Taming My Rebel: A Dragon Shifter Romance

by Sadie Sears

  “What’s the message?” I ground out. I wasn’t anywhere near in the mood for his shit.

  He sighed and softened his expression, something like pity creeping into his gaze. “She said there’s a cop in there looking for information on you.” He sidled closer and lowered his voice. “What did you do, Dray? You’re usually so careful to stay off their radar.”

  “Fuck if I know.” I shrugged. “Hell, the last cop I saw was outside Saul’s place…” I glared at the door like I was trying to develop X-ray vision.

  “What did this cop look like?”

  It was Ash’s turn to shrug. “No idea. Must’ve shown up while I was on my break. Cops aren’t exactly the kind of people who blend in as they go into The Lair, you know? I wouldn’t miss one.” He looked over my shoulder, every inch the hard-assed bouncer Chloe employed.

  My demon laughed. Taunting the police suddenly seemed like the most fun we could have this afternoon.

  I squared my jaw. “It’s showtime.” I cast a last glance at Ash before I strode through the door, and he rolled his eyes as his chest heaved with a sigh.

  “You shouldn’t go in there, but I can see you’re not in the mood to argue, so I won’t waste my breath or my time.” He gestured to the door, and I pulled it open wider, only just stopping myself from flipping him off as I did so.

  I didn’t need him getting all in my business today. My irritation at a friend excited my demon further.

  “Hey.” He almost seemed to read my mind as he held his hands up in a pose of surrender. “It’s your funeral, man.”

  I took a deep breath as I walked in the door, inhaling the familiar smell of Chloe’s pub as I glanced at the guy wreathed in shadows at one of the corner tables, and my gaze flicked to the bar as I looked for her.

  “I hoped you’d show up.”

  I rolled my eyes before I looked at the woman who’d spoken. Of course.

  Of fucking course it was her. And I hadn’t even looked at her card before I’d slipped it into my inside pocket by Saul’s gate. I hadn’t even gotten it out to throw in the trash. That was how little I cared about her business card or her business.

  Before I could respond to her, she grabbed my arm and shoved me into a booth. Normally, I could have resisted, but she took me by surprise, and I wasn’t about to cause a scene in Chloe’s bar. Plus, I hadn’t even checked out if Saul was here watching the proceedings. I needed to think of a way to get rid of this woman fast.

  My demon had thought of a way. And he was behaving like a caged animal. I clenched my hands into fists and rested them on my knees under the table. Clench, unclench. Clench, unclench. And when that wasn’t enough, I tightened my jaw, grinding my teeth over and over.

  The woman smiled, but there was nothing pleasant about the grim flash of her teeth.

  There was nothing pleasant about the sound of my demon in my head, either. After I’d left Mae in a fake bloodbath, he wanted to see some of the real thing. This detective’s blood would work, sprayed all over the interior of Chloe’s pub.

  “I need to talk to you.” She jumped right into the conversation.

  “Clearly,” I muttered, staring straight over her shoulder as I fought to control my demon.

  “Detective Jo Orozco of Port Lair PD. I’m sure you remember.” She flashed her teeth again.

  I didn’t ask her how I could help because, frankly, I didn’t want to. This was all a huge waste of my fucking time. I almost wished to see Saul at his usual booth. That would give me an excuse to avoid this walking corpse for a start.

  My demon laughed at the idea of her being a dead-body-in-waiting and seemed to quit straining for violence for a moment, allowing me to think.

  “Oh, yes, the detective with a pet project she seems to be investigating all on her own.” It was a crazy stab in the dark, but her cheeks flushed bright red, so I must have hit near the mark. Interesting.

  She tightened her lips briefly before she spoke. “I’m looking for a woman.”

  I rolled my eyes and coughed. “Aren’t we all.”

  She drummed her fingers against the table, the staccato beat pushing its way beneath my skin and sending prickles of irritation to itch behind my eyes. “Let me be clearer. I’m looking for more than one woman, but this woman in particular. She seems to have gone missing around the time a party was supposedly held at the house where you claimed to be carrying out some work for the owner.”

  She stopped talking like she’d just had a mic drop moment, but I yawned. She was far more tiresome than dramatic. I glanced over her. Her arms were too thin. I could snap them like twigs.

  My demon chittered as I remembered the crunch of breaking bones. We’d heard that sound many times before.

  “The emergency control room received a call from a woman lost in some woods not far from the location of that party, which I…heard some other reports about but no records or evidence of a party even exist.” Sudden frustration wound through her words.

  I watched her. She could have been bluffing. Mae’s phone had died. She’d never mentioned calling the cops. Still, maybe she’d just never mentioned it because the call hadn’t amounted to anything. Either way, I kept my mouth shut. The only way I’d incriminate myself would be by talking unnecessarily.

  “And here’s the thing.” She didn’t need me to talk anyway. “I believe Mae ran off in the direction of your house. I found some shoes in the woods between Saul Brek’s place and where I’ve found out you live—funny you didn’t mention that small detail of living so close when we met before. So, either you killed her and disposed of the body, or you still have her. Which is it?”

  I lifted an eyebrow. Had she seriously accosted me in a bar for a confession? “Two things. I don’t see a two-way mirror, so this clearly isn’t official police business. And what the hell does it even matter to you anyway?” I leaned back in the booth, confidence all over my pose.

  Mae’s location was no one else’s concern. They couldn’t protect her like I could, anyway. I winced as pain flared across my back, signaling the presence of more demon scales. They weren’t like beautiful dragon ones.

  I glanced at Chloe’s wall of the fallen—her tiled scale homage to every dragon shifter who’d died in their dragon form, and all of the colors together glowed more spectacularly than any chest of jewels. Dragon bones disintegrated quickly, but our scales lasted almost infinitely. By contrast, my demon skin was tough and leathery, and it oozed a black green gunge when I moved, like it had cracks that just wouldn’t heal. It was also easy to destroy.

  The woman in front of me snorted, recapturing my attention. “All crime matters to me.” Then she lowered her voice. “And I know what your kind are like. One of you killed my brother.”

  I opened my mouth to respond when another voice cut across me.

  “Stop harassing my customers and friends.”

  Detective Orozco sat back as Chloe set a drink down in front of me and rested her hand on my shoulder. “You okay, Dray? You’re not looking so great.” As she spoke, her fingers tightened slightly to keep me in place. She turned her stare on the detective. “But you should go home. It doesn’t look like Draven is well enough to be interrogated by anyone right now. You’ll have to catch up with him when he’s feeling better.”

  She waited until Detective Orozco slid from the vinyl-covered bench and stood.

  “I’ll definitely do that, Mr. Farrell. You’ll see me again very shortly—don’t doubt it.” She turned smartly without another word, and without even glancing in Chloe’s direction, and left nothing but the acrid aroma or her irritation behind her.

  I smirked. “Thanks for that, but I could have handled her.”

  Chloe slid into the seat Detective Orozco had vacated. “Strangely enough, Dray, I’m looking at you and wondering how. You’re clearly not in a good place right now.”

  “Herbal tea?” I glanced in the cup in front of me and stretched my mouth into a tight line of disapproval.

  “Herbs I think you need
right now.” She arched her eyebrow and clasped her hands on the table in front of me. “They might not help, but what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try?”

  I slid my sleeve partway up my forearm, revealing the demon skin briefly before I pulled my sleeve firmly back into place again. “It keeps happening. I won’t be able to hide it much longer.”

  Chloe swallowed before she spoke, and her tongue flicked over her lips. “Voices and pain?”

  “Dragon comes and goes. Demon is strong. Pain hurts.” I filled her in as quickly as I could.

  She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “Your dragon needs a reason to fight. Give him a reason to be stronger. Right now, the longer you wait to claim your mate, the stronger your demon becomes and the more it twists and changes you. Are his thoughts becoming yours?”

  I turned the cup of tea in the saucer before I took a sip of the bitter herbs. “Ugh.” I grimaced. “Tastes like shit.”

  “You’re welcome.” Chloe flipped me the bird and grinned broadly. “Drink it all.” Then her face became serious. “Look, if his thoughts are becoming yours, and you can’t fight him off, you’re losing yourself. Waiting to claim Mae is dangerous. You could lose your soul to hell.”

  “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” I muttered.

  Waiting would send my soul to hell, mistiming my claim with Mae would do the same.

  Chloe pressed her hand over the top of mine. “You got this, Dray. I’m rooting for you. But this is all on you now. You’ve gotta make some decisions.”

  We chattered back and forth a little more, with Chloe providing strategies where she could, but she’d been right. There was really nothing else she could do for me.

  Eventually, she stood. “You got this now?”

  I lifted my gaze to hers. “I hope so. But what if it’s already too late? My demon has been pressing forward more and more often, making me look like a danger to those around me.” I rested my head in my hands. “Hell. I am a danger to those around me. What if I’ve pushed Mae away?”

  Even saying those words hurt. It was my biggest fear, and I didn’t want to think about it.

  15

  Mae

  Where in hell was Draven? He’d just left me with no explanation. Not even a care. Chloe’s words came back to me.

  Draven’s demon is actively trying to take him. That demon will do anything to keep you and Draven apart. From things Draven might say or do to drive you away, to making his dragon less visible.

  It was like the words were on a loop in my head. Detailed enough that it was as though Chloe were sitting with me now, speaking to me still, her nuance and intonation exactly as it had been at her pub.

  She’d been right. Draven was definitely pulling away, or definitely pushing me. I couldn’t tell which. And maybe that distinction wasn’t even important.

  I sat on the balcony and stared out across the gray waves, the mood of the ocean matching my own attitude. I’d returned to the house as stealthily as I could, using Draven’s secret-squirrel staircase, before wandering through his gym, still in awe of the huge equipment. My heart squeezed as my thoughts turned to Aro. I missed him and his wise words.

  I’d taken a quick shower and shoved what I could salvage of my clothes in the laundry. The really shredded ones went straight in the trash. After that, I didn’t even pretend to clean the rooms we used. Nothing needed doing.

  Instead, I came right out here to wait for Draven. It was fast becoming one of my favorite places. The gulls cried in the air above me, and they swooped and circled on currents, reminding me again of Aro, and I fidgeted.

  I blew out a frustrated sigh. I didn’t get it. If I was the right person to save Draven from his—very literal—demons, why was all this happening? It didn’t make any sense.

  Was love not enough?

  Although, I’d been down this road before, invested in someone who didn’t feel the same way about me. And if Draven didn’t care enough to fight, then why should I? If pulling away suited him better, maybe I needed to just let him. I could make it easy for him even.

  At least he hadn’t just ghosted me like Charlie had… Although I clenched my jaw and widened my eyes against an unexpected rush of tears. This hurt more.

  I shook my head and glanced out at the sea, borrowing the view one last time before walking into the house. I trailed my fingers over Draven’s closed bedroom door as I passed it.

  Maybe I just wasn’t the right person to save him.

  So, I’d made up my mind. I wasn’t strong enough to save the man. I didn’t have it in me. Perhaps I wasn’t even good enough—I hadn’t been good enough for Charlie, no matter how little his opinion meant to me now.

  Except when the sound of an engine rumbled so low my body almost vibrated with it, I ran from the house to greet Draven as though he’d been missing for several months.

  “Mae, wait.” His voice was sharp, urgent, and he threw his hand out in front of him as though to physically stop me from getting too close.

  “What? Why?” Every instinct in me urged me to throw myself into his arms so he could hold me.

  I wanted the safety of him. The protection.

  The love and the comfort that surrounded me and infused me whenever we were close.

  But he was retreating.

  I hesitated, nibbling on my lower lip and fidgeting with the cuff of my sleeve as I watched him. This was so dumb. He didn’t want me. That much was clear. I should just go.

  His face tensed and paled, and the ugly skin was creeping around his neck now, barely covered by his collar. “It’s my demon. He’s claiming me faster than I can control.”

  He paused and looked beyond me, his eyes unfocused as though he was living in a memory and wasn’t really seeing anything. A gentle breeze carried the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs from behind the house.

  Draven opened his mouth. “I…” The sound croaked out and he flattened his lips before sucking in a huge breath through his nose. “I might be a danger to you.”

  That was it, then. Proof if more proof was needed that my love wasn’t the love he should be chasing. I wasn’t the one to save him. The realization hurt, and I struggled to draw my next breath into my tight chest—whether because I wasn’t enough for someone again or because it meant he might never get his chance at love and life now that he’d wasted his time with me.

  I’d done everything I could—opened myself up to loving him, I’d felt the connection. I’d been completely available to let him claim me, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to have felt, but it clearly hadn’t worked.

  Guilt crept into the cracks between the sadness. I hadn’t been able to save him.

  More than anything else, I wanted my grandma. “Can I… Can I call my grandma?” It was a stupid thing to want, and Draven’s eyes widened for a moment as his gaze flickered to me.

  Then it darted away again. “Yeah. Sure, yeah. Call her. You can use my phone. Ask her to visit, and I’ll meet her when she’s close, so she doesn’t overshoot the turn-out onto the bluff and head into town.”

  That was easy. Almost too easy. He didn’t even want to be alone here with me anymore. He probably knew I was the wrong one.

  I nodded. “Thank you.” My voice was stiff. Formal, even.

  He handed me his phone, and I tapped Grandma’s number on the screen before turning away for the illusion of privacy.

  “Hello?” She sounded suspicious, and I grinned, torn between pranking her with the call from the unknown number and breaking down as I begged her to come see me.

  But I didn’t do either of those things. “Grandma.” I croaked her name out like I was using my last breath instead.

  “Mae?”

  I couldn’t answer immediately because a sob had blocked my throat.

  “Mae?” Her voice boomed at me, worry making her loud, as it always did. “Mae Turner, you answer me right now. Are you alive?”

  I choked out an almost hysterical-sounding giggle. “Yes, but can you come a
nd see me? I’m at Draven’s. He’ll meet you when you get closer. Just let us know when you’re about twenty minutes from the city.”

  “I’ve got my keys in my hand, and I’m just grabbing Grandpa’s urn. He loves a ride out to Port Lair. I will be there like the wind has carried me.”

  “Don’t forget to call,” I reminded her as I brought my breathing under control. “And drive safe.”

  “Cross my heart and hope to die, sweetheart,” she assured me. “Your Grandpa wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  I sat on a barstool, nursing a cup of coffee as Draven showed Grandma into his kitchen.

  She looked around and nodded. “Not bad. Could use a bit more personality, but you can fix that, right, Mae?”

  Draven cleared his throat, his huge frame suddenly awkward in his own home as he lingered behind Grandma. He looked uncomfortable in his own body, and he rubbed his hand back and forth over his left forearm. “I’ll be in the gym.” His voice emerged as a low growl.

  “All right, sweetheart.” Grandma didn’t even look in his direction. “I’ll get us all a snack for when you’re done exercising.” She walked around his counter and opened his fridge, humming as she perused the contents.

  Draven left the kitchen without another word to head down to his cave gym, and I watched the door close behind him like it was some kind of metaphor for my life.

  As soon as it clicked shut, she turned to me. “Who am I kidding, right? Let’s order pizza and you can tell me the problem.”

  I sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “I’ve always found the beginning is a good place.”

  I sighed harder at her words. “Well, that’s where things first got weird, I guess.”

  “I love weird.” Then she looked at me over her glasses as she glanced up from scrolling on her phone. “Which local pizza place delivers out here?”

  “I was at a party in the beginning, I guess. And there was… I don’t know. Like an attack or something?”