Dragon Fate

by Juniper Hart

  If the wrong person stepped into the role of the alpha, then the entire pack’s safety would be put at risk. The others all knew that, but as with any wolf pack, there was always a straggler or two who dreamed of becoming the leader.

  Aaron ignored him. Instead of making eye contact, he continued to hit the punching bag set up in his basement.

  Jack watched this man, this beast who was once a fine addition to his pack. The guy was coming apart. He drank himself to oblivion almost daily, and he may have graduated to harder stuff by now. Jack wasn’t sure what substances coursed through Aaron’s bloodstream. But his behavior was putting the whole group at risk. He had to be stopped.

  “I’m talking to you,” Jack said, walking closer.

  Aaron finally stopped hitting the punching bag, and he turned to glare at him.

  Jack laughed. “That’s cute. You think you can intimidate me with your intense stare? Please. I’ve faced bigger and badder than you several times in my life.”

  Aaron stepped towards him. “You had no right to intervene tonight!” he snarled, and his words were so slurred that Jack could barely make them out.

  “Oh, I had every right. You terrorized that poor girl. You lost control. What would have happened if you’d gone over the edge and shifted right in front of her? Would you have just walked away in embarrassment, or would you have killed her and left an unexplainable murder in our city?”

  “I had everything under control,” Aaron retorted.

  “It’s funny that you think that,” Jack replied. “You are so wasted, you probably don’t even realize what you’re saying. Even now, you can hardly speak without slurring your words.”

  “It’s none of your business. I love that girl. I’m going to marry her. She belongs with me,” Aaron said.

  It was Jack’s turn to glare at him. “No, she doesn’t. You are going to stay away from her. You will have no contact with her in any way. If I find out you disobeyed me—and I will find out—you will be severely punished. You might not even live through it.” He took a deep breath in order to continue. As much as it was his job, it wasn’t easy for him to say this. “You’ve become too much of a liability, Aaron. The others are getting nervous. You’re about to expose us to the world with your careless behavior.”

  “I have to be with her. We belong together,” Aaron protested.

  “You need to learn that what you want is often the exact opposite of what you should have in this world,” Jack told him. “Do you really feel that she is your mate? Is that what you think? Or is it just the booze in your system feeding your fragile ego?”

  “I love her,” Aaron said.

  “I’m sure you do,” Jack replied. “But the truth of the matter is that she is not for you. Now, either you do as I say or I’ll be forced to take action against you. The choice is yours.”

  With that, Jack walked out of Aaron’s basement, left the house, and headed back out into the night.

  He wasn’t sure if Aaron would heed his warning or not, but he meant every word he’d said. He made peace with the fact that he might have to kill Aaron if he disobeyed. He hated the idea of killing anyone, but he would do what he must to protect the rest of his pack. And he’d given Aaron plenty of warning. The rest was up to him.

  If he didn’t stay away from Mia, then Jack would make him pay.

  Jack tensed knowing that confronting Aaron was more personal than he wanted to admit. Something about Mia was different. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since he’d first laid eyes on her.

  She was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, and she was his chosen mate. He was sure of it. He’d lived a long time, and he’d loved many women, but none of them had been preordained by divinity to be his one true mate.

  It was said that every wolf had a soul mate out there, someone who was selected by the powers that be to complete them, to be their other half. Jack had started to think that this would never happen for him. Until today. He hadn’t even walked through the front doors of the vet’s office when he’d felt it: the tingling pleasure coursing through his body, like a bolt of lightning hitting his body and rolling through his system.

  He had to be with her.

  The fact that Aaron had scared her angered Jack beyond anything he’d ever known. He wanted to rip him apart right then and there, but he did not have the moral right to do that. At least, not yet. He had to let nature take its course without acting on any personal feelings.

  Something had led Jack to Mia today. And he was ready for the next chapter of this adventure.

  4

  Mia stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack. As she dried herself off, she looked at her figure in the mirror. Occasionally, she did have to admit to herself that she was quite svelte. She worked hard for it, though, going to a spinning class four times a week and practicing yoga when she had free time.

  Even though she could see she was attractive, she’d always tried to cover it up or simply ignore the fact. Maybe it was to protect herself from relationships and the possibility of being hurt. Almost all relationships ended eventually, and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to feel that pain. The few relationships she’d had were tragic enough. Aaron was the perfect example.

  When Mia had gotten home that night, she’d been dying to tell her roommate, Claire, everything that happened, but she was out, as usual. Claire had been her roommate and best friend since they had bunked together in the dorms freshman year.

  After deciding to move out of the dorms mid-sophomore year, the two women had rented a quaint, cozy little house not far from campus. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean, well kept, and in a good neighborhood. It was nice being able to study without parties always disturbing them. But if the party monster within them began to stir, campus was only ten minutes away.

  Mia had tried to make sense of the events that had unfolded that evening. It had been a few hours, and yet she was still shaken up. She wanted to study when she first got home and just forget everything, but she couldn’t concentrate.

  Instead, she fixed herself a cup of herbal tea and watched reruns of her favorite sitcom. Now she was freshly showered and feeling much more relaxed and invigorated. The all-night cram session she had ahead of her was still looming, but she felt like she was going to be able to tackle through it now.

  Thoughts of Jack still plagued her mind. This enigmatic stranger had just waltzed into her life and then saved her. If he hadn’t been there…

  Mia cleared her throat and tried to shake off that train of thought. She didn’t want to think about it. She was probably blowing it all out of proportion. Could Aaron ever really hurt her? He’d nearly hit her once, but he’d caught himself before his hand came in contact with her face. That was when she’d broken things off with him. She had always told herself that no man would ever get a chance to hit her, much less a second time, and she’d stuck to her word.

  It was obvious she’d made the right choice. Mia had truly feared for her life tonight. She made up her mind up to go to the cops the following day. They had to investigate Aaron, or at the very least, grant her a restraining order. He obviously wasn’t stable. It was just a matter of time before he hurt her or someone else.

  Mia dropped her towel to the floor. She put her underwear on, a pair of shorts, and an oversized t-shirt—her typical evening attire.

  She’d just finished getting dressed when the back of her neck stood up. She froze for a moment, her entire body tensing. She spun around, slowly, and then immediately backed up against the wall.

  “You are so beautiful.”

  Standing on the other side of her bedroom was Aaron.

  Mia was terrified, but she struggled not to let it show. She had to be strong. She looked around to try to figure out how Aaron had gotten into her room, and her eyes widened when she came across her open window.

  How could she have forgotten to lock her window?

  Mia turned her attention back to him. “What the hell are you doin
g in my house?”

  “Well,” he said, as casually as if they had bumped into each other on the street, “we were so rudely interrupted earlier that I was hoping we could finish our conversation.”

  Mia could perfectly understand Aaron’s words, but she noticed that they sounded… slurred. Only a little, but there all the same. Oh, God, had he been drinking?

  “I told you to leave me alone,” Mia said, forcing her voice not to crack with fear. “Get out of my house or I’m calling the police.”

  Aaron’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Cops? Oh, no. They’d just make everything worse. You keep forgetting how they didn’t care about your complaints before. It’s a waste of time, and honestly, it will only aggravate me. Come on, you need to lighten up.”

  “What do you want?” Mia demanded as she tried to stealthily look for her cell phone. Where had she left the damn thing?

  “I want you to come back to me. I want us to be together again,” Aaron said.

  He strode slowly across the room until he was right in front of her, and he placed his hands against the wall behind her. Mia remembered his musky scent, now mingled with the smell of cheap whiskey and cigarettes. How did she ever find him attractive? The sight of him now made her cringe with disgust.

  “That will never happen,” she said. “It’s over. Nothing you can do will change that.”

  She elbowed past him and hurried toward the door. Aaron, however, firmly grabbed both of her wrists before she could get far and led her to the bed, forcing her to sit down.

  “Oh, yes, there is,” Aaron muttered in a low voice, letting go of her. “You see, there are a few things you don’t know about me. I was hoping to reveal this to you when the time was right, like our wedding night. But it looks like you aren’t giving me much of a choice here.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mia questioned. Her wrists stung from his grip, but she didn’t dare rub them. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

  “I think it’s best that I show you,” Aaron replied.

  She didn’t even have time to think about what nonsense he was spouting now—what started to happen in front of her was something she would never forget. It blew away everything she’d ever known about reality, everything she’d ever known about the world she lived in. Everything she’d ever read, every movie she’d ever watched, and every campfire ghost story she’d ever heard all came back to her in that moment. And they all materialized right before her very eyes.

  The change happened quickly, within seconds. One moment, Aaron was standing there, looking every bit the out-of-control jerk he’d become, and the next moment, a creature that resembled Aaron, but clearly wasn’t, stood in front of her. This beast was half human and half… wolf?

  Aaron’s ears were now large and pointed, and his eyes glowed a bright fiery orange. His mouth opened in a snarl, revealing rows of pointed teeth with huge razor-like canines in his mouth. His large hands were now curled into claws with long fingernails jutting from his fingertips. His body was hunched over slightly, and his whole physique seemed to be thicker and more defined. A layer of fur covered his face and hands. He was almost unrecognizable.

  Aaron was a monster. This was real. Mia was not dreaming.

  “I told you when we first met, I’m just full of surprises,” Aaron said. His voice was deeper and booming loudly, emitting a guttural growl.

  “Aaron…?” Mia knew there was a reason he was doing this, and as futile as it might be to try to reason with him, she had to try. “Please… please…”

  “Too late,” Aaron replied.

  He was on her instantly. Mia tried to scream, but no sound came from her mouth. He was going to kill her, she was sure of it. She was a goner.

  But he didn’t attack her. He was looking over her face, sliding his hand across her skin, just caressing her softly. He seemed to be having second thoughts. Or maybe he just wanted to scare her. But he couldn’t let her live now, could he? Mia knew his secret. If anyone knew about this, he’d be locked up, right? They’d use him like a guinea pig and run experiments on him. He’d never let her live and risk having her tell anyone. No… this was it.

  Aaron picked up her hand and kissed it gently. He smiled at her. It was even creepier in his wolf-like form than it would’ve been otherwise. Mia couldn’t breathe.

  Aaron opened his mouth and laid one of his long fangs on her soft skin. Oh, it was so sharp. What was he doing? Was he teasing her? Tasting her? Mia didn’t know, but she felt sick. Her mind frantically searched for a way out of this, but nothing came to her. He had her exactly where she couldn’t escape, and he was going to do whatever he wanted to her.

  Aaron’s fang broke her skin. Mia cried out in pain, but he clamped a claw over her mouth to muffle the sound. She expected him to rip her hand off with his vicious jaws, but he only bit into her with the tip of his fang, just enough to barely puncture her flesh. He closed his mouth around the wound for a second and then moved his mouth away from her.

  “Now, you will be mine forever,” Aaron growled, as he leaned down as if he was going to bite her again.

  “We will see about that.”

  Another voice was there–a man’s voice.

  5

  Aaron leapt off Mia and threw himself at the source of the voice. Mia burst into action and jumped off the bed, retreating to the corner of her room. She would have run for the door, but Aaron was now blocking it. He was wrestling with… was that another wolf?

  The two animals fought, clawing and ramming into each other. It immediately became very clear that Aaron was no match for the other wolf. It was bigger, stronger, and faster.

  Mia could not believe her eyes. Watching Aaron turn into a mythological creature right before her was the shock of a lifetime, but seeing another creature just like him was mind blowing on another level. To top it off, they were both in her room.

  The other wolf picked Aaron up and threw him down on the floor, following up with a vicious kick to his head that sent him careening into the wall. Aaron was dazed for a moment, and Mia didn’t know if he could get up or not. Was he finally finished?

  The other wolf looked at her then. Her eyes locked with his and she… She knew the identity of the other wolf. She recognized his handsome features instantly, even though they were covered with fur, fangs, and unnaturally green eyes.

  It was Jack.

  Aaron lunged at him, leaping off the ground. Jack quickly reacted, punching Aaron across the face with a tremendous swipe of his powerful claw that sent the wolf through the open window of Mia’s room.

  Mia heard him hit the ground with a sickening thud, followed by several quick footsteps that soon went quiet. She didn’t even need to check to know that Aaron was running away like he always did when faced with something bigger than him. He was a coward, even as a wolf.

  Jack walked to the window and peered out before he closed it and locked it. When he turned back to Mia, he was not a wolf any longer—he was back to being the handsome man Mia had met that morning.

  “I believe I owe you an explanation,” Jack said.

  “That is the most incredible thing I’ve ever heard,” Mia said. She took a huge gulp of her tea. It was normally so soothing, but not even those wonderful herbs could calm her nerves in that moment. Not after what Jack had just told her. They both sat at the kitchen table, Jack on the chair opposite hers.

  “I know it sounds crazy,” he said. “But I assure you every word of it is true.”

  “You’re right,” Mia agreed. “It does sound crazy. Even after what I just saw, I still can’t wrap my head around it.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “So, how old are you?”

  Jack laughed. “A bit older than you, but still young enough to know that I don’t have life all figured out yet.”

  “Good answer,” Mia said with a nod of her head. “So what happens now? You say you have to deal with Aaron. Are you going to kill him?”

  “I have to, especially now,” Jack said quietly.
/>
  Mia glanced down at her tea. Aaron was definitely dangerous, but the thought of him having to be killed was still overwhelming to her.

  “Why? I mean, I know he just tried to kill me, but—”

  “He wasn’t trying to kill you,” Jack interrupted her. “If he wanted you dead, you would be. He did something that is, in some ways, far worse.”

  Mia gulped and leaned in closer to him. She rested her head on her hands and took a deep breath. “What do you mean?”

  Jack avoided her eyes. “Aaron has chosen you to be his mate. He believes that you are meant for each other. When a wolf does that, he performs a small ritual wherein he transfers a part of the curse over to the object of his desire.”

  “In English, please,” Mia said.

  “He tried to turn you into a werewolf, a shifter like us.”

  Mia straightened. She struggled to take a breath, suddenly feeling like she might faint.

  “What?” she asked. “I’m… I’m going to become a… werewolf?”

  “Not necessarily,” Jack answered, which didn’t make her feel much better. “He had barely begun the ritual when I arrived. It usually takes a pretty deep bite to transmit the curse. I guess he was having fun with it. We won’t know for sure until the next full moon.”

  Mia wanted to cry, but no tears came. She didn’t even feel that upset. A kind of numbness spread over her. Nothing mattered. She couldn’t escape this. If this was her fate, then all she could do was accept it.

  “It doesn’t mean you will go insane or become evil like he has,” Jack continued. “As I told you, most of us are just regular people most of the time. We work, we love, and we live. We have families and friends. Our lives are not that different.”

  Mia knew she should have been more upset, but she felt a strange calmness, like it was all going to work out in the end. Maybe she was in shock, or maybe Jack had managed to put her at ease. The way he spoke, his cadence, his gestures, and his overall presence kept her calm and relaxed.