I'm Not A Dragon's Mate!

by Sandra R Neeley

  “She ain't ready,” Kaid replied.

  “She ain't ready, or you ain’t ready?”

  “She’s not ready, Mav, you know this.”

  Goldy piped up with his two cents, “You wait too damn long, and she’s gonna leave us when she meets her One.”

  Kaid practically yelled his response, and everybody hunched down and exposed their neck to some degree, “She ain't going nowhere, and I am her One. I fucking marked her, she’s claimed! End of fucking discussion!”

  Bane quietly stated the obvious while still looking straight ahead through the windshield, “You marked her, but she’s not your One, and you’re not her One. The claim’s not complete — even if it was, nothing will keep her here when she does meet her One.”

  Kaid said nothing for a couple of miles, then, “Her heart will keep her here. We love her, she’s home. She knows that. I can’t believe that she’d leave us, ever. We belong to her just like she belongs to us, just like we all belong to this clan. We are a family, and she is a part of that.” He paused to take a deep breath before continuing, “I’m going to complete the claim, but I’m not going to force her before she’s ready. That would definitely make her run. But when the time’s right, I will. Stop trying to rush something that’s a delicate thing. I have to handle it gently…” Mav interrupted him snorting, “Yeah, ‘cause you're so fucking delicate like a fucking flower and shit.” Everybody started pitching their voices high and pretending they were delicate ladies at high fucking tea, complete with fake English accents. Even Bane was getting in on the action holding his little pinkie out and pretending to sip tea while pointing his nose in the air. Idiots, bunch of fucking idiots he’d managed to surround himself with. He found himself stifling a grin in spite of the unsettled feeling in his gut when he thought about how to make Avaleigh feel comfortable enough to accept his final claim. He didn't give a fuck that she wasn't his true One. She was still his to protect, and that was all there was to it.

  Chapter 8

  A few days later Avaleigh looked around the little room with a silly little smile on her face. She had never been so happy in her life. It was home. It was hers. And she loved it. She had started out in the main house with the guys, but it didn't take long for them to decide that she’d be happier in her own space. One morning she had been sitting on the front porch of the main house about a week after they arrived home, and Bam had stalked out the woods and dropped a pile of wood on a spot just inside of the tree line to the north of the main house. He inclined his head at her and disappeared back down the path toward his own place. Apparently he had been elected baby sitter that day. They had not left her completely alone since they’d gotten home. Each day somebody stayed on the property with her. A while later he emerged from the path again, only this time it was some sheets of tin, some of them showing a little rust, that he carried with him. He repeated this behavior several more times bringing building materials with him. Then the last time he appeared, he was wearing a tool belt, carrying a nail gun in one hand, a saws-all in the other and some levels under one arm. He smiled at her and made his way over to the mounds of stuff he had piled all over just inside the shelter of the tree line. First he built a couple of saw horses. Then, he started digging holes with a post hole digger. He measured, cut and dropped posts into the holes. Then mixed up some cement in an old wheel barrow and poured it into the holes. She just sat and watched for a while. He was really working hard, and it was hot out, so she took him a huge jug of sweet tea. He chugged half of it and gave her his sweetest smile before he shooed her away from his work. He was picking up boards and laying them across the saw horses, so he could measure and then cut them. Then he’d stack them in certain places around his work area. The spot he’d chosen to build in was a really beautiful little spot. It was a small clearing not too near the main house, but not too far away either. While it was a clearing in the wooded section of the guys’ property, it was also hidden from view from above. There was a canopy of trees that stretched and reached toward each other overhead that gave it the feeling of being sheltered. The tree canopy allowed just enough sunlight to filter through, and it gave a dappled look to the space — it was really beautiful. He’d chosen well. The main house was off toward the south, but would still be within view of whatever he was building. Bam’s own place was toward the west, through the trees to the right of this place. It had its own little road that branched off from the dirt road leading to the main house so that the people coming to drop things off to him for repair would be steered clear of the main house. He had set up his house in the rooms above his shop where he kept all the things he rebuilt and repaired for people around the little community. His place sat a little higher than the rest of their land, and he could look down over the rest of their property from his upstairs window. There was a little hand-painted sign with an arrow on it at the split in their road that led off toward his place, that read B&B Repairs. That was Bramley and Bane, B&B, and that’s how he spent his time when he wasn't with the rest of the guys at Flux Construction, mostly anyway. He’d turned his love of learning how things worked into fixing things for people. In the summertime he also did some air conditioning work around town when it was needed.

  As it got later in the day, Avaleigh made them lunch of leftover meatloaf sandwiches and some potato salad. She packaged it up and took it over to him, and they sat and ate in the shade of the tree canopy.

  “What cha building, Bramley?”

  He looked at her from under his lashes, visibly ducking his head, “Could you call me Bam, Avaleigh? I don’t like it when people call me Bramley; it reminds me of bad stuff. The people that like me call me Bam. The ones that don’t always called me Bramley.”

  “’Course, Bam. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think of bad stuff.”

  He just smiled at her and stuffed the rest of his second sandwich into his mouth. “You sure cook good, Avaleigh.”

  “Thanks, Bam. I’m thinking about making Mexican tonight — do you like enchiladas and tacos?”

  “Oh yeah, I’ll eat that the next day for lunch, too!” He hung his head a little embarrassed as he realized he assumed she would cook enough for him to have leftovers for another meal. Kaid had told her about his past and his issues because of it, and it broke her heart for this sweet man to feel like he did.

  “I’ll tell you a secret,” he looked up at her like a kid waiting to get a hint of his Christmas present, “I always make a little extra for you and hide it in the back of the fridge. I will always have enough just for you to take for lunch if you have to go to work the next day.”

  He smiled at her like she had given him the best gift, and he wiped his eye with the back of his hand. Then he said suddenly, “Not building nothing.”

  “What do you mean you're not building nothing?” She gestured with her hand behind her at the pile of wood and tin and the posts sticking up out of the ground. “You are obviously building something.”

  He looked at it for a second or two and said, “It’s a sanctuary, Avaleigh. Everybody needs one.”

  “Are we all gonna get to use it?”

  “Nope, not all. Quit asking me, Avaleigh, go on now, I got stuff to do.” He actually reached over, picked her up and placed her on her feet and gave her a gentle shove in the direction of the main house. She scowled at him as she started off on her way across the clearing to the main house. She stopped a few feet from him, looking back at him over her shoulder… “Bam?” He looked up at her, “Some day you are going to meet someone who makes you smile when she says your given name. She is going to make it sound so beautiful that you can’t bear to be called anything else by her. She’s gonna make everything okay.”

  “Naw,” he shook his head slightly, and he moved his eyes back to the board he was measuring. “Nobody wants a stupid Bear like me. But it’s okay. I got my new family now, and they don’t mind me so much as the other one did.” Avaleigh ran back to him and threw herself onto him so fast that he didn't have time
to lift his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, flattened her cheek against his chest and said, “You are the smartest, sweetest man I have ever known, Bam. You deserve all the best of everything, and you’re right. We love you, don’t you ever change. We wouldn't be us without you.” She didn't look up to see his expression; she just turned and walked away, hoping he didn't see her wiping her own eyes this time. But he still didn't tell her what the hell he was building.

  That evening as the guys came home, they got out of the work trucks and approached the porch. They looked at Bam building his whatever the hell it was and went on in the house following the smell of Avaleigh cooking dinner. They tended to eat together a whole lot more often now that she was here. She suspected it was her cooking more than her company they liked, but either way was fine with her. The others went to their rooms to drop their belongings and get cleaned up a little, but Kaid came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and leaned over her shoulder to sniff the taco meat simmering in the skillet. She pretended to bite his arm when he tried to reach around her for a taste, and he laughed before he went off to get cleaned up for dinner himself. She called to the other guys to get cleaned up ‘cause dinner was ready. They worked hard, and the least she could do was have a hot meal ready for them when they came home. And feminism be damned — it was not a sexist thing to want to feed her men when they came home. It made her feel like she was taking care of them, just like they took care of her. And since they wouldn't let her go get a job, and she liked to cook anyway, it worked for all of them. She walked over to the kitchen window where it was raised to allow a breeze through the house. There were a couple of AC units in the bedroom windows, but there was no central AC in the house, so a breeze was always a welcomed thing. She called to Bam through the window and started to plate the meal in big platters to place on the table, so they could make their own tacos and serve themselves enchiladas with all the fixings. The guys were already seated as she started putting things on the table. They each made their own personal greeting to her, kissing her on the cheek or cracking a joke. She had made their drinks for them and when she handed Bam his, she also handed him his plate, already piled high with food.

  “Hey, why does he get his food made for him and we gotta make ours?” Mav asked her, pretending offense.

  “’Cause Bam is my special friend, and was awesome company today,” she answered as she saw Bam grin and stick his tongue out at Mav.

  “Well, I am the awesomest company, I will have you know! Just ask anybody. And I am sweet and loving, too, dammit!” Mav insisted as he stacked his plate with tacos. The others choked on their drinks or food as they laughed at his indignant joking. She nudged him with her hip as she went by and told him to hush and eat his food before she gave him a time out. Goldy started regaling everybody with the stories of his time outs and the shenanigans he got into that warranted them. She didn't miss the grin that Bane and Bam shared as Bam shoveled his food into his mouth, or the way that Bane looked at her warmly as Bam so obviously preened at her praise in front of his Clan brothers. She winked at Bam over Mav’s shoulder as she lifted the plastic containers a little for him to see before she stashed them in the back of the fridge. He just about glowed as he smiled back at her. His lunch for tomorrow.

  She was cleaning the kitchen after dinner when she noticed the quiet around her. Once she paid attention, she realized that there was no sound inside, but it sounded like a lot of activity outside. She walked over to the sink and looked out of the kitchen window, and there were her guys. They were all over the work site Bam had created. They were all working like one well-oiled machine. She took a minute to admire them; each was so beautiful, strong and confident in every move they made. Whatever they were making, it wouldn't take long with all of them helping.

  The guys worked on Bam’s project over the next few evenings after dinner. Nobody would tell her what the hell it was, so she had finally given up asking. Then one evening when they came home, the guys headed over to their project as soon as they got home. Except Goldy, who reached into the bed of the truck and took out a door. An absolutely beautiful, beveled-cut glass door, framed in deep mahogany-colored wood. It was gorgeous. “Wow, that is so pretty, Goldy.”

  “Thanks, Ave. I saw it in the habitat store and decided it needed to come home with me,” he told her. She knew the habitat store was a place run by the Habitat for Humanity people. Builders and building supply stores donated materials that they didn't need or that hadn't sold to the store so that people who couldn't afford them could get them to build or repair their own places. You never knew what kind of things you'd find there. “I was thinking that Bam could use it on his project. I think it’s a perfect fit,” he said to her. “I’m sure he’ll love it, Goldy.” She went back inside to finish frying the shrimp and catfish she was making for the poboys they were gonna have for dinner. Just as she’d finished cleaning the lettuce and slicing the tomatoes and pickles for the poboys, the guys were coming in for dinner. They all sat and built their sandwiches and ate together. There was a whole lot of grinning going on at the table. And the way their eyes kept meeting each other, but not making eye contact with her made her feel like something was going on all around her, but she was deliberately being kept in the dark. She did not like it one damn bit. As soon as dinner was over, rather than help her clean like they usually did, they each went right back to Bam's project. She cleaned the kitchen and put away all the leftovers, being sure to make Bam his lunch for the next day. The others would get ham sandwiches or the like in the lunches she made them, but it made Bam feel special to be the only one to get leftovers, and she loved to give him that. Truth be told, they all liked that she did that for him. She spent a little time reading her Kindle, then took her shower and got ready for bed. She could hear the guys’ voices still carrying to her from across the clearing where they were working. She checked on them once more through the kitchen window and then went to bed.

  It was just barely light out when they woke her the next morning. Kaid was there standing over her, gently shaking her to wake her. Bane, Mav and Goldy were there, too, standing behind him just inside the doorway. She focused on Kaid again, “What? Is something wrong? I thought it was Saturday, why are we up so early?”

  “We got something to show you, Ave. Get up, baby. You’re gonna love this.” He smiled at her while pulling her to her feet. She made them wait while she went to the bathroom. When she opened the bathroom door, they were all crowded in the hall outside the bathroom. “Jeez, guys,” she mumbled as she shouldered her way through them, “Creep me out much? Damn, privacy is not a thing to you people is it?” They just chuckled, and Goldy said, “You’re gonna have all the privacy you want in just a few minutes, Ave.” Mav and Bane just about shoved him over while telling him to “Shut the hell up, dude!” And Kaid snarled at him while snapping “Goldy!, Man, fucking shut up!” She just eyed them all suspiciously as she followed them toward the front door in a daze. She was so not a morning person. “Where is Bam? Is he not in on whatever this is?” she asked as they made their way onto the porch. “Yes, it was actually his idea, he’s waiting for us” Kaid answered over his shoulder. He stopped short in front of her and turned to face her, while using his big ass body to block her view of anything, but his chest. He placed his hands over her eyes and kept them there as he moved around behind her shifting them only enough to replace them over her eyes comfortably. He started moving her forward on the porch, and she could hear the others around them, whispering back and forth, clearly excited at whatever it was they were gonna show her. Kaid stopped her, and someone wrapped her legs in their arms lifting her while Kaid kept her eyes covered. She startled a bit and then heard, “It’s just me, Sugar, I got cha.” It was Bane in that deep soothing voice of his. They walked for a few minutes while she huffed ‘cause she couldn't see anything. Finally they stopped walking and put her down.

  “You ready?” Kaid asked?

  “Yeah, I am. What the hell are ya’ll up to?�
��

  “Close your eyes, baby.”

  “They’re closed, can I see now?”

  He dropped his hands and stepped back. “Okay, you can open now,” he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. She opened her eyes and took in the sight before her. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes started to fill with tears. The last thing she focused on was Bam, grinning like a fool standing to the side of her little cabin. Yep, her cabin. Bam’s project was for her, her own space, her home. And how did she know? ‘Cause the little handmade wooden sign swinging from the little silver chains just over the front door said “Avaleigh’s Sanctuary.” The little sign was painted in blues, purples and silvers, and it was perfect. It hung over the beautiful beveled glass door that Goldy had hauled home, and the lights were on inside the cabin, shining invitingly with a golden glow though the glass in the door. She looked over the front of the cabin and saw the porch swing they must have installed overnight while she slept, and the deep dark shiny golden color of the stain they had used on the beams of the porch and the exterior walls. The stairs were wide, edged in potted plants and flowers on each side. There was a little lip on the outside edge of each stair that kept the pots from sliding off the outside edges. There were a few chairs arranged on the porch with comfy looking cushions on them. The roof of the cabin overhung the cabin itself to provide shelter to the front porch, and the porch and roof both actually extended about six feet from the cabin itself, which would allow you to sit outside whether it was sunny or rainy. The roof was the tin that had slightly rusted in some places, and she loved it — it added so much character to the place. They had sealed the tin with some kind of clear roll-on stuff that left the rust stains showing through. Bam was watching her closely, and he was grinning so wide it must have hurt. “Do you like it, Ave?”