by Becca Van
“Have you finished the paperwork on the burglaries?” Darrien asked Reece.
“They’re on your desk.”
Darrien’s scowl moved to her. “Why aren’t you out searching for the mayor and that bitch?”
“I—ˮ
“We were just catching each other up on where we’ve been already,” Reece jumped in before Niki could answer.
God save me from domineering egotistical men.
Niki had had enough. Without a word she turned toward the counter, grabbed the keys for her sheriff department car, and headed out.
The tension in her shoulders and neck began to ease as she traveled route 191 but the headache persisted. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind as she headed north from Rock Springs and after nearly an hour, turned left toward Riverton. There was a niggling in her gut telling her she was on the right path, and although she’d never been psychic or overly intuitive, when she had a niggle she never ignored it.
Just as she hit the outskirts of Riverton, her empty stomach growled and gurgled, protesting the fact she’d skipped breakfast and she decided to stop to get something to eat and drink.
She saw the sign for a café and was lucky enough to get a parking space right out front. When she had her bacon and egg sandwich and hot coffee in hand, she hurried back to the car and continued on. Just as she crossed the bridge to the Boysen Reservoir she felt an urgent excitement surge through her body. The sign for Tough Creek Campground Road came into view and when she got to the turn, she didn’t stop to think on why she felt compelled to go there. The campground was empty since it was out of season and although there were buildings here and there the place was deserted. She wondered if the owners were out for the day or if they had gone on vacation themselves. Not that it really mattered either way. Niki drove to the start of the boat ramp, got out of her car, and walked to the end of the jetty.
It was so peaceful and although the sun was shining and she could hear birds chirping she knew it wouldn’t be long before winter set in. The birds were already beginning to move on before the snow began to fall. Soon the ski season would start and the campground would be a hive of activity again. A lot of people liked to go to warmer climes in winter rather than colder, but with the hot springs in the area was a draw card. This part of Wyoming was a great tourist attraction.
It was local knowledge that the Tough Creek Campground was closed for two weeks this time of year and Niki suspected that the elderly couple had gone to visit family like they usually did.
She breathed in deeply of the clean country air and sat down on the edge of the jetty with her feet dangling over the side. Although her eyes were burning with fatigue, she scanned the trees and surrounding area. Just because she was working didn’t mean she couldn’t take a moment or two to enjoy the scenery.
Ten minutes passed and she decided she’d wasted enough time. As she rose to her feet and turned toward her car, she caught something metallic shining beneath the water near the edge of the reservoir. Niki rushed to her vehicle, hopped into the driver’s seat, and headed off-road. She drove southeast, away from the pier, thankful she had a four-wheel drive and wouldn’t get stuck in the sandy soil, and moments later grabbed her binoculars and was out of her car.
The water was deep but she could see the shadowy outline of a car and wondered how long it had been there and why the owners or a tourist hadn’t reported it. She put the binoculars to her eyes and could make out the first letter and number as well as the horse and rider of the Wyoming State number plate. Trepidation raced up her spine, because Niki had a feeling that she’d just found Mayor Wallace Core’s missing car.
She pulled her portable microphone from her shoulder and called it in. It was going to be a long wait for Reece and Sheriff Asshole to get here, as well as divers and forensics, but hopefully she would be back in her boss’s good graces after such a find, although she doubted that very much. Niki suspected hell would have to freeze over before she ever got a kind word out of her irate superior.
Chapter Two
Russ hurried through to the lair where all his dragon kin usually congregated. After another dream-filled night he’d needed to let his dragon out to release some of the lustful tension riding his body and at first he’d felt that hunger in his body dissipating, but when he’d spotted the deputy sheriff’s car from his great height, he’d been pulled to follow it. He was damn glad he had. He’d found the woman of his and his flight pod brothers’ dreams.
He’d made sure to keep his animal high in the sky when she’d stopped and gotten out of her vehicle at the Tough Creek Campground and when he’d seen how fucking gorgeous she was, he had to use all of his dominance to keep his dragon from roaring with glee.
She was so damn beautiful with her long braided auburn hair and hazel eyes. He had used his dragon eyes to look over her gorgeous face and sexy body. When he’d seen the gun belt around her slim hips it had been hard to hold his beast back from diving down to meet and then claim her.
Her voice was light yet surprisingly husky but when he’d heard her calling in the car she’d seen beneath the water’s surface to the reservoir, he began to get nervous. He and his brothers had dealt with getting rid of Wally Core’s car, and although he knew there would be no fingerprints from him or his flight pod brothers, he had a feeling his mate wouldn’t be happy until she’d solved this case.
There was no way in hell he was telling her what happened to the hunter, not until she was fully mated to and had accepted all of them. There was the question of how to go about meeting her, though. If she was ordered to stay in the area, they could inveigle a meeting, but he had a feeling it would be to their detriment to stay away from Rock Springs.
Everyone was in the kitchen eating a late breakfast and when he realized they were all staring at him with curiosity because he was leaning against the doorjamb, no doubt with a goofy look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders.
He sat in the empty chair next to his pod brothers, Randy Holmes and Rex Humphries, and began to load his plate.
“Did it help?” Rex asked in a whisper as he shifted in his seat.
“No.”
“Damn. I don’t know how much more of this I can take and we’ve only been at it for a month,” Randy said and then sighed with frustration.
“I don’t know how our dragon leaders endured it for so long,” Russ stated and began to eat quickly.
“Are you okay, Russ?” Belinda asked.
She was the mate of their leaders Ed Anders’s, Eli Griffin’s and Erwin Hunters’s. Her ex-boss, the Mayor of Rock Springs, had also been a hunter and more than a little insane. When the asshole had locked onto their leaders and tracked them down, he’d tried to take Bid, as she was called more often than not.
Of course the asshole hunter hadn’t succeeded and had been burned to ashes by dragon fire. It had been up to him and his pod brothers to get rid of Wally’s car but obviously they hadn’t done a good enough job. Damn it. He’d wanted to burn it down to a hunk of melted metal but Lance had vetoed that idea because he was worried there may be other hunters in the area. Hunters had an inbuiltlike radar or sonar detection and if they breathed their dragon fire for too long, the assholes could lock onto them. If they were out in the open he hoped they were undetectable by using their reflective skills, but if they were out too long the hunters might still be able to sense them.
Russ sometimes wished he was living back in the olden days when the earth wasn’t as populated as it was because he and his friends spent most of their time in the lair. Yes, they each took time each day to shift to their beasts and stretch their wings, but more often than not they were hidden away in their luxurious underground cavern.
Russ gulped the last of his coffee, grabbed his friend’s empty plates, and hurried to the sink. He rinsed off the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
“We need to leave. Now!”
Ed stood, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at him. “What is your fucking pr
Russ had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”
“My mate asked you a question. You ignored her.”
“Shit!” Russ scrubbed a hand over his face before looking at Bid. She had her head lowered and her cheeks were tinged pink but when she peeked at him from beneath her lashes, he saw the hurt he’d caused her. “I’m sorry, Belinda. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Thank you for asking and I’m fine.”
“Oh. Glad to hear it. And don’t worry about it.”
“What’s going on?” Randy asked as he and Rex followed him out.
“I’ve found our mate.”
“Where?” Rex grabbed his shoulder.
Russ stopped and turned to face his pod brothers. “You’re not going to like this.”
“Just spit it the fuck out,” Randy demanded in a hard voice.
“She’s at the Tough Creek Campground. She found the hunter’s car.”
“Shit!” Rex ran his fingers through his hair.
“That’s not the worst part.” Russ paused to draw in a deep breath before continuing on. “She’s a deputy sheriff.”
“Fuck!” Randy paced a couple of steps away before turning back. “Okay, there is no way she or forensics will get anything from that car. We wiped it clean. Plus, our blood type and DNA would have to be on a database for the law to get a match. Since we don’t get sick and have never been to a doctor we’re not on any human database.”
“So what are we going to do if she agrees to mate with us?” Russ asked. “She had to have spent a couple of years training to be a deputy and I’d say at least a couple of years working as a law officer.”
“So?” Rex frowned.
“If she finds out that we killed the Rock Springs Mayor and we haven’t told her, she’s going to feel betrayed.”
“Geezus, Russ. We haven’t even met her yet. Let’s not put the cart before the horse.” Randy punched him in the shoulder and led the way to the lair entrance.
Russ wanted to argue but he wanted to see their mate more. He had a feeling that she would feel betrayed if they kept shit from her, but Randy was right, too. First they needed to meet their mate and then try and woo her before marking and claiming her. There was no use trying to cross a bridge before they even got to it.
* * * *
Randy shifted as soon as he cleared the rear entrance to the lair and flapped his large wings. Two beats later he was rising up into the sky. Their kind was lucky enough to have their clothes shift when they called on their dragons so they were never left naked or ended up tearing through clothes. He didn’t need to look back to know his pod brothers were right behind him because he could scent and sense them.
There was also the added bonus of having the power of reflection so that they were invisible to the human eye. And that skill was automatic as soon as they transformed into their animals. If they wanted to show their dragons they had to remove the reflection ability from their body with thought. He liked that they were always hidden unless they wanted to be.
It didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Boysen Reservoir and his breath caught in his throat when he saw his mate sitting on the bonnet of her car. His dragon rumbled loudly in his chest and he mentally cursed when she looked up as if looking to see if there was a storm coming. There were a few dark clouds a few miles away so hopefully she put the noise his animal had made to distant thunder.
“She is the sexiest fucking woman I’ve ever seen,” Rex said through their link.
“She’s beautiful,” Russ agreed.
“How are we going to meet her?” Randy asked. “We can’t go down there right now. Especially if she’s called it in.”
“I was hoping she would be staying here,” Russ said. “But the place is closed.”
“Yes, but if they were to contact the owners they might let her stay. Although I don’t see why she would need to. Once forensics and a tow truck get here there will be no need for our mate to stay.” Russ sighed.
“Damn it!” Randy wanted to dive down, clutch her in his talons, and take her back to the lair and sink his hard aching cock into her tight, wet heat. Of course he couldn’t and wouldn’t do that. There had to be a way to meet her, he just hadn’t thought of it yet.
“Here they come,” Russ pointed.
Just because they couldn’t be seen by the human eye didn’t mean he couldn’t see his pod brothers nor they him. Their dragons’ eyesight was more like 80/80 rather than 20/20. His eyes zeroed in on their mate as she slid from the top of her car and landed on her feet. He inhaled deeply and almost chuffed with bliss as her sweet feminine scent wafted to him on the cool breeze.
Her long braided hair whipped out as she turned quickly and she looked like she was slamming up defenses. She’d been relaxed but now she pushed her shoulders back, lifted her chin, and he could practically see the tension invading her body.
Randy wondered if this was her professional demeanor or if she was getting ready to do battle. That was what it looked like to him.
Two cars came to a halt next to her vehicle and when two males got out of those cars, all his senses went on alert. He could smell anger and desire radiating off one of the men, and lust from the other.
His dragon flapped his wings in fury and once more he was battling his beast for control. A roar was building in his chest but there was no way he was letting his animal release it.
A low rumble sounded to each side of him and he knew his pod brothers were also fighting for dominance over their beasts.
“Where is it?” the older of the two men asked in a harsh voice.
“Right there,” his mate answered and Randy nearly fell from the sky as her voice reached his dragon’s ears.
The sound went straight to his cock and once again he was fighting his dragon. Her voice was light and sexy but so damn husky he was in danger of shooting his load and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
“Did you call in the forensics team?” His woman turned to the other man.
“Sure did, Niki.”
Niki? A beautiful feminine name for a sexy woman.
“Give me your binoculars, Nikita.” The older man held his hand out to her.
“Certainly, Sheriff Westly,” she replied politely but there was a wealth of sarcasm in her tone.
Randy smiled. His mate was tough and didn’t take any shit. And the Russian name suited her. He wondered if she was of Russian descent or if her parents had named her Nikita just because they liked it. He wished he knew her last name so he could find out where she lived, but it didn’t really matter. He and his pod brothers could follow her home once she was finished here. His dragon chuffed with agreement and if he could have smiled he would have.
While the sheriff looked through the binoculars she began searching the surrounding areas for clues. He felt a little guilty that she wouldn’t find anything but at least he got to watch her a little longer.
Her long brown hair was up in an intricate braid with the tail end reaching almost to her ass. Her eyes were a soulful brown with green flecks and even though she wasn’t looking at him, he could see the goodness in her heart. Although he knew she could be feisty. His cock twitched as he imagined her standing up to him and arguing when she didn’t agree with him. He smiled at that thought. She was so fucking small. She couldn’t be more than a couple of inches over five feet but she had nice feminine curves. His claws curled as he imagined having her soft warm skin beneath his hands. He’d had a taste of that in their shared dreams and couldn’t wait to touch her for real.
She reminded him of someone but he couldn’t quite remember who. It would come to him later but for now he savored having her in his sight. As she walked, her hips swayed sexily and he almost groaned when his mind took him to carnal delights. His hands would be so big on her hips as he held them while he fucked her from behind. He knew without a doubt he would be able to span her waist easily and as he imagined pounding his hard cock into her, his fingers would meet over her toned stomach.
That thought gave him pause and a bout of nerves skittered up his spine. He was worried that they would hurt her when they marked and claimed her, made love to her. He was six foot eight and probably outweighed her by more than two hundred pounds. Rex was only an inch shorter than he was but had more bulk and Russ was an inch taller and weighed about the same as he did.
How the hell were they supposed to mate her without hurting her? He was a big man all over. They all were and she was so damn fucking tiny. She was far more fragile than he imagined his mate would be and he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t run from them screaming with fear when they told her they wanted her in their lives forever.
“She looks like a fucking pixie,” Russ said, echoing his thoughts.
“A damn sexy one,” Rex agreed.
“Do you think she’ll be scared or intimidated by us?” Randy asked.
“Not a chance,” Russ answered. “She is full of fire and passion.”
“I think she has a spine of steel,” Rex said. “She stood up to her asshole boss, didn’t she? And he towers over her and outweighs her by at least one hundred pounds.”
“We are taller and weigh more,” Randy stated.
“Yeah, but she’s strong. She has to be to be a deputy sheriff,” Rex said.
“I hope you’re right, Rex. I don’t want her scared of us.” Randy sighed.
He had a feeling she was going to be frightened when they told her what they were. Humans had no idea that dragon shifters even existed. Would she laugh in their faces when they told her? Or would she call for the men in white coats to come and take them away?
Either way it was going to be hard for her to believe a word they said. Humans thought all mythological creatures were figments of the imagination.
They were screwed.
Chapter Three
Rex felt a tingle at the back of his neck and used his dragon’s vision to look far and wide. He could feel and smell danger in the air but had no idea where it was coming from. His beast’s first instinct was to dive down, pick up their mate, and take her back to the lair where she would be safe but he couldn’t do that.
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