Shannon nodded and Lorcan gave her one last hug before the dragons set off down the valley, leaving her alone with Jason.
“I remember my first shift. I was so scared I’d end up as some half-human, half-bear monstrosity.” He closed the space between them, and his nearness comforted her. Although, even the nearness of the man she could depend on could not chase away her doubts and fears.
“You had parents that were there for you.” She shot him a sidelong glance. “Didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Yes, my mom and dad were both shifters. So, you could look at it and think shifting was easy for me because I had them to talk me through it all.” He picked her backpack up off the ground and heaved it onto his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. “Or you could look at it from a teenager’s point of view where he feels the pressure of the world pressing down on him because his parents keep telling him it’ll be easy, there’s nothing to worry about, shifters shift every day...”
“And think that you will be the exception to the rule.” She waggled her finger at him. “You have a trend going on there.”
He shrugged. “What can I say, I think I’m special.” He laughed. “That isn’t true. At least it wasn’t true until I met you.”
“Please don’t think that I’ll make you special,” she said quickly. “That is a whole other kind of pressure.”
“Duly noted.” He inclined his head toward town. “Shall we?”
The others were out of sight now but the ache in her heart didn’t cease. If anything, not being able to see Lorcan and call his name hurt like hell. He was her child, her baby, and she couldn’t help him when he needed help the most.
“So will your friends come and help dig in the cave?” she asked, focusing on the only thing she could help Lorcan with, finding the buried treasure.
“Yes.” He looked at her over his shoulder and the conviction in his expression confirmed his words.
“They must be very good friends.”
“The best.” He reached the first obstacle in their way, a large pile of trees that littered the valley floor as if a giant had dropped them from a great height.
“What equipment do you need?” she asked. “I have money to pay for it.”
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “We can call in some favors and get everything we need. I’m not sure if we need Mac Winter from the sawmill to come to lend a hand. The tunnel seems pretty safe and the fewer people who know about the treasure, the better.”
“Do you think the tunnel was filled in with dirt brought from outside the cave? That seems like a lot of work,” Shannon asked as she swung her leg over the highest log and began climbing down the other side.
“It does. Someone certainly wanted the treasure to remain hidden. If there had been a landslide or a cave-in, I would have expected more rubble to fall down as we dug out the tunnel. Thankfully, it didn’t.” He dropped down to the ground and held out his hands to her. Shannon placed her foot in between two large fallen trees and shifted her weight. “I’ll catch you.”
“I can do it,” she insisted.
“Don’t you trust me?” There was a challenge in his voice.
“I trust you.” She looked down at him. He would always be there for her and never let her fall. A sob wrenched at her chest, robbing her of breath and she let go, let go of the life of loneliness she’d sentenced herself to when she adopted Lorcan and embraced the life Jason offered her.
“I’ve got you.” As she fell backward, he caught her, his arms strong and secure as he pulled her close to his chest.
“And you promise you will never leave, no matter what?” she asked, her eyes searching his face for an answer.
“I promise.” He tilted his head forward and their lips met in a searing kiss hotter than any dragon fire.
Chapter Seventeen – Jason
You promised our mate we would never leave, his bear said as he let go of Shannon and she slid to the ground.
I did. And I meant it. His idea of self-sacrifice to save Shannon and her family would be the very, very last resort.
No, she’s opened her heart to you and allowed you in. If we sacrifice ourselves for her, it will rip her heart out and leave her an empty shell. We know from experience.
Jason sighed. His bear was right. He’d allowed people in, he’d helped them and promised to protect them, and they had died for him.
We will find another way. His bear wandered off into the deepest corners of Jason’s mind, signifying the conversation was over.
“I’m worried I’ll look at Lorcan differently when he shifts.” Shannon reached for her pack and took it from Jason’s shoulder.
“You might. At first. It’ll be a shock. But when he shifts back, you’ll see him as the same boy you raised.” Jason strode down the trail, trying to keep his pace slow enough for Shannon to keep up but also aware it was getting late. He had a lot of work to do and they were running out of time.
“A dragon.” She shook her head in disbelief.
“So rare. For Fiona and Harlan, it’s like a miracle.” Jason’s own miracle, his mate, was matching him stride for stride even though he sensed her fatigue.
“Maybe the dragon hunters know of more dragons.”
“I never thought of that,” Jason admitted. “Perhaps we need to capture them alive after all.”
“After all?” Shannon asked. “You intend to kill them?”
“I’m hoping not to, but if it comes down to a choice between you or your family or anyone else for that matter...”
“I suppose you are right. I just never thought it would come down to life or death.” She raked a hand through her hair. “I’m a little naive, aren’t I?”
“This is all new to you. And as a soldier, I’m used to people getting killed in wars.” They reached the next obstacle, the debris from the landslide. “And this is war. This is a group of people threatening another group of people and wanting to take what isn’t theirs.”
“War.” Shannon paused, her mouth turned down at the corners as she considered his words. “I never expected to have to fight for my family. But you are right. That hunter chose to come to my house and threaten my son.”
“We won’t stand by and let them take what isn’t theirs. This treasure belongs to Lorcan, passed down by his father. It doesn’t belong to anyone else. No one else, not even the dragons can sense it in the same way Lorcan does.” Jason’s temper rose. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was people who thought they could bully other people. Who thought they had a right to take what belonged to someone else, someone who couldn’t stand up for themselves.
Shannon took a step forward and reached out for the first handhold in the rocky debris. Hauling herself up with grim determination, she climbed higher and higher, with Jason trailing behind her ready to catch her once more if she fell. Just like he would always be there for her. They would find a way. He’d enlist the help of the other Silverback Saviors, who all knew how to look after themselves in a fight.
However, his conscience wouldn’t allow him to put them in danger, not when they had mates and families of their own.
They would do it for you, just as you would do it for them. You have done it for them. When Gunner met his mate, you put your life on the line and faced danger by his side, his bear reminded him.
That was different. I hadn’t met my mate so I had no idea what was at stake. Now I do, now I know exactly what we all have to lose.
As they climbed down the debris and hiked back to the truck, Jason began to play out different scenarios in his head of how this might go down. “How many hunters are there?”
“I don’t know. One came to the house, but he spoke about the others. He said they work in pairs. My dad thought he saw a couple of men following him and figured they were dragon hunters.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked for messages. Her expression told Jason there was still none. “He said he lost them, though, on the first day.”
“It sounds as if your da
d can take care of himself.” Jason wanted to put her mind at ease.
“I just thought I’d have heard from him by now.” She pocketed her phone.
“The reception in these mountains is pretty bad. Maybe it’s the same where he is,” Jason suggested.
“I know there are a million and one reasons why he hasn’t texted me. I’d just worry less if I’d heard from him.” Shannon tucked her thumbs into the straps of her backpack. “But you’re right. He’s spent years tramping over mountains alone. He can take care of himself.”
“What did the dragon hunter look like?” Jason steered the conversation away from her father.
“Dark hair, dark eyes.” She looked Jason up and down. “I could be describing you. Except these were more Slavic.”
“I’m handsomer, I hope.” Jason rubbed his chin and turned his head from right to left. “Don’t you think?”
“I do.” She laughed despite herself. “I’m glad I met you, Jason. And I’m sure glad you are a shifter. I can’t imagine going to the police with this story.”
“Anyone else would think you were crazy if you talked about shifters and dragons.”
“Just like I thought Letitia was crazy when she told me Lorcan’s father was a dragon shifter and Lorcan would be one, too.” She groaned. “How wrong I was.”
“But do you think these dragon hunters know they are right?” Jason asked as the germ of a new idea sprouted in his mind.
“I don’t understand.” Shannon’s breathing was labored and her strides shorter and Jason slowed his own pace to match hers. They were still at least two miles from the truck over some rocky terrain.
We might end up carrying her after all, his bear mused.
“If the dragon hunters have never actually seen a dragon shifter before and they have no idea if they are real, but it’s something they’ve been told by their fathers and their father’s fathers, then maybe that’s the angle we should work.” He tilted his head to one side. “We don’t have to kill the dragon hunters, we just have to kill the idea. Just as you found it difficult to believe Letitia’s story with no real proof, maybe we can get them to question whether dragons and treasures are real.”
“They must have seen Lorcan’s dad or else how did they know about Lorcan?” Shannon asked, although the eagerness in her voice said she was ready to go with his idea.
“I don’t know.” He turned around and walked backward down the hill for a few paces, his eyes locked on the valley where Lorcan’s treasure lay hidden. “But I have a feeling the treasure in that cave has been there longer than Lorcan has been alive. Perhaps his father hid the treasure in an attempt to live a completely normal life.”
“But what happened to him?” Shannon’s expression grew troubled as she bit her bottom lip.
“What do you think happened to him?” Jason asked gently.
“I have no idea, but if the hunters...” She didn’t finish the sentence.
“You’re worried they had killed Lorcan’s father before he had a chance to tell them where his treasure was, and they have waited until Lorcan came of age so they could finally get their hands on it.” Jason turned this idea over in his head, but Shannon remained silent. “And?”
She shook her head and a tear plopped onto her cheek. “Hunters. They call themselves dragon hunters. Not dragon treasure hunters.”
“You think they intend to kill Lorcan.” Jason skidded to a halt and small stones sprayed into the air. “No. I won’t let that happen.”
“What if we can’t stop them?” She took a shuddering breath and her knees sagged. “What if there are more of them, what if there’s an army?”
“Then we fight them!” Jason slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand.
“What...” She inhaled deeply, forcing air into her lungs. “What if I have to make a choice between my son and my father?” Her hand dropped to her pocket and she curled her fingers around her cell phone.
“When was the last time you heard from your father?” Jason asked. There was no point trying to tell her it would be all right, that she wouldn’t have to make that choice.
“Three days ago. Just before we arrived in Bear Creek. We said we would only contact each other in emergencies. But he said he thought he’d lost them and planned to double back before heading here.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks as she looked around the mountains. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Then that’s the answer. He hasn’t had an emergency.” Jason tried to reason with Shannon, but she was in the grip of fear for her father.
“He should have checked in by now.” She turned away from the mountains and faced Jason. “He said he was heading for the airport. When his flight landed, he’d make sure he still wasn’t being followed and then check in.”
“Maybe he’ll just turn up in town,” Jason suggested.
“He doesn’t know where we are.” Shannon sniffed loudly. “We agreed I wouldn’t tell him where we were going in case…”
“In case the hunters caught him and got the information from him.” Jason understood that reasoning only too well. If Nigel didn’t know the whereabouts of Shannon and Lorcan, he couldn’t be forced to tell anyone.
“Yes. I thought he was being overcautious. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Jason asked. “I know the sheriff of Bear Creek well, I can ask him to make inquiries.”
“No. I don’t want to make things worse. If they have my father, I’m certain they’ll make their demands soon enough.” She uncurled her fingers and hitched her thumbs inside the backpack straps. “I need to focus on finding the treasure. Whether they have my dad or not, we’re running out of time.”
“How do they plan on contacting you?” he asked as they resumed their journey downhill.
“They gave me a throwaway phone.” She patted her other pocket. “And before you think about calling them and tracing the call, I tried calling and no one answers. Communication is one-way.”
“What if you found the treasure and wanted to tell them?” Jason asked, trying to see this from every angle.
“I have to wait. It’s probably part of their plan to wear us down. I have no control over the outcome of this.” She slipped her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his arm. “At least that’s what we thought when we came to Bear Creek. You’ve given me options, Jason. Thank you.”
“I wish I could do more.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, giving her his strength as they walked the last part of the trail back to the truck.
The others had already left in Harlan’s vehicle and so Jason slung his pack onto the passenger seat next to Shannon and shut the door before heading around to the driver’s side. As he opened the door and climbed in, he froze. Pushing his senses out as far as possible, he scanned the surrounding area.
“What is it?” Shannon asked quietly.
“Nothing.” He hauled himself into his seat. “I thought there was someone out there, but I was mistaken.”
“Are you sure?” She ducked her head and looked around but there was no movement and Jason could no longer sense anyone.
“Certain. It might have been an animal caught in the peripheral of my senses.” He inserted the key into the ignition and switched on the engine. “Let’s get home. We both need to eat and make plans.”
“Food.” Shannon groaned with pleasure at the thought and he grinned. “I’m starving.”
“I would cook for you. Because a shifter always likes to impress his mate with his ability to provide for her. But I think I’ll run down to the kitchen and grab us some food.” He swung the truck around and drove back down the road toward town.
“How do you think Lorcan is doing?” Shannon asked as she stared at the scenery around them.
“I’m sure he’s doing fine. Fiona and Harlan are the best people to handle him. They have experience with young dragon shifters. Fiona and Harlan adopted a couple of teens when they first met. They helped them through a lot of stuff.” Jaso
n wished he was the one helping Lorcan, he longed to form a bond with the son of his mate. But this wasn’t about him and what he wanted. They were all working toward the best outcome for Shannon and her family and Jason’s task was to mine out the tunnel and find the treasure. It sounded more like a computer game than real life.
However, this was all very real. If any of them died, they would stay dead and not come back to life at the press of a button. So, it was his job to make sure that didn’t happen, that everyone came out of this alive. This was his chance for redemption.
A chance for this Silverback Savior to save himself.
Chapter Eighteen – Shannon
“That was delicious.” Shannon had eaten far more than she should, but she figured she deserved it after her hike up the mountain today. Twice. Maybe she could have a double dessert later...
“Why don’t you go and take a shower?” Jason sipped his coffee as he watched her get up from the table and go to the sink with the dishes.
“Oh, hot water and soap.” She groaned in delight until she looked down at her clothes and groaned in despair. Dust from the cave still clung to the fabric and she suspected her face resembled a miner. “I am going to need to scrub myself all over. Twice.”
“Nice thought.” He winked at her and she blushed as she shared the same thought. Jason cracked a smile. “You go, I’ll wash the dishes.” He sprang up from his seat and reached for the faucet, his hand brushing hers as she deposited the plates into the sink.
“I have a better idea.” She laced her fingers with his and pulled him toward her. “Why don’t you wash my back?”
His face paled and he opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. Shannon slipped her finger under his chin and closed his mouth before she pressed her lips to his. Jason sighed and closed his eyes as his lips moved against hers. As if she’d given him the kiss of life, his body woke and his hands clasped her waist, his thumbs massaging her skin beneath her clothes. Tendrils of desire unfurled in her stomach. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d wanted a man. Or sex for that matter, but she wanted this man. She wanted him to chase away her fears and fill her brain with something other than fear while they waited for Jason’s friends to come back to The Happy Bear Club with the equipment they needed for the tunnel.
Jason - Silverback Redemption Page 13