A Mate to Protect (Dragons of Mount Aterna Book 3)

by Riley Storm

  “No,” Kal lied, unsure of why he wasn’t just telling the clan leader everything. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

  Victor relaxed. “I see.”

  “I’ll keep you informed of what I find out,” Kal promised. “If he is truly missing, you’ll be the first to know once I’ve confirmed it.”

  “You make sure I am,” Victor said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Then we’ll launch an appropriate hunt for him, with the full manpower of Atrox to support it.”

  Kal smiled and nodded, eager to get away and back to his search. It bothered him to lie to the head of a clan, but even though he felt Victor meant well, there was just something off about the entire situation.

  If only I could figure out what it was, I’d be a lot close to figuring out what was going on here.

  Taking his leave of Victor, Kal entered the house and went directly to Gunnar’s room. As before, it was unlocked. He walked in, looking around the ransacked room. Nothing seemed changed from before. Everything was still a mess, and as close as his mind could remember to being where he’d left it.

  Dragons were notorious for respecting the privacy of their own, so it didn’t surprise him that no one else had come looking.

  “What did you want Viko?” he asked himself aloud while he carefully pawed through the contents of Gunnar’s life. “What is missing here? What could you be searching for?”

  Whatever it was, the basic fact that someone had searched not only these rooms, but those of Vlad and Sache as well indicated that Viko was looking for something. Something that he thought one of the four former members of the Guard possessed.

  But what? Gunnar had found something, but without him it would be impossible to know what.

  There was a creak at the doorway.

  Kal spun, the air turning frigid around his fist as ice slithered over it to form a blade that would punch right through dragon scale if necessary.

  “Calm,” the voice said from the hallway.

  A short figure stood in the doorway. Not short overall, but much shorter than Kal. Perhaps five-ten or so. An adolescent.

  “Who are you?” he asked, the air around his fist billowing off clouds of fog as the ice chilled the air near him. “What do you want?”

  “My name is Grall,” the young shifter said, holding his hands in the air.

  “What do you want Grall? Why are you here?”

  The youngster leaned to the side, looking around Kal’s bulk. “I could ask you the same question. What have you done to the room?”

  Kal snorted. He already liked the bold impertinent youth. “I didn’t do this. Who are you and why are you in here?”

  Grall crossed his arms. “Because my brother lets me in his rooms if I need to borrow something. Now who are you, and why are you in his rooms? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t summon Victor.”

  “Well for starters, because Victor already knows I’m here. I told him when I talked to him twenty minutes ago out front.”

  “Oh.” Grall relaxed, but only slightly.

  “You’re Gunnar’s brother?” Kal asked. “I wasn’t aware he had one.”

  Grall shrugged. “There’s a lot of time between us. I could be his son. We don’t hang out a lot outside of the compound. But he’s good to me, and we have a strong bond. What’s it to you?”

  “I’m Kal. I served on the Guard with your brother,” he said tightly. “I think something happened to him, and I’m trying to find out what.”

  Grall straightened, clearly shocked by that information. “Something happened to him? What are you talking about?”

  Kal bit his lip. “Has Commander Viko come by at all recently? To launch an investigation into your brother’s disappearance? I assume he would come question you if he was doing so, to see if you knew where he was.”

  “No,” Grall said. “He hasn’t.”

  “Interesting,” Kal said. So Viko was trying to pin a crime on Kal’s shoulder’s. A crime that he hadn’t informed anyone else about, not even the theoretical victim’s brother.

  It was beginning to look more and more like Viko wanted to know where Gunnar was, and not that he’d had anything to do with the man’s disappearance.

  “Stay here,” Grall said, pivoting and racing off down the hallway.

  “Sure,” Kal said with a shrug, not sure where the youth was going.

  Turning back to the mess of a room, he started going through it again, sorting through items. This wasn’t something he was trained for, but Kal was hoping that perhaps he might gain some clues as to what was going on. Right now he was pawing around blindly in total darkness, and it sucked.

  Grall didn’t take long to return. When he did, he had a folded up piece of paper in his hand.

  “What’s that?” Kal asked, pointing at it.

  “Gunnar gave it to me a few days ago. Told me to hang on to it for him, that it might come in handy,” Grall said. “I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but now I think I understand that he meant for whoever was looking for him to have it.”

  Kal frowned. Gunnar had given this to his brother for safe keeping? Could this be what Viko and his men were searching for?

  He took the piece of paper and unfolded it. Laid out on it was a schedule. Kal knew, because it was a standard weekly schedule for the Guard. On it were the names of who was working which shift, and also at what times they were scheduled to be at what positions, or on break.

  Kal had an identical one somewhere back in his room too.

  “I don’t get it,” he muttered, frustration mounting. “Why would he give this to you? There’s nothing special about it.

  “I don’t know,” Grall said helplessly. “Are you going to be able to find him?”

  Kal nodded at the youth. “I’m going to do my best, yes. Thank you,” he said, holding the piece of paper up. “I’ll find out what it means.”

  Grall nodded. “Thank you. Gunnar’s a good guy. I hope he’s okay.”

  Me too kid, me too.

  “I’ve got to get going now,” Kal said, stepping past Grall. “I’ll need to think this over, try to figure out why he would have given you this.”

  He parted ways with the youngster and then left the Atrox compound behind, heading back out into the mountains and toward Five Peaks. He needed to get back to Rocky’s soon. Anne would be up and he was eager to get some work done today. They were at the point where they would start to make progress swiftly, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on her eyes when they did.

  Still, he kept his spirits down, not letting himself get too excited. The weight of the schedule in his pocket was a firm reminder that he had to be on guard at all times.

  There was no telling when something would happen next, and he had to ensure he kept it away from Anne and Liam. No matter what it cost him personally.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Anne

  “I couldn’t have done this without you,” she said, stepping back as the last screw went into the final piece of wood. “You’re pretty handy to have around.”

  Kal brushed off the plank and moved back to join her, his arm automatically falling over her shoulder. The pair of them had just completed a new feature wall at the back of the bar. Made of old barn-wood that Kal had procured from somewhere, it had been dropped off that morning, and the pair had gotten to work.

  “Well it was kinda-sorta my fault all this happened in the first place,” he said. “It was only right that I put it back together. With a few tweaks, courtesy of you,” he growled happily, giving her shoulder a squeeze before dropping his arm.

  “I mean, you not only paid for all of it, you did most of the work,” Anne said. “Most people usually stop at the first one.”

  “Maybe,” Kal said, glancing down at her. “But this also allowed me to spend some more time with you. Time I’ve enjoyed.”

  She blushed, dropping her head in embarrassment. “I’ve enjoyed it too,” she admitted.

  “Doing this with you has also helped me pull m
yself out of a rut I was in,” he said, growing serious. “I hadn’t realized just how far I’d fallen. It’s kind of embarrassing now to look back on what I was doing, what I was putting myself through. But this gave me something to focus on, which I was lacking. So thank you.”

  Anne leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder, the action second-nature with Kal already. She couldn’t put into words how it was that he made her feel so comfortable, because to do so would mean she understood it, and she didn’t. There was something about Kal that literally called to her. Like fate pulling her in the direction she needed to go.

  Yet logic always crept back in, confusing her with its cold, hard analysis. He might be a great guy, but Anne barely knew anything about him. Except the way he treated her. That just wasn’t enough.

  “Kal, can I ask you something?” she said, looking up at him. Now was the time to pry a little more she decided.

  “Yes.”

  “What did you used to do?” she asked. “The job where, things went wrong. What was it?”

  There was a long hesitation. “Security,” he said quietly.

  Anne’s mouth pulled tight. That wasn’t the entire truth, she could tell just by his voice, even if she wasn’t able to look upon his face. He wasn’t saying everything.

  “Were those two guys last night, the ones you fought off,” she said slowly. “Were they from your job?”

  Kal again was quiet for some time before he replied. “Yes.”

  “But I thought they fired you. A month ago you said. Why come back now?”

  Kal’s face twisted up. She knew she was on the right track now. “Something is going on, isn’t it? What aren’t you telling me Kal?”

  She waited a long time for him to answer. Long enough she almost interrupted and asked him if he was going to speak.

  “One of the other guards,” he began. “One that was working with me that day. He’s gone missing.”

  Anne stiffened. “What? Have you called the police? How long as he been missing for Kal?”

  He shook his head, reaching up to stroke his beard. She watched him closely, noting that he’d cleaned the beard up a little, trimmed it a bit shorter. Not much, but it had tamed some of the unruly hairs, making a cleaner look. He was pulling himself together.

  “I think my boss is covering something up,” Kal said, going into more detail. “My former boss I guess I should say. I don’t know what it is, but I’m getting closer. I got a clue today, a real clue.”

  “What about the police?” she pressed.

  “They won’t be able to help,” Kal said quietly. “This is beyond them.”

  Anne bit her lip. Had she been wondering this all along? Is that why she had been so hesitant to press him for more information about his life?

  “Why not Kal? What is it you’re doing that they can’t help with?”

  Kal glanced down at her, perhaps warned by her tone of voice. “Because they aren’t equipped for this. I can’t explain why not yet, but I promise, in time, you’ll understand.”

  “Are you doing something illegal?” she asked tightly, wondering why she wasn’t stepping away from him. Why her body wasn’t responding to that command.

  “No,” Kal said with utter conviction. “But I think my former boss might be.”

  “So call the police Kal. You aren’t a detective.”

  “The police won’t help,” he growled, growing irritated. “They know better than to involve themselves in these affairs.”

  “What?” Anne was beyond confused now.

  “Anne, we’ve grown close,” he said quietly. “Very close. I like that, a lot. I like you, if it’s not too blunt to say. I think we’ve established that. But haven’t you wondered at all during this time, about who I am?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Quite a lot actually.”

  “So why haven’t you asked me the simplest of questions then.”

  “Huh?”

  “What’s my last name?”

  Anne’s eyebrows furrowed together. “I had meant to but…well, it just never came up.”

  Kal’s lips quirked upward slightly at the edges. “I know. I made sure it never did, or at least, I tried my best to.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, this might not mean as much to you as it would a local. But my name is Kal Aterna.”

  “Aterna?” she gasped. “You’re one of the Five?”

  Kal groaned. “Ugh, I hate that term. It’s designed to make us out to be some sort of criminal syndicate or something.”

  “There’s a documentary about that,” Anne said. “I haven’t watched it, but I’ve heard it’s pretty good. Apparently it exposes your secret criminal past and the inner workings of the five families. A blood feud that goes back generations, I think is the headline.”

  “What a load of malarkey!” Kal exclaimed. “That’s ridiculous. And completely not true. We just prefer our privacy. Anyway, the point is, the police rarely involve themselves in our business.”

  “Right,” she said, not believing a word he was saying.

  Kal rolled his eyes, shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This is the clue I received today. The guard who is missing, he gave this to his little brother right before.”

  Intrigued by this look into Kal’s world, Anne opened the paper.

  “What’s the Gate?” she asked.

  “I’ll tell you later,” Kal said dismissively. “But it’s just a schedule.”

  Anne looked it over. He was right, of course, it was a schedule.

  “How is this a clue?” she wanted to know, growing more interested in just what was going on now that Kal was opening up to her.

  Trusting her. She wouldn’t forget that.

  “No idea,” he said. “I have one of my own, back at my house. It’s just a plain schedule. I have others from before as well. I should probably throw them out, I don’t need them now that I’ve lost my position.”

  Anne rubbed her chin, looking at the schedule. “You have the same one you said?”

  He nodded.

  “Well your friend wouldn’t just randomly give this away Kal. It must be important. Is it the same as yours?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a standard schedule. They were issued ever week.”

  Anne wasn’t sure what else to say. “I don’t know. Maybe you need to compare them then? Maybe there’s a hidden message? I don’t know.”

  Kal smiled. “That’s more of an idea than I had. I can’t see there being some sort of secret, but I may as well compare them. I’ve got nothing else to go on. Thanks.”

  She beamed, feeling useful. It might not turn up anything, but she’d helped.

  “I’m going to have to go back home for that though,” Kal said quietly.

  Anne looked up at him quizzically. “Why do you make that sound like it’s a big deal?

  He grimaced. “Because it will be.”

  Anne ran a hand along his shoulder. “Why, Kal? Can you tell me?”

  He expelled a deep breath, and began to talk.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Anne

  “I haven’t been back since,” he explained quietly.

  She frowned. “But Kal, you said it’s been a month.”

  “It has,” he confirmed. “I went back after Viko—that’s my former boss—threw me out of my unit in disgrace. I grabbed a few things, and then I left.”

  “I don’t understand. Where have you been staying then?” she wanted to know. “Have you been sleeping in your truck? Why wouldn’t you go back? I don’t get it. Do you need a place to stay? You can stay here”

  Kal smiled, squeezing her shoulder. “Thank you, but I’m okay. Where I’m staying is complicated, and a talk for another day. But don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine on that front. It’s just that, well, this isn’t a normal job, you see. All five, uh, families, they contribute members to it. Working together. It’s really quite prestigious. So when you get accepted into it, it’s a big deal…”


  Anne suddenly understood. “And if you get thrown out, instead of leaving it on your own terms…”

  “It’s embarrassing. Not just for you, but for your family as well. Considering everything that happened surrounding it, and such, I just…I couldn’t stay there. Couldn’t face them, when I know what would be going through their heads. The judgment,” he said heavily. “For something that just wasn’t deserved. Punishment, yes. Disgrace? No, and now I’m beginning to think there was an ulterior motive for it. Viko is up to something.”

  “But what?” she asked. “What could he possibly want, that would be aided by getting rid of you and the others?”

  “I don’t know,” Kal admitted. “My only thought so far, has been that perhaps he needed some patsies. Some fall guys for something he’s planning. We just happened to draw the short end of the stick. Nothing special, you know?”

  She nodded. “Maybe. But I think you need to keep every angle in play until you can compare the schedules, and see what that leads you too next.”

  Kal agreed. “I will. I’m going to go soon. I don’t want to delay this much longer.”

  “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt, or worse.”

  “I will be,” he said gently, wrapping her up in a hug. “I’m on high alert, don’t worry.”

  Anne started to reply, to tell him that he was obviously involved with dangerous people, so he had better be. She still had so many questions she didn’t know how to ask. Things she wanted to know about him, including how he’d done the things he had during the fight. But every time she tried to ask him, she froze. This time was no different.

  “Again?” the exasperated voice said from behind them. “Why are you always like this?”

  “Liam?” she said, turning in Kal’s arms to see her son standing in the opening. She’d thought he was upstairs playing with his toys and snacking on some veggie-crisps.

  “Why do you always find the biggest losers everywhere we go mom? Ugh.” Then he turned and fled upstairs. A moment later the door slammed.

  “Don’t, don’t take him personally,” she told Kal, his eyes still focused where Liam had stood. “He’s just lashing out because he’s scared.”