Damaged Daddy Dragon

by Leela Ash

  13.

  Apollo had sensed that they were being followed for quite some time. His mind has worked quickly to figure out a battle tactic as he weighed the energies of the enemy. He had quickly calculated that he could take them both on his own, and because there was no time to lose in getting the mine started, he had sent Frank and Mike back to work with them.

  They knew the plan. He had made it clear. He had suspected something like this might happen, especially now that they were so close. That was why he had two actual miners waiting at the site with their equipment. Frank and Mike would bring the actual device, not the decoy that Gavin had sent along with the real thing. So even if the fight was lost and the enemy got away with the device, it would lead them on a wild goose chase and give them a GPS ping to the enemy’s location. Of course, that could get complicated with a jump between worlds, but that was okay. It was better than nothing.

  Apollo turned around expectantly. The two men who had been left behind were also miners from Oak Mountain, Snow and Joe, but their orders had been to vacate the area if any fighting began. He couldn’t afford any of the workers to be hurt, but the act needed to be convincing. And he didn’t trust any man he didn’t know with Gavin’s device. It had to be Frank and Mike.

  There was another odd energy he had sensed following them. He assumed it was an enemy, as he was on high alert for danger. The aura was weaker than the others though, significantly, and hardly posed a threat. Though its origins were dragon. Was it Heidi, maybe? That would piss him off.

  Suddenly, a ball of ice hurtled toward Apollo. He dodged it swiftly and let out a low growl. Certa. They were there and ready for a fight. He would give them one.

  He began his shapeshift without hesitation, his body expanding about a hundred times its normal size. It was a pain in the ass to be a dragon shifter in the woods, but he would deal with it.

  With a tremendous roar, Apollo tried to lock onto his targets with a powerful breath weapon. He had to be careful of the trees if he was going to use fire. Fortunately, he could also sling some ice around and attempted to hit his targets that way.

  There was no way of telling whether he had hit his mark. He tried to let out a puff of steam, knowing that it might move differently around another moving body. Fortunately, his tactic worked, and he quickly located one of the Certa darting toward him.

  He let out a low roar and gnashed his jaw harshly at the incoming threat. It cried out in pain as Apollo’s teeth sank gratifyingly into the flesh of his enemy.

  He discarded the Certa to the ground once it became lifeless. It thudded somewhere below and he looked around coolly for the next threat. He was stricken in the back hard and let out a grunt of pain before whipping around to face his foe head on. He just missed and the Certa dodged beneath him, suddenly throwing a huge jolt of electricity at Apollo that rendered him paralyzed for the duration of its stun. Fucking thing.

  He fought through the anguish and tried to rally life back into his limbs before lunging blindly at his attacker. He missed and let out another growl of frustration as the Certa landed a blow in his stomach. He lashed out once more with his teeth and fired a shocking blast of ice at the enemy before him. He heard the cry of anguish as his attack hit its mark and the Certa plummeted to the ground with a thud.

  Apollo let out a puff of air before flying back to the ground and shapeshifting back into his human form. Damn it. So, the enemies had located them, just as he’d suspected. But how?

  “What the hell was that?!”

  Apollo turned around quickly, shocked to find Quinn standing there. Wait, was she the other energy he had sensed earlier? The one he had mistaken as a dragon? She must be. What in the hell was going on? Why was everything so damned complicated suddenly?

  “Quinn!”

  “You’re…” She was pale and her hand trembled as she pointed at him. “You’re a…”

  Apollo sighed heavily. How the hell was he supposed to deal with this?

  “Please don’t tell anybody. It’s really important.”

  “Like anybody would believe me! They already think I’m crazy.”

  Quinn reached behind herself and found the trunk of a tree to steady herself. “Somehow I knew it. Vera…”

  “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be honest with you, Quinn. It’s just that what I’m doing here is sensitive. And I still can’t tell you everything. Not yet. but I swear, in time you’ll know it all. Just please, trust me.”

  Quinn was still staring at him, her eyes slightly wild, as she took in all the new information. He could tell none of it made sense to her, and yet she was accepting of it. Just in disbelief. Shock. He had seen it before. He had never thought he would see it again though. Not like this. And definitely not in her.

  “I don’t even know what to say,” she said quietly. “Is that why you got so angry at me when I was walking Daisy.”

  Apollo sighed. “Yes. Everything will be explained to you.” He frowned. “Wait a minute. Where’s Vera?”

  “She’s playing with Rachel. I just wanted to see what the hell made you so mean…”

  Apollo gritted his teeth and looked down at the ground. “Spying on me.”

  “Only because you had already accused me of it. Guilty people say things like that. People with nothing to hide wouldn’t even think it.”

  Apollo sighed again. She had a point, he supposed.

  “Also, you’re naked.”

  He glanced down at himself. Yes, shapeshifting tended to do that to a man. Hs glanced around for his duffel bag. He had dropped it during the fight. As he slipped on a fresh pair of jeans, Quinn shook her head.

  “So, what am I supposed to do now?”

  “You saw how violent that fight was. Just protect Vera, Quinn. That’s all you can do for me now.”

  “From that?!”

  Apollo gave a light shrug. “Since they located us, I can ask one of the shifters to stay behind in case things get rough. We had a few more guys show up today so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  Quinn was shaking, but she nodded. “Whatever you say.”

  She was silent as she got her bearings and finally stood up straight, no longer relying on the stabilization of the tree. “Wait, there are more of you?!”

  Apollo nodded. “Yes.”

  “Wonderful. And you’re all staying in my cabins. Wonderful…”

  She turned toward Winters, still slightly in a daze, and headed away from him. Apollo frowned and jogged to her.

  “Let me walk you back. You look unwell.”

  Quinn gave him an odd look and then finally nodded. “Sure, whatever you think.”

  Apollo signaled the other bear shifters to follow and together, they headed back to the bed and breakfast with the shaken human.

  ***

  When they arrived, Quinn went directly to her cabin and Apollo headed to pick Vera up from Sandy’s cabin. He was suddenly intercepted by Heidi.

  “Damn it! I thought you were done here.”

  “No, not until I know Vera is safe. You realize that reckless sidepiece of yours left her with a really weak human, right?”

  “I know that,” Apollo stated flatly. “And I trust Quinn’s judgment.”

  “Quinn,” Heidi scoffed. “Is that her name?”

  Apollo couldn’t help but be amused. “You’re jealous.”

  Heidi scowled and turned her face away. “No way.”

  “You are!”

  “No! If I wanted to be with you, I would have stuck around.”

  Apollo sighed, slightly wounded by the words but not very. “I know.”

  “I’m here for my daughter.” She paused. “I really miss how things were.”

  “Well…”

  There was sudden sadness and desperation on Heidi’s face, and again, those stupid strings of empathy tugged at Apollo. There was no romance or passion for her left there, of course. But he still cared about Heidi. For whatever reason. He was just one of those guys.

  “I don’t want you to take
this the wrong way, Heidi, but it’s nice to see that you care.”

  Heidi sighed and surprised them both by beginning to cry. Apollo was startled and went to her. His instinct was to embrace her, so that’s what he did. She cried for a few more moments before her sobs were stilled by Apollo’s embrace.

  “Oh,” Quinn’s voice rang out like a shot and Apollo jumped away from his ex as if he had just been fired at. He knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he didn’t want Quinn to get the wrong idea.

  “Quinn, this is Heidi. Vera’s mother. We were just talking.”

  “I see that.”

  Apollo looked frantically to Heidi, who was measuring Quinn up with a cool expression. All traces of her former emotions were gone. Damn that woman’s ability to cover up any traces of true feeling like a damned cold-hearted chameleon! Quinn would never believe she had been crying.

  “I don’t think very highly of you,” Heidi said plainly, regarding Quinn with some contempt. “As for you Apollo, you could do better. Think of your daughter.”

  Heidi left in a huff, and Apollo gaped after her a moment before turning to regard Quinn.

  But she, too, had turned in the other direction and was walking away from him. He threw his hands in the air in an exaggerated gesture of frustration. “Women!!”

  14.

  “He was hugging her?!”

  Quinn sighed, taking a sip of the tea that Sandy had offered her when she’d arrived that morning.

  “Yeah. It was a little weird.”

  “But you two like each other.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well you guys should really figure that out, don’t you think?!”

  Quinn glanced over her shoulder to Vera, who had paused in her play to listen. Quinn had been trying not to speak too loudly, but it seemed like the child had the ears of a bat. Or… dragon senses, maybe.

  The thought churned her stomach. What else had Apollo been lying about? Being over his ex-wife, being human… What else didn’t she know?

  “It’s nothing. I don’t think we should talk about it right now.”

  Quinn nodded to Vera, who was still staring at Quinn and Sandy. Sandy got the message and nodded. “Right, well, maybe we should focus on more important things. Like the grand opening!”

  Quinn sighed. The finances that Apollo had given her for watching Vera had finally allowed her parents to turn Winters into an establishment they were proud of, and they were planning a huge grand opening event for the entire town to join in and celebrate the occasion. She wasn’t excited for it, and it was a long way off, but it would be a fun time for the kids if nothing else.

  “Well, I don’t see why they’re planning a year into the future,” Quinn said with a shrug. “But I’m glad they have something to be happy about.”

  Sandy laughed. “That’s true. Your parents are nice people.”

  “Yeah…”

  Vera yawned and Quinn stood. “I think it’s time we go put you down for a nap. What do you say?”

  Vera nodded, her eyes dubious as Quinn went over to pick her up. “Do you like my daddy?”

  Quinn was caught off-guard by the child’s question and surprised by how easily she answered with complete honesty. “Yes. I like your daddy.”

  Vera seemed to relax a little in Quinn’s arms and she sighed, relieved that she had dodged a bullet with Apollo’s daughter before naptime when emotions could get really extreme.

  ***

  “Heidi, we know how unfair they’ve been to you.”

  Heidi rolled her eyes and drank deeply of the beer she’d bought at the only bar she had managed to find in Greenrock. The man speaking to her shook his head sadly. He had approached her after she left the bed and breakfast dejectedly, trying to figure out a way to get to her daughter without Apollo breaking every bone in her body. Not that she’d ever seen him hit a woman or even consider it.

  The man had intercepted her as she approached the bar. He wore a deep black jacket and what almost appeared to be a reverend’s collar. His face was old and aged, and he introduced himself as a dragon shifter elder named Zed. She hadn’t been too sure about him until he’d offered to help her with her daughter. He even offered to buy her a drink.

  “You know I am an elder. And what they are doing is wrong. It is putting that child in danger. Everybody knows it. Apollo is being very selfish in keeping her there with him.”

  “He’s not with her. He’s leaving her with some scrawny human! I saw it myself!” Heidi threw her hands in the air and scoffed; her face drawn in misery. “If my baby dies over this, I’ll never forgive myself. Especially when I haven’t done enough to spend time with her.”

  “Lower your voice Heidi. Don’t speak of humans as if they are anything other than yourself. It raises suspicion. We do not want suspicion on us. Especially not now.”

  “Right, sorry,” Heidi said glumly. She was tired of everything about this stupid human world and these stupid threats to the shifters. Everything was terrible. She took another drink.

  “It’s all right. I can help. There is something we can do about all of this. Do you understand?”

  Heidi’s eyes brightened up a little. “You’re going to help me get her out of there.”

  “Oh yes. I know a place where she would be remarkably comfortable.”

  The man smiled largely, and Heidi studied him for a moment, uncertain. “And where is that?”

  “Oh, it’s out east. Where the shifters will never get their hands on her. A protected place.”

  Heidi took another long swig of beer. “I want to be in a protected place too.”

  “You’re more than welcome to join us of course. But if you want to go off and live your own life, you are fully allowed to do that too. We have wonderful facilities for children. She will be well taken care of.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  Heidi thought for a moment and then smiled. “That sounds really nice. Then Apollo’s carelessness won’t put her in danger anymore.”

  “That’s right.”

  Heidi stood unsteadily and regarded the man across from her. “Well okay then. I’m glad I met you here. Let’s go.”

  ***

  Quinn walked to the back window in Apollo’s cabin and began stretching. Vera was sleeping soundly in the living room and she needed to destress after the conversation with Sandy. Her mind was reeling with the added information. Dragon shifters existed. She hadn’t been crazy to wonder if Apollo was more than human. She had never been crazy to believe that there was more than meets the eye. Everyone who had ever shamed her for having off the wall ideas and too open of a mind were wrong. She was right. She wasn’t the crazy one. She should have been relieved.

  But instead, she felt deceived. What else was being hidden from her? not just by Apollo, but from all the people she had ever trusted? All the people in power? Is this how conspiracy theorists were born? Extreme disillusionment? She couldn’t be sure. All she knew for sure was that the man she was falling for wasn’t human. And that his ex was around now. and that they clearly had a connection left that she would probably never be able to compete with. she couldn’t and wouldn’t stand in the way of a family reuniting if it was what was best for Vera. Even if it wasn’t what was best, if it was what they thought was best she had no place disputing it.

  Quinn’s chest burned with the pain and stress of the situation. Maybe she should just quit. Quit with Apollo. Quit with all these feelings. Maybe even quit watching Vera. It would put a hitch in her parent’s plans but her mental health was worth something. She had to put it first no matter what. That was all there was to it, no matter who liked it and who didn’t.

  Suddenly, the door to the cabin swung open and Heidi stepped inside.

  “Where is my daughter?”

  Quinn’s stomach dropped and she bounded to the living room. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “I have every right to see my child!”

  “Not without Apollo around! Now leave!”

  H
eidi sneered at Quinn.

  “Apollo is my concern, not yours. As is my daughter. So please, if you know what’s good for you, get the hell out of the way or get her for me.”

  Quinn shook her head and Heidi rolled her eyes.

  “As you wish.”

  She snarled and Quinn’s blood turned to ice when she realized that Heidi’s eyes had flashed with a reptilian fury much like the way Apollo’s eyes had changed when they’d made love the first time.

  “You’re not going anywhere near her!”

  Quinn braced herself as Heidi lunged at her and shifted her weight in a way that knocked Heidi off balance. She shoved her out the door of the cabin and toward the woods.

  “Apollo! Someone get Apollo!”

  One of the bear shifters that he had appointed to stay behind ran off toward the woods and the other braced himself in case of a fight.

  “You have no right to keep me from my baby, you wench!”

  Heidi was dangerously close to shapeshifting. Quinn knew relatively nothing about shapeshifters but could tell that much just at a glance. She looked to the bear shifter in concern, and he seemed to be wracking his brain to try to figure out a way to deescalate the situation.

  “Vera’s fine,” he barked. “Everything is fine, just relax!”

  “No, you fool,” a man said suddenly, waving his hand and freezing the bear shifter on sight. “Vera is ours.”

  Quinn was terrified. She turned on her heel and ran for the cabin to get the child, but a sudden pain seared through her head and her world was enveloped in blackness.

  15.

  “What the hell do you mean, ‘Heidi’s trying to take Vera’?” Apollo exclaimed. He took off as quickly as he could, back to Winters, and his stomach dropped when he found his cabin in a total disarray. Quinn and Vera were both gone.

  “Quinn did everything she could to stop her,” the bear shifter who had gone after him to retrieve him explained, breathless. They had all followed him back to Winters from the training ground. “I don’t know where they went after I left to find you.”