by Riley Storm
A Mate to Believe In
Dragons of Mount Aterna (Book 2)
A Five Peaks Novel
Riley Storm
A Mate to Believe In
Copyright© 2020 Riley Storm
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, without written permission from the author. The sole exception is for the use of brief quotations in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real.
All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood-related.
Edited by Annie Jenkinson, Just Copyeditors
Cover Designs by Kasmit Covers
Table of Contents
A Mate to Believe In
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Other Books by Riley Storm
About the Author
Chapter One
Pace
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Pace rolled his eyes at the size of the lineup as he pushed open the bank doors.
There is no way I’m waiting in that.
Turning to his right, he made a beeline for the semi-circle-shaped desk where a far-too-chipper woman stood, ready to help customers.
“Hi, how can I help you today?” she asked as he approached, flashing him a smile full of pearly whites.
“I need to review some accounts,” he said.
Before Pace could finish speaking, she was already turning to point to the giant line. What was it with Tuesdays and the bank being so busy? He could never figure that out. It didn’t, for some reason, cross his mind that perhaps he should try coming another day instead.
“So all account services will be handled by the tellers,” the woman was saying.
He glanced down to read her nametag. “Yes, I understand that, Patricia,” he told her. “My name is Pace Aterna and I—”
Patricia’s eyes went wide. “Oh my. Yes, sorry, one moment, okay?”
Pace nodded while she picked up the phone and spoke hurriedly into it. He didn’t bother eavesdropping; there was no point. It would be something along the lines of ‘Mr. Aterna is out here and there’s a huge line! Someone come handle this so I don’t make him mad!’
She hung up moments later and smiled at him. “Just one second, Mr. Farrell is on his way out to see you.”
“Thank you so much,” Pace said.
He’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth before the short, portly bank manager emerged from his office and crossed the floor to shake his head.
“Pace, I didn’t realize you were coming in today,” he said.
“I know Rich, but that’s kind of the point of a surprise visit, now isn’t it?” he said with a laugh, following the man back into his office.
Pace wasn’t laughing on the inside. He wasn’t here for a friendly visit. Those were few and far between these days. After his clan mate Asher had been robbed of his treasure, all five dragon families had gone on high alert. Vaults were checked, security systems updated or reset, and everyone was on guard.
As the financial operator for Clan Aterna, that went double for Pace. He’d promptly come into town and reset all the passwords and information on all Clan Aterna accounts, to ensure that nobody could electronically steal from them, and had put other safeguards in place as well.
Nobody is going to steal from us under my watch.
“I know,” Rich said, ushering him into a chair and circling around his large desk to take his own seat. “But having someone else come to test us right before? That’s a bit much, isn’t it? I mean, we can take care of our security, Pace, I assure you of that. You don’t need to do that.”
The man was obviously a little ticked, but Pace was still parsing the man’s words.
“Twice in one day?” he repeated. “What do you mean, Rich? What are you talking about?”
“Why, your brother? Or at least, the guy claiming to be your brother.” He chortled to himself, then reached up to smooth the thinning hairs from his head. “He just left. When I got the phone call that you were here, I told him he was busted, and he just laughed and left.”
Pace was on his feet, pulling the door open, scanning the bank. “What does he look like?” he snarled.
“Pace?”
“What does he look like?!” His eyes were busy scanning the bank, looking for anyone that he might recognize.
“Um. He was wearing a white shirt, a white collared shirt. Black pants, not jeans. Had a buzz cut. Very nice gentlemen. Is…is there a problem, Pace?”
“Did he take any money?”
“No.”
Pace was gone. He raced out of the bank, barely remembering to slow so that he didn’t destroy the doors on his way out. His fears that his clan had been robbed assuaged, his next priority was to catch the suspect.
He blinked rapidly, emerging into the daylight, the bright summer sun reflecting off car windows and bouncing heat off the asphalt itself. Scanning the parking lot, he doubled-tapped his truck’s remote starter. The vehicle roared to life, ready if he needed it.
Then he saw him. Already across the street and strolling down the sidewalk, acting casual.
“I’ve got you now you sonofabitch,” he growled, sprinting to his car, drawing several stares from the nearby humans at how fast he could run.
Tires squealed and he went up and over the curb into the street. An oncoming car slammed on its brakes and twisted its wheels to slide out of the way as he gunned it across the three-way intersection and after the other man.
Whoever it was glanced over their shoulder, saw the giant white pickup truck bearing down on them and they took off. Pace winced as one man was shoulder-checked into a rack of clothing out front a discount store, the entire thing, human and product tipping over.
But he had to focus on his quarry. On the man who had just tried to rob Clan Aterna. Pace had thought his paranoia to be just that, but as it turned out, there was more than one bad guy in town.
I really hope this isn’t becoming a trend.
The man in the white polo raced across the street. Pace took a hard left, pursuing him, closing the distance. Not as swiftly as he would
like. The other man was fast. Almost too fast.
You’re not a human, are you?
Pace slammed the accelerator down as they started going uphill. In a tiny mountain town like Five Peaks, everything was basically a hill.
“I’ve got you now,” he snarled as his quarry tried to cross the intersection. Pace screeched to a halt, spinning the truck as he went so that as he emerged he was racing right at him, without the door in the way.
“Stop!” he shouted, and flung himself at the wannabe thief as he passed in front of a building under renovation inside.
The two crashed through the glass, bouncing and rolling.
“I said stop,” Pace growled, getting up and stomping over to the other man.
He received a boot to his chest for his troubles, the impact sending him flying back, demolishing a steel support beam in the process.
“Ow.”
Jumping to his feet, Pace raced after the other man. He grabbed him by the shoulder, flung him across the room, then went after him. Warier of his opponent’s strength now—whoever he was, he clearly wasn’t human—and the two had a proper dust-up.
Fists flew. Pace dodged the first few, landing a couple of punches of his own, and he grinned. He was getting the upper hand. He circled with the other man, noting the blood coming down his nose, staining the white shirt. Good, it was the least the bastard deserved for trying to rob Pace’s clan. His family.
“You’re going to answer for what you did,” Pace snarled and went in to end the fight.
But his opponent had been toying with him, and he slid aside, and drilled Pace in the temple with an elbow. The unexpected and complex move dropped Pace to the ground.
“Ow,” he snarled, sweeping out with his legs almost instantly, but it was too late. His quarry was already gone.
Pace went up to pursue, his feet wobbling a bit. Holding a hand to his head, he staggered toward the front door, just in time to watch the unknown dragon shifter—with that sort of speed and strength, it couldn’t be anything but—drive away in his truck.
“Well. Crap. That’s not good.” He rubbed at the side of his head. “This day just went to the dumps.”
Shaking the brief but intense fight off, he walked forward, brushing dust and glass from him. It was time to get out of town. The fight would have caused a scene, and he needed to fade into the background before—
A voice barked at him from just outside the building.
“Freeze! You’re under arrest!”
Chapter Two
Carla
“Hello officer.”
Carla frowned at the familiarity. She didn’t like that from a man who had just destroyed an entire building. Especially one whom she’d never met before.
“Put your hands up,” she commanded, keeping her voice calm and level. There was no need for either of them to get agitated. She didn’t want to shoot him, but he was much bigger than her, and she couldn’t afford to risk her own safety. After all, he was clearly capable of doing a lot of damage.
Her eyes flicked over to the support beam that had been ripped in half. How had he managed that feat?
The giant put his hands up, and slowly turned to face her.
“I didn’t say turn around,” she said.
“Listen,” he tried to say, but she cut him off.
“No. You will speak when spoken to. I don’t want to hear it, understood? Right now, you’re under arrest for breaking and entering at a minimum. I’m sure the owners will want to press charges, judging by all the damage you’ve done in here.”
The big man just sighed. “Yes officer, though trust me, this needn’t be an issue between us.”
“There is no us,” she growled, trying to decide on her next course of action with the giant man. He was really big, she noticed, amending her earlier thought as she took several steps toward him, one hand on her pistol, the other reaching for her handcuffs.
“On your knees, hands behind your back,” she growled.
The suspect spent several moments sweeping aside broken glass with his foot and then he complied, his hands still in the air. She noted that they didn’t waver. There was no fear emanating from this man. None at all. He was far too calm.
“What did you take?” she growled. “What are you on?”
He appeared confused. “My knees.”
She rolled her eyes. Great, a wise guy. “Drugs. What drugs did you take?”
“I don’t take drugs,” he said, a bit of heat entering his voice.
Interesting. No fear, gets angry when accused of taking drugs. Who is this guy?
It took a little bit, but she managed to get him cuffed without putting her gun away. The aura of utter calm he was emitting had Carla more than a little spooked. When someone didn’t fear the badge or the gun, it could end up nasty. Given that she’d been outside her car when she saw it go down, she hadn’t had a chance to radio it in yet.
Not that she was going to give this perp that clue.
“Come on. Outside so that the others can get in and secure the scene,” she growled, pretending like she wasn’t alone.
“What others, Sheriff? No one else has arrived yet.”
Okay, this was getting into the realm of creepy.
“Just walk out of the building,” she growled, neither confirming nor denying his statement.
He put up no further trouble, even climbing into the backseat of her car without issue. Finally having him secured, she put her gun away, breathing a sigh of relief that she hadn’t had to use any force in the situation.
“Now, what were you doing in there?” she asked as she slid into the front seat.
“I tripped and fell, Ma’am. As you can see, I’m fairly big, I stumbled through the glass and then inside. A simple accident, I promise. All my fault.”
Carla blinked. He was just admitting to having done everything, without issue? That made no sense.
She picked up her radio and called it in to Dispatch.
“What’s your name?” she growled.
“Pace.”
“Pace what?”
There was a hesitation. “Pace Aterna.”
Carla tensed. She had one of the Aternas in custody? A member of the Five? Well now, wasn’t that interesting?
Everyone in Five Peaks knew of the Five. There were five mountains that surrounded town, each one inhabited by a rich family who had taken the mountain name as their own. They were extremely wealthy, and incredibly reclusive.
They also never seemed to do anything to make their money. The few times Carla had come across mention of them, it was always swept under the table. Large sums of money were handed over and incidents went away.
Not this time. I have you red-handed. You’re going to pay.
She notified Dispatch of the name, said she was bringing him in for processing.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Longer than she expected. When it continued to stretch on, she brought the mic to her mouth again, ready to try radioing Dispatch a second time.
Just before she could speak, the speaker buzzed to life. But it wasn’t Dispatch on the other line. It was a male voice, and one she knew well.
“Deputy Frazer. This is Sheriff Dunbar. Please confirm that the, uh, person’s, name, is Pace Aterna. As in, Mount Aterna.”
Carla rolled her eyes. “Confirm, Sheriff. He was breaking and entering the old department store on Cloverleaf that’s being renovated. Caught him red-handed.”
There was another pause. “Is it just a case of destruction of property?” Sheriff asked.
Carla couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Well, and the breaking and entering,” she reiterated.
“Deputy Frazer, please ask Mr. Aterna if he is willing to settle the damages.”
“But Sheriff, he was—”
“Ask the question, Junior Deputy,” the Sheriff repeated, emphasizing her rank, and that he was her boss.
What an ass.
Carla was too busy seething in anger at
the treatment, but Pace answered anyway, which just set her off even more.
“You can tell the Sheriff that of course. Everything will be settled. Whatever the cost, just have it billed to me. I will take care of it. Like I said, it was an accident. They happen.”
“You shut up,” she snarled.
Carla was well aware that this was no ‘accident’. She’d seen the damage on the inside. It was far too widespread to account for Pace simply stumbling through the glass and taking a tumble. There was more to it than that, and she wanted to find out.
“Sheriff,” she said into the mic, determined to try. “This was no accident. Something happened here. It was done deliberately.”
“Let him go, Deputy,” Sheriff Dunbar repeated. “That is an order. Do you understand? All you are to do now, is track down the building owners, and tell them who to bill for repairs.”
“But Sher—”
“Do I make myself clear?” Dunbar said, getting angry at her. “Or do you need to come down to the station to talk about it with me in private?”
Carla bit her lip to stop herself from telling Dunbar where to shove it. The crusty old Sheriff was well past retirement age, and he was a creep beyond that. She hated him.
“You just want me to sweep this under the rug?” she said into the mic, wanting her orders to be crystal clear. “Just so I understand of course? I am to release the criminal, who will pay money to make this all disappear?”
“That is enough, Deputy!” the Sheriff shouted over the radio. “You know what I expect you to do. Now do it, or I will have you up on insubordination. Understood?”
Carla sighed. “Yes Sheriff.”
Unbelievable. She had a member of one of the Five families. He was breaking the law, clear as day. Yet he was going to get away with it, all because he had money. Every single time one of them did something, this happened! It was not right.
Getting out of her car, she pulled open the back door, ignoring the calm look on Pace’s face. He wasn’t looking at her smugly, but the relaxed certainty that this was how he knew it would play out actually made her want to hit him more than if he’d been arrogant about it.
“Don’t leave town,” she growled as she took the handcuffs off, not being overly gentle in the process.
