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CHAPTERONE
“You need to get out, Rylan. Go out with friends. Go on a date. Do something.”
“Not interested,” Rylan grunted as he flipped the hamburgers on the grill. He had no desire to date. He’d done enough of that in his twenties and early thirties. He was thirty-six now, adoptive father of two small children who’d lost their parents in an accident, and beta of his lion pride. He didn’t have time for anything or anyone else.
“Rylan…”
“No.”
“Rylan Dimitri Baker, stop being so stubborn. I love you and only want what is best for you.”
“Maybe I know what’s best for me.”
“Rylan.”
“Look,” Rylan interjected, glancing over at his well-meaning mother, “I appreciate what you are trying to do, Mama, I really do, but right now I need to focus on Walker and Willow. They are all that matters.”
His mother was quiet for a moment, her eyes filling with compassion, before asking softly, “How are they doing?”
Rylan sighed, his gaze going to the two small children who were currently sitting on the swings in his backyard. Sweet little Willow had a wide smile on her face as she slowly pushed the swing back and forth. Her head was tilted back as she gazed up at the sky, her happy giggles filling the air around them.
Walker was more subdued, his feet planted solidly on the ground as he looked up to where Karma, mate to their pride’s alpha, flew above them in dragon form. She twirled around in lazy circles, the sun glistening off her slate gray scales that shimmered with a beautiful raspberry color. It seemed as if she didn’t have a care in the world, even though Rylan knew the reason she was there. She did the same thing every day she was home and not out on a mission for the Rogue Enforcers, because she knew it made his children happy when not much else did. He hoped she realized how much he appreciated it. He’d told her several times what it meant to him, but she just smiled and said, “We’re Pride, Rylan. We take care of our own.”
“Better,” he said quietly. “Walker’s nightmares only come once or twice a week now.”
“Does he still refuse to talk about them?”
“Yeah.” Rylan raked a hand through his dark blond hair, his brow furrowing as his gaze rested on the young boy. It had been almost two years since his best friends, Spencer and Jacqueline, were taken from them. Two years since that fateful night their car skidded over wet pavement and off the road. Shifters could survive a lot, but not a car explosion after landing at the bottom of a cliff. “I think it has something to do with his ability.”
“What do you mean?”
“Walker’s gift began to manifest three years ago,” Rylan said as he removed the burgers from the grill. His frown deepened as he turned to face his mother. “It has something to do with his dreams. From what I can tell, whereas Willow has visions of the future that come true, Walker sees things in his sleep. Things that happened in the past. I think he is reliving his parents’ death over and over at night.”
“What?” his mom whispered in shock, her hand going up to cover her mouth. “No, Rylan, that can’t be true.”
Rylan gritted his teeth as he placed the plate holding the burgers on the picnic table. “I pray it isn’t, Mom, but Spencer always told me about these dreams Walker would have. He would mention things that happened years before his birth that he should have known nothing about. Like the time Jacqueline’s dog broke its leg when she was a teenager. Or the time Spencer forgot to close the windows on his car, and it rained. The water ruined his leather seats.” Rylan gave his mom a pointed look. “Spencer had that car before they had kids, remember? He sold it when Walker was born to buy a four-door vehicle.”
“I remember,” his mother gasped, her hand slowly moving down to rest on her throat. “Oh, Rylan, what can we do for him?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to figure it out.”
“Papa’s here!” Willow cried, bringing his attention to her as she brought her swing to a stop and jumped to her feet. “We can eat now!”
Rylan grinned when Willow raced across the yard to where his father had just appeared beside the house, careening into his legs and wrapping her tiny arms around them.
“And Willow?” his mother asked quietly, her eyes on the little girl as she was picked up and snuggled close. “Does she have nightmares?”
“Sometimes, but they are few and far between now.”
“Good.” Pasting a smile on her face, his mom stood and called to his father, “I’ve been telling Rylan that he needs to leave these sweethearts with us more often and get out with friends. Have some fun. Maybe meet someone special.”
“Daddy already has special someones,” Willow said, giggling, her arms now wrapped around his father’s neck as they walked up to the table. “Me and Walker.”
“You got that right, baby girl,” Rylan replied gruffly, his heart full of love as he reached out to tug on his little girl’s curls. She’d started calling him daddy just a couple of months ago, and nothing had ever felt so right. Walker still referred to him as Rylan, but he hoped that one day that would change. Not that he ever wanted them to forget their biological parents, and Rylan made sure to speak of them often so that didn’t happen, but he wanted to be the one the boy looked up to and called dad now.
“You’re right,” his mom said, laughing, her blue eyes so much like his own twinkling with mirth. “But, I thought maybe he would want to find a pretty lady to take out on a date.”
Willow shook her head, then rested it on her papa’s chest. “No, Grammy, Mommy wouldn’t like that.”
“Mommy?” his mother asked in confusion, arching an eyebrow.
Willow nodded, her small hand clutching his father’s shirt tightly. “She’s beautiful, like a princess.”
Rylan exchanged glances with his parents, and then looked down at Walker as the boy appeared beside them. Walker shrugged, taking a seat at the picnic table and grabbing a handful of chips out a large, orange bowl. “You know she has visions.”
“She has visions of the future,” Rylan countered. “Of things that haven’t happened yet.”
“Yeah.”
“Your mother’s in heaven, Walker,” Rylan said quietly.
“Our new mommy isn’t,” Willow piped up. “She’s helping someone right now, because that’s what she does. Help people.”
“New mommy?” Rylan echoed, turning back to the little girl, wondering what the hell she was talking about.
Willow nodded. “She flies in the air like Karma. But she’s a different color. So pretty.”
“Like a princess,” Rylan muttered, his hand going to rub at a small ache that had begun to develop in his chest as he listened to his daughter. He was starting to think he knew what she was hinting at. More than hinting.
Our mate is coming,his lion purred in his head in excitement.
I think you’re right.
Suddenly, Willow’s small body stiffened, and her eyes rounded, filling with fear. “Someone’s here, Daddy. Someone bad.”
Rylan froze, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest as he motioned toward the house. He wasn’t taking any chances. If Willow said someone bad was there, it was the truth. “Go, Dad! Get the kids in the house. Hide them!”
“Move, Rachel!” his father growled, as he reached for Walker’s arm and tugged him from the table. “Run!”
There was a loud roar overhead from their alpha’s mate, and Rylan’s mother screamed when there was an answering roar of challenge from an unknown dragon. “No, not again!”
There was another loud roar, and more screams as Rylan’s fellow pride members streamed from nearby homes. The loud echo of gunshots filled the air, and Rylan swore loudly when he felt the bite of a bullet graze his arm.
“To the house, Mama!” he ordered, turning to face the men coming from the trees behind his home. “Protect my children!”
