“Did you look at the journals?” Drake asked.
Kaiya nodded. “Only for a few minutes, because I wanted to get home and get ready for dinner. But I did look at them long enough to realize that they were written in a strange language I had never seen before. I guess that’s what’s bothering me. I’ve been interested in language for a long time. I would at least recognize most modern languages. But these words were completely nonsensical to me. Almost like someone had made up their own code or something.”
When Kaiya said the word “code,” Drake suddenly had a flashback to a moment when he was a young boy. He and his brothers had snuck into their parents closets, as young children were wont to do. Zane had come across a box of leather journals, all written in some strange language. The boys had pored over the journals, pretending it was some sort of secret code to a buried treasure. They had already been forming an alliance for their little pretend game when their dad, who was still alive at the time, had walked in on them.
It was the only memory Drake had of his father ever showing anger. His father had yelled at them that the journals weren’t playthings, and that they were never to mention them to anyone. Drake could still remember the way his father’s eyes had burned red and green with rage. And, he realized now as an adult, with fear. Whatever had been in those journals was something serious, and something important. It hadn’t been something meant for young boys to see. After his father died, his mother had gotten rid of several of his father’s things. The box of journals must have been one of the items that disappeared, because Drake never saw them again. He’d spent a lot of time sneaking around the house in his teen years, searching desperately for some memento of the father he barely remembered. But there hadn’t been much left of his dad. His mom had been scared to keep anything that might indicate to anyone that her dragon shifter husband had once lived there. Somehow, Drake had a strange feeling right now that the journals Kaiya was talking about were the same journals he had seen in his father’s closet decades ago.
“What did the man look like?” Drake asked, doing his best to keep his breathing calm and even.
“Well, that was another weird thing,” Kaiya said. “You’re probably going to think I’m crazy…”
Kaiya trailed off, as though too embarrassed to continue talking.
“Just tell, me, Kaiya,” Drake said, trying to sound as encouraging as he could. “I promise I won’t think you’re crazy.”
She looked at him uncertainly, and, for a moment, he was worried that she was going to refuse to say anything else. But then, finally, she continued.
“I don’t really know any other way to explain it except to say that he didn’t look fully human. I mean, he was human. He was a tall, beefy guy with dark brown hair and tanned skin. But his eyes were this strange black color, and they glittered. I know that sounds weird but I swear to god they glittered, almost like someone had sprinkled pieces of a diamond in them. And his skin…it was weird, too. When the sunlight hit his arms, they almost looked iridescent.”
Kaiya looked up at Drake and winced, probably expecting him to tell her he was crazy. But he didn’t think she was crazy. Far from it. Rather, he was staring at her in awe.
“Oh my god,” he whispered, his voice barely audible, even to himself. “So it’s true. They really do still exist.”
Kaiya frowned at him. “Who still exists?” she asked.
Drake didn’t answer her, though. He just set down his mug on the counter and rubbed his forehead, trying to determine whether he was having a dream or whether this was really happening. When he looked up again, though, Kaiya was still sitting there, looking at him as though she was beginning to think he was the crazy one. It couldn’t be helped. She was probably going to think he was a whole lot crazier before this night was over.
“Who still exists?” Kaiya asked again, her voice a bit more demanding this time.
Drake took a deep breath, prayed that he could somehow convince her that he was telling the truth, and then answered her.
“The unicorns,” he said.
Chapter Six
The only sound in Drake’s kitchen was the insistent ticking of the clock on the wall. Kaiya was staring at him, her face frozen in a look of incredulity.
“The unicorns?” she finally repeated.
Drake realized that this was probably too intense of a conversation to be having at midnight after several glasses of wine. But he’d gone too far to backpedal much now. He took another deep breath and looked at Kaiya with what he hoped was a serious face.
“Kaiya, listen. I know this is going to sound insane, but please just hear me out. My dad was involved in some strange things. Not bad things. Just…different. He had some journals that were pretty much exactly like the ones you described to me, but my mom got rid of them after he died. There’s this group known as, uh, the unicorns. I wasn’t sure there were any of them left, because no one has seen them for at least a decade. But they’re famous for safekeeping important documents. For some reason, one of them brought the journals back. They want me to have them, although I’m not sure why. There must be some information in them that I need.”
Kaiya was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “You realize that you sound crazy right now, right?” she asked.
Drake sighed and nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could explain better, but…it’s complicated.”
Kaiya frowned. “So it’s like some sort of private security team? The unicorns?”
“Um, sort of like that, yeah,” Drake said.
“Well, they get really into their mascot, then. I guess they use shimmering powder on their arms or something? I don’t know how they make their eyes sparkle, though,” Kaiya said, shaking her head in wonder. “People do some weird shit these days.”
Drake felt his heart sinking. Kaiya was misunderstanding him. She thought he meant that the unicorns were humans who just called themselves “Unicorns” like a football team would call themselves the “Tigers” or “Lions” or whatever their mascot happened to be. Kaiya didn’t realize that Drake was trying to tell her that there were actual unicorns out there.
He felt a tightening in his chest. He had to do a better job of explaining this to her. He’d hoped to find a nice, gentle way to break the news to her that he was a dragon shifter. He’d never envisioned spending the night of their first date telling her that he was a dragon and that he believed in unicorns. He had to get control of this situation, and fast.
“Kaiya, I know it’s late, but do you think it would be possible to go look at the journals right now?”
Kaiya raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re serious about this?” she said. “You really think that these journals were your dad’s, and that some unicorn patrol delivered them?”
Drake nodded slowly.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Kaiya said. “Why wouldn’t they just give you the journals? Why show up at my shop and drop them off in such a cryptic way?”
“Let’s go see the journals,” Drake said, a hint of pleading in his voice. “If they are what I think they are, I’ll try to explain once we get there.”
Kaiya looked like she was caught somewhere between annoyance and intrigue. The intrigue must have won out, though, because at last she sighed and nodded.
“Fine. We can go see them. We’ll have to stop by my house first to get my shop keys, though.”
“No problem,” Drake said as a mixture of relief and nervousness washed over him. By the end of the night, Kaiya was either going to be more in love with him than ever, or be ready to take him to see a psychiatrist. He was hoping for the former.
* * *
The sound of the key turning in the lock sounded unnaturally loud in the middle of the dark Texas night. Kaiya felt a little bit like she was breaking in to the store, which was ridiculous since she owned the place. She pushed the door open and stepped aside so Drake could follow her into the back entrance. Only after the door was closed behind them did Kaiya turn on the ligh
ts. She blinked a few times against the sudden brightness, and then gestured toward her office.
“Come on,” she said. “They’re in here.”
Drake followed her wordlessly into the office. She flipped on the lights in there as well, and then pointed to the box under her desk.
“Everything that guy left me is in the box down there.”
Kaiya sat down on one of the small chairs opposite her desk, and waited while Drake bent down to inspect the box. She wasn’t quite sure how she should be reacting right now. Part of her wanted to be angry. There were obviously some things that Drake wasn’t telling her. But maybe those things were none of her business, anyway. These journals, if they had belonged to Drake’s father, were some sort of weird family issue. Maybe it was better if Kaiya stayed out of the whole situation for now.
Still, it was impossible not to be at least a little bit curious. Why had the weird unicorn man brought these journals to her instead of to Drake? And why was Drake acting so tense? Kaiya felt a tightening in her chest. Was he in some kind of trouble? As annoyed as she was with him right now, she certainly didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. He had completely captured her heart tonight. She just hoped that whatever these weird shenanigans were that he was involved in weren’t something dangerous or illegal.
“Goddammit,” she whispered under her breath. She’d thought she’d found such a nice, normal guy. Was it possible she was about to have her heart broken again?
Kaiya turned her attention back to Drake. She was startled to see him sitting in her office chair, holding one of the journals reverently and trying to blink back tears.
“I take it they were your dad’s, after all?” she said softly.
He nodded. It took him nearly a full minute to regain his composure.
“I have a lot to explain to you Kaiya. This isn’t going to be easy, and I was hoping to tell you these things under less emotional circumstances. But the fact that these journals are back, and that they brought them to you, means that things might be getting serious. You need to know what you’re getting into if you keep dating me.”
Kaiya didn’t say anything, but she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t keep a twinge of anger from rising up within her. If whatever he was about to tell her was such a potential deal breaker, then he should have told her before they slept together tonight. But it was too late to take that back now, and she was dying of curiosity by this point. So she just nodded and waited for him to continue.
“I know that, since you’re such an avid reader of all genres, you’re familiar with the concept of shapeshifters,” Drake said slowly, watching Kaiya’s reaction carefully.
Kaiya merely nodded.
“Well, this will probably come as a bit of a shock to you, but shapeshifters are more than just fantasy stories,” Drake said. “They actually exist in many different animal forms.”
Kaiya raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be serious,” she finally managed to say.
But Drake was serious. He nodded, looking somewhat sad and defeated. “I am serious,” he said. “In fact, in Persimmon Springs alone, there are numerous shapeshifters. We have tigers, panthers, wolves, and other big cats among our numbers, to name just a few. We also have dragons.”
He paused again and took a deep breath. Kaiya got the feeling that whatever he was about to say was going to be extremely difficult for him to get out. And yet, he didn’t flinch or look down as he spoke. Instead, he met her eyes and held his chin high.
“I’m one of the dragons, Kaiya,” he said. “My father was a dragon shifter, and my brothers and I are all dragon shifters as well.”
Kaiya’s jaw dropped. She stared at him, unable to speak for several long moments. She wanted to cry. She had been so excited to get to know Drake better. She had been looking forward to finally dating a guy who could have a serious, intellectual conversation with her. But now, it looked like he was actually crazy. And apparently he had some batshit crazy acquaintances, too. Kaiya had known in her gut that there was something off about that unicorn guy.
“Kaiya, please,” Drake said. “I can tell by the expression on your face that you don’t believe me. But I swear it’s true. Shifters exist, and I’m one of them.”
“You can’t be serious,” Kaiya said. The anger was starting to really take over now. “If you want to believe crazy ass shit like that, then go for it. But you should have warned me you were crazy before sleeping with me. I was falling for you, Drake. I even thought I might love you. But now I’m realizing what a fool I was. This is why people with brains don’t sleep with someone on a first date. I should have known better!”
As angry as she was, the hurt expression that crossed over Drake’s face still made Kaiya feel badly. But she didn’t apologize for her words. Instead she crossed her arms and frowned at him. He’s the one who should feel sorry, for failing to mention the tiny little detail that he freaking believed shapeshifters actually existed—and that he was one of them no less!
“Kaiya,” he tried again. But she shook her head angrily.
“Get out,” she said. “If you want those stupid journals, feel free to take them. I don’t want them in my store anymore, anyway. Just leave, please. I feel like enough of a fool already without you standing here trying to convince me to believe in dragons.”
Kaiya turned to storm out of her office. She didn’t want to even look at Drake anymore. How could she have been such a fool? She felt tears stinging at her eyelids as she fumbled with the handle on her office door.
The next thing she knew, a huge rush of power had knocked her to the ground. The room had filled with smoke, and a sulfur smell burned at Kaiya’s nostrils. Dazed and disoriented, she couldn’t seem to find her feet in the sudden chaos. She had no idea what had just happened, but she began to panic as she struggled to see anything through the thick smoke in her office.
Maybe the box of journals had contained a bomb! She hadn’t bothered to check all the way to the bottom. And Drake had been sitting right by the box when it went off! She began to panic even more. Although she was angry at him right now, she certainly didn’t want him to be hurt—or worse—by some sort of explosive device.
“Drake!” she screamed, trying to make her way toward where her desk stood. That’s when she saw him.
The smoke in the office had begun to clear, revealing the most magnificent creature Kaiya had ever seen. Filling the small office completely was a large dragon with shimmering scales. His dragon hide was iridescent in the same way that Pierce’s skin had been when he dropped off the box of journals. Even in the smoky air, Kaiya could see shades of purple, green and blue reflecting across the dragon’s entire body. His head was gigantic, and looked like it was about the same size as Kaiya’s desk. Smoke poured from his nostrils, and when he opened his mouth Kaiya gasped at the razor sharp teeth of shimmering white. Giant wings were folded against the dragon’s back, and his long tail curled neatly around his body. Most impressive, though, were the dragon claws. At the end of each of the dragon’s four feet were razor sharp claws that sparkled with a magical shimmer.
Kaiya was in awe. She looked around for Drake, but she already knew she would not find him in the room. Not in human form, anyway. He had morphed into a dragon to prove to her that he wasn’t crazy. He hadn’t been making things up, or losing his mind. He really was a dragon shifter, capable of transforming himself into a fearsome beast at a moment’s notice. Even in dragon form, his eyes were unmistakable. They were the same soulful green eyes that she’d been staring at all night long.
“Drake,” she whispered. The dragon swung his head to look at her for a moment, and then, in another rush of power and smoke, Kaiya was knocked backward once again. When she recovered and stood to her feet, Drake was standing before her in human form once again. He was completely naked, and his clothes were lying around the room in tatters.
“Now do you believe me?” he asked. He sounded weary.
Kaiya nodded. “I…I’m sorry for do
ubting you,” she said. “I hope you can understand that it was a little hard for me to believe that a human could turn into an animal. Let alone a mythical animal that I thought didn’t even exist.”
“You don’t owe me an apology,” Drake said. “I owe you an apology. I should have explained this side of me to you before sleeping with you. It’s hard for me sometimes, to know when and how to break it to someone that I’m part dragon. If you don’t want to be with me anymore, I understand. But please know that I care deeply for you. Dragon hearts are fiercely loyal, and my dragon heart is all yours. I want nothing more than to love you, care for you, and protect you.”
Kaiya took a few deep breaths, trying to stop the room from spinning around her. She wasn’t sure how to respond. Her mind felt overwhelmed by all of the information that was being thrown at it. Shifters were real. Dragons were real. And the man she had fallen for was both. She should be angry at him for not telling her. But she couldn’t find it in herself to hate him for that. She could only imagine how hard it had been for him to go through life pretending to be a normal human, when he actually had a dragon inside.
“I think I need time to process all of this,” Kaiya finally managed to say. “Maybe it’s best if you drive me back to my house.”
Drake nodded, but Kaiya didn’t miss the deep disappointment that passed over his face.
“It’s not that I’m angry,” she hurriedly said. “It’s just that this is a lot to take in, and I’ve had quite a long day.”
Drake smiled sadly at her. “Okay,” he said. “I understand. I’ll take you home. I think we both need to rest and process everything that’s happened today. Would you mind running out to my truck and getting me some clothes? I always keep an extra outfit in the backseat, just in case I have to shift unexpectedly.”
“No problem,” Kaiya said. She caught the set of keys that he tossed to her, then went to his truck and got him some clothes. He dressed in silence, then looked down at the box of journals, which was still sitting on the floor near Kaiya’s desk.
Lone Star Secret (Shifters in the Heart of Texas Book 4) Page 4