Snuggling into his side, she sighed, hesitating for a moment. “Dragons are on the verge of extinction. We’ve been hunted by other shifters for as long as anyone can remember. We’re nearly indestructible in our animal forms, and something about us draws some shifters. Who can say why. Bragging rights, maybe. Being able to say they killed an almost un-killable dragon. Fear of an apex predator that’s so powerful. Whatever the reason, they almost succeeded in wiping us out.”
She paused, and Alex felt his eyebrows twitching in a frown. What she was saying felt familiar to him, like it was a story he knew but had forgotten. He rubbed his hand on her arm, urging her to continue, putting it from his mind for now.
“All of that is compounded by the fact that female dragons are even rarer among my kind. And the only way the species is continued is with another female dragon. Male dragons can only sire dragon offspring with another dragon. If they mate with another shifter species, the baby will always be the other shifter’s animal. Even with a female dragon, it might not happen. For whatever reason, it’s hard for us to get pregnant. Not impossible, but it doesn’t happen as easily or as often as other shifters, or humans.
“You also have to understand that male dragons feel entitled, and superior to everyone else. They take what they want. And what they want are offspring, and the females who can produce them. So when they find a female, they don’t hesitate or ask questions. They’re brutal, and will use whatever means necessary to get what they want.”
“And that’s what you’re hiding from. You don’t want a male to find you,” he said slowly.
“Yes. I don’t want a forced mating.”
“A mating?” he asked, the word sparking something vicious inside him.
“A mating is kind of like what a marriage is to a human.”
Something in him sensed there was more to the story than that, but he let it slide as he thought about everything else she told him.
“What about females who are already mated? Do they just steal them away?”
She shook her head. “Not generally, no. There are laws we follow, including starting shifter wars, and stealing another shifter’s mate would do just that between the two species. Even dragons aren’t foolish enough to break that rule and start one. But if the mate was a human… that wouldn’t stop a dragon.”
Ahhh, he got it now. This is why she said it was so dangerous for him to be with her. The prick males would probably eat him in a heartbeat to get to her, if they found them. He hadn’t been sure of the details, but he’d suspected she was running from her kind, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her from them if that were the case. But having it confirmed changed nothing, even if it did mean he was in danger. He knew he wouldn’t be able to turn away from her, even if there was a dickweed dragon standing right in front of them.
“Alex?” she said softly, her tone tinged faintly in worry she was trying to hide. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Maybe I should have, before we ever slept together. I just—”
Shaking his head, he placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Hush. It doesn’t matter when you told me. It would have changed nothing for me.”
“Maybe it should, though. I’m not sure you understand just what you’re getting yourself into by being with me.”
“It’s not hard to imagine. Shifters are a lot stronger than humans, and I’m sure only another dragon could go up against one with ease. It still changes nothing.”
“You generally strike me as a very smart man, Alex, but that statement is making me doubt your intelligence.”
“Or maybe it should make me appear even smarter. I was smart enough to recognize what an amazing woman you are, wasn’t I?”
Huffing a laugh, she buried her face in his neck. “Sweet talker. How were you even still single?” She paused, her body tensing. “I forgot about that in the midst of worrying about dragons, but Alex… what if you aren’t?”
“Single? I am. Or rather, I was. I like to think I’m not any longer.”
“But how can you know for sure? You don’t remember hardly anything from your past.”
Frowning, he tried to figure out how to explain the certainty he felt about being free to be with her. “I’m not sure I can explain it. I just know, down to my bones, that I was. It feels like there hasn’t been anyone for me for a long time, and never anyone like you.”
Slowly relaxing into his side, Cammie blew out a breath. “I believe you. Still, it’ll be nice when you finally regain your memories and we know for sure. So you knew about shifters this whole time. I can’t believe you never said anything, even when we asked you if you remembered anything.”
“That’s not something I remembered, though. It’s just something I knew instinctively, somehow.”
“You’re splitting hairs with that. And you still didn’t say a word.”
“I had no way of explaining how I knew. You never would have believed me if I said I just somehow did.”
She glanced up at him, eyes dancing. “We can hear lies, remember? We would have believed you.” Glancing down, she rubbed her hand on his thigh. “About the dragons… I need you to not try to protect me from them. I know that probably doesn’t sit well with you, but you can’t go up against one of them and win. It’ll only get you killed.”
Reaching down, he grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers, stopping her distracting movements. “I don’t think I could stand by if someone was trying to hurt you, Cammie.”
“This isn’t negotiable. I can’t have you killed because of me.”
He searched her eyes for a moment, finally nodding and leaning down to kiss her. Praying the stall tactic worked, he deepened the kiss, angling her head so he could push his tongue into her mouth. Desire instantly heated his blood, and what started as a way to distract her quickly turned real.
When he finally pulled away, their chests were heaving for air, and Cammie’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes dazed and flickering with her dragon. Satisfaction welled up inside him at the sight, and he dropped one more quick kiss on her swollen lips.
“Let’s eat, shall we?” he asked, grabbing the basket and beginning to unpack it.
Hungry as he was, that wasn’t why he wanted to occupy them with something else. He didn’t want her circling back around, and asking him to promise not to get between her and one of her people. He couldn’t give her that promise. He would always do whatever he could to protect her, even if meant getting seriously injured, or worse. He would just hope it never came to that.
He watched her as they ate, and he wondered what it was like for her. Growing up as a shifter with a hunted animal, in a culture where males took what they wanted without hesitation or permission.
“Did you join Ian’s crew when you were of age to have more protection?”
Freezing for a moment, she swallowed her bite of roast beef sandwich before answering. “Depends on what you mean by of age. I was sixteen when I met Ian and he took me under his wing. And there wasn’t really a crew then. Before me, it was just Ian and Jax. They’re both from Eagle Creek and were underground fighting in Savannah at the time. They moved a lot back then, and when they left a week later, I went with them. Seth joined us about a year later.”
“Sixteen?” he asked, eyebrows high. “And your parents let you leave with total strangers, just like that?”
“My parents passed away a few months before that,” she replied softly, eyes downcast.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Cammie.”
“It was a long time ago. I still miss them every day, that will never change, but the sting has faded a bit since then.”
“And you weren’t with family?”
“We didn’t have any. My parents were only children of dragons, and both sets of my grandparents had been taken out by hunters. It was only us three.”
“Are hunters how your parents died?”
Sighing, she pushed aside her mostly eaten dinner and stretched her legs out. “No. We hid well, out on fifty acres of land
in Georgia. We were careful, only shifting a few times a year, wearing sunglasses when we were in town just in case our dragons showed in our eyes. Dragons don’t have tells, no scents like fur, to give us away, so eyes were all we needed to take precautions with. They bought the land through someone else, so their names couldn’t be traced, and I was homeschooled. Every precaution was taken.” She peeked up at him through long lashes. “It wasn’t hunters who found us. It was another dragon.
“I told you how rare female dragons are, but I didn’t tell you how rare I am. I’m a full-blooded dragon. Most dragons have mixed blood, so I’m basically a unicorn to my people. And before you ask, no, there are no unicorn shifters. That we know of anyway.” Her mouth curled in a quick smirk and then fell. “The man whose name my parents bought the land in… he knew. I’m not sure how. I know my parents were friends with him, but I feel sure they wouldn’t have told him. Regardless of how he knew, when he felt like I was old enough to be taken away, he sold our info to another dragon he knew, and the dragon came for me.”
Heart clenching, Alex hastened to interrupt, but she held a hand up, shaking her head.
“Let me finish this. I’ve never told the whole story before. Ian doesn’t even know. But I want to tell you, if you want to hear it all.”
“Of course,” he said softly. “I want to know everything about you, but I don’t want you to delve into something that’s going to bring the hurt of that day back.”
“My parents would have loved you,” she said, a wistful smile dancing briefly over her lips before she took a deep breath. “I was inside, working on schoolwork, when I heard my dad scream. There’s no other word for it. It was this inhuman sound, full of heartbreak and anguish. I ran to the door and he was staring at my mom. She was lying on the ground, and even from where I was, I could see the blood underneath her. There was a man standing over her, and he told my dad if he didn’t give me to him, that would be his fate, too.
“My dad glanced at me then. It was fast, more like a flicker, but I knew he was telling me to run. I was frozen, though. He didn’t stop to make sure I did, immediately turning into his dragon. The other man did too, and they started fighting. My dad… he was many things, but he wasn’t a fighter. The fight didn’t last long at all, but even when it was over, and my dad was dead, I couldn’t make myself move,” she said, swallowing hard. “I was in shock. Just minutes before I’d been happy. We had a good life. I was a little lonely, but my parents loved me, and every day was full of laughter and happiness. And in the blink of an eye, all that was gone.
“The man changed back and caught sight of me. It was the cold, remorseless smile he gave me that finally got me moving, and I took off. I’m not sure if you remember this, or sensed it somehow, but all shifters have a special gift, something they’re good at. Mine is speed. I’m faster than anyone I’ve ever come across, human or shifter. Once I could move, I ran through the house and out the back door. He was never able to catch up.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly, struggling to control his emotions as his heart bled for her. “Oh, sweetheart. God, I’m so sorry. Tell me you found Ian right after that.”
Laying her head on his shoulder, she shrugged. “About two months later. I’d done okay for myself up until then, but it had been a couple days since I’d eaten, and I got desperate. I was passing by some people eating outside, and not knowing Ian was a shifter, I snagged his lunch.” She laughed in remembrance. “I was so surprised when he caught up to me. I didn’t use my gift while I was in the city, and I was a little cocky as I darted away, using just a touch of shifter speed. He snagged me pretty quickly.”
“I’m glad he caught you,” he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
“I wasn’t. Not at first, anyway. I still don’t know what made him pause. I was dirty, smelly, and wearing nothing but rags. He was pissed when he first stopped me, but something made him hesitate for a moment, and then he snatched my sunglasses off my face. My dragon eyes were showing at that point. He was surprised, because despite how often we’re successfully hunted, a lot of shifters don’t know we exist anymore. Most think we’re extinct. He took me in and was kind to me. Despite only being a couple years older than me, he reminded me of my dad, and I was comfortable with him right from the start.”
“You said male dragons are assholes, but your dad sounds like he was a good man.”
“He absolutely was. He was the best. Male dragons are mostly entitled douchebags. They think they’re superior, and everyone around them is put on Earth to serve them. But my dad wasn’t like that. He was loving, kind, and gentle. He had a big heart. He insisted on helping others out, not wanting anyone to wait on him, like other dragons. He was an amazing man.”
A boom of thunder interrupted the conversation, and they both looked up. “Looks like we’re gonna get rained on. Let’s try to get back before it does. I don’t want you to get sick,” he said, getting up and holding a hand to her so he could pull her up. Unable to resist reeling her in for a kiss after she was standing, he turned to put stuff in the basket. She helped him, her lips quirking up as she shot him a glance.
“We don’t, you know. Get sick, I mean.”
His eyebrows rose. “I didn’t know that. You guys have a lot of advantages over us mere humans.”
Sobering, she helped him fold the blanket. “In some ways. But in others, being a more uncomplicated human sounds a thousand times better.”
Lifting the basket, Alex grabbed Cammie’s hand and held it tightly as they began walking back to the house. Remembering what she told him today, he knew she wasn’t wrong. It was no wonder she was so tough, so strong. She had to be to overcome a past like hers.
Chapter Nine
Cammie held herself perfectly still as she peeked over the edge of the hayloft, watching Alex and Seth spar. She was determined to not make a peep or any movement that gave her away this time. She didn’t want to do anything that might distract Alex while he was training, and she wanted to see for herself how he was progressing.
She couldn’t help being pleasantly surprised. It had only been a week since he started seriously training, and the change in him was remarkable. He was a fast learner. No longer awkward, he dodged and spun with effortless grace, moving more like a shifter than a human now. Maybe it came from training with one of her kind, but whatever the reason, he was poetry in motion.
Of course, he couldn’t catch up with Seth enough to hit him, but Seth wasn’t making it easy for him either. When Alex did manage to land a hit, Seth was already mostly gone, and the partial blows tended to throw Alex off balance, making it easier for Seth to land his own, rather than slow him down any.
She still couldn’t believe Alex knew they were shifters from the beginning. In a way, she was glad her first thought of him being able to handle her shifter status was right, but there was something about him hiding his knowledge so easily that bothered her. She knew everything he told her about himself in the past was true, because she would have heard the lie in his voice if it wasn’t. But there was something about how he managed it without any of them picking up on it that made her uneasy. She just couldn’t figure out what it was.
Talking about her parents felt good, too. Although Ian knew the basics of what happened, she never told anyone anything else about it. She rarely even thought about it, or her parents in general, if she could help it. It made her too sad in the early days, and she decided she needed to focus on the present to avoid being captured. So she spent the last seven years avoiding any mention of them, but now she thought she did herself a disservice. She’d definitely done her parents a disservice. They deserved to be remembered.
Coming back to the moment when she heard Seth tell Alex they were done for the day, she waited until Seth was out of the barn before speaking.
“You’re doing amazingly well,” she called down.
Choking a little on the water he was drinking, Alex’s eyes shot to the loft where she was sitting up. “
I had no clue you were there this time,” he said with a laugh.
“I held myself frozen the whole time to make sure you didn’t,” she replied while she made her way down from the loft.
Meeting her at the bottom of the ladder in the hay, he murmured, “What happened to thinking I was exceptionally unobservant?”
Not giving her a chance to reply, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. She moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, uncaring of the sheen of sweat on his body. She pushed herself closer as she parted her lips for his kiss. Lightning was zinging up and down her spine when she pulled herself away, lips lingering against his for a few moments.
“You are unobservant. For example, you didn’t even see me getting ready to do this,” she said breathlessly.
A frown was just beginning to form on his handsome face when she hooked an ankle around his and tugged forward. He lost his balance, falling back into the hay, and Cammie giggled as she followed him down, straddling him. He struggled for a moment, but Cammie knew what she was doing, and even though he was much bigger than she was, she had him pinned thoroughly.
“That was playing dirty,” he said with a laugh.
She leaned in to nip his bottom lip. “No, this is playing dirty,” she replied with a leisurely roll of her hips against his pelvis.
Breath catching, he fused his mouth to hers, returning her hip roll with one of his own. He was already hardening beneath her, and she moaned at the feel of him. Returning his increasingly aggressive kiss with passion, she continued the slow grind of her hips against his. Pulling away from the kiss, she planted her hands on his chest for traction, applying more pressure.
Heart of a Fighter: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Rocky River Fighters Book 1) Page 8