by Kayla Wolf
Sure enough, Grant shifted forms when he got to the car, gasping and holding his bleeding and injured shoulder—injuries did transfer between forms, but they were usually much less severe when translated onto the human body. He roared once more for good measure as Grant started up his car, and was rewarded with a squeal of tires as the vanquished bear urged his car down the road at top speed.
The adrenalin settled as he headed back towards the house… but there was a new kind of worry gnawing at his stomach. Dealing with Grant had been the easy part. He’d been relying on his power as a shifter to bully his way in here and force Jasmine to do his bidding… knowing now that he wasn’t the only one with that power, Bryce trusted that they’d seen the last of the bear. He’d probably stop bothering Jasmine via phone, too.
Jasmine. She was still in the doorway when he returned, and he hesitated, not sure whether he should shift forms. But as he approached the house, to his surprise, he saw her take a few steps towards him, her feet bare on the grass, and her hazel eyes fixed on his face. There was fear in her expression, yes—but there was also something like wonder as she crept closer and closer to him. He lowered his body to the ground and flattened his wings—but he still dwarfed her as she approached him.
”Bryce?”
He nodded his great draconic head. Dragons were capable of telepathic communication, but he wasn’t certain it was audible to humans… and he didn’t want to risk scaring her off with his voice suddenly appearing in her head.
”This is what you wanted to tell me,” she said, almost to herself, staring up at him. He nodded again, itching to shift back into the form she knew him in, his human form… but she was scrutinizing him so closely that he felt obliged to let her get a good look at him. What better way to tell her the truth than to show her? He’d expected her to be frightened… expected her to scream, to recoil from him, to find him monstrous. And there was fear here, certainly—but what he hadn’t expected was for her to extend one trembling hand to him. He stayed absolutely still and felt the gentle touch of her hand on the scales of his great head. But when he shifted his head a little, he saw her recoil in fear, and he felt his heart sink.
“Can you—can you turn back?”
She watched his transformation, and this time, she didn’t scream. They stood for a moment on the lawn, two humans, her gazing up at him with a new recognition in her eyes. Finally, she cleared her throat, looking away.
”Grant’s gone?”
”Yeah,” he said, his voice feeling unfamiliar in his throat. “He ran. He was expecting to be the only shifter here.”
”Shifter,” she said as they headed inside. “That’s what you are? Shapeshifters?”
”I’m not the same as him,” Bryce said, stung a little by the comparison. “He’s a bear.”
”So—he can only turn into a bear? He couldn’t turn into… what you are?”
”No. Only a bear.” He took a deep breath. He’d prepared a whole introductory speech about what shifters were—he’d planned to reveal little bits of information at a time, letting her get used to each new concept before moving on… but all that had flown out the window the minute Grant had turned up on their doorstep. All he could do was answer her questions… and hope that she wouldn’t be shocked into fleeing. “There are a few different species of shifters. There are bears, like Grant… there are also wolves, panthers, coyotes…”
”And you. You can turn into a dragon.”
He hesitated. “If we’re being as accurate as we can be… I can actually turn into a human.” She stared at him for a long moment, clearly processing that. “I know this is a lot to take in. It’s why I was so reluctant to tell you about it. I wanted you to… to know me a little better before, I guess. Before you knew… this.”
”I can understand that,” she said, but it was clear she was still reeling a little at the news. “I—wow. So you’re… everyone here is a dragon? Emerson and Harvey, and Lachlan, and Serena—”
”Not Serena.” He hesitated. “She’s actually a wolf.”
Jasmine looked at him for a moment—and then, to his surprise, she giggled. “A wolf.”
”Yes.” How much should he tell her? “Wolves have those silver eyes…”
”Okay. So I’m… I’m on a peninsula with a dozen dragons and a werewolf.”
”They don’t like being called werewolves, generally,” Bryce said, a reluctant smile starting to spread across his face at the way Jasmine was clearly suppressing laughter. “I know this all seems completely insane, but—”
”Yeah. I can see why you didn’t know how to start. There’s not exactly a script for this.” She laughed again. “Hey honey, good to see you, by the way, you married a dragon.” She sighed, looking at him with those bright hazel eyes. “This is a lot, Bryce.”
”I know,” he said softly. “I just… I want you to know I did my best to be as honest as I could with you. I kept this from you, but everything else… everything else is true. Especially how I feel about you.”
”Bryce, I’m going to need some time,” she said abruptly, getting to her feet. “I—I appreciate you protecting me from Grant, and thank you for being honest about this, but I don’t think I can have this conversation until I’ve had some time to—to process it all. Is that okay?”
He swallowed hard, fighting the urge to stop her, to sit her down and make her understand that he never meant to hurt her, that he was still the same person she’d moved here to live with, the same man who held her in his arms late at night. It had been so hard to get this out into the open—how could he stop talking now that they’d finally started to get somewhere? But she’d asked for time and space. He owed her that much.
”Okay,” he said, trying to reassure them both with a smile that felt uncomfortably forced. “I’ll sleep in the spare room tonight.”
”Thanks,” she said softly. “We’ll talk tomorrow night when you get home from work, okay?”
”Great. Goodnight, Jasmine.”
And then he was alone at his dining table again, staring down at the smooth wood with his mind racing. It could have gone worse, he supposed. She still wanted to talk to him… she wasn’t screaming, wasn’t sprinting for the mainland. But the way she’d looked at him out there, the fear in her eyes, the way she’d screamed… he was terrified that he was going to lose her. It would be completely reasonable for her to want nothing more to do with him—what human woman would choose to live with a dragon?
And how could he go back to living here by himself, when he’d known what it was like to have Jasmine in his life?
Chapter 14 – Jasmine
Jasmine set about her evening routine, washing her face, cleaning her teeth, getting into her pajamas… but the whole thing felt like she was moving through a dream. It was as though her mind was refusing to believe what she’d just seen. Already, she was trying to convince herself that she’d hallucinated the battle outside on the lawn, the fight between her boss and her husband… between a ten-foot grizzly bear and, most shocking of all, a creature she’d always been told belonged in a fairy tale. Could she be dreaming? Could she have hallucinated? No—the memories were too fresh, too vivid, too real. She could smell the thick, dank smell of Grant’s fur, that wild animal musk. And after he’d turned tail and fled, screeching away in his leased BMW, when the creature that had been Bryce came back to the house… hadn’t she reached out and put her hand on his scales? She could still feel the creature, cool to the touch, hard and smooth, like armor.
No wonder Bryce seemed so sure of himself, she thought with a strange urge to laugh rising in her chest. What could threaten him when he had the ability to turn into that creature at the drop of a hat?
She lay down in bed. Bryce, true to his word, had taken the spare bedroom for the evening—she’d heard him move down the hallway earlier, and had almost been tempted to call out to him, to call him in here to comfort her. It had been a hell of an evening… but she knew it was better to be by herself, for now, to let her
self process everything without distraction. Speaking of which… she jumped guiltily, realizing that she hadn’t gotten back to Elena. Quickly, she pulled her phone out, typing out a quick text to Elena to get reassurance to her friend. But what could she say? No worries, Elena, my new husband turned into a dragon and scared him off? She told some version of the truth… said that Grant had indeed turned up, but Bryce had scared him off, and they were both confident they’d seen the last of him.
Maybe she’d tell her the truth someday. But not tonight. Not when she barely understood what had happened herself.
Her phone buzzed again—Elena, glad she was safe but very curious about the details of the confrontation. She put the phone aside, satisfied that Elena knew she was okay—the rest could wait until the morning. She settled herself into bed and found to her surprise that she was incredibly sleepy. She’d expected to be up all night thinking… but before she could fight it off, a wave of exhaustion claimed her, and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Bryce didn’t wake her in the morning, and when she got up, it was well after dawn. He’d left for work already, and she smiled when she reached the kitchen—he’d left her a bowl of freshly sliced fruit for breakfast, with a note saying there was yogurt in the fridge if she wanted it. She took the bowl into the living room and ate it with a dollop of yogurt. How could she reconcile the terrifying creature she’d met the night before with the sweet, kind, thoughtful man she’d been living with for these two weeks?
And was he even that terrifying? She thought back to the dragon, frowning a little as she analyzed the fight she’d witnessed. He’d struck Grant a few times, true—but it had been pretty clear that they were defensive blows. And once Grant had turned tail and fled, Bryce had only pursued him far enough to make sure that he was gone. With those teeth, those claws, that huge, powerful body, Bryce could easily have killed Grant. But he hadn’t. He’d warned him off, that was all… kept them both safe with a minimum of violence. That, at least, was consistent with the calm, placid man she knew. And there’d been something about the creature’s eyes… the same pale shade of blue as Bryce’s. An intelligence there, and something else. It was the look that crept into his eyes sometimes, when he was gazing at her and didn’t realize she could see him.
She finished her breakfast and got dressed, wanting to go for a walk to clear her head. There was so much to think about, so much to work through… and it was a beautiful day, too. Jasmine checked her phone before she headed out, pleased to note that there were no messages from anonymous numbers for a change. Wherever Grant was, he’d clearly decided that contacting her wasn’t worth risking the ire of the dragon he’d awoken when he’d come to visit. Well, good. Hopefully, he’d treat his future employees a little better than he’d treated her. This was an opportunity for growth for him… but she didn’t much care if he took it or not, so long as she never had to see him again.
But what was she going to do? This was something of a crossroads. She’d wanted Bryce to tell her the truth, to give her the full story about who he was… and she’d definitely gotten what she’d wanted. But what now? She supposed it was up to her to make a choice. Did she stay here, on this beautiful peninsula, with this kind, caring man who also happened to be a dragon? She couldn’t help but feel ridiculous even thinking that word… but the more she thought about it, the less like a fairytale it sounded. A dragon. Bryce was a dragon. An actual, literal dragon. Could he breathe fire, she wondered? Suddenly, she wished she’d asked more questions.
What was the alternative? She could leave, of course. The ‘Forever-Now’ contract had been very clear—if for any reason she didn’t feel like the relationship had a future, she was absolutely within her rights to pack her bags and leave. And there was no shortage of places for her to go… Los Angeles was only a few hours down the coast, and there’d be no end of work for a qualified PA like her. She could get a tiny apartment like her home in Denver, make new friends, spend her weekends on the beach. She could be happy by herself, she knew that… but when she thought about leaving Bryce behind for good, she felt a deep wrenching in her heart.
But what was the alternative? Stay here, on this peninsula full of dragons? Marry this man, this man who could turn into a fifteen-foot dragon with wings and scales and teeth and claws? Start a family with him? Would their children be dragons, too? How would she explain any of that to her family?
She stood for a long time, gazing out across the ocean.
That afternoon, Bryce got home a little earlier than usual—she was lying on the bed, scrolling idly through her phone when she heard his car pull into the driveway, and she sprang up, heading into the lounge room to meet him. There he was, covered in the dust and grime of the building site, his exhaustion evident in the way he held himself… but his blue eyes were sharp and alert, full of apprehension as he looked at her across the room.
”Can we talk?” she asked, her heart pounding hard in her chest.
They sat down together at the dining table. He was stroking the smooth wood of the table, clearly apprehensive about this conversation… and clearly holding himself back from talking, letting her speak first. Funny—she’d spent so long trying to force him to talk, and now she needed him to hold himself back. She took a deep breath.
”Okay. So. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. And—like you said, this is a lot to take in. You’re—you’re a dragon. I didn’t even know there were shapeshifters two weeks ago, let alone dragons. But…” She took a deep breath. “What you are, that doesn’t change who you are, does it? The man I got to know… that’s you. And…” She smiled, feeling her heart flutter. “Bryce, I’m in love with you.”
A wondering smile broke out across his face, and he reached a hand across the table to her, squeezing hers tightly, still clearly fighting the urge to speak.
“We’ve only known each other for two weeks. That’s barely anything, in the grand scheme of things. But I want to know you better. I want to know this part of you—your dragon side, what that means, how that makes you who you are. Because everything I’ve learned about you so far has only made me love you more. Why should this be any different?”
”I love you too,” he said in a rush, his eyes bright with feeling. “I think I’ve loved you since the minute I saw you, Jasmine. And you can—you can love me? All of me?”
”Of course I can,” she said softly. “I already do. But I have a few questions. A few… thousand questions.”
”I’ll answer them all,” he promised, suddenly full of energy. She’d never seen that smile on his face before—it was so broad, so free, so completely open. “I’ll write you a textbook if you like. Everything there is to know about dragons. What do you want to know first? Oh! Dragons—we live longer than humans. I’m a lot older than thirty. And we weren’t on the road for a few years, it was a few decades.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened. “No wonder you were so vague about how long you’d been living here.”
”We’ve been here for almost half a century.” He hesitated, a look of worry creeping across his face. “Does that bother you? The—the age gap? I know that’s a deal breaker for some humans—”
”Well, I’m pretty mature,” she said thoughtfully, grinning at him. “As you may have noticed.” She hesitated. “I guess my biggest question when it comes to us is… I mean, you know I want kids someday. Someday soon, ideally.”
”Right.”
”Is that—possible? I mean, we’re different species. Can humans and dragons—”
His eyes widened. “Yes! Oh, I should have told you straight away. Yes. They can. You met Lachlan’s daughter, right? Serena’s stepdaughter? Her mother was a human woman.”
Jasmine stared at him. “Wow. Wait—does that mean she’s a dragon or a human?”
Bryce laughed. “Nobody knows yet. She might stay human her whole life… or they might wake up one day to find that she’s shifted into her dragon. Serena thinks they’ll find out when she’s a teenager. Lachlan thinks it’l
l be earlier than that. Either way, she’s a happy, healthy baby and always has been. There’s nothing to stop us having children.”
”That’s a relief.” Jasmine took a deep breath. “You said dragons live longer than humans. Does that mean… I’m going to get older, and you’re not?”
”Yes,” Bryce said simply. “Is that okay?”
”I mean, is it okay with you? Are you still going to love me when I’m some old woman, and you’re still this… gorgeous man?”
”I’m going to love you every single day and every single night for the rest of our lives,” Bryce said softly. “No matter what.”
”Good,” she said softly, smiling at him. “Then—I’ll stay.”
“Jasmine… does this mean—does this mean you want to make our marriage official?”
”I do,” she murmured, a grin spreading across her face. “Yes, Bryce. I want to marry you. For real, this time.”
Chapter 15 – Bryce
The first day of winter dawned cool and clear. Bryce was awake already when the sun rose, gazing out the window of the spare room. He never slept well without Jasmine at his side… and last night, they’d agreed to sleep in separate beds for the first time since that chaotic night when he’d revealed what he truly was to her. Since that day, they’d been inseparable. But today was something of a special occasion, and it seemed that humans had a few traditions when it came to weddings.