Page 16 of The Fox and the Dragon

"Their lives are about to drastically change between the dragons and fox law, and the family is going down." Will finished his coffee and set the cup aside. He noticed Ashton checking his phone and asked him who he was expecting. Ashton shared with him the fact that Harley had texted him and had accepted all of his apologies.

"I'm so glad, Ashton; you two have been friends too long to allow bullshit like Ally and the Palmers to come between you." Will patted his arm.

“I’m lucky he forgave me.”

“Yes, you are."

They talked about everything Harley, the Palmers, the dragons and how the family was going to react to Ashton mating with a powerful dragon they left nothing out. Will was clearly back to himself again and he had an opinion on everything as usual.

"I'm going to shower and put on these sweats that someone brought into me, and then maybe you can show me Saphir's quarters." He bounced his eyebrows and smiled.

"He lives rather simply, and his furnishings are basic and not the least bit pretentious. He's a good man Will, and I amso damn lucky, although I still believe that at some point, I'm going to wake up, and it will all be a dream." It was a genuine fear, and he was anxious to complete their bond and get their lives together. He wasn't sure how it was all going to work, but it didn't matter as long as he had Saphir; nothing else mattered, really.

Ashton scrolled on his phone while waiting for Will to get ready, and then suddenly, it rang. He thought it was probably Saphir or a family call, but the number was unfamiliar. Normally, he would have ignored it, but his curiosity got the best of him, and he answered. "Hello, who is this?"

“I have your father.”

“What?”

“Shut up and listen very carefully.” The tone knifed through him, and he fell immediately silent.

"You're not so stupid as to not know what is going on so don't play stupid with me." The caller began and Ashton stayed silent. "You know who this is, and you know what I am capable of and now with that out of the way I'm giving you a choice Ashton. You can come and present yourself to me and we can have a long and meaningful exchange, or I will kill your father."

“Where are you?” Ashton kept it brief. He knew who he was talking to, even as the veneer of culture and society had vanished beneath his true nature. He was nothing but a goon and a criminal.

“I know that you’re hiding in the forest like the coward that you are.”

"I'm the coward?!" He burst out, unable to contain his anger. "You're the one who hires people to do your dirty work. You're the coward in this, not me."

"Shut up!" he screamed. "One more word from you, and your father's dead." There was a pause, and silence fell, but the anger and hatred pumping through the air was deafening.

"Meet me at the large clearing by the river where we perform our autumn rituals. You know the place. Be there before dark, or don't bother coming. If you dare tell anyone or bring anyone with you, your father will be dead when you find him." With that, he closed the call. He didn't give him much time, considering the distance Ashton needed to cover.

He wrote a brief note to Will and left his phone on the bed. It was useless where he was going. Once he left the dragon's den, there was no service until you reached the main path, and that was not his destination. Palmer was directing him into the heart of the most desolate part of the forest. The only redeeming aspect was the fresh, clean river that ran beside the clearing. It was a beautiful area, but Palmer didn't choose it for its beauty. He chose it because there was natural earth magic there.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Saphir and Roan headed to Palmer's home in McCandless first but found nothing. According to the household staff, Palmer and his wife joined Ally on a vacation to New York. Their lie was obvious, but it was also clear that none of them knew where he was.

The waiting and game playing was not Saphir’s style, and he was on the edge of causing enough destruction that the man would be forced to return and deal with it. But Roan ever the diplomat insisted that he could get some answers, so Saphir gave him leave to try and stepped back. Roan targeted the gardener who was human and much easier to manipulate than the house staff which were all fox shifters.

“The oldest son was by here a few hours ago looking for his father.” He told him. “He came out of the house and yelled to his companion that he’d gone to the forest whatever that means.” That was all the two men needed to hear they thanked the man and immediately took off.

"I'm calling Ashton," Saphir announced.

"Make sure he stays inside; no telling what that man plans or the power he wields," Roan added.

“Hello.” Saphir was confused when Will answered Ashton’s phone.

“Where is Ashton?” He asked.

“I don’t know I found a note and his phone on the bed, but he’s gone.” Will stated and his worry was clear. “The note says he’ll be back soon that he needs to deal with something.”

“Check the last call on his phone.”

“An unknown number and it lasted five minutes.” Saphir asked for him to give him the number and he’d check it out.

"Don't worry, Will. I'm sure he's okay." Saphir tried to ease his mind. He closed the call and turned to Roan, who had already run the number.

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