by Lila Felix
At the time, I thought it was all her crazy coming forward. Mates with that evil. Who talks like that except someone losing their mind? I had thought about it a few times since then and always assumed she was once again thinking I was my mother throwing her life away on some illegitimate kid. After today, I knew better. She knew about Knox or maybe not him, but me.
I whipped out my phone, very relieved that Rhi found something or someone to occupy her time. I sat criss-cross applesauce on my bed breathing in deeply before I got the courage to type.
Am I human?
I felt human. I stared at my hands as if they held the answers. I was human. I was sure of it, but three hours ago I was sure Knox was human, too. One of Them. Who was Them? Maybe she meant because I would meet Knox, but that was ludicrous because how could she have known?
Of course you are.
His words were brief and to the point. He was on edge. Not that I blamed him. He opened himself up to me in a way that showed more trust than I had earned. After all, I could have easily snapped a photo or called the press. Not that I would have, and he could literally have burnt me up, or maybe that part was a myth. There was so much I didn’t know and yet everything I did know about Knox felt honest and true. Maybe I was as crazy as my Gran.
Are you evil?
I typed it quickly before I could change my mind. If Gran had been talking about Knox, I needed to know. He wasn’t though. I knew that to be true deep in my soul, yet my stupid brain had to ask and it was already delivered by the time I wanted to take it back. Maybe typing quickly was a bad plan. At least we weren’t face to face when all the words would come out.
No. I’m not perfect, not by a long shot, but I’m not evil. Can I come over?
My body screamed YES, my mind screamed slightly louder a resounding NOOOOOO. I fell back on the bed, letting my feet hang over the edge. Should I or shouldn’t I. If he came, I would get lost in his scent, his smile, his eyes. With him not here all I could think about was his scent, his smile, his eyes. I was doomed either way.
No.
It hurt to type, but it felt like the right choice. Until I hit send, anyways. Now I wanted to type JK, come now. Please. But I wouldn’t. Always go with your gut. That’s what Gran always said, not that she was one to be taking advice from on this one.
I could see he was typing. Moments turned into minutes before it actually popped on my screen. Whatever he had been typing had become reduced to three words.
I won’t push.
He might not push, but I wanted to. Needed to. Not with the personal what’s going to happen or not happen with us stuff. No, I needed facts. All the facts. The future lawyer in me demanded them.
How did I know where the bar was with no name on it?
That had been bugging me since we first got there. I followed him, not in true stalker fashion by trailing him, but by hearing where he was going and “accidentally” being there. How had I done that? It wasn’t the biggest piece of this puzzle, yet it was what my curious soul needed to know at that moment. It was official. I was a freak. A superhot dude with an amazing ability wanted me, and yet I was worried about how I found a stupid bar.
There was a name then.
His answer came back quicker this time, probably because it was a right or wrong, I could look it up kind of question. If it weren’t for all of the creepy staring by the people at said bar, I would’ve asked when we were there.
But now it’s gone?
His reply popped up almost instantaneously. He must have sent it too soon. It gave me comfort to know he was as nervous as I was, even if he was the one with the huge arse secret and I was just a girl. Possibly. That was debatable at this point.
It was for when one of the local kids made an attempt at indie film making.
Small town by day, flourishing artist colony by night. And dragons’ lair. Can’t forget that.
But you called it by name.
I thought back to that night. He had very clearly said where he was going to be with a name and street. How else would I have found it? Or did my imagination fill in blanks over time? If I hadn’t sprouted feather and began to cluck, I’d have been dialing the phone to hear his voice and not have visual proof of the dumb arse questions I hounded him with.
I started to pick at the polish on my finger nail. It was a disgusting habit and I chided myself, but continued. As far as vices went, I could be drinking or so the argument I made with my mother numerous times would indicate.
Because you were listening and I wanted you to come find me. I was pretty sure you were my mate.
He set the bait for me and I took it. He wanted me even then. Or did he? Not once did he say hello or even give me a wink. I was with my mother, a damper to be sure so maybe that was it. Wait? Pretty sure. Was he sure now? Why did not knowing the answer to that form such knots in my stomach?
But now you’re sure.
I wrote it like a statement, but I was really asking. I just didn’t want to all but call him a liar. If he wasn’t one hundred percent sure, that was fine. Really it was. Sort of. Suck. Not at all. Not being sure was not all right on any level.
Now you’re older, so my dragon knows for sure. Before, you were younger.
By less than a year.
Can I call you?
I typed a Y and an E before my feathers took hold. Was he mad I called him a liar about me being older? What did age have to do with it anyway? I grabbed my dragon sculpture and squeezed it, willing it to send me answers.
Not yet. One last thing. You said I don’t have to pick you. What about you? Can you not pick me?
I knew I was leaving questions unanswered, but the unimportance of it slammed into me as his words from earlier hit me. I didn’t have to pick him. Not once did he mention himself. Not that I could blame him. He was a flipping dragon, so me not passing out or trying to kill him was a miracle in and of itself, mostly the passing out bit. It wasn’t like he could expect me to hear every minute detail of what it meant to be a dragon or the mate of one, or in this case possibly not being the mate of one. Argggg. I was over thinking again.
I blamed him for that. In the time it took him to respond I had removed the polish completely from two nails, sat in three different positions, kicked off my shoes, and counted to four hundred twelve. I was anticipating a novel when his single word answer arrived.
No.
What happens if I don’t pick you?
I would. I already knew it to my core. I didn’t know the hows or whys or even if it was what I wanted, but it was what it was. I was his and he was mine. Mine. That word felt so good as I rolled it over in my mind. Knox was mine.
You’re second question would be correct.
Second question? Stinks, what order did I go in? I scrolled up for what seemed like forever. And there it was.
Are you evil?
Did I truly have that power? No, that made no sense. How could my rejection cause him to be evil? If it did, wouldn’t that mean the evil was always there?
I had looked his dragon straight in the eye, and while I’d been startled and a bit shocked, never once had I felt fear. Surely if he had been a danger to me, my body would’ve reacted in some way.
I clutched my dragon as if it was a life preserver and I had just been dropped in the middle of the ocean, just as my doorknob turned. Just what I needed, a roommate meaning well and begging me to tell her all the things. Not that I would. No, this was between Knox and me. Well, Knox and me and from what I gathered earlier, the entire town.
I jumped out of bed, trying to look like I was getting ready to leave already when she arrived. No need to be too concerned, because she had her phone glued to her head. She hated talking on the phone, not that what she was doing could be described as talking. She was listening with that look on her face. The one that told me all was not right in the world of her parents.
I learned early on they were the epitome of toxic parents and never to ask Rhi about them. She shared what she wanted to abou
t them. It was something that took a long time to get used to because it made me feel helpless. Especially when I learned the best way to help was to leave her be, and in cases like this actually leave.
I pointed to the door and she gave me a meek smile and nod before making her way to the bathroom. I wondered briefly if she had told them she was even leaving for break, much less leaving with me. I was a scholarship kid and they were all about money, so her being with me always equated to slumming it. That was only the side I knew from words they actually had spoken to me. Yep. They were that horrid.
Dragon and phone in one hand and shoes in the other, I made my way down the small hallway and out the door. I typed in a quick message before slipping open my shoes and climbing in his truck. What was it about this truck?
Coming to you. Don’t worry, I have a ride. Stole a truck earlier.
I threw the phone on the passenger seat, and with more speed than was legally allowed, I made my way to his house, hoping that my message would not only make sure that he knew I was coming, but also that I wasn’t scared of him, or us for that matter. If I were the one making sure he stayed good, I was going to do it.
He was standing on his porch, not even pretending to be busy with anything else but waiting for me as I pulled up. That was one thing I already had learned about him. He was a straight shooter and not in the I’ll-pretend-I’m-all-about-being-honest-as-an-excuse-to-be-mean-as-a-snake-to-anyone-I-please kind of way either. He just was honest. At least with me, and for now that was good enough.
As I turned off the engine and removed the keys, I watched him closely. He was itching to get to me just as badly as I was itching to get to him. I jumped out of the truck, practically throwing myself in his waiting arms. Home. I was home. Not the house or the town, but in his arms. The feeling of safety and rightness flooded me. He. Was. Mine.
“I don’t want you to be evil. I’m yours.” I spoke into his ears and immediately felt his body tense. Crap on a cracker, I just ruined everything with two little sentences and before I could ask how, I began to sob.
13
Knox
My entire being clammed up at hearing her words. I had been ready for her answer one way or the other.
Okay, that’s complete bullshit.
When she drove over here, I thought the answer would be a resounding yes. Yes to me. Yes to knowing I turned into a flying monster. Yes to me and Kallie for the rest of our lives.
When she climbed out of my truck and ran to me, throwing herself into my arms, I thought her answer would be yes to all of those things.
Because she wanted to be my mate for the rest of our lives. Because she loved me as much as I loved her in my embrace.
That wasn’t the case at all.
I took in what I could of the moment, while it lasted, making it extend even further. I nuzzled my face into her hair that smelled like jasmine and citrus we didn’t have in these parts, relishing in the feel of her body flush against mine. She was crying, not out of the joy I hoped we’d share at the idea of having a life together, but out of some misplaced guilt or purpose.
I had to fix it and hopefully not lose my mate in the process.
I pulled back and moved the stray hairs stuck to her face from her tears. There was no stopping me from kissing her again. She was irresistible to me, and if kissing is what stopped those tears, then I would kiss her until I no longer had life in me. Her mouth moved with fervor this time, as though she was as desperate for me as I was for her. Tiny noises of passion came from her throat and my dragon growled in approval. She ended it much sooner than I would’ve like and put her hands on my face. I closed my eyes, wallowing in the warmth of her touch before saying, “Let’s go inside and talk. I’m sure you have a ton of questions, and I’d love nothing more than to give you some answers. It was strange to keep these secrets from you. I want you to know everything.”
“Okay.” She swiped violently at her face, trying to remove the tears, tears she’d shed for me.
We went inside. After getting her a glass of water, I sat on the couch, she sat on the chair next to me. Maybe she was scared now that she thought about what I was, maybe she couldn’t’ stand the thought of touching me.
Either way, my dragon was not pleased with the arrangement.
“Hit me with it,” I said, trying to make light of this heavy situation.
She calmed herself with a few deep breaths while I took in what I could of her while she was still here. Her hair was tied up into a makeshift ballet dancer bun on the top of her head and her lovely eyes were puffy from the crying.
Neither impacted her beauty at all.
“First, how do you change? I mean, how is this all possible? Is it the moon?”
I expected that question since her first inclination when I’d told her I was Alpha was to equate me with a werewolf.
“We do not bend to the moon’s will, no. It has some bearing on our attitudes and our, um, hunger for our mates during the full moon, but other than that, it does not restrict our shifting. We shift freely. I could go dragon at the top of the Sears Tower if I wanted to.”
She replied with a “huh.” I expected another question, but instead Kallie stared out the window. I moved forward, knowing some things she would want to know.
“There was once a Viking who hunted dragons, not for food, but because they feared us. The dragon Vellock bit him on the shoulder and then disappeared, taking the other dragons somewhere they would never be hunted again. The hunter thought he was fine. He went on to marry and had twins. When the twins got older, they began having some weird behavior and on the night of their fifteenth birthday, they changed into dragons. We are the descendants of those twins. Vellock had given him the ultimate punishment. All of his descendants are the creatures he feared and hated the most. And now you know why there is so much Viking history in town as well—it’s our heritage.”
She leaned forward in the chair as I told the story. In her face, I could see her natural color returning, pushing away the red splotches from her crying.
“Do humans know? I mean except me? Is there like some sector of the CIA for dragon activity?”
I chuckled at her. “I hope not. I don’t think so. That’s why we have this town. Our clan is safe here. We don’t see many tourists. I keep them safe here. The clan and our… stuff is protected under my command.”
Something flashed in her eyes. She needed a place to feel safe, too. My mate needed to feel safe and right; if not, then there was not a damned thing I could do to help her.
“You’re in charge of all these people. I get that. That’s why they look at you the way they do, they revere you.”
I shrugged. It was something I’d gotten used to over the years. “Yes. My father was the Alpha before me and his father before him. It runs in the family.”
“But not to women. A woman can’t be an Alpha.”
I knew that question was coming.
“No, not to women. It’s not that we don’t believe women can be Alpha, it’s that we would rather them be safe. It’s just our animal’s way. With a male in charge of safety and security, our females are protected and so is our race. They are our mothers, our sisters, our daughters. Without them, we are just a winged frat house.”
She busted out laughing, and I fumbled around wondering what I’d said to make her laugh.
“What?”
“I was just thinking about, you know, dragon babies. Please do not tell me that there’s eggs or something. Eggs are a deal breaker.”
I had to laugh right along with her. “Kallie, there are no eggs. Our females get pregnant and give birth to a human baby. Shit, woman. That was funny.”
“Wait, so I won’t turn into a dragon? You won’t make me turn into one?” If I didn’t know better, I thought I heard a little bit of longing in her question. Maybe she would’ve wanted to be like me, to fly in the clouds with my mate by my side would be the ultimate gift.
“Some humans who are mated to dragons choose to
turn so they can have the benefits of being a dragon. Others choose to be human. If they are female, it doesn’t matter in terms of life span though. The male dies when the female dies.”
She gasped and switched positions in her chair. Something I said had set her off.
“Wait, what?” It was a part of being a dragon I hadn’t ever really given a second thought to, but to humans, I guessed it was an issue.
“Let me explain a little more. When a female dies, the male dies at the same time or shortly after, like in hours. But when a male dies, the female lives on. It’s because the female is the center of the family. We think it is because dragon children bond more with their mothers than their fathers. Males, left without their females would go into a Mate Craze and die a slow death filled with insanity. It saves us from a bit of torture. That’s the evil we spoke about earlier. Can I ask you something now?”
There were tears streaming down her face again, and I hated that I was the one who put them there.
“Yeah. Ask me whatever,” she choked out.
“Are you here to accept that you are my mate?”
She nodded while the tears flopped down onto her thighs.
“Why?”
Fuck. I already knew the answer. I scrubbed my hands over my face knowing that I’d have to refute her decision to be my mate if it was just to save me. I’d save her life over mine with every breath in my lungs.
Not her.
I wouldn’t chain her down to a life she didn’t want out of guilt.
“This is all so new to me. I mean, like last night new. I don’t know why you chose me or what. Hell, I mean, I like you, maybe more, but two dates doesn’t mean forever where I come from, you know? There’s only one thing I do know at this point. I don’t want you to be evil or insane or whatever you will become if I’m not your mate. I can do this. I can be your mate and help you. I can finish school and come back here. I’m sure people around here need a lawyer, right? It can be done. Whatever I can do to save you.”
Freya, the Viking goddess of war and death, would be proud of the warrior spirit in her, but I was having none of it. I leaned forward and took both of her hands in mine. She scooted forward, and it was all I could do not to scoop her up and perform the mating rights right then and there so she’d never leave me, selfish bastard that I was. I looked down at the floor for a while, begging it to give me some undeserved courage to say all the things I didn’t want to say, but that my mate needed to hear.