Dracon (1st book of the Draconon Series)

Chapter 1

I moved a hand across my forehead as I held one of the metal beams as another one of the workers bolted it into the main post. I was getting really hot working underneath this blazing sun and wanted to get some water and get out of my flannel shirt.

The worker, a male, named Santiago, looked at me and smirked. Respect filled his eyes, and I knew that I had earned it from holding the two pieces of a wire that had been cut from a crane. It would have hit his brother, Antonio, if it didn't. "Tired, Señorita?" he asked teasingly. "Or, is that getting heavy for you?" A smile flickered on his lips, letting me know that he was playing with me.

I rolled my eyes and scowled at him. "Shut up, Santy," I said, and he scowled in disgust at the nickname. I bit back a smirk because I knew that I had hit a sore spot on him. "I want to get some water before I have to do something else, so hurry up and finish bolting this into the side."

"What? Are you not as strong as you say you are?" another male asked, pausing in his work. He looked up at me and smiled, giving me the impression of a Wolf playing with his prey. He leaned against his shovel and raised an eyebrow, ignoring the warning from his coworker.

I scowled down at him, my dislike for him growing. Out of all the men that I worked with, Antonio was the one that I hated the most. He tried to degrade me on everything, not even caring that I could be stronger than him and was so close to punching him in the face.

I could be stronger because most of the men I worked with, including Antonio, was a Werewolf, and he was a Warrior. Neither of us had fought the other because we didn't know what I was, but we all knew that I was neither human nor a Werewolf. Whatever I was, stayed a mystery, and for some reason, I couldn't figure out what I was.

"Then why don't you come over here and hold it yourself?" I asked, and some of the men snickered. I snapped my fingers and smirked at the glaring male. "Oh wait, you are not allowed to. Now, shut up, Bucko, before I throw it on you."

"And, I don't think you should do that," Santiago warned. He finished the last bit and nodded for me to let go. "Besides, it is hard enough to keep you a secret."

I shrugged my shoulder, scowling. I had no idea why I could never meet the Alpha, but I was sure because we didn't know about my background. All we knew about it was that I had a tattoo of a dragon going down my spine and that I had the strength compared to that of a Werewolf.

"You are eighteen, so our boss might not let you work with us anymore," Santiago added. He glanced around, seeing that most of the workers, many of whom were members of the nearby pack, stopped to look at me. Most of them had been working at the same time that I had been working, and they all had counted me like family, giving me the title of "little sister." "Besides, he doesn't like being told that there are other... species out there besides Humans and Werewolves."

I bit back a scoff and rolled my eyes, making sure not to say anything bad about their Alpha. I knew that Wolves were protective of them, so I didn't want to bad mouth them, even if they did agree with what I was thinking.

"Clover," I heard my name being called and looked down to see Miguel staring up at me. He had a phone in his hands, and worry filled his eyes. "Come here, will you?" he asked. "Quickly."

I glanced at Santiago, and he shrugged his shoulder before I nodded my head in confirmation to Miguel. Out of all the people that I had been close to, I was the closest to him. I had gotten this job from him, and he kept me mostly safe from other species that might try to harm me.

"Now, please," Miguel said, his eyes flashing to those of his Wolf's.

I nodded my head and took off the safety harness. I hopped off the beam that I was on and started to climb down, making sure that I wouldn't fall. My whole body was relaxed as I let my instincts take over and made it safely to the ground and in front of Miguel. "What?" I asked, seeing a scowl on his face.

"Boss is coming," he said. "You need to act like you are a student and not someone that works here. He still doesn't know that I am paying you."

I scowled and nodded my head. "Ok," I said. I took off my helmet and tossed it to him. "I think I can use what I have to make me look like a teenager and not a worker. Make sure that you hide my name on it."

Miguel nodded his head. "We'll keep a lookout and make sure that we don't tell him that you have been helping us. ... make sure that you don't try to be... too noticeable? He doesn't need to know that you work as one of the builders but that you are interning for a secretary job."

I bit back a scowl but nodded my head. I knew he could have me fired, and I prayed that he wouldn't. I had no other source of income, so I had no idea how I would survive without this job or if I could get another one without a high school diploma or a college degree. "I'll try my best," I promised. "Hopefully, he'll let me keep working or "interning" for the company."

Miguel nodded his head. "I hope so too, Kid. I hope so too."