It had introduced her to a new life.
Cora wasn’t sure if she wanted to stay, but the thought was increasingly alluring. The longer she stayed, the more it felt like she’d been born into the wrong world. Here, in these mountains, she’d found the one she’d been meant for.
Though she wasn’t sure if she should believe everything Jasper said. To do so would be foolish, and Cora didn’t want to be anyone’s fool anymore. She had to put herself first. Unfortunately, her self wanted nothing more than to finally taste Jasper’s lips.
She recalled each time they’d come close enough to kiss. First, in the hallway during the court’s family time. Then, last night when they were sitting on the floor in front of the hearth. Cora almost wished she’d gone ahead and kissed him just to get it out of the way. Then she would be able to move on with the memory of him on her lips.
When she glanced out the window, she saw that more snow had fallen to cover their footsteps from the night before. There was hardly evidence of their beasts at all. And they had not landed anywhere else other than Jasper’s lawn. Cal and his shifters wouldn’t be any the wiser. They wouldn’t know that she’d left Jasper’s home and wouldn’t think to lay in wait for her to leave again.
Right as she was about to turn to leave, the door across the courtyard flew open. Jasper rushed out, looking heated. His eyes flashed gold and Cora knew something bad happened. Before she could stop herself, she was outside, running to him.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” She grabbed his arm to stop him.
He hadn’t been like this since she’d arrived at the guest house. His lips were pulled back in a snarl. Something had angered him. Though others might have feared his demon, she knew it wasn’t her that pissed him off. He wouldn’t hurt her.
The small revelation passed through her mind. She trusted him. She didn’t know when that happened, but she knew it was another step closer to staying in Grove. To staying with Jasper.
She shook herself. “Jasper. Speak to me.”
“Get in the truck.” He did not growl at her, did not make a demand. Before she could even think about her choices, he was already in the driver’s seat.
She jogged to catch up, hauling herself into the seat beside him. The truck was careening toward the gate before she’d even closed her door all the way. They just barely missed the gate, open only enough for the truck to squeeze through.
Jasper was hell bent, but she didn’t know what had him so out of shape.
Of course, it had something to do with Cal. The thought twisted her stomach. She chewed her lip nervously, constantly scanning the sky outside the windshield for a glimpse of Cal’s dragons.
They’d been flying the night before, reveling in everything their beasts could do, nary a thought of the war on their minds. At least, Cora hadn’t thought about it. She’d been granted a few hours of bliss.
But those hours had come at a cost. The war that had been going on in the valleys and shaded woods had spilled into Grove. Rage burned along Cora’s throat, rising like bile, sour and sharp. She raised a hand to the window of the truck and let the cold of it push back her anger.
That only led to despair.
And shame.
Buildings had been reduced to rubble. Brick stores that had probably existed since the industrial revolution, warehouses, old mining shanties that had been turned into museums. All were remnants of what they’d once been. Scattered among the debris were scales and splatters of blood.
Jasper’s court had held back Cal’s crusade into town. But, at what cost? The two largest dragon shifters, Ryker and Griffin, sat on stone foundations. Both had their heads bent and leaned with their elbows on their knees. It was an image of resignation.
Cora leapt out of the truck the moment it stopped. She ran for the rubble, thinking of all the faces she’d passed only days ago. Lives that were moving forward despite the terror on the edge of town, lives that were innocent. Jasper caught her wrist and pulled her back into him.
He spun her so that she was against his chest. Cora wanted to beat her fists against the cold stone of his muscles, but he hushed her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. In the circle of his arms, she could hear the thundering beat of his heart and knew her own echoed it. He was just as angry as she was.
Perhaps, more so.
“These weren’t homes,” he told her, softly whispering into her hair. “No one was inside.”
His assurances helped her master the panic that had been clutching her lungs. Though she still wanted to check the debris, the urge was not so pressing. Jasper would only hold her if he knew for himself that there were no lives trapped beneath broken beams and shattered roofs.
“This is…” The words tangled in her mouth. In the end, they all simmered down to one unavoidable truth. “This is my fault.”
Jasper pushed her back, hands firm on her shoulders and his lips set in a grim line. “Don’t you dare say that. You weren’t here. You didn’t tear these buildings down.”
“Yeah, but if I never left Cal…” She gestured weakly to the wreckage.
“I’d rather have a few buildings destroyed than your life ruined.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. “You did the right thing. These are the consequences of Cal’s choices.”
Cal’s choices would not be affecting Grove if she could have just dealt with being his dragon wife. The leader of her clan would not be fighting so hard to tear her away from Jasper because she would be right where he wanted her. All of this could have been avoided.
Jasper pulled her tight to his chest. This time, she sank into him. She held onto his shirt while her eyes burned. Fighting back the crashing wave of blame took everything she had. How else was she supposed to feel?
“Damage report?” Jasper demanded of his men.
“Well,” Ryker began. “We made sure no one was inside…”
“I’m not talking about the property destruction. You’ve already told me about that. Are the two of you okay?”
There was a moment of silence. Then Ryker hooted.
“Of course, we’re okay!”
Griffin joined in, too, though his laughter was more muted. “I’m in one piece this time.”
Jasper squeezed her tight, once, before loosening his grip. It was like a sigh of relief. He was grateful that his court was alright. Because that was what mattered to Jasper. He was not so concerned about buildings, but about his people. The rage she’d seen in him was for the safety of his brethren.
Where Cal would have been incensed that his territory had been touched at all, Jasper knew what was important.
Her heart stirred, but she did her best to ignore it and tore away from Jasper. Just because he was a good man didn’t mean she had to fall for him. If Cal was willing to do all this over her, then she needed to get far away from Grove. She couldn’t stay and let Cal continue to hurt the people she was growing to like.
She hated that her heart had betrayed her so easily. There were a hundred reasons it had turned on her, from the court’s love for one another to Jasper’s slow and careful behavior around her. They all cared so deeply. And her presence was destroying everything.
She stepped away from the group, but not before she caught Jasper’s golden gaze. They stared at one another, locked in the moment for what felt like forever. The demon had returned, she realized. The sight of the creature held her in place when she’d previously wanted nothing more than to run.
Its molten gold eyes scanned the part of town that had taken the brunt of the fight and snarled. Beyond him, Ryker and Griffin looked at one another. Their faces were drawn, too pale. They weren’t up for another battle, especially not one with their king.
Cora should have run. She should have turned away from Grove and Jasper and his court. It would have been safer that way for them. Instead, she stepped up to Jasper, gripped his face in her hands, and brought him down into a kiss.
The contact sparked a fire inside her. This was what she’d want
ed to do for so long. His lips were warm and soft, tasting of whiskey and cinders. The heat of his beast died on his tongue, replaced by a new heat. He groaned and pulled her against him. He held her so tight, she thought they might meld into one being.
Then, she broke away, breath short and heart racing. She couldn’t look at him. Not just yet. Instead, she looked anywhere but at him. The ground. The buildings. Ryker and Griffin.
Nope. That was a mistake. Her face flamed and she spun away.
“Well…That did the trick.” Ryker elbowed Griffin in the ribs. “Why didn’t you ever try that.”
“Insinuate such things again and I will rip your tongue out of your mouth.” Griffin growled each word at his cousin like a vow.
“If you could have, you would’ve done it already.” Ryker was so unfazed by the threat, still grinning like a fool.
Their ribbing was infectious, and soon even Cora was smiling. She looked to Jasper, to see if he found the humor in his court’s not-so-friendly banter, too. Her mate was still scowling. Though his demon had retreated, his anger had not been banked. Jasper fought not just for her, but for his family. It left him on a precarious edge.
***
The feeling of her lips on his still lingered. It was a sensation he held onto, one he craved more of. Her daring had been able to push his beast back where it came from. The creature’s voice was no longer a howling torrent of fury. Instead, it was a simmering pot on the back burner. Jasper waited for it to boil over, for the beast to fill his being, but it didn’t happen. Not yet.
Right then, he felt torn. Cora stood on one side of him, proving that she was everything he ever needed. Protecting her had become his highest priority, to the point of starting a war. Yet, on the other side of him sat his ragged knights. Ryker and Griffin would go to the edges of the world for him, but he didn’t deserve their devotion.
Jasper was failing at the one thing he was supposed to do.
Lead.
He’d been romancing Cora and taking long flights over the town while his knights fought his battles. This needed to end, but he didn’t know how to do it. He studied Cora’s profile for a long while, trying to figure out how she would feel if he just killed Cal once and for all. Would she mourn for a man he thought she might have once loved?
Jasper knew nothing about Cora’s time with her previous clan. He didn’t fully understand why she left, though he was starting to piece her story together. Between the way she feared revealing her scales and the way she spoke of their dragon wife tradition, he knew there was a life with her old clan that she was trying to escape.
He would never force her into anything here, but he needed her. He needed the way she balanced him, the way his beast bent to her will. While Cora was not the answer to his suffering, she was a balm on the days when he could barely keep his thoughts separate from the beast lurking inside him.
It dawned on him that he needed to be better, not just for his knights and his clan, but for her, too. He had a long way to go. The months he’d spent locked in his home had been mostly wasted. Ashton convinced Jasper to take part in his own business, but he was not taking part in his own reign. It seemed like a lot, all of his responsibilities falling into place at once, but he was the king.
He could do anything.
“Go home,” he told Ryker and Griffin. Their mates would be relieved to see them. “I’ll call Wyatt and Ashton. One of them will call a clean-up crew and we’ll all get started on fixing this mess.”
Cora watched him with wide eyes. She had that look a lot, like he turned into someone she didn’t know every so often. Truth be told, he was changing. He was trying to be a better king, a better person. Hiding would get him nowhere, even if it was all he wanted to do.
Jasper and his knights spent the afternoon hauling broken beams and great sheets of corrugated metal into dumpsters. Cora joined them, though her eyes were dark. He wanted to pull her aside and reiterate that none of this was her fault, but he didn’t think she was ready to hear it. Whatever was going on in her head, she needed to work through it. He would be there when she was ready.
Jasper didn’t sit until his knees were aching and his palms were blistered. Looking up from his palms, he watched the way Ashton glared at Cora. The beast filled his ears with a roar and tensed his muscles. The stare was dark and still filled with loathing. He thought they had worked through this, but it seemed the youngest dragon had as much anger as he did mirth.
Forcing himself to stand, while holding back his beast’s urge to launch himself at Ashton, Jasper took a step forward. Before he could intervene, Cora caught his attention. She shook her head. If Ashton’s ire bothered her, it didn’t show on her face.
He noticed that she’d removed her gloves. She held up a hand and turned toward a food truck that had parked itself at the edge of the work-site. He thought the truck was making a killing until he watched Cora take out her card and the man in the window shook his head. Jasper’s heart beat twice.
The man in the window saluted Jasper before handing Cora three wrapped sandwiches. Jasper wondered why so many sandwiches until he watched her walk up to Ashton. The young copper dragon paused his work, dropping the beam he’d been lifting, to glare at Cora. Jasper was halfway to his feet when Cora held out the sandwich.
She did not flinch in the face of Ashton’s snarl, nor did she shy away when he snatched it out of her hand. Cora shook her head as she walked away, but Jasper trained his eyes on the young dragon shifter. He was going to rip Ashton’s head off if the man made so much as a single move toward Cora.
Still poised to launch himself forward, Jasper was surprised by what he saw. Ashton actually…smiled. Jasper was taken aback. Hope for his court, for his clan, swelled in his chest. It grew even brighter when he saw Cora’s twinkling eyes and the grin playing across her lips. She approached him and held out the second sandwich before taking a seat beside him.
“This,” Cora began, gesturing to everyone before her, “is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”
“Are you telling me your dragons never wrecked a few buildings?”
He meant it as a joke, but the happiness on her face died. She picked at the edges of the paper around her sandwich. “They were never my dragons. This idea that we were a family is a great big lie.”
He blew a breath out his nose. That was not how he’d meant that to sound. He would have kicked himself had his foot not been in his mouth.
Before he could find an apology, Cora continued. “What I was talking about is the way everyone came together. There are humans here.” There was astonishment in her voice. “They act like they know you personally. They’re…unafraid.”
Jasper took in his court and the people who’d come to help. He’d taken them all for granted, he guessed. All of them could have just as easily turned up their noses and stayed home today. No one had to come out and help them pick up the pieces of his war. Not even his court. Yet, they’d all come out to help him in one way or another.
“I’m not the only one to get a free sandwich, either.” Cora gestured to the truck parked at the edge of the lot. “He said he’s been serving everyone without payment.”
“I will make sure he gets proper payment,” Jasper said as he noted the name of the business on the side of the truck.
“You couldn’t possibly pay for everyone here!” Cora seemed stunned that he thought he had that much money.
“Did you forget that I not only head my clan, but run a national bank?” He raised a brow and her face turned red before she turned away. As much as he would have liked to continue to ruffle her, he took in those who’d come to help pick up the debris. “My clan is much larger than this. Had more people showed up, everyone would be home by now.”
Jasper knew that meant he needed to be a better king. People did not follow a man who holed himself up in a distant castle. They would only follow someone made of flesh and bone, with a soul that they could admire. Jasper had flesh and bone, but no one would know it from
the way he hid away. About the soul part…he wasn’t entirely certain he was worthy. If he’d been a worthy king, then he never would have hid. He wouldn’t be struggling with a monster inside him. A monster that was proof he wasn’t worthy.
“You look like you’re thinking too hard. I would have assumed you choked on your food and passed out if your sandwich wasn’t still wrapped.” Cora watched him.
Jasper ducked his head. “I need to be a better man.”
***
Cora didn’t know what to say to his confession. She knew almost nothing about him, but the desire to tell him he was enough rose to the tip of her tongue. Biting it, she kept the words to herself. Who was she to tell him who he was? But she couldn’t silence herself for long.
“Maybe if they got to know you a little better? I think if your clan could meet you, then they would follow you to the ends of the earth.”
Cora didn’t know if her assessment was based on her own feelings, having come from a clan rife with infighting, or if she could truly see the good Jasper wanted to bring to his clan. Either way, he wanted to put in the effort. She could help him. Or, at least offer a bit of advice.
“I don’t know how you would do it, but get to know your shifters. Let them know who you are in return. It could form a bridge that could lead to an actual relationship.”
He cocked his head, amber eyes on her as his hair flopped forward. She wanted to push back the loose curls and feel the silken softness of the strands. Instead, she tucked her hands beneath her thighs. She’d kissed him earlier. It had done the job, at the time, but now she found herself craving more.
Every moment spent in his presence was another root strapping her to the ground beneath her feet. She could fight against them, struggle to her heart’s content, but she was starting to fear that she’d never break free. This clan, this place, was so great and was getting better every day. Cora didn’t want to be the reason it burned.
She’d already made that mistake once.
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