A Star Crossed Fate (Great Plains Dragon Feud Book 4)

by Emilia Hartley

  Raven could not have the kind of life her mother had led. She would not be able to take her children back to Nebraska. She wouldn’t have anything.

  “You know he attacked me again, right?” Adrien appeared beside her, leaning on the opposite side of the railing as if he’d fallen out of the sky. He looked her up and down appreciatively. “That dress looks amazing on you.”

  “I figured there was another scuffle,” she said pointing to her cheek.

  Adrien’s gaze moved past her. His brows rose in unison. “I didn’t mean to scar the guy.”

  “It happened, nonetheless. Can you stop picking fights with him?”

  Adrien’s expression turned stony. “He attacked me. Or didn’t you hear me the first time I said it?”

  “You’re man enough to avoid a fight,” she said. “I know you could have held back.”

  She didn’t know what she was doing. Her words left her tongue searing hot. She wanted to lash out at anyone, if only to lessen the pressure building behind her sternum. Adrien didn’t deserve this berating, but she couldn’t stop herself.

  Guilt and disgust coiled inside her. She hated herself. She hated how weak she was, how it turned her into a sniveling brat. Turning back toward the restaurant, she glanced back one last time.

  “I never deserved your love,” she said before heading inside.

  Adrien couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Stunned, he rocked back. No, that wasn’t right. That couldn’t be right.

  He nearly leapt over the railing and chased her inside. What would Alice and Bastien do then? Would they flip tables in the middle of this fancy restaurant just because he’d shown up? They wouldn’t dare.

  The thought empowered him. He cleared the low fence and strolled inside, very much aware that he was wearing jeans and a flannel in a business casual setting. Raven’s jaw dropped. Tense, she looked between him and her mother.

  Alice’s jaw clenched. She didn’t attack him. There were onlookers. Other affluent members of the local community would see her if she lost her control here. The humans watched with curiosity as a farmer boy pulled a chair from another table and dragged it over to the Montoya’s table.

  River moved her seat aside to let Adrien squeeze in between her and Raven. He gave River a fist-bump under the table. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. A fight didn’t have to involve fists or teeth. Sometimes, a fight was simply a game of chicken. Who would break first?

  Would it be Bastien? Or Alice? Because Adrien wasn’t going to. So long as Raven sat beside him, he would be able to look both shifters in the eye and smile.

  Raven hid her phone under the cover of the table and typed furiously. Adrien’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

  What do you think you’re doing?

  He grinned and responded. Having fun.

  Her exasperated sigh was answer enough. He kept from laughing as he leaned back in his seat. He slung his arm over the back of Raven’s chair. She didn’t lean away from him, like he expected. Without thinking, he began toying with her hair.

  Alice looked between them. He wondered if she took note of Raven’s ease, how she seemed able to breathe easier now. From the way the lines at the corners of Alice’s eyes softened, he suspected that she’d noticed. He couldn’t figure out how Alice felt about the fact, though.

  “I’m sorry,” Bastien said without an ounce of apology in his voice. “Were you invited to the rehearsal dinner? Because I am afraid you are horribly underdressed for this event. In which case, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  Adrien stretched his legs out and relaxed. The grin he gave Bastien was defiant. “You’re welcome to try.”

  Beastly light flickered across Bastien’s eyes. He raised his hand and gestured to the maître d’. An older gentleman in a tux sauntered over.

  “It appears that we have an uninvited guest. Could you see him out?”

  The gentleman stiffened and turned his attention on Adrien. Adrien grinned. They weren’t strangers. Adrien leaned forward and put his elbows on the table as he addressed the gentleman.

  “How was your last shipment of seasonal vegetables? I heard that the chef was delighted with our produce.”

  The gentleman, still tense and trying to mitigate this awkward situation, smiled softly as he nodded his head. “Farah was overjoyed with your contributions to the latest menu.”

  Bastien threw down his napkin in a huff. His scowl darkened his face. “I asked you to remove this man from the restaurant. He’s clearly ruining the ambiance of your dining room.”

  The maître d’ could not make Adrien leave without potentially harming the restaurant’s relationship with the Barnes farms. Adrien himself had supplied this particular restaurant with small batches of produce for years. The maître d’ knew that he was between a rock and a hard place.

  Just because Adrien didn’t look like pretty and polished Bastien didn’t mean that he was any lesser. Jeans and flannels weren’t any indication of the man underneath. However, Adrien suspected that Bastien’s sour frown was a good indication of the man’s temperament.

  The kitchen door flew open. The head chef, Farah, breezed into the dining room. She threw her arms open wide and embraced Adrien before he could even stand. She kissed him on both cheeks, which brought a growl out of Raven. He squeezed her thigh under the table to reassure her that he wasn’t after the middle-aged chef.

  In her excitement to see her favorite produce farmer, Farah directed her kitchen staff to bring out several new dishes. She graced the table with samples of what his hard work had become. Adrien grinned, more than happy to show Bastien that a real man wasn’t concerned with only himself.

  A real man made a mark on the world. A real man took care of his family and his community.

  But Bastien didn’t get it. He slammed his hand on the table and got to his feet. “If you won’t throw him out, then I will!”

  “Bastien,” Alice warned.

  The man rounded the table, heedless of the low growl in Alice’s voice. She shot out of her seat, but made no move to stop Bastien. Adrien knew she wasn’t going to be the one to cause a scene. She would end it.

  Adrien flowed out of his chair and moved Farah out of the path of danger all in the same motion. Raven wasn’t as graceful. Her chair fell to the floor with a great clang. Bastien leapt over it and grabbed ahold of Adrien’s collar.

  The two men stumbled outside. Raven hurried to catch up, her heart thumping wildly. Though people stared, she ignored them all. Her only concern was for Adrien. She shoved through the door and stepped into the night just as Bastien threw Adrien into the street.

  Adrien tripped and caught himself before rising again. He planted his feet firmly on the ground—not in a fighting position. Raven noticed that Adrien’s stance was decidedly defensive. He didn’t want to start a fight here, but he would protect himself.

  “You are no one,” Bastien growled. “Do you hear me? You are nothing and no one. You will never have half of what I have. You will never be the man that I am.”

  Raven touched his shoulder to calm him. Bastien shoved her away. Her feet tangled. She fell back on her rear, the impact sending a jolt through her. Dazed, she stared up at Bastien and wondered how her mother could approve of this man.

  But Alice wasn’t looking at Bastien. Alice’s attention was on Adrien. He was at Raven’s side in a blink, his defensive stance forgotten. He helped her back onto her feet and looked her in the eye. She understood the question in them.

  Are you okay?

  She nodded and squeezed his arm. Please don’t fight.

  “This is all my fault,” Adrien whispered. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her close so that he could kiss her crown. “I…I…I’ll see you soon.”

  She got the feeling that wasn’t what he’d wanted to say. Adrien had different words on the tip of his tongue, but he’d held them back. Her heart stuttered nervously as she filled in the blanks.

  Before she could digest what it meant
, a furious fire climbed her throat. She narrowed her eyes at both Adrien and Bastien. “You’re both a pair of proud fools. You know that?”

  She turned on Adrien. “You just had to show off. You couldn’t leave us alone for the night. You had to parade your achievements in front of him.”

  Bastien stomped toward them, but Raven flung out her hand to stop him. “You’re not much better,” she said. “You can’t bear to let a man make a fool of himself. You had to jump in and become a clown, too. You’re both pathetic. I’m in no mood for either of you.”

  The look of hurt that filled Adrien’s eyes should have stung her, but she turned her back on him and walked away. She was done with tonight. Everyone tried to twist her time and make it about them. They stole her joy and made her feel small when she was anything but.

  Raven walked home, heedless of the people who tried to call her back. Once she was far enough away from prying eyes, she shifted, shredding the ugly dress in the process. Clothed in scales, she felt safer. She rose to her full height and shook herself out.

  No one joined her on her flight. She was pleased and annoyed all at once. The conflicting feelings made no sense, which made it difficult for her to shake them. As her thoughts became tangled, she wished things could be different, but she loved a fool.

  15

  The day had approached quickly. Raven hadn’t heard from Adrien since the fight the night of the rehearsal dinner. She wondered what he was doing while a makeup artist smeared her face with foundation.

  The makeup artist eyed the dress hanging on the wall behind Raven. “That fabric doesn’t really work with your complexion.”

  It didn’t really matter. Raven wasn’t trying to be beautiful today. She didn’t want to give Bastien the best side of herself. He didn’t deserve it.

  The gold lace dress fluttered through her mind. She sighed, wistfully wishing she could have worn it instead. That dress was for a wedding with another man waiting at the end of the aisle. Since she could not have that man, she told herself not to think about the dress.

  Adrien wasn’t waiting for her. He wasn’t at the altar. He was hiding somewhere, licking his pride after she’d called him a fool and a clown. Though she tried to convince herself that she was right, that didn’t stop the pang of hope that strummed her heartstrings.

  She had half-hoped all through the night that Adrien would show up today. She wanted him to crash the wedding the way he’d crashed the rehearsal dinner. After she’d told him off for being an ass, she doubted that he would make an appearance.

  What was he doing today? Was he drinking away the knowledge that she would be saying vows to another man?

  “So, how did you meet your husband-to-be?” the makeup artist asked in an attempt at casual conversation.

  The question made Raven’s stomach drop. She was silent for too long. The makeup artist grimaced and pulled back.

  “I’m sorry…did I say something wrong?”

  Raven shook her head. She had to clear her throat before she could speak. “It’s a family thing. This wedding is more about power and connections than it is about love.”

  The makeup artist frowned. Pity reached her eyes. Raven couldn’t stand the expression being pointed in her direction. The door opened and River stepped inside. Raven was certain that her sister had been eavesdropping. There was no way River hadn’t heard everything.

  Raven wasn’t sure why she was embarrassed. Her sister already knew everything. River had been present for the most recent incident. She knew about the previous ones. Something about the way River looked at her left Raven unsettled. It was as if River could see right through her.

  Was this that fabled triplet intuition? Were they getting closer and learning how to read one another better?

  It didn’t matter, in the end, because Raven had to leave with her future husband tonight. Raven’s relationship with her siblings would crumble once again when Bastien tried to cut her off from the world. Though she wasn’t going to let him get away with it, she knew his first attempt would break everything that was fragile right now.

  River helped her sister into the dress. Once the bodice had been fastened into place, Raven stepped in front of the mirror. The dress was just as ugly as she remembered. She still felt like a sausage in it.

  “You don’t have to do this,” River said.

  The makeup artist saw herself out of the situation as tension turned the air thick. Raven sighed. Everyone kept sticking their noses where they didn’t belong. Raven’s business was her own. She made her own decisions.

  If she wanted to go through with this, then that was her choice to make.

  Wasn’t it? Her conviction wavered. She thought she was doing this because she wanted to. This was the path that would make her mother leave her alone. It was the path that would help her shrug off all the demands everyone kept throwing at her.

  But she wasn’t so sure anymore.

  This was still her mother’s plan, after all. Raven was still walking the path that Alice had laid out. If Raven wanted to be her own person, would she get there by following the guidelines someone else set for her?

  Adrien had told Raven that she could be as grand as her mother. He’d made it sound like Raven had that kind of strength in her all along, all she had to do was choose it. Raven glanced at her sister.

  “How did you do it?”

  River smiled knowingly. “I gave the world the middle finger.”

  Raven scowled. The words made no sense. Raven had already chosen herself. Hadn’t she?

  That was a lie, though. If she’d chosen herself, she would have picked the future with the man who loved her. Adrien was a fool, but love made fools of them all. She couldn’t blame him for the follies he committed while trying to win her.

  She couldn’t blame him for one mistake when she’d made so many over the course of her life. Every step on her mother’s path had been a mistake. She never should have followed anyone’s orders.

  Alice Montoya had not birthed weak children. She’d made meek daughters out of dragons.

  Raven knew exactly what she wanted. She stood and turned toward her sister.

  “Let’s get this started,” she said.

  River studied her sister’s face before a slow grin appeared on her lips. River nodded and hooked her arm in Raven’s. Feeling spiteful, Raven led the way.

  She found the carpet that would take her down the aisle if she kept walking it. The plush, white fabric wasn’t right. Raven never wanted a winter wedding. She glanced back at the snow gently drifting from the sky outside the windows.

  When she turned back, she caught her mother’s eye. Alice’s lips flattened. River leaned in and whispered that they would likely give their mother a heart attack today. Raven laughed.

  They reached the pews. Bastien stood at the other end of the aisle, completely distracted. His eyes weren’t on her. He didn’t seem excited in the least. She wasn’t surprised, but dismay still rolled through her.

  Thankfully, she had no plans to take another step toward him.

  “Enjoy the food and wine at the reception,” Raven said before spinning on her heel.

  A low murmur rose into a dull roar of confusion behind her. Her heart felt light. She sucked in a deep breath and shoved the door open. The snow tickled her cheeks when she tilted her head back. A laugh bubbled out of her.

  She had someone she needed to see. The door opened again, but she didn’t stick around to see who it was. She lifted her skirts and ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Blood pumping, she felt strong.

  It wasn’t about what her body could do. It wasn’t about her rank in the clan. Strength came from her own convictions. Right now, her convictions told her to choose the man who loved her.

  She chose him because she loved him, too.

  Adrien grumbled, annoyed that he was rebuilding a porch in the beginnings of another snowstorm. At least, that’s what he told himself. His irritation mounted and mounted until his hammer slipped and he
hit his thumb.

  Pissed, he spun and hoisted the hammer with every intention of chucking it clear across town. He came up short when he saw a dragon descend and land in front of him. She lifted her head, her eyes alight with a sparkle that Adrien couldn’t read.

  “What are you doing here? Did you come to laugh at the clown?”

  She dropped her head and nudged him, nearly lifting him off his feet. Despite his frustration, she managed to make him laugh. He dropped back onto his heels and watched her as she pulled away.

  He couldn’t tell what she was doing here. She was supposed to get married today. As far as Adrien knew, she should have already said her vows by now. Then, he noticed the ribbon of white fabric hanging from one of her horns.

  His brow furrowed when he stared at it. On some level, he knew what that ribbon meant. His brain hadn’t caught up to the truth yet, though. It wasn’t until Raven shifted back to her human form and threw her naked self into his arms that he realized what had happened.

  “I want you,” she whispered in his ear as she held him. “If you’ll have me.”

  Stunned, he didn’t know what to do. His arms hovered in the air. The hammer slipped out of his grasp and dropped into the snow. After several heartbeats, he embraced her. He hugged her tight so that she would never get away again.

  Burying his face in her shoulder, he said, “I was so afraid I would lose you forever.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m a fool, too.”

  He shook his head. “You’re not a fool. You’re figuring out how to take your life into your own hands. You’re bound to face some challenges from time to time.”

  Lifting his mate into his arms, Adrien turned them around. He leapt over the broken porch and kicked the door closed behind him once they were inside. He barely made it a few feet before her mouth found his. Her feet touched the floor. She dragged him toward the couch where they could fall together and become a tangle of limbs.