“Got it,” Zach said. “Well, we have a nice long ride back. We can tell you what life is like as an awakened dragon. For sure. But we might want to wait on explaining the collar and ring stuff until we’re home.”
“Why?” Alistair asked, nervous.
Zach shrugged. “Don’t worry about it now.”
But somehow, those words and his unwillingness to discuss it made it impossible not to worry about it. At least for Bridget.
Chapter 13
After the long ride back to Zach’s home, Alistair felt like his head was going to combust from all the new information inside it.
Apparently, the dragons had been awakened one by one in this world and collared until they could prove their worthiness.
There was a big, silent war going on between shifters who were on the side of humans and shifters who wanted to end humans or rule them, and the dragons had been brought out of cryo to see if they could change the tides of that war.
There were also modern dragons that had been created from their blood, but they were different, shared aspects of their powers, and worked in pairs.
He couldn’t fathom it. Domestic dragons.
Also, all the dragons, except for Dom, had found mates and were living with them.
He still needed to find out more about how mating worked. At least he wasn’t the only one who had hopelessly bonded with a human since being awake. But how did he know she was really his mate? He’d never felt like this before, but what if she was right? What if he was just affected by the circumstances they had been in?
He wasn’t worried she wasn’t beautiful enough for him. Good enough for him. He was worried maybe he’d been a different version of himself in these circumstances, and without the danger around them, he’d go back to the shallow fiend he was. He wouldn’t deserve her then.
He leaned back in his seat as they pulled up the drive and the mansion came into view. His heart leapt at the sight of so much room. So much freedom. So much luxury. It was beautifully built, surrounded by lush, green lawns. He would want something just like this when he got his treasure back.
Zach had assured him through his thoughts that as soon as they got back and Bridget was situated and talking with the other mates, they would discuss more about the collar with him and about getting his treasure back.
When he had his powers and treasure, and they had Lana, he could really think about what he should do with Bridget. Whether they should make things official.
You really care about her, Zach thought to him as they parked and got out of the SUV.
More than I’ve cared about anyone, Diamond replied. Which isn’t saying much.
Zach smiled slightly but didn’t say more as they walked inside. When they got there, a curvy woman with reddish-brown hair ran to Zach and threw her arms around him. A short woman with curly blond hair grabbed Red, planting a kiss on him, and a quiet woman with long, dark hair and pale-gray eyes waited for Luc to come to her, eyes sparkling.
It was all disgustingly romantic.
Don’t be jealous, Red thought to him.
“Hmph,” Alistair said.
“You’re thinking to each other, aren’t you?” Zach’s mate said, folding her arms. “Not fair. At least introduce everyone.” She elbowed her mate, and he grinned.
“This is my mate, Erin. And that’s Luc’s mate, Hallie. And Red’s mate, Faye.”
They waved, and Alistair awkwardly nodded. He looked for Bridget, noting with pleasure that she was staying close beside him.
“We need to talk,” Zach said meaningfully to his mate. “With Alistair, alone.”
Erin sighed but nodded. “Bridget, you want to come hang out with us? You guys have been on the run for a while. I’m sure you could use a nice place to rest.”
Bridget looked hesitant to leave him, but Alistair nodded for her to go. She had Scrangey in her arms and kept him with her as she followed the other women to the stairs and started to go up.
He didn’t like seeing her go. They’d only just entered safety, and it already felt like they were being pulled apart.
But there were things the dragons didn’t want to tell him with her around, and he didn’t want to miss any information. He would go find her right after.
He followed the other dragons through an immense foyer decorated with marble and into a dining room with a long mahogany table.
They all sat, and except for Dom, who just looked a combination of tired and bored, they all seemed anxious about something.
“What is it?” Alistair asked.
Zach brushed his hair back and looked at Red. “Who wants to tell him?”
“Maybe we should just talk about the collar in general first,” Luc suggested.
“Sure,” Zach said. “Uh. Listen. So there are multiple ways to get the collar off. At least that’s how it worked for us. But the simplest was finding a human mate and mating her. When she agreed to the mating, then the collar released, because presumably, with a human mate, we could be trusted to protect humanity.”
“But why do I sometimes feel it unlock?” Alistair asked, feeling oddly tingly and nervous. “Sometimes I’m able to use my powers.”
“If a human’s life is truly in danger, then you can use your powers. Some of them anyway. But you still can’t fully transform until the collar is off.”
“Where is Aegis, anyway?” Alistair suddenly asked. “Why all of you, but not him?”
They looked at each other, frowning. “Um, he’s on the other side,” Red said.
“The side that captured me?” Alistair was aghast.
“Yeah,” Red said. “I know.”
“He still hates Zach,” Luc said.
“Sure, blame me,” Zach said. “Not him for holding a stupid grudge over a misunderstanding.”
Alistair didn’t say anything. If Aegis was still mad about the Opal situation, it wasn’t some small misunderstanding. Not that Alistair knew the details, but he knew nothing involving Opal was “small” to Aegis. That was an obsession that had spanned centuries.
“Anyway,” Zach said. “That’s the collar. But, um, since you’ve already found someone…”
“I don’t know,” Alistair said. “I’ve been having fun with Bridget, she’s a good girl, but we haven’t made any promises.”
“But you sort of have,” Zach said, looking at Alistair’s hand.
Alistair looked down, seeing his empty ring finger, but not the significance.
“We never knew this in our day, but apparently, the ring enables a dragon to take a human mate,” Luc said. “Permanently.”
Alistair’s heart felt like it just evaporated. “What?”
“I know,” Luc said. “I didn’t know and messed things up, too. But it’s okay. I promise. You’ll work it out.”
“We haven’t even talked about something like that,” Alistair said, pulling at his hair, enjoying the pain. “A mate, that’s like forever… That’s…”
“My mate is pregnant,” Luc said quietly. “With the ring, anything is possible.”
Shit, had Alistair gotten Bridget pregnant?
“Unlikely,” Zach mused. “My mate isn’t pregnant yet, but we’re working on it. Not sure how the timing works.”
Red nodded. “I think you’re safe there. If you didn’t want a dragon baby with her, I mean.”
Alistair didn’t know. One part of him thought the idea of Bridget carrying his child was the most amazing in the world. The other side of him saw all of his freedom slipping away when he’d only just begun to taste it.
Mate. That was a life sentence. No, longer. And he was supposed to make that decision right this second? No, he’d already made it.
He slumped, his face in his hands, unsure what to do. It felt like everything was crumbling around him.
And what would Bridget say? He could propose out of obligation, but she’d probably hate that. But either way, what was done was done.
“There’s no way to reverse it?” he asked hoarsely, looking fr
om face to solemn face.
Each shook their head.
Dom stood and walked from the room, and Alistair didn’t blame him. Dom dealt with enough and had a hard time with conflict or emotion. He nodded to him as he left, and Dom slipped out.
“It’s not so bad,” Luc said. “I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
It’s not that, Alistair thought to them, feeling too overwhelmed to speak. It’s that I wanted to do this differently. I wanted to take my time and know it was right. That the person I’ve become through this is the person I really am. That I wasn’t just caught up in this. He looked around at them. You all know what I was like. Could you see me with a mate then?
The dragon we knew, at least sort of knew, would never have felt this much guilt about the situation. My guess is you really did change, Red thought.
Alistair tugged at his hair again, remembering all the moments with Bridget over the last few days. How wonderful they’d been. The happiness he’d had with her had made anything he felt in the past life seem shallow and sad. Unmemorable.
He’d already decided to take more responsibility. To consider changing his life, to take care of Scrangey and commit to Bridget. But mating. Having it decided when they were only just escaping.
He didn’t know enough about her. About her life. About what she wanted.
You’ll need to go ask her, Red thought to him.
Alistair groaned, hiding his face. “I didn’t want this.”
It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast.
“It happened instantly for most of us,” Red said. “None of us felt particularly ready.”
“But you knew,” Alistair croaked out. “You knew on some level before you put the ring on.”
He couldn’t help feeling like iron bars were creeping all around him. That he’d stepped out of one prison and into another. And no amount of remembering how lovely Bridget was, how much she meant to him, could change that because it felt like his choice had been taken away. “I gave her the ring because I had no choice.”
That wasn’t how a mating should start.
He groaned with confusion, unsure what to do. He didn’t know how or what to tell her. He wasn’t ready to lose her or fight with her, but he couldn’t just keep this from her.
They were mated. Or would be once he asked and she accepted. On the upside, he’d get his collar off. On the downside, everything would be locked in and he’d never really know if he would have chosen her as mate if given the chance.
He thought he would have, but he’d never had that moment the other dragons had. Not before the ring anyway.
“Ugh,” he said.
“It’s not all bad,” Luc said. “You have a good woman. You just have to win her.”
“I don’t want to,” Alistair muttered. Not like this. He wanted to have time. Think things over.
He heard a choked voice and looked over at the doorway, where Bridget was standing. She glared at him as she twisted the ring on her finger.
“Ugh, take it back,” she spit out. “I don’t want it.”
He’d never seen her so furious, and he thought over the conversation, wondering what she heard. He couldn’t remember anymore what he’d thought and what he’d said aloud.
“Bridget,” he said hoarsely.
“Don’t Bridget me,” she said. “Just take your ring back and let me out of here.”
“I can’t,” he said, feeling faint as he watched her face go pale. “It’s permanent.”
Her jaw dropped.
Bridget felt as if she’d been slapped. She should never have been eavesdropping, but the women had gotten caught up talking about Hallie’s pregnancy, and Bridget had really wanted to see Alistair. And to hear what they were saying about the collar and whatever they were trying to keep from her.
Her heart had leapt at first when she’d heard about the ring making it possible for a human to mate with a dragon. She still didn’t know if Alistair wanted to, but now she knew he could at least.
But then she’d heard his reaction. The despair in his voice. She’d known he wasn’t quite ready. That he was conflicted. But she hadn’t known he’d sound this destroyed at the thought of having to stay with her.
Hurt curdled inside her, making her more nauseous every minute.
Alistair still had his brown hair and brown eyes, and he looked so confused and lost as he stared at her that she almost forgot to be mad at him.
But she was. And his pronouncement that the ring was stuck didn’t help matters. She still pulled at it, grunting in frustration before finally giving up.
“What the fuck?”
“How much did you hear?” he asked.
The other dragons looked like they wanted to run, but she wasn’t about to let them. She and Alistair might have questions.
“Enough to know you don’t want to mate me and you hate that you put the ring on me without knowing it made me your mate.” She flipped her hair. “Well, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t going to leave that place without some kind of assurance.”
He frowned. “You could have trusted me.”
“Are we really going to fight about this?” she asked, hardening her heart against him. She could go back to being the hard Bridget. The one who focused on work and her very few friends and didn’t rely on anyone if she didn’t have to.
He didn’t have to love her. And the ring didn’t have to mean anything if they didn’t want it to.
“It’s not that,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t want it to—”
She let out a hiss, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it. It’s my fault we’re in this mess. But I heard exactly how you felt about it moments ago.” She folded her arms. “It’s fine. I knew there were no promises. I’ll tell you what. I’ll be your mate, and we’ll keep things open. I won’t be faithful, and you won’t either. A mating in name only.”
Fire flashed in his eyes as they went back to rainbow and his hair back to white. He backed her into the wall and glared down. “My mate will never be unfaithful.”
“But you didn’t even want me as your mate.”
His eyes flashed again, hot and angry. “I’m still adjusting to this. I’m not letting you go until I figure it out.”
She pushed against his chest. “The other dragons just knew. If you had known, you’d know by now. I’m clearly not the right mate, but you’re stuck with me, and we might as well figure out how to work around it. Since you don’t want me.”
He didn’t let her escape, and he gentled his tone, despite the tension in his rigid body. “Look. It’s not that I don’t want you, Bridget. I didn’t want it like this.”
“But you never had a moment when you thought I was your mate.”
He closed his eyes, and the room was silent. “I have had moments where I wondered. But not before the ring.”
“So I’m just supposed to wait around until you figure it out?” she asked.
“Do you have a choice?” he asked. “We have to find Lana. And you’re wearing my ring. And no mate of mine is going to leave me.”
“I never agreed to this,” she said, tugging on the ring again out of pure reflex. She let out a cry of frustration. “Every other woman in this room went into this willingly.”
Red scratched his neck. “Um, not necessarily. Not all of us understood.”
“But you knew you wanted her, didn’t you?” Bridget asked.
Red nodded.
Alistair cursed. “I do want you. I’ve wanted you many times. But I was clear on the fact that I didn’t know about the future.”
“When you love a girl, you know about the future.” She glared up at him.
That seemed to sink in, and he pulled away, letting her go.
She ran from the room, tripping blindly over the carpets, trying not to stumble and fall. She just needed to get away from him. Go upstairs and think.
She ran to the room the women had said would be hers, went in, and slammed the door. She threw herself on the bed, burying her fa
ce in the covers. She’d been ready to give up her life to be with him. Why were her feelings so strong?
If she thought about it, she’d been falling for him from the moment she’d met him, but because she hadn’t trusted him, it had taken time to fall into his arms.
She’d been hoping even if it went slow, eventually he’d see what she did. That he did really care for her. Even if it had been hard to hope for.
But hearing him sound so freaking upset about them being mated was too much.
It wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. But she hadn’t expected him to seem so trapped. Would a life with her be so bad?
There had been tender moments when she could swear he was in love with her. When he’d given her a look or a kiss that alleged forever. But he’d never said words to that effect. There were no promises.
Ugh, he’d been inside her, and she’d never get over that. How it felt. The trust and friendship between them destroyed by his ugly words about having to mate her.
I don’t want this.
Didn’t want her. At least not before the ring went on. What if the ring had been influencing him? Making him feel more romantic? What if nothing would have happened between them without it?
She had no idea, and they would never know now, because it was all done. She looked down at the diamond, wishing she could just cut it off. Because now, even if they found a way to be together, she would always know he hadn’t chosen it. Hadn’t wanted it.
He was settling and dealing with the fallout of their deal.
Ugh. Stinging tears bit her eyes as she heard someone knock on her door.
She didn’t even have time to sit up before she saw the tall, dark-haired man from before walk in. Dom, was that his name?
“That’s my name,” he said in that low, quiet voice he always used. “Can I sit?” He shut the door and took a chair across from her without asking.
She nodded, wiping her face with the blanket and trying to compose herself as she sat up.
He stared at her blankly, as if he didn’t know what to say. He cocked his head, and his black and purple hair fell over one bright-blue eye.
“What do you want?” she asked, sounding harsher than she meant to.
Diamond Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 4) Page 12
