Earth – Paul’s Ranch, Wyoming:

Four months later...

“I can’t believe that you misplaced them! How in the hell can you lose twin dragons?” Jaguin growled, glaring at Adalard as they stood on the platform to beam down to the planet.

“Jaguin,” Sara cautioned, reaching out to touch his arm.

“I’m not a … What was the word Pearl used, Sara?” Adalard asked with a shrug.

“A babysitter,” Sara murmured.

“Yes, a babysitter. They are grown warriors. When I searched for them, they were gone. I had no idea they would use their symbiots to leave the ship before we all transported down. I don’t know why you are surprised. It was obvious they were growing edgier the closer we got to this planet. I’m surprised they made it as long as they did,” Adalard added with a pointed look.

“We should have locked them up. If they expose the fact that humans aren’t alone, it could endanger future visits here,” Jaguin reflected with a shake of his head.

“I’m sure everything will be alright,” Sara said. “Barrack and Brogan both know that they can’t be seen. You and Adalard drilled that into their heads on the way here,” she gently reminded Jaguin, stepping up onto the platform next to him when the technician motioned for them to proceed.

Jaguin turned to lock eyes with his mate as they dematerialized. Within seconds, the brief disorientation of appearing in a new environment fogged his mind. It didn’t take long to clear. He realized that his head was still turned toward Sara. He could see the look of worry in her eyes before she swayed. He quickly reached out and wrapped his arms around her to steady her.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” she moaned, raising a trembling hand to her forehead.

“I prefer a transport myself,” Jaguin chuckled, holding her tightly to his body until she pulled away.

“Oh!”

They all turned when they heard the exclamation. Standing in the doorway was a young woman. Her eyes immediately moved to Adalard. Her face paled, and she swayed before her lips tightened.

“Mason! Your house is infested with aliens again,” the woman called before she looked at Jaguin and Sara. “Well, at least with two. I think you’ll only need to exterminate one of them, though,” she added, looking pointedly at Adalard.

“Samara,” Adalard warned, taking a step toward her.

“Who is it this time?” Mason, Paul Grove’s ranch manager, asked, stepping up behind Samara.

“Don’t ask me. I prefer to keep my distance from the lot of them,” Samara retorted, turning on her heel. “I’ve got horses to bring in. Let me know when they are gone.”

“Samara,” Adalard growled, taking a step to follow the young woman.

Jaguin smiled at Sara’s smothered laugh when Samara raised her right hand and lifted her middle finger at Adalard. He now understood Adalard’s distraction. He had noticed a growing restlessness in Adalard the closer they got to Earth. In all honesty, he was beginning to think that Adalard was as bad as the twins.

* * *

“So, I recognize two of you – you’re Jaguin, correct?” Mason said.

“Yes. This is my mate, Sara Wilson,” Jaguin replied.

“Ah, the mysterious Sara Wilson,” Mason murmured as he deliberately ignored Adalard. A wry smile curved Adalard’s lips as Sara asked “You’ve heard of me?”

Mason nodded. “About a month ago this young woman, Delilah, shows up. She had a picture of you and was asking all kinds of questions. She was really vague about how she knew to look here. She said something about the University, a place in Columbia, and some guy named Cuello,” he said.

Sara harshly inhaled a breath and her face paled. Mason stepped forward in concern, but Jaguin had already wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I’m alright,” she murmured, looking down and shaking her head. She started trembling as she fought for composure before she looked up again.

“What did you tell her?” Adalard asked.

Mason glanced at him with an angry frown, but when he spoke his voice was modulated to soothe Sara. “I told her that we didn’t know Sara Wilson, but if we heard anything we’d give her a call. She left her phone number and address. I gave the information to the two guys who came here earlier this morning. They said they knew you and that they were looking for a woman named Delilah. I figured there must have been some connection and honestly, I wasn’t about to argue with them or those gold creatures you guys have with you,” he stated.

Adalard nodded and turned to Jaguin and Sara. “So, what should we do now?” he asked.

“We have to go after them,” Jaguin replied.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t be in too big a hurry,” Mason warned. “The East Coast is about to get slammed with a Nor’easter that they are calling the new hundred year storm. They are expecting up to fifty inches of snow in some parts with temperatures dropping well below freezing and winds in excess of one hundred miles an hour. We’ve got our own storm heading this way. It is supposed to hit this afternoon. We’ve been rounding up all the horses and trying to get the place ready to be snowed in for up to a week or more,” Mason warned.

“Did Barrack and Brogan know about this?” Jaguin asked.

Mason nodded. “I told them, but they didn’t care. I’m guessing maybe you aliens can handle this kind of extreme weather better than we can. Whether you can or not, they are still in for a rough journey,” he said before his expression changed. “I’ll have to admit, I’m glad you are here. We could use some extra help. We only have a skeleton crew on the ranch, at the moment. The few hands we have are working our Northwest range. That is where most of the cattle are, but that still leaves this section. With the weather, I can’t safely take the helicopter up. There is only Samara, Ann Marie, and me to handle things. We’ve got more than five thousand head of livestock that will need to be taken care of. We’ve already moved them to more sheltered pastures, but they’ll have to be fed,” Mason said, shoving his hands in his front pockets.

Adalard answered before Jaguin or Sara could.

“We will stay.” He tried to say it normally and not crow with satisfaction. At Jaguin and Sara’s surprised expressions, he said, “They know not to be seen and if Delilah would probably appreciate having some assistance during such a storm.”

“Thank you. Whatever you do, though, just make sure that you stay away from Samara,” Mason ordered. “I’ll let Ann Marie know.”

Adalard didn’t answer. He would help, but he would also use the storm to show Samara that he wasn’t the man she thought he was or anything like her brothers. He had promised Paul and Samara that he would give her time. That time was now up.