by Zoe Chant
Meaghan shot him a wary glare, and then turned back to the car. “What could do something like that?”
“I—” Caine swallowed and forced himself to breathe. “Something big. With claws.”
“How did it get on the roof?” Meaghan shaded her eyes as she looked up at the cottage, then around the clearing. “The trees aren’t close enough to jump from. Could it…” Her eyes widened. “Honestly? After everything else, I wouldn’t be surprised if whatever-it-is can fly.”
“They can’t.” Caine’s heart was heavy. Just walk on the air like it’s solid and move through walls like they’re made of mist. An unstoppable, inescapable hunter.
He gulped. “Meaghan, there’s something I need to tell you. I should have told you before we—but I was a coward.”
Meaghan’s shoulders were up around her ears. She didn’t look at him.
“I think it went in here,” she said, as though he hadn’t spoken.
Caine swayed. His head was pounding. He had to concentrate. If he lost his focus, even for a minute, then the monster would escape.
But Meaghan was already walking towards the wood shed, and whatever monster was waiting in there.
He ran past her, standing in front of the door. “Meaghan, please. Let me check it out first.” The door was hanging from one hinge; whatever had hit it, had hit it hard.
Meaghan glared at him. “Let me through!”
“And what are you going to do if they’re in there? Shout them into surrendering? That only works on me!”
Caine’s instincts were screaming at him. They were on full alert and… doubled, somehow, or mirrored, two sets of sensory input and risk assessment reflecting and ricocheting off one another until he thought his skull would crack.
Then the storm broke. His pounding head was silent, except for an eerie sensation that the monster was laughing at him.
“What?” Meaghan searched his face. “What do you mean, that only works on you?”
“I—”
“Are you joking with me? You—first you act like you can’t get away from me fast enough, and now you’re kidding around?”
“Meaghan, I never meant—”
“Get out of my way!”
Caine stepped back automatically and Meaghan pushed past him. The door fell off its final hinge as she stormed through it. Caine knocked it out of the way. Thick hairs sprouted on his arms and for the briefest of seconds he paused—if Meaghan saw—but he had to protect her. And if the thing in the shed was what he thought it was, then being human wouldn’t be enough.
But if it hurts her—
We would never hurt our mate! snarled the monster, just as Meaghan gasped.
“What on earth?”
Caine stepped in front of her, arms wide to ward it from whatever it was she’d seen. Meaghan made an irritated noise and ducked under his arm.
“Tell me I’m not going crazy,” she said as Caine’s eyes adjusted to the gloom inside the wood shed. “Tell me that isn’t a dragon.”
12
Meaghan
I’m dreaming, Meaghan thought, and then her heart swooped miserably. Yes, please, let this all be a dream and any minute now I’m going to wake up and do this whole morning over, without—without—
“That’s a dragon.” Caine sounded as stunned as she felt.
Which meant this was real. Meaghan blinked. Which meant dragons were real.
And that Caine was so turned off by her that he’d tried to do a pre-dawn walk of shame from his own house.
One of those things is amazing. And the other really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Meaghan swallowed hard and pinched herself.
“Ow.”
“What happened?” Caine went stiff. He looked concerned, but… Meaghan swallowed again.
“Just… checking,” she explained. “I’m definitely awake?”
“Afraid so.” Caine’s mouth quirked into that crooked half-smile that she’d found so addictive the previous night. Now it just made her feel sick.
Meaghan turned back to the dragon, blinking fiercely. When her vision cleared, it was still there.
The dragon was about twice the size of one of the Puppy Express huskies, covered in shiny black scales. Its wings were hunched up above its back and it was backing further into the shed, whipping its tail around like an angry cat. Brilliant blue eyes flicked from Meaghan to Caine and back.
“And that’s definitely a dragon,” she said weakly as it let out a puff of smoke and sparks. “Watch out!”
At her words, the dragon had jumped in the air and let loose another tiny fireball. Meaghan backed up, almost tripping over Caine as he tried to dive in front of her, and the dragon made a distressed cry and started stomping out the sparks that had landed on the wood shed floor. It stamped them all out and then looked up at her again, with an expression that looked exactly like the look Parkour got when he’d been caught trying to jump the fence again.
But—she couldn’t be imagining this, could she?—there was far, far more intelligence behind those eyes than Parkour could dream of having.
“Thank you,” she said automatically. “I appreciate you not trying to burn us to a crisp, little… dragon.”
Beside her, Caine made a strange, vulnerable noise deep in his throat. But she didn’t have time to figure that out, because the dragon was shivering—no, shimmering, like heat-waves were rising from every scale—and a moment later it had disappeared and there was a little boy sitting on the floor where it had been. Completely naked.
“No I’m not!” the boy insisted. “I’m not a dragon!”
“You’re—” Caine began, his voice ragged.
“I’m not!”
“No, you’re not.” Meaghan said, pitching her voice over both the others. The little boy looked relieved. “You’re Cole. Cole Heartwell.”
Cole’s expression of relief vanished.
“Opal and Hank’s little boy.”
Cole looked nervous. “No-o-o, I’m—um…”
“You definitely are. I remember from when you came to the Grill last weekend with your parents. You ate fifteen donuts all by yourself.”
“No! I ate seventeen!” Cole protested, and then shoved his hands over his mouth. “’m n’t dr’gon!” he insisted, his voice muffled behind his hands.
Beside her, Caine made an exasperated noise, pulled his shirt off and handed it to the boy.
Meaghan’s brain felt like it was on fire. She knew Cole. His parents took him to the Grill every weekend, probably because they were worried he’d eat them out of house and home otherwise. Cole was cheeky, and full of endless energy, and Hannah was probably going to ban him from all-you-can-eat when he reached his teens, but…
“You’re Cole Heartwell and you can turn into a dragon,” she whispered. Even saying the words didn’t make them feel more real. “Dragons are real? And they live here? In Pine Valley?”
“Um-m-m…” Cole screwed up his face, as though he was hunting desperately for another explanation. He looked up at Caine as though he might find some help there, and Caine tensed.
Meaghan sank down onto her knees so that she was on Cole’s level.
“Cole,” she said gently. “Are you the one who landed on Caine’s car?”
“No!” he retorted at once. She gave him her best are-you-sure? look and he wriggled uncomfortably, crossing his arms. Then inspiration struck and he threw them up, grinning. “I’m… I’m not the dragon! I’m following the dragon!”
Uh-huh. “And what about the ghost gang?”
“You’re not meant to know that they’re shifters!” Cole gasped and stuffed his hands into his mouth again, staring at her with his big blue eyes.
Meaghan felt as though she’d walked straight into a tree. Her head spun.
“Shifters? What’s a shifter?”
“You’re not supposed to know!”
Time seemed to stop. Meaghan stared at Cole, then looked up at Caine, and back at Cole. Understanding hollowed out a pit inside her.
She
wasn’t supposed to know that the people she’d labeled the ‘ghost gang’ were real. And this was why.
They weren’t human.
“This is what everyone’s been hiding from me,” she breathed. “This is why everyone’s been acting so weird lately.”
“N-n…” Cole began. He hopped from foot to foot, staring imploringly at Caine. “N-n… yes?”
It made sense. It all made sense. No wonder Jackson had been so cagey about his investigation. And Bob had been so horrified when she came back claiming to have one of the gang in her trunk. And Olly had tried to reassure her that everything was fine, honestly, and don’t bother chasing after…
After what? What had she been chasing down, when she went to rescue the dogs?
She groaned and rubbed her forehead. Too many thoughts. Too many questions. “So… the ghost gang are dragons?”
“No, they’re not,” Caine muttered under his breath. Meaghan frowned.
He didn’t sound as amazed as she felt. For God’s sake: dragons. Everything she thought she knew about the world had just exploded in her face. So why did he sound like it was no big deal?
She backtracked, remembering what he’d tried to tell her before she stormed into the shed.
Meaghan, there’s something you should know about me—
“No! But dragons are the most powerful shifters,” Cole chirped. “That’s why I… umm… the dragon went after them. And I was following the dragon to… to… umm…”
“Kid, there’s no point trying to convince us we didn’t just see you shift,” Caine muttered, then sighed and rubbed his face. “And lying about this is… a bad idea. No. No, I’m not going to—”
He caught Meaghan staring at him and broke off. Meaghan stood up. That sounded like he was talking to someone else. What the hell is going on here?
Caine’s been lying to me, too?
Meaghan squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, they were clear. She stood up.
“Right. Here’s what’s going to happen. Cole, you’re a dragon. Don’t try to tell me you’re not. I saw you, and anyway, there’s no way you would have gotten all the way down here from Heartwell Lodge with no clothes on without freezing your butt off.”
“What if I rode that dragon?” Cole suggested.
“Cole, I just saw the dragon. Who is you. And that dragon was not big enough for anyone to ride on.”
Cole scuffed his foot on the singed floor. “Oh, fi-i-ine. I am the dragon then.”
“Does your mother know you’re out here?”
Cole eyes flicked side to side. “…Yes?”
He grinned hopefully, and Meaghan gave him a look.
“Guess what? I don’t believe you. So we’re all going to go back inside, and I’m going to call your parents and—” Meaghan braced herself with a deep breath. “—and Caine, you are going to—what’s wrong?”
Caine was clutching his head. “Headache,” he gritted out from between clenched teeth. “Too loud—can’t—stop it—”
Meaghan stepped towards him automatically. If he was hurting, she wanted to help. Then a shadow fell across the open shed door, as though the morning sun had just gone behind a cloud.
“Umm,” Cole said, jumping from foot to foot again, “You have to tell them I wasn’t chasing the ghost gang! I just got lost!”
“Tell who?” Meaghan asked, bewildered.
Caine staggered out the door. Meaghan followed him and gasped.
Three massive dragons were flying above the cottage.
13
Caine
Dragons. Christ almighty.
Caine had heard of them, of course; he’d come to Pine Valley seeking one. He had thought he was prepared for it.
He’d been wrong.
They were huge. The nearest was a bold forest green color. It was flying so close to the ground that the pines around Caine’s cottage swayed and lost their snow when it flapped its wings.
The second dragon, flying just above it, had a more sinuous body and pale, opalescent scales. Finally, wheeling above them like a firestorm, was a huge red dragon with wings like a burning sunset. It was clutching something against its chest with one foreclaw.
A shaft of pain crashed through Caine’s temple. He staggered, clutching his head. With whatever was assaulting his brain from the outside, and the demon howling inside, his skull felt as though it was about to shatter.
“Caine!” Meaghan grabbed his arm. He leaned into her gratefully—then remembered himself.
He pulled out of her grip, trying not to see the hurt that flashed across her face. “No. Can’t—risk it,” he muttered, a reminder to himself. Meaghan would only be hurt more if he weakened now.
Another bolt of pain. He looked around, eyes watering, and found Cole staring at him. The boy frowned.
“Mom! Dad! He can’t hear you!” Cole shouted, using his hands as a loudspeaker. The green dragon cracked its wings with a sound like thunder. “No-o-o, he’s not one of them! Yes I’m fine!”
Caine rubbed his temple. The sudden migraine was fading, but there was a strange… echo around each of Cole’s words. As though he was hearing them inside his head as well as outside.
“But you told me it was polite to talk out loud when I’m around humans! Like Auntie Abigail!” Cole bawled at the circling dragons.
This time, Caine was ready for the pain.
It’s a conversation, he realized. A conversation between people beating on my skull like a drum.
Despite the thudding in his head, Caine managed a smile. Meaghan would find that funny. She—
Caine glanced across at her and his stomach went cold. “Hey!” he called out, and then louder, his face to the sky, “Hey! Dragons!”
The dragons’ sudden attention hit him like a punch. He braced himself.
“Stop flying around like that!” His voice was gravelly. “You’re disturbing Meaghan.”
The clamor in his head stopped. Caine breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Meaghan.
She’d been ashen when he glanced at her, her dark skin washed with gray and her mouth in a thin unhappy line. Caine ran his hands through his hair to stop himself from taking her in his arms.
“It’s okay,” he said. “They don’t mean any harm.”
“I figured that much,” Meaghan snapped. “I can count, and I’m pretty sure I know who each of them is going to turn into when they land.” She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, then glared at Caine. “They’re not the ones disturbing me. Cole’s acting like you’re one of them. Saying you… should be able to hear something? Is this what you needed to tell me before?” she demanded. “Are you a dragon, too?”
Caine lowered his head. I wish I was. That would make all of this so much simpler.
“No. I’m—”
Meaghan had been glaring at him full-force, but something behind Caine caught her eyes. She took a half-step backward.
“Holy… wow.”
The green dragon had landed. It folded its wings, almost taking the top off a nearby pine, and then shimmered and transformed into a sturdily-built man with red hair and a lumberjack beard.
“Cole, go let your mother see you’re all right,” the man said, and nodded to Meaghan. “Morning, Miss Markham. Thanks for looking after our runaway.”
“Um,” Meaghan said, as though her tongue was stumbling over real words. “Morning. Mr. Heartwell. Good to… see you…”
“Oh. Yes. ‘Scuse me.” Mr. Heartwell covered himself with his hands. “Left in a bit of a hurry. Don’t worry. I’m sure someone will have remembered to bring some pants.”
He looked Caine up and down. There was no aggression in his eyes, just a sense of careful observation that made Caine claw his monster back as deep as it would go.
“You must be the one to we have thank for the fact that my Cole isn’t running around the snow ass-naked.”
“Caine Guinness.” Caine nodded a greeting.
“Hank Heartwell. Pleasure.”
You
say that now. Caine swallowed down a stomachful of bitterness.
The shimmering, opalescent dragon landed in front of Cole and wrapped him up in her wings before transforming into a dark-haired woman. Caine averted his eyes and saw Meaghan gaping at the woman.
“Opal? I mean, I figured, but… there’s figuring and there’s seeing.” She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. “I feel like my brain’s about to explode.”
“Why?” Cole popped up in front of her. “You don’t have telepathy. Not even broken telepathy like him.” He looked at Caine.
Meaghan lowered her hands and followed Cole’s gaze. Her jaw set when she met Caine’s eyes.
“Meaghan! Excuse the nakedness. I think Jasper’s bringing Abigail and she’s sure to have brought clothes.” The dark-haired woman put her hands on Cole’s shoulders and shooed him back to his father. “I’ll hug you congratulations once we’re all human-decent.”
“Congratulations?” Meaghan frowned.
“You two! God, what good timing. Just in time for Christmas!” Opal grinned and looked up. “Hurry up, bro!”
“Christmas?” Meaghan was whispering, but her voice was as clear to Caine as if he’d been standing right beside her.
The final dragon soared out of the sky. It landed coiled around the cottage and carefully set down what it had been holding in its foreclaw: a woman in her mid-twenties, with a baby strapped to her front and a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Abigail?” Meaghan yelped. “Don’t tell me you’re a dragon, too?”
“No.” Abigail petted her dragon on its massive front leg and walked up to Meaghan. She was the shortest person there, excluding Cole, with a curvy figure and blonde hair. Unlike everyone else who’d fallen out of the sky in the last five minutes, she was properly wrapped up against the cold.
She gave Meaghan a one-armed hug. “That’s from Opal. And from me. Are you freaking out yet?”
“Freaking out about a load of dragons appearing in Pine Valley?” Meaghan’s voice was weak. “Oh, no. This is a totally expected outcome to all the weird shit that’s been happening lately. Dragons. Why not.”