by Liv Rider
“I’m just glad you’re willing to try,” Joel said. “I’m glad you helped me, but it shouldn’t come to this in the future.”
Douglas looked like he was about to say more, but then Adam appeared in the doorway. Douglas walked past Thomas and Joel to wait on the pavement. “This isn’t over once you’ve said your goodbyes, Davies.”
Joel wasn’t sure if Douglas meant him or Adam, but he watched Adam gulp nervously and nod. “Well,” Joel wasn’t sure what he should say to his brother now. “I, uh, I’m going back home. To Lewiston.”
Adam nodded, his eyes a little wild as he glanced over at Thomas. “Sure.”
“I wouldn’t be happy here.” He thought Adam would be the one to understand that, since Adam had been the only one who had seemed to care about Joel over the past few days. “I’m happier there, with my job and my friends.”
Thomas coughed pointedly.
“And my mate,” he added.
“I hope you two are happy.” Adam sounded surprisingly sincere. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but if he says you’re mates, I guess you’re mates.” He nodded at Thomas.
“It’s ridiculous.” Dylan had come to stand behind Adam. He was glaring down at Joel. “You, a true mate to a dragon shifter?” He snorted, then eyed Thomas. “I feel kinda sorry for you, dude.”
Joel looked at Thomas, fully expecting him to glare right back at Dylan, but to Joel’s surprise, Thomas had a half-smile on his face. “That’s funny, because I feel kinda sorry for you.”
Dylan let out a low snarl. “You think you’re better than us? Just ‘cause you can turn into a dragon?”
Adam had his arm out to keep Dylan back. “C’mon, man…”
“No, I think I’m better than you because I know humans can be just as powerful as shifters.” Joel wasn’t sure how Thomas managed to sound so calm. Dylan was shaking his head, smiling to himself and clearly thinking Thomas was an idiot. “Humans can be smarter. Or more stubborn, or resilient. There’s more than just physical strength or a highly sensitive nose. Even if it wasn’t for me, I’m sure Joel still would’ve found his way back to Lewiston.”
“Let’s not put that to the test.” Joel felt a warm glow inside. It was good to hear Thomas say those words, especially to Dylan. He hoped his father had heard them too.
Dylan didn’t look impressed. “You’re a fool. Both of you.” With that, he turned around to stomp down the hallway.
“Dylan is, well, he’s Dylan.” Adam shrugged awkwardly. “Dad mentioned you wanted to say goodbye to Mom too, but I don’t know if…” He turned around and Joel saw that his mother was standing in the hallway too, in the doorway leading to the kitchen.
Seeing her again after those years was like a punch in the gut. There were tears in his eyes as she walked over. She smiled at Adam, but her smile faded as she looked at Joel. “You’re leaving?”
“Yes.” His voice wavered. “Mom, did you know? Did you know they were going to bring me back?”
“Oh honey.” She reached out to stroke his cheek. “I thought you’d be happier here. That’s why I agreed with Travis’ plan to go and talk to you. I thought it was for the best.” She looked at Thomas and her smile grew again, warm and sincere, like Joel remembered it. “But I hear that you’re his mate. Is that true?”
“Yes, ma’am. Trust me, Joel will be happy with me, in Lewiston.”
“Oh, of course.” She nodded. “Being with your true mate is more important than anything else. Congratulations.”
Joel was torn between relief that his mother was congratulating him and the niggling doubt that she might’ve been fine with forcing Joel to stay here if it hadn’t been for having a true mate. “Thank you. But even without Thomas, I still would’ve been happier in Lewiston.”
Her mouth fell open at that. “Joel! Don’t be ridiculous. Your home is here, with us.”
“Barnhill hasn’t been my home in years. You know that. You know how everyone treated me. How Dad—how you treated me.” His voice broke. “Mom, I was miserable for so long. Why did you think I could be happy here?” Thomas put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close.
“Honey, sometimes life is difficult and unfair. But running away isn’t the answer.”
Maybe it wasn’t, but it was the only answer he’d been able to think of at the time. “I know you were upset when I left, but I was old enough, Mom. I was an adult. I had to leave and start over elsewhere, and I did. I have a job there, and friends. I have a life.”
“Oh.” She sounded genuinely surprised.
“How much did you know about Dad’s plan? About him kidnapping me? Making me stay in the basement?”
Her face paled at those last two questions. “Travis said… Adam?” She looked at her other son.
“You said you wanted to see him again!” Adam argued. “You said him living here was a good idea!”
“You told me he came voluntarily.” She narrowed her eyes. “You said you two had made the basement comfortable while I sorted out the guest room!”
“Dad!”
“I think we should leave,” Thomas whispered.
“I think so too.” It hadn’t been the goodbye he’d hoped for, but he also couldn’t stay for what looked like a massive family argument. At least he knew for certain his mom hadn’t been part of the kidnapping plan. He didn’t think he could’ve handled it if she had been.
They walked onto the pavement and Douglas grimaced as he looked at the house. They could all hear raised voices through the open door. “I’ll drive you two back to my place. You can stay there until nightfall.”
Joel was about to ask why they had to wait so long, but then he heard his father yell.
“You’re letting them go?” Travis gestured at Joel and Thomas. “Just like that?”
“Yes, I am,” Douglas raised his voice. “I’ll be back here tomorrow so I can take everyone’s statements about what happened. Travis, you think about whether or not you want to file a complaint against Thomas here. You don’t want to do anything stupid.”
“Too late for that,” Thomas muttered.
Joel couldn’t help a smile. He looked up at his family. This might be the last time he ever saw them. Dylan glared at him and walked back inside. Adam gave him a wave, then joined his brother. His mother looked sad, but she smiled when Thomas put his arm around Joel. His father kept glaring at him and Thomas, then led his wife back into the house before closing the door.
Joel stared at the door, unsure how to feel. He leaned against Thomas, glad for his warm, solid body. “Nightfall?” He didn’t want to talk about what had just happened with Thomas, not until he had a chance to think about it for himself.
“I flew here as a dragon. If I want to get back home unseen, we need to wait until it’s dark.”
Douglas nodded. “You two can give your statement and we can talk about what to do next.”
It would be awkward to spend the rest of the day with Douglas, especially after his outburst earlier, but maybe it was for the best. Douglas was being helpful now and willing to listen. They could talk about ways to improve the situation in Barnhill and other nearby towns for any future human who ended up here.
“Is that what you want?” Thomas’ voice was quiet. “If you want to go home now, we can get bus tickets or something.”
Joel smiled, then shook his head. “Are you kidding me? Why would I want to take the bus when I can ride a dragon?”
Thomas still looked worried. “I mean talking to Douglas about what happened. Joel, you’ve been through a lot. Are you sure?”
“I’ll be in the car.” Douglas walked away, and Joel was glad he’d left them alone.
He took Thomas’ free hand and glanced over at the house. His mom and Adam were by the window, watching them. Adam jumped to the left, out of sight, when he saw Joel watching, but his mom just nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.” He kept looking at his mother. “It’ll be difficult and weird to talk about it, especially to Douglas, but I’ll have to do it sooner
or later. I’d rather do it now, while everything’s fresh. I don’t want to leave anything out.”
“Okay. But we’ve got all day, so if you want to take a break or have a nap or if you need anything, say the word.”
“Stay with me. That’s all I need.” He leaned in to kiss Thomas.
“Always.”
While Thomas pulled him in for a hug, Joel managed to glance at the window. His mom was smiling, and he watched her wipe a tear from her eye. He hoped she could see him smile back. At least she’d know he was happy, no matter what happened next.
The rest of the day was spent going over everything that had happened since Thursday night, catching up on the meals he had missed, and taking a shower. By the time Douglas ordered them all pizza for dinner, he was sure he had told Douglas the same thing over and over.
“They’ll be here in half an hour,” Douglas told them as he sat down at the kitchen table. He looked down at his notepad. “Now, when Adam brought you breakfast this morning, did he—”
“Again?” Joel sat back in his chair.
“Yes, Joel, again. I want to make sure I have everything from you I need. I don’t want to make any mistakes here. Or do you think the council will give you the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this case?”
“No.” He hated that Douglas was right. The local council wouldn’t be on his side, so if he wanted his father and brothers punished, every detail had to be correct. “Once you’ve finished writing everything up, do you need me to come back and talk to the council?”
“I think it’s best if you didn’t.” Douglas looked over his notes. “Let’s avoid a confrontation. I can represent you and make it clear how much you don’t want to be in Barnhill. You’re more interested in moving on than in how harsh the punishment is. You just want your family to leave you alone. That’s why you won’t be at any hearings.” He looked at Joel. “And so you won’t have to listen to your father insist how it was all your fault anyway.”
He could easily imagine his dad doing that. “Yeah, good point.” He’d had enough of that. “What kind of punishment do you think the council will go for? Assuming they agree my family was in the wrong?”
“Difficult to say. It’ll depend on how cooperative they are during the investigation. I’m going to see if I can get them banned from shifting for a good long time.”
Thomas sucked in a breath. “Good choice. Better than going for a fine or jail-time.”
“No point in putting them in jail. There’s no risk of them kidnapping anyone apart from Joel. And a fine’ll make it look like Joel’s after money and punishing his mom, when I don’t think she had much to do with it.”
Joel wouldn’t have minded his father spending some time in jail, but he knew that to a shifter, being banned from shifting was already like being in prison. “Can you ban them from visiting Lewiston?” He didn’t think his family would try kidnapping him again, but he didn’t want to take the risk. Thomas leaned closer to him.
Douglas tapped his pen on the paper. “We’d need the Lewiston councils to cooperate with that, since they would have to keep an eye on it too.”
“No problem.” Thomas’ voice was firm.
“You can’t speak for the other two districts,” Joel reminded him.
Thomas nodded reluctantly. “I’ll discuss it. It won’t be a problem. Maybe I’ll ask the councils to do that anyway. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to ban criminal shifters and I don’t want to leave that decision entirely to your council.”
“Good point,” Douglas agreed.
Joel smiled as well. No matter how things turned out, at least he’d be able to walk the streets of Lewiston without running into his family again. “Okay. Where were we? You asked about Adam bringing me breakfast, right?”
By the time Thomas and Douglas agreed it was dark enough for Thomas to fly back, Joel was exhausted. He hadn’t slept well over the past few days and he just wanted to collapse on the nearest flat surface. But the excitement over seeing Thomas in his dragon form was stronger than his tiredness.
Thomas’ dragon was as impressive as it had been that morning. He was huge, about the size of a bus, with a long, graceful neck and a tail that was now resting on the ground. The only light came from the windows of Douglas’ house, and Thomas’ scales seemed a dark blue rather than the bright blue they had been this morning in the sunlight.
Joel walked closer, in awe of the creature in front of him. He reached out and Thomas bumped his nose against Joel’s hand. Joel was pushed back a little and he laughed. “You’re gorgeous.”
Thomas lowered himself down so that Joel could climb onto his back. Douglas helped him up.
“Are you sure this is safe?” He was sitting between the shoulder blades of the dragon, the wings behind him. He leaned down so he could wrap his arms around Thomas’ neck as much as possible. He was glad for the warmth of the dragon underneath him. He had a feeling he would need that once they were up in the air.
“Perfectly,” Douglas assured him, while Thomas let out a low growl. “He’s not in a hurry this time and he won’t let you fall.”
Joel tensed up when Thomas slowly stood and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t slide off. “I know,” he said, more to himself than to Douglas. “I know. I trust him.”
Thomas’ reply was a rumble that Joel assumed was meant to be reassuring.
“Just be careful!” His eyes were on Douglas when Thomas spread his wings and took flight. He felt himself slide back a little, but the wings and his own tight grip kept him from sliding too far. Thomas hovered in the air and let out a higher-pitched rumble.
“Are you okay?” Douglas shouted from below.
Joel nodded, then realized the older man probably wouldn’t be able to see him. “I’m fine!”
Douglas gave him a thumbs up and he heard another low rumble from Thomas. He clung tightly to the dragon’s neck when Thomas beat his wings to go higher and slowly turn around. It was nerve-wracking and the most exciting thing he had ever done in his life.
Douglas’ house became smaller beneath them and the lights of Barnhill vanished in the distance. He had no idea how fast they were flying, but now that they were in the air, it was surprisingly smooth. Thomas kept a constant speed and the sound of his wings beating against the air became a soothing rhythm. Joel rested his cheek against the warm scales of Thomas’ neck as he watched the ground below. He knew that if he fell asleep, Thomas would still make sure Joel stayed on his back.
But sleep was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He didn’t want to rest his eyes for more than a few seconds at a time. There was always something new to spot beneath them in the darkness. They flew over small towns and single homes, over roads with plenty of light poles and roads where the only lights came from the couple of cars using it. Joel was certain Thomas was avoiding the busier areas. He only saw cities in the distance.
He didn’t know how long it took them, but he sat up when the lights of Lewiston and the familiar skyline appeared. He grinned, giddy with relief. “We’re home! Wait, we can’t fly into the city, can we? We’ll be spotted.”
Thomas growled, then headed east. Joel kept his eyes on Lewiston, glancing down at the ground every now and then. What was Thomas doing?
The dragon landed not too far from what looked like a farm house. Joel winced at the rough landing. He waited for Thomas to lower himself completely before sliding off. “Is this where you parked?” he asked, before Thomas could even shift back.
Thomas was crouched on the ground after shifting. “Yes, the couple who live here are shifters. They let shifters who are too big or noticeable to shift in the city use their barn as a parking space.” He got up, stretching his arms over his head. “It’s a good spot. There’s the woods over there and a lake nearby.”
“How convenient.” He wrapped his arms around Thomas for a tight hug. “That was really cool. Kinda scary, but cool.”
“Not too scary, right?” Thomas sounded worried as he
pulled Joel closer. “I should probably have asked if you were afraid of heights.”
“Like riding a roller coaster scary.” Joel gave him a kiss. “You know you’re perfectly safe, but there’s a tiny part of you scared of falling anyway. I’m sure I’ll feel safer with practice.”
“Hm-mm, and that has nothing to do with how cool it was?” Thomas sounded amused.
“Maybe. Come on, don’t act like you don’t think it’s cool.”
“It was very satisfying to fly you back to safety.” Thomas kissed his forehead. “But it’ll be even more satisfying to take you back to my place. Unless you’d rather sleep in your own bed?”
“Whichever is closest.”
“My place it is.” Thomas pulled away, but took Joel’s hand.
“You’re not just saying that because I’ve got no idea where exactly we are and therefore don’t know which one of us lives closer, right?” Joel smiled as he followed Thomas over to the barn.
“Never!”
18
Thomas
Having Joel back in his arms and in his apartment was satisfying and wonderful in a way Thomas couldn’t entirely describe. His dragon was very pleased. The raging anger was gone and replaced with the warm glow of contentment. Joel was safe and his family would be punished.
Thomas watched Joel closely as he grabbed a glass from the kitchen cupboard and opened the tap. Joel seemed fine, but how fine was he really? “Feeling better?” he asked, once Joel finished his glass of water.
“Oh yeah, just tired.” Joel put the glass down on the counter and smiled at him. “It’s been a long day.” He walked back over to Thomas to hug him and hummed happily.
“I mean in general.” Thomas closed his eyes as he inhaled Joel’s scent. He didn’t smell scared, but being kidnapped wasn’t something you shook off. “After what your family put you through… what they did was terrible.”
“It was.” Joel pulled back to look up at Thomas. “I think I’m mostly just relieved.”
