Shades Of Dragon (A BBW Dragon-Shifter Paranormal Romance) by Catherine Vale

but had never found amongst her own villagers, though she loved them all dearly.
          Yes, well, that’s because he isn’t exactly a man , she thought to herself. He’s a dragon shifter. Someone who isn’t meant to be with a human.
           What was she thinking, having lascivious thoughts about someone who she couldn’t have? And especially at a time like this, when her father’s life was on the line?
          “We’re at the Meadowlands Forest,” Tegan told her. “I brought us here to regroup because you’re injured, and the last thing that I want to do is bring you back to the clan when you’re hurt and bleeding. Some of them are old enough to remember the times when they used to feast on humans, and it’s not a good idea to remind them of the taste of human flesh.”
          “Oh.” A shudder ran through Ciara’s battered body as an image of a dragon’s maw opening wide to devour her, its eyes glowing hungrily at her. Fear weakened her muscles, and her knees actually gave out. She collapsed to the ground, taking in huge, gulping breaths as panic threatened to overwhelm her.
          Tegan was at her side in an instant, gathering her in his strong, warm embrace, pressing her cheek against his chest and rubbing his hands up and down her back.
    “Shhh,” he murmured in her ear, his lips so close he nearly touched her earlobe. “It’s alright. I didn’t mean to frighten you like that. Nothing’s going to happen to you so long as you’re in my protection. I swear that to you.”
          Ciara’s body started trembling in earnest now that she was officially out of danger and the adrenaline had worn off, letting her emotions and all the pain spill forth. “It’s not just that,” she said, a sob threatening to choke off her words. “It’s everything that’s happened. It’s been so hard…watching dragons swoop out of the sky and grab my people, friends and neighbors that I’ve grown up alongside since I was a child. It’s that I’ve been hiding in a cellar for hours wondering if I’ll be next, and whether I’ll ever see the light of day again. They took everyone, and killed the ones who resisted.” A sob rippled out of her chest, tears streaking her cheeks all over again. “And my father, my dear, sweet father. They took him away and I may never see him again.”
          Tegan placed a hand at the back of her head, stroking his fingers through her hair as she cried. She clung to him, soaking him with her tears, and letting all of her grief and anger and helplessness pour out, until she was a puddle of exhaustion in his arms.
          “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest when it was finally done. “I really needed that.”    
          “I know.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, surprising her, and a pleasant kind of warmth flooded through her body. “It has to be very difficult, losing your entire village in one night.”
          She nodded, and then winced as pain shot through her shoulder. “I… I think I’m hurt.”
          “You certainly are,” Tegan said dryly, glancing at her shoulder. She followed his gaze, and then gasped to see that her dress was in tatters, and large claw marks raked across her fair skin. Blood was caked all over the wound, dried rivulets disappearing beneath the blood-stained fabric. “I think the first order of business is to get you cleaned up, so lets do that before we attract unwanted attention from the beasts who live in this forest.”
          Before she could say anything, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her deeper into the forest. Ciara clung to him, her eyes widening as they disappeared beneath the canopy of trees – it was unlike anything she ever saw before. Gone were the pines and maples that she was familiar with – these trees had enormous trunks, and strangely shaped branches, vines crawling up them and even hanging down some of them. Strange, tubular