Page 23 of Having the Dragon's Baby

He nodded again. It seemed the girls really were telling her everything. "Yes, it's actually a great way to stay in touch. It was really helpful when I first took over the role. It allowed me to talk one-on-one with my people. And I enjoy the time together with everyone."

She looked away, her eyes looking around at the trees and shrubs. "I understand that. It was nice. Everyone seems to be welcoming. And your mom is sweet."

He would have to ask his mother what she said later. The woman liked to talk and likely told some very embarrassing stories about him. He didn't mind if Rachel knew, but he would much rather be able to defend some of them.

He leaned forward, guilt cutting at him. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to introduce you to her. I will make that up to you at some point."

She waved a hand, smiling at him. "Oh, that's okay. The den needed you for the meeting, and I had no problem being alone or getting around. Speaking of the meeting…" She looked at him, her eyes giving him a concerned look. "What was it about? You seemed tense when you got back. Has something happened?"

He was stressed, more so with his dragon flailing. He was unable to figure out how this organized crime was happening. He licked his lips and sighed.

"Well, actually, something did happen that you should know about. Over the past few weeks or so, some shifters have gone missing."

Her eyes widened, and her fingers paused on the potato chip bag. "Missing?"

He nodded. "Yeah, just disappearing without a trace. It seemed like a case of runaways at first, but it was happening in other clans as well. We've been trying to get a handle on it, but the issue seems to be growing."

She tossed the bag aside and rubbed her hands together. He dreaded to keep going. He hadn't even gotten to the bad part.

He exhaled and straightened his back. "We uncovered an underground trafficking ring, and I had to involve some of the other alphas to talk about how we wanted to proceed."

Her mouth dropped open, and she ran a hand through her hair. "Jesus, holy shit Marcus. That's really bad!"

He nodded, sucking in some air. "It's a lot, I know. I just … I don't like to think of you having to be part of that, but you should be aware. You're going to be around this, and if you're with me, people are going to look to you for guidance just as much as they do me."

She pushed herself up and began pacing. She ran her hands through her hair, and worry stretched across her face. "Have you spoken to all the families of the missing people? Are there any connections?"

He shook his head. "None. We talked with all of them, but they were all at random times at random places. There was nothing connecting anyone together. We figured maybe it would have been a club or a bar, but it wasn't. Different ages, clans, even genders."

She turned, crossing her arms. "How do you know it's a trafficking ring?"

That was a tricky question. "I have people that know how to get information out of other people. Let's just go with that."

She fell quiet for a moment, her mind seeming to be churning. She looked back at him. "Okay, what can I do to help?"

He pulled himself up. "There isn't much you can do, Rachel. I just wanted you to be aware of what was going on."

She shook her head, waving her arms. "Don't say that. I can't just hear about such horrible exploitation and sit still. I need to be able to help wherever I can. So tell me what I can do."

He smiled, liking that she was so quick to want to remedy this situation. He felt grateful. He expected her to feel overwhelmed and ready to run. Anyone else in her shoes would have wanted to get as far from such a problem as possible.

But not Rachel.

He walked over toward her, taking her hands. "Just being able to talk to you helps me. You don't have to do anything, Rachel."

She shook her head again, biting at her lip. "As much as I love helping you, I also want to be able to help others. I want to help keep the people and the children here safe. I don't want to imagine another person disappearing, Marcus."

He pulled her close against his chest, inhaling her scent.

She gripped his shirt, her fingers tight against the fabric. "So, can I talk to people? Can I make phone calls? What can I do?"

Marcus held onto her tighter. He was sure he already loved her. She wanted to make the thunder better and safer, and she didn't even know she was his mate. She just was ready to do what was needed.

His concern over her abandoning him vanished. He didn't need to worry whether she wanted to stay because she did. She wanted to help him with this.

He looked forward to the future where she stood beside him. She was going to be amazing.

Marcus wanted to keep her safe at home and let him handle the situation, but he knew that wasn't going to work. Rachel wanted to get her hands dirty. He wasn't going to let her do anything dangerous, but that didn't mean she couldn't participate.

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