by Rinelle Grey
She couldn’t even begin to imagine telling her grandfather she was going to mate with Chase anyway, the way Karla and Taurian finally had.
She’d always justified her capitulation to her grandfather’s wishes with the fact that she didn’t really object to them. When he’d wanted her to mate with Taurian, he’d played up on how much it would help their clan, and how important it was.
She couldn’t object to that, now could she?
But the reality was, that Karla was right, she was a big, fat coward.
Oh, Taurian’s human mate hadn’t said that, not in so many words. She was far too nice.
But her eyes, when she’d helped Wayrian dress for the mating ceremony to the man Karla herself loved, had given it away. Wayrian had felt about as big as a mouse.
Even Karla, a human, had been more prepared to do what was right for the clan than Wayrian was.
Trouble was, Wayrian wasn’t even sure what was right anymore. Her grandfather was sure that the most important thing was her mating with a prince. The goddess said she had to mate with her fated mate, Chase, or she would make the whole clan human.
Who was right? Who should she believe?
The goddess’s threat seemed like the bigger risk. If it were true. She glanced down at the mark on her wrist, so obviously fireworks now. How could the mark be there if it wasn’t true?
Could she convince her grandfather that mating with Chase was more important than marrying a prince? Would he believe her?
She snuck another look at Chase. He was unaware of her grandfather’s ire.
Or he just didn’t care.
He was quietly confident. Wayrian looked back at him, at his hand resting on the wheel, his body loose. He was perfectly in control of the car, and his life.
She bet his dad wasn’t constantly telling him what to do and how to run his life.
Wayrian bit back a sigh.
If there was any hope of her getting to know Chase, to decide if he was, indeed, her fated mate, then she was going to have to make sure her grandfather didn’t know what she was doing.
Because if he found out, he would put a stop to it before it had even started.
Her only hope of making this work was if he didn’t know about it until it was too late.
A shiver ran through her at the thought.
If they were mated, then Chase could protect her from her grandfather. He wasn’t afraid to stand up to the dragon elder. He’d already proved that.
And if they were already mated, there would be nothing the elders could do about it anyway. Once a couple slept together three times, they were bonded for life. The magical bond was unbreakable. In fact, if one of them died, the other would too.
The thought was tempting.
Very tempting.
And not just because of the goddess’s challenge.
Chapter 5
Chase drove back to the station on autopilot. He should have been considering the dozen tasks he’d left undone when he’d left the station that morning. Or maybe he should have been wondering how his father would react if he told him he’d brought two dragon shifters back to the station.
But no matter how hard he tried to concentrate on either of those concerns, both of them were overshadowed by the fact that he was blindingly aware of Wayrian’s body squeezed next to his. Her leg was pressed up against his, and her warmth spread through him, creating a heat in his body that he couldn’t ignore. It tempted him, urged him to reach over and pull her closer.
What on earth was going on?
He’d never felt like this about someone he hadn’t even kissed before, and the intensity scared him a little.
He didn’t even know this woman, yet, she was consuming his thoughts.
Maybe it was just because she was another dragon. Dragons in general had certainly been consuming his thoughts lately, and pushing out everything else.
A feeling of guilt swirled in his stomach. He hadn’t been keeping up his end of the stick at the station lately. He’d been having far too much fun hanging out with Lisa and the dragons.
It wasn’t like he was completely slacking off though. He never left the farm without making sure his morning chores were done.
But that didn’t stop his father from complaining. And he hadn’t even been able to explain to his father why he had been absent so much. He suspected that if he told him about the dragons, his father would look at him as though he had heatstroke.
He couldn’t blame him. If anyone had told Chase that dragons existed, that they’d been sleeping quietly in the Australian outback all this time, he would have quietly asked them if they were okay.
He wouldn’t have believed it himself if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.
They were majestic, awe inspiring creatures, and every day he felt the pull to see more of them.
He’d even agreed to wake one of their princesses.
He felt his face heat, as he did every time he thought of that agreement. He wasn’t sure what had come over him. What boldness had made him raise his hand when Taurian was asking for volunteers?
He might have to explain to his father about the dragons now, since he was bringing two home to the station, but he certainly wasn’t ever going to explain that one to him. He would never understand.
It did relieve him of some of his concerns about how he was feeling about Wayrian though. The same lure and mystique he felt about the princess could easily be attributed to her. Of course he was excited about the thought of being near her. She was a gorgeous, sexy dragon.
And unlike the princess, she was right here.
He banished that thought from his mind as they approached the station gates. He braced himself for the rough patch as they drove over the cattle grid, the car vibrating strongly for a few moments.
In the seat beside him, Wayrian gave a gasp, and reached for the nearest thing to steady herself.
Which happened to be his knee.
She gave it a firm squeeze, as though she were holding on for dear life. “What was that?”
The vibration was over almost as soon as it started.
Chase let himself enjoy the feeling of her hand on his knee for a few moments. If it weren’t for her grandfather, he might have put an arm around her shoulders in the excuse of comforting her. Since they weren’t alone, he limited himself to explaining. “That’s the cattle grid. It stops the cattle from escaping.”
Wayrian released his knee to twist around in her seat, and Chase felt a little sad at that. From where they were, it was almost impossible to see, so Wayrian quickly turned back to him. “How does that stop cows?” she asked. “Do they not like the vibration?”
The absurdity of her question was so blatant, that for a moment, Chase thought she was teasing him. But a quick glance at her face showed that she was completely serious.
Her grandfather looked similarly clueless.
“There’s a pit, about a metre deep,” he explained. “It’s covered with a metal grid that lets the car drive over it, but is too small for the cows to balance on. They don’t risk walking over it.”
“Oh,” Wayrian said.
She looked like she might say more, but a firm glance from her grandfather and she subsided into her seat, quiet.
Chase had to bite his lip to stop himself saying something. It wasn’t his place to intervene, especially since he barely knew her. Yet.
But it was hard.
He hated the way the old dragon treated his granddaughter, it set his blood boiling.
“Is this your father’s cattle station then?” the old man asked. He looked around, and Chase swore he could see his nose turned up. He might have been insulted, except he’d seen where the dragons called home before Taurian returned.
Instead, he had to take a slow breath to stop himself laughing before he answered, “Yes.”
Some of the kids he’d gone to school with in Mungaloo had thought it was cool that he lived on a cattle station. Some of the girls had called him cowboy, and lov
ed his ‘cowboy hat’.
Chase hadn’t had the heart to tell them that cowboys were an American thing, and that the correct term was ‘stockman’. It didn’t quite have the same romantic ring. And that was what they’d been looking for. They wanted the fantasy, not the truth.
None of them understood the reality of living on a cattle station. There was nothing romantic about it. It was sheer hard work.
Not that he minded that.
He’d come up with some improvements to make the most tedious manual jobs a little easier. Of course, he’d be able to fix a lot more if his father wasn’t so stubborn.
Speaking of his father.
Chase’s heart rate sped up as he saw his dad’s bike pulling out of the trees that bordered the creek bed a few hundred metres away.
He’d been hoping to get Wayrian and her grandfather back to his house and settled without his father even realising they were here. Not that his dad could complain, it was Chase’s house, not his, that had been the agreement when Chase had decided to stay and help his dad on the station. So that wasn’t an issue. The truth was, Chase really didn’t want to face the inevitable barrage of questions his father would throw at him.
He really didn’t want to try to make him believe that dragons actually existed.
But for the life of him, he couldn’t think up any other way to explain Wayrian and her grandfather’s presence.
“Sorry about this,” he said, glancing sideways at both of them. “Looks like we won’t be avoiding my dad after all.”
Wayrian’s face paled.
Chase felt bad. She’d agreed to come because he’d said they wouldn’t even see his dad. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but before he could get the words out, her grandfather interrupted.
“What do you plan to tell him?” he asked sharply.
Chase raised an eyebrow. “The truth? Unless you have a better plan?”
“I don’t think you should do that. Too many humans know about the dragons’ existence already. The more who know, the more risk we have of incidents like today.”
The old man’s implication was clear. He blamed humans for the reporter’s appearance. And he could well be right. What he was ignoring was that if it weren’t for the humans, no one would have even been trying to wake Prince Verrian.
He took a deep breath. Snapping at the dragon elder would achieve nothing. “What do you suggest I tell him then? Because he’s going to want to know who you are and what you’re doing here.”
“How would I know? That’s for you to figure out.”
Chase gave a laugh. Right. Of course it was. “Look. This is my dad, okay? Not some random stranger. I can’t just make something up. I can’t think of any possible explanation for me to bring two strangers back to the station. Not any he’s going to believe.”
That was a joke. Like he was going to believe the truth. “Not that he’s going to believe this story either.”
“I can convince him.” The tone of the old dragon’s voice was rather ominous, sending a chill down Chase’s spine. Somehow, that didn’t sound pleasant.
“How about I try first?” Chase suggested.
The old dragon inclined his head slightly.
Chase guessed that signified agreement. He would have liked to push him for a more definite confirmation, but his dad’s bike was pulling up alongside the ute, and he was already staring in curiously. If Chase didn’t open the window, the grilling would be even worse than he was already imagining.
He took a deep breath, and lowered the window. “Hi, Dad,” he said, forcing his voice to be cheerful and light.
His dad skipped the chitchat. He didn’t like visitors, and he definitely didn’t like pleasantries. “Who’s this?” he demanded, his face twisted in a scowl. “We have a fence down in the top paddock, you don’t have time for fooling around.”
Chase bit back a sigh. Great. This would have been bad enough if his dad was in a cheerful mood. When he was worried about a fence…
One thing he knew, this conversation wouldn’t be helped by having it through the car window. He pulled on the handbrake and stopped the engine.
His dad moved back just enough for him to open the door, but his scowl didn’t change.
Chase could feel Wayrian and her grandfather’s eyes on his back. He was tempted to move a little bit away from the ute, so that he could have this conversation in private, just in case his father was a little too embarrassing in his disbelief.
Then again, maybe he would need the dragons’ help convincing him, even if he was a little concerned about what that convincing might entail.
His father glanced back at Wayrian, then at Chase, a suddenly knowing smile on his face. His voice was slightly lower when he said, “So is this the girl who’s been dragging you away from your chores then?”
Yesterday, Chase might have laughed at that guess, but today, the fact that he’d been thinking about Wayrian far too much on the drive out here, meant it made him uncomfortable. His face heated and he couldn’t help a glance back at the two dragons in the ute. Had they heard his father’s question?
Wayrian’s blush and her grandfather’s scowl confirmed that his father’s voice hadn’t been anywhere near low enough.
He hadn’t been prepared for that one, even though he should have been. It wasn’t surprising he’d jumped to that conclusion about Wayrian’s presence. His dad had already asked him last week if his absences were due to a woman. He had neither confirmed nor denied it, so it wasn’t surprising that Wayrian’s presence had fuelled his father’s imagination.
Except for one thing. “If that was the case, do you think I’d be bringing her grandfather to visit you too?”
His dad shrugged uncomfortably. “How am I supposed to know how you kids do it these days? Maybe it’s some meet the family kind of thing.”
Chase shook his head. “No,” he said flatly. “This isn’t anything like that. Although Wayrian and her grandfather are the cause of my absences, just not for the reason you think.”
His father raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
Chase took a deep breath. His father was more responsive than he’d expected, after his opening. Now if only he’d be open to Chase’s explanation. “They’re dragons,” he explained. He could see his father’s expression changing from open to disbelief, so he talked quickly, as though that would help him get the explanation out before his father outright laughed.
“Their clan was being attacked by a rival clan, and a reporter showed up, so we all had to run before she got any pictures.”
His father stared at him, then bent a little to stare at Wayrian and her grandfather, then looked back to Chase. He looked… worried?
“You’re not doing drugs, are you?” he asked seriously. “Because if you are, there’s a place in town where you can go to get cleaned up.”
Chase sighed. “I’m not doing drugs, Dad.” Admittedly, he didn’t blame his dad. He’d kind of thought the same thing when Lisa first told him. He hadn’t truly believed it until he’d seen a dragon with his own eyes.
Something they couldn’t do right now. No without knowing how far away that reporter was. It would be just his luck that she’d show up out of nowhere if either of the dragons transformed.
“It’s the truth,” Chase said quietly. He told the whole story, from the day Lisa had rung him up with her crazy tales of a dragon battle, to the interrupted battle this morning, leaving out only him volunteering to wake a princess and the strange attraction he was feeling towards Wayrian.
His father’s expression didn’t change throughout his entire story. Chase’s voice finally petered out under his disbelieving gaze. He was out of ideas.
Wayrian’s grandfather stepped out of the car and walked around to his father.
Chase held his breath, but all the old dragon did was hold out his hand. “My name is Ostrian,” he said, almost politely. “My granddaughter, Wayrian and I, would appreciate your hospitality until it is safe for us to return to our lair.
”
Chase’s dad didn’t take the offered hand. Instead, he turned to Chase and asked, “Is this guy for real?”
“He is,” Chase confirmed.
He held his breath, hoping his dad would just believe him. Because he could see the dangerous look in the old dragon’s eyes, even if his dad didn’t recognise it.
Unfortunately, his dad’s expression was still sceptical when they turned back to the old dragon. “Excuse me if I’m not quite ready to believe that there are dragons hiding in the Australian outback. I’ve lived here for sixty years, you know. If there were dragons, I’d know about it. Everyone would.”
“Dragons are very good at hiding,” the old dragon said. As Chase watched, his eyes changed from their very human appearance. The pupils narrowed into slits, and the human blue colour deepened, until Chase was almost sure he could see waves in it.
His dad took a step back. “What the…?”
“See, I told…” Chase started to say.
But Ostrian didn’t leave it there. Of course not.
The hand he held out grew scales and the fingernails extended into claws.
Chase’s dad’s eyes widened further than Chase thought possible. This time, he didn’t say anything.
What could one say to that?
The silence stretched on for several moments, until Chase couldn’t stand it any longer. “That’s enough,” he said to Wayrian’s grandfather.
It occurred to him, as he said it, that he didn’t even know the old dragon. Not personally. He was aware though, that Taurian had had a couple of issues with him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t cause any problems.
“Of course,” Ostrian said immediately. His hand and eyes became human again, and he even took a step back and inclined his head politely.
His actions calmed Chase a little.
Not so his father. “What the bloody hell?” He turned to Chase, and opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Then shook his head in disbelief.
Chase couldn’t help grinning. “Yeah, that’s about how I felt the first time I saw them,” he said. Then he grew more serious. “I’m sorry to spring this on you without warning, Dad, but we didn’t have anywhere else to go. Is it okay if Wayrian and her grandfather stay here until things are sorted out and they can return home?”