by Jules Tyler
“So what do we do from here?” McKinzy asked, looking to Isabelle for guidance.
“I have a few phone calls to make, but more or less? We need to start preparing the camp for a battle. They’re gonna regroup and come back after you. They want you bad,” Isabelle said, standing to grab her cell phone from the counter in the kitchen.
“That’s what I was worried she was going to say,” McKinzy said, suddenly looking more exhausted than ever.
“Why are you worried about it? We can hold our own; we’ve got your dragon,” Duke said, trying to cheer her up.
Adrian gave Duke a grim look, “Because she can’t shift anymore.”
“Why not? The only reason dragons can’t shift is if they...oh.” Realization washed over Duke’s face.
“Yeah. We’re expecting.” McKinzy whispered.
“Shit,” Isabelle, Duke and Alicia said in unison.
“Yeah. Shit,” Adrian and McKinzy muttered together.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Duke looked to Adrian for an answer.
“It’s too soon in her pregnancy. I can smell it on her, but we didn’t want to jinx it. Especially with the amount of stress we are all under with this, we didn’t want to risk getting everyone all excited,” Adrian leaned forward and rubbed his hands down his face.
“Well, I mean, it’s not the end of the world, right?” Isabelle tried to lighten the mood.
“What do you mean? She can’t protect the camp, and if there are any more dragons in the Firebirds, then what else do we have to defend ourselves against them?” Alicia looked at Isabelle like she had grown a third eye out of her forehead.
“What I mean is, this could work to our advantage. It can buy us time. If our intel is correct, the Firebirds want McKinzy because she’s the last female dragon and she’s from a line of dragon royalty. They’re not going to strike while she’s pregnant. They’re going to make sure she carries to term. They’re stupid dill holes, but they’re mostly concerned with the continuation of the dragon race. They aren’t going to risk mom and baby having complications,” Isabelle leaned back in her chair.
“So as long as we get their intel to figure out that I’m pregnant, we can buy time to get reinforcements and train the guys up there to defend themselves,” McKinzy summarized.
Isabelle nodded, “Yeah. So, this actually is a good thing, McKinzy.”
“So what’s our next step?” Duke asked.
“We go back to your camp and start putting together a list of people that can help. I can make a few phone calls to the people we used to work with on the task force and see if any of them can come help,” Isabelle said, standing to gather the now empty plates and put them in the dishwasher.
Everyone nodded in agreement before moving about the cabin to gather their things.
“So we’ll meet in two hours at the camp then? We need to gather some stuff from Adrian’s safe house,” Alicia suggested, walking into the kitchen behind Isabelle.
Isabelle nodded before turning and placing a hand on Alicia’s shoulder, “It’s good to see you, old friend. It wasn’t the same on the force without you.”
Alicia copied the gesture, “I missed you, too. So glad to have you back.”
Chapter Twenty
As the trucks pulled up to the officer cabins, they could see Isabelle’s Tundra with Isabelle and Jasper’s arms flailing about like they were having the argument of the century. Duke cut the engine as Alicia slid out and rushed towards the commotion.
“You’re freaking crazy! How the hell did you find me out here? If I was looking for something serious, don’t you think I would’ve given you my address?” Jasper shouted.
Isabelle’s face was fifty shades of red, “I told you, I didn’t come up here for you! I came up here because Alicia invited me to come help with the shit going down.”
“Alicia! What the fuck? Why the hell would you invite her up here? She’s on that list of women I’ve slept with, isn’t she? So did you do this to fuck with me? That’s not cool; I thought we were friends?” Jasper whined.
“Jasper, Isabelle isn’t on that list, but we will come back to that. Isabelle, Duke, and I used to be on the force together. She’s the one that set up the cameras in our cabins to get my attention. She’s already been up here before; it’s how she found the camp before we got here,” Alicia explained in a hushed voice, trying to get Jasper to stop his shouting.
“So I just aired out our private business for the whole world to hear…” Jasper trailed off.
“Yeah, you douche canoe, you just told everyone we slept together and that you think I’m a crazy bitch. I applaud you. You’ve got some real class,” Isabelle slow clapped to exaggerate her displeasure with Jasper’s outburst.
“You guys didn’t think to call and let us know to expect a guest?” Jasper complained, running his fingers through his hair to comb back his golden locks.
“Jas, we don’t have cell service up here. You know that,” Desmond said in a somber tone as he walked up behind him.
“Well, we should. Then we’d have fewer unexpected surprises like this,” Jasper said, gesturing towards Isabelle and her truck.
“I apologize for Jasper’s antics, Ms. Isabelle. A fine lady like yourself shouldn’t be talked about that way, especially in a public setting,” Desmond eyed Jasper before sticking his hand out to introduce himself. “My name is Desmond. I’m Jasper’s cousin.”
Isabelle gave Desmond a polite smile, “You’re too kind, Desmond. Jasper is fine; I would’ve reacted the same way if he had shown up on my doorstep unexpected.”
“See, she forgives me!” Jasper exclaimed.
“Hey, where’s the new cat smell coming from?” Elijah said coming out of his cabin, pinching his nose as though he were smelling garbage.
“Elijah, be polite. We have a guest,” McKinzy admonished him.
“There are too many cats up here!” Elijah pouted before stomping back into his cabin and slamming the door.
“Well, that’s certainly not the greeting I was expecting him to give you. Usually, he’s humping your leg and trying to to get in your pants before you get three words out. I guess we’ll call this progress,” Adrian laughed, shaking his head.
“Wolves and cats have a hard time getting along as it is. I’m sure he’ll come around,” Isabelle smiled.
“Here, let me take your bag. We have an extra room in our cabin,” Desmond picked up her bag and walked in the direction of their cabin.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Jasper whined, sounding like a two year about to throw a tantrum.
“After the way you just acted to our guest? No, you do not get a say in this, Jasper. Now, show the lady you have some manners and give her the tour of the place,” Desmond glared.
“Fine. Follow me,” Jasper muttered as Isabelle followed behind him.
“That was...interesting.” Duke laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yeah, if that’s what you want to call it. Let’s meet back here at supper to start talking through our options for help,” McKinzy gave a tired smile before turning towards her cabin.
“Sounds good. Get some rest, boss,” Duke said, scooping Alicia up in his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re newly mated. I have to carry you across the threshold,” Duke looked at Alicia, humor filling his eyes.
Alicia laughed, “Whatever rocks your goat.”
“I believe the saying is whatever floats your boat,” Duke chuckled at the phrase.
“Not for me. This is gonna rock my goat. So after you,” Alicia relaxed into his arms.
“Oh beautiful,” Duke smiled, “I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“Good, because I’m the only one you’ve got.”
Epilogue
Elijah sat in his seat, staring at the fire as everyone discussed Isabelle and Alicia’s list of shifters that would be willing to come and help when needed. Elijah felt like he was at a loss for words; too much shit was going on aro
und here. He felt like eyes were trained on the back of his head at all times these days, and finding out about those cameras had not helped. He felt violated in ways he never imagined he would experience.
“What do you think, Elijah?” Jasper asked from across the fire.
“Sorry, what was the question?” Elijah asked, shaking the fog from his head.
“Wow, spacey much? I was talking about calling in some of our family crews and packs for help, if we need the extra numbers,” Jasper explained.
“Oh, yeah. That’s a good idea. I don’t know if my sisters or pa would come, though. But it’s worth a shot,” Elijah forced a smile to sell the lie. He knew his sisters and pa would come in an instant if he called. Considering how he had left things with them though, it was a long shot that he would actually call.
Jasper and Duke exchanged a suspicious look before going back to discussing the plan while Elijah got lost in his thoughts once more. Thinking back on the day he left, he felt a twist in his stomach. His mama had been gunned down while she was in wolf form out roaming the bayou in Louisiana a few days prior to his departure. The police covered it up as a hunting accident. Given the type of ammunition that had been used and the amount of bullet wounds mama’s poor body had though, it was unlikely that it had been an accident at all.
Elijah took this job as a way to try and track down who had put those bullets in his mama, but he hadn’t had any luck. He remembered standing with his family at the small funeral they had in town, going through the motions that day. He knew what he was going to do the minute the memorial was over; the one thing that he was good at doing at twenty-two years old. He was going to run. He already had the job lined up, his bag was packed and sitting on the back of his Triumph waiting for him, and all he had to do was get on it and never look back.
He remembered his youngest sister sobbing into his pa’s chest on the front porch as he pulled away. Elijah knew he would never forget that look of disappointment written on his Pa’s face when he pulled away. His sisters had asked for one more day with him, saying it wasn’t right to leave the day of the funeral, but Elijah and his wolf couldn’t take any more of the sadness in the house. It was suffocating him. They all needed to grieve on their own terms.
“You good, Elijah?” Duke clasped a hand on Elijah’s shoulder, concern written all over his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about home is all,” Elijah gave a sad smile. Only Duke knew the truth about what it was like for him when he left home.
“It’s gonna get worse around here before it gets better. Are you gonna be able to stick it out with us, brother?” Duke’s honest question grabbed Elijah’s attention. He wanted to know if Elijah was going to turn tail and run.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Ya’ll are my people. My pack. I couldn’t leave you if I tried. My wolf would drag my happy ass back here in my sleep,” Elijah huffed a laugh.
“Good, because we’re gonna need you. We’re all headed in for the night. You gonna put the fire out?”
“Don’t I always?” Elijah wagged his eyebrows.
Duke chuckled as he responded, “Good night, Elijah.”
Elijah smiled to himself as he stood up and unzipped his jeans. Something about peeing on the fire every night was like a little victory dance to his wolf. Maybe it had something to do with marking his territory in a small way? Right as Elijah assumed the position, he heard two sets of footsteps coming up behind him. Tucking himself back into his jeans, he walked in the direction of the sound.
“It’s okay, Okami, we’re almost there,” a woman’s tired voice came from down the dirt road.
As Elijah picked up the pace, the hackles on the back of his neck raised in warning. Someone was in his territory. It was time to protect. Elijah let off a warning snarl as he came to a stop in front of a short, curvaceous woman who looked like she had seen better days. He could smell the sweat and dirt the clung to her. Making note of her backpack and the GPS she carried, he glanced over to the red and white husky whose tongue was lolling out of his mouth and was panting heavily.
“Who are you and what are you doing here? This isn’t the place to be taking a midnight hike, if you catch my drift,” Elijah relaxed a little, trying to sound kinder to the woman.
“My name is Candace, and this is Okami. We’re here looking for Alicia.”
The End
Books by Jules Tyler
Burning Secrets: Snake River Prison Camp Series Book One
Burning Time: Snake River Prison Camp Series Book Two
Coming Soon:
Burning Desire: Snake River Prison Camp Series Book Three
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