by Amelia Jade
"Yes, it's been slow going. We spend a lot of time up in the mines these days. We have our first break coming up in two weeks, and I intend on taking full advantage of that."
"I'll bet," she agreed, looking up at the wall over the desk that had a cardboard sign that read Garrett H. on it. The wall was empty and forlorn looking, as if it was supposed to be home to something.
"What went there?" she asked, curious.
"That's where the old sign for this place used to hang. It had fallen down when we got here, and we haven't decided what to put up just yet."
Emma didn't respond, turning in place to look it over once more.
"Where should I house her?" Corey asked, turning to look at Garrett.
"House her?" he asked.
"Well, I assumed by her words and yours she was going to be around a lot, so I figured she would be staying here." Corey explained his logic while she looked on, trying to understand why the idea caught Garrett so off guard.
"Absolutely not," he said firmly. "She's going to be around often enough as it is; the last thing we need is her staying the night."
"I appreciate your concern for what my presence may or may not do to your crew," she injected smoothly before Corey could protest. "But this is my job, and I will be doing it. That means I'll be staying. Right. Here." She said, crossing her arms in front of her. She felt ridiculous trying to act tough in front of Garrett. He towered over her by almost an entire foot, and could change into a gargantuan bear that could flatten her without a second thought.
"Fine. Show her to the guest room," Garrett said crossly, spinning and leaving the room.
"Sorry about that," Corey said, once they were out of earshot.
"It's okay," she said distractedly.
Something else was bothering Garrett. She knew he resented her presence in the official capacity, which may explain his sudden change in mood just now. But she couldn't help but remember earlier when the fight broke out. His first move, the one that was all instinct, hadn't been to join the fight or try to break it up. No, it had been to protect her, to get her out of harm's way.
Could that be why he wanted her gone now? To keep her away from the other members of his crew, to protect her?
"This way," Corey said, interrupting her with a swing of his arm as he pointed back out toward the lobby. He guided her down the fresh deck, past several rooms, before stopping at one that looked rougher than the others.
"Sorry, we haven't had a chance to fix it up to the same extent as our own rooms yet. But don't worry, the bed and sheets at least are new," he said, embarrassed as he opened the door.
"Room 113," she said dryly. "How lucky."
"Well," Corey said awkwardly, eager to be gone she was sure. "Let me know if you need anything more."
"I'll need to go back to my car at some point tonight. Please make sure Mr. Grumpy knows that," she said sarcastically, tossing her head back in the direction she assumed Garrett had disappeared to.
Corey laughed. "He's not grumpy. He's worried about how he's going to run his crew and also spend enough time with you to keep you happy."
Emma was too stunned to reply as Corey headed off, promising to inform his Alpha about her needing to go back to her car after dinner. All she could do was nod, though her brain was racing.
Garrett wanted to keep her happy? He should have kept her around instead of pawning her off on Corey like that. Men, she snorted to herself, walking into the room and giving it a once-over. They didn't understand a thing about keeping a woman happy.
The room itself was in rough shape, like Corey had mentioned. The bed looked new, but the sagging walls and dilapidated furniture spoke to the true condition of the room. Still, she didn't see any mold and it had been cleaned out. At least one person had likely stayed here already, which gave her some heart.
She was very thankful to hear the arrival of other trucks and the call for dinner preparation.
Chapter Three
Garrett
"Absolutely not."
"Why not? It's not like much is going on now, and I'd like to get my vehicle moved up here."
"Because," Garrett said, explaining his reasoning. "Dinner is one of the few organized rituals I have going with the Ridgebacks. I call dinner, and they come together to make it happen. It's one of the few things that's going smoothly. I'm not about to disrupt that for anyone, no matter how important or pretty they may be."
Damn. He hadn't meant to add that last part. That was twice now in less than a few hours that he had made reference to her looks. If he wasn't careful she was going to think he was trying to flirt with her to make her go easier on his crew. It would be easier, he mused, if her piercing hazel eyes weren't so easy to get lost in. Like he was doing now.
Shit.
Wrenching his eyes away from hers, he focused back on the fire that Russell was tending to, ensuring their food had proper amounts of heat and flame. The last thing he needed to do was fall for the woman who would decide if his crew, and by association his status as an Alpha, were to be allowed to continue on.
"Fuck," he muttered to himself, realizing what was already going on.
"Pardon?" Emma asked.
"Nothing, sorry," he said, fumbling his way through the excuse. "Just getting hungry," he added lamely, noting the disbelieving stare she was leveling his way.
"So, what's for dinner?" she asked, being polite and giving him a way out that both of them could see from a mile off.
"Steaks, and I think we have some corn on the cob tonight as well, don't we Cole?" he replied, raising his voice slightly so the other bear could hear.
"That is the plan, yes. Darren was going to add some mashed potatoes, but he's gonna need another hour or two to heal up, so we'll likely have those tomorrow, unless he gets his ass kicked. Again," Cole added with a snicker.
"What happened to Darren?" Emma asked, looking around as if realizing for the first time that the other crew member wasn't with them.
"Broke his legs. Plural," Evan spat as he walked by them, a large platter loaded high with massive hunks of meat covered in a blend of spices.
"That's terrible!" she exclaimed, though Garrett could see her nose testing the air, taking in the pleasing aroma of the marinated meat.
"He'll be fine," he assured her. "But somehow the idiot allowed one of them to break his femur. It had begun to heal before the others could set it, so they had to re-break it. Not a pleasant thing, and it'll take him a few hours longer to heal enough to walk, otherwise he'd likely develop a limp."
Emma nodded. "And if he develops a limp, he won't be able to work the mines, at which point he'll be useless to anyone," she concluded.
Garrett looked at her. She was sharp, he realized, not for the first time. One of the biggest fears of a miner was getting too injured to be useful. Despite the unnatural healing abilities of the bear shifters, working the mine the way they did was incredibly dangerous and could result in permanent injuries or even fatalities. In fact, more than a couple happened every year.
"This is delicious," she told him a little later around a mouthful of perfectly cooked medium-rare steak.
He smiled. She was also a carnivore. He liked that.
"I'm glad to hear it. This is one thing that I think, despite all of our differences, each of us actually looks forward to," he said, looking around the huge firepit at his crew and seeing the nods from all, even if Evan only did so grudgingly.
"If you can't like a good steak dinner, then you're incurable, I say!"
"Russell, you wouldn't know a good steak dinner from a terrible steak dinner. Remember that time you charred them black and couldn't stop bragging about your cooking job?" Cole teased as the others laughed.
"You guys built all of this?" Emma asked him softly as the others began to insult each other, mostly in good nature.
"We did actually," he replied, his chest puffing up a little, despite his best efforts not to let it happen.
"Well, you may as well tell me all
about it," she said with a smile. "I can see from your reaction you're proud of it."
"Sure," he said, taking a moment to recover from the way her smile had set his heart racing. "It was practically the first thing we did as a crew. Even before we started tackling the rooms. We can sleep outside if need be, but we needed somewhere to cook. The guys, they all came together to build this as a team. It was the first time that I realized with the right motivation and coaxing they could truly be the crew that the Kedyns were hoping to get out of it."
Emma was staring at him as he spoke, not saying anything at all.
"What?" he said, doing his best not to smile at the look on her face, and failing miserably.
"Nothing," she said mischievously, looking around the gathering area.
Garrett had to admit he was proud of what had been accomplished by all of the bears in their hard work. But it was also a sign that they were willing to accept his leadership, as they had done it all without arguing with him. Which seemed to be all they did now.
"Now that's done, I can usually count on the prospect of a nice steak dinner to bring us all back together, even after any divisiveness that may have occurred during the day. It doesn't forge them into an elite crew like the Diamonds or anything, but it's a start."
"The Diamond Crew certainly is something to be marveled at," she said, nodding her head in agreement at his comment.
"Well, they've had a long time to perfect their mining game, and they're given some of the most potent shafts as well, so they have a bit of an advantage," he explained.
"Is it that hard?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, doing his best not to laugh in her face. The last thing Garrett wanted to see was anything but laughter and joy on Emma's face. It was too pretty for anything else. Not that he had any intention of telling her that.
Yet.
"So you know what we mine for, right?" he asked, ready to elaborate on the subject.
"Not really. I mean, I know you mine for dragon stones, but I don't really know what they are or why they're so important. It's not something that they really tell us liaisons. I think that they fear it may taint our views of the miners."
"Taint your view? Of us patron saints of justice and equality?" he joked, hoping to evoke her laughter.
Emma laughed, a rich, hearty sound that seemed right at home among the loud, obnoxious bear shifters that called Ridgeback Lodge their den. It reached out to him and dragged him in, and before long, he found the others joining in.
"Well, we all know how perfect you are," she said, taking a swig of her beer to wash down another bite of steak. "But, and this may come as a shock," she said holding up her hand to forestall any outburst from him. "There are some shifters out there that are rather unscrupulous."
"I don't believe it. Bear shifters are the epitome of class," he said straight-faced, which brought about another round of laughter.
"You actually don't know what we mine though, Ms. Labelle?" Corey asked.
Labelle. Now there was a perfect last name, for a belle she was indeed, Garrett thought to himself.
You're falling for her, part of his brain told him. That's not a good idea, because although she's being nice now, she's not going to be that way in the morning. She's playing you, using your trust to get details that she'll use to tear your crew apart.
Garrett snarled internally, telling his inner voice to make rather impossible use of one of the long pieces of wood lying next to the fire.
"No, not really," she confessed to the group.
Corey looked over at Garrett, who nodded the go-ahead.
"Well, we mine for dragon stones," he began, but Emma interrupted him before he could say more.
"Yes. There are five main types, correct? Jade, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond. Then a bunch of lesser types, like amethyst, opal, onyx, et cetera."
"Exactly," Garrett confirmed.
"When a dragon shifter passes away from age, they actually shift into their dragon form and become solid rock. Several centuries later, that rock fades to dust, and all that's left behind is the stone."
"But what does the stone do, exactly?"
"It holds the soul of the dragon, from what I understand," Garrett said as Corey searched for the words to explain it. "The dragon shifters are a little reluctant to share exactly how it works, or what it does, but to them the stones are incredibly valuable, and they pay extremely well for them."
"So if that's the type of thing you're mining for, that would explain why there's never any blasting going on. The stones could be damaged by it."
"The lady is quick," Corey commented.
"That she is," Garrett confirmed, finding himself more and more intrigued by Emma as she revealed her full capabilities. "That's why we mine by hand, the old-fashioned way. It's tiring and backbreaking, but it ensures we don't break any stones."
"But why here? I didn't think dragons were that prevalent. How come there are so many crews mining here?"
"This is where it all began," Garrett said, the reverence and awe in his voice unmistakable.
"What do you mean?"
"This is Genesis Valley," he told her bluntly.
Emma thought about it, though it only took her a few seconds before understanding flared into her eyes. "This is the home of dragons," she whispered.
"As far as anyone knows," he said softly. "That's why we find so many stones, relative to their population. Some of the ones we find are millennia old."
"Unbelievable," she said, her voice equally hushed.
"But," he said, trying to break the tension that had settled over the group. "They don't live here anymore, thank goodness!" He took a big swig of his beer as the others agreed, each of them also taking a drink.
"So, tell me some more about yourself Miss Labelle," he said as the others drifted away to relax after finishing eating.
"What do you want to know?" she quizzed.
"Well, my crew all seems to know you, while I've only heard of your position. Why do they seem unenthused to have you around?"
"I have a reputation," she said immediately, not hesitating nor avoiding the point.
He nodded his respect at her ability to confront the situation head-on.
"What sort of reputation?"
"They think I'm a hard-ass," she responded.
Garrett sensed she wasn't finished, so he simply looked at her, waiting for Emma to find the words to explain what she meant by that.
"I'm a human, living in a bear world. Most of the liaisons are also bears. I have to be harder than anyone else if I want to succeed here."
"Do you want to succeed here?" he asked, honestly curious.
"Have you seen how well positions here pay?" she asked. "I don't know how I landed the job, but I have school debts to pay off. I've been here just over a year, but another year, and they will be gone. Wiped out, and with enough left over for a hefty deposit on a house. None of my friends can say that. So yes, in that way, I wish to succeed."
"But," he prompted.
"This isn't me," she confessed.
That took balls. If word got out that it was all an act, that her heart wasn't into it, the other crews would not fear her nearly as much.
"Oh, I mean, I can put up with you bears. But I hate being judge and jury all rolled into one. It takes a toll on your humanity," she said. "Sorry."
"Not a problem," he said, waving off the implication that he wasn't human. It didn't bother him, though it may have in years past. Besides, he was far more intrigued by this little glimpse into the life of Emma Labelle than he was anything else.
"Actually, it is a problem," she said, though she was referring to her job again, lost deep in thought. "You see, they all fear me because they think I have no heart, no soul."
"Why?" he prompted.
"Because my first week on the job I had to sentence three bears. Three. Not one, but a trio. Do you know how they kill a bear that's deemed 'unfit'?" she whispered, looking up at him, tears in her eyes.
"I witnessed them. All of them. Two weeks on the job, and I had sentenced three people to die. That's why they think I'm a hard-ass," she said.
"Were they guilty?" he asked softly.
"One hundred percent."
"Then you did the right thing. They killed other people, innocent people. While sentencing them to death should never be easy, you did what was necessary." Garrett paused, his chest rising and falling with his slow, deep breaths as he considered his next words.
"We're dangerous," he told her, the words coming slowly at first, but faster as he spoke. "The power we hold within us as shifters—it makes us near invincible to anything but one of our own. To have not one, but three wild ones running around regular humans, unchecked? That would scare even me. No one deserves to have to worry about that. It's not like we're some of the more civilized bears either," he said ruefully, including himself in that sentence. Garrett had his issues, he knew that, and was fully aware of it.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He reached out a large, muscular arm and pulled her close to him without thinking. She slid easily along the bench they were sitting on, until her head rested on his shoulder comfortably. Neither of them said a word for a long time after that as they stared into the dwindling flames of the cooking fire.
The Kedyn brothers performed each execution in Genesis Valley. They had to. There were few things that could kill a bear shifter, but the massive beak of a gryphon could snap even their necks with enough force.
It was not a pleasant thing.
"Can we go back to my vehicle now?" she said, changing the subject.
"Sure, but are you in any condition to drive it?"
"Probably not," she admitted. "But I still have things I need to get from it."
"I'll drive you," he said reluctantly. The thing Garrett wanted the least, and the most at that moment, was to be alone with Emma Labelle in an enclosed space.
