by Sophie Stern
“I’m ready,” I whisper, and almost instantly, Lee shoots into the air. I squeeze my legs on either side of his body and hold on as tightly as I can. It’s a little bit awkward and a whole lot wonderful. I try not to squeal in delight when I peer down at the dragon world beneath me. From up here, everything looks beautiful, green, and lush. I can see shifters walking around in both their human and dragon forms, and I’m caught off guard by just how magical this world really is.
I’ve never experienced anything like this before and I can feel my heart racing. It threatens to beat right out of my chest if I don’t calm down, so I remind myself to take a few more deep breaths.
“Calm down,” I tell myself quietly. “You’ve got this.”
As if in response, Lee seems to slow down on his path. Jeremy matches his pace, flying alongside Lee, who is obviously the leader of their group. I don’t know anything about how dragons are supposed to look when they’re flying or how they’re supposed to feel, but right now, everything seems like complete perfection.
I feel the rush of air against my face and skin, and I close my eyes to just allow myself to feel.
For once in my life, I’m not worried.
I don’t think I’m going to fall.
I don’t think anything bad is going to happen.
Lee won’t let it.
He’ll protect me.
He’ll keep me safe, at least for this journey, at least for this moment.
The only thing I need to worry about is how I’m going to feel when I land because I already know I’m going to be disappointed when the flight is over. I’m practically reaching for the stars right now and it’s been ages since I felt this alive.
Have I ever felt this alive?
There have been moments in my life when I felt excited, or happy, or interested in something. I’ve felt curious, but alive? Maybe I haven’t. Maybe I haven’t really been living. Since my breakup with Lee, I’ve been going through the motions in many ways. I’ve pantomimed living. I’ve acted like I had my life together, but did I? I’m not so sure anymore.
He swoops down and I suddenly squeal and grip his scales a little more tightly. My hair flies back behind me as he soars back up, and I can’t stop the laugh that breaks free from my lips. I laugh loudly and freely, and Jeremy looks over at me, still in his dragon form. I can’t tell what he’s thinking as he stares at me. Almost as quickly as he looked toward me, his eyes go back forward, and he continues flying alongside Lee.
Much too quickly, I notice they’re flying lower and lower, and then we’re landing. I don’t want the ride to be over, so I close my eyes as if that will somehow pause things and make this last a little bit longer.
“Time to get down, love,” Jeremy’s voice sounds beside me, and I realize he’s shifted back to his human form. Lee, however, is still a dragon, and right now, he can’t talk. He can’t ask questions. He can’t make me think about anything hard or difficult or dangerous.
I don’t say anything.
“Uh, Nicole?” Jeremy tries again. I almost feel bad for him, but I don’t want to get down. Not yet. I lean down, rubbing my body a little more closely against Lee’s dragon form. I want this moment to last forever, and if I close my eyes, I can pretend, just for a second, that it will.
I hear a door open and close.
Footsteps.
Then a woman’s voice.
“You guys, what’s the holdup?”
“She won’t get down,” Jeremy says. I imagine he’s gesturing to me, but I still don’t risk a peek. As long as I sit perfectly still on my dragon’s back, the moment won’t end. He won’t shift yet. He can’t.
“Dude, let’s go,” the woman’s voice says. “What’s your name, human?”
“It’s Nicole,” Jeremy says.
“No offense, Nicole, but we’ve got some urgent shifter business to attend to. Let’s make a move on it, all right?”
Nothing.
At this point, I seem to be frozen in place. I press my hands more tightly to Lee’s body. His scales feel strange to me, but it’s still comforting somehow. This is something I never got to experience before. When we were together, he was just Lee. He was just a human. He was just the man I loved. He was just...himself. Things were simple, but wonderful, and then everything changed.
I think back to that moment, to the moment when he asked me.
I have something to tell you...
The words hit me in the heart. At first, I thought he was going to tell me he’d found someone else, that our relationship was going to end, but he didn’t.
I’m a dragon shifter...
We mate for life...
You’re my other half, Nicole...
Marry me...
I had been scared. He had given me too much information at once and I simply couldn’t handle it. If he had asked me on a different day than he dropped the “I’m a dragon” bomb, maybe I would have reacted differently. I’ve had a decade to think about it. I’ve had ten years to consider my reaction and how poor it was.
“Lee, man, come on.” The woman sounds irritated now.
“Hey,” suddenly, Jeremy’s voice goes soft, as if he’s realizing I’m having some sort of internal crisis here. “Marta and I will be waiting for you inside.”
“We will?” She sounds surprised. Then, “Of course. I mean. We, uh, yeah. We’ll wait for you guys inside.”
The door opens, but before it closes behind them, I hear her asking, “What the hell was that about?”
Lee doesn’t wait. As soon as the door closes, he shifts into a man and I begin freefalling. I don’t close my eyes. I don’t flail around. I just fall through the air, slowly, slowly, until he catches me in his arms.
“Open your eyes, Nicole.”
His words hit me in the heart, and I obey him instantly. I don’t want to, but I do. Lee has sort of always had that effect on me.
“Why didn’t you get down?” He asks, looking up at me.
“I didn’t want to stop being on you.”
“You were thinking about something.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
I lick my lips, wondering if I should actually take a risk and be truthful. I’m not exactly anyone’s favorite person these days. Do I really want to tell Lee I was thinking about what could have happened between us? Is this really the right time for that?
“Nicole,” he says, and his voice is a little deeper this time. “Look at my eyes.”
I listen once more.
“We don’t have time for games. I know you’ve had a chaotic day. You’ve had a hard couple of months. I get it. But we’re about to go into my place of business. We’re going to listen to some secret information that it’s incredibly sensitive and I need to know that you’re on board with what’s happening. Can I trust you?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s got your mind so jumbled? Are you just tired from today?”
I could say yes.
I could lie to him.
I could tell him that I’m just busy thinking about Reece’s attack and the bakery and how long it’s going to take to clean up, but do I really want to lie again? The entire clan thinks that’s what I am: a liar. They think I’m dark and evil. They think I’m a terrible person. Do I really want to prove them right the first chance I get?
Or do I want to be brave?
Do I want to be different?
Do I want to take a stand for what’s right?
“I was thinking about the day you proposed,” I whisper.
Chapter Seven
Donald
I finish bandaging the foot of the little boy sitting on the exam room table.
“There you go, Edgar,” I say. I try not to judge his mom too much for giving him such a terrible name. Edgar, for me, has always been a name I associate with cartoon villains. This little child is no villain. Edgar is one of the sweetest, craziest, and wildest boys in the clan.
He’s also incredibly accident-prone, as evid
enced by today’s injury.
“What do you say?” His mother prods him gently.
“Thank you, Doctor Donald,” the boy responds carefully.
“No problem. Make sure you rest for a few days, okay?”
“What about running?” The boy squeaks out, looking up at me. I hate to dim the brightness in those eyes, but I shake my head. “No running,” I tell him. “Not today.” Then I turn to Mom. “He needs to stay off his feet as much as possible for a few days, at least. Being a shifter means he won’t have to stay off it for nearly as long as a human kid would, but he still needs to give his body time to recover.”
“Not a problem,” his mother says. Anna is tall and lean: a stereotypical dragon shifter female. She’s also one of the bravest, most caring women in the village. She can be strict with her son, though, and I know that when she says Edgar is going to be sitting on the couch recovering, she means business. “Thank you again.”
“Anytime.”
Although Edgar is nearly eight years old, and tall for his age, Anna wastes no time sweeping him effortlessly onto her back and carrying him out of the office. I start tidying up the little space and straightening things for my next patient.
It’s good to be back in Fablestone.
I was gone for many years, and each day that I’m back, I realize just how long I was really away. It’s nice to be around people who understand me and who are supportive of me. It’s not that living away was particularly difficult, at least not physically. I was fine when it came to food and survival. My basic needs were all met. I guess I just didn’t realize how very lonely living on my own was until I was actually back with my own kind, so to speak.
Now that I have my mate, and more importantly, now that we’re expecting a child, things seem very different than they seemed when I was holed up in my cave.
A knock sounds at the door of the exam room and I turn to see one of the nurses.
“Doctor?” She says carefully, peering in.
“It’s just me in here, Jodi. You can come in.”
She smiles and comes into the room. “The new doctor has arrived.”
“Send her to my office,” I say. “I’ll be right there.”
“Of course.”
When Wilson called in a favor, I expected it to be something selfish. That’s what a “favor” usually entails, but Wilson surprised me. Instead of asking me to help him with something that would make him feel better, he called begging me to get someone here right away who could help with Reece. I should have known he would do anything to help a dragon in need.
When Wilson asked for help, I didn’t hesitate to reach out to the best mental health professional I know. It’s been years since Sabrina and I worked together, but she’s fire and ice in all the right ways. We’ve never dated, and I don’t think of her in any sort of romantic way. I don’t need to. It’s just that she’s a very talented medical professional. She’s one of the best therapists I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I know that she’s going to do some good in Fablestone. If anyone can reach Reece, it’s her.
I finish cleaning up the exam room and hurry over to my office.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” I say. She turns around and smiles, grinning at me.
“Donny!” Sabrina rushes forward in heels that are too tall for any reasonable woman to wear, and she wraps her arms around me. “It’s been forever.”
“Too long,” I agree, hugging her. “How was your flight?”
She laughs. Sabrina isn’t a shifter, but she was able to hitch a ride from someone who is. That’s how she managed to make it to Fablestone looking as fantastic as she does. She pushes back her dark red hair, which is carefully styled. Anywhere I’ve seen her, Sabrina has always managed to look her best. I have no idea how she does it. We worked together in some of the most remote parts of the world, but she always managed to smile in a way that lit up the world around her.
I hope she can do that for Reece.
I hope she can light up his world.
He could use a little hope right now and a little compassion. He’s been through hell and knowing what I do about Reece, he’s going to be really hard on himself after the choices he made today.
“It was wonderful, of course. Thank you for arranging everything.”
“Not a problem. I’m just glad you were able to come on such short notice.”
She waves her hand, motioning me to forget about it.
“That’s not a big deal, buddy. You know I’d do anything for you and your clan. We go way back, Donald. Friendship actually means something to me.”
I know what she’s saying without her actually saying it. Sabrina was hurt, long ago, and I don’t think she’s entirely gotten over it. Still, she’s somehow managed to make it through the darkest of times while helping other people also move forward and out of the darkness.
“You got to meet Natalie?” If everything went according to plan, the dragon who transported Sabrina dropped her off at my house. She should have met my mate, gotten settled in the guest room where she’ll be staying, and then come over to the clinic to talk with me about Reece.
“She’s a peach,” Sabrina smiles. “I can see why you chose her.”
“I wouldn’t say I chose her. More like she chose me.”
“Your dragon definitely chose her, buddy. She’s perfect for you: sweet, kind, welcoming. Plus, she’s sassy. And she’s super hot.”
I chuckle. Sabrina is bisexual, so she’s more aware than other females when someone is ridiculously attractive. She’s not wrong, though. Natalie is the most beautiful female I’ve ever met. She’s incredible, and I adore her.
“I have to admit that I agree with you.”
Sabrina nods. Then she sits down in one of the chairs across from my desk and motions for me to sit, too. I do so, sitting beside her instead of across from her. Sabrina and I are equals. She’s not my submissive or my mate or my girlfriend. She’s not someone who needs me to boss her around. She’s another medical professional who happens to be Reece’s best – and possibly only – shot at recovery.
“Why don’t you tell me why you called me here, Donald. Word on the street is that it’s urgent, but judging from your wife’s smiling disposition, I think it’s safe to say she’s not the problem.”
“She’s not.”
“So who is?”
“I like this about you.”
“What?” She asks quizzically.
“Your no-nonsense approach to asking me questions. You don’t beat around the bush. There’s no bullshit with you.”
“Not to be rude, but I don’t really have time for bullshit in my line of work.”
“What do you mean?”
“I deal with mental health, Donny. I can’t exactly avoid hard topics when someone is suffering emotionally. Just like you aren’t going to tell someone to sit around and wait for an open wound to heal without stitches, I’m not going to ask someone to stop feeling scared or sad or suicidal. Not when I can do something about it. So what is it that I’m facing?”
“Post traumatic stress,” I tell her.
“Who?”
“His name is Reece.”
“Shifter?”
“Tiger,” I confirm. I reach forward to my desk and grab the notes I put together for her about Reece. “He’s been with the clan for awhile.”
“He was abducted?”
“And hurt.”
“Tortured?”
“I expect so.”
“Ah,” she says, tapping a word on the sheet. “Lucky.”
“You’re familiar with them?”
“More than I’d like to be,” she sighs. “I worked in a clan that had a run-in with them. Shifters kept vanishing and no one could figure out why. Then we found out there was a facility nearby that was ‘borrowing’ shifters for medical research. Science experiments. Pharmaceutical testing. All of the above.”
“Did you guys get them back?”
“Some of them,” she say
s.
“This is a similar situation. We had a few shifters go missing, but couldn’t locate them. We finally did, broke in, and pulled everyone out of the building.”
“But that wasn’t the end of things, was it?” She asks.
“Nope.”
“Tell me.” I pause for a second and she shakes her head. “Don’t hold back on me, Donny. I need to know as much information as possible if you expect for me to save this guy. You got that?”
“The entire escape was too simple. I won’t call it clean because we did lose someone. He was a father, and a husband.”
“Loss is never easy or simple,” she says quietly. “And rescue operations are rarely clean and tidy. They never quite go the way we want them to.”
“I wasn’t here for this,” I tell her. “I was...away.”
Sabrina nods knowingly, but doesn’t question me or pry. She knows how to read between the lines. She already knows about me leaving the clan, but she doesn’t know much about me coming back. I’ll fill her in later. When there’s time. When I’m ready.
“Everyone came back to the clan. It seemed like the mission had been a raging success. Everything was going to be fine.”
“But then it wasn’t fine.”
“Nope. There was an illness. Some of the shifters who came back had been infected, and the virus spread like wildfire throughout the clan.”
“That’s when you came back.”
“I came back,” I tell her.
I came back to fight for my clan.
To fight for the dragons I love.
I came back because when your people need you, you go. You don’t wait. You don’t hesitate. You don’t think twice. You just go. You’re called, and you go. That’s all there is to it.
“We got the illness under control. Everyone was fine, or so we thought.”
“What about the shifters you brought back from the facility? The ones who had been abducted?”
“We made them stay.”
“As prisoners?” She raises an eyebrow.
“As a safety precaution,” I clarify.
“Do they see it that way?” She’s not judging me. There is no underlying opinion in her tone. No, she’s simply asking me if I have all of my facts straight, but I’m pretty certain that I do.