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I wasn’t upset about being here, but I didn’t expect to be quite so homesick. I was an only child to older parents, and they’d died when I was a teenager, before paranormals were gifted immortality. I’d been old enough that I hadn’t needed to go live with anyone else, but Evan had insisted on it. He’d been raising his brother, Beau, already, and living with my bestie had been wonderful. But then Evan had been given the opportunity to come here, and I’d insisted on them going. I was an adult, and I understood that their lives were going to be here, and mine would be there in our village.

That had worked for a time, but then Thomas had returned, this time bringing his own mate with him. I’d been happy for whoever they were going to select, and I was so surprised they wanted to talk to only me. They had a job for me, and would I want to come to the shifter realm and run the bakery with Beau? He was going to need help because he’d found his mate, and they were starting a family. Of course they were. I couldn’t say no though, so now here I was. I was still alone, but I didn’t get nearly as many sad looks as I had in our village.

A breeze picked up, and I turned my face into it. It was cold and biting, and I knew that if I stayed out here too long, my toes would go numb because I was not dressed for trekking through the snow. I looked down at my thin canvas shoes and sighed. They were perfect for inside Lukan’s house, where it was warm. They were not good for being out, walking in knee-high snow. I pointed a mittened hand toward my feet, and suddenly, they were in shin-high fur-lined boots. They were warm and would keep my feet warm and dry. I rubbed my hands down my thighs, feeling the lining of thermal underwear suddenly next to my skin instead of the jeans I’d been wearing.

There. Now I was more appropriately dressed for the cold, and I turned my attention toward the falls. I heard them before I saw them, but moments later, a shadow passed over me, and I watched as a massive black dragon flew toward the falls. Everyone on the mountain knew that the massive black dragon was Alpha Sergei, but I didn’t see the glittery gold dragon that was his mate. Alpha Sergei didn’t fly at the falls without his mate though.

I watched closely and was surprised when he continued on, not stopping at the falls like he normally did. Several other dragons joined him, and I grinned. I saw a gold dragon, but it wasn’t Alpha Mate Chin. Even I knew that. One of their children, then. I happily watched the dragons flying around in the gorge, as I found it incredibly soothing. They would chase each other, and it didn’t take long for me to realize they were basically playing a game of tag. That wasn’t what I would expect from the created dragon and his dragons, but that’s exactly what they were doing.

There was something about watching a group of massive dragons flying around, trying to catch each other’s tails, that brought a smile to your face. I don’t care who you are or what kind of day you’re having; watching Alpha Sergei play with his dragons was enjoyable. The wind picked up again, and although I wasn’t cold, I probably should start my walk back to the house.

I’d used magic to get here, but the plan had been to walk back home. I’d spent time listening to the water rush over the rocks and fall, and the dragons were just a bonus that brought a smile to my face. I stood, and after brushing the snow and leaves off of my jeans and the backside of my coat, I started back toward Council Square. My house wasn’t far from the council building, and the little town center had officially been named Council Square.

Beau lived off the mountain down in Treasure Estates with his mate and son, and the mated enforcer housing was called Council Estates. Not overly unique, but it worked. The unmated enforcers lived in town houses behind the Council Square, and I’d need to walk past them to get to my house, but the chances of them seeing me weren’t high. I had been looking forward to the Friendsgiving, but now I just wasn’t feeling it.

The day had started so off-balance that I just wanted my walk to clear my mind and then to go home and soak in a bubble bath. That always made me feel better. After my body was wrinkly from being in the water entirely too long, I’d put on my fuzzy pajamas and then most likely fall asleep while watching something on the television. It was nice, but I hadn’t really found much that kept my attention for longer than a hot minute.

I sighed again. I looked around me, and when I realized I’d taken the wrong path, I turned and went back the other way. I didn’t want to go that way. I knew it would take me over toward a lot of the created ones’ houses, and I absolutely was not going to be interrupting any of them today.

I had just made it back to the right path and was well on my way toward Council Square when I heard shouting. I groaned when I looked up and saw them. Yeah, it was probably childish to leave and then not answer the phone when they called to check up on me, but I didn’t really want to be around them right now.

Lukan got to me first, but only because he’d used magic and was suddenly standing in front of me. He grabbed me by the arms and stared at me with wide eyes.

“Where have you been? Vaughn is going to tear the place apart if we don’t get you back to the house. Quick.”

“Huh? Who is Vaughn, and why would he care if I was at the house or not? I’ve been having a walk. It’s good for clearing the mind.” I pushed at Lukan’s hands, but he wasn’t letting me go. I glared up at the alpha. “Let me go, Lukan, or I’ll zap you.”

The others came rushing over, and it was obvious that they were very relieved.

“What’s taking so long?” Olly asked. I didn’t get a chance to say anything because he simply grabbed me, and then I was suddenly back at Lukan’s house.

I shoved at Olly, but he wasn’t letting me go. Someone sounded incredibly upset, but I didn’t recognize the voice at all.

“We’re back!” Lukan called out. I kept pushing at the others, immediately planning and plotting how I was going to get them all back for this, when it finally hit me. What was that amazing scent? Had Lukan cooked something else? No, it wasn’t that. Food made my stomach grumble. This…made my body tingle.

I looked up as Evan came into the entryway, pulling a very tall and sexy man with him. Fates be, he was tall. My lips parted slightly at just how gorgeous the man was. His skin, hair, and eyes were dark, and his skin looked like he spent a lot of time out in the sun and didn’t have to worry about glowing in the dark like I did.

“I’d say that’s a positive reaction,” I heard Lukan say.

I slightly turned my head toward Lukan, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the sexy man. Was he a dragon? A gargoyle? Which was it? “Who’s that?” I whispered.

Lukan leaned closer. “That’s Vaughn. Pretty sure you’re his mate. You should go say hi.”

I looked at Lukan then, my eyes widening. “My… I’m what?” My head pivoted back to the man, and I realized he’d quite quickly closed the distance between us, and he was now standing just an arm’s length away. I had to look way up to stare at him, and when I did, I made what could only be described as a whimper.

Chapter 3

Vaughn

My mate was here on Treasure Ridge. I’d scented him the moment I’d entered Lukan’s place, which was quite surprising. At first, I was calm about things, but when they couldn’t tell me who or where my mate was, my beast started to become agitated. Then Lukan mentioned the only other person who had been in his place recently was Lewis.

There was no other option. Lewis had to be my mate. But he wasn’t here, and they didn’t know where he’d gone. “I can go to his place and see if he’s there,” Olly said.

“That might be a good thing,” Evan said. I’d arrived with him, and it was only my teammate who was keeping me from tearing the mountain apart trying to locate my missing mate at the moment. He had his hand on my arm, and normally that would irritate my beast in a situation like this, but I knew I needed to keep myself as calm as possible. “Can I have your phone?” Evan asked. “I should contact Chief Daegal and let him know about your situation.”

I looked over at Evan, and it seemed to take forever for my brain to process what he just said. I eventually handed the phone over. “Do you not have all of the numbers in yours?”

“I do, but it would make more sense coming from your number, would it not?” Evan let go of my arm and started typing on my phone. I stood there, waiting. I didn’t know what else to do. I had now scented Lewis, and I could eventually find him on the mountain, but if the others knew where he was, then that would be quicker. That would certainly be better.