Chapter 12.

 

Jamie drifted up from the depths of sleep. Unfamiliar details broke through the lingering traces of dream. A strange lump in the mattress. The scent of must and old fires, dull but sour. A woman’s body pressed against his.

Startled, he rose to one elbow.

Blonde hair, still disheveled from their love-making. Bronze, round face and full lips…

Maya. Of course.

Memories of her passion flooded back. The way she had cried out beneath him. The heights she had driven him to. Yet, mingled with the traces of lust was something else. A stillness. A contentment that filled the world with its gentle glow, assuring him that everything was as it should be. Life was good.

What the hell?

We have our Mate. We are hers, fully now.

His Dragon… approved of him?

How long had it been since that happened? Jamie leaned back against the bed’s frail headboard as an unpleasant truth revealed itself.

Over the years, he’d come to think of his Dragon as an opponent. Not an enemy. Their goals were the same, even if they fought constantly over tactics. But Dragons were pure creatures – too uncompromising for this muddled world. And so, they argued and struggled and fought each other.

Until now. He savored the unfamiliar peace that filled him.

This is what life feels like when you’re not at war with yourself.

Maya stirred, making an adorable little murmur that sent a flare of heat through his loins.

“Good morning.”

“Hey.” Blinking sleepily, she smiled up at him.

A tsunami of contentment slammed into him. His Dragon, radiating approval with all the subtlety of a five-ton golden retriever. Jamie had recovered some of his natural cynicism, however, and wasn’t quite as overwhelmed by its joy.

He bent down and kissed her, enjoying the way the sunbeams transformed her tanned skin into purest honey. Perhaps they had time for another round…?

Maybe. But as long as there was any hope for Judith’s family, he couldn’t bear to delay. With deep regret, he slid out of bed. “Coffee?”

Maya watched him rise, disappointment plain on her face. “Sure. Do we have anything for breakfast?”

“Microwave sausage biscuits for me. I need to head to Maine. You’re welcome to one, if you’d like.”

“Mmm. Nuked sandwiches. My favorite!”

He laughed at her grimace. “Bob will be here in about an hour. You didn’t meet him – he’s another Shifter. My partner. He’ll take care of you and Judith. And if you want a proper breakfast, I’m sure he’ll find one. I’ve never seen him turn up his nose at any food.”

“Oh my.” Her eyes sparkled. “Is he a Were-Pig?”

“Rat.” Horror doused her amusement immediately, and he chuckled. “Nice guy. Just don’t ask him to Shift.”

The rich scent of coffee filled the room. Maya accepted a mug from him and curled up on the ragged couch. “Where is Judith, anyway?”

“One cabin over. Got one for each of us. Guess that was one too many.” The flush of color in her cheeks set his Dragon rumbling with joy.

“Can I help at all?”

“No. It’s just a matter of searching now. Hey,” he added, as her face fell. “Don’t look like that. You did the critical part. I had no idea where to begin to look.”

Ping! Jamie fished his sandwich out of the microwave, adding a salty, unappealing scent to the rich aroma of coffee. Maya’s nose wrinkled.

“Guess you’ll pass, huh?”

“Yeah, breakfast with the Rat sounds better. At least there’ll be food.”

He wolfed the little biscuit, ignoring its scalding heat. One of the small perks of being a Dragon: you could eat things straight out of the nuker. One wasn’t even close to filling, and he tossed two more in.

Maya watched, mug cradled in her hands. “So, what’s next?”

“I go to Maine. I find Criehaven. Depending on the defenses, I either take the island myself or call my Flight for backup.”

“And then?” Her lips had grown pinched, uneasy.

Why should that upset her? “Then we evacuate people. I don’t know. I’ll dump that problem on my Alpha. He’s better at the micromanaging BS.”

“And then?”

What the hell was she on about? Who thought that far ahead? “I, uh, find another project?”

“But what about us?”

Oh. That.

“Riight. Um, to be honest, I don’t know.” The morning’s peaceful glow vanished, cut off like a light switch, as his Dragon’s temper flared.

Maya stared at her cooling coffee. “It sounded like this Rite of Claiming was something important.”

“I guess.”

Rage – not mere anger – lit his Dragon and Jamie felt the first twinges of pain in his shoulders. “They say it means you’re my soul mate. If you believe in them.”

“Oh.” Something was really interesting in that cup, because she wouldn’t look at him. “Do you?”

“No.”

Oh hell, were those tears? Just the thing to drive his damned Dragon berserk. Jamie switched to a more conciliatory tone, hoping to calm both woman and serpent down. “Look, last night was great, and I like you. I’m not saying I never want to see you again.”

SNAP! His Dragon’s jaws clicked shut inches away from its wing.

Someone was not reassured. Time to switch tactics. “But think of Judith’s family. They’re not alone. The world is full of evil, full of innocent people like them who suffer because of it. Every moment I fritter away on myself, on fun, is another moment of pain for them.”

“So, you don’t have time for love,” she asked, picking her words carefully.

“No. I’m sorry.”

No time to explain that he didn’t really believe in it, either. The golden glow of last night could never last. Eventually, dull reality would insert itself. Drain all the delight, the joy out of life.

Again. Like it always did.

So, why not skip to the inevitable and end it, now?

“I would never want you to stop saving people.” One tear did escape, trickling down her cheek. “I couldn’t ask that. But don’t you want a home to come back to? Someone who cares about you?”

“Families and lovers take time. And I don’t have any to spare.”

Not if he was going to beat the Fangs.

“I see.”

His Dragon didn’t. Incandescent with rage, eyes burning like lava, it seethed. Jamie felt its wrath, wave after wave of loathing, wash over him.

Whatever. Pout away. I can take it.

“I should let you go then.” She put her coffee, untouched, on the table and rose. Despite the tears that flowed down her cheeks, her voice stayed calm.

When the bedroom door closed behind her, Jamie braced himself for his Dragon’s next assault.

Which never came. It watched him, a motionless bundle of impotent rage.

He didn’t like that, not one bit. Anger and violence, he understood. But this… this was something different. Something new and unpleasant.

Like his Dragon had given up on him.

Well, if it had, he knew how to prove it wrong: action. Words didn’t fix this sort of thing. Time to head to Maine and rescue some Shifter Kin. That would put his Dragon in a better mood.

Outside, a thin mist shrouded the cluster of rental cabins. No lights in Judith’s room yet. Must be too early. Jamie strode quickly to his cottage to change clothes.

His room was just as he’d left it.

With one addition.

A parchment envelope lay on the cabin’s chintzy linoleum table. Beside it, a palm-sized disk of… what? White chocolate? Ivory?

That envelope, though, was way too fancy for this cheap-ass place. Jamie stepped back to the door and scanned the cluster of buildings. Nothing moved. No one was up.

Strange. After a quick search of the cabin itself, he stepped to the table.

The disk was yellowed wax, not chocolate. An image had been stamped on its surface: a Worm devouring its own tail.

Ouroboros. One of the symbols the Fangs used.

How the hell had they found him? He had to warn Bob, get those women out…

Despite the emergency, he found himself staring fixedly at that amulet. The image – Worm coiled in a circle, destroying itself eternally – fascinated him. Why, he had no idea. He’d seen pictures like it hundreds of times. But in the cabin’s dim light, his eyes traced its unending circle, over and over.

He didn’t have time for this. Jamie forced himself to rip open the letter. Maybe Fowler, that arrogant bastard, would let something slip.

Neat rows of impeccable script marched across the cream-colored paper.

 

Dear Mr. Wolfe,

It seems my reservations about you were well-founded.

No matter. I believe you will join us, even if that was not your original intent.

Enjoy my gift. I look forward to speaking with you, as a peer, in the near future.

Lucian Fowler

 

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Jamie eyed the little charm once more, then shook his head sharply.

Who cared? If the Fangs knew they were here, everyone was in danger.

Tossing the letter aside, he grabbed the wax disk and turned…

 

…And suddenly, the world around him disappeared.

 

Jamie Wolfe’s still, unmoving body collapsed to the cabin floor.