by A. C. Ryals
“Together with some other elder first-generation dragons, you should be as powerful as Kur,” Etel continued. “You can help guard the gateway in Guarida Del Lobo, Texas. Of the four possible entry points, that’s the one the fae can’t cover. There’s magic there that dampens their powers but might give you an advantage over any fae who come through. There’s a second-generation dragon already there along with some dryads and an assortment of shifters. The gate there isn’t active right now, but the power there is growing by the day.”
Jess finally spoke up. “You said something earlier about why Wrath needed a mate and that’s why you told Mr. Drake to send me. If Wrath were to have a mate, what could she do to help?”
She might not have heard or understood what Etel said about dragons becoming mates with a bite. It was that or she was just being careful about what she said.
“Let me be very clear,” Etel said, “you couldn’t be on the front line even if you become a dragon. You’re too young and your dragon blood is so diluted it’s homeopathic. You’d have some of Ezzu’s life force, but that doesn’t equate to the force of his magic. Still, if you become a dragon, you can be a last line of defense for humans and other shifters. Most importantly, we’ve found that bonded dragons heal faster. It’s because their life force is split. Not all of it is in the wounded body so it can sort of...come to the rescue from a healthy body. If something happened to you, however, it would render Ezzu, or Wrath, useless. All the more reason for you to stay away from the action. Do you understand?”
“I’m human, not slow,” Jess said, making Wrath smile. “So, you want us to be bonded?”
“You already are to an extent. I can see it. He just needs to complete the binding spell,” Etel said.
Fuck.
“What do you mean we’re bonded already?” Jess asked.
Wrath didn’t want to hear the answer he already knew, but he had no choice.
“One of you bit the other. That’s how these things happen,” Etel said.
Jess was stunned into silence, thank Anu. Wrath needed to focus on the problem at hand. Would he agree to help Etel or not?
Etel was many things, but he wasn’t a liar. Wrath had no doubt that he was truthful, even if he might be withholding some information. That left him with a decision. Would he help guard the planet from beings that would turn the world upside down?
A lot of assumptions were being made based on the appearance of one alien fae. Anything else that came from the other world would have to be questioned. Their motives would need to be ascertained, but he knew the native enchanteds should be prepared for the worst.
Wrath wasn’t convinced he would be any help. How would he work with dragons he’d warred against? How could he convince his sons that the basilisks should do the same? Wouldn’t the infighting among the protectors reduce their ability to do their jobs?
Thing was, Etel knew all of that. Wrath was likely a liability. Etel had to have another motive for coming to Wrath, but there was no way Etel would confess until he had to. Wrath would have to be patient and wait for the other shoe to drop.
“I’ll need time to think this through,” Wrath said. “I’ll call my sons. They’re scattered at the moment, but I trust them to make the decision as far as basilisks are concerned. As for me, I’ll back my people up, but I think you need to find another firedrake.”
Chapter 14
Jess had awoken that morning to an empty bed. That was strike one. Strike two was that the person who caused her to be held against her will had shown up and Wrath didn’t think to wake her up. Granted, she was already awake, but it would have been nice for him to include her.
Strike three was when he visibly flinched at the idea of bonding with her. Bonding sounded like a loaded word, but in context she thought it was something like marriage. No, she didn’t think they should run off and get married, but she wasn’t going to get sick over the idea of it. She was convinced their night of passion meant something. Maybe she was naïve, but it felt like more than meaningless sex.
They’d talked for a while afterward and that felt as intimate as the more physical things they’d done. She was getting to know him, and she knew he was beginning to trust her. It felt like the beginning of something real. She was starting to fall for the big idiot, and he was starting to act like the idea of commitment might give him a stroke.
It’s not like she expected him to be head over heels in love with her. They’d just met. But would it kill him to act a little less mortified about the idea of him being with her? When Etel said they were already bonded, whatever that meant, Wrath went pale. Pale. She didn’t know a man as bronze as he was could look pale until that moment.
Rejected, got it.
He certainly wasn’t rejecting her last night. He couldn’t wait to get her in bed. He even seemed to take the whole biting thing in stride.
Now, Wrath was declining his weaselly brother’s recruitment attempt. A weaselly brother who called Wrath by a different name at least once.
“Think about it, brother,” Etel said as he got up.
Wrath stood as well. Jess felt awkward being the only one sitting so she joined in. Etel looked Wrath over.
“I know I haven’t seen you in some time, but there’s something off about you,” Etel said. “You look healthy, but there’s something about your magic that feels wrong. Have you been cursed?”
“It’s not your concern,” Wrath said.
“I disagree,” Etel said.
Wrath sighed and glanced at Jess so quickly she almost missed it. “Do you know what kind of magic it is?”
“It’s familiar. It’s like fae magic, but darker.”
“I’ll walk you to your car. There are some things I suppose you should know,” Wrath said.
Etel nodded and, after a few forced pleasantries with Jess, Etel and Wrath walked outside.
Though she was tempted to eavesdrop, Jess resisted. Instead, she went into the kitchen to get some coffee. Unlike dragons, she didn’t drink whisky just after dawn.
One sip and she dumped out her mug. The coffee was old. That meant Wrath must have been up for hours. Maybe dragons didn’t sleep as much as humans. In fact, she hadn’t seen Wrath sleep at all.
She brewed a new pot, forcing herself to stay in the kitchen. It wasn’t quite done when she heard the front door open and close.
Wrath strolled into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She turned her back to him to pour herself a mug of coffee and to avoid looking at his handsome face. She couldn’t stand to see relief in his eyes when she said what she had to say, “I can leave now, right? You got what you wanted from Etel.”
“Yes, you’re free to go,” Wrath said. “We have to talk first, though. Did you hear everything Etel said before you came in?”
“Not everything,” Jess said, stirring a spoonful of sugar into her coffee.
She’s free to go. That’s it. He wasn’t going to fight for her to stay? He was such a jerk. She didn’t know why she entertained the idea of staying with him.
Having put it off long enough, she turned to face him. His brow was knit with concern or anger or something.
“A bite from a regular shifter and a dragon doesn’t produce a bond. That’s why it didn’t worry me last night,” Wrath said. “From what Etel said, I gather that’s not the case with someone with dragon blood and a dragon. In our case, it’s like we’re regular shifters. You marked me as your mate and it’s permanent.”
Coffee. She needed more coffee. She took a long drink of the hot liquid. It didn’t burn. She’d always thought she was just odd that way, but maybe it was magic.
“What about you?” Jess asked.
“It probably goes both ways, even though I didn’t bite you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“Don’t apologize. Etel set us up. He wanted this to happen. I don’t blame you. I blame him.”
“So, wha
t do we do?” Jess asked, setting down her mug.
“I have a family, Jess. If we have kids, they’ll be dragons. It’ll cause trouble that I’m not willing to start. I don’t want my kids at war with each other. I’m not sure what to do. Yes, you can leave, but….”
“I never said I wanted kids,” Jess interrupted. “In fact, I always thought I would adopt. I’m an orphan, remember? I’ve always hoped to be able to help kids that were in a position similar to mine and make them feel loved. Surely there are magical orphans who aren’t dragons that basilisks can tolerate. But that’s not the point, is it? If you don’t want to try, just say so.”
She hated the way her voice trembled and the tears that filled her eyes. She couldn’t face him like this. Breaking up with someone was never fun, but she normally didn’t get dramatic about it. They weren’t even together, were they? It was one night. It was nothing. Nothing.
Oh, but it was something.
Fine, maybe it wasn’t nothing, but it didn’t mean forever. Why would she want forever with someone so willing to send her away?
“I need a moment,” she managed to say as she walked out of the kitchen with as much dignity as she could muster, which wasn’t much.
She made it to the bedroom and gently closed the door before rushing to the bed to drown her sobs in a pillow.
She could only love Wrath and he didn’t want her.
She wanted him to knock on the door or even barge in. He could tell her she misunderstood and that he wanted to give them a chance. Instead, she heard the front door open and close again, breaking her foolish heart a little more.
Why had she bitten him? It was the worst mistake of her life.
She made herself get out of bed. It was time for her to leave. She didn’t think Uber would come out this far, but she’d find a way to go. She just needed Wrath to give her phone back.
Or did she? Maybe one of the basilisks could give her a ride into town. She’d get a new phone and make reservations. It was time to go back home to Texas. Maybe she’d meet someone who could make her happy, but even the thought of doing that was revolting.
She’d get a dog. That’s what she’d do. A big cuddly furball. That’s all the love she needed.
She collected her things, emptying the hamper into her bag. Wrath could keep the hamper or throw it out or whatever. The important thing was, she was moving on. She could do this. She only knew the man for a day. Their bond couldn’t be that strong. The pain piercing her heart would ease.
It had to, right?
~
Wrath needed a moment himself. He knew Jess had gotten the wrong impression of what he was trying to say.
While he knew she likely needed his comfort, he needed to figure out his feelings just as much as she needed to figure out her own. Only he had a handicap, his dragon wouldn’t talk about Jess. Half of his soul was uncommitted. That meant he couldn’t make promises or give her all the reassurance she needed.
He was broken.
Maybe his human side could love her, as it had loved Zahra. But Zahra had known his love wasn’t complete and he knew it saddened her. That’s not something he wanted for Jess.
When they’d gone outside together, Etel had stated his own opinions on what he thought the curse might be. He thought Zahra might have cursed Wrath in a moment of weakness, preventing him from being able to identify his true mate. If that was the case, then it was possible his dragon went silent because Jess was his true mate.
Even if that were true, Wrath couldn’t perform the binding spell until the curse was lifted. His dragon side performed the spell. While it could be convinced to bind to someone who wasn’t a true mate, he wasn’t sure he could even get it to speak to Jess.
Etel offered to perform the spell on Wrath’s behalf, essentially forcing his unwilling dragon to give up half its life force to Jess. Wrath declined in favor of waiting on Etel to find a way to lift the curse.
In return for Etel helping with the curse, Wrath had explained his meditation practices to Etel and promised to consider helping to guard the gate in Texas.
Wrath strode into the woods. He knew his people were watching him. They knew not to approach. At least, most of them did. He heard Iris’s footsteps behind him.
“Poppy?” she asked.
Wrath took a breath and turned to his adopted ten times great granddaughter. “Yes, sweetheart?” he asked.
Had it been a male, he might have snapped at him, but he had a soft spot for his granddaughters.
“What dragon was that?” she asked.
“Etel,” he responded.
“Oh...oh God,” she responded. Her eyes filled with tears.
Burn him. Burn him. BURN HIM!
His dragon was under the impression that Etel somehow upset Iris, but that wasn’t possible since they hadn’t interacted. Still, he would love to burn Etel, but it was no use. He’d tried it many times before to no avail.
“What is it, love? Talk to me,” Wrath said, wrapping his arms around her.
“You’re gonna be mad,” she said, her tears dampening his shirt.
“Try me, baby,” he said, rubbing her back just like he did when she was little.
“I was in the woods by the house when he got out of the car. I saw him and my basilisk...it said he was mine.”
Wrath rested his chin on the top of Iris’s head. His heart ached for her. Etel had managed to avoid having a mate for thousands of years, as far as Wrath knew.
“I’m not mad. You know he’s never taken a mate in the thousands of years he’s been alive, and you know he’s even older than I am. All I can do is introduce you when he comes back.”
She pulled back from him and looked up at him with her teary eyes. “You’d do that even though you hate him?”
“I’d do that because I love you. I’ve also been around long enough to know that trying to interfere won’t work. You’ll be driven to find him. You’ll have to work on him. If he doesn’t accept you, we’ll have Lily threaten to kill him.”
“Until she sees him. Then she’ll probably hug him and call him uncle,” Iris said with a sad smile.
“Not if you’re sad. The girl might actually try something if she sees you upset.”
“I don’t know if I want him. I just know my basilisk does.”
“There’s no rush. You’re a first-generation basilisk. You have all the time in the world to decide. Whatever you do, I’m with you.”
“Thank you, Poppy,” Iris said.
She gave Wrath a kiss on his cheek before heading back home.
That little turn of events made Wrath smile. Etel thought he could trap Wrath into being mated to a dragon blood. Now Etel was going to be mated to a basilisk. Etel didn’t deserve Iris, but he’d be good to her. Wrath wouldn’t let him reject her.
Realizing he wouldn’t get any more thinking done, Wrath headed back to the house. Ready or not, it was time to talk to Jess. It was too bad he didn’t know what to say.
Chapter 15
Jess was wheeling her bag into the living room when Wrath came back inside. He looked at the bag and then at her before stepping over and wrapping his arms around her. Her muscles relaxed as he held her and she felt his warmth and inhaled the smokey scent of him.
Damned if it didn’t nearly take down all her defenses. She’d been through enough of a roller coaster in the last day that she didn’t need more. She went full on Stockholm Syndrome and then ended up getting rejected by the stupid man that kidnapped her.
“Sit with me, and we’ll finish our conversation, okay? No walking out. We need to come to an understanding,” Wrath said.
Jess let him lead her to the sofa where he sat beside her. She pulled her legs in tight to avoid the physical contact.
“Remember Etel mentioning the curse?” Wrath asked.
Like she could forget the mention that someone was actually cursed. “Yes, what is it?”
“I’m not sure, but I do have a problem with my dragon side. It makes it so I can’t c
ast the binding spell. That’s one effect. It also makes it so my dragon won’t alert me to my fated mate. Your dragon alerted you in its own way. That’s why you bit me. The thing is, with my dragon broken, I may never be able to be the mate you deserve. That’s not an excuse, that’s reality. Just like the thing about children. I want you to know what you’re up against.”
Commitment issues were a curse? That was a new one. She had to hand it to the man, it was creative.
“Bad news first,” Jess said, playing along. “What’s the good news?”
“The good news, from your perspective, is that the ball is in your court. I’m willing to give it a try. If it came down to it, another dragon could cast the binding spell for me. Then, you’d live as long as I do. If you want to leave, you can. I won’t stop you.”
“What about the whole saving the world thing? Are you going to help?”
Wrath sighed. “I don’t know. Probably not. I think I’d distract the ones who do show up. Sounds like he wants a team there. I’m not popular among dragons. Back to the more important matter at hand, do you want to...date?”
“You’re the only man I can ever really love?”
“Probably.”
“I guess we should try, then.”
“Don’t look so glum. The sex is good. Going out to dinner will be awkward,” he added, seeming to be thinking aloud. “I eat once every other day and it has to be a substantial amount. That and my presence has an effect on other shifters and a few humans who are sensitive to magic. Really, I prefer not to go out in public anyway. Dragons are solitary creatures. That’s why those of my people that choose to live near me stay toward the back of the property.”
“So, we can date, we just can’t go out to eat or in public in general?”
“That’s about right, yes.”
“Why does everything have to be so weird suddenly?”
“You’re dating a dragon. Why should that be normal?”
Jess rolled her eyes, but the stupid sexy grin on his face was infectious. She tried to remain firm. “Can I have my phone back? Know you took it yesterday, Mr. I Think I’m Sneaky. Maybe Mr. Drake can give me some work while I’m here. That way I can have some normalcy, at least.”