no were to run

by Robyn Peterman

  I’d considered talking to her outside on a bench to shove it in Nicolai’s face, but the lives of real people were possibly at stake and I wasn’t that heartless or stupid.

  “Well,” I replied, tilting my head to the side and considering my response carefully. “I could ask you the same question.”

  “Me and Nicolai?” She snorted with laughter. “Oh no, that would never be. We all vie for his attention, but he treats us like sisters.”

  “You’re not in love with him?”

  “Not in the real sense of the word. I love him because he saved my life, but I’m not in love with him,” Maria explained. “He’s not my true mate. I’m waiting for my true mate.”

  Ignoring my confusing sense of relief that she wasn’t in love with Nicolai, I hesitated to tell her she might be waiting a very long time for her true mate. And I also realized I owed Nicolai a huge debt for the life of my niece. Freakin’ great—more complications I didn’t need.

  There were also a few things she had to know…today.

  “Maria, rarely does a Dragon ever mate with their destined one. We’re too violent. Most of the time our true mate is dead long before we have the chance to meet.”

  “I know this,” she agreed, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “But I have a feeling my mate is out there.”

  “You have to mate with someone before you turn 500 or you die,” I told her, blocking out the fact that I was only months away.

  “Why? This is news to me.” Her eyes grew wide with surprise and she sat forward in doubt and anger.

  “I don’t know why,” I told her, pressing my temples and giving her the same answer my mother had given me hundreds of years ago. “But for those in our line, it’s just the way it is. The Royal Dragons got stuck with the short end of the stick in more ways than I can count.”

  “That’s ludicrous.” She was outraged.

  I couldn’t have agreed with her more. However, knowledge was power and she needed to know.

  “Yep, but it’s true. You still have time.”

  “How many of us are of the Royal Dragon line?”

  “Um…me and you,” I lied.

  Telling her about Daniel was risky at this point. I wanted her to know, but she was still too new to me. The thought of him having real family after I was gone was heartening, but I needed more time with her.

  She nodded and picked at her fingernails.

  Should I just start talking? Did I wait for her to start? I’d just dropped a bomb on her and sadly I had plenty more where that came from.

  Crap, this was uncharted territory. Parenting—especially a 485 year old niece—was the hardest job I’d ever had. Taking on an army of Dragons was easier than this.

  “You know, you can ask me anything,” I told her quietly.

  Again she nodded. “I’m not sure I’m ready to hear things that will make me upset yet. The whole you’re going to die at 500 thing will take a while to digest. I kind of just want to be with you.”

  “I get that,” I said thankful not to have to go into anymore horrid stories today. “I will tell you this, your father was an amazing man and I knew your mother as well. She was lovely and they adored each other.”

  “I remember my mother saying my father was her true mate. It’s another reason I want to wait for mine. Not that their story turned out so great, but…”

  “I hear that finding your true mate is like nothing we can imagine. It’s supposed to be absolute perfection,” I said wanting her to have solace that her parents were happy for whatever little time they had together. “However,” I added with a laugh as I remembered the distant past. “They knocked heads tremendously in the beginning. Eventually your mom had my big bad brother eating out of the palm of her hand. It was all kinds of awesome.”

  Maria’s smile brightened my day considerably.

  “Do you know what happens when you find your true mate?” she asked as she unfolded her long body and scooted close.

  “Nope, not a clue. I’ve heard stories over the years, but it kind of sounds like fiction to me.”

  We sat in comfortable silence and stared at each other until we both started to giggle. She touched the mark at the base of my neck that matched hers and laid her head on my shoulder. She was a beautiful woman and I longed to know her story, but she would tell me when she was ready.

  “Can I hug you?” I asked.

  “Yes, I would like that,” she replied.

  I took her in my arms and I could swear I felt my brother Sean smiling down on me. It was surreal and so moving my eyes filled with tears. I would keep Maria close for the rest of the time I had and then I would make sure there was someone to watch over her.

  “You hug like a mom should,” Maria whispered as she buried her face in my neck.

  “That’s because I am a mom,” I said and then stiffened and froze.

  “I have a cousin?” she asked pulling back with a grin of excitement and wide eyes.

  My stomach clenched. The more people that knew about Daniel, the more danger he was in, but she was of his blood—and mine.

  “Yes,” I said slowly. “You do. He’s four and he’s my world. But no one knows of him. Until my father is dead it has to stay that way. Please.”

  “You have my word,” Maria said solemnly. “I swear to you on my life.”

  “Thank you.” I was still distressed I’d let Daniel’s identity slip, but my gut told me she could be trusted.

  “When this is all over, can I meet him?”

  “Absolutely. He had blond hair just like you.”

  “And his father?” she asked and then blanched. “Oh my God, does Nicolai know you’re mated?”

  “Um…Nicolai is not privy to my private business nor will he ever be,” I stated firmly. “And, no. I was not mated to Daniel’s father. He was a lovely man I barely knew. My father had him killed when he discovered I’d shown interest in someone. Daniel’s father never even knew I was pregnant. Some might argue that Daniel was an accident. He’s not. He’s my greatest accomplishment.”

  “You father is a fuck,” Maria hissed as she swiped at a few stray tears that had escaped her eyes.

  “This is true,” I agreed, not chastising her for her language or reminding her the abomination was also her grandfather. In this particular case she was accurate.

  “Was Daniel’s father your true mate?” she asked as she placed her hand on my cheek for comfort.

  It reminded me so much of Daniel that I sighed with longing for him.

  “No, he wasn’t. He was kind and we were attracted to each other. End of story. But he wasn’t my true mate. I think I could have been happy with him, but I wasn’t given the chance to find out.”

  “I’m really sorry,” Maria said and took my hands in hers. “However, as strange and alarming as all this is, I think I’m glad you found me. The whole dying at 500 thing is a bit unsettling, but at least I know.”

  Her wording was on target and I agreed wholeheartedly. The Universe had an unusual way of bringing people together. The timing wasn’t what I would have chosen, but I was grateful all the same.

  “I know I’m very glad I found you. It was Lenny who actually brought us together so we owe him a beer.”

  “Lenny has spoken more in the time you’ve been here than in all the years I’ve known him,” Maria said with pursed lips and little laugh. “And he drinks scotch, not beer.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied. “He’s an odd duck, but I like him. I’d always thought Warlock Dragons were a myth.”

  “Lenny was held prisoner and tortured by your…my…the son of a bitch King for hundreds of years. Nicolai freed him about seventy-five years ago and they’ve been a team with Seth and Elaina ever since.”

  I stared down at my hands and inhaled deeply to hold onto my composure. Was there any Dragon alive that my father’s despicable ways hadn’t touched? I was beginning to think not. How could one single man have wielded so much power for so lo
ng?

  “That makes me ill, but I’m glad you told me,” I said running my hands through my hair. “How about I join you for dinner tonight in the mess hall? Right now I need a little time to think. And I need to make plans to bring a Wolf into the Dragons’ den.”

  “Can I call you Aunt Dima?” Maria asked with a chuckle.

  “I answer to pretty much anything,” I told her with a grin. “But Aunt Dima sounds damn fine to me.”

  After my niece left, I locked, chained and bolted the door behind her. I didn’t need any more surprises today. Talking about my father made every muscle in my body tense.

  A nice long hot shower wouldn’t solve my problems, but it might relax the ball of tension that had been my constant companion as of late.

  ***

  “I’m glad to see you can follow directions.”

  “Oh my God,” I screeched as I wrapped the towel I was wearing tighter around my naked, wet body. “How in the hell did you get in here?”

  My eyes flew to the door. It was still locked, chained and bolted. Nicolai was as smug as I’d ever seen him and he’d made himself far too comfortable on my couch. Unfortunately he also looked hotter than hell—all sexy bad boy Dragon.

  “You didn’t lock the window,” he said with a casual shrug and a lopsided grin. “When you didn’t answer your door, I became concerned for your welfare and took it upon myself to protect you.”

  “I call bullshit. You do this for all your people?” I snapped.

  “But of course,” he replied silkily. “Especially the ones I want to see naked.”

  “You’re disgusting,” I spat, torn between wanting to tear his head from his shoulders or drop my towel and dive on top of him. “And you can show your manwhore ass to the door immediately before I zap it so hard you won’t sit for a week.”

  “That’s not nice,” he said as he reclined on my couch and put his feet up.

  He looked ridiculous. My couch was small and floral. He was enormous and all male. I had to bite back my grin at his audacity. There was no way I was going to let him win anything.

  “I’m not a manwhore. You can ask anyone here.”

  “The status of your sex life is not my concern, Dragon,” I lied through my teeth.

  My inner Dragon was furious with me. She wanted to jump the sexy god on the couch and she was making no bones about it. The rational side of my brain began to reason out why it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I mean who would know? Our attraction was off the scale and I hadn’t been with a man since Daniel’s father. If I was going to die in the near future, why shouldn’t I have a little fun?

  What in the hell was happening to me?

  Never in my life had I thought with my lower region. I was practical. I was a mom, for the love of Pete. I had no time to dally with an arrogant Dragon. It didn’t matter that he had a damn eight-pack stomach, stupidly kissable lips or a bulge in his jeans that was mindboggling. He was my partner in a war, not in the bedroom. Sex would make things messy.

  “What’s going on in that devious mind of yours?” Nicolai asked

  His eyes followed me with undisguised lust and his lopsided grin made my tummy flip.

  “Nothing,” I said as I dropped the towel and yanked on some sweat pants and a t-shirt. If he was rude enough to break in, I’d be rude—or stupid enough—to show him exactly what he couldn’t have.

  Nicolai sat up ramrod straight and swallowed hard.

  “Women don’t think about nothing,” he said calmly, but his glowing eyes belied his unfazed tone. “Only men do.”

  “Why are you here?” I demanded as I took the seat across the room from him. My strip show had kind of backfired. I was so wildly turned on I no longer trusted myself. He needed to say his piece and get the hell out. “Are you over your Cro-Magnon thing?”

  “Interesting you should ask.” He stood and began to pace the room. “The short answer is no and apparently I won’t be over it any time soon unless…”

  “Unless what?” I asked warily as I sat on my hands to keep them from pulling my shirt over my head and begging him to touch me.

  I closed my eyes tightly to ward off the lightheadedness that had come over me. My body felt like one large heartbeat. Had I started to die before my 500th birthday? Shit, this was not in my plan. My father was alive and I needed to see Daniel and say goodbye if this was the end. But first, the man I wanted and could never have needed to leave. It would be all kinds of horrific if I croaked during illicit sex with a Dragon I didn’t even like.

  “Seth says we’re mating.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” I choked out. “That’s bullshit.”

  Death was more welcome than this news. I couldn’t mate with Nicolai. My God, if my life was spent avoiding speaking to men at all costs, I’d rather be six feet under. And Daniel…would he kill my son out of jealousy?

  “Yes, my thoughts exactly. However, I’ve been convinced that we have no choice so I’m good with it.”

  “You’re what?” I shouted as I jumped to my feet. This was not happening.

  “Do you have water in your ears from your shower?” His eyebrows were raised and he was trying not to smile. “I said we’re in the beginning stages of a true mating. I’m fine with this and think we should seal the deal.”

  “You think we should seal the deal?” I growled as my hands lit up on fire and thin tendrils of smoke wafted from my nose.

  “Um…maybe another time?” he offered with a delighted grin. He didn’t even attempt to hold back his laughter.

  “You are not my true mate. I don’t even like you,” I shouted. “You don’t like me. We hate each other.”

  Nicolai shrugged and chuckled. “Thin line between love and hate, Princess. I hope you’re half as much of a spitfire in bed as you are out of it. As for liking each other…you’re growing on me and I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you. You’re mine—like it or not.”

  “Not,” I hissed. “If you were my true mate, you would respect me. You wouldn’t try to kill every man who said hello.”

  “I beg to differ,” Nicolai said tightly as he clenched his fists. “Apparently that’s exactly what happens until we mate according to my mother and Seth. They’ve warned the weyr of our situation.”

  “You’re kidding me,” I screeched as I backed up and overturned the chair I’d been sitting on. “We’re a situation now?”

  Sparks were flying all over the room and I had to duck as an aggressive flame shot from my fingers and bounced right back at me. This was all wrong. Yes, I was physically attracted to him. Yes, I secretly respected him. Yes, I wondered what he looked like naked fairly often. Yes, my inner Dragon wanted to claim him, but…when he found out I had a son…

  “No,” I said as I backed farther away from him even though every instinct I had was to run to him.

  Was this love? No. This was lust.

  I was horny and he was hot. Period. Love was earned just like respect. I couldn’t love someone I didn’t know and could barely tolerate. Ridiculous.

  It was Nicolai’s turn to be shocked. “Did you say no?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wait,” he said, pressing his temples and letting his head fall back on his shoulders. “You said no and then you said yes. Most of my blood has left my brain and is visiting my dick at the moment. You need to be a bit more clear.”

  I let my chin drop to my chest and I bit down hard on my lip so I didn’t laugh. This was not funny. The very fact that I was enjoying this ludicrous exchange meant I needed my head examined.

  “No, I will not mate with you.”

  “You can do that?” he asked wildly confused.

  “I just did,” I replied as my insides rioted, furious I was going against nature and fate.

  “Do you have any clue how many women would be delighted to be my mate?” he bellowed as burning energy flowed off of him and added to the stream of fire dancing around the room. “I’m a very good catch and I’m hung like a damned horse.”

  �
�Oh my God,” I shouted back. “Are you really trying to woo me with your dick size and the list of women you’ve bedded?”

  “No,” he shouted and then banged his head against the wall in frustration. “I was just…um…I don’t think that came out right.”

  “You think?” I snapped.

  Righting the chair, I glanced around the room and cringed. It was scorched and smoking. We were dangerous together. The longer we were trapped in here the more chance we had of burning the entire compound to the ground.

  “I’ve got it,” Nicolai announced grandly. “You want to be wooed. Then I shall woo you. I have no idea how to do this because I’ve never had to, but how hard can it be?”