“We will put sensors on all the windows, replace the French doors and the broken window. Locks will go on your entrance doors, door to your master bedroom and your bathroom. Is that an office?”
“Yes, I turned my spare bedroom into a personal office. I could work in there since they will only need to add a sensor in there.”
“It’s your home. Work where you feel most comfortable.”
“I have a few things to do in my office. Honestly, I may stay downstairs when they get here to make sure that none of the books are disturbed. I also have antiques donated over the years that I will need to watch over.”
“I’ll start on the locks up here and will let you know when the crew arrives.”
“Thanks again, Viper.”
He nodded before leaving the kitchen. Viper should have had Valorie or one of the other females from the ranch come and take her out of the library while everything was happening. From what he could see, Callie liked to keep things organized. The way the contents of her cabinets were ordered and lined up according to size made that clear. Having others in her space moving things around was sure to upset her.
Taking out his cell phone, he texted Valorie’s mate Markus.
“Send Valorie to get Callie out of the house while the security team is here.”
“Why?” Markus texted back.
“Just do it,” he responded a little sharply.
“She’s on her way.”
Markus was a good guy, but his journey to Earth had been a great deal different. He hadn’t come through the mage portal as the rest of them. Instead, he traveled with a small crew via one of the few Drakonian spaceships left intact. The portal inadvertently sent the Drakonians to Earth during a more primitive time where they lived for hundreds of years. Markus’s trip, with the help of a mage-infused amulet and several wormholes, brought them to Earth in ten years’ time. Therefore, many of his people felt that Markus and the crew on the spaceship took the shortcut while the rest of them had to battle it out the long way around.
Marcus’s arrival on Earth brought something unexpected. Markus could bond with a human female—Valorie. A Drakonian and human mating was something that had never seemed possible. Then, Reichardt found his bond mate in Gema, another human female. Then another and another mating pairs were discovered. Maybe some mage magic that came with Markus ignited the bond mate senses. They weren’t sure yet and most of his people didn’t care since it meant that the Drakonians would once again be able to bear offspring and ensure the survival of their race.
What they needed to do was find out what happened to the mage. Mage were Drakonians born with powers but could not shift into their dragon form. Some of them had to have survived and would know some answers to their questions. The one thing they were all sure of was that Drakonia, their beloved home world, was destroyed. Earth became their home and they would fight to protect it and its inhabitants, even the humans.
Chapter 10
“I can’t believe that Viper called for you to come to get me. Was I in the way or something?” Callie asked, a little hurt. Valorie had popped up unexpectedly and told her she was taking her out to shop a few of the local shops and buying her lunch. It wasn’t until they sat at the local diner that Valorie admitted that Viper had told Markus to send her over there.
“Of course not. I’m sure he just wanted to distract you from everything. You can spend time with me, we’ll have some girl talk, and then we’ll come back when the menfolk are all done with their security stuff. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been to find out someone broke into your home.”
“It was scary and it bothers me to know there were strangers in my home, touching my things. But Viper was with me and I felt safe with him.”
“Viper would annihilate anyone who looked at your property the wrong way. He seems to have become protective over you.”
Callie shrugged. “He’s just being nice.”
“He stayed most of the night watching over you and the library. Reichardt had sent another person to relieve him and force him to get some amount of sleep.”
That made Callie’s sour mood brighten. “He stayed?”
“He fought Reichardt when it was time for him to leave. Viper didn’t want to go that far, so he slept in the back of the pickup.”
“Really? But he changed clothes.”
“He came to the ranch to shower and change, then headed right back to you.”
Callie didn’t know what to make of that. What she overheard him say to his friend last night told her one thing, that he wasn’t interested, but his actions made her think he might care about her. She changed the topic of Viper and tried to ignore the confusing feelings she had about him.
“So, JJ came with the sheriff last night.”
Valorie groaned. “Was he an ass? Do I need to hunt him down and beat the shit out of him?”
“He’s always an ass, but there’s no need for you to get all violent. I think seeing Viper pissed him off because he’s from the King R Ranch like Markus.”
“JJ needs to grow a pair and get over himself. He used to be decent. If he straightened up, he could have almost any girl in town, get married and have a few kids. He’s throwing it all away for nothing.”
“The problem is you’re the only girl he ever wanted.”
“Please, he never loved me. Not really. He loved the idea of me as his woman.”
“Was it the drinking that made you finally leave him?”
