Blackstone Ranger Chief

First was that a main part of their job was to protect the shifters that called Blackstone home. Anyone who wanted to roam in their animal forms were free to do so in the public areas. But also, they had to watch out for anyone looking to cause trouble, which was why hunting of any kind was forbidden, and firearms and weapons were immediately confiscated.
The other part that set it apart from national forests and parks was the Blackstone Mountain was privately owned and operated by the Lennox Corporation, and not the federal or state government. That meant they only answered to one person: Matthew Lennox, current CEO of said corporation, and the dragon protector of Blackstone.
Which was why Damon was nearly drowning in paperwork. His reports kept Lennox Corporation up to date on their activities and ensured their funding flowed in. However, with his last assistant quitting and that damn blizzard last week, he was behind.
And now, the boss was coming in to see him. He’d actually forgotten about the meeting with being so busy and all. To think, he’d already been in a bad mood when he came in to the station this morning, and now that message from Lennox’s assistant reminding him of this meeting was just the cherry on top of this shitshow.
And certainly, the events of last night and this morning didn’t help.
When the woman in the wedding gown had passed out in his arms outside The Den, he couldn’t even think of leaving her. The Demon had railed at him, swiping its claws at him, ready to fight if he even dared walk away from her. As if I would leave any woman out there alone and defenseless. Damon knew he was a bastard, but he wasn’t a stupid one. So, he had no choice but to take her back to his place, tuck her into bed, and then spend a sleepless night tossing and turning on his couch as all he could think about was her.
His mate.
Anna Victoria.
Acting like an asshole to her this morning had been the right thing to do. It had driven her away, which was exactly what he wanted. The Demon disagreed and let its displeasure known, but he bore the pain because he couldn’t risk getting close again. Not with anyone, and especially not with his own mate.
Yes, it was better if she left and drove far, far away from him and never saw him again. For her own sake.
A knock at the door made his spine stiffen. “Come in,” he called as he twisted his chair around.
The door opened and a familiar face popped in. “Hey, Chief,” Matthew Lennox greeted. “I’m here for our meeting.”
He shot to his feet. “Mr. Lennox. Sir.” Smoothing his hand down his khaki uniform shirt, he gestured to the chair. “Please, come in.”
“C’mon, Damon, we went to high school together. You can call me Matthew, even at work,” he said as he strolled in and took a seat.
Matthew Lennox had been in Damon’s year back in high school, and though they had been in a few classes together, they hadn’t run in the same social circles. Damon hung out with the jocks in the football team, and Matthew, well, he was a Lennox, after all, whose ancestor founded Blackstone. They were the richest family in town, and probably one of the wealthiest in the country.
Not that any of the Lennoxes were snobs, but they simply never had the chance to hang out outside school. Plus, Matthew was a dragon shifter, and even before his bear went out of control, Damon had been wary of his animal. As for the man himself, Matthew Lennox had always been cool, polite, and untouchable, probably because everyone knew he was being groomed to take over the billion-dollar corporation someday.
In recent years, however, Matthew’s demeanor had warmed up, because he was now much more friendly and affable than he had been. Since Matthew had taken over as CEO a year or two ago, Damon had seen him at the Lennox Corporation picnics and Christmas parties, and he always took time to mingle and chat with everyone.
“How’s it going, Chief?” Matthew leaned back in his chair, unbuttoning the coat of his expensive-looking suit. “That blizzard was terrible, huh?”
“Yeah, tell me about it. But we managed to round up all the campers and found all of the lost shifters caught in the storm.”
“Good, good.” The dragon shifter tapped his hands on the armchair. “How are you liking the job so far?”
Damon had been surprised that Matthew had picked him to replace the previous chief, Garret Simpson, who had retired after twenty years of service. He shrugged when Simpson had put his name in for the running, because surely, Matthew would see his record and read about his discharge from the Special Forces unit and pick someone else. But for some reason, Matthew did offer the position to him, with a review at the end of six months.
That’s probably why he was here. Damon braced himself for any bad news Matthew was about to deliver. “Is this our formal performance review?” he asked. “Should I be getting ready to vacate this office?”
Matthew chuckled. “Always a straight shooter. I like that about you, Damon. Garret did, too, which was one of the reasons he put your name up when I asked him for a replacement.”
“I’m sure the other candidates—”
“There were no other candidates.”
“Excuse me?”
The dragon shifter leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. Despite being on the other side of the desk, there was no question who was the more dominant creature here. “Damon, most people think the rangers have this cushy job, at least compared to the police and fire department. Like, all you guys do is muck around the forest and trails all day.”
He huffed. Whenever all the Blackstone agencies got together, the rangers certainly got more than their fair share of the ribbing.
“I think not everyone understands how important your job is.” Matthew’s expression turned serious.