Lone Star Dragon
Shifters in the Heart of Texas, Book 1
By Sloane Meyers
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Similarities to actual people or events are entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Sloane Meyers. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
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About the Author
Chapter One
Theo Wilson let out the breath he had been holding in one long, loud whoop. His kicker had just sent the football sailing squarely through the two goal posts, clinching the win for the Persimmon Springs Warriors by one tiny point. But the winning margin didn’t matter that much—the important thing was that the Warriors had won the semifinals for the first time in the high school’s history. The crowd in the packed bleachers went wild.
Theo threw aside his clipboard and ran onto the field, where his players were mobbing the junior who had just landed the winning field goal. To his left, he caught a glimpse of his best friend and assistant coach, Max Brooks, running onto the field as well.
“Coach! Coach, did you see that?” yelled out one of the running backs, even though it was obvious that Theo had seen it.
“Damn straight I saw it,” Theo said. Usually, he refrained from cursing around his boys. They were only high schoolers after all, and their mamas didn’t appreciate his “cussin’.” But on a night like tonight, where history had just been made at the tiny Texas high school, Theo couldn’t quite keep his sailor mouth in check. The moment was a blur. Navy blue helmets and grass-stained white jerseys surrounded him. He could see more blurs of navy and white to his far right, where the cheerleaders were doing a series of excited flips and cartwheels. The marching band was belting out the school’s fight song, and the fans were rowdy and loud.
Theo took it all in as his players jumped up and down, slapping each other and him. The cool early December wind blew the smell of grass mixed with the smell of sweat at Theo’s nostrils. That combination of smells held so many memories for him. He’d spent his whole life around the game of football. First, here in Persimmon Springs. Then he’d gone on to play college ball, until his fiery temper had gotten him in trouble with his coaches a few too many times and he realized that a pro-career probably wasn’t in his future. He’d adjusted course and worked as an assistant coach, and then head coach, in several different Texas towns. He achieved some pretty impressive wins and several state championships. But he’d had his eye on Persimmon Springs for a while. He’d wanted to come home.
When the head coach position for the Warriors opened up, he’d jumped at the chance to apply. Everyone thought he was crazy for leaving his successful team in East Texas to come coach a team on the forgotten outskirts of Dallas—a team whose only record was for most consecutive losses. But Persimmon Springs football was in Theo’s blood. He’d grown up here, and he loved this town and its loyal fans. It didn’t matter how badly the team played. For decades, the Persimmon Springs residents had been showing up every game night to cheer on their Warriors with as much enthusiasm as if they were cheering on a group of Super Bowl champions.
Theo believed deep down that the boys here just needed the right coach. They needed someone who believed in them and knew how to turn their raw talents into exceptional abilities. It had taken him three years, but he’d finally turned this football program around. His boys were going to the state championship game for the first time in Persimmon Springs history.
A sudden flood of ice-cold water sent a shock through Theo’s system. His navy blue windbreaker was instantly soaked, as was his long-sleeved Warriors t-shirt. His dark brown hair plastered itself against his forehead, and his khaki pants turned dark in several spots where the water had managed to splash them.
“Don’t you boys know it’s December?” Theo called out, feigning anger at the players who had just dumped the celebratory bucket of ice-water on him. The players just laughed, and moments later they dumped a second bucket on Max’s head. Max played angry as well, but the team knew the coaches weren’t seriously upset. Whenever Theo or Max were genuinely furious, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was time to get out of their way. Hell hath no fury like an angry high school football coach.
North Texas in December wasn’t too cold—right now the temperature gauge on the giant scoreboard was reading fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit—but it was cool enough that it wouldn’t take long for a bucket of ice-water to chill a normal human. Luckily for Theo, he wasn’t a normal human. He was part dragon, and his inner dragon was already responding to the drop in his body temperature by warming his core. Not many people knew he was a dragon, though, and he didn’t want to blow his cover. He made a big deal about how cold the water was, and then started heading to the locker room to change. Max followed him, still hooting and hollering. Max was not only the assistant coach and Theo’s best friend, but also a tiger shifter. But Max’s inner tiger didn’t offer quite as much heat protection as an inner dragon did, and by the time they got to the locker room, Max was shivering—although that hadn’t slowed down his cheering at all.
Theo and Max quickly changed into dry clothes, then headed back out toward the field to celebrate with the students, parents, and other Persimmon Springs fans. Theo loved this part of his job more than anything else. Nothing felt quite as wonderful as seeing the hometown pride in everyone’s eyes when their boys won, and tonight that look of pride was everywhere. Everywhere, that was, except in the eyes of the striking blonde standing uncertainly in front of the cheerleaders, who were still doing flips.
Theo squinted his eyes, trying to remember if he had ever seen her before. She was wearing a Warriors sweatshirt, so she was definitely here to see Persimmon Springs play. But he had no idea who she was, which was strange since he knew most of the people in this small town. He definitely knew all of the people who showed up in the bleachers for the Warriors games, and this woman had never been here before.
Theo would have remembered her. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She had expressive, honey-brown eyes that perfectly accented her golden blonde hair. Theo had always thought the blonde hair and brown eyes combination was more interesting than the stereotypical blonde hair and blue eyes look that society seemed obsessed with. Her oversized sweatshirt was hiding her curves, but her skinny jeans still showed off her long legs. Theo was instantly smitten. For a moment, the noise of the crowd around him faded away, and all he could see was her.
Then, a sharp poke in his ribs brought him back to reality. His ears once again flooded with the cheers from the boisterous fans, and he tore his eyes away from the woman to see who had poked him. It was Max, who was now looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re staring at her,” Max observed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you stare at a woman. You’d think you’d have better things to think about, what with the team just having won the semifinals and all.”
“She’s beautiful,” Theo said with a shrug. He’d never been the kind of man to hide it when he thought a woman was good-looking. He didn’t like to play games, and he tended to
just speak what was on his brain without giving a crap whether anyone else agreed with his opinion. “I’ve never seen her before. Any idea who she is?”
“Never seen her before either,” Max said. He was squinting in the direction of the woman, too.
Suddenly, the woman looked up and caught Theo’s eye. Her expression immediately brightened with recognition, and she started rushing over. Theo frantically started racking his brain for a name. She had clearly recognized him. Did he know her from somewhere? Was he about to look like a jerk who didn’t remember people?
“Theo Wilson?” she asked. Theo nodded warily, glancing down at her hands. She was holding a thick black notebook and a pen, which she shifted into her left hand so she could extend her right hand to shake Theo’s hand. In his peripheral vision, Theo saw Max silently slinking away. Max was giving him some space, but Theo knew this would come at a price. Max would want a full rundown on the encounter later on. For some reason, Max was obsessed with the idea of Theo finding a mate. Probably because Theo had been through a nasty breakup two years ago, and Max felt badly for him. But Theo was over it. He didn’t need a woman to heal any kind of heartache or some bullshit like that. He would be pretty excited to get to hang around a woman as beautiful as this woman on a regular basis, though.
“I’m Maddie. Maddie Anderson,” the woman said. Her hands were small but her handshake was firm and confident. Theo was surprised. The look on her face had been so timid and uncertain that he had expected her to come across a little more nervous. But her voice had an authoritative tone that almost didn’t match her tiny frame.
“Hi, Maddie. Nice to meet you,” Theo said. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around at the games before.”
“It’s my first time here,” Maddie said. “It’s actually my first week in town. I just took a job as the sports reporter for the Persimmon Springs Gazette, and this game was my first assignment. I’ll be writing up a summary of tonight’s game, and I was hoping you could give me a few quotes for the article.”
Theo’s face immediately darkened. He hated the Gazette. More specifically, he hated the Gazette’s owner, Steve. Steve liked to think that, as owner and editor-in-chief of the Gazette, that he was one of the town’s most influential citizens. Steve had been strongly opposed to the school’s decision to hire Theo as head coach, and had made no secret of his disdain for Theo. Despite the fact that the Warriors were having the best season in their long history, Steve somehow always found something negative to say about the team. Theo knew this week’s edition would be no exception.
“I don’t give quotes to the Gazette,” Theo said. Normally, he didn’t even talk to the reporters. But Maddie was so damn good looking that he was making a brief exception. She cocked her head sideways and gave him a quizzical look.
“Your team just made history, and your only comment is ‘no comment?’”
“You heard me,” Theo said, taking one last second to drink in Maddie’s smooth skin. Her cheeks were flushed pink from the cold, giving her a lovely glowing effect. He might have asked her out, if he hadn’t just learned that she was working for Steve. Every reporter Steve had hired lately had been almost as much of a jerk as Steve. Like attracts like, or something like that.
“Not even something about how hard your boys worked, or what a good job they did today?” Maddie pushed.
“Look,” Theo said. “I guess you must be new in town and new to the Gazette. Let me educate you. The Gazette hasn’t had a positive thing to say about me since I joined the school as head coach three years ago. No matter what I say or do, Steve finds a way to make me sound like an asshole. So, no. No comment. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got some celebrating to do.”
With that, Theo pushed past Maddie and headed toward where Max and the rest of the team were gathered.
“Well?” Max said, raising an eyebrow in Theo’s direction.
“She’s working for Steve,” Theo said. There was no need for further explanation. Max nodded in understanding, and turned his attention back to the players.
And yet, despite knowing Maddie was off-limits, Theo couldn’t resist looking back at her one more time. She was looking down at her notebook with a frown, causing her long blonde hair to fall over her shoulders and frame her face beautifully. The stadium lights were illuminating her from behind, giving her an almost angelic glow. Theo felt his dragon stirring within him, but he ignored the feeling.
Maddie might be drop-dead gorgeous, but she was working for Steve. There was no way things would ever work out with her. Besides, he had a championship game to prepare for. There was no time to focus on romance until the state championship was over.
Theo’s Warriors were going all the way this year. He could feel it in his bones.
Chapter Two
“Goddammit, woman! You had one job!”
Maddie jumped as her boss, Steve, slammed his fist on his desk. She was surprised the force of his blow didn’t crack the thing. The desk looked cheap, like it was made of particle board, and Steve’s fist had come down hard. His face was flushed bright red with anger, and Maddie sat motionless in the uncomfortable folding chair he kept in his office for guests. She wasn’t quite sure how to react.
“Um…is there something wrong with the article?” Maddie asked. In response, Steve let out a long string of curses, and his face went from red to purple. Maddie sighed, and waited for him to calm down enough to speak. She’d been warned about his temper from the previous reporter, a mousy girl who had barely taken ten minutes to explain to Maddie how things worked around here before leaving the office without so much as a goodbye to Steve. Still, Maddie had interned for editors in New York, who were known for their big New York tempers. How bad could a washed out editor in a Podunk Texas town really be?
Pretty bad, apparently.
“Is something wrong?” Steve bellowed. “Yes, something’s wrong. This article is clearly completely inaccurate. Did you even go to the game?”
Maddie frowned. “Yes, of course. I was there for the whole thing, and stayed for quite some time after it was over. What, uh, seems inaccurate about the article?”
Maddie had written a glowing report about the game, doing her best to capture the festive, jubilant atmosphere that had prevailed after the final buzzer had sounded. She’d taken great care to ensure she was using all the correct football terminology, and she’d included several quotes from fans. None of the players or cheerleaders would talk to her, apparently following the lead of their uncommunicative head coach.
“You don’t have any quotes in here,” Steve yelled, sending a string of saliva out of his mouth and onto his chin. “How is anyone going to take a story seriously if there aren’t any quotes?”
Maddie sighed. “Yeah, about that. I tried to get quotes, but the head coach said he doesn’t do quotes for the media. He seemed pretty set on that position.”
Steve pounded his desk again, and Maddie jumped.
“Look, a story about the game isn’t a story without some quotes. I want you to go back and get some.”
“Theo really seemed to—”
“I don’t want to hear about what Theo refuses to do. I want a quote,” Steve yelled. “Now go get one.”
“Yes sir,” Maddie said, quickly standing and gathering up the printed copies of the article lying on Steve’s desk. She would have liked to give him a piece of her mind, but the best option right now seemed to be escape.
Maddie made her way back to her office and slumped into her chair before burying her head in her hands. She’d only been on this job a week, and it was already far worse than she could have imagined. She’d had big goals for her journalism career, and those goals hadn’t included being a sports reporter. She especially hadn’t wanted to be a sports reporter for a small town newspaper where the boss thought his paper was some sort of award winning publication.
Maddie looked over the article she’d written, which Steve had covered with red marks. His corrections didn’t even make sense. He�
��d crossed out half of her sentences for no reason. With a frustrated sigh, Maddie slipped the papers into a folder and slipped the folder into her messenger bag. She wasn’t looking forward to showing up at Persimmon Springs High and begging Theo for a quote, but at least it was better than sitting here and dealing with a boss who had serious anger management problems.
Maddie slipped behind the wheel of her small hatchback and drove to the high school. It was early in the afternoon, and the place was much quieter than it had been on Wednesday night. The football field and the stands were empty. Maddie found a spot labeled visitor parking, and she pulled in quickly, then made her way to the front office.
“Can I help you?” asked the secretary, a sweet-looking brunette with a faint southern drawl.
“Um, yes. I was wondering where Theo Wilson’s office is,” Maddie said.
“Theo? He’s back by the locker rooms, of course. Is he expecting you?”
“Well, no. I’m with the Gazette and we need a quote from him about last Wednesday’s game.”
“I see,” the secretary said. She never stopped smiling, but a definite shadow passed over her eyes. Maddie was starting to get the distinct feeling that the newspaper wasn’t too popular around this high school. “Let me call him and see if he’s available.”
Maddie nodded and waited while the girl called Theo. After a brief exchange made mostly in hushed tones, the girl hung up the phone and then smiled politely at Maddie again, although with much less warmth than she had originally shown.
“He’s on his way to get you,” she said. “Feel free to have a seat while you wait.”
Maddie settled into one of the chairs upholstered with navy fabric. Her eyes scanned the plaques and framed photos on the wall. Persimmon Springs High seemed to have had a small winning streak in Track and Field about twenty years ago. The newspaper articles, state championship plaques, and photos of the competition were all displayed proudly, mementos from a bygone era of victory. Maddie’s eyes settled on a photo of a young man holding a trophy high above his head. The boy looked vaguely familiar, and when Maddie read the caption below the photo, she realized why.
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