by Jane Jamison
“She wasn’t ready. What did you want to do? Say, ‘Hey, now that we’ve had sex, I want to show you my wings and tail’?” Clint chuckled, smoke easing from between his jaws. “Yeah, like that would’ve gone over well.”
“We’re going to have to tell her soon,” added Vince. “She’s not going to stick around much longer. Hell, if Bruce had gotten his way, they would’ve left this morning.”
If Bruce had gotten his way, she’d be wearing his fucking engagement ring by now. Although Trey knew Bruce wasn’t a bad guy, he still didn’t want him around. At least not until they’d told Monica what they were and how much they wanted her as their mate.
After watching her play nice to Bruce, they’d had to get away. As was their habit, they’d driven the truck to the cave to shift first then take flight. Cloaked, they’d flown over the valley then upward to the mountain and their cave.
“He’s right. We have to tell her tomorrow.” Clint swept his tail outward sending a large stone into the lake. “We should bring her back to look at the drawings. Then we can ease the talk over to telling her what we are.”
“And we can show her.” Vince ran his claw over the stone wall next to the drawing. “When we tell her, she’s going to want to see us shift.”
“We’re going to show her before we ask her to be our mate?” Clint whacked another stone, sending it skipping over the water. “What if she turns us down? Then what? Deny it when reporters start showing up on our doorstep?”
No one’s going to believe her if she tells. She knows that or she would’ve already told someone the first time she saw Clint.
Trey hated to think she’d betray them. Yet if she didn’t accept them for what they were, then who the hell cared? The heartbreak would be more than they could stand. They’d have to leave their home for good.
“Still it’s possible they might. Especially if she manages to snap a photo of us. Or, worse, a video,” interjected Clint.
“Even without proof, I’d worry that someone might believe her.” Vince’s claws left marks beside one of the dragon drawings. “We’d never be able to shift without worrying about someone searching for us. Hell, they’d be like her. They’d keep on looking until they found us.”
Are you saying you don’t want to tell her? If you think we can take her as our mate first and then tell her what we are, you’re dead wrong. That’s not going to be okay with me or with our clan. We already fucked up by having sex with her before telling her. But to accept her as our mate, to have her accept us in return, that can’t happen without her knowing exactly what we are. Trey couldn’t keep the anger out of his tone. Or do you want to give her up without even trying?
“Don’t be an asshole. Of course we have to tell her.” Vince’s red eyes flashed, showing his own anger. “Still, we need to be prepared for the worst.”
“Hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” quipped Clint.
“Right.” Vince moved away from the wall and hunkered down next to the water’s edge. “She has to suspect something, right? After what we did in the lake? How we did it in the lake? Plus, the fact that we admitted to seeing shimmers. Hell, I’m surprised she hasn’t hounded us for answers.”
We can thank Bruce for keeping her occupied. At least her best friend had come in handy for one thing. But sooner or later, the questions will come.
“Then we bring her here tomorrow and we tell her. Agreed?” asked Vince.
Agreed. Trey nodded at Clint as they both answered.
“Yeah,” said Clint. “We tell her tomorrow.”
* * * *
Monica parked outside the cave and took a moment to think.
What if there are bats in the cave? Or, worse, a bear?
The men hadn’t mentioned either one, but who knew what might have come inside at night? She should’ve thought about the possible dangers ahead of time, yet the only precaution she’d taken was to grab a flashlight off the rack in the mudroom of the house. At the very least, she should’ve left a note for the men telling them where she’d gone.
I can’t stop now. Not after I’ve come this far.
Gathering her resolve, she turned off the engine and climbed off the vehicle. Switching on the flashlight, she pulled her camera out of her backpack and strode toward the cave.
She was almost at the entrance when she heard noises coming from inside the cave. Was it the guys? Had they been at the cave all along?
She hurried inside, thrilled to see them. The cave’s colorful lights bounced on the walls, illuminating the cave almost as much as it had during the day. How that could be, she wasn’t sure, but at that moment, she didn’t care.
She clicked off the flashlight. This time she’d take photos of the cave and the drawings. If she left the mountains, at least she’d have the images to enjoy and remember the men.
Coming to an abrupt stop, she stared at the sight in front of her. With her hands shaking, she lifted the camera and started shooting photo after photo.
* * * *
“We’d better get back to the house. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Bruce will be gone,” voiced Vince.
Dream on, friend. Trey blew out a quick burst of fire.
Just as Trey was about to transform back into his human form, his sensitive dragon gaze swept over the cave, catching a flash of light. He let out a roar.
What the hell? If he wasn’t mistaken, the flash looked like one on a camera. It had only been a quick glimpse before the light was gone, but he was sure. Guys, we’ve got company.
* * * *
Three enormous dragons, each at least fifteen feet in height with broad chests, filled the cavern. Their eyes blazed red in strong faces surrounded by horns. Scales covered their bodies. Two of them had blue-hued scales that ran from their snouts down their horned backs and along their long tails that came to a point at the end like an arrow. Their bellies were gray like the stomach of the third one. That one, just as spectacular, sported green scales that glistened in the colored lighting of the cave. It only had two horns on its head.
Their massive jaws clamped together as tendrils of smoke sifted outward to float toward the ceiling. Every move they made shook the ground underneath her. They tipped their heads at each other. Soft growls echoed around the cavern.
Are they talking to each other?
The growls couldn’t be anything more than growls, but the way they interacted, the way they reacted to each other, made her believe they were communicating.
She’d thought she’d seen it all when the bodies of the dragons began to shimmer. Growing smaller, the dragons’ bodies began to change. The sound of bones breaking rattled her even more than the sight of their forms morphing did. Before she realized what was happening, Vince, Clint, and Trey had taken the places of the three dragons.
* * * *
Monica didn’t have time to react before Trey was already moving. His body flew over one large stone and then another. With a growl that wasn’t entirely human, he landed on top of her, knocking her to the cave floor, and loosening her grip on her camera.
“Monica? What the fuck are you doing here?”
The force of the impact forced the breath from her. Pain stabbed into her back. Yet nothing could overshadow her amazement.
“I saw you.” Even as she said the words, she still couldn’t believe it. “I saw you change from a dragon into a man.”
Emotions ran rampant over Trey’s face and in his eyes. At first, she was sure he’d try to lie. Or tell her she was crazy. Instead, he stood up, taking her along with him.
“You’re a man that can change into a dragon.” She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. “I saw you change, and I still can’t get it through my head.” Her palm against his chest felt the same as it had before. “You’re a dragon. Tell me you’re not.”
“I can’t. What you saw is real.” Concern filled his eyes. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”
She backed away, unable to take her eyes off him. “
I’m fine. I just can’t believe what I saw.” Her attention flitted to Clint and Vince. “This is amazing. I knew a dragon existed, but I never thought I’d find men who can change into dragons. I still can’t believe my own eyes.”
“And you’re not frightened?”
Was she? “I should be, but I’m not. It’s all so fantastic. Don’t you understand? This means that I’m not crazy.” Or was she? Was she seeing things? More than just a dragon?
Just a dragon. As if that isn’t enough.
Clint and Vince rushed over. “What’s going on?” asked Vince. “She didn’t—?”
“Yeah, I did.” She should’ve been terrified, but the elation of finding out that not only did dragons exist but they were also men who could change into animals overruled every other feeling. “You’re dragons. All three of you. Men who can change into dragons. This is unbelievable. It’s real, though, isn’t it?”
“It’s real. You’re not seeing things, and you’re not insane.”
She wanted to kiss Vince for saying so. “I’m not crazy.” Tunneling her fingers through her hair helped her. She was real. They were real. The fact that they were dragons was real. “I was starting to doubt that I’d really seen a dragon. But now? Now I know what I saw.”
“You saw me last year. I’m the one who caught you,” admitted Clint.
“You saved my life.”
He shrugged. “You wouldn’t have fallen off the cliff if it weren’t for seeing me.”
“So the shimmers. They’re a part of you?”
“As dragons, we have a cloaking ability. That allows us to fly without being seen.” Clint smiled. “At least most of the time. You’re one of the observant ones.”
“This is amazing. You’re really real. I still can’t believe it.” She scooped up her camera and cradled it like the treasured possession it was. All her troubles would be over once she showed the world the photographs. She’d even managed to take a short video of them changing from dragons into men. “And now I have the evidence to prove it.”
The men were anything but thrilled. If their hard glares hadn’t been tempered with worry, she might’ve grown frightened.
“Get it, Clint,” ordered Trey as he jerked his head toward the camera.
She didn’t understand in time to react. Clint jerked the camera out of her hands and replayed the video.
“So?” asked Vince. “Is it bad?”
Clint’s usual upbeat manner was nonexistent. “It’s as bad as it can get. There are photos of us in our dragon forms as well as a video of us changing. The only thing she doesn’t have is an announcer telling the world that shifters are real. Or, worse yet, us on tape confessing to what we are.”
“Shit.” Trey backed away from her, shaking his head as though he didn’t believe Clint.
She put out her hand. “Give my camera back.”
Clint, however, acted as though he hadn’t heard her. “This is fucked up.”
Vince dragged in a slow breath. “I’m sorry, hon. Clint, destroy the camera.”
“What?” She leaped toward Clint, but he moved too fast for her to catch him.
Raising his arm over his head, Clint brought it back down. The camera smashed against the hard stone floor.
“No!” She fell to her knees and gathered the shattered pieces of the camera. “Why the hell did you do that?”
“You know why.” Vince came to her side and pulled her back onto her feet.
She held the broken body of the camera. “I needed those photos and the video. You had no right to break my property.” But was the memory card intact? She itched to pull the card out of its slot and slip it into her pocket but resisted, knowing they’d take that away, too. If she was lucky, they wouldn’t think about the card.
“We’re sorry, baby, but you can’t show anyone those pictures. Not the video, either.”
She hugged the camera to her chest. “I need these photographs.”
“Why?” At least Clint was beginning to act like his old self. Concern for her had replaced the coldness in his eyes. “Is it so important to out us to the world? Nah, there has to be more to it than that.”
“You don’t understand. The photos and video were my way to start a career in photography. Do you think I want to sling drinks for the rest of my life?”
“So that’s all you care about?” Trey confronted her, his body seemingly growing larger. “Your damn career? The money? Did you think about what you’d do to us? Do you know what will happen if those photos get out? People, the army, scientists, everyone in the fucking world will hunt us down. We’d have to leave our home and go into hiding. If they found us, they’d lock us in cages and dissect us to see what we’re like on the inside. Is that what you want? Are you willing to trade our lives for a fucking career?”
She hadn’t taken any time to think about the possible ramifications of showing the photos and video to the world. She’d only thought of what they would do for her and her mother. “No. But I—”
“But what?”
She hugged her broken camera tighter. “I need to make it big as a photographer. I need to sell these and get money for my mom. What good is it to survive uterine cancer if she’s going to die from stress? Having all those bills over her head will ruin the rest of her life. She’s working three jobs to pay those bills. Hell, if I don’t do something to help her, she’s going to worry herself to death.”
They moved closer, surrounding her with their large bodies. Bodies that could transform into huge dragons.
“I’m sorry your mother had to go through that, but I’m happy that she’s better. Don’t worry about anything. We’ll find another way to help her.” Trey rested his hand on her shoulder. The tone of his voice was enough to comfort her, but his touch added to the sudden feeling of safety.
No. Not just safety. Need.
She lifted her gaze to his green one. “I don’t know what else to do.”
Vince came to her other side, the warmth from his body spreading over hers. “Like Trey said, we’ll figure something out, but you can’t have those photos. It’s not only us we’re worried about. There are more of us out in the world. If everyone finds out that dragons exist, then other lives will be ruined, too.”
Her eyes grew wide. “There are more of you?”
He closed his eyes, groaned, then opened them. Clint’s and Trey’s glares said it all. “I can’t believe I just told you that.”
“Do you understand now?” Trey slid his hand down her arm. “We can’t let those pictures get out.”
Clint moved her hair out of the way and kissed the back of her neck. “We can pay your mom’s medical bills. We have plenty of money.”
She stiffened at the offer. “So you’re willing to bribe me to keep quiet? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No, it’s not a bribe. It’s us trying to take care of our mate’s mother.”
“Your mate? What are you talking about? I don’t understand.” Her irritation was gone, replaced by curiosity. “What does that mean?” Yet the way they looked at her, as though she was the reason the sun rose every morning, gave her a quick understanding. “Wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you are? Do you…” She stalled, suddenly afraid to say the words. “Do you want me?”
She should’ve qualified the question. Did they want her sexually? Yet didn’t the word mate mean they wanted more than a physical relationship? Wasn’t being a mate like being a wife? Didn’t the word alone imply a commitment? She wasn’t surprised when her pulse picked up speed. Not knowing much about them, just having met them somehow didn’t matter. It didn’t make any sense, and yet they made all the sense in the world.
“Yeah. We want you.” Trey took her hands and squeezed them. “This isn’t how we would’ve wanted to do this, but it is what it is.”
“Look, sugar-babe, we know this is coming at you from left field, but—”
“No, it’s okay.” She couldn’t wait a second longer, even to hear him tell her. “It’s coming
from left field, all right, but it also feels right.” She pulled her hands from Trey’s. “That’s as crazy as believing in men who can change into dragons. Damn, I must actually have lost my mind.”
“No, you haven’t.” Clint grinned and tugged her to him. “It happens sometimes with dragons and their mate. A dragon will meet his mate and just know.”
“Like fate? Like destiny?” She’d never believed anything in her future was set, much less love. But now? If dragons were possible, who knew what else was?
“We’re not like some werewolves with their instant connection.”
“Werewolves, Vince? Werewolves are real, too?”
“There are a whole lot of things in the world that humans don’t know exist.” Vince swept her hair away from her face. “Does it really matter how we know we’re right for each other?”
“No. I guess not. Unless it’s only a temporary thing.” She looked from one man to the next. “Is it just a temporary thing? An attraction that will die soon?”
“Not on our end,” added Clint. “And I’m willing to bet a lifetime that it’s not on your end, either.”
All at once, her legs couldn’t hold her up. “I don’t know what to say. This is all so incredible.”
They helped her sit on one of the larger stones.
“We want you as our mate. It’s that simple and that complex.” Trey sat on the other end of the rock. “Think of being a mate as being the same thing as a wife. We’ll love you, and you’ll love us back.”
Did she love them? She felt good around them, safe, comfortable and yet more alive than she’d ever felt. But was that love? “Does being your mate mean I’ll become a dragon, too?”
“No. You have to be born a dragon.” Vince knelt in front of her. “But it does mean that our children can be dragons. Or humans or half of each.”
