7. Maple
SEVEN
MAPLE
The silence inside the SUV felt suffocating, broken only by the low hum of the engine and the occasional crunch of gravel beneath the tires.
Maple pressed herself deeper into the leather seat, the treasure chest clutched against her like armor, her knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.
The claim marker inside pulsed, sending that familiar warmth through Maple's body, but now it felt different—more insistent, more alive, as if it were responding to Rune's proximity in the passenger seat ahead of her.
This past day has been nothing but one impossible thing after the next.
Twenty-four hours ago, she'd been a respected archaeologist following what she'd assumed was just another fringe lead.
Now she sat in the backseat of a dragon shifter's SUV, having nearly plummeted to her death over a canyon edge, saved by a powerful Alpha who somehow knew exactly where to find her.
The rational part of her mind—the part that had been trained in evidence and methodology—kept insisting this couldn't be real.
But the heat radiating from the artifact in her lap and shooting straight through her body said otherwise.
Ben shifted his weight beside her, his field-weathered face pale.
He kept glancing between her and Rune, clearly struggling to process everything they'd witnessed over the past day.
The man who'd spent five years grounding her in practical reality now looked like he was questioning the very foundation of the world.
What did I expect? Maple thought, watching the canyon landscape roll past the tinted windows. I read enough dragon folklore to know their worlds were full of politics and power and danger. So actually finding one that existed wasn't going to be simple or safe.
The SUV began climbing, winding through roads that definitely hadn't appeared on any maps she'd studied.
They passed through the hidden town she'd visited that morning—was it really just this morning?
—but the man driving didn't stop. Instead, he continued driving toward the canyon's upper reaches, where the red rock formations grew more dramatic and ancient.
When Rune's mansion came into view, Maple's breath caught in her throat.
The structure rose from the desert landscape like something out of a medieval fantasy, all towering stone walls and Gothic arches that seemed to have been carved directly from the canyon itself.
It wasn't just a house—it was a fortress, built to withstand centuries and designed to intimidate anyone who approached.
The architecture blended seamlessly with the natural rock formations, as if the building had grown from the earth rather than being constructed upon it.
"Holy shit," Ben breathed beside her, his usual filter completely abandoned.
Maple couldn't find words. The sheer scale of the place spoke to wealth beyond anything she'd imagined, but more than that, it spoke to permanence. To a lineage that had been here long before Phoenix existed, long before Arizona was even a state.
Rune's not just powerful. He's ancient.
"So you're the CEO of Trigg Corporation too?" she blurted out, her voice cutting through the vehicle's silence. "Besides being an Alpha of this hidden dragon town."
Rune's reflection appeared in the side mirror, those blue eyes meeting hers with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. "Yes, the very same."
The casual way he said it—as if being a billionaire CEO and a dragon shifter was perfectly normal—made her head spin. How many other impossibilities were hiding in plain sight? How many corporate leaders and politicians and celebrities were actually something other than human?
She looked at Ben, whose expression mirrored her own bewilderment. Everything they'd thought they knew about the world had just been revealed as a carefully maintained illusion.
The man driving pulled the SUV to a stop in front of the mansion's imposing entrance, and they climbed out into the desert evening. The man gave Rune a meaningful look before driving away without a word, leaving them standing before the fortress-like structure.
"Who was that?" Maple asked as they approached the massive wooden doors. "Your assistant?"
"No, that was Kade, my second-in-command," Rune replied, pulling out what looked like a high-tech key card. "He's much more than an assistant. He's the person that helps this whole place function and stay safe, helps me function. Has been for centuries."
"Centuries?" Ben's voice cracked slightly on the word.
Rune paused in unlocking the door, his mouth quirking into something that might've been amusement.
"How old are you exactly?" Ben pressed, apparently deciding to abandon all pretense of tact.
"Five hundred years old."
Maple nearly dropped the treasure chest. Ben's mouth fell open completely.
"Before you ask," Rune continued, seemingly unfazed by their shock, "no, I'm not immortal. My kind just lives a long time. Approximately eight hundred years, give or take."
Five hundred years old?
Maple's mind reeled as she tried to process the implications.
He'd been alive during the founding of America.
Had probably watched Phoenix grow from desert wilderness into a sprawling city.
Had accumulated wealth and knowledge and experience across centuries while she'd barely managed three decades of existence.
The security system beeped softly as Rune disarmed it, and then the massive doors swung open to reveal an interior that stole what remained of her breath.
The grand foyer stretched upward into shadows, lit by wrought-iron chandeliers that cast dancing patterns across walls lined with artifacts that belonged in the world's greatest museums. Ancient weapons hung beside oil paintings that looked like they predated European colonization.
Tapestries depicting scenes from mythology—dragon mythology, she realized with a start—adorned the spaces between doorways that led deeper into the mansion.
But it was the sheer volume of treasures that made her archaeologist's heart race.
Sculptures that had to be priceless. Pottery that looked Mesopotamian.
Jewelry that sparkled with gems she couldn't even identify.
This wasn't just a collection—it was a hoard in the truest sense, accumulated across centuries by creatures who valued beauty and rarity above all else.
"Wow," Ben said, his voice barely a whisper. "You have an impressive hoard here. This must be worth a fortune."
Rune's expression hardened slightly. "All of this has been in my family for millennia, and I protect it with my life. So don't get any ideas."
Ben threw his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm not—I'm just admiring the history here."
Rune nodded, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.
"If you two want to get cleaned up, the guest wing is up the grand staircase and down the corridor to the right.
Take the first two rooms on the left." He paused, and Maple caught something almost vulnerable in his expression.
"I haven't had guests in centuries, but the maid still keeps everything fresh. "
Then his gaze found hers, and she felt that same electric pull she'd experienced in Bram's office. For a moment, his carefully controlled mask slipped, revealing something raw and possessive that made her pulse quicken.
"Dinner will be served in an hour, if you care to join me," Rune said, his voice rougher than before. "Again, I haven't entertained guests in a long time, but you should find the accommodations and food suitable."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Maple managed, acutely aware of how his attention focused on her like a physical touch. "And for offering us protection."
"Yes, thanks," Ben added, still glancing around at the treasures surrounding them. "We really appreciate it. Didn't mean to cause all this hassle for you."
"It's no trouble," Rune replied, though his eyes never left Maple's face. "Just get settled, and I'll see you in an hour to discuss next steps."
He turned away with obvious reluctance, and Maple found herself watching the controlled power in his movements.
"We don't have enough clothes," she called after him, her voice echoing in the vast space.
He paused at the far end of the foyer. "I'll make a call. You'll have what you need for your stay."
Ben shrugged when she looked at him questioningly.
"Thank you," she called out again.
As they climbed the grand staircase, Ben leaned closer to her. "I don't know what we just stumbled into, but this keeps getting stranger and more complicated by the minute."
"I agree," Maple murmured, but her attention was caught by the way the claim marker had begun humming more loudly now that she was inside Rune's sanctuary. The sound seemed to resonate through the ancient stones, as if the entire fortress recognized what she carried.
"But what's most strange," Ben continued, his voice dropping lower, "is how Rune looks at you like you're both his salvation and damnation at once."
Maple didn't respond, couldn't respond, because Ben had put into words the very thing she'd been trying not to acknowledge.
The intensity in Rune's gaze went far beyond simple attraction or even possessiveness.
It was something primal and desperate and terrifying in its completeness.
She gripped the treasure chest tighter, feeling the claim marker's hum synchronize with her heartbeat.
What is going on with this thing? And what is happening between me and Rune?
When Maple finally pushed open the heavy wooden door to her guest suite, her breath caught in her lungs.
Ben's voice drifted down the corridor from the adjacent room. "Oh, wow."