by Roxie Ray
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help the suspicious tone in my voice.
“I’m really sorry I crashed your date the other night,” he said. His gaze kept wandering around, but he landed on me. “Really.”
“Why’d you do it?” I’d been terribly curious. It hadn’t made any sense whatsoever.
He sucked in a deep breath but kept my gaze. “I’d heard around the station that the guy you were on a date with had a history of being a tool and forcing himself on women. Nothing ever proved or stuck, but he’s known around town.”
My jaw dropped. “I don’t get out much or get around to hear those sorts of rumors.” His behavior at the ice cream shop suddenly didn’t seem so insane. “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.
He smiled. “You don’t have to say anything. I should’ve explained this the other night, but the whole thing had me so angry and in my feelings, I didn’t know what to say.”
He was right. He should’ve told me then, but I was glad he’d told me at all. “Thank you.” I held out my hand to shake his. “I agree, you could’ve gone about it better, but I appreciate you looking out for me, more than I can describe.”
As a single mom, I had to be so careful. And I’d had no idea about Harry. I could’ve found myself in a situation that I never would’ve truly recovered from. “Why can’t you get anything on him?”
Maddox shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t gotten many more details. All I know is he’s someone we watch.” He scuffed his toe against the small rocks on the pavement. “Anyway, it was no big deal. It’s my job.”
“No, that wasn’t,” I said. “You could’ve just asked to speak with me privately, but instead you protected me fully and made it clear to Harry that he should leave me alone.” Some people would’ve considered that an overreach, but hell, I’d learned long ago that it really did take a village. I accepted help anywhere I could get it. If Harry would leave me alone because he was scared of Maddox, more’s the better. That was one less thing I had to deal with.
My phone beeped in my pocket, reminding me I was back in service range again. I pulled it out and glanced to see a picture from my mom of Tiffany on the swing set. She had the sweetest smile. Mom sent me pictures all the time so that even when I was working and away from Tiffany, I didn’t miss anything. I checked the time while I had my phone out. It had been long enough, and thanks to Maddox scaring the life out of me, I was over my rotten mood about Kyle’s dad.
“Well, I thank you.” I put my phone back in my pocket and smiled up at Maddox. “I’ll let you continue on your walk. It’s time for me to go get Tiffany.”
He nodded. “Sure. Have a nice evening.” I turned to leave, but his eyes were like weights on my back.
The Kingstons, man. I thought about them as I moved toward my car. They were an odd bunch. Everything anyone said about them was good. I’d never heard anything bad, outside of Jury and Maddox being playboys.
What family had nothing wrong with them at all, whatsoever? It wasn’t normal. Everyone had something bad in their past.
Oh, well. They weren’t my problem.
4
Maddox
My family had no idea that I flew in the woods surrounding the trail. Mostly because no one ever came there, and it was far enough away from home that no one could pick up on my thoughts when I shifted. I made sure to still go fly with them from time to time. They mostly just thought I didn’t shift as often as they did.
Between hanging out here alone and going out with them, I probably spent more time in my dragon’s skin than they did in theirs. It wasn’t a competition, though.
She’s scared of us.
Artemis was crazy. She seemed trusting and thankful.
She’s scared.
I trusted his senses. If he said she was scared, there was a reason. After the disastrous way I’d handled her date, now showing up out of the blue on the trail? She probably thought I was a stalker.
It had been a complete coincidence though. I’d been in the middle of a shift and had barely gotten out of the way in time. I stayed well clear of the trails, normally, but I’d been flying through the trees, weaving in and out when I caught her scent. Artemis had turned and headed her way before I fully registered what I was smelling. He knew, though.
I reined him in at the last second and we landed in the forest not far from where Bethany walked on the trail. One of his back feet had stepped on a big branch, which was the crack that had sent her careening down the trail. I’d been half-sure I was mistaken about the scent until we spotted her with our own eyes.
The spicy aura had teased me on the trail several times before, but never fresh and in person like this. I hadn’t put two and two together to realize that the tantalizing smell that had lingered in the air on several flights over the last year or so had been my mate.
Now I was positive.
Luckily, I’d figured out how to keep my clothes with me when I shifted. When I first found the trail and knew I wanted to be able to fly in this area, I’d made a very loose, elastic-handled bag and kept it on my back. When I shifted, it was still there, holding my clothes and cell phone. Artemis called it my dragon purse, no matter how many times I told him not to.
As soon as she took off running, thanks to Artemis being a blundering oaf, I shifted back to my skin and jerked my clothes on as fast as I could. Only my advanced speed and agility had made me able to overtake her even after taking the time to change my clothes. I probably should’ve just let her go and left her alone, but there was no way I could. Once I knew she was nearby, I had to talk to her. Plus, Artemis had been agitated by the chase.
He loved a good chase, as any self-respecting dragon did.
After stepping out onto the trail, having her slam into my chest had been the highlight of my day.
By far.
Her scent had enveloped me, washing over me and igniting the urge to claim her as my mate, which of course I couldn’t do. Just because she smelled like home and looked like a stone-cold fox didn’t mean any of the problems had disappeared. We were still in the same predicament. She was a single mom with a successful business here in Black Claw, and I still needed to go to law school. Possibly very far away. That made everything such a mess. Why couldn’t things be easy like it had been for Stefan, Jury, Axel, and my dad?
Now she was walking away from me again, almost to her car, and suddenly I couldn’t stand to see her go. “Wait,” I called.
She stopped and looked at me with a confused expression on her face. “What is it?” she asked.
“I was just thinking, maybe you shouldn’t walk this deep in the forest by yourself.” Any excuse to keep her talking to me ran through my mind, and this was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. How was I supposed to keep up this train of thought?
“What are you talking about?” she asked with a cocked head. I couldn’t help but be distracted by the sunlight glinting off of the almost white highlights in her light blonde hair. Did she dye it? “Can you repeat what you just said to me?”
Her body language should’ve been my first clue to say never mind and walk away, but I’d never been particularly bright. “Yeah, of course. I mean, you were on a rarely used trail and on a weekday when there aren’t as many hikers. It’s not very smart. Did you even tell anyone where you were going?” She had to be intelligent, given how she’d built herself a business. She must not have been thinking about the possible ramifications of hiking alone. It wasn’t like she had an inner dragon to protect her.
I hadn’t meant to start chastising her, but the cop in me came out. Keeping people safe was my bread and butter. I had to think about safety, thinking ahead about possible scenarios of what could and probably would go wrong.
She put one hand on her hip. My second clue, but of course, I ignored it. “Not smart?” she asked.
“I mean, just not the best idea.” It occurred to me that I was standing in the middle of a parking lot criticizing her. “There’s no phone signal, you
know.” I tried to dial it back. Maybe I was laying it on too thick.
But her cheeks were already red, and her eyes flashed with an inner fire that was nothing like my own. “I’m fine.” Her tone seemed cool enough. She looked a little mad, but not super pissed. She must have understood that I meant the advice from a good place. Bethany had a fairly level head, from what I could tell. She wouldn’t jump to conclusions, thinking I was trying to come down on her.
“I’m sure you are,” I said. “You know, though, there are bears and wildcats and stuff out here.” Not that many in this area, truthfully. They all smelled the dragons and wolves and steered clear of our territory. “I just don’t see you being the irresponsible type, with having a kid and all.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve walked that trail and it won’t be the last.” She shut her mouth with a click of her jaw.
You really need to back off.
Artemis thought I was laying it on too thick. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not trying to be a jerk. Just thinking about safety. It’s part of the job. If you’d gotten hurt, and I hadn’t been around, who knows how long you could have lain there before anyone came along to rescue you.”
“What makes you think I need rescuing?” she asked. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
I held my hands up again. “Of course you are. I don’t doubt that. But there are dangers in these mountains that are bigger than us all.” Including running into full-grown, fire-breathing dragons. To say the least. “At least stick to the more populated trails.”
Her nostrils flared.
She’s going to hate us.
“No, I’m not trying to tell you what to do,” I said. I had to fix this. I began to realize that I’d taken totally the wrong tactic. “This all came out wrong. I’m just concerned for your safety.” She blinked but didn’t seem to get angrier, so I kept going. “Think about your little girl. What would she do if something happened to her mom?”
That had been the final straw and far and away the wrong thing to say. Bethany’s red face turned almost purple and her spine straightened, raising her to her full height.
“Let me tell you something, Maddox Kingston.” She narrowed her eyes, and I felt like she was about to breathe lava over my face. Damn. “I don’t need anyone telling me what I can and can’t do. I don’t know how old you are...” Her eyes raked up and down my body, but not in a sensual, fun way. More like she judged every immature molecule I had. Ouch. “My daughter is and always will be my first priority.” Her upper lip curled as if I disgusted her, and thinking back over what I’d said, I deserved it. My information had been true, I wasn’t wrong about the dangers. I really should’ve thought twice about how I said it to Bethany, though. She opened her mouth again. Damn, she wasn’t done. “It’s a fucking trail, meant for fucking walking. It wasn’t like I was out rock climbing without a rope.”
When she stopped talking, the silence deafened me with the weight of her anger. She whirled around and stalked away from me, but only got a few feet before pivoting on her heel and walking back, this time getting right up in my face. “You need to mind the business that pays you before you stick your nose somewhere that it’s going to get cut off!” Once again, she stormed off. Her car door slam made me flinch.
Damn it. I’d been way too pushy. What was I thinking? She was a single mom! She was used to handling her own business her own way. I’d been so lucky she’d accepted my apology about the date, then I had to go and totally ruin everything.
I tried to warn you.
“Shut up,” I growled in a quiet voice. She couldn’t have possibly heard me as she backed out of the lot, but still, we could’ve been caught up here in the woods.
Bethany’s tires barked as she threw the car into drive and gunned it down the winding mountain road. Damn it. I stared at her until she was out of sight.
If you’d handled that differently, we could’ve been riding back to town with her, surrounded by her scent and talking to her until she realized how much she likes us.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I grumbled as I crossed the road and stepped onto the trail that would lead to the park in town. Halfway down the trail, I cut across a clearing that had another unknown trail behind it. This one led to the Kingston property. I was supposed to go for dinner at the manor house with my grandparents, and thanks to my time with Bethany, I was late. I considered flying, but we’d already had one close call today. Best not make it more. Walking would be fine. I’d get there soon enough. The next time I needed to get away and fly alone, away from my family, I’d have to be far more careful.
I had lots to think about on my walk, and when I stepped out into the backyard of the manor, I heard voices and smelled pretty much everyone I was related to that lived in town. It didn’t matter that most of them had their own places, they always ended up gathered at the manor house.
The outside picnic tables were full of food. When we first moved back and started spending time in Black Claw, there had only been one table, which we’d all barely fit at. Now there were four, and all my uncles, aunts, and cousins were spread out, with the little ones running around the yard.
Grandma waved at me as she walked out of the back door of the manor. “There you are.”
I headed to her first. “Quiet dinner, huh?” I’d been expecting a party of three. Me, Grandma, and Grandpa.
She chuckled. “You know I never can refuse any of you lot that want to come for dinner.” She looked around and the love she held for all of us was apparent on her face. “It ended up being a family get-together.”
After giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, I took the platter of macaroni and cheese from her and found a spot on one of the tables for it.
My mom stared at me from the table furthest out in the yard, close to where my little sister played with the babies.
Uh-oh. She knew something. I walked over to her and sat on the bench beside her, halfway lying on her. Any closer and I would’ve been in her lap. She laughed and wrapped her arms around me. I felt better instantly. I was a grown man, but something about a hug from Mom made all the difference in the world.
And just because she’s my mom and knew me better than I knew himself sometimes, she leaned back and studied my face. “You okay?”
“Yes, of course.” I was lying and I knew it, and she knew it, but I wasn’t ready to spill everything yet. I was still stewing on it all. Plus, my entire family was around, and all the males had excellent hearing. I didn’t feel like dealing with the fallout of them overhearing this particular conversation.
She gave me a look, clearly saying she wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t push. “I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”
I laid my head on her shoulder. “Thanks, Mom.”
“It’s okay for you to not be okay, you know?” She rubbed my back and I felt seven again. But in a good way. A safe way.
We sat at the table a long time with her arms around my shoulders and mine around her waist. I knew I was a lucky bastard to have my family. Guilt washed over me for thinking about leaving. Especially knowing what it’d do to Mom. But I couldn’t live my life based on what made them happy. It had to be about what made me happy.
The thought of leaving them, especially my mom, made me feel sick, but there was so much going on in my head. And I had no idea what to do with it.
It didn’t seem like the right time to tell her about Beth. Especially since Bethany probably had a bad taste in her mouth about me. Knowing Mom, she’d call Beth an idiot for not wanting me. But I really had fucked everything up, not that it mattered. Thinking about Mom telling Bethany off made me chuckle.
“What’s funny?”
She smiled and waited for me to answer, but I just disentangled myself from her hug and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too, Maddy,” she called. I walked over to the table full of food and started piling a plate full. I figured I’d tell her abo
ut Beth when there was actually something to tell. For now, I was going to save the whole fated mate conversation for another day. Besides, I was hungry, and Grandma’s cooking was the best.
I just hoped nobody mentioned it to Mom before I did.
5
Bethany
“Well?” Kara and Abby stared at me across the table.
“Well, what?” I stirred my drink with the little straw, then sipped through it. It wasn’t a sipping straw, it was a stirring straw, but I’d always liked using it to drink with.
“You’ve been way too quiet,” Abby said. She sat beside Kara and they both stared at me like I’d grown an arm out of my forehead. “What’s bothering you?”
I sighed. I didn’t go out for drinks often. Maybe once every few months. The last time, I’d been here with Abby and that was the night I met Maddox. My parents had asked to take Tiffany for the night, and I’d gotten all caught up on my invoices, so when Kara suggested we hit the bar, I figured why not? I’d texted Abby and she’d been free too, and it had turned into girls’ night. Abby and Kara had hit it off as soon as they met, so I knew it would go well. Except now they were both grilling me to talk about what was bothering me. “I had a run-in with Maddox.”
Abby’s eyes lit up with excitement, but Kara looked wary. “What happened?” Kara asked. “You don’t look happy about it.”
I’d been fuming since yesterday afternoon, and as soon as I started talking, all my anger and outrage came pouring out. “Maddox is a condescending dick, that’s what happened.”
Abby burst out laughing, but still, Kara looked concerned. She gave Abby a sidelong glance.
Abby just shrugged. “I know Maddox. He can be a condescending dick. But he’s still a good guy. He just...” She pursed her lips. “Needs a little help figuring out some things sometimes.”