by Reus, Katie
“About twenty minutes.”
She let out a startled laugh as Willow pounced on Rhys’s head, covering his eyes with her wings before she suddenly let go and rolled off him in a free fall.
Moving lightning quick, Rhys scooped her up with his massive indigo and purple wing before she hit the ground, then gently set her on a patch of grass. Willow let out a little shrieking sound of pure happiness that Dallas had never heard before. Then she flew right back upward and pounced on his head again. Acting as if she actually was a toddler, she did the same thing again and “accidentally” fell off, tumbling toward the grass. Once again, Rhys caught her and she made the same shrieking sound of joy.
Dallas’s heart squeezed as she watched the two of them. This big, kinda grumpy dragon apparently had a marshmallow inside. At least where Willow was concerned. And that…was pretty damn hard to resist. Not to mention he was stunning in this form, like a piece of art. She wanted to take a picture of him, to capture his beauty, but didn’t think it would do him justice. She couldn’t even begin to guess how huge he was—if he stood up fully, his head would top the nearby oak tree. But it was his scales that drew all her attention; the blues and purples seemed to flow and shift when he did, glittering prettily underneath the rising sun.
“This level of cuteness should be outlawed,” Bella said as she joined them in a robe and pajamas covered in dancing cats.
At least Dallas wasn’t the only one still in PJs. It was kind of weird to be around other people, especially in the morning. Normally she liked her quiet, her routine, but she could admit this was nice too. It was the company that made the difference, however. So far everyone who lived here was warm and welcoming.
“How long have you had her?” Harlow asked, plopping down next to her twin, fully dressed as well as she munched on an apple.
“Not long. I found her a couple months ago.”
“Crap, we’ll need to get her food, won’t we?” Harlow said, shifting in her seat as if she was about to run out and do just that.
Yeah, she’d thought about that this morning as well. “I can take care of it. There are some pear trees on the west side of the yard that likely won’t bloom for another four to six months. But I can change that—does anyone mind if I inject a little magic into the trees to get some more fruit for her?” She could make the fruit grow to proportions perfect for Willow.
“Please go for it,” Bella said. “Hey, can you make our chickens turn into, like, mutant chickens? Have them produce giant eggs?”
Brielle shot her a horrified look but Dallas snickered and shook her head. “No. I mean I guess technically I could, but that’s weird and I’m not going to attempt it.”
“What’s it like being a witch?” Bella asked.
“I don’t know, what’s it like being able to turn into a snow leopard?”
Bella sighed happily. “The most awesome thing in the world.”
She laughed lightly at the woman’s answer. “I don’t really know how to answer, honestly. It’s just who I am, I’ve had my powers since I was born.”
The females at the table stared at her and she squirmed slightly under their scrutiny. Because yeah, she knew that she was different. Most witches came into their power in their teens or sometimes even in their twenties or thirties, but she’d just been born this way. The magic was always there for those who didn’t come into their powers until later. Usually an event triggered the awakening, but for her, she was who she was.
She knew it made her rarer than most of her kind. She also didn’t mess around with blood magic, because that shit was dark. She tried to respect everything around her, especially nature. And despite what some human scientists were still trying to grasp, science and magic worked beautifully together. So when witches injected natural magic into crops, it wasn’t remotely the same as using pesticides or hormones.
“That’s pretty cool,” Brielle finally said, turning back to watch the dragon show.
She heard the truth in the woman’s voice and the band clenched tight around her chest eased. Maybe…she could be friends with these shifters. “Thanks. I think being able to turn into an animal is pretty cool too.”
“There really is nothing else like it.” Brielle stretched out her long legs and took a sip of her coffee.
“I swear if I found that male attractive, this whole scene would get my ovaries going,” Bella murmured, making the others snicker.
Dallas wasn’t sure why Bella didn’t find Rhys attractive, because that male was the sexiest she’d ever met. Like, ever. He was walking, talking, panty-melting hotness. So clearly something was wrong with Bella’s eyesight.
Axel approached the table with two canisters in hand. “I don’t know how you guys drink this stuff without sugar or cream. You’re barbarians.”
“Thank you,” she said, reaching for the one marked sugar.
“So what’s on your agenda today?” he asked as he sat next to her, stretching out in that languid, feline way. His long hair was pulled up into a bun and his bronze skin seemed to practically glow, as if he’d just spent the day tanning outdoors.
Before she could answer, she was aware of Rhys suddenly shifting to his human form and heading toward them—sans pants.
She felt her cheeks turn red, even though the others didn’t seem at all bothered by the display of nudity. She’d forgotten that shifters could be so blasé about any sort of nakedness, but she was a witch and her kind did not go around taking off their clothes at random intervals. Witches had that in common with humans for sure.
“Good morning, Dallas,” Rhys said in that deep, delicious voice as he sat in the chair across from her. Somehow, he’d found pants on the walk over here when she’d been turned away. Though it did seem a bit of a shame to cover up all that glorious skin. And…other stuff. But this was much better for her sanity. At least he didn’t have a shirt on. Instead he was displaying all those ridiculous muscles, which were really, really hard to ignore. Somehow she forced her gaze to remain on his face.
She loved the way he said her name but reminded herself that she had to keep her emotions on lockdown because if she allowed herself to get turned on or anything, he would definitely smell it. They all would. And that was just plain embarrassing.
“Good morning,” she murmured, glancing at him and then Willow over his shoulder, who was currently doing midair dive-bombs toward the ground then basically cackling to herself when she swooped up at the last minute before crash-landing. “What have you done to my dragon? I’ve never seen her like this.”
“She’s a playful little thing,” was all he said.
“She didn’t bother you last night?”
He simply snorted softly. “She slept like the dead. Then the chickens woke her up so she tried to play with them, but I could tell that was going to end poorly, so we had a bit of fun in the yard. She’s a fast learner.”
“Thank you,” she said, meaning it. He didn’t have to be so sweet to Willow, and the way he was acting brought up far too many maternal instincts inside her. Instincts she hadn’t even realized she had. She’d never once thought about how a past lover might be as a father, but with Rhys, it was easy to imagine different scenarios where he was one. And that…that was not good. For too many reasons.
She realized that Axel was watching the two of them, his interest in their conversation clear. She frowned at the lion, who looked far too smug. She couldn’t imagine why he was smug, however. Maybe it was just a feline thing?
“What time would you like to get started today?” Rhys asked, drawing her attention back to him.
“Yes, what time?” Axel asked. “I would love to join the two of you.”
“Your help is not needed, cat,” Rhys snarled.
She blinked, looking between the two of them, and she realized that the female shifters were all smirking into their mugs. What was wrong with everyone this morning? Grabbing her coffee, she stood, feeling awkward. This was why she liked her solitude. At least then she always k
new where she stood and there was never any weirdness. “I just need to grab a quick shower, then I’ll be ready to head out. King sent over a list of places and I’m not completely sure which ones would be better to go to first. We can come up with a game plan before we head out though.”
“I’ve got a great working knowledge of the city.” Smiling, Axel crossed one ankle over the other as he watched her. “I think I would be a great asset to you guys.”
She nodded, ready to tell him that of course he could come with them, but Rhys abruptly stood. “King does not want you with us.” And neither do I seemed to be the unspoken words.
She looked over at Bella, who simply shook her head. “Willow will be fine with us while you’re gone,” she said, reading Dallas’s mind.
“Thanks. I might bring her with us though, if you don’t think it would be a problem in the city?” She probably should’ve asked King about that, but last night had been so hectic. She hadn’t expected them to discover her dragon or to be called into the city on a sudden job. She liked her routine and now everything was in disarray.
“Whatever’s easiest for you, but we really don’t mind. Lola will be home soon too and she’ll be excited to meet Willow.”
Dallas hadn’t met Lola yet, but had been informed by Axel that she was a badass hacker. “Okay, if you guys really are fine with her…”
“We are, promise.” Bella’s smile was warm, real.
Axel, still grinning, cleared his throat. “I’m going to call King and—”
Rhys clasped Axel on the back of the neck. “We’re good.” His words were gritted out.
Okay, something weird was going on between the males, but she wasn’t going to worry about it. She didn’t have enough understanding of shifter hierarchies to understand the dynamics between dragons and lions. Instead she hurried over to give Willow kisses before she headed inside and jumped in the shower.
The guest bathroom was small but must have been remodeled before The Fall. The shower tile was a gorgeous white stone material that seemed to sparkle as water hit it. The floor tile was an intricate-looking basket weave of mostly white with black squares woven throughout it. The seamless look extended to the rest of the small room, tying everything together nicely.
She paid attention to aesthetics and this little bathroom had a peaceful feel to it. While she shampooed her hair in said bathroom, she forced herself not to think about Rhys—or his broad shoulders, plethora of muscles, the sweet way he played with Willow…all those damn muscles. How he’d looked like an avenging warrior as he’d stalked across the grass naked this morning. Gah!
Scrubbing at her hair way too hard, she decided that another pep talk was in order. She only had two weeks at most to be stuck here in the city.
Then she was heading back to her farm, back to her quiet life, her goats and her home. Far, far away from the brooding dragon shifter with the dark blue, haunting eyes.
Chapter 8
Dallas and Rhys didn’t have to walk far to look at their first designated garden plot. It only took twenty minutes on foot to make it to the neighborhood. Rhys had offered to fly them to the rest of the potential plots around the city, but Dallas wasn’t sure how comfortable she felt with that. Riding on a dragon—who was not her pet—was a big deal in the supernatural world. It surprised her that he’d offered at all. Still, it made her feel uncomfortable and she wasn’t sure why.
That wasn’t true. Maybe it was because there was underlying weirdness between them. She could tell he didn’t trust her so the fact that he’d offered to let her ride him was, well, weird. Maybe it had to do with more of those shifter things she didn’t understand. He might have offered because King had ordered him to.
“This place is fantastic,” she murmured as they stepped through open gates into a huge yard that surrounded a mansion very similar to the one they were staying in. “Who lives here?”
“A vampire coven used to live here,” he said shortly, his gaze tracking over all the overgrown foliage.
She barely glanced at the huge mansion, not really concerned with it, not when there was so much lush greenery here. There was enough room for a decent-sized greenhouse and open areas of lawn where she could plant a bundle of trees. If she used her magic, the trees and other plants would be able to grow at a rapid rate and start producing earlier than normal. It often took a few years for fruit trees to even bloom or produce, but she’d always adhered to her own gardening rules. She’d been born with the gift of helping things thrive and grow, so she used it and injected all the kindness and happiness into her projects that she could.
Next to her Rhys was a statue, his body still in that way shifters could be.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yes. Why?” He didn’t look at her, just continued scanning as if there was a threat behind the walls of the mansion. Maybe he sensed something she didn’t.
She lifted a shoulder as they walked through the calf-high grass. “You and Axel were kind of weird with each other this morning.” Though for all Dallas knew that was normal behavior for the two of them. She really didn’t have much of an example to go on since she’d only seen their interaction once before.
Rhys snorted, the sound kind of at odds with the serious dragon shifter. “Axel’s a jackass.”
“I don’t know, he seems pretty nice to me.”
He shot her an annoyed look, his gaze landing on her mouth for a moment before he quickly looked away.
She blinked, wondering if that little spark she’d seen had been her imagination. “Are dragons and lions at odds with each other?”
“Nope. Just me and Axel.”
Huh. Okay, then. Clearly he wasn’t going to give her more, so she let the subject drop. She had no interest in shifter politics…or whatever was going on between them.
As they reached an area where a cluster of hydrangea shrubs circled a huge oak tree, she reached down and slid her fingers into the soil. Sending out a tiny pulse of magic, she felt how rich this area was. Yes, they could grow a lot here and in the surrounding areas.
On impulse, she sent out another burst of magic over the shrubs and gorgeous hydrangeas blossomed, purple flowers covering the previously green leaves. The burst of color surrounding the tree stood out against the green backdrop of the yard and just the sight of it made her heart smile. This would only last twenty-four hours, then they would recede and only come out in a few months when they were supposed to. For now, however, they got to shine.
“What kind of magic are you using?” Rhys snapped suddenly, making her jerk.
Startled, she realized he was glaring down at her.
Withdrawing her hand from the dirt, she wiped her hands off on her jeans and stood, looking up at him, a thread of worry winding its way through her blood. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing,” he muttered before stalking away, quickly putting distance between them.
Dallas wasn’t going to deal with some weird hot-and-cold attitude. Instead of letting him walk away, she hurried after him and grabbed his forearm. “Seriously, what’s going on? Don’t say nothing, because that insults me and it’s just plain annoying. I’m only doing what was asked of me. If you’re going to act like this, then I’m going to request that someone else escort me around the city. I’m sure Axel won’t mind.” He’d seemed eager to come out with them today and right about now she wished she had a buffer in the form of a friendly lion shifter.
Rhys turned to her and didn’t pull away from her hold. “You’re a witch,” he finally said, each word clipped.
She let her hand drop at the way he said the word witch, because she realized he was just like everyone else. “Oh, I see. You just judge me for what I am. I get it. Trust me.” She was unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. Normally she could go full-on neutral and pretend she didn’t care what others thought of her. Because she’d convinced herself that she didn’t. That it didn’t hurt every single time she thought she’d found a friend, only to have them
decide she wasn’t worth it once they discovered she was a witch. It was why she now told people what she was up front—saved her a lot of heartache.
Turned out he was just another asshole. It shouldn’t hurt, but for some reason it punched deep. Probably because she was attracted to him, so that just made his judgment and rejection all the more upsetting.
Not wanting him to see how much he’d hurt her, she turned away and closed her eyes. Then she took a deep, steadying breath to center herself. When she opened her eyes he was standing in front of her. Dallas took a startled step back then, surprised by how quietly he moved.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Being around you…made me realize that…I have made some inaccurate judgments.”
“Whatever,” she muttered. “I’m going to ask King to assign someone else to me.”
“A witch killed my sister,” he suddenly blurted.
Surprise punched through her. “What?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets but held her gaze. “A long time ago, thousands of years, in fact, a witch murdered my sister. She entrapped her, using their friendship, then drained her blood for immortality. She tortured her and didn’t stop until my sister was nothing but bones.”
“Blood magic,” Dallas whispered, suddenly cold inside. She abhorred blood magic. It could actually be used by humans as well as natural witches. It was dark, unsavory, and very, very dangerous. It could open dangerous doors or portals to Hell realms, even to Hell itself. And…other places. For a witch to be able to ensnare a dragon…she must be powerful.
Jaw tight, he nodded.
“I’m sorry about your sister.” No wonder he didn’t like witches.
“I am too. Her name was Eilidh… I’m still hunting for her killer.”
Understanding dawned inside her. “Is that why you’re here in New Orleans?” Because she’d been wondering why he was away from his whole family, in the city, under an Alpha who was not his own. It didn’t make sense. Not when such clear power rolled off him in waves. This male could easily run his own territory if he chose. Not that he seemed to have any inclination to do so, but still.