by Riley Storm
“Your cuts are healing,” she said. “You’re not bleeding anymore.”
Rann nodded. “Dragon DNA has some perks,” he said with a shrug. “I told you I would be okay. But this is very nice.”
“How are you feeling now?” she asked, shutting the water off.
“Much better,” he said. “Thank you.”
Gayle smiled weakly at him and then hurried out of the bathroom to get a towel from the linen closet. When she returned, Rann was standing in the tub, bracing himself on the wall with one arm. She doubted he even needed it by that point but was using it just to make her happy.
“Here,” she said, holding out the towel. “Let’s get you dried off.”
That was much easier to do. She let Rann handle the delicate bits, and then, with the towel wrapped around his waist, she guided him to the next door down the hallway and then into her bed.
“Oh that’s nice,” he half-moaned as he sank into the bed, his head resting on a pillow. “That’s very nice.”
“Good,” she said, grabbing a robe from behind the door and slipping into it.
Then, she went to the other side of the bed and climbed in until she was curled up near his head. She began to stroke it softly, being very careful to avoid any of his cuts, even the ones that were well on their way to being healed.
“Gayle,” he said after a few minutes had passed.
“Yes?” she asked, trying to still the trembling in her fingers.
Rann reached up, taking her hand into his, and then tilting his head so he could see her.
“What did I do to wrong you?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Gayle
“Oh, Rann,” she whispered. “Nothing. You did nothing wrong.”
He frowned. “I must have done something. Earlier today. You were so mad at me. You told me you never wanted to see me again. Why would you do that?”
Gayle blinked furiously, but no matter what trick she tried—looking up at the ceiling, pushing her tongue to the roof of her mouth, blinking, biting her lip—nothing could stop the tears falling. Not this time.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, curling up into a tight little ball of anxiety and sorrow. “I…I’m an idiot. That’s what happened. I’m just so on edge about everything. And then when he came to me, showed me everything, I just believed it. It was…easier.”
“What? Who came to you? Showed you what? What was easier?” Rann asked, struggling to get into a seated position.
“No, stop,” she said, putting a hand on his bare chest, pushing down. “Stay there. You need to rest. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. Not…not unless you want me to.”
“No,” Rann said sharply, without hesitation. “Don’t go. Please.”
She nodded, swiping at the tears with the back of her arm. “Thank you.”
“But, tell me, what happened?” he asked, his eyes boring deep into her. Unlike the rest of him, they were alert and alive with energy.
“Everything seemed to be too good to be true,” she said. “How is it that I deserve someone like you? That makes no sense. So when someone came to me, claiming that you weren’t who you said you were, it was just so much easier for me to believe that than it was to believe that you truly cared for me.”
“Who came to you?” Rann said, his voice deepening.
“I was outside, getting some fresh air before your fight,” she said. “He came up to me. Lilly and Claire—they came to see me earlier tonight, explained who it was, and why I was being an idiot—told me his name was Prax?”
Rann’s entire body stiffened, his eyes blazing with jade fire. “Prax,” he hissed. “I should have known.”
“Relax,” Gayle said, pushing down on his chest once more. “You don’t need to worry about him anymore. Claire and Lilly set me straight. They told me about the bad blood between you two. They didn’t know why, but they said he was just trying to hurt you through me. Which makes a lot of sense.”
“I’m still going to kill him,” Rann vowed.
“No, you aren’t,” she said. “You’re going to go to sleep here, next to me. If, um, that is, if you want to.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Rann asked, confused.
“Because I was a colossal bitch to you earlier?” she said bluntly. “I was so overwhelmed with everything and the speed with which things are happening between us, that I let some stranger color my perception of you by doing nothing but showing me some pictures of you with other women.”
Rann cringed. “That was before I met you.”
“I know,” she said, patting his chest softly. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just, I handled it all poorly, because my trust level with men right now is rather low. But you have never given me reason to mistrust you Rann. I should have handled that better. I should have asked you about it instead of jumping to conclusions like I did. That was rash and immature of me. So, for that, and what I said, I am very, very sorry.”
He looked up at her, one side of his mouth curling up in a gentle smile. “I’m sorry too, Gayle.”
She blinked. “What? Why on earth are you sorry?”
“Because,” he said. “It’s not like my reputation was a secret around the clan. I didn’t brag about what I did, but I never made any attempt to hide it away. Yet, when I took you there, among the people who really know me, I never bothered to think about how that might affect you. I never stopped to think how other people might view you, since you’re with me.”
“Oh,” she said. “I mean, you shouldn’t have to though.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” he said. “But it would have helped. I’m sorry.”
“Well then, we’re both sorry,” she said, laughing softly for a brief moment.
“I guess we are,” he agreed wryly. “Should we kiss and make up?”
Gayle nodded. “I would like that very much.”
She bent down to him, careful not to press her weight against his battered body, and she kissed him. It was gentle, soft, and tentative. Nerves on both sides were shooting around like sparks, but beneath it all was that familiar feeling of ‘right’ that she’d experienced from the very first time they’d kissed.
Eventually, they parted. Rann settled down into the bed comfortably at her side, and Gayle resumed stroking his head, her mind stirring with a million questions.
“Rann,” she asked eventually, her voice soft and distracted.
“Yes?” he replied, tired but still alert.
“Is this…” she trailed off, unable to get the question out the first time.
The big dragon shifter waited patiently, giving her time to work through her own mental roadblocks and ask the question she truly wanted to ask.
“Is this…serious?”
Rann exhaled in a very slow, controlled manner. “I want it to be,” he said. “Which, I’ve never wanted before, with anyone. It’s new and unusual for me to want it. Scary, even.”
Gayle bit her lip as she listened to Rann open up to her, voicing his insecurities and fears. She’d never bothered to think that a strapping dragon shifter with beautiful looks and a body of a god would ever be scared of emotions, but here they were. It just made her care for him even more.
“The thing is though,” he continued. “I don’t want to rush you, Gayle. I know you’re in a weird place right now. With everything that’s happened, I get it if you don’t want to jump into another relationship. If you need to take time off to think about life. I want you in mine, because I’ve waited long enough for my mate, but if waiting even longer is what it takes to have you, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Mate? What do you mean by that?” she asked cautiously.
“Dragons aren’t quite like humans,” Rann confessed, meeting her eyes.
She was taken aback by the solemn regard in them. Gayle had never seen him look this serious before, and she paid extra attention to his next words, not wanting to miss anything.
“We have one partner. Emotionally, I guess,” he said with a bit of chag
rin. “Only one. Until we find them, emotions with other women are like ash. Gray, dull, fall to pieces. There’s no vibrancy, no pleasure. It’s only when we find our mate that everything comes into full, bright color. It might sound weird, but it’s true. For each of us, there is only one person out there who will give us that completeness. So, when we find them, we’ll do anything to keep them.”
Gayle bit her lip. “Are you saying…that I’m your mate?”
Rann nodded. “I believe so, yes. I’ve never felt this way about someone before. My dragon, it… it wants nothing but you. All of you, all day, every day. I’m sorry if that’s too much, and I promise we can take it as slow as you need. But I’m not going to lie to you, I’m not going to hide it from you, Gayle. I want you. I need you. You complete me.”
She drew in a slow, shuddering breath.
“Oh.” It was all she could manage. The power of his words, the force behind them, it was palpable. She could see it in his face, but she could feel it under her fingers as well.
He wanted her.
Gayle knew that he wanted her to say the same. To voice her desire to be with him, and only him. Part of her wanted to say it back as well. To tell him just that.
But she couldn’t. Not yet at least.
“I’m not saying no,” she said. “But I’m not…I’m not ready to say the same back to you either.”
“That’s okay,” he said with a smile, reaching up to take her hand and clasp it in his own. “I’m not asking nor expecting you to. It’s soon. You need more time. Right now, all I want is for you to be in my life.”
She smiled. “That, I can manage. I would like you in mine as well, Rann Atrox.”
“Then, I suppose I will be,” he replied happily. “As much or as little as you want. I’ll be here.”
“Thank you,” she said. “For understanding.”
He smiled and brought her hand to his mouth, gently placing a kiss upon it before returning it to his chest.
“So, um, what do we do now?” she asked.
Rann’s chest bounced twice with silent laughter. “If it’s all the same to you, I’m going to be completely and totally boring and go to sleep. I have a fight in the morning, and I was going to be hard pressed to win it at full strength. Now it’s going to be near impossible.”
Gayle frowned. “More vampires?”
He shook his head, letting out a huge yawn. “No. With Kladd. For leadership of the clan.”
She smiled, stroking his forehead as his eyelids closed slowly, sleeping coming on.
“I’ll be there to watch, if that’s okay with you,” she said softly.
Rann nodded. “I would love that.”
“Me too,” she whispered, trying to ignore the way her heart fluttered at hearing that word come out of his mouth. “Me too.”
Why am I all giddy right now? Does that mean what I think it does?
It’s too soon for that though. Isn’t it?
Chapter Thirty-Four
Rann
This time, he didn’t have to look up into the stands to try and find Gayle.
She was there. He’d seen her arrive. Seen her smile with pride and a hint of something else every time he made eye contact with her. She was in his corner, figuratively and literally, and Rann knew he no longer had to worry about something external coming between them.
The only thing that could split them apart now, he knew, was himself. If he tried to rush things or push too fast, he would run the risk of scaring her off. Knowing that he held the key to keeping or losing his mate was a lot of pressure. Despite his stated intent to sleep the night before, Rann hadn’t gotten all that much of it.
He was scared of screwing it up. Of hurting her. Everything needed to be absolutely perfect if he was going to keep her around, and Rann didn’t know if he was up to it. He would never confess that to anyone, not even Gayle, but deep down, in his most private thoughts, it was a fear he harbored.
“You know we don’t have to do this, right?”
Looking up at the speaker, Rann shook the comment off. “Actually, we do.”
“Rann, nobody would accuse you of cowardice for not going through with this.”
“I would,” he growled, straightening his aching body. “And that’s enough. Besides, I could beat you with one hand tied behind my back. This is just a new challenge. Imagine how embarrassed you’re going to be when I make you submit inside five minutes. Are you sure your ego can handle it?”
Kladd threw back his head and laughed.
“Okay, tough guy. We’ll do it. But I’m not going to be able to pull any of my punches.”
“If you did that, I’d lose all respect for you,” Rann said. “I’m choosing to be here. To do this. I’m not going to go easy on you. I expect the same treatment from you.”
Kladd nodded slowly. “Once it starts, all bets are off. I will be fighting to win.”
“Winner is buying beers after,” Rann said, making it clear that he wasn’t backing down but that the outcome wouldn’t change their friendship. Not on his end at least.
“Works for me,” Kladd said, sticking out a hand.
Rann took it, and they shook.
Then, Kladd retreated to the far end of the chamber, where he rolled his shoulders and all friendliness left his face. This was it. The final fight. Whoever won would be crowned the new leader of Clan Atrox and tasked with taking their clan into the future.
They were in a different room from the previous fights. One of the auditoriums had been reshaped to better handle the crowd. Not only was the entirety of Clan Atrox present that day, but over a dozen representatives from the other clans had arrived to witness the fight as well.
“Everyone ready?” Trent asked from the edge of the audience area above them, where nearly a hundred shifters and their mates looked down upon the two combatants.
“Yeah, yeah, we’re ready,” Rann said, knowing that this was all for him, because he was wounded.
Many of his cuts and scrapes had healed overnight, though the larger, deeper ones were still there, still visible even if they had partially or even mostly closed. His skin was covered in pink marks of new skin, and he moved with a sluggishness unusual for a shifter.
Another few days and he would be back to full strength, none the worse for wear, but Rann wasn’t going to seek special treatment for his own stupidity. If he’d just been with his team, his injuries never would have happened.
Then again, he also most likely would never have made up with Gayle. Their relationship was stronger now because he’d gotten hurt, and so Rann could not truly regret the way things had happened.
It just meant he was going to have to get extra wily if he hoped to beat Kladd today. In a straight up fight, with both of them perfectly healthy, Rann figured he could take Kladd forty to perhaps fifty percent of the time.
Kladd was a few years older, and he hadn’t been made leader of the team simply because of his age. It was going to be tough.
Trent waved at them to begin, and Rann started moving to the side. Slowly. Much more so than he was capable of. Kladd would see through it, of course, and know that Rann was exaggerating his condition, but he wouldn’t know by how much.
Which would force him to be extra cautious. Perhaps, if Rann was incredibly lucky, Kladd would even make a mistake.
Unlikely. Don’t go into this thinking that you’re going to trip him up. That’s a recipe for disaster. You’re going to have to outsmart him.
Flames wreathed Kladd’s wrists, gathering in little bright spheres just below his palms. Rann watched, eyeing him cautiously. Kladd was one of the best with fire that Rann had ever seen. He could do things with it that Rann didn’t even know were possible.
“You don’t actually expect me to fall for that, do you?” Kladd asked as he came in warily. “We both know you’re not that hurt.”
Rann shrugged but didn’t respond. He was focused.
They were less than ten feet apart now, circling one another slowly, looking
for an opening. Rann was ready for anything—a feint, a blast of fire, a fake stumble. Anything and everything Kladd could do, he was ready for.
Except one.
Kladd’s timing was perfect. Rann’s left foot was in the air as he crossed over, moving to his right. The team leader shot forward.
There was no wall of flame, no blinding fireball. No shout, no feint. Kladd simply came straight at him.
Oh shit.
Kladd hit him hard, tackling him down like a football linesman. Rann hit ground, hard. Kladd pulled back to deliver a blow, and Rann caught him across the jaw with a rapid jab.
Kladd teetered backward off him, eyes going wide, and Rann saw his opening. He sprang to a crouch to go after Kladd, to push his advantage—and received a kick right to the head that dropped him to the ground.
He was unconscious immediately.
Someone began to call his name from far away. Rann tried to focus on it, but each time he did, it seemed to jump around, to move away. It was a woman’s voice, he realized after a minute. A voice he recognized.
“Gayle?” he called. “Gayle is that you? Where are you Gayle?”
“Rann…”
He frowned, trying to concentrate on the location of the voice.
“Gayle!” he called again. “Gayle!”
His eyes snapped open, and light flooded them with blinding bright pain.
“Gayle!” he heard himself call again as the space above his head filled with Kladd and Trent’s worried faces.
“I’m here,” came a voice, and suddenly someone was pushing the male faces away and replacing them with her own.
A shining corona of light hung around her head.
“You look like an angel,” he said, reaching up to gently stroke her face.
“Well, aren’t you a sweet talker after you’ve been knocked out,” Trent muttered wryly from nearby.
“Knocked out?” Rann said, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“He means, my darling,” Gayle said, her face tightening as she delivered the news she knew he didn’t want to hear, “that you lost the fight. Kladd kicked you in the head. Hard. Harder than he had to.”
