by KD Jones
Something about how he answered made her sad. Were they too different to be together? Was she crazy to even want that? Other humans had mated with Drakonians—Valorie, Emily, and Gema. They seemed to be happy. So why was it so complicated for her and Viper? A thought came to her that made her insides feel turned upside down.
“Viper?”
“Yes?”
“Are you seeing someone else?”
“I see you.”
She almost growled at that response. “Are you dating someone else?”
He looked up at her. “I would never have touched you if I had someone else waiting for me. I’m a bastard, but I’m at least an honorable one.”
Callie felt terrible for almost accusing him of cheating or using her. “Sorry, I’m not good at this.” She slumped down on the ground across from the fire.
He went back to cleaning the fish. “You’re not good at what?”
“This,” she said, waving her hand back and forth from him to her. “Dating, sex, relationships. I suck at them.”
“I thought you were engaged at one point.”
“I was before I had to come to help my uncle after my aunt died. I knew my fiancé would not follow me. I think I wanted to end it but didn’t know how to cut it off. It was the first genuine relationship I’d ever had, but it wasn’t right for me.”
“Why wasn’t it right?”
“I loved him, but I wasn’t in love with him.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Have you ever been in love?”
“No.”
That made her heart ache for him. All these centuries, but no love. “Well, I’m not an expert on it. I only know what I saw with my aunt and uncle and what I read in books. The stuff in books was always so romantic, and I knew that finding a knight in shining armor to win my heart was not practical. So I relied on my aunt and uncle’s relationship to be my scale that I weigh all relationships on.”
“I never met your uncle but the few times I came to town I saw them together.”
“They were partners, worked side by side, and were each other’s best friends. It devastated my uncle when my aunt died. He would tell me it felt like he lost his right hand.”
“I can imagine what that would be like, to lose something so precious.”
Surprised at his words, she looked up to find his dark eyes on her.
“I never wanted to be tied to someone else that losing them would tear me apart from the inside out. I have never felt that love was even possible until now.” Her heart sped up. “Viper…”
A sound above them had Viper standing to his full height. “Stay here, I will check that out.”
Callie wrapped her arms around her waist and watched him leave. Fear for him filled her. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost Viper now. It suddenly hit her. She wasn’t falling in love with Viper; she was already in love.
Chapter 21
Viper heard what sounded like Drakonian sonar calls. His people could send out sonar calls in their dragon form to alert others of their approach or as a warning of danger and call for help. He needed to be a little closer to find out if he recognized the dragon. That meant he needed to take to the air.
With sure strides, he leaped and shifted. His wings quickly caught the wind, pulling him higher and higher. He kept close to the mountain range downwind from the other dragon.
A second answering sonar sounded in the distance. These were not his people. Every instinct in him wanted to go back to Callie and make sure she was safe, but he needed to make sure that the rogues would not find her. She would always come first.
In the hours they had together, he finally accepted what his dragon knew at the first scent of her, Callie was his. She was his mate, his to love and protect. Viper would first get her to safety, and then take down these assholes. After that, he would court her properly and pursue her until she accepted his claim. He was determined to make that happen.
Viper followed the dragon until he disappeared miles away in the opposite direction. The other dragon used the sonar call to communicate which areas they each searched. Only when he felt both dragons were nowhere near Callie, did he turn back. The rogues risked exposure by flying during daylight hours. They would need to find a different way to travel back to Arizona.
Scents of more humans and sounds of laughter caught his attention. There was a campground near to him. He looked for a place to land and shift to his human form. Moving through the trees, keeping himself hidden, he could see about six sets of campers. Three in RVs of different sizes and three using tents. The campers were heading off down a trail for exploring. An elderly couple remained in one of the RVs. He listened as the couple entered the RV and not long after he could hear their light snores as they took a nap. That’s when he made his approach.
*****
Callie watched the skies for some sign of Viper. He had been gone for hours it seemed. She paced, cleared out the fish remains and put the fire out, knowing that it was what Viper would want her to do.
What if the rogues attacked him? He was all by himself, no backup. She should have insisted he stay with her. A sound from the trees had her jump around with a stick in her hands ready to hit whatever it was. Relief filled her when she recognized the figure approaching.
“Viper.” She dropped her stick and launched herself at him. “Are you okay? Was it the rogues? Where the hell have you been?”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. Yes, it was the rogues. They were using Drakonian sonar calls to search the area. I found a campsite near to here and had to stop to pick up a few things for us.”
That’s when she noticed he had on a Hawaiian button down and blue shorts torn up the thighs. “Where did you get clothes?”
“I borrowed them from the campers. Here, put these on. I will bury your old clothes to cover your scent.”
She took the clothes he gave her. It was a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with “Bieber Fever” on the front. It was a size too small. Callie barely got the jeans to the button, and the shirt molded to her breasts. “Did you get these from a teenager or something?”
“It fits,” he responded, barely glancing her way.
“Barely. If I reach up with my arms over my head, the shirt turns into a bare midriff.”
He gave her a thorough look as she showed. The shirt rose over her navel and he growled with desire in his eyes. “I see your point. Keep your arms down.”
Once dressed she waited, expecting him to shift. “Are we waiting for it to get dark before we fly out?”
“We’re not flying. The rogues are too close and they will look for us in the skies.”
“Are you planning on us to walk all the way back to Arizona?”
“No. I have other means of transportation.”
Chapter 22
“Are you shitting me?
“There is no excrement here. It’s clean.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Callie was expecting a car or a truck; even a motorcycle would be a great means to travel. This… was not the getaway vehicle she had in mind.
He led her to an early 2000s RV. A large family vehicle. “This is not a fast mode, and it sticks out like a sore thumb.”
Opening the door, he took in the size of the RV then stepped back for her to climb inside. “I agree, but the scents of the family and food will help cover our trail. We won’t be able to drive it for long before we have to change it out. It will be missed in a few hours and the police will be called. So let’s hurry to get to a new location and a different vehicle quickly.”
She couldn’t argue with his logic and as the shifter of the two of them, he would know how to cover their scents the best. “Well, maybe they have something to drink. I’m thirsty.”
“Exactly, another part of our adventure.”
On the top step, Callie turned and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips. “I don’t think I could have picked a better partner on
this adventure than you.” The smile he gave her warmed her through and through.
She sat in the passenger’s seat while he cranked the RV. He drove down the mountain. Fear of them possibly getting discovered filled her. Thirty minutes later, they were merging onto a highway. She breathed a small sigh of relief. Once they crossed the Arizona border, she would break out in a merry dance.
“How about you get us something to drink?”
“Right, you must be thirsty too.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and walked to the kitchenette area. Opening the small refrigerator, she took in the contents. “I see a six-pack of beer, soda, and a few bottles of water.”
“Water please.”
She grabbed two bottles of water and closed the refrigerator door. Callie twisted the lid loose and handed a bottle to him. “I will take a quick look at what else is in the RV.”
“Be careful; walking while I’m driving is not the safest.”
“Just warn me if you take a sharp turn or something.”
It took a few minutes to look over the small seating area across from the kitchenette, a small bathroom with a shower she doubted Viper would fit into. There was a small bed. She looked at it longingly. The ground had been very uncomfortable. She wanted to take a shower and crawl into that bed with Viper. It would be a while before they could do that. They needed to talk first. Callie went back to sit in the passenger’s seat.
“How are we doing on time?” she asked him.
“I’m not sure. It’s been maybe forty-five minutes.”
“When do you think we’ll stop and change cars?”
“I want to wait until it’s dark before we do that. Luckily, this thing has a full tank of gas.”
They drove in silence for a while. Callie was trying hard to find something that they could talk about. If she talked about the amazing sex that they shared would he think she was pushing for more? Was she? Wanting more from him? Maybe.
Callie would love to date him and see if this could lead to a future. She had feelings for him, powerful feelings. But was it something that developed out of extenuating circumstances? Once these rogues were taken into custody, would she still feel this way? Only time would tell.
She watched as the signs from the highway alerted her to where they were and where they would need to go. When he passed the route, she panicked. “That was the exit we were supposed to take.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, didn’t you see the sign for Route 78 to Arizona?”
“I… must have missed it.” His cheeks reddened a little, but he didn’t look at her.
“That’s okay, we can take the next exit and reconnect,” she told him.
The silence grew, and finally she had to ask that had been bugging her. “Viper?”
“Yes?”
“When you said that you don’t read, is that because you actually can’t read?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
Chapter 23
Viper worried that she would think less of him now that she knew about his flaw. Why had he told her? Because she asked and he would not lie to his mate—ever. He could feel her eyes on him, but he kept his eyes straight ahead.
“How is that even possible? You’re like… hundreds of years old, right?” she asked incredulously.
He hesitated to tell her what his exact age was. He remembered the other human mates had a hard time dealing with the age gap and didn’t want that to be a barrier between them. He focused on her original inquiry.
“I was born into a poor community outside the palace. My father was always off fighting in one war or another, rarely coming home. I lived with my mother and we helped work the farms to provide for ourselves. My mother didn’t have the means to send me to get an education, but she tried to teach me what she could, but I was too stupid to learn.”
“Did she say that to you?”
Callie sounded furious over that. “No, my mother was amazing and always encouraged me to never give up trying my best. She felt like she failed me. It was my father who said I was too stupid to learn from books and that my true worth would be as hard labor or as a warrior. When my mother died, my father couldn’t be bothered with the responsibility of raising me, so he took me to the castle when training for new warrior recruits began. He handed me over to Prince Reichardt and never came back for me.”
“What an asshole!”
She was furious on his behalf. Did that mean she cared? “It was the best thing that could have happened to me. Prince Reichardt and the other trainers never made me feel less because I couldn’t learn the written word. I excelled at my warrior training and I developed highly coveted tracking skills.”
“You did if you tracked me down. Wait, you said Prince Reichardt, I thought he was your king?”
“He became king after his father died.”
“Take that exit coming up. It will route us to where we need to be.”
Viper followed her directions. He was very impressed with her. Any other female would have been in tears by now, but Callie was proving to be a strong, calm, and helpful partner.
“Tell me more about the reading problems you have. I work with different kids and adults who have issues learning. I might help.”
“I don’t know.”
“Please.”
“Will you think less of me if your efforts do not make a difference?”
“Of course not! You are smart, talented, brave, strong, handsome, and sexy. This learning disability does not make you who you are, it’s only a part of you. Let me help.”
She sounded sincere, and she said he was sexy. What could it hurt to let her try? It would mean she would have to spend more time with him, and it would give him more chances to convince her to agree to mate him.
“Very well. What do you want to know?”
“First, are there words you can identify?”
“My mother first realized I had a learning problem when I was very young, around five. I had a hard time learning songs and I couldn’t remember things in the right order, like the letters of our written word. As I grew older, there were some words I could recognize, but often I confused the letters in words. Reading felt like a workout because I was so slow just to read a simple sentence.”
“It sounds like you may have dyslexia.”
“What is that? Can it be cured?”
“It’s a learning disorder that affects your ability to read, spell, write, and speak. Most who suffer this are very smart people. From what I know, it causes people to reverse letters and numbers and see words backward, making it hard for people to recognize words. People are born with it. It’s not something that can be cured, but you can learn to manage it.”
“How do I manage it?”
“I would have to do more research, but I know that there is testing available to help identify the needs of kids with dyslexia and then there are tutors and teaching methods to improve reading skills. I’m sure it can apply to you.”
“Would you do that for me? Research and help with the teaching methods?”
“Of course. It would have to be in English because I don’t know your language—Drakonian.”
“I would love to read the written word in any language.”
“Then when we get back and the rogues are taken care of, I’ll start researching everything I can on it.”
“Thank you.”
“I owe you. You came after me when you didn’t have to.”
“I would always come for you,” he told her, and he meant it.
Chapter 24
Several hours later
Callie couldn’t help but keep looking in the side mirror for any cops after them. She knew it wouldn’t take long for the RV to be reported missing, then all the cops would be notified. The sun was setting.
“When do you plan to pull over?”
“As soon as it is dark. Help me look for a truck stop. Hopefully, there will be cars there that we can borrow.”
“A motel or hotel could be a good place to
get a car, and most of those people won’t be coming out until daylight.”
“You’re right. Look for one of those, not one that’s fancy, they may have too much security.”
“Two exits up. There was a sign showing a motel.”
He was just about to take the exit she pointed to, but something hit the side of the RV, making him swerve to the right.
Callie screamed when she looked out the driver’s window to see an enormous dragon’s head and beady eyes staring back at her. “Oh my God! It’s Spider!”
“Hold on to something, this will get bumpy!”
She didn’t have to be told twice. Callie gripped one hand on the dashboard and the other on the handle on the bottom of her chair. It still didn’t brace her enough for the hit from on top of their RV. Both dragons were coordinating their attack. One hit the side of the RV, then a few seconds later the one above them hit the roof. The older RV shook and wobbled. There was a pop, pop, pop sound from the direction of the front wheel. Then everything seemed to lean toward the right.
“We’ve got no choice but pull into the field. Stay inside the RV, lock the door, and look for something the owners may have left behind to call for help.”
“You can’t be serious! There’s no way you can take both of them on by yourself.”
He stood and headed toward the door. “I can handle them, but just in case, look for something to use as a weapon.”
Callie rushed to him and stopped him before he opened the door. He turned to her and took her in his arms, kissing her as if it were the last time. She was determined that it would not be.
“You come back to me alive, Viper. I mean it. I’ve lost everyone I have loved. I won’t lose you too.”
“You love me?”
“You must stay alive to find out.”
He growled before kissing her again. “I love you too, my mate. Stay safe.”
She didn’t question his use of the word “mate.” That would be a conversation they could have at a later date. But it did make her feel special to hear it. Callie watched as he dove out of the RV and quickly shifted into his dragon form. One of the other dragons shot out a spray of fire, making the area foggy. Holy shit! She was in the middle of a dragon war. Would she live through it? God only knew.