It was almost comical, how close they were even though she pulled away at every chance. There was more to her story that she was not yet willing to tell, a history that would shine a light on the defiance she kept wedged between them. If he could figure it out, then maybe he could finally show her that he would never hurt her.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he went inside. The other metallic dragons were doing their regular patrols. Jasper was supposed to head out soon, but he gave Ashton a quick call and asked to switch shifts. If Jasper was up all night, he would not invade Cora’s dreams. She could have a peaceful night’s rest for once.
Cora hated the way she’d ended their conversation. Left alone with her thoughts, she went over the conversation. Again. And again. In the end, she regretted giving Jasper the cold shoulder. There was still a door. There was still a barrier between them.
If only she could find the strength to tell him what happened, then maybe he would understand. A groan slipped up her throat. Maybe he wouldn’t understand. There was no way of knowing. Jasper might seem okay on the outside, but she didn’t know what kind of person he was.
Her indecision was a blade slicing her in half.
One part of her wanted to be open and honest. It was perhaps an old part of her that had survived the past couple of years with Cal. It was soft and open to the possibility of a new future. If Jasper was her mate, then there was a chance he would be kind and understanding.
The other part of her knew only his beast, the demon. The creature was demanding, greedy, and all the other things she was trying to escape. If she opened herself to Jasper and the demon latched onto her, then she would never be free. Cora would never live her own life.
She crawled into bed, almost eager to meet Jasper in their dreamscape with the hopes that it would help her make a decision about him. There was a chance he would give away some of his true nature. If Jasper was nothing more than the demon that piloted him, then she would move on.
But he never came.
Instead, her dreams were filled with vivid memories, and not the pleasant kind. She woke exhausted and covered in sweat. The sheets clung to her limbs and she had to kick, growing panicked, to get them off.
When she was finally free, she sat on the edge of the futon and tried to catch her breath. Her shoulders ached from the dreams that had wrapped them tight all night. Exhaustion weighed on her. As bothersome as Jasper and his demon were, she never felt like this when she dreamed of him.
After a while, Cora forced herself up and into the shower. The hot water was luxurious after the months she spent hiding. She lingered in the spray for longer than she should have with the hopes that it could wash away every frustration still knotted in her core. When that didn’t work, she found herself longing for Jasper.
It was a startling thought. Her time here was changing the ways she saw him. Cora didn’t know if that was for good or bad. She wouldn’t know until the world came crashing down around her.
Unable to sit still, she dressed quickly, tossed her hair into a braid, and peered out the front door. Jasper was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t camping outside the door or in the skies overhead. When she was convinced the coast was clear, she headed for the front gate.
She was tired of being cooped up in the guest house.
Chapter Four
In the months she’d spent in the mountains, Cora had avoided Grove for obvious reasons. She couldn’t have risked crossing Jasper’s path. Even now she was wary of every face that passed by in case it was Jasper. Reason told her he wasn’t going to drag her back to the guest house and lock her inside, but fear never responded to logic. Cora could tell herself time and time again that Jasper hadn’t shown any signs of wanting to control her, yet it wouldn’t erase the small voice in the back of her mind that held onto the worry.
Instead of letting her thoughts consume her, she lifted her chin high and scanned the shops filling Main Street. The smell of lattes and cappuccinos filled the air, carrying with it the scent of cinnamon. Hungry and tired of chocolate puff cereal, she ventured into the nearest café to see if her debit cards still worked.
She shouldn’t have been surprised when the card worked. It wasn’t like Cal could freeze her accounts. He didn’t own an international bank. He had nothing to do with her money. Yet, there was a pleasant tingling in her chest when she walked away with the coffee and cinnamon crusted pastry.
It was self-sufficiency, she realized. In the woods, self-sufficiency had been a necessity. Every day had been exhausting. With Cal, self-sufficiency had been staying sane while under the pressure of his demands. Here, in Grove while no one was looking over her shoulder, it meant something so simple.
No one was telling her what to do. Her survival didn’t depend on her constant vigilance. For once, Cora could sit and sip a coffee in relative silence. Until the door opened, and a familiar face greeted her with a smile. Cora found herself smiling and raising her hand to wave.
At the sight of the response, Mina’s face broke into a grin with undeniable light. Behind her trailed a plump woman with a bemused look on her face. They both claimed seats at Cora’s table, giving Cora second thoughts about her friendliness. If she’d ignored both women, she could have snuck out the door and gotten on with her life.
“I’m so glad to see you!” Mina’s voice was soft and pleasing, conveying actual happiness. There was no hidden agenda, no lie in the sound. “Where’s Jasper? Did he bring you out for a date?”
“Ah, no.” Cora didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t very good at socializing anymore. It was one thing when Jasper led their conversations. It was another thing altogether when someone wanted to talk about Jasper.
The woman beside Mina grinned, a half-smile filled with knowing. It took Cora a moment to remember her name, Lilah. “You left him behind. Didn’t you?”
Mina’s jaw dropped, making Cora feel bad until Mina’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “I had to use a girl day with Lilah as an excuse to get away from Ryker. He’s been ordering stuff for Makenna’s recording studio and the boxes are threatening to take over the house.”
Lilah excused herself and went to buy two coffees for them, leaving Cora and Mina alone. While Cora should have left, she stayed. Her feet were glued to the ground, her butt to the chair. The presence of others, of women who treated her like a friend, was intoxicating. Mina went on about her relationship with Ryker in a way that spoke of deep familiarity, even though they’d only spoken once before.
Cora hadn’t allowed herself this luxury in a long time. Every friendship she’d ever had was severed when Cal claimed her. Not by Cal, but by her. Cora couldn’t stand the thought of someone using her friends to control her. If she took a step in the wrong direction, if she misspoke, there was a chance someone else would have paid the price. It wasn’t a risk Cora had been willing to take.
Even now, she knew she shouldn’t stick around. She didn’t want to make friends with people she might have to leave. If it turned out that Cora couldn’t handle Jasper’s demon, then she would have to give up any ties she made in Grove. The thought was sickening, but a reality Cora had to live.
“Has he been decent?” Lilah asked as she sat down with two lattes. “Jasper, I mean.”
“Ah, yeah. As decent as an alpha shifter can be, I guess.”
Mina and Lilah shared a look. It was Lilah who spoke first.
“That man cares about everyone. Deeply.” She toyed with her paper coffee cup as she paused. “There was a fight not too long ago and Griffin got pretty hurt. Dragons from…”
“Cal’s clan?”
“Dragons from Cal’s clan outnumbered Griffin, four or five to one. I can’t remember. All I know is the look on Jasper’s face when he saw what had been done to Griffin. It was as if someone had punched him.”
Cora noted that Lilah didn’t call it Cora’s clan. She was careful to keep Cora out of it. The detail made Cora study the women. It was as if they didn’t blame Cora at all. War had hurt Lilah�
�s mate, but Lilah kept the blame on Cal and his dragons.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Cora could breathe. Her lungs filled with air and her toes tingled. She realized the sensation was belonging. She should have pushed it away, should have left, but she didn’t want to give it up. These women had already folded Cora into the clan.
Because she was Jasper’s mate.
It all made sudden sense. They didn’t accept Cora blindly. The bond Cora shared with Jasper made her part of the family by default. As much as Cora wanted to think these women were being nice because they genuinely liked her, she knew they were being nice because they had to be.
“Has anyone else tried to enter the guest house?” Lilah asked with a spark in her eye.
“No,” Cora responded with no small amount of alarm.
“When Griffin and I lived there together, it seemed like the entire court of metallic dragons was constantly in and out of the house. They let themselves in whenever they felt like it. Especially Ashton.”
Mina shot Lilah a glare, the look filled with things unspoken.
Ashton wouldn’t be paying Cora any visits any time soon. As far as Cora knew, he didn’t yet know that Cora was responsible for the fire. The guilt Cora carried was nothing compared to the rage she expected. It didn’t matter that the fire had been an accident. It’d still been Cora’s fault.
Lilah waved her hand in the air. “I was just trying to explain that everyone here is super friendly. If you decide Jasper isn’t worth your time, you still have friends here.”
Cora’s head shot up. That was not what she’d expected to hear.
“We’re trying to get a girl’s night started,” Mina added. “Something quiet like a monthly spa visit.”
“Or a movie night,” Lilah suggested.
“That works, too. You’re welcome to join us. You could probably use a massage.”
Cora laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. “I could use a shift.”
Both Lilah and Mina watched her, brows raised. Cora hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it’d slipped anyway. It’d been what? Five months since her last shift?
While Mina eyed her, Lilah went on.
“Kennedy and Makenna aren’t shifters,” she said. “They wouldn’t be able to join us for that.”
“Oh, right.” Cora tried to play it off, like she hadn’t just admitted to hiding her beast. She was sure they suspected it, but neither said anything.
The small talk was starting to get to her. Cora had craved interaction, but now that she had it, she found herself fumbling through it. No words she picked were right. Everything she did felt awkward. To her relief, neither Mina nor Lilah acknowledged it.
They let every misstep slide like it was never there. Once her initial embarrassment faded, Cora relaxed a little more. In the back of her mind, she kept herself pulled back. She didn’t give herself over to the conversation nor did she fully allow herself to see them as friends.
Not because she didn’t want friends, but because she didn’t want to abandon friends again.
***
Walking the streets of Grove with her coffee in hand, she caught snapshots of life. People were herding their kids into SUVs, each child dressed for a different activity. There were couples walking from shop to shop on dates. Life kept moving forward, regardless of the war Jasper started over her.
A hand closed around her heart. There were shifters, both dragon and animal alike, that lived in the town. They didn’t ask for the fight Cora and Jasper brought to their doorstep. Their lives went on, with the many demands that went along with it. Cora hated herself for interrupting it.
She hated that her own fight for freedom had brought the war to Jasper’s mountains. They didn’t know about the fire she’d started, either, the one that had eaten its way down a mountain. No one scowled at her or threw things at her, but she wished they would. Instead, people raised their hands and waved as she passed. A couple of cars pulled over to offer her rides. Everyone was too nice.
Cora didn’t want to care for these people.
Running away from her clan had been to save herself. A new life awaited her, one in which she could write her own future without the bindings of some man determined to make her into a commodity. Freedom was all she ever wanted.
Yet, every step she took, Cora felt herself bound to Grove and the people.
Chapter Five
The afternoon had slipped by back at the guest house. There was nothing good on the TV. It was so quiet, she could hear the electric wires humming in the walls. She cursed herself for not buying some books while she was out.
Padding down the hallway, she debated going outside again. When she tested the bond, she felt Jasper on the other side of his house. There was a chance she could leave again, and he wouldn’t notice. Cora reached for the door but paused at the sound of howling outside. She snatched her hand back.
“Where is she?” a shifter roared. “Where is that Firestarter?”
Her heart leapt into her throat. She stumbled back away from the door.
This was a cloud that had been over her head for some time. Cora knew it would end in a storm eventually. There was no other way for this to go. Her own deeds had caught up to her.
Swallowing, Cora stepped forward. She gripped the door knob and tried to summon the strength to face Ashton head on. Her knees shook, and her stomach churned. In that moment, Cora realized she’d truly hoped to have a future here. That future might not have been by Jasper’s side, but she’d wanted to find her freedom in Grove.
The idea that she would be able to stay shattered in her hands.
***
Jasper ran toward the source of the wall-shaking sound. Ashton stormed around the courtyard between the two houses, heading straight for the guest house. Jasper launched himself across the courtyard before he could even think, colliding with Ashton. They fell to the ground. Ashton’s elbow hit Jasper in the jaw, making his skull rattle.
A snarl ripped out of Jasper as the beast clawed its way up to the surface. While Jasper pushed it back, Ashton landed another blow to Jasper’s face.
“Your woman nearly destroyed half our home and you don’t care!”
“We both know that isn’t what this is about,” Jasper growled, trying to pin his youngest cousin to the ground.
Every mischievous smile Ashton ever wore was gone, replaced by a ferocity he’d never shown before. Makenna was no longer in danger, but she had been. The fire nearly claimed her life right when Ashton had just reconnected with her. Had Cora’s fire taken Makenna, there would have been a hole in Jasper’s court.
But Makenna had survived. The fire had been an accident.
For the first time in a week, the courtyard filled with shifters. Ryker appeared, stopping dead in his tracks and making Mina slam into his back. Wyatt held his arm in front of Kennedy when he saw the fight. Even Griffin and Lilah landed nearby, both in dragon form, probably just finished with a flight lesson.
“Ashton!” Makenna shouted. Her voice was raspier than usual, probably from yelling at her mate earlier.
She surged past Kennedy and Wyatt, stomping toward her mate. Pinned to the ground, Ashton thrashed. He growled at Jasper, but Jasper was stronger. He was the king for a reason. Paver stones shattered beneath Ashton’s kicks. He beat against Jasper’s shoulders with the same force.
“You turned your back on us for your own selfish reasons.”
Jasper leaned in close to make sure Ashton could hear every word he spoke. “I did nothing of the sort.”
Ashton pulled his lips back from his teeth. Jasper was done with the display of fury. He grabbed Ashton by the front of his shirt and flung him. Away from the guest house.
Griffin and Lilah lunged out of the way so that Ashton’s body went flying between them. They both looked back at where Ashton landed. Behind Jasper, Makenna sighed. It was a deep and long-suffering sigh. Not long later, she ducked her head and went in search of her mate.
Jasper sto
od, rising to his full height. All this time, he’d been letting the world go on, letting it spin without him. He did his best to keep his beast controlled and not much else. It was time to stop, to make his mark on the world.
Or, at the very least, his clan.
“Since you want to forget yourselves and act like a bunch of fools, I’m calling a family night.” He pointed to the main house. “Inside. All of you.”
No one moved.
Ashton appeared at the edge of the woods with a fire in his eyes, aimed at Jasper. “Cora, too? Or are you going to let her continue to hide from us?”
Jasper was tired of this. He dashed toward Ashton, faster than he’d ever moved, and pinned the young shifter to a tree. When he was certain he had Ashton’s attention, he spoke.
“She’ll come out when she can trust us. I don’t think you’re doing anything to help.”
He let go of Ashton and turned back toward the main house. His gaze slid to the guest house. The door was cracked open. Cora peered through the gap. The sight of her made his heart stutter, but her gaze wasn’t on him. It was on Ashton.
He didn’t point it out, didn’t go to her. Instead, he let her presence remain unseen. Cora would come to them when she was ready.
The beast lashed at him. Go to her. Mark her as your own before she can escape.
He told his beast to calm down. It did little to mitigate the situation, the fight in his mind. The creature had been scouring the mountains for Cora for months now. Her proximity only made the creature more forceful. More impatient.
Mark. Her.
Jasper fumbled, feet tripping over one another when his beast seized control. He quickly reclaimed it but wondered who had noticed. Everyone was exchanging glances. Griffin and Lilah were back in human form. Jasper noted that her shifting was smoother; she was accepting her new life much better.
Lilah’s existence as a shifter was his fault.
It was one of the things that weighed on his conscience. The creature inside him reasoned that it had been Lilah’s fate all along. One way or another, Lilah would have found her own beast. Jasper wished he could have saved her some trauma. Being bitten by a dragon during an ambush had shaken her. The road to healing would be long for her, a path she and Griffin would have to traverse before their lives were normal.
Jasper Drake Page 3