Griffin grabbed her and hauled her into his arms. Bumble scrambled away, skidding on the wood floor before disappearing. Griffin laughed, soft and low so that it rumbled in her chest from where their bodies touched. To lose this was going to kill her. She wanted to sink into him and tell him she would love him forever.
But, it wasn’t…
“You’re my mate. There’s nothing you could do that would hurt me. Curse or not.”
There was a brief moment, where her heart hung suspended in time, while she processed what he’d said. The tugging sensation in her stomach grew sharp. It pulled her further into Griffin’s touch.
“You can’t be serious,” Lilah whispered, but deep down, she knew it too.
Of course, she knew. Her beast had. The creature had mentioned it the day before, during the fight. Lilah had been too afraid for Griffin to realize what her beast already knew. Her joy was brief and bright before it crashed to the ground.
“I’m just going to make a mess of your life,” she mumbled. The curse would see to it.
“This curse business has to stop. I’ll buy however much sage you want to burn if it will make you feel better, but no amount of spiritual cleansing will get rid of something that isn’t there.” He pulled back to meet her eyes. “It’s easy to blame all the bad things in your life on a curse, but I don’t want you to blame yourself for everything that happens. You have done nothing to hurt me. You are innocent. Do you hear me?”
She struggled to breathe. But her mother had told her. There was evidence of the curse throughout her entire life. Yet, the more she thought about it, she found the reasoning behind every instance she’d blamed on the curse. The crash at the intersection when she was younger had been a faulty clutch. It’d stalled the car.
She lost her jobs because she was horrible at being on time, not because the curse moved the clock hands on her. The eviction notice was partly her sister’s fault. Vivi swept into Lilah’s life to drain her of funds and leave her empty handed.
Perhaps Griffin was right.
He didn’t give her time to think too long on it because he nuzzled her neck and all thoughts vanished. His lips found the mark he’d made on her neck and shivers racked her body.
“Let’s go shower. I wonder if it’s large enough for the both of us.” His hands slid over her naked body to awake desires she’d tried to lock away. Now that she knew they were mates, she didn’t have to.
They rolled out of bed, slowly. Lilah looked back at the ruined bed. It would have to be torn apart, the bedding thrown away. She would buy something new. It would be a welcome distraction from the war outside their doors.
The shower offered another kind of distraction. Griffin brought her to a screaming orgasm that every dragon for miles probably heard. Each thrust reminded her of the truth living in her core, in her soul.
They were mates.
It was a strange way to discover true love, but they had.
No curse would have ever allowed her to find true love. It would have broken her, defeated her. She’d thought her run of bad luck had been leading her to an awful end, but as she took in Griffin and all the ways he smiled when he saw her, she realized where her luck had been leading her.
Sure, it’d been a rough journey, and she didn’t want to have to go through it again, but she’d made it somewhere great. This was not the work of a curse. The only curse was the one she’d clung to whenever something awful happened. It’d made her see the worst in everything when there was good to be found.
Lilah was ready to let go of any notions of a family curse.
Her future was her own, now.
***
There was a knocking on the door, frantic and demanding. Lilah looked to her mate. Dread hit her stomach like a box of rocks. Without answering it, she knew who would be on the other side. Vivi had found her once again.
Someone in town must have mentioned seeing Lilah with Griffin. Vivi could have easily pried the information out of anyone.
Griffin snatched another chip laden with guacamole from the table before standing. Lilah wanted to call out to him, to warn him not to answer the door, but she found herself unable to speak. Guilt roiled inside her. She couldn’t hide from her sister forever.
She followed Griffin to the front door, almost trying to hide behind him. She had to remind herself that she could face her own sister. Vivi wasn’t going to invade her life again. Lilah was going to draw a line and stand by it. Vivi would have to figure out how to live without stealing from her big sister all the time.
The face on the other side of the door was not the one Lilah expected.
“Let me in,” the woman demanded. “I can’t face Jasper yet.”
She shoved her way past Griffin and into the house. Fury burned Lilah’s skin. While the woman wasn’t Lilah’s sister, she wasn’t a friend, either. She was a rude stranger who smelled of dragon. Her hair was greasy, tied in a braid, and there were smears of dirt on her face like she’d cried and wiped the tears away with muddy hands.
The woman looked Griffin up and down. “You’re looking okay.”
Griffin scowled at the woman before meeting Lilah’s gaze. They were obviously both confused.
The woman sighed. “Where is Mina? I need to speak to her.”
“Hold up,” Lilah snapped. “You can’t barge into my house and make demands. Who are you? Why are you here?”
Fear lined the woman’s face and had her shifting her weight from foot to foot. Lilah had not spent much time in town since her change, so she didn’t know if she would have come across the woman’s scent in town. She was starting to feel like this was not a regular resident of Grove.
“You’re Jasper’s mate. Aren’t you?”
Griffin’s head shot up at Lilah’s words. His eyes were wide.
The woman clenched her hands. “I don’t want to be, but yes. I’m your king’s mate. I felt…I felt his anguish over what happened to you.” She gestured to Griffin. “He was hurting, and I felt it all. I knew he would do something stupid if I didn’t do something. I was halfway to his door before I panicked and ran over here.”
There was shame in the way her brows drooped. She looked to Lilah, as if to ask for forgiveness.
There was no good way to handle this. The woman’s presence would draw Jasper back to the house, but he would also break down the door if he thought they were trying to hide her from him.
“My name is Cora Matthews. I’m a quartz dragon.”
Griffin cocked his head. “Did you just say quartz? That’s not a real thing. I’ve never heard of that.”
She cast him a wry look. “Just because you’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean it can’t exist. I’m rare and that’s exactly why my clan wants me back.”
Lilah could hear her gulp from where she stood. Cora was afraid of her own family. Why else would a woman hide in the shadow of a man she feared for as long as she had. Lilah held out a hand and beckoned Cora deeper into the house. Griffin would tell his mate she was crazy, but they had to start somewhere.
She ushered Cora into the bathroom and left to gather some clean clothes while Cora showered. Griffin cornered her in the bedroom.
“I can hold Jasper off, but not forever. He’s going to tear the house apart to get to her, like I tore his Jaguar apart.”
Lilah smiled. “That’s her problem. I’m going to use some of that money you gave me to hire movers. Thankfully my stuff is already packed.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, as though he was trying to read what she was inferring. Then, they widened. “You want to move out?”
She nodded.
Griffin was silent for a long moment. He regarded the walls of the house, Jasper’s guest house, before he grinned and gave her a nod. “It’s about time I got a place of my own.”
Bumble meowed in agreement.
Lilah closed the space between them and tugged on his shirt, bringing him down for a kiss. She couldn’t believe this sexy man loved her. She couldn’t believe he w
as all hers.
“It’s about time we got a place of our own,” she corrected him.
He leaned back with feigned surprise. “Does this mean you’re going to unpack your boxes finally?”
This way, Cora could hide in the guest house while Jasper courted her. It gave them the space they would need while Cora remained nearby. Jasper wouldn’t need to scour the skies looking for his hidden mate. Though, it did mean the war was coming to Jasper’s doorstep.
The enemy dragons would figure out where Cora was the moment Jasper stopped surveying the mountains. They would realize Jasper knew where Cora was, and they would follow the trail back to Jasper’s house. Lilah shuddered, thoughts of her curse slipping into her mind.
She gritted her teeth and shoved the thoughts away. They no longer served her. She would not blame every event in her life on a made-up curse. She wouldn’t shoulder blame for this war, either. Especially when it brought the house and guest house to the ground.
Thankfully, Lilah and Griffin would be somewhere else by then.
***
It took Jasper a bit longer to figure out who was in his guesthouse than they expected. Perhaps it was the mingling scents of every metallic dragon and mate who helped Lilah and Griffin move that blinded Jasper to Cora’s presence. But when he did figure out where Cora was hiding, he made quite the display.
The great gold dragon hit the ground and sent a quake through the earth before shifting back to his human form. Gold filled his heated eyes as he marched toward the front door of the guest house. Lilah’s breath caught when Griffin inserted himself between Jasper and the door.
A fight broke out. Jasper threw the first punch. The tussle was like a well-practiced dance. For every move Jasper made, Griffin could read it and respond. There were a few times that Jasper feinted in one direction and hit with his other fist. Griffin snarled at the ploy and fought to control both of Jasper’s hands.
Lilah’s beast roiled beneath her skin. It wanted to get out and fight, help protect their mate. She was still surprised by the word every time it crossed her consciousness.
Mate.
Forever love.
Griffin.
Somehow, Lilah managed to keep her beast from launching itself at Jasper. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting and didn’t think attacking the king of the mountain was a great place to start.
When Jasper realized he wouldn’t break through Griffin, he let loose a howl. Lilah watched the door behind her mate, but it never opened. Wherever Cora was, she didn’t acknowledge the sound of pain ripping out of Jasper.
Had it been Griffin making that sound, Lilah wouldn’t have been able to stop herself. She would have run to his side in the blink of an eye. She’d already done it once before. But Jasper was not Griffin. Their king had revealed the broken side of himself. Cora must have known there was a fracture between man and beast.
Cora said she could feel Jasper’s torment. Whatever stood between the mates was thin, nothing more than a personal conviction, because their bond ran deep. Lilah could not feel Griffin’s emotions or his physical pains. The sensation was foreign to her.
“Give me my mate!” Jasper howled.
Griffin cocked him in the jaw. At first, Lilah thought Jasper would collapse. He stumbled back, chin up from the impact, and wavered. Then, he slowly leveled his fiery glare at Griffin.
“Just cut your shit before you burn down both houses and no one has anywhere to live,” Lilah snapped.
She almost slapped her hand over her mouth, appalled at what she’d just said and who she’d said it to. Jasper’s glare turned toward her, but she didn’t move. He wouldn’t hurt her. So, she stood by her words. She raised her chin and met his gaze in defiance.
Before either could say anything, dragons filled the air above them. They touched down, one by one. Fear slithered through her, cold and undeniable. Griffin slid in her direction. It comforted her, but only a little. Every interaction with these beasts ended in disaster. First, one had changed her. Then, they’d hurt Griffin so bad he couldn’t fly. She’d had to catch him.
Now, they were deep in Jasper’s territory.
Griffin twined his fingers with hers. She looked to him and her heart settled. No matter what happened, they had each other. And no matter how Cora taunted Jasper, she was now in their protection. No one was getting inside that house.
She only hoped Cora knew that.
The door to the main house opened and Ryker and Mina appeared. Ryker’s growl rumbled the fountain between him and the enemy dragons. The largest beast turned and growled back at Ryker, a warning.
“Quit posturing and tell me why you think you’re welcome on my territory,” Jasper snarled.
The largest dragon, a coal gray beast with bony spires on the back of its head, shrank down to the shape of a man. The man had a beard flecked with white hair and eyes that were as cold as the mountain winter.
Colder, even.
A green dragon behind the man glanced nervously at Mina and Lilah. The feeling of his teeth in her shoulder returned. It sent pain through her muscles as if he’d bitten her all over again. While others shifted to their human forms, the green dragon stayed in his beastly form. Lilah wanted to knock his skull in.
The desire hit her so hard and fast, she barely had time to process it or where it’d come from. Had it been her own thought? Or was the beast feeding her rage?
“Give the shifter back to us,” the cold man said. “If you hand her over, this war will be done. We will return to our own mountains and you’ll never have to see us again.”
“Not. Going. To. Happen.” Jasper’s words were final. He allowed no room between them for anyone to argue.
It was in this moment that Lilah saw why he was king. Though his mind had been scattered by his mate’s refusal of him, he was stalwart in the face of her enemy. Jasper stepped up to the cold man, no fear on his face. He put himself between the enemies and his family. If anyone struck, they’d have to get through Jasper.
Lilah was grateful for the family she’d found. They were strong and loving and so fiercely protective of their own. She couldn’t imagine belonging to any other dragon clan.
“She doesn’t belong to you,” the cold man growled in Jasper’s face.
She tensed, expecting Jasper to throw the first punch. Her king didn’t move. He only looked down his nose at the cold man.
“Last I remember, people didn’t belong to anyone. If the woman wants to leave your family, she has every right.”
“And when she leaves you, too?”
Jasper’s jaw clenched. A vein in his temple bulged. “Then she has every right to leave.”
The cold man made eye contact with the dragon shifters he’d brought with him. They, in turn, surveyed their surroundings. Their eyes didn’t move over Ryker, Mina, or Griffin. Instead, they took in the houses, the work shed beyond the trees, and the fountain. Lilah knew what they were thinking.
For a split second, she worried her curse had struck again, that it spread out over not just her but the whole of the dragon family she was now a part of. The curse threatened to take their home from them in one fell swoop, but Lilah had to remind herself this wasn’t part of a curse. If these dragons destroyed their home, then they were the ones to blame.
Not some curse.
Lilah’s life was her own.
She commanded her luck, her future.
“Are you planning on playing dirty?” she asked.
The cold man pinned her with his gaze. She tried not to squirm. It was easy while holding Griffin’s hand. He lent her strength.
“All is fair in war,” the man growled back.
He confirmed her suspicion. If he couldn’t get through the door, he would rip down every wall and brick that stood in the way. He would reclaim Cora and leave Jasper’s family with nothing.
Her beast’s hackles rose. It was prepared to fight.
Then, the cold man smiled. The sight was so alarming that Lilah’s heart leapt
into panic mode. Her pulse thundered in her veins. Griffin had to feel it, because he tightened his grip on her hand.
“Your family won’t let you keep her once they learn Cora started the fire that nearly claimed one of your dragons’ mates. As far as I understand, the human suffered lasting effects from that fire.”
Silence washed over the courtyard. The man raised his hand and several shifters launched themselves into the air. They turned and flew away in formation. He was going to let them destroy themselves from the inside out. The seed of discord had been sown and all he needed to do was let it grow.
It was a coward’s move, she realized. The fight would have been their five against the cold man’s eight, but still he retreated. He knew he couldn’t take Jasper and the others. Every battle they’d had as of yet had been in Jasper’s favor.
Lilah heard the familiar creak of the guest house door. Cora stood in the doorway, her eyes on the cold man. They both stood there for a moment that stretched out. The tension between them crackled like electricity. Lilah thought that if she stepped between them, she’d be shocked.
Jasper and Griffin tensed, waiting for the cold man to strike. Lilah knew he wouldn’t. The cold man wanted Cora to come back to him once she lost her new protectors. Lilah swallowed. The coming weeks were going to be rough.
As soon as the cold man left, Cora shut the door and disappeared again. This time, it wasn’t locked. Lilah figured it was time Cora understood that the guest house was always open to the family.
She let herself inside. The others followed, with Jasper between Griffin and Ryker. Jasper was terrifying, but Lilah didn’t think he was going to do anything dangerous. If anything, he looked forlorn. Worry was etched into every line on his face. He feared the seed of discord the cold man had planted.
Considering Mina was a dragon shifter like the rest of them, Lilah didn’t think the human mate in question was present. They had some time before the discord spread. Until then, they would get some answers.
Cora was seated on the floor. There wasn’t much left in the way of furniture as Griffin and Lilah were moving out. Cora wrapped her arms around her knees and held them to her chest. When they entered, the shifter looked up at them with defeat in her eyes.
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