by Roxie Ray
My heart lifted with hope and happiness. “Abby, when you’re free, can you come back? Can you visit? You can stay in the apartment Stefan used to stay in, if you’d like.”
The idea was appealing, despite the knowledge that I’d be near Jury. I’d been keeping in touch with our Nana through letters, and I had been wanting to see her again. “I’d like that,” I whispered.
With a lighter heart, I went back inside. Maddox, Perry, and Rico looked at me with their eyebrows raised and hopeful expressions. “We’re going to try to work things out,” I said.
Jury snorted.
“You know,” I said. “You’ve made your feelings for me quite clear. People deal with grief in their own way and own time. No matter what kind of monster my dad may have been, he was still my father and he’s still dead.”
The room went so quiet, a mouse fart would’ve startled me. I looked at Maddox. “Can you please take me home?”
He glanced toward Jury, who looked like he felt bad, but didn’t respond to me. Then Maddox jumped up. “Of course. Come on.”
I’d had enough of Jury Kingston. I waited by the door for Maddox to get his keys and walked ahead of him, then got in the only truck outside the house.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said as he pulled out of the driveway. As soon as we hit the main road, I knew where we were. I could’ve walked easily.
“No problem.” He turned the wheel when I pointed to the road he should turn onto. “You know, Jury just needs some time. To adjust, you know?”
“I don’t know what he needs to adjust to. it’s not like I’m trying to date him or something.” I pointed to my apartment building parking lot. “Just there. I live close to where you’re staying. Anyway, I’m not wasting my time on Jury. I want to focus on my sister and grandmother.”
Maddox nodded. “Probably a good idea.”
I hopped out of the truck, then walked to the driver’s side. “Whatever the tension between me and Jury is, I want to thank you all again for helping me last night. I owe you big time.”
A gorgeous grin spread across Maddox’s face. He was too young and immature for me, but he was going to knock the panties off of some girl someday.
6
Jury
“Stop being such a bitch,” I hissed at Nyx. In the two weeks since we’d found Abby, Nyx had gotten worse and worse. I was attempting, again, to get him to come out for a flight. “It’s just the backyard,” I continued. “The weather is nice. I’m already naked. Change!” He still ignored me.
When we’d left Abby in Texas and flew to Arizona to drop Rico off, Nyx was quiet, even somewhat content. But then, when we didn’t return for Abby, his silence turned hard. Angry. And he’d been a dick ever since.
I kept trying to force the shift in a battle of wills with Nyx. He was determined to make me miserable until I went to find Abby.
“Come on!” I yelled. We couldn’t keep up like this. We hadn’t had a chance to let him spread his wings much on the trip to find Rico, and he refused to change anything but our olfactory senses the entire rescue mission. I hadn’t even known it was possible to only shift my sniffer, but he’d done it out of pure spite.
Until we found Abby. When Maddox had returned, he sat with Abby while Nyx and I went for a drive until we found a suitable forest. Since we didn’t know the area, we couldn’t fly, but Perry and Rico watched out for humans while we shifted and walked around the woods for a while. It had helped a lot, but after going so long in my skin to only being able to shift once and then not again felt almost as bad as it had before we found Abby.
I’d never had any issues like this, not since the first time. This felt like that. Once, when I was a kid, I convinced myself there was a snake-like monster that lived in the toilet. I refused to poop for over a week until I was so constipated my mom had to take me to the healer. They put something up my butt and I pooped until the toilet clogged.
The closest thing I could think of to not being able to shift was the feeling of being constipated. “Cause you’re full of shit,” I muttered.
Nyx growled in response.
“I can growl back!” I yelled at him. It had been impossible to focus on anything for the last two weeks, and I had school I needed to focus on. I was so close to graduating, and it had been hard enough to keep up while we were on the road, working in the back of the truck or in a hotel room. I had to catch up before they flunked me. But I couldn’t focus on papers and research while Nyx vibrated under my skin.
“I can’t go get her,” I hissed at him. “She isn’t right for us.”
I whirled in frustration with my hands gripping my hair. Maybe I could pull the top of my head off and force the shift.
I stopped when I faced the house, because my dad was on the back porch, staring at me with a smirk on his face.
“What?” I yelled, still standing in the middle of our backyard, stark naked. “If there’s something I’m missing that is making you look at me like that, please, clue me in!”
Dad openly laughed at me. “Son, you’re so stubborn you can’t see the forest for all the trees in front of you.”
I clenched my hands into fists to keep from screaming at the top of my lungs. That was a bit dramatic, even if I did feel like my skin was going to rip apart. I stomped over to my underwear, which I’d thrown to the side in my haste to get Nyx to come out for a flight. Shoving my legs in the holes, I listened to my father and pulled them up.
“Son, how long are you going to deny your dragon what he needs?” Dad chuckled and walked off the porch. “You’re both just as stubborn as each other, but eventually you can’t deny the inevitable.”
“What inevitable?” I asked grumpily. I didn’t want to admit I knew what he was talking about.
“Abby.” Dad reached me and put his hand on my shoulder. His dragon was attempting to soothe Nyx. I sensed their communication but not the specifics. I only got enough to know they were going back and forth.
“Nyx needs to choose someone else,” I said, then turned away from my father. I didn’t want to hear his arguments.
“Son, your mother isn’t my fated mate. Most dragons don’t have one. There’s something in the water in this town, though, because every dragon that has found a mate here has found a fated mate.”
“So why didn’t you?” I asked.
“I met your mother in Arizona,” he said. “And I love her more than life. I can’t imagine a fated mate could be any stronger of a pull than what I feel for that woman. But since Maverick moved back here, of age, and found Ava, it’s been one of you after another. Even Stefan. And one thing I’ve learned is that I’m not sure even the dragon chooses. I think he may be as lost to the inevitability as you are.”
A thump in the woods just frustrated me more. I knew what it was. Dad looked through the trees as footsteps reached my ears with Maddox’s and Stefan’s voices. We were supposed to be flying together.
That hadn’t happened. Not for me.
They waved as I gave them a dark look, then went into our little outbuilding to dress. It was more like a locker room at a high school, with a couple of showers and cubby holes, but it helped when we wanted to shift. Sometimes it was messy, and dirt and grime weren’t left behind when we shifted back.
Of course, Madd and Stefan looked rejuvenated and happy. “Damn it, Nyx,” I growled. “Stop being such a dick!”
Nyx withdrew instead of responding. The itching under my skin lessened, but he’d shut down. He wasn’t talking to me again. Great. If it wasn’t for the pulsing in my chest, I would’ve thought he’d disappeared.
“Can a dragon leave us?” I asked my dad as we walked toward the house. “Can they just disappear?”
He hummed and didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Never heard of it happening. I think that would kill us, if they even figured out a way to do it. In theory, there was a time where we weren’t bonded to dragons, so they could’ve found a new human to bond with. That’s an often laughed at theory, though. It hasn�
��t happened in our thousand-year history, so I doubt it will.”
I grunted and collapsed onto one of the deck chairs. “Well, that’s good, I guess.” At least Nyx couldn’t get so pissed that he’d take off.
Stefan and Maddox walked to the porch and sat beside me. Stefan leaned over and slapped my knee. “Maybe you’ll feel better when you hear my news. I was waiting to tell Nyx when you were shifted, but you never showed up.”
Dad walked out with four beers. He’d never offered to drink with me before, so I looked up at him in surprise.
He shrugged. “You need it.”
Stefan chuckled and pulled out a bottle opener on his keychain. Maddox looked at me, then my dad, then finally took the offered bottle.
“Don’t worry,” Dad said. “I won’t tell your dad.”
Maddox grinned and used Stefan’s bottle opener to open my bottle and his.
“What’s the news?” I asked before taking a long pull off the beer bottle. Dad watched me with raised eyebrows. I cut off my drink and smacked my lips. “So that’s what beer tastes like,” I said weakly.
Maddox and Stefan burst out laughing. I tried to fight it back, but it burst out of me, too. Even Dad shook his head and chuckled. “Sure, son. Sure.”
When we quieted, Stefan wiped his eyes and smiled at me. “Abby is coming for a visit.”
For the first time in two weeks, Nyx perked up. Pleasure and excitement spread through me and he was the source.
But it didn’t matter. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to see her. Nothing changes the fact that I don’t like her. She’s a brat. She’s not a good person. She fooled Harley and nearly got herself, you, Maverick, and your unborn child killed. That whole situation could’ve gone very differently, and we’d all be here mourning. And it’s entirely her fault.”
Nyx growled, low and angry. Angrier than I’ve ever felt him.
Idiot. I’m growing to hate you.
I sat back in my seat in shock. Nyx hadn’t ever expressed any emotion toward me but love, fondness, and devotion. At least, not until this mess with Abby. Before that, the worst emotion I’d felt from him was annoyance.
He’d certainly never said he hated me.
My inability to accept Abby wasn’t just making Nyx mad. It was hurting him. He never would’ve said something like that unless he was driven to an extreme.
Fine. If it would help Nyx, I’d spend some time with Abby. I didn’t want to, not by a long shot, but I also couldn’t let my dragon be so miserable that his opinion of me changed.
“I’ll meet with her,” I said in a stiff voice. Stefan, Maddox, and Dad looked at me in surprise.
“Nyx needs it,” I explained. “I don’t have to like her, but if it keeps him from being miserable, I’ll spend some time with her.”
Glaring at Stefan, I ignored the change in the mood of my dragon. He’d gone from low, nearly depressed, to exuberant inside of me. “Let me know when she gets here.”
Stefan nodded and drank his beer. “Will do.”
Maddox and Dad exchanged a glance, but I couldn’t stand sitting with them and their opinions anymore. I stalked upstairs and put on my headphones, but not before grabbing a big armload of the beers from the fridge.
Dad was right. If I ever deserved them, it was now.
7
Abby
My fingers beat a rhythm on the steering wheel of the rented car. They’d given me a fancy one this time, which was cool. As a preschool teacher, I didn’t have the money to fly to Black Claw then rent a car, but Harley and Nana had really wanted me to come, so they’d split the cost of the plane ticket and rental car. I covered the rent for a small furnished home for the week. Harley had tried to get me to stay in the apartment over Stefan’s garage, but then a storm a few days before had put a tree limb through the roof and a ton of rain in the apartment.
Then, the offer had come for me to stay at the manor again.
I’d laughed pretty hard after reading that text. There was no way I’d stay under the same roof as Jury.
Not happening.
Before anyone could argue, I found a reasonably priced place to stay for the week, and the best part was that it was actually in Black Claw. I hadn’t been able to find a place in town when I was there before. But then, my father had paid for everything—and made me lie.
And I was enough of a gullible idiot to do as he said. I sighed and tried to stop beating myself up about it.
Harley and I had talked through it several times, and she’d finally forgiven me. She’d agreed, what I did was idiotic, but not malicious. And that made a big difference to her.
I wasn’t normally such an idiot. I considered myself to be a fairly intelligent person. But Harley had pointed out that our parents could make us do things we might not normally do. Some deep-seated need to please them or some other TV psychologist crap like that.
We’d had a good laugh over that. We’d talked every day for the last two weeks. Her baby was due any day now, and I wanted to be around for the birth. Hopefully she was in labor now, as I drove.
I pushed a button on the fancy dash. I’d connected it to my cell before leaving the rental lot. Harley picked up on the second ring. “Are you here yet?” she asked excitedly.
“I’m close. I’ll get checked in at the house and meet the landlord, then I’ll be right over.”
“Okay.” Her voice was so excited she nearly squealed. “I made dinner. It should be ready in about an hour.”
“Perfect timing.” I made the last turn on the GPS, then the woman’s wooden voice filled the car.
“Destination on your left.”
“I’m at the house, Harley, I’ll be over soon!”
“Byeeeee!” She disconnected the call, and I chuckled as I got out of the car. Stretching, I looked around. It was a small house in a quiet neighborhood with well-kept lawns and cars in the driveways that had seen better days. I think they called them row houses, but most were updated and nice.
My kind of neighborhood. Not too fancy, not too trashy.
The door opened and a blonde woman walked out wearing tailored shorts, pristine white sneakers, and a striped sweater. She was pretty and thin and had a beautiful smile. Ugh. She looked like she belonged to a country club.
A little girl ran out of the house behind her and made a beeline for me. Ah, children. That I could deal with. My forte.
“Hello,” I said. “Who are you?”
“I’m Tiffany! Who are you?”
Oh, her height and size fooled me. She still had a babyish voice. “I’m Abby,” I said. “Nice to meet you. How old are you, Tiffany?”
She focused on her hand, and after a few seconds successfully held up three fingers. “Free.”
“Nice. That’s a great age,” I said. She grinned then whirled and ran around the house.
“Stay in the yard,” the blonde lady called after her and walked down the stairs. “Sorry,” she said. “She doesn’t know a stranger. We’re working on that.”
I chuckled. “I understand. I teach four-year-olds.” I held out my hand. “Abby.”
She shook my hand and gave a warm smile. Maybe not snobby, just a bit preppy with her clothes. “Bethany. A pleasure to have you here. Can I help with your bags?”
“Sure, thanks.” I wasn’t afraid to work, but never turned down a bit of help. I also tried not to hesitate to offer to help others, either. Tit for tat.
After handing Bethany the smaller suitcase, I brought my backpack, purse, and the big suitcase and followed her into the small house. The inside was simply but tastefully decorated. It was perfect. “This is lovely,” I said as I turned in a circle. We’d entered the living room, and I could see a bathroom through a hallway.
“Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour,” she said. “Through here is the kitchen.” The house only had one small hallway. To the right was a kitchen, almost as big as the living room. To the left, two bedrooms and across was the bathroom I’d spotted. Bethany showed me the linen cl
oset, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and closets.
“This is great,” I said. “Perfect for the week.”
The little girl came running from the kitchen. I poked my head in to see a door standing wide open and a lush green yard out the door.
“Tiffany,” Bethany called as the child went bolting through the living room and out the front door. “Stop running in and out!”
She laughed and shut the back door, turning the lock on it. “There. Now she has to come in the front.”
“Nice,” I said. “She’s just three?”
Bethany chuckled and opened the fridge. “Water?”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, she’s big. Her father was tall, almost six and a half feet. She got his height, not mine.”
I wanted to ask why she’d said was, but I figured that was a bit too nosy when we’d only just met.
“Well, she’s adorable. I appreciate the discount on the week here,” I said. “I promise to leave it in good shape.”
Bethany ducked her head. “Thanks. I’ve had it trashed a couple of times. That sucked.”
“No, I’m not that guy, I promise.”
Bethany sucked in a deep breath and smiled again. “Well, you have my number if you need anything.” She shook my hand and walked through the living room. “Come on, Tiffany! Time to go home!” The back door rattled, and little blue eyes stared at me then disappeared. I saw her fly past the kitchen window as she ran to the front.
“Thanks again,” I called to Bethany as she shut the door.
I was going to be here a week, so I wanted to settle in a little. I unpacked my clothes, happy to fill the hangers in the closet so the wrinkles shook out. I put my toiletries in the bathroom and stowed the suitcases in the spare room.
When I felt like I was settled, I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the key Bethany had left on the kitchen table. Now that it was time to go meet Harley, my stomach was full of nerves.
I didn’t know why I was nervous. We’d talked for hours and hours over last two weeks. I felt like I knew her nearly as well as I could have if we’d grown up closer.