by Roxie Ray
I locked Tiffany in the bathroom with me and turned on the water. “Wash your arm, baby.” As I pumped antibacterial soap all over her arm, the tears began to fall.
“Mommy, don’t cry.” Tiffany patted my arm with her wet, soapy hand. Ignoring her, I scrubbed her scratched arm with my hands and tried to combat the panic rising in my throat. As I rinsed her arm, my emotions went into full meltdown mode. Because why not? If shifters were real, I had the right to melt down. If shifters were real, then this should’ve been my fairy tale.
Cinderella, I was not. I bit back my sobs and gave myself a few minutes to fully cry and freak then mopped up my face. I used Ava’s hand towels to neaten up my makeup and cool off my hot face after crying.
Tiffany tried to comfort me the whole time. Eventually, I got her arms dried and blotted her clothes where the water had splashed. I straightened my clothes and prepared to walk out with Tiffany in my arms. I wanted to get to my car and get home as soon as I could. These creatures were clearly a danger. I couldn’t have that around my baby.
“Mommy?” Tiffany looked at me with big, pleading eyes. “Can I have a pet dinosaur?”
I burst out laughing but choked it back as fast as I could. It was time to try to leave, and that meant facing them. Nothing about this was funny.
But when we stepped out, everyone looked at us. The bathroom was directly across from the open living room. They all sat on the couch, with Hailey in the armchair. That left the loveseat for Tiff and me.
Maddox had fully dressed, but he looked like he was about to come out of his skin. Ha. That was ironic. Just seeing him terrified me all over again. Now that I knew what he was, what he was capable of, how could I ever look at him the same again? He’d already hurt Tiffany. Yeah, it was probably an accident, but there was way too much unexpected with a creature that had claws and could breathe fire.
I assumed they could breathe fire. Part of me was curious, but no way I was about to ask. I wasn’t even sure I was going to sit down and let them try to explain further. This was too damn much. My child had been through too much in her short life already, losing her father the way she had. I couldn’t subject her to this insanity, too.
“Are you okay?”
Might as well be honest. “No. No, I’m not. I can’t be here. I can’t have Tiffany here. It’s not fair to subject her to this.”
“To what?” Maddox asked. “I wanted to keep it from her, at least until she was older. Until she could understand.”
“This is no way to raise a child,” I said. “I can’t face this.”
“That’s not fair,” Maddox said. “I’m still the same person. I haven’t changed. I just revealed more of myself to you. And like I said before, I’d never, ever intentionally hurt you or Tiffany.”
“I get that. I do. But this is too much to process.” I looked at Ava. “A family of dragon shifters would be shocking to anyone.”
Ava shrugged. “I fainted. But Beth, I promise you, Maddox is still the man you fell in love with. He’s not someone else because he has a part of himself that you didn’t know about.” She smiled at Maverick. “They have control of the animalistic sides of themselves. They aren’t raging beasts. They’re sentient and intelligent. Hell, sometimes I think their dragons are more intelligent than the guys are.”
Maverick rolled his eyes but nodded. “She’s probably right.”
“I can’t accept it.” I still hadn’t left the bathroom doorway or gone any closer.
“Artemis is a part of me. I can’t give it up. It’s not like I’m a prince who can abdicate the throne. He’s a package deal with me like Tiff is with you.”
“That’s a huge false equivalence,” I said. “Not the same at all. Tiffany is a baby. Artemis is a damn beast. I can’t trust a dragon!”
“Then you can’t trust me.” Maddox’s eyes filled with tears.
But I nodded. “After this? You springing this on me? No. It’s true. I can’t trust you.”
Ava leaned forward as if to say something, but Maverick put a hand on her back.
Enough was enough. “This is too much, Maddox, I’m sorry, but I’m not up for something like this. We have to break it off.”
He looked like he was ready to vomit, but he didn’t fight me. “I’ll do whatever is best for you. I love you, and whether you believe it or not, so does Artemis. He chose you.” The tears in his eyes fell, but I’d cried myself out in the bathroom. “You’re breaking our hearts,” Maddox whispered. “Artemis didn’t think you’d reject us.”
It majorly creeped me out, the way he talked about them as if they were two separate beings. It was too much. His words didn’t sit right with me.
“I understand if you need to go.” His voice sounded so broken it made me wonder if I was overreacting, but my fear couldn’t be ignored. I nodded and turned toward the door. At the last second, I looked back.
Maddox stared down at me. “I love you, even if you can’t love all of me.” He walked forward, but I didn’t run this time. I didn’t think he’d hurt me, not in his human skin. He kissed the top of Tiff’s head before he turned and walked down the hall toward the kitchen. A few seconds later I heard the back door slam shut.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Ava and Maverick. Hailey had big crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks.
As fast as I could, I ran out the door and down the steps. My hands shook with adrenaline and fear as I strapped Tiffany in. Being out in the dark, knowing dragons were out there and could’ve been stalking me made my heart pound, and fear danced along my spine.
My window was cracked, and the night air streamed in as I drove a bit too fast down the driveway. In the distance, a roar reached my ears. It was faint, but I could’ve sworn it sounded like pain. Not anger. Like he was heartbroken.
My hands shook as I turned toward home. Heartbroken dragon or not, I had to get the hell out of there.
20
Maddox
The week passed like a turtle on downers. I’d been trying to keep myself busy, so I didn’t have to keep thinking about Beth, but it had been hard. Every time I turned around, I thought I spotted her or Tiffany. To distract myself, I picked up a few extra shifts at the station. That didn’t help much at all, since that meant I was out and about more, imagining that I was catching glimpses of her. After work, still miserable, I headed up and mowed my mom and dad’s lawn and then my grandparents’. I offered to do Axel’s, but he said he’d just done it. It was hard to find enough to keep me distracted.
Bethany had rejected me. She feared me. She saw me as a beast, an animal. She couldn’t love me for me and that hurt. More than I expected it to. It just solidified that this would never have happened if I wasn’t a Kingston. I knew my family wasn’t to blame, but if they weren’t shifters then I wouldn’t have been one either. I hated to think that way, but how could I not? I hadn’t chosen this life. I hadn’t been raised in it. It was thrown on me when I was nearly eighteen.
In some ways, it was amazing. I was a part of something special. A step above the rest. And most of the time I was happy to be in this life, to have a dragon. To be in this family.
This week, all I could see was the downside. All the negatives. The danger. The lack of privacy. It all piled up on me. All I wanted was a normal life. The dragon thing could be cool at times, but right now it caused me to miss the woman and child I’d fallen in love with.
Artemis was quiet and he’d been that way since Saturday. Five days now. He was devastated, not that I blamed him. Bethany had ripped out our hearts and stomped on them. Artemis chose the wrong mate, and there was no such thing as choosing someone else, as far as we all know. I asked everyone in the family, even Rico and Stefan. They all said no, that once a fated mate was chosen, that was it. Neither of us would ever be comfortable with another mate again.
My family has been walking on eggshells around me, and it just made me feel even more exposed. No matter where I went, whether it was to work or just doing yard work, someone tried to m
ake me feel better. Everyone knew my business; everyone knew my life. I was trapped. Like being watched under a microscope.
It was all too much, and it was clear I needed to take Artemis away. Being so close to Beth but so far away was making both me and Artemis depressed. She wouldn’t take my calls and when she saw me in town, she looked the other way. Then, she turned around and walked right out of the supermarket and to her car. It was clear she’d made up her mind.
And I had made up mine.
I sent out a group text to my family and asked everyone to meet me at the manor for dinner. Even Stefan. My grandmother replied and said she’d make shredded barbecue pork. Everyone else started replying with side dishes they’d bring. As if it was just another dinner with the family.
It wasn’t.
I was off work and everyone’s yards were mowed. I’d gone for a run, then let Artemis do some flying. And still, it was barely past lunch. I headed on up to the manor and got my truck, then drove it until I had to fill up with gas, then drove more. Finally, it was time to head back. I pulled in to find a bunch of cars and trucks already there. Good.
As I slammed the truck door shut, my grandfather walked out onto the front porch. I trudged up the stairs and met his eyes. They crinkled as he gave me a sympathetic smile. “Is this what I think it’s about?”
I nodded.
“You made up your mind?” He put his hand on my shoulder.
“I did.”
“Then I support you. But, son, I sure hope you’re making this decision based on logic and not emotion.”
I thought about what he said. I know there were a lot of emotions that went into my decision, but in the end, I didn’t see how I could stay here in Black Claw when my mate was here—here without me. “I think this is best for me and Artemis.”
Artemis made a pitiful sound in my mind. He was beyond sad. I had to do something to lift his spirits.
We walked into the living room where Hailey had the babies, playing with them. My grandmother kept lots of toys here at the manor and had them all pulled out for the kids. All the parents always slipped Hailey some money when she babysat the various babies that were in the family now, so she especially loved doing it. Though, if I knew my sister, she would’ve done it for free.
We continued into the kitchen where the chatter I’d heard while walking through the house died off instantly. My entire family looked at me with anxiety and sympathy.
“Come on in.” My mom jumped up from the table. “Come on, honey, I’ll load you up a plate.”
It normally bugged me when she tried to baby me like that, but I just sat down and let her do it today. In a few minutes, I had a plate loaded down with a barbecue sandwich and lots of side dishes.
I dug in, ignoring everyone’s curious glances. I knew they were dying to find out why I’d asked them here, but I wasn’t ready to answer them. Instead, I ate.
When I was so stuffed that I couldn’t cram one more bite in, I set down my fork and sighed. Nobody else was still eating. And it was an understatement to say they looked about ready to jump out of their skin.
I felt like I was going to vomit up all the food I’d just eaten, but I sucked in a deep breath and got it over with. “You all know I’ve been accepted to law school.”
“No,” Mom whispered. “Don’t tell me you’ve decided not to go.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m still going. But I was accepted to a prestigious school in California. And I think I’m going to accept it. No, I know I am.” I sucked in a deep breath while they stared at me in stunned silence. “I’ve decided to go to law school in California,” I said firmly.
Nobody said anything. I glanced at my mom to find tears in her eyes. “How long have you known?”
This was the question I had hoped she wouldn’t ask. I sighed and met her eyes. “A few weeks.” More like several weeks, but no need to clarify, really.
“Why didn’t you tell us? We don’t keep secrets in this family.” She looked more upset than I’d seen her since we left her ex-husband.
Her pain hit me in the heart and guilt washed over me. “It’s hard to keep anything to myself these days,” I muttered, feeling defensive. “I didn’t know what I was going to do. I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.”
She glared at me, and the rest of the family watched me with a mixture of sympathy and sorrow.
“Lately, I feel like I have no privacy. It can be overwhelming sometimes when I really just want to work on things on my own. I love you.” I looked around the huge dining table. “I love you all. But I have to do this.”
My announcement hurt their feelings. That much was obvious. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be sorry, son.” My dad, sitting beside me, put his hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t think about how much your life was going to change after finding out you were a shifter. You had no time to prepare for it. You found out just a few short months before your first shift. We all had our entire lives to get there.”
He gripped the back of my neck as my eyes prickled with tears. I was so relieved that he understood.
“Do what you need to do to have peace of mind. You have all my support. We’ll make it work.”
He stood and pulled me up, then wrapped his arms around me. My throat choked up and only got worse when I felt and sensed more hands on me. We were in a giant group hug, and it wasn’t hokey or corny. It was loving. Supportive. It made me wonder if I’d made the wrong choice.
“It’s okay, Maddox. We’re here for you,” Axel said. “Whatever you need.”
Someone squeezed my shoulder. “I’ll help you move. And Abby and I would love to visit California,” Jury said.
“You’ll be okay,” Mom said. She wiggled her way to my front and hugged me tightly. “Whatever it takes for you and Artemis and your heart to heal. We want you to be whole.”
She squeezed me tighter. “I’m always Team Madd. I’ve known since you were a little boy that you are destined for great things, Maddox. I’m so proud of you for getting into a second law school.”
I couldn’t help it. I clung to her and let the tears fall. Having my mom’s arms around me made me feel like a little boy again like she could solve any problems in my life just by being my mom.
I knew damn well I was lucky to have my family. They’d always be my family and have my back, no matter where in the world I was.
It was time for me to go.
21
Bethany
My eyes kept unfocusing and the black words blended into the white background on the page. It had been like this for a week and a half. Every day harder than the last.
The first few days after finding out Maddox’s huge secret, I was furious. He’d betrayed me by making me fall in love with him without telling me this massive bit of information about himself.
But by Wednesday or Thursday of last week, I was beginning to waffle. By the time Saturday rolled around and it had been a full week, I’d moved from angry and hurt to questioning to full-blown curious.
Now, Tuesday found me in overwhelming regret and guilt. Maddox had this massive secret, and if all the romance novels ever written were any indication, he couldn’t tell just anyone. If anyone and everyone knew, the whole world would know, and it would’ve been common knowledge.
It definitely was not.
Therefore, it stood to reason that they saved telling the secret for the most intimate people in their lives. I’d become one of the people most intimate with Maddox, and he’d decided he wanted to share this massive secret with me, and I’d ruined it by stomping all over his heart. And his dragon’s.
His dragon’s.
Artemis.
His name was burned into my memory. Tiffany had picked up on it somehow during the chaos that happened that night and she’d been repeating it all week. She said he was her new pet dinosaur and kept asking when we could go pick him up. That really didn’t help.
With a sigh, I tried to read the page again.
And once again, the words blended together. “Snap out of it!” I yelled at myself. Hopping up, I pushed my desk chair back and jumped up and down a few times. Then, I shook my whole body and rolled my neck, trying to get my blood pumping.
I’d been on so many walks and hikes this week I’d lost count. Getting blood pumping wasn’t doing the trick. Apparently, only time would fix my problem of the overwhelming guilt making me unfocused.
After moving around for a few minutes, I sat back down and tried to read the contract again. I’d been looking for a new contract template online since I had trouble with the last tenant.
Thirty minutes later, I grunted in frustration and gave up. Focusing was way too damn hard. I wasn’t sure how many times I’d read the same paragraph about holes in walls. At least I’d been able to pick up on what the paragraph was about.
As normal, I neatened up my desk and left my office in perfect order before walking out the back door to my car. I figured I’d go pick up Tiffany and take her to the park. Or maybe hike with her, she was old enough to get to the first waterfall without fatigue. I’d tried taking her about a year ago, but I’d ended up having to carry her most of the way back.
As I pushed the button to unlock the car, my phone rang in my pocket. I checked the caller ID. “Hey, Mom,” I said in a fake cheery voice. “What’s up?”
The sound of police sirens in the distance grew louder, making it difficult to hear my mom, but I picked up that she was very upset. “Mom? I can barely hear you!”
The sirens got incredibly loud. They must’ve been on my street or one street over. They stopped suddenly and Mom’s voice yelled through the phone. “Tiffany has been kidnapped!” she screamed.
My world shifted. The ground shook under me, and as Mom’s words registered, Maddox ran around the corner of the house in his uniform. “Tiffany,” I whispered.
