Chance had no way to know, to warn our girls. He'd sleep easy thinking I was safe, not miles away getting manhandled by assholes with a mint fetish.
William saw me watching. He didn't even try to hide his pleasure. "See? No backup. Nobody's coming. That's the trick, isn't it, being prepared. The mint all over you will ensure your precious dragon doesn't sense your panic. I know you've not mated him yet oryou'd be allergic to the mint, too, but this way we won't have any surprise visits."
He chucked the phone out the window. It slapped the blacktop and skittered into the dark.
My entire body thrummed with panic, frantic and raw.
William leaned on me, keeping me pinned down with an elbow as the SUV rolled forward. Mark accelerated.
We climbed. Sharp curves, up the mountain, my ears popping. A part of me counted the turns. Left, right, left again, cataloguing each bump and twist, in case I survived so I could warn my family. It was futile, though. In these mountains it was impossible to keep up with all the turns and curves.
William started talking. Not to me, but loud enough.
"Not too far to the cabin now. I'll let the boss know it's in play when we get there to cut down on arguments. If they've got any other dragons in the family, they'll show. Especially if they think we'll hurt her."
Mark shook his head but didn't argue.
Bait. They wanted to turn me into a fucking goat tied to a post.
"She's human," Mark muttered. "We should just ditch her. The mission's killing monsters."
William snorted. "She's a traitor, a monster fucker, so it doesn't matter, does it? Sexing it up with a monster? Makes her a monster, too. And he's attached now. They're wired for it. You take the mate, you can wipe out the whole clutch."
He meant Chance. And the girls. And probably every Meyer in the county.
A different kind of chill crawled under my skin.
William shifted, stretched, and kept rubbing mint leaves into my wrists every couple of minutes, like he was seasoning meat.
Finally, after a dozen more switchbacks and a half-mile of nothing, the SUV wheeled into a narrow drive lined with trees and brush so thick it might as well have been a hunting blind.
Mark parked at an angle, engine still running.
William half-dragged, half-pushed me from the back seat. I could see a cabin now, dark, sunken into the hillside, its porch light off, nothing to suggest life inside.
No chance to call for help. Not unless I counted the birds and the wind, neither of which gave a damn about me.
I dug my boots in, but he just lifted me by theelbows and kept moving, stumbling through the entryway, wrists raw, and kicked backward. My boot hit something with a satisfying thump.
"Bitch!" William snarled.
"What the hell is going on here, Hanlon?" a woman's voice snapped.
She stood at the edge of the tiny kitchen, tall and lean, with her hair pulled back in a braid. Her arms were crossed, her jaw locked so tight I could almost hear the teeth grinding.
William's tone changed, just a little. "Kira! Got your present."
She didn't smile.
Her eyes moved over my face, down to where the mint leaves and blood dyed my skin. Then she looked at the men.
"This isn't protocol," she snapped. "She's not what we hunt."
Mark spoke slowly. "She's screwing the dragon. Makes her fair game."
Kira rolled her eyes. "The Order protects humans. It doesn't harm them. Or use them as fucking bait."
William set his shoulders, ready for a fight. "It's necessary. The whole valley's gone rotten with dragons. If you want a clean sweep, you snag the mate. Monsters always come for their own. I know you said that the daughtersare full human, but I have my doubts. You're the lead for this mission, but I think our intel is being screwed with."
