Drawn to the Dragon (Banished Dragons Book 5)

by Leela Ash

  Naomi was watching quietly, her eyes filled with happiness. It was clear she was pleased with the effect her gift had on him, and he set to work immediately, experimenting with the little craft, launching it into the air and smiling in satisfaction when it began to fly above their heads.

  “This is great,” he said, eyeing the little machine as it went about its way. “Thank you so much for thinking of me.”

  “You’re welcome,” Naomi said softly. “I am really glad to see that you like it so much. I was hoping you would.”

  “I do,” Gavin agreed. “You chose the perfect gift for me. There isn’t a lot around here I am amused by.”

  “A cynic?” Naomi asked with a small laugh. “You aren’t from around here, I take it?”

  Gavin looked away quickly, thoughts of his former life flooding involuntarily into his mind. He had never allowed himself to fully process the pain of the banishment. He had instead thrown himself into the work of making sure everybody was able to settle in to the new life and build new routines and structures. It did no good to fixate on the past, did it? And yet, when it struck him, the agony of losing everything he had ever loved crashed over him and he really couldn’t deny, any longer, just how much he had missed his home planet.

  “No,” Gavin said, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. He didn’t seem to have succeeded. “I am not from around here.”

  Naomi smiled sympathetically, and Gavin felt a strange surge of warm comfort travel through him. Why was it that this woman’s sympathy affected him this way? Most Dragon shifters would scorn pity of any kind. But this wasn’t pity. It was more like … empathy. It was certainly a new experience. He had never been near someone who was able to tap into his emotional state of being. He was a stone-faced man, serious and determined. His handsome features rarely betrayed a hint of what he was thinking. Probably because he was intelligent enough to always be thinking of several things at once. And yet, what he was feeling seemed clear on his face and available for Naomi to read, like a map to his inner workings. For some reason, it appeared this human was very in tune with his emotional state and immediately picked up on his displeasure. It was strange. And kind of nice.

  “I’m sorry. You must miss your home terribly. Do you get to visit often?”

  Gavin opened his mouth and closed it again as he tried to consider his response. He wanted so badly to be able to pour his heart out to her and tell her exactly what he was feeling. But he knew it was not logically the right thing for him to do. It was strange for him to have the compulsion to share something so intimate about himself with somebody he hardly knew, especially a human.

  “I do miss it. Particularly because I am not able to visit. The situation is not in my favor currently.”

  It was more than he normally would have revealed to someone he was speaking with, and Gavin sighed quietly to himself, wondering whether or not this information was something he should have just kept under wraps. It could be dangerous to reveal too much about one’s truest inner workings to others. Especially strangers. You could never tell how they might use the information against you. And he had to be extra vigilant about keeping the Dragon shifters a secret now that all the sacred children were beginning to grow up and accumulate more and more of their innate power.

  He felt a brief surge of fear, and looked to the woman in front of him, concerned for her reaction. But his nerves were soothed when his eyes met hers, and Naomi smiled sympathetically.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I think it’s got to be a huge adjustment to live somewhere new. It’s even a big adjustment for me to come back to Brookside from where I was living with my ex, and this is where I grew up. If you ever need a friend or someone to show you around or something, please don’t hesitate to ask me. It would be nice to have someone to talk to for me too. I haven’t gotten the guts to try to contact my old friends. Not after the way I had treated them. I just can’t.”

  “It is definitely quite an adjustment. But I don’t think you should be worried about contacting old friends. If they are true friends, they will just be glad to have heard from you at all and let the past lie. Let bygones be bygones. Is that the right phrase?”

  “Yes,” Naomi said with a small chuckle. “That’s the right phrase.”

  She seemed comforted by his words and he couldn’t help but feel pleased for it. He was glad to help her feel better. It could be difficult to navigate emotional relationships, especially without the emotional insight that seemed so natural to a Dragon shifter or Loni descendant. It was part of their makeup to be able to tap into the emotions and energies of others. It was almost like a survival mechanism; if you could sense danger or distress, injury could often be prevented. Not only that, but if you could sense the pain of another, steps could often be taken to help them get on a path to healing so that the Dragon shifter society as a whole would benefit and ultimately be better off. The healthier they were, the closer they would come to being a truly balanced society.

  “Well. Anyway. Thank you for thinking of me,” Gavin said, trying to change the subject from the painful topic of his banishment and back to more pleasant things. “This was a really wonderful gift. And it would be nice to have someone to explore Brookside with. I am trying this new thing where I try and let things go more. Maybe we can keep each other company.”

  “That would make me really happy,” Naomi said. “We should get in touch.”

  “Yeah,” Gavin said quietly. “I’d like that.”

  The words fell from his lips before he had the chance to stop them. Gavin was not the social type. He didn’t go out of his way to hang out with people. There was always something for him to do; something far more important than simply socializing. Sure, there was educational benefits to it, such as learning delicate human etiquette, but beyond that, Gavin had far more crucial matters to attend to.

  Naomi smiled at him and he couldn’t even imagine being upset about spending time with her. In fact, he was actually excited about being able to see her again.

  But why was this happening? He couldn’t keep letting himself get distracted from his goal. He was supposed to stop thinking about finding his mate and allow the universe to work in his favor, not the other way around.

  “Great,” Naomi said, offering him another friendly smile. “We will have to work out a time that is good for us both.”

  “Count on it,” Gavin said, giving her a sly smile.

  She beamed and then looked slightly uncomfortable. “I guess I should get out of here. I shouldn’t interrupt you in your place of business. That’s very rude of me. I hope you have a great rest of your evening. I will see you soon, hopefully.”

  “You will,” Gavin promised.

  He didn’t know where the promise came from. He so rarely made any promises he wasn’t certain he would be able to keep. But his Dragon shifter intuition was telling him he was definitely going to encounter her again soon. And for some reason, that made him indescribably happy.

  What a strange situation. Maybe it was time he find a friend. A human who would help to distract him from the toils of working so hard to make sure life as he and the other Dragon shifters knew it would remain as calm as possible. He couldn’t allow anymore problems to interfere. If that meant letting go of his responsibilities once in a while and allowing himself to relax with a friend, that was just what he was going to do. No questions asked.

  8.

  Naomi stuffed her hands in the pockets of her light fall jacket, her mind lost in thought. It would be winter soon, and once it was winter, that would mean even if the cats did make it out of the building, they would have no shelter against the harsh elements. She couldn’t live with herself knowing that any harm may fall on those animals. One of her many ambitions in life had been to care for wounded and sickly animals and help them all to find homes where they could feel safe and secure.

  She had gotten her degree as a veterinary technician, in fact, and was still trying to find a way to go about helping animals. First
, she had wanted to open her own clinic in Brookside, but after she had met Stu, all of those dreams had sort of gone out the window and vanished. It was impossible to say what she was moving toward in her life. Not when she felt like everything she did held her further and further behind. No, she was not really getting anywhere. She was going nowhere fast, in fact. But maybe this was her chance. She could open the cat shelter. She could dip into her savings and try and find a space for rent. And maybe even begin to adopt out all of the local stories that were in danger of being killed once the demolition took place.

  She had to hope against hope that it was a feasible dream. She certainly wouldn’t be able to find a building before the weekend was over, but if she enlisted the help of the community, she would certainly be able to find a foster home for them until she had herself set up.

  She had been apartment hunting for the past few days and had found a place that seemed fairly nice. It was a huge house actually, and very out-of-the-way. That was probably why the rent was so cheap. The ad in the newspaper seemed fairly strange, honestly. She couldn’t really figure out what was wrong with the home that they would be renting it for such a low price. But she had an appointment to go look at it. And once she knew whether or not it was a scam, maybe it would be a big enough building that she could begin to cut corners for an animal shelter from there. It was all a very rickety plan, but it was feasible if nothing else. She would be able to help the animals. And in doing so, she would also be helping the peace of mind of the elderly woman who had taken pity on the strays and encouraged her grandson to make sure they stayed fed.

  Her mind wandered back to the possibility of going out on a date with the woman’s grandson. She had to stifle a small laugh. Why would she want to go out with a stranger? Why would you want to go out with anybody at all?

  Suddenly, again, Gavin’s face was intrusively in her mind. The ridiculously handsome man just couldn’t seem to stay out of her thoughts. He came to her at the most inopportune of times … and sometimes, the most inappropriate. But she wasn’t going to let herself think about that. It was embarrassing enough that it had happened at all. She would just have to keep her thoughts focused on the task at hand.

  She sighed. He was certainly a piece of work. Wouldn’t he care about what was going on with the cats? She had certainly sensed some compassion in him during their brief encounters. And why hadn’t she enlisted his support in her cause while she was at his office building? Had she been afraid he would think she was trying to bribe him with the gift to get his support?

  No, she wasn’t going to bother Gavin about any of this, unless it was absolutely necessary. If she didn’t get enough signatures and things were a little bit on the risky side, maybe she could ask him to help her remove the cats physically as opposed to waiting on news as to whether or not the petition had taken effect and the demolition was able to be postponed until the cats were in a safe place.

  The thought of having a plan excited her beyond measure and Naomi quickly decided to try calling the people who owned the house that she was considering renting. The line rang several times and then, finally, a man picked up. “Hello?”

  “Hi, I was wondering if this house is available for showing before my appointment. I’m sorry to call on such short notice, it’s just that I have a lot of things going on right now and it would be really helpful for me to be able to see it sooner.”

  The man was quiet for a moment as he considered her words and then he sighed. “Sure, I don’t see why not. When do you want to come over?”

  “Well, I was thinking maybe this afternoon. I would really love a chance to see it.”

  “Yeah, sure, whatever. Just ring the doorbell when you get here. I will make sure not to take off or anything, so you can have a tour.”

  “That sounds great. Thank you.”

  Naomi’s excitement mounted considerably, and she quickly set to work getting her things together. She drove eagerly to the address of where the house was located. It was set back far off the road in a beautiful wooded area, and she found it very refreshing from the drab view of the parking lot from outside of her hotel window. Maybe it was entertaining for her cat, but she preferred something a little bit more scenic. Something like this.

  When she approached the house, her eyes widened. It was huge, just like in the pictures. It looked incredibly well-crafted and just as well maintained, and it sat on a hill that was surrounded by a riverbank. She had never been this deep into the outskirts of Brookside before, but now that she had, she felt as if this was exactly where she was meant to be.

  When she got out of the car, her heart was hammering in her chest, and she approached the front door cautiously, scanning the area. For some reason, she felt as if maybe somebody was watching her, although it was clear nobody possibly could be.

  Maybe they had some sort of surveillance monitors or something. Although, that seemed a little bit farfetched and paranoid, both of them to have and of her to consider. But, then again, it was a beautiful estate. Maybe they had issues with prowlers and people trying to break into their home previously. It wouldn’t surprise her in the least.

  She tired quickly of the creeping feeling down the back of her neck that somebody might be staring at her and pressed her thumb quickly against the little doorbell to the right of the door.

  It was quiet for a few moments, then the door opened gently, and a broad, impressive looking man appeared.

  “Welcome,” the man who answered the door said, sweeping his arm across the room so she could take a look inside.

  Naomi was startled by his appearance. Something about him seemed familiar. Although she couldn’t quite place what it might be. He had an ethereal quality to him that made her feel as if she had seen him somewhere before. Or he simply reminded her of somebody else. Whatever the case was, it was strange, to say the least. But she wasn’t there to puzzle over a strange man’s appearance. She was there on urgent business. Important business. And whether the area was full of prowlers or not, something inside of her wouldn’t rest until she had secured this house.

  “Thank you,” Naomi said, smiling gratefully. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be able to see this place today. I really appreciate you going out of your way like this.”

  “Oh, I’m not really going out of my way that much. I just really wanted to get this off the market, you know? It’s a good place and it would be nice to have it in good hands.”

  Naomi nodded. “It is beautiful. Was there a misprint in the newspaper about the price?”

  “Well, no,” the man said. “That’s the price per month. It’s pretty solid. We have a lease drawn up, and once it is signed and we have the deposit and first and last month’s rent, then that will be what you pay consecutively. At least, until you decide to move out.”

  “I don’t know why anybody would want to move from here,” Naomi said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Is there something wrong with the place? Why is it so cheap and why are you leaving?”

  “No, there really isn’t anything wrong with it. We are just in a hurry to move on to bigger and better things. It happens, sometimes.”

  “I understand,” Naomi said, nodding slowly. “Well, do you mind giving me the grand tour? This is a really great space and I would love to know everything there is to know about it.”

  “Of course,” the man said, giving her a crooked smile. He offered a large hand out and gave hers a firm shake when she took it. “My name is TJ. You said your name is Naomi?”

  “Yes, I was meant to see the place this Friday, but I wanted to see you sooner. There are some pressing matters I have to deal with.”

  “Pressing matters?” TJ asked, raising a brow. “That sounds important.”

  “It is, very important. And I’m hoping this turns out well, then maybe my pressing matters won’t be quite as pressing any longer. It would be a really good opportunity.”

  “Well, Naomi, we can certainly see what we can do about that. How about we start with
the kitchen?”

  Naomi nodded, and soon, they were making their way throughout the house. TJ told her everything there was to know about the place as they walked, and Naomi did her best to absorb all the information he was giving her. He seemed to know quite a lot about architecture and focused a lot on things she didn’t really understand, though she found it fascinating to listen to him. He had a wisdom in the way he spoke, and she appreciated it. Something about his mannerisms was peculiar, and she thought immediately of Gavin. Why did this man continue to enter her thoughts? She couldn’t allow that to continue. She had to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.

  To distract herself, she reached into her bag and pulled out the clipboard with the petition on it.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt you, TJ, but I was just thinking. Would you mind signing a petition for me?”

  “A what?”

  TJ looked put on the spot, and she almost felt bad for asking him. “You know, a petition? It’s a piece of paper that you sign saying you agree or disagree with something?”

  “Oh, sure. ‘Course. A partition.” TJ nodded. “I didn’t really understand what you were saying.”

  There was something strange about the way he was behaving, almost like he was lying, but Naomi chose to look past it. He was a tough looking guy. Maybe he was just trying to save face for not remembering his vocabulary words from high school. Still, it was quite strange. Who didn’t know what a petition was?

  “Well … at any rate. I was passing by a building the other day and stumbled upon a bunch of stray cats and kittens who live there. But the building is abandoned and due to be demolished this weekend. I was wondering if you would be interested in signing a petition to postpone the demolition until the cats have been vacated to a safe place.”

  “Oh, the cats are in trouble?” TJ asked, scratching his head. “And signing this paper will help them.”

  He took the clipboard and gazed at it quizzically. This man certainly was on the strange side.