Dragon Fate

by Juniper Hart

  “To some extent,” Caleb said. “But you will find that when you force your body to oversleep, then it often has the effect of taking forever to fully wake up. I personally hate that feeling of being kind of between awake and asleep.”

  Olivia nodded. “I guess you’re right,” she teased. “Big shock. Are you sure you’re a biologist, and not a philosopher?”

  Caleb laughed. “No. I’ve just lived a while and seen too much for a lifetime. Hell, I’ve seen too much for several lifetimes.”

  Olivia looked at Caleb to see if he was joking. He wasn’t. It was a bit depressing to think about. She wondered how many people he’d known and lost in his life. Then she wondered the same thing about herself. It was a tragedy that she couldn’t even remember that.

  “So, no word at all about any packs missing a member?” Olivia asked.

  “Well, I’ve put the word out,” Caleb said, “but no one has reported you yet. Then again, I’m trying not to cast the net too widely.”

  Olivia frowned. “Why not?”

  Caleb sighed. “The two main packs around here are mine and the Manzweil pack. There are others in Montana, but most of them are small packs who mostly keep to themselves. If we stir the pot too much, one of the Manzweils will assume you were targeted by some hunter, which might mean you have told mortals about our kind. Of course, most of the handful of hunters out there are diligent researchers. They occasionally stumble onto one of us, so I doubt it was your fault at all. But that might be all the fuel that the Manzweils need to start something.”

  “You’ve mentioned them before,” Olivia remembered. She recalled Caleb bringing up that name in some of their previous conversations, but he had never gone into details. “What is the deal with this pack?” she asked.

  Caleb shook his head slightly. He opened his mouth to speak and then shook his head again, as if letting the idea go entirely.

  “No. It’s not your fight,” he said. “The less you know about it, the better.” He stood up from the couch. “I’m going into town to run a few errands and meet up with a friend. I left stuff to make sandwiches in the fridge, so you should be good for dinner. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

  “No. Thank you.” Olivia was disappointed that he was leaving, but she couldn’t expect him to completely stop his own life for her.

  With that, Caleb grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

  Olivia watched him driving away through one of the windows until the taillights of his truck were no longer visible. She wondered if something she’d said had bothered him. Perhaps she shouldn’t have asked about the Manzweils…

  But there were so many things about Caleb that she didn’t know. At times, he would be so open and easygoing, and then other times he’d shut down and become very secretive.

  The man was a walking enigma, and sometimes Olivia wasn’t sure she wanted to figure that mystery out.

  4

  Caleb braced himself for impact beneath the heavy blow coming straight at his head. He took a step back and raised his arm to absorb the impact of the fist flying at him. The punch hit his arm hard, and he smiled as he laughed it off before throwing a punch of his own, straight at his opponent’s face. His opponent saw it coming, though, and he brought up a block to counter the attack. Before Caleb could follow up with more retaliation, his opponent recoiled out of reach and laughed at him.

  Caleb laughed back.

  “You aren’t getting tired on me, are you?” he teased.

  “Not remotely,” Clifton Wells, Caleb’s best friend, replied. “I’m just regrouping to give you a chance to breathe.” He quickly wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his gloved hand and continued to bounce on the balls of his feet, ready for another attack.

  The two friends were enjoying their weekly kickboxing match at Roy’s Gym. In addition to teaching the occasional classes and working with both professional and amateur fighters, the two lycans like stepping into the ring from time to time, and they regularly practiced by beating the snot out of each other.

  Cliff owned the gym, and sometimes they would stay after his last class to really let loose, using all their primal strength without worrying about the watchful eyes of Cliff’s human students. But it was all in good fun. So far, Caleb was ahead, with twenty-six fights to eight. Even Cliff got lucky sometimes.

  Cliff charged at him, throwing a vicious roundhouse kick that Caleb countered, stepping just out of the way and delivering a hard kick into his friend’s ribs. Cliff groaned and staggered back, but he did not fall down. The man could take a decent beating and come back smiling. He was not someone an average human man would want to take on in the streets.

  Caleb and Cliff had been best friends since they were kids. The two of them knew each other inside out, and they could practically read each other’s thoughts. It was so uncanny that Caleb often wondered how they were able to even make it through a fight and actually land any punches on each other. When they did get hit, it was so infuriating because they knew that the blow was coming, but they did not react in time. At least it kept their fights interesting.

  Cliff spun around with a fist that connected to Caleb’s head. It was a good fake-out. He’d been sure that Cliff was going to hit him with a spinning back kick, and his legs had started moving to indicate it. He groaned with the pain and felt instantly foolish for falling for it.

  But that hit turned out to be just the fire he needed to finish this fight. It had gone on too long, and he was getting hungry. Plus, it was Friday night and he wanted a drink.

  Caleb threw a front right kick, a front left kick, a spinning back fist that sailed over Cliff’s head, and finally a spinning back kick that caught his friend hard in the sternum. Cliff staggered, his legs about to collapse underneath him. Caleb did not allow his friend to even register anything beyond the pain as he drove a hard roundhouse kick to the side of Cliff’s head, sending him sprawling down to the mat.

  Cliff tried to stand up, stumbling around like a drunken buffoon. He finally gave up, allowing his body to collapse onto the mat to catch his breath and recover from the beating.

  “Well, ladies and gentlemen,” Caleb said, panting for breath, “I do believe he is out.”

  He hustled over to where Cliff was and couldn’t resist a laugh. The guy was such a ham; he would often fake an injury to make it look way worse than it actually was just because he didn’t want to fight anymore. He trained hard, but for some reason, his cardio was just terrible, causing him to often grow weary not too long after the fight had begun.

  Caleb grabbed Cliff’s hand and helped him to his feet.

  “That was a rough one,” Cliff said. He was still staggering a bit, possibly not faking it as much as Caleb had presumed.

  “That’s the name of the game,” he said. “If you had more patience and were less afraid of being hit, I wouldn’t get you so much.”

  “What?” Cliff asked. “Are you like some kind of sage martial arts master now?”

  Caleb chuckled. “Not a master, by any means, but I do have to say I’m much better than you are. Maybe if you work real hard, one day you might beat me.”

  “Hey, I had some good shots!” Cliff argued as they walked towards the showers.

  “Fine, you faked me out once,” Caleb admitted. “I’ll give that to you. That punch hurt more than it should have.”

  “Sorry, bro, I get carried away sometimes,” Cliff said.

  “I think you were just getting flustered and decided to take a cheap shot.”

  “Well, it turned out to be an expensive shot,” he laughed.

  An hour later, they were both working on their second beer and second plate of spicy buffalo wings. It had become a bit of a tradition to come to T-Bone’s, their favorite sports bar, after Caleb and Cliff sparred and worked out. It was located just a few blocks from the gym, and several fighters often hung out there. The place had great music, great food, great drinks, and, of course, it was always crawling with beautiful women. This was usually C
aleb’s favorite thing about the place, but this night his mind could only focus on Olivia.

  Something was special about her. He still hadn’t quite figured out what, but he knew that he had a strong connection to her. The mystery of the girl was enough to drive a man wild. He hated to admit he was a sucker for such things, but he couldn’t lie to himself about the way he felt. He had yet to even tell Cliff about her. It was nice the way things were right now.

  He did feel guilty about having lied to Olivia. The truth of the matter was that he had only asked the smaller werewolf packs in Montana if any of them had a missing member, and then he’d asked them to keep the information to themselves. At least he had told her the truth regarding the Manzweils—if they found out about her, they might believe she had told someone her secret, and they wouldn’t ask any more questions before going after her.

  “So, how is everything going?” Cliff asked before taking a huge gulp of his beer. “You’ve been kind of missing in action as of late.”

  “I’ve just been spending time at the cabin,” Caleb answered. “You know, I needed a little time for myself.”

  Cliff laughed. “You’re the only guy who considers running up mountains and hours spent chopping firewood as time off.”

  “If you had any real affinity for nature, then you might know what it’s like,” Caleb chided.

  “Hey, I’m waiting for the right opportunity! I’m running a business. I got… stuff to do,” Cliff said. “I’m working on my professional fighting career.”

  Caleb shook his head and finished his beer. “Dude, you need to face facts. You know how dangerous it is to fight mortals being what we are. Why do you even do it? I know you can tone down your instincts, but it’s only a matter of time before you get stung or angry and the wolf comes out at the wrong time.”

  He reached out to place a hand on Cliff’s shoulder. “I tell you this because I love you like a brother, man. You need to grow up and face reality. I don’t want to see you hanging on to this dream after one more decade.”

  Cliff said, “I guess you’re right. What would happen if I accidentally shifted in front of a stadium of humans? I’d be the target of every lycan in the world for exposing our kind.”

  Cliff flagged their server down and ordered another beer. He stared at her as she walked away, and then he turned to Caleb. He had a faraway look in his eyes.

  The server dropped off a beer for Cliff and another one for Caleb, even though he hadn’t asked for one. Caleb caught her eye before she left their table. She winked at him, and he watched her for a few minutes as she walked away. She was fairly new to the bar, and Caleb could not help noticing her striking appearance.

  The server was tall, slender, and curvy in all the right places. She also had a full sleeve tattoo, mostly designed with flowers. Caleb loved bad girls: they were usually just so interesting, free-spirited, and wild in bed.

  Yet another reason his strong, immediate attraction to Olivia was strange.

  He shook his head to stop thinking about the server. It would never last with her, and he never slept with women that he knew he might have to see again after he broke it off. That was a rule of his. He did not get involved with women who lived in his neighborhood, and he did not mess with women who handled his food.

  Although he tried to be open and honest with every woman he met, occasionally they wanted him to give more than he was willing to, and they were often angry when he said no. This could be a potentially hazardous situation. Caleb was not looking for a relationship right now; it was really that simple. He enjoyed being busy. He loved to create things and make things happen. His lifestyle was not really conducive to a relationship.

  But sometimes the temptation was just too great.

  “I understand, man,” Caleb replied, sipping his beer. “I know the drive, the feeling, but eventually the world will teach you some cruel lessons and force you to adapt or starve.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Cliff said. “You’ve made millions, but yet, you choose to live simply. I want more.”

  Caleb laughed. “You’re not a pauper! Your gym is really successful, and you enjoy what you do. Not many people can say that.”

  “Well, I’d still love to be pro fighter,” Cliff said. “Maybe one day we can stop hiding in the shadows and fight wolf against wolf. That would be amazing.” He leaned back against his chair. “Man, if I had one tenth of your fighting talent, I would be the happiest guy out there.”

  “I’m sure you would,” Caleb said, patting his friend’s shoulder. “But don’t sell yourself short, either. And stop with the pipe dreams.”

  Caleb finished the last couple of wings.

  “Dude.” Cliff nudged his shoulder. “There’s a hot girl checking you out.”

  Caleb turned his head and caught the eye of a smoking hot redhead, who held his gaze and smiled. She was perfect: a long flowing mane of auburn hair to just below her shoulders, tight jeans that showed off her slender legs, and a smile that could melt the iciest of hearts. She let her tongue roll slowly over her lips.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Cliff asked. “Go get her, man!”

  Caleb laughed. “In a minute. What about you? Do you have any prospects?” He glanced around the bar. There were a lot of beautiful women, many of whom might have been interested in his friend.

  Cliff laughed. “I might,” he said. “What are you waiting for? Quit worrying about me.”

  “You can learn a lot about being mysterious and not so desperate,” Caleb said.

  He took another swig off his beer and leaned back in the chair, glancing once again at the redhead still eyeing him. She was definitely interested, but now was the time when he liked to make them squirm a bit. After all, he was comfortable and enjoying his beer. Besides, he’d officially taken himself off the market for the time being. He was an old-fashioned guy—Olivia was the only woman really holding his interest at the moment.

  “I don’t understand you at all,” Cliff said. “I would have already been all over that.”

  “Why?” Caleb asked. “You get hot girls all the time. You are an attractive guy with a lot going on. You aren’t at somebody’s beck and call, are you?”

  “Well, no, but—”

  “Just relax,” Caleb said. “It’s just sex. It might be good, it might not be. We might have chemistry and we might not. Right now, all I know is that she’s hot, and I can see that without having to approach her. But at the moment, I’m having a conversation with you, finishing my beer, and possibly thinking about more wings.”

  Cliff raised his eyebrows at him. “More wings? Where the hell are you putting those things? We’ve had two orders already, and you ate most of the last one!”

  “When I treat myself, I treat myself well,” Caleb replied before walking over to the jukebox and throwing a five-dollar bill into the machine.

  When he walked back to his table, he noticed Cliff was hanging out with a beautiful woman.

  Well, that was fast, Caleb thought. The woman was a buxom blonde with a winning smile, and with every passing second, she kept leaning closer and closer to Cliff. Perhaps the guy did have his own style, and that included getting Caleb to leave him the hell alone at times.

  “Oh, Caleb! This is Melanie,” Cliff said as Caleb walked past the table.

  He wasn’t sure why Cliff had called out to him—it was pretty much an implicit rule that he was going to just nod and leave. The party was over for the two of them; Cliff was about to start his own party. Or so he’d thought.

  “Hey, there,” Caleb said with a small wave of his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Melanie purred. She gave him the once over and smiled. It was almost as if she was inviting him to join them.

  Caleb smiled. He was flattered, of course, but that was not something that interested him. He doubted Cliff would have been into it, but just in case he was wrong, he decided not to linger around any longer.

  “I’m going to take off,�
� Caleb said. “I’ll see you later, man.”

  Cliff gave Caleb a fist bump and Caleb walked towards the door.

  He was just passing the bar when two burly men, who smelled like they had just shared an entire keg, stepped in front of him. They did not look happy, which kind of made Caleb smile. He wasn’t immediately sure what he’d done to upset these guys, but he was eager to find out.

  “Can I help you with something, fellas?” Caleb asked with a polite smile.

  “You sure this is the guy, Kenny?” the taller of the two asked.

  “Yeah, John,” said his companion. “That’s the guy who was eyeing Stephanie.”

  Caleb saw Stephanie, the girl who had briefly caught his attention, out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting at a table with a couple of her girlfriends, watching him. She was grinning at him.

  Ah. Now Caleb was starting to get the picture.

  “You just made a huge mistake, runt,” John said.

  John was a big man, probably six-foot-five, and maybe about three hundred pounds. Caleb, on the other hand, was six-foot-two, and two hundred twenty pounds. This was one of the few times he’d ever been called a runt by anybody. He felt petty anger surging through him, but this guy was only human. He had to be very careful to keep the wolf at bay.

  “No, I think you just made one,” Caleb said. “But I’ll give you the chance to redeem yourself. Get out of my way unless you want to make another mistake.”

  John smiled. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

  He swung his big, meaty right hand at Caleb, but Caleb had been expecting that—it was the most common way that drunken morons liked to start fights. The big knockout haymaker was always doomed to fail against a trained fighter, though. And the punch was destined to break a human’s hand if it actually connected with a shifter.

  Caleb ducked under the blow and brought up an uppercut to John’s chin. The man dropped to the floor unconscious, probably never knowing what had hit him or where it’d come from.

  Kenny was shocked to see his buddy go down so easily. A guy John’s size probably won most of his fights through sheer intimidation and the fact that he never fought alone.