The Rookie

by Abigail Owen

  Rune stared at her a second. “You’re not wrong.”

  “I have to think of my son, and not just myself. I’d like to give the ‘inside the law’ method a try first.” The Huracáns trusted the system. Maybe they shouldn’t, if Rune was right, but trusting him was still a big fat question mark. She knew she trusted the team. If she insisted Aidan be included in the process, she needed to believe he would be. And if not, she’d have to live her life on the run. She couldn’t stand the thought of doing that to Blake. Or Aidan.

  “You could be making a terrible mistake,” Rune warned, his voice again at a knife’s edge that had her tensing her muscles to keep from running.

  “It’s my choice to make, though.”

  He pulled a small device from his pocket and held it out to her.

  Tentatively, she accepted the black box with a tiny screen and a clip. “A pager?” She lifted her gaze to him. “You might consider upgrading your technology.”

  The man actually chuckled, though it came out more like a cough. “The Council will be monitoring for cell phone signals. No one uses pagers these days.”

  Relief surged through her. He was letting her go? He’d even prepared for this contingency, apparently? His methods were unbelievably questionable, but he’d stuck to his word, and now she had a backup plan. That was the best she could do.

  “The Council won’t let you go once they have you. I can’t guarantee I can get you away. But, if you want to leave, send 911 to the first number programmed, then wait. We’ll be in touch within an hour at the most.”

  Sera curled her fist around the tiny device, muscles inside her unclenching for the first time since Aidan witnessed her eyes going dragon. “Thank you.”

  “In case I need to convince Aidan to come, too, and you’re not there, what would he know that only you would’ve told him?”

  Sera blinked, then thought through all their conversations, trying to separate out dreams from reality. “Blake’s middle name. It’s Caleb. It was going to be Jacob, but we changed our minds.”

  “Got it.” Rune nodded. “I have one request.”

  “Okay?”

  “Don’t tell the team about my involvement. Unless they bring up my name, you know nothing about me or Hall’s connection with me.”

  Sera’s stomach turned over, bile stinging her throat as it rose up. Awesome. She sucked at secrets and keeping them from the guys…from Aidan…sat like two-ton dumbbells on her shoulders. Still, this man had kept his word, even tried to give her a way out, should she wish to take it.

  Before answering, she turned to Hall. “Are you a spy?”

  The green dragon regarded her with a grave expression, lime-green eyes dimmed, though that could be the lighting. “I would never do anything that would directly hurt my brothers.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  Hall looked over her head to Rune, who must’ve given him the go ahead. “I feed Rune information on dragon mates. I don’t tell him about the team or anything non-mate related.”

  Hall didn’t say more, but he didn’t need to. The conflict of believing one thing diametrically opposed to what the men he lived and fought with as brothers believed reflected in eyes gone even darker green, closer to Kanta’s piney hue.

  “I see,” Sera murmured.

  She angled a searching look at Rune. “Do your people threaten any of the team?”

  He crossed his arms. “Directly? No.”

  “And indirectly?”

  A hardness that hadn’t been there before entered his voice. “We may start fires to distract them or force their hands. Nothing they can’t handle.”

  Disapproval jerked through her, making her shake her head in denial. What if one of those fires hurt one of the men? At the same time, Rune had been honest when asked, and he wasn’t forcing her to do anything. What was she supposed to do with this? She still needed his help.

  “Are we in agreement?” Rune held out a hand to shake.

  After only a slight hesitation, Sera gripped his hand. “You have my word…unless keeping your secret endangers anyone I love.”

  “Fair enough.”

  …

  The soft pad of footsteps across the crunchy needles lining the forest floor reached Aidan. Drake and Titus must’ve heard it as well, because all three of them tensed and crouched, ready to fight.

  As soon as Hall and Sera emerged from around the side of the house, they straightened.

  “You’re all still standing out here?” Sera stopped dead and planted her hands on her hips, glaring at Titus and Drake. “Give Aidan a break, guys. It was just a kiss.”

  Sera glanced at Hall who shrugged. Nothing about the gesture should’ve pinged on Aidan’s radar, but something felt off. Since he couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly, Aidan set that aside for later reflection. “We need to talk.”

  Sera dropped her arms to her sides, eyeing him warily. “What about?”

  “It’s important,” Aidan insisted.

  Sera shot another glance at Hall who gave a small shake of his head. “All of us?” she glanced at the other men.

  “Yeah.” Unfortunately. No way were Titus and Drake going to let him have this talk in private.

  “Can we go inside?” she asked. “I suspect I’d like to be sitting for…whatever this is.”

  Not waiting for an answer, Sera let herself into the house. Aidan and the others followed, only she didn’t immediately sit down. She went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of ice water, the ice tinging off the sides of the glass indicating her hands were shaking. Visibly calm, besides that small tell, she made her way back to the family room and dropped into a large armchair.

  That left the couch for three of them to share, and one of them would remain standing. This would be fun.

  Drake, as usual, chose to skulk in the corner of the room, propping up one flower-papered wall with his shoulder. With reluctance, Aidan joined Titus and Hall on the couch, sitting to the left, closest to Sera. To say the human-sized sofa was a squeeze for three dragon shifters would be a colossal understatement.

  Ignoring his discomfort, Aidan leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “We would like to delay taking you to the Alliance by one day.”

  Her lips pulled into a frown of confusion. “Why?”

  Here was the tricky part. No way to ease into it, either. “Because I’m…er…concerned you might be my mate, and I want a chance to discover if that’s true before we involve the Alliance and the Mating Council.”

  Sera stiffened and her eyes flashed dragon—gorgeous turquoise swallowing the white with black catlike slits down the center. She sat forward slowly, focus totally on him. “You’re concerned I’m your mate?”

  He was fucking this up royally. Would he ever be able to talk to this woman without pissing her off? “Concerned isn’t the right word—”

  Titus’s dark chuckle didn’t help matters. Aidan shot him a glare.

  “Smooth, rookie,” Drake muttered behind them.

  Aidan ignored them, scooting forward, trying to show Sera his sincerity. Before he could try to backpedal more, Sera softened suddenly, the elongated pupils of her eyes widening to consume more of the irises. “Is your mark one of the ones on my neck?” she asked quietly. “I need you to say it.”

  If he scooted any farther forward, his ass would drop off the couch. “Yes.”

  She searched his face, looking for what? “But you already knew that, and you still said I wasn’t your mate. So…why now?”

  Aidan stood, but a cough from Titus stopped him from moving closer. Dammit. “I kept my distance so I wouldn’t hurt you or Blake or put you in more danger than you already were, knowing about us, but I’ve always felt a connection.”

  Sera blinked, and her eyes returned to normal, only with such a deep sadness in them, his gut clenched. “Why not say something when you saw the brand?”

  “It’s complicated.” He glanced at Titus and Drake. Complicated didn’t begin to cove
r it. This could very well destroy their team. But knowing those dreams might be real, that his shot with her might be real, too, meant not speaking up would be tantamount to sending her to her death if or when another man tried to mate her.

  Her lips twisted. “You don’t say?” Bitterness laced her words like the bite of alcohol in a sweet drink.

  “Aidan shouldn’t be your mate,” Titus jumped in.

  A growl erupted from Aidan’s throat. One he couldn’t have controlled if he wanted to.

  Sera jumped, her mouth falling open. “Did you growl?”

  “My dragon did,” he said, voice gone dark and raspy with his dragon right there on the edge.

  Sera swallowed and transferred her focus to Titus. “Why shouldn’t he be my mate?”

  Aidan willed her to look at him, but she didn’t.

  “He’s not the only one on the team who matches your brands,” Titus stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

  Sera’s foot, which had been jiggling, went still. “I don’t understand.”

  “What Titus means is, three of us match the marks on your neck.” Drake spoke up from his observant post on the wall.

  Blood leached from Sera’s skin, her eyes going wide in shock. “Three of you?” she whispered. She glanced to Hall who gave her the strangest look. Regret maybe?

  “Aidan, Titus…” Drake shifted, looking uncomfortable suddenly. “And me.”

  “That’s why the three of you came with me,” she murmured to herself. Then lifted her head to pin Hall with a glare. “Someone more…neutral…should have told me all this earlier.”

  He crossed his arms. “Rules are rules, gorgeous.”

  “Is that so?” She didn’t appear impressed.

  “I figured these guys would get their heads out of their asses and spill the beans eventually. Nothing about this situation is normal.”

  Sera snorted. “Kanta would’ve been better as a mediator. No offense.”

  Hall lifted a single eyebrow and a silent message passed between him and Sera. Aidan had no idea what, but whatever they’d talked about on that walk seemed to have drawn them closer.

  He did not like that. At all.

  Now I’m jealous of someone with no claim on her. “There’s more. Drake shares the same family crest as Pytheios, our High King. We told you a little about him.” Aidan took a step closer to her. “Obviously, being the king’s mate would be a high honor. He’s dying and a mate might be able to save him. The Alliance and the Mating Council may push for that. So, before we go to them, I’d like a chance—”

  Titus coughed.

  “—we’d like a chance to see if there’s something there. It will make the Council’s job easier, with Pytheios in the mix, if you already…know.”

  Sera closed her eyes and dropped her head in her hands. “This is all too much.”

  All he wanted was to wrap her up in his arms and make this go away, but the situation was hamstringing him. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head, eyes still closed, and didn’t speak. For a long time. They sat in awkward silence, the guys exchanging glances. The best he could do was go down on one knee to get on her level.

  “Sera?” he prompted quietly.

  She still didn’t open her eyes. “Just…give me a minute.” She took a shuddering breath and lifted her head, not looking at him, though. “Do all of you think I’m your mate?”

  Her gaze darted to Drake first. For a half a second, Drake’s perpetual scowl softened. He crossed the room and knelt beside Aidan to rest his hands on her knees.

  Titus straightened in his seat, giving a small growl of warning.

  Shock at the red shifter’s uncharacteristic moment of humanity held Aidan still. Strangely, unlike with Titus, Aidan’s immediate reaction wasn’t to rip the man’s throat out. So, he waited.

  Sera angled her head, possibly sensing the same thing.

  “Forget all the marks and who they represent for a moment,” Drake said. “Mating is about what you feel, a connection that is so strong it’s almost physical, but it’s also a meeting of souls. Like you understand each other. Like being apart means you’re missing half of yourself. Do you feel drawn to me that way?”

  Sera’s eyes flashed wide and Aidan about came out of his skin waiting for her to answer. “No.” She pleaded with Drake with those big blue eyes, obviously worried she was breaking the man’s heart.

  “Then that’s all we need to know.”

  “You’re sure?” Sera pushed.

  Drake stood, though a little more slowly than Aidan would expect. Regret weighing at him? “You are. That’s all that matters.”

  Sera huffed a laugh that sounded a lot like relief. Then she shifted her gaze to Titus. “What about you? Do you believe we could be mates?”

  Drake hadn’t acted as though he felt more than friendship for Sera, but Titus had. If Titus was her mate, she could do no better. Except the notion made Aidan want to vomit.

  “I think there’s a chance.” Titus slid forward in his seat. “The bottom mark is black, and harder to make out, but the edging is my family’s brand.”

  A mark Titus had already seen on the back of one woman’s neck. The man had gone through the hell of losing that mate, as well as a piece of his own soul with her. And I’m standing here begrudging him another go.

  Except Sera is mine.

  A new certainty took hold, almost as though all his denials and excuses had been like a kink in a hose. Now that he was open to the truth, it started flowing.

  Sera left her seat to stand before Titus, who rose to his feet. She took both his hands in hers, gazing deeply into his eyes, as if searching. “I’m sorry. You’ve been so sweet to Blake and me, but…” She shook her head.

  A nerve at the side of Titus’s mouth twitched. “Are you sure?”

  His voice broke and Sera flinched, her eyes filled with pain Aidan could feel. “I know your mate is out there, but she’s not me.”

  With a small smile, Titus lifted a hand to cup her cheek with an expression that should’ve settled Aidan’s dragon, but instead made his skin crawl. “Worth the try.”

  Sera briefly leaned into his touch before she resumed her seat.

  Then she focused on him with an expression that gave nothing away. “That leaves you.”

  “Yes,” Aidan confirmed.

  “Or someone from his family,” Titus corrected. “And let’s not forget others in my family, Drake’s, and the High King.”

  Her gaze slid back to Aidan and he could practically see the neurons firing. She gave her head a little shake, then pressed her lips together and did it again.

  She’s going to say no?

  Only, he couldn’t let her. “The dreams.” The most important proof tumbled out of his mouth and he watched her for any hint of reaction.

  Immediately the pulse at the base of her throat took off, the thud of her heart loud enough that they all caught it, even as she kept her expression closed. “Dreams?”

  Please let them be real. Because if that Sera had been real, if all that—shared moments of intimacy, whispered conversations, moments of laughter and support, and so much more—was real, then he was already more than half in love with her. Hell, he’d give up everything—every single goal and ambition—to keep her in his life.

  “What are you talking about?” Hall asked, straightening, growing more serious.

  Aidan ignored him, his entire focus on the woman clenching the arms of her chair like it might take off into space at any second.

  “They were real,” he said.

  In answer, Sera jumped to her feet and walked out of the room and out the door, the screen creaking on its hinges before it hit with a bang.

  Shock planted Aidan’s feet to the floor like his shoes had grown roots. She’d left. Left him, walked out on what he was saying. She’d fully comprehended the importance, so this had to be, what? Rejection?

  “Hey, dumbass,” Hall cut in.

  Aidan slowly looked over.

&
nbsp; He hitched a thumb toward the door. “Go after her.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  He watched, his rage beating against the cage where he locked it inside him, as Aidan followed Sera out of the house.

  I have no choice. I have to take her tonight before he poisons her mind.

  He’d take out Aidan first. He didn’t have anything against the rookie. Aidan had shown himself to be a stone-cold fighter, strong and loyal to the team, but he didn’t deserve a mate. His brand on her neck was clearly confusing Sera, distracting her from her true connection.

  He had been waiting, had killed already to find her. He’d kill again. His fated mate was worth it.

  She said she didn’t feel a connection. The flaming arrow straight to his heart had been hard to disguise behind that fake smile, but he’d had centuries to master hiding his true feelings. Hell, he was the master of hard logic. He called upon that now. Distance and time—and death—would fix Sera’s confusion about Aidan.

  The question was how to make it appear like someone else’s fault.

  Maybe she’d kill Aidan herself. She hadn’t looked too happy with the rookie when she walked out. That would save him from having to do it.

  No. She’d never consider it. Sera, so feminine and meek. He couldn’t wait to bend her to his will.

  “Kill him for me?”

  Suddenly Sera stood before him, smiling up at him in that way she had. His fantasy come to life yet again.

  “Aidan?”

  “Yes. He thinks I’m his, and I know he’s not.” She put a hand on his arm. He could almost feel the warmth of that touch through his shirt. “He scares me. What he might do.”

  “I won’t let him hurt you,” he assured her.

  She shook her head. “I’ll only feel safe if he’s gone. Then we can truly be together.”

  Hall slapped him on the shoulder. “Better luck next time, old man.”

  He blinked, and Sera disappeared, leaving him in the room with his teammates. Neither man showed any suspicion or concern.

  “I’ll have my chance,” he said.

  “I know you will.” Hall squeezed his shoulder and left the room. “I’m glad you’re taking this so well, because she’s sure she’s not yours.”