The Hailey Holloway Complete Series

by K. C. Stewart

  Chapter Three

  They came down the stairs together. Dak had on a sly smile and took a sideways glance at Hailey. She had decided on a braid after her hair refused to cooperate. It began on the left side and wound around the base of her head to the right side where the tail hung down on her shoulder.

  Katniss Everdeen, she mused, eat your heart out.

  Of course Dak couldn't leave well enough alone and would randomly reach up to give the braid a tug, in which she proceeded to slap his hand away and glower at him.

  "Ours never used to be so complicated," he had commented as he watched her twist her arms around her head to work her hair in the winding braid. "Straight down the back plait. No fuss and kept it out of your face all day."

  Hailey had looked back at him and tried to picture Dak with long hair. It didn't work so she pictured him in a kilt instead. Ever since she found out he used to wear one, Hailey had bugged him relentlessly about putting one on. He hadn't agreed yet, but she would wear him down eventually.

  "Would you ever grow your hair out long again?" she had asked as she twisted a clear hair tie around the end of the chestnut braid.

  He ran his hand through his hair judging the length through his fingers. She sighed in envy as it fell perfectly back into place. "Not if I can avoid it," he responded. "It was always tangled and full of whatever wilderness I had slept in the night before. Leaves and dried grass got embedded into the braid and was hell to get out."

  He tugged on her braid again, pulling her back to the present. Alex was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. The Roman dragon had been a fellow inmate at Silas' Penitentiary and Correctional Facility. They had neighboring rooms during her stay there and had become friends over mutual confinement. He was also Lia's thought to be dead Mate.

  The goddess in question came around the corner holding a purring Boo. Dak stiffened slightly beside her. He still hadn't warmed up to the feline. Damn Irish superstitions.

  "Well don't you two just look cute with your matching outfits," a laughing Alex commented.

  "See!" Hailey exclaimed pointing to Alex. "He thinks it's weird too."

  Lia put Boo on the ground and pulled Hailey into a hug. "I think you guys look great." She was passed on to Alex who hugged her as well.

  "Stop worrying Céile, you look lovely." Dak tugged her braid again and laughed at her small growl. The braid would be undone and pointless if he kept that up.

  The men quickly shook hands and after all the greetings were through, they went into the kitchen where Hailey proceeded to pour four mugs of coffee.

  "My uncle is going to be a hard sell," Alex warned. "He never found his Mate and has no need to do so. To many, he seems cold, but he's not, he's just insanely logical. Emotion doesn't enter into decisions about his sept."

  Hailey hoped for all involved that Dak would do the talking. Everything she had heard about Blue, pointed to him not liking her particular brand of personality.

  "Antonius agreed to meet with us, which is a big hurdle in and of itself." Dak lifted his mug and took a sip of his coffee. "Have you told him why we asked to meet?"

  "No need to, he had figured you would be coming to him sooner or later. My uncle has contacts all over just listening to what is going on in the other septs. He knows what you wish to do and it wouldn't surprise me if he already has his mind made up." Alex glanced between Dak and Hailey apologetically. "I'm afraid this meeting may be for nothing."

  Dak grimaced. "It probably is, but still it needs to be done."

  "Where do you stand with the Council?" Lia chimed in.

  "The same. They haven't budged on their stance and neither have we. Silas and I agree on waiting till at least after this meeting before making a formal announcement. However, I sent word to the council yesterday about Red. Green will wait a few days to see what they do." Seeing the question in Alex's eyes, Dak added, "I'm trying to track down Silver at the moment, but like always, Casper is being elusive."

  "Whoa." Hailey held up a hand. "His name is Casper? Like the ghost?"

  Dak frowned at her. "What?"

  "You know," she shrugged and began to sing the theme song, "Casper the friendly ghost. The friendliest ghost you know." She did a little jazz hand. "No? Nothing? Comic turned bad movie with Christina Ricci." Lia hid a laugh behind her mug of coffee while Dak stared at her with nothing less than complete bewilderment. Hailey sighed and resigned herself to the fact that he would never play Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture edition with her. "Never mind, please continue."

  Alex patted her head like the misunderstood puppy she was. "Do you need us along or are you guys good on your own?"

  "We should be fine. I've met Antonius before but it has been awhile. Thank you for being the go-between on this."

  "No problem. I had to go see him anyway. I tried to butter him up some but can't say it will make a difference."

  "I understand." Dak slid from his chair and briefly kissed Hailey on the cheek as he took his mug to the sink. "We should get going; it's at least an hour and a half drive." Hailey took that as her cue and finished off the last of her coffee.

  "Stay as long as you like, but be warned I know just how many gummy bears are in that container and I will know if you stole some." Hailey pointed to the plastic tub half full of her addiction. Across the front in big black lettering it stated "NO TOUCHY."

  Alex and Lia both agreed to stay out of her gummies but Hailey didn't trust them. Dak had ushered her out the door before she could run them to her place on the other side of the property. A few weeks earlier, Dak had moved Hailey into his second guest house. The first had been turned into Dane's house and security headquarters. It was their compromise on her moving in. She loved her little house and the privacy it granted, but she found herself more and more at the main house with him.

  Around her neck she wore a chain with a ring the size of China. It was a rich, dark, red ruby surrounded by a row of little crisp white diamonds. Dak had given it to her as a signal. Once she put it on, he would know she was ready to move their relationship to the next step...a Mating ceremony. Hailey knew she wouldn't need long but going from mental roommate to mated for life was a bit of a stretch for her human genetics to accept.

  However, she was ready now. At least she thought so. Her mind changed hourly. One minute she would be basking in the glow that is soon to be mated bliss. Then she was hyperventilating in the closet because life just became too real.

  She needed to tell him. Once she did, the visits to the nearest closet would hopefully end. But for now she would put on her happy face and sit through a meeting where she would have to defend her relationship and what they were doing for it, to a dragon who had most likely already made up his mind to decline them. Her psychology professor in college would have called this a classic self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they believed Antonius already had made up his mind, they would act as such and in turn he would deny their offer.

  She always hated psychology.

  Duncan drove as Hailey and Dak sat in the back. He was typing away on his phone, returning emails to Silas most likely, while she stared out the window. They were going to Cape May, New Jersey. She hated New Jersey, but that was just the Pennsylvanian in her. People from her state never had anything good to say about Jersey but only because deep down they were all just jealous of the coast line. "Stupid land locked state," she muttered as they crossed over the Delaware River into New Jersey.

  "What?" Dak asked, pulling his eyes from the screen to look at her.

  "Nothing, just cursing the founding fathers and their inability to give PA a coastline."

  "So, the usual then?"

  "Pretty much," she agreed.

  He reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. Hailey went just a little liquid on the inside. His eyes would always get a little bit brighter when he was touching her. It was like someone increased the vibrancy of only his eyes in Photoshop. They swelled in depth to the point that she felt lost in their amber hues. Then he woul
d blink and the magic would break.

  He knew what he did to her and found the power intoxicating. She knew this because she felt the same power over him. Given the right circumstance, they could get drunk off each other in a matter of moments and not sober up for days.

  A while later, the car stopped in front of an oceanfront house. It was a Victorian style masterpiece, painted in various hues of blue. Hailey categorized it as gorgeous, ostentatious, and screaming of a dragon sept leader.

  Dak helped her from the car and she allowed it. Usually she would give him some lecture about how she can open her own doors and whatnot, but they were putting on a show and the audience was already watching.

  There was a strong breeze coming off the ocean, with it came the smell of a distant winter sun and wet sand. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back allowing the wind to rush past her into her hair. It flew wildly all around her. Strands clumped together in the moist air and stuck to her face. Hailey loved the ocean, didn't matter what time of year it was. The sound of waves crashing on the beach was euphoric. And the salty ocean air calmed the waves breaking in her stomach.

  "Ready?" he asked breaking the spell the ocean had on her. Hailey wanted to tell him no. This was a dead end and a waste of time. In most things Hailey felt she was an optimist but this...this made her feel like she was about to give a speech to her English class back in high school. Nervous, nauseous, and just a little dizzy.

  Instead she opened her eyes and gave half a smile. "If I have to be."

  *****

  "Thank you for meeting with us," Dacea said sitting back into the cushion of the couch he shared with Hailey. Across from them sat a bored looking Antonius. He had checked his watch twice since they arrived, only a few minutes prior. Dacea hadn't seen the Blue sept leader in well over fifty years but he hadn't changed at all. He shared the same dirty blonde hair Alex had, except Antonius let it hang down into his face. The ends covered his deep ocean blue eyes. If he didn't keep shaking the hair out of his face, Dacea wouldn't have known he had eyes at all. Antonius had the look of a surfer in his early thirties. And even though it was the middle of December, his body was toned and tan with a smooth olive complexion.

  He probably should have warned Hailey about his appearance. It often threw people at first and she was no exception. His Mate gawked openly when they were introduced. Antonius had never cared what people thought of him. He knew he could lead his people in shorts just as well as he could in a suit. Dacea always admired him in that aspect.

  "Meeting with you is no problem Dacea. I actually had planned on reaching out after your return; you just beat me to it." Antonius smiled at him and then Hailey. She was staring at his bare feet and Dacea had to nudge her to stop. "Alex tells me that I have Hailey to thank for his return as well. We do appreciate what you did for him. We...his family that is, were worried and had begun to think the worst had happened."

  He was gone three years and they had just now started to wonder if something bad happened? Dak caught the disbelieving look in her eye and shook his head with flared eyes. "No," the look said, "not your fight."

  "I am forever indebted to you, Hailey," Antonius spoke again, sincerity rang clearly in his voice.

  "No need to thank me," she blushed. "I'd still be there if it weren't for him."

  "That's not what I hear," heat flooded to her face and Antonius laughed, "but let us move on." His eyes moved on and she let her shoulder slump in relief.

  "You know why we are here," Dacea stated. The Blue dragon nodded once. "Should we state our case or would that be for nothing?"

  He smirked. "Always right to the point. It's good to see you haven't changed Dacea."

  "I could say the same."

  "State your case, Red. If I was going to deny you outright, I would have done so on the phone and saved you a trip."

  Dacea had always liked Antonius even if the two didn't see eye to eye on much. He might have looked like a relaxed, easy going surfer but Antonius was still a Roman at heart.

  "We want you to join us. I know you don't agree with the Council and their purpose, it might not be for same reasons we have at the moment but that doesn't matter. Dragons were always pioneers when it came to moving forward with the changing times. But I think we have gotten to the point where the old and new are only getting tangled in each other. They no longer work together as they did for our fathers."

  "I can't say I don't agree with you," he said with a smile, "but my issues with the Council are not so great that I am ready to sacrifice the lives of my dragons, yet."

  "But why wait?" Dacea argued. "The longer we wait the more power they will gain. We need to end this now, like we should have ended it decades ago."

  "That's your argument?" Antonius laughed looking between Hailey and Dacea. "Look, I respect you too much to just say no from the start but I also thought you would have a better sell. Dacea, you are doing this out of love. There is nothing wrong with that, but I am not going to join you because you love this girl."

  "Green is with us-" Hailey injected.

  "Silas is also doing it for love," he interrupted.

  "True enough," Dacea agreed. Hailey leaned a little onto him. He smiled at her. They had known this was most likely a lost cause and they had been right.

  "I am saying no because my people shouldn't die for your right to Mate. If you find a better reason to fight, then come see me. As it is, I think you should save yourselves the trouble and leave well enough alone. Go run off into the mountains somewhere and live your life. I know you can hide from practically anyone when you want to Dacea. Use that and leave."

  He had thought of that. Back at the Council meeting when Wendell and his crew had denied breaking the Mating between he and Katherine, Dacea's first thought was to just run away. That was before he had power in his sept. That was before he had the lives of others to consider. He couldn't leave now; his people would be leaderless and unprotected.

  "I'm afraid I can't do that."

  Antonius nodded in understanding. There was nothing left to say and staying would only appear as an act of desperation. He turned to Hailey, giving her a look that told her it was time to leave. "I hope we didn't waste too much of your time."

  "Nonsense. It was good to see you again and a pleasure to meet your Hailey."

  Dacea stood and held out a hand for Hailey to help her up. They left New Jersey not gaining anything, but also not losing anything either. Blue might not stand on their side of the line but they weren't against them. Blue would be neutral in this game, which was fine with Dacea.

  Chapter Four

  Neither of them talked on the way home. They knew it was a long shot going to see Antonius but it was a shot that needed to be taken. Dacea had been recounting the meeting to Silas through text most of the way back. Forty-five minutes into the trip and he noticed Hailey had fallen asleep with her head against the window. The day might have been hovering just above frigid but the sun still warmed the car. That mixed with the rocking movement of driving on the highway was enough to lull him to sleep as well. As she normally did, Hailey had managed to fall asleep in what looked to be an uncomfortable position. Dacea put away his phone and settled her so she was lying across the seat with her head in his lap. The little sigh was proof enough of his good deed.

  Dacea had given into his drooping eyelids and fell into a light sleep. He went right to Hailey in the dreamscape. She was lounging on a beach chair under an umbrella on a deserted beach. She smiled at him when he arrived. Her oversized sunglasses resting on top of her head. Hailey had on a sheer gray dress didn’t cover up the black bikini hidden underneath very well.

  “Sit down, Ace. Enjoy the scenery.”

  “Oh, I am.” He smirked at her eye roll. This was by far a much better way to spend the ride home than he had planned.

  When he woke they were crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge back into Philadelphia. The last leg of their trip he spent unraveling the braid in her hair. He slowly separated each pie
ce, letting the silky locks flow through his fingers. She'd complain about it when she woke up but for now he privately enjoyed the waves of chestnut spread across his lap as they had been spread on the sand only minutes ago.

  Dane was waiting outside when they arrived. The familiar script of Katherine's handwriting caught his eye on the envelope he held. He took it and mumbled something about needing to think and regroup behind him to Hailey who was still waking up from her nap. It was only a glimpse as he went inside but he saw the disappointment clearly on her face. The heavy weight of guilt settled in his chest. He'd make it up to her. Later, he promised, hoping it wouldn't be an empty one.

  Dacea waited until he was in his office before opening the new letter. He closed his door to the rest of the house. The only company he would allow at the moment was his guilt. And oh what a friend it was. Keeping this from Hailey should have been enough but the looks of complacent understanding she gave when he needed time and space and the countless lies he told her in order to deal with Katherine were beginning to suffocate him.

  He hadn't been expecting a new letter. She had emailed him that morning asking to meet tomorrow. He agreed only because he wanted to tell her face to face to knock off this shit and stop stalking him. The lies needed to stop. Hailey needed to know but only after it was over. She didn’t need this kind of crap in her life. Especially now. Katherine apparently deemed his reply had warranted a new letter.

  Sweetheart,

  I miss you. Do you miss me? I'm sorry about my last letter. It was written in desperation. Know I only said those things because my love for you has made me crazy. I need you, Baby. I hope you'll forgive me.

  You looked handsome this morning when you left your house. Gray always looked good on you. SHE looked like a pathetic wench not fit for even the seediest of dive bars next to you. You need someone who matches your impeccable looks and class. We match. You know we look good together. We look right together. When you stand next to her, your beauty is only spotlighted because of her ordinary bland look. It's time for an upgrade, my love.