Maaaate—

  Shut it, basilisk. I’m working. Ajax interrupted the monster inside him before it got stupid ideas.

  “I guess you passed that test, though I wasn’t really testing you.” She continued to fidget with her jacket, moving as she did. “I need to know if you’re in or out, though, before I give you the rest of the information.”

  Ajax pondered for a second.

  This certainly sounded better than the boring-ass jobs he’d been given lately.

  And more intriguing than the job itself was this woman, who seemed to be full of secrets and who knew shifters better than any shifter he’d ever known.

  Maybe working alongside her wouldn’t be so bad.

  “I’ll do it,” Ajax said.

  She seemed almost surprised he’d said yes. “That’s great. I’ll go let Troy and Jack—”

  “Let’s get one thing straight first.” He interrupted, wanting to make his point crystal clear from the get-go. “I’m not doing this for the double dragons. Or world peace. Or justice. And if you think you can control me or make me your lackey, then you have another thing coming.”

  Olivia stood there stunned for a moment. “Why, then?”

  He looked away, unable to say exactly why without revealing the fact he was more interested in her than anything else on the planet right now. “I have my reasons.”

  She visibly relaxed at that. Had she been worried he might say no?

  “That’s good to hear. I’m excited to work with you.”

  Ajax just grunted.

  “We’ll need to leave tomorrow so we can get set up to go after the facility we think the poison is coming from.”

  “Where are we going?” Ajax asked, too curious to not ask now.

  A grin creased the corners of her beautiful lips, and the secret he wanted to know more than anything else in the world right now was what her lips tasted like. “Somewhere you might remember.”

  Ajax cocked his head at her.

  “Back to Dragonclaw Ranch.”

  4

  Olivia’s fingers tensed reflexively against the steering wheel as her car came to a gentle stop in front of her destination.

  Dragonclaw Ranch.

  Despite the fact that she had traveled to the majority of Texas’s most prominent cities and towns, working missions with or for the double dragons, she had never been here before.

  After all, it was in the middle of nowhere, and up until recently, there had never been any reason to. According to Troy and Jack, the shifters that lived here kept to themselves and liked to be left alone.

  Well, most of them anyway.

  That had been before all this basilisk business and the overall revealing of shifters to the human world.

  As she stepped out of her car, the cool winter breeze caught a strand of her curly hair and tugged it over her forehead, but she brushed it back, surveying her surroundings.

  The place was quaint and old-fashioned but clearly well-maintained and taken care of. At the center of the ranch sat a large ranch house, and on either side were several smaller homes. On the far end of one side sat a red barn with hay strewn around the large bay doors.

  Overall, the place felt homey and remote and above all else… quiet. Except for the occasional sounds of the wind and animals moving in the barn, it was virtually silent.

  Olivia shook her head as she stepped across the large open space in front of the main house. It was weird being somewhere so still, especially when she was used to the urban sprawl of Dallas, where the near-constant sounds of traffic and airplanes overhead could be heard.

  This place was clearly the opposite, all serene, peaceful land. So much so that it was almost unnerving, not unlike a certain basilisk she had met recently. She shook her head, clearing her mind of any distracting thoughts.

  She was just here for a mission.

  When she reached the porch, two figures stepped out of the doors to greet her.

  One looked like a stereotypical cowboy from an old western movie. He wore worn blue jeans, a work shirt, and a Stetson, under which sharp, bright-blue eyes appraised her curiously.

  “Harrison,” the man said gruffly, holding out a hand for her to shake.

  “Olivia,” she replied. So this was the infamously surly “cowboy dragon” who ran the ranch.

  He nodded, then gestured to the woman standing next to him. “And my mate, Marian.”

  Marian, who had brown hair and a kind smile, stepped forward, holding out a hand as well. “Glad you could make it. We’ve been busy getting everything set up for the mission you mentioned.”

  “Thank you, it’s very kind of you to let us stay here while we handle this.”

  Harrison snorted. “Not like we had much choice. What the double dragons say goes.” He shook his head and muttered something about the ranch turning into a hotel, but Olivia didn’t quite catch it because her attention was immediately drawn to Ajax, who had stepped out onto the porch.

  He was wearing a black leather jacket over dark-wash jeans, and his form looked even more imperious and jacked than before as he leaned against one of the porch pillars and folded his arms.

  Damn, he looked hot.

  His clothes fit perfectly, showing off his impeccable, muscled physique, and Olivia could just barely catch a few of the lines of his black tattoos as they ran up his neck.

  The sides of his mouth turned up in a small smirk, almost like he could tell that she was staring, and suddenly, she looked away, cursing her own reaction to him.

  She’d always had a thing for bad boys, but there really was something about this one, with his tattoos, glowing-red eyes, and give-no-shits attitude.

  His eyes moved over her in a slow, heated movement. “You’re late.”

  Olivia scowled. “For your information, Ajax, not all of us can transform into giant beasts and run or fly a million miles an hour. Some of us have to take normal means of transportation. Which can be delayed,” she retorted, glaring at him.

  Crap, why was she letting him rile her up? No one ever got to her like this.

  Harrison chuckled, then ran a hand over the stubble on his cheek. “Anyone brave enough to talk to Ajax like that will do just fine here. Come on in, and we’ll talk a few things out and get you settled.”

  Olivia followed them up and inside, keenly aware of Ajax’s gaze, though she was careful not to look at him.

  This wasn’t a vacation, and there would be no funny business. They had a mission, and she had thought he would be a helpful addition to the team.

  That was it.

  Definitely it.

  When they stepped inside, she took a quick look around, taking in the worn, knitted rug in front of the door and picture frames that hung on the walls, before following Marian and Harrison into the dining room, which was attached to the kitchen.

  Before they could sit down, however, Olivia noticed a figure was already at the table, a smooth, fancy-looking cowboy that she’d actually had some dealings with. Clancy, the so-called gunslinger dragon.

  Olivia had always found the name kind of funny. Why would you need a gun when you could just breathe fire?

  “Well, if it isn’t the double dragons’ right-hand lady,” he said, looking up and tipping his hat at her. “How do you do, Miss Olivia?”

  “You know her?” Harrison asked.

  Clancy chuckled. “Of course I do. Every dragon in the state has probably met or heard of her at least once. You just haven’t because you’ve always avoided the double dragons.”

  Harrison just shrugged at that and pulled a chair out for his mate, then sat in his own at the head of the table. Ajax took a spot in the corner of the room, watching the proceedings warily.

  As Olivia sat down, her eyes were drawn to the gold wedding band on Clancy’s finger, and she cocked an eyebrow in amusement. “Never thought a charmer as legendary as you would settle down and take a mate. What happened?” she asked in mock surprise.

  “Life happened. At some point, you get tired and want to settle down,” Clancy replied, laughing jovially. “If you find the right person.”

  “Right, I’m sure that helps,” Olivia said, smiling.

  Clancy shrugged. “It does, though heaven knows how my mate puts up with me.”

  She waved a hand. “I’m sure she handles you just fine.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia could have sworn that she’d seen Ajax tense slightly, his mouth turning downward in a scowl.

  What was that all about?

  Harrison cleared his throat, his face stoic. “Moving on to business. The abandoned mine you’re searching for is several hours from here, and everything is just about ready for you.”

  “Except housing arrangements,” Marian added.

  “Ah, yes,” Harrison said, shaking his head, “I’d forgotten. Can you and Ajax stay in the same guesthouse?”

  “What? I thought you had more than enough room,” Ajax said, looking confused.

  Olivia nodded. “That’s what I thought as well.”

  Share a guesthouse with Ajax? That sounded like a terrible idea.

  “We did, but recently, we’ve had some new arrivals, and we miscounted. There’s too many damn varmints here,” Harrison said, scowling. “Clark, the dumbass dragon, took one of the guesthouses and is claiming it’s his new crater, and I can’t get him to move for shit either.”

  Marian leaned over and tapped his arm, and he seemed to visibly calm. “Now, we accept all shifters here, if they’re trying to be good, and we can always build another guesthouse.”

  Harrison met her gaze, his eyes softening, and nodded slowly. “I guess you’re right, Marian.”

  For a second, Olivia yearned for what they had, for love, for romance, for all of the happiness that mating had brought these two—and many others she had seen—but alas, it would never be for her.

  She had known that for a long time.

  “That’s fine by me, then. After all, the plan is just to stay a day or two for the mission and then head back to Dallas as soon as possible. That fine with you, Ajax?” Olivia asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  Ajax just shrugged. “I can handle it if you can.”

  His eyes met hers, and suddenly, she could feel the challenge there, along with something tense and heated, something that pulled her magnetically toward him.

  Yup, she definitely needed to get this mission finished and get the heck out of here.

  Olivia stared back defiantly for as long as she could, but after several seconds of him refusing to yield, she looked away and got up from the table.

  Why is my heart pounding so fast?

  “I’m going to grab my things. What guesthouse should I move to?”

  Harrison frowned, looking back and forth between them for a second. “Four. There’s a number on the door.”

  “Thank you.” With that, she left the room and headed back out toward her car, willing her heart to slow.

  This was the worst case of pre-mission jitters she had ever felt. That was probably what it was, right? Nerves?

  Yeah, it definitely didn’t have anything to do with the unnerving, stubborn, red-eyed basilisk that had watched her every move throughout the entire conversation.

  Or the way his eyes burned with heat she felt also, down deep in her soul.

  5

  The scent of sand, upturned earth, and rusting metal filled the air around Ajax as he took in his surroundings outside the abandoned mine where Olivia was making the last preparations before their mission.

  The place looked at least a half century old, with a large metal warehouse connected to a series of smaller buildings and walkways. Except for a handful of beat-up cars parked out front, the place looked like it had lain empty for a good long while.

  Apparently, whatever they were after was in there.

  Ajax rolled his shoulders back, trying to relieve the tension in his body as he ignored a biting wind blowing from the east.

  For a mission that Olivia had hand-picked Ajax to join her on, things were already looking bad.

  Not bad in any way that meant the mission was in danger, though.

  Bad because apparently Ajax wasn’t the only one she’d picked to bring.

  He tried to suppress his glower as he looked over at the group of a dozen or so shifters that had arrived in two black vans earlier that afternoon at Dragonclaw, all of whom were huddled around Olivia as she went over the plan once again in excruciating detail.

  “Buck, I want you and your brothers posted at the exit, here and here, while me, Mack, and Palmer make for the main office,” she said while she pointed to an aerial map in her hand as though this was some sort of military op.

  The men around her, a mix of bear and wolf shifters, all wore tactical gear, and some of them even had weapons in their hands, at the ready. Others cracked their knuckles, eager for action. Some of them she knew by name, probably shifters she and the double dragons trusted to hire for jobs the dragons themselves couldn’t go on.

  He would have been impressed by her utter confidence and the way she commanded respect from such grizzled-looking men if not for the fact that everything about this was all wrong.

  Ajax had had enough of this bullshit.

  He’d tried to keep his mouth shut, just go along with it. But he couldn’t hide how pissed he was Olivia had even bothered to bring these other guys in when a single basilisk was more than overkill for this job.

  He was a fucking basilisk. A one-man army. He didn’t need backup or support or help.

  It didn’t help that jealousy burned inside him like a torch whenever she even looked at one of the other guys.

  He strode up to the group, making the man who had been talking a second ago go completely silent, and leaned in toward Olivia.

  “We need to talk,” he said. The others in the group backed away a bit, unnerved by Ajax’s presence from the moment they’d met back at Dragonclaw Ranch.

  Which was just fine by Ajax.

  Olivia gave him an uncertain look but joined him as he strode over to a rusted chain link fence with holes in it that formed the exterior perimeter of the mine.

  She looked competent and prepared, with black pants and a black jacket that didn’t fully hide a thick vest she wore beneath it, presumably armor of some sort. And strapped to her legs and holstered at her sides and under her arm, she had a variety of weapons that he didn’t even recognize.

  Like she’d even need them with Ajax around.

  Her expression was cautious and a little annoyed as they faced off.

  “What is it, Ajax? We’re about to go in,” she said.

  “What the hell is all of that?” he growled, pointing toward the group of men looking like some shifter SWAT team or something behind them.

  “It’s the team I’ve assembled. We’ll go in, take the guards out silently, and secure the facility. I want this done by the book.”

  He dragged a hand through his hair at how silly this all sounded.

  Granted, it didn’t help that his beast had been closer to the surface ever since meeting her. Like he wanted to tear through walls just for being in his way, he was that on edge.

  Was she his mate?

  Like hell.

  He folded his arms sternly. “I work solo. Or did you miss the part about me not being a team player in all those reports you read on me?”

  Olivia frowned. “I put this all together so we can make this safe. If we just stick to the plan, we can all go home in one piece.”

  He leaned in closer so the others wouldn’t hear over the whistling of the wind. “That’s the problem. You might trust Buck and Mack and whoever the hell those guys are, but I don’t.”

  “I thought you were hard to kill?” she said with a hint of a scoff.

  “It’s hilarious that you think I’m worried about me in this equation.” He leaned in closer, and she did too, the air seeming to crackle around them. “No, I don’t trust them with your safety, Olivia.”

  And if he were honest, he was also a little hurt he hadn’t been told by Olivia about all of this planning. Like he was just an “asset” to the team, not a monster capable of leveling shit to the ground if he deemed it worthy of crushing.

  Her eyes went wide with surprise for a second, then went back to being cool. “The double dragons approved it all beforehand.”

  “Did they? They approved you going into a place full of shifters with those jokers?”

  She paused, then looked away, toward the mine. “I… might have kept that part from them. But I can handle myself.” She glared up at him, brown eyes dark in the pale light from the half-moon high above them. “Besides, someone needs to locate and identify the poison once we’re inside.”

  In that moment, Ajax had already made up his mind.

  He’d go in, clear out the riffraff, and make sure it was safe before she even set foot inside.

  Maybe she thought she was unstoppable or that people had to do things her way.

  But a certain basilisk wasn’t going to let that shit fly.

  He shrugged and started walking toward the building.

  Olivia flew forward and caught his leather jacket by the arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m going to do your job for you before you do something stupid and get yourself hurt,” Ajax said, not stopping.

  She yanked again, and her boots dragged on the sandy earth for a second before he paused.

  “Either you let me go in now, or I’m going to shift and bury this place under a mountain of rubble.”

  He’d be damned before he trusted Olivia’s life in other people’s hands, no matter how “vetted” they were.

  “Reckless asshole. You’re really going to do it, aren’t you?” Olivia said with a grimace.

  “I’m a basilisk. Or did you forget that?”

  Reckless was practically his middle name.

  Though, in this case, Olivia’s safety was all that mattered to him. Not this poison or any of that bullshit.

  They just stared at each other for a few moments, caught in a standoff.

  “I’m going to make sure the double dragons know about this. I’ll…” She trailed off.