Her Dragon Protector

Chapter 3

After a very uncomfortable entrance into the event hall on the arm of CEO Nicholas Williams, Olivia was finally feeling more at ease. She had her camera and was taking pictures of everyone who was there. She could not help but laugh when they would strike strange poses or make funny faces to go with the costumes they were wearing.

She had just finished taking several pictures of members of the board who were in attendance when she glanced up and saw Nicholas with his phone raised, taking pictures of his own. She smirked as she thought there might be a chance that she was rubbing off on him a bit. When she met him, he was very analytical and could not think creatively. Maybe that was why he wanted to work closely with her from the start. So he could broaden his way of thinking. Someone calling her name broke her out of her thoughts, and she immediately returned to taking pictures of everyone around her.

Tyson Emery, CEO of Emery Technologies, let out a low growl that vibrated throughout the entire plane. He had planned to fly to the east coast and visit his friend and collaborator, Nicholas Williams, but that would not happen now. After taking care of business in Chicago, Tyson was going to board his private plane and fly there with time to spare before the annual Halloween party. But unfortunately, a thick fog had rolled in, and his plane would not be going anywhere.

Devon Wright, second in command of their clan and Emery Technologies, asked with a raised eyebrow, “Dude, why are you so upset about not going to that goofy Halloween party?”

Tyson glared at him.

Devon said nothing as he stared at his friend until he broke eye contact to look back out the plane window.

“Honestly, I wanted to meet this photographer Nick keeps bragging about. She started a few months ago, and she has a magic touch. Check out their website. Every photo on it is hers. That includes the ones that are featured on the office walls.”

Devon picked up his phone and quickly went to the website for Dark Moon Industries. The corners of Tyson’s mouth ticked up into a grin every time he heard Devon grunt or let out a comment or low whistle about what he saw on the site. By the time Devon had finished, Tyson was grinning broadly.

Tyson asked, “Now do you understand?”

“Oh yeah. I understand that you had planned to go there and poach Nick’s photographer right out from under your friend’s nose,” Devon laughed.

“Can you blame me?”

“Not really. But one thing does bother me about her.”

“What?”

“Her photo is not to be found on the website,” Devon said as he held his phone up for Tyson to see.

Tyson looked to see a standard placeholder instead of her picture beside her employee bio. He grunted and answered, “Maybe she doesn’t do self-portraits. She wouldn’t be the first photographer who didn’t. Plus, Nick sent me the link to her cloud storage, where she keeps all her work. I’m sending it to you now.”

Devon rolled his eyes as he tapped his phone screen to open the link. The first photo was either a sunset or sunrise, which was breathtaking. The sky looked like it was on fire in contrast to the black land and trees. Devon’s mouth dropped open as he turned his phone to face Tyson and pointed to the screen.

“I know, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. That is why I wanted to go to the party and speak to her.”

“Dude, if we were still in Oregon, I would tell you to shift and fly there yourself, but from here to Dark Moon, there are too many people.”

“Believe me, I know. I have already thought about all that and how I could do damage control if anyone saw me,” Tyson sighed. “I guess I don’t have a choice. I have to call and tell Nick we won’t be making it. He has probably already figured it out since the party started a little while ago.”

“True, but we both know his Halloween parties go until dawn, so if this stupid plane left now, we would still have plenty of fun.”

“Don’t remind me. I am pretty sure Nick gave me something special last year. I have

never been that hungover in my life,” Tyson said with a grimace.

“He probably did it just to keep you from stealing all the ladies from him,” Devon laughed as he continued to scroll through Olivia’s portfolio and turn the phone screen toward Tyson periodically.

“Shush, and let me call Nick. I don’t need you blabbing that I want his photographer to work for me.”

Tyson dialed the number for his friend and waited. He knew the music would be blaring at the party, so he was not counting on the call to be answered. Instead, the phone rang long enough that he was expecting the voicemail to answer when he heard the call connect and music in the background.

“Hey! Where are you?” Nick yelled into the phone before the background noise died down. “I thought you would be here by now.”

“So did I, my friend. So did I,” Tyson replied. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we are stuck on a runway in Chicago because of fog. It looks like we won’t make it.”

“That sucks. I wanted you to meet the behind-the-scenes star of this place.”

“If you mean your photographer, I was looking forward to meeting her. When I went to the website, I was disappointed not to have a face to go with a name.”

“Oh yeah, she hates having her picture taken for some reason. Let me see if I can sneak a few pics of her for you now. She is dressed as a fairy tonight, and let me tell you, I am definitely thinking some impure thoughts about her because of it.”

“I don’t want to know about your impure thoughts. You have gone into far more detail about some of your conquests than I ever needed. Go take the pics and send them to me when you’re done.”

“You got it,” Nick shouted before he disconnected.

Tyson let out another growl as he sat tapping his phone on his leg. He looked at Devon to see he had stopped looking at his phone and eyeing Tyson with a raised eyebrow.

“You know, Devon,” Tyson said with a sigh. “There are times when I wonder why I am friends with that guy, and right now, is one of them.”

“What now?”

“I wanted to meet Ms. Cook so that I could offer her a job based on her work. When I

mentioned being disappointed when I saw her picture wasn’t on his website, Nick proceeded to tell me what her costume for tonight is and about his impure thoughts toward her because of it. And don’t worry. I cut him off before he could share any details.”

“Nicholas is an Alpha. You know how some of them are. They can’t go a day without someone to warm their bed, and they completely forsake the mate bond.”

“I know,” Tyson said as he rubbed his hand down over his face. “But there are times when he goes further than he should. Werewolves are supposed to have a mate bond. So he should at least try to respect it a little.”

Tyson felt his phone vibrate in his hand and jerked it up to view the screen. He saw that he had several images coming in from Nicholas. As he unlocked his phone and opened the first one, he stopped dead. The picture was of a young woman in her early to mid-twenties. She had long dark blonde hair flowing in loose waves and the most captivating gray eyes he had ever seen. Thoughts of clouds that were heavy with rain and the sky before a thunderstorm popped into his head. She was shorter in stature, but her figure was perfectly proportioned. She was the most gorgeous creature he had ever laid eyes on.

“Tyson!” Devon yelled, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“What!?” Tyson yelled back.

“Reign in your aura! What is wrong with you?”

“Sorry,” Tyson mumbled as he flipped through the other pictures of Olivia.

“Are those the pictures of the photographer you want to steal?”

“They are,” Tyson replied.

Tyson handed his phone to Devon so he could see them. Devon flipped through the pictures before handing the phone back.

“She’s cute,” Devon told him.

“She,” Tyson said, pointing to his phone. “Is far more than cute. She is stunning.”

“Dude, your aura is slipping again,” Devon warned him. “What is going on with you? Your eyes were glowing that time. You are acting like she is your mate or something.”

Tyson sighed as he closed his eyes and ran his hand through his black hair. No matter the cause of his emotions, he had to get them under control. His amber eyes would glow and flicker when his emotions were not in his control. Until then, he had always known it would be anger that caused it. Now, he did not know the reason.

“Dev, there is no reason I should be reacting like this. Even if she was my mate, seeing her in a photo would not drive me insane like this.” Tyson huffed and continued, “She looks so sweet and innocent, and I know what Nicholas wants to do to her. It makes me angry. The pictures she takes show her soul, and it is beautiful. Her soul deserves more than what Nicholas will do to it if he gets his way.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. So what do you want to do about it?”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Tyson answered. The pang of regret for not being there was wrapped around his heart. He felt it squeezing tighter and knew it would not change anytime soon.