by Sadie Sears
“Bullshit?” She huffed out a sharp breath and lifted an angry eyebrow. “My New Age bullshit cures many ailments, soothes pain, quiets bad dreams. I help bring peace to tormented souls. You fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Sounds more like the greatest show-off to me.”
I pressed my fingers to my chest in mock offense. “Show-off? Moi?”
Well, okay, I could give her that one. Maybe on occasion I soared with gusto. And she’d picked up on my tormented soul, but only because I’d walked in here and found her, my mate. Now I had to, what? Convince her? Make being my destined mate sound like the best damned deal this side of dollar day at the donut shop?
“Call me what you want, but I’m not the one who called me to protect you.” Great. I’d moved from insulting her to taunting her.
“Neither did I.” A truth she spat from between clenched teeth.
Wow, we were really starting off on the wrong foot. I wasn’t totally sure how we'd gotten here. I’d gone really wrong somewhere. “Yes, I know. Sorry. Your sister said you’ve caught some unwanted attention.” Stalker. Gretta had said stalker, but I didn’t want to rub that in.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lila walked to the table across from the one where she’d set the candlestick, her dress swishing against her long, tanned legs, and I silently groaned. When she turned to look back at me, her hazel eyes caught mine. I could practically see her thoughts. She was wondering if she could trust me, but she knew I was Sam’s friend, and I supposed that cinched it for her in the end. She handed me a folded note.
“I got this and a couple of weird texts.” She shrugged and folded her arms. “Gretta is a worrier. I’m sure it’s not a big deal.”
The note was nondescript on plain lined paper with crude penmanship. It held only two words, which wasn’t a big clue into the person who jotted it down.
Watching you.
Direct. To the point. Creepy, even, but there was nothing to indicate a witch’s curse, or any other kind of dark magic associated with it. “Most likely human.” And sometimes, that could be worse. Without any assistance from the supernatural, they still managed to be the most dangerous species alive.
All the tension Lila had held in the lines of her face vanished, and I realized then how much she’d needed to hear those words. After her ordeal with the wizards, I didn’t blame her for wanting that reassurance. I took a deep breath as I reined back my desire to stroke a line from her temple to her jaw. My dragon pushed for control while I watched Lila and tried to memorize every detail and curve of her face, every fleck of amber in her hazel eyes, every nuance of her smile.
“That’s what I thought, too. And since there hasn’t been anything else, I think Gretta is probably just overreacting. So, while I appreciate you checking on me, I think I’ll be fine. I have your number, just in case, so you can go now. Thanks.”
Right. Now that she had her reassurances, she no longer wanted me. That hurt, but she was human. She wouldn’t feel the pull of destiny. She wouldn’t have any idea we were meant to be together—the whole soulmate thing.
So simple. A shrug of her shoulders, and I was out.
Except, now it was complicated. I couldn’t go. I hadn’t given her anything yet. Not a business card, no contract, assuming Cam had thought to have one drawn up. I hadn’t even informed her of my life’s promise. And speaking of which… “I hear what you’re saying. I promise I do.” I cleared my throat and rubbed my palms together, prepared to either bid her farewell or grovel. Could’ve gone either way. “But it’s not that easy.”
The apprehension that had darkened her eyes earlier was back. And this time, she added a frown. “Sure, it is. Everything you did to come here, just do it again in reverse.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. It was probably intended more to put me at ease and give her time to figure out how to maim me with the candlestick she’d already put down.
“I can’t go because—” I took a steadying breath. I’d never said these words before because they were a once-in-a-lifetime thing. “Because you’re my—” Nothing to do but spit it out, and it would’ve been easier had she not been giving me a death glare. I shook out my arms and went for it. “—my destined mate.”
“I’m your what now?” Her voice went flat, and her brow wrinkled. She looked at me like I’d spoken a different language.
I frowned, confused. “Like Gretta? With Sam?” Surely, her sister had told her what it meant to be destined to Sam, how it felt, what it was like.
Lila cocked her head and stared. “You mean she’s destined. Oh, okay. I’m destined, too.”
“Right.” Excellent. A woman who paid attention. Now we were getting somewhere. “Gretta is destined to Sam.”
“For Sam. Mated to.” She shot me a glare.
I held up my hands, palms facing her. “Okay, yeah. Prepositions don’t matter. You’re right. Destined means what?”
I hesitated, trying to choose the right words. I didn’t want to scare her off. If the explanation wasn’t perfect, I could end up freaking her out, driving her away. Then where would I be? I tapped my fingers on my leg nervously. Damn, I wasn’t good at this.
“So, it’s like this, uh, we belong together. In all the world, all the creatures, you and I are chosen, meant to be together. Destined.”
Her eyes were wide, and she swallowed a couple times. “Oh, well. Why didn’t you say so when you got here?” Her frown was back.
“I was going to but, you know, the candlestick—” It took a second, but I recognized the tone of voice. “Oh, you were being sarcastic.”
She backed up a step. Dammit. I should’ve found better words, but maybe she didn’t agree with destiny. Maybe she didn’t understand the consequences.
“Look, I’m sure you’re a great dragon, and being your fated filly or destined darling would be swell, but really, I’m good. I’m happy where I am, with my hocus pocus New Age bullshit and my teeny tiny dragon tapestry. And I am one hundred percent sure a handsome guy like you can find a thousand girls who want to be your wingmate.”
Oh, but if only it were so easy. I took another of those deep calming breaths, waiting patiently for the moment she got it out of her system so we could talk. I was sure she just needed a minute to grasp the concept and stop looking at me like she wanted me to die.
She began pacing, her footsteps light, and not a trace of the fatigue or pain I knew she suffered from. After a few trips up and down her living room, she turned to face me. She was tall for a woman, but slight and delicate—the opposite of my hulking frame. She was so perfect it almost hurt me to be so close to her and not touching.
“So, destined. What does it mean, exactly?”
“We are two halves. A matching set. Like, um, salt and pepper, or ketchup and mustard.” I couldn’t do much worse than this, but I couldn’t think past the need to hold her in my arms.
“Oh, okay, so we’re condiments.”
I winced. “No. I mean we complement each other. We belong together. Without one, the other is incomplete. When we’re together, our strengths are stronger. And our weaknesses—”
“Are weaker?” she snapped. She took a deep breath, then huffed it right back out. “Look, I know you’re serious, and I know I should be flattered. I mean, what girl doesn’t want someone like you to look at them, right? But I’ve already got one freakshow fixated on me, and I certainly don’t need ano—” She clamped her mouth shut, closed her eyes, and seemed to take a moment to center herself before she looked at me again. “I’m sorry. That was ugly. I’m not like that.”
I knew, but I remained silent, letting her absorb everything I’d told her and what I believed she intuitively understood—because once she did, we could move past this and get on with the claiming, and I would be able to breathe easier.
“So, what happens?” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot to the beat of a thousand hyped-up drummers. “We light candles and burn incense? Some ritual tattoos or something?”
“Well, the
re’s a claiming bite.” I wiped my hand over my face, wishing I’d kept that tidbit to myself. God, that sounded way worse than it was, and I was not helping things at all. My damn mouth.
“A what, now?” She stopped tapping her foot and tilted her head as if to hear better.
“A claiming bite. Did Gretta not tell you about hers?” Sisters shared secrets, didn’t they? She shook her head. They seemed close enough, I’d assumed she knew. “Well, I bite you.”
To my credit, I didn’t bare my teeth. Because that would’ve been idiotic, and I’d done enough of that for one day. But I almost did it.
“So, what? Do we do it now?” She sat on the couch as if the strength had gone out of her legs. I almost went to her side, but I didn’t think she was ready for me to touch her yet. “Oh, I’m dying to know where you think I’m going to let you bite me.”
“It’s not like I just walk up and take a nibble.” I grinned, charming, more in charge of my thoughts, or so I thought. “Unless you want me to.” She shot me a scowl, and I held up my hands in surrender again. “Too much. Got it.”
“Just tell me.” Even when spoken from between clenched teeth, her voice made me want her and all the things having her meant.
“All right. When I claim you, you'll be able to change into a dragon, to fly. And there are other perks, too.” Maybe if I went at it like a car salesman, really sold it, I could make her listen, maybe even love the idea and we could skip all the relationship stuff that would roll out naturally after the bite.
Or maybe I could really learn to love the taste of my own foot in my mouth. I did seem to be excelling at that today.
She stared. “Like what?”
I wouldn’t have called it interest, but it was an opening, and I took it. Granted, I would have preferred to do this in a more romantic setting—over a glass of wine or a nice dinner, cuddled up in front of an open fire. There were thousands of dragons out there, and not all of them found their destined mate. I was blessed. I couldn’t fuck this up.
“You’ll never get so much as a cold ever again. You’ll be strong, and all the ailments normal people are subjected to will practically disappear. Your MS will be healed.” Her eyes didn’t so much as flicker with interest. They remained hard, unreadable, and my stomach sank a little. “So, usually, claiming happens, um, during sex. So, unless we want a baby right away, I would need to make sure to bring some kind of birth control.”
“I can handle my own birth control. Thank you.” The thanks was on the sarcastic side again. How was I messing this up so badly?
“Oh, I didn’t mean—uh, yeah. Right.” No big deal. Adults talked about sex. I was an adult. I could say the word without needing to adjust my pants. “At just the time when you’re ready to, you know, then I’ll bite you. We can pick a place pre-bite.”
Sam hadn’t warned me about the minefield that was this conversation. This was going way worse than I could’ve pictured.
“And just like that.” Lila snapped her fingers. “I’m a dragon, and I can fly.” She flapped her arms for a second, and then I saw her suddenly realize all the things she didn’t know she knew. Her eyes went wide.
“Gretta is a dragon now? She can fly?”
That hadn’t really been my place to tell her, but I’d messed up every other part of our conversation, so I nodded. And as quickly as she figured out what it all meant, and her face cleared of any doubt or confusion, she stood and came at me like a linebacker. She shoved her hands against my chest, and she backed me out of the living room, through the foyer and to the door. I could’ve stopped her, of course, but if she’d wanted me to walk out on my hands while whistling I would’ve.
“You know, I’m gonna have to take a hard pass. So, thanks for coming out, but I want you to go now. And I want you to forget you ever met me or that I met you.”
Ouch. Literally, that shit hurt. “I can’t do that. I have to protect you.”
“No, no. I release you from your destiny-ness, or whatever. Go in peace, my friend. Take a bite out of somebody else’s crime. I don’t need your help and I don’t want to be mated by you or anybody else.” She leveled a glare at me, hard, angry, disbelieving. Her voice was low, as deadly as any warning I’d ever heard. “Leave.”
What the hell? Destiny had put us together, so who the hell was she to question it? To question me? I’d die for her, and it went without saying I’d kill for her. Yet she’d poked fun and made jokes. Clever, but insulting. I hadn’t gone about it in the smoothest way, but it wasn’t like I’d come in and grabbed her to drag to my cave.
That figured. I found the one woman who destiny had in mind for me, and she turned out to be stubborn. Sassy.
Adorable. Beautiful.
Crazy. That was what she was. New Age magic hooey was her life’s chosen path, and I’d already suffered at the hands of a bunch of chanting yogis. I wouldn’t be doing that again.
Seems like destiny got this one wrong.
2
Lila
Destined? What kind of bulldonk was he trying to pull? Destiny and fate were better reserved for more important people than me. I had better things to do than get sucked into that kind of complication.
And speaking of complications, my sister had some serious explaining to do. A lot of it. Good thing I was supposed to meet them at Sam’s place for dinner that night before grabbing Zoe from her best friend Shae’s house. They couldn’t make excuses to escape my questions if they were already home.
First, if I was going to have any hope of having a calm, rational conversation with anyone, I needed to center myself. For that to happen, I needed tea. Lots and lots of tea.
I carefully made my way into the kitchen. Though I’d tried to hide it in front of Leath, my legs were feeling heavy these days. The last thing I needed was a stress flare-up from my MS that would put me in bed for who knew how long. I grabbed the kettle from the stovetop and filled it.
My stove was a classic, one of the white ones with a flat half on one side of its wide top and four small burners on the other. There was a small warmer above, where I kept bread, and an oven and more warmers below. When the kettle was on the fire, I turned and leaned on the butcher block island.
What a morning.
Usually, I loved this kitchen. Everything, from the intricate wood scrolling in the corners of the doorway, to the handcrafted cabinets, the windows that looked out over the backyard, and the smooth, oiled wood countertops, comforted me. I’d spent a lot of time here with my mom when I was young. Today, however, the only way I was going to get any comfort and calm was by making a lot of tea and getting confirmation from Gretta that what’s his name—Leath Lane—got it wrong.
The whistle of the kettle snapped me out of my head. I grabbed the chamomile from my tea collection and poured the water over it into the pot and let it steep. Hopefully, it would do the trick today. Once it was done, I poured some into a small china teacup and carried it down the hall to my studio.
There was something to be said for this old house—it had a lot of open space. I’d converted the extra rooms into a small office, a yoga studio, a meditation suite, and a massage and facial spa. Natural light and air circulated through the rooms from the windows I always liked to keep open. The gentle Vermont breezes complemented the sounds of nature and provided extra comfort that aligned with the aesthetic of my business.
I needed all the help I could get today. Setting my tea on the table, I rolled a mat out on the floor. If I had any hope of coming to an understanding with Gretta, I would have to find my center, calm my soul, and forget those greener-than-grass eyes and the absurdity of Leath’s claiming ritual. I huffed. I’d show him bite me.
Settling into the ritual, I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. Or at least I tried to. An image of a certain dragon shifter kept appearing behind my eyelids. There weren’t a lot of people in this town who could make me feel dainty, but he did. At five-nine, I couldn’t wear heels on dates—not that I went on any—because they made me taller t
han some of the men I’d been interested in. Leath was tall, at least six-two, if not more.
But I wasn’t interested in Leath. Sure, he had beautiful eyes and hands, and a body I’d only ever seen in my fantasies, but that didn’t matter. My beliefs were bullshit. I wasn’t interested.
And I lasted all of ten minutes before I realized this wasn’t working for me. I couldn’t get my head on straight.
I drained my teacup, left it in the sink to wash later, then headed to Gretta and Sam’s a little earlier than expected. I could ask Sophie, my best friend and Shae’s mom, to bring Zoe over to Sam’s. She wouldn’t mind. That way, I’d have more time to question them before they could stuff their mouths to avoid answering. And if I was going to keep thinking of gorgeous green eyes, oh, I needed answers.
Sam’s house was reminiscent of a fisherman’s cottage with double front doors and a covered front porch. His truck was in the driveway, so I knew they were home, just not what state they would be in. Since the fiasco with the wizards at the hospital, Gretta had gotten her job back, along with some extra vacation time to head off a potential lawsuit. She’d put that vacation time to good use right away and was in the process of getting moved into Sam’s place.
I took a deep, patient breath and knocked again, for the third time. Maybe a handful of seconds between each knock wasn’t enough time, but I wasn’t feeling particularly patient. I heard someone stumble, saw the curtains in the bay window twitch, then the front door unlocked and opened. Sam stood there in loose jeans and no shirt. Behind him, Gretta came running up in an oversized T-shirt—probably one of Sam’s.
“Lila!” She pushed her messy dark hair back from her face. “Is everything okay? You’re early. Like, really early.”
“We need to talk, little sister,” I said. My tone was one hundred percent Big Sister™️, and judging by the look on Gretta’s face, she heard it, too.