Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart (The Cedar River Series) (16 page)

I sobbed as Papa came to join the embrace. “My angel,  if I can make it happen, the sun will rise tomorrow so that you and my son can plan for all of your tomorrows. If it is in my power, we will all be here to see several more tomorrows.”

Finally, hand in hand, Bowie and I climbed the stairs to the bedroom. We undressed and climbed in bed. Our love making was slow, tender and full of sweet vows of love. It was three in the morning when Bowie’s cell phone rang. It was Callum.

“There is a fire out at the Pierce Pride’s land,” he relayed to Bowie.

“Sound the alarm. I’m on my way.” The alarm would give the families time to get to their safe shelters and away from the danger. Bowie was up and getting dressed.

 “Gods, Bowie. Please don’t go,” I pleaded through the tears.

“I’ve got to go, kitten. This is my responsibility. This is my town and they count on me to keep them safe.”

“What about me, Bowie? I count on you to keep me safe, too. I need you.”

He crushed me to him. “I know you do, kitten, but I promised you that I will find you. If you believe nothing else, believe that.” His kiss was deep and passionate. It held the whispers of darkness and goodbye. All the things we hadn’t said to one another were in that final kiss. “I love you, Anastasia Plum. I will love you until the final breath is drawn from my body and beyond.”

“Oh, Bowie. You’ve been the center of my universe for so long that I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I’ve loved you since I was twelve, and I will love you for the rest of this life and throughout the next one.”

He strapped on his guns and he was gone.

I sat with my phone in my hand, waiting for the signal that all was well. Instead, I got a text an hour later from Bowie that simply said RUN. I knocked on Colin’s door and Brady’s. They were at full run as they hit the stairs. Mama and Papa were in the kitchen, making sure we all got out. As we suspected, Meredith was already gone. That bitch! As we headed out the back door toward the lake shore, men burst in the front door dressed like SWAT members, firing at anything that moved. Brady grabbed my hand and pushed me ahead of him. Everyone was shedding clothes as they went so they could shift on the run. I was able to shift quickly and headed for the shelter in the woods. I watched as Mama, Papa, Colin and Brady took off for the skies over Lake Superior. I looked back over my shoulder and watched as the house went up in flames. I had made it almost all the way to the cabin when Meredith appeared out of nowhere.

“Look at the little kitty. Now, you don’t have any big dragons to protect you. What are you going to do now?”

I lunged at her which was my mistake. She had a syringe that she plunged in my neck. I tore a chunk of flesh off of her before I passed out, but the last thing I remember is her telling some guy that I was a dragon slut.

Chapter Twenty-Nine-Bowie

I was so proud of Callum. He’d been on high alert and attempted to make sure every one of our families was safe. Our town was devastated, but we could always rebuild. That wasn’t a problem. Several people were wounded, but nothing serious. There were a few who had suffered from smoke inhalation. It was all minor compared to what it could have been if we hadn’t been prepared. Phone lines were down so we couldn’t call for outside help. Callum was traumatized by what he’d witnessed but he was digging in and helping people who needed it.

I tried to text the cell phone in the shelter, but I wasn’t getting a response which terrified me. The dragons rolled in offering help where they could. There was a fox missing and a couple of older bears. Mama and Dad showed up to help. Brady and Colin were getting Ana from the shelter and would be in soon. I was so relieved to see my family.

The house was destroyed, but we would rebuild. As long as my family made it out, that was the most important thing. Then, the text came in from the cell phone in the shelter: Found shelter No kitten B & I taking 2 air.

My heart sank into my gut and I fell apart. I sat down on the front steps of what was left of Pete’s and cried.

Dad found me, “Son?”

“She’s not in the shelter, Dad.” My father took a deep breath that shook when he took it.

“We’ll find her.”

Lance approached me, “Where do you need me to start?” I simply looked at him. “Cam and I will take part of the woods,” he said as he started getting a search party together.

Callum was handing out guns. Lance took charge of the whole situation. “We’re missing people and we need men who can help. Rosie and Lily Calhoun are missing. Sylvester Williams is missing. Anastasia Plum is missing. Anyone who goes takes a weapon. You go in pairs and each pair takes a walkie talkie. We need you to check in every hour. If you find a red dragon named Meredith, approach with caution. She’s had a hand in this. We want her brought back alive so she can stand trial in the dragon council, if possible. There will be food and water available at the community center. Please sign up so that we know who’s going out. This way, we can be sure that everybody comes back safe and sound.”

I was amazed as I watched men who had lost their homes, kiss their wives and children as they set off into the woods to search for the missing. This was small town living at its best.

I went into what the sheriff’s office and opened my personal gun safe. I strapped on enough ammunition to take down a dragon, if need be. Mama came into my office as I readied myself for battle.

“Bowie Golden, this is not your fault. But I want you to bring my baby home.”

I looked into my mother’s tear-filled eyes. “I won’t be back until I have her, Mama. I should have stayed and protected her.” I kissed my mother and jumped into the back of one of the pickup trucks that were headed toward the forest.

Chapter Thirty-Ana

I woke up in a cage in a dark, musty basement.

“Aww, morning, kitty,” Meredith said as she sat next to my crate.

I hissed at her and an electrical shock went through my body. That bitch laughed at me.

“Where’s your handsome dragon now?” she asked looking around the dimly lit room. “Rumor has it, he was killed last night.”

I felt my heart break into tiny pieces. “I don’t see your “adopted” family coming for you. They just don’t miss the poor half-breed.”

That really pissed me off. I knew they loved me and I knew they would look for me. The red bitch slid a slab of partially rotted meat through the grate at me. I refused to eat it. Then, the man from last night came into view.

“How’s our cat feeling today, Meri?”

“She’s grumpy,” was the response.

The man pulled out a bible and began to quote scripture from it at me. He apparently believed that he was going to save my soul. That was when I looked around the room.

In individual cages, I spotted the Calhoun sisters, a natural puma and what looked to be a family of bobcats. The bible thumper was explaining that it wasn’t my fault that my ancestors laid down with animals. Where the hell did he get that? What a fucking idiot! He must have gotten sick of the sound of his own voice because he and Meri left.

I sniffed the air, trying to figure out where we were being held.

Rosie Calhoun looked at me, “Ana, is that you?”

I nodded as best as I could. “Don’t eat the food if you can help it. It’s laced with sedatives. That’s what the male bobcat told me.”

I sniffed the piece of meat they’d left in my cage. There was some sort of drug in it. I nudged it out onto the floor with my nose. I didn’t want to shift, especially since I had no clothing. Also, if it came down to it, I knew could defend myself better with my claws and teeth than human fists.

Judging from the light coming through the windows, it was around five o’clock when Mr. Rush came back downstairs.

“I hear you are a wildcat in the bedroom. My wife heard you as you let that dragon fuck you. Why don’t you shift back so I can find out for myself?” I growled at him and he shocked me.

“Did you know I have a drug that will force you to shift back? Don’t make me use it on you. From what I understand, it’s quite painful, but pain won’t bother me. I may find it enjoyable.”

I pushed to the back of my cage. I was terrified. This guy was a nut case. “I’ll let you think on it for a couple of days. I’ll be back to see if you’ve changed your mind.”

I was determined to find a way out of this cage.

It was a moonless night. I tried to sleep, but thoughts of Bowie danced through my mind. I took a deep breath and opened my mind. I pushed thoughts out into the universe, “Bowie! Bowie! Help me!” Hopefully, we had a strong enough connection that he could pick up on it.

Chapter Thirty-One-Bowie

I had been walking through the woods with Brady for two days and taking to the skies every night. I was exhausted and hungry, but I wasn’t going to sleep until Ana was found. I had a niggling feeling in my mind. I could have sworn I heard Ana talking in my head. She was begging for help.

Brady looked at me, “What is it?”

“Ana’s alive. I keep hearing her voice in my head. She doesn’t know where she is, but she knows she’s in danger.”

We went back to the central gathering area.

“Can anyone think of any homes that have been abandoned over the last few years? Something with a traditional Michigan basement.”

Davis Kennedy said, “There are quite a few places that are used only for hunting up here. Most of them have a dirt floor cellar. I know there are three out beyond our property.”

“Alright, we split up and check out these properties,” I called out.

I saw Lance look at his brother, “Bowie, what about Old Dragon Green’s place? That’s been empty for a year or so.”

“Brady and I will go with you and Cam to check it out. The rest of you head out toward the Kennedy’s.”

The Green property looked pretty abandoned. Except for the tire tracks that led to the barn. Inside sat five trucks, snowmobiles and four wheelers. Brady got on his walkie talkie and called for everyone to re-route to us. We quietly walked around the house. There was a basement which was a good sign. There were tracks leading in and out of the house. We waited for everyone to arrive. Teams of twos and fours attacked the house, stealthily. Armed with rolls of duct tape, we began to hit every bedroom. There were twenty-five men sleeping in the various bedrooms. We bound and gagged the humans before carrying them outside.

Lance and I went in as a team. Together, we hit the master bedroom. There lay Meredith and her husband, sleeping soundly. Lance took the job of gagging the husband while I held my knife to Meredith’s throat. Her eyes fluttered open and I put my hand over her mouth. Fear. That was what I smelled as she realized who I was and what I was there for. Mr. Rush had pissed himself when he saw Lance over him.

“Where is Ana?” I asked.

“He made me take her.”

“You fucking bitch,” Mr. Rush called out as Lance slipped the gag into his mouth. Lance punched him, hard, before carrying the man downstairs to the waiting mob.

I pressed the knife a little harder, turning the dragon that loved Ana loose. Blood began to pool on the blade. “I’m asking nicely for the moment. Where is Ana?”

“Let me go and I’ll tell you,” she begged.

I laughed at her.

Arthur Smythe came up the stairs, “Bowie, you need some help with her?”

I heard another set of footsteps coming up the stairs. Behind Arthur stood a man with snow white hair, “Sheriff Golden? I’m Robert Garnett. This is my daughter, Meredith.”

Meredith’s eyes grew wide with fear. “If you will release her to me, I can guarantee she will never bother you again.”

“Mr. Garnett, I appreciate you flying in, but Meredith will need to stand trial in front of our dragon council. She and her husband have destroyed communities of shifters. That is just wrong any way you look at. She will face dragon justice if she stays here.”

“Since this is my daughter, I will be the one who metes out the punishment or execution, if you will allow it.”

The older man leaned over his daughter and said, with a tone that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, “Tell the sheriff where his mate is or I will rip your heart out of your chest right here.”

Meredith began to cry. “The cellar in the back of the basement. Paul has the keys to the cages.”

Arthur tossed the keys to me that lay on the nightstand. “Bowie, we’ll handle this. Go find your mate.”

Lance had broken the lock off the basement door and the men were helping the missing shifters out from the hell they had been in. The missing bobcats from Pine Bluff were dehydrated and starving. One pickup took them back to the community center where the women were waiting with sandwiches, clothes, blankets and water. The Calhoun sisters were weakened, but they appeared to be in good health. The next cage that came up had a natural puma in it. Cam Smythe was helping Colin and Brady carry it up. He snickered, “We thought we should let this one free outside.” I agreed. “There’s one more cage down there, Bowie, but that one is all yours. Her eyes are wild and we thought you would deal with her better.”

My heart leaped in my chest. I took the stairs slowly to avoid tripping over my own feet. On the back wall was the final cage holding a cougar with a shock collar around her neck. What fucking beast would do this? Her paws were bloody from where she had tried to find a way out. I pulled off my shirt and opened the cage. “Ana, kitten. I’m here.”

The big cat’s eyes opened and she saw me. She hesitated only slightly before she got up and rubbed against me. I pried the collar off her neck.

“You need to shift, kitten. I’ve got my shirt and coat for you to wear.” I waited patiently as she began to shift. As soon as she was fully human again, I held her against me.

“You found me, Bowie. You promised you would.” She passed out in my arms. I wrapped her in my shirt and coat before carrying her out of the house where the men in my family were waiting with the rest of the community. Dad got on the walkie-talkie and radioed back to the community center, “Bowie has her. She’s alive and safe.”