by Tami Lund
“So instead of bringing her to Mom and Dad, you decided to tell Gabe she was his?” Jasmine prompted.
“He needed something to ground him. He was losing himself, denying his own possibilities, his own future. I’m still not entirely sure why he does it, but he’s been like that for as long as I’ve known him.” She frowned. “I’ve always sensed there was more to him than he let anyone see. I was determined to prove he was a worthy reeve for this colony. And forcing him to take responsibility for raising what he believed was his own child suddenly seemed like the perfect solution to all our problems.”
“Well, it looks like your plan worked. I’m getting better, Ruby’s safe with her family and an adopted father who loves her, and Gabe is exhibiting signs of being one of the best reeves this colony has ever had. At least, that’s what Adelbern says.”
“I guess,” Talia grumbled. “Except now the entire colony hates me—including Gabe.”
Jasmine slid her hand into Talia’s, twined their fingers together, and squeezed. “Thank you for saving Ruby and me. And Gabe.”
Talia used their clasped hands to tug her sister into a hug. It will have to be enough. When she pulled away, she said, “Hey, whenever Gabe lets you see Ruby, will you call me? So I can come over and hang out with her too?”
“Of course.” Jasmine squeezed her hand. “I love you, big sister.”
“I love you too, little sister.”
***
Talia would have preferred to skip the colony meeting. She already knew what was to be discussed, and she wasn’t a fan of the glares some of the dragons gave her. Gabe apparently had some serious, cult-like fans, and they had taken an intense dislike of her. One more item to add to the reality series she was currently living, This Is Now My Life.
Unfortunately, she was note-taker for these meetings, and since Gabe wasn’t speaking to her, she couldn’t tell him she didn’t want to be here. So she slumped in her seat at the end of the row of chairs on the dais in the auditorium where the colony gathered for these meetings. The rest of the chairs were occupied by the Counsel of Elders, with Gabe in the center. A table draped with a white cloth stretched the length of the stage in front of them. Talia focused on her laptop screen and refused to look at anyone, not the audience filing in to take their seats, not the Elders, and certainly not Gabe, who probably would just ignore her anyway.
The meeting started a few minutes after seven, with Adelbern grumbling under his breath about these things never starting on time. The room fell silent, and then Gabe stood and began speaking.
Despite his insistence on not wanting to be reeve, he was really quite an eloquent speaker. He paced along in front of the table while he told the colony about the battle and his decision to let the Rojo dragon go rather than kill him.
“We’ve all made mistakes,” he said, his back to Talia. He wasn’t dressed in his typical summer uniform of a T-shirt and shorts with leather flip-flops. Instead, he wore a polo tucked into a pair of tailored black pants that hugged his ass, making Talia’s mouth water while her dragon complained about how long it had been since they flew together. Or had not-quite-sex together. Or, you know, did anything together.
“My hope is that by allowing him to live, he will realize the error of his ways, and maybe he will go back to his colony and try to stop the drug business. Perhaps he will change things for the better.”
A murmur went up in the crowd. He’s gained a few supporters.
“I appreciate the help of the two dragons who saved my PR manager,” Gabe said, sweeping his arm in her direction, almost like a politician who had taken charge of the stage. She stared at him, catching his eye for the briefest of moments before he turned back to his enraptured audience.
“I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t survived,” he added. “I know some of you are annoyed with her right now, but I’m really glad she’s still around.”
Talia’s mouth fell open. He didn’t turn around to look at her.
“And I appreciate Ilsa and Adelbern for protecting the children. They protected your offspring. Our future.”
Another wave of noise from the crowd, this one louder than the last.
“As you all are well aware by now, Ruby, the child I took in a few weeks ago, who I thought was my own flesh and blood, isn’t.”
The noise died away until not even a cough or the sound of rustling fabric was heard.
“But that doesn’t matter. I love her as if she is my daughter, and she insists she loves me too.”
He offered a self-deprecating smile, and there were a few chuckles scattered about the room.
“I’ve spoken with her mother and have her permission. I want to formally adopt Ruby. But I want your blessing to do so. She means the world to me, but so does this colony. I am your reeve, and I don’t want to let you down.”
He paused.
“Again.”
The crowd erupted in chatter, everyone seemingly speaking at once. Talia sensed movement to her right and glanced over her shoulder at Ruby and Jasmine, who stood nearby, tucked behind the wall so that the audience could not see them. Ruby wore a pretty white dress and a pair of bright red, sparkly Mary Janes. Someone had curled her hair. She clutched Jasmine’s hand in a death grip.
When Talia caught her eye, she grinned and waved enthusiastically. Talia blinked away tears and gave her a little wave in return.
Then Gabe turned toward them, spotted Ruby, and motioned for her to come forward. With a swift glance in Talia’s direction, she rushed out onto the stage. The awes from the crowd were audible.
Gabe scooped the little girl into his arms, and she flung her arms around his neck. “Well?” he said, facing his audience. “Does anyone object to my adoption of this child? Of raising her as a Zilarra dragon?”
Someone clapped. Another person stood and put their hands together. And then another and another and another. The row of Elders got to their feet too. Within moments, Talia was certain she was the only person in the room who was seated. So she stood too. Of course she supported Gabe adopting her niece. Ruby’s presence had helped him grow into the man who now stood on this stage and informed the colony how important they all were to his life.
He had become a reeve the colony could be proud of.
Despite the fact that whatever they had was over, she was still so proud of him, tears streamed down her face unfettered while she clapped along with the rest of them.
“Great,” Gabe said once the noise died down to a level low enough he could be heard again. “So that’s a yes?”
Laughter bounced off the walls, and somebody shouted, “Hell yes!”
“Thank you all. Your support means a lot to me. And in anticipation of your acceptance, the Elders have taken it upon themselves to plan a reception that’ll start as soon as this meeting ends.”
Another low roar of noise swept the room. He was losing their attention, but that was probably okay. There couldn’t be anything else to discuss that was as important as his announcement that he planned to adopt his daughter.
“One more thing,” Gabe said, lifting the hand that wasn’t holding Ruby. “One more, and then I’ll let everyone get to celebrating.”
Half the room returned their attention to their reeve, but the other half had already shifted into party mode.
“It’s about the curse.”
As if he snapped his finger, the crowd immediately fell silent while all gazes shifted to stare at their reeve, Talia included. He kept his back to her while he continued speaking.
“A wise old dragon recently explained to me the concept of fated mates. He told me it’s like finding your other half, that person who complements you so perfectly, they make you feel whole. It’s like when you think you don’t care about the rules, she knows you do—and she helps ensure you stay in line. When you think you don’t want to be a leader, she knows better, and she constantly sets you up to succeed. When you didn’t even think you wanted to be a dad—ever—she helps you realize you
want half a dozen offspring, so long as they’re with her. She makes you realize you never should have lied about it when you began to suspect that you may be fated mates.”
Talia stared at him, but he continued to stand facing the crowd of dragons as the noise level picked up. What was he saying? Was he—was he apologizing in front of the entire colony? To her? And was he—holy shit, did he just say he wanted half a dozen children? With her?
Six?
Gabe lifted his hand, until the volume decreased enough that he could continue.
“Many of you have heard the rumor that I’m immune.” More tittering and whispers. “I don’t know why—or if it’s even true. But—”
“It’s quite possible,” someone from the crowd called out. Talia scanned the room, trying to figure out who spoke. There was a swaying in the back of the room, and then the sea of bodies parted to let a man make his way toward the stage, where Gabe stood, staring down at him.
“Dad?”
Chapter 16
With Ruby seated on his left arm, Gabe stared down at the man he hadn’t seen since, what? He had still been a toddler, barely walking and talking. Three, maybe four.
He didn’t remember his mom. But his dad—he had vague recollections of the man who was supposed to be there for him, was supposed to help shape him into an adult, a respectable dragon. A future reeve, as it turned out.
And he’d done none of that. Instead, if the rumors were true, he’d been so devastated by his mate leaving that he’d abandoned his only child to chase after her. And neither one had returned for him. Until now.
Thirty years too late.
“Hello, son. You look good up there. It’s probably hard to believe right now, but I’m proud of you.”
Although they didn’t look as much alike as Ruby and her mom did, Gabe could see a faint resemblance. It was there in the man’s nose and lips, his hair, the shape of his shoulders. He wore a faded T-shirt and a pair of shorts that were frayed around the hem. Do I come by my habits naturally?
“What do you know about the curse?” Gabe demanded. He didn’t have time for unwanted family reunions. There was no room for an absentee father. He had enough shit going on in his fucked up life.
He had just declared to the entire colony that Talia was his fated mate. He had intended to let them know he would look into the curse, try to figure out how to break it, and then he had planned to grab Talia and take her away to someplace private so he could apologize properly—and make up properly, too. He’d been without her for too damn long. He didn’t feel whole without her in his life.
The man—his father—held a hat in his hands, one of those straw ones meant to keep the sun off your face. He slid the brim ’round and ’round with his fingers. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, of course, but I believe your mother created it.”
A collective gasp went up in the crowd of colony members.
“My mother?”
“Uh...” He glanced around then returned his focus to twirling his hat. “Your mother’s name is Dahlia, by the way. We dated for a few months, nothing too serious, or at least that’s what I thought. And then I met Hydra and realized she was my fated mate, so I broke things off with your mother. She, uh, didn’t take it well. Especially when she discovered she was carrying my child.”
Hold the phone. Gabe’s mother wasn’t his father’s mate? Gods above, his life was a fucking soap opera.
Waves of conversations broke out in the crowd, all bleeding into one another. Shit, his father was divulging this family gossip in front of more than a thousand dragons. Not exactly the way he would have chosen to learn all this information about his own history.
You just told them you’re in love with Talia, his dragon pointed out. Like father, like son, perhaps?
Fuck no. Half of them probably already knew I was in love with Talia. This—this is shit I should be learning in private.
“After she birthed you, she presented you to me, hoping I’d change my mind about choosing Hydra over her. But Hydra was my fated mate, so even if I wanted to keep my family intact, I couldn’t. I loved her. My dragon loved her. It was fate. I had no control over it.”
He sounded like he was begging Gabe, perhaps the entire colony, to understand.
“That wasn’t the answer Dahlia wanted, of course, so she thrust you into my arms and ran away, but before she left, she vowed to seek revenge.”
This story couldn’t possibly get any worse, could it? And it wasn’t even a story—it was Gabe’s life.
“It was a few years later when the curse took hold. You would have been almost four, I think. That’s why I can’t be entirely sure it was her. But I’ve been researching it, trying to figure out a way to break it, and considering it’s been almost thirty years and I’m no closer to figuring it out than I was when it happened, I imagine it took her a few years to come up with it in the first place.”
“You’re saying my mother—my birth mother—left me when I was an infant? Just…just walked away?” Who the fuck did that?
His father nodded without pulling his gaze from the floor. Apparently, there was something real interesting down there.
“She wasn’t, uh, exactly stable. Her parents had abandoned her, too, as a child. She’d always resented it, always threw too much of herself into her relationships with other dragons. I suppose, in retrospect, we certainly set you up to fail, didn’t we?”
No shit. Frankly, the only way he’d managed to become a halfway decent person was thanks to the colony. And Ruby.
And Talia. Especially Talia.
“And then a few years later, she cursed the colony, because she was pissed off at you for choosing someone else?”
“Well, like I said, I can’t be 100 percent certain, but…”
“But you’re like, what? Ninety-nine percent?”
“Pretty much.” The man sounded down right miserable. Was it because he’d ditched his kid? Or because he’d let his entire fucking colony down? Or because he realized how godsdamned embarrassing it was to share all this family shit with everyone staring, hanging on every word?
“Hydra, my mate, was petrified. She was convinced our life would become that whole bunny boiler scenario. You know, from that movie? It came out in the late eighties. It was—”
“Yeah, I get it,” Gabe snapped.
“Right. Anyway, Hydra alternated between wanting to move out west so Dahlia couldn’t find us and wanting to try to get pregnant. But you know what it’s like when you’re part of a colony—most of us can’t just up and move. We feel…obligated, I suppose. The colony is like family.”
“Yeah. I get it.” Gabe doubted his father caught the sarcasm in his voice. Clearly not, when he continued his story as if Gabe hadn’t said anything.
“Hydra would convince herself Dahlia was coming after the baby—you—so then we’d quit trying to have one of our own. She was getting more paranoid by the day, even though nothing had happened for years. Like I said, you were almost four when the curse struck.”
He started twirling the hat so fast it became a blur in his hands.
“Then one night, Hydra had this dream. A nightmare, really. Maybe a vision. She woke in a panic, drenched in sweat, absolutely convinced something terrible was about to happen. It was everything I could do to convince her not to run that very morning. But then a few hours later, something did happen.
“It was like…like a blanket draped over us, snuffing out the fated mate flame, so to speak. Something was gone from our relationship. Just like that.” He snapped his fingers. Several people in the crowd nodded.
“That was the last straw for Hydra. She couldn’t take the stress of it all, so she just up and left.”
Boy, his dad sure knew how to pick ’em.
“I haven’t seen her since. Although I continue to hold out hope that if I can lift the curse, she will come back to me.”
Gabe shifted Ruby from one arm to the other and flexed to get the blood flowing again. What the hell was he supposed
to think about this story? What the hell was he supposed to do?
“So how is it possible I’m immune?”
His old man scratched his head. “Well, your mother wasn’t from this colony.”
Another collective gasp from the crowd. Great. Now they all knew their reeve wasn’t even a full-blooded Zilarra dragon. What the hell was next?
“So I’m thinking you’re immune because you’re her son, and half Rojo.”
“Fuck.” Gabe flung his free hand in the air while Ruby gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” he said to his daughter.
He turned around, looking for Talia. He needed her. Needed her reassurance. Needed to know she wouldn’t abandon him. He needed her to be the rock he’d never had. Never knew he needed.
But she wasn’t there.
“Son of a…” He turned back around and lifted his hand, palm out, toward his father. “I can’t do this right now.”
I need Talia.
“Adelbern, talk to this man. Get all the information you can out of him. Then call a meeting of the Elders for tomorrow and we’ll figure out what to do with whatever you know. I gotta get out of here.” He whipped his head around, checking the table where the Elders sat, the sections of the stage near the edge of the curtains. Still no Talia, and how was he supposed to go after her with Ruby in his arms?
“Gabe.” Ilsa motioned for him and reached for Ruby. “Give her to me. I’ll take care of her. Go. Find your mate.”
My mate.
He nodded and stormed toward the side of the stage. Fuck his dad and the curse. Screw his mother for destroying so many people’s lives—if she was even the one who created the curse. And all those dragons in there who expected him to perform fucking miracles could go to hell. He’d been off kilter for two weeks now, and he’d finally—finally—realized there was only one way to fix what was broken.
He needed Talia.
When he stepped into the darkness backstage, he paused, giving his eyes a minute to adjust. He heard a sniffle and turned sharply to the left, where he could just make out the form of two figures who looked like they were embracing.