by Meg Ripley
Maren frowned at her reflection, knowing that her clothes and hairstyle were a bit out of date. It shouldn’t matter. She shouldn’t care. She had no way of knowing if she’d even find him for sure. “Don’t worry about it, Maren,” she told herself. “Just go and see what you can see. If nothing else, it’ll be a nice walk in the mountains.”
She stepped out of her cabin, hoping no tourists would happen to come along if they got lost in the woods on a hike. It was the same thing she’d always worried about. Her grandfather had always told her that caution would keep her safe, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. Maren had kept his words close to her heart all these years, and she wondered what he’d think if he knew what she was about to do.
She took off through the hills, closing her eyes every now and then to let her senses guide her. It would’ve been much easier to do this as a dragon, when she could connect with herself better, but the last thing she needed was to let herself be seen flying over the mountains in search of a strange man she’d only met briefly.
The resort was a busy place, and she tucked her scarf up around her neck as she meandered through the numerous cabins. The scent of burning firewood that drifted through the air was almost comforting, even though she knew it was fuel being burned by humans who would be more likely to rally against her if they knew who she really was. She breathed deeply in an effort to calm herself as she moved through the packed snow.
Although she’d known exactly what direction to go as she’d left her home, a sense of panic was beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach. He wasn’t there. Some of the cabins were empty, their tenants out skiing for the day, but the ones that were occupied held only humans. Her cheeks flushed against the chilly air. Where the hell had he gone?
There was no way of knowing if he’d felt the same way she did when they’d encountered each other in the water. For all she knew, he’d been around plenty of other dragons before. His time with her had been like watching a wild animal, and he might not be thinking about it at all. Maybe he didn’t even want to run into her again. Her heart caught in her throat. Could she have missed her only chance?
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and focused. When she opened them again, she noticed a lodge up toward the top of the hill. The mere idea of heading up to it made her nauseous, knowing just how many people would be there. But this was where she was supposed to go, and there was no denying that.
When she stepped over the threshold a few minutes later, Maren’s breath caught in her throat. The interior was warm and cozy, with exposed wooden beams and a massive stone fireplace. A huge Christmas tree had been set up to accent the peaked roof, the star at the top reaching toward the vaulted ceiling. Fake packages had been wrapped and placed underneath it, and the smells of roast ham, cloves, and eggnog filled the air. It was busy, just as she’d anticipated, but most of the people were moving off to the dining hall for some sort of party. She sat down in a chair near the hearth. Maren felt completely out of place there, but something deep inside her told her this was where she was supposed to be.
She was rewarded several minutes later when the door opened. A tall man with broad shoulders stepped through. Even through the thickness of his jacket, Maren could tell he had a muscular build. His dark hair was thick and combed back from his face, showing off his dark green eyes that were the same shade as those scales she’d seen in the water. He was handsome, but that wasn’t what made Maren want to launch herself out of her chair. It was him. It was him.
His gaze met hers across the room, and she froze as he approached. She could see her own knowledge in his eyes, and it terrified her.
The man’s feet stilled when he came to stand in front of her. “It’s you.”
Her throat worked uselessly for a moment. “And it’s you.”
He gestured at the chair next to her. “May I sit down?”
It was hard to believe it was happening this way, even though this was exactly what she’d hoped for. “Please do.”
He glanced around the room, noting the last few straggling skiers who were heading for the dining area. “I’m Garrison. Garrison Stokes.” His hand twitched where it rested against his thigh, as though he was going to reach out to shake hers but changed his mind.
“Maren.” She had to be grateful for his reservations. It would be too easy to run away again, but that wouldn’t give her any answers.
Garrison’s eyes traced over her face, and Maren knew he was looking for the dragon inside her because she was doing the same thing to him. He was striking, no matter what form he took.
“You surprised me last night,” he finally said.
She nodded. “You did the same. I’ve never... seen anyone else like you. Like us. I mean, not for a long time.” Damn it. She was already messing this up.
“So, there aren’t any more?”
Maren shook her head. “There used to be, a very long time ago. But my grandparents have been gone for a while. It’s just me now.” Was she giving too much away? She hardly knew what to say or do. She closed her eyes once again, but this time when she tried to focus, her body wouldn’t let her. She was too aware of Garrison’s presence, down to every beat of his heart.
“I have to admit that ever since I saw you, I’ve been looking at everyone I see more closely, wondering if I’ll find another. I’m sorry it’s not that way.”
“Sorry for me, or sorry for yourself?” she challenged.
He blinked rapidly. “For both of us, I guess. I always thought I was the only one.”
“Oh.” That set aside at least one of her worries. “How strange that we should find each other now. I assume you’re not from here?” Why was it so hard to talk to him? He was the only dragon she knew; possibly the only other one in the world. It should be easy, shouldn’t it? Even as nervous as he made her, she couldn’t just give up on this because it was hard.
“Not exactly.” He shifted in his chair, his eyes sweeping the room once again. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but I’m with an elite force that gets called in when shifters are having issues they can’t solve on their own or with their conclave.”
Maren’s eyebrows knitted together. “But I thought it was only us.”
“When it comes to dragons, yes. But there are other shifters who live here, too. Black bears, mountain lions, coyotes. And those are just the ones I’ve been meeting with. There are more all over the world.” He scratched his chin, his fingernails rasping against the dark stubble there.
His jaw was strong and angular, and Maren pulled her eyes away to keep from staring. She ran her own hands across the upholstery just to have something to do with them. “I didn’t realize. And what kind of problems are they having? Or are you allowed to tell me that?” Maren didn’t know what ‘elite force’ he was talking about, but it certainly sounded secretive.
“You’re actually the very person I wanted to talk to about these problems.” His voice was low and rumbly, but it held a smooth quality she could listen to all day. “You see, some of them are disappearing. It seems to mostly happen when they’re alone, and it’s likely happening when they’re in their animal forms.”
“Oh.” All the blood drained from her head, leaving her dizzy. If there were shifters there that she didn’t know about, then… Maren shook her head to chase those thoughts away, but they refused to leave. She raised her fingertips to her lips, wondering if she was going to be sick right there in front of Garrison. “Stars above. I had no idea.”
He relaxed visibly. “I had a feeling you didn’t, but I’m glad to hear it all the same.”
She finally turned to look at him once again. Her guts had completely turned to water now, and hot tears burned at the backs of her eyes. “Please, Garrison, you’ve got to tell them for me. I didn’t mean to. I had no idea. I’ve just been fighting so hard to keep my territory safe from all the people who come here. It didn’t used to be this way. There used to be plenty of hunting grounds, plenty of places
to stay away from everyone else. But every year, more and more people come. They build their cabins, their vacation homes, their golf courses, and their airports, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s almost impossible to find any place to be that isn’t completely inhabited by humans. I guess I just assumed that any prey I finally found was actually prey. I’m so sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
His hand was on her arm then. It was warm and she knew it was meant to be comforting, but it sent her inner dragon absolutely wild. Maren fought to control her body as her scales threatened to push through the surface of her skin and expose her to anyone who happened to wander through.
“It’s all right.” Garrison was leaning closer now, his heat radiating against her skin. “Or at least it’s going to be.”
“Everyone has felt like my enemy.” She wanted to add ‘until now’ but she couldn’t yet say with any certainty that it was true. Was Garrison truly on her side? Her gut feeling told her he was, but she’d been running scared for so long that her knee-jerk reaction was not to trust anyone.
“You know, Maren, there are a lot of people who are trying to get a picture of you just to prove you exist. I’ve seen some of the blurry images that a few of them have managed to capture. They don’t get much, and the photos are crappy enough that it’s questionable. But there are at least a few of them who are absolutely convinced a ‘lake monster’ exists, and those are the same people who are determined to find you.” He moved his hand from her arm and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he looked into her eyes. “You could be in some real danger here.”
“What do you expect me to do about it?” she replied, feeling some of that old anger bubble to the surface as she thought about how many people had come after her over the years. Some of them, yes, were simply after a picture. They wanted a one-of-a-kind souvenir to bring back from their vacations. Others had tried to kill her or catch her. “It’s not an easy life, being the trophy everyone wants on their wall. But there isn’t much choice for me. I’ve been here forever. I’ve watched as the territory my ancestors had lived on was swallowed up, burned down, and built on. You have no idea what it’s like to be me.”
Garrison straightened, putting his hands in the air. “You’re right, I don’t. I guess, in a way, I’ve had it easy. I’ve been able to pass most of my life as a human. There are a few questions here and there that are tough to answer, since I’ve lived so long and done so much, but I even managed to get into the military, so I must’ve done a decent job of disguising my true identity.”
Alarm bells went off in her head at the mention of the Armed Forces. Maren tried to keep her exposure to human culture to a minimum, not stretching past what she needed to get by, but she knew that when it came to hunting down elusive creatures, the military was often involved. “You did?”
He nodded. “I was an engineer with the Army’s Special Forces. I built things, and I tore other things down. It just depended on where I was. I’ve had numerous jobs in my lifetime, but it was one that I enjoyed more than any other. I still use those skills in the construction business I own back in Washington, D.C. I do everything from single-family homes to massive office buildings. People don’t realize it, but they hire me because I can do everything from a reproduction Victorian to a modern doctor’s office. There’s a certain sense of satisfaction in taking some element of the past and bringing it to the present with the hope of seeing it in the future.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” He’d spoken so casually and earnestly. Maybe it should’ve made her feel better, but it only made the world seem as though it was tilting underneath her feet. Or maybe that was just the effect of being so close to him.
“Because,” his green eyes bored into hers, making that ancient heat in her chest burn a little hotter, “I want you to understand who I am. As far as I know, it’s just the two of us. That doesn’t mean it’s just the two of us against the rest of the world, but I know there isn’t anyone else as likely to understand me as you. I don’t want you to think that just because I was brought here to figure out what’s going on that I’m your enemy. Like you said, you have plenty of them already.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Maren swallowed. Her life had completely changed in less than a day. It should be a good change, considering that she finally knew she wasn’t alone in the world. It all felt so strange, yet she was grateful to have Garrison at her side. “There’s even a man who’s building a tank to hold me, like I’m some giant fish.”
“Mm, yes. The casino owner.” Garrison’s face darkened.
“You know about this?”
He lifted one broad shoulder. “I’ve been doing as much research as I can to figure all this out. I didn’t want to believe this explanation, and I want to believe it even less now that I’ve met you, but it’s hard to talk to anyone in this area without someone bringing up Tahoe Tessie.” Garrison gave her a disarming half-smile.
Maren waved off the notion of being in captivity. “It’s ridiculous. I could fly right out of that thing.”
“I have a feeling he doesn’t know that, and even if he did, he might not care. The only thing on his or anyone else’s mind is making money. That’s all the more reason that we have to get something done between you and the clans and find some peaceful way for all of you to live together. Then we can move on to figure out how we’re going to keep you safe.”
“I take it you have some sort of plan?” He seemed like the kind of guy who would, someone who was always calm and in control. It was nice to know someone was looking out for her.
“In a way, yes. I don’t know how well it will work, but a lot of that depends on you.”
At that moment, she decided to fully put her trust in him. “I’m listening.”
“The first thing we need to do is get you together with the clan leaders. I’ve just told them about your existence. It was a bit of a surprise to some of them, but others were already convinced you were real. Now that they know you’re alive, they need to understand that you aren’t just a beast lurking in the lake. You need to show them—if you’ll forgive the expression—the human side of yourself. I’ll go with you, and you can tell them everything you’ve told me.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Maren let her gaze drift across the room to the Christmas tree, resplendent in garland and glittering globes. It looked so festive and happy, but she felt so empty inside. There was a dragon sitting right there next to her, but she couldn’t focus on that when her future seemed so bleak and uncertain.
“It is. And you won’t have to go alone. I’ll be right there with you.”
She blushed and turned further away, not wanting Garrison to think she presumed too much by his offer of help or by his offer of coming with her. “And do you think they’ll even be willing to meet with me? After I… killed some of them?” It was a horrible thought, the kind that made her wish she’d wake up and realize this had all been a dream. But then, that would make Garrison a dream, too. He was a fantasy she wasn’t quite ready to let go of just yet.
“They will. I’ve already spoken to them about it.”
He was so confident, and Maren wished she could feel that way, too. “What happens after that?”
“We’ll just have to see. I wish I could tell you that I had all the answers, but I don’t. This is a delicate situation, for sure.” Garrison looked at her with kindness as he sat there next to her, indistinguishable from anyone else to the human eye. No one would realize what was hidden inside of him, but Maren could see his layers with ease. And that only stoked the fire burning in her core for him all the more.
“You’re quite lovely,” he said suddenly, almost like he’d read her thoughts. “I admit, I’ve had plenty of fantasies about what another dragon might look like in either form. I couldn’t have anticipated you.”
Maren felt a heat in her cheeks that was becoming a regular occurrence around him. “You’re just not used to seeing another dragon.”
He tipp
ed his head back, appraising her. “I’m pretty sure that’s not it.” Garrison was on his feet then, and he held out his hand toward her. “Why don’t you show me some of the area? I haven’t had an official tour guide, and I could use one.”
She tentatively reached out and lay her hand on his, tensing the muscles in her fingers to keep them from shaking. “It’s getting dark outside.” She’d hardly even noticed as they’d sat there talking, but the bright whiteness of the surrounding landscape was quickly fading to a deep blue.
“All the better, considering our wings are going to be a much better way to explore than our feet.” Garrison’s hand closed around hers as he pulled her upright, and he kept his grip as he led the way out the door of the lodge.
Though it shouldn’t have been a surprise, the cold air made Maren suck in a breath and quickly regret it. Everything was changing now that Garrison was around, including her. “We can’t do that,” she reminded him as she walked quickly to keep up. “There are too many people here; that’s why I swim. I haven’t flown in years.”
He was leading her toward the ski lifts. “I can understand that, and I admit the water feels great. Trust me though, this is going to feel even better.”
“Garrison…” She huffed as she caught up to him, their hands still linked between their bodies. “We can’t. Everyone will see us. We don’t have a chance in hell of getting away with it.”
The resort was getting ready to close for the evening, and there were only a few determined skiers still in line. He queued up behind them and turned to Maren, his lips dangerously close to her ear to keep their conversation private. “I’m used to taking a few calculated risks here and there. But you see, where I live, it’s even more populated than this. I’ve gotten so used to getting around with my feet that I hardly ever bother with my wings anymore. When I took this assignment, I decided it was going to be a vacation as well. If I’m on vacation, that means I get to do what I want.”
The ski attendant waved them forward. Garrison, still gripping her hand, pulled Maren with him into the path of the next chair. It pushed beneath them, and the next thing she knew, they were being lifted into the sky.