Free A Tiger's Destiny (Tiger Protectors Book 3) by Terry Bolryder Page A

huge and foreboding as he remembered.
    The mansion was sprawling, surrounded on all sides by perfectly trimmed hedges and greenery. Above them, high parapets rose at the corners of a humongous manor with pathways leading to adjoining buildings like something from a Victorian-era castle.
    Whatever dragons did, they did it with style. Or, at least, the kind of style English lords and Transylvanian vampires shared.
    But perhaps even more than treasure, Kel knew what dragons coveted.
    Privacy.
    Kel pulled into a long drive, parked, and helped Sofia out of the car.
    “This is like something from a book,” she said, staring up at the formidable house.
    “Ha, like something from a horror novel,” Kel joked.
    He could remember days of great fun playing hide-and-go-seek with his brothers through the endless halls. Or the rare days the dragons would take them flying.
    But he also remembered days outside in the freezing rain, training hour after hour. Or days in the forest, alone and working on their wilderness survival and stealth tactics. Days when the dragons would push them far beyond their physical limits, testing them and forcing them to the literal brink of death.
    He didn’t miss those days.
    But this really was the safest place on the planet. And he’d do anything to protect Sofia.
    They walked up the long steps leading into the house, when the main door swung wide open, greeting them with a familiar face. A face with glimmering silver eyes and long silver hair.
    Perry. The silver dragon.
    “What a pleasant surprise. How very unexpected,” Perry said, waving them in. “And you’ve brought a friend.”
    Perry extended a hand, and Kel hesitated for a moment, then grasped his in a quick shake.
    The last thing he needed to do was piss off the people he was coming to ask for help, no matter how badly he wanted to spite them.
    “Sofia, this is Perry. Perry, Sofia,” Kel said by way of introduction. Sofia courteously took Perry’s hand and shook it as well. But Kel noticed a flash of curiosity in the dragon’s gaze before he turned back to face him.
    “Come in. Come in,” he said, moving in front of them and taking the lead. Despite Kel’s own incredible size, Perry was by no means small. He just had a lithe, muscular grace about him that almost gave the effect of floating as he walked.
    As they came in, Kel noted the familiar-looking interior, creamy marble everywhere with burgundy furnishings trimmed with gold.
    He’d seen some lavish places in his line of work, but dragons really liked living the high life.
    “Have a seat. Tor will be joining us in a moment,” Perry said, ever the courteous host.
    If he or his brothers had messed up something in the house, they went to Perry first, never Tor. But just because Perry was usually nicer on the outside didn’t mean he couldn’t be vicious. The man’s intellect knew no bounds, and something about the way he looked at you gave you an unsettled feeling all the time.
    Like the way he was subtly eyeing Sofia right now as they sat together on a lavish couch.
    “So you’re here for protection. Interesting…” Perry said, crossing a leg and reclining back on a couch across from them.
    “How did you know?” Sofia asked.
    “They can hear our thoughts,” Kel said, leaning over to Sofia and speaking to her in a low voice, though he knew Perry could hear him.
    “Generally, we try not to pry, but between the two of you and that crime scene you call a car parked outside, it was fairly obvious,” Perry said with a small smile.
    Kel remembered the training they’d been given to clear their minds and make their thoughts as quiet as possible, in case they ever came across other dragons. But right now, between caring only for Sofia’s safety and trying to not let the past overtake him, his mind was a tornado.
    “What’s that about a crime scene?” another voice said, loud and booming. A second later, a dark-haired man walked in, taking the long strides. It was Tor, the