by Roxie Ray
He didn’t hold my hand, but somehow it felt like he was touching me all the way down the stairs and across to the table where Bri, her sister, and Kaylee sat with their heads together.
I didn’t have to wonder what they were talking about.
“Well, goodnight,” Anthony said. “See you Monday.”
I nodded and smiled. When he turned and walked away, I caught the server’s eye and drained my drink, then sent her a crazed look. She laughed and nodded. She knew what I needed. Anthony was just next door, and I needed more drinks to drown out the fact that I knew he was just next door. Like a bodyguard I hadn’t asked for.
And when the fuck had I started thinking of him as Anthony?
8
Anthony
Skylar looked up at me with a half-smile on her face as I passed. “Morning,” she said.
It was more than I’d gotten in the weeks since I’d been working with her. After leaving her at the club on Friday night, I’d done exactly as I said and went next door to Jace’s. I had her scent and the sound of her body moving in that dress stuck firmly in my ears. Installing myself at a table against the wall that separated the bar from the club, I’d focused and tracked her all night. By sound, mostly. Then, when she and her friend left, I hadn’t stalked them, but I’d watched from the sidewalk in front of the bar until they’d gone into her father’s shop. One of her friends had walked to the apartments down the road, and Skye and her other friend had gone to one of the apartments above the shop. I knew he and Skye had lived above the shop in an enormous apartment when we were kids. I’d heard them say something about staying there for the night so I felt good about going home.
What the hell was I going to say to Skye now? I had no freaking clue. The one thing I knew was that there was no way I was ready to tell her the full truth. Not while I didn’t have a clue if she was remotely interested in me. After the connection we’d had this weekend, I had hope, but hell, there was every chance that she didn’t even remember that happening. I didn’t want to bring it up, either, and have her give me a blank stare. I had to go slow, at a snail’s pace.
As the day wore on, I was pleased to find her attitude had lightened somewhat. She either remembered the conversation we’d had or subconsciously it had affected her feelings toward me. She’d been positively chipper all day. “You’re slacking,” she called as she rushed past me. I had tucked myself into one of the cubbies in the hallway. They had one stool and one shelf, perfect for putting in notes and logging data.
Before I could refute her claims that I was slacking, she’d disappeared into a room. The woman was a beast when it came to seeing as many patients as possible, yet somehow, I never heard complaints that they felt rushed.
Shaking my head, I finished my notes and headed into my next appointment with my stomach growling. Breakfast hadn’t stuck with me today.
An hour later, I was tucked back in the cubby, logging the notes for the four appointments I’d managed to squeeze in before the office closed for lunch. They always took an hour and a half, which was a nice change from what I’d had at my last hospital, where it was grab lunch on the go. This way gave us time to play catchup and eat, and also room to squeeze in an extra few appointments during flu season or other times of emergency.
“Are you still there?” Skye asked as she closed an exam room behind her down the hall. “That’s the same spot you were in the last time I saw you.”
I shut off my voice recorder and backed it up two seconds so the transcriber wouldn’t pick up Skye’s teasing tone. “Yes, but I did manage to take a few appointments in between. When do you chart?” I looked at her as she walked past, but she just waved at me.
“During the appointments,” she said. “I don’t leave a room without putting most of the notes in.” Her voice echoed in the quiet office. All of the nurses and staff were down eating lunch. “Are you coming?”
Grinning, I threw down my recorder and hurried after my mate. She did remember. “Let’s slip out of the hospital,” I suggested as we reached the elevator. “If nothing else, it’ll help keep us from dealing with stares or whispers.”
Skye nodded and reached up to twist her hair up and put a clip in it that she’d pulled from who knew where. She didn’t carry a purse. One of those girly things, I guessed. “Plus, if my ex shows up, that would cause more drama.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I haven’t been following the advice of my favorite teacher in medical school, anyway.”
“What advice was that?” I asked.
“Always leave for meals,” she said. “Whenever possible, get out of the hospital.”
“Makes sense. It would help with the fatigue just walking out in the sunshine halfway through the day.” The elevator ride was comfortable, which was an enormous improvement from even the last week. My inner dragon, the wild part of me, was more at ease the more time we spent with Skye without any strife between us. A mate was like a tether that kept the magical side of me steadier than I had been in years, even though I had a good hold on it before. Now, the shaky world had settled itself, and the base of it was between Skylar and me. My heart thumped in anticipation of what it would finally feel like to claim her.
“You’ve got to figure out how to do all these appointments,” she said in a teasing tone.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “I got them done just fine.”
She nodded and I followed her off of the elevator. “You did, but you had fewer appointments than I did, and if I’m not mistaken, you’re not finished with your notes, are you?”
I narrowed my eyes at her as we stepped out the front doors of the hospital. She was still full of spice. She’d always challenged me when we were kids, too, keeping me on my toes and pushing me to be ever better no matter what we did.
“Let’s not talk shop,” I said with one eyebrow raised. “Besides, you could give me a few more weeks to acclimate. I’m used to being in an operating room far more than a sick room.” And it hadn’t been the easiest thing to get used to. I longed for those days that I’d signed up to pick up a few shifts over in the main part of the hospital. Most of those shifts were just appys and gallbladders, but still. “Where would you like to eat?” I asked before she could jump back in and give me shit. But I did it with a smile on my face, so she knew I wasn’t truly avoiding the subject. We continued down the sidewalk toward the small shopping center across the road from the hospital that included several restaurants and a couple of food trucks.
Nurses and other staff from the entire hospital loved to come over here to eat. I noticed people noticing us and realized our attempt at avoiding stares had failed.
Still, walking around with Skye made me feel like a kid again. Light and carefree.
“Let’s grab a coney,” she suggested.
I wrinkled my nose and gave her a crazy look. “Are you nuts? It’ll take me an hour to get back on my feet and go to my next patient with a loaded hot dog in my stomach. How about the deli?”
Eating heavy during a work shift made me queasy. Always had.
Skye burst out laughing. “As much as you eat, you don’t want a heavy meal for lunch?”
I shrugged and looked at her out of the sides of my eyes. “I still like to eat a lot, but putting a big greasy meal in my gut, then doing a surgery just always feels gross.”
She turned toward the deli. “Well, that’s fine. I can do a sub.”
I ordered a chopped salad, and Skye got an enormous meatball sub with chips and a huge drink.
When she plopped her tray down, I couldn’t help staring at her. “I remember you barely eating… ever. I always felt like a pig around you.”
She grunted and took a big bite of her sub. After chewing thoughtfully, she shrugged. “I guess that’s one of the few things good that came from my relationship with Bret.”
At least there was something. “What do you mean, did he teach you how to eat?” I laughed and mixed in a little dressing with my salad.
“No, but when we first started da
ting, before we’d even had a meal together, he asked me what was one thing I disliked about the opposite sex in regard to dating and stuff. I said I hated how guys seemed to so easily drop girls and disappear.” She arched one eyebrow, and I winced.
“Okay, how does that relate to food?” I asked.
“He said he hated when girls pretend they don’t eat when he knew darn well they went home and chowed down. Apparently, that was something his older sister always did, and he saw the latter half of it, where she would come home and eat everything but the refrigerator, starving after her date.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “I never thought about that. I’ve had dates and hookups and stuff, but I’ve never lived with a woman.”
Her jaw dropped. “Never? How is that possible at your age?”
I looked down at my chest. “I figured I’d be bleeding from that direct hit.” I mimicked clutching at my heart. “That one hurt.”
Skye burst out laughing and the sound of her mirth lifted my spirits even higher. “Well, it’s true. You didn’t have a real relationship in all this time?”
Stuffing my mouth full bought me a few minutes to think of a reason that wasn’t centered around her being my mate. “Nope.” I went with simple. “I spent all my time focusing on my work and school before that.”
“Well, that’s understandable, I guess.” We got quiet, both of us eating and thinking about how we’d spent the last two decades. I was, at least, and assumed she was until she blurted out her next question. “Why did you leave, really?”
Thank goodness I’d just taken a bite. I set down my fork and chewed thoroughly, then made a show of wiping my mouth and getting a drink. “It was very complicated.” I didn’t want to lie, but neither could I tell her the full truth. I gave her all the honesty I could. “My parents thought I was losing focus on the important things in life and felt sending me away to clear my head was best for me and my future.”
She didn’t like that one bit and narrowed her eyes. “Was it me that was causing you to lose focus?” she bluntly asked.
Well, I’d decided to go with honesty. “Yes.”
The hurt flashed across her face, and I quickly backpedaled. “But not in the way you likely think. There was a lot of pressure on me, and my family felt like I wouldn’t be able to live up to my full potential because there was one thing I wanted more than anything.” I didn’t say the rest of the explanation, leaving her to suss out the meaning of my words.
She stayed quiet for a long time before she nodded. “I can understand why your parents wanted you to focus. Look at what you’ve become. Would you be the doctor you are today if you’d stuck around? We shared one kiss, and to be honest, it rocked my world. If you’d stayed, would we both have finished high school with honors?” She chuckled. “Well, I assume you did. I did.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Valedictorian.”
“Hey! Me too!” She laughed, but it faded, and she still looked sad. “It really hurt me when you ghosted. I didn’t understand why you just cut off all communication. I still don’t understand, but I have a better idea.”
I tried to think of a reason. Nothing that came to mind really worked. “I don’t have a reason,” I whispered. “Leaving hurt me, too. Significantly.” She met my eyes again as I spoke. “Every time I thought of contacting you, it made me want to cry.” That was the truth without saying the rest. That I’d wanted to cry because I knew she was my true and destined mate and I couldn’t have her.
She went quiet again, and I focused on my food. I wanted to stare at her and watch how the light coming in the window danced over her features, but that would’ve been a little awkward. “I’ve decided not to hate you anymore,” she announced. “It’s in the past and your parents did what they thought was best for their teenage son. I can’t hold that against them.” She cocked her head and smiled. “Or you. I’m ready to move on and for us to really be friends.”
As my heart warmed, my tattoo started to burn sharply. Even with the pain, my dragon felt even more settled. It was like a wave washing over me. Could the whole clan feel it?
“I’m really glad to hear you say that,” I whispered. “I would like to move forward as well, and maybe make up for lost time.” A few seconds later, I got a text. “One sec, sorry.” The tone told me it was my mother and she never texted me during work hours.
Did something happen?
“Sorry,” I muttered as I typed out a quick reply. No, why? “My mom’s ears must’ve been burning.”
Skye waved me off as she took another big bite. I glanced at her puffed out cheeks and grinned at my phone as Mom’s reply came in. Several members of the clan felt something odd. Like a wave of happiness.
Sorry, that wave came from me. Tell everyone I’ll try to mask my emotions more. I’d been warned about this. I’d have to do a better job of keeping my waves of happiness to myself. But this even further assured me that my parents and ancestors had been wrong. A dragon could have a human as a mate, and I was even more certain that Skye was truly mine.
After Skye proclaimed that she was no longer angry at me, the rest of the day went even better. She stopped in one of my exams and showed me how she charted during her exams.
I hated it and vowed never to do it. How did she split her attention so well, so that the patient didn’t feel ignored? If I tried that, all my patients would complain about my bedside manner. I continued catching up on my notes and ended my day a good half hour after my new friend.
And mate.
As soon as I finished, I left the nearly empty office and went straight home. “Dad, Mom,” I said by way of greeting as I walked in. They were at the kitchen table, waiting for me to have dinner.
“Sit,” Mom said. “I just laid it all out.”
I helped myself to an enormous plate of food. Mom knew I didn’t eat much at the hospital. She’d prepared a feast. “Thanks,” I said gratefully. “I’m starved. But there’s news.” As I scooped more food onto my plate, I blurted out what had given me such a wave of happiness. “I’m surer than ever that Skye is my mate. The tattoo has burned all day, and every time I’m near her, it’s brighter and stronger.”
Mom and Dad exchanged a look. “But that means exposing humans to shifters,” Dad said uncomfortably. “At the very least, if you’re sure, you have got to tell the clan. Nobody can be blindsided by something like this.” He sucked in a deep breath and set his silverware down. This had upset him, as I’d been afraid it would. “I’m worried it’ll give the younger shifters ideas about mating with humans. The bloodlines can’t be sullied by that much human blood. If we start procreating with humans, if that’s even possible, our bloodlines could start to dwindle.”
I couldn’t have given my parents an explanation, but as my dad rambled about mixed-breed babies, I knew it wouldn’t be a problem. I had no science to back it up. I hadn’t been able to find anything in all my searches to indicate I was correct. But I knew I’d be able to give Skye babies. And those babies would be shifters.
“Call a meeting,” I said. “For tonight. All who can come.”
My parents froze, my mom with a bite halfway to her mouth. “Now?” she asked.
I continued eating, as if at my ease. “Now. I want this out there. They need to hear the news and start getting used to it.”
Grabbing my plate, I refilled it quickly and left the room. I knew my mom would start the phone chain and get as many people as possible at the meeting, but I didn’t want to talk to them about it anymore.
The weather was perfect for flying as a clan. My family and friends milled about while I waited for as many people as possible to arrive. We’d been lucky that Sammy had been able to come to provide us with some cover or flying after I talked to everyone wouldn’t have been a possibility. Finally, when it seemed like waiting any longer would be a stall, I held up my hands. The clan, keyed into my mood, quieted and gathered around. I stood on a stump. “Thank you all for coming with such short notice. It means a lot. I had confirmation today,
that you all likely felt, that I’ve found my true mate, and I wanted to tell you as soon as possible.”
Titters of emotion ran around the circle of people, but I continued before anyone could say anything. “When I was sixteen, I kissed a human and my mating tattoo appeared. I knew then that she was my mate,” the circle erupted in protests and gasps, but I carried on after raising my voice, “but in an abundance of caution, my parents had me go away. I’ve done the research. I’ve studied. And I can find nothing to say there’s anything bad that will happen by me taking a human mate. It’s not like I have much of a choice anyway. The magic has chosen her for me. My dragon is absolutely bent on mating her.” Finally, I stopped and let them have their reaction.
“I don’t see it’ll be a problem,” Jace said loudly as everyone else looked horrified. The crowd stepped back and looked at my friend. I would’ve kissed him if I could’ve reached him.
“I agree.” To my shock, my mother stepped forward. “I think the decision we made all those years ago was the wrong one. Who are we to question what the magic has decided? Are we that arrogant? Do we believe we know better than fate? Than destiny?”
My father’s face grew darker and darker. I knew he didn’t agree, but as long as he didn’t give us a bunch of crap about it, it wouldn’t matter.
“And,” my mother continued, “I trust Anthony and his judgment.”
Tessa snarled at me, her sour expression catching my gaze. She’d had a thing for me for ages, and I knew it hadn’t lessened. But what was I supposed to do, ignore a fated mate for a somewhat hateful clan member? No.
“You’re a fool,” she hissed. “Forget that human. Be true to your clan.”
Several people agreed with her, but they were the fools. Not me. “A fated mate is different from a chosen mate; I can’t force my heart to be somewhere it doesn’t belong. I’m going to pursue Skye, and I won’t let anyone get in my way.” I didn’t leave any room for arguments, layering my special alpha magic into my voice. “Now, let’s fly!”