Midnight_Nightmare Dragons

by Terry Bolryder

  He hadn’t realized the ache was so bad from having to hide, to know he was disgusting for so many years, until that ache slowly subsided into calm warmth with Lillian at his side.

  Kissing him. Accepting him. Making him feel like anything but a monster.

  Making him feel he could actually belong.

  Warmth continued to move through him as he held her, kissing her, ignoring Dare’s ranting and shrieking. He was so involved in kissing her, in expressing everything he felt for her accepting him, the undying gratitude, the love, that he didn’t notice that he’d shrunken to normal height until he heard Sasha let out a gasp.

  He looked down at his hands, seeing flesh tone. What had happened? Was he cured?

  As he released his hold on her slightly and looked up at the moon, he could still feel the monster inside him, just below the surface.

  Even if he focused, he couldn’t bring on the transformation. Not with Lillian so close. Not with the love he felt from her radiating in her heart.

  Dare was staring at him with utter shock, still in nightmare form, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.

  Nathan didn’t blame him. It was the first time any of them had not been nightmares in the light of the moon.

  “It’s not… It’s past midnight,” Dare said hoarsely. “It’s not possible.”

  Sasha stepped in front of Lillian, protective of her friend. “You don’t even know what’s possible. For someone who is some sort of nightmare creature, you seem to not understand a lot about the world. If you ask me, you could do with spending a lot more time with humans. Looks like it worked for Nathan.”

  Dare spat angrily. “What is this? How is it happening? Has she destroyed you? Are you weak now? Even weaker than before.”

  Nathan kept his hand around Lillian. “I feel even stronger.”

  Dare took a step forward, and Nathan felt the transformation start to take hold.

  Interesting. So he could still transform if she was in danger. Perhaps his protectiveness toward her was an aspect of the dragon in his blood, and perhaps it was able to constrain or release the darkness as needed when she was around.

  The thought of being able to spend nights with Lillian, to hold her in his arms until the sun came up, was more than he’d ever hoped for. More than he’d ever dreamed.

  She’d taken the long nightmare of his life and helped him awaken, and now the grays of his life were lit in colorful hues.

  He had no idea what it would be like or if he would still be a hunter, but he couldn’t wait to start their new life together.

  But first…

  He glanced at Dare, who still seemed totally lost. Next to his brother, who was still in nightmare form, Nathan realized how pitifully small humans felt. Yet he could tell by his brother’s conflicted stance that he wasn’t going to hurt Sasha or Lillian.

  At least not for now.

  Dare was still storming back and forth on the cement, muttering thoughtfully, and then his terrifyingly red eyes pinned on Nathan. “I still don’t understand it.” He looked to the sky. “Why didn’t that damn woman ever come back?” He sank to his knees. “And what the hell are we supposed to do now?” His hands dropped to his sides on the pavement. “I lived a hundred years for a life I’ll never have.”

  Nathan gently let go of Lillian and gave her a look to stay where she was as he walked over to his brother.

  If the three of them were going to survive this, it was clear now they couldn’t do it alone. They couldn’t wait for anyone to give them the answers anymore. If they wanted the answers, they would have to find them on their own.

  “We can find a new life,” Nathan said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We can fit somewhere.” He looked over at Lillian who was still shining at him with love in her eyes. “If you found someone… like I did—”

  Dare jerked harshly out of his hold and got to his feet, stumbling over the pavement, tail swishing defensively, making Nathan jump back in response. “Like hell I would ever stoop to your level.” He glared at Lillian with hate in his eyes. “We have problems, brother. Problems no human can help us solve.”

  “Maybe,” Nathan said. “But it’s nicer to not do it alone sometimes.” He took another step forward. “We can be more, Dare. We can do more.”

  For a moment, Dare looked trapped, and Nathan saw the conflict warring in his eyes. He still looked hateful toward Lillian and Sasha, but he also looked as though he were waiting for an out, for someone to give him a way to save face.

  For all his blustering, Nathan could see Dare’s weakness at this moment.

  The weakness of anyone who has ever been desperately alone.

  “Dare. Come with us. Let’s talk this out.”

  But Dare took a step backward, shaking his head stubbornly. “I can’t buy into this fairy tale, Nathan. And I think what you’re doing is dangerous.” His eyes darted to Sasha. “You can’t trust humans, Nathan. You simply can’t.”

  Sasha stepped forward. “You’re just a coward. Nathan needs you, and we are willing to help you, despite you hating us. So why do you still have to be so rotten?”

  Dare flinched, then took a step forward defiantly, glaring down at Sasha. “I was born rotten, at least to you humans. I do what I do, and I have for a hundred years, and I’m not going to change now. It’s too late, anyway.” He frowned as he stared at Nathan. “But fine. You can keep your two humans. But if I hear of either of them telling—”

  “Come and visit us,” Lillian said. “Come and see for yourself. You’re Nathan’s brother, and—”

  “Not anymore,” Dare said darkly. “Nathan’s decided to be a human now, I guess. That means he’s not a part of our family.”

  “Don’t do this,” Nathan said. “I am still who I am. The nightmare is still inside me, but for the first time, I have hope. Don’t give up, Dare.”

  “I’m not,” Dare said simply. “I’m just not going to be deluded and weak like you.” He stared off into the night as a high-pitched scream rent the air, and a satisfied smile spread over his face. “We are hunters, Nathan. And oh, look, darkness is calling.”

  “We don’t have to be, not all the time. We can do good, and—

  “Dare, wait—” Not that he meant to stop him from reacting. The scream had put Nathan on alert as well.

  But before he could react, Dare was cloaking, waving a hand as he slowly disappeared from in front of them.

  “Unlike you, Nathan, I remember who I am.”

  And then with a shimmering of the air around them, Nathan knew Dare was gone.

  He ran to the edge of the roof, listening in the direction of the scream and knowing despite all of Dare’s flaws and his darkness, he would take care of the situation once and for all.

  Deep down, he didn’t believe his brother was evil, and right now, he could take out his rage and confusion at their situation on someone who probably deserved what they were going to get.

  It was still odd and confusing, but with Lillian by his side, Nathan felt he could finally start figuring it out.

  He turned and walked back to her, opening his arms as she ran quickly into them.

  No matter what was happening in the darkness, no matter what the future held, for once, everything was just right for Nathan.

  For the first time ever, he was no longer alone.

  Chapter 27

  Nathan jumped down from the roof first and then carefully helped Lillian and Sasha down one at a time.

  He looked at the broken door and examined the hinges, then pulled out his phone to call a contractor he’d worked with on some of his hospitals.

  After arranging with them to come fix the door and install a better security system, Nathan hung up and faced the two women who were sitting, exhausted, on the couch in the living room.

  Lillian’s curls were still wild from the night wind, and Sasha still looked as if she’d survived an abduction, which she had.

  Lillian, however, gave him a kind smile as he came over to
her, and she stood to wrap her arms around him.

  Damn, that felt good.

  “Your brother is a nightmare,” Sasha said, clearly bothered by even the memory of him.

  “I’m sorry,” Nathan said. “I’m sorry I got either of you involved.”

  Sasha waved a hand. “You were just trying to help us.” She grinned. “After all, it’s not like you could just tell Lillian that you were a supernatural creature, and she was never going to give up on trying to expose you.”

  He rubbed Lillian’s arms gently as he looked down at her. “Do you still want to?”

  She shook her head. “I still don’t understand your feeding. I wish you didn’t have to.” She met his eyes bravely. “But I’m open to learning more about you and finding out if there’s a way we can beat this together.”

  “I’m not sure we can beat this,” he said. “It might just be who I am.”

  Sasha stood up gingerly, holding out her phone. “I’m just going to go call my cousin. I think it’d be best if I stay with her tonight. I think you two need some time to work things out.”

  “Are you sure?” Lillian asked.

  Sasha nodded. “I’ll be fine. For all Nathan’s brother’s bluster, he seemed to say that he would leave us alone for now.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Nathan said. “Despite all appearances, Dare isn’t bad. He’s just… complicated.”

  Lillian laughed. “I can see that. Dare?”

  “Short for Darian,” Nathan said. “But it’s been a long time since anyone called him that.”

  “Anyway,” Sasha said. “I’m going to go upstairs and make that call, and then I’ll be out of your hair. And, Nathan, I promise I won’t tell anyone. About what you are.”

  Then Sasha disappeared into the bedroom upstairs, and Nathan settled on the couch with Lillian, pulling her into his lap.

  As he stroked her hair back, he couldn’t help studying her beautiful face with wonder. Pretty skin flushed from night air, brown-green eyes glowing with love.

  A heart brave enough to accept even a monster. A mind keen enough to seek even the hardest truths.

  “What if we can’t change it?” he asked softly. “What if this is who I am?”

  She placed a hand on his chest. “I accept you. You know I do.”

  And he did because she’d had no trouble touching the monster. What this meant for the future, he wasn’t sure, but he knew together they would work it out.

  So he simply held her, and a few minutes later, Sasha left after giving them both hugs.

  Nathan sat up, looking around. “Is it okay with you if we leave here? Until your door is repaired, it won’t be fully secured, and while I’m sure I can protect you from anything that entered, I’m not sure you can stand seeing my monster twice in one day.”

  She shivered. “It’s Dare’s monster I couldn’t stand seeing, but yours didn’t scare me at all somehow. I just saw… you.”

  He nodded. “It’s a part of me; that’s true. Sometimes I’m not even sure how I work.”

  “That’s okay,” Lillian said. “Maybe it’s something we can figure out together. All I know is I think maybe this world is better with people like you in it.”

  “I’m not a person,” he said softly.

  “I mean, whatever you are, I think it’s good that you’re here. I think you make the world a better place. And if it means you have to suffer for it, then at least I can help take the loneliness away. At least I can be here to help you see you’re not a monster.”

  “I am,” he said. “But I think I’m at least on the right side. Now if you’re ready, we should at least get you home.”

  She looked around her. “What? You don’t want to stay here? It’s pretty cozy now that there’s no longer a stalker.”

  He hesitated, not wanting to offend her, but then relaxed when she smiled at him with a teasing expression. “I thought you were serious. The security here could never match what I have at the mansion.”

  She giggled as he pulled her in close, wrapping an arm around her and pinning her to his side.

  “But if you expected me to be a snob about it, then prepare to be surprised because I don’t care where I live as long as I’m with you. It could be a hovel and still the best place I’ve ever lived just because I’m by your side.”

  She flushed deeply, shaking her head against him. “Sometimes you say the most romantic things, and I don’t know how to respond to you.”

  “Say you love me, too. That you want to stay with me, that if there’s a way to be immortal, then you would want to live forever with me. Say that we’ll never part.”

  “I can’t say all of that. I can’t know if—” She nodded. “I love you, Nathan. And I’m going to live my life, but yes, I always want to be by your side. But I’m going to keep my job and my friends, and—”

  He hugged her even closer, planting a kiss on her cheek. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  She harrumphed to herself as she sat back on the couch with him. “But we have to do something about Dare, though. Maybe if we talk to him, and your other brother, we can figure out more about who you are and how to help you, and—”

  He silenced her by kissing her and then looked down into her dazed eyes. “All that can wait for later. For now, can I take you home?”

  Her eyelashes fluttered, and she nodded eagerly. “I don’t care where we are as long as I’m safe in your arms.”

  He picked her up and walked toward the broken door, pushing it open with his foot. “I said this before, Lillian, but I really like the way you think.”

  * * *

  “I suppose I’m going to be staying in your bedroom from now on,” Lillian said as Nathan tucked her in and made his way around the room, locking doors and turning off lights.

  The moon still hung outside, painting the elegant room in silver-blue hues.

  “If you are okay with that,” Nathan said.

  He was being so careful about everything, so obviously grateful to have her even accept him at all that it showed in all his actions.

  “Nathan, listen,” she said. “I’m really sorry about earlier, when I ran. I hate when people lie, even for the best reasons, and what you were doing to that man outside the hospital, it really freaked me out. I mean, in my world, that stuff isn’t supposed to happen.”

  “I know. And I understood you needed to run.” He ran his hands through his hair. “It never occurred to me that Dare could be your stalker, though I suppose a part of me should have known. He hates humans and has always been paranoid about anyone being discovered. But I never thought he’d be anywhere near me.”

  “Understandable.” Lillian pushed herself up against the headboard. She felt oddly at home in this room, this mansion, as if she had always been meant to be here.

  She still had to wonder how all of this had even happened. She wasn’t some big believer in fate, but when she’d started collecting info on Nathan Lancaster, she’d never thought it would lead to falling in love with him and helping him investigate a whole new world together.

  It would be hard going back to her job with a puff piece about Nathan’s philanthropy, but knowing that she would be working on an even more complex story, seeking truth for just her and Nathan and his family, made it feel much better.

  She’d always been one who wanted to expose truth, light up the darkness, bring things out of the shadows.

  Now she’d gotten her wish in the most unexpected of ways.

  Nathan was standing by the window, shirtless and wearing only a pair of low-slung pajama bottoms. She guessed he usually slept that way by how casually he’d gotten ready.

  With his impressive chest, arms, and abs on display, she wasn’t complaining.

  But he was so much more than a pretty face. And as she watched him stare out at the moon with a mix of longing and relief, she felt a wave of excitement rush through her.

  With this man, nothing would be boring. His actions still made her nervous, but as long as they were
an extension of his heart, she knew things would be okay for them.

  Because whatever Nathan was, he was a really good person. Strong, kind, suffering in silence, saving others at cost to himself.

  Of course he was the kind that would even drink blood to save humans.

  “Nathan, can I see your ledger?”

  He nodded, snapping his fingers and materializing it in his hand. “Here you go.” He set it on the bed next to her.

  She grabbed it and began flipping through the pages. Reading names.

  Toward the very back, she saw Sasha. But there were so many other names. So much black, so little red.

  If this was the record of his life, of his goodness, then she thought it was a very good one indeed.

  “So you’ve kept this your entire life? In hopes of someday finding your people?”

  He nodded. “Since I could write.”

  “Do you remember much about your childhood?”

  “Not much that I want to,” he said, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed, facing her. “I just remember being called an abomination.” Pain spread across his features, and she held out her arms for him.

  He crawled up the bed and sank in against her, his heavy weight sprawled in her arms. “But anyway, you heard me with Dare. Our creator isn’t coming back, and the ledger doesn’t matter anymore.”

  She nodded, stroking her hand through his hair.

  He looked up at her. “Why did you hug me? Up there on the roof, while Dare was ranting.”

  “I just couldn’t help it,” she said. “I heard what he said about never being loved or accepted. I heard the pain you were too stubborn to express.”

  He froze, then nodded against her. Then he sat up against the headrest, staying by her side. “I don’t know how much I can tell you. I don’t know how much I can help you. I simply know that I’m going to protect you, make you happy, and have adventures with you for all of your life.”

  “That sounds good to me.”

  He took her hand, moving it down to his chest. “There’s a part of me that has always been silent, until I found you. It woke up, and now I can feel it inside me. It was always there, but I couldn’t hear it. Not consciously. It tells me you’re mine, and when you’re with me and you aren’t in danger, it stops me from transforming. It keeps me… human. I feel like if I’m with you, I’ll find a way to discover more of that part. Maybe that’s the key to everything.”