Unmasked: A dragon shifter paranormal romance (Alice Novella Serial Book 1)

by Maria Dean

  "My family is," Irene paused, looking for the right word. "My family is different. We're very traditional in some senses. We value legacy and preserving the future." She tapped a picture of a small child on her desk. "See, it's expected everyone in our family has a child. We need to keep our bloodline strong, or something like that. It's weird, I know."

  Astrid leaned forward, examining the picture. The child had Irene's sharp cheekbones and dark hair, but a dark complexion and chocolate brown eyes. "How old is he?" She asked, tracing the outline of the photo.

  "Micah's two," she replied. "I was lucky to find a partner who'd already had a kid. See, it's very hard for those of us who aren't straight." Irene brought another family picture to Astrid's attention. It was of the seven grandchildren when they were younger. "Not only was Matilde the youngest of us, she was also the black sheep because she's gay. It wasn't until I came out as non-binary that she had an ally, but by then the damage had been done."

  "The damage?" Astrid frowned, afraid of where this was going.

  "Gran wasn't happy when Matilde came out. She went on about how she wouldn't be able to continue our legacy like the rest of us. Even my situation was a little exceptional. In turn, Matilde internalized a lot of that as self-hatred. She started to act out, fighting with her brothers and isolating herself from the rest of us." Irene's eyes teared up. "Sometimes I think she's still convinced the rest of us don't love her. Just because Gran treated her like shit, didn't mean we were going to too."

  Astrid's heart ached. In a family where your legacy was everything, it would make sense Matilde would be outraged when she was denied an inheritance. And for such a petty reason, too. "That doesn't excuse her lashing out at me," Astrid started, "but I forgive her. Besides, it's not like she's made an active threat on my life."

  "Has that happened before?" Irene asked.

  Astrid laughed. Probably not the best reaction to Irene's question, but she couldn't help herself. "As it turns out, being a will executor is a dangerous job. I've seen a few will readings turn violent, especially when a family member is left out. One of my co-workers even has a restraining order on a son of a former client." It was Winston's favorite party story. Astrid couldn't give the story justice so decided not to share it.

  It was enough for Irene to lose the color in her cheeks. "I didn't realize your line of work was that risky."

  Astrid shrugged. "Law, as I've found, is a risky business no matter which way you cut it. Some of my friends from law school work for firms with a much higher pay grade than mine and have it way worse. Divorce lawyers have it particularly rough. Jilted husbands and unhinged ex-lovers make things a little complicated."

  Irene was silent, thinking over what Astrid just said. "You know," she started, "you'd fit right in with the rest of the family."

  Astrid stopped petting Moon Moon. He whined and nudged her hand until she started stroking him again. "Look, is this about your cousins?" She asked as she gave in to the puppy's demands. "No offense, but I really don't understand why they're so interested in me. We're just not on the same playing field."

  Irene tilted her head to the side with a puzzled expression, suggesting Astrid needed to explain. "Now, don't be alarmed when I say this, but your family is kind of rich." Irene mock gasped. "I know. It's insane." said Astrid.

  "I'm guessing you're not?" She didn't mean any harm by it, but Astrid flinched all the same. "It's okay. I'm not going to judge you for it. Although I guess I did think lawyers made more money."

  Shaking her head, Astrid said, "I make enough money to help pay off my student loans, that's for sure. Law school was expensive. So is living on my own. A lot of my peers who graduated with me moved in with friends to cut costs." Astrid tapped Moon Moon on the nose when he started to mouth her fingers. "I suspected your cousins would want to get with someone who was on the same income level, you know. Not someone who still eats the same three meals a week because rice is cheaper than most foods."

  "Perhaps you just surprised them," Irene said. "They've all been in and out of relationships. A lot of their girlfriends were in it for the money. Someone who isn't visibly invested in their funds could be what they want."

  "I guess," Astrid said. It still wasn't enough to explain why they were all hounding her. It's not like they'd had great first-time interactions. Lorenzo sort of harassed her on a train, she accidentally dissed Giovanni in the will reading, and she decorated Christian's shirt with a sandwich. "I don't know. I read a lot of crappy young adult novels in high school. Having multiple people from the same family courting you never went well for the protagonists." She sighed. "I don't want to be playing with fire is what I'm saying. You get it, right?"

  Irene's expression fell. "I hate to say it, but any engagement with my family is a chance to get burned."

  ***

  Astrid left later that afternoon, promising to check with her landlord about the apartment pet policy. Moon Moon didn't want to let her go, nearly squirming out of Irene's grip when she tried to put him back in the dog den. When he was finally squared away, Irene thanked Astrid for coming to visit. Even with the clear threat of associating with the Russo clan coming back to haunt Astrid, Irene implored her to give her cousins a chance.

  "Only if you tell me who you'd pick," Astrid said. "You know them better than I do."

  Irene was apparently very prepared for this question. "Lorenzo," she answered quickly. "Christian's a sweetheart but kind of slow with some things. Giovanni is wicked smart, but I think he can get a little too serious sometimes. Lorenzo's a good balance of the two."

  "You know he freaked me out on a train, right? Like, spouting nonsense about the world being messed up and just staring at me."

  Irene inhaled, letting out a deep, exasperated sigh. "That idiot," she muttered. "Honestly, that sounds exactly like him. I think he enjoys getting a rise out of people."

  Not a great endorsement for the guy you think I should date, Astrid thought. She shook it off, biding Irene farewell and walking outside. By then, the rain had shrunk down into a light sprinkle. Astrid, in desperate need to stretch her legs, braced herself for the rain and headed to her apartment building. Irene had given her a lot to think about, starting with Matilde's origin story and ending with the Astrid's three new suitors.

  Further down the street, a black Jaguar started up. It crept slowly toward her, before stopping next to her. The window rolled down. "What, have you never seen a sports car before?"

  Astrid straightened up, Matilde. The one Russo she wasn't prepared to deal with, even if she knew why she and Magdalena were at odds. Astrid tried to craft her next sentence carefully. "Who are you again?"

  Matilde sneered at her.

  Bad move, Astrid.

  She didn't have much time to recover. "Get in before I decide to drench your rags in rainwater." Matilde rolled up the window.

  Afraid of what would happen to her if she didn't get inside, Astrid entered the back seat of the car. Matilde's date from the funeral hit the gas, and she tore off down the street, throwing Astrid against the seat. "Wow, this is better than an Uber," Astrid muttered.

  "Hilarious," Matilde said from the front seat. "Are you always this dry?"

  "It's how I cover up my crippling insecurities," Astrid replied.

  The driver snickered. "I don't know 'Tilde, I think she's a pretty good match for your brother." She looked at Astrid through the rear-view mirror. "I'm Nya, by the way. Nice to officially meet you, Astrid."

  The lawyer was trying to buckle herself into the seat. "Thanks?"

  Matilde put her hand on Nya's shoulder. "Don't flirt with her, babes. The boys think she will be their messiah. 'Sides, she's straight as a board."

  "I take offense to that." Astrid finally settled herself. "Your brothers aren't the only ridiculously attractive ones in your family."

  Nya choked on a laugh. "All right girl, I can fuck with that."

  "Babe," Matilde groaned. "Fine, whatever. I don't care what you are. I'm just here to sav
e you from your dumb ass self before you end up toast."

  Nya turned a sharp corner and pulled up to the side of the road. "Coffee first, roasting later." She parked the car and popped out of the door. Matilde went after her, glaring at Astrid until she exited too. The three women entered a small, hole in the wall coffee shop. Nya greeted the barista with a kiss on each cheek. "My sister, Kaylin."

  Fuck, Astrid thought, they're all gorgeous.

  Matilde greeted Kaylin with the same, double-cheek kiss, and ordered for herself and Nya. Astrid tried to straighten her damp clothes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hi," she said, smiling at Kaylin. She successfully placed her order without stuttering like an idiot and joined the other two at a booth.

  Kaylin brought their coffee out a little later. "Girl," she said as she looked at Astrid, "do you curl your hair? Or is it natural?"

  "Natural," Astrid answered suddenly conscious the rain had undone the hours she spent straightening it.

  Nya raised a perfectly contoured eyebrow. "Which one of your parents is black?"

  "My mom is mixed race." Astrid blew on her mocha, waiting for it to cool.

  Matilde sucked on the straw, slurping up her iced tea. "Look, Astrid, you don't take shit. I like that about you. You take your life seriously and you don't fuck around."

  Astrid was trying to get rid of the whipped cream plastered on her nose. "Uh, thanks."

  "My pleasure," Matilde said. "So, I will be up front with you. You need to get your ass out of our family's business before it gets you killed."

  That took Astrid a moment to process. "This is literally the second time today one of your family has told me you guys are dangerous. Are y'all like, the mafia?"

  Nya snorted. "That'd be pretty hot, actually."

  "No, we're not the mafia." Matilde rolled her eyes. "You know why you need to get away from us. Don't play dumb with me." Astrid continued sipping her coffee, staring at Matilde, waiting for an answer. "Oh my god," Matilde gasped. "You really don't know."

  "At this point," Astrid said, slurping her coffee down. "Your family could be four generations of a secret alien species sent to earth to destroy all of humanity. And I wouldn't be too shocked." Matilde and Nya exchanged glances. "Really. With all the warnings I keep getting from y'all, and the weird obsession your brothers have, and like, the fuckin' dragon necklace your grandmother gave me--"

  "--Gran gave you the jade Wyvern?" Matilde gasped. "That bitch! That's a family heirloom. I can't believe she did that!" She nearly crushed the plastic cup in her grip. "God, that completely solidifies it. You're an Alice, all the way."

  Astrid scrunched up her face. "You know, your grandma kept calling me that. I thought her memory was going to shit. Are you going to explain that one too?"

  "If it will keep you out of my hair?" Matilde replied. "Of course." She tapped her manicured nails on the table in front of Astrid. "You need to keep it quiet, though. No screaming in disbelief or gossiping with your cute receptionist about this."

  If Astrid was going to gossip with someone in the office, it wasn't going to be Sally. She told their boss everything. "I won't," she promised.

  Matilde inhaled. "All right. My family comes from a long line of dragons. We're stuck in this dimension after our ancestor crossed over to this plane to escape the first Dragon-Fae War." She waited for Astrid to gasp in shock. "You can tell me I'm bullshitting you now."

  "I mean," Astrid waved her hands in the air, "that would explain a lot." She thought back to every strange interaction she's had with the Russo family. "The dragon necklace was pretty weird," Astrid shrugged. "You also threatened me and the entire room felt like it heated up twenty degrees."

  "Wait," Nya said, "you're not going to freak out? I was really hoping you were going to like, deny us completely so I could set something on fire."

  Astrid finished her drink. "You can if you want," she replied. "Your family's also not super subtle about it. Christian made some note about how he likes dragons, and Irene said she preferred lizards over other pets. They're just like cheeky winks to the audience, you know?" She wiped coffee off of her mouth. "What I'm more concerned with is what an Alice is."

  "An Alice," Matilde started, "is someone from this world who can move throughout dimensions. When magical beings cross into this world, we can't return to our old worlds without assistance. An Alice can help us do that." She nodded to the lump under Astrid's shirt, where she had hidden the pendant. "They can also use certain magical objects, like that heirloom Gran gave you."

  Things were getting a little ludicrous. "That's great and all, but I don't think I've ever travelled into another dimension," said Astrid.

  That is, she was 90% sure she hadn't. Part of her thought she would remember teleporting into another world. The other part of her, a smaller, quieter part, recalled fuzzy memories from her childhood, where she'd go out into the forest and find 'imaginary' friends to play with. "Let's say I did, though. How do you even know I'm one?"

  "It's in your eyes," Matilde explained. "When we look into your eyes, they shine like gold. Dragons are the only ones who can see the glimmer. We're drawn to it like gold."

  "Is that a bad thing?" Astrid pushed her. "You keep saying I need to stay away from you. Do you eat Alices or something?"

  Matilde snorted. "Excuse you, but we're sophisticated these days. We don't eat humans anymore."

  Astrid knew she shouldn't push her luck. She was also, as Matilde pointed out, a dumb ass. "Not even when you're eating out?"

  The Russo in front of her frowned. "This is not the time for that," she said. "Look. Dragons aren't the only magical beings in this world. Some of them are good, some of them are evil, and some of them are bastards." She lowered her voice. "The worst ones are from this dimension. Dragon slayers working for the church, trying to banish us. Then there are the freelance monster hunters who sell our organs on the black market."

  "The worst of them," Nya added, "are the alchemists. They kill every magical being in sight to develop their miracle drugs. They especially go after dragons for their blood."

  The hair on the back of Astrid's neck stood up. The strange encounter with Ronald Hope stuck out in her mind. Between his strange reaction to her pendant and his incessant need to figure out why the Coopers wanted to settle a lawsuit, there was plenty of room to be suspicious of him. Furthermore, if he really was an alchemist, that would explain his harsh reaction to Christian.

  "Suppose I encounter one of these alchemists," she thought aloud. "What am I supposed to do?"

  "Beg for your life," Matilde shrugged. "It's not my problem. The bottom line is if you want to live, you're going to leave us alone. Got it?"

  Astrid didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to make of it. Though she was inclined to believe Matilde, she had no way of validating her claims. How did she know Matilde wasn't just messing with her?

  No, her gut was telling her something was actually going on here. She needed answers from someone, but not the girl who was allegedly the 'rotten' one in the family. Matilde had been hurt, but that didn't justify her being a jerk.

  "I..." Astrid said, deciding on her next move, "I have to go." She stood up and grabbed her coffee cup to leave. "Thank you for telling me all this, but if what you're saying is true, then there are things I need to discover on my own."

  Matilde stood after her. "You don't know what you're messing with. I know you think you're smart. If you haven't figured out your powers though, you're going to get destroyed by the rest of them. And all of them, the alchemists, the slayers, the hunters, they would destroy you for your powers. There aren't a lot of Alices left, you know. Discovering your powers might make you a target."

  Astrid tilted her head. "Is that a threat?"

  "It can be if it needs to be," Matilde growled. "Stay away, Astrid. It's for your own good."

  The solicitor relented, giving the Russo the last word. Everything was spinning in her head and she needed to get out of the coffee shop. She nearly c
racked the mug as she dropped it on the side for the waitress, then ran out of the shop.

  The rain had picked up again. Astrid started walking, quickly, not sure where the nearest bus station was. On a second thought, she didn't care. She needed to get home.

  Astrid knew something was weird about the Russo family. She was half prepared for Matilde to tell her about the family. She wasn't prepared for any sort of revelation about herself. It felt like a joke at first. The more Matilde told her about the danger of being an 'Alice', though, the more she panicked. The more she panicked, the more she cried.

  When Astrid got home, she wasn't sure which stains were the rain and which were tears.

  For the next two days, Astrid ignored every call that wasn't registered in her phone as a co-worker or a family member. She only took calls from Sally regarding clients and didn't want to touch anything regarding the Russo family. She also didn't want to look at cases that dealt with VidaCo. Even if Matilde was lying about the alchemists, Ronald Hope still freaked her out.

  The one thing she did was call her aunt. It was Monday night and Astrid was still eating her rice and beans from Friday. She considered chugging a glass of wine or a can of beer to get her head straight, when her aunt picked up the phone. That was good she decided, alcohol might not be a great idea she needed to be sober in case the woman dropped any wild bombs on her.

  Astrid had Nova on the phone and a bad horror movie on the television. Her dinner was balanced on her lap as she tried to strip out of her work jacket. "I just can't believe the tourists think I'm a hoax," Nova was complaining into the phone. "They just don't know a good woman when they see one!"

  "Yeah, yeah," Astrid nodded. "They don't know what they're missing out on."

  Nova cooed into the phone. "Oh, thank you baby. I know you'll always have my back if I need you." Astrid heard a cat yowling in the background. "I'll get to you in a minute," Nova shouted at the cat. "So, sweetheart, what's the reason for calling me? You sound like something's weighing on your heart. Your energy is all out of whack."