Chapter 23
Dungar
The sun had crested fully over the mountain peaks by the time we reached the sheriff’s office. I helped Riley down from Treelee’s back. When she was securely on the ground, I brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m glad you came to Lonesome Creek.”
“Me too.” Her smile sent warmth cascading through my chest. I ached to tell her what that look did to me, how it had rearranged the entire structure of my world.
Instead, I settled for letting my fingers brush the golden mark on her wrist, a simple touch that connected us across species, across worlds.
I could already hear my brothers’ voices inside as we approached the jailhouse.
During my call with Greel, I’d suggested a meeting, and they’d arrived before us.
When we entered, their conversation halted.
Six pairs of dark eyes took in our linked hands, the subtle changes in our postures, the way Riley and I moved together now rather than separately.
Greel spoke first. “So it’s done.” His voice held no question, only certainty as his gaze fixed on Riley’s wrist.
Riley stiffened beside me, her hand tensing in mine.
I squeezed it gently in reassurance. “Yes.”
Ruugar whooped, the sound echoing off the wooden walls. He strode forward, his big arms engulfing both of us in an embrace that lifted Riley’s feet from the floor. “I thought you’d tease around each other forever.”
“Put us down, you chumble,” I huffed, though there was no heat behind it.
When he set us back on our feet, Hail approached. He studied Riley’s eyes before a slow smile spread across his face. “Wel-wel-welcome to the f-family, sister.”
One by one, my brothers hugged us both. Sel had brought cookies he’d baked that morning, and he served them up as if he’d planned them all along for a celebration.
Tark offered a painfully earnest poem he’d composed on the spot.
Becken presented her with a small carving of a sorhox he’d whittled himself that he just happened to be carrying around in his pocket.
Greel, never one for many words, simply rested his knuckles against her shoulder in the traditional orc gesture of respect and acceptance.
Riley’s eyes glistened. The tension in her shoulders gradually melted away, replaced by wonder.
“Thank you all,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Sel told her. “You’re one of us now.”
The words settled deep in my bones. My mate. My perfect complement. The woman who’d walked into my orderly life and made it better.
But as the initial excitement settled, I turned our focus to the task at hand, gesturing toward the maps and equipment I’d laid out on my desk yesterday.
“We have work to do.”
My brothers arranged themselves around the room, their expressions serious. Riley moved to stand beside me, our arms brushing as she leaned over the maps.
“Based on everything we’ve gathered, we believe Joyce Milburn and possibly others are targeting the luminooks.
The photographer, Ava, and Mary, who works in maintenance, could also be involved.
” I pointed to the marked locations on the detailed map of our property.
“We know someone tried to steal one of the babies. The adults are restless. We think they’ll try to take as many as they can tonight. ”
I outlined what we knew, including Joyce’s suspicious phone call, Mary’s meeting with the unknown male and receiving boxes, plus the specialized cage hidden in the maintenance shed.
The evidence pointed to a coordinated operation designed to harvest biological material from the luminooks, possibly for the pharmaceutical company Sillavar Research.
“We need comprehensive surveillance.” I tapped specific points on the map. “Every approach, every potential blind spot covered.”
Ruugar nodded. “I’ve been reinforcing the perimeter fencing all morning. I added motion sensors at the weak points we identified.”
“Good.” I turned to Tark. “You know the trails better than anyone. I need you on the eastern approach. Anyone coming from that direction will have to pass through the narrow gully running along that side.”
“I’ll take Castree,” he said. “My sorhox can sense movement from a clek away.”
I assigned positions to each of my brothers based on their particular skills.
Becken would monitor the thermal imaging equipment from a concealed position near the pens.
Sel and Hail would patrol the outer perimeter, creating a broader defensive ring.
Greel would coordinate communications from the command center we’d established in the sheriff’s office.
Their mates would keep the tourist town running, something we couldn’t suspend without tipping off whoever might be after the luminooks.
As I spoke, I was continuously drawn to Riley. She added insightful suggestions, pointing out tactical considerations I’d missed, her mind working well with mine. Each time our gazes met, I felt the mating bond pulse between us, a connection deeper than physical touch.
The golden mark on her wrist caught the light as she reached across the map to indicate a potential entry point, and my heart stumbled in my chest. Mine, a primal part of me growled. My mate. My partner. My everything.
“Dungar?” Riley’s voice pulled me back. “Anything else?”
“Just thinking through contingencies.”
Her knowing smile told me she wasn’t fooled, but she returned to the discussion without comment.
We spent the next hour distributing equipment. Each piece needed to be tested, positioned, and documented in our operation plan.
“You’ve thought of everything,” Riley said as she reviewed my plan one last time.
“Not quite.” I lowered my voice so only she could hear. “I didn’t account for how distracting you’d be in those jeans.”
Her surprised laugh sent warmth through me. “Sheriff Bronish, are you flirting while planning a sting operation?”
“Multitasking,” I said, allowing myself a small smile. “I’m very efficient.”
Her fingers brushed mine as she took the checklist from my hands. “That you are. Though I seem to recall certain activities this morning where you took your time quite thoroughly.”
Heat rushed to my face, and across the room, Ruugar snickered. Orc hearing. I’d forgotten.
They left to get their own parts of the project set up.
Riley and I continued to set things into motion.
By midday, we’d established a command center in the sheriff’s office.
Three monitors displayed feeds from cameras positioned around the luminook pens.
A fourth showed a real-time map with the locations of each team member.
Greel had set up the communications hub, testing each radio frequency to ensure clear transmission.
Riley and I would monitor everything from here, coordinating the response if or when someone made their move.
We ate lunch at the saloon and finished making arrangements. By the time the town had slowed down for the evening, we were ready.
As night shadowed the sky, Sel pulled me aside while Riley discussed something with Becken.
“Riley wears the mark well,” he said quietly.
“She does.” Pride filled my chest. “Better than I could’ve hoped.”
“But you’re worried.” It wasn’t a question. Sel had always been perceptive.
I glanced at Riley, taking in the way she smiled at something Becken said, how she moved with a new confidence among my brothers. But beneath that smile, I could see the shadows, the hesitation in her eyes when she thought no one was looking.
“She’s afraid,” I said. “Not of me, but of what being with me might mean. What it might cost because of her past.”
Sel squeezed my shoulder. “Give her time. She’ll realize that some bonds are worth any price. Holly felt the same and look at us now.”
They were incredibly happy. All of my brothers were with their mates.
I would be too. I had to trust in the fates.
I watched as she laughed again, the sound wrapping around my heart like a caress. “I can’t imagine my life without her now.”
“You won’t have to.” Sel’s confidence boosted my own. “The fates don’t make mistakes when it comes to mating bonds.”
As the sun slowly set, my brothers departed one by one, heading to their assigned positions. Each one paused to knuckle both mine and Riley’s shoulders before leaving. With each touch, her smile grew a little brighter.
When they were gone, Riley joined me at the monitoring station, her shoulder pressing against my arm as we studied the screens.
“Everyone’s in position,” she finally said, gesturing to the map display where green dots pulsed at strategic points around the property.
I nodded, checking each location against my mental map. “Now we wait.”
She turned to face me, her expression serious. “Dungar, if this goes wrong—”
“It won’t.” I caught her hand, squeezing it. “We’ve accounted for every variable, every possibility.”
“You can’t predict everything.” A hint of her old fear crept into her voice. “If someone gets hurt because of me—”
“Stop.” I framed her face with my hands. “Whatever happens tonight, we face it together. That’s what the mark means, Riley. We’re stronger together than apart.”
She leaned into my touch, her eyes closing. “I want to believe that.”
“Then believe it.” I pressed my forehead against hers. “Trust me. Trust us.”
I wanted to tell her I loved her, that she’d become the center of my carefully ordered universe, that without her, all my systems and structures would be meaningless.
But the words caught in my throat. Not yet.
Not until she was ready to hear them, ready to believe them without fear shadowing her eyes.
Instead, I kissed her, pouring everything I couldn’t say into the press of my lips against hers. Her arms wound around my neck, her body melting against mine as if it belonged there. And it did. She did.
A beep from the monitor broke us apart. The motion sensor at the northern perimeter had been triggered.
“It’s starting,” Riley said, straightening her uniform shirt.
I nodded, reaching for the radio. “Brothers, be advised. We have movement at the north access point. Maintain positions and await further instructions.”
Riley and I leaned closer to the screen, watching for what might come next.
Her hand found mine under the desk, our fingers intertwining.