“Well, he likes taking apart my tractors whenever he gets the chance,” Reno said finally.
“And eating raw meat out of the fridge,” Marian added, suppressing a grimace.
The basilisk perked up at the words “raw meat.”
Clancy nodded slowly. “And shooting.”
At that, everyone turned to stare at Clancy, completely wide-eyed as he stood there looking as fancy as usual.
Even Harrison seemed slightly concerned. “You let the basilisk shoot guns?”
“Yeah, what of it?” Clancy replied, smiling easily. “He obeys all the range rules, and he just goes out there to practice. Plus, it keeps him out of trouble. He’s already a crack shot.”
The rest of the group seemed mollified by that. Apparently, no one knew guns better than Clancy, so if Clancy said it was okay, it probably was.
“What about… Gunnar?” Mel mused. “Simple but has a nice ring, right?”
Reno nodded, smiling. “I like it.”
“I don’t know,” Beck said, scowling as he walked over and placed a hand on the basilisk’s shoulder and motioned at him with the other. “He don’t really look like a Gunnar to me, more like a Marvin or—”
But he didn’t get to finish the sentence, as the basilisk’s fist cracked through the air, sending Beck flying back a dozen feet.
Then the basilisk frowned and nodded slowly. “Gunnar. Yes.” He grinned and cracked his knuckles as if to end any argument. His eyes glowed, one red, one blue.
Mel cocked her head at his voice. It was low and gravelly as if it hadn’t been used in quite a long time.
“Okay, you can’t punch my mate like that!” Sierra exclaimed as she helped Beck up.
“Nah, nah, it’s okay, Sierra,” Beck said, chuckling and seemingly unfazed. “He’s got spirit. I respect that. It’d take more than that to harm a mountain dragon.”
“By the way, I wonder where Gary is,” Clancy said, looking around. “With this much food out, he should be around.”
Mel frowned. “Gary… Oh, that raccoon I’ve seen?”
Almost as if on cue, there was a rustling from the bushes by the porch, and out of them appeared a small raccoon who scuttled into the clearing.
Dallas pulled something from his pocket that looked like a cracker, then held it out to Gary, who took it and then relaxed on Dallas’s boot while he nibbled at it.
“Part of the family,” Harrison said. “Can’t have a party without Gary around.”
The rest of the group nodded in assent, and Mel just laughed as she looked down at the adorable little creature.
Once he was done with the treat, Gary’s eyes turned to Gunnar, and he eyed the basilisk curiously for a second before he got off Dallas’s boot and slowly made his way over to Gunnar.
When Gary was close enough, he sniffed Gunnar cautiously, but when the basilisk gave him a scary look, Gary squeaked in horror and scuttled away.
To everyone’s surprise, he made for Beck and hid behind him. The only thing visible from behind Beck’s huge leg was his small black nose.
“Well, I’ll be,” Harrison muttered, amazed.
Looking like he’d won the lottery, Beck reached down and patted the small animal’s head. “I knew he’d come around eventually.”
Sierra just stared at her mate with a look of adoration.
Mel laughed to herself, wondering if that was how she looked at Dallas.
Who was she kidding? Of course she did.
After Gary had sufficiently calmed down, they all sat down to eat. As they were sitting, Dallas cocked an eyebrow at Harrison.
“Any news from the double dragons?” he asked quietly.
Harrison shook his head as he held his plate for Marian, who was ladling large amounts of food onto it. “Nothin’ yet.”
“They’re probably busy,” Mel said. “I’ve been watching the internet, and all of the major news sources are completely denying that the event even happened. Though, people in online forums are sharing videos and experiences.”
Beck frowned. “That’s not good. Shifters have never been this publicized before. I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” Clancy added. “But with everything that’s been going on, it would have been hard to keep it secret.”
“Would it be so bad?” Billie asked, eyeing Clancy. “I mean, my family’s known about shifters for a long time. It wasn’t a problem for us.”
“Hard to say,” Clancy replied. “Although, I doubt most people are like you and your family.”
She laughed. “Good point.”
“Either way…” Harrison chimed in, holding up his beer in a toast. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together, as a crew, like a family, just like we always have.”
A cheer rose around the table. Then everyone went back to eating their food, and Mel moved a little closer to Dallas, whose mouth turned up in a smile as he put an arm over the back of her chair.
“By the way, Reno,” Harrison added. “What did Troy want to talk to you about?”
Reno’s easy smile flashed away, his face serious as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “Can’t talk about that. It’s personal. Family stuff.”
“Oh, come on, Reno,” Clancy said, grinning. “Tell us.”
“I would, but then I’d have to kill you,” Reno replied coolly.
Everyone around the table went silent, staring at Reno, but then he just shrugged, his face breaking out in a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just kidding.”
There were a few nervous laughs while everyone resumed their dinner and conversations, and Mel turned to face Dallas.
His eyes glowed as he watched her.
“What’re you thinking?” she asked, curious.
He didn’t respond but instead pulled her into a soft, quick kiss. When they broke apart, he nodded, his eyes still on her. “I’m the luckiest tiger alive.”
Mel pursed her lips. It felt like her heart could explode with happiness and affection for this wonderful man.
“We’re lucky I took the assignment,” she said, smiling. “I never would have found you otherwise.”
Dallas shook his head. “No, I would have found you somehow. Someday.”
Mel nodded slowly. Maybe he was right. They were meant to be together, and, looking around the table, they were right where they needed to be.
Everything was perfect.
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Sample of Onyx Dragon
Zach, Isaac Morningstar III, touched the chunky iron chain around his neck as he caught his reflection in one of the dingy shop windows he passed. Anger contorted his expression as he withdrew his fingers and started again down the street of the bad neighborhood he’d been dropped in.
He was
still getting used to the modern world since he’d been woken up some months ago, but even he knew this wasn’t the type of place he would ever have chosen to go back to when he had full access to his dragon powers and a massive treasure trove that allowed him to live in comfort whenever he felt like being in human form.
And yet here he was, leveled, humbled, shackled by this collar until the oracle who watched over shifters was sure he could be “trusted”, barely able to partially shift, with no money and nothing but the clothes on his back.
Despicable state of events.
Not that he blamed the oracle. In his day, hundreds of years ago, dragons had been more akin to powerful, despotic demigods who terrorized humans when it pleased them and roamed the countryside freely. In human form, they were often dukes or lords with power to match, able to hide in the countryside in a massive estate if they so chose. To hell with caves.
Here, dragons had been remodeled to become something much more civilized. Now they worked in pairs, enforcing the laws of the shifter community and protecting shifters and humans in their area.
Protecting them.
The thought was ludicrous. Zach had never in his life met someone he wanted to protect, and he doubted anyone here in the selfish, petty human world was going to change that for him.
Thunder cracked overhead and he looked up with an annoyed scowl to see dark clouds overhead. A few more steps and he felt the patter of rain on his shoulders and shook his head in disgust. He looked around him to gain his bearings and saw a shop across the street that seemed friendly.
A human woman stood in the front window, smiling as she chatted with a man in front of her in a low chair. She had long hair, a mix of dark brown and red that shimmered over her shoulders. Soft, pale skin with rosy cheeks. A sweet mouth.
She was touching her male client’s hair, and Zach felt an odd rumble of jealousy at the sight of it.
She was providing some kind of service. Zach would go over and see what, and get out of the rain at the same time.
When he pulled open the heavy glass door, all eyes turned to him. Various men and women with striking colors of hair looked up at him in shock. Their clients, all arrayed in black cloaks, stared as well.
He saw seats to the side of the door and sat in one, glaring at the humans to try and deter the stares he was receiving.
He was a dragon, a powerful one. The world could rise or fall on the whims of him and his friends. They should show him respect, not this mixture of shock and disgust.
The girl he’d seen from the window turned to him with soft blue eyes. Kindness. That was unexpected. “Did you want to make an appointment?”
He pursed his lips and leaned back in the chair. “For what?”
“A haircut, of course,” she said, a smile touching her full lips.
Zach sat up a little straighter as a little bolt of warmth coursed through him. Most unexpected. He touched his shoulder length mop, tangled from the trip here and damp from the rain. “No. I do not need one.”
She smiled and shrugged. “Okay.”
Other customers sent nervous glances around and Zach ignored them. He picked up a magazine from beside him and pretended to hold it in front of him while he studied the people.
He wasn’t wholly ignorant of the modern world. He’d been living on a shifter-only island, but they had all of the technology. Just none of the humans.
As he assessed the people around him, he realized when this place closed, it would be evening, and time to find lodgings. He’d been walking all day, and would need somewhere to stay at night. If he could still take his full dragon form, he could go out into the woods and sleep there. His dragon form was impervious to cold. But his human form would probably freeze.
Drat.
He stared at the human again, narrowing his eyes. The man in the chair in front of her stood as she removed his cloak and took him to the counter where payment was taken. On the way there, he turned to Zach with a scowl.
“You could stop staring, hobo,” he said, before turning his back on Zach.
Zach gaped. Hobo? As in, a homeless beggar? For a moment he was speechless at the audacity of it. He was the furthest thing from that. Or was he? After all, he had incredible wealth but none of it was accessible. Incredible power but no way to use it.
He was kind of a hobo, wasn’t he?
“What is he smiling about, anyway?” the man muttered.
“Shush, Gerry,” the woman said. “You know I welcome anyone here.”
Negative one point for humanity for Gerry, Zach thought. Plus one for the girl with the kind eyes. He glanced around the shop. Probably not going to be any more positive points around here.
The oracle had said she’d remove the collar when she felt she could trust him with humans. He had no idea what that meant, but probably it meant hating them a little less. Being less aghast at the thought of protecting them.
When the man had left, the girl with kind eyes removed her black apron, revealing a soft, curvy body in a short pink dress with black leggings underneath. She sat next to him, just a chair away, and gave him a kind smile. It made him tingle slightly.
Dragons did not tingle.
He shifted uncomfortably.
“My name is Erin,” she said, leaning forward with a smile.
“Okay,” he said curtly. For some reason, this little human set him off balance. He was still considering what that meant.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked. “I can call a shelter or maybe someone you know…”
He pursed his lips. “How about you just let me stay here and continue my observation? Or is that too much trouble for you?” His tone was slightly sarcastic and she raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“No, it’s no trouble at all,” she said sweetly. “You’re welcome to just stay in out of the rain as long as you like.” She looked at the clock. “Well, until we close. I was just making sure you didn’t need help.”
“I don’t,” he said flatly. He was frankly a little offended that she thought he was some kind of invalid seeking help. What about him was giving her that impression?
He flinched back when she reached for a lock of his hair that was falling over his face. “At least let me give you a wash and a shave,” she said. “On the house.”
He frowned. He didn’t want to accept this human’s pity, as in his other form he could eat her in one bite. But he’d seen her hands in the other man’s hair, and he wanted that. Wanted her touching him. Looking at him.
“All right, human.” He bit his lip and ignored the way he’d referred to her as she let out a light, tinkling laugh and led him over to her chair.
He sat down, sinking into the soft cushion with a sigh. She had to put the chair all the way down to work on him because he was extraordinarily tall compared to most humans. And good-looking, and muscled, if he said so himself.
As he faced the mirror, he admitted he was a little the worse for wear after his travels. He had an overgrowth of black beard, but that was manly. And his hair was tangled from wind and the slight rain.
He’d worn a long black trench over his clothing because it would provide shelter from the rain and elements and he didn’t know how long it would take to find lodgings.
But he didn’t see anything wrong in the mirror. If anything, he just looked masculine. Strong.
She leaned him back and helped rest his head on the sink. “I bet you’ll be a whole new person after this,” she said with a wink.
His eyes skimmed her curvy body, so close and warm, and then came back to her eyes, a beautiful clear blue like wildflowers.
Her hands worked through his hair, soaping and kneading, and he relaxed into her touch, her scent, the soft sound of her voice. The look of her kind face. The press of her body as she leaned over him. Even being a dragon, and very impervious to heat, he was on fire.
He stared at her, feeling shock unlike anything he’d felt as she finished washing and wrung his hair dry. Then she reached for a razor
and foam to start the shaving.
As she carefully glided over his face, dipping in and out of a bowl, rinsing and wiping the razor so as not to cut him, he found there was a great deal of eye contact to be found in a shave.
What was she doing to him, the minx? His body felt warm. His throat tight and dry. Every touch was hot agony.
She was still humming happily as she grabbed a towel and dried his face, bringing him to a sitting position. He took the towel from her, keeping it over his face a little longer to hide his reaction until he calmed down.
He was an immortal dragon. He did not fall for human hairdressers, no matter how kind they were. He set the towel down.
The salon was instantly silent. Zach turned in his chair to see Erin standing a few feet away, a fresh towel in her hand hanging limp at her side, eyes wide, lips parted.
The humans were looking at him differently now. Several of the women who’d been scorning him before were giving him looks of lust. Invitation.
But he cared only for the reaction of one person. Erin, who was standing there frozen in pure shock. Maybe not even the good kind.
“Good heavens, what is it?” he snapped, yanking the cape from around his neck and jerking it to the ground as he stood with folded arms. He brushed his wet, black hair behind his ears and stared them down.
Another woman stepped forward, this one pale with blond hair, looking more like the wenches from his day in England. “Can I take your coat?”
He shrugged and handed it to her. “I demand to know why you’re staring,” he said to the room.
The woman who had taken his coat was gaping at him, her eyes wandering up and down his body.
He smirked. That was the response from human women he was more used to. He turned back to Erin, and realized the fact that he cared so much about what she thought could only really mean one thing. Something he’d never considered before in either of his lives.
Even as she marched up to him, irritation flooding her beautiful face, the possibility overwhelmed him.
The oracle had sent him out here to find out if he could get along with humanity. She should be happy that he had possibly just found a human mate.
Outlaw Tiger Page 17