Page 52 of Been There Dragon That
Owen’s bear wanted out. Wanted revenge.
Now.
Owen ground his teeth and punched a hole in the wall. A roar rumbled deep in his chest, and he shouted at the ceiling–half beast, half man.
“Owen,” Aarav said, his voice soft and calm.
“I should’ve come in sooner. Or stayed later.” He snarled and struck the wall again, smashing through the thin paneling covering the walls. “You’re letting them get away.” Every instinct. Every thought in his mind drove him to be his beast. And to hunt the beast that killed his friend. That dared to strike at an old man who would’ve helped anyone. Leif was a tough old man, but fair and kind.
“No one could’ve predicted this, Owen. They broke their pattern. There was no indication they would’ve targeted Leif. They’ve been hitting big houses. Stealing money, jewels, valuables easily fenced.” Aarav’s fists were clenched, and Owen could hear the rumble of the sheriff’s big cat. The lion shifter was pissed too, but he was certainly holding back better than Owen was.
Owen smelled the dragons before they arrived. That’s why Aarav had been trying to keep him calm. He’d been stalling until something bigger than Owen’s rage-filled bear sprouted claws and went berserk.
He whipped around and glared at the sheriff. “Bastard.”
“Fuck you, Owen. I want these people as much as you do.” He pointed down at Leif’s body hidden beneath a gray blanket. “But we have to act as a unit. That’s what a tribe is, Owen. This town is my responsibility, too. We protect them, and they protect us.”
“Our responsibility.” Col’s dark voice cut through the thick tension between Aarav and Owen. He and Wrath stepped through the frame of the shattered front door. “This is not singularly on you Aarav. Like you said before, we will act as a unit.”
Col walked to Leif’s body and squatted down, pulling back the blanket. His fingers tightened on the blanket until his knuckles turned white. He pulled the bloodied blanket back over Leif’s battered face.
“Alpha, we can’t—” Owen took a step closer to where Col was crouched next to Leif’s body. “We have to stop these men. They have a wolf. The scent is faint, but it’s there, and I’m quite sure it’s Tai. We have tohunt.”
Col’s eyes flared with flame, and the temperature in the store went from sixty to a hundred in two seconds. “You will not make this choice on your own, Owen. Do you understand?”
Owen bowed his head respectfully. “Yes, alpha.” Back home on Reylea, he’d been alpha, but here, he owed his life and his mate and his allegiance to Col. He would never jeopardize that by going against his alpha’s wishes.
“What do we do? There’s more than humans involved now. I shouldn’t have left Rylee. I should’ve brought her with me. There’s too many threats circling.”
The younger dragon male looked like he might pop a vein in his neck. Owen sympathized. When he’d thought Tara in danger, all logic had fled his mind.
“Calm yourself, Wrath. I already asked the younger wolves to patrol our land near the cabins. Aarav’s brothers are also on their way out to my home.” Col stood and turned to face the panicking male who’d come to town only a couple months ago.
Wrath had transferred his allegiance from his tribe down in Seattle and pledged loyalty to Col. Then he’d accepted the deputy sheriff position in town. He was normally very calm and put together, but he looked like he was about to run straight back out the door. Finding your soul match could do that to a male–eliminate rational thought.
So could rage. Owen needed to keep his in check.
“Forgive me, alpha.” Wrath’s voice was calmer this time. Owen was impressed at the male’s control.
Col gave him a firm nod and turned back to Aarav and him. “Aarav, what do you think? You were first on the scene, right?”
“Yes. I drove by and saw the smashed door. I found him here when I came in. I covered Leif and then called Owen. Ava is making Ryder cut their trip short. They’ll be back in Anchorage tomorrow, Tor and Dawn too, and then back to Mystery the day after tomorrow.”
“You called Ava?” Col’s deep voice growled out.
“I did, alpha.” Owen spoke up. “She wouldn’t want to be gone. We both owe Leif everything. He took care of us when we first got here. Besides the tribe, he’s like family.”
Col glanced up and met Owen’s gaze. “I know. It’s good they will all be back soon. It will be better to have the whole tribe here to end this threat to our home together. And we will end it.” Col’s eyes burned with flames of promise.
Owen tipped his chin respectfully. That was what he’d wanted. The assurance this would not go unanswered. When it’d only been humans, he’d been okay turning them over to human justice. But with a wolf being involved. A wolf they all thought was long gone. Human justice wasn’t an option any longer.
“Is Knox coming?”
“I called him on the way over,” Wrath said, his tone solemn. “Col said it might be a wolf you’ve dealt with before?”
Owen ran his hands over his face and into his hair. “It’s been a while, but yeah, I think it’s Tai. He was involved in my mate’s kidnapping. Tara almost died. So did Katherine, Knox’s mate. Knox will know for sure when he gets here.”
ChapterSeventeen
