Desired by a Dragon: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Exiled Dragons Book 3)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Hello, Josh. It’s nice to see you again,” she replied, trying not to act as giddy as she suddenly felt.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize the two of you knew one another,” Owen said, seeming puzzled.

  “We don’t know each other, exactly. We met at Aaron and Kate’s wedding reception,” Josh told him.

  “Oh, I see. Well, that certainly takes the edge off things, doesn’t it? At least you aren’t complete strangers,” Owen shrugged. “Come on in and we’ll all have a bit of a chat.”

  “You want something to drink?” Amy asked, always the gracious host.

  “No. I’m fine, Amy. Thanks,” he replied, looking down as Dawn pulled at his trouser leg.

  She had crawled straight for him and was trying to get up in his lap as she laughed and patted his knee. Josh picked her up and balanced her there, bouncing her playfully up and down as she squealed with delight.

  “Everyone spoils our child,” Owen grumbled jokingly.

  “Well, you know. We’re the same age mentally. She knows a playmate when she sees one,” Josh joked, obviously well acquainted with young Dawn from previous visits.

  “You must come here often,” Barb observed.

  “Not often enough, it seems,” Josh replied with a smile in her direction.

  “Okay, we’ll leave the room, but we’re taking my niece with us if you’re going to hit on one another,” Connor teased. “Actually, I need to leave too. Emily will be back from town with her mother in a bit.”

  “We’ll see you out,” Owen replied, sweeping by Josh and scooping a still giggling Dawn into his arms as he and Amy walked Connor to the door.

  Josh and Barb sat looking at one another awkwardly for a moment and then laughed.

  “Boy, we sure know how to clear a room with minimum effort, huh?” he laughed.

  “Seems so,” Barb agreed, shaking her head as she chuckled.

  “I guess we should get down to business,” Josh told her.

  “Yes. We probably should,” she replied.

  It seemed that Owen and Amy purposely made themselves scarce while she and Josh sat on the sofa discussing what she knew at the dig and making plans for him to accompany her to the dig tomorrow. Barb was very aware of the effect his mere presence had on her, but she cautioned herself not to get too attached to him. He lived a long way from Los Angeles and she still had scars from her last attempt at a long distance relationship. It was best to keep it to business, despite the butterflies he sent soaring through her midriff.

  CHAPTER 4

  “Ready to go then?” Josh asked as she answered the door the following morning, her satchel already in hand.

  “I am. Are you?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a slow smile.

  Barb tried not to look at him too much on the drive up, but found herself admiring his chiseled jawline each time he thought she wasn’t looking. He was handsome, in sort of an unconventional way, with a slightly crooked nose and closely-cropped brown hair. His bright green eyes stood out from his sun darkened skin, and seemed to capture your own when he looked at you. She suspected that he could be just as intense as he could light hearted.

  “What time are they expecting you this morning?” he asked.

  “They aren’t. He told me he would call me when he had something for me to look at, but I plan to tell him I wanted you to see the site so that you would understand what I’m researching.”

  “That seems plausible.”

  “It should be. He has no reason to suspect anything otherwise. I have to say I feel a bit dishonest about all of this. I am undermining an archaeologist who is just trying to make a discovery for science. He’s a good man, really.”

  “Perhaps so, but he has the potential to inadvertently destroy our village in the process. All it takes is the undue attention he will bring to reveal our secret, one we’ve managed to keep fairly well-guarded for thousands of years.”

  “I know. I guess it is the lesser of two evils, thwart a scientific effort, or harm an entire village. Not much of a choice there, I guess.”

  “No, it isn’t a choice at all from where I see it.”

  “Did Aaron make any headway in finding out who the missing dragon might be?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure. If he did, he hasn’t told me. He asked me to look for any signs if I can while I’m here.”

  “What kind of signs?”

  “I’m not sure. Like a sticky note that says, ‘My Name is’ with a written in name on it.”

  “Very funny,” she laughed.

  “I have my moments. In all honestly, I have no idea. Any kind of article that might point us in the right direction. Though if they perished in their dragon form, it is very unlikely we’ll find any human possessions. There is always the chance that someone killed them and buried personal things with them or even that they were carrying a quick sack with them.”

  “Quick sack?”

  “Just a little bag that many dragons carry in their mouth if they need to go somewhere and assume their human form again before returning. When we shift, we have to either strip off our clothes or lose them when the added body mass shreds the material. So, some dragons will carry a small sack with a change of clothes for wherever they are going.”

  “Like a huge, medieval stork,” Barb laughed.

  “No. We just have clothes, no baby deliveries. Perhaps we should start offering that service to the masses if we get outted. It just might be our saving grace.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a sight?”

  “Probably the last one seen before heart failure for a fair number of people,” he replied.

  “Likely,” she said, laughing a little before turning her attention out the window. “Oh, this is our turn right up here.”

  Josh slowed and turned onto the small road that wound upward and around as they moved toward the old cabin that sat to one side of the road. She directed him toward the open iron gates that stood beside it and he parked among the other vehicles gathered there. Stepping out of the car, they were met by guards who blocked their path to the actual dig site.

  “I’m Barbara Chapman,” she told one of them. “I’m the anthropologist on this dig. This is my associate, Josh Higgins.”

  “We were instructed not to allow any visitors to the site,” one of the guards said, looking Josh up and down suspiciously.

  “I understand. Can you please get Mr. Montrose? I’m sure he will sort this out for us,” Barb replied.

  The guard looked her up and down quickly before returning his gaze to Josh, but he nodded his head toward another guard who went trotting off toward the dig site. Hopefully, he was going to get Albert. It was hard to tell since he said nothing and continued to size Josh up. She glanced at him, expecting to see an equally antagonistic expression, but he was merely smiling at the guy amicably as if completely oblivious to his blatant disdain. Barb felt relieved when the other guard returned with Albert in tow.

  “What is going on, Barb?” he said, seeming unconcerned and perhaps a bit confused by her presence.

  “I know you told me I wasn’t needed until you called me, but I’ve been doing some research into the area and its history while I waited,” she told him before waving her hand toward Josh. “This is Josh Higgins. He is a local historian. I told him I was involved in a dig here for some, yet unidentified, bones and he asked if perhaps he might have a look at them to put what I’m looking at into some perspective.”

  “That sounds fair enough,” Albert replied. “I’ll just have to ask that you maintain our confidence in this matter, Mr. Higgins. Would you mind signing a non-disclosure first?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Very well. Let’s get your name on some paper and get to it,” Albert said, none the wiser.

  It only made Barb feel worse to deceive him. It wasn’t his fault that his find threatened her friend’s clan. She had never been in this position before and it felt bad, all around, but she knew a lot of that was fear of not being able to preve
nt what could happen if this got out of hand. Innocent or not, she couldn’t let Albert find the truth, if this really was a dragon skeleton. She stood quietly while Josh signed the paperwork and then they made their way up to where the dig was laid out.

  “Wow, you’ve gotten a lot further since just yesterday,” she said.

  “Oh yeah. We’ve worked into the late hours and then got up early this morning to start again. As you can see, we’ve mostly uncovered this one large wing. It seems to still be attached to a much more significant skeletal structure below it. I don’t know how this thing made its way into a shallow grave, but it seems to have done just that. We’ll figure it out. It’s what we do.”

  “Wow, this thing is amazing,” Josh said enthusiastically.

  Barb had to wonder if he was truly that excited to see the skeletal remains of one of his own or was faking it for effect. Whichever was the case, it seemed authentic enough. She stood looking at what had been revealed since she had seen it yesterday. They were making quick progress. It was then that she noted the oval structure peering up through the center. She studied it curiously.

  “I see you’ve found the prize,” Albert said, beaming proudly.

  “Skull?” she asked.

  “Hopefully. It appears to be buried face down. What you are looking at would be the back of the skull. Who knows how much of it is buried in the dirt. We are being very careful in removing what we can of it so that we don’t lose any of it that might remain intact.”

  “For a fossil, it all appears fairly intact. The dirt here must have done an excellent job of preserving it,” Josh said.

  “That’s what I don’t understand,” Albert told him. These bones test as if they are thousands of years old, but the depth and the condition of the remains are consistent with an animal that died within the past few years, at best.”

  “How do you make that determination?”

  “Part is just my experience with the condition of bones based on how long they’ve been in the ground and the rest is just observation. This ground is undisturbed, yet more modern debris has been recovered above, within and eventually, from under the remains. It tells us that these were put there during the same time those items would have been.”

  “I see. All very interesting, Josh replied, never taking his eyes off the remains. Barb was sure he was looking for clues, but she wasn’t sure that he was getting anywhere.

  “I do know one thing,” Albert replied, pointing toward the outer edge of the wing structure that was exposed from the dirt.

  “What is that?” Barb asked, looking up at him.

  “Come here,” he told her, walking around the edge of the dig and positioning her above the top of the wing he had been pointing to. Josh joined them there, waiting for the answer. “At some point, at least a portion of this wing structure was frozen.”

  Both Barb and Josh looked up at one another. She remembered what Amy had told her about Owen and Connor’s father being an ice dragon. Was it possible that he had something to do with the death of this dragon? She was horrified that she might have to be the bearer of that bad news.

  “Is it possible that it could just be a result of being exposed to the elements here?” she asked, hoping the answer was yes.

  “No. Not this. I can’t describe the way the bone is crystallized. Look there. You can see it from here, the way it is cracked from the effects of the extreme cold. This was a blast colder than being buried in a block of ice in the Antarctic from the looks of it.”

  “Any theories?” Josh asked, still looking past Albert and directly at her.

  “None I care to share just yet,” Albert said with a grimace.

  Barb could only guess at the inner turmoil he must be feeling. He was stuck with a tremendous find, and faced being laughed out of the scientific community if he was bold enough to make his claim and found to be wrong. It could ruin him. The only positive side of that was it would ensure that he took his time to release any findings. It would be a while before this was made public, only after careful examination and testing would he ever be so bold as to claim this as a dragon. And not just any dragon, but a dragon that had somehow managed to live in modern times without detection.

  “Well, I have to say that this is amazing. I’m not sure what you have here, but if there is anything at all I can do to help you out, just ask. Barb knows how to find me and I’ll be working with her for as long as she needs to do some studies on this place to help you with your work. Honestly, I’m not sure how all that works between you two, but I’m more than ready to pitch in.”

  “I appreciate that. I’m sure it will be an asset having you on our team. A local contact is always good in situations like this, not only for the knowledge, but just in keeping the community on our side. I have been at digs where people have gotten pretty ugly about not wanting their history disturbed by outsiders and I know this area is very rich in culture.”

  “That is certainly true. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure you are received well. Speaking of that, you should have dinner with us one night. I’d love to hear more about your experiences in the field and what you are finding here.”

  “Sounds good. I’m going to get back to things here. You are welcome to stick around and watch for as long as you like. Just make yourselves at home. You know, other than not touching anything,” he laughed.

  “Of course,” Josh told him. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Montrose.”

  “Please, Albert is my name. My father isn’t even here,” he said.

  “Okay, Albert. We’re going to get out of your hair for now, but we’ll see you again soon, I’m sure. I’m serious about that dinner. Just give Barb a call, and she can get in touch with me,” Josh told him, shaking his hand.

  “You’ve got it,” Albert said before turning toward Barb. “Goodbye, Dear. I’ll give you a call soon if I don’t see you right off.”

  “See you soon, Albert.”

  CHAPTER 5

  “Did you learn anything from that visit?” Barb asked as they drove back to the village.

  “Yes. I learned who is in the ground your friend is unearthing and how they died,” Josh told her.

  “What? How did you figure all of that out?” she replied.

  “Ten years ago, there was a hole in that field. The previous owner had dug it. He was a bit of a survivalist and fancied himself building an underground bunker rather than planting crops. People chalked it up to some sort of middle age crisis. There used to be warning signs all over the place and a wire fence around where he was digging.”

  “Okay . . . and?” she said, wondering where this was going.

  “And he got in trouble with the local authorities over an unrelated matter involving, uh, a local school girl,” he said.

  “What happened with it?” Barb asked.

  “He went on trial, went to jail. Someone didn’t take kindly to his affection for young girls and well, he didn’t make it to the end of his sentence.”

  “So, that is how the property became abandoned.”

  “Yes. Nearby owners eventually just sort of claimed it as their own by parking their farm equipment in that shed near his old cabin that you see when you come in. After a while, it just sort of became theirs by default. There was no family to fight them on it and it had no owner, so the law was on their side though they are limited as to what they can do with no official deed. That’s something they will have to seek through more formal means.”

  “Okay, but the hole was filled in at some point. When?”

  “Several years ago, some kids climbed the fence and one of them fell in. The hole was long and wide originally. Think the size of an Olympic size swimming pool.”

  “I thought he was just building a bunker, not an underground fortress.”

  “I think he was aiming more for the latter, in all honesty, but part of the space was for piping and double walls to protect him in case of, well, whatever he thought was coming for him. There are, of course, rumors that he intended it as a pla
ce to take girls, but that is something I don’t want to think about,” Josh said.

  There was a look on his face that told Barb to let him leave it at that. She wasn’t sure why, but she had the feeling that he had somehow been affected by some similar situation, perhaps someone close to him had been attacked. If there was one thing she did well, it was read people. It was why she was such a good anthropologist.

  “So, a kid fell in it. Was he hurt badly?” she asked.

  “Fortunately not. Though he was rattled and bruised, the ground beneath was miraculously soft and padded his fall enough to prevent any serious injury. Still, some of the locals decided it was time to fill it in. They all agreed to meet there one Saturday morning and put their shovels to good use until it was no longer a hole.”

  “So, I don’t get it. They filled in an empty hole. How did the dragon get in there and who put it there?”

  “That’s the thing. When they came to fill it in, it was already done. No hole. In the two days between when they last looked at it and went to fill it in, someone had already done the work for them.”

  “They didn’t question that?”

  “No, not at all. They were just glad that someone had taken the time to do it for them and never thought twice about it. Why should they?”

  “Okay, but there is still more to this story,” she said.

  “Yes, but first, would you like some lunch?” he asked. “We can finish talking about this over some food. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  “That sounds good,” Barb said with a smile.

  She knew it was just as much about being able to spend more time with the handsome shifter as it was about the actual thought of food, though she was pretty hungry. They drove up to the center of town and found a pub with a nice sidewalk table where they could talk without so many ears listening in. After ordering their lunch, Josh began to finish his story.

  “So, the hole was filled in by Aiden, the former dragon leader and some members of his Dragon Guard before the people could see what was in the hole.”