Billionaire Wolf

After their explosive lovemaking, he’d actually let himself fall asleep holding her, something he never did anymore and hadn’t done since college.

Somehow, he’d thought this time with her would slake his ever-present hunger for her. Instead, he felt like an addict, craving more.

Shaking his head at his middle-of-the-night flight of fancy, a movement close to the water caught his eye. His heart began pounding as he got to his feet, gripped the rail and peered intently at the dark water.

Would he finally see the whale he’d longed to see?

And then, the surface of the water exploded. A huge form burst from beneath the surface, arcing toward the sky.

But this was no whale. Not even close. While Ryan stared in disbelief, the dragon launched up, a huge fish caught in one giant claw.

Ryan shrank back against the side of his boat, praying the beast hadn’t seen him. This one looked larger than the one he’d seen before, and its scales didn’t glimmer with as many colors. Instead, the muddy green-and-brown color made it blend better with the ocean. The expression it wore also seemed ominous, somehow. Still, he figured he would be safe as long as the dragon didn’t spot a human.

Damn. This was the second time he’d seen such an unbelievable sight. After the first incident, he’d almost managed to convince himself he’d imagined it. Now, he could no longer do that. Who knew such creatures even existed?

He made a quick mental note to do some research once he got back to land and kept his eye on the dragon, just in case it decided to come for his boat.

Luckily, the beast took off, flying toward open water with its prey still flopping in one claw. Ryan stared in the direction it had gone, long after it disappeared.

“Ryan?” Maria’s voice was husky with sleep. “Where are you?”

“Out here.”

A moment later she appeared, wearing only his T-shirt, her dusky skin illuminated by moonlight. In reaction, his body stirred. “Couldn’t sleep?”

He shook his head, debating whether or not to tell her what he’d seen. Ultimately, he decided against it. Though her aura told him she was some kind of Shape-shifter, neither would be inclined to reveal their true nature, not without a committed relationship.

And he didn’t do committed relationships.

According to Maria, neither did she. Which meant this would work out perfectly, right?

“I find the sea peaceful,” he said, rather than answering her question. “Also, I’m always trying to see a whale. So far, I haven’t had any luck.”

She tilted her head, considering. “I know there were actually two orca sightings in the gulf. But to see the large whales, you’d need to go south, closer to Mexico.”

Knowing he couldn’t ask her about dragons, he nodded. “I take it you’ve researched this.”

“Actually, I have. I love the ocean and all of its inhabitants. At one point I was going to A&M in Galveston to become a marine biologist.”

Fascinating. “I didn’t see that coming. How’d you go from that to a wedding chapel owner?”

“Simple. I wanted to own my own business. And there are way more limitations on marine biology than I realized. So I quit school, one year short of getting my degree, and here I am.” She eyed him. “What about you, Mr. Billionaire Playboy? How’d you get to do whatever it is you do?”

“You really don’t know?”

Her chuckle was answer enough. “I take it I should.”

“Didn’t you even read the magazine after you found out who I was?” Strangely he felt equal measures of hurt and amusement.

“No. I didn’t think I needed to. I’d much rather get to know someone in person.”

He couldn’t help but pull her in for a kiss then. “I like you,” he told her, meaning it.

“I like you, too.”

At her sweet words, he felt a small premonition of warning. Things were going too well. She was his ideal woman, everything he could want, including claiming not to want a relationship. Why then did he feel as if the hammer was about to come down?

* * *

The idyllic time on the boat went way too fast, as good times often do. All too soon they pulled back into the harbor and toward the marina.

Maria knew enough about herself to understand that once she got home, she would have regrets. Tons of regrets. Almost the way a junkie repents the first time trying a drug, she should never have explored Ryan Howard. One taste of him had potentially ruined her for everyone else.

Not good, especially for a woman who felt as though she always had a ticking clock hanging over her and needed to find her mate soon.

But she refused to feel regret that their time together was over.

After Ryan had parked the boat back in his slip, she went below and grabbed her bag. Rejoining him topside, she accepted his hand as he helped her onto the dock. This time, she ignored the immediate tingle the contact brought and summoned up her friendliest smile.

“Thanks for an amazing time,” she told him, her tone a bit too bright. If he noticed, he gave no sign.

“Do you have a ride home?” he asked.

Holding up her cell phone, she shook her head. “I’m about to call now.”

“Don’t. I’ll drop you off.”

Briefly, she considered declining, for the foolish reason that she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know where she lived. But, she realized, he’d agreed to the parameters they’d set and wouldn’t be dropping by unannounced or anything. “Thank you,” she said. “I’d appreciate that.”

When they pulled up in front of her modest home, she realized belatedly she wasn’t sure how to say goodbye. Should she kiss his cheek or his mouth, or only shake hands? Since this had been a one-time, casual encounter and she’d never done anything like it before, she had no idea what would be acceptable.

So, instead, she did nothing. As soon as he put the car in park, she opened her door and hopped out. “Thank you so much,” she began, but Ryan wasn’t looking at her. He stared past her, his expression suddenly thunderous.

Turning to look, she saw a man climbing out of her bedroom window.

“Do you know him?” Ryan asked, his voice low and urgent.

“No. I think I’m being robbed.” She dug in her purse for her phone so she could call 911.

But Ryan didn’t wait. Pulling out a pistol, he took off running after the intruder.

As she watched, her heart pounding, the man shape-shifted into a dragon. Ryan squeezed off a few shots, but they were too late and did nothing to stop the dragon from launching himself into the sky.

Chapter 5

Stunned, Maria watched as the Drakkor flew away. All she could think of was how what he’d done was in direct violation of every law set forth by the Drakkor Council. He’d changed in front of Ryan, and while she knew Ryan was Pack, this Drakkor intruder had no way of knowing.

Plus, it was broad daylight. Anyone could have seen. Did this mean Polacek had somehow escaped from prison?

Stunned, she looked back at Ryan. He, too, stared after the dragon until the huge beast disappeared into the clouds.

“Did you...” He cleared his throat. “Did you see that?”

“I did.” Unable to keep the anger and fear from her voice, she folded her arms across her chest.

“What was it?”

She took a deep breath. “You’d better come inside. Those gunshots are sure to attract attention.”

He stared at her. “After all that, the one thing you’re worried about is my gun?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m wondering how many others saw him and, worse, what will happen if someone got a picture.”

Ryan followed her into the house without saying another word. She placed her purse on the little table near the front door and tried to collect her scattered thoughts so she could figure out what to say. She knew she had to choose her words carefully.

After holstering his pistol, Ryan paced the length of her small living room. “I should call someone, don’t you think? I mean, that thing is flying loose over Galveston.”

“That thing is a Drakkor,” she interrupted. “And who would you call, the Pack Protectors?”

That stopped him in his tracks. “You know what I am?”

“Of course. You wear your aura just like we all do. I saw your wolf the first time we made love.”

He narrowed his eyes and studied her. “Okay. Touché. Since we’re exchanging personal information, tell me what manner of Shifter you are.”

“That’s not necessary.” Her tone let him know she refused to budge on this. “We’re not in a committed relationship, so there’s no need. Plus, I thought you wanted to discuss the Drakkor we just witnessed.”

“How do you know what it’s called?”

Now came the tricky part. “Because I’ve studied.” Not entirely a lie. She went to her bookshelf and pulled out a well-worn book. “Here. Take a look at this.”

Accepting the heavy hardback, he carried it over to the kitchen table. “History of Shape-shifters,” he read. “This looks like something we would have learned in school when we were young.”

“It probably was.” She glanced out the window. “The Drakkor are a very old and venerated people. However, that still doesn’t explain what that one was doing breaking into my house.”

“Or the fact that he broke every law of our kind by changing into a dragon like that.”

Grimly, she nodded. “Broad daylight. It will have to be reported. By the way, why do you carry a gun?”

“It’s Texas. I have my concealed handgun license. Maybe me shooting at it will make that Drakkor think twice before coming back.”

“Maybe.”

Ryan began paging through the book. “Here we go. The Drakkor.”

While he read what was admittedly a brief and incomplete article, she hurried to her bedroom to see if she could figure out what this intruder might have taken.

Everything appeared to be exactly the way she’d left it, her bed still perfectly made, her clothes hanging in her closet. She checked her dresser drawers, but her neatly folded underwear looked untouched. The same for her T-shirts and pajamas. Even her jewelry box didn’t seem to have been rifled through.

“What did he steal?” Ryan asked from the doorway.

“That’s just it. I don’t know.” Delayed reaction had set in and she realized tears pricked the back of her eyes. Horrified, especially since she didn’t cry, she took several deep breaths and wrestled her emotions under control.

Good. Now she had to call her father and report what had just happened.

“You need to leave,” she said, aware her brusque tone and dismissal would seem abrupt, but beyond caring. “I’d like to make some phone calls.”

He studied her for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “All right. But first, I want to check and make sure everything is locked up tight. Do you have a burglar alarm?”

“No.”

“I’ll have one installed first thing tomorrow,” he said.

Under any other circumstances, she might have argued. But right this instant, all she could do was nod. “Fine. Now please go.”

He didn’t move. “You can’t honestly expect me to leave you alone after someone broke into your house? I think you at least need to call the police.”

“And tell them what? That a Drakkor broke in but didn’t steal anything?”

Again Ryan went silent. “Do you know what that person wanted? You do, don’t you? That’s why you don’t find the entire thing absurd.”

“It’s frightening,” she protested. “But something that needs to be handled internally.”

“By who?” He took a step closer, his gaze intense. “The Drakkor Council? Is that what you are, Maria Miranda? A Drakkor?”

Frustration eclipsed her terror. “Ryan, please. Leave.” She pointed at the door. “We had a good time together, but it’s time to go back to our regular lives. Mine doesn’t involve you, and yours doesn’t include me, so please go.”

Apparently this finally got through to him. Stone-faced, he shook his head and stalked to the doorway. “Have a good life, Maria. Stay safe.”

As he stepped through the doorway, she braced herself, certain he’d slam the door. But he only closed it behind him. A moment later, she heard the sound of his car starting and listened as he drove off.

Then she hurried to lock the door and check every single window. Once she was certain her home was secured tightly, she called her father.

“Who could it have been?” he exclaimed, once she relayed what had occurred. “Doug Polacek’s the only one crazy enough to do something like that, and he’s in prison.”

“Maybe you’d better check and make sure. He might have broken out.”

“That would be horrible.”

She took a deep breath. “What would be worse is if there’s another insane Drakkor running around. We’d have to explore the possibility that insanity is spreading in our males, sort of like the disease that killed most of our females.”

Silence while her father digested this. When he spoke again, his somber tone told her he understood the ramifications of either scenario. “The council will have to be notified.”

“I would think so.” Oddly enough, this time she used a calm, rational tone to try and soothe him rather than the other way around. “Whoever this is, he’s violating ancient law. If he keeps this up, he’ll destroy our entire way of living.”

“The Council will be made aware. Plus, I think they need to increase the guard on Polacek, especially if this Drakkor is his accomplice. I’m sure they’ll notify the Pack Protectors, as well.”

Thinking of Ryan, she found herself gripping the phone way too tightly. “The Pack Protectors? I know they’re helping keep us safe. Are there any here in Galveston or in the Houston area?”

“I’m sure there are. Houston is a big city. And you know they’ve been working closely with us ever since Polacek captured a few of their women. Only the fact that there are so few Drakkor left has kept them from exterminating him. I think that might be about to change if this sort of nonsense continues.”

Maria shuddered. “I’m going to need some sort of guard.”

“And you’ll have it,” her father promised. “I’ll have the Protectors send some people immediately.”

Though she had her doubts about how werewolves would fare against a magical Drakkor, she kept those to herself. She didn’t want to worry her father any more than she had to.

That night, she tossed and turned, haunted by dream images of a magical battle raging in the sky while in her Drakkor form. Even though she usually didn’t get up until six, after deciding she’d been staring at the ceiling long enough, she went ahead and rose at five.

Antsy and restless, she showered, dressed, ate a healthy breakfast of hardboiled eggs and an avocado, and went in to the office early.

Going through her follow-up folder, she checked out all the messages from the day before. After bringing up her calendar on her computer, she compared it with the day planner she kept on paper. Everything matched. Today promised to be a relatively quiet day, which would enable her to get caught up.

Shortly before nine, Kathleen came in and, after getting her desk ready, appeared in Maria’s doorway.

“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Maria asked, bracing herself for a barrage of questions about how her trip with Ryan had gone.

Instead, Kathleen appeared really uneasy. Worried, even.

“Well, yes.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “While you were out, you had a visitor.” Kathleen’s voice contained a hint of nervousness, unusual for her. “A man. Nice looking, in a professional sort of way. He wasn’t here to talk about planning a wedding or anything, and when I asked him if I could tell you what his visit was in regard to, he gave me the most chilling smile.”

Strange. “Did he ever answer?”

“Yes.” If anything, Kathleen sounded even more disturbed. “He wrote down one word, which makes no sense. He flat-out refused to elaborate, either. When I did a Google search on it, I learned it meant a mythical beast, like a dragon.”

Maria froze, her blood turning to ice. Though she already knew, she had to ask anyway. “What was the word?”

“Drakkor,” Kathleen answered. “I’m not entirely sure what this guy was getting at, but I didn’t get a good feeling at all.”

Heart sinking, Maria had a sneaking suspicion. “Did he leave his name?”

“No. He said you’d know.”

Maria didn’t, but she had an awful, horrible feeling. Doug Polacek must have somehow escaped captivity. “Thanks, Kathleen. Would you mind closing my door? I need to make a few private phone calls.”

“Okay.” The receptionist hesitated. “Maria, is everything all right?”

“Of course it is.” Maria managed a laugh, though it didn’t sound even slightly amused. “Don’t let that weirdo bother you. If you see him again, call the police.”

“I will. But I have to say I’m worried about you. First you disappear with a famous playboy for a fling, which is not like you at all. Now some strange man shows up with a cryptic message. Do you think the two might be related?”

“You watch too much Dateline and 48 Hours,” Maria teased. “Everything is just fine.”

“Okay. But tell me, do you understand why that man left that message with just that word? You didn’t seem all that surprised.”

“I was. And no, I don’t understand. Not at all,” Maria lied. She had a pretty good idea that her visitor had left her some sort of threat, relating to the Drakkor who’d broken in to her house. What she had to figure out was why.

As soon as Kathleen closed the office door, Maria again dialed her father. Once she relayed what had happened, he cursed.

“What?” she asked. “What do you know about this?”

“You know—” he sounded furious “—I’ve been meaning to tease you since I saw you on television with that rich guy. But now I think that must be how you were located.”

“Located? By who?”

She could actually hear him swallow.

“Polacek,” he said. “I’ve just received a phone call telling me that Polacek escaped.”

A chill went through her. “When?”

“Two days ago. Why on earth no one thought to warn us sooner, I have no idea. Our soldiers are attempting to locate him. The Pack Protectors are amassing a special unit to help us. We’re trying to capture him and bring him in. He’s gone rogue again.”

“Rogue?” While she knew the term, she wasn’t certain how it applied in this instance. “What do you mean?”

Her father sighed. “He no longer cares about our laws or traditions. In fact, we believe he doesn’t give a damn if he lives or dies. That had to have been him who broke into your house.”

Polacek. For the last several years, even hearing the name had sent dread coiling through her. She knew what she’d been told, how he refused to believe he—like all Drakkor men, apparently—was sterile. He’d been on a feverish search to impregnate a woman, any woman, ever since.

“I know what he’s about, but why? What happened to him to make him do this?”

“His story doesn’t matter. He’s an insane serial killer. He captured, raped and murdered several women. Beyond that, I don’t know the details. I get tired of all the attention criminals get.”

She knew this much. Before the Drakkor figured out that the disease that took most of the women had also rendered the men sterile, Doug Polacek had convinced himself he would be the savior. Met with repeated failure, he’d begun abducting and imprisoning Shifter women. He’d repeatedly raped and abused them and if they didn’t conceive, he’d killed them.

Maria closed her eyes briefly. “I agree with you. This kind of evil happens too much among humans. I would have hoped the Drakkor wouldn’t be capable of such things.”

“Unfortunately, wickedness exists among all species.”

“How did he escape?”

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