The Beginning: A Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance (Fated Dragons Book 1) Read online

  Fated Dragons

  Book 1

  The Beginning

  A

  Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Series

  Written

  By

  Lilliana Lord

  Edited

  By

  J. Bartlett

  ©Copyright 2019 by Lilliana Lord-

  All Rights Reserved

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights are reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  mailto:[email protected]?subject=Fated Dragons

  Prologue

  Tyri

  No one knows for sure what their future will be. I know that I’m not alone in that aspect. However, I never thought that my future would be so different from my past.

  I grew up in the most normal of homes with a normal family. I went to school and made what I thought would be lifelong friends, like any other normal person.

  Around my eighteenth birthday, normal ceased to exist and a new

  life began for me - whether I was ready for it or not.

  Let the adventure begin…

  Chapter One

  Tyri

  I drove the canary yellow Jeep Dad had bought me for my high school graduation -probably a little too fast, with the stereo a little too loud - to the graduation party my best friend Suzanne hosted.

  My boyfriend, Owen would be playing with his band there. He’d moved to Montana when we were both just ten years old.

  The teacher had sat him at a desk right by mine and asked me if I would be his buddy for a little while. I had to show him around the school and introduce him to the other students. I was really shy back then, but his sweet and fun personality made it easy for us to find a friendship rather quickly.

  My parents approved of him from day one because of his protectiveness over me. They knew if he was around no one or thing could get to me.

  He’d proven himself time and time again. The first time was when we were walking from his house to mine. We had been playing baseball after school in the park close to his house. The game was over, and I’d taken off alone toward my house.

  He’d run up beside me. “Tyri, it’s not safe for you to walk all alone. I better walk with you.”

  “If ya want to.” I’d ducked my head, shyly.

  My dad had stood outside as we’d walked up. “Well, who is this fine young man?”

  Owen didn’t skip a beat, walking right up to my father then shaking his hand. “Hi, Tyri’s dad. I’m Owen. A bunch of us were playing baseball and I walked her home so nothin’ bad would happen to her.” From then on my parents loved the boy, who’d turned into quite a young man.

  Pulling myself out of my reverie, I’d made it to the party which had been going on for a while. I heard the band playing as I walked up to the door.

  Going inside, I saw Owen on stage, singing some country song. A group of our senior classmates gathered around the stage, plastic cups in their raised hands, bobbing their heads to the rhythm.

  My eyes went right back to Owen. Blonde curls fell to his broad shoulders. His crystal blue eyes looked right at me as a smile curved his full lips. Chiseled facial features, rugged yet soft, kept my attention.

  Swaying with the crowd, I too bobbed my head a little, keeping his gaze as he finished the song. His guitar came off in one swift movement then he hopped off the stage coming straight to me.

  Sweeping me up into his strong arms, he’d put a smile on my face that wouldn’t let up. “Took you long enough to get here Tyri. But looking at you now I can see it was worth the wait.”

  A white cotton dress hit me just above the knees and a pair of blue and brown cowboy boots finished off the country-style outfit. “You like?”

  “Very much.” His lips pressed against my cheek, leaving a sweet kiss there.

  Putting my feet back on the floor, he took my hand, pulling me over to where a group of our fellow classmates clustered around a beer keg.

  One of his friends handed him two plastic cups full of beer. He passed one to me, but I shook my head, holding up my hand. “No thank you.”

  With a knowing grin, he put the other cup down on a nearby table. “I see. You must’ve promised the old man no drinking, huh?”

  Nodding, I never went back on any promise I made to my parents. “Yep.”

  “I’ve got something I want to give you anyway. Come with me out to my truck.” He pulled me through the crowd then out the door. With his arm draped over my shoulders we walked up to his tall black Ford F150 four-wheel-drive truck. Opening the driver’s door, he reached in, bringing out a small black box. “Tyri you know I’m going to Texas this summer since I’ve been accepted at the University of Texas. I know you haven’t made any plans yet as to what you wanna do after graduation. I’d love it if you’d come with me. We could get a place together. You could get a job or go to school or do whatever you want. I don’t want to go without you.”

  My parents would never agree to what he’d asked. “I see.” I had no idea what else I could say to him at that moment.

  “We’ve been together since ninth grade. I think I can safely say you’d miss me like crazy if I left you here all alone.” He winked at me as he pulled the top off the small box, revealing a silver ring with two entwined hearts “I’m giving you this ring to let you know just how special you are to me. And to show you that I promise to love you and take care of you – always and forever.”

  As he slid the ring onto my finger I felt nearly overwhelming heat building inside of me. “Owen, it’s really pretty. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t expect any of this - the ring or the invitation to move to Texas with you.”

  “I can’t tell what you’re thinking.” The frown that pulled his mouth into a horseshoe made me feel terrible. “I hate to rush an answer out of you. Do you need some time?”

  “I wanna go with you.” I did, but I had more to think about than just myself. “Owen, I’m really afraid my parents will go ape-shit crazy.”

  His frown turned into a smile. “I know they will. They’re so overprotective of you it isn’t even funny. The way too early curfews, the chaperoned dates, not ever letting me be alone with you for any length of time. Don’t you wanna just get away from it all and cut loose with me?”

  Who wouldn’t want to cut loose with this guy?

  I’d lived by a set of rules that no one else I knew had to. I’d obeyed my parents in every way imaginable. While others rebled, I sat home, kept my grades up, and did as I was told to.

  Being seventeen meant that I had a little more time to do as my parents wanted me to. But my eighteenth birthday was coming up quickly and I could do whatever I wanted after that special day.

  And I wanted to be with Owen. “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

  Tossed into the air by the guy I’d just made extremely happy, I laughed as he hooted and hollered. “She said, yes!”

  Chapter Two

  Tyri

  Waking up to the sun streaming through my window the next morning, I turned over in my bed to look out the window. Our house was built on the edge of a cliff. The view made me feel a little like I was flying.

  A cardinal flew by the window. Shortly after that one, two more flew by. I watched them fly off into the sky then disappear. Much like I would be disappearing from my
family’s home.

  The secret weighed heavily on me. My ring caught the sun’s light, glistening. And heat began to fill me again. I found it an uncomfortable thing and got out of bed to take a shower.

  After getting dressed and ready for the day, I still didn’t feel a hundred percent. I headed down the stairs, hearing my brother Scotty yelling at a video game. “Oh, come on!”

  Dad called out from his office, “Keep it down, boy.”

  Scotty wiggled around on the couch with the game controller in his hands. “Sorry, Dad. I’ll try to stop being so loud. But this game is kicking my butt.”

  My fifteen-year-old brother had our dad’s looks - light brown wavy hair and green eyes. He’d started to grow a little facial hair, so he looked a little scruffy. His long legs were covered by his PJ bottoms and he wore no shirt.

  Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe how he’d come downstairs. “Wow, Scotty, straight out of bed and right to the idiot machine. Don’t strive so hard, you might sprain your brain.”

  I purposely walked in between him and the large flat-screen television, igniting a yell from him. “Tyri, get out of the way.”

  “Good morning to you too, dear brother.” I made my way to the kitchen where Mom stood at the counter, beating some eggs in a bowl.

  “Good morning sweetie,” she said, as she smiled at me. “You look rested.”

  “Do I?” I asked absent-mindedly as I rifled through the fridge looking for some orange juice.

  As if she’d sensed what I looked for, she said, “Juice is out on the counter already, precious.”

  I made a small glass before putting it back in the fridge. “Need help, Mom?”

  “You can set the table.”

  “Sure thing.” Getting the dishes out of the cabinet, I set them out on the table. Then I walked to the drawer where Mom kept the silverware.

  She stood next to it and stopped stirring the eggs, then reached over to brush her fingers over my ring. “What’s this?”

  The way my heart stopped had me feeling like I might just fall down. I couldn’t tell her the truth about it. “Um, well, uh… You see, Owen gave it to me. He’s going to Austin, Texas at the end of summer, you know that. And he’s afraid I’ll forget about him. So he got me this ring, so I’ll always remember him.” I could not recall a time I’d lied to my mother. And here I was doing it right to her face. My insides boiled with the lie that was fresh off my tongue.

  She eyed me for only a moment, then a smile told me she’d bought the lie I’d sold her. “How sweet of him.”

  “Yeah. That’s Owen, so sweet.” I sighed then looked down.

  Mom’s fingers ran through my hair. “You have such beautiful hair, Tyri Tobin. You remind me of my mother so much sometimes, with your black hair and blue eyes and that ivory skin, my little Snow White doll.” She’d called me that a lot in my lifetime.

  “Do I smell bacon?” Dad asked as he entered the kitchen. He grabbed me, pulling me to him to give me a hug. “Morning, pumpkin.”

  “Morning, Daddy.” I walked away as he let me go.

  But then Mom had to say something that stopped me in my tracks, “Owen gave Tyri a ring last night.”

  “He did what?” Dad’s big hand caught me by the shoulder, spinning me around. He took my left hand, pulling it up to look at the ring. “Two hearts looped together, huh? And why’d he do that?”

  “Just to be nice.” I fidgeted as my body felt like it was on fire.

  Liar, liar pants on fire.

  “Just to be nice?” Dad seemed not to be as ready to believe me as Mom was.

  “Yes. He wants me to remember him when he’s gone to Austin to college.” I pulled my hand out of my father’s as he held it a bit tightly.

  “And you’re sure that’s all he means by it?” He caught me by the wrist, so I couldn’t walk away from him.

  “Yes, Dad. He knows the rules. I can’t even date until I’m eighteen. He would never go against your rules.” Owen had been the most patient guy in the world when it came to me. “It’s just something to remember him by.”

  Breakfast wasn’t pleasant as I kept catching my parents looking at the ring. So, as soon as we were all done I headed upstairs to my room to text Owen. -Good Morning.-

  It buzzed back right away, surprising me as he’d been out much later than I was. – Good morning to you babe. What time can I come over??? Missin you like crazy this morning.-

  My tummy filled with butterflies as I went to the top of the stairs to call down to my mother, “When can Owen come over, Mom?”

  I heard no reply, then Dad stood at the bottom of the stairs. “You really want him to come over today? It’s Sunday – family day. I’m gonna barbeque this afternoon.”

  “What? Yes, Daddy, of course, I want him to come over. He’s not going to be here much longer. I want to spend as much time with him as I can before he has to leave.” I hated how many lies were so easily coming out of my mouth.

  Not looking too excited, he gave me an answer, “He can come in about an hour or so. He can stay until dark. No later than that.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.” I texted Owen to let him know what my father said, then got myself looking cute for his arrival.

  Exactly an hour later, I heard Owen’s truck coming up the steep driveway. I ran to the door, opening it to see his truck come to a halt next to my Jeep.

  Gingerly, I walked out to him. “Hey there, handsome.”

  Hopping out of the tall truck, he grinned at me. “Hello there, sexy.” Black tight jeans with a white T-shirt and his white Jordan’s, he looked hot without even trying. His blonde curls, dripped onto his face, slightly dancing around his blue eyes.

  He wrapped me in his arms for only a moment, careful not to hug me too hard or too long for fear my parents were surely watching from somewhere. They always were when he came around.

  I began walking toward the house. “Come on, Dad’s gonna barbeque.”

  He grabbed my left hand, stopping me as he looked to see if I still wore the ring he’d given me. “Good, you still have it on. I thought you might feel like you had to hide it from your parents.”

  “I didn’t even have time to think about hiding it. My eagle-eyed mother spotted it right away this morning.” I didn’t know how to tell him what I’d told my parents about the ring, so just clammed up.

  “What did she say?” He looked at me quizzically, while taking my hand, pulling me close to him. He must’ve thought I’d been truthful with them and that we could now be open about our secret relationship.

  I gently pulled away from him, worried that my parents would see all the physical contact and bring the day to a screeching halt. “She came to the assumption that it was a going-away present from you. You know, something to remember you by.” And the lying continues.

  “I see.” He swallowed hard, making his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “And you didn’t set her straight, I suppose?”

  Putting my hands on my hips to take the standard sarcastic pose, I went off, “Yeah Owen I just stood there and told the most overprotective parents in the world that it was a promise ring. I added that you and I will be taking off to the lone star state in a month or so. Oh, and then I snapped my fingers and disappeared into thin air. Cause that’s how I roll!” My eyes rolled all on their own.

  What is this guy thinking?

  Scotty came outside, walking straight up to Owen then mock punched him in the arm. “Hey, Owen. I got my football. You wanna throw a few?”

  “Maybe in a little while, Scotty. Me and your sister are gonna take a walk in the woods right now.”

  Scotty grinned as he looked back and forth at us. “I see.”

  I’d had no idea Owen wanted to take a hike in the woods behind our house. But I knew my parents wouldn’t let us go alone. “You could come to, Scotty.”

  “Nah, I’ll pass.” He jogged around to the back of the house and we followed.

  “Dad’s not going to approve this idea if we’re going alone.” I
thought he needed the heads up about that.

  “Watch.” He grinned at me as we came to the backyard where my father was busily building a fire in his barbeque pit. “Hi, Mr. Tobin. How is your Sunday going today, sir?”

  “Pretty good so far. And yours?” Dad waved a piece of cardboard back and forth over the fire to get it to spread.

  “Great.” Owen reached out to shake Dad’s free hand and Dad obliged him. “Did you see the friendship ring I gave Tyri last night?”

  “I sure did.” My father eyed Owen cautiously.

  “I wanted to leave her with something, so she won’t forget about me and our long-time friendship. She’s been my buddy forever. She’ll always be one of my very best friends.” Owen punched me in the arm, softly. “Isn’t that right, buddy?”

  Oh, I get it now.

  I punched him back in his muscular bicep. “Yeah, buddy.”

  Dad looked at us then shrugged. “Okay.”

  Owen went a step further as he asked, “We’d like to take a hike in the woods. Care to join us?”

  “I’m cooking. Can’t.” Dad looked toward Scotty who tossed his football into the air. “Hey, you wanna go walking with your sister and Owen?”

  “Nah,” came Scotty’s quick reply.

  “Looks like you guys will be on your own. Can you handle that, Owen?” Dad’s expression was as stern as they come. “You know I want my girl kept safe. Can you handle that?”

  “I can, sir.” He nodded with confidence. “We’ll be back soon. Don’t worry a bit.”

  “I won’t.” Dad went back to fanning his fire as I followed Owen to the edge of the forest.

  Whispering so Dad wouldn’t hear me, I said, “Wow. Can’t believe you pulled that off.”

  “Yeah, I’m a miracle worker.” He chuckled as we stepped into the woods, leaving the watching eyes of my family behind us.

  Walking over rocks, fallen trees, and over small streams, we got far enough away from the house for Owen to make his move. Suddenly, in one swift motion, he turned around, pressing me up against a tree.