by Celeste Raye
“It will never be as bad as you think it is. Trust me.”
“What if they don't find her?”
Ronald assured his son that they would. “Mark my words, Darius, they will find her and bring her back. I’ve already sent your brother out with several other people. She can't even shift. It shouldn't be too hard to find her. She’s basically a human girl, in the woods, close to nightfall.”
Darius wasn't too sure if that was going to be enough. He was looking for a reason to call the marriage off and he almost hoped that she wasn't found. Then he would be able to marry Amber. He wasn't sure if he loved her, but there was a caring between them. At least it was something.
His father didn't want to think about that option, but Darius had already thought it through. If this girl did take off and really didn't want to marry him, then who is he to force it? He certainly didn't want to marry someone, if she was so set against it that she would jump out of a second story window.
Darius knew that he would go back to his home and he would marry Amber. That was what he saw happening, though he was a little worried that Trent was on the case. Trent always found who he was looking for. He was just like a bloodhound, able to track anybody with just one smell. He had higher senses than most other dragon shifters.
Darius felt like he knew what was going to happen next. As long as his brother didn't find her, he would be back home soon, and Amber would be back in his arms. From what he had seen and experienced in America; he didn't want to stay. It felt better at home, where things made sense, and women knew their place.
Darius started to feel hopeful when Trent was not back with her that evening. His father was upset and started pacing the floor. He was sure that there was going to be a path back and forth where his father kept walking.
“You really should sit down, Father. You act like this is a life or death situation. It isn't. It is optional. I know your alliance means a lot to you, but is it really that big of a deal?”
“I do not need to sit down, Darius. You just don't understand. We are in a very strange place now. Our pack is getting smaller, and since we have gotten bigger territory, it is harder to keep it together.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I'm talking about the McClellans, coming from Ireland, wanting to take over half of our patch. There has been fighting for a while now.”
“I haven't heard anything about it.”
“That would be because you do not care to deal with these matters. You are always off, running around with Amber or your friends. You seem to think that responsibility is something that you can turn away from, but it isn't.”
“Is it really that bad?”
Darius was worried that his father was right, and he had been spending far too much time with his pants down. He certainly wasn't worried about anything in the family or any of the pack problems. He had always left it up to his father to take care of. The idea that he was going to take over the whole pack and have to run the family was starting to sink in. Darius hated to admit it, but his father was right. He did have to get it together or the pack was going to be in trouble. They were rich because of the territory and the land. If they lost that, Darius would lose his comfortable lifestyle.
“Yes. Do you know me to worry if it isn't?”
“No. I don't think I can remember many times that you have worried.”
“Well, count it now, because this is one of those times. We have to make this alliance so that we can get more help. If we don't push back on the McClellans, then that will be the end of this easy life that we have all grown so accustomed to.”
Darius knew the pack well, and he also knew that his family had been warring with them for centuries. There was no way for peace to come about, so the only other option was to fight. If what his father said was true, then the alliance would bring the much-needed firepower to take them down, once and for all. It could help save them from going to real war. If they showed enough force, then maybe the McClellans would back off. Darius doubted it, but he could always hope.
“I wouldn't worry about it too much, Father. If you sent Trent to find her, then I'm sure he will. He always finds what he is looking for.”
“I hope you're right. If not, we are going to have to come up with something else quickly.”
For the first time since he’d arrived in America, Darius believed that what was asked of him was necessary. He didn't like to admit it, but this was the best course of action.
Chapter Four
Trent had found out about Sienna taking off from his father. Apparently when Darius and he had gone to meet her before the wedding, she had taken off. She had told her family that she needed a nap. It was hours before they realized that she was gone. The fact that she had taken some of her belongings told them all that she had run.
What Trent needed was information. The mother and sister were convinced that she had run off with her human boyfriend, Carl. The father was pushing for the idea that she had been taken. He didn't want to admit to everyone that he had little to no control over his daughter. She was set to be married, and now she was lost. It did not look good on him at all. It made Fredrick look weak.
That is where Trent came in. He was tasked with finding her. At first, he didn't feel like it would be that hard. She was just a girl, after all, and a human one at that. She did have some powers that were not specifically told to him, but she couldn't shift, so that limited how far and how fast she could go. What was left was a human girl that was sloppily running away.
But what he hadn't considered was how determined Sienna was. He hadn’t asked and hadn’t taken the time to really think about it. She was the type of girl that jumped out of two-story windows all the time. Anytime that she was told she couldn't do something; she was quick to push back on that control and do it anyway. She didn't like to be told what to do and Trent hadn’t taken that stubbornness into account.
While Trent was convinced that she still wouldn't be that big of a problem, after a few hours, he was starting to realize that he had underestimated Sienna. While she may not have been a shifter, Sienna certainly knew how to hide her path. Even her scent was gone after a few miles from where she started.
Trent was not sure how she had done it, but he’d lost her. The whole team of six shifters were being thwarted by a human girl. That did not help his ego at all.
Half the team was ready to go back when the sun started to go down. They told themselves that they would pick up where they left off the next day. After a little while, the other two went as well. Trent knew that the chance of finding her that late at night was very low. If she had found a way to get away in the daylight, it seemed almost impossible for her to be tracked in the night. But he could not give up. It was more about this pride than anything else.
His pride had led him down many dark paths, and this was one of them. It started to rain not too long after he could've sworn he’d picked up her scent. The rain was muting the smells around him and confusing him, making it harder for him to differentiate between one thing and the other.
The only good thing that was made possible because of the dark was a little bit of cover that was needed for him to switch to his true form. Then he would be able to cover more ground more quickly. Now that it was dark, and the weather was not too terrible, Trent figured he could try to cover some more areas. The scent was quickly gone, but his intuition told him that she had gone to the water. The ocean was only a few miles away through some forest and he knew that there were several natural springs he had passed before. If he was on the run and couldn't go the more familiar route, Trent knew that he would go there.
As Trent turned, he tried to ignore the nagging in the back of his head. He should have found her by now. Why was one human female so damn complicated to find? It made no sense to him.
His scales were the color of dark amethyst. They were almost black if he was looked at one way, but in the moonlight, they would turn an iridescent purple. He'd always personally hated
the color. It was very bland, but for tonight, it was going to help him. The moon was out, and it was rather bright for a twilight. With the color of his scales, he would be able to become a shadow in the sky.
As more time went on, he had to open up the search area, but his gut told him to go to the ocean first. He was sure that he was going to find her there. Trent didn't know or care if she brought her lover with her. All he was worried about was getting her back so that they could go home sooner than later. The wedding was going to happen, and it was better for her to accept it and move on.
As he made his way to the ocean; he was there only a few moments when it appeared that he was going into a storm, because the weather got markedly worse. It was hard for him to navigate and he was grounded before he got quite there. Trent was forced to change back and walk the rest of the way up to the ridgeline.
When he was flying before, he could have sworn that he saw a fire. He could only think of one reason for a fire to be going right now. It was because two humans were trying to stay warm. Sienna wasn't cold-blooded and couldn't turn to warm herself back up.
Despite his senses being not as strong in human form, he started to pick up the now familiar scent of her that he had been tracking all day. The rain was coming down heavier, and lightning had started to strike, but she was close enough that her scent was cutting through all of the distraction. He knew that she was somewhere close, and he had to find her.
Trent also realized, as he walked towards the smoldering fire ahead of him, that Sienna was not alone. Her mother and sister had been right. She was running off with her human lover. His father and brother were certainly not going to like that fact. Who would?
Knowing that the human was there, Trent was going to have to take care of things a little differently. He certainly couldn't come out with who he really was. He paused before he came into view. He wanted to get a sense of the situation before he walked into it.
“I don't know what we're supposed to do, Sienna. Without money, where are we supposed to go?”
“I don't know, Carl. We can figure something out.”
“Like this?”
The younger man was tall and rather large for a human. Trent found himself sizing him up, until the woman came into light. Then she got all of his attention.
Sienna had strawberry blonde hair that was wet, though even in strings around her face, he could tell that it was quite lustrous and beautiful when she was in a better way. Her smile was disarming, even from as far away as she was, and her voice was loud and sure, even though it came out of a very small body. She was full of contradictions, and he wasn’t sure what to think. All he knew for sure was that she was beautiful.
“I know that it sucks right now, but we will get through this. It’s just for tonight. Being by the water gives us options.”
“We haven’t gone far enough away. I don’t have to know everything to know that your dad is going to kill me.”
“He won’t actually kill you.”
Trent was done listening to the back and forth. He was only worried about one thing, and that was getting her back home and getting himself out of the crappy weather. While it matched his mood perfectly, that didn’t mean that he wanted it falling down on his head nonstop either.
He went into the clearing and made himself known. He said Sienna’s name and watched her jerk at the sound. She had been expecting him, and their eyes met momentarily before he told her what was going to happen next.
Chapter Five
A guy came out of nowhere and she knew that her father had sent him there. It was the only reason that he would be there, would know who she was.
“You have wasted your time and come out in bad weather. I'm not going back with you.”
“You don’t have a choice, Sienna. I think you know that. Why don't you make it easier on yourself and Carl and come willingly?”
He did not say that he would do anything bad, but Sienna took it as he would if he had to. She could hear the underlying threat in his tone.
“How do you know Carl's name?”
“Apparently, your intentions are not very hard to look into. Your mother and sister told me that you would be with him. I suppose they were right. Does he know that you are supposed to get married in a few days?”
“Yes, he knows.”
The male human that they were talking about had not said anything one way or another. He was looking at Trent like the man was going to attack him and Trent would have admitted to wanting to do that. He did not make it very hard to see what his true intentions were. His expression said everything.
“Why don’t we let him speak for himself?”
She looked over at Carl and Sienna knew almost immediately that he was not going to be any help. He was barely keeping himself together at the moment, and she blew out a breath of frustration.
“Carl has nothing to do with this. You don't have to bring him into it.”
“Whether he does or not is not my concern. What is my concern is that we get out of here and get you back home. Your father is anxious to get you home.”
“My father is only anxious to marry me off for some alliance. That has nothing to do with me. Just let us go, and you can pretend like you didn't find me.”
“I can't do that.”
“Why not? It's just orders. Why does it matter to you if I marry that man or not?”
“No, you are actually supposed to marry my brother. It’s a little more personal for me than you think.”
“Oh.”
Sienna had hoped that she would find some sort of help from him, but it was starting to become very clear that help was not going to come from Trent.
“Well, you can at least let Carl go.”
“I will let him go, but it would be best if he left the area for a while. At least until you are married off and gone. Then your father won’t be so upset, but right now, if he is found, I can almost guarantee you, that Carl will not like what happens next.”
Because of who Carl was, Trent knew that he couldn't come out with the truth, but he hoped that he said enough that Sienna would get the hint. He did feel bad for her, but at the same time, he had a duty. Unlike his brother, Darius, Trent preferred duty strongly and knew that he had to do what was necessary. Whether he liked it or not.
“Talk to him for a few minutes. Say your goodbyes and then we have to leave.”
Sienna wanted to say something, argue with him, anything, but she knew it would do her no good. It wasn't hard to see that Trent was a shifter, as well as a man who was used to being listened to. He said what he said, and from the way he spoke, it was rather clear to her that he expected her to abide by what came next. She didn't have a choice. Sienna hated guys like that.
Sienna felt like she was talking to her father at the moment. That's how he was as well. He put his foot down, and that was that.
She turned to her companion after Trent turned away and she told Carl in no uncertain terms that he needed to get out of the area. It was easy to convince him to do so since he was so afraid of her father as it was.
Sienna was almost embarrassed at how quickly he was ready to leave her and go away. He was practically running away, and she tried not to let it bother her too much. He wasn't her lover like everyone thought: they were good friends. They were sort of dating, but it had not gone as far as everyone imagined it had.
She watched him walk away with mixed feelings. As much as she wanted to pretend that she didn't care about him, his way of handling things bothered her. It was like he didn't even care.
“Well, that was uneventful.”
“Yes, I guess it was. It didn't take long for you to destroy my whole life, did it?”
“That's a bit unfair, don't you think?”
“Not really. You could let me go and I could get out of here before the rest of my father's goons find me. Why can't you just let me go?”
“Because I made a promise and a man is only as good as his promise.”
She waved him
off, because she had heard the same crap from her father her whole life. It was always about other people’s sacrifice. Sienna was sick of it. She wanted something for herself, and Sienna knew that going home was going to make it so much worse. She wasn’t ready to give up the rest of her life to make her family happy. There had to be something that she could do.
“Now that it’s over, are you ready to go?”
“I’m really cold, Trent. Can you just take me home, without all of the gloating?”
“Come on, it will take a while, but the weather will let up soon. I hope.”
“Can’t you just shift and take me home now?”
“Not in this rain. It’s hard to navigate.”
“So, what is your plan?”
“We walk. There is nothing close to drive, so we walk till we get there.”
Sienna looked at him as if he had lost his mind. There was no way that she was walking. She was already freezing.
“I am too cold for this. Come on, you can fly slow or something, right?”
He disagreed and then she was more stunned than anything else. “So, you really want to walk back?”
“Yes, it’s the only way to get us closer until the rain lets up.”
“So, you want to leave the warm fire to get closer? Why don’t we find somewhere else a little better and then wait it out? I mean, it’s not like the wedding is tonight or anything. What are a few more hours?”
It made sense to him, and he was starting to get wet as well.
“Okay, Sienna, I take it you have a place in mind.”
“I do, but you will have to shift and climb. Can you manage that in the rain?”
She was being smart, but he agreed anyway. “Yes, it has to be better than this, doesn’t it?”
Sienna agreed. She certainly thought it was a better idea than walking thirty miles or so back home. That didn’t sound like a plan at all.
