Seed of the Dragon: A Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Read Online Free Page A

to work for him if you don’t want to,” I said. “I know this isn’t what you had planned for your life.”
    “Don’t worry about me,” Missy said, shifting her weight to her other foot since we stopped walking, “I just wasn’t able to pass training and that’s my own fault.”
    “I know you could do it if you tried once more,” I reassured.
    “I don’t want to try again,” Missy sighed.
    We both stood by the elevator in silence.
    “It’s not a bad job.”
    “I know,” I replied, “but it isn’t what you had wanted.”
    “Yes, but I’ll figure something out,” she said.
    “Just don’t run yourself into the ground,” I said.
    Missy really worried me. She was meant to be in my line of work but she made a small slip-up and now everyone’s too afraid to let her try her hand at the job again.
    The elevator dinged as it arrived.
    “Take care of yourself,” I said.
    “I will,” Missy replied.
    I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. The doors closed and soon it was just me and my reflection. I gazed at myself, taking in my features. I had grown and was now a man, it seemed weird to me still but I was still me in a way.
    Women seemed to like my features, not that I could ever stay with one long. I didn’t have anything with any of the shifters so I often picked regular humans as mates but actually loving one and marrying them was out of the question for me. It wasn’t allowed amongst shifters to get with a human. Perhaps one day I’ll run into a shifter on an international mission that I actually fancy, but until that day, I was stuck wifeless.
    I actually really loved the idea of settling down, of having a family, but I haven’t found the right shifter woman yet. I wanted a kid to raise, to teach, I wanted to see what kind of shifter they’d become.
    ***
    Flying through clouds was fun but I could feel the atmosphere get much colder and wetter as I flew closer to England. It was mid-October, and the weather wasn’t very fair in the states but I could see it was much worse in London. My wings floated on the wind as I coasted just above the clouds so no one could see me. I had passed a few planes on the way but most of the time, I just dove under the cloud-cover since over the sea I didn’t have to worry about announcing my arrival to an entire population. I knew I was close when my phone’s GPS started to beep, telling me I would need to land somewhere in the vicinity.
    I didn’t particularly want to do the usual skydive into the water and then swim to shore, so instead, I made use of the bad weather and was able to find a skyscraper to land on. Getting down would be hard to explain but at least all my belongings weren’t soaked.
    Atop the building I shifted back into human form as fast as I could, which to say is not very fast. It was a process, feeling the scales shift underneath my skin and my bones rearrange themselves. Luckily, it has never been painful for me, but I cannot say the same for others. There is a new sickness plaguing us that causes insurmountable pain while transforming. I know a few that have succumbed to it and refuse to shift ever again…
    I grabbed my clothes out of the suitcase I had carried in my claws while flying and got dressed. I would hate to be on the front page for something like nudity (in comparison to say, being a dragon). I laughed to myself. If only being a dragon was as easy as some people believed.
    ***
    I shook my head. I needed to focus on what needed to be done. First I needed to do some reconnaissance and check out the area where the party was going to be. Then I needed to get ready, identify my target, pick the best place for the mission, and then kill. I looked down at my empty palm and shifted my nails into thick, sharp claws. Above all, I was an assassin, no matter what mythical creature I can shift into. I chose this path, and I was going to walk it no matter who stood in my way. I was going to be whoever I wanted