Chapter 14
Dungar
The setting sun painted Riley’s profile in shades of gold and amber as she crouched beside the broken twigs and disturbed earth.
Her fingers traced the edge of a footprint without touching it.
I’d seen orcs with decades of experience who couldn’t read a trail like this woman. I was so glad she was on my team.
“See how the soil’s compressed here?” She pointed to an indentation. “That’s not from walking. Someone knelt, probably to secure whatever they were carrying.”
I stooped down beside her, careful to maintain the exact distance that would allow me to see the evidence without disturbing it. “The luminook?”
“Most likely. And here—” Her finger hovered over a smudged patch of soil. “That’s not a boot print. It’s where something was set down. Something cage-like, with flat bars along the bottom.”
My respect for her investigative abilities grew with each observation.
We’d been tracking whoever had taken the blue-spined luminook younglings for nearly two hours, following a trail that led from the wild colony through the grasslands and toward the forest edge.
Riley had been the one to spot the bent grass blades, a tuft of iridescent fur caught on a thornbush, and the faintest impression of footprints where the soil was softest from a recent rain.
“They knew what they were doing,” I said, studying the methodical way the thieves had moved. “No wasted movements, minimal evidence.”
Riley nodded, a strand of hair falling across her forehead. Standing, she brushed off her jeans. “We suggested this could’ve been done by professionals but it could be amateurs. People watch investigative shows all the time, and they learn. Though this has planning written all over it.”
The mention of planning sent an uncomfortable prickle down my spine.
Just hours ago, she’d revealed the truth about her past. She wasn’t a former police officer but a witness who’d brought down one of the most powerful financial criminals in the country.
A woman with a target on her back, hunted by people with unlimited funds and connections.
Could this be connected to her? The timing seemed too coincidental.
I pushed the thought aside for now. First, we needed to follow this trail to its end.
“The tracks continue that way.” I pointed toward the tree line. “Whoever took the luminooks were heading for the forest.”
Riley squinted at the sun, calculating the time. “We’ve got maybe forty minutes of usable daylight left. Should we call for backup?”
“Not yet.” I pulled a flashlight from my belt. I always carried one, along with a multi-tool, compass, emergency whistle, and first aid kit. The familiar weight of my preparedness brought comfort. “Let’s see where this leads first.”
She flashed me a smile that made my heart stutter. “Always prepared, aren’t you?”
“Always.” I handed her the spare flashlight I’d tucked into my back pocket. Our fingers brushed, and electricity shot up my arm.
We continued tracking, moving faster now that the trail had become more evident.
Whoever had taken the luminook had grown less cautious as they neared their destination.
Broken branches. Disturbed undergrowth. Even a discarded wrapper from an energy bar that Riley carefully collected and stored in a plastic bag from her pocket.
“Potential fingerprints,” she explained, sealing the evidence. “Though they were probably wearing gloves.”
The efficiency with which she processed the scene spoke of years of experience.
As the forest thickened around us, the trail grew more defined until we emerged into a small clearing. There, the evidence became unmistakable.
“Vehicle tracks.” Riley pointed to the wide depressions where tires had compressed the soil. “Something heavy. SUV or light truck.”
I circled the area, mentally measuring the dimensions. “They parked here, probably for less than an hour. Look at the way the grass is still trying to spring back.”
“And over here—” She moved to the far side of the clearing where several metal components lay half-hidden in the brush. “Portable pen parts. They transferred the luminooks to a larger containment unit before transport.”
The realization hit us at the same time.
“They’re collecting them.” Riley’s expression darkened. “The fence cuts at the pens, the missing wild younglings. They’re systematically targeting luminooks.”
“And possibly other creatures we’ve brought to the surface. A mother chumble will protect her young, but—”
“A bullet will end that much too fast,” she said with a frown.
“But why?” I knelt to examine the discarded pen components, careful not to touch them. “They’re beautiful creatures, but they have no practical value. They’re not medicinal or edible.”
“They glow,” Riley said. “Their bioluminescence is unique. If someone discovered a way to harness or replicate it…”
“The pharmaceutical applications alone would be worth millions.”
She nodded grimly. “Or military applications. Imagine soldiers with natural night vision, or equipment that generates light without heat signatures or batteries.”
My stomach clenched at the thought of the gentle creatures being experimented on, their bodies dissected to unlock the secrets of their glow. “We need to get those luminooks back and protect the others.”
“And find out who’s behind this.” Riley surveyed the clearing once more, her investigator’s gaze missing nothing. “These people may be back.”
I called my contacts in the surrounding towns, and they said they’d be on the lookout for vehicles with cages holding the glowing creatures.
As darkness settled over the forest, we documented everything we could, photographing the tire tracks, collecting soil samples, and marking the location on my phone’s GPS. When we finally started back toward town, the first stars were appearing overhead.
Riley walked beside me, her steps sure despite the gathering darkness. In the glow of our flashlights, I could see the determination in her face, the set of her jaw that spoke of a woman who wouldn’t back down from a fight.
“You’re incredible,” I said.
She glanced up, surprise flashing across her face. “What?”
“Your investigative skills. The way you read the scene, pieced everything together. It’s impressive.”
A hint of color touched her cheeks. “It’s just training.”
“It’s more than that. It’s instinct. Intelligence.” I hesitated. “Courage.”
She looked away, but not before I caught the vulnerability in her eyes. “I’m not brave, Dungar. Brave people don’t spend two years running and hiding.”
“That’s exactly what brave people do.” I stepped closer, drawn to her like gravity. “You stood up to one of the most powerful men in the country. You testified knowing his family would never stop hunting you. That’s not cowardice, Riley. That’s the definition of courage.”
The moonlight caught in her hair as she shook her head. “I did what anyone would’ve done.”
“No. You did what almost no one would have.” I reached for her hand, enveloping it in mine. “Most people would’ve looked the other way, protected themselves. You chose justice instead.”
Her fingers curled around mine. “And now I’m paying for it. I always will.”
“You’re not alone anymore.” I squeezed her hand. “Whatever comes next, we face it together.”
The word “we” hung between us. In the silver-dappled darkness of the open plain, with her hand in mine, something shifted between us. This was deeper than attraction. Stronger than the pull of the mating bond.
I was falling in love with Riley James. Not because magic declared us mates, but because every layer she revealed made me admire her more.
Her strength. Her intelligence. Her unwavering moral compass.
The mating mark might have drawn me to her initially, but my feelings now had nothing to do with ancient orc magic and everything to do with the remarkable woman walking beside me.
We made it back to my house late. Riley headed straight for the shower while I made a detailed report of everything we’d found, organizing the evidence we’d collected and updating my security protocols to account for the potential threat.
I checked in with my friends, but they hadn’t discovered anything about the missing younglings yet.
When Riley emerged from the bathroom in my oversized t-shirt, her hair damp and her face scrubbed clean, something protective and possessive roared to life inside me. She belonged here, in my home, in my life.
“You look tired,” I said, closing my laptop. “Hungry?”
“Famished.”
We heated up some leftovers from the night before and ate quickly at the table. After cleaning the kitchen, we walked to the living room, settling on the sofa together.
“We should probably get some sleep,” I said after we’d stared at the bookcase long enough my hands were twitching.
“Eventually. Any new insights from the evidence?”
“Not yet. I’ve added the information to our case file and sent alerts to my brothers to increase security around the luminooks in town.
Ruugar’s going to bring the wild ones in and pen them separate from the others.
Then we can keep a closer watch on them all.
Tomorrow we’ll interview anyone who might’ve seen something suspicious. ”
“We need to find those babies.” She tucked her legs beneath her. “And bring them back to their families as soon as possible.”
“Exactly.”
We fell silent, the only sound the ticking of the mantel clock I’d set to precisely the right time. Riley’s presence beside me felt both exciting and comfortable, like she’d always belonged in this space.
“Thank you,” she said after a while, her voice soft.
“For what?”
“For not looking at me differently after what I told you.” Her eyes met mine, vulnerable in a way that made my chest ache. “Most people would.”
“I’m not most people.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “No, you’re definitely not.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’s…” She puffed out a breath. “It’s exactly what I need. Who I need.”