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
