by Vella Day
Declan broke up the province into sections. It was decided that Thane would scour the forested areas while Finn would take the west half of town. Declan said he’d start with Stick’s house again and then look on the east half.
“I’ll ask around some vet offices to see if someone knows anything about some collared animals,” Tory said.
“Great.” He turned to Griffin. “You’ll be the point person. Everyone, contact Griffin if you learn something. We all need to know what everyone is doing.”
This was fairly standard practice for the Guardians, but for some reason, this was a more important assignment than usual. Chelsea was safe for now, but the sooner these shifters were located and Stick was out of the way, the sooner Declan could bring Chelsea home.
The group left—some by wing, others on foot. Stick lived on the edge of town, so Declan drove to his house. It didn’t come as a surprise that he wasn’t there. In fact, from the looks of the front lawn, Stick hadn’t been back to his place in a while. The big question was, where was he?
Declan returned to his car and decided Anderson might know something.
Inside the police station, Declan found his cousin on the phone. He motioned for Declan to take a seat. Once Anderson finished his conversation, he gave him his undivided attention. Most of the time it was Anderson who was asking for the Guardians’ help, not the other way around.
“What brings you here?”
Declan glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. “I’m looking for a man by the name of Seth Parnell. He goes by the nickname of Stick.”
“You mentioned him before. You thought he might be operating a shady animal shelter.”
“Yes. Now I think he is involved in something bigger. Possibly kidnapping, drugging, and selling shifters as slaves.”
Anderson whistled. “That is quite a big accusation. Do you have any proof?”
Declan explained what Chelsea saw, and then how she was captured and collared. “It took me, Thane, and a very powerful white lighter to bring this woman down.”
“I see. How can I help?”
“I need to find this guy. He is the last link. Can you check facial recognition for him? He’s got to be somewhere.”
Anderson pushed back his chair. “Come with me.”
Declan followed his cousin down a series of halls where they took an elevator to the basement. Inside one room was a series of about one hundred monitors. A technician was seated at a table facing the massive screens.
He turned around. “Hey, Anderson. What brings you down here?”
Anderson explained about the need to find Seth Parnell.
“I’ll pull up his driver’s license photo and use that for comparison purposes. It might take me a few hours to find him though.”
Declan was fine with that. “Call me when you locate him.”
“Will do.”
He and Anderson left. “What are you going to do once you find him?” Anderson asked.
“Follow him until I learn the location of the captives. I’ll call for backup if need be, and then take it from there. Parnell is a lion shifter so I don’t think he’ll want to fight me.”
“For his sake, let’s hope not.”
After Declan returned to the mining office, it was five hours before Anderson called back. “What did you find out?” Declan said without bothering with a greeting.
“Hello to you too.”
“Sorry.”
“We found your man, Stick. He’s been bar hopping. The last time he showed up on a camera was about thirty minutes ago at the Hog’s Head Bar.”
It figured Stick would go to a scummy place like that. “Thanks. Let me know if he moves.”
“Will do.”
Declan contacted Griffin and told him about the new development.
“I’ll let the team know. Thane and Finn can provide backup.”
Declan would never be able to explain their presence if all three waltzed in. “Fine, but tell them to keep a low profile outside.”
“Will do.”
Wanting to have a bit more freedom moving about, Declan headed out on foot. When he reached the Hog’s Head Bar, he slipped inside. Someday, he hoped one of the Guardians mated with a white lighter who had the ability to become invisible at will. If one of their ranks could move around undetected, they could nab a lot more criminals.
Declan entered the highly offensive smelling bar. At least the dim lights helped his cause of trying to remain unnoticed.
“Hi, handsome,” said a woman wearing a pair of skimpy shorts and a bra top with the Hog’s Head logo on it. “Can I get you anything?”
“In a moment.”
“I’m Sandy. Just let me know.”
He debated asking if she’d seen Stick, but at that moment he spotted his prey. “Will do, sugar.” The words burned on his lips.
Sandy disappeared. It was time for Declan to do the same. Outside, he sensed Finn and Thane and then found them leaning against the wall at the corner.
“Is he in there?” Thane asked.
“Yup.”
“What’s the plan?” Finn asked.
“All we can do is wait and follow him. I doubt he’ll head straight to the captives, but at some point he’ll have to,” Declan said.
“I can take first shift,” Thane said. “He doesn’t know me.”
That made sense. “It’s nine now, so we’ll do six hour shifts. Let us know once he leaves and where he ends up. I’ll take the next six hours, and then Finn can follow up with the nine a.m. to three p.m. shift.”
“Works for me.”
With Chelsea safely on Earth and Thane watching their mark, Declan returned to the mines—a place that brought him comfort. Knowing he’d get no sleep tonight, he busied himself with work. What with Chelsea being held captive and then helping her heal, he’d slacked off these last few days. It was time to get to work.
His cell beeped at three a.m. The message said that Stick had left the bar with some guy, and that the two had gone to an apartment complex in town. Thane gave the address and said he’d wait for Declan before heading home.
Declan pushed back his chair. He texted back: Thanks. On my way there now.
He found his brother outside the apartment building. “They’re in apartment 423,” Thane said.
“You know that how?”
“Really? I waited to see which lights turned on and then peeked in the window.”
Being a dragon had a lot of advantages. “Sneaky. Get some rest. And thanks.”
“Call if they do anything.”
“Will do.”
Once Thane left, it was a little over two hours before Stick and some guy exited the building. They looked both ways before heading to a blue four-door car that looked to be about ten years old. They slipped in and took off.
Declan contacted Griffin. While his older brother sounded as if he’d been in a deep sleep, he was happy to let Thane and Finn know to standby.
“I’ll follow them from above. If I see anything, I’ll try to shift back and call you.”
“Good luck.”
Because few cars were in the street, he stepped into the middle, shifted, and soared upward. Finding the blue car was easy. They appeared to be heading toward the sea. Some of the coastline was lined with high-end homes overlooking the vast expanse of water, but much of it was desolate because of the ragged cliffs. The Guardians rarely had occasion to go there, so Declan wasn’t familiar with all of the terrain.
For the next hour, he followed high above so that neither occupant could detect his shifter signature. He could have cloaked himself, but that would have wasted a lot of energy.
When they arrived at the end of the road, Declan was more confused than ever. There was nothing but black ocean ahead of them. Curious what they were about to do, he cloaked himself and flew toward the sea before swooping downward to investigate.
He couldn’t believe these goons. They were climbing aboard a twenty-foot skiff in a rough sea. If th
ey weren’t careful, one strong wave would splinter their boat in two. Then Declan would have to save their sorry asses. They started the outboard engine and managed to make it to the open ocean without incident. For the next fifteen minutes, they traveled north along the coast.
Declan spotted the two red lights blinking on the cliff’s edge. Sure enough, they headed toward it. It was a cave. Clever. Ten Denlars said that was where the shifters were being held captive. The big question was why there?
Right now, it didn’t matter their location. He needed to save these captives. Shit. Even if he incapacitated these two, Declan would need help in rescuing the rest. Before he made the call to Griffin though, he wanted to see what he was up against. As soon as the men moored their boat, they took a motorized inflatable raft into a cove—one that thankfully was rather calm. They pulled to shore—if you could call a two-foot wide beach a shore—and hopped out. Once they secured their small vessel, they climbed a few rocks and entered the cave.
Declan waited a minute before landing. When he did, he had to grip his talons hard to keep from falling. Shifting when he was unsteady was always tricky, but he did it. Once in his human form, it would be easy to follow the two loud mouths.
Given where they were, he changed his mind about looking inside first. Declan pulled out his phone and texted Griffin that the shit was going down. After giving him his coordinates, he asked him to contact Thane and Finn and tell them he needed backup. He pocketed his phone and followed the men inside.
Keeping his distance, he edged his way into the cave wall. Even though periodic red lamps lit the way, his shifter eyesight came in handy. Water ran down the back wall of the very damp cave. He couldn’t imagine being trapped in here. He could only hope these shifters were sufficiently drugged or under some spell, making them unaware of their terrible circumstances.
“We can’t carry all those cages to the boat,” Stick’s accomplice whined.
“I only plan to take one of them to show our good faith.”
Declan held his breath, waiting to hear who their buyer was. Were the Royals involved or someone else? It was always possible Sanditra had been booted out of the castle after she had failed to turn Kaleena, and then had been unsuccessful with Danita and the other two. If that was true, this might have been her way to get back in their good graces. Too late now though.
Not knowing how long it would take Finn and Thane to arrive, Declan moved closer. He couldn’t let these two goons harm any of the shifters.
When Declan finally came to a large opening, he stepped into the main space.
“Hello, boys.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What the fuck are you doing here, Sinclair?” Stick pulled a gun on him.
Declan could shift, as the cave was a good twenty-feet in height, but his ability to maneuver would be somewhat limited. “I came to free the prisoners.”
“They aren’t prisoners,” the associate said. “They’re sick animals in need of our care.”
That almost made him laugh. Declan waved a hand. “Stick, you might be a vet, but if you haven’t noticed, this isn’t exactly the most sterile environment. The dampness alone will do more harm than good.”
Declan’s plan was to stall until reinforcements arrived, but when Stick shifted into a ferocious lion, Declan had no choice but to shift too. He wanted to take the man alive in order to learn as much as he could, but as soon as Stick leapt into the air, Declan was forced to shoot a stream of fire at him. Lion claws could rip his wings to shreds. Without the ability to fly very high inside the cave, avoiding Stick was near to impossible. Yes, he could have cloaked himself, but the end result would be the same—Stick would die.
The lion screamed in agony, and Declan was pissed at himself for having to burn an animal to death, but he’d attacked first.
“Oh, shit. Oh, shit. You fucking killed him.” This came from the highly distraught human friend who was still alive.
Not worried about this guy, Declan shifted back and charged toward him. With efficiency, Declan removed the man’s gun. Not that a bullet would have been fatal, but it would have stung.
“Declan?” came a call from outside the cave.
“In here, Finn.”
Thankfully, Finn, Thane, and Griffin showed up. Thane nodded to the burned shifter. “I take it that was Stick?” he asked.
“Yup.”
Thane walked over to the other man who hadn’t moved. “We need the key to the cages.”
“Stick had it.”
The key was now probably bent or, worse, had melted under the intense heat. “We could transport all these cages back to the Four Sisters, I suppose,” Declan said, “but it would be far more efficient if one of them could come here to undo the locks and the collars.”
“I agree,” Finn said. “From the way they all seemed rather lethargic, they might be poisoned like Kaleena and Chelsea had been.”
He was certain Chelsea’s collar had contained some kind of poison, which made her ability to shift difficult.
“I hate to bother the ladies before dawn, but hopefully, they won’t mind.”
“I’ll head out now,” Finn said. “If I have to wait for them to rouse, then I will.”
Declan nodded. He pulled out his phone and called his cousin Anderson.
“It’s early.”
From the grunt that followed, he’d woken him. “It’s Declan.”
After explaining about locating the ten missing animal shifters, Anderson said he would be there as soon as he could. Dealing with dragon shifters had its advantages.
“What are you going to do with me?” the accomplice asked.
“That’s up to the courts to decide. Human trafficking carries a long sentence.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are such a bad liar.” Declan faced Thane. “Make sure he doesn’t move.”
Thane smiled. “My pleasure.”
“Griff, help me check out these shifters.”
Seven were wolf shifters, two were tramors, and one was a lynx.
“This wolf is in pretty bad shape,” Griffin said. “Looks like he put up a good fight.”
Declan reached into that cage and placed a healing hand on the wolf’s head, and the animal whimpered from his touch. All Declan could think of was Chelsea and what she’d gone through. His mate was one of the strongest people he knew. Closing his eyes, he sent out healing magic. The animal’s breaths slowed, and his energy perked up. While Declan could have treated all of them, once their collars were off, he bet most could heal on their own after some much needed rest and proper nutrition.
When Anderson showed up, he escorted the offender out. Because his cousin had flown to the caves, this guy would be treated to a nice flight back. At some point, the cops would have to retrieve the boat and Stick’s car. Right now though, this man needed to be interrogated.
Not long after Declan and Griffin made sure the rest of the shifters would survive, Acacia and Primrose arrived. Actually, they materialized next to them. If Declan hadn’t expected them to make a grand entrance, he would have been startled.
“Sorry to wake you at this hour, but these men need attention,” Declan said.
Primrose waved a hand. “No worries.”
Both ladies moved over to the cages. With their back to them, it was hard to see what they were doing, but within seconds, the locks were undone on the cages and the collars removed.
Declan stepped up to the sisters. “Can they shift yet?” he asked.
“Give us a minute.”
After some hand waving, humming, and sprinkling of herbs they’d carried with them, three of the men shifted into their human form.
“Where are we?” one of them asked.
Hopefully, Finn, Thane, and Griffin would be willing to fill him in. Declan had a date with a wonderful woman.
Chelsea spent the first day back on Earth with her very excited parents and siblings, giving them the rundown of her life. Naturally, she tol
d them all about Finn too. Their questions were endless, but she loved how their eyes sparkled when she told them about the dragons and how the Guardians helped protect the realm.
While being back on Earth was wonderful, she missed Declan something fierce. She had hoped that the distance between them would lessen her need, but apparently that hadn’t been the case.
“When do you think Declan will return?” her mom asked.
“As soon as he locates the missing shifters that I saw in the back room at the shelter.”
“When you came here, was he close to learning their location?”
She didn’t want to lie. “No.”
Her mom patted her hand. “Your dad and I are happy to see you and to learn about our grandchild. While you’re here, you should see a doctor.”
Chelsea had thought about that, but she’d find one on Tarradon. “I’m good. Really.”
“Suit yourself. What would you like to do today?”
Go home to Tarradon? That thought actually startled her. When had she decided that Earth was no longer her home? Most likely after she had mated with Declan. “I want to catch up on some of my television shows. Being captured took a toll on my body. Not to mention I’m pregnant. Resting sounds wonderful.”
Her mom smiled. “Rest it will be. Go into the living room, and I’ll bring you some tea.”
Chelsea almost cried. She had the best parents in the world. Last night, she’d been surrounded by family and their mates, and it made her homesick for all of them. Today though, she wanted some peace and quiet. Tomorrow, she might go for a run on her old familiar trails.
She had just finished watching the rest of a season of her favorite show when her body vibrated. At first, she thought the baby was acting up, but when the pleasantly erotic sensations increased, she jumped up off the sofa. Declan had to be near.
She was halfway to the front door when a rap sounded. She pulled it open and practically knocked Declan over. He wrapped his arms around her and laughed. Chelsea was so overcome with desire and need that her nails sharpened, blue sparks shot everywhere, and her scales pulsed blue under her skin.
