“Daniel!”
Something hurtled toward him, and slim arms wrapped around his neck. He inhaled a familiar sweet scent, and his grizzly settled within in. Their mate was safe.
“Sarah,” he rasped, pulling her close to him, her curves fitting into the hard planes of his body perfectly like interlocking pieces of a puzzle. “I thought they’d … that I lost …”
“That asshole who picked me up like a sack of potatoes dropped me as soon as he saw that … that thing.” She shivered, and he held her tighter. “God, when I saw your car flip over, I was so scared.”
His chest filled with hope. She had been frightened for him. That meant she cared. “I was scared for you too,” he admitted. “Sarah …” He sighed and then buried his face in her hair. God, this was perfect. So perfect. He only had to turn his head and he could kiss her cheek, and then make his way to her lips.
The sound of an engine roaring to life and tires screeching made her pull away. “Oh my God, those men who tried to capture you!” She pointed behind him. “They’re getting away!”
Turning his head, he saw the taillights of what was probably an SUV in the distance down the road. “It’s all right. We’re safe. You’re safe,” he said. He longed to pull her back into his arms, but the moment had passed.
“I don’t understand.” She shook her head. “What the hell is going on?”
“I—”
The wind picked up again, and every instinct in his head screamed as he felt that same looming presence around him again. “Stay behind me,” he ordered, pulling Sarah to his back.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s back … whatever it is.”
“What—oh!” She sucked in a breath.
The ground shook, and she held onto his shoulder. The air shifted and shimmered again. He gritted his teeth, ready for the dragon to show up, but the green-gold creature didn’t materialize. Instead, a human-like figure began to form in front of them. Behind him, Sarah gasped.
“Are you all right?”
Daniel blinked as the man’s figure solidified. He was tall, nearly seven feet, with short-cropped dark blond hair and a thick beard, his bare arms decorated in rune-like tattoos. His torso and legs were covered in what appeared to be armor that mimicked his scales, and a large sword was strapped to his side. The man was literally and figuratively a knight in shining armor.
“Uh … yeah?” He wasn’t sure what to say. He was on their side, obviously, as he had chased those men away. “Who are you?”
“I know you are surprised, so allow me to introduce myself.” He gave them a small nod. “My name is Thoralf, Former Captain of the Guard for Their Majesties, the King and Queen of the Northern Isles.”
Northern Isles? Why did that sound familiar? His accent sounded Scandinavian, but he couldn’t quite remember where he’d heard that name before. “Those men …”
Golden brows slashed downward. “Ah, yes. I’d been in pursuit of them for days now, ever since I had heard they were taking some sort of action. I never thought, though, that they would come here for you, Daniel Rogers of the Blackstone Rangers.”
“You know who I am?”
“Of course. You saved the life of an important man, a heroic deed reported of far and wide. And now it seems you have created enemies because of this. I—”
The sound of approaching vehicles interrupted Thoralf. Both he and Daniel tensed, ready to attack. The headlights grew bigger as they drew closer.
“If you take the female to safety, I shall take care of these blackguards,” the dragon shifter said.
Daniel nodded. “You got it.”
“What is going on?” Sarah asked.
Three SUVS stopped in front of them, cutting off their access to the road. That wouldn’t be any trouble to Daniel, however, as he could shift into his grizzly and carry Sarah into the woods behind them.
“Get ready to grab onto me,” he said.
“Grab on? What do you mean?”
A growl rattled from his chest as his bear readied itself for the change. Thoralf, too, was preparing as scales appeared on his bare arms. The SUV’s doors opened, but only one man emerged from the leading vehicle.
“Don’t attack, we’re on your side!” The headlights covered the man in shadow but Daniel recognized the voice. “Daniel! Bro, it’s me. Jason. Jason Lennox.”
As the lights behind him clicked off, all the tension left Daniel’s body. “Jason? What are you doing here?” Though he knew Jason—he was a year behind him in high school, but they had been on the football team together—he remained rooted to the spot, as the adrenaline was still coursing through his system, plus, his grizzly was feeling on edge with two dragons around him and their mate.
Jason Lennox jogged toward them. “We have regular patrols around town, and one of them reported a disturbance here.” He skidded to a halt when his gaze landed on Thoralf. “Hey, don’t I know you?”
“My lord!” Thoralf immediately sank to one knee. “Yes, it is I, Thoralf. Former Captain of the Guard for their Majesties, the King and Queen of the Northern Isles.”
Jason looked flummoxed. “Aleksei didn’t say anything about sending anyone here.”
“I’m not here on any official capacity, my lord Jason,” Thoralf began. “I am on a quest and it has led me here to Blackstone.”
“Um, you can get up now, Thoralf,” Jason said. “And you can just call me Jason.”
“But, my lord, you are brother to Her Majesty, Queen Sybil of the Northern Isles, The Great Fire-breather, Daughter of the Blackstone Dragon, Duchess of Svartalheim, Lady of the Barents Islands, and—”
“You’re in America now, Thoralf,” Jason urged him to get up. “Please, no need for formalities.”
“As you wish.” Thoralf got to his feet.
Sybil? A lightbulb lit up in Daniel’s head. Jason’s youngest sibling, Sybil Lennox, had married some European prince last year. It was the talk of the town, especially that huge wedding they had in Blackstone. The entire town was invited, and Main Street had a huge block party to celebrate. He’d even stood on the sidewalk when the happy couple drove through town in a horse-drawn carriage.
“What’s the heck is going on?”
Shit, he’d nearly forgotten about Sarah. “I’m not sure myself, to be honest,” he said. “Jason? Do you know anything about the guys who attacked us?”
The dragon shifter sighed. “It’s kind of a long story, plus, I do need to take you in to make a statement.”
“Statement? Should we head down to the police department?”
“Er, not quite.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I—oh.” His brows snapped together when he saw Sarah behind Daniel. “I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”
“Uh, yeah. This is Sarah,” he introduced. “My wife.” The words just rolled off his tongue naturally.
“I’m not!” she protested quickly. “I mean, I am. But I won’t be soon.”
Jason looked confused. “Oh, uh … I don’t need to know the details. But, yeah, we should explain a few things to you. Besides,” he cocked his head toward his truck. Or rather, what was left of it. “You’ll probably need a ride to town anyway.”
Daniel groaned. “Fuck me.” His truck was trashed.
“And some clothes?” Jason added, amused.
Did he forget that his clothes had ripped off when shifted? “Er, yeah.”
It was dark, so maybe Sarah didn’t notice. However, she shifted uncomfortably when he peeked at her, and she suddenly found something interesting in the distance.
“C’mon,” Jason said. “We have some spare clothes in the truck.”
“Thanks, man.” He itched to ask Jason who “we” were in the first place, but he figured he’d find out soon enough.
Chapter Six
Sarah had never been so confused in her whole life. Sure, she was used to emotional rollercoasters, but not quite like this. Shock, fear, awe, panic, dread, and—much to her annoyance—lust, cycled through he
r in the span of ten minutes.
The moment she saw Daniel’s truck hit with some kind of explosive and flip over, her heart leapt to her throat. She slammed on the brakes and watched from her car, frozen in place as she watched the truck land on its side; the sound of the crash of metal on asphalt was something she would never forget. She knew she should have called 911, but something snapped inside her when she saw those men threatening Daniel, so she got out to help him. In hindsight, it was an idiotic move because what the hell did she think she could do against half a dozen men wielding weapons?
Sure enough, they caught Daniel, then her, then that other guy—a freaking dragon—showed up. Thankfully he was on their side but he literally appeared from nowhere. She didn’t even know shifters could do that, as Darcey never just materialized in front of her.
And now, after what seemed like a very men-in-black conspiracy theory turn of events, she was now inside a black SUV, going God-knows-where. Was this her life now?
“It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Daniel said as he sat beside her—now fully clothed—in the back seat of one the SUVs. The driver concentrated on the road, paying them no mind.
His calm voice soothed her like a balm. But that logical part in her brain told her that none of this was normal. “How do you know?”
“Jason’s a good guy,” he said. “He won’t let anything bad happen to us.”
A tingle ran up her spine when he placed a hand on her knee and rubbed back and forth. He was looking straight ahead, so she wondered if he realized what he was doing. The fact made her heart beat faster. It felt so natural and made her want to cuddle up to him again and feel his comforting embrace.
She leaned against the window instead and closed her eyes. Why did Daniel have to be so attractive? And nice? And protective? And have a big—
Whoa girl, she told herself. Get a hold of those hormones. But it was hard to not think of his large—attributes. Everything about him was huge. And difficult to ignore.
He was naked after he shifted back. What was I supposed to do?
How about, not stare, a wry voice answered rhetorically.
“I think we’re here,” he said, taking his hand from her knee as the vehicle slowed down.
“And where is here?”
He craned his neck to look outside. “I think we’re at the Lennox Corporation headquarters.”
“Lennox? Like your friend? John?”
“Jason,” he corrected. “But, yeah, his family owns it. Actually, they own most of the town and the mountains too. The Lennoxes are a family of dragon shifters.”
“D-dragons?” she stammered. “Like that other guy?” God, she’d never forget the sight of a fifty-foot flying serpent.
“Not quite. I think they’re a different … species? Anyway, don’t worry, I played football with Jason in high school. And their family protects everyone in Blackstone.” He looked at her reassuringly, those silvery blue eyes searching her face. “Nothing bad will happen, I promise.”
The door opened, and Jason Lennox’s head popped in. “Follow me, guys,” he said.
Daniel hopped out first, and he helped her out of the SUV. Glancing around, she saw they were in some kind of underground parking garage. Thoralf—who had ridden in the other SUV with Jason—was already waiting for them by the elevators.
“Why are we at your office?” Daniel asked Jason.
“I’ll explain when we get to the fifteenth floor.” Jason pressed his thumb to the plate where there should have been a call button. The door slid open, and they entered the car. A few seconds later, the doors opened up again.
“Welcome to the marketing and research department of Lennox Corp.,” Jason said as he stepped out of the elevator and gestured for them to follow.
“The what?” Daniel asked.
“Come on, let’s go to the conference room. Christina and Luke are already waiting for us.”
Jason led them across the room, which looked like any ordinary corporate office. Though it was late, there was still a flurry of activity going on as people rushed around or sat at their desks, typing away or talking on the phone.
“Go ahead,” Jason said as he opened the door to a glass conference room. Thoralf went in first, and she and Daniel followed behind him. “Please, take a seat.” He gestured to empty chairs and the three of them sat down along one side. “My wife and brother should be—oh, here they are.”
Jason moved aside to let two people in—one was a tall, hulking man dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans, and the other was a woman in a white skirt suit, her blonde hair pulled up in an elegant French twist.
“Hello,” the woman greeted as she sat opposite them. “I’m Christina Lennox.” Her accent was crisp and posh, and her expression business-like, but not totally unfriendly.
The man took a seat beside her. “Luke Lennox.” His keen, tawny gold eyes scrutinized them one by one, as if assessing them for danger. Sarah let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding when Luke’s gaze passed over her, seemingly not viewing her as a threat. She wondered what animal he turned into. Something large, with teeth, if that predatory gaze was an indication. Dear God, she’d never been around so many shifters before. It was unnerving.
Jason took a seat on the other side of Christina. “Christina, Luke, you guys know Daniel. But this is Thoralf, one of Aleksei’s guards from the Northern Isles, and Sarah, Daniel’s wife.”
The word made her stomach flip, and she told herself it was because she wasn’t used to the word yet. However, she made no move to correct him.
“You’re probably wondering what this place is,” Christina began. “Let me give you a rundown. Daniel, do you remember when that anti-shifter organization attacked the town last year?”
He nodded. “Yeah, of course. Anders and I found one of those explosives in sector 5-G.”
“Explosives?” Sarah exclaimed, turning to Daniel. “There were explosives?” And he had found them. Panic crept into her gut thinking about what could have happened. What if it had exploded while he was around it? Or if he didn’t find it and—
“Yeah. Don’t worry, baby doll.” He placed a soothing hand over her knee again. “PD was able to disarm them all. And our side won.”
“Not quite,” Jason said. “I mean, we stopped them from blowing Blackstone up that day, but it turns out, they’re part of a much bigger problem.”
“The people who tried to destroy Blackstone are part of an anti-shifter network called The Organization,” Christina continued. “But they, in turn, are part of an even bigger and older circle called The Knights of Aristaeum.”
“The Knights attacked my country,” Thoralf said. “And they eliminated my king’s—former king, that is—dragon.”
“Eliminated?” Daniel’s head swung toward the dragon. “What do you mean?”
“They had an artifact called The Wand that separates a shifter from his animal.” Thoralf’s expression hardened. “I’m ashamed to say that King Harald was under my protection when he was attacked and his dragon ripped away. Which is why I resigned my position as captain of the guard, and I’m now on a personal quest to restore the former king’s dragon.” He sighed. “I’ve been traveling all over the world for months now, and I have yet to find a solution. We have text and research that indicates there is a way to reverse The Wand’s effects, but each clue so far has turned up a dead end or another clue. However, as I go along my quest, I have made it a point to pursue and thwart The Knights any way I can. Which is what brought me to Blackstone.”
“What did you find out?” Luke asked.
“According to my sources, The Knights were coming here to Blackstone,” Thoralf said. “And sending one of their top leaders, Lord Nox, to finish something that was left undone.”
Daniel tensed. “I think I know what that something was.”
“What?” Jason asked.
“Baker.” His jaw hardened. “That white-haired guy said they came for me because I stopped that assassin from killing t
he VP.”
Christina, Luke, and Jason all looked at each other, their expressions similar, as if something in their minds clicked together.
“What’s going on?” Daniel said. “I mean, what’s really going on? And you still haven’t told us what this place is.”
Christina pursed her lips and then folded her hands on top of the table. “You’re at the headquarters of the Blackstone branch of The Shifter Protection Agency.”
“Christina’s father created The Agency to stop threats to our kind,” Jason added. “And also, more recently, to advance our causes.”
“What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave the room, okay?” Christina said. Everyone nodded. “Scott Baker wasn’t just in Blackstone for a speech. It was a cover for a meeting here.”
“Baker wants to help us,” Jason continued. “Though he can’t say it publicly because he’d lose the support of his party, he’s very much pro-shifter. He might make a run in the next elections.”
“A president that’s openly pro-shifter?” Sarah exclaimed. “That’s unprecedented.” With Darcey being a shifter, she tried to keep up with all things shifter relations and politics. She wanted to be in the know in case anyone ever tried to hurt her sister.
Christina raised a brow at her. “True. But more than that, Baker’s a good guy. Hates the prejudice that shifters experience and just wants to make the world a better place. We were going to meet about how he could assist in dismantling anti-shifter groups and put in more protections for shifters. The Organization and The Knights must have figured it out and tried to stop him.”
“Their attempts were foiled by our friend here,” Thoralf said, gesturing to Daniel.
“I’m sorry you were dragged into this mess.” Jason shook his head. “Your wife, too.”
It took a moment for the meaning of the words to sink in. “Me?”
“You guys are a target now,” Luke said. “Believe me, those bastards won’t stop until they get what they want. Or until you get to them first.”
Blackstone Ranger Hero Page 9
