Page 13 of Her Enemy Dragon Captor (Dream Team Shifters #5)

CHAPTER 13

J ane lay on the bed, staring at the cabin ceiling. Alex had left a half hour ago, claiming he needed to "handle some things.”

And of course, she understood what it was to be dedicated to one’s job... though what exactly his job was, was still rather mysterious.

Dragon shifter business...

But she understood he had responsibilities. And to say he didn’t make her heart go more than just pitter-patter would have been a total lie, but still his abrupt departure left her with an unsettling mixture of emotions.

Why is my gut still churning?

Um...because you just found out you’re a freaking dragon maybe?

"A dragon," she whispered to herself, examining her arms where the scales had briefly appeared. "Right, I'm a dragon."

The revelation should have been terrifying, world-shattering. Yet somehow, it felt right—like discovering a truth she'd always known deep down. The sensation of power coursing through her veins, that momentary connection to something ancient and magnificent... it had been intoxicating.

No, her gut was doing super slow somersaults for another reason.

Now, alone with her thoughts, Jane couldn't shake the feeling that Alex wasn't telling her everything. His evasiveness when she'd mentioned the FBI, the way he'd tensed when she'd talked about telling the world... something wasn't adding up.

And she trusted that instinct. She was trained to.

"When your back is against the wall, all you have is your gut. Learn to trust it," her father's voice echoed in her memory.

"Yeah, but what happens when your gut is telling you two different things at once?" she muttered to the empty room. "And now I've got a dragon gut too, apparently."

That was gonna be something else. Already, she could feel her dragon’s presence... just beneath the surface. But it wasn’t unsettling. Not really. It felt kinda like knowing you had an ace up your sleeve.

Except it’s an ace that keeps urging you to play it.

No sooner had she pushed the thought aside, than Jane sat up, suddenly restless. The strange glow of last night's experience was fading in Alex’s absence, leaving her FBI instincts to resurface with a vengeance.

Something's off. You know it is.

She rose and approached the door, half-expecting it to be locked.

No way. He better not have...

But a surprising wave of relief washed over her as the handle turned easily in her hand.

"Well, that's... progress, I guess," she said to herself, stepping outside.

God, you really need to work on your relationship standards.

She let out a soft chuckle as she felt the afternoon sun warm on her skin. At least she still had some semblance of a sense of humor. She oriented herself and then headed across the grounds toward the main structure in the compound... the warehouse.

She needed to find Cindy—now that she knew the woman wasn't crazy after all, maybe she could get some straight answers.

Or at least some girl talk about what it's like to wake up and discover you're part mythological creature.

She wondered vaguely if Cindy was a dragon too. She was surprised she immediately got the sense that no... that wasn’t right. Not at all. But she was something. Something more ... connected to the earth and nature... to the gentle side of it...

Whatever that means.

She pushed this thought aside too. These weird feelings were going to take some getting used to.

As she rounded a corner near one of the meditation buildings, she spotted a young man sitting alone on a bench, head in his hands, trembling visibly. She vaguely recognized him from one of the orientation sessions." "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, approaching slowly.

The young man's head snapped up, his eyes red-rimmed and wild. "I didn't sign up for this," he whispered, voice cracking. "They're feeding us these stories about some kind of... threat. It's getting weird."

Jane sat beside him, her internal alarm going from a gentle nudge to full-on klaxon. "What do you mean? What kind of threat?"

"That's just it—they're vague, but really intense about it." His voice rose before he caught himself, glancing around nervously. "Something about 'dark forces' coming, and how we need to be ready to be strong. Like really strong! “I’m not strong? My fursona is Tootie the Tortoise! I think they expect us to fight!” He was really rambling now. “And they've started separating people into units... like militia or something!”

Oh god.

Melissa’s rantings were all coming back to her. “We have to prepare Jane! You’ll see. You’ll wish you were ready too!”

Jane sat beside the trembling young man, her FBI instincts going into overdrive. "What exactly did they tell you about this... threat?"

"They said we're all going to die... like all of us... if we don't kill them first...." His voice dropped to a whisper. "That there are enemies hiding everywhere, like among us... maybe watching us... that you need to be prepared to strike down anyone who might be against our cause.” He clutched at her arm. "I just wanted to connect with my turtle, you know? I was just supposed to observe and report back. I didn't sign up to kill anybody..."

"Kill?" Jane repeated, alarm bells ringing in her head.

"There are rumors of underground bunkers... it’s gonna happen soon. There’s a lot of chatter..." he whispered.

Before Jane could respond, two men appeared seemingly out of nowhere. One was tall with a military bearing, the other broad-shouldered with an air of authority.

“There you are," the taller one said with forced cheerfulness. "It’s time for meditation."

"I don't want to meditate!" James cried. "I want to go home!"

Under other circumstances Jane thought she might have laughed at the ridiculous statement.

The broad-shouldered man placed a hand on Jane's shoulder. "Sorry about that. Don't worry, you know, meditation can stir things up. Plus, I suspect he's just having trouble processing some of our more advanced teachings."

“Ya think?” said the tall one.

Jane stood her ground. "He seems genuinely distressed."

"He’s fine. Don’t give it a second thought," Broad shoulders assured her.

Then why do you look so stressed out?

But of course, she kept that to her inside-voice.

As they led the young man away, Jane heard him call back: "They're preparing us for war! The real thing! They say the government won't save us!"

The encounter left Jane cold, more memories of Melissa flooding back. But this time, not so much any particular words. More the look in his eyes. That paranoid fear. And what he’d said. It all just sounded so similar.

And jeez, they did that to a guy who was supposedly prepared for them... she was sure he must be one of the missing informants.

His recruiter will be disappointed in his performance.

Screw finding Cindy. She needed to at least get a call to her field office, and check in.

Not to mention talk to someone who isn’t mixed up in all this.

She could feel she was getting too close.

Losing perspective.

Jane headed toward the main gate, spotting a friendly-looking guard.

"Hi there," she said with her best Lucy smile. "I just need to run into town for a bit. My phone's dead and I promised my mom I'd call."

The guard's expression remained pleasant but firm. "Oh yeah, okay sure, so you have a pass from Jack, or Cindy?”

“A pass? Oh um, right...I guess I’ll just have to go grab one. Unless you could make an exception just this once.”

“Sorry miss. A pass is protocol."

"Protocol?" Jane felt her stomach tighten.

“Yeah. A lot is going on for you new recruits. Just a good idea to stay on site while you get... acclimated.”

“Acclimated. Right.”

“Just go talk to Jack... or Cindy... or Alex even.”

“Right. Thanks.”

Talk to Alex even, huh? She would do that.

I am going to do that right now.