Dragon Guard: Earth Dragons Series: Book 1

by Hartnady, Charlene

  “It’s not looking good I’m afraid.” She shook her head “Goodbye,” she said as she closed the door.

  “What…why—?” he sputtered.

  “I’ll see you next week,” Page added, just as she closed the door. She didn’t want to get into it with him. It was none of Sheldon’s business.

  Mountain reversed out of the space. “You know he’s going to call his nephew in a minute, don’t you?”

  “I don’t care.” Page was grinning.

  “Okay then.” Mountain smiled back. He didn’t look as happy as she thought he would. It puzzled her.

  “Where are we headed? Are we meeting with Alex now?”

  Mountain nodded as they pulled out into the road. “They’ve agreed to come to us. We’re going to an upmarket restaurant in town, so we’ll need to stop at your place to change.” He looked down at himself. “Collared shirts only and I doubt they’ll accept jeans.”

  “Oh.” She immediately began to panic. “I’m not sure I have anything suitable.”

  “You can go just like that.” He threw her a smile.

  “I’m in jeans. You just said that jeans wouldn’t be allowed.”

  “On males, they wouldn’t be. On you,” he lifted his brows, “they’d let you in ‒ in a hot minute.”

  She giggled. “That’s sweet but misguided. I’m sure I have a black dress at the back of my closet.” Her phone beeped and her bag vibrated. “Why all the fuss? I’m sure we can meet somewhere a little less fussy.”

  “We could, but I like the location. It’s very public and has a rooftop ‒ which means a quick escape if we need one.”

  “Do you still think Alex is guilty?” Page fished her phone out of her purse.

  He shook his head, while indicating to turn. “No, I don’t. I trust you, but it has been ten years since you saw her. I also,” he raised his voice when she tried to interject, “I also trust Beck. It’s just a precaution, that’s all.”

  “Okay.” She looked down at her phone and nearly dropped it.

  Shaun: Hey Honey, Hope you are well? I’m going to cut right to it. I miss you! Please call me so that we can set something up. A date maybe? Xxx

  “It’s him, isn’t it?” Mountain asked, hands tightening on the wheel.

  * * *

  Fucking asshole! Crawling back. The dickhead had finally realized what he had, what he could lose, and was crawling back. Mountain couldn’t blame him. He wondered why Page had told the uncle. She had to have known it would get back to her ex, and quickly. Had she done it to make Shaun jealous?

  “Um,” she licked her lips, “yes.” She nodded. “It’s Shaun. How did you know?”

  “His uncle would have called him as soon as we left. I’m sure he had a lot to say.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t think it would change anything. A break is a break.”

  Mountain smiled even though he wasn’t feeling particularly happy right then. In fact, he felt murderous. “The douche thought you would wait for him. He never in his wildest dreams thought you would… ‘swipe right’.”

  Her phone vibrated again. Of course it fucking did. Page hadn’t texted him back immediately after reading his message.

  She read the message, her throat working. Great! Fucking awesome. This is what he had been afraid of. That Page would go back to the jerk the moment she went back to her old life. Sometimes people just fell into old patterns. Old ways. It just happened. He hoped to god Page wasn’t going to be one of those people.

  “He…he—”

  “You don’t have to tell me.” It was none of his business.

  “It’s bullshit.” She shrugged.

  Probably flowery crap. Or a declaration of love. Yup, now that he thought about it, it was probably that. There was another beep. “He’s trying hard, isn’t he?” More like blowing up her goddamned phone.

  “He wants to meet,” Page said.

  “Of course he does,” Mountain muttered, trying not to be a jerk about it.

  Page shook her head. She dropped her phone back into her purse. “I’m not interested.”

  “You should meet him.” Mountain wanted to chew his own tongue off for saying that.

  “Why?”

  “You need to be sure.” He kept his eyes on the road ahead. “You need to look the male in the eyes and decide either way what you want to do.”

  “Because we won’t be able to move forward otherwise?”

  “It has nothing to do with us. You strike me as a reader, Page. Do you enjoy reading a good book?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  “Well, as a reader you should know that you can’t skip pages. You definitely can’t skip whole chapters. You can’t skip to the end. It doesn’t work like that. You have to read every page in order to understand where you are going and to fully comprehend the end.”

  “I didn’t realize you were such a philosopher.” He could hear she was smiling.

  “I’m not. What I’m trying to say is that by not closing off that chapter in your life, you’ll never know if that was what you were meant to do. Maybe you were meant to write more of this story and not close it.” He was talking such shit but couldn’t seem to stop. “You won’t know for sure otherwise. You might regret things. You need to see him and go from there.”

  Page nodded, she looked like she was thinking it through. “You’re right. I mean, I had planned on seeing him all along, but now that I’m here…” She shrugged. “It’s hard, that’s all. It’s harder than I thought it would be. I can do it though.”

  “You can,” he said, watching as she pulled that damned phone out of her purse.

  He forced himself to keep his eyes on the road. On negotiating the turns instead of watching Page read…and text.

  Fuck! She was texting. Why had he said anything?

  “I’m meeting him later this afternoon. Is that okay?”

  No! He hated the idea. Fucking hated it. There was a part of him that hoped she was sure now. So sure she didn’t need to see him. Thing was, Page wasn’t that sure. He could hear the doubt in her voice and it was fucking killing him. “You don’t have to ask my permission.” He worked hard at sounding neutral. Thank claw, he managed.

  “Oh.” She made a face. “I know that, I wasn’t asking,” she paused, “I was checking to make sure we would be done with my sister and Beck.”

  “We’re meeting them at noon.” His voice had a rough edge, giving away his feelings some.

  “You know what, I’m not going to want to cut our reunion short. I’ll make it a breakfast…thing. Tomorrow.” She texted while she spoke.

  Thing.

  What the fuck was a ‘thing’? She could have said meeting or discussion or exe-fucking-cution. She could have just said breakfast even, but a ‘thing’? Thing had an in-between sound to it. Like a meeting that could turn into a breakfast date, that could turn back into a relationship.

  “You’re grinding your teeth.”

  “I’m fine,” he lied. “I’m just going through the plans for this afternoon.” He parked in the guest parking bay at her apartment. “I need to guard you.”

  “Don’t you mean them?” She smiled. “You’re supposed to guard others from me, remember?”

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure I plan on guarding you. I take it very seriously.” Whether he was going to have to guard against slayers or her fucker of an ex, made no difference to him.

  Chapter 17

  “Stay here,” he insisted. “Do not move from this spot.”

  “That’s her. It’s my sister.” Page bit down on her lower lip. “Oh my god, she looks amazing.” Her voice had a breathless edge. She sounded both in awe and excited.

  The Water dragon held his female’s hand. Alex was talking to him about colors. Random shit. Mountain was shocked at just how alike the two sisters were. Beck’s gaze was on them. His eyes were also wide as he took in Page. He nodded, agreeing to whatever his female was saying. Beck grinned at him and squeezed his female’s hand.

  “
Do not move,” Mountain warned. “You know the plan.”

  “Yes, I do.” Page was smiling broadly.

  “Okay, I’ll be right back,” Mountain said. He was loath to leave her, but he had to. Beck was telling his female pretty much the same thing. The females spotted each other.

  They strode to one another. Just like him, Beck looked around the space. Checking. Taking it all in. “Fairy Butt.” Beck grinned as he said it.

  “That is the worst safe word I have ever heard.” The safe word was used to ensure the person had not been compromised. Beck had already given it to him telephonically, and now, as a formality, he had delivered it correctly in person. Beck was right. It was a good one to have gone with. It was how Mountain had known they could meet without a problem.

  “Come on,” Beck’s grin grew wider, “it’s original. We were told to come up with something no one would ever think of saying in passing. Something no one else would be able to guess.”

  “Congratulations,” Mountain said. “You did it.” He gave a shocked gasp when Beck enveloped him in a hug. It was quick but solid. A man-hug at its best. One second they were hugging and the next they were apart again.

  “I’m so happy to see you. I miss…home.” His eyes grew misty. “You will need to tell me about everything I have missed.”

  “Alex.” Page had moved in next to him. So much for staying put. Her throat worked.

  “Page.” Her sister’s eyes filled with tears.

  The females both made sobbing noises as they hugged.

  He stayed alert, keeping an eye on the perimeter, as well as on the only entrance. The good news was, just as he had surmised, they would be able to make a quick exit in the case of an emergency. That would be a last resort though, since this was such a public location.

  “I have to ask,” Mountain said.

  Beck’s jaw tightened but he nodded once. “Go ahead.”

  “Are you sure your female isn’t a slayer? Are you one hundred percent positive?”

  “Yes,” his voice had a gruff edge, “she did work for the group causing all the shit, but she thought she was helping rather than hurting.”

  Page had already told him as much.

  “Once we are seated, I can take you through all the events. Alex has proven to me that she is the person I know her to be. I—”

  Mountain put his hand up. “Stop right there.” He smiled at the male. “I trust your judgment.”

  Beck pushed out a breath. “Thank you.” The male’s eyes went back to the teary reunion.

  Mountain couldn’t help but smile watching the two females embrace. He felt a lump form in his throat. When he looked back over at Beck, he noticed that the male was smiling too. In fact, it looked as if his eyes were hazy, and he kept blinking.

  Finally, Alex pulled away, giving Page the once-over, still clutching her sister’s upper arms. They were both crying openly. “You look good,” Alex sniffed.

  “You do too.” Page wiped under her eyes with the tips of her fingers.

  “How have you been?”

  “Good.” Page sniffed. “You?”

  “I’m good now. I thought you were dead.” Alex made another sobbing noise.

  “I’m sorry,” Page whispered. “I’m so sorry,” she added.

  There was a waiter hovering around them. He looked unsure of what to do, given the emotional circumstances of the reunion. Mountain felt sorry for the poor male. “Shall we take our seats,” he suggested.

  The waiter sighed in obvious relief.

  The females nodded, still smiling, still clutching one another and ‒ much to the waiter’s discomfort ‒ still crying. He was all too happy to show them the way. It was a table on the balcony, right on the edge, away from the hustle and bustle, as requested.

  Mountain put his hand to the small of Page’s back. Beck took Alex’s hand, smiling at her warmly. The male had clearly fallen hard for her, that much was evident. They scented heavily of one another.

  The waiter ushered them to a table, helped the females take their seats and then handed Mountain the wine menu. Lastly, he took their drink orders and left.

  “You are going to have to tell me all about the last ten years. What have you done? What have you seen? Where did you go?” Alex’s eyes were animated. “How did you know? About Daddy and the organization, how did you find out? I want to know everything.”

  “It was Deborah who found out,” Page said. She went on to fill Alex in, telling much the same story she had told him. Pausing when the waiter brought their drinks.

  “I can’t believe I was so blind.” Alex shook her head. “I knew there must be something going on. Something that made you leave, but I chose to believe Daddy and for that I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I left you. I just…” Page wiped a tear away.

  “No,” Alex shook her head, “I wouldn’t have listened. I know you tried. I was so set on proving myself. On winning back our father’s affection even after…”

  “He hurt you. He hurt us both,” Page stammered.

  It made Mountain’s blood boil to hear of their pain.

  “Yes, he did, and it’s called brainwashing, Alex. You know that don’t you?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

  “I keep telling her that.” Beck put his arm around Alex.

  Alex’s eyes softened as they landed on the male. She turned back to Page. “I mean, the way he used to lock you up…”

  The waiter chose that moment to approach. “Have you decided on the appetizers?” He addressed Beck this time, then looked from one female to the other.

  “Not yet,” Mountain answered for everyone. “We haven’t even looked at the menus yet.”

  “I’ll give you a few more minutes then.” He gave them a stiff smile before leaving.

  “Let’s put it behind us,” Page said. “Let’s focus on the here and the now and on the future.”

  “I agree.” Alex smiled.

  “What about you?” Page took a sip of her juice. “I know you stayed with the organization and that you recently escaped all of that. How are you coping?”

  “I was lonely at first.” She gave Beck a meaningful look.

  “Not anymore,” he said.

  “Nope.” Alex kept her eyes on Beck. “We’ve had quite an intense couple of days. It’s been a rollercoaster. First…” Her eyes welled with tears. She flapped a hand in front of her face. “Sorry, I’m just so emotional.” She gave Beck a watery smile. “I heard about the crash. I knew it was you who went down. Who else could it be? I grieved. I thought you were dead. I mean you don’t just escape a helicopter crash.”

  “Yeah,” Beck sighed. “I was told that a female matching Alex’s description had crashed. I saw the site myself, there was nothing left of the chopper.”

  “I assumed the worst.” Alex’s lip quivered. “I thought you were gone.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Page grabbed her sister’s hand. “It was such a stupid thing to do but I was desperate to find you. I heard you had escaped with your dragon.” She glanced at Beck. “I heard about Harry. I was worried and not thinking clearly and I did a stupid thing. All I can say is that I’m grateful for all the training we had. All the tactical maneuvers. Learning how to skydive and base-jump. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be alive right now, that’s for sure. The dragon shifters don’t like you much, by the way.”

  That elicited a growl from Beck which, in turn had a couple of diners from other tables looking their way.

  “Easy,” Mountain said. “We’re going to clear things up with the kings. I had a long talk with Torrent, gave him some food for thought.”

  “Do you think they might accept me?” Alex raised her brows, her eyes brimmed with excitement.

  “I told you.” Beck clutched her hand. “It’s not a risk I’m willing to take, not before and certainly not now. They’d question you. Lock you up.” He growled again.

  Alex nodded. “Okay,” her eyes were on Beck’s, “we don’t have to rush into anythi
ng, we can—”

  “Actually,” Mountain interrupted. “I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t take much to convince them. That was my biggest argument. They know you, Beck. They trust you and therefore, they will trust your judgment.”

  His eyes hardened and he shook his head. “I don’t know, I just...” He made a sound of frustration. “I need her safe though, and out here,” he shook his head, “on human territory,” he looked around them, “there are pitfalls everywhere.”

  “You are not safe,” Page agreed. “I’ve been in contact with Debs, who has spies on the inside. From what I heard, Daddy was angry when you left. I think he was still hoping you would come around one day. That you’d accept his evil plans and work for the organization in a different capacity, with different agendas. You leaving like you did stung him. It lost him credibility with the other founding families. He is out for blood.”

  Beck ground his teeth so hard that Mountain was sure his molars might bleed.

  Alex widened her eyes. “I know, I heard something similar.”

  “He half-heartedly tried to track me over the years, may have put some feelers out for me, but it’s different where you are concerned,” Page said, her eyes wide and filled with concern. “Deborah’s sources say he appointed a special task team to hunt you down.”

  Alex bit down on her lip, looking so much like Page that it was uncanny. Her eyes filled with more tears. She tried to blink them back, but it didn’t work. “I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

  Of course!

  Shit! He had scented something off with her but hadn’t been able to put his finger on it with so many other scents about. With Beck’s scent all over her.

  Page squealed. She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide.

  “I know,” Alex whispered. “I was shocked to find out. I was on birth control. I get injected every six months, but I guess it’s not foolproof.”

  Page got out of her chair so that she could hug her sister. “I’m so happy for you.” She went and hugged Beck as well.

  “Shifter seed is potent,” Beck said under his breath, grinning broadly.