Supernatural Enforcement Bureau, Book 1, The Dragon and The Vampire: Book 1 (17 page)

She started to giggle, her relief at his safety obviously having a great impact on her emotions. Ronan knew the feeling. It was how he had felt when he had heard Creed coming to her aid back at the hunters’ lair. He saw her taking in every part of him, looking for his wounds, which were now gone...thanks to his feeding from her, several times!

Her finger trailed the scar on his thigh, making him shiver at her touch, and she whispered her thoughts aloud. “So, we need to make sure ‘bout the magic thingy before we go anywhere near another dark magic Witch. I need you to know something, Fang, I don’t think I could survive without you. I mean that, literally, I think I would just cease to exist if you were taken from me. So, you need to keep safe, okay?”

Ronan placed a finger on her lips. “Shush, you’re
M’fhíorghrá, go síoraí, I’m not going anywhere.”

Starr nodded. “What was that?” she asked as he used his native tongue again.

He placed a soft kiss on her lips before answering, “It means you’re my true love, forever.”

She smiled. “I like the sound of that,  M’fhíorghrá.”

She stumbled over the Gaelic, only just managing to wrap her tongue around it. Ronan’s heart swelling as he heard it trip from her lips.

She giggled again. “I think we should stay here for the rest of the day, don’t you?”

The cheeky smile she gave him had him hard once more. “I agree, wholeheartedly,” he whispered against her lips as his took her again.

Chapter 17

Ronan sat at his desk, frustration growing as he read yet another report from Serge. He threw the paperwork onto his desk, a desk that was far less cluttered than it used to be. His new assistant kept everything running like clockwork and his paperwork up to date.

A smile spread on his face as he thought on his new work mate. Who would’ve thought that Starr would be adept at all the paperwork he had to do? More than that, she was excellent at organizing everything to do with his position as Director of the SEB. The past few months having flown by so quickly and they had already celebrated their six month anniversary. The changes in his life so vast that he could never have even imagined it, not in his wildest dreams.

The frustration he was feeling was their total lack of success in finding what the Witch had told them about, so many months ago. Esther’s spells had rid the man of dark magic, then her magic got the answers they wanted, everything except the exact location they needed.

Their leader was a powerful Witch, as they all had suspected; however, the facts that came to light shocked every one of them. This leader was secreted away in a cavern, deep within the Rockies, where he also held a Dragon captive, draining its life blood and slowly killing the beast. Ronan knew the rogue Witch in charge would have to get a replacement in order to keep his supply of Dragon blood stocked up.

Starr had tears in her eyes as she listened to Esther telling them about the imprisoned Dragon. Ronan held Starr close trying to comfort her. He promised there and then that they would find this Witch, destroy him and release the Dragon. That had been so long ago that even he was beginning to think that they would never find this lair.

His ears picked up Starr talking on her phone, in the office adjacent to his, sorting out some problem or other to do with weapons stock. Her voice all businesslike as she took care of the issue. He was in the process of standing up, ready to go and take her for lunch, when his mobile rang. He fished it out of his pocket and saw his Sire’s name flashing.

He answered with a smile, realizing that he still hadn’t told him that he now had a mate of his own. However, Josef’s words turned his blood to ice.

Josef’s tone was the most deadly he had ever heard, with an undercurrent of fear. “Ronan, I need help
!, Now! Every man you have in the area. Donovan and another of my men have been killed, in broad daylight, and Peri has been taken. I need your men here–now.”

“
Done,” was all Ronan said before hanging up, raising his head and shouting, “Sam, Starr, get in here now!”

He didn’t wait on them, pushing buttons on his phone, as soon as it was answered, he ordered, “Paul, get your ass to my Sire’s now, take as many men as you can spare and then take some more! His mate has been kidnapped and she’s fucking pregnant. I’m going to get Esther to you shortly, as I’m pretty sure you’ll be dealing with dark magic.”

Ronan didn’t say goodbye, hanging up with the knowledge that his agent in charge in Vegas would get to Josef’s ASAP. Starr’s gasp sounded loud in the room. Ronan lifted his head and was just about to speak, but she beat him to it.

Her voice was laced with shock as she stepped forward. “Oh my God, that’s awful, but Ronan, you didn’t give him an address. How will he know where to go?”

Ronan smiled. “My Sire lives in Paul’s jurisdiction. You don’t think he keeps tabs on him? Anyway, Sam, can you get in touch with Paul and see what other assistance he requires? Starr, can you get Esther up here, now, please.”

Sam turned and left wordlessly, as Starr said “Of course.” Then she went to her office to make the call.

Sam was back in minutes. “He says he’s got it under control, he’s roused the tactical unit and he’s on his way to Josef’s now. Says to get Esther to meet them there and says she’s to hurry...”

A voice interrupted them. “Just exactly where am I to hurry to, oh yes, and why? I was in the middle of something, Ronan, why have I been summoned in such a manner?”

Sam moved to the side to allow Esther to enter the office, her manner speaking of her annoyance. Ronan didn’t give a hoot about her nose being out of joint though. “Peri, my Sire’s mate has been kidnapped, she’s almost ready to give birth. The person that has taken her is probably wielding dark magic. You need to get to Paul as soon as you can, Esther, and that means now.”

Esther raised an eyebrow at his tone, inclining her head to the side as she answered, “Very well, I’ll need just one thing from my office and then I’ll be off, where am I to meet him?”

Ronan ripped a piece of paper from a pad on his desk, scribbling the details down and handing it over to her. She looked at it then up at him. “A hotel?”

Ronan sighed, “Yes, Esther, Josef lives in the penthouse, now can you stop wasting time and get there please?”

Esther once again raised her eyebrow at the sharpness of his voice, before she finally about turned and walked away. Ronan let out a sigh, his worry for Peri making him snap at the old Witch. He would apologize later, once Peri was safe.

Sam sat down in the chair, directly in front of his desk. “You okay, boss? You seemed a little snippy there, or am I wrong?”

Ronan ran a hand through his hair, a sigh escaping his mouth. “Yeah, I know, I’ll apologize later. I was already annoyed and frustrated when I got the call from Josef ‘n then his tone scared the shit outta me. I’ve never heard fear in his voice before. Never. It kinda threw me...”

Sam butted in, “What were you already upset at?”

Ronan reached over, picking up the report from Serge, then handing it to Sam. His friend took the folder, opened it and started reading, a frown appearing on his face as he digested everything. Once he finished, he closed the folder and placed it on the desk, looking up at him.

Sam’s tone was conciliatory when he resumed speaking. “Look, my friend, the Rockies are a huge area, the trackers have a massive task to search for this cavern. I’m sure they’ll find it, even if it takes longer than you were hoping for, than we all were hoping for. Serge put in his report that he’s drafted in some help from the local Wolf packs in the area. More Wolves means more chance that they’ll find something. So relax, there’s nothing you can do about it anyway, so there’s no point in getting your blood pressure up, or taking it out on others. I think Esther’s pissed at you, my friend, and trust me, I don’t think you want Esther being pissed at you. She could do a spell to shrivel your manhood or something worse…”

A squeal alerted them to Starr’s presence. “Something worse? Uh, uh, nothing worse than that!”

Sam burst out laughing, his brilliant white teeth almost glowing against his dark skin. Starr darted behind him and gave him a hard slap on the back of the head. “Hey, don’t laugh! If Esther does something like that, then I’m blaming you!”

Ronan watched Sam and Starr joking around, two of the few people on this earth that he truly loved...and they got on tremendously well. Their friendship growing as the days, weeks and months had gone by. Starr opening up and letting other people in, slowly. He was so glad that one of those people she had let in was Sam.

He didn’t know what he would’ve done if she and Sam didn’t get along. Starr had also taken it upon herself to find Sam ‘the perfect mate’ and tried to hook him up with women all the time. Sometimes Sam actually would go on a date, or several, with these women, but so far nothing more than that had occurred.

Starr seemed to take it as a personal affront when Sam didn’t fall madly in love with her choices, then she would be on the lookout for the next one. The easy way they were in each other’s company gladdened Ronan’s heart and he wasn’t aware of any other time in his life when he felt so happy, at peace, loved.

The only thing marring his complete happiness was his promise to Starr–to rescue the Dragon held by the Witch. He always kept his promises and it riled him that, so far, he hadn’t managed to keep this one.

He would do it, no matter how long it took, he would find...and release...the Dragon.

Ronan sighed, pushing all thoughts of the Dragon to the side, as he concentrated on Peri. His stomach clenched at the thought of that beautiful, young woman being in the hands of someone wielding dark magic. He knew Peri was a powerful Witch but she was pregnant and he didn’t know what kind of state she would be in. If her guards had been killed then he guessed she was in serious trouble, knowing Josef would have his best men taking care of her.

It was then he realized that Donovan was  one of the men that had died. Of course Josef would have his head of security in charge of Peri’s safety. He felt sad at the loss, although only knowing Donovan slightly, he knew him to be a good and moral man, Josef would be upset at his loss.

Starr’s voice interrupted his train of thought by saying. “What’s wrong? You looked kinda sad there.”

She and Sam were both now watching him as he shook his head to free himself from the way his mind was thinking. “It’s just that Josef said two of his men were killed, one was his head of security, Donovan, who would’ve been in charge of Peri’s safety. He was a good man and a good Vampire. Don’t get me wrong, he could be a vicious son-of-a-bitch but he had a moral code, ya know?”

Sam was nodding as Starr stared into his eyes with a sad look. “That’s sad, I hope they manage to get his mate back safe and sound. Fang, I thought I heard you say she was pregnant. How is that possible?”

Ronan squirmed, just a little, still not quite understanding himself about the situation regarding Josef and his mate. He let out a little chuckle, before trying to explain. “Well, it’s a kinda weird situation. Josef, my Sire, has a friend, Gabe, who’s a Wolf. They’ve been friends for over a century, sharing his penthouse in Vegas. When they met Peri they were both drawn to her and soon realized that she was their mate. Now, in normal circumstances a Vampire and a Wolf would have fought to the death over a mate. However, because of their special bond they didn’t, fight that is. What they did do was let Peri know of their feelings and let her decide. Only she couldn’t, she cared for them both, so they all bonded. Peri is mate to both of them. It’s a  unique situation and it’s Gabe’s child that she is carrying, although they all seem to refer to the child as theirs, in a kinda collective term. I still don’t quite understand it myself, I only know that Josef and Gabe cherish Peri and she loves them both.”

He chuckled again as he finished at the shock on Starr’s face, even Sam still looked a little surprised. Ronan knew that Sam was aware of his Sire’s ‘situation’, but he had never tried to explain things before this.

Starr’s shock soon passed, a smile creeping on her face. “She’s a lucky woman, having two who love her. I hope she and the baby are okay. When will we know?”

Ronan frowned, he had been thinking the same thoughts. “As soon as Paul has any information he’ll let us know. I must admit I’m a little worried at Josef’s reaction if anything happens to her. He’s an ancient Vampire and very, very, powerful. I dread to think of the havoc he could create if he lost control. Let’s just hope they manage to rescue Peri and the baby unscathed or we might have one hell of a clean-up on our hands.”

Sam got up, and stretched his long body, before speaking, “Okay, I’ll go and see if I can get any more information and I’ll also check in with Serge and see how that’s going too. See ya later guys, remember, I’m finishing early today. I’ve got a date with...oh yeah...Marie. Another one of your set ups Starr, only hope she’s a bit livelier than the last one!”

Starr punched his arm as he passed her. “Hey, don’t be rude. Just ‘cause a woman is quiet doesn’t mean she can’t be lively or fun.”

Sam snorted. “Quiet? She barely spoke two words the entire evening and kept her eyes firmly placed on my teeth. I think she expected my fangs to erupt and rip her throat out. She was sooooo not comfortable in the presence of a Vamp!”

Starr just ‘harrumphed’ as Sam left them, then turned to face him. “You okay, Fang?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll let you know as soon as we get any news about Peri.”

Starr nodded then went back to her own office.

Ronan opened his laptop, logging in and opening up one of their secure sites. He inputted a name and employee number and the page morphed into a map, showing Vegas and where Paul and his men were located. He saw they were at Josef’s and hoped that they could help him get Peri back.

A sigh escaped him as he wondered what to do. He had more work to attend to so decided to just get on with it, while he could keep checking and seeing any movement in Vegas. His attention being drawn back again and again to the page open before him.

As time passed he saw movement, to an area on the outskirts of Vegas. He watched for some minutes, noting no further motion when his phone rang, summoning him to go and sort out a dispute between two Alphas.

Jeez he hated this part of his job. Trying to keep one irate Alpha Wolf calm was hard enough, to do it with two was damn near impossible. He stalked down to the conference room, finding the Alpha’s staring each other down while two of his guards kept them apart.

Ronan growled as he entered, knowing these two from previous occasions he had to pacify the upset Wolves. “What the fuck is it this time? If you two can’t sort out your differences, once and for all, I’m gonna let you rip each other apart! Ya hear me? I’ve had enough of all your posturing, petty squabbles and downright trivial grievances. So, who wants to explain why I’m here this time?”