“Damn it. That isn’t going to go over well at all, but I will give you the authorization as long as it is kept between the original six,” Declan reluctantly said. “You got me. No one else on your team needs this information. We need to maintain the number of people in the know to a minimum. As for you not meeting the teams, honey, the risk wasn’t worth it at the time. But that has all changed now. This is a part of my life that I always wanted to keep from you, but it seems you are firmly entrenched now whether I like it or not.”
Shaking his head, Declan wondered how long his little trip down memory lane had taken. Ryleigh was still standing at the window looking for answers she would never find and he was still sitting behind his desk waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Chapter 5
It only took a week to get his Team Leaders to come to New York under the pretense of an important case. He wasn’t operating under SOP and was surprised at the lack of questions he received. His men came willingly. He just hoped that he didn’t have to make them leave under worse circumstances.
He couldn’t believe the pressure he was placing on Ryleigh’s strong but slight shoulders. It took her days to convince him that this was the right way to handle things and he still had his doubts. The meeting wasn’t going to be a pleasant one. The things revealed were going to cause havoc and unrest, but it was time for full disclosure.
Knowing what was going to happen in a few minutes didn’t help him reconcile his feelings about the situation. There was no way around it; he was about to throw his daughter to the animals, literally. He had kept this part of his life away from her for this very reason. He didn’t want to put her in harm’s way, but it wasn’t an option any longer. He couldn’t protect her from what he was or what she was going to become. He would never stifle her the way that she had been as a child, even if every instinct he had was screaming to put her in a room and lock the door. At least then she would be safe.
Ryleigh looked over at him and smiled. Yeah, he would do anything to keep those smiles on her face. She knew what was coming or at least he had tried to prepare her for what was coming. Damn, she was so brave and he was so proud.
“Are you okay Dad?” Ryleigh asked.
“Yeah, honey, just caught up in my thoughts,” Declan chuckled. He tried to act as though he was busy with something on his desk but continued to think about the ramifications of the meeting that was about to take place and what they were going to be. Damn, he really hated this.
Ryleigh ran a team similar to his own and that team was now responsible for what was going to happen next. They all knew, well, at least the main six knew that he and his men were Shifters and that scared the shit out of him. That information put them in extreme danger. Declan “Senior” Quinn didn’t scare easily but this was just too big.
Shifters and their existence were a well-guarded secret that protected everyone. It didn’t matter that Shifters had been around for as long as the human race. People were not ready to know that there were men that could change into animals at will. It also didn’t matter that these Shifters had been keeping the human race safe for centuries because all they would see is the oddity, or rather the specialty. Human’s tended to not like what they could not understand. They either wanted to exploit it, kill it, or own it.
None of those things were an option but with the new intelligence his daughter and her crew discovered he was no longer able to keep his origins a secret. Ryleigh now knew that not only could he shift into a dragon but the men who worked for him could also change into various apex predators and true to form she didn’t bat an eye. His daughter was truly a remarkable woman, but he also knew the truth. She was scared and she had every right to be because her life and the lives of the people she held close were about to change and he felt guilty for not telling her everything sooner, even if it went against Shifter law.
Ryleigh and the others on her team were created in labs using DNA from shifters. That made them the only female shifters in existence. That also made them possible mates for Shifter males, which was the race’s only chance for survival. About a hundred years ago, Shifters stopped producing female offspring. The times that followed further diluted the Shifter lines. Now, only one or two Shifter children were born every year. If the trend continued everyone in their community, which consisted of about 1000 men, was convinced that the Shifter race would die out in the coming years. Ryleigh and the other women on her team could be the answer to all of their prayers.
He could remember his Dad telling him stories about fated or true mates as a child. It is said that when a Shifter meets his mate, an immediate and unbreakable bond is established between male and female. At the same time, the human and animal forms unify. According to legend, a mating goes beyond human marriage. A true mating unites the mind, body, and soul of the couple with the beast that lies beneath the surface. If the mating is fated a blessing will appear and the couple would essentially live happily ever after.
In the current generation, man and beast exist as separate entities constantly fighting for control. The human male form is usually able to dominate, but as time wears on the animal becomes stronger and more defiant. When the human side loses control of his beast there is no choice but to take them down, permanently. It was just that way it was. The clans enforce a one-strike-and-you’re-out policy, control yourself and your beast or face the consequences.
The legends provided hope- hope for the future. Something they all needed because without it there was nothing but a future filled with chaos. Others tried to buck the status quo by having children with random women and forcing a bond that never took. Many of his men’s’ choice was to just deal without all the hassle of knowing what was to come; accepting their ultimate death, but at the hands of a teammate or Enforcer. It wasn’t a happy way to live, but they tried to fulfill their lives in other ways until the end, doing the honorable thing. At least that was what most of them believed.
Because the beast is always searching for its other half, normal relationships generally don’t work out. The beast within becomes restless and moves on to another in search of that perfect match. Likewise, Human-Shifter marriages tended not to last. Shit, human marriages seemed to have become expendable.
He laughed out loud. If his men knew he was taking this walk down memory lane he would never live it down. He was not known to be a hearts and flowers type of guy. He was a tough, hard-nosed CO. Only his daughter got to see his softer side. His outburst brought Ryleigh’s attention to him. Smiling, he knew the time was running short and he wanted to do one small thing before she had to face what was to come. He wanted to be hopeful that there was something to the legends. He had seen too many of his kinsmen living unhappy, unfulfilled lives. He wanted more for himself, his kinsmen, and especially his daughter. But in the same token, he still wanted his little girl all to himself.
He could remember the first time he laid eyes on his little girl. He fell instantly in love. He knew that he was placed on this earth to take care of her even if the legends never came to fruition at least he had done something good; mattered to someone and someone matter to him above everyone else. He just hoped with what was to come that he had prepared her enough.
Ryleigh looked to her dad. He was smiling and she loved that look on his face. It had been a while since she had seen it. The stress and tension of the last couple of weeks had taken a toll on both of them. She still had so much to learn about her roots and what it meant to have Shifter DNA. She also needed to know more about her Dad, his people, and his abilities. She desperately wanted to see him shift but he refused. They would always be connected; have closeness, but she wanted all the secrets to stop. She knew he was holding back and that worried her.
“What has that look on your face?” Ryleigh asked.
“Oh, you caught me. Just thinking about simpler times, honey,” Declan responded. “It happens when you get old.”
“Yeah, you are so old,” Ryleigh teased. “Come on, old man, we have a meeting to
get to. I’m looking forward to meeting the guys on your teams. I think it’s a long time coming.”
“Wait, honey. I want to give you something, something important.” Declan pushed back from his desk opening the middle drawer grabbing a velvet pouch. He knew Ryleigh would cherish the contents just as he had for so many years. Standing and walking to her he advised, “let’s take a seat,” and motioned for her to follow him to the couch.
Ryleigh wanted the happy moment back. Whatever was going on now was serious and she didn’t think she could take any more surprises. She needed to prepare herself for the meeting, but it looked like her Dad had other ideas. Sitting stiffly on the couch she angled her body to face him.
“Honey, I have something for you,” said Declan. “But before I give it to you, I want to tell you more of my history. You have learned a lot of things about Shifters recently, but that stuff was about others and how it will affect you and them. I’ve never really told you anything more than rudimentary information about my line not because I didn’t want you to know but because I am the only one left. I am as was my brother and father before me a Dragon Shifter. We can trace our lines for generations, but our birthrate has always been low. Even before the shifter females died out dragon births were few and far between. My brother and I were an oddity. Having two Shifter births from the same Sire had been unheard of before us. I was always told it was nature’s way of keeping balance.
Ryleigh felt bad for him. He was alone. Well, not really because he had her, but ultimately alone. How would it feel to be the only one?
“Seamus, your father, was a great man,” he continued.
Ryleigh wanted to stop him. Seamus was her biological something, but Declan was her Dad. She could tell this was hard for him, so she kept her mouth shut.
“Shoot, I can’t really even say that because he barely made it to adulthood before he was taken. But he was kind, loving and wanted everything. He was a force of nature,” Declan laughed. “He desperately wanted a family of his own. He also wanted to serve his country and clansman. He was fierce and determined. He believed that with enough will he could have everything, and I wanted that for him. It wasn’t until the end that he started to question his beliefs and doubted himself and I deeply regretted not being there to help him through it.” Declan looked down at his hands clinching the velvet bag. Damn, he regretted so much.
“Anyways, like I said we are different. When a dragon shifter dies, we leave parts of ourselves behind for our loved ones. One of those things represents strength the other heart. Families treasure these items,” Declan explained.
Handing Ryleigh the bag, he encouraged her to open it with a lift of his eyebrows. Delicately taking the well-worn velvet satchel in hand, Ryleigh untied the silk string and upended it to reveal its contents, a necklace. The chain was platinum and dainty but the pendant, oh, that really caught her eye. It looked like a fire opal but was flat, maybe the size of her thumbnail or a little smaller. The background was black but exploded with hues of red, blue, green, and orange; almost like a flame was entrapped within its depths.
As she moved the pendant around, the colors almost danced. She was pretty sure that if she stared long enough then she would experience even more of its brilliance. It would take hours to discover all of its beauty. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen something more beautiful. The question was: what was it? Opals did not emit heat and this did, and it wasn’t just from holding the pendant and transferring body heat either. The sensation wasn’t uncomfortable but noticeable. Another thing that caught her attention was that it seemed natural; not polished, cut, or carved.
Looking at her dad's furrowed brows, she was puzzled. He had given her many gifts over the years, but she knew this was something more. Something special.
Declan brought his hand to cradle Ryleigh’s and quietly said, “This was my brother’s strength. When a dragon shifter passes, he leaves one small scale behind. It is the family’s job to find it. When they do, they are to keep it close to their heart so that the strength of the fallen will be imparted upon the living. It took me days to find it after I learned of his passing and it never felt right for me to take his strength, so I never wore it. I always knew someone or something else would need it. You are that person Ryleigh. The child he always wanted and the future he never got to see.”
Taking the necklace, he held it up by the chain, encouraging her to lift her hair so he could place it around her neck. When he clasped the necklace around her neck and the scale landed on her skin, Ryleigh jumped a little from the heat.
“Legend says that the scale contains the heat from the dragon's fire, his strongest defense.” Declan explained. “It will never lessen or grow stronger, but reminds the wearer that they have the dragon’s strength watching after them for the rest of their days.”
He continued. “Your life is changing, Ryleigh, and I can’t stop it even if I want to. The trials and challenges you are about to face will be hard, but could result in something amazing. I need you to keep an open mind and welcome those changes. Don’t close yourself off or turn into yourself when times are tough. Persevere and move forward. I will always have your back and now, so will Seamus.”
Declan walked over to his bar. “I’m going to make myself a drink and give you a couple of minutes to get ready for the meeting.”
“Thanks, Dad, and I love it. I promise to always cherish it as you have for so many years.”
“I know you will, honey. Just remember all I have said, okay.”
“Yeah.”
Ryleigh was nervous. She knew that in a couple minutes she would have to walk into a room filled with Shifters, and it freaked her out. Brushing the warm surface of her dragon’s scale, she could almost feel her confidence build. She was pretty sure it was all in her mind, but hey, she was wearing a dragon scale. That shouldn’t be possible, right?
She loved her Dad and accepted all of him, but she did not know his men. His brief descriptions provided her with some background but not much. Given what she was going to tell them, she knew tensions would be running high. She only hoped that she would be able to maintain her carefully constructed façade.
“Honey, how do you want to handle the meeting?” Declan questioned.
“What? Sorry Dad, what did you ask?” Ryleigh had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t realized her Dad had been speaking to her. She hoped it hadn’t been that long, but in reality, it could have been several minutes.
“I just want to know how you want to handle this? I think my guys need to hear your story, but if you need me to do all the talking I will,” he said.
Ryleigh wanted to protect her Dad. His men were going to be angry. If she could save him from that, she would. He didn’t need it. He may be one of the most lethal men in the world, but he was also her Dad.
“I’ll take the lead on this one, Dad. My team found the information. It's my responsibility to share it.”
Ryleigh wanted to puke. She didn’t want to do this, but what she had to say had to be told in person. She steeled herself against the inevitable backlash. Turning the worlds of six men who might turn into animals and tear her apart upside down was not high on her list of things to do today. But it needed to be done. They had a right to know what their world had come to and how much danger they were in was nipping at their heels.
Besides, she didn’t want to let her Dad down or show him how much this was affecting her. Her Dad taught her how to be confident. He would say, “Never let them see you sweat, baby girl.” She might have taken that lesson to a level he hadn’t intended because she sometimes came off as aloof and detached. She needed to look at every situation from an academic perspective, or one day she would wind up curled into herself unable to stop the demons that haunted her. If she never let anyone see how much she truly cared, she couldn’t be hurt. The coolness was her armor, and she planned to keep it. She would lead the meeting in the calm and professional manner that she ran the meetings at her own agency.
Everything would be okay … at least she hoped it would be.
Declan embraced Ryleigh in a hug, “Don’t worry. You know I will protect you from the fuckers in that room. Just follow my lead, baby girl. We will get through this together. They are good men. My boys will listen. But if they don’t, well, then they will have to answer to me.”
“Thanks, Dad, but you can’t order your way through this. We are giving them a bitter pill to swallow. They aren’t going to be happy that we didn’t come to them sooner with the information. Put yourself in their shoes.”
“You might be right, but these men are trained to move with the punches. If they don’t, I will just have to remind them of that fact.”
Chapter 6
Jackson “Jacks” Thorp looked around the room, and he couldn’t contain his frustration. He noticed that the other team leaders weren’t faring any better. Liam was staring at the ceiling. Milo was making balls out of paper and throwing that at the trash case. Dane and Carter were playing football with a folded piece of paper, and Kayden was staring out the window. Their frustration mixed with his own was clogging the room.
Jackson: NAC & The Holly Group (Alpha Team Book 1) Page 4