Chapter 3
Raphael
I drove over five hundred miles, stopping only at a few different places—including the parking lot to rest my eyes for a few hours—before a sudden sense of rightness overcame me.
As I suspected, it was the town of Willowdale.
Now that I’d crossed the city limits into Willowdale, I could see it was true to its description. It was a cozy little town that had a handful of stoplights. The streets were bustling with small-town activities, and cute little shops and stores lined the streets.
Like I had for my entire journey, I let my dragon guide me, which had me turning down a side street, driving two blocks, and then parking in front of a one-story ranch house with white trim and deep green shutters. The landscaping out front was lush with green gardenia bushes that were in bloom.
My dragon rumbled his approval.
Someone lived here. It wasn’t as if I could buy or rent the house, so why was my dragon sure that it was ours? Some days I wished the creature came with a manual. He had never steered me wrong before, and I trusted him. The least he could do was provide a map.
I could not, however, remain outside some person’s house staring like a crazy person. I forced myself to put the truck back into drive and pull onto the street.
With my dragon content with the town, I needed to scope out a place to actually stay.
Then I came upon the fire station, which sat on the corner, directly across from the bakery and the emergency medical services station. The words Firefighters Wanted flashed on the digital sign out front.
It was fate, and I would not question it.
I pulled into a parking spot, got out, and stretched my legs. I had lost track of how long I had been driving that stretch, but it had been a while.
The garage door was open, giving me a clear view of the three bays. Two of which had tanker trucks, while the other had a small ladder truck. No one was running about, so it didn’t seem as if they were actively going toward a call. The place scented of shifters—a wolf, a bear, maybe a few others. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about hiding my dragon.
I paused a moment and drew in the scents.
There were many different shifters here, and no signs of humans at all, anywhere in the town.
Come to think of it, the entire town kind of scented of shifters.
Did any humans live here?
“Can I help you with something?” a voice called.
I turned to see a man—an alpha wolf by the scent of him—approaching. He wore a pair of bunker pants and a navy-blue t-shirt with the department logo on the chest. Based on the peppering of gray in his hair, he was in his early to mid-forties. Or perhaps he was just the type to go gray early.
I held out a hand for him to shake. “My name’s Raphael,” I said. “I just arrived in town and wanted to talk with someone about the position available.”
He shook my hand slowly, his nostrils flaring. “Dragon?”
I nodded.
He whistled. “Don’t see many of those.”
“No, sir.”
“Well, welcome to Willowdale. You’ll fit in fine. I’m Tyler, the fire chief here, also pack Alpha.”
My brow rose in surprise. Should I bare my neck? I had interacted with wolves before, but never the Alpha of the pack.
He chuckled. “Don’t worry about formalities. I don’t care about that sort of thing. You looking for a long-term position or just a short while?”
“Long-term. I… I think my mate is here. My dragon... It’s hard to explain.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Let me guess, your dragon led you here, and he wants to stay?”
I nodded.
“See? Not difficult to explain to all. Maybe humans wouldn’t understand, but we do. Let me give you a tour of the station.”
As he led me deeper into the building, I couldn’t help but feel like I was stepping into the right chapter of my life.
“Clearly, this is the engine bay.” He gestured toward the trucks. “We’re a small town, so we really don’t need much. Two tanker trucks and the small aerial engine. We also have two pickups, one I drive primarily and the other is used for search-and-rescue. The EMS garage is across the street. We work closely with them. Let me show you the fun stuff.”
We passed by lockers and cubbies with enough turnout gear for twenty people.
“How many firefighters do you all have?”
“Four full-time guys, plus me, but I’m more of a part-time chief, full-time Alpha. Then we have another fifteen that are volunteers. We service a lot of the rural area, as well as the whole town. And we help with neighboring towns when needed.”
He led me into the office area.
“We’ll come back here to do your paperwork, but I can show you the living area first. Do you need a place to stay or have you figured that out yet?”
“Not yet. I literally just pulled into town.”
“I suspected as much. I would have heard if someone else had run into you. You can stay here until you find an apartment. It might not be ideal, but it’s free.”
“That will work. That won’t cause any issues? I don’t want to cause trouble with the crew for any special treatment.”
Tyler waved a hand in the air. “Naw, we’ve all used the station as a temporary home once or twice. Hell, Sanjay’s omega kicked his ass out of the house two years ago for a slight misunderstanding. He stayed here until he could beg for forgiveness.” He winked. “But that’s a story for a different day.”
He kept walking. “This way to the common area.”
As we walked, I took in the sense of family and camaraderie that filled the station. The walls were lined with past accolades and photos of the crew during downtime and town events.
The hall opened up into a large space that had a full kitchen straight ahead and a living room type space to the left. There was a large television, two plush couches, and a billiards table. A large table sat near the kitchen with a couple of half-finished puzzles and a chess board on it.
“The bedrooms and showers are on the upper level.”
“Looks like you guys keep busy,” I said.
“Hey, Alpha.” Two broad-shouldered men came down the stairs. They stopped when they saw me.
“Dude, is that a dragon? Or... something else?” His nostrils flared, and he stepped closer.
“Dragon,” I said.
“Guys, this is Raphael. He’s going to be joining the team,” Tyler said.
“Fantastic. I am so over these double shifts. I’m AJ.” He held out his hand, and I shook it.
“I’m Levi. Resident bear shifter. Finally, I won’t be the odd man out.”
“You’re still odd, Levi.” AJ nudged his shoulder.
“Is the pack made up of multiple shifter types or...” I wasn’t sure how to phrase the question without being offensive.
“Sort of. We have mostly bears and wolves in town, with a few other paranormal types around—witches and vampires and the like. The bears have their own den leader. I’m not the boss of everyone or anything like that.”
“Bullshit. He’s being modest. He leads the whole town. Don’t let him tell you otherwise. Rory is the bear den leader. He lets Tyler have all the glory—and all the attention.”
“Rory is the real brains behind this operation,” AJ teased, nudging Levi with his elbow. “But seriously, we coexist pretty well. It’s all about respecting each other’s territories, you know?”
I smiled at their banter. The camaraderie flowed effortlessly between them, a stark contrast to the loneliness I had felt on the road. It felt good to be around other shifters who understood my nature without question.
“Nice to meet you guys,” I said. “I just got into town, but I’m really feeling like I’m meant to be here.”