by Leela Ash
“No.” Cold and implacable, that one word killed all debate. “No one enters.”
Fine. She could work around their idiot rules. “Then show me the door to the Sanctum. I assume there’s only one, right? A choke-point? Security? Your Sanctum doesn’t have six different entrances that let any idiot wander in, right?”
Kennedy’s Dragon seethed, even though the Alpha kept his face cool and impassive. “This serves no useful purpose.”
Once more Casey came to her rescue. “Yet it is a small request, easily granted. Surely the debt between us weighs upon this matter? If we can so easily oblige, does honor not demand we acquiesce?”
That must be snob-speak for ‘please.’ Lily held herself still – well, as still as an agitated Wolf could manage – while the Alpha pondered.
“Very well. We will grant you this honor.”
The… ‘honor’ of looking at a door?
Bite. Run. Howl. Flee, her Wolf urged.
Not yet. Later, though…
“Thanks.” She even managed to smile… kind of. Probably not very convincing.
Fortunately, Kennedy abandoned his speeches. In silence he led them through the Aerie’s tall, echoing halls. Past endless paintings of the stern Dragons of yester-years. Down one flight of stairs and then another. No elevators for these guys. Nope, nope, nope. As they threaded through the maze of marble floors and dark wood paneling, Lily found herself wondering again how a thief had even managed to find this ‘Sanctum.’
A corridor in the sub-basement ended at a thick iron door.
Lily gazed around her. No surveillance cameras. No security system that she could see. Nothing except a big locked door to defend all their treasures.
Okay, a big locked door AND a Flight of Dragons that can tell the moment you touch their stuff. I can see why they’re not too worried.
“The Sanctum,” Kennedy intoned.
“Cool.” Lily Shifted and snuffled, drawing in deep mouthfuls of the chill, musty air. Like every Shifter, the Alpha stared at her necklace. The Thing That Wouldn’t Shift. A piece of magic as subtle as a blinking neon light.
Screw it. Let him stare all he wanted. She had work to do.
Up and down the hall she ranged, nose to the ground. By the time she circled back to sniff the door knob, she knew exactly what had happened.
“Right!” Leaping onto her hind legs, she Shifted back. “Got it. Let’s go find her.”
“‘Her’ who?” Casey said.
“Your thief. Turns out she doesn’t have an enormous pair of balls – she’s got breasts. I should have guessed she was a woman because, honestly, breasts are a lot bigger than balls.”
Neither Dragon laughed at her joke. Through pinched lips, Kennedy hissed, “I would ask you to offer me the courtesy of an explanation.”
“Sure thing!” She waved at the hall around them. “Not a lot of traffic down here, so the layout is pretty clear. I smell three things. Bunch of Dragons – check, they belong. The guy who brought us your message. Is he authorized to be down here?”
“Morrison? Yes. Alone of the servants, he tends this floor.
Lucky him. Lily managed not to roll her eyes. “So, none of your female servants come down here?”
Affronted, Kennedy straightened. “There are no women at the Aerie. It would be inappropriate.”
“No girls at the Dragon Monastery. Check.” Beside her, Casey twitched. Lily ignored him and plowed on. “Then the woman who came here has to be our thief. She walked down the hall, picked this lock. Went it, came out. Left.”
“Mortal or Shifter?” Casey asked.
“That’s the big question. I ought to be able to tell – and I can’t. There’s a hint of something rank, like a Rat. But it’s not clear. I bet that’s part of whatever magical protections your thief had.”
Kennedy frowned, clearly not pleased to have the conversation spiral out of his control. “We have no evidence that this burglar possessed magical skills or protection.”
“Sure, we do. You didn’t notice when she stole your crap. I assume that requires magic, right? Or do Dragons sometimes get so caught up in cat videos on YouTube that they don’t notice people robbing their Lairs?”
Casey shot her a despairing look as his Alpha snarled, “We do not!”
“Good. So, magic it is.”
Kennedy gritted his teeth. “I thank you for this information.” Every word was spat out, like the courtesy pained him. “We will take it into consideration.”
“Consider away. Meanwhile, I’m gonna go find your thief.”
“Miss King…” The Dragon raised a hand as she backed away.
“No need to see me out. I can track myself, too.” Cheered by the prospect of escaping this gilded tomb, her Wolf bounded down the hall. “You coming, bodyguard?”
Without pausing for his answer, she spun and followed her Wolf.
Chapter 8.
They made it all the way to the driveway before Casey’s frustration boiled over. “You couldn’t resist, could you?”
Lily paused. “Resist what?”
“Mocking my Alpha!”
Even this simple fact seemed to confuse her. “I thought I was pretty damned polite, all things considered.”
“Cat videos? Dragon Monastery?” he fumed. “Not to mention the mess you left in our rooms.”
“Casey, I’m a Wolf. We’re not house-broken. Hell, even dogs chew slippers. Wolves are way worse.”
This. This was the woman Fate chose for him?
Shaking his head, he glared up at the sun. How could the spirits mock him so viciously? There had never been a woman so unsuitable for the honor of being a Dragon’s Mate!
His thoughts must have been written across his face, because when his gaze dropped, he found Lily watching him, lips twisted into a hard, humorless grin. “Now aren’t you glad we decided to dump all this ‘Mate’ BS?”
“Yes, I am!” In truth, that was her decision, not his. He was willing to accept his fate. He had offered to help her fit into a Dragon’s world. But now?
Now he rejoiced. Lily King was rude, uncouth, and unsophisticated. He would never consent to be her Mate!
His Dragon keened, sickened by his anger. Lily and her Wolf simply turned away. “Good. Glad there’s one thing we agree on. Now let’s go find your thief.”
Shifting, she trotted along the drive until she found the robber’s scent. Casey took to the air, wrapping himself in Brother Wind’s cloak so that no mortal would see him. Lily slipped into the dark forest and loped away, seeking her prey. Circling above her, it took all his attention to follow her as she padded off, hidden by dense branches.
Attention came hard, too, because his mind kept wandering back to the Aerie. And her. Her flippant jokes. Her brash refusal to make herself presentable. The madness that a simple invitation evoked in her. Who the hell destroyed their room like that?
One sour note ruined his song of outrage.
Respect.
Soft at first, it swelled as the Wolf cut through the woods. She was good, the best tracker he’d ever seen. Two minutes in that hall was all she needed to figure out exactly what had happened. Now she arrowed through the Sierras at a full run, hot on the trail of their enemy.
His enemy, not hers. Yet she hunted the foe as eagerly as if she herself had been wronged.
He… respected that.
Resented it too, of course! He shook his head, trying to summon back the warm mantle of indignation. She was his ward, the woman he was bound to protect. Why couldn’t she accept that? Why did she throw herself into danger? Why did she take risks that could destroy his honor completely?
She is our Mate? his Dragon suggested. Almost hesitantly.
But she wasn’t! She’d made a shamble of the Rite of Claiming.
Rebuffed, his Dragon fell silent and scanned for glimpses of Lily’s brown fur.
When they reached the valley road, the Wolf Shifted back and waved him down.
“Think we’re dealing with more than one person.”
With no thought for her dignity, she flopped onto the ground, panting. “Somebody dropped our thief off. She climbed this ridge slowly, carrying a mountain bike. After the heist she rode it down. Fast.” A grin of pure Wolfish admiration spread across her face. “Nearly wiped out a couple of times. I’m kinda surprised we didn’t find her wrapped around a tree halfway down.”
“And then?”
“The same car picked her up. Give me a sec to catch my breath and we’ll see where they went.”
“You can track cars? On roads?” That annoying respect grew stronger.
“Yeah. Gift of my necklace. Though if they hop on a freeway, we’re screwed. I can’t run that fast.”
Fortune favored them – at first.
The trail led to the Desert Inn, a run-down strip motel just off the highway. Brazen as a coyote, Lily trotted through the parking lot and up to the door of Room 113.
Casey himself Shifted back and hurried after her. “What if someone sees you?” he muttered as she sniffed the door.
Lights danced around her, sparkling across the empty lot. “Then I’ll bark and wag my tail and every damned fool will think I’m somebody’s pet wolf-dog,” she chuckled, as she stood up.
She did have a point. Wolves didn’t derange mortals the way Dragons did.
“Bad news. The room smells of laundry detergent and cleaner. Our thieves – a man and a woman – are gone. Hours gone, by the smell of it.” She glanced across the scrub at the cars whizzing past on the highway. “And I’m guessing they hopped on that.”
“So, the trail ends here.” Disappointing, but not surprising.
“No, the trail gets challenging here.” Alive with the joy of the hunt, she nearly bounced from foot to foot.
This… excited her? His temper flared for one moment. An assault on his Lair was a grievous affront. How dare she treat it like a game?
Because all of life is a game to her.
Love, battle, hunting… it didn’t matter what she did. Lily savored every second of her life. She lived in the moment, throwing herself at every pleasure, every danger with complete abandon.
He knew that, but he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. His own life moved slowly, each act surrounded by thought and consideration. Was this deed appropriate? Would it offend the spirits or bring reproach to his Flight?
What would it be like to throw caution to the wind? To be like her. To want and act in the same moment and let the future care for itself.
There was a seduction, an allure to that – but he rejected it. Wisdom, not pleasure, should be a Dragon’s goal. Lily’s mindless glee was a temptation he needed to shun.
She was watching him, he realized. “What are you staring at? Do I have something in my teeth?”
“Uh, no, no.” Foolish thoughts led to foolish deeds – like gawping at his ward. “Sorry, I was thinking. So, um, you believe you can still follow the thieves?”
“I can’t, no. But Ghost can.”
He still had trouble keeping all the members of her Pack straight. “That’s the cripple, yes?”
And suddenly Lily was in his face, glaring up at him, teeth bared – before he could so much as twitch. “You don’t call her that.”
Her Wolf, a small ball of fangs and fur, snarled at his Dragon. A comical sight, one that almost brought an ill-considered smile to his face. But faced with his ‘Mate’s’ anger, his Dragon became a bus-sized wimp. A thousand times larger than the raging Wolf, it still cringed and edged away.
You dishonor our Mate, it hissed in his mind.
It made Casey want to laugh. Except that, faced with her anger, he too quailed. Even Wolves had their pride, it seemed.
Maybe… a lot of pride. He remembered her fury when her father called the Blood Debt due. The way she stewed when he, her chauffeur, drove her to her chores.
For Casey, pride was the domain of Dragons and spirits. Surely the lesser Shifters did not feel its pangs as sharply?
Or did they? Lily seemed ready to attack him, to hurl herself into a fight she could not possibly win. (Not that he would be mad enough to raise a hand against his ward.)
All because he had given offense. That was pride – a pride he could understand in one of his own Kind. If Wolves shared it…
Perhaps that was the venom that poisoned their relationship.
If so, he knew what offense demanded.
“I apologize. I have chosen my words poorly and given insult where none was intended.”
Lily took a step back, still tense and angry. “Okay. Don’t do it again, though.”
“What should I call her, then?”
“How about her name?” the Wolf snapped.
“But she is…” How on earth could he point out the obvious, without giving offense?
Furious and defiant, Lily kept glaring. “She fights differently than I do, yeah. But the Pack hunts together, and we all have different roles. Ghost is the best at what she does.”
“And what she does is…?”
“She hunts online.”
A hacker? The usefulness of the handicapped Wolf suddenly came clear to him. “So, if we can learn anything about these thieves, she can track them?”
“Yup.” With one last snarl, her Wolf retreated. Leaving his Dragon awash in ludicrous relief. “I bet these guys used a credit card. Most motels also get your license plate number. Probably a rental, but that just makes the trail a little longer.”
“And you believe the owner of this establishment will give us this information?”
“Voluntarily, no. Not unless you’ve got enough cash to bribe him.”
The mere thought of such graft appalled him.
Which, in turn, dispelled the last of Lily’s anger. “Okay, can that idea. Clearly you’re too delicate for the job.”
Delicate?!? More like moral!
No sense in picking another fight, though. Especially not right after she’d calmed down. “I would be reluctant to use force against an innocent businessman.”
“Good,” she snorted, “because I would be too. Nobody’s talking about fights, buddy. Calm down.”
“So, what is your plan?”
“I’m going to go tell him I spotted a bunch of scorpions crawling through cracks in his back wall. While I show him where, you sneak into the office, and get Room 113’s info.”
“I am no thief!” he huffed.
“And we’re not stealing anything! Or are you too ‘good’ to do scouting?” As he sputtered, she rolled her eyes. “Fine. Change of plans. You Shift and sit on a couple of cars. When all the humans go crazy and hallucinate about gas explosions, I’ll slip in and get our info.”
The mayhem that would cause appalled him. “That’s an insane plan.”
“Yep. But you’re too stuck up to do the sensible thing.”
“Fine!” he snapped. “We’ll do it your way.”
In truth, the ruse worked – all too easily. The grizzled old man who ran the motel followed Lily eagerly. (More interested, Casey suspected, in her long leather-clad legs than the ‘scorpions’.) Left to himself, he didn’t even need Wind’s blessing. And five minutes later, when Lily managed to escape the old perv’s attention, he had their answers.
“Room 113 was rented to Eric Denver and his ‘wife’. Enterprise Rental car, California license plate. I also have the credit card number they paid with.”
“Awesome! Let me pass that on to Ghost and see what she can do. Say…” She eyed him from head to toe. “They got any food up at Dragon Monastery? Real food? Because I don’t eat bean sprouts.”
“Clearly you’ve never had good bean sprouts then.” The horror that flashed across her face made him chuckle.
Lily joined him. “Hey, you actually can laugh! Wow, who knew?”
A thrum of happiness rose from his Dragon. Casey ignored the foolish creature. “Come on. I think I can find you a ‘real’ lunch at the Aerie.”
Chapter 9.
After club sandwiches, beers, and no bean sprouts, they both felt mo
re human. And the results of Ghost’s search surprised Casey with their speed and completeness.
“Credit card registered to Eric Denver – but it’s paid by some company in Los Angeles. Nemesis Associates,” Lily reported. “Ghost can’t find out anything about them. Car rented in LA. Card was used a couple hours ago in Flagstaff, Arizona, at the Rodeo Diner.”
Flagstaff? That was eight hours away! The thieves must have driven all night! “They’re in a hurry.”
“But to where?” Lily leaned back in her chair. “They’re on the road to Cortez, Colorado. If this is connected to Rex Fairburn’s mess, that’s where things started.”
“Let’s hope that’s their destination. With a plane, we can get there before them.”
First, though, he needed to tell his Alpha what they had learned.
Miles Kennedy granted them an audience quickly. The honor of that speed was lost on Lily; the Wolf fretted over the smallest delay. Yet even she was pleased with Kennedy’s surprise at their skill – until the Dragon’s face paled.
“Flagstaff? You’re certain of this? They’ve gone to Flagstaff?”
“Yes. Is this significant?”
Kennedy switched into Marakeen, the ancient tongue of Dragons. “This is grievous news. I believe I know where they are headed, though not why.”
“Hey!” Lily barked. “English, guys. Rude as hell to talk in front of someone like this.”
She had a point, but Casey wasn’t willing to defy his Alpha over such a small slight.
And Kennedy completely ignored her. “The carving they stole was a gift from the spirits of the San Francisco Peaks. A sign that the bearer was a friend of that sacred place.”
“Those mountains are only a few miles away from Flagstaff…” Casey murmured.
“Right!” Lily bounced to her feet, knocking her chair over. “I’m out of here. Meet you back in Colorado, bodyguard.”
“Wait!” He caught her arm and earned himself a ferocious glare. “My Alpha may know where they’ve gone.”
“Cool.” She jerked free. “Have fun with that. I’m going home.”
“Lily!” Dammit, why did she choose this moment for a tantrum?
“Don’t you ‘Lily’ me,” she snarled. “Don’t expect me to help if you don’t trust me.”