Still groggy and disoriented from being woken so suddenly, Stan tried to roll over to see what the problem was. Abby had managed to disentangle herself from the sleeping bag, but she was so flustered that she was having a hard time pulling on her clothes. Stan, still not sure why she was in such a hurry, only squinted at her. In the back of his mind, he noted once again how incredible she looked naked. Those curves.
“Look away!” she hissed when she saw that he was staring at her. Startled, he did as she’d ordered, rolling over so that his back faced her. This put his face right up against the blue nylon of the tent, which was a much less desirable view. Staring at that blue, though, he suddenly realized why Abby was so upset, and he couldn’t help but laughing.
“Oh come on, Abby,” he said. “Don’t be so embarrassed. It was a good night. We both had fun.”
“It was totally inappropriate,” she said back, her voice sounding quite distraught. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Actually, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t thinking. I was just caught up in the moment.”
Stan smiled at the blue nylon wall in front of him. They’d both been caught up in the moment. It had been a great moment, as far as he was concerned. It didn’t matter that he was facing the reality of what they’d done in the harsh light of day. He would have made the same decision over and over and over, now that he knew with certainty that Abby was destined for him. Abby, however, did not seem to share his opinion in the least. As soon as she’d pulled on her clothes, she left the tent in a hurry.
She didn’t say much else to him that morning, remaining silent as they ate their breakfast and packed up their camp. She studied her notes on the Dark Warriors’ trail carefully, and refused to meet his eyes. Stan tried to give her some space, but finally he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Was it really that bad, Abby?” he asked. “Because I actually thought last night was one of the best nights of my life.”
Abby looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time that morning. But she quickly looked away again, her cheeks turning a bright pink. “Let’s just get on with our mission. It wasn’t bad, it was just a bad idea. We’re colleagues.”
Stan let out a long sigh, but said nothing further. It didn’t take a genius to see that Abby didn’t want to talk about what had happened, so he let it go—for the moment at least. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal to sleep with your mission partner. A lot of shifters and wizards who were sent out on missions together ended up getting a little frisky in their tents. It was a perfectly natural reaction, and the High Council didn’t care what mission partners did when they were off duty, as long as the mission itself was not affected. They knew what when you spent a lot of time with someone out on the trail, and then settled down with them every night, you were bound to feel some sort of attraction eventually.
Especially when your mission partner was as sexy as Abigail Fullmer. Abby knew she was damn talented at magical defense and ancient magic, but she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she was also incredibly beautiful. In a way, Stan loved how oblivious she was to her own beauty. The innocence added to her allure.
Abby seemed determined to forget about what they’d done the night before, though. As the day wore on, she only spoke to Stan when absolutely necessary to discuss some aspect of their mission. Otherwise, she was silent and kept her eyes on the trail ahead. Stan didn’t push her to discuss things. He figured he should give her some time to process everything. Once this mission was complete and a few days had passed, she might be more open to discussing things.
And Stan knew there was a lot to discuss. He’d been surprised, in a good way, when he’d felt the lifemate bond last night as he and Abby made love. Everything made perfect sense now. No wonder he’d been so attracted to Abby. She was his lifemate. He hadn’t dared to let himself think a woman as talented and beautiful as her might actually be his destiny, but he couldn’t have been happier. He even liked the fact that she’d pushed him away at the beginning. He didn’t like women who gave in to what everyone else wanted all the time. He could appreciate that Abby had fought back a little bit against him and the High Council.
He just hoped she wasn’t going to keep pushing him away.
As the day wore on, Abby grew more and more frustrated. She spoke less and less, even about the mission objectives. By the time late afternoon arrived, the only sound she was making was an occasional frustrated grunt. The rain that had started last night continued on intermittently, and Stan himself was wet and cold. He would have happily settled down for the night, but he didn’t even bother suggesting this. He knew Abby would want to keep tracking until the last bits of daylight were gone, and he had to admit he admired her drive. She might have her faults and rough edges, but no one could say she didn’t work hard.
He waited, silently and patiently, as she stopped yet again and started performing the magic detecting spells once more. By now, he knew that when she stopped and did this that it meant she was having trouble figuring out where the trail went next. On the first day of tracking, this had only happened a few times. But now, these moments were becoming more and more frequent. The trail was fading, and Abby was growing frustrated.
Stan knew that the High Council would not blame Abby if she lost the trail. They understood that the task of tracking down these Dark Warriors wasn’t an easy one. He’d worked hard to convince them to let Abby try her hand at finding the lost students, but he knew that, no matter what he said, the High Council wouldn’t have given Abby the job if they didn’t truly believe she was the best wizard for it. He also knew that they had search teams of wizards and shifters at the ready. The minute Abby knew for sure she’d lost the trail, the High Council would send out giant teams to pick up where she left off. These large teams would canvass the Black Pines Forest, leaving no stone unturned. It wouldn’t be as efficient or subtle as a team of one wizard and one shifter tracking. The Torch Lake search teams definitely couldn’t rely on the element of surprise. But they would get the job done, and Stan knew that the closer Abby could get them to the Dark Warriors, the easier their task would be. She was making a positive difference, even if she didn’t realize it right now.
“This way,” she said, her voice suddenly brightening as she pointed into the forest. “I found the trail again. It goes this way.”
Stan nodded and followed her as she headed in the direction she’d pointed. He glanced up at the sky, his brow creasing in worry as he saw the clouds thickening once again. The rain had been steady for the last hour, but at least it had been light. It was looking like that was about to change.
Within ten minutes, the clouds had thickened so much that the late afternoon sky appeared almost as black as night. The rain grew heavier, and slow rolls of thunder began to sound out occasionally, followed by brief flashes of lightning. Another storm was brewing.
Abby made no comment on the increasingly bad weather. She kept moving forward, walking faster now than she had all day. At first, Stan thought she was hurrying because the weather was growing worse. But then, she suddenly stopped and turned around to face him, her eyes glowing with excitement for the first time since yesterday.
“The trail’s growing stronger,” she said. “A lot stronger.”
Stan blinked as rain drops splashed at his eyelashes. A tiny stream of rainwater ran down the bridge of his nose and dripped from its tip. “That sounds good. Means we’re getting closer, right?”
Abby nodded. “Yeah, a lot closer. It looks like they were trying really hard for a while to cover up their trail. But where we are now, they seem to have lessened their efforts to hide the trial with magic spells. I can find the trail much easier. They must have thought they were far enough away that no one would have still been tracking them.”
“They underestimate Torch Lake,” Stan said, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Yup. Which is to our advantage. If we go quickly, we might be able to catch up with them tonight. Or tomorrow at the latest.”
Abby frowned, and Stan knew she wanted to argue with him. But after a few moments’ consideration she shrugged, perhaps deciding to save any arguments for when Stan was actually suggesting it was time to stop. “Well, let’s get moving then. The faster we go the more chance we have of catching them today.”
Stan nodded. “Lead the way, my lady.”
She blushed and turned away, and he realized too late that his attempt at lightheartedness had backfired. Instead of taking “my lady” as a joking comment, she had been reminded of what they had done last night. Stan wanted to take her by the shoulders and tell her to stop overthinking everything. They were two people who were attracted to each other, and they had acted on those attractions. Neither one of them were in any other sort of relationship, so they hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no need to feel embarrassed or apologize.
But Stan had a feeling that anything he said was only going to make the awkwardness worse, so he followed her in silence. He tried to think of ways he might win her over once this mission was over. Perhaps he should invite her over to his place for a nice dinner. He was a halfway decent cook, and most women were impressed by a man who could cook, weren’t they? Or maybe he should find out what her hobbies were and take her out for a fun date. There were all sorts of fun things to do in Torch Lake. The wide variety of shifters and wizards who had moved there after the war and opened businesses meant there was something for just about everyone.
Stan’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he ran smack into Abby’s back. She had stopped in front of him, and he’d been so distracted that he hadn’t noticed until he’d collided with her.
“Sorry,” he muttered, taking a step backward. Then he frowned as he looked around. The darkness was getting worse. It didn’t make sense to slow down or stop unless she was ready to set up camp for the night. Or unless she was confused again. “Did you lose the trail?” he asked, dreading the answer. Had she been wrong about the trail growing stronger? Were they not as close on the Dark Warriors’ heels as she thought?
“Shh,” she hissed at him. “Listen.”
He frowned, and cocked his ears. At first, all he heard was the sound of the steady rain. But then, when he focused and tuned in to his dragon hearing, he realized what she was referring to. The sounds of a large campsite reached his ears, but there were no official campsites close by.
“I do hear it!” he said. “That must be them!”
“Can you tell what’s going on?” she asked. “The sounds aren’t very clear to me.”
Stan closed his eyes and strained his ears. Dragons all had excellent hearing, but this campsite seemed to still be relatively far away. That, and the fact that the rain was falling ever harder, made it difficult for him to know if he could trust what his ears were telling him. But the more he listened, the more he was convinced that his ears weren’t deceiving him. He opened his eyes wide and looked at Abby with a confused expression.
“That’s definitely them. I can hear a dragon roaring. It must be the one you sensed with your magic detecting spells.”
A look of fear passed over Abby’s face, although she quickly schooled her features to a more neutral expression. “So it’s true, then. The Dark Warriors’ have recruited a dragon to their cause.”
Stan frowned, and strained to listen again. “Well, it’s definitely a dragon, but I’m not so sure he’s doing much to help the Dark Warriors.”
Abby raised an eyebrow at him. “What makes you say that?”
Stan closed his eyes and listened again before speaking.
“There’s definitely a dragon there, but his roars don’t sound like the roars of an angry dragon who is in control of dark magic. It sounds more like roars of distress.”
“Roars of distress? Maybe the students have managed to fight back! Maybe they’re overcoming their captors. We have to go help them!”
Abby turned to start running without waiting for Stan’s advice or approval. With a sigh, he followed her. Someone in that campsite needed help. That much was clear from the deep distress in the dragon’s roars that Stan was hearing. But there was no way to know who was attacking the dragon, or why, and it might have been more prudent to approach slowly and stay hidden.
Abby didn’t seem interested in playing it safe, though. Stan shouldn’t have been surprised. If there’s one thing he’d learned about her in the short time he’d known her, it was that when she decided to fight for something, she never looked back. She pressed on full-steam ahead.
“Alright, then,” Stan whispered under his breath as he started running after Abby. “Ready or not, here we go.”
Chapter Eleven
Abby’s muscles burned. She had seen Stan’s face as she took off running, and she knew he didn’t think this was a smart idea. In her logical mind, she knew he was right. She should slow down, approach slowly, and maybe even try to take the enemy by surprise.
But the truth was, she was way too terrified to move slowly right now. She could handle a lot, but she wasn’t sure she could handle an evil dragon. And the only way she knew how to handle her fears was to ignore them completely. If she ran as fast as she could, without allowing herself time to stop and think about what she might be facing, she would be okay. She would keep going until she was in the middle of the enemy campsite. By then, it would be too late to turn back. She would be forced to fight. Things might not turn out well for her, but at least no one could say she was a coward. If she was going down today, at least she would go down bravely.
She didn’t glance over her shoulder to see if Stan was following her, but she knew he was. There was no way he would have held back as she rushed into danger. He was probably cursing her seven ways to Sunday for being so reckless, but he had her back. She was sure of it.
She kept going, never slowing down despite the fact that her lungs felt like they were on fire. She could hear the sounds of the campsite now, even over her heavy breathing. She was getting closer. Her heart clenched in her chest in fear, but she kept going. She told herself to just keep moving.
Don’t think about what horrors might be in front of you. Just keep moving.
In the next moment, though, she felt strong arms around her, pulling her back. She struggled to move but couldn’t, and she was about to scream when a large hand clamped over her mouth. Terrified that she’d already been captured, she desperately tried to wriggle away and scream for help. Where was Stan?
“Calm down! What’s wrong with you?”
Oh. Stan was the one holding her. She should have known. Instantly, she relaxed and stopped trying to yell at the top of her lungs. He loosened his grip and she turned around to face him.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” she hissed. “I’m just trying to rescue our students.”
“You’re being an idiot.”
Ouch. He wasn’t one to mince words. She crossed her arms defiantly and shook her head. “I’m not being an idiot. I’m going to save our fellow Torch Lake citizens.”
Even as she said it, she knew he was right. She was acting like a fool, and she was going to get both of them killed.
“You’re panicking.”
“I’m not panicking,” she protested. “I’m being brave and running straight into the danger. How is that panicking?”
He rolled his eyes. Damn. He was onto her.
“I know what you’re doing,” he said. “You think that if you rush blindly forward, at least you won’t have time to back out of fighting. I know because I’ve done that same thing before.”
Her eyes widened. He had? He was a dragon. What had he ever had to be afraid of?
“It’s not the best strategy, though, and you know it. Now come on. Stay with me and let’s approach slowly. We don’t know what we’re going to be dealing with,
and it’s better to be prepared.”
Reluctantly, and feeling sheepish, she followed him at a much slower pace. She took deep breaths, telling herself to get it together. He was leading the way now. The path they needed to take was obvious, thanks to the huge racket coming from the Dark Warriors’ campsite. Abby was glad for the chance to hang back a bit and let Stan go first. Her cheeks felt hot with embarrassment, and she had to admit that he had been right to stop her.
She knew better than to blindly rush forward. She was well-trained in magical defense, and she knew that the element of surprise was critical. It was important to move as slowly and purposefully as possible. This had all been drilled into her over the years, but this was the first time she’d been on a truly dangerous mission. It was the first time she’d had a chance to implement everything she’d learned in real life.
And she’d failed.
Not once, but twice now, she’d made a major mistake. Her first mistake had been forgetting to cast the protective spells over their tents on the first night. But now, she had once again messed up by thinking that rushing forward was an acceptable way to handle things. She wasn’t doing very well with this whole “real life” mission thing.
Abby chewed her lower lip as she crept forward through the forest. Was Stan going to report this mistake to the High Council? She hoped not. They were not going to want to send her out again if she kept messing up under pressure.
And then there was the different mistake Abby had made—the one that involved sleeping with Stan. Abby would never in her wildest dreams have thought that she would end up making love to her mission partner. And yet, that’s exactly what she had done last night. They hadn’t talked about it, because she had refused to let the subject come up, and he hadn’t pushed it. But even though Abby was acting like it didn’t mean anything to her, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. On the outside, she looked calm and collected. On the inside, she was a mess.
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