by Ruby Dixon
Leave, the male demands again, his thoughts a heavy press against my own. I need no mate. You endanger mine. You are not welcome in my territory.
My mate brings me here, I tell him defiantly. I do not want you!
“Teva, baby, you’re bristling,” Gabe murmurs, pulling me down. I strain against his hands, my body tense. “Is he talking to you? Is that Liam?”
His hand is tight around my arm as if he can hold me down, and I hiss an angry protest at him.
“Don’t turn, Teva,” Gabe warns me. “You promised.”
I am furious at him, but…I did promise. Gabe’s thoughts are solid in my own increasingly chaotic ones, as if he is reminding me that he is at my side, holding me tight…holding me to sanity.
Yes. I did promise.
I force back the rage and challenge rising in my thoughts and make my mind calmer. I focus on Gabe. On his handsome face and the strength of him. I am here with my mate, I state again. My Gabe comes here looking for Liam. He wants to speak with him.
I can feel the drakoni’s thoughts, and his own territorial anger recedes, just a little. I am Atalim, but your human calls me Liam. And I know him well. We come towards you. I warn you, female, that if you so much as look at my mate wrong, it will be the last thing you do.
The same shall be said for you, male. My Gabe is mine. Touch him not.
“Teva?”
I turn toward Gabe and give him a wild-eyed look, then grab him by the neck and give him a hot, hard kiss. You are mine.
He looks at me curiously. “I know that. Did you talk with Liam? Is that Liam?” He glances up at the skies, where a dragon shape grows steadily larger as it approaches. “Or do we need to take cover?”
It is your friend Liam, I agree, and rub my hand up and down his arm. I am going to coat him in my scent as much as I can…just in case.
Because I trust no one. It does not matter that this is my Gabe’s “friend.” He is a stranger to me.
17
GABE
Teva bristles with tension as the dragon circles overhead. She remains in her human form, and that’s the only reason I don’t break for cover. If it was a threat to us, she’d have shifted already. I shield my eyes and glance up, seeing the glint of a harness against golden scales, and then the dragon swoops low and zooms past, his wings leaving a wild breeze over us that ruffles Teva’s hair and flings grit into my eyes.
That fool, my mate mutters with irritation. She steps closer to me, protective, a scowl on her pretty face.
I put my hand on the back of her neck and press ever so slightly, trying to exert my will over her—and remind her where she’s at.
The tension in her deflates ever so slightly, and she looks up at me. You are certain he is a friend?
“I’m positive. I know him. His mate is a friend of mine as well.”
Teva’s eyes narrow at me.
I lean in, immediately realizing that mentioning a mate was perhaps the wrong thing to do. “She is not half as fierce as you.”
She blinks at me, her eyes going gold, and her gaze focuses on my mouth. She thinks of kisses, her thoughts heating for a moment, and then her lips curve into a smile. You are telling me that because you do not want me jealous.
“Damn right.”
Her mind fills with laughter, and a tiny, throaty chuckle escapes her even as the dragon flies low overhead once more. You are very clever, my Gabe. Let me put my scent on you one more time just in case.
Like that’s a hardship. I grin and move close and Teva slides her hands up and down my chest, her mouth on mine in a tempestuous kiss. She scratches down my chest once, just enough to draw blood, and then leans in and licks the drops of blood off of one scratch.
Jesus, this woman.
Your woman, she tells me, her tongue flicking over my skin. She grins again, showing sharp teeth, and then glances at our flatbed of packs. Should I wear my claiming gown?
“If you want.”
I do.
I help her dress, ignoring the yowls of the cats as Liam lands a short distance away, his large golden wings spread wide, and Teva’s attention goes there.
She bristles again, as if she hates his presence, but her thoughts remain calm enough and she links her hand in mine. He is able to be in his battle form easily, she tells me thoughtfully. And he is not as wild as I was. I want to be able to do that again. She turns to look at me. Do you think it is possible, Gabe?
“I do,” I tell her. “You’re smart and strong willed. I think you can do anything. You just need a little time and practice.”
Her smile is beautiful and makes my heart ache. I hope I’m right. I want this so badly for her. She hasn’t complained about being in human form, but I can tell she’s impatient. She watches the skies with longing, tilting her face into each breeze. After flying, walking must seem like crawling. Of course she’s impatient. Who wouldn’t be?
So yeah. I want my Teva to have everything.
“Heyooo,” calls a familiar voice. “Is that you, Gabe?”
At my side, Teva stiffens, and I can feel the jealousy in her head. I send her affectionate thoughts. When I heard drakoni were territorial, I didn’t realize all that it meant, but I’m quickly learning. Teva considers me part of her territory, and I have to accept that, both good and bad.
“I’m here with my mate,” I call out, and I can feel Teva’s pleasure in my response.
“A mate? Holy shit! This I’ve gotta see for myself.” A goggle-covered head pokes out from around the dragon’s neck and then she pats on his shoulder. “Let me down, babe.”
She calls him infant names, too.
I told you, I share with her. It’s part of our culture. It’s an affectionate term.
Then you are allowed to use it.
I chuckle, even as Liam lowers his shoulder and Andi slides to the ground. She jingles with harnesses and pulls a baseball cap off her head, then the goggles, revealing a sunburned face and two messy blonde braids. “Hey there! Long time no see!” Her gaze moves over Teva and her flowing white dress, and then she politely looks back at me. “Give us like, two minutes, all right?”
“Sure?” I say, and I’m curious when Andi holds up a finger. A moment later, she pulls a backpack off her shoulder and pulls out a pair of shorts and a shirt.
A moment later, Liam is on the ground, all pale golden scales and short hair. The thick harnesses and saddle—so small on a dragon—fall around his body and land on the ground with a clink. Andi holds the clothing out to him as he straightens, and he pulls a shirt over his head and dresses as she stands in front of him, blocking his nudity from our view.
It seems that my Teva isn’t the only territorial female around. Amused, I squeeze her hand. You look beautiful. Did I mention that?
Teva looks down at her flowing dress, the wind whipping at the fabric. I like the way it feels against my body. It feels almost as good as you.
I laugh. This woman has a one-track mind.
Andi jogs up to us, Liam at her side, and her eyes are bright with enthusiasm. “Long time no see,” she says, brushing loose strands of hair off her face. Her gaze moves to Teva, and then she looks at Liam before glancing back to me. “How’s Scooter?”
“He’s in Fort Shreveport with Benny at the moment. I had to retrieve Charlie’s cats.” With my free hand, I gesture at the flatbed and its howling occupants.
“How is Charlie? And Benny?” Liam asks, his accent ever so slight.
Teva stiffens next to me. He speaks your human tongue? I can feel a surge of her envy. I want to learn it, too.
I’ll teach you. I promise.
To the couple in front of us, I smile. “Everyone at the fort is well enough, but I’m sure Benny would love a visit from his sister.”
“Soon, I promise,” Andi says, a wistful expression on her face. Her gaze flicks back to Teva again, and then she sighs, dropping her hands to her sides. “I’m just going to point out the thousand-pound elephant in the room. Is this Teva?”
&
nbsp; “Teva,” my mate replies, touching her chest. The words sound rusty in her mouth, but I’m so proud of her for saying them aloud. She wants to be included.
Liam just looks at us. His gaze focuses on Teva for a moment and then he looks at me. “Do you wish to join me and Andi at our nest? It will be easier to talk there. You can relax and spend a few days with us before you need to move on.”
I can feel Teva’s eagerness, and I hate to be the one to ruin it. “Teva shouldn’t change into battle form right now. Can we reach it from the ground?”
“If you could, it wouldn’t be much of a nest,” Andi says cheerfully. “Would you rather ride? I’m sure Liam can carry everyone—”
“No,” Liam says at the same time I do. I say it instinctively, because I pick up a hurt flash from Teva. It seems that suggesting one drakoni ride another is an insult.
Andi bites her lip. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t trying to insult.” She gives Teva a faint smile.
My mate bares her teeth. It’s not quite a smile.
“We’ll walk,” I say. “Maybe there’s some place we can set up nearby and let the cats out to stretch their legs. I don’t think they’d appreciate a dragon ride, either.”
“Fair enough.” Andi glances at Liam and then smiles at us again. “Want company on the walk?”
TEVA
We plod along the highway, my hand clasped in Gabe’s. The one called Liam has his harness on the flatbed and pulls it along while the female Andi walks next to her mate and asks my Gabe about people back at the human hive.
They call it a fort, Atalim says. They don’t like the word “hive.”
A fort, then. It feels strange to talk without my Gabe realizing it. He is engrossed in speaking of Andi’s brother and the youth’s relationship with his young female.
I glance over at the male drakoni. He wears the human coverings as if he is used to them, and he speaks the human words. He calls himself Lee-ham, which is not a drakoni name. How do you know this? Have you been to their hive?
Fort, he corrects again, ignoring my abrasiveness. And I lived there for many years with them, pretending to be human. It was the only way to survive.
I am surprised to hear that. Did the madness not affect you?
It did not, he admits. When I came through the Rift, I was a prisoner of war, newly captured and kept in my two-legged form. Everyone around me went mad and then I was suddenly free…but trapped in a strange world. I realized that the madness had something to do with battle form. I suspected that if I shifted, I would go mad too. So for the last seven years, I lived as a human amongst them. I have only reclaimed my battle form recently. A thread of amusement slides through his thoughts. With mixed results.
That is why I do not change to battle form, I admit to him. I want to, but I lose my temper quickly and I hear…things. It worries Gabe, so we have come to see you. He wants to know how I can get past this. How I can be fully drakoni once more.
More amusement from Liam, tinged with regret. I am the wrong one to ask. The moment I shift to battle form, I am on the edge of losing control myself. Only Andrea is able to pull me back to myself, and sometimes it is a great effort for her to do so. I worry that she will not be able to reach me, sometimes.
I worry this, too. Do you…hear other voices when you are in battle form?
If you mean Sallavatri, she is but an infant with a very loud mind.
No, I mean…other voices. Voices that tell you to do bad things.
No, nothing like that. Liam is thoughtful. My mind is chaos when I shift. Only Andrea helps me see through the madness.
Do you ever…attack those you care for?
Not yet, but the fear is always there. Liam’s mind grows stark. I always feel close to the edge. Only Andrea saves me.
This does not comfort me. I grip Gabe’s hand tighter as we walk, and eventually we find a building to stop at and relax. There is a covered awning and shade—and in Gabe’s mind, he calls it a gas station. Even though everything stinks of an odd smell, the humans are pleased, and Gabe goes inside the building with the cats and lets them out of their containers so they can stretch their legs.
Atalim and his female remain outside, talking in low voices, and Gabe glances at them. Will you stay here and watch the cats, Teva? I’ll be right back.
I scratch Colonel Mustard under his soft chin. The cat likes me more than Gabe, probably because of my warmth. Of course.
He sends me a mental rush of affection, kisses my brow, and then heads outside to talk to the female and Liam. I continue to pet the cats, sitting on the dirty floor in my pretty dress as they rub against my hands. Even as I do, I pick through Gabe’s mind.
I cannot hear his conversation, but he has not yet learned how to shield his thoughts. As easily as if he is talking in this room, I pluck from his head the question he wants to know.
Is it safe to go back to the fort with Teva?
They answer, and I cannot hear their answers, but I can feel Gabe’s disappointment.
He thinks only of the others, Atalim says, his thoughts pressing in on mine. He will not leave your side, but he feels responsible for those that remain behind. He has people he cares for there.
I scowl to myself. I know he has people there, but I am his mate.
He has known some of them for years. How long have you been mated?
Days. Does it matter? Our spirits are joined. I am irritated he would even ask such a thing. Have you been with the humans for so long that you forget how a drakoni bonds with another?
Perhaps so. All I know is that you might be his mate, but it is not that simple in his eyes. Humans are different than us.
It should be that simple.
They are as his family. Did you not have family back on our world?
Atalim’s question makes me think. I believe I did.
And would you abandon them for someone you met within a handful of days? Humans are not used to taking a mate. Let us say you were not mated at all. Would you leave your family behind if he told you to?
I have no answer for him. I cannot stop thinking about what he says, though. What if I was not mated to Gabe? Humans think differently than us?
Does…Gabe not want to be mated to me? He’s said he never thought things through when it comes to being my mate. He doesn’t wear much of my scent, and he won’t give me his seed.
I thought if our spirits joined, that would be the end of it. But even though we are mated…I do not feel as if we are one. The realization wounds me deeply.
* * *
I hide my hurt as the afternoon passes slowly. The other couple stay and talk for a while, and if I am quiet, no one notices. How can they? I cannot speak their language. Gabe tries to draw me in, but I keep my answers short. The only thing that makes my heart hurt less is that he holds me possessively against him as we talk.
But I cannot forget about my conversation with Liam earlier. That humans are different than drakoni. That humans do not take mates, not like we do. They do not share spirits. And Gabe and I are not as bonded as I’d like. Our matings have proven that.
Eventually, Liam and his female human leave, promising to return in the morning. I watch enviously as Liam shifts to battle form and becomes Atalim once more, all golden scales and powerful wings. I miss my battle form as if it is a part of me gone. His mate harnesses her seat upon his shoulders and then mounts and then they fly away and it is just myself and Gabe.
He studies my face as they leave. “Something tells me you didn’t like them.”
I do not know them.
“They’ll be back in the morning. Maybe Liam will be able to help you.”
I nod, though I don’t want to think about Atalim or anyone else right now. I just want to be left alone so I can enjoy tonight with my mate.
He continues to study me, and I know he senses my mood is dark. I do not wish to talk about it, though, so I offer nothing except a yawn. He immediately gets the blankets and makes a bed on the floor for us. When he gets
atop them and pats his side, I join him, curling up against his chest.
I listen to his heart, wondering how it can sound so normal when my own is hurting. Maybe that is just another way that humans are different from drakoni.
Gabe plays with a bit of my hair, wrapping it around his finger over and over again. “If you’re not comfortable here, we won’t stay for long, Teva, I promise. I want you to be happy.”
You will take me to your human hive, then?
He hesitates, and I know his answer before he speaks. “Perhaps not yet. We’ll figure something out, though.”
Because I am dangerous. Unsafe around his elders, his family. It makes me sad because…I do not think he is wrong. Liam never heard voices and I do. Does this mean I am crazier than he is? And if Liam struggles in his battle form while fully bonded to his female, will my struggle not be even greater? They were surprised to see you, I venture.
He chuckles, his thumb brushing over my shoulder. “I think they were surprised when I showed up with you and not Scooter.”
Scooter?
“My dog. He’s normally always at my heels.” His thoughts fill with affection as he pictures a great black and tan beast with dark eyes, four legs, and a happy, slobbery tongue. “There aren’t many tamed dogs left anymore, and he’s not right in the head, but he’s a good boy.”
I love his affection for the creature and it fills me with a wistful yearning. Not right in the head?
Yeah. Someone hurt him before, and they did something to him. He doesn’t react the way he should to a lot of things. I have to watch out for him.
But he will, because Gabe is a good man. And now he has me, who also has a damaged mind. I force that thought away and the sadness it brings, focusing instead on his memories of Scooter. They are familiar, and when he thinks of throwing a disc—a frisbee—I remember this, too. I have seen this before.
I remember Scooter, I tell Gabe. I remember you playing with the dog. I saw this from afar and I could not figure out why you drew your prey in and then released it once more.
