by Riley Storm
Why is she mad at me? What did I do?
A fist smashed into his face, scrambling his brains some more and also adding a dose of reality like a bucket of cold water. He was still in a fight, and his questions had to wait until later.
Anger surged up, matching the fury he’d seen in Gayle’s face, and with a roar, Rann’s hips bucked and he flung Linck aside. He was on his feet in an instant, charging after his opponent. Instead of tackling him though, he re-formed his fire weapon and swept it down at his opponent like a baseball player hitting a home run.
Linck went clear across the combat chamber and into the far wall, crashing down hard. A fireball from Rann shot across the arena and impacted on his chest just as he tried to get up, throwing him back to the ground. Two more followed in quick succession, driving the nearest of the audience back away from the heat.
Rann darted in, stopping just short of Linck’s striking range. The dazed shifter fell for it and kicked out. Rann grinned, his fingers wrapping around Linck’s ankle. Then, he pivoted, lifted Linck from the ground, and swung his opponent’s entire body around and slammed him into the wall.
“Ouch,” Rann said with a sympathetic hiss when Linck tried to stop the impact with an outstretched arm.
The force of the impact shattered the limb in several different places.
Rann dropped a trio more fireballs right on Linck’s chest and then laid a blade of yellow-white fire mere inches from his throat.
“Yield?” he asked calmly.
Linck slapped the floor three times.
Polite applause filtered down from above as the fight was concluded. Rann stepped back, his eyes searching the crowd. He just barely caught sight of a Gayle as she exited the chamber, only identifiable by her hair.
What the hell is going on?
Shirtless and barefooted, Rann didn’t care. He wasn’t letting her go. Not now. Not after he’d finally found her.
He crouched and then exploded upward, landing easily on the viewing ledge above the arena and charged for the exit.
“Gayle!” he called as he emerged into the corridor beyond. “Gayle, wait!”
She was already out of sight, but only one way led to the exit, and Rann felt confident that was where she was going. He raced down the hallway, his feet slapping at the rock.
“Gayle,” he repeated as he rounded the corner and saw her perhaps fifty feet ahead of him, short legs pumping hard as she went for the exit.
He caught up to her easily and then slipped past her and blocked the hallway.
“Gayle, what the hell is going on?” he growled, his own emotions sharpening as he once more caught sight of the anger etched into her face.
There was more though, it wasn’t just anger there. It was…pain?
“I would like to go home please,” she said stiffly. “Now.”
“What? Why? What happened?” he pleaded. “Just talk to me.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” Gayle said in that same stiff, awkwardly formal, clearly holding back anger voice. “I want to go home. Now. Please take me or help me. Otherwise, move aside.”
Rann shook his head, more in shock than refusing her request. “I don’t understand. I thought we were good? Why are you acting like this? What did I do?”
Her eyes snapped up, finally focusing on him, and Rann took a step back at the hurt and hatred boiling in them.
“I’m done,” she said quietly. “My eyes have been opened, and I’m not blind anymore. I can’t believe I was so stupid. Now take me home! I never want to see you again!”
The last word was a full-fledged shriek that echoed down the hallway in both directions.
Rann flung up his hands, taking a step back at the same time. He didn’t know what had happened, but it was clear that right then he wasn’t going to get anything more out of Gayle. She was livid with him, and he was going to have to do some investigating to find out why.
I haven’t done anything wrong though…right?
“Okay,” he said quietly. “Let’s go then. I’ll take you home. Not a problem.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice returning to normal levels, though it still didn’t lose that awkwardness to it.
“Yeah, no problem,” he muttered, stepping aside and following her out of the mountain tunnel system, his brain racing in a dozen different directions.
He’d won his bout and would now fight in the final against Kladd, his team leader and one of his closest friends. Whoever won that fight would become the new head of Clan Atrox. This should be a time for celebrating, because no matter who won, Rann felt confident that they would finally get their clan back on the right path.
Instead, he felt like he’d been stabbed in the guts. Something bad had happened, and Gayle no longer wanted anything to do with him. The emptiness inside him at the way things had so rapidly deteriorated was unfamiliar. He wasn’t used to emotions like this. He didn’t like it.
But for Gayle, he knew he would put up with anything.
Now, if I could only figure out what it was I did to set her off, then I could fix it.
Assuming things between them were fixable that was.
Chapter Thirty
Gayle
She was already half a bottle of wine deep when there was a knock on her door.
Dabbing roughly at her face with a tissue, she wiped away the tears and got up from her couch to answer it.
“Hey,” she said dully. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” Claire said, pushing inside, not waiting for Gayle to move. “What’s going on? What the heck happened?”
“I’ve been a fool,” Gayle said, spinning a half-circle and trudging her way back to the little nest of cushions she’d built on the couch around her position. “That’s what happened, Claire. I’ve been a big old fool. There’s no such thing as fairytales after all.”
Claire remained silent, but she did quietly go into the kitchen and help herself to a glass of wine.
“How long have you been home?” she asked while she poured.
“Half an hour?” Gayle said. “I don’t know, something like that. It’s kind of been a blur and then a lot of crying. You know how it goes.”
“Yeah,” Claire said quietly. “Half a bottle in half an hour? Sounds real bad.”
“Ugh, you have no idea. It’s worse because it’s twice in like a week now I’ve done it, over two different reasons. I’m just so stupid. Should have gone with the usual hermit mode after a breakup instead of this shit.”
Gayle flopped down onto the couch, picking up her glass from the side table and taking a sip. “It’s just so embarrassing, you know? Like, how could I be so dumb to fall for it all? I was even warned by someone, and I just ignored it all. That’s what burns the most. It’s all on me.”
“Right,” Claire said, sitting down on the recliner nearby. “Just what did happen? I take it from your call and what you’re saying right now that this has to do with Rann?”
“Yes. Of course it does. It’s always about stupid boys. Stupid men. I hate them all,” she grumped, staring morosely into the wine glass.
There was another knock at the door.
“Come in!” Claire hollered, putting up a hand to stop Gayle from getting up. “It’s probably Lilly.”
The raven-haired Lilly came in.
“Hey, sorry I’m the last one here. What did I miss? How bad is it?” She paused, her big brown eyes sweeping over the pile of pillows, tissues, and wine glass. “Oh. That bad.”
“We were just about to get to that,” Claire said. “I still haven’t heard what happened. I even asked ‘Ro if he’d heard about anything. But so far, the rumor is that Gayle here just shouted at him and wanted to go home. So, I’m ready for the rest of the story.”
Gayle blinked, wondering why Claire would ask Pietro, her man, but then her brain kicked in belatedly as she recalled Rann telling her how they were all clanmates. Her best friends were dating dragon shifters, just like her.
Just like
I was, she corrected numbly. Gayle definitely wasn’t dating anyone right now, and she wouldn’t be for a while yet. If ever. It just wasn’t worth it. She hated drama and everything that came with it and was done with it.
Lilly went over to the counter, poured herself a drink as well, and then sat on the opposite end of the couch from Gayle.
“Spill,” she said bluntly. “What the deuce happened up there today?”
“Fuck Rann,” Gayle said hotly. “That’s what happened up there. I’m done with that asshole.”
“What?” Claire yelped. “Oh damn, Gayle, I’m sorry. I know I sort of pushed you two together a bit. I didn’t realize it would go badly!”
Lilly frowned. “What happened?” she asked softly, reaching out with one hand to lay it on Gayle’s leg. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to though.”
“No, I’ll tell you,” Gayle said. “It’s always better to talk to someone about it.”
The other two women just nodded, waiting for Gayle to start speaking when she was ready.
“I found out the truth,” Gayle said at last, eventually finding her words. “That’s what happened. I found out all about Rann and his ways. About all the other women he’s been with. How he leads them on. How he just uses them for sex and then dumps them. Yeah. I know about that. How I was just the next one to be taken up there.”
The two women stared at her in disbelief.
“Yeah, exactly,” she said, interpreting their looks as ones of support and understanding. “He’s a real fucking player, that one. And I fell for it, even though the bartender flat out warned me against it. But did I listen? No, of course not, because I’m an idiot.”
Claire and Lilly looked at one another then back at Gayle.
“So…you found out that Rann had past sexual partners, and now you’re pissed at him?” Claire asked slowly.
“It’s not just that,” she said. “I don’t care if he fucked a thousand girls before me. It’s that he was just using me like he did all of them. That he took me back to his home to wow me, but it’s apparently such a common occurrence that everyone who was looking at me pitied me!”
“I see,” Claire said, her entire face twitching oddly. “So he didn’t exactly do anything?”
“He used me!” Gayle shouted.
Lilly snorted.
Gayle’s head whipped around, and to her astonishment, she saw that Lilly was trying to cover her face.
“I’m sorry,” Lilly said, her eyes wide. “It’s not what it seemed.”
A choked-off yelp came from Claire. Once more, Gayle’s head came around, and she frowned at her friends.
“Are you two…laughing at me?” she said in a dangerous tone.
“Oh shit,” Lilly said, but she couldn’t stop it. “I’m sorry Gayle, I really am. But, oh my god, it’s all just so wrong what you’re saying!”
“What the hell do you mean by that? What is going on with you two?”
Claire was laughing silently to herself now, shaking her head. “I’m sorry!” she wheezed between strained breaths.
“I don’t like either of you right now,” Gayle said, crossing her arms and trying to melt down into the couch.
“I’m sorry, girl,” Lilly said, taking a deep breath. “Truly. Okay. It’s just…I don’t know why you’re acting the way you are, but we need to set you straight about Rann.”
“What, is he not a womanizer?” she challenged.
“Okay,” Claire said, chiming in. “Yes, Rann has a bit of a…reputation. He likes to sleep around.”
“A lot,” Gayle said crossly.
“A lot,” Claire said, nodding. “But that’s where everything gets screwed up.”
“What do you mean?” Gayle asked.
How could it be screwed up? She’d seen the pictures. One after another of Rann with various women, all cuddled up into him, onto him even. They were very clearly not just friends. He had been sleeping with those women. Just like her.
“Because you’re different,” Lilly said. “Trust us. We’ve gotten to know Rann. Our partners, they know him even better than we do, and they’ve mentioned how he’s changed in just the week since he met you.”
“I don’t get it,” Gayle said. “Changed how?”
“Well, for starters, some of the things he’s done with you, he hasn’t with anyone else.”
Gayle’s spine straightened slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re the first woman he’s taken back to the mountain, Gayle. I don’t know where you got the idea that it was a parade, but he never took anyone there. Ever. Just you.”
“Really?” Gayle asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Claire said, speaking up now, taking over. “Also, he revealed his heritage to you. Again, he’s never done that to any other woman, as far as we know. That was a secret he didn’t bother sharing, according to Pietro. Not until he ‘found someone worth sharing it with,’ in Rann’s words.”
“What are you saying?” Gayle asked nervously, her emotions shifting around, swirling violently inside her as various thoughts warred with one another.
“That Rann has treated you differently from every other woman he’s been with,” Lilly said gently, giving her leg a squeeze in support. “That he’s done things with you that he hasn’t done with anyone else. Just the amount of time he’s invested in you is more. He was a partyer, a one-night stand kind of guy. Until he met you.”
Gayle’s stomach sank. “You’re sure?”
Lilly and Claire were both nodding. “Yes,” they said.
“Oh. Shit,” Gayle muttered.
“How did this come to you anyway?” Claire asked. “What prompted all this?”
“One of the other shifters,” she said. “He came to warn me. Showed me all these pictures of Rann and women. He seemed so genuine.”
Claire and Lilly exchanged a look. “What was his name?”
Gayle shrugged. “I didn’t ask him. I got a bit too worked up. I’m already on edge about this whole thing so soon after Mikey, and then he came and seemed to take pity on me, to tell me something nobody else would. I just sort of…left.”
“What did he look like?” Claire asked.
“Um, tall. Broad shouldered. Not as thick as the others though. He had a really fancy haircut though, all modern, not like most of the other males I saw up there. Gray eyes, I remember that,” Gayle said, thinking hard.
“Did he have a nose that was too big?” Claire said.
“Yes!” Gayle exclaimed, brightening. “Yes, he did! That’s right, I’d forgotten. Why?”
“Because” Claire said tightly. “I know exactly who that is. It’s Prax.”
“Prax?” Gayle repeated, looking back and forth between her two friends. “Who’s that?”
“He a shifter with a hate on for the entire team, but most especially Rann. I guess they had some issues that never got resolved. Prax hates him for it. He’d do anything to sabotage Rann.”
“But he had all these pictures of Rann and other women,” Gayle said slowly.
“Right,” Lilly said, snorting. “Now ask yourself, why does he have them, and also how did he get them? It’s not like he’s ever invited out with Rann and the others. Was he in any of the pictures?”
Gayle shook her head. “No,” she said uncertainly. “It was just Rann and women.”
“You know,” Lilly said thoughtfully. “He’s probably been hoarding all those pictures for a moment just like this one.”
“That would be like him,” Claire agreed.
“So Rann isn’t using me?” Gayle half-asked, half-said.
“No dear,” Lilly said. “I think he really likes you.”
Gayle slumped deeper into the couch somehow. Of course he liked her. He’d taken her to his lair, to his home. He’d shown her around. He’d done exactly what someone who liked her would do.
And she’d screamed at him and told him to get out of her life forever.
“Oh no,” Gayle whispered. “I
’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Hopefully, he’ll give me another chance…
Chapter Thirty-One
Rann
He should be out hunting the vampires with his team.
The longer things went without tracking them down and eliminating them, the worse it was going to get for the dragons when they finally did confront them. The longer the delay, the more new vampires could be created, strengthening their army, and increasing the chances a vampire king might arise from their midst.
That would be bad indeed.
Yet instead of doing that, he was crouched on a roof staring at the house across the street. Which is exactly where he’d been for two hours now. Watching the bungalow, hoping that he might just get a glimpse of Gayle. Even seeing her through the blinds would be better than nothing.
I never want to see you again.
Those were the last words Gayle had said to him, other than a very rushed and meaningless ‘thank you’ when he’d pulled up out front of her house and dropped her off. The last he’d seen of her was the back of her head as she went inside.
She hadn’t looked back.
Nor had she texted him or called him.
Rann didn’t get it. She’d not shown any fear, worry, or anti-dragon sentiment when they’d first left the tent city, her on his back. In fact, she’d seemed to accept it with a rapidity that shocked even him. Maybe that should have been his first clue that she wasn’t processing everything okay, but there hadn’t been any signs.
Everything seemed to have been going so well. Rann didn’t have any prior experience to go on, of course. Gayle was his first relationship of any sort. But it had seemed to be going smoothly. She must have come out of her shock at last and been unable to handle the truth about him.
Or perhaps she was afraid of his entire world. What with the vampires making their presence known to the public as well, things were changing. The world wasn’t as safe as it had appeared to be, and perhaps that had scared her off. Maybe Gayle thought if she pushed him away, she would be safer that way.