Page 22 of Silent Jay

I jerked up from my reading. “Still?”

“Apparently, Scalehive sedates the girls and silences them on their journey here, so they have no way of identifying our island.”

I didn’t like that, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

My officer brought up a PDF with the name “Betty Strop'' across the top and her details. I did a cursory scan. She hadn’t been in my arms for long, but even her name felt off. Tukaqu’s warnings whispered in my ear. I’d discounted my grandad’s words, and I still wanted to, but nothing about this felt normal.

Especially not my mate in the arms of another dragon.

“You stole that from Scalehive?” Bret piped up, his eyes wide. “They are the only neutral force on the Island. No one steals from them!”

I raised an eyebrow at my officer, grateful for my brother's lack of tact.

“It was surprisingly easy,” he admitted. “Their usual security wasn’t in place. I’d report it, but it would lead to uncomfortable questions.”

I nodded. “I’m sure someone’s been informed.”

“Jesus, you marked something that looks like that?” Bret blurted, peering at the tablet in my hands.

My security officer cocked his head to the side, clearly catching Bret’s reference to mate marks. I clenched my fist and fought not to strangle my only little brother.

A wave crashed on the beach. I followed the water line until the next wave swallowed it up. Pulling my shoulders back, I met my security officer's gaze. He wasn’t just my security officer but my family’s. I’d yet to report to my dad or grandad I’d marked Giggles. They didn’t need to know until she was back in my arms. However, saying that out loud would gain me nothing. Either our officer would keep quiet or fill in the family. It was out of my hands.

“Thank you, keep me updated,” I said.

“On your mate’s dalliances with another dragon?” My officer asked evenly.

I shifted my jaw so fast the man didn’t get a chance to blink before I bit him. He did, however, get the scales on his shoulder into a solid light blue shield before my teeth sank in too far. I released his shoulder and dropped, kicking his legs out from under him before transforming my hands into razor-sharp claws and poking one into a chink in the scales running up his neck.

“She’s mine,” my dragon snout garbled the words, but the man got the point.

“She’s yours,” he repeated, relaxing in my grip.

My dragon receded, and I stood, holding my hand for my officer. He took it, straightening his clothing and averting his eyes so he didn’t come across as challenging. Smart man. Although, I was a hair's breadth from apologizing for losing control, I stopped myself. This man wasn’t my friend. He was just as likely to hand over everything he learned to Tukaqu.

And then what? Would my grandad approve? If he didn’t, he’d call a family meeting…and if in the meeting they decided Giggles wasn’t right, what would I do? I wanted her in my life. Even if it was just the magic of The Hunt still pulling us together,the spark of new, of something different, burned. I refused to let it go out.

I excused my officer. He shifted into his dragon and headed directly inland toward Tukaqu’s manor house and my family.

“I’m sorry, Re,” Bret watched my officer.

I rubbed the top of his head. “You’re a dragon, Bret. Don’t apologize. Tukaqu would have guessed from the information I asked for. I made my own bed by keeping this from him.”

But a guess wasn’t something he’d act on, he demanded facts. I whipped my tail against the sand. Best case scenario, he’d sit on the information until after the elemental mixer.

I focused on my mate again—my future. I felt her, a faint dot in my consciousness, somewhere in fire territory. She wore my mark. Tyson could do nothing. In less than two days, I’d be dressed to impress at our second elemental event of the year—an evening of socializing with our opposites and finding mates from those who needed a second chance.

Giggles would be there, waiting for me. I’d take her in my arms and show Tyson everything he would never have. She’d cling to my chest as I flew her back to water territory, far away from the other elements. My dick twitched just thinking of her between my legs.

The next two days couldn’t go by fast enough.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TYSON

We sat on my couch. Fight music rumbled out of my speakers along with the pows and cracks of video game characters beating the snot out of each other. Betty ducked and moved her arms with every button she pressed on my PlayStation Controller. The light of the screen flickered in both our eyes.

I cornered her chosen fighter, Jade, and hit Kano’s ultimate combo. With a series of jumps and flashes, Kano sent Jade flying back and her health bar dropped to zero. A voice boomed ‘flawless victory,’ and I grinned.

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