5. Tate

FIVE

TATE

I felt like shit . I'd been away from home for about two weeks, ever since that ridiculous performance Britt put on at Harley's house. I'd been so embarrassed by her behavior that I'd headed out without sleep, just dropped my dirty clothes in the hamper, and packed fresh, then I was out the door. It was good to leave again, but now? I was miserable.

It had started a couple of days after I arrived in Toronto to do security for a hedge-fund guy. What started as a melancholy sort of depression had morphed into an ache that wouldn't quit. The only thing I could associate it with was homesickness, which I'd never had before in my life, not even as a kid––there had maybe been a little of that when I got kicked out of my pack.

All I did was think about going home and being back in Lilly Valley. It got to a point where I was struggling to concentrate on the job. The Fourth of July weekend started in a few days, and that also had me on edge. Back home, the little town of five thousand would balloon up closer to ten thousand. Tons of people came to swim in the lakes and rivers, go hiking and camping—all the fun outdoorsy stuff. That also meant a ton of new and strange faces in town. The fact that hunters may have been active near town made the thought of thousands of strangers almost panic-inducing.

Thursday night, Miles called me. I was still on duty, but my client was in a penthouse suite with three or four high-end working girls. I was blessedly out in the hall and didn't have to witness the disgusting debauchery.

When the phone buzzed, I answered eagerly. "Miles? What's up?"

"Hey, Tate. I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Do you know anyone who could take over for you on the job you're on?"

"I know of one guy who's probably free. I saw him yesterday. He's a professional. We had a drink last night after I got off duty. Why?"

"Well, there's been another disappearance?—"

"Steff and Blayne?" I asked, panic rising in my chest.

"No, no, no, another pack about an hour outside town. It's got us more on edge than before. You know how the Fourth can get out here. Too many faces, too many scents, not enough of us to keep track of everyone. We all want you back, at least until the holiday is over. I know you wanted to be away, but?—"

"I'll fly out tonight," I cut in.

"Wait, seriously? Can your guy get there that soon?"

"I'm sure he can. He's… well, he works for a competitor. Hope that's okay."

"Dude, I couldn't care less right now. Get a hold of him and get back home. I'll see you in the morning."

I hung up and dialed my buddy Darren, an ex-Army Ranger, and a good dude. We'd worked together twice before on big security jobs. Ten minutes later, after a quick negotiation on price and an info dump on the client, he was on his way.

While I waited, I shot him a secure email with all the itineraries and files he'd need for the job. He arrived less than an hour later. From the sounds coming out of the penthouse, he had a while yet before the client would be done. Dude must have taken a Viagra or something. I left Darren once he was settled in and confident with the assignment.

I got to the airport less than an hour after that. There was only one seat open on the flight to Colorado—first class, something I never splurged on, but I considered it a good investment. Otherwise, I would have had to wait until the following morning.

I became more and more antsy as I went through security and waited at the gate. It was like I couldn't get home fast enough. The homesickness had started fading as soon as I realized I was going back. So weird.

After a four-hour flight and an hour-and-half drive from the airport, I was home. Pulling into the driveway, I couldn't help but glance over at Harley's house. I didn't like how I'd left things with her, and I was a little ashamed for having Miles dig up dirt on her. It was pretty obvious she wasn't a hunter, or working with hunters. Somehow, someway, her arrival in Lilly Valley had been a total coincidence. As strange as that was, it was the only explanation. She'd come here to get away from her psycho, mob-connected boyfriend. And me, being the gallant gentleman I was, had treated her like shit the moment I saw her. God, I was such an asshole sometimes. Deciding it was probably better for both of us if she just ignored me, I went inside and collapsed in bed.

The next morning, I met the guys at the office. None of them looked very laidback. Steffen and Blayne looked tense and more serious than usual. Yeah, they were all on edge.

"Okay…" Miles started, "…we can all have a nice calm weekend, but we have to have our heads on a swivel. There's no other way to explain these disappearances except that the hunters are here. We are the only shifters in this town, so if they come here, we are the only targets. Make sense?"

We agreed solemnly. Our typical banter and ball busting was non-existent, but I had to admit even with the heavy atmosphere, I felt freaking great. Ever since I got back in town, it was like a weight had lifted off my chest. I couldn't explain it, and as we filed out of the office, I found myself walking down the sidewalk to the park.

In all the time I had lived here, I couldn't remember ever going to the park, but I was in a fantastic mood and wanted to enjoy the fresh air for once. On the way, I noticed that some sort of food festival was going on in the park. There were around twenty little tents set up with different food vendors, with tons of people milling around. It looked like a great place to set up, and people watch. Maybe one of them would be a shitty actor and show himself to be an obvious hunter.

I leaned against a lamp post beside a Greek food tent. The smell of falafel and gyros had my stomach grumbling, but I was a professional, and I kept my composure as I scanned the crowd, looking for anyone that didn't seem to belong in one way or another.

A young girl caught my eye at one of the carnival game stations. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but I couldn't quite place it. She was doing her level best to try and win some gigantic stuffed dog. The game was pretty simple. Two dollars got you three darts. There were three balloons in a circle. All you had to do to win the prize was pop all the balloons. Simple enough, but as I watched, the girl pumped twenty bucks into trying. The guy manning the station had a grin on his face. He knew he was making a killing off the kid.

I sighed, and pushed away from my resting place. If there was one thing I hated, it was watching futility play out. Plus, knowing how these things worked, there was probably some trick to it. That's how all carnival games were. The house always won. Didn't matter if it was a sports bookie, Las Vegas casino, or a small town carnival.

The girl had just failed her last attempt to pop the balloons and was digging in her pocket for another round of dollars. I stepped up and slapped two bills down on the counter. "Give me a shot. Maybe I can get you that dog before you pay for this guy's kids to go to college."

She glanced up at me, eyes wide and surprised. Her face softened and she appeared to relax. "Oh. It's you. Sure, give it a shot."

I frowned, still not sure where I knew this girl from. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "I'm your neighbor? Duh."

Harley's daughter. That was where I knew her from. I'd only seen the two girls for a moment when I confronted Harley the other day. Great. Now I was stuck here for a few minutes. Maybe I could get this over with before Harley showed up. I didn't need that awkward situation.

"Uh, right. I remember now. What's your name again?" I asked.

"Jordyn. So, how good are you at darts?"

I shrugged. "I guess we'll see. My name's Tate, by the way."

The guy handed me three darts and reset the board with three fresh balloons. My first dart missed. The second managed to somehow hit two balloons at once. I aimed and flicked my wrist on the third and final throw. The dart just skimmed the outside of the balloon, but the friction of the fins on the back of the dart was enough to pop the balloon.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner," the attendant said with a smile, probably knowing he'd made a hefty profit regardless.

Jordyn put her arms in the air. "Yes!"

I sighed in relief. The last thing I'd wanted to do was look like an idiot in front of the kid. "Okay, your choice. Which one do you want?" I said, pointing to the giant stuffed animals on the wall.

"Jordyn?"

I froze. I knew that voice. I hadn't been able to get out of here fast enough. Harley was here. Not only was she here, but she walked up on me having a conversation with her young daughter. Great.

Jordyn took a dalmation as her prize. It almost dwarfed her as she turned around. "Mom, look. Tate won me a dog."

I glanced up and saw Harley standing with her older daughter. My heart jackhammered in my chest when I saw her, and something deep inside me roused from slumber. My dragon had been in a long, dormant sleep. Not being in a pack with other dragon shifters, I very rarely felt the need to shift or fly alone. Steffen, Blayne, Miles, and I formed a makeshift pack, but it wasn't the same. It gave us camaraderie and prevented us from going feral, but it didn't give our beasts the species-specific bonding they needed. I couldn't remember the last time I'd shifted or felt my dragon stir, but for some reason, seeing Harley right then had awoken it.

The deep rumble in my chest meant the dragon saw something it wanted. Usually, this only happened when we spotted deer while flying, which made this… unusual. Being away from its kind made the dragon lonely, which bled over to me as well. The sight of Harley perked the beast up, and that scared me more than I could say. It had never reacted to a human like this. It hadn't reacted all those months ago in New York when I first met her. What was different now? It had been years and years since the dragon had taken such interest in anything.

Thinking back on it, maybe the dragon had stirred in that bar in New York. Something had made me look up and notice her. This was an altogether different matter though. It filled me with want, need, and desire. It was almost physical in its power. I bit the inside of my lip to pull myself together as Harley continued toward us.

She stepped up and grabbed the girl's hand. "Sorry about that. Jordyn's never met a stranger she didn't like. You didn't have to do that for her."

I nodded. "No problem. I was glad to help. She looked like she was about to burn through a month's allowance."

"Jordyn, did you say thanks?" Harley asked.

"Oh shoot." Jordyn turned to me. "Thanks Tate."

"You're welcome," I said smiling, and glancing back at Harley.

Unbidden, my dragon dragged out a memory. My hands sliding across Harley's breasts, my tongue on her nipples, between her legs, her moist lips as she moaned beneath me. I blinked the memory away, my breath catching in my throat. Despite my best efforts, I caught myself staring again, and I had to shake the thoughts away, terrified I might pop a boner right there in front of the entire family. I'd be damned if I'd let my dragon do that to me in public, especially in front of children.

Thankfully, Harely broke the uncomfortable silence. "Um…well, we've got a spot picked out for the fireworks if you want to sit with anyone. We'd be happy to have you."

I was a little surprised by that. Things hadn't been that cordial between us. She was more than likely just being polite. I decided to give her an easy out, since she probably didn't really want me to say yes.

I made a disappointed face. "Unfortunately, I'm working right now. On duty, you know? I won't be able to make it."

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess. Is your security company working for the town?" Harley asked.

"Something like that."

Harley put an arm around her girls and turned them back toward the food festival. "Well, we need to get going. We don't need to bother Mr. Mills anymore."

I smiled. " You guys weren't a bother. We were having a very good conversation."

Jordyn grinned at that as she and her sister turned to follow Harley. The three ladies gave me a wave and walked into the crowd. Watching Harley walk away made my stomach ache painfully. I winced as my dragon stirred and whined, literally whined, inside my head. It was going crazy. Nothing like this had ever happened in all my life.

I ducked behind a tent and knelt, trying to gather myself. I couldn't actually talk to my dragon—it wasn't like I had multiple personalities or anything. That being what it was, I was so confused I didn't know what else to do.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, focusing the question internally, toward the dragon.

What happened next sent a shockwave of fear through me. There seemed to be a massive struggle within me, and I nearly fell over as the will of the dragon desperately tried to claw to the forefront of my mind. I placed a hand on the grass to steady myself. Then my lips began to move, and a voice, deep and gravelly, whispered through me. " Mate."

My eyes bulged, and my head snapped up. I caught a glimpse of Harley through the crowd, buying a massive tower of cotton candy for the girls. The longer I looked at her, the more insistent the dragon became. It was desperate for me to approach her. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I fought the beast within.

Again that alien whisper escaped my lips. " Mate. "

I dug my fingers into the grass––confusion and fear filled me in equal measure. "What the fuck?"