by Sarah Noffke
Quiet narrowed his eyes as he took his regular seat and muttered something inaudible.
“What did you say?” Cooper, the first new dragonrider to join them, asked.
“He’s saying that he didn’t know that Evan liked sleeping with bedbugs, but that’s presently being arranged,” Wilder supplied with a laugh.
Once more, seeing the confusion on the new dragonrider’s faces, Mahkah cut in. “Quiet is the groundskeeper and controls all aspects of the Gullington. He is the Castle, but he’s also so much more.”
That didn’t seem to clear up the confusion for any of the six new dragonriders. They all shared bewildered expressions.
“It will make sense in time.” Sophia turned her attention to the hooded dragonrider, Alex. “So where are you from? What pack are you with?”
Sophia had learned from Liv that werewolves had originated in Lupei, which had been cursed long ago by a magician. All born in the city were werewolves and didn’t turn on the full moon, but rather every night.
From there, the town’s residents had spread out, spreading the werewolf curse with their bite, morphing werewolfism into the affliction that most knew about with monsters turning once a month. Only those from Lupei could turn every night when in the town, but still, from what Sophia had learned, they weren’t uncontrollable monsters. Usually, they ate a steak dinner and went to bed.
It was true that some werewolves were murderous, but also, many were peaceful people dealing with their ancestor’s curse—trying to make the best of it. Those from Lupei were proud people in their way, embracing what had been done to them. Sophia had learned so much about the true history of werewolves from Liv and also that there was a secret that none could know.
“I’m from Lupei,” Alex whispered, seeming to mimic Quiet’s low voice.
Sophia blinked in surprise at the strangeness of it all. What were the chances? The timing of everything that morning had been too weird. “You’re…you’re from Lupei?”
Wilder studied her, probably sensing her sudden nervousness. “That’s the place where Liv had the werewolf case? That’s interesting.”
“Yes, very.” Sophia watched the tense expression bounce around in Alex’s eyes. He was worried she knew the town’s secret—that she was going to tell it. However, Liv had confided in her, and there was no way that she ever would. Guinevere, their mother, had risked her life to protect that secret. Liv had done the same. If anyone knew it, well, most believed that fearful magical creatures would slaughter an entire peaceful village. There was no way Sophia would reveal the truth about Lupei, not to anyone.
She swallowed and forced a smile. “I hear it’s beautiful there. Very charming scenery.”
“I met your sister.” Alex let out a breath, the relieved expression in his brown eyes palpable. “She’s a remarkable warrior.”
There it was. Alex knew Liv. He had to have known that Sophia wouldn’t reveal his town’s secret…his.
“Oh, this keeps getting stranger,” Evan stated. “Small world sort of stuff.”
“Not really,” Sophia remarked, trying to ease the tension that had built. “Liv is a character. She gets known when she goes places. Makes a scene, if you know what I mean.”
“She saved my father’s life,” Alex continued, his expression staying solemn as he sat frozen, not touching the plate full of meat at his place.
Sophia’s hand paused on her glass of orange juice. “Oh, really? And your father?”
“His name is Fane,” Alex answered. “He’s the leader of our pack.”
Sophia nearly knocked her glass over from shock. Wilder spied as it shook in her hand. Everyone stared straight at her. She couldn’t believe it. Not only did she have one secret to keep for Alex, but now she had two.
Chapter Three
“I say you make the wedding huge,” Mama Jamba sang over her shoulder as she entered the dining hall, Ainsley and Hiker following her.
“That’s what I say,” Hiker agreed. “Ainsley wants to keep it small.”
The three froze beside the dining table, eyeing all the riders wearing apprehensive stares. Hiker sensed that he’d interrupted something and tilted his head. “What’s going on?”
“It’s my birthday, and none of those jerks got me anything,” Evan stated, tossing his hand in the other direction.
Sophia laughed, grateful that he was teasing and easing the tension that had built. “They only got here last night.” She indicated the brand new dragonriders. “The rest didn’t know that this is the random day you choose to celebrate your birthday.”
He pursed his lips at her. “What’s your excuse?”
“It’s in the mail,” she stated. “Wait for it.”
“My excuse is that I didn’t want to get you anything,” Wilder quipped. “Celebrating the day you were born is against every fiber of my being. What’s something you don’t want? I’ll get that for you.”
Ainsley shook her head and sat next to Hiker. “Evan, really, celebrating your birthday on New Year’s Day is a very gauche thing to do when you have a choice for it to be any other day of the year.”
“Saying the word gauche is what made you a worse person than Wilder,” Evan joked. “Fine. I’ll celebrate it today this year. Next year, I’ll celebrate it a week earlier.”
Sophia lowered her chin and shook her head at him. “On Christmas Day?”
“Well, Hiker stole the holiday thunder this year with that whole proposal business,” Evan argued.
The leader of the Dragon Elite ignored him and looked down the table at the new riders, seeing their tense expressions. “Good morning, you lot. I trust you all are settling in all right.”
“Sir, you’ve never trusted that I was settling in okay,” Evan remarked, pretending to be offended.
“I haven’t,” Hiker said, taking the plate of bacon that Ainsley handed him and helping himself to several pieces. “I’ve been hoping that you didn’t settle in and left us eventually.”
“I fear that we’ve enabled him and he’s never leaving us.” Ainsley laughed.
“Well, Mom and Dad,” Evan began, yawning as he stretched out his arms, “I have zero plans of moving out of your house. Forever and always you’ll find me in my underwear, sitting on the couch in the basement and playing video games.”
Trin had trotted over from the kitchen, carrying Mama Jamba’s usual short stack of pancakes. She slid them in front of Mother Nature and batted her eyes at Evan. “Oh, wow and to think you’re all mine. How did I get so lucky?”
“Cursed,” Wilder corrected. “The word you meant to say is cursed.”
Sophia’s eyes moved to Alex down the table. He was staring at her intently, catching the reason for her sudden interest.
When she pulled her gaze from his, Hiker was eyeing her in that way he did when he was figuring her out. He wasn’t the obtuse and thick-headed Viking she had once thought he was. The leader of the Dragon Elite was quite intuitive, and that’s why he glanced between Sophia and Alex with a studious gaze. “What’s going on? Why were you all so tense when we came in?”
“Evan heard you’re not inviting him to the wedding,” Wilder joked.
Ainsley sighed. “That’s because I don’t want to invite anyone to the wedding.”
Hiker shook his head at her but focused on Sophia. “Out with it. What’s going on?”
She couldn’t tell him the truth. It wasn’t her secret to tell. Neither was. She’d have to convince Alex to come clean, and that would start with divulging his real name. However, she could deflect and share what everyone already knew.
Sophia cleared her throat. “Alex had told us all that he’s a werewolf.”
Hiker dropped his bacon on his plate.
Ainsley tried her best to cover her gasp.
Again Sophia cleared her throat. “And,” she continued, drawing out the word. “I was informing everyone that werewolves aren’t the monsters that everyone thinks they are. They can control their primal urges.”
Hiker studied Alex for a moment. “So when you turn on a full moon, you won’t be a danger to us?”
He nodded under his hood, his mouth working back and forth. “My werewolfism is dormant. It rarely comes out, but when it has, I’m completely fine.”
“Besides that you’re really hairy and have dog features?” Evan deadpanned.
“You’re like that all the time, and you seem fine,” Wilder teased.
“Show some decorum, would you?” Hiker scolded.
At the table, in front of everyone, Ainsley morphed into the form of a werewolf, although what Sophia figured was a smaller, tamer-looking version. “I happen to think that werewolves are beautiful creatures.”
All the new dragonriders shrank back in shock, none of them knowing that the elf could shapeshift at will.
Hiker sighed. “Can we have a normal breakfast for once?”
Ainsley returned to her usual form and grinned across the table at Sophia.
“Yeah, it’s my birthday,” Evan complained. “How come NO10JO can’t come into the dining hall, but your fiancée gets to be a dog at the table?”
“My fiancée can do whatever she likes, and she isn’t a dog for real,” Hiker replied, returning his attention to Alex. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a dog. I’m sure that Ainsley is right and you’re quite remarkable in werewolf form. However, you understand my concerns on the matter, I’m sure?”
Alex didn’t seem to have a response to this, so Sophia cut in for him. “Sir, I can offer you my copy of Magical Creatures from Bermuda Laurens, where you can brush up on information on werewolves. I think knowledge of the facts will make you much more relaxed on the matter.”
Hiker narrowed his eyes at her, again giving her that penetrating stare as if he was trying to figure whether she was hiding something. Finally, he nodded. “That would be appreciated.”
“Does anyone find it odd that we’re worried about werewolves when we could ask Mother Nature about them and get our answers?” Wilder questioned, indicating Mama Jamba, who was polishing off her first plate of pancakes.
The new dragonriders again all startled.
Evan laughed.
Ainsley shook her head.
Sophia, feeling like the only one not trying to make the new guys run off on day one, leaned over and looked down the table at them. “Oh, by the way, this lovely woman here is Mother Nature. She lives here and offers us much support.”
“Keeping secrets and holding down the sofa in my office isn’t really what I’d call support,” Hiker argued.
Mama Jamba smiled good-naturedly as she handed her empty plate to Trin and took a new one with fresh pancakes. “I don’t keep secrets, son. I simply don’t fix all of your problems and allow you to figure things out on your own. Really, I don’t live here as much as I’m vacationing here for the time being.”
“You live here,” Hiker stated. “You can vacation somewhere else as long as you return to your home.”
Mama Jamba gave him a challenging look and smiled, dabbing the corners of her mouth. “I plan to. I have the trip all planned and will set off right after the wedding.”
Wilder leaned down the table the same way Sophia had and looked at the confused dragonriders. “Hiker, our esteemed leader, proposed to Ainsley, who used to be the housekeeper for this place.”
“She wasn’t really,” Evan added. “She’s like some royalty, but because of Hiker, she lost her memory and had to scrub our floors for several centuries.”
Hiker growled with frustration. “It doesn’t sound right when you put it like that.”
“Oh, really?” Evan jibed. “I guess I could have added the bit about how Ainsley lost her memory saving your life and you made her do our laundry and cook our meals for several centuries, all the while never telling her the truth.”
Again, Hiker growled and shook his head. “You new guys will benefit by never listening to a word Evan says.”
“Are the new men invited to the wedding, sir, since we’ll have plenty of food because Evan won’t be there being a pig and eating everything?” Wilder asked.
Hiker shook his head and pushed away from the table. “At this point, I don’t know if Ainsley will allow me to be at our wedding.”
The elf laughed at this. “I was considering it. You have a way of stealing all the attention.”
“Says the person who shapeshifted into the form of a werewolf at the breakfast table,” Evan stated dramatically.
“I was trying to make Alex feel welcomed,” she replied before looking at Hiker. “Of course, you’ll be there as well as Mama Jamba and S. Beaufont and Quiet, but I don’t want to make it a big deal.”
“So Wilder and Mahkah aren’t invited either?” Evan asked victoriously.
Ainsley shook her head. “Of course they will be. I’m on the fence about your invite though, if we’re honest.”
He scoffed at this.
“If anyone is asking for my opinion,” Mama Jamba began in a sing-song voice, “you really should go big. I mean, you only get married once.”
“Maybe,” Evan stated. “I’m still shocked that, after the whole enslavement thing, Ainsley said yes at all.”
“I didn’t enslave her,” Hiker argued, his voice suddenly booming.
“Sorry, sir,” Evan said at once. “Forced employment on someone with no memory of their life.”
Hiker rolled his eyes. “Ainsley, I think Mama is right. This is our wedding, and after everything, I think it’s worth celebrating. We should make it an event.”
Sophia was surprised to see the emotion in Hiker’s eyes. He’d changed so much since she came to the Gullington. He’d shifted even more when Ainsley was healed and returned to him. It was shocking to see him being the sentimental one who wanted to celebrate their wedding, making it a huge affair. The marriage of the Dragon Elite’s leader would be akin to when King Rudolf got married, which had been a momentous occasion.
Ainsley glanced nervously down the table for a moment. “Can we discuss this later? Like, when everyone who lives in the Castle isn’t staring at us?”
Hiker swallowed and nodded. “Yes, of course. We need to discuss the training schedule anyway.”
“Wait!” Evan exclaimed. “What, sir? You want us to train? This is very surprising news.”
Hiker shook his head at the sarcasm. “As I was saying—”
“Oh,” Mama Jamba interrupted, clapping her hand to her chest and rocking back in her chair as if she’d gotten a wave of heartburn. Her face was suddenly grief-stricken.
Hiker’s eyes widened. “What is it, Mama? Are you okay?”
Her mouth popped open, but no words came out.
Before Hiker could question her again, Trin stormed out from the kitchen, her expression also full of stress. “Sir, I’ve received several news reports that demand your immediate attention.”
Chapter Four
Hiker bolted upright, his fists clenched by his side. Everyone stared at the cyborg, anticipation heavy in the air.
“What is it?” Hiker looked between Trin and Mama Jamba. The old woman appeared to have recovered, taking deep breaths, but her hand was still on her chest.
“Tell him,” Mama Jamba encouraged, nodding.
“Tell me what?” Hiker’s voice vibrated with worry.
Trin’s cyborg eye closed the way it did when she pulled data from the world wide web. She was like a walking computer, plugged into all the news channels. “It appears that multiple nations are on the cusp of wars. Analysts are speculating about the individual causes, but there doesn’t seem to be a common link. The only suspect thing is that all the conflicts arose at the same time. Anyway, for many countries, it appears that a war is imminent.”
Hiker glanced at Ainsley, his forehead lining with tension. “All mortal nations, am I right?” he asked Trin.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m sending the full report to your tablet right now.”
“Coolest girlfriend ever,” Evan said proudly, looking at the cyborg
housekeeper.
Glancing sideways at Sophia, Hiker gave her a grave look. “Why does it feel like the timing of all these events isn’t random?”
“Because it never is.” She looked at Mama Jamba. “Are you okay? You’re feeling the brewing wars?”
She nodded, her hand still on her chest. Mother Nature suddenly looked so much older, like the global turmoil was waging inside her. In a way, it was. “It’s more that they’re all happening at once that took me by surprise. There are at least ten different countries that are preparing military forces in retaliation to various perceived wrong doings by their supposed enemies.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Hiker asked.
Mama Jamba pushed up from her chair. “I think you know that I can’t. All I can say is that if the world ever needed the Dragon Elite, then it is now.” Not moving at her usual peppy pace, the old woman strode for the entrance.
Hiker let out a long breath. “We have to find out who or what is behind all this. We have to intervene.” He glanced at Sophia and then Wilder, Mahkah, and Evan. “I want the Core Four in my office immediately.”
Core Four, Sophia thought proudly. She liked the way that sounded and that she was part of it.
Looking down the table at the newbies, Hiker said, “You lot are on your own until we have this under control. You should go out to the Expanse and work with your dragons the best way you know how.”
“But sir,” Cooper pointed at the heavily snow-covered window. “It’s freezing out there.”
Evan laughed. “Get used to it, son. Think how freezing it’s going to be when you’re flying through the icy winds on your dragon.”
Hiker nodded. “Evan is right. This is when you toughen up. We’re dragonriders, not pansy men who stay inside when the temperature drops.”
“Some of you aren’t men at all.” Ainsley nodded in Sophia’s direction.
Hiker sighed. “Oh, she knows what I mean.”
Evan sat back, a wide grin on his face as he looked at Wilder. “Did you hear that? I was right about something. I know you don’t know how that feels, but it’s a pretty great feeling.”