You don’t need to force him. Our mate wants us, her dragon replied.
“Just one cup. For me?” Bren said.
Unable to deny her mate, she sat down with a heavy thump into the chair and took a sip of the fragrant smelling tea. It left a strange taste on her tongue, and she frowned as a weird tingling went down her spine. “What kind of tea is this?”
“My own blend,” the witch replied.
“Drink some more,” Bren said. He lifted his own mug to his mouth and after a moment, Kaida followed suit. She took three big gulps of the warm liquid to satisfy her mate and then set the cup down.
“There, I’ve drank the tea.” She turned and forced a smile at the witch. “Leave now.”
“Why don’t you have a shower first,” Bren said. “Elora and I will finish our tea and then I’ll, uh, join you in the bedroom.”
Her dragon hissed angrily but Kaida decided it wasn’t a bad idea. She was feeling a little weird and too warm and the idea of a cool shower was appealing. “All right.”
She stood, smiling at the way her mate’s gaze dropped first to her tits and then to her legs. If the witch wasn’t here, she’d strip off her mate’s t-shirt and show him exactly what he was missing out on.
Instead, she tugged at the hem of her shirt before kissing Bren again. She traced her fingers across the morning stubble on his jawline. God, she loved his lips. They were perfect. Everything about him was perfect.
She pulled back instead of straddling him in the chair like she wanted to and forced another smile at the witch. “Good-bye.”
“Uh, bye, Kaida. Nice to see you again.”
She returned to the master bathroom, turning on the shower and stripping off Bren’s shirt. He had a nice apartment, but he would still need to move in with her, she mused. She could not live so far from her clan, no matter how much she loved her mate. She stepped into the shower and stood under the cool spray of water. It sent goosebumps pinging to life on her heated skin and her dragon purred happily.
She would have to move into one of the bigger empty cabins. Her small cabin was comfortable, but it would not be big enough for her and her mate. Especially if Tyler lived with them. Which, considering what a huge dickhead his father was, it could happen.
She washed her hair with her mate’s shampoo and used his body wash to lather her skin.
She would ask Cadmus if she could have the empty cabin next to Bones and Javee. It had three bedrooms. They were small but at least that way Tyler would have his own room and they’d have a nursery as well.
Nursery?
She stared at her hand resting on her flat stomach. Nursery? Why would she need a nursery?
For when we are with our mate and….
Her dragon fell silent. She could feel its confusion and she braced one hand on the slick shower wall.
Why would she and her dragon think Bren was her mate? She was attracted to the human but the idea of her mating with a human was laughable. Even if she didn’t set him on fire while they were fucking, she’d be kicked out of the clan if they ever found out she’d slept with a human.
But I want him as my mate. Her dragon still sounded confused and uncertain. He said he was our mate, that he would…
“Oh fuck!” Kaida’s entire body stiffened and she had to stop herself from smashing her fist through the wet tile. “The muffin! The goddamn muffin!”
She rinsed clean and shut the shower off, toweling dry and then running her fingers through her wet and tangled hair. The tea she’d had earlier was swishing around in her belly, making her feel nauseous, and shame was flooding her entire body.
The things she had said and done to the human!
“It’s fine,” she muttered as she yanked her jeans over her hips and then stuck her panties into the pocket. “You were under the spell of a love potion and the human knows that.”
She slipped into her bra and pulled her t-shirt over her head, trying not to groan as everything she said to the human last night echoed in her head. How many times had she told him she was going to fuck him? Too many to count. She had touched him and kissed him and tried to…
“Shit, I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t arrest me for sexual assault,” she groaned.
It wasn’t our fault, her dragon growled.
“Why the fuck didn’t you smell the potion in the muffin?” she said.
I was hungry! Her dragon pouted at her like a spoiled child. Besides, all I wanted was to fuck the human. How was I to know he would try and trick us into being mates by feeding us poison?
“Oh my God,” she muttered. “One, it wasn’t poison and two, it obviously wasn’t him. If it was, we would have fucked last night.”
A little tingle of pleasure radiated from her pussy down her legs at the thought. She stared at her crotch, groaning inwardly as her dragon purred. She was not still attracted to the human.
Uh, yeah, we are.
“Shut up!” she snarled at her dragon before stomping toward the bedroom door. Now that the potion had worn off, her need to return to her clan was starting. A low buzz at the base of her skull that made her brain itch.
She moved down the hallway toward the kitchen, stopping outside of the doorway when she heard her mate’s – no, not mate, the human’s – voice.
“How long will it take to kick in?”
“It shouldn’t take too long. Hopefully by the time she’s finished showering. She didn’t drink the entire cup though, so…”
Kaida’s hands clenched into fists. Was this the witch’s doing? It had to be. But why? Moving quietly, she leaned forward and peeked into the kitchen. Bren was sitting at the table and he reached out and squeezed Elora’s hand.
She stared morosely at him. “When the WWC finds out about this, she’ll be labeled a dark witch.”
“I’m not going to tell the Witches and Warlocks Council,” Bren said. “She didn’t mean any harm and I’ll talk to Kaida, explain to her that -”
“I’m going to tell the WWC,” Elora said.
Bren stiffened. “What? Elora, she’s your grandmother.”
“She also keeps trying to drug you with a love potion. It’s illegal and dangerous.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?” Elora crossed her arms over her chest, the crow sitting on her shoulder made a low and raspy caw and nestled it’s face into her neck. “What happened last night was dangerous, Bren. Kaida is a bear shifter and she could have really hurt you.”
“She didn’t,” Bren said. ‘She listened to me when I said no.”
Kaida’s cheeks burned as Elora said, “Yeah, but what if she hadn’t?”
“She did. Elora, if you tell the WWC what happened, Helen will be imprisoned.”
“I know!” Elora’s voice was loud and Kaida could see tears slipping down her cheeks. “But what choice do I have? This is bad, Bren. I talked to her last night and she-she was remorseful and promised never to do it again, but I’m not sure I can take that risk.”
“Let me at least talk to Kaida first,” Bren said. “Then, maybe -”
“Maybe what? Do you really think that a bear shifter is going to be sympathetic to my grandmother drugging her?”
“It wasn’t meant for her,” Bren said. “It was meant for me.”
“That doesn’t make it any better,” Elora said. “I mean, I don’t even know how I’m going to explain to Kaida why this happened. My grandmother is losing her marbles and -”
Feeling an odd sort of empathy with the witch, Kaida stepped into the kitchen. “You don’t have to report your grandmother to the WWC.”
“Kaida.” Bren stood and stared nervously at her. “How, uh, do you feel?”
“Incredibly embarrassed, but the potion has worn off.”
Relief crossed Bren’s face. “Actually, the tea you drank this morning had a potion to reverse the other one. Elora made it.”
Wishing she could leave, ignoring the itch in her brain to return to her clan, Kaida sat down across from him. “I’m sor
ry for last night.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Bren said.
Kaida cleared her throat. “I said and did a lot of inappropriate things.”
“Because you were drugged,” Elora said. “By my grandmother. I’m so sorry. I can’t even tell you how sorry I am. She really wants Bren and me to be together, so she keeps giving him love potions in the hopes that we’ll… but, I mean, we’re not interested in each other in that way at all. Right, Bren?”
“Definitely not,” Bren said.
“Your grandmother must be a powerful witch,” Kaida said. “I didn’t even smell the potion in the muffin.”
“Why did Kaida fall in love with me and not you, though?” Bren said to Elora.
“Because this one was a general potion. The first time it was tailored specifically for you to fall in love with me, but I started locking up my hairbrush so she can’t get strands of my hair anymore,” Elora said.
“Wait, there can be general and specific love potions?” Bren said.
“Yes. A potion can be created so that the person who ingests it only falls in love with a certain person. Like the first one she drugged you with. You saw other people before you saw me, right?”
Bren thought back. “Yeah, I did.”
“Right. So, if it had been a general one, you would have fallen in love with the first female, or male if she didn’t specify the gender in the potion, you saw. But Helen stole some of my hair and used it in the potion, tying it to me and me alone.”
“Holy shit,” Bren said.
“This one from last night was a general one, meaning the person who ingested it would fall in love with the first person they saw,” Elora said. “She told me that she made sure to put walnuts in the muffins so that Tyler wouldn’t eat them.”
“Thank God,” Bren said. He glanced at Kaida. “Tyler hates walnuts.”
“But without access to my hair anymore, she was apparently desperate enough to hope that I was the first person you saw after you ate the muffin. She said she was going to send me over to your apartment first thing this morning.”
Bren suddenly blanched. “Kaida was here with Tyler last night.”
“He went to bed before I ate the muffin,” Kaida said.
Anger was starting to seep into Bren’s face. “But if he hadn’t, and if you had tried to…”
“She wouldn’t have,” Elora said quickly. “Love potions are strong, but they’re not so strong that they would make a person do something they know is fundamentally wrong. Even if Kaida had seen Tyler after eating the muffin, the potion wouldn’t have worked because she’s not interested in banging a seventeen-year-old.”
“Definitely not,” Kaida said.
“Anyway,” Elora stared intently at Kaida, “I want you to know that I don’t take this lightly and I will be reporting her to the WWC.”
“I appreciate that, but don’t do it,” Kaida said. “I’m not excusing what your grandmother did, but I know a little something about meddling grandmothers. I overheard you say that she was remorseful and promised not to do it again. Do you believe her?”
“I do. When she found out that a bear shifter had ingested the potion, it seemed to really click in how crazy she was acting. She helped me make the reversal potion this morning. It wouldn’t have been as effective so quickly if she hadn’t,” Elora said.
“Well, ultimately it’s your decision, but know that I won’t be reporting her to the WWC. Family can be,” Kaida paused, “difficult sometimes. Honestly, I would prefer if we pretended this didn’t happen and never spoke of it again.”
“I can do that.” Elora stood, the crow on her shoulder flapping its wings to keep its balance, and she couldn’t quite hide the relief on her face. “It was nice to meet you, Kaida. I’m sorry it was under these circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” Kaida replied.
Elora squeezed Bren’s shoulder. He smiled at her and a weird feeling shot through Kaida’s stomach. It was strong enough to obliterate the buzzing in her brain to return to her clan.
Oh shit. Was she… jealous?
Elora had left and Bren was staring silently at her. She swallowed hard, shame making her cheeks burn hot. “I’d like to apologize again for last night. What I said and what I did was -”
“Stop,” Bren said. “You don’t need to keep apologizing. You were literally under a spell. I know you didn’t mean anything you said or did.”
“Right,” she said. Her legs wouldn’t stay still, and she was starting to feel sick to her stomach.
My clan, her dragon said. I need them.
“Really, I should be apologizing to you,” Bren said.
“It isn’t your fault either.”
“Living across the hall from a crazy witch isn’t nearly as much fun as it sounds,” he said.
She forced a faint smile as he watched her.
My clan. Please.
“Did you want to stay and have breakfast?” Bren asked. “I promise it’s just plain old eggs and bacon, nothing drugged.”
She stood up so abruptly, she almost knocked the chair over. She grabbed it before it could fall, smiling uneasily at Bren as he stood as well. Sweat was beading along her hairline and her dragon’s insistence about returning to the clan was a deep and maddening itch in her brain. Her urge to shift was very strong and she clenched her hands into fists behind her back.
“Kaida? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I – I must return to my clan. I’ve been gone too long from them and I can’t, I mean… I need my clan.”
She could hear the emotion in her voice. Normally she hated displaying weakness in front of anyone, especially a human, but there was no pity in Bren’s gaze. He stepped back as she almost ran for the doorway. “All right.”
She paused in the doorway. “I… goodbye, Bren.”
“Bye, Kaida.”
Chapter Ten
“Thanks, Will.” Ava smiled at her best friend as Willow wrapped an elastic around the end of the braid and then smoothed back the sides.
“No problem.” Willow examined Ava’s head. “I’m getting way better at this French braiding thing.”
“You are.” Ava crossed her bedroom to the small vanity and checked her makeup as Willow sat on the edge of the bed.
Her feet dangled and she grinned at Ava. “You guys have the biggest bed ever.”
“You should see Rosalie and Hudson’s bed,” Ava said absently as she picked through her jewelry box. “It’s even bigger than ours.”
“Uh, how do you know what Rosalie and Hudson’s bed looks like?” Willow asked. “Do you and Bishop have some kinky partner swap thing going on?”
Ava turned bright red. “Willow!”
“No judgement if you are.” Willow swung her feet. “You and Rosalie are both into bears so…”
“Hudson is a polar bear, not a grizzly,” Ava said.
“Still a bear.”
Ava held up some earrings to her ears. “What do you think of these ones?”
“Cute. So, are you guys doing some kinky foursome thing, or what? You went on that double date together last weekend. Was it more than dinner? Wait…” Willow eyed her suspiciously. “Are you and Bishop cheating on me and Mal in the friendship department?”
Ava laughed, although her cheeks were still red. “We are not cheating on you and Mal with Rosalie and Hudson. Bishop and Hudson started to hang out a bit after he helped Hudson save Rosalie from the shifter who kidnapped her. I think Bishop likes having a friend who understands the annoyance of living in a world where everything is too small. Then we started doing some couple stuff together. Rosalie is super sweet, and I’ve been thinking of inviting her to some of our girls’ nights. I know Maggie wanted to, but Rosalie was worried that she was intruding.”
“The more the merrier,” Willow said. “Still haven’t answered the sex question.”
“Oh my God, you’re like a dog with a bone,” Ava said with another laugh. Princess wandered into the bed
room and jumped onto the bed. The cat purred loudly as it rubbed up against Willow.
“There is nothing sexual going on. Hudson and Rosalie are obsessed with each other and only each other, it’s kind of adorable. And you know how Bishop is. Do you really think he’d share me with someone?” Ava said.
“You make a good point.” Willow petted Princess. “I’m no shifter but even I could smell Bishop’s jealousy when Bren kissed your cheek.”
Ava put the earrings on before sliding a bracelet onto her wrist. “Bishop knows that Bren and I are just friends.”
“You could have knocked me over with a feather when you invited Bren to Bishop’s party tonight,” Willow said.
“You and Bishop both,” Ava said.
“So, why did you? I mean, I get the wedding thing, Bren’s your friend, but he and Bishop definitely aren’t close.”
“He saved Bishop’s life when they had to rescue Ronin from that scientist, remember?” Ava said.
“Ronin brings it up at every staff meeting. It drives Bishop crazy,” Willow said with a giggle.
Ava laughed before joining Willow on the bed. She sat cross-legged and toyed with the bracelet on her wrist. “I invited him because it was obvious that he likes Kaida and I’m pretty sure she was into him too.”
“Kaida’s a dragon. She’s not going to date a human,” Willow said.
“No one ever thought Bishop would date a human,” Ava said.
“That’s kind of different,” Willow replied. “Grizzly shifters are known for being loners, but dragon shifters are thought to be extinct by humans and shifters. Even if Kaida wanted to date Bren, she’d never trust him enough to tell him what she really was. And I wouldn’t blame her, not with who his dad is.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?” Willow said.
“I guess I’m just a romantic at heart,” Ava said.
Willow smiled at her. “You are, and it’s one of my favourite things about you. But didn’t you tell Bianca you were going to set her up with Bren at the party? She’s still single, right?”
“She is. They would be a cute couple.”
“Super cute,” Willow said. “Plus, she’s a doctor. With Bren’s line of work that could come in handy. He probably gets injured on the job all the time.”
The Dragon's Mate (Book Seven) Page 12
