A Mate to Protect (Dragons of Mount Aterna Book 3)

by Riley Storm

  “I don’t get it,” he grumbled. “Why was this so important? Why would he leave it behind?”

  Everything looked the same. There were no glaring errors or differences. No cryptic message to be deciphered.

  Realizing that anything pertinent must relate to the date the Gate was breached, Kal put the two side by side, folding the pieces of paper so he could directly compare every single detail. Maybe there was something missing.

  Second shift. Captain: Kal Aterna. Guards: Sache Teres. Vlad Teres. Gunnar Atrox.

  Well, that all lined up. He combed over the rotation of their shift. That all matched as well.

  “Come on Gunnar. Why couldn’t you have circled what you were so concerned about,” he said, flopping back onto his pillow, the metal frame of the cot squeaking as his bulk shifted.

  Holding both papers above his head, he went line by line down the schedule. Guard captain, guards, shift start time. Shift end time. Gate section one. Mine entrance section. Rotation times.

  Kal froze. “What the heck?”

  He glanced back and forth between the two schedules again to ensure the discrepancy was really there. It was minor, very minor, but definitely there.

  On his schedule, Gunnar and Sache were scheduled to be on break from the mine entrance from 12:00 to 12:10.

  But Gunnar’s read 12:10 to 12:20.

  Kal consulted his memory. The shift change had been coming up. They were due to be relieved at twelve-thirty by the next shift, some of whom were already congregating up near the mouth of the old mine entrance in a side-shaft. They, unfortunately, had been too far away to help when the creature arrived.

  Gunnar and Sache were supposed to stop it.

  Except how would they stop it, if they weren’t on duty?

  Kal had waited at the bottom to help stabilize Vlad, confident that his other two guards at the top would stop the sole creature.

  Except they hadn’t been there. What a massive coincidence.

  And someone had altered the schedule to ensure it would happen.

  The Gate itself hadn’t been active since the forties, when a military test at the height of World War II, deep in the mine shaft, had accidentally opened a passage to the cavern where the Gate was contained.

  Kal knew the history. He knew the military had battled the creatures that came through, despite the radiation. He knew how the soldiers had been losing badly, until the dragons arrived, called by the presence of the Gate. Together they had thrown back the last of the creatures.

  Since then though, the Gate had been quiet. As had the two other known Gates on Earth.

  So it was awfully coincidental then, that the creature had come through when it had. When the Gate was only guarded by half the usual complement of dragon shifters.

  Kal had a dreadful idea. He hoped he was wrong about it, and deadly afraid that he wasn’t. Getting to his feet he folded the schedules up and put them back in his pocket.

  There was only one way to find out about his suspicions.

  He had to go talk to Viko.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Anne

  It was amazing. The fire, despite its ferocity and size, hadn’t really touched the surface. Some things were scorched and burned, but the actual building and most of the contents hadn’t truly caught on fire. There didn’t seem to be any structural damage. She couldn’t believe it.

  Maybe I’ll be able to sell it after all.

  Anne wasn’t sure what else she was going to do with it. This was twice now that it had been wrecked thanks to Kal. Yes, he had helped her fix it the first time, but that was before she’d sent him away. Said that he was a threat to her life if she kept him around. It seemed doubtful that he was going to keep funding the repairs.

  It was more likely that he would come to her soon asking for his money back.

  “What are we doing mom?” Liam asked, holding on to her hand tightly.

  It was their first time back. She’d used some of Kal’s money to rent them a motel room for the night. Whether or not the bar was a write off, it still smelled like smoke. It would take some time to fix it up and make it livable again.

  Time and money.

  “We’re just going to look around honey,” she said. “Grab some of our stuff from upstairs.”

  “Are we not living here anymore?” Liam asked, resigned to the fact that they were going to move. Again.

  Anne’s heart broke. She didn’t know how to tell her son that she couldn’t make it work. That she was tired of trying to make things better, only to get knocked down. It hurt her, and she could tell it was hurting him too.

  This wasn’t the life she’d wanted to give her son. Anne had vowed, when she decided to have kids, that she would give them a better life than the one she’d had as a child. So far, she was failing at that too.

  “We can’t stay here,” she said quietly. “It was on fire.”

  “Can we stay somewhere else?” Liam asked hopefully. “So we don’t have to go to another new place?”

  Anne knew it wasn’t that Liam wanted to stay in Five Peaks. He was just tired of moving.

  “I don’t know,” she said, surveying the bar. She wouldn’t get much for it, not covered in a layer of blackened paint and scorched seat coverings. Nobody would want to buy this, she would be lucky to give it away for next to nothing.

  Yet Anne agreed with Liam. She didn’t want to leave Five Peaks. Life here felt different. Better. From the beginning she’d almost felt like she’d belonged here. Liam had seemed to adjust to it better than anywhere else they’d been over the past few years. Perhaps mountain life just agreed with them.

  “Can’t you and Kal fix it?” Liam asked.

  She looked down at her son. “Why are you wanting me to fix it so bad buddy?” she asked him, curious at his thoughts.

  “Cause mom. You liked it. I saw you smile lots. You laughed.” Liam shrugged, letting go of her hand and walking deeper into the bar.

  “Aren’t you scared?” she asked, following him slowly. “It was all on fire.”

  Liam turned an incredulous look on her. “Kal is a superhero mom. He’ll save us. That’s what they do. Duh.”

  Anne clamped a hand over her mouth, nodding along as she tried not to laugh at the bold matter-of-fact statement from her ten-year-old son. He could be so mature sometimes, and then other times, well, he was still just ten.

  “I thought you didn’t like Kal,” she pointed out.

  Liam thought about that. She could see him trying to figure out what he thought.

  “He’s okay, I guess. When he’s a superhero. But all the rest of the time I don’t like him.”

  Anne nodded, trying her hardest to keep her face even. It was hard, so very hard. She loved that boy so much. “I understand,” she said.

  And she did. Anne liked the regular Kal, the man she’d met when he came back to consciousness on her bar floor. The one who had shown her how to operate power tools and fix things around her bar. She liked the Kal who made her life, who checked out her butt when he thought she wasn’t looking. That Kal was wonderful.

  The scale-covered, horn-sprouting, winged demonic version that could conjure up frost to fight the fire of his enemies? Anne wasn’t so sure how she felt about that Kal. That version scared her, left her terrified not only for her safety, but for Liam’s as well. They were only human. What if those enemies came back?

  “You don’t look happy mom.”

  She blinked, returning her attention to Liam. “Oh I’m just thinking honey,” she said, flashing him a smile.

  “What are you thinking? Is it what color you’re going to paint this place?” he asked. “Can we paint it yellow?”

  Anne frowned. “Yellow? Why would you want to paint it that color?”

  “Or maybe white. Like Kal! Then he can blend in. The bad guys won’t see him, he’ll be camofa, camaflaag, he’ll be invisible!”

  Anne grinned at his attempt, her heart overflowing. “Did you mean camouflaged?” she said,
repeating the word slowly.

  “Yeah!” Liam said, pumping an excited fist.

  “Can you say it?” she repeated the word, breaking it down into parts.

  “Cam-o-fla-ged.” Liam repeated after her. “Camaflaged.”

  Anne pursed her lips. Pretty close. “Cam-OH-flaged,” she repeated.

  “Camouflaged, that’s what I said,” Liam huffed.

  “Right.” Anne looked around. Paint it white? It would certainly brighten up the place. But the entire bar that color? No, it was too much. One wall though, maybe. That would work.

  She started envisioning just what she would do if she could rebuild it entirely. There would be a lot of changes. Expensive changes.

  But Anne didn’t have the money for that, so what did it matter? She had to sell. With what little she would get from that, and the last of Kal’s donated funds, she and Liam could move to another city. Maybe this time she could find a job that would support them.

  Not that I’ve had much luck with that so far.

  She wandered around the bar, noting that the phone had survived. She had a missed call and a message apparently. Oh well, who cared. She put her cellphone on the shelf next to it. Now wasn’t the time for electronic devices. She needed think, and think carefully about what they would do next.

  “I’m going to go get my toys mom,” Liam said, wandering by her on his way upstairs.

  Leaning forward Anne rested her head on her forearm, using the wall to prop her up. She was tired. Tired of it all. Of running, of forging a new life every few months. She’d been certain that Five Peaks was going to be different. So positive of it, but now, now she was leaving here too.

  Behind her the door pulled open, the sounds of evening traffic in Five Peaks coming through. In the distance a horn sounded.

  “We’re closed,” she said, waving her free hand. “Big fire. Won’t be reopening for a while, sorry.”

  The door closed. Anne sighed to herself. There was a sign posted on the door that said they were closed. Why did people have to see if that was actually true or not?

  Footsteps sounded from behind her and she froze. Whoever it was, they hadn’t left after all.

  “Hello Anne. You are come with me,” a familiar voice hissed at her angrily.

  She didn’t even have time to scream.

  Chapter Thirty

  Kal

  Viko didn’t live with any of the clans. He was technically a member of Clan Atrox, and they still viewed him as one of their own, but he no longer resided there. So it wasn’t to Mount Atrox that Kal went, but instead to Mount Verdent, where the Gate itself was located deep in one of the mine shafts.

  It was here where the Dragon Council met, and also where the offices of the Gate Guard were housed, along with a few permanent sleeping quarters, including Viko’s. It was there, on the side of Mount Verdent, where Kal would finally learn what was actually going on.

  Unfortunately, Kal doubted he was going to like what he found out. He just couldn’t see any other explanation behind everything. That fact chilled him to his core with its implications, but he couldn’t let himself consider it. Not yet. Once it was over, then he would deal with it.

  Well, not just him, but all the dragons would have to accept this knowledge, if his theory was correct.

  Out of the blue, his dash console lit up with the sound of an incoming call. Kal jerked and the truck wobbled from side to side slightly as he recovered and steadied himself at the unexpected noise that had intruded into his thoughts. He glanced briefly at the guardrail to his right and the steep drop, glad he’d not flinched harder.

  “What do you want?” he muttered, looking at the caller ID.

  Anne Correa.

  His eyes flicked between the road and the dash as the call rang again, and again. Kal really had no idea if he was going to answer it or not. The truth was, Anne’s reaction after he’d put out the bar fire had hurt him. Deeply.

  The truth of what Kal was, of his heritage, was a secret that weighed heavily on him as it did on every dragon. He had to be on guard every moment of every minute he was among humans, alert so as not to do something that would give away that he wasn’t like them. That he was different. Not entirely human.

  To reveal his true self to her, in a moment of desperate need, to save the lives of her and her child, and then be rejected without so much as a full explanation. That hurt, and it dug deeper than he’d really expected it would, touching on some insecurities that Kal hadn’t realized he had.

  Yet everyone made mistakes. He knew that. Kal was well aware that if he’d been more open from the start, more trusting with Anne, then maybe she wouldn’t have reacted so harshly. If he’d taken more precautions, then she wouldn’t have been in that situation.

  She wasn’t the one to blame.

  He reached out and punched the answer button.

  “Hey Anne,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm, despite the nerves he was feeling at talking to her for the first time since the fire. He’d purposefully not contacted her, trying his best to keep his distance and giving her time to accept what she’d seen. “Listen, I just want you to know that I’m sorry for what happened and I—”

  “Kal? Kal? He took her! You have to save her Kal. Please.”

  His blood went cold. Kal sat up straight.

  “Liam?” he said slowly. “Is that you?”

  “Kal please! They’re gone! You have to stop them.”

  Slamming on the brakes, Kal veered across the left lane and onto the only shoulder the mountain road possessed. “Liam, relax little buddy. I need you to talk to me slowly, okay?”

  There was a deep breath on the other side of the phone. “Okay.”

  “Where’s your mom?”

  “He took her.”

  “Who took her Liam? Who was it?”

  “Dad.”

  Frost coated the interior of his truck as Kal’s barely restrained anger turned the air frigid around him.

  “When?” he asked, his voice colder than the depths of the arctic.

  “Maybeeee, um, five minutes ago?”

  “Did you see what he was driving?” Kal asked. “Was it a car or a truck?”

  “Blue truck! Really loud. I don’t know, I only saw it in the window. Will you save her? Can you fly to her? Please!”

  Kal thought frantically. There was only one road that went through town that wasn’t a mountain road. Someone from out of town, unfamiliar with the land, would take it. A blue truck, probably some sort of over-the-top sporty version if what little he knew about Anne’s ex-husband was right.

  Should be easy to find.

  “Where are you Liam?” he asked.

  “The bar.”

  “Do you know how to lock the doors?”

  There was a rude noise. “I’m ten.”

  Kal shook his head. “Right. I’m sorry. Lock the doors and go upstairs Liam. Keep the lights off until I come back with your mom, okay?”

  “Okay.” There was a pause. “You’re going to save her, right?”

  Kal was already unbuckling his seatbelt. “You betcha kid. You betcha.”

  Turning the truck off he got out, looking up into the night sky and hoping against hope he wasn’t too late.

  Viko would just have to wait. Anne was in trouble. She needed him. Kal couldn’t have ignored the call to protect her if he wanted to.

  A dragon did whatever it took to protect its mate.

  It was the first time he’d ever thought of her like that, but even as he did, Kal realized it was true. Anne was his mate.

  “And it’s about time I showed her what that means,” he growled.

  Long legs powered him across the two lane road toward the guard rail. As he ran, scales flowed down across his body. Horns sprouted from his head.

  A second before he flung himself clear of the guardrail and out over the sheer drop, platinum-white wings burst from his shoulders.

  Half-man, half-dragon, Kal winged his way into the night, heading southeast, to
ward the only road in and out of town.

  Silent as death, he stalked his prey.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Anne

  “Let me go Alexi!” she snapped for the dozenth time.

  Predictably, it had no effect on the driver as he whipped along the highway at breakneck speeds.

  She struggled again with her bonds, though her arms were tiring. The blood was slowly draining from them. Alexi had tied her to the handle above the window with his usual efficiency. Now both her hands clung to it tightly as he took his over-powered truck through another turn and then up over a hill so fast her stomach flip-flopped slightly on the way down.

  “You can’t get away with this,” she said. “Just let me go now and leave me alone and I won’t pursue charges.”

  “Shut up,” Alexi snarled. “You belong with me. I am husband. You do as I say.”

  “We live in America, not Russia you ass! That’s not how it works here. I am a free person. Why can you not understand that? Let me go!”

  “You stupid woman. You should not have left me. That is bad.” His accent was heavy, as it always was when he was angry and his emotions were doing most of the talking. “Now you pay.”

  “I pay? What?” she yelped. “Are you going to try and kill me or something?”

  “Ha! That too easy. No.” Alexi didn’t elaborate any more.

  She stared at him, his thick black eyebrows, long scraggly hair that was just as dark—he dyed it now, she knew. He thought that along with the untamed facial hair it made him look like a badass, but she thought he just looked like a homeless bum.

  At least he hadn’t harmed Liam. She’d been terrified that he would do something to their son. Alexi had never wanted a child. He’d been very unhappy to find out she was pregnant. Very unhappy.

  But Alexi simply did not care. He’d grabbed her, told her that Liam’s life was forfeit if she so much as screamed, and hauled her outside to his still-idling truck. Fearful for her son’s life, she’d kept quiet. What else was she to do?

  Alexi had tied her up and they had left. As simple as that. Now all she had to do was get away from Alexi, and then she could go back for Liam. They would leave Five Peaks, and never return. She was determined about that now.