by Sadie Sears
Good lord, it was only Sunday. That was almost the whole week away, but it had to be on her schedule since she had the information. “Sure. Do you mind if I bring a friend who is helping me figure this all out?”
“Not at all. I’ll see you at the Snowshoe Brew café, Friday at nine.”
After I thanked her and hung up the phone, I realized that meant I would be seeing Cam again. I stared at the open freezer, imagining how nice it would be, being that close to him and having those gorgeous eyes on me. I shivered at the thought of touching him again. Or maybe that was the freezer’s doing.
But the way Shae reacted to Cam was enough to snap me out of it. It would’ve been wonderful if she could’ve accepted him, because there was clearly a strong pull between us. But she hadn’t. In fact, she’d done the opposite and been openly hostile toward him. It made me wonder, if she had the same talent for intuition that I did, why he got two entirely opposite reactions out of us.
“Oh, Riley,” I whispered. My eyes darted around the room hopefully. “I wish you could give me a sign. Should I put a stop to things before they even get started?”
He didn’t answer. No signs, nothing. I couldn’t sense him at all. Sighing, I squirted the chocolate syrup on my ice cream and then grabbed some whipped cream for Shae’s. When the bowls were loaded, I grabbed two spoons and walked outside to join my girl under the tree. Maybe Riley would give me some kind of clue out there.
But the way things had been going, probably not.
I’d been right. Nothing happened under the tree. The evening went by uneventfully, as did most of the next few days. I’d let Cam know about Friday, but other than that, we hadn’t spoken. Shae and I remained at Lila’s, but otherwise, kept on business as usual. On Thursday I went into town and did a few scheduled readings at Sacred Spaces before picking Shae up from school and coming home to snuggle and watch a movie.
Leath and Lila had a long weekend camping trip planned for them and Zoe, so instead of hanging around their empty house, Shae had insisted we come home. Nothing bad had happened while we were there on Sunday, she’d argued, and we could go back to Lila’s to sleep. I knew she was really just missing the familiarity of our own space and her dad’s presence in it.
Since it was September and the fall season was starting to kick into full swing, she was on a Halloween movie binge. It wouldn’t be fully supported by the family movie channel until next month, but our streaming service had a big enough selection for us to watch a different one each night. We’d always done Halloween up right, decorating, dressing up, the whole shebang.
We were laid out across the sofa, piled up under blankets with snacks lying all around us. Shae had picked out a stop-motion movie about a girl with blue hair and a yellow raincoat. Family friendly, but actually sort of creepy. She grabbed a big handful of buttery popcorn and stuffed her mouth full.
When an ad interrupted our movie, she turned away from the TV and gave me a disgusted look. “I wish Zoe were here with us. I don’t understand why she’d want to go on a weekend camping trip with Leath and Lila.”
I tapped her lightly under the chin, a silent warning to watch her tone. “Shady-bear, Leath and Lila are hot-blooded now. They like the dropping temperatures.”
“Well, Zoe isn’t!” Shae exclaimed. “She’s going to freeze to death.”
That was what she was worried about? I chuckled and handed Shae the marshmallows. “Here, eat something sweet. Zoe is more than fine. She’s got your arctic sleeping bag, and she’s a tough kid, just like you. Besides, it’s only September. It’s not that bad out there yet.”
Shae rolled her eyes, but then nodded. “I guess.” She stuffed a marshmallow in, immediately followed by a handful of chocolate candies.
Watching her carefully, I brought up a touchy subject. “Do you think Zoe will choose to take the bite?” I asked. It was certainly a big decision, especially for someone her age. When Shae’s face darkened, I touched her arm in concern. “What is it?”
“She’d better not, not without talking to me about it first.”
My poor girl. Things were changing so fast, and change was never easy. “Hey now, Zoe may be your friend but it’s also a very personal decision for her to make, not you. If she chooses to talk to you about it, then be a good friend and listen, but don’t try to force her decision for her. Remember, real friends let their friends grow. You’re supposed to support them as long as what they’re doing is safe and makes them happy.”
Shae threw her hands up. “But, Mom! I don’t know if becoming a dragon is safe.”
“I understand you’re worried for your friend. We can discuss it if you want, and when they get back, we can ask Leath all sorts of questions.” I hoped if Shae learned more about dragons, she might warm up to Cam a bit more. She’d deftly avoided any conversation that included him the last few days. “I do know that dragons are natural protectors, and both Lila and Gretta can vouch for that. Plus, they’re the least bothersome type of shifter.”
I leaned in close and lowered my voice. “Imagine if Zoe became a panther shifter!” It was known that panther shifters were incorrigible flirts, and as children they were the most rambunctious and mischievous. Shae and Zoe had spent enough time around Justin, a nurse at our local hospital and Zoe’s Aunt Gretta’s best friend, to get a good dose of panther personality.
Shae burst out laughing, and I was glad to see it. “That’s true, it could be worse. She could walk around and talk about how fabulous and yummy everything is.”
I snorted a laugh. “No, honey, I think that’s all Justin and he owns it.”
We watched the movie when the ad ended, and several minutes later, another came on. I had just kicked off the blanket to go refill our drinks when Shae blurted out another question. “What is a destined mate?”
I froze in the act of getting up, half bent over, half risen from the couch, then I plopped back down. “Oh.” How did I explain this delicately to a twelve-year-old?
“Zoe said Lila and Leath are destined mates, and another time she said fated mate. And she said that Aunt Gretta and Sam were, too.”
Clearing my throat, I looked my daughter in the eye. At least this wasn’t as uncomfortable as the birds and the bees talk. That had been awful. Both of us ended that one embarrassed, though it had gotten better since. “All I know is that it means they’re destined to be together. The dragon suffers when they’re apart, and I’ve heard that the human can feel horrible in a different way, but being together makes them truly happy.”
Every word that came out of my mouth made me think of Cam. Surely that wasn’t what I was feeling for him. No way. Lila had mentioned the possibility, but wouldn’t Cam have said something? Or was it too weird to mention something like that so soon?
Shae looked like she wanted to say something, but our conversation was cut off suddenly by a shrill scream. My heart rose into my throat as the whole house started to shake like we were right over a fault line. Shae and I jumped up, her practically leaping into my arms as pictures flew off of the walls. The hollow clanging of pots in the kitchen rattling and shaking filled our ears, and the whole world felt like it was falling out from under us.
Shae lost it. Her shrill screams overpowered the pots and pans and the sounds of the TV, which flickered and turned to static. She and I sprinted for the door with her arms around my waist and her face buried under my arm. I yanked on the front door, but it wouldn’t budge. The scarves hanging by the door snaked out and tried to grab us, but I jerked us back away from them.
“Hold on!” I yelled. She clung to me as we rushed down the hall to the back door. I could see that it was open, but it slammed shut in our faces and stuck as well. “No,” I moaned. I pressed my foot into the doorframe and tugged on the handle to no avail.
Panic clutched my throat and I ran into the kitchen, yanking on the window over the sink. Shae finally let go of me to sprint to the window beside our small kitchen table. “No, no, no,” I repeated over and over as all the cabinet doors started
banging open and closed. I slapped my hand down on the knife block just as it started rattling, and then threw the entire thing in a drawer, which didn’t help much when the drawers also started banging open.
“Mom!”
Shae’s scream had me dashing across the kitchen before I even noticed the cord from the coffee maker wrapped around her wrist. I pulled her away and it let go easily, but then tried reaching for me. Suddenly I regretted not at least grabbing one of those knives before I tossed them away.
I grabbed Shae and we sprinted hand-in-hand toward the living room, where we tried the windows as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I pressed a few buttons and held the phone against my shoulder. As soon as it rang, I began chanting. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
None of the windows would open, just like the kitchen. Shae had begun screaming again at the top of her lungs as the couch started vibrating and scooting across the hardwood floor toward us. I grabbed her and ran for the back of the house again, and I prayed Cam would answer quickly and figure out how to save us.
5
Cameron
The hair on the back of my neck prickled as my ether senses went nuts. Something was really wrong. Jumping up, I set my dinner plate on the coffee table and looked around. The fireplace was crackling happily, there were no sounds of a break-in or intruder, and Vince didn’t seem bothered by anything until he noticed my agitation.
Panic curdled in my stomach, but everything here was fine. There was nothing happening to give me such a terrified feeling. So why was I on the edge of shifting?
“What is it?” Vince asked. He sat up straight and set his half-eaten dinner down, sweeping his gaze over the room warily.
Before I could answer, not that I really had an answer, my cell phone buzzed quietly on the end table beside the couch. I lunged for it and hit the button as soon as I saw who it was. Sophie’s name on the screen filled me with even more dread, more terror. Something must’ve been going very wrong at her place. “What is it? What’s happening?”
Shrill screaming filled the earpiece and I jerked it away from my head. My stomach rolled with nausea, and I was yanking off my pants before I had made the conscious decision to.
“Help!” Sophie yelled over the screams. That had to be Shae, then. “I’m so sorry. Can you please come as fast as possible?” She had to raise her voice to be heard. Not only was Shae screaming in the background, but there were a lot of random noises. All the thumps and bangs and shattering glass built up a cacophony.
“What’s going on?” I yelled back. “No, forget that, I’ll be there as fast as I can!” I tossed Vince my phone and pulled off my shirt, dropping it on the floor. “Something’s wrong over there. Tell her I’m on my way!”
Vince nodded and put the phone to his ear as I took off. I made sure I was in my small form this time so that the trees in her yard wouldn’t be as big an issue when I arrived.
Flying was so much faster than driving. Even though it was on the other side of town and halfway up a mountain, it only took me a couple of minutes to get there. As I flew, I kept my gaze down, scanning the woods between the town and her house, but saw nothing. Especially nothing that would cause the kind of trouble that would panic her like that.
Circling the house, I roared loud enough that I hoped they heard me. There was plenty of noise inside, but the sound coming from the home was shrill and far higher than any human could hear. It was almost as if the house itself was screaming in pain and terror. Whatever was causing the windows to rattle and all the movement inside, it wasn’t just scaring Sophie and Shae, it was causing the very land and home to rebel against it, but it was too strong.
I roared again, matching my pitch to the one coming from the house. Whoever was causing this needed to back off or I’d have to let out an energy burst. While it would’ve interfered with the spell and stopped all this, I really didn’t want to have to do that. That kind of burst would’ve zapped my energy and put me to sleep for a good day or more.
Circling the house one more time, I gave one last warning, this one the most ferocious of all. Thankfully, the house went quiet. Once the noise of the spell was gone, I was able to pinpoint the source of it. I made a beeline for the area the magic had originated, in the woods behind the house, but it had dissipated by the time I landed. The witch or wizard had stopped doing magic and left, and I couldn’t track her or him unless they actually performed magic. They’d masked their smell somehow as well, because I picked up nothing with my olfactory senses.
Taking off into the air again, I circled the house to make sure nothing else was amiss. I should’ve left then, now that the magic-user was scared off and Sophie and Shae were safe, but my innate dragon protectiveness wouldn’t let me leave so soon. After a few more laps with no signs, I landed near the house, hoping Sophie would come out to see me. I needed to make sure she and Shae were okay. But I didn’t hear or see anything moving inside.
What if they were hurt? I let out a roar, this time at a decibel that humans could easily hear. If she was unhurt, surely she’d hear that and come out. It was nearly dark out, and the house had only a single light on in the living room that, judging by the angle streaming through the window, looked like a knocked over lamp.
When she still didn’t come out, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I shifted back into my human skin and covered my junk as I tiptoed up the front porch. Keeping a wary eye on the surrounding area, I reached out for the handle.
The door was unlocked. I felt like a total creep, but I had to know that she hadn’t been hurt. “Hello?” I hissed. I angled my head inside and kept my body outside. If someone drove up, they would’ve gotten one hell of a full moon, but it was better than waltzing in and displaying everything to the kid.
I crept inside and grabbed the first thing I could find to cover myself. Sophie kept a row of scarves hanging by the front door. She liked to accessorize with them. I grabbed one without looking, quickly wrapping it around my waist and spreading it out before tying it. Tiptoeing forward a few more steps, I repeated my call a bit louder. “Hello?”
Sophie peeked out from under a blanket on the couch. “Is it over?” she said in a terrified voice.
“It’s over.” I rushed forward, visually checking her over for injuries. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, we’re unhurt.” She uncovered herself and Shae and looked at me properly for the first time. Sophie’s jaw dropped as Shae’s eyes widened.
Shae burst out laughing before grabbing the blanket and covering her head again. “Gross!” she shrieked. “I mean, thanks for saving us but…ewww! Go put on some clothes!”
Sophie made sure Shae’s eyes were well-covered, then let her gaze drop down my body, returning slowly back to my face. A lightning bolt of lust burst between us and I had to cover myself with my hands again. A tied scarf would only hide so much, and that was certainly not on the list. Finding words became incredibly difficult as I struggled to breathe.
My dragon had no problems. He wanted me to flex and preen in front of her, encourage her to admire my body. She seemed to be doing that anyway, and I really wanted to let her. But now was not the right time.
Definitely not, especially with Shae in the room. “Uh…”
Oh, very suave. That would get her straight into my bed. Uh.
“Thank you.” Sophie tucked Shae in, who was still giggling under the blanket, and grabbed another throw from the floor. “Here, this might suit you better than a rainbow scarf.”
Since it was a plaid blanket, I tied it at the side and turned it into a makeshift skirt. I felt like a kid when I grinned at Sophie; like a lovesick teenager doing ridiculous things to see her smile or laugh. “Do you like my kilt?”
She laughed, which made it worth it, but the Shae-sized lump on the couch groaned under the blanket and wiggled around. “Gross,” she muttered again.
Her belongings were strewn everywhere, I belatedly realized. There was the lamp I’d noticed from outside, lying on its side near th
e window. Picture frames were scattered all over the floor, and all the broken glass from those were mixed with the shattered bulbs from the ceiling fan and another lamp. Even the couch was askew, pulling the vintage rug underneath it away from the hearth.
When I saw Sophie’s hands still shaking as she surveyed the damage, I knew I couldn’t leave them there. “So, I bought this big house on the other side of town, and there’s a bunch of rooms.”
Shae peeked out from under the blanket with a suspicious look on her face. I held my hands up defensively. I had no illusions that she would suddenly like me after saving them from that attack. Maybe I’d hoped a little, but it wasn’t like flipping a switch. She needed more time, more proof.
“Seriously, there’s so much room. Would you two like to come and stay with me while we figure out what’s going on? You’ll be safe and have all the privacy you could ask for. And Vincent is also there, so he can help watch and make sure you’re safe.”
Sophie looked at Shae, who lowered her eyes and shrugged. “I guess,” she whispered. Of course, I could hear her, but she didn’t seem to realize that, and I didn’t want to say anything.
I waited for Sophie to look at me and nod. Her sapphire eyes were red-rimmed from the panic, but she was holding herself together admirably. Hopefully a few nights at my place would get them both some peace.
“Great. Just pack whatever you need, and we can go.”
Sophie padded into the dark kitchen, carefully avoiding broken glass with her bare feet, and came back with flashlights for her and Shae. “Just in case the lights upstairs were blown out, too.” They headed up the stairs together, but Sophie stopped halfway. She turned toward me and tapped out a nervous rhythm with her fingertips on the banister. “Will you come up? Just to be close?”
“Of course.” I followed and settled at the top of the stairs to wait on them to pack, even if it was a bit awkward in my makeshift kilt.