by Meg Ripley
“Are the three of you just going to stand around talking, or are you going to go out and find some mates?” Beau asked from the floor, where he was gently prying a small plastic toy out of Elliot’s mouth. “We could really use some help with these guys, if nothing else.”
“We’re going.” Holden reluctantly stuck his wallet in his pocket—since the humans seemed to favor little rectangles of plastic instead of the cold solidity of gold coins—and headed for the door.
The bar was just like all the other ones they had been to. It might have been laid out differently, and it might have sat in a different part of town, but it still smelled of liquor and tears. Even in human form, he found that the smell of Earth life was a noxious one anytime they were in the city. It was for that reason he had chosen a house out on the edge of town, where he had a massive back yard and plenty of fresh air. The other shifters often seemed to congregate there, and he could understand why.
“I’ll bet you six coins that you can’t even get a woman to look at you,” Julian said to Xander, punching him in the arm.
“I’ll double the wager and bet that every female you hit on busts out laughing,” Xander chided back.
It was innocent, foolish talk, and Holden would have taken part, but something hit him the moment he stepped into the bar. It was an energy, a field of vibrations that wrapped around his body and refused to let go. His vision blurred, and he fought to stay upright with only two feet to stand on. Instinctively, his body wanted to shift back to its dragon form. He needed the stability of his four sturdy legs under him, balanced by his expansive wings. He needed to know he had the security of his scaly armor and the fire in his lungs. “Not here, not here,” he whispered to himself as he felt beads of sweat form on his temples. The dragon inside was fighting fiercely to get out.
“What’s the matter?” Julian’s voice was distant, as though it were coming from the other side of the room, even though he was right beside him. “Are you alright?”
Holden gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down. Whatever had happened was odd, but there was no choice but to control it. If he gave himself away, then it would be over for all of them, including their children. He curled his fingers into a fist and pressed his fingernails into his palm, forcing himself back to reality. “Yeah, I’m fine—or I will be. Let’s just sit down.”
He followed the other two men to a table on the right side of the bar, near the jukebox. It was noisy, but it meant they could talk without worrying too much about being overheard. They had found out quickly that it was hard to keep their conversation on normal Earth topics, even when they were out in public. Nobody needed to overhear them talking about spells, eggs, and life on another planet.
“What can I get for ya?” A waitress in a short skirt strutted up to their table, smacking her gum and openly admiring them. “We’ve got some great specials tonight.” She pointed at a chalkboard over the bar with several drinks scrawled onto it.
“Just a round of beers, please,” Julian said with a smile.
“What kind? We’ve got ten domestic beers on tap, and an entire list of imported bottles.” She pointed to a card stuck in a condiment rack in the middle of the table.
Holden, still reeling from the odd experience, pointed to the first one. “We’ll take those.” He didn’t even read it, and he didn’t need to. Humans seemed to put so much emphasis on their different alcoholic drinks, but he had yet to find one that truly appealed to him. The Earthling beers were palatable, but they were nothing like the ale back home.
“Sounds great. If you boys need anything else, you just let me know.” The waitress gave a little finger wave as she went behind the bar.
“I think you’re going to lose your bet already,” Julian scoffed, puffing his chest and grinning. “She was absolutely checking me out. And did you see those legs?”
“She was checking everyone out,” Xander replied, rolling his eyes and laughing. “It’s part of her job, because she thinks she’ll get better tips.”
“Oh, right. Tips. So weird.” Julian watched the waitress, where she was filling glasses behind the bar. “So, how exactly are we supposed to know when we’ve found the right one? I’ve had women flirt with me, and I think I’ve had several chances to mate. Some of them are beautiful, other ones seem nice, but I know we can’t pick just anyone to help us raise the children. I can’t say I would mind having that one in my bed, though.”
Xander pressed his lips together in thought. “I’m not sure, to be honest with you. No matter how many books I’ve read—and trust me, the humans like to study themselves just as much as I like to study them—nobody seems to know. Two humans might get married for monetary reasons without any consideration for love. Others might only count love, and still others seem to get married for no good reason at all. They spend their lives together, but they constantly fight. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Julian crossed his arms and studied the wood grain of the table. “I remember older dragons talking back on Charok about finding their mates and the way it made them feel. They weren’t together for any artificial reasons; they just knew they were made for each other. I’m not sure how easy that’s going to be with humans thrown into the mix.
The waitress brought their beers, and Holden picked at the label on his bottle. “Sounds to me like we’d be better off alone. I’m not going to bring someone home to be a part of Finn’s life if she has half the qualities I’ve seen in humans so far. He doesn’t need a mother figure who might lie, cheat, steal, or be selfish. Let’s face it, there’s not a woman in this city—and maybe not even on this world—who has the kind of qualities we would have looked for in a female dragon.” He had known brave and noble female dragons back home, and it seemed doubtful that any of the Earthling women could compare.
“They might not have shining scales or sharp teeth, but I think I’ve seen a few I wouldn’t mind sinking my teeth into.” Julian’s eyes glittered as he cast a glance around the bar. “Who’s to say we couldn’t just experiment? We could mate without ever bringing them home.”
Xander slapped his hand on the table. “You sound like an Earthling already, and we’ve only been here a few months. Do what you want, but I can promise it won’t go well. I’ve read lots of articles about things called one-night stands and affairs, and they never seem to go well.”
Julian snorted. “That’s your problem. You never do anything but read. You should start looking around and seeing what humans are really like instead of just studying them from a distance.”
“But have you seen how much information the humans generate? It’s everywhere! They have articles all over the internet, and entire buildings full of books. I’m only just diving into this social media thing, but it’s clear there’s a lot to learn.” His dark eyes shone as he reflected on the work he had done so far. “They’re strange creatures, but they’re fascinating.”
Julian took a swig of his beer and shook his head. “I prefer my education to be hands-on.”
The repartee between the two men faded into the background as Holden took in his surroundings. He skimmed over the various men and women at the bar. Julian wasn’t the only one who wondered how they were supposed to know when they met the right one. Back on Charok, there was never a doubt when a male dragon found his mate. She possessed him with a spell that nobody could quite explain, but it made the male want to do absolutely everything for his intended female. Holden didn’t know if it would feel different with a human, or if it was even possible to find a human that could make him happy. Still, he was determined to try, even if it was only for Finn’s sake. He couldn’t let his doubts get in the way of his commitment.
But then his eyes landed on a woman on the other side of the bar. The layout of the pub made her seem small and distant, but he focused on her intently. Her dark hair, slightly curly, had been pulled back into a loose ponytail. She had thin brows that arched gracefully over her blue eyes, and her dark pink lips moved attractively as she
spoke to the other women at her table. She was completely oblivious to him, but she had a power over him that he couldn’t quite explain.
Once again, he felt the urge to shift. He wanted to let go of this human shell he had been forced to wear around and let his scales surface. He wanted to feel the way his wings unfurled from his back and took to the air. More than anything, Holden wanted to let his claws come shooting out of the ends of his fingertips and feel them sink into something.
“Holden. Holden!”
Julian’s voice brought him back to the present. He’d been staring at the woman so intently that he had felt he’d been transported right across the bar until he was next to her and could smell the way her perfume wrapped around her body. He blinked. “What?”
“You might want to let go of the table.” Julian gestured at Holden’s hands.
Looking down, Holden saw what he meant. He had gripped the table in both of his hands with such force, he’d dug into the wood with his fingernails. They hadn’t done much damage, not compared to what would have happened if he really had unleashed his claws. Fortunately, the months of self-discipline he’d had to impose on himself had paid off. He’d done little more than scratch the finish.
Xander leaned forward, squinting at Holden through his glasses. “Are you sure you’re alright? You don’t seem yourself tonight.”
Holden didn’t know how to explain it. Maybe there was no good way of doing so. But there was either something about this bar or about that woman that had a hold on him. “I’m fine, it’s just one of those nights. Ignore me.”
The other men did as they were asked. Holden took a long sip of his beer, wishing it could affect him the way it did humans. Xander had theorized that there was something different about their metabolism, and that they weren’t completely human even when they appeared to be. But the physiology of it all didn’t intrigue him. He just knew that he had to find a way to talk to that woman.
3
The margaritas were tasting better and better as the night wore on, and Leah was no longer sure of just how many drinks she’d had. The women had ordered small meals to go with their drinks, which helped, but she was feeling so dizzy and free that she didn’t even bother wiping her fork down to get rid of any residual energies before she used it. Her psychic powers had been pushed to the backburner, and that was right where they belonged for the moment.
“So, tell me how your book is doing. It sounded like your sales were going very well those first few weeks.” Even while tipsy, Autumn was all about business.
“Oh, it’s good,” Leah said with a smile. She had started writing the book late one night after a customer had told her she wished she had powers of her own. It had gotten Leah’s mind churning, remembering all she had gone through as she was developing her gifts. There hadn’t been anyone for her to talk to, and she had wished for more guidance constantly. When she looked back on it, she realized that she could have saved herself a lot of heartache and gone a lot further with her career if she had just been better educated and had known what to do with herself. It had been a long and lonely road to where she was, and she was determined to keep that from happening to others.
And so, her book had been born. Develop Your Psychic Powers had started out with late-night scribbles that had lasted well into the morning. When she had picked it up the next day, she hadn’t expected it to be any good. But she found that she only wanted to work on it more, and before she knew it, she was typing up the final draft. Holding her breath, she had sent it to an agent to see what he thought of it. To her surprise, she had managed to not only get it published, but to get a request for a second book. The title was a simple one, but it let potential buyers know exactly what they were getting.
“I’ve done far better with it than I would have thought,” Leah replied. “Another prediction I never saw.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’ve sold plenty of copies in our store,” Summer encouraged. “You should come and do another book signing. You draw in all sorts of interesting people.”
Autumn nodded her agreement. “You really should. It helps your business as well as ours, and I’d be more than happy to set up a table for you.”
Leah shrugged. “Maybe, but the real challenge now is figuring out what I want to focus on for that second book. If I wait too long, the publisher won’t be interested anymore. There’s just a lot that I could talk about, but I want to keep it focused.” It felt good to be talking about work again. Her abilities might pay the bills, but they were also a big part of who she was. Those long months of fighting with Victor and going back and forth with her attorney had pulled her so far out of her element, and she needed to find a way to get back to it. Hopefully, she would soon be able to find a good balance in her life again. It was going to be a while before she was completely used to living without Victor, but she had to believe she would get there.
“I have no doubt you’ll be writing another hit before you know it. There are a lot of people in the world looking for help, and they need people like us to give it to them.” Autumn carried all the confidence any of them needed. She was always the perfect person to turn to for an ego boost.
Summer had her head tipped back and her eyes closed. Her legs were folded in the chair underneath her, and she looked like she was relaxing in a hammock instead of having drinks in a local pub. “It’s a shame, really. They keep going to their doctors for pills, but that’s not going to help. They need to get in touch with their own souls. You wouldn’t think we as humans could be so distant from something that’s a part of us, but it happens all the time. I blame electronics. People are too busy staring at screens instead of talking to each other or taking long walks in the woods.”
Autumn glanced at her sister and looked like she was going to argue, but she nodded. “Yeah. I love that the internet has allowed us to grow our business. I just packaged up a shipment and sent it to Canada the other day, and our blog gets hits from all over the world. But I also wish we had more people who came in and just talked to us. I think there’s a lot we could do for them.”
“That’s something I should put in my next book, then. I don’t mean specifically that they should come here and talk to only you guys, but that they need to reach out and find in-person resources in their own communities.” Leah was feeling the sparkle of creativity in the back of her brain, and she liked it. It was the same energy that kept her up at night when she had written the first book. There were other times that her abilities had kept her awake, but that was usually because of uncomfortable premonitions. Creativity was a lot more fun. “You know, maybe if I…”
“If you what?” Summer picked up her head, her wide blue eyes watching Leah carefully. “Are you alright?”
Leah wasn’t sure. She’d had tons of thoughts swirling through her head. She had a good idea of what her book was going to be about, and even the chapter titles had begun emerging from the fog her brain had been in. She had just been about to fish in her purse for a pad of paper when everything seemed to dissipate. Her mind had drained like a bathtub, and now it was completely empty. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think. I just completely lost my train of thought.”
“Blame the tequila,” Autumn said with a vague gesture toward her glass, which had been emptied several times and now only held a few stray pieces of ice. “She’s a fickle mistress when it comes to artistic expression.”
Though Leah was definitely feeling the alcohol, she had a hunch it was something different. “I don’t know. It seems like there was something more urgent trying to get through, if that makes any sense.”
“You know I’m all about listening to your body, but I’d say the chances are good it was nothing more than the drinks. You should have finished your dinner.” Autumn gestured at Leah’s plate, which still held half a Reuben sandwich and handful of house-made chips.
“Thanks, Mom.” Leah cast a frustrated glance at her meal. She’d eaten what she could, but she had to admit that she was thinking about watching h
er weight. Even though she claimed she didn’t want to get serious about anyone, she thought she could stand to lose a few pounds if she was eventually going to be back out on the market. Besides, if she ran into Victor on the street, then he needed to know exactly what he was missing out on. “Really, though, I don’t think that’s it.”
“The universe has lots of ways of communicating with us. I think the fact that different cultures take into account different signs from nature says a lot. If we actually paid attention to what the world was trying to say, we’d be getting messages from all sides.” Summer blinked sleepily as she polished off her drink.
Leah furrowed her brow. “Then I’ve just had something whack me on the backside of the head. I’m just going to run to the restroom for a minute.” She pushed her chair out and stood up slowly, knowing that her balance wouldn’t be quite right. But she couldn’t stay in her seat a minute longer, not without that nagging sensation tugging at the back of her brain. Her steps leaned a little toward the right as she made her way across the bar, but she made steady progress without running into anyone or anything. That, in itself, was an accomplishment.
She passed by the blaring jukebox and nearly stopped dead in her tracks. Something was pulling at her once again—no, it was yanking at her, demanding that she pay attention. But Leah didn’t want to. She had enough going on in her life with her divorce, her book, her business, and just getting her head put on straight again. She didn’t need psychic messages from the other side or someone else’s drama to take up her time.
