Devon in Wonderland (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting ManLove) Read online

  Devon in Wonderland

  Devon knew another world existed but he never expected to stumble into it. Transported to a land of shapeshifting dragons, Devon is caught in the middle of an ancient ritual to decide the next King of Draconia. Fortunately or unfortunately, the gorgeous men who want the crown present the ultimate temptation.

  Abraxas, leader of his Clan, must try to become King. However, between his lingering feelings for his ex-lover, a rival from another Clan, and his growing feelings for Devon, he is in trouble.

  Layden knows competing against his ex-lover for both title and Devon’s affections is a good way to get into a fight, but Devon may bring the three of them together in ways none of them expects.

  As desire ignites between them, Devon is unsure if he’ll want to get back to his own world. Enemies circle closer in this deadly game for the throne but the biggest danger Devon faces may well be to his heart.

  Note: This book contains double anal penetration.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Fantasy, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Shape-shifter

  Length: 58,962 words

  DEVON IN WONDERLAND

  Jana Downs

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  MANLOVE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting ManLove

  DEVON IN WONDERLAND

  Copyright © 2014 by Jana Downs

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-832-4

  First E-book Publication: May 2014

  Cover design by Sloan Winters

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

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  This is Jana Downs’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Downs’s right to earn a living from her work.

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  DEVON IN WONDERLAND

  JANA DOWNS

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter 1

  Alone in a crowded room. That was how Devon Avalon felt every time he attended one of those stupid parties. There were always people smiling at him, congratulating him, telling him how wonderful he was, and yet he always felt as though something were missing. Their smiles weren’t quite real enough. Their words were filled with an emptiness that made him question whether they really meant all the things they said, or if they only said them because it was the proper thing to do.

  His life had been filled with one insignificant moment after the other until it all blurred together and this particular evening was no exception. So why did this feeling of loneliness bother him so much now? Maybe it was because he always felt like this after being immersed in a crowded room of people for an extended period of time. Maybe he was just finally tired of being surrounded by people who really didn’t give a shit about him. He didn’t know. He was just glad to be out of that hellhole.

  Hours had passed since Devon had snuck out of the party, leaving the guests to talk about how wonderful it was he’d found yet more souvenirs for some esteemed museum that would overpay by thousands of dollars to display in their glass cases. None of them would ever understand what this find had meant to him. To Devon, it was everything. He had finally found the lost temple his father had spent his whole life searching for. It was the dream they’d shared together, and he only wished that he could be here with him now.

  The thought of his father brought up a mixture of emotions as Devon willed himself not to succumb to the sudden urge to cry. This was a time of celebration, he told himself, but there was no conviction in his words and they did little to ease the melancholy he felt.

  The humid, dust-filled air burned as he took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of the past or dwelling on unnecessary emotions. He only had a few more days to uncover the temple’s mysteries before the museum leeches took over, sucking out everything they could to carry back to their suburban worlds.

  Sighing, he looked around the excavated sight. It was well past the daylight hours of his crew’s normal work schedule, and the only sound that filled the silence was the hum from the flood lamps.

  He ran his hand across the maps he had constructed of the temple. They were rough sketches at best that paled in comparison to the real beauty of the rooms. To an outsider, this place was nothing more than another ancient Egyptian cultural, buried beneath the sands of time, but Devon knew better. The markings and symbols that decorated the discovered rooms let him know that this was what he had been looking for. This temple was built to connect this world to the world of the Draconians—a civilization of dragon walkers who could take the form of the massive creatures at will. To see such strength and beauty had always been a dream of Devon’s, and now he was finally close to seeing his dreams turn to reality.

  He studie
d the maps and time passed quickly as he let himself become lost in his work. His whole life had been devoted to this one single moment, and now the only thing that stood in his way was an encrypted message surrounding the doorway he hoped would lead him to uncovering the secrets of a hidden world. But, the glyphs didn’t make any sense. There was no pattern or consistency amongst them, and they were unlike anything else he’d encountered during his studies of the ancient Egyptians.

  If only dad were here, he’d know what it means. He glanced to the photo of the sun-tanned, gray-haired archeologist he had on his makeshift work desk and smiled. His dad always had the answers. There wasn’t a mystery he couldn’t solve. Devon closed his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in the fond memories of the many trips they’d taken when he was little in search of the ancient runes of a race long forgotten as they explored the pyramids and desert lands. He could still remember the sound of his father’s voice, telling him of the dragon people and their beauty as they transformed into the regal creatures. His eyes fluttered open, and his gaze fixated on the doorway with determination. There was no walking away now. He was too close to the answer, and he’d be damned if the museums got their hands on all his hard work before he was finished.

  Sweat dripped down the side of his face, and he reached for the dusty cloth to wipe his brow. The temple air was thick and smoldering. The lack of any kind of ventilation system, aside from the path they’d dug when they’d first discovered the temple, was providing Devon with no relief. From the architectural layout he was able to conclude that there were at one time huge open doorways, leading from room to room, but centuries of sand storms had long since buried them along with the rest of the temple, and now it was nothing but a sweltering, hot hole in the ground.

  “Fuck,” he cursed, tossing the papers he’d been looking over aside. His lips pursed as he approached the far wall where most of the unusual markings had been found. Devon could see a faint outline of what appeared to be a sealed doorway. Nothing they had tried had been able to budge the huge piece of stone, and Devon was sure there was some clue hidden within these glyphs if he could just figure it out. He blinked a few times to alleviate the strain on his eyes from the harsh glow of the lights as his vision began to blur. He needed a break. He could tell from the building tension in his temples. His muscles ached from pushing himself beyond the point of exhaustion, but he wanted to keep going. He was determined to use every spare moment he had left to figure this out.

  “I brought you some water,” his elder brother’s familiar voice called from behind him. Devon turned and was greeted by Brandon’s warm smile. He held out a cool bottle of water for him, and Devon took it, grateful for the reprieve. He pressed the wet rim to his dry lips and moaned as the cool liquid cascaded down the back of his throat, momentarily soothing the irritating dryness.

  “Thanks,” he gasped when he finished the last drop.

  “You taking a break?” Brandon ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. His gaze shifted nervously throughout the room. Being in small spaces like this had always bothered him, but he enjoyed funding Devon’s digs and planning the parties for the museum executives. He was good at that sort of thing.

  “Thinking about it. I’m still working on these glyphs.” Devon gestured to the wall on the far left and motioned for his brother to move closer.

  “These in the corners each represent a unique kind of dragon and the one in the center here has something to do with the god they worshiped, but I don’t know what all these here mean.” He gestured to the glyphs located between each corner and the ones surrounding the central glyph.

  “I dunno. Maybe they don’t mean anything. I mean, I think you’ve been reading way too much into these stories father used to tell us. You should just be happy we found another temple and leave the magical stuff alone. People are starting to get worried, especially with the way you’ve holed yourself up in here, and frankly, I don’t want to see you wasting your life over some silly stories passed down by an old man with an overactive imagination.”

  Devon could see the concern written all over Brandon’s face as he spoke, and he sighed in disappointment. Out of all the people, he expected Brandon to understand his passion, but it was useless. Brandon would never share his enthusiasm or his belief that there was more to this story than just some distant fairy tale memory passed down by his father. There was no point trying to argue with him. He wouldn’t believe Devon no matter what he said.

  “Don’t worry, bro. I’m fine. I just want to make sure I leave no stone unturned before I hand over the artifacts to the museums.” He gave a weak smile and watched Brandon’s worried expression become replaced with relief.

  “Okay, then. I’ll leave you to finish up here and go tell the crew to start shutting everything down for the night. Hey, maybe we can even grab a bite to eat afterward. You know, in celebration of your discovery.” Brandon flashed a big grin and wrapped his arm around Devon’s neck.

  “Sure thing. Dinner sounds good, just let me put away these maps.” Devon shoved at Brandon’s tight grip with little success. His brother stood a good foot taller than him, and his muscular build easily outmatched Devon’s shorter and slender frame.

  “All right. I’ll meet you out by the tent,” Brandon agreed, finally releasing his hold on him. Devon watched Brandon maneuver himself out of the hole and sighed. He turned to get one last look at the temple. Walking up to the doorway, he let his hands trace the edges of the glyphs.

  “If only I could figure you out,” he said aloud.

  A ferocious growl filled the silence, and Devon’s heart stopped. Adrenaline with a hint of fear rushed through him and he turned to find the source of the noise, but there was nothing there.

  “Brandon?” Devon called with uncertainty. That noise had definitely not come from anything human. He held his breath, waiting to see if there would be a response.

  Sure enough, the same growl roared loudly, echoing off the temple walls. This time he was able to pinpoint its origin and turned back toward the door. It couldn’t be…Devon stood there stunned, unbelieving what he’d just heard as he looked at the door from which the sound had come from. He had to be losing his ever-loving mind. Maybe Brandon was right. Maybe this place really was getting to him.

  But what if it was real? The thought whispered across his mind before he could stop himself. He could remember his father speaking of Draconia, the world of the dragons, as though it were a real place. When he was younger, Devon had been fascinated with the idea that another realm full of dragons and magic existed.

  As an adult, however, he had realized that the ancient civilization that had built this temple to worship the dragons from the land of Draconia was probably like so many others of its time. Just as the Romans had worshiped their gods and goddess, these people had worshiped dragons, and Devon had prepared himself for the reality that Draconia and the winged creatures they prayed to were more than likely just made-up legends passed down throughout these people’s culture. Still, there had been hope, even if he knew that hope had been nothing more than a foolish dream.

  The seconds turned into minutes as the silence stretched on, making Devon question whether or not he had hallucinated the entire experience. He let out the breath he’d been holding. It must’ve just been the lack of sleep playing tricks on him. He needed to get some fresh air. That would make everything better.

  Brushing a stray strand of hair away from his sweaty brow, he turned to leave, but before he could make it to the exit, a flash of white light engulfed him, consuming the entirety of the room. Instinctively, Devon covered his eyes, shielding them from the burning light.

  “What the hell?” he called as his eyes slowly adjusted to the stark brightness. He glanced around the room, searching for the source, but the light was too intense to make out much of anything. He reached behind him to grasp the wall he knew should be there, but where he expected to feel dirt, he only felt cold wetness. Devon turned slowly, unsure of what it was he was
touching.

  His heart pounded loudly in his chest and his breathing came in shallow breaths as the moment played out in slow motion. His eyes widened with shock and fear as he tried to register the reality of the sight before him. The glyphs were gone, the wall was gone, and what his hand had rested upon was something he’d only thought existed inside his dreams.

  The creature was magnificent and terrifying all in the same breath. Turquoise-colored scales covered the serpent’s body and shimmered in the light that was emitting from behind the dragon. The creature stared at Devon with large blue eyes, its gaze unwavering as Devon stood, too afraid to move or speak.

  Dragon. It’s a real live dragon…He tried to convince himself that this was really happening, but he couldn’t seem to grasp the fact that he was actually standing face-to-face with one of the very creatures from his father’s stories.

  The creature flared its nostrils, as though it were waiting for him to say something, before it turned and disappeared inside the depths of the white light. Impulsively, Devon followed, too afraid to let the creature out of his sight, too afraid that he’d wake up to realize this had only been a dream.

  Something inside him knew that this was what he’d been waiting for—what he’d been searching for. This was his link to the world he’d spent his whole life trying to find, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass by. Like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, Devon embraced his curiosity and greeted the unknown path with eagerness.

  * * * *

  Devon fell as the white emptiness swirled around him. It was only after he lost all sight of the dragon that he realized what a moron he’d been for foolishly following it to wherever the hell he was now.