Page 19 of Starting Over (D.O.A. DRAGO #1)

Wyatt left the basement before he killed that fucker himself.

“Dude, you need to calm down. That guy’s an asshole, but he isn’t our problem. Casper said Pit’s sending a man to come get him and bring him to Drago. The others are to be handed over to the cops. Pit’s already spoken to them and they’re on their way,” Ryan said.

Wyatt looked up and slowly let a breath out before nodding. “Sounds good.”

“My concern is that kid, Noah. If Rob’s telling the truth, he’s looking at some serious trouble,” Ryan warned.

“I agree with Ry. We should go and see what’s what. For all we know Rob’s full of shit,” Asod said.

Hearing a thump, they turned to see Smoky shrinking to about their height just as the sound of Jude shouting, “Wyatt! Wyatt! Rain’s gone!”

Wyatt turned as Jude made it to the top of the stairs with Casper and a few of his men on his heels.

“What the fuck do you mean Rain’s gone?” Wyatt snapped.

“He means that your mate took off out of here like a bat out of hell. I followed him and it looks like he’s heading north,” Smoky answered as he walked in. “I only came back here because My soul bonds demanded I pick them up and take them in that direction.”

“We demanded it, because Rain is going to where that guy Noah is,” Jude snapped.

“For fuck’s sake! I swear I’m going to spank his ass when I get him back here,” Wyatt ground out, before snarling, “Orca, you, Omar and Tandris meet up with the police. Jinyr, River and Augus stay with Rob until Pit’s men arrive. The rest of you are with me.”

It was mere seconds, and Wyatt was in the air with his thunder close by him.

Wyatt’s dragon sensed an unfamiliar next to him, but he didn’t tense or get upset. He knew it was Smoky.

“My bond mate wants me to tell you to not be upset with Rain,” Smoky said using a mind link that Wyatt had no clue he could do.

“How are you using my thunder’s mind link?”

Smoky gave a mental snort, saying, “I am an original. It means we do not need to belong to a thunder, Wyatt.”

It still blew Wyatt’s mind that the originals were real and not the myths he and his brothers thought them to be. Insane really… and he planned on having a long talk with Smoky and hopefully some of the other originals when he got to their new home.

There was so much he and his thunder didn’t know, and these dragons held the answers.

“My soul bond said to please not be mad at Rain. That you need to understand that Rain feels guilty.”

“Rain has nothing to feel guilty about,” Wyatt stated angrily.

Smoky said nothing for a moment, then asked, “Can I be frank with you, Wyatt?”

“Of course,” Wyatt answered.

“I can’t say I always understand a human’s mind or a shifter like yourself. In my time we had little dealings with either. However, since joining souls with Casper I learned some, but when I joined with Jude… well, let me tell you I’m still learning.”

Wyatt gave a mental laugh but Smoky wasn’t finished speaking. “I don’t always understand his mindset, but I do know that when he gets an idea in his head, no matter how stupid it might be, no one is going to talk him out of it. I believe your mate listened in on your talk with the prisoner.”

“Rob,” Wyatt said.

“His name is inconsequential. The point is, Rain must have felt the need to listen in when you guys all spoke with the prisoner. My Jude would say he had a right to be there since all of this involves him. I also learned that in this he isn’t wrong.

Because all of this revolves around him, he feels a need to be involved, and he knew you would not allow this. ”

“Damn right. He isn’t trained for this kind of thing.”

“No. No he isn’t. However, he feels responsible for what is happening, and trained or not, it’s something he must do. I had to learn this myself,” Smoky replied.

Wyatt was completely thrown with those words, and found himself snapping out, “What the hell would he feel responsible for? Danny is the reason for this shit, not Rain.”

“I know that, but to Rain, the reason Danny is even here is because of him. The reason those men shot at him and Jude is because they were after him. Because of the bounty on him, someone is now going after the young man. I know it makes no sense, but knowing how my Jude thinks as well as Bren, Rylee, Lex, Gio and all the others… well, it isn’t too much to think that your Rain thinks the same.

It seems to be the common denominator for a dragon’s mate. ”

“What? Insanity?” Wyatt asked with a laugh.

Smoky gave a soft laugh, before answering, “It might seem that way, but no, Wyatt… integrity. That and the fact that they have a moral compass. They are honorable. Is their way of thinking… understandable? Not always, but the fact that they are willing to put their own lives in front of others to keep them alive? That says a lot about the kind of man you are mated to. So instead of being angry with Rain… maybe you might be proud that the gods thought so much of you that they gave you such a blessed gift.”

Well, shit.

“There it is!” Ryan shouted.

Wyatt looked down and saw the exact house Rob had described.

“Movement to the left!” Asod called out to them all.

Immediately Wyatt looked in the direction Asod indicated, and it didn’t take long to notice what he was talking about. “It’s Rain!”

There was no hesitation as Wyatt started heading in his mate’s direction and only slowed when Smoky warned, “There are multiple people surrounding the cabin.”

Wyatt looked left then right before saying, “Are you sure? I don’t see anyone.”

“I will do my best to not be offended by that question. It is clear to me that much education on Originals must take place, but yes, I am sure. There are six men in the woods closest to the river, about one hundred yards from Rain and five more on the other side of the cabin as well as two waiting at the end of the trail. I’m assuming they’re there to ensure Noah cannot escape on the trail or by going through the woods in that direction. ”

Wyatt didn’t see anyone, but he also wasn’t going to question an Original either.

They had gifts that Wyatt could only dream of…

at least if the stories he was told as a child were good.

So unwilling to argue, he gave the orders needed to ensure his mate as well as Noah remained safe, “Ryan, take Throm and go check out the forest. Asod, I want to know who the fuck those men are that’s so close to my mate. I’m going down there to help Rain.”

“We can help, Wyatt. It’s kind of my specialty,” Smoky said.

Remembering the grey fog that had encompassed Jude and Rain when Rob’s friends were shooting at them, he quickly said, “I’ll take any help I can get. I need my mate safe.”

Smoky rushed in front of Wyatt and it was really odd as a blanket of gray formed and became larger and larger. However, Wyatt had no trouble seeing the ground or where his mate currently hid looking as if he was trying to decide whether he should enter the cabin or not.

Rushing towards Rain, Wyatt made a quick landing and shift, pulling Rain back and covering his mouth just as he was about to make a move.

Rain struggled and only stopped when Wyatt leaned close to his ear, whispering, “Stop struggling, little mouse.”

The struggles stopped and Rain’s shoulder’s drooped and he let out a ragged breath of relief.

Wyatt took his hand from Rain’s mouth still whispering, “There’s a man a few hundred yards to your right and more on the other side of the cabin as well as another blocking the lane to get here.

My men are checking things out and Smoky is covering the area in his grey mist. I’m sure… ”

Rain gasped and tried to move towards that cabin, snapping out, “We need to warn Noah!”

Wyatt stopped Rain and pulled him to him once more, “We will, but not until we know it’s safe.”

“Guys, we can get to the cabin if we hurry. Smoky is going to keep the thick smoke going until we’ve made it inside,” Jude said, with Casper on his heels.

Rain looked at Wyatt, anxiously saying, “I know you’re upset with me for coming here without you… and uh… for listening in on the interrogation, but…”

Wyatt turned Rain around, placing a finger on his lips.

“We’ll discuss it later, but I’m not upset with you, Rain.

I should have asked you if you wanted to be there with us when we spoke to Rob.

I honestly didn’t think you’d want to be near a man that was there when you were being shot at.

” Ducking his head a bit, Wyatt admitted, “And if I’m honest I didn’t want you that close to him.

However, as it was pointed out to me… you have a stake in all of this and had a right to be a part of what’s happening.

As for coming here, it was also pointed out to me that I should be grateful for being given the gift of a man with such honor, and as much as I wish you would stop putting yourself in danger like this. I also understand why you did it.”

“Guys,”Jude hissed.

Rain pulled away from Wyatt, nodding, “Let’s do this.”

As quickly as they could, Rain, Wyatt, Casper and Jude rushed to the house along with who was left from Wyatt’s thunder.

Within seconds they were at the back door and Wyatt was banging on it… hard.

The door flew open and a young man with spiked blond hair stood there looking confused. “Can I help you?”

Wyatt didn’t get a chance to say anything before Jude pushed past him and backed the man up, while following him inside the house, “We don’t have a lot of time to explain. Your life’s in danger and we need to get you out of here.”

Noah eyes widened, “Who are you?”

Sighing, Jude turned to his mate, “We might have to do this the hard way.”

Noah gasped, “Look, I don’t know who you guys are or what you want, but you need to leave… now.”

Rain sighed and moved past Wyatt until he was standing next to Jude. “Noah? Your name is Noah, right?”

Noah looked wary as he slowly nodded, “Yeees?”