Chapter 10
ten
Fayne parked in the lot for a bustling grocery store and passed my harness and leash to Rían, who adjusted it to fit me. Satisfied I was ready to go, she got out holding her own supplies.
“The walking track is on the other side,” she explained as we joined her, Rían still holding me tight. “On the far side of the loop, behind the privacy fence, is the back forty of the pride lands.”
“There’s a dumpster.” He jerked his chin toward the rear of the store. “That’ll give you some privacy.”
“Ugh.” Fayne passed him her harness and leash. “I’ll be right back.”
As she stalked off toward the store’s docking bay, Rían scanned the area, but there was no one in sight.
“I’m not sure if I should be thrilled or terrified that she’s already involving you in her schemes.” He resumed scratching my ears. “Fayne isn’t quick to trust, but you won her over in record time.”
Content to distract him, I made a pleased sound and nudged closer.
“She might be retired,” he continued, “but she’s always kept a hand in.
The itch is worse now, after she’s spent the last year acting as my second while Liam was working undercover.
I think that gave her a taste for action again.
I might have to find a more active role for her.
” He glanced down at me. “Fledging you will help. It will give her purpose. Not that it’s your job to give her purpose.
” He shut his eyes a moment. “Sorry for talking your ear off.”
I pawed his arm, drawing his attention, letting him know I didn’t mind.
I had never been a confidante for a man before.
Sloane and I spent so much time together, a requisite for a bodyguard, there had been no gaps for secrets to fall in the cracks between us.
Not really. This felt different. Important.
Not because of the magnus thing. Rían was comfortable sharing his worries, like I could help shoulder his burdens.
That was a couple’s thing, right? You did that with people you trusted, whose opinions mattered to you.
I had never experienced that bond with any of the guys I dated, but the relationships I had been in were a sham.
Those brief periods were about not being alone for me and getting closer to my dad for them.
Damn it.
Not my dad.
Carmichael. Carmichael. Carmichael.
Memories of the stinging outline of his palm were enough to bolster my resolve.
“Ah. There we go. All done.”
“Fayne?”
The familiar Chinese crested trotted out from behind the dumpster to sit at Rían’s heels. “Yes?”
“I can hear you.” I ignored how fast my tail started thumping. “I didn’t realize it worked that way.”
“How else would we coordinate?” Her ears gave a twitch. “Besides, this way Rían can’t understand us. The magic is too particular. That means he won’t be complicit should we be required to take certain measures.”
Women in the Walsh family were fearless. I could see a future where Goldie was grown and following in her grandmother’s footsteps so clearly. She was a handful now, always chasing her goals, and she would only grow into a greater force of nature with age. That I could guarantee.
Huh. Now that I thought about it, Rían hadn’t told me Goldie’s breed.
Maybe she hadn’t fully fledged yet? But he mentioned both his parents being gigants, which was why his parents knew what to expect when they had children.
More gigants. Yet, despite having a sister, he called himself one of a kind.
I didn’t know enough about dragons to guess, so I would ask later.
With an imperious bark I had come to know well during Myrtle’s stay at GSG, Fayne waited for Rían.
“I’m on it.” He didn’t hesitate. “Give me a second, Ana.” He set me down, strapped her in, then tucked me into the crook of his arm. “There’s no reason for you to walk the whole way on that leg, so I’ll carry you if that’s okay.”
Rather than words, I barked once. Weird. Pretty cool. But strange. Guess this made me bilingual.
Once Fayne gave the signal, earning an indulgent smile Rían attempted to hide, he set out walking his dogs around a paved loop encircling a small duck pond. Just an ordinary guy with two ordinary dogs.
Similarities between this park and the one at Pampered Pooches made this mission real, and I got woozy from the adrenaline pumping through my small body, but that might have been from the height.
“This is insane.” I peered over his arm to make eye contact with Fayne. “This feels like I’m riding the Ferris wheel and it got stuck with my bucket at the top.” I sank back against him. “I’m so high.”
“You’re perfectly safe.” She trotted along on her best behavior. “He won’t drop you.”
“I’m more worried I’ll throw up on him.” I stuck my nose in the crook of his arm to hide my eyes. Our communication was magical, so it didn’t prevent us from talking. “That would be humiliating.”
“Only if you care what he thinks about you.”
“Of course I…” A low growl revved up my throat. “That was a dirty trick.”
“I’m his grandmother,” she reminded me. “I love him, and I only want the best for him.”
“How do you know that’s me?” I had fallen into the trap of discussing Rían and our relationship. Potential relationship. “We were chosen as a pair because he can protect me.”
Two sets of blue lines on pregnancy tests wouldn’t be able to look at one another and tell they were soulmates. Our betrothal was intended to keep me safe. Whether we liked each other, could build a life together, was a big gamble.
“That was a factor, yes.” She tugged on her leash until Rían gave her slack to veer into the grass. “This is where we part ways.” She gave a signal that had him setting me down and unfastening my leash. “He’ll rendezvous with us back here in two hours.”
After unclipping Fayne, he stroked a hand down each of our backs. “Please be careful.”
I nodded once, earning myself another scratch behind my ears, but Fayne was already locked in on her target.
Leaving Rían behind, which was harder than I thought it would be, we slipped off the winding path and into the surrounding woods.
“Keep your nose to the ground.” She did the same. “Let me know if you scent any pride members.”
“Will do.”
Faint tenderness radiated up my forearm, but it was less painful than it had been. Though even if I felt like it was going to fall off, I wouldn’t have complained. Nothing could have ruined my first experience tracking while on four legs. I was no wolf, but this body was still a fun ride.
“Humans.” Fayne hesitated near a tree. “They must be married into the pride.”
“How do you know they didn’t just wander up from the park?”
“They marked this tree. Multiple times.” She wrinkled her nose. “There are layers of scent, some of it quite old, all the same people and same trees. That’s strategy, not urgency.”
Embarrassment struck me as I came up even with her and got hit with the pungent odor.
“How did I miss that?” I coughed a few times. “That’s foul.”
“You have a good nose because of your genes, but your brain still thinks like you’re human.
It doesn’t know how to interpret the influx of information it’s receiving while you’re in an animal form because it’s alien to you.
The same will be true of your dragon. Mastery takes time, but you’ll get there. ”
“I’m still struggling with the part where I’m a dragon.”
“I can imagine.” She set off again. “You’ll get there too.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.” Her ears twitched back and forth, listening. “As soon as we get a quiet moment, we’ll start your lessons. The first time you summon flame will do wonders for your self-esteem.”
Cue my tail wagging faster than helicopter blades spin. “I can do that before I can shift?”
“Ah. You’re thinking about Goldie. She can’t shift yet. Too young. But she’s a pro at summoning flames.”
The opportunity to ask about Goldie’s breed came and went, the job at hand too important to divide my focus on a delicate topic that deserved my full attention.
“I saw her toast marshmallows,” I said instead. “Her control was impressive.”
“She takes the family legacy very seriously. She comes from a long line of magnus, so it’s understandable. We’re fortunate her interests are more commercial than political, or she could give her brother a run for his money.”
“A dragon that size? Her fighting him for dominance would be suicide.”
“Fighting? No. That’s not how we handle such things.” She froze in place. “Do you see that?”
Ahead of us, maybe another five-minute walk on these legs, a tall wooden privacy fence loomed over a chain link fence wrapped in textured camouflage material. That must be our target.
“We’re going under?” The gap between fences must have been two feet, meaning our tunnel would have to be around three. “You’re sure about that?”
With a pointed look at my legs, which might have been three inches long, she chuckled. “We can’t very well go over.”
Insulted on behalf of dachshunds everywhere, I huffed at her assessment.
At GSG, we shaped or painted dachshund nails, but we rarely had to cut them.
They were diggers, which kept their nails short and blunt.
To the point owners expressed concerns for their pups’ comfort.
And as all that filtered through my brain, it hit me why she had chosen this body for me.
“You expect me to dig the hole for us, don’t you? ”
“I’m too old and feeble for manual labor.” She laid down, crossed her front legs, and rested her chin on them. “You’re young and strong and posing as the perfect breed to make this a breeze.”
As I started my excavation, I couldn’t decide if I was more impressed with Fayne or annoyed to get stuck with the grunt work.
Hard to say how much her breed was impacting her actions, but she was a princess in that body who wouldn’t get her paws dirty.
I learned about her diva behavior the hard way during the night she spent with me as Myrtle.