Prologue
Colton Alexander clenched his jaw tightly as he stared at his cousin. Justin was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, looking more defeated than he’d ever seen him. He searched for words, for something—anything—to say, but he kept coming up empty.
Turning away, he moved to the window, looking out at the woods behind his house. For as long as he could remember, Justin had talked about becoming an Enforcer. Enforcers were basically the shifter equivalent of human police officers, although they were more or less a mix of cop, detective, FBI agent, CIA… They were pretty much every law enforcement agency that existed all rolled into one.
They were the ones who enforced shifter laws. There weren’t many laws, and pretty much all of them basically boiled down to one thing—don’t terrorize others, humans especially. No hurting them, no messing with their heads, and no turning serial killer and slaughtering handfuls whenever they felt like it.
Of all their laws, that one was the most absolute, and it was one they never failed to enforce.
Not only did following the rules basically equal being a good person, since most of them were about common decency, but they were in place to protect their kind, as well. Most humans weren’t aware that the supernatural, mainly shifters, even existed. They wanted to keep it that way. A shifter running around hurting their own kind and humans alike, or being too obvious about what they truly were, put the secret in jeopardy.
The last thing any of them wanted was to become the next government experiment, or to be hunted and killed because humans feared what they were.
It was a complex job that took a lot out of the lucky ones who were accepted, and it called for the best of the best. The Enforcers expected nothing less than perfection, because they wanted the odds stacked in their favor when they hunted and captured the truly evil shifters.
Becoming an Enforcer had been Justin’s dream since they were kids, and he’d done his damnedest to talk Colton into it. He was so excited when it was time for them to try out, determined to give it his all and make the cut.
Only he wasn’t accepted—but Colton was.
This wasn’t what Colton wanted, dammit. The only reason he even tried out was because Justin asked him to. His cousin was the one who really wanted to be an Enforcer. Colton just hadn’t had any idea what he wanted to do with his life yet, so he went along with it.
And now this.
It was so fucking stupid. The Enforcers should count themselves lucky that a man like Justin wanted to join them. He was hard working, determined, a hell of a fighter, and he had a heart of gold.
But his shifter gift was the ability to go without sleep if he needed to, and that wasn’t good enough for them.
Picky bastards.
Every shifter had a gift, something extra that made them different from the rest. It could be physical or mental, and it could be something completely supernatural, or a human ability that was enhanced.
Colton’s was the ability to manipulate the elements—earth, air, fire, and water. And it was apparently good enough for the Enforcers, because he was accepted while Justin wasn’t. They were notoriously picky about choosing shifters who only had top notch gifts, but he’d never really thought they’d turn Justin down.
“You should still go to training,” Justin finally said, speaking up for the first time since he’d dropped his news.
He turned to glare at his cousin. “Are you kidding? I’m not going without you.”
“You should. I saw you at tryouts. You were amazing, and you passed every test with flying colors. They could use you. And the world should know that not all male dragons are dickheads. That’s not something I can help with, since I got the snowy owl gene.”
“I don’t care if they could use me or not. I’m not helping those fuckers after they rejected you.”
“Don’t be a dumbass, Colt. You wouldn’t be helping them. You’d be helping make the world a better place, for shifters and humans alike. Besides, we knew there was a chance they wouldn’t accept me. We’ve known that sinc
e we were kids.”
Shaking his head, Colton clenched his hands into fists, trying to control the anger burning inside him. “It’s bullshit. They can’t get anyone better than you, and to reject you because of your gift… You’re more than just your gift, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. But the Enforcers don’t make any secret of the fact that it doesn’t matter how good you are—if your gift isn’t exceptional, they won’t take you. It makes sense when you think about it. They have to have the odds stacked in their favor before they take on the bad guys. You and I just ignored that part of the requirements.”
“I never in a million years thought they’d be stupid enough to reject you, though. I thought they’d see how much of an asset you’d be, regardless of your gift.”
Justin gave him a half smile that didn’t reach his blue eyes as he pushed himself to his feet. “I didn’t, either; but I think we both should have seen this coming. I have to get to work, but I expect to see your bags packed when I get back. I’m serious, Colt. Go to training. Don’t let me be the reason you don’t become an Enforcer.”
“You were the reason I even tried out to begin with, Justin. It was never my dream, and what’s the point without you there?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Justin replied, eyes narrowed. “I watched you during training, remember? It might have been my idea to get us started on this journey, but somewhere along the line my dream became yours, too. You wanted it, Colt. I could see it. And if you don’t go to training, you won’t get a second chance. If you decide you don’t want to go through with it after that, fine. I won’t say another word. But you better at least go to training before you make that decision.”
Colton blew out a breath as he watched his cousin leave. Hooking his hands on his hips, he stared at the family room in the old ranch house he and Justin shared. Colton’s parents were killed by dragon hunters when he was five, and he’d gone to live with his aunt and uncle. He and Justin were the same age, so they’d grown up together, more like brothers than cousins.
When Justin’s parents left to move across the country, they gave the ranch to Justin and Colton. But they never imagined they’d live here long. Being ranchers in this sleepy little Montana town wasn’t their destiny—becoming Enforcers and roaming the country, keeping the world safe from evil, was.
At least it had been until Justin was rejected.
And now, he didn’t have a fucking clue what to do. He hated to admit it, but his cousin was right—somewhere along the line, becoming an Enforcer had turned into his dream, too. But what kind of family member—what kind of friend—would he be if he left Justin here alone after his dream had gotten ripped away from him forever?
What kind would you be if you left him not only hurting over losing his dream, but making him think he’d cost you yours, too? his dragon rumbled inside him. Don’t you think that’d be worse? Do what he said and go to training. Give him that much.
Cursing, he stalked to his bedroom to pack. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Leaving to pursue his dream felt like intentionally hurting Justin, but his dragon was right—not going would be doing the exact same thing.
He’d do what his cousin asked, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to become a full-fledged Enforcer. As much as he wanted it, it just wouldn’t feel right without Justin. And he wasn’t sure he’d be able to respect anyone who could reject someone like him. They’d turned down someone who was better than anyone he’d ever met, in skills and heart, and he couldn’t trust anyone with that kind of bad judgment.
This whole situation was fucked up, and he was beyond pissed that he was having to make the choices he was. As much as the Enforcers helped shifters and humans alike, as far as he was concerned, they could all go fuck themselves.
He wanted nothing to do with them.
Chapter One
SIX YEARS LATER
Katia Evans tapped her fingers on the countertop, eyes unfocused as she gazed toward the door of the small diner where she worked. She only had one more table to clean up after the last guests paid and left before she could close and go home, and she let her mind wander as she waited. She had to; it was the only way to keep her mind off the people at the corner booth, and the way her imagination wanted to run wild at the sight of them.
She’d worked a double shift that day and her feet were sore. Normally, she wouldn’t let it bother her, but it kept taking her away from the perfectly good daydream she’d been having. One where she didn’t have to work two jobs to put herself through night school. Where she had a life that didn’t involve seeing the diner or the old hotel she managed. One where she did more than work, go to classes, and study, snatching a few hours of sleep for herself here and there.
Grimacing, she shifted her weight, trying to take the sting away from her feet, but she knew nothing would work until she could actually sit down. Movement caught her eye and she glanced over as the men in the booth finally stood. Her eyes narrowed as one of them kept his hand on another’s arm, steering him out of the door, while the third made his way to her to pay their tab.
Forcing her eyes away from the stiff set of the man’s shoulders, she made herself smile at the third man, desperately trying to avoid looking into his cold brown eyes as she took his money. Whatever that was about, she didn’t want to know. While this wasn’t the worst part of Atlanta, it wasn’t the best either, so it was always a good idea to mind her own business.
As soon as the last man paid, she rushed to the door and locked it quickly just in case, breathing a sigh of relief as she flipped the sign on the door. Walt, the cook, was in the back cleaning up so she wasn’t alone, but he was old and didn’t have the hearing—not to mention the speed or strength—he used to, and he wouldn’t be much help if the men came back in looking for trouble.
Rolling her eyes at herself, Katia cleaned up the table before sweeping and mopping. She was probably just letting her mind run away with her and seeing things that weren’t there. The diner was physical work, but her job at the hotel left her far too much time to read crappy mystery and suspense novels when she wasn’t studying.
She needed to lay off the mystery novels though, because her daydreams were leading her to believe that the men in the corner were Russian mafia.
Maybe she should switch to romance novels, instead.
Or, at the very least, stop listening to her uncle Sergei’s tales of the old homeland, where he insisted her mother’s family actually had been Russian mafia. She’d never believed it—although she had occasionally wondered just where Sergei’s money came from, since he’d never worked for as long as she could remember—but she did indulge him when he liked to slip into storytelling mode. She’d always loved his accent, and she’d always loved a good story. It’d seemed like a win-win.