Bloodrunner Dragon (Harper's Mountains Book 1) (12 page)

Harper licked her bottom lip in anticipation and stepped onto the rickety bridge. The uncomfortable humming of The Unrest buzzed just under her skin, so she stepped back.

It couldn’t be.

She tried again, and this time, her nose tingled with the smell of iron, and deep within her, the dragon let off its warning rumble.

“Mother trucker,” she whispered as a smile stretched slowly across her face. Gooseflesh rippled up her arm and landed in the claiming mark Wyatt had given her last night. The torn skin was half healed, but it ran hotter than the rest of her as a constant reminder that she wasn’t alone. That she wouldn’t be alone ever again because he’d bonded them completely.

And now this?

When Harper stepped onto the bridge again, her dragon snarled, and the first drop of warmth trickled down onto her lip. In a rush, she backed up and ran her hand under her nose. Just one drop, and it was done. She wanted to laugh and scream and cry and laugh some more because never in her life had she thought her dragon would do this.

She couldn’t leave. She didn’t want to. Nothing in her wanted to take her rental car to the airport and fly back to Saratoga. Every instinct she possessed screamed that if she was going to be okay, it would have to happen here, in a little town near the Smoky Mountains.

Rubbing her arms to put warmth back into them, she jogged for her car and yanked her phone from her purse with trembling hands. She had to try twice to scroll to the right contact. Sebastian Kane had handled her investments and retirement for the past decade. She had savings, but she needed more if she was going to do what her dragon had been roaring for her to accomplish since last night.

“We was just talkin’ about you,” Bash greeted her.

She giggled and asked, “Oh yeah? Are you over at Asheland Mobile Park today?”

“Nah, your dad came to see me. We’re drinkin’ beer up at Bear Trap Falls. Too bad you ain’t here. I bought that fruity shit for you and my girls. I didn’t even know you’d left the mountains until Bruiser told me a minute ago.”

Harper’s smile dipped slightly. Bash’s three daughters must be home visiting, and she was missing seeing them. If she couldn’t leave here, she would always miss what was happening back in Saratoga. Holidays, birthday celebrations, Lumberjack Wars, all of it.

Was this what it was like for Pop-Pop? Was he stuck in his mountains for always?

The sound went all muffled, and static blasted across the line like fabric rubbing against the speaker. Bash said, “Hey Bruiser Bear, your daughter called me before she called you, ha ha!”

“She called me and Diem yesterday, you dipshit.” Yep, that was Dad.

Harper snickered and said, “Hey Bash Bear, I need to pull some of my money.”

“She wants money,” Bash said in that muffled voice.

Dangit, she didn’t want to do this with Dad right there. She’d planned on telling him and the rest of the crew if this actually worked out.

More static, and Dad asked too loud into the line, “You in trouble?”

“No. I swear I’m not. I’m…” Well, here it goes. “Dad, I think my dragon picked a treasure.”

“What?” There were a few beats of silence then louder, “What? Baby, don’t you be teasin’ me.” God, there it was, that tremor that said Dad was getting choked up. “W-what is it?” He was yelling. “Dammit, Harper, talk! What did she pick?”

Harper clapped her hand over her mouth at how relieved and hopeful Dad sounded. “She picked Wyatt. And I think some land in North Carolina. Mountains. Up in the Smokies. I’ll need all of my savings and most of my investments in order to make a fair offer.”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I have to tell your mom and Riley. Drew is gonna shit himself. Baby, are you sure? Wait…Wyatt? You found him?”

“I found him, Dad.” She swallowed a sob and blew out a steadying breath before she whispered, “He claimed me.”

Dad was quiet so long she thought he’d maybe hung up on accident. But then her father, big old burly Bruiser Bear, sniffed, and that tiny noise told her he was crying for maybe the first time she’d ever known about. “We’ve been waiting a long time for that boy to come around.” Dad’s voice came out hoarse and thick.

“He’s not a boy anymore. He’s really different. He has a dominant grizzly, but he has him controlled. Has him steady. Has him wanting a crew under him. He’s been saving up money to buy territory.”

“For his crew?”

“No. For me. So he could save me.”

Dad’s sigh shook like a leaf in a stiff wind. “I’ll give you back to Bash so you can talk money, but Harper?”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“You did it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you always hated that your dragon hung onto people too hard, but your mom and Pop-Pop are the same way. It’s just how you dragons are. You lock your heart onto someone, and then you never give up on them. I know your friends used to give you shit over holding on so tight to Wyatt, but I was always so damn proud of you. He was just yours, and that was that, and now look what’s happened. There’s strength in that kind of loyalty, Harper Girl. Now you go get your mountains and keep us updated. We’ll all be rooting for you here.”

Martin glided out of the back office of the mine shop with an extra pep in his step. And was he whistling? Kane gave Wyatt a he’s-finally-lost-his-mind look and dropped the sack of mine dirt in the metal bin along the wall.

Martin practically danced around the table of giant crystals for sale, backed up a step with a goofy look on his face, did a little twirl, and pranced sideways to Wyatt.

“Are you having a stroke?” he asked, concerned.

“It’s payday.” Martin twirled his wrist and offered Wyatt an envelope.

“It’s definitely not. Payday is Friday.” And whatever game Martin was playing, Wyatt wasn’t interested. All he wanted to do was go back home to Harper.

Martin shoved the envelope against Wyatt’s chest. “Just open it.”

“Fine,” he muttered, setting down the bundle of sand sacks. With a put-upon sigh, he ripped open the envelope flap and wrestled out the folded piece of paper.

W,

Hide and seek and it’s your turn first. Count to 1010 and come find me. Oh, and wear your eatin’ pants. I’m making us dinner and I probably won’t burn it, pew pew. (dragon joke)

H

Wyatt jacked his confused gaze up to Martin. “Did Harper come by here?”

“Yep.” The old man was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Why didn’t you call me? We could’ve rushed.”

“She didn’t want me to. Don’t worry about the rest. I’ll unload everything.”

Kane piped up in a grumpy snarl, “He means I’ll unload everything.”

Martin pointed like Kane had won some contest. “Exactly. Bye, Wyatt. See you tomorrow, bright and early.”

“Okaaay,” Wyatt murmured. Baffled, he turned back at the door to make sure his boss wasn’t in fact having some sort of episode, but the hunch-backed balding man stood there grinning like a happy gargoyle, so Wyatt shrugged at Kane and made his way out past the tourists sifting through dirt.

He was filthy from working up at the mine most of the day, but unable to resist the promise of seeing Harper and hearing that pretty humming sound vibrating from her chest again, he passed up his house, a prospect of a shower, and gunned it straight to Martin’s property.

The gate was wide open. He pulled on through and came to a hard stop in front of 1010. The sun had set behind the mountains, and dim evening light made the autumn-painted woods seem other-worldly. But that wasn’t what had his heart thumping in his chest. Two lit, flickering lanterns sat invitingly on the porch, one on either side of the door, which was open wide.

Wyatt shut the truck door quietly and made his way up the stairs. And when he reached the doorway, he was stunned into stillness. The scent of seasoned steak and lemon pepper asparagus brought an instant rumble to his belly. She had an old radio plugged into the wall, and a love song filled the small cabin with soft notes. A blanket was spread on the floor, topped with a couple of beers and a bowl of late season strawberries. It was Harper that froze his breath in his chest, though.

She stood with her back to him, stirring something on the stove, swaying gently to the music. Her dark hair had been curled at the ends and hung down to the middle of her back. She wore dark, skin-tight jeans tucked into hiking boots, and a moss green sweater clung to her curves.

“So you know, I won’t be cooking like this all the time,” she said softly. Harper threw him a boner-inducing smile over her shoulder and pulled the pan off the stove. “This is a special occasion. I’ll be setting up an online law practice that will keep me busy, so you’re gonna have to get on that grill if you want to eat.”

He chuckled and ducked his chin to his chest. “Noted. What’s the special occasion?” Claiming marks, their reunion, his reconciliation with the boys…really, it could be a lot of things.

Harper busied herself with piling food onto two paper plates, then sashayed those sexy hips his way. She dipped her gaze like she had grown shy all the sudden, and the words seemed to stay lodged in her throat, even though she parted her lips like she wanted to speak.

Worry slithered through him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I suddenly don’t know if I’ve done the right thing. Or if you will be mad. Maybe this won’t be a celebration for you.”

Wyatt strode over to her and gripped her elbows. “Whatever you’ve done, I won’t be mad. Just tell me.”

Harper ghosted him a glance with those gorgeous half-dragon eyes of hers. She set the plates on the blanket and reached into her front pocket. She handed him a folded piece of paper, then wrung her hands.

Wyatt didn’t like this, didn’t want her upset. His bear let off a low growl as he opened the damning piece of paper that was causing his mate’s anxiety.

As he read the paperwork, a creeping numbness took him. Couldn’t be. He looked up at Harper to make sure this wasn’t some kind of joke. “Is this really an offer on the mountains?”

“Well, it’s a copy of my offer. Martin’s realtor has the original.”

He pointed to the signatures at the bottom. “Martin signed this.”

“Yeah,” she whispered, her dark, delicate eyebrows arching with concern. “He accepted my offer today, and we’re trying for a quick close. Two weeks. But…I just thought about what this could mean to you. Your bear chose this place, and I’m buying it out from under you.”

Hope flared in his chest. Carefully, he asked, “Harper, what does this mean?”

“I can rescind my offer if your bear—”

“Tell me fast. What do these mountains mean to you?”

Harper pursed her lips and locked her wild gaze on his. And so softly, so quietly, she murmured, “They’re mine.”

Wyatt covered his face in his hands because, goddamn, hearing those words was everything he could want.

“Are you mad?”

Wyatt shook his head and paced to the door, then back, overwhelmed.

“Are you hurt?”

Wyatt crushed her against his chest and lifted her off the ground, buried his face right near the place he’d bitten her last night. “Tell me this is real. Don’t play with me right now.”

Harper laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m serious. I tried to leave today—”

Wyatt jerked to a stop. “What?”

“No.” Harper cupped his cheeks gently. “Not really
leave
leave. I just wanted to see if I could.”

“What happened?”

“I got to the bridge outside of Bryson City and couldn’t go any farther. My dragon wouldn’t let me.”

“Why?”

She was grinning so big now.

“Harper, why?” he asked louder, desperate for her answer.

“Because I found my treasure.”

“The land?”

“And you. I think it’s a package deal. I can’t leave you. I can’t leave the mountains. This is home.
You
are home. I haven’t had any seizures today. Only the happy humming.”

It was working. Not the way he’d planned, but it was working. She’d bonded to the mountains, sealed the bond to him. Now, maybe she could be okay. Maybe she could stop hurting, and maybe he could keep her, not just until The Unrest took his mate, but for always.

The picnic dinner meant something different now. Something bigger. Harper had set up their first meal in 1010.

His muscles shook with relief as he held her. She’d never looked happier or more beautiful than in this moment, cupping his cheeks, searching his eyes. And there it was, that happy rumble in her chest.

He’d never thought a sound could mean so much, but this one was everything. It was the signal that all was right in her world, and thus, all was right in his.

Dragging her waist closer just to feel her, he kissed her hard, then softer and softer until he laid sipping pecks on her mouth. She was crying, and it wasn’t like when he’d left all those years ago. It wasn’t the ragged, heartbreaking, body-wrenching sobs he’d seen in his rearview mirror as he’d driven away.

This right here was Harper telling him silently that she was overwhelmed in a good way because she’d somehow found joy after everything she’d been through.

“You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met,” he murmured.

And when she looked up at him, her differently shaped pupils contracting, she had the sweetest smile on her lips, the most adoring look in her eyes, and he was certain, in this moment, Fate had known what she was doing all along. He and Harper had paid their dues to be together. They hadn’t given up or forced each other from their minds. They’d held on when there was almost nothing to grasp onto. Because the only way to tether a soul to another living being was if they did it together.

They’d both been stripped bare in their years apart, and then to find each other again and feel this depth of consuming reprieve?

Their journey to this moment mattered.

As they settled in to eat the food she’d prepared, Wyatt couldn’t help the smile on his face because the soft music in the background was textured with her giggles and laughter as they talked. He couldn’t drag his attention away from the curve of her lips and the small smile lines at the corners of her eyes. He was enamored with her dark lashes brushing her cheeks every time she got thoughtful and looked down, and he was stunned over and over whenever she graced him with her gaze. One brown eye that said she was soft, womanly, caring, vulnerable, and then her fiery blue one with the elongated pupil that said she could be a fire-breathing death-bringer to anyone who messed with her or the people she loved.

Loyal Harper, one of the last Bloodrunner Dragons, and she’d seen right through his grit and chosen him.
Him
. He was going to spend the rest of his life earning the devotion that pooled in her eyes.

He opened his mouth to tell her how beautiful she was, but the long, haunting note of a wolf sounded on the breeze. Wyatt stood quickly and strode to the door, threw it open as a second howl joined the first.

“The Valdoro Pack?” Harper asked from right behind him.

Headlights shone through the trees up ahead, and Wyatt bared his teeth as his thoughts rushed. A third wolf joined the song. His bear could handle four, maybe five wolves at a time.

“Stay here,” he murmured.

Harper snorted. “Not likely.”

Right. Harper had never been a sit-on-the-sidelines type of person.

A wave of fear and protectiveness took him. It was a new sensation and had been consuming him since he’d bitten her, but the second he made Harper feel like she needed protection, she’d likely char his hide and remind him she was no damsel in need of rescuing.

Wyatt led her to the yard and waited for the silver SUV to come to a stop in front of them.

A single man got out. He was tall, lithe, and stank of fur and dominance. His face was scarred on one side, like some animal had clawed him, and his eyes were churning silver under his crop of mussed, dark hair.

He came to a stop in front of his ride and dragged his furious gaze down Wyatt’s torso like he was measuring him up. “Wyatt James,” he said in a snarly voice.

“Axton,” Wyatt greeted in a dead voice.

“I said I want you out of my territory, not to make another offer on this place!” His words tapered into a snarl as the veins bulged in his neck.

Harper stepped forward out of the shadows behind Wyatt. “It’s not your territory.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, bitch.”

Wyatt canted his head, and now he couldn’t take his eyes off Axton’s throat. “Talk to her like that again, and I’ll be separating your head from your body, dog.”

“I have ten wolves behind me, and you are out here unprotected. Save your posturing,
bear
.”

Wyatt blew out a sigh and shook his head. “You should think of the well-being of your pack and leave. Leave here, leave this land.”

“It ain’t your land! It’s mine!”

“Wrong,” Harper said. Her chest rattled with a long, prehistoric rumble that rattled the air around them and made it hard for Wyatt to draw a breath. A smattering of pops sounded, and Wyatt stumbled out of the way as Harper’s green and gold dragon heaved out of her body. She was four times the size of his bear, and her wings stretched long enough to cover the clearing. Her eyes blazed with fury as she snaked her long, scaly neck toward Axton.

“Holy fuckin’ shit,” the alpha of the Valdoro Pack murmured as he backed away slowly, his neck arched all the way back to take in the towering dragon.

Wyatt tried to contain his laugh, really he did, but from the look of mingled anger and terror on Axton’s face, he and his inner wolf were at war on what to do. Fight or flee, fight or flee.

The howling in the woods stopped. Harper sucked in a heaving breath and let off a roar that echoed off the mountains. She was so fiercely beautiful.

Harper leapt into the air, beating her wings as she aimed for the clouds above. Hurricane-strength winds made Wyatt splay his legs to keep upright and pinned Axton against his ride. Then she was up, gracefully arching her back as she searched for the wind currents she wanted.

For a moment, she was nothing but a massive shadow blocking out the stars. And then the fire rained down in a long line through the woods.