“I’ll introduce Bren to Bianca and see where it leads,” Ava said. “Besides, Kaida might not even show up. Bishop said in the past that she’s cancelled for things like this. The dragons always have to be so careful about being around humans and shifters.”
“God, that would suck so bad,” Willow said.
They both looked up as Bishop walked into the room, carrying Lila.
“She hungry?” Ava asked.
Bishop kissed Lila’s cheek. “Yep.”
“When is that kid not hungry?” Willow asked as Bishop handed Lila over to Ava.
“Her dad’s a grizzly, Will. She likes to eat,” Bishop said.
“She certainly does,” Ava said as she started to feed Lila. “How are party preparations going down there?”
“Good,” Bishop said. “Mal and I got the barbeques going and Mara texted. She and Roland are almost here with the food.”
“Awesome,” Ava said. “Thanks, honey.”
“My in-laws are the best,” Willow said.
“Yes, they are,” Ava replied.
“Kaida texted me,” Bishop said.
“Did she have to cancel?” Ava asked.
He shook his head. “No, but she will be a little late.”
“It’s good that she’s still coming,” Ava said.
“Yeah…” Bishop said. “You can’t set her up with Bren.”
“She’s not interested?” Ava said.
Bishop hesitated and Ava grinned at Willow. “Told you.”
“They need to be kept apart,” Bishop said. “Kaida’s dragon is attracted to the human and if we push them together, it will end in a really bad way. Bren can’t ever know she’s a dragon, honey.”
He stared pleadingly at Ava who said, “I know. I’ll introduce Bren to a few other single friends at the party.”
“Thank you,” Bishop said.
“I won’t deliberately set them up,” Ava stroked Lila’s soft red hair, “but if there’s an attraction between them, they may not stay away from one another.”
“I know Kaida,” Bishop said. “She won’t put herself or her clan in danger by dating a human.”
* * *
“Bren, it’s so good to see you.”
“Nice to see you as well, Kat.” Bren kissed the jaguar shifter’s smooth cheek. “How are you?”
“Good.” Kat smiled at him as her mate, Ronin, joined them. If either of them looked surprised to see him at Bishop’s birthday party, they hid it well.
“Detective.” Ronin held out his hand and Bren shook it.
“Here, let me take that and add it to the table.” Kat took the gift bag from Bren. “Ava told people not to bring gifts but…” she pointed to the small table that had presents on it.
“It’s just a bottle of scotch,” Bren said.
Kat laughed. “Bishop will be happy with that.”
She headed across the small backyard, weaving around the shifters who were talking in small groups of two and three. Ronin stared blatantly at her ass before turning back to Bren.
“How’s it going, Detective?”
“Good. Thanks for looking after Tyler and Corey on Thursday. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. Hey, do you know who Celine Dion is?”
Bren blinked at him. “Yeah, why?”
Ronin grinned. “No reason. You want a -”
“Holy shit.”
Ronin followed Bren’s gaze. A man had walked out of the house and into the yard. He was massive in size, standing over seven feet tall and his body was thick with muscle. He joined a curvy dark-haired woman talking to a wolf shifter named Porter and Porter’s human mate Maggie and slid his arm around her waist before bending and kissing her briefly.
“That’s Hudson. He’s built like a brick shithouse, isn’t he?” Ronin said with another grin.
“What kind of shifter is he?”
“Polar bear. He’s a bartender over at Bud’s Bar. I take it you’ve never been to the bar. Hudson’s kind of hard to miss.”
“A few times for work when I was a beat cop and then when the original owner, Bud, was murdered,” Bren said. “I hear it’s more friendly to humans now that Porter owns the place.”
“Yeah, a little, but it’s still mostly shifters who go there,” Ronin said.
“So, heal anyone lately by crying on them?” Bren asked.
The phoenix shifter burst into laughter. “Not lately. It’s been a slow few weeks.” He clapped Bren on the back. “Can I get you a beer?”
“Sure.”
“Be right back.”
Ronin walked away. Bren stood awkwardly near the back fence staring at the mixture of shifters and humans scattered throughout the yard. Kaida wasn’t among them. Maybe she was in the house?
Do you think she actually came to the party? You saw the way she looked this morning after Elora reversed the potion. She looked sick to her stomach, didn’t she? And she couldn’t wait to get away from you. She’s not going to show up.
No, she probably wouldn’t and that made him a complete idiot. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he’d only come to the party in the hopes of seeing Kaida, but it was kind of hard to ignore when he was nearly vibrating with anticipation of seeing her.
She’s not going to show.
“Bren?”
He turned and held out his hand. “Happy Birthday, Bishop.”
“Thanks.” The grizzly shifter shook his hand before handing him a beer. “This is from Ronin.”
Bren took the beer with a nod of thanks. “Looks like the party is going well. Lots of people.”
Bishop glanced around the yard. “Yeah, that’s because of Ava. I didn’t have a lot of friends before I met her.”
“Kaida mentioned you’ve been friends since you were kids.” Bren asked.
“Yeah,” Bishop finally said after an awkward silence.
“Good, that’s good,” Bren replied, heat drifting up the back of his neck.
They drank their beer in silence for a minute or two before Bren said, “So, I haven’t seen Kaida. Is she, uh, still coming to the party?”
“You need to stay away from her,” Bishop said.
Irritation painted the edges of Bren’s vision a pale red. “Is that right?’
“Yes.”
“So, you’re Kaida’s keeper. Is that what you’re saying?”
Bishop rolled his eyes. “It’s for your own safety, human.”
Bren took a sip of beer. “You know I’m a grown man, right? A grown man who is proficient with a gun?”
That earned him a grunt of irritation from Bishop. “Kaida is dangerous. Stay away from her.”
“I thought she was your friend,” Bren said.
“She is. And as her friend, I’m telling you to stay away from her. She won’t mean to hurt you, but…”
Bren grinned at Bishop. “Aw, I didn’t know you cared so much about my emotional state, big guy.”
Bishop huffed out another grunt. “That isn’t what I’m talking about. Look, I’m not trying to say you’re weak or something, but Kaida is a very powerful shifter.”
“Stronger than you?” Bren said.
“Yes.”
“Interesting. I know female bear shifters are strong but didn’t think they were more powerful than a fully-grown male grizzly shifter.”
Bishop scowled. “She’s not a … can you stop being an idiot human for two seconds and listen to what I’m saying. Stay away from Kaida.”
“I heard you the first three times and I’ll take your suggestion under advisement,” Bren said.
“It’s for your own safety,” Bishop said.
“So you keep saying. Hello, Ava.”
Ava stopped next to Bishop. Lila was on her hip and the baby made a low sound in the back of her throat that sounded remarkably like a growl. Bishop immediately responded with his own growl and the baby giggled.
“Honey, Amos is looking for you.” Ava pointed to an older man sitting near the food table. “He wants to ha
ve a drink with you.”
Bishop hesitated and Ava patted his chest. “Go on, my love.”
The big grizzly shifter walked away, and Ava smiled at Bren. “I’m so glad you made it to the party, Bren.”
“Me too. Thanks for the invite,” Bren said.
Lila stared at him and made another growl. Bren laughed. “Did your baby growl at me?”
Ava kissed Lila’s head. “Yes. Sorry.”
“I thought she was human,” Bren said.
“Oh, she is,” Ava said. “But Bishop growls to her a lot and she started mimicking him about a week ago. Much to Bishop’s delight.”
The baby growled a third time and Bren laughed again. “That is adorable.”
He leaned forward and tugged lightly on Lila’s sock-covered foot. “Hi, sweetie.”
“Would you like to hold her?” Ava asked.
“Yes, if that’s okay?” Bren said.
“Of course, it is.” Ava handed Lila to him and he held the chubby baby in the crook of his arm. She studied him solemnly and when she growled, he growled back.
Her eyes widened and she looked at her mother before looking back at Bren. Bren laughed. “I don’t think she’s impressed by my growling.”
“Honestly, if anyone but Bishop growls to her, she looks at them like they’re crazy,” Ava said. “I can only imagine – oh, hey, Bianca! Come here for a second.”
The woman walking past them, pivoted and joined them. She was slender with sandy-brown hair and hazel-coloured eyes. She was very pretty, and she smiled warmly at Bren. She wore eyeglasses that were sliding down her nose and she pushed them up with one finger. “Hi there.”
“Bianca, this is Detective Bren Matthews. He’s a good friend of ours. Bren, this is Dr. Bianca Dartwell. She’s a friend who I work with at the hospital.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Bren shook Bianca’s hand.
“You as well,” Bianca replied.
“Bianca is one of our best doctors in the emergency room,” Ava said.
Bianca smiled at her. “That’s very kind of you to say, Ava.”
“It’s true,” Ava said. “She saved a woman’s life yesterday after the woman came in with appendicitis. Bianca got her diagnosed and sent up to surgery just in time. Even an hour later and the woman’s appendix would have ruptured.”
“Impressive,” Bren said.
Bianca shook her head. “It sounds cliché to say this, but I really was just doing my job.”
“Yes, but you do your job much better that most,” Ava said. “Exactly like Bren. Did you know he’s one of the youngest detectives in his precinct?”
“Wow,” Bianca said. “Good for you, Detective.”
“Call me Bren,” he said as Lila reached up and grabbed his nose.
“Only if you call me Dr. Bianca,” she replied.
He laughed and Bianca grinned at him. “Just kidding. Call me Bianca.”
“Ava?” A redheaded woman joined them. “We have a party emergency.”
“Uh oh,” Ava said. “Bren, this is my sister Amy. Ames, this is Bren.”
“Nice to meet you,” Amy said with a brief smile. “We’re out of cheese, Ava. Like completely out of cheese.”
“One – that’s not a party emergency, and two – there’s more cheese in the fridge,” Ava said.
“There isn’t,” Amy said. “I looked twice.”
“There is.” Ava glanced at Lila who was resting her head on Bren’s chest with her eyes closed. “Bren, would you mind holding Lila for a bit longer?”
“Not at all,” Bren said.
“Great, thanks. I’ll be right back.” Ava followed Amy into the house.
Bianca smiled at Bren. “So… human or shifter?”
“Human. You?”
“Human,” she said.
Bren shifted Lila a little and the baby made a soft sleepy sound. He rubbed her back and inhaled her sweet scent as an awkward silence descended.
“Do you think it’ll ever get less awkward when you’re blatantly set up with another single person at a party?” Bianca asked.
Bren laughed. “I don’t think so.”
“Me either,” Bianca said. “The perils of being single, I suppose. Although to be fair, Ava did mention to me ahead of time that she was going to introduce me to a really handsome and funny guy at Bishop’s party.”
“Should I be jealous of this guy?” Bren said.
Bianca’s laughter was soft and low and should have made Bren’s dick take notice.
It didn’t.
“Ava was being remarkably truthful about the handsome part,” Bianca said as a flicker of movement over her shoulder caught Bren’s eye. She stepped closer and placed her hand on his arm. “Would you like to have coffee sometime so I can investigate whether the funny part is true as well?”
“Kaida,” Bren said.
“I’m sorry?” Bianca said.
Bren’s pulse became a rapid jittery beat as Kaida, looking gorgeous in a dark green dress, stalked toward them.
Chapter Eleven
Kaida smoothed her dress and knocked on the door of Bishop and Ava’s home. Coming to Bishop’s birthday party was a bad idea. Especially after being away from her clan the night before.
She shouldn’t have come, but her dragon had driven her crazy all afternoon about seeing Bren again. It was almost as bad as her need to be with her clan. That realization both exhilarated and terrified her.
She should have still been craving the comfort of her clan. But only a few hours after she’d returned home, her dragon had started in on her about seeing Bren again.
She straightened her dress again as she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. Her dragon’s need for the human was going to drive her crazy.
I want him.
I know, she snarled at her dragon. You think I didn’t hear you the first fifty times you said it?
Her dragon growled angrily as the door opened. Mal, a wolf shifter and Bishop’s best friend, stared at the smoke that was drifting from her nostrils. “Hello, Kaida.”
Sending a silent thanks that one of the few shifters who knew she was a dragon answered the door, she waved the smoke away and made herself smile. “Hello, Mal. Sorry.”
“No problem. Come in.”
She followed him into the house. As they walked down the hallway, she could hear Willow and Ava’s voices drifting out of the kitchen.
“See, Ames, cheese. Right there,” Ava said.
Willow laughed. “In her defense, it was hidden behind a giant container of breast milk.”
“Everyone’s out back,” Mal said as he led her to the patio doors that opened to the backyard. “Head on out and grab a drink. I need to head to the kitchen for a minute.”
“Thanks.” She opened the door and stepped out into the yard. A table with a small pile of presents was to her left and she added the small wrapped box she carried to the pile. The scent of barbequed meat drifted to her. The yard was full of shifters and humans, and unease settled at the base of her spine. The humans would have no idea what she was, but the shifters…
It’s fine. They think we’re all dead, her dragon said. Find Bren.
We should leave, she said to her dragon. If they smell smoke like the fox yearling…
They won’t. And if they do, they’ll think it’s from the food cooking. Find Bren.
She started to back up toward the patio doors. She needed to leave. There were too many shifters and one of them was bound to –
There!
Her dragon made a loud purr of happiness, it had caught Bren’s scent, and she swung her gaze to the right. Bren was standing on the far side of the yard. He was – her dragon made another purr of happiness – holding Lila and the sight of the baby in his arms made her desire for a hatchling intensify until she felt almost dizzy.
He will be a good father to our hatchling, her dragon said. Please, can I have him?
“Be quiet,” she muttered under her breath. “Just because he likes babi
es doesn’t mean that he wants a baby. Stop acting like -”
Mine!
Her dragon’s roar was so loud it made her head hurt. There was a human woman standing with Bren and she had placed her hand on his arm. Her dragon snarled again.
She’s trying to take what is ours!
Her dragon surged forward and with fury and fire licking at her veins, Kaida stalked toward Bren. The woman with him was about to discover what happened to females who dared to touch what belonged to Kaida.
“Kaida,” Bren said as she approached them. She barely registered the surprise in his voice or the happiness that immediately surrounded him. She knew her eyes were glowing, knew that her body was starting to overheat, but she didn’t care. The female was touching Bren and if she didn’t stop, Kaida would burn her to a fucking crisp.
“Who are you, human?” Her dragon has pushed forward again, and it spat the question out at the little female.
The female dropped her hand from Bren’s arm, it only slightly mollified Kaida’s dragon, and took a step back. Her dragon hissed angrily, and Kaida swallowed down the smoke that wanted to drift from her mouth and nostrils.
“Kaida, this is Bianca. She’s a friend of Ava’s. Bianca, this is Kaida. She and Bishop have been friends for years,” Bren said.
“It’s nice to meet you.” The woman pushed her eyeglasses up. Kaida could still smell her anxiety but the female met her gaze steadily enough before holding out her hand.
Kaida shook it briefly. The female’s attraction to Bren was still lurking in the air between them and it was driving her dragon crazy.
“You as well,” she said in a clipped tone.
Show the female he’s ours, her dragon demanded. Kiss him.
She was tempted. God, was she tempted. Instead, she smiled at Bren, making her voice low and intimate. “Sorry I had to leave your place so abruptly this morning.”
Bren’s eyes widened and he glanced quickly at Bianca. “Uh, that’s okay.”
Disappointment coated the human female as Kaida’s dragon practically sprinted around like a kid at recess. If Kaida let it, she was pretty sure the damn thing would be shouting “na-na, na-na boo-boo” at the poor woman.
The Dragon's Mate (Book Seven) Page 13
