Cruel Daddy Dragon (Candara Dragon Ops #3)

Chapter 15 - Rufus

“That’s incredible,” Cyrus murmurs in awe, twisting the ring back and forth between his fingers, “And it was just down in that cave? Not hidden, not buried in the rock?”

“That’s what Sarah said,” I reply, “She just found it loose in the cave after Roscoe took it.”

Evander stares at the ring for a moment.

“So…” Evander says, “is this why Eclipse might have captured Sarah? She was carrying a relic?”

“No,” I answer, “She only got it yesterday when she went down into the cave. She was trying to follow Roscoe and only went down into the cave yesterday. Apparently, there’s all sorts of treasures in there.”

“So, Eclipse still kidnapped Sarah for an unknown reason at this point?” Cyrus clarifies.

“Yeah,” I answer, “The relic’s a different thing.”

“And Roscoe was just walking around with this?” Cyrus asks.

“Apparently,” I reply.

He turns it back and forth, scanning his eyes over the band and the copper diamond stuck on top of the ring. He turns and looks around.

“Kaius?”

Kaius steps forward. Cyrus offers him the ring.

“Take this to Julie,” he orders, “Let’s see what she can discover about it with her history knowledge or her visions.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Kaius answers, pocketing it.

“Right,” Cyrus then says, “So, the meeting with the council is coming up, and Evander and I can’t miss that. We need to figure out exactly why Eclipse is kidnapping Greyson Ridge residents. But we can’t leave this hole open to the air in the meantime—especially if it’s as wide and full of relics as Rufus says it is. We need to be careful about how we split up. Our top priority is Lena, Julie, and the map, but I think it could be disastrous if we lose all the relics in that cave.”

Cyrus scans his eyes over us all.

“Rufus, you already know where the hole is, and Orion, you’re our best tracker,” he says, “So, you two will be the ones to investigate the hole. Milo, Kaius, are you two satisfied to stay behind and make sure the girls are safe?”

“I am,” Milo answers.

“Honestly, if you’d put me on reconnaissance duty, I might have argued,” Kaius says, “I need to make sure Julie’s safe if everyone’s splitting up.”

I can hear that growling, protective undertone in his voice. It’s so weird to think that a few days ago, I didn’t understand that fierce need to know your mate was safe, but now, it’s a second nature I recognize in myself too.

But that means—

“What about Sarah?” I ask, “Surely she’s the one at risk?”

Cyrus nods.

“You’re right,” he says, “Kaius, Milo, try and maneuver the girls closer to Sarah so they’re in your radius of protection. Perhaps set up in Lena’s shop so you’re closer to the police station.”

The pair of them nod.

“So, are we all agreed?” Cyrus says, “Everyone knows what they’re doing?”

We all nod.

“Yes, Alpha,” the Candara team chants.

“Good. Everyone get going.”

***

The snow crunches under our feet as we approach the hole again. It’s a huge gaping crater in the earth, filled with snow. I can see the boulder Sarah huddled under yesterday, complete with a lighter patch of snow where she’d been sitting, and it breaks my heart a little bit.

She must have been so cold in there…

“Rufus!” Orion snaps, “Don’t walk over all the tracks!”

“Oh. Sorry, O.”

I walk back. Orion crouches down and starts scanning the ground, his foxy face sweeping back and forth as he looks through the snow.

“Most of the interesting stuff is inside the cave,” I say.

“No,” Orion answers back sternly, “I need to know who’s been here.”

I hold my hands up.

“All right, Man. You do your thing.”

Sometimes, I don’t get Orion. We all have super senses, but O’s something else. I have absolutely no idea what he might be seeing around here, but his eyes are darting around like he’s looking at an artistic masterpiece with a hundred little details on it. Occasionally, he gets up, walks a short while, and then crouches down again. All I see is snow.

After a while of looking in silence, he gives a low chuckle.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Roscoe doesn’t seem to be very happy about what happened to his stash,” he says, “He showed up sometime early this morning, and padded around the perimeter probably about three times, and then walked off. Those footsteps are so slow and sluggish when he leaves, so I think he was slinking away really sadly.”

Orion laughs and stands.

“Poor little trash panda. I don’t think he could find a way back inside after the hole collapsed in on itself,” he chuckles.

“Oh, no,” I drawl sarcastically, “Poor little vermin, losing his stolen goods.”

“Ah, he’s all right,” Orion says, “I actually kind of like him.”

“You wait until Kaius decides it’s funny to have him steal your stuff,” I grumble.

“Nah, Bro,” Orion says, “I’m pretty sure you’ll always be the funniest target for Kaius to sic Roscoe on.”

I sigh.

“Ugh, you’re right.”

“You need to learn not to react, Man,” Orion says, “Seriously. Kaius wouldn’t find it funny if you didn’t react.”

“I know,” I groan, “It’s hard not to; he just knows how to piss me off.”

Orion chuckles again and shrugs.

“I really thought getting with his fated mate would calm him down a bit,” I grumble, “Get some energy out, you know?”

“He’s still Kaius, though,” Orion says playfully, “He’s always going to be a prick.”

I chuckle. Orion looks back to the snow, and his face drops.

“Wait…” He murmurs, “This is…”

Orion starts walking, eyes fixed on something I can’t see. As I follow along with him, I try to see what he’s looking at.

“If you’re following a set of human footprints, they might be Sarah,” I say.

“They’re not human…” Orion mutters in reply.

My heart drops.

“Wait, is that a dragon’s footsteps, then?!” I snap.

“I think so…” He answers.

“But Sarah was here alone here yesterday!” I yelp, “She could have been kidnapped again!”

“But she wasn’t,” Orion says briskly.

I suck in a deep breath. The panic which filled my throat just then…

“Right,” I say.

He keeps walking, eyes fixed on the floor. As I walk, my mind starts whirring. I feel like I can see it—Sarah in her little police uniform, staring down at the small hole, and an Eclipse dragon landing behind her and—

“Rufus!”

I flinch. Orion’s glaring at me.

“You’re stepping in the trail!”

“Sorry, O,” I answer.

“What were you even staring at?” he snaps.

“Oh… nothing,” I say, “I just… I was seeing Eclipse kidnap Sarah again.”

“Well, that didn’t happen, so get a grip,” Orion grumbles.

“Sorry,” I say again, “I can’t get her out of my mind. I don’t know how.”

“You need to do something about it!” Orion says, “I need you to concentrate, Man!”

“I’m not sure what to do about it!” I protest, “You don’t know what it’s like!”

“No, I don’t,” Orion sighs, “You need to talk with Cyrus and Kaius about that and figure it out.”

“I don’t know,” I answer, “I don’t know if they could help. The pair of them started acting real crazy when they first met their fated mates.”

“Well, they’ve both settled down now, haven’t they?” Orion says, “There’s got to be a way.”

“I guess,” I admit.

“Either way, I need you to concentrate,” Orion grunts, “I’m smelling an Eclipse member, and they were here recently. ”

I try to snap into focus.

“Right,” I say, “Were they inside the cave?”

“No… it seems like they arrived from the sky in dragon form and landed on the edge of the hole,” he explains, “They hovered there for a while and then started walking back this way. I reckon they were getting in contact with someone.”

“How long ago was this?” I ask.

“I don’t know… maybe an hour,” Orion says.

“Shit, that recently?” I say, “If Eclipse is aware of the hole already, then we need to let Cyrus know before he and Evander leave for the council meeting! You want to stay here while I fly off to let them know?”

Orion stands and folds his arms.

“Hold on,” he replies, “I understand what you’re saying, but it might actually be dangerous for us to leave now,” he says, “They could come back at any moment, and if Eclipse gets a hold of those relics, it could be over. Maybe you should just call them and get Milo and Kaius over.”

“But then that leaves Sarah without any protection!” I protest, “Oh, and Julie and Lena too.”

“Yeah…” He mutters, “This has just become really complicated.”

He looks back down at the hole.

“I’ll stand guard here,” he says, “Try to get a hold of anyone and pass it over to Cyrus. We need to figure out what we’re supposed to do.”

I pull out my cell phone and give a light groan as I look at the screen.

“I’m not getting any signal this far in the forest; we should have brought some radios with the others.”

I stuff it back in my pocket.

“I’m gonna head out of the forest a bit to see if I can get a signal through.”

“Be careful,” Orion says, “We know Eclipse was here about an hour ago.”

“Okay.”

I start heading down. Soon, my footsteps crunching through the snow is all I hear, echoing through the forest.

I stop, and pull out my phone again: surely there’s some signal now?

Then, there’s another soft, crunching footstep. My heart drops.

I turn around—in time to see a blood-red dragon hurtle toward my face, teeth bared.