Chapter Four – Harlan
Harlan stood in the doorway, looking down the steps to where a group of four women stood. Not that he really saw the four women; he only had eyes for one. The one.
“Harlan, are you OK?” His son-in-law, Nevis, came up behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I can check through the records of the local residents. It will only take an hour. All I need is a name.”
“No,” Harlan said absently. “You don’t have to. She’s here.”
“Who is here?” Nevis followed Harlan’s eyes, casting them over the four women before him. “Your mate?”
“Yes, at last, the fog has been lifted and I know who she is.”
Nevis looked closer. “That’s Fiona.”
Theo walked into the office, with a fresh pot of coffee in one hand, and a toddler in the other. “What’s everyone staring at?”
“Harlan was looking for his mate.” Nevis turned to look at his friend. “But I think we’ve found her.”
Theo put the coffee down. The liquid sloshed around but didn’t spill on any paperwork. “Who is it?” He lifted his toddler into his arms and came across the room to stand on the other side of Harlan. “Fiona?”
“Yes. Fiona.”
“Oh, I did not see that coming,” Theo said. “I guess I’ll have to put away my super-sleuth hat now. Shame, I was looking forward to helping your track her down.”
Harlan took a step toward his mate, his heart rate racing, and his blood pumping fast through his veins; it was all he could do not to let his dragon out to sail across the sky and do somersaults of glee. He opened his mouth to say hello, but nothing came out. His mate seemed to be suffering the same fate. She simply stood and stared at him, with her mouth open.
The three woman flanking her appeared to be equally as shocked.
“Dad,” Chrysi’s voice came to him from across the parking lot. He hadn’t noticed her pull up. After finding out there was another dragon in town, he had decided to stay, and Chrysi had been the first person he called. He’d asked her to meet him at the newspaper office as soon as she could, so that he could fill her in on his plan.
“Chrysi.” Nevis pushed past Harlan, ran out of the office, and dashed across the parking lot. “I think Harlan has found her.”
Theo, child in arms, bounded across the parking lot behind Nevis, while Harlan followed behind at a more sedate pace, trying to calm himself down before he met the woman he was meant to spend the rest of his life with.
“Hey, Fern, what’s going on?” Theo’s voice drifted back to him.
“We were tracking Fiona’s mate.” Fern looked pale.
Theo grinned “And we were about to track Harlan’s mate. I guess we all get the afternoon off since they appear to have found each other. I never thought I would see one dragon in my life, let alone two.”
“You never said you knew another dragon,” Teagan accused.
“I only just found out myself,” Theo said in his defense. “I guess it’s not the kind of thing anyone talks about. Shifters are not prone to gossiping about themselves.”
Fern turned to Theo, all teary-eyed. “It’s perfect. Two dragons.”
Theo chuckled. “Two stone dragons, by the look of it.” He took Fern’s hand and led her toward the office. “Hey, Harlan, you have to move.” He put his hand on Harlan’s shoulder and pushed him forward lightly. “Go get her.”
Harlan licked his lips nervously, hoping his forked tongue was not on show. Occasionally when his dragon fought for control, his tongue would take on the appearance of his dragon’s. Between that, the smoke from his nostrils, and his glowing green eyes, the secret life of a dragon could be difficult when it came to staying alive.
Not wanting to look as if he needed further prompting, he took a step forward, reveling in the way the presence of his mate made him feel. His heart swelled, beating fast, while his eyes dilated, making everything look different. Damn, they would be glowing green for sure.
Whether all the people here had already seen Fiona’s eyes glowing, he wasn’t sure, but they did not seem fazed by him at all. Still, he fought to control himself as he drew closer to the woman who would make his world complete.
“Hello,” Harlan said.
Fiona stared at him, her eyes faintly glowing; she must either have very good self-control, or she was not experiencing the same riot of emotions unleashed within her.
Damn, had he made a mistake? Was she his mate, or simply another dragon? He wasn’t on the market for friendship, he wanted companionship, sure, but he wanted a wife, a woman to spend the rest of his life with.
“Maybe we should all go inside and leave Harlan and Fiona to talk.” Theo took control of the situation and ushered everyone inside.
“Are you sure you are going to be OK?” Teagan asked Fiona.
“Absolutely,” Fiona nodded, her eyes fixed on Harlan. He smiled. She was not the type of woman to look away. He liked that.
Of course she isn’t going to look away. She’s our mate, she feels it too. And, more importantly, she is a dragon. His own dragon sniffed the air. I can scent her.
Well, let’s keep any sniffing for when you and Fiona’s dragon meet in the flesh.
His dragon shivered with anticipation. I cannot wait.
But you will, Harlan warned, worried his dragon would suddenly seize control, right here in the middle of town.
I give you my word, his dragon said nobly.
Fiona sighed and took a step toward him; he presumed she had been having a similar conversation with her own dragon. They were powerful beasts, both physically and mentally. “So you are my mate,” Fiona said bluntly.
Harlan let her words slide off him. She was defensive: understandable. Dragons had been persecuted for centuries, and many still bore the emotional scars. “I am.” He inclined his head. “I’ve been looking for you, Fiona. I had almost given up.”
She frowned. “I felt you.”
“But you didn’t show yourself. Why?”
“I didn’t know it was my mate I could feel,” Fiona admitted.
“So you hid?” Harlan asked, needing an explanation.
Fiona held out her hand, it was curled into a fist, palm upwards. Slowly, she uncurled it to show a small ring. Of little value. “This. It’s kept me hidden for centuries. My mother traded a large part of my treasure for it.”
“Ah, a mother’s love.” He stepped closer and looked at the ring in her hand. “I heard of such rings.” Harlan’s cousin had been sold a similar ring. It had been a fake, and the world lost one more dragon.
“But you never resorted to one?” Fiona asked.
“No, instead I took to the mountains. I lived away from men for decades. Soon they became more interested in fighting each other and dragons slipped into myth.”
“We both hid in our own ways.” Fiona sounded content with this answer.
“We did.” He hated thinking back to the dark days. “I sound like a coward, but I lost my family. I was deep in sorrow and mourning.” He closed the space between them, and took her hand, curling it around the ring. “If I had stayed, I would have brought fire and damnation on humans, unlike anything the world had ever seen.”
Her eyes flashed green, glowing with the strength of her understanding. “It was a brave thing to do, to remove yourself from the world. I might have done the same thing if I was not charged with looking after the children of my dearest friend, who had died defending my secret. So instead I traded my treasure for the ring.” Her face contorted in pain, the memories fresh.
“Let’s not dwell on the past,” he said softly. “When we have a future before us.”
“Do we have a future?” she asked quickly.
He tilted his head, studying her, assessing her, and she flinched from his gaze. “Sorry, I have made it a habit to read people. It’s how I survived when I came back to the world.”
“Humans are open books,” Fiona agreed.
“But you are not.” He gave her a smile that m
ade his eyes twinkle. “I like that.”
“Good.”
He chuckled. “Oh, Fiona, I think I have finally found my match. Those are words I never expected to say.”
Her face filled with a sorrow that swept over her, and then was buried as quickly as it had surfaced.
“What is it?” he asked, lifting his hand and brushing her cheek.
She blushed, a beautiful sight on her soft skin. “If only…”
“If only what?” His voice caressed her, soothing her, in the way he had soothed Chrysi when she was a child.
“Nothing.” She shook her head, and her expression became fixed. His mate wore a mask, one that she must have used for so long to cover her true feelings. To cover her true self.
“Will you have dinner with me?” he asked.
She arched one eyebrow. “I might.”
He laughed loudly, almost giddy with anticipation. “We have both awaited centuries to find our true mate. You will have dinner with me.”
“Are you commanding me, dragon?” she asked.
“I am.”
Fiona pressed her lips together. “I am not sure I like being told what to do.”
“Have you forgotten, Fiona?”
“Forgotten what? We have just met.”
“The rules a dragon lives by. The hierarchy.”
“The hierarchy!” Fiona snorted. “If you think we are going to go back to that the archaic rules that got us in the same mess as before, then I want to forget.”
“You are spoiling the moment.”
Smoke puffed from her nose. “Oh goodness, trust my luck to end up with an old romantic.”
He bowed cautiously. “I was going to remind you that the dragon with the biggest treasure hoard is the one who rules.”
“Well, since I have already told you that my mother traded our treasure, that would be you.” Fiona opened her mouth to continue, but he pressed a finger to her lips.
“It is me. I have more money than I could ever spend.” He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, planting one solitary kiss on the back. “And I would give it all to you if you agree to have dinner with me.”
Fiona snorted again. “A romantic and a fool.”
Harlan looked up at her and winked. “Or am I the cleverest man you will ever meet? Over dinner, I will convince you that you cannot bear to live without me.”
“Is that correct?” Her eyes glowed green with excitement. A dragon could never resist a wager, especially if there was treasure involved.
“A dragon will always speak the truth to his mate.” Harlan stood up, his eyes flashing green to mirror Fiona’s. “And I am your mate, Fiona. I will prove it to you. I will protect you with my claws, I will worship you with my body.”
Fiona coughed, her eyes catching something behind him. “They are all watching.”
“Of course they are. They have never seen a dragon and his mate enter courtship before.”
“A dragon and her mate,” Fiona corrected.
“Whatever you say, Fiona.”
“Are you going to keep that up?” she asked curtly.
He laughed. “Goodness no. I think we have the pleasantries out of the way. Now, do you want to have dinner with me, or shall we just go straight to bed? I’ve waited far too long for a woman who knows how to fulfill my needs.”
“And how do you know I will fulfill your needs?”
“Because you are a dragon. The dragon of my dreams. There is no way you can ever disappoint me.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
His gaze swept over her face, dropping down to caress her body. “I have never been more sure in all my long years.”
Chapter Five – Fiona
Fiona’s body felt strange. Sensations she had never experienced before, in all her very long life, were coursing through her. Meeting Harlan had caused her world to tilt on its axis. Her heart beat rapidly; her eyes were dilated and refused not to glow as her dragon shimmered under the surface. Worse, there was heat in her body and a longing for this man before her that left her wanting to abandon all reason and fly off into the sunset with him, two dragons side by side.
“I need to get to work.” Fiona turned around abruptly and tried to walk away.
Tried, because her feet refused to move at more than a shuffle. It might have something to do with her dragon, who was raging inside her, telling Fiona to turn back around and gaze adoringly at their mate.
“Fiona.” Harlan reached out and grasped her arm, a shock of electricity jolting her awake. It was as if she had been asleep for a millennium or more. Her head swam, full of memories of times long ago. Of friends lost, or family slain. Of love. Love that she had tried so valiantly to shut out of her life, love that the people of Bear Creek had drawn from her. It was a well so deep that it threatened to drown her if she didn’t back away. “Fiona.”
Fiona turned away and yanked her arm from him, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he stepped forward, his body so close to hers she could feel the heat through her clothes. He burned, all fire and need, and she wanted him. Tears sprang to her eyes.
“Love is weakness,” she said, her voice choked.
“You know that is not true.” He released his grip, instead threading his arm around her body and pulling her close to him.
Fiona tensed. This was it, her Rubicon. Her point of no return. If she gave into him, if she let him in, not just to her bed, but also her life, there would be no turning away, no going back to the way she was. Turning to face him, she caught sight of Teagan. She was looking out of the window of the newspaper offices, tears streaming down her face.
Fiona knew then that fighting her feelings for Harlan was pointless. She had already passed her Rubicon the minute she let herself love a small child who needed a home. Teagan had been one of many children she had helped. Since joining social services she had worked tirelessly to match shifter children with foster parents who were either shifters themselves, or at least understood them.
“You’re scared,” Harlan said. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t understand, you can’t.” Fiona was adamant. No one could understand the people she had lost.
“I do understand. Is it so hard to admit that we might be alike?” Harlan asked.
“Harlan, I need time.”
“You can take all the time you want. I just need to know that you are not going to run from me.” Harlan stroked her cheek. “But I know you won’t. If you never ran before… Then you won’t run and hide from me now.”
“So sure of yourself?” Fiona asked, dragging her cloak of abrasiveness back around her, but it no longer fit. Those days were gone.
“I’m good at reading people, Fiona.” He grinned, his eyes squinting to study her. “And I can read you.”
“Really?” she huffed.
“You are a courageous woman. As such, you are willing to take a chance. You might like to kick and scream about it, but even so, you never run from a challenge.”
Fiona sighed. “Very well. Dinner. But somewhere where we won’t have half the town staring at us.”
Harlan chuckled. “Half the town? You must have a reputation. No one here knows me.”
“Well, they know me. And I do have a reputation. I am known as the old dragon, but for more than one reason.”
He laughed louder. “I can’t wait.”
Fiona was about to give him a quick retort when her phone rang. Digging in her purse, she pulled out her smartphone and checked the number. “I have to get this.”
“I can wait.”
Fiona took a couple of steps away from him. It was her office calling, and she didn’t want him to overhear. “Hello, Fiona speaking.”
“Hi, Fiona. I know it’s your day off, but I have a couple of girls you might be interested in.” It was her supervisor, Suzie McLeish. Suzie was one of the only people in social services who knew about shifters and Fiona’s interest in them. However, she had no idea that Fiona was a dragon shifter. Or any shifter, for that
matter.
“A couple of girls?” Fiona asked. “Related?”
“Sisters. One is fourteen, the other is twelve. Their father passed away a month ago, and their stepmother has decided she can no longer cope.” Suzie’s voice mirrored Fiona’s own concern. Losing a parent was never easy, and the added pain of being abandoned by their stepmother would compound this agony. But Fiona understood; some stepparents found it difficult to cope alone.
“Do they have a mother?” Fiona was almost certain of the answer, but she asked the question all the same.
“No, the mother died a few years back, as far as I understand.”
“I see. Where are they now?” Fiona asked.
“They are here with me at the office. Can you find them a suitable placement? Or shall I handle it?” Suzie asked.
Fiona looked over her shoulder at Harlan. Would he take her word that she had to go and deal with this, or would he think she was running out on him? More importantly—Did Fiona care what he thought?
“Of course.” Fiona looked at her watch. “I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Perfect,” Suzie said with some relief. “Thank you, Fiona.”
“No, thank you, Suzie, for telephoning.” Suzie didn’t reply, she simply ended the call. Fiona knew why. It was a facet of her character that Fiona was not proud of, but occasionally, Suzie had interrupted Fiona on her days off and had been greeted by the grumpy side of Fiona’s personality. It was not pretty, and few rarely seemed to repeat the same mistake.
“Is everything OK?” Harlan asked.
“Yes. But I truly have to go to the office,” Fiona replied, putting her phone away, and reaching for her keys. “Damn, of course, I left my car at Caroline’s.”
“Can I give you a lift?” Harlan asked. “My car is right there.”
“Is that so you can check that I’m not running out on you?” Fiona asked.
Harlan smiled. “I told you I am good at reading people, and I can tell you really do have to go this time.”
“I do.” She glanced up at the office window, but everyone had gone. It appeared they had grown bored of watching a grown woman fight her fate. “I don’t wish to trouble you, however. I’ll go and get Caroline.”
Silverback Dragon (Return to Bear Creek Book 6) Page 3
