Chapter 11

Trace

Trace sat in his office, his thoughts a tumultuous mix of anger, determination, and fear. Annika had barely slept the night before, the weight of her mother’s involvement in Carl Hansen’s illegal activities and the truth about her brother’s death pressing down on her. He’d done his best to comfort her, to reassure her that they would get through this, but he knew that the revelations had shaken her to her core. Now, as he stared at the stack of files on his desk, he felt a burning need to protect her from the darkness that threatened to consume their lives.

A sharp knock at the door broke his reverie, and Annika stepped inside, her face pale. She had changed since last night, the vulnerability in her eyes replaced by a steely determination. Trace could see that she was ready to face whatever came next, even if it meant confronting the demons of her past.

“Trace, I just got a call,” she said, her voice tense. “Someone left a message on my phone, telling me to come to that abandoned beachfront property just outside town. They said it’s connected to the case.”

Trace’s instincts flared with suspicion. “Did they give a name?”

Annika shook her head. “No. It was a blocked number. But something about the voice… it sounded familiar.”

Trace stood, his muscles tensing with the anticipation of danger. “It’s a trap, Annika. Whoever this is, they want to lure you out there. You’re not going alone, and we need to be prepared for anything.”

Annika nodded; her expression grim. “Yeah, I figured that, but we can’t ignore it. This might be our only chance to catch the killer.”

Trace agreed, though every fiber of his being screamed to protect her, to keep her away from the danger that lay ahead. But Annika was right. They were close, so close to unraveling the mystery, and they couldn’t afford to let fear hold them back now.

They left the station together, the drive to the beachfront property filled with tense silence. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the rugged landscape, the sky tinged with hues of orange and pink that seemed to mock the darkness they were about to walk into. When they arrived, the property looked as desolate as it sounded—an old, weather-beaten house perched precariously on the edge of the cliffs, its windows dark and lifeless.

“You know, this place is pretty remote. What would you think of buying it and fixing it up?” she asked. “It’s a lot bigger than your current place and I think it would be a great place to raise kids.”

Trace looked at the house and then at her. “I don’t know that you’re wrong, but regardless, I like how you think.”

Trace’s senses went on high alert the moment they stepped out of the Range Rover. There was something off about the place, something that set his nerves on edge. He could feel the presence of another shifter nearby, the subtle, almost imperceptible hum of energy that only those of his kind could detect. It was faint, but it was there, and it made his blood run cold.

They approached the house cautiously, weapons drawn, their footsteps barely making a sound on the gravel path. The wind howled around them, the sound eerie and otherworldly, as if the cliffs themselves were warning them to turn back.

When they reached the front door, Trace paused, his hand on the doorknob as he glanced at Annika. “Stay close,” he murmured, his voice low and tense.

She nodded, her grip tightening on her gun as she prepared herself for whatever awaited them inside.

The door creaked open under Trace’s hand, revealing a dark, empty interior. The air inside was thick with the scent of dust and decay, and Trace’s eyes scanned the room, his shifter senses on high alert. He could feel the presence growing stronger, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as they stepped inside.

The trap sprung before they had a chance to react.

From the shadows, a figure emerged—a man, tall and broad-shouldered, with eyes that gleamed with an unnatural light. Trace’s heart skipped a beat as recognition of sorts slammed into him like a freight train. He knew this man—not knew, but he’d seen him before, years ago, during his time in the military. But there was something different about him now, something more menacing.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” the man said, his voice low and dangerous, filled with a dark promise. “But since you did, let’s finish this.”

In a blur of motion, the man whirled around and ran outside, shifting in a maelstrom of thunder, color, and lightning. His true form was revealed to be that of a dragon—a creature of legend and nightmare, with scales as black as night and eyes that burned with a feral hunger.

Trace and Annika followed and barely had time to get outside before the dragon was upon them, its tail whipping around in a deadly arc. Trace shoved Annika out of the way just in time, but the force of the impact caught him in the side, sending him flying. He crashed into the side of the house with a bone-jarring thud, the breath knocked out of him as pain lanced through his body.

Before he could recover, the dragon snatched Annika up in its talons, its massive wings unfurling as it prepared to take off.

“No!” Trace roared, fury surging through him as he scrambled to his feet. He shifted in an instant, his human form melting away as the power of the dragon took hold. His vision sharpened, the world around him becoming a blur of movement and sound as he launched himself after the other dragon, the need to protect Annika overriding every other instinct.

The other dragon beat its wings, the powerful gusts sending debris flying as it lifted off into the sky, Annika clutched tightly in its grasp. Trace followed, his own wings snapping open as he surged after them, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and rage.

High above the cliffs, the two dragons engaged in a deadly aerial duel, their roars echoing across the landscape. The killer dragon twisted and turned, trying to shake Trace off its tail, but Trace was relentless, his eyes locked on Annika, who dangled precariously from the creature’s grip.

Realizing it couldn’t outrun him, the killer made a desperate move. With a guttural roar, it released Annika, dropping her from a terrifying height over the harbor below.

Trace’s heart seized in his chest as he watched her fall, her scream swallowed by the wind. Without a second thought, he abandoned the chase and dove after her, his wings tucking in as he plummeted toward the icy waters below.

In a heartbeat, he reached her, wrapping his massive talons around her just before she hit the water. With a powerful sweep of his wings, he pulled up, carrying her away from the frigid depths and back toward the safety of the shore.

He landed on the beach, his body trembling with the effort as he shifted back to human form, Annika still clutched in his arms. Her eyes were wide with shock, her body shaking from the cold and the fear of what had just happened.

“Trace,” she gasped, clinging to him as he held her close. “I thought?—”

“You’re safe,” he murmured, his voice rough with emotion. “You’re safe now. I keep an extra set of clothes in the Range Rover.”

But even as he pulled on his clothes and spoke the words, his mind was racing with the realization that the killer had escaped. He had chosen to save Annika, knowing it meant letting the dragon get away. The weight of that decision settled heavily on his shoulders, but he knew it was the only choice he could have made.

They drove back to his house. Once they’d arrived, he swept her up and carried her inside, the warmth of her body against his a stark contrast to the cold fear that still gripped him. Inside, he gently set her down on the couch, trying to push down the anger and frustration that threatened to overwhelm him.

When he turned back to her, Annika was already pulling out her phone, a determined look on her face.

“What are you doing?” Trace asked, his brow furrowing.

“I planted a tracker on him,” Annika said, her voice steady despite the lingering tremor. “I embedded it in his scales while he was carrying me. We can still find him.”

Trace stared at her, a mix of admiration and relief flooding through him. She had thought ahead, even in the midst of the chaos. It was one of the many reasons he loved her.

“Where is he now?” Trace asked, moving to her side as she pulled up the GPS coordinates on her phone.

“He’s heading toward the mountains,” she said, showing him the map. “We can catch him if we leave now.”

Trace didn’t hesitate. Grabbing another bundle of clothing to toss into his vehicle, he pulled on his coat, his mind already focused on the chase ahead. “Let’s finish this.”

They drove quickly, following the GPS signal into the rugged terrain that surrounded the town. The road became rougher as they ascended, the dense forest closing in around them as they neared the mountains. When the signal finally stopped moving, they pulled over and got out of the car, their breaths visible in the cold air.

“Stay close,” Trace warned, his voice low as they moved through the trees. The sense of danger was palpable, the air thick with tension as they approached the location where the killer had landed.

It didn’t take long to find him. The dragon stood in a clearing, its eyes glowing with a malevolent light. It sensed their presence immediately, its head snapping around to face them with a growl that rumbled through the ground beneath their feet.

Trace didn’t wait for it to make the first move. He called forth his dragon and shifted, his body morphing into his powerful dragon form, his scales gleaming in the dim light as he lunged at the killer.

The two dragons collided with a thunderous roar, their claws and teeth flashing as they slashed at each other. They soared into the sky, their massive wings beating against the wind as they battled above the treetops. The force of their blows sent shockwaves through the air, the sheer power of their clash a testament to the ferocity of their kind.

But Trace was fueled by something more than just the instinct to fight. He was driven by the need to protect Annika, to end the threat that had hung over them for so long. He fought with a ferocity that surprised even him, his determination unwavering as he met the killer’s attacks head-on.

The battle raged on; the dragons locked in a deadly dance high above the forest. But Trace was relentless, his strength fueled by the bond he felt with Annika, the love that had brought them together and given him a reason to fight.

Finally, with a mighty roar, Trace struck a decisive blow, his claws raking across the killer’s belly, opening him up and eviscerating him. The dragon let out a strangled cry, its wings faltering as it plummeted toward the ground. It hit the earth with a resounding crash, its body lying motionless among the trees.

Trace landed beside it, his chest heaving with exertion as he shifted back to human form. He stared down at the lifeless dragon, the weight of what he had just done settling over him. The killer was dead, his body to be claimed by the wilds of Alaska, lost to the elements and the passage of time.

Annika appeared at his side, handing him his clothes. Once he was dressed, her hand slipped into his as they stood together in the quiet aftermath of the battle. The danger was over, but the reality of what they had just faced lingered between them.

“It’s over,” Annika whispered, her voice filled with a mix of relief and sadness.

Trace nodded; his gaze still fixed on the fallen dragon. “Yeah, it’s over.”

“Do you know who he was?”

“Not really,” said Trace, shaking his head. “I realized I’d seen him before during my time in the military. My best guess is he’s Peter Larson, but we may never know for sure, and even if we do, we may never know his connection to Carl, the other murders or what happened all those years ago.”

“What do we do with the body?” she asked. “We can’t just leave him here. Somebody could find him.”

“You’re right. I don’t fancy trying to explain a dead dragon.”

With a sigh, Trace pulled off his clothes and shifted into his dragon. Lifting off, he hovered over the fallen dragon, seized him in his talons and removed him to the head of the waterfall and dropped him. He stayed to watch the body slip over the falls, crashing down the side of the mountain. The jagged rocks and rushing water demolishing what had once been flesh, bone, scales and wings into something unrecognizable even if it was ever found.

Returning to Annika, he shifted back and pulled on his clothes. “Done.”

“Good riddance,” she said with a nod.

They made it back to town as the first light of dawn began to touch the horizon, their minds heavy with the events of the night. The official report they gave to the town was concise and factual, laying out the evidence they had gathered and the conclusion they had reached. The killer’s body, they explained, had fallen into the Mystic River and been carried out to sea, his identity lost to the depths. It was a story the town accepted, and in the days that followed, the tension that had gripped Kodiak began to ease.

But for Trace and Annika, the memory of what had happened would never fade. They had faced their darkest fears together and triumphed over them.

A few days later, as the sun rose over Kodiak, casting the town in a golden light, Trace and Annika stood together on the cliffs overlooking the sea. The air was crisp and cool, the promise of a new day stretching out before them.

“Are you ready?” Trace asked, his voice filled with emotion as he leaned down and kissed the claiming bite along her collarbone he had inflicted several days before. She was dragon now, and she was and would always be his fated mate.

She smiled, her eyes shining with love. “Always.”

With that, they shifted together before they took to the sky. They beat their wings in rhythmic harmony, the rush of the updraft carrying them higher and higher as they soared above the clouds. They danced through the air, their movements graceful and fluid as they flew side by side, the bond between them stronger than ever.

Together, they flew into the sunrise, the world unfolding before them with endless possibilities. They had faced the darkness and emerged into the light, ready to face whatever came next.

Ready for the next adventure, click here to read His Spellbound Mate.

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His Spellbound Mate is a gripping tale of love, magic, and destiny in the Alaskan Tails series. Where every choice could mean the difference between salvation and destruction.