“Or getting their hands on you.” Jason fixed him with a level stare. “You know there’s a chance they won’t be happy with just your treasure. They are dragon hunters. My guess is that they try to blackmail a dragon out of his treasure before they trap or kill them.”
Lorcan’s expression hardened. “Do you think that’s what happened to my dad?”
“I don’t know. And we might never know.” Jason placed his hand on Lorcan’s shoulder as the young man curled his hands into tight fists. He could sense his dragon simmering just below the surface, ready to erupt into the world and breathe fire over his foes. “We don’t even know if these dragon hunters even knew your dad.”
“So how did they find me?” Lorcan asked. “How do you know my dad didn’t hide the treasure from them so it would be there for me when I was of age? And when he wouldn’t tell them where it was, they killed him for it knowing that all they had to do was wait for me to come of age and lead them to it?”
“You think you have it all figured out,” Jason said kindly. “But how do you know your mom didn’t just tell them?”
Lorcan reeled back. “My mom?” He looked over his shoulder to where Shannon was still tapping away on her phone, sending messages to her dad.
“Your birth mother,” Jason explained. “She told your mom and your grandpa about dragons and how you would be a shifter one day. What if she told other people? What if she told them about dragon treasure, too?”
Lorcan’s dragon settled and the danger passed. “I never thought about that.”
“Lorcan, it’s all open to interpretation. Until we know for sure who these dragon hunters are and what they actually know, rather than what they think they know, we can only deal with the facts as we know them.” Jason watched Lorcan fight with his inner demons.
His inner dragon, his bear added unhelpfully.
Jason did not need reminding that they were dealing with a fire-breathing teenager.
“I promise I’ll keep my dragon under control.” He looked Jason in the eye. “Even if they have proof dragons exist, I won’t shift.” He glanced over his shoulder toward Fiona and her family. “I want to ask them to guard my treasure.”
“It will keep them out of trouble and make sure no one goes up the mountain to the cave.” Jason had always used his shifter senses to ensure there was no one around when they visited the cave. It would be only too easy for the dragon hunters to have followed Shannon and Lorcan to Bear Creek and laid low until the dragon shifter had found his treasure. Shannon had said she’d been extra careful and made sure no one had followed them, but there was always a possibility.
The same as there was also a possibility one or more of the dragon hunters was a shifter and would be able to see or smell Lorcan. The dragon shifter certainly had an unusual scent, but Jason doubted a normal shifter would be able to guess what he was.
“I’ll go speak to them,” Lorcan said and slipped away.
“Tell them to take a satellite phone and if there is any sign of trouble coming their way, they need to call Patrick, or Brad.” Jason received a wave as acknowledgment Lorcan had heard the instructions.
“Do you trust him?” Killian murmured quietly as he sipped a cup of coffee.
“Who, Lorcan?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, do you think he’ll tell the other dragons to keep out of the way or do you think he’ll ask them to swoop down and incinerate every dragon hunter in sight?” Killian arched an eyebrow as Jason turned an incredulous expression on him. “What? Wouldn’t you even consider it if your whole family was in danger?”
“More like the last of your kind was in danger,” Patrick said as he packed away the large map of the mountains and sawmill. “There aren’t exactly dragons to spare, are there?”
“True.” Killian put his coffee cup down on the bar and helped Patrick.
“Maybe we should trust them and trust in their decisions,” Jason replied. “This is, after all, their war more than anyone’s.”
“This isn’t just their war. It’s our war,” Jason said solemnly. “It’s a war against bullies and people who think they can just take what they want from others even if they have no right to it. The difference is this time we are strong...”
“This time?” Gunner asked quietly.
Jason gave a crooked smile. “Before I moved to Bear Creek, I was working in a town, helping them rebuild after their homes had been destroyed by rival tribes who wanted to control the area. One of these tribes decided that I might be worth a ransom. So they came to the town looking for me. The people hid me in the caves in the mountains. Those left in the town never revealed my location...” Jason’s voice broke but he forced himself to tell the whole story. “They massacred many people. People I’d befriended.” He shook his head. “They could have given me up, but they didn’t. Even now I still ask myself why they didn’t just give me up.”
“For the same reason we wouldn’t just give Lorcan up.” Patrick placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder and squeezed it hard. “We stand by him. We protect him.”
“Just as we stand by and protect anyone who needs our help,” Killian added. “That’s what we do.”
“Then let’s go do it!” Jason said and the four friends hugged. Relief flooded Jason that he’d finally told them why he was here and why he did what he did. The events of his past had shaped his future and would continue to do so even after today.
Killian is right. It is what we do, his bear said. And we’re damn good at it.
Chapter Twenty-Six – Shannon
“It’s my father,” Shannon told Jason as he returned to her side. She looked relieved. “And I think he’s alone.”
“Are you sure?” Jason asked. By his tone, Shannon guessed he didn’t share her relief. He wanted this over, he wanted them to all move on and live a happy life free from fear, but until the threat of the dragon hunters was dealt with for good, that was never going to happen. Maybe he was right.
The plan the Silverback Saviors had in place was a good plan. They’d catered for most contingencies and were well prepared. If the dragon hunters came to the sawmill this would end. Today.
But she was scared of what that end would look like. Of the damage to the people of Bear Creek and to her family.
“Sort of.” She tapped the screen and reread his texts. “I thought he’d try to give me some hidden clue if the dragon hunters had kidnapped him, but he hasn’t. His replies are confident and relaxed. He’s positive he isn’t being followed.”
Jason sighed. “We still go ahead with the plan. Ask Nigel to meet you and Lorcan at the sawmill. Say you have something to show him.”
“What am I going to show him?” Shannon asked.
“A dragon.” Jason winked at her, his mood lifting as he leaned back in his chair and pulled out his phone.
“I thought we were supposed to persuade them dragons aren’t real.” Shannon’s forehead furrowed, her face pale, making the circles under her eyes seem darker. Sleep hadn’t helped smooth out her pinched expression. She was scared and her whole body was tense with fear. Fear that she could not allow herself to give in to.
“We are going to convince them that dragon shifters don’t exist. But we also have to give them a reason as to why you and Lorcan came here. And so we are going to show them a dragon.” Jason tapped his phone screen and scrolled through his photo gallery.
“I don’t understand?” Shannon’s impatience grew.
“No matter what happens, you have to talk as if dragon shifters aren’t true. The dragon you are going to show your dad is a ten-foot wooden sculpture Hex Winter made with a chainsaw.” Jason raised an eyebrow as she thrust his phone in front of her. “It’s very impressive. The guy is super talented.”
“So that’s how we’re playing this? We’re going to tell them I thought they were talking about a dragon sculpture?” She wasn’t convinced. “I don’t think they’ll buy that.”
“We just need to convince them.” Jason was confident in his plan. If
only she could share his confidence, but he wasn’t the one who had to go out there and sell this story.
“I’m not sure I’m that good a liar,” Shannon confessed. “My face goes red and my skin gets blotchy when I get nervous and this makes me really nervous.”
Jason slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Did they say the guy knew Lorcan was a dragon shifter? That he’d seen dragons before? Or was there an implication?”
She sighed and raked a hand through her hair as she composed her thoughts. “He said that he knew what Lorcan was.” Her brows furrowed as she tried to recall the exact words. “I can’t be sure. Not exactly.”
“People’s minds play tricks on them and words and events became a mixed-up jumble of false memories.” Jason was right. She’d played the scene out in her head so many times she could no longer tell what had actually been said and what her mind had added in.
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “All I know is he said he knew that Lorcan’s father was a dragon shifter and that Lorcan was one, too.”
“But he didn’t say he’d actually seen him?” Jason asked.
Shannon screwed up her face as she tried to force herself to remember. It didn’t work. She was too tense. Recalling what Lorcan had learned about controlling the urge to shift, she tried the same technique and relaxed. “He said he knew what Lorcan was. What he would be. He said he knew Lorcan’s father was a dragon shifter. He said he wanted the dragon treasure and if we gave it to him, he said the debt would be settled. He also said they would be watching, and not to get any ideas about putting up a fight because they always hunted in pairs and we were no match for them.”
“The debt would be settled?” Jason frowned, his lips moving as he silently repeated the words to himself.
“Yes.” She nodded, certain of the words. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It seems a strange phrase, that’s all.” Jason stood up. “We need to get moving. The Winter men have gone back to the sawmill already.” Jason took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it, sending shivers along her arm and down her spine. “We need to get in place.”
“My dad said he’d be here in a couple of hours.” Shannon dragged herself to her feet. “You still want me to talk about the dragon statue even if it’s just my dad?”
“Yes. We don’t know if they are listening.” Jason walked toward the front of the bar, leading her alongside him. “I know it’s difficult, but we have to be sure your father isn’t compromised.”
“I understand.” She nodded. “If the dragon hunters can use spells, he might not be himself.”
“No. He might not. But if they are listening, we can put the seed of doubt in their minds.”
“It’s like a double bluff. They don’t know that I know that they are listening.” Shannon pressed her lips together and forced herself to dig deep and find her courage. “I can do this.”
“Of course you can. I believe in you. Just keep calm. You are going to have to think on your feet. If they are there, and one of them insists they have seen a dragon in real life, you have to convince them they were tricked.” Jason tucked his finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “This will work. All you have to do is convince them it’s made up or convince them they are crazy.”
“Easy.” She frowned and shook her head. “After all this effort, I kind of hope they are with my dad. I want an end to this.”
“Just remember to stick with the conversation even if you don’t see them. We have no idea if they are controlling your dad or if they are simply following him.” Jason stroked her hair back from her face.
“He’s going to think I’m crazy if he is alone and not compromised in any way,” she replied.
“I know. But he’ll soon understand this is for the best,” Jason assured her.
“I’m not worried,” she replied. “As soon as he sees Lorcan shift into a dragon, he’ll understand completely. And he’ll know for sure that Letitia was telling the truth and she wasn’t crazy.”
A twinge of guilt hit Shannon. She’d thought Letitia was making the whole thing up. She thought she was crazy. But all along she was the one who was right. It was a pity she would never see the boy she gave birth to in his full, magnificent glory.
“For anyone who doesn’t know about shifters, it’s a hard thing to get your head around. Even when you see it in real life, with your own eyes, it must be hard not to think someone is playing a trick on you.” He looked at her, questioning how she felt when she’d seen him shift into his bear.
“I believed it. I believed you. But then I’d done research and figured shifters were real.” She glanced toward Lorcan. “But dragons...”
“Not your everyday shifter, I can assure you.” Jason’s eyes became unfocused. “But incredible nonetheless.”
“Absolutely. And that incredible boy needs us to get our asses moving.” Shannon inclined her head toward the now depleted table of pancakes and coffee. “I might just get a coffee refill to go and grab a couple more pancakes.”
“Go for it.” He grinned and nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. I just hope the rest of our plans are as good.”
“You and the others have put a lot of thought into the plan. Given the information we have, there’s no way to know how this is going to go.” Shannon poured two cups of coffee and grabbed a napkin.
“I just hope we’ve got it right.” Jason accepted a cup of coffee from his mate and then glanced around the room while she wrapped four pancakes in a napkin.
“You’ve done more than enough,” Shannon told him as she carried the napkin in one hand and her coffee in the other.
Jason turned to face her, his back to the rest of the people in the room. “It doesn’t feel like it,” Jason replied, his expression pained as he stroked her cheek and threaded a tendril of her hair around his finger. “You’re not safe. Lorcan is not safe.”
“That doesn’t mean you have failed. The day isn’t over, my dad hasn’t arrived in town yet and we don’t even know if the dragon hunters are with him.” She tilted her head to one side. “Don’t relive the past. This is our present and we’re fighting for our future.”
“It’s hard for me not to draw comparisons.” He looked down at his feet as he shook his head. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I moved to a small town far away from danger so I wouldn’t have to lose anyone again.”
“You won’t.” She leaned forward and kissed his lips. “Have faith, Jason. Have faith that this time we are exactly where we need to be, and this will work out. We will keep Lorcan safe. Together.”
Jason lifted his eyes to hers and smiled. “I like the sound of that. Together we can make everything work out.”
“We can.” She closed her eyes and sighed. Shannon was as nervous as Jason, she carried the same fears he carried, and more. In this situation, Lorcan was the one who had potentially brought danger to the town, in the form of dragon hunters. But Shannon was the one who had brought her son here. It was her decision to come to Bear Creek to look for the dragon treasure they didn’t even know existed for sure.
Yet, as she walked by Jason’s side, she couldn’t deny that fate had lent a hand in all of this. She was meant to come here and meet Jason and she truly believed they were meant to succeed. But at what cost? Perhaps that was what scared her the most.
After a brief discussion, the Silverback Saviors all headed out of the bar with Shannon and Lorcan, while the dragon shifters agreed to go into the mountains and protect Lorcan’s treasure. They would take a satellite phone and keep in contact with Patrick who would relay any messages back and forth between all the groups.
“Do you think they would step aside and let the dragon hunters take Lorcan’s treasure if he told them to?” Shannon asked on the drive to the sawmill. Her father was due to arrive in less than an hour and her nerves were frayed around the edges. Jason was right, there were too many variables, too many ways for this to all fall apart.
“Yes, they would,” Lorcan said from the back
seat. “Fiona gave me her word, and a dragon never breaks their word.”
“Lorcan’s right. Dragons are honorable creatures. If they give their word, they’ll keep it. Although, they might choose to hunt down the hunters after they’ve taken the treasure. Especially if they think they pose a threat to the wider dragon community.” Jason’s perspective was probably accurate, and Shannon could completely understand why they would do what was necessary to protect themselves and their family.
“I don’t want them to get into trouble.” Although that was out of her control.
“Fiona and Harlan have lived a long, long time, they won’t do anything to jeopardize the life they’ve built here. If they do hunt down the dragon hunters, they’ll turn them over to Brad who will charge them with blackmail and extortion. And if your dad is the bargaining chip, then abduction will be added to the list, too.” He was trying to reassure his mate, but Shannon’s fears grew.
“This is the sawmill.” Shannon ducked her head and looked out of the window as Jason steered the truck off the road and down a long winding trail. At the head of the trail was a large wooden sign that read ‘Winter’s Sawmill.’
“This is it. Mac Winter and his men are great backup if we need them. The mill is set back from the road and a good couple of miles out of town, meaning we have privacy...” Jason glanced sideways out of the window as if he could see something in the trees. “And we’ll have a few minutes to prepare when your dad arrives since Mac has two men stationed in the trees to watch the entrance to the mill.”
“You really have thought of everything,” Shannon said. “I’m impressed and very grateful.”
Jason gave a short laugh. “I doubt I’ve thought of everything. These kinds of things always bring an unexpected surprise or two.”
Shannon’s phone beeped as a text came through and she scrabbled around in her purse before pulling out her phone. “It’s from my dad. He’s half an hour away.” She tapped the screen, ready to reply. “I’m going to tell him to meet us at the sawmill.”
Jason - Silverback Redemption Page 20
