Gabe helped me inside but I entered our happy home with dread in my heart. Because I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that our big bed would be missing someone that night; and for several nights to come.
And that our pack had been hurt, broken, shattered by a dragon who was too selfish to worry about anyone else but himself.
That needed to be rectified.
Chapter Two
Gabriel
I let the others sleep in the next morning and took my car to the office rather than the Hummer. The scent of my cousin's blood was nothing new, but I didn't care to steep myself in it, either.
My watch vibrated as the new hour clicked through. Five am was early, but I couldn't sleep and there was work to be done. There were things I could do. And I needed to prepare. Hudson was hurt. That meant I was going to be the person everyone came to, the one that everyone was looking up to, to keep things in order while he was gone.
And I was not ready for that.
The keypad was bright in the pre-dawn light. I tapped in my code and went through the door, straight up to my office. There, I peeled off my jacket and tossed it on one of the chairs in front of my desk. I collapsed in the chair and fought down the urge to call Doctor Ioane. Even if the gecko shifter was awake, he wouldn't appreciate a call so early.
If something was wrong, he'd contact us. And I just had to believe that.
My head tipped back as I looked up at the ceiling. In a few hours, I'd pull the jacket back on and check in with my secretary. Then I'd go down to the dig site and keep trying to hurry them along. It didn't matter if one of their own was missing. Olivia was fine, probably happier than she'd ever been; it was in the nature of dragon shifters to spoil their mates and she certainly smelled as if she was taken with the Nightflight.
I couldn't tell the humans that, but I could reassure them that we'd upped the security, maybe. I could hire the corvids or the phoenixes to look big and strong, or maybe even the griffins; Lady knew that they needed the financial help.
You know, the only real pain in the ass about coming in so early was that no one had made the coffee yet. Was I so removed from my old life that I couldn't go make a quick cup of gut-smashing blackness? I grumbled as I pulled myself up again and walked down to the tiny office lounge. We'd tried to upgrade it a dozen times, but everyone seemed to like the room the way it had been.
The coffee machine fought me for every drop and I had to wonder if I was doing something wrong. Maybe I was, but it wasn't worth dwelling on. I managed to get a full mug, dumped in half a gallon of creamer and enough sugar to make the insulin providers happy. Then I stole a cookie from the cabinet and went back to my office, where I sat in silence and stared at my laptop uncomprehendingly.
I didn't want to be at work when my cousin was lying in a kennel at the vet. I didn't want to be at work when my poor, upset mate was asleep without me. I didn't want to be at work when the kids would need someone to help them understand that one of their dads wasn't coming home yet, and maybe he'd miss trick-or-treating this year, too.
And what the hell were we going to do as a community? The humans had no idea that we existed, but they were aware of dragons now. Thanks, guys. Great work. You totally fucked up a great thing we'd had going.
My coffee cup was cold and empty, mocking me for feeling the same way, when I got up and headed out to the car. I gave my secretary a nod, but ignored the others who looked sideways at me as I left. Everyone knew about the dig site. Everyone had seen the news last night. Whether they'd put two and two together or not, I wasn't sure. Maybe it was just me being paranoid because I knew the whole story.
It's like when you get caught shoplifting. Don't look at me like that; teenagers do stupid things. You tell the cops too much and then they know that you've done it, because how else would you know those details? I was guilty, a werewolf hidden behind a dark moon, thank Her light, and I was certain that the situation was about to get a great deal worse.
The drive to the dig site took a while. We'd been getting up so early to deal with it that most of the pack was run into the dirt. Sadie had taken on extra duties to try to spare us, but she'd been distant and just as tired as the rest of us. My mate rested heavy in my mind for a moment and I tried to remember the last time we'd been intimate. Weeks? Was it weeks, at this point? Ever since the dig site problems had started.
I sighed and dragged ass out of the car, promising myself a quiet night with Sadie and my pack brothers soon. We'd need to distract her from the Hudson situation at some point or she'd drive herself insane with it. Our omega was a worrier and-
"Mr. Fontaine, if you have a moment?"
I looked up at the doctor in charge of the dig site our factory would sit on, eventually; Willem Sonnet. He was handsome enough on the outside, but that didn't make up for the ugliness inside. My hackles went up, but I tried to maintain a professional stance. I could hate the man when I got home. "I always have a moment for you, Doctor Sonnet."
"Wonderful. This way, please."
He gestured to the old, beaten down trailer that served them as an office. The thing was on wheels, a single-wide that you could pull around depending on where you were working. I followed him in and tried to keep my mind on work. He sat down at the single, Ikea-cheap desk inside and motioned for me to sit in front of it. Slowly, I sank into the chair.
Sonnet tented his hands before him. "I'm afraid that we have some difficulties to address."
"Such as?" Sweat prickled to life on the back of my neck. Did he know? Did he suspect? Had Eskal run his fucking mouth?
Because, being entirely honest, I would jump across that desk if I had to. My teeth would easily rip that man's throat wide open and I could leave him in a heap out in the woods.
I blinked a few times and shook the thought away. The last thing I needed was for the beast within to start trying to make decisions when everything was screwed up.
He smiled at me. "Are you aware of the disappearance of the former property owners as of this morning?"
"Disappearance? My god, are the authorities looking into it?" I swear, I tried to put effort into my voice but disappearance didn't begin to cover what was going on.
His head bobbed up and down a few times. "Of course they are. There were tanks rolling through town last night and one of our own appears to have walked into the world of fantasy and pulled dragons out with her. Can you imagine what this is going to do to the study of history as a whole? The claims of dragons throughout time will require re-examination. We have proof that they exist. We have video; undeniable evidence."
"I saw something about it on the news last night," I said, shaking my head. "You would never expect such a thing to happen. I'm sure it will get people thoroughly overexcited."
"Perhaps it's getting the wrong people excited."
I paused. He locked eyes with me and the smile stretched. My stomach sank to my ankles and I wished my phone would ring. "What do you mean by that?"
"Are you aware that our cameras reach every inch of this dig site?" Sonnet pushed an SD card across the desk to me.
There was no way I was putting my fingerprints on that card. I looked at it, then looked up at him and cocked my head to the side. "Did you find something of interest on them?"
"I did. The others haven't. They haven't looked back far enough to find it. All of you are awfully chummy with that dragon that just ran off with my employee, Gabriel."
Ah, hell. "Were we? Funny. I don't remember ever meeting a dragon. I'm pretty sure that's the type of thing you remember for the rest of your life."
The smile was the size of Texas as he peeled the card off the desk and shoved it into his laptop. He spun the computer around and showed me the video. The pack and I poured out of the Hummer, Sadie running to go meet Eskal in his dragon form. It hadn't been very long ago, but it felt like decades. There was no sound and the picture was black and white. With a little help from our lawyers, this could easily be vanished.
So could Willem.
But we tried not to run the business like that. We were predators, but we weren't predatory; unless it was impossible to avoid. I looked at the man behind the desk and ran through my priorities. My mate, my kids, my pack including Lillian, the rescue, and the feed business; in that order. Seemed pretty rational. And it made my choice very clear.
I kicked over his fucking desk and pinned him under it, threatening to squash him like a bug. The laptop landed on the floor, flickering like a broken old television. Then I leaned over and glared at him. "You think I'm friends with a dragon and you want to fuck around."
Obviously, that prospect hadn't occurred to him. I leaned on the desk and he choked, unable to answer. All the better. I didn't want to hear his bullshit, anyway. It'd been years since I'd been an ass, but he needed to be put in his place.
Then someone knocked on the door and I sighed. The blinds were drawn, making it impossible to see the situation inside. But they'd open that door sooner or later and I'd have to let the jackass up. I pulled the desk off of him and sat it upright, then offered my hand down to him. When he took it, stunned, I yanked him close and pressed my lips against his ear. "Try to screw us over and I'll have your job, your house, your car, and your wife. You understand?"
"Crystal clear. I got it. I'll destroy the video, I swear. Just let me go." Sonnet's voice shook like a leaf in a hurricane. Good. It should.
I shoved him away and let him go answer the door, seating myself once more.
Three cops came in and I tried not to look at them out of the corner of my eye. I hadn't done anything wrong. I'd cleaned up before I'd come into work and I was certain I'd gotten all the blood off of me. Besides, what would they find; wolf blood? I'd tell them it was my pet's. Ioane would back me up on it and the wolf would be waiting for them at a kennel trying to heal up.
Unless our blood was still human when we were wolves.
I thought about that for a second and realized even I wasn't sure about it. And hell, I'd been a werewolf since I'd been born. It was the sort of thing I should have known. I bet Xav did.
"-Nicole Pender down to the station to find out if she knows anything about these terrorists-"
That caught my attention. I'd seen Olivia hanging around with Pender, a woman who deserved far better than what she got. She seemed nice enough, if a little confused about the way things were outside of her books and her degree. Were they trying to track Olivia and the dragons down through Nicole? Did they think they'd go and smash up another prison to save her, too?
Willem followed the cops out before I could ask what their intentions were with Nicole, not that it was any of my business. By the time I got to the door, one of the officers was already in his car with her and driving away. I frowned, but what was I going to do? Willem looked back at me and I ignored him, heading back to my car.
It was a long day at the dig site, but they were getting into the last few areas that they had to explore before we could start building. The estimate for continuing construction still sat at least a few weeks away, but I hoped we could be back in action before Hudson was released from the vet.
I drove home close to collapse, glad that none of my pack mates had shown up at the dig site with me. I assumed they'd been told I was out of the office; and the office was certainly aware of the situation with the site. Still, I was glad when I walked in and was completely engulfed in the scent of my pack.
Even if Hudson's scent was fading.
The dinner table was filled with a variety of Chinese take-out, with everything from braised beef dishes to dumplings stuffed with any number of things. I sat down without removing my jacket and piled a plate full of meat. Sadie slid up behind me and rolled the jacket from my shoulders, kissed my temple, and hung it on the back of my chair. Then she slid two fingers into my tie and slipped it from around my neck, cupping my cheek before moving on to grab a plate of her own.
My only regret was that the kids were already asleep. It was an event to feed four hungry puppies at once, but one I looked forward to every night. Tommy was getting old enough to manage his entire meal on his own, but the quads were always a wonderful disaster.
Bosco, a boxer mix with a stubby tail, sat down beneath the table. His blocky head came to rest on my knee and Sadie shot me a look that I returned with a wildly innocent blink. "What?"
"He's getting chubby, Gabe."
Bosco snorted. I looked down at him and sighed. "I know. I disagree, too. But what your mom says, goes. My poor, starving, sad boy."
The dog wiggled at me so hard I thought he might flip the table. I dug my knuckles into the crease between his eyes and he groaned, smashing his face into my hand. Worried I might actually bore through into his tiny, tiny brain, I pulled away and dug into dinner.
A piece of beef hit the floor, absolutely by accident. Didn't mean to do it. Just so happened to slip and whoops, it landed right on Bosco's nose. Sadie eyed me. "I saw that."
"Just means she can't watch us if she's watching them, doesn't it, Matilda," Xavion crooned, stroking the Dane’s head.
I peeked beneath the table and shook my head. Lady had taken up her usual station beside Leo. Matilda and Carrie Ann each had a paw on either of Xav's legs. But there, stationed at Hudson's empty chair, was his little buddy, Sarge. The dog was some bizarre mix of corgi and something with a wired coat. As a result, he looked like a sausage who'd licked a light socket.
...I flicked him a piece of beef, too.
"How bad's the site?" Leo asked. When I looked at him, he shrugged. "Eunice said she thought that was where you went. It made sense. I didn't want to bug you."
My mouth was full of bao dumpling when he asked. I swallowed it down as quickly as I could and sighed. "It could be worse. Sonnet thinks he's got dirt on us. They had cameras on the place when we met up with Eskal a while back. Didn't realize it or we'd have gone somewhere else. Tried to get weird about it with me, but I put him in his place quickly enough. The cops took off with Doctor Pender. That can't be good."
"She's Olivia's friend, isn't she?"
I nodded and Xavion smacked his fork against the table. "How fucked are we? We've spent years building the business, cementing ourselves at the forefront of the pet trade and now the pet rescue effort. You think this museum jerk is going to try to pull the rug out from under us? Or try to get money out of us?"
"I set him straight as much as I could, but your guess is as good as mine. We should have done something about Eskal having flights in public areas long before now, but it'd always been so late and the Nightflight had stayed in the sky where they belonged," I shrugged. "We screwed up. The flight screwed up more, but we did, too."
"And we have to fix it."
Sadie sat, the dogs flocking to her. For all she chided us, she was the worst about giving treats at the table. I frowned. "We do, but I don't see any way to do it with any sort of clarity."
"Then it's good that you all have me around," she said, giving each dog an entire bao bun as if we couldn't see it. "The rescue ran itself today and I spent my time putting together a plan. I have the authority to call a Meet, don't I?"
I blinked at her. "Anyone does. We'll back you up if you want to do it, but be aware that the griffins are probably going to be jerks about you being an omega."
"I don't care about that," Sadie said. She slapped a folder down on the table, then shoved it to the center. "But I care about this."
Chapter Three
Sadie
I'd watched as my alphas’ eyes lit up, looking through my plan. It was solid, something that I'd worked on throughout the day by myself. I knew what I had to do, but doing it?
Yeah, that was something else.
Two weeks had passed and little good news had come from the vet. Doctor Ioane was certainly adept at what he did, but Hudson still wasn't allowed to be awake yet. There was bleeding in his brain that didn't want to stop completely and issues with the way his bones were healing; and nobody seemed to know why. I glanced at the stack of folders on the
nightstand as I braided my hair. After the Meet, we'd go visit Hudson. We had to. I had to.
Because maybe if he smelled the pack around him, even if he was unconscious, he'd know we were there. We'd gone almost every night, with the occasional skip when we'd all been too exhausted to drive out there. But we hadn't taken the kids yet and Hudson's absence was starting to show.
"Mommy?"
Tommy peeked around the door. He knew better than to walk into the bedroom without knocking, but maybe he hoped he'd get away with looking in. I finished my braid with a quick wrap of the end in a rubber band and knelt, patting my knees. My son, the only one that I hadn't given birth to, ran to me and flung his arms around my neck. He was Hudson all the way through, with dark hair and olive skin and his dad's stubborn chin. He'd just started school before Hudson had been hurt, but he was still my baby puppy.
Puppy Problems: A Reverse Harem Werewolf Romance (Her Secret Menagerie Book 3) Page 2