Chapter Twenty-Seven

NASH

I spent the night perched on a cliff top in dragon form, watching over the ranch. My leathery hide was the equivalent of a bomber jacket, but I was still cold. I shifted from foot to foot — er, claw to claw — half wishing I were a furry bear shifter instead of a dragon. Every fifteen minutes or so, I took to the sky and kept an eye on things from there. Movement kept me… Well, not exactly warm, but warmer and, above all, alert.

Part of me yearned to be back in the warmth of Erin’s loft — and her arms. Just getting back to a point where she wasn’t furious would be a good start.

My long triangular ears pointed forward, and my nose tested the air. A dozen constellations kept lookout with me as I swooped in slow circles, studying every inch of the ground. The desert was an undulating carpet that went on and on, torn here and there by mesas big enough to host a strip mall — though no one had tried that…yet. The blinding lights of Sedona were more than enough development, as far as I was concerned.

I leaned into a turn, concentrating on the ranch…the winding creek lined with huge cottonwoods…the long, dusty road…

Every once in a while, a light would flick on then off in the main house, reminding me why I was there.

Erin, my dragon hummed.

My heart swelled — so much, I had to steady myself with a deep breath.

Erin was what made this so different from the dozens of other stakeouts I’d endured in my time with the agency and the Marines before that. Erin — and her sisters and her niece — made this so much more than any other job.

Destiny, my dragon whispered.

Yes. Yes, it was — a series of events woven together by a mysterious, mischievous force. Loosely at first, then tighter and tighter until those threads formed a noose that dangled ominously in front of me.

Wisps of smoke escaped my nostrils, and my throat burned with fire. Fire I would gladly aim at an enemy, if one would only appear.

But there was no sign of Harlon’s quiet, creeping magic or the odorless void that marked Angelina’s place in the world. Just a peaceful world and a slumbering ranch — for now.

After three long, sweeping rounds, I glided back to the cliff, stuck out my claws, and thumped to a landing. Then I folded my wings tightly and tapped my tail with every passing second. Ironically, we had the next morning off work, but neither of us would be sleeping in.

An hour passed, then another, and another, until the stars dimmed in the first sign of dawn. The mountains to the east were a dark wall, but behind them, the sky slowly turned gold. Then, at a movement below, I froze.

A moment later, I relaxed. It was Erin walking silently toward her cabin from the main house, where she and her sisters had hunkered down for the night. Halfway along the scrubby path, she stopped and turned, scanning the cliffs.

My heart thumped. Was she looking for danger or looking for me?

Good morning, my mate, my dragon murmured wistfully.

My pulse quickened when she found me and went still. The cool breeze that had been chilling my back went warm, and I swear, every bird in central Arizona broke into song.

But then her expression clouded, and my mood plummeted.

My mother lied. You lied, she’d said.

Turning away briskly, Erin continued and disappeared inside her home.

My wings drooped, and I resigned myself to a lonely fate. Which shouldn’t be hard, given all the resigning I’d done in the past couple of months.

A bitter taste filled my mouth, because the old me wouldn’t have given up so easily.

And just like that, something snapped in me. I took to the air as an inner voice roared.

Enough giving up. Enough giving in. Enough being a shadow of who you used to be.

I flew at breakneck speed, trying to shake away that dull cloud that always hung over me. Then, laying my ears flat against my head, I dove. Using the footpath as my runway, I landed with a couple of noisy thumps, ready to roar. At Angelina. At fate. At everything keeping Erin from me.

The screen door opened with a creak, and I froze. Hesitantly at first, then a little more boldly, Erin paced across the porch and onto the top step, eyes locked on me.

Puffs of condensed breath rose from my nostrils, and I gulped.

You lied to me, I imagined her yelling. You let me believe you’re a wolf shifter, and now you’re huffing and puffing outside my cabin. How dare you?

I held my breath, preparing for her verbal assault.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and finally let out a weary sigh.

“Good morning.”

I bent my neck slowly, giving her a little bow in reply. A better alternative to booming Good morning in my dragon voice.

She cocked her head. “Have you been up all night?”

I hunched my wings in a dragon shrug. Yes, I had been.

What about you? I wanted to ask. Have you been up all night too?

She must have caught the gist, because she yawned. “I’m not sure anyone got much sleep last night, except Roscoe and Claire.”

For another long, quiet minute, we stood there, staring at each other. Then she moved. Or — oops. I was the one who’d moved, unconsciously stretching my neck toward her.

Her eyes went wide, but she held her ground.

A puff of hot air escaped my nostrils, and I winced, afraid of spooking her.

I’m sorry, I willed her to understand. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’m sorry about a lot of things.

I cursed myself, because why should she forgive me? Not just for the dragon thing, but for so much more. For being closed off. For my past. Worst of all, for getting involved with Angelina.

My wings drooped.

But instead of rejecting me, Erin raised her hand slowly, palm up, and held it out the way she would greet a dog.

Not the best image for my ego, but I wasn’t about to nitpick. I stretched a little more, then cursed. I’d misjudged, stopping a few inches too far from the porch. Short of dislocating a vertebra, there was no way I would reach her hand. I inched a tiny bit closer, cursing silently. Dragons were made for gliding gracefully through the air, not waddling along the ground. Not the look I was going for.

But Erin inched forward too, and a moment later, my snout touched her hand.

“Oh,” she exclaimed at my warm breath. Slowly, she cupped my chin with both hands, muttering. “Dragon, huh?”

I gulped. Um, yes. Yes, I was. And I was really, really sorry.

Not that I managed to get a single word out.

Erin rubbed her thumbs along my tough, bronze-colored hide, then murmured. “Wow.”

I held my breath. Did that mean she didn’t hate me?

My beast side sighed dreamily. Dragons didn’t get a lot of cuddling. Normally, we didn’t want to either. But now… My eyes dropped to half-mast, and my heart slowed a couple of ticks. When Erin stroked the hard plates of my cheeks, then scratched my brow, I nearly hummed.

Or maybe I did hum. It was hard to tell with that angels’ chorus singing joyously in my mind.

My thoughts turned to fantasies. Erin hugging my dragon neck. Or better yet, dragon Erin winding her neck around mine. Even better, sliding her wings over mine in an intimate dragon move…

“Wow,” she mumbled again.

So, whew. I wasn’t the only one in Happyland right now.

As delighted as I was, I was sad too. Her mother was a dragon. Had she never seen one of us up close?

My wings twitched with the impulse to gently embrace her.

But a pair of bats flitted overhead, and Erin ducked. I bared my teeth, tempted to roast them. But that definitely wouldn’t be a good look, so I swallowed my fire, singeing my throat. Ouch.

The commotion made Erin pull back, and just like that, our quiet moment was gone.

“I…um…” Erin started awkwardly, then motioned with one jerky hand. “I’ll put the coffee on.”

She disappeared inside, leaving me alone.

My dragon mourned at another lost opportunity. But at least Erin wasn’t furious any more.

I closed my eyes, extended my neck, and wiggled the tips of my wings. My arched claws went cold as they transformed into bare feet on chilly ground, and my ears curved into their rounder human form. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes to the narrower, brighter vision of a human.

I paused, working out the kinks in my shoulders. Then I pulled on the clothes I’d left on the porch earlier and stepped indoors.

“Thank you,” I murmured, taking a steaming mug from Erin. “And sorry. For everything.”

Erin wrapped both hands around her mug and sipped. Then she licked her lips and whispered, “No, thank you . You could have taken off last night, but you stayed. Even with the agency coming, you stayed.”

Of course I had. There was no way I would ever leave my mate. No matter what price I had to pay.

I didn’t dare say as much, though I wondered if I should. Would I regret omitting that detail too?

When I took a sip of coffee, my inner dragon sighed. How nice it would be to start every day this way. Me, Erin, and a cup of coffee. Or, hell. Just her and me. A quiet life in a quiet place. Like this, with horses neighing and cows quietly mooing in the distance.

Then Erin spoke, reminding me how far that was from my reality.

“No sign of Harlon. Not yet anyway.” She peered out a window. “So, now what?”

I’d spent the night considering every logical scenario of Harlon’s next move — or ours. But maybe logical was a mistake, I realized when the phone rang.

And rang and rang.

We stared at it, then at each other.

“Not your sister?” I tensed.

Erin looked at the display, then frowned. “You’re kidding.”

When I leaned in, she turned the phone, showing me the caller ID.

For the next two rings, neither of us moved. Then Erin stabbed at the speaker button and held the phone between us.

“Harlon. What a surprise,” she said dryly.

An amused chuckle floated across the line. “My dear Miss Sattler. I hope I’m not calling too early.”

She refused to let that rattle her. “I’m a balloon pilot. Dawn means sleeping in for me.”

He gave another condescending Aren’t you amusing chuckle. “Glad to hear it. I was hoping to meet you for breakfast.”

Erin cackled outright. “Pity I have other plans.”

Somewhere in the distance, a horse whinnied, and the small herd of cattle lowed.

He’s coming, my dragon rumbled. They can sense it.

Erin frowned and stepped quietly to the porch, looking around. I followed her, listening in.

“Going ballooning?” Harlon had the nerve to ask next.

Erin gritted her teeth. “No, I am going to hang up. Goodbye.”

He cut in quickly. “We really must talk.”

“Must we? I think not.”

My eyes caught on the laundry hanging on a line outside the main house. A moment ago, it had been hanging limp. Now, it was gently flapping in the breeze.

My dragon rumbled, uneasy. How close was Harlon?

In the paddock, the horses grew more restless, tossing manes and stomping hooves. The air crackled with the pent-up energy of an encroaching storm.

My ears twitched, alerting me to the background sound on Harlon’s end of the call. A car rattling down a bumpy road?

I turned, looking up at the point where the ranch driveway crested a rise.

“All I ask is a moment of your time,” Harlon said as the engine in the background grew louder.

Two streams of light appeared on the rise, and a moment later, the sun glinted off metal.

Harlon, I nearly grunted, recognizing the bracket-shaped headlights of his SUV.

But the phone was on speaker, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing me curse.

The cattle rumbled, making for the canyon at the far end of their enclosure.

“Are you asking or demanding?” Erin snipped, watching the road as intently as I.

The vehicle stopped, along with the engine noise on Harlon’s end of the line.

“Asking, of course. I wouldn’t dare intrude.”

Erin snorted. “No? I suppose you missed the No trespassing signs, then?”

She motioned urgently to the main house, mimicking a second phone. I yanked mine out and held it out while she dialed her sister’s number. Then I went inside and waited breathlessly for Pippa to pick up.

“Pippa, this is—” I started.

She cut me off. “I see the car. Is that him?”

“Yes.”

“What about whatshername — that vampire?”

“Angelina is with him,” I confirmed. I couldn’t see, smell, or hear her, but I could sense Angelina as clearly as she sensed me.

Pippa cursed. “Okay. I’ll get Abby.”

Rejoining Erin on the porch, I stared up the hill — and the dark clouds gathering behind it. In the distance, a bolt of lightning forked across the sky.

“I told you, this ranch isn’t for sale,” Erin barked into the line.

Harlon sighed. “It’s rather difficult to have a civilized conversation on the phone, don’t you think?”

“I’ve made my position perfectly clear.”

Harlon made a tut-tutting sound. “You have, but it’s important to make an informed decision, you know.”

Erin opened her mouth to retort, then froze as a huge, winged shape appeared over the ridgeline.

I lunged forward, ready to shift and fight. But Erin grabbed my arm, shaking her head.

My inner dragon roared as the intruder circled the ranch, then landed on a rocky outcrop to the northeast. It was another dragon — a big brown one that whipped its tail and extended huge wings.

Show-off, I grunted while my dragon raged inside.

Erin flinched as a second dragon appeared and perched on a cliff not far from the first. Clearly, Harlon had brought some hired muscle with him.

The instinct to challenge those rivals made me step forward, but Erin’s touch said more than wait . She pulled me close, telegraphing, Don’t go. Please.

Her gaze was just as determined as ever, but her hand trembled over mine. I took a deep breath and nodded. Whatever came next, we would face it together.

Erin puffed out a shaky breath, looked at her car, and then back to me. I hesitated, then dipped my head in a nod.

A moment later, she clicked off the phone and stalked to her car.