuing Verrian and Lisa came crashing in on her. The furious screech he’d given as he flew echoed through her head.

  She might not consider him an enemy, but it was quite likely he considered her one. The best story in the world wasn’t worth having one of those dragons angry at her.

  A car pulled in behind her, and Rita automatically glanced in her rear view mirror to see if it was another police car. When she recognised the black four wheel drive, it was all she could do not to grind her teeth.

  Todd.

  Why did he always follow her? Shouldn’t his fancy university degree help him figure out the best way to find a story without trying to steal hers? She hadn’t needed a degree to figure it out. Her street smarts had more than made up for her lack of a formal education. She’d done all the legwork. This story should be hers.

  But there wasn’t much she could do to stop him being here. He had as much right as she did. Damn him.

  She’d thought she’d lost him out at the mountain. Once Verrian had left, she’d given up searching for the hidden passage Todd and his camera crew were so certain was there. As she’d told him, the story wasn’t inside the mountain, it was out here.

  Apparently Todd had realised she was right. Or he hadn’t been able to find the passage without Verrian’s help. That was more likely. Rita’s lip twisted.

  And now here he was, trying to steal her story. Again. Rita gave up trying not to grind her teeth. Todd had earned her frustration. He certainly hadn’t come up with this idea on his own. The only way he managed to keep his low budget news show on the air at all was because no one else could be bothered reporting on a small town like Mungaloo. There was never any news here.

  Up until now, the most exciting story that had happened here since Rita had started working at the paper was one small murder, and even that hadn’t been a local.

  Todd had sniped that one from her. He wasn’t getting this one too.

  If only there was some way to get rid of him. Or some way to get something he couldn’t. She had managed to get photos of Ultrima being led into the police station. Todd had just missed that. By the time he had stopped his car, Ultrima and the police had disappeared inside. But that wasn’t enough. She needed something more.

  What she needed to do was to get inside and find out what was actually going on. What was being said? What did the police plan to do with a dragon? That was the real scoop. The possibilities of where the story was headed pushed Todd’s appearance out of her mind.

  Did the police believe Ultrima really was a dragon? The official line was they were dealing with terrorists, but everyone had to have seen the photos by now. They were all over social media. There were so many different ones it proved the dragons couldn’t possibly be a hoax.

  The news was already out there, and Rita certainly wasn’t going to follow the official line in her report. Todd wouldn’t either. If he broke this story before she did…

  That thought motivated her. She opened the door and stepped out. She hesitated for a m

oment, then left her camera in the car. The police wouldn’t let her take any pictures anyway, and they just might try to confiscate those she already had. She wasn’t going to risk that.

  Leaving it behind was also a show of good faith. She was just going to ask if she could have an exclusive on this story, not try to barge her way in, no matter how much she wanted to. If she happened to see or hear something while she was there, that was just good luck.

  She headed for the front door, not terribly surprised when Todd fell into step beside her.

  “Did you get any good photos?” he asked casually. “We missed the arrival. Sneaky of you to disappear like that. It’s almost as if you were trying to beat me to this story.”

  Rita clenched her fists. Damn him. Did he really think this was a joke?

  Of course he did. Everything was a joke to Todd.

  “This is my story,” she hissed between clenched teeth. “You’ve already missed more than half of it. It’s my articles the public will be looking at to answer their questions, not your few pitiful shots from behind some trees. Have you even seen a real dragon?”

  Of course he hadn’t. He wouldn’t be so eager if he had. He’d probably be hiding under the seat of his car, shaking, just like Lisa’s brother, Paul. Rita’s lips twisted at the memory.

  “Sure, you’ve been nailing this one. I admit, I assumed this story was a bust. I thought you were going to lose your job when you posted the first pictures of a dragon. I was sure you’d doctored them.”

  Of course he’d doubted her. Todd never had thought much of her. He constantly mentioned things he’d learned at Uni, boasting and teasing her far too many times about how her stories and pictures could never match his videos and dramatic on-air coverage.

  “I should have believed you.” Todd’s voice was low this time, and Rita stared at him in shock. Was he really admitting he’d been wrong? “You’ve always been a good reporter, Rita. We could have really been something if we’d worked together.”

  Rita was so shocked she stopped walking and turned to stare at him. “Yeah, well, you ruined that, didn’t you?” She was proud she’d managed to keep her voice steady. She hoped it told him she didn’t care. That she didn’t give a stuff what he thought of her now or ever.

  “I shouldn’t have done that.” Todd surprised her again with his admission. “You deserved better. I should never have put the story before our relationship, and I’m sorry.”

  The regret in his words sounded genuine, and for a moment, Rita almost believed him. They’d had some good times together. He’d been kind and sweet and funny, and they’d believed the same things—that the public deserved to know the truth. She’d really thought they could achieve something together.

  But apparently all Todd had really thought was that he deserved the story first. Her heart hardened as she remembered. He was just trying to play on her emotions. Everything he’d ever done, all the sweet things he’d said to her, were just designed to get his own way. “You should have thought of that before you screwed me over. Now get out of my way. I have a story to write.” She pushed him aside and strode up to the door of the police station.

  She didn’t look back to see if Todd was following, but she wasn’t surprised to hear his footsteps behind her on the steps. Her hands shook, but her rage at Todd’s duplicity had overcome her fear of Ultrima, at least.

  The door opened and Senior Constable Hailey Lyons glared at them. Rita couldn’t help feeling a surge of hope at the familiar face. She’d liaised with Hailey before. And they’d gone to school together. If anyone was going to tell her anything, it was Hailey.

  But Hailey didn’t look terribly forthcoming. In fact, her eyes narrowed as she recognised Rita, and she didn’t move from the doorway, not letting them get even a foot inside. “The station’s closed right now. If you have an urgent matter, please call triple zero.” Hailey moved to close the door.

  Rita stepped forwards quickly, blocking the closing door. “No emergency, but I know you have a dragon in there, and I want to get a statement from the police. This is big news, and the public has a right to know what’s going on.” She pulled out her notebook and pen and looked at Hailey expectantly.

  She knew they weren’t going to tell her anything, of course. She was just hoping to get some idea of what was going on inside. Did they have Ultrima locked up? Was he cooperating? What were they asking him?

  Behind her, Todd said nothing, but Rita couldn’t help being irritated that whatever she heard, he would too. At least he’d had the sense to leave his video camera in the car. They wouldn’t have gotten anything if he’d brought it.

  The half closed door blocked most of her view, but Rita strained her ears. She could hear a low hum of voices, but none loud enough to pick out anything recognisable.

  Hailey gave a sharp laugh, as if she knew exactly what Rita was thinking. “This is a high security matter, and I need you to leave immediately.”

  “Now, now. I think it’s very unfair to send the persistent little human away without giving her at least something for her efforts.”

  A strong, deep voice filled Rita’s head, almost overwhelming her with its raw power. It had to be…

  Even though the sound was all in her head, it somehow helped her pinpoint Ultrima’s position, half hidden, surrounded by several police officers. His eyes, narrowed to silver slits, were on her.

  Rita sucked in a breath. Was he talking to her? How?

  She glanced over at Todd, but she could see no indication that he’d heard the voice too. She was sure he’d be showing shock and surprise if he had. But he just met her eyes, his expression curious.

  Good. He had no idea.

  Maybe she would get her scoop after all. She turned back, meeting Hailey’s eyes boldly. Only to find the police officer staring at her, her lips thin. She was contemplating Rita, almost as if…

  “You heard that, didn’t you?” Rita blurted out. She was so surprised she didn’t even stop to think if the question was a good idea. Or to realise Todd would hear her too.

  “It’s time for you to leave,” Hailey said swiftly. This time as she moved to shut the door Rita could see that she meant business. And she was thrown enough by the conversation in her head and the recognition on Hailey’s face that she automatically stepped out of the way.

  Todd was quiet, but he was staring at her with that look in his eyes. That speculative look that said he was trying to figure out how to get her to tell him what she’d heard.

  Rita didn’t think he’d believe it even if she told him, which she had no intention of doing. Especially since the closed door didn’t stop Ultrima’s voice from continuing in her head.

  “What shall it be?” the Trima leader mused. “The police obviously aren’t going to let you in here, but I can see you’re after a story. And you just might be the one to tell it. I’ve seen what you’ve printed of Verrian so far, and I’m impressed. You’re not scared, even though you should be.” Amusement, almost a laugh, echoed in his words.

  “They’re not going to be able to keep this quiet forever, no matter how much they think they can. Too many people saw me.” Ultrima’s mind voice sounded smug at the thought, as though that was exactly what he’d intended.

  Was he waiting for a reply? Rita wasn’t sure if she could give him one. She had no idea how.

  Todd turned and began to walk down the stairs, but stopped when he realised Rita wasn’t moving. “Are you coming?”

  Rita ignored him, focusing on Ultrima’s voice, which was continuing without any input from her. “How about the location of one of the Rian dragon princes? If you wake him, you can ask him anything you want. And if you play your cards right, you could even get a photo shoot that will prove, without a doubt, dragons really do exist.”

  Excitement and terror competed for first place in Rita’s chest. She barely noticed Todd giving her a strange look.

  She was too busy thinking about the possibilities. A dragon prince, all for herself. Perhaps even one as good looking as Verrian. Now that would be something. If she had one, she might not be willing to share him by posting a story.

  Who was she kidding? She could have him and write the story too.

 

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