Page 15 of Starting Over (D.O.A. DRAGO #1)

Jude could be heard laughing, and Wyatt knew it was at his thunder’s expense, but Wyatt couldn’t blame him. Who knew that a tiny little elephant shrew could be so fucking fast against an entire horde of dragons.

“Get em good, Rain,” Jude laughed some more as Rain ran up to Omar and did a leap that was mind blowing.

Rain leaped at least a good three feet until he was on Omar’s dragon leg then leaped to a wing only to leap onto his back and skerry up his neck to the top of his head where he sat up, looked in Wyatt’s direction with his wiggling long snout.

“Oh my gods! What are you going to do now, Omar?” Jude shouted as he laughed to the point he almost fell off of his mate’s lap.

It was nice to see the two men together again. It seemed they’d worked out their differences… well, okay, so Wyatt knew that had to be the case because they hadn’t come up for air in the week that Wyatt had spent with his own mate.

Gods he was thankful for Asod and his men. They’d made sure no one had gotten close to the cabin or his mate while Wyatt had spent the time, he and his dragon needed to strengthen their bond.

Omar gave Jude a look, and with their mental bond all dragon hordes shared, Wyatt quickly said, “He’d give you indigestion, so don’t even think about it.”

“Besides, it won’t make a great impression with our new boss,” Ryan said, laughing as he walked up to Omar and blew on Rain, making him scurry around and shock the hell out of Ryan by jumping from Omar onto Ryan.

“Hey!” Ryan shouted in all the dragons’ minds.

“Damn it, Ryan, shut it! Fuck you’re going to give me a damn headache,” Arun called out.

Ryan huffed a puff of smoke, saying, “Yeah, well, you don’t have a little rodent on your head like some kind of fashion statement.”

Jinyr snorted, “I saw what you were wearing when we got here, and trust me, Rain is an improvement.”

“Fuck you, asshole,” Ryan muttered as he moved his head up and down towards the ground, trying to get Rain to shake loose and fall to the ground.

Oh, hell no! Wyatt marched over to Ryan, mentally snapping, “Stop that! You hurt my mate and I swear you won’t need a hat because you won’t have a head left to put it on.”

Ryan sighed, but didn’t argue. Instead, he walked like one of those models in training with a book on their head.

When Ryan got close to Augus and leaped onto him, sniffing around as he made the same chirping and twittering sounds he’d been making since he shifted.

Wyatt finally understood what his little mate was doing… he was scenting the thunder.

Son of a bitch, how could he not have figured that out sooner. Hell, his dragon hadn’t liked Rain going from dragon to dragon instead of staying with him, but now he got it. Rain was scenting his thunder so he could recognize friend from foe.

It wasn’t like Rain had had a chance to get to know his men. They’d only just arrived the day before, and on that day they had all been in a long meeting, first together when Wyatt had gone over Pit’s offer, and again when they accepted his offer.

So, he and his team were officially moving to Montana when this case was done… well, he thought that would be the case, he hadn’t exactly had time to discuss the matter with Rain. He’d meant to, but by the time he’d gotten to their room, Rain was sound asleep and Wyatt hadn’t wanted to disturb him.

Wyatt had meant to talk with him this morning, but then he’d woken to Rain in the shower and seeing his mate, naked…

wet… and looking so fucking good… wellllll, talking about his horde moving to Drago was honestly not at the top of his list, and then they’d had breakfast and River started talking to Rain about his elephant shrew, and the next thing Wyatt knew they were all shifting and going outside to play.

Wyatt stayed on alert, even though Smoky had made sure the area was clear and safe to even shift, let alone play. So far it had been fun, but it was time they got back to work. It wasn’t fair to ask Smoky to do their job.

Currently Rain was on Orca’s back sniffing around when Wyatt shifted, and called out loud enough so his mate would hear, “It’s time to get back to business, guys. Shift.”

A loud squeak was heard when Orca shifted, effectively dropping Rain to the ground. He continued to make the sound as he rushed around Orca making his displeasure known.

Wyatt rushed to his mate, growling at Orca as he passed. Orca just rolled his eyes and kept walking, but apparently Rain wasn’t finished cussing his man out in shrew style because he rushed to Orca, leaping on his foot and running up Orca’s leg.

“What the fuck!” Orca shouted as he danced from foot to foot, looking as if he wanted to smack Rain, but knowing if he harmed Wyatt’s mate in any way shape or form, Wyatt would kick his fucking ass.

“Ouch! Son of a bitch!” Orca dropped to the ground cupping his balls, hissing, “Not the balls! Not the balls!”

Wyatt could see that Rain was currently at the man’s upper thigh, and from the looks of it he was quite high and close, and his dragon didn’t like that even a little. “Rain! Get out of there now! I will lose my shit if you bite one of my men’s balls.”

Seeing Orca’s pants moving as Rain scurried out of the leg, he then went to Orca’s head and chittered before taking a bite out of the man’s nose.

“Fuck!” Orca shouted as he held his nose, and Rain turned and pranced to Wyatt. Wyatt could have sworn his mate was fucking smiling, and that alone had a huge grin forming as he knelt down and allowed his mate to crawl onto the palm of his hand.

Leaving Orca screaming on the ground, Wyatt walked past the gaping men saying, “And that, my friends, is what happens when you piss off an elephant shrew shifter. I suggest you heed my mate’s warning.”

* * * *

“How about we go outside with our coffee while the men have their meeting with Pit and the others?” Jude suggested.

Rain sighed, “Sure. Sounds good to me.”

Rain grabbed his cup and stepped outside breathing in the fresh air. It was a bit nippy out here, but Rain really loved the outdoors… especially the mornings.

Jude sat in a chair overlooking the river sighing, “I’m going to have to go back soon.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rain said, knowing what he was going to ask.

“Do you plan on joining us?” Jude asked.

Sighing, Rain replied, “It’s what my mate wants.”

“I didn’t ask that. I asked if you plan on joining us?” Jude asked again.

Rain looked at Jude, “I go where my mate goes.”

“Oookay,” Jude said with that one long drawn out word.

Rolling his eyes, Rain replied, “Look, It’s not so simple for me. I’m not from the states, Jude. I have to apply, get a passport and…”

“You do realize that both DOA and Wyatt have tech guys that can make that happen. Hell, Lex told me that being a shifter and not aging meant that he had to change his identity after a certain time because aging is so slow with you guys you have no choice. He also said you guys moved… a lot for the same reason. So, what’s the real issue here? ” Jude questioned sternly.

Rain tilted his head back and looked to the sky, saying, “I don’t know. I’m kinda scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“New country. New town. New people. New mate… it’s all…

kinda overwhelming. Then you add in the fact that a mass murderer wants me dead…

what if, because of me, Danny shows up in Drago?

He could kill innocent people, Jude. You guys can’t possibly want that kind of shit at your door.

You guys have enough to think about without adding me into the mix and if someone dies because of me… ”

“Stop right there,” Jude snapped, drawing Rain’s eyes to his.

“First of all, I get how all of this might be overwhelming. I do. Trust me, I lived my own hell before finding my mate and I’ve continued dipping my toes in hell since finding my mate.

Shit happens and if anyone would understand that it would be every single person that lives in Drago. We’ve all been where you are, Rain.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts about it. Wiz and River can help with the visa issue so that isn’t a problem.

Your mate dotes on you, and anyone with eyes can see how he is with you all the time and how you are with him.

Hell, watching the two of you together when you shift is the most adorable fucking thing I’ve seen in a long time.

That means that isn’t an issue,” Jude stated firmly.

Rain looked down in his coffee, softly saying, “It sucks, you know.”

“What?”

“I worked my ass off to become a nurse practitioner. I was set up to start working in a clinic and had to take off before I could even start. What am I going to do in Drago? According to you guys, when I go I really can’t leave because I’m only protected on Drago land.

How do I get a job if that’s the case?” Rain asked with a sniffle.

Jude snorted, “Rain, you do know what I do for a living… right?”

Rain looked to Jude in confusion, “Huh?”

“I’m a fucking doctor, Rain. Do you not think that I might want you to come and work for me?” Jude asked.

“You do? But you don’t even know if I’m any good,” Rain said in awe.

Jude huffed, “Please. I’ve seen you in action, Rain. Maybe not in the medical aspect, but I’ve seen how smart you are, and there’s one other thing.”

Rain raised a brow at Jude and the man didn’t miss a beat. “I believe in my gut feelings I get. My gut has never done me wrong, Rain, and I don’t think today is the day it will.”

“Your sure you would want me to come and work for you? I mean, I’d give you all I got and more. I just don’t want you to feel like you’d have to hire me on…”

“Rain, I’m not wanting to hire you on because I feel sorry for you.

First off, I would never trust our town to someone I didn’t trust or believe can do the job.

The people in Drago deserve the best I can give them.

Second, I’m going to need someone to help me if I’m going to be a daddy,” Jude said with a smile.

“Daddy? You guys are…”

Shaking his head, Jude quickly interrupted, “Not yet, no, but we will be. Rance, Smoky and I are waiting for the move to be complete and then we’re going to start our family.”

“That’s fantastic, Jude. I’m happy for all of you,” Rain said.

The smile couldn’t possibly get wider when Jude said, “Thanks. I’m really excited. I honestly can’t wait for this new chapter in our lives and that means I’m going to need help.”

“Is there even much to do in Drago? I mean, I heard you talking with Bren, and it sounded like you guys were working in both Drago and in the town near you.”

“We were, but we’d already been talking about having to close shop in town because Drago was so damn busy.

Hell, there were times I’d be working so much I could go two even three days without seeing Rance because of all the work I had…

emergencies all the damn time, and I can’t tell you how many times I actually had to catch a few ‘z’s’ in the Drago clinic from all the emergencies that would come up.

I don’t want that when I have a child, Rain.

Hell, if I need to, I’ll be looking for a third person to help us out,” Jude said, then sat up, gasping, “You can be my business partner!”

“What? Wait, no, I can’t…”

“Yes! If you’re my business partner it means we can run our clinic together.

When we lived in the PA Drago, Bren and I shared a place, but in this new one, I’ll have my own place.

If you and I were partners, it would mean I wouldn’t have to make all the decisions.

Yes, you’re a nurse practitioner and not a doctor, but all that means is I handle the complex shit and do surgeries if they’re needed, but you can do comprehensive care, prescribe meds, manage any treatments I prescribe or ones you do.

There’s no reason we can’t go into this together.

It would be a win win for you and me,” Jude said, sounding more excited as he went on.

In his excitement, Jude jumped from his seat, knocking over his cup. Rain leaned over to get it when dirt and rocks smacked him in his face.

“Shit!” Jude shouted as he leaped onto Rain, “Stay down!”

“What are you doing? Get off me,” Rain said, trying to wiggle out from Jude’s hold.

Jude leaned straight into Rain’s ear, “Stop fucking moving. Someone’s shooting at us.”

“Shooting? Who’s shooting?” Rain asked in a panic.

“Well, let me think… hmmm… maybe the men that are trying to collect on the bounty held over your head? But it’s just a guess,” Jude snapped. “Just stay down. Rance and the guys should be…”

Jude didn’t get to finish what he was saying when another bullet hit next to their heads.

“Fuck!” Jude snapped, snagging the table they’d been sitting at and pulling so it fell sideways, “Stay down and crawl so the table is blocking us. The guys…”

Again Jude didn’t get to finish his thoughts when the glass door was slammed open and the group of men came out shooting.

Rain covered his ears from the sound of gunfire as a wisp of smoke surrounded them. Rain couldn’t remember being so scared in all his life. What the fuck had his life come down to?

Okay, so he’d been a witness to a mass shooting and seen things he’d wished never to see again, but he’d changed his name… started making a life for himself… and now he was lying on the ground, hiding behind a fucking table, praying he wouldn’t get shot while bullets flew all around him.

What the actual fuck?

Rain was so freaked out he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and it was so fucking loud he stopped hearing any and everything around him.

His breathing was coming so fast he knew he was on the brink of passing out from hyperventilating, and every part of him almost wished he would…

and when another bullet hit the table his head was hiding behind, he did the only thing his brain knew to do… he shifted… and ran.

“Rain!” Jude shouted.

However, Rain wasn’t stopping… not because he didn’t want to stop, but because his animal was on survival mode and that meant hide! He had to get away from everyone…

Hide!

Be safe!

That was all his animal was saying, and so he ran.

Since an elephant shrew could run close to twenty miles an hour, when his brain registered he wasn’t hearing gunshots anymore, he finally stopped and realized he had no clue where the fuck he was.

Or what happened to his mate… Jude… all the men… everyone.

Oh gods… he had left his mate… left his mate to die! What kind of a mate was he? The worst kind of mate. The most horrible of mates.

What would Wyatt think about him now?

His job, as Wyatt’s mate was to keep him safe and he’d done the worst thing a mate could do.

He’d run.

Rain wanted to go back, but he felt the shame… so much shame. How could he go back to Wyatt now knowing he’d left him there… left him to die.

The answer was clear.

He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t face any of them… if they were even still alive.