Scales of Destruction

Scales of Destruction DRAGONS IN THE WIND BOOK 3 J. KEARSTON © 2022 J. KEARSTON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this work may be duplicated, reproduced, or transferred by any means, without the written approval of the author. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual people (living or dead), places, or events is purely coincidental. Please note: This series is meant for adults and contains descriptive sexual scenes (all consensual), graphic violence, flashbacks of physical abuse, mentions of past suicide attempts, and stalker themes. While I would love for you to read my work, never do so at the risk of your mental health. *Cover by Nichole Witholder at Rainy Day Artwork* Contents Recap of Shred of Darkness Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Epilogue For the latest updates, Recap of Shred of Darkness After running into her stalker for the first time in nearly a decade, Amara agrees to follow the guys to their castle in Khalida, the shifter haven city that screwed her over and made her paranoid about her drinks being drugged and gave her a food complex. In the quest to convince Amara to stay permanently, they set Raiden’s sister Carina loose to win her over. They bond over watching some gym bros try and top each other to prove they’re badass enough to work for Kodiak’s security company, and a tour of the city that has big ‘drink the Kool-aid, stay forever’ energy. Fast forward through some sexcapades and a little torture, Amara takes part in a massive hands-on interview in Kodiak’s security company training interview that forces her to face some of her fears as all of the fun goes up in flames. Literally. The guys figure out that her stalker’s been using her as a personal battery (siphoning energy via the tattoo Malcolm gave her that she burned over years ago) and that’s why she’s been a weak shifter/ barely more than human all these years. But they know better than to hide anything from her when trust is so important, so they downplay it when Amara overhears them talking because they have no evidence to support their theory or a way to fix it, and don’t want her mutilating herself to carve out the ink in a panic if they’re wrong. Basically, they want to make sure it’s actually possible before freaking her out for no good reason, they’re not just being stupid guys. At the black-market auction, we come face to face with Malcolm, and Stone and Raiden temporarily lose their abilities thanks to the spiked drinks used to demonstrate a new drug being auctioned off. At home, Raiden slips and calls Amara ‘darling’ (Malcolm’s pet name for her). After throwing up and trying to reassure him she just needs a minute to collect herself, she heads up to bed alone for the night, but never makes it to her room because Malcolm grabs her on the way. -Deep breath- Aaaaaaaaand here we go! Chapter One RAIDEN I survived nine days of Hell on earth once. Not sleeping, fighting day and night until my muscles gave out, then still found a way to push myself harder, to be better. To be the leader my soldiers needed, a solitary pillar of unyielding strength and determination standing between a squadron of men and their graves. And I lost them all anyway. That pain I barely survived, and will carry the guilt for the rest of my days, yet it doesn’t hold a candle to the misery that has me in a chokehold. Amara’s visceral reaction to my fucking stupid slip of the tongue will be forever burned into my mind. Every time I blink, I see the light dulling in her golden eyes as I obliterated her trust in me, her skin paling before she ran out of the room to throw up. Hear her trembling voice as she tried to console me before shutting herself away in her room for the rest of the night, not even opening the door when Kodiak came tentatively knocking. All I’ve ever wanted was a mate, and I’ve fucked up with her at every turn. It’d be one thing if I was the only one suffering, but with that single accursed word, ‘darling’, I might have also cost Kodiak and Stone their one chance at happiness. “I can fix this.” My haggard reflection stares back at me, not buying it for a second, but I have to believe it’s possible. If Amara leaves… I’m not sure any of us are strong enough to survive it. “I will fix this.” Heading for her room, my steps falter at the sight of the tray of food Kodiak left outside her door last night, guilt twisting violently in my gut. She’d been hungry before getting sick thanks to my stupid fucking mouth. Without something to settle her stomach, she's got to be feeling even worse this morning. She’s suffering again, but this time, it’s at my hands. After I promised to take care of her, asked her to take a chance on me. No amount of apologizing will repair the damage I’ve done, but maybe groveling at her feet will slow her down enough when she tries to walk away, that my brothers have a chance to pack their bags before following her. With a deep breath, I rap my knuckles against the door. “Amara?” A minute later I try again, then wait. And wait. And wait. Of course she doesn’t want to see me. But this will only get worse if we let it fester between us and turn into something more toxic that it already has, spreading to poison the entire legion. Heart in my throat, I