On Wings: A Reverse Harem Dragon Shifter Romance (Her Secret Menagerie Book 2)

by Katelyn Beckett

  I frowned at him. "How did you know we have to attend the site in the morning?"

  "Hudson called me, first."

  I made a face and took another sandwich. I didn't think the wolves were trying to play us against each other, but they all knew that I was the point of contact for legal issues like this. Besides, it hadn't even been Hudson who had spoken to me, which may or may not have been an insult now that I thought of it.

  Rather than sit and chat with my wingmates, I got up and went back to the guest room I usually slept in. It was a quiet, windowless room that was kept a bit too warm. The walls were all smoky blue with some ridiculous pattern around the top rim of it. I dropped into the bed and watched the ceiling.

  Were we to manage to take the eggs for ourselves, it still didn't solve our problems. We would need to hatch them before we could lay claim to the whelps. Worse, what if they were infertile after all that time in the ground? Our endeavors would be for nothing.

  And yet I couldn't, in good conscience, allow someone like Alashia to try to hatch her own alpha. Dragon flights were always in competition with one another and I sometimes wondered if another flight had been the ones to send the government in after us. Though Eskal had shot that down early on, it held some merit.

  It was something I intended to look into, one of these days.

  I didn't mean to fall asleep, but a fully belly makes anyone tired. I only knew I had when the incessant chirping of birds bit into my conscious awareness. A quick look at the clock confirmed my worst suspicion: I'd slept through dinner and made it all the way until 7 the next morning.

  "Damn it," I muttered, rubbing the top of my head.

  There was never enough time to sleep, not when one worked as hard as I did. I dragged myself through my morning routine, making sure my shower was set to blast ice in my face. It was the only way I could actually wake up these days.

  Still yawning, I went downstairs and found the rest of the flight had already left for the day. A note from Iyadre stood on the table, folded in half so I would notice it.

  "Nariti," I read aloud. "We're headed to the dig site. Join us when you're awake. Your breakfast is in the microwave. Just hit 2 and it should be ready to go in no time."

  I glanced at the microwave and pushed the appropriate button, waited, then retrieved a platter of protein the likes of which most athletes would kill for. And Iyadre had been kind enough to leave me the honey and biscuits I craved every time I heard him get the flour out of the refrigerator.

  There was a distinct lack of coffee, but it would do. I settled in, enjoyed my breakfast, and browsed through the news articles on my phone. He'd been right. There were three mentions of the new opal findings at both state and national level, though the latter were thankfully relegated to the "science" section that nobody ever seemed to read.

  When I finished, I tipped the dishes in the sink and promised myself that I'd wash them when I got home. Eskal's car was gone and so was Vadriq's bike. I walked out to my old truck, paperwork tucked securely under one arm, and thanked everything that was holy that the day wasn't as rainy as yesterday had been.

  I arrived at the dig site to an unholy mess. Eskal was dragging Xavion away by his arm, snarling at the man. I couldn't hear precisely what was being said, but the tone suggested that neither of them were happy. All four Fontaine alphas were present, the other three in hot debates with my wingmates. I pushed the clutch down, shoved my truck into park, and took a deep breath before I exited the vehicle to go see what had happened this time.

  "-no reason whatsoever to do it, none. There are legal consequences for-"

  "-the fuck is wrong with you? Haven't you noticed-"

  I shook my head, catching snippets of conversation as I walked. The humans present stared at the billionaires that were ready to rip each other apart. I couldn't possibly intercede in one conversation without getting stuck in another. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I walked over to Eskal's car, opened it up, and smashed the horn with all my might.

  The damn thing screamed across the lot. The wolves flinched and it did my sensitive ears no favors, either. Yet, they were far more likely to end up howling at this than we were. Mongrels.

  "Mr. Vervain, I'm afraid I need to speak with you privately, sir," I said, once I'd released the horn.

  Eskal had rolled up a sleeve. So had Xavion. I had little doubt the two were about to deck each other before I'd so rudely interrupted them. My wingmate dropped the wolf and stalked across the clearing to me, murder in his eyes. "This had better be worth it."

  "It is, if you desire to keep up appearances," I whispered, turning my back to the rest of the assembly. One never knew who could read lips. "What is wrong with you? This is the sort of thing we settle during full moons, not out in public."

  "They started it."

  I stared at him. "I don't care who started it. I don't care if they came up to you and kicked you in the ass. You're going to raise all sorts of problems doing things like this. Worse, you know it. What is wrong with you? With all of you?"

  "Hudson threatened to have the eggs destroyed if we made an attempt to push for our land rights," Vadriq hissed over my shoulder.

  That was incredibly dark for a man who had children of his own. I looked over at the dark-haired, olive-skinned werewolf and scowled. I held up a finger, then walked over to the wolves.

  "Did you really threaten to destroy our belongings found on this property?" I asked, looking up at the head alpha.

  Hudson glared at me, sweat visible on his brow. His shoulders heaved as he tried to maintain his cool. He was failing. "I think I snapped something like that. You know better."

  "I know nothing of the sort. Are we allies? Or not?" I frowned.

  Gabe moved in front of Hudson. The two were a matched set, for all they were only cousins. I'd had plenty of dealings with Gabe over the years and found the man to be something of a treat. In all honesty, were I interested in werewolf men-... no, that was a thought better left undiscovered. He scowled at me. "We aren't going to insert ourselves into your claims. I apologize for the brash words said by my cousin. You have every right to the opals. We would never have them harvested."

  He said the last with a sharp look back at Hudson, who seemed to have cooled down a great deal more. I gave him an abrupt nod and spun on a heel, walking back to my flight.

  "Well?" Eskal growled.

  I shook my head. "Words of anger, Eskal. Let them be. They're under a lot of pressure, too. Warring between us will do nothing but give everything away. And what is the most important thing that we must do in situations like this?"

  "Protect the pact," Eskal said.

  The rage died in him then, followed quickly by Iyadre and Vadriq. I, absentmindedly, smoothed my hair back once more and looked around at the humans staring at us. "I apologize, ladies and gentlemen, but the show is over. If you would please resume your work."

  I held a hint of authority in my voice. It was the sort of thing that most humans responded to. Everyone simply wants to know where they fit in society. There is nothing wrong with that. I appreciated it when few decided to fight me; look at how simply I'd resolved the matter between the flight and the pack.

  Yet of them all, one stood out. The blonde witch from before, Olivia, watched me from across the dig site. She moved with uncertain footing, like she was full of adrenaline with nowhere to spend it. I watched her for another moment, then turned back to what I was doing. I showed Eskal the paperwork I'd brought along with me, then went to make copies for the rest of the people who needed them.

  It was there that she cornered me. The door swung open to the trailer as Olivia followed me inside, her eyes locked on me. I hit the copy button and allowed the machine to do its work while I looked back at her. "Is there some reason you're stalking me after screaming at us to leave you alone?"

  "I need your help," she whispered.

  Had I heard her right? "You need our what?"

  She didn't like that. The glare s
he gave me was something that would scorch most. I tried not to smile. "I need your help."

  "And what could someone like me do for you?" I asked, setting my palms against the machine and leaning back against it. I was going to enjoy this. Whether she asked for love or money, we would fulfill what she needed. And then we would pull her into a contract to help with the eggs-

  She shook her head. "Not here."

  That said, she turned around and left. Curious, I followed her. We made our way to her car, a nice little rental number with a tiny hole melted in the trunk. I blinked at that. What could some little human have done to a whole car to do that?

  Olivia popped open the aforementioned trunk and lunged inside it. She'd parked far enough away from the rest of the vehicles, from the site, that no one could see us.

  And in her grasp, she held a tiny, newly hatched, dragon whelp. It immediately flared its neck frill at me and screamed, shooting a burst of fire from its mouth. Needle-sharp teeth snapped at Olivia, but she was too quick for it. She wrapped its head in the towel she held it in and clutched it to her chest, her eyes wide with panic.

  My heart swelled so much I thought I might die.

  Chapter 8

  Olivia

  "No."

  I stared up at him, knowing what he was and what he was capable of. The monster in my hands thrashed and flailed, intent on getting away from me again. He'd smashed half of the ceramics in my room and thank goodness the cleaning ladies only cleaned every other day. I'd have to spend a fortune to replace everything, but I'd do it.

  This?

  I couldn't do this.

  "What the fuck do you mean, no?" I whispered, tightening my hold on the baby.

  Nariti shrugged at me. "Why should we help you when you had no interest in helping us? I suppose I should warn you. Most dragons are venomous at birth and I cannot possibly imagine the local hospitals are equipped to cope with that."

  All the blood in my body drained into my feet. How many times had the whelp bitten me in the past few hours? Was that why I felt lightheaded? Why I was certain that I was dying? Or had it been the fact that he'd kept me up all night, trying to silence his screams while the rest of the normal world slept?

  "He's your kind. He's your people. You wanted some eggs hatched; I hatched one! You take him!" I snapped, shoving the bundle at the man.

  He stepped away and shrugged again. "It was your egg. Your responsibility. Besides, he's not going to allow us near him until you allow it. He'll never take food from any of us. Only you."

  The whelp managed to writhe free of my grip and flung itself on my shoulder. It hissed at Nariti again, crawled up my hair, and spit another ball of fire at the man. I grabbed it by its middle and it keened, breaking my heart to pieces.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I whispered, laying the whelp in my arms. Had I smashed it by accident? As wild as it was, it seemed like it was incredibly frail.

  I wasn't good with delicate things. Which, you know, that had held me back a bit in my career. I'd tried to pull half a vase out of the ground too early once and completely shattered the poor thing, ruining any value it had. But the dragon had been so tough, so rowdy, that I hadn't even thought about it being a baby when I'd-

  With a roar of contempt that came out like a dog's squeaky toy, it charged up my shoulder once more. Nariti snatched the towel from my hands, wrapped it up in a burrito-type style, and tied each end together to keep the little bastard where he belonged. His head was still out, squawking at both of us. I looked up at the dragon with a desperate plea on my face. How was I supposed to work and deal with this thing at the same time?

  Nariti looked the two of us over. "I don't see anything we can do. You're in this situation because you hatched an egg. If only you knew a dragon who had an idea of how to transfer a whelp's imprint to someone else. What a tragedy that you don't."

  He turned to leave and I grabbed his arm, balancing the whelp in the crook of my other. "You can't just leave me like this."

  "Why not?" he asked, looking back at me over his shoulder. "You were going to do the same to us. Enjoy it."

  With that, he tugged away from me and headed back towards the trailer. I couldn’t possibly go back to work and leave the whelp in the trunk all day; he'd either rip his way through it or he'd burn up. You didn't leave a dog in your car because it would overheat, I assumed the same was true about baby dragons.

  Though, maybe he could be kept tied up somewhere? We were stuck in town, but maybe I could hide him under the trailer? If I snuck under it at lunch, I could tie him to one of the axels and keep him there for the day.

  The idea would never work. He'd shoot fireballs at someone's ankles and hurt them. I chewed my lower lip as I tightened the knots on the towel. What the hell was I going to do?

  The last, unknown dragon walked past my location, headed back to his bike. I ran to him, sneaking behind the cars on my way. I shoved the baby's head back into the towels and pinned it shut with my hands. "Hey!"

  "Hey yourself," he said, frowning at me. "Aren't you-?"

  I panted as I reached him. "Yeah, last time you saw me I was running away from you; not toward. Look, I've got a problem. You're part of that whole thing with Eskal?"

  "That whole thing with..." he cocked his head to the side as he realized what I was talking about. "Maybe. You change your mind about helping us?"

  "No," I said, immediately. "Yes? I don't know. Look." I opened the flap I'd been keeping closed. The whelp's head shot out and chattered at me, scolding me for daring to keep him in.

  "Oh, hello," he said, reaching out to stroke it.

  The whelp snarled and snapped at his finger, sinking its tiny needle teeth in. I choked. "Nariti said he didn't think any of the local hospitals had antivenin for a baby dragon."

  "It's not like he's venomous," he smiled, tugging the finger around in the whelp's mouth.

  Of everything I'd tried, that seemed to entertain the whelp the fastest. I blinked. "The other guy said he was."

  "He's just screwing with you. He's got a real flat sense of humor. You want me to take the kid off your hands?"

  I paused, watching him play tug as he bled everywhere. Slowly, I drew the whelp back to my chest. I didn't think it was the best idea to leave him with a guy who was willing to get himself ripped open for the kid's amusement. "I just don't know what to do with him."

  "You'd have to clear it with Eskal, anyway. And probably hang out with us for a little while so he gets used to us," he said.

  "I don't even know your name."

  He looked up at me and gave me a toothy grin. "Vadriq. You know the other guys?"

  "Unfortunately."

  The grin widened. "Come on. You don't have to be like that. If you gave us a chance, you'd probably like us. Heck, you might even want to give us a hand."

  He put a little extra emphasis on the rest of it. I scowled at him and turned, marching back to my car with the whelp firmly in hand. I was not going to be entrapped by my own mistake to go along and make more mistakes with my... powers.

  Ugh, that word. I scowled at my trunk, the whelp held tight, then I thumped my forehead against the back of my car and sighed. "Why can't my life be a normal, calm thing? Why does it have to be this?"

  I didn't want to admit to myself that I'd enjoyed the rush of power when I'd brought the egg to life. I didn't want to talk about magic or the supernatural world; I didn't even want to acknowledge it existed. I wanted to enjoy digging in the dirt and using science to connect bits of pottery and bone to enormous civilizations and creatures that lived thousands of years ago; or maybe millions of years ago, depending on what we were digging up.

  I wanted to be left alone, to just sit back and relax during my free time. Now, I had a baby dragon that was threatening the sanctity of my job. Hell, if I wasn't careful, I'd lose it today just because I was making myself impossible to find.

  The whole situation was driving me crazy. I looked off toward the trailer and steeled myself. I knew what had
to be done, but who the fuck likes to eat that much crow? If I gave in once, it didn't mean I had to fasten myself to the supernatural world again. It just meant that I needed this one-shot situation to completely sever with it.

  Besides, the dragons had mentioned magic; hadn't they? If they were supernatural beings, they had their own powers. And maybe, if I was lucky, they could use their powers to get rid of mine after I'd helped them out.

  I fastened the whelp's flap shut again, balled him up in my arms, and made the long walk across the scorching field to the trailer office. I climbed the stairs one at a time, dreading each one, until I could kick the door.