Dragons For Hire: A Dragon Shifter Romance

by Sadie Sears

  Justin quirked an eyebrow. “Okay.” They shared a look and he raised his hand defensively. “Fine, I’ll post these. Hashtag engaged.”

  He took a bow, then headed back up the corridor, slinking like the panther he was.

  Worried Gretta would follow him, I took her elbow. "Did you apply for the research position yet?"

  She grinned, excitement dominating her body language. "Yes, I turned it in this morning."

  “That’s great. I know you’ll get it.” I wanted to be supportive. To reassure. To keep her smiling. “I bet you will be a huge asset to the team."

  For a second, Gretta frowned. “If I get the job. I might think I’m qualified, but—”

  “You’ll get the job. In fact, you’ll probably be running that thing in a week.” Her cheeks pinked and she ducked her head. This was a woman who wasn’t used to compliments, and that was a damn shame.

  "Do you get a lunch break soon? We could celebrate Lila's remission and you turning in your application." I shuffled my feet. So much for looking cool, but I was trying. I ignored the way my heart began another frantic tattoo against my ribcage.

  "Give me ten minutes?" When I nodded, she smiled and hurried down the hallway. This wasn’t going to be any lunch. This was my moment of truth, my chance to tell her everything.

  Gretta greeted the waiter by name at the Snowshoe Brew Café.

  He glanced at me once then did a double take. "Hey, I remember you. I'm Mike. I was at the bar the other night. We got you guys a round of beers. You’re new in town, right?"

  What fucking luck. Here I was, ready to tell the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with that I was a dragon, and this Mike character was going to out me before I got the chance.

  "Yeah, thanks for that. We came out to return the favor, but you and your friend were gone.”

  “Yeah. He had a date.” Mike laughed.

  “Right.” I shot him a look and nodded to the menu. “We only have a little while.”

  “Yeah, sure.” He pulled out a small electronic tablet. “What can I get you?”

  We ordered, and when he left, I glanced around the café, maybe a little paranoid that people might be staring. A dragon shifter and a human. But, of course, no one knew I was a dragon shifter. Specifically, Gretta.

  “You were kind of rude to Mike.”

  “Rude?” Shame seared through me. I was abrupt, gruff sometimes, but not rude. Even if I was, I needed to be the one who told Gretta about my dragon. I had a reason. I lowered my gaze and rubbed my palms down the front of my slacks. "I'm sorry. It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to embarrass or disappoint you. It’s hard being new in town and not knowing anyone.”

  I sounded lonely and pathetic. So much better than the idiot I made of myself earlier.

  "Sam, the people in this town are amazing. Very accepting of everyone. Like Justin.” She didn’t say the word shifter, but it made me curious whether she knew or not. “You should put yourself out there."

  "I wish I could." Dragon was different than socially awkward. Although I suspected one was directly related to the other. I frowned.

  "You do fine with me." Her soft smile gave her a sort of glow. Or maybe it was the candle flickering on the table. Or maybe it was all in my mind. It didn’t matter either way. She didn’t need a glow to make me like her more.

  “That’s because you’re easy to be around and we’re—”

  "Friends?" Even if she smiled every minute of every day for the rest of eternity, I was never going to get tired of seeing it.

  I quickly tugged her hand into mine and laced our fingers together. “We’re more than friends.” I tapped the ring on her finger and let out a genuine laugh. Gretta laughed too, and for the first time since we arrived, we both relaxed.

  When Mike brought our food but left without comment, Gretta frowned.

  "I'll buy him a beer and apologize the next time I see him at Sprucie’s. Maybe I can explain how much I just wanted to have a few minutes alone with you.” I winked playfully. Maybe not the reason I’d rushed him away, but it was just as true.

  Gretta grinned. “Good.”

  A little more confident, I leaned in, stroked her hand with my thumb. "Has Bill gotten the message yet that we're a happily engaged couple?" My dragon wanted those words to be true. Archaic or not, he wanted to stake his claim. I understood the need.

  She pulled her phone out of one of the pockets of her shirt and held it up. “Ten new texts and every single one of them probably says he doesn’t believe it. Or that we’re full of shit. Or that I look like I’d rather be sailing with him.”

  “Nice.” It made me want to find him and kick his ass. But I smiled because every shitty thing he said was another inch he pushed her closer to me. "Well, then we'll just have to up the ante, won’t we? We can get caught on a moonlight stroll through the park. We can be inappropriately happy when we look at each other. We’ll be very publicly in love.” Privately, too. For me anyway. “I mean, if I have to, I can take one for the team."

  Her soft laugh lit a fire inside me, and I forced myself to sit back so I didn’t lean across the table to kiss her. She was an incredible woman. I wanted to settle down with her, stop running from city to city to try to escape an old heartache I carried with me. I wanted to let her tame my restless soul.

  Gretta glanced at her watch and her face fell. "Oh my gosh, look at the time! I have to get back to work."

  "Hey, it’s okay. But you should never apologize for taking your duty as a doctor seriously. I respect the passion you have to help others."

  “Thank you, and I appreciate you trying to help me. I really do.” She curled her fingers around mine. After a couple of sweet seconds, she drew away, her cheeks flushed as she stood.

  "I have to go."

  “I know.” I stood as well. "Do you want me to walk with you back to the hospital?"

  “No. I can get back, it’s just across the street, but thank you for lunch. I’ll see you later.” As she slipped past me, she smiled, and there was a brightness in her eyes I hadn’t seen before.

  I slumped in my seat. We’d wasted her entire lunch break, didn’t eat, and I still hadn’t told her I was a dragon. But I would’ve bet all the money I’d ever had, ever hoped to have, that she wanted to see me again. I hoped so, anyway.

  7

  Gretta

  "Are you feeling that much better?" I held the phone with my shoulder because using my hand was a little too much work right then.

  "I feel great, actually. So good, in fact, that I booked two yoga sessions for later in the week."

  “Two? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Medically, we didn’t know everything that caused her relapses, but it certainly wasn’t rest and relaxation. “I love you, and it’s your life, your illness, but I don't want you to overdo it."

  Lila sighed, and the phone went silent.

  "Are you still there?” I could hear her breathing. I shook my head, knowing I'd overstepped her imaginary line of boundaries, but sometimes she needed it. “Look, Lila, I didn't mean to upset you—"

  "No, it’s fine. And you’re probably right, I do feel a little off. But I have to work, Gretta. Plus, I want to push past this.”

  “Off? What do you mean by ‘off?’” Certain words put me on alert when we were talking about her health.

  Lila conspicuously avoided the question.

  “Tell me about your boy toy. How are the wedding plans coming along? I’ve been harassing the mailman every day for my invitation." She was done talking about MS and her health. And even if I stayed on the subject, she would dance around it until I either got frustrated and hung up or I gave in. Today, I gave in.

  “Har-har.”

  She gave two quick clicks of her tongue against her teeth. “Well, have you seen him again?”

  “Yes, we went to lunch the other day.” Maybe if I acted like it was no big deal, she would treat it that way.

  “And?”

  I didn’t answer because ther
e was no and. He took me to lunch. We got a little flirty, and I ran away before our meals even arrived. And though my job was important, even I could see how I used it as a crutch to avoid life complications. Even good complications.

  “Come on, Gretta, I want the juicy gossip.”

  I groaned. “There was nothing juicy about it. He’s just a guy.” A handsome, kind, funny guy who acted like I hung the moon.

  “Yeah. And the Queen of England is just a mom and grandma.” Though Lila tended to overuse her royal references, she was right.

  "I don’t know. I think I’m way too attracted to him."

  "How can you be way too attracted to him? And is there even such a thing as way too attracted?”

  Another valid point. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to be way too attracted to anyone. "Lila, we both know I need to focus on work, and on you and Zoe."

  But I fantasized about Sam a lot. Way more than was probably healthy. I wanted to know him better, all of him. Work and my other responsibilities didn’t matter as much when I thought of him, and that, I knew, was the real problem.

  "You can find a cure for degenerative diseases and have a life, too."

  She could say whatever she wanted but finding a cure for a disease like MS was way more important than some frivolous relationship.

  "I have a life, Lila. You’re my life. And Zoe."

  "Okay. You don’t want to be Mrs. Hot Guy. Fine. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of being the hot guy’s bed bunny."

  “Bed bunny? Have you been watching romcoms again?” It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about taking Sam for a quick tumble through the sheets. I’d thought about it.

  A lot.

  The problem was Sam. He didn’t give off the sex-for-the-sake-of-sex vibe, especially since he’d talked about upping the ante.

  Justin tapped my shoulder urgently. "You really need to come to see this."

  The look in his eyes was all I needed, and I hurried behind him down the hall.

  "I’ve got to go, Lila. I'll call you later."

  I hung up my phone as Justin trotted down the hallway, past the emergency cubicles to a private room usually used for critical cases. The second I entered, I saw a man lying on a gurney. He was incoherent and nearly unresponsive. Several other men crowded around the bed.

  "Gretta! Please, help my friend."

  Mike, the wolf shifter from the café, clutched my arm. I frowned. Shifters didn't generally seek treatment in hospitals. The medicine was different, and if a wound was serious enough to require traditional treatment, it was usually fatal.

  I wasn’t sure what I could do for the unconscious man. Regardless, I pulled out my stethoscope and listened for a heart rhythm. It was faint, slow. Erring on the side of caution, I attached the EKG electrodes, then ordered a saline IV and a shot of adrenaline to boost his heart rate.

  I looked at Justin. "Get these guys out of here."

  He nodded and herded the group toward the private waiting area.

  I reached out to stop Mike. "Tell me exactly what happened."

  "I don't know. We were running in the clearing by the old McAllister farm and headed into the wooded area. Reggie just collapsed and shifted back.” He shrugged, but his expression showed his panic.

  "That's it? You were running, and he collapsed?" I checked the heart monitor’s printout. "He doesn't appear to be having a cardiac incident. This looks normal."

  "He lagged behind, maybe a little slower than usual. I don't know, it seemed like the closer we got to the forest, the further behind he was."

  “Was he panting any more than normal?”

  Mike shook his head. “No. Not until we were almost at the tree line.” He breathed in deep and crossed his arms as he stared at his friend. “You have to help him, Gretta.”

  That went without saying. Maybe something chemical had affected him. “Drug use?”

  “No. The pack hasn’t had trouble with that in years.”

  Justin got Reggie’s IV started and unlocked the med cabinet in the corner of the room. He pulled an adrenaline syringe from the cabinet and scanned its barcode and Reggie’s wristband.

  All of Reggie’s vitals were stable now, but it didn’t explain why a healthy, young shifter would collapse the way he did. Lila would've said his vitality was low. I studied his pulse, and I had to agree. Something exhausted him. He didn’t even have the energy to open his eyes.

  "Was Reggie the only one affected?"

  Mike shook his head. "I don’t know. I was kind of weak, too, but not like this. But, if anyone else was, Reggie got it the worst." Mike dropped his head in his hands. “I don't know."

  "It’s all right." I said. “He’s out of danger now, and we’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Since Reggie was stable, I went to the waiting room to talk with the rest of the shifters. Someone had to know something. Reggie shouldn’t have just collapsed. If it were something environmental, maybe we could nail it down and get a permanent fix in place. I’d asked only a couple questions—the same ones I’d asked Mike—when he interrupted.

  "Wizards. It was wizards." Mike grabbed my hand. “Has to be.”

  I shook my head. "There hasn't been any wizard activity in Vermont for decades."

  Except, only several days ago, I’d treated that little boy, and Justin had suggested it was a supernatural kind of illness. He’d been lethargic, unresponsive, and had gone down in his own backyard for no apparent reason. Reggie was young and healthy, and with no other symptoms, his fall was just as perplexing. But it certainly wasn’t wizards. I felt silly even thinking it.

  Mike shook his head. "How can you be such a skeptic, Gretta? Strange things are happening."

  I didn’t answer. I knew medicine and science. I didn’t know magic. Before I could explain, one of the guys growled deep in his throat.

  "Mike! That's enough. We'll handle this on our own."

  Looking at him, I figured he must’ve been the alpha of the pack. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose, frustrated.

  "Look. Everybody needs to calm down. Your friend needs you right now. So, take a breath and let’s stop letting our imaginations run away with us."

  The pack alpha nodded and stared at me. His friends followed suit, but this wasn’t about agreeing with me. It was about shutting me up.

  "Reggie’s probably dehydrated and he might have a vitamin deficiency. So, we’ll get him some fluids and keep an eye on him. Maybe there’s a test I can run.” For wizardry? Probably not anything standard. “But if he remains stable, I'll release him to go home."

  Mike pursed his lips but didn’t speak. There wasn’t anything else I could do in the waiting room, so I continued my regular rounds and checked in on Reggie again when I was done. He was awake and coherent but had no memory of what happened just before he collapsed. He’d finished a second bag of saline, his color was good, and his vitals were normal. Without a good reason to keep him in a trauma room, I released him.

  Thank goodness this day was over. All I wanted was a long, hot bubble bath and a few hours of sleep without any thoughts of wolf shifters, wizards, or an especially sexy ex-military man. Unfortunately, as I headed toward the doctors’ lounge to grab my purse from my locker, I ran into Dr. Holt.

  “Gretta. Can you come to my office, please?”

  No smile. Grave tone. This wasn’t good.

  With my heart dragging behind me, I followed him into his office.

  No doubt he’d designed the décor. It was all dark wood and stiff leather. He was a very traditional, by-the-book kind of physician and his tastes reflected it. He settled into the oversized wingback chair behind his desk. I took the chair opposite him, wondering what I’d done wrong. Dr. Holt generally liked to converse with his doctors while they did their rounds, so an invite to this room was rare for me. Most of our conversations were informal, but it didn’t feel like he’d asked me in to chat about the weather.

  After a moment, he straightened his wire-rimmed glasses and ran
the tips of his fingers over the shorn sides of his gray hair before he stared at the engagement ring on my finger.

  "You should have told me you and Bill broke up."

  I winced, but if he thought he was going to make me feel guilty, he was wrong. I straightened my back and stared, daring him to drop me from the list of hopeful candidates because I’d kicked his son out on his ass. Bill’s father or not, he was the chief of staff, and I was staff. I was entitled to the same rights and considerations of any other person under his command, and that included a right to privacy in my personal life.

  Paul cleared his throat. "Needless to say, I'm really sorry. I thought you made a great couple.” He stared at me another second then smiled. “But that isn’t why I want to speak to you. I've reviewed your application, and your qualifications speak for themselves."

  I shifted and smiled and thanked God I wasn’t getting fired. This was so much better. A chance to do some research work that would matter to so many people. "Thank you, sir."

  "I'm forwarding your application along with my recommendation to the selection committee. You’ll be interviewed, and while I can't promise you anything, as it's a very tough selection process, I’m confident, Gretta." He removed his glasses and set them on his desk before he pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Thank you, Dr. Holt.”

  He smiled. "The research is being funded privately, and I'll be heading up the research team myself. And what I'm about to tell you is top secret and confidential. You understand?" He lifted both eyebrows, and I nodded vigorously.

  "The company investing in the research, as you know, is looking for a cure for degenerative diseases, specifically MS, and things are progressing very quickly. They want to be able to do the first clinical trials within the year.” He shuffled a folder from one side of his desk to the other. “This is going to be a lot of work. You’ll need to be dedicated and available.”

  “Of course.” A drug trial within a year? That meant they’d already made enormous strides, or maybe even had a prototype drug. And if it were something that could make Lila’s life easier, I would work a hundred hours a week to get it on the market. "This is excellent news, and it goes without saying; anything you tell me is confidential."