Alpha's Fire (Shifter Ops 4)

A motley crew of soldiers has found a way to reach the mouth of my dragon’s cave. In addition to Rafe, Deke, Lance, and Channing, members of the Black Wolf pack, there’s Theodore Whitaker, their former helicopter pilot. Colonel Johnson himself stands with his former soldiers. The entire group is covered in soot, like most everything on my property today.

Tabitha wraps both her arms around my waist, hugging me sideways as we walk as if to show her friends she’s with me. I drape my arm across her shoulders.

My shoulders ache. My skin burns from the silver, and my gut churns from the tranq they hit me with, not to mention the angst of the past twelve hours, but I force my face into its usual smooth expression.

“Gentleman. Welcome to my home.” I extend an arm in the direction of the castle as if I am a gracious host, and they have arrived at my invitation to dance at a ball.

Hess stands behind me, his hand on his weapon, his expression forbidding. His men will have secured the area, and Colonel Johnson’s former team members know it. The group of them stand like soldiers–their gazes alert, taking in everything around us, scanning the surroundings, and assessing danger.

Rafe ignores me. “Tabitha, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but Gabriel’s not,” she says hotly. “He’s burned all over from that net you trapped him in.”

“Rafe acted to protect you. We cannot fault his team for that,” I say.

Rafe’s gaze flicks to me now. He seems slightly surprised at my graciousness.

“We thought you were a prisoner here. You hadn’t responded to any messages, and your GPS has been disabled. Adele said the email you sent didn’t sound like you,” Rafe explains.

“Told you the email wouldn’t work,” Tabitha mutters to me, even as she presses her body even closer to mine. “Gabriel and I are working on that. His dragon is… protective and more than a little possessive. A trait I’ve noticed you all exhibit as well.”

“Plus he’s going moon mad, or whatever the dragon version of that is,” Rafe’s brother, Lance, explains.

Moon mad. Perhaps some of that in addition to the long-term stand-off I’ve been in with my dragon over losing Tabitha in her last lifetime.

I drop a kiss on the top of her head. Her acceptance of me, her defense on my behalf is a balm to my bruised state of mind. I just obliterated an entire tower of the castle because of my lust for her, yet still, she stands by my side. Even more miraculously, she affirmed she’s my mate. She’s willing and ready to be claimed.

There is still danger of me harming her, but my dragon feels calm. At peace. I don’t sense the rage or disquiet anymore. Even the lust has softened into a more stable form of love.

The fact that Tabitha can communicate with my dragon side is another miracle. All this time, I was trying to control him, but I don’t need to. She commands him as our mate. He will always heed her wishes, hear her cries if she’s in danger, and protect her. My dragon will keep her safe.

“My courtship methods may have been a bit…medieval,” I concede. “But we have come to an accord.” I level a steady look at Rafe. “Tabitha is my mate. She is willing to be fully claimed and receive my firebrand.”

“Whoa, man. TMI.” The younger operative, Channing, holds up a hand and looks away, shaking his head in mock disgust. “We don’t need the deets about how a dragon claims his mate.” He shudders.

Tabitha laughs softly.

“Is that true, Tabitha?” Rafe asks my mate. “You’re willing to be claimed?”

“Yes.” The fact that she doesn’t hesitate even for a second heals me even more.

“There are a number of your business dealings the United States government would like to understand,” Colonel Johnson said.

“I’m sure there are,” I say smoothly. “I would be happy to meet with you at a later time, but at the moment, I am rather preoccupied with my new mate.”

“Understandable,” Colonel Johnson grunts. “I expect you to take a call from me next month, though.”

“As a courtesy, I will take the call, but I will remind you that I do not answer to you or your government.”

“Okay, okay. No pissing contest necessary,” Rafe says. “Tabitha, you’re sure you’re okay?” He studies her as if looking for some secret signal from her.

“I’m fine. Gabriel will return my phone to me today, and I’ll call everyone back in Taos to reassure them.” She looks up at me with brows raised.

“Of course, my treasure.”

“All right, then.” Rafe steps forward. There’s wariness in his pose, but he offers a hand for me to shake.

I accept the offer and clasp his hand.

“Take good care of her,” Rafe can’t resist warning me. The unspoken part of the sentence is or else we’ll be back.