Page 29 of Lachlan

“Hunter paid a visit to Ben’s family home.” Lachlan once again took up the narration. “He didn’t knock on the door or makethem aware of his presence in any other way, but with his heightened hearing, he was able to?—”

“You all have heightened hearing too?” Belle prompted eagerly.

“I’m pretty sure it’s normal hearing for dragons,” Ranulf explained.

“You’re being pedantic?—”

“Yes, we all have heightened hearing compared to a human’s.” Lachlan cut in to what was looking to become an argument between the fiery Belle and his introspective brother.

“Do the three of you also have some sort of…mental connection so that you can read each other’s thoughts?”

“Yes.”

“But our connection will be separate to the one between the two of you once you’re mated,” Ranulf assured.

“If we’re mated,” Belle insisted.

Ranulf gave a derisive snort. “I seriously doubt that a strong-willed and intelligent woman like yourself would be able to pass up the opportunity to learn more about dragon shifters by refusing to mate with one.”

“You choose now to find your voice and become chatty?” Lachlan glared at Ranulf.

His brother shrugged. “I meant it as a compliment.”

Lachlan scowled. “Well, it sounded as if you were saying the only reason Belle would consider mating with me is because it will aid in her research into the existence of dragons.”

“How can you possibly think that after the way we just— Never mind,” Belle snapped, warmth coloring her cheeks. “Could we return to the subject of what Hunter overheard at the McGregors?”

Ranulf nodded. “Hamish and Morag were discussing Ben having gone out shortly after he and his father returned from looking for you this morning. He hasn’t been seen since.”

Belle considered this information. “Do you think he can have gone back to London?”

Lachlan shook his head. “The trains aren’t running,” he reminded. “The roads haven’t been cleared yet either.”

“Then where is he?”

“A helicopter was heard in the vicinity around midday,” Ranulf put in. “It landed just before Ben went out and then took off again shortly afterward. Ben hasn’t been seen since.”

Belle gave a baffled frown. “Ben’s a student, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t own a helicopter. I doubt he knows any millionaires who do, either,” she scorned.

Lachlan grimaced. “That might change if he’s managed to find a buyer for Sister Agnes’s diary.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

Lachlan could see that she didn’t.

Probably because she hadn’t spent the last twelve centuries keeping herself hidden from the greed of treasure hunters and the savagery of dragon hunters.

It had been difficult enough to do during those earlier centuries, when superstition had been rife across the land. Even more so during the Victorian era when, for some reason, the idea of dragon and vampire hunting had become fashionable.

But during the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, when technology and the internet had become so intrusive and instant, keeping their identity as dragon shifters had become increasingly difficult. It would be a relief, in some ways, to disappear for the half a century or so necessary to hide their existence.

“Think, Belle,” he encouraged gently when she continued to look confused. “What is a dragon supposed to have and value above everything else?”

“I don’t— Are you referring to the fable of a dragon’s treasure?” She chuckled at the idea, then sobered when she saw that neither Ranulf nor Lachlan were joining in her humor. “You can’t be serious.”

“When we came through the mountain earlier, I diverted our route around the center,” Lachlan said softly.

She frowned. “I assumed that was because it was solid rock.”

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