by Liv Rider
This was getting more and more confusing, and Parker still had that expectant look in his eyes. “Sure, and let me guess, you’re a werewolf?” he joked.
“No, I’m a dragon shifter.”
A dragon what? Cameron frowned, trying to work out what Parker was trying to tell him.
“I turn into a dragon.”
Cameron stared at him, then burst out laughing. “Sure, a were-dragon! Why not?”
“A dragon shifter.” Parker sounded insulted.
“Oh, sorry. Dragon shifter.” Cameron bit his lip to keep from laughing. “So, um, does that mean there’s gonna be a demonstration?” He half-expected Parker to shake his head and come up with some ridiculous explanation as to why that wasn’t possible, and half-expected Parker to admit it was a joke and tell him why he’d really brought Cameron here.
“Of course, that’s why I brought you here. But you should step back.”
Cameron waited a moment, but Parker’s serious expression didn’t change. He shook his head and went over to lean against one of the trees surrounding the clearing. “Go on.” He wondered what Parker was up to. Why the ridiculous dragon story? And why was Parker shrugging off his coat and taking off his shoes? He remained quiet as Parker unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt and loosened his belt. Parker swung his arms back and forth, then removed the suit jacket as well, folding it neatly on top of his coat.
It wasn’t that Cameron was opposed to getting a striptease, but he didn’t get why that had to be done in the middle of the woods. They could’ve done this at his place.
Parker swung his arms again, then nodded to him. “You won’t need to be scared,” he called out. “Just remember, it’s still me in there, okay?” He crouched down on the grass, and closed his eyes.
Cameron shrugged, and gestured for him to continue. There was nothing for him to be scared of, after all, it wasn’t like Parker was actually going to—
Parker winced, curling in further on himself as the air seemed to shimmer around him. He stood up again—no, he was getting bigger in every direction, and he kept growing. Both skin and remaining clothes turned into red scales, and he still kept growing.
Cameron’s eyes widened, his heart pounding in his chest as he pressed back against the tree.
There was a dragon in front of him. A real dragon. A real dragon that was stretching its large, bat-like wings and shaking the rest of its body like a dog shaking itself dry. The thick tail lay on the grass, curled slightly towards the left.
Cameron didn’t know where to look. Everywhere was dragon. An actual dragon and dark red scales that were a brighter red and orange along its belly. Each of its legs ended in four sharp claws that seemed to be the size of Cameron’s lower arm, and the dragon itself was easily the size of a bus, not counting the wings.
The dragon let out a snort, and Cameron’s eyes were drawn to its head again. Its eyes were a golden-yellow, slitted like a cat’s, and focused on him.
“Holy shit,” Cameron managed. “Holy shit.”
The dragon took two steps forward, lowering its head until it was only a couple of feet away from Cameron. He felt the heat radiating from the massive beast and saw every scale on its head and neck.
The dragon tilted its head slightly, then stepped back quickly, curling its tail underneath itself and lying down on the grass. It let out another soft noise, almost a whimper, and Cameron thought it sounded sad.
Cameron waited for the dragon to do something, but then he realized what it was doing.
It was trying to look as small and unthreatening as possible.
It’s Parker, he reminded himself. It’s Parker. Parker’s the dragon. He laughed, letting himself slide down the tree to sit on the grass. He buried his head in his hands, and kept laughing.
Parker had told him the truth. He really could turn into a dragon.
Cameron was relieved and more confused at the same time. How was it even possible for someone to turn into a dragon? Why had Parker told him? He raised his head to look at the dragon, which was still looking at him. “I’m fine,” he said, because he was sure he didn’t look fine right now. “I’m just. I mean. You’re a dragon.”
Parker blinked at him, still resting his head on the grass.
“Can I touch you?” Cameron was already crawling forward. “Can you understand me? You said it was still you in there, but can you understand me?”
Parker raised his head, his long neck elegant as he nodded slowly, then he moved his head closer to Cameron.
Cameron reached out, feeling terrified and ecstatic at the same time. He brushed his fingers against the scales in-between the dragon’s nostrils, and Parker shivered. Cameron immediately pulled his hand back. “Wait, is that a bad spot?” He crawled closer, figuring that since Parker hadn’t bitten his hand off, he was fine.
Getting closer meant also getting closer to its mouth with its sharp fangs, and yes, Parker could definitely bite Cameron’s hand off if he wanted to.
But he wouldn’t. He would never hurt me.
Cameron wasn’t sure why he felt so certain about that, but he knew, deep down, that Parker would rather hurt himself than Cameron.
He reached his hand out again, touching the side of his face, and sliding his hand further until he was stroking the dragon’s neck. The scales were hot against his skin, but not scalding-hot.
Parker stayed as still as possible while Cameron ran his hand further down his neck, but he shuddered when Cameron moved his hand back up, stroking him just behind the ridges on top of his head. “Bad spot?” he asked, but then Parker pushed against his hand. “Oh!” He laughed, realizing what was happening. “Good spot?” He pressed down more firmly, stroking in circles.
Parker let out a low grumble, and closed his eyes, pressing back against Cameron’s hand.
“Definitely a good spot.” He couldn’t believe it. He was petting a dragon. A beautiful, amazing dragon. “Are you sure you’re not a cat?”
Parker opened one golden eye at that, and then the scales suddenly turned cold against Cameron’s hand. Parker shrank, and Cameron’s mouth fell open as he watched scales turn back into skin and the exact same outfit Parker had been wearing before. The transformation looked smooth, nothing like the painful transformations he’d seen in werewolf movies.
Parker sat back on his knees as he looked at Cameron. “Pretty sure, yes.”
Cameron crawled over to him, reaching out to touch Parker’s cheek, his hand finding the same spot where he’d touched the dragon only a few seconds ago. “How?”
“How what?” Parker shrugged, smiling at Cameron.
“Everything! How do you even turn into a dragon? How did you find out? How did you learn? How does it work with the clothes?”
Parker took Cameron’s wrist, removing his hand from his cheek. “I learned from my parents. They’re dragon shifters too. It’s genetic. I don’t know exactly how it works, all I know is that shifting with tight clothing on just feels restrictive and awkward.”
Cameron looked down at where Parker was now holding his hand. “I can’t believe it.”
“Yes, that’s why I had to bring you here. I had to show you, because otherwise you’d never believe me.”
“And you had to do that while sounding as suspicious as possible?” Cameron laughed, still unable to believe what he’d just seen. He looked around, and he could see the crushed grass where the dragon’s paws had just been.
“I’m not really—I spend most of my time around other shifters, okay, and humans who either already know about shifters, or don’t need to know.” Parker moved to sit more comfortably on the grass. “I’ve never actually had to tell anyone that oh, by the way, shifters exist.”
“Wait, there’re more of you?” Of course there were. Parker had just said his family were dragon shifters too.
“Oh yes! You’ve probably passed them on the street without even knowing about it. There’s hundreds of shifters of all kinds living in the three districts of Lewiston. Actually,
we’ve probably got over a thousand by now.”
“Districts?” Hundreds of shifters? How had he never noticed?
“Yes.” Parker got up to grab his clothes and put them back on. “I’m Keeper of the Peace of one of them, and Thomas and Mitchell are the Keepers of the Peace of the other two. They were at Halloween Fest with me, remember?”
“I don’t think I met them.” What was a Keeper of the Peace?
“Oh, right. Well, you’ll meet them soon enough.” Parker tied his shoes, then got up. “But first, you get to meet my council.”
Cameron got up as well, feeling a little light-headed. He wasn’t sure if it was the blood rushing to his brain, or everything Parker was telling him. “A council?”
Parker nodded as he put on his coat. “Every district has a council of different shifters. My job is to make sure everything in the district runs smoothly, but obviously I can’t do that by myself.”
“So, you’re like a mayor or something?”
“Hmm, yes and no. I also settle disputes between shifters, and a mayor doesn’t do that. Of course, I don’t settle all disputes myself, sometimes the council can manage on their own. But if a shifter isn’t happy with the outcome, they can appeal and I’ll take a look at it.”
“That sounds like an important job.” It definitely explained why Parker was always dressed like that.
“It is.” Parker’s smile widened. “It’s very time-consuming, obviously, and sometimes it’s very difficult and frustrating, but it’s also the most rewarding job in the world. It’s great. You’ll understand once you meet my council, come on.”
Cameron let Parker take his hand and lead him out of the clearing. His mind was still spinning with what he’d been told. “What, right now?”
Parker looked at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting at three, so we’ll need to hurry.”
“What is this meeting even about?” Cameron asked, still letting Parker lead him. He wanted to ask Parker so many questions, like how he’d gotten the job, why he was having a meeting on a Sunday afternoon, what it felt like to turn into a dragon, and whether or not he could fly.
He wanted to ask why Parker had told him at all.
“Oh, about us buying the farmhouse. It’ll be a good place for us to shift, you know. You saw me just then.” Parker gestured at the clearing. “I kind of stand out.”
Despite himself, Cameron laughed. “You could say that.”
He’d seen Parker turn into a dragon and back. He’d seen that with his own eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Parker told him, throwing him a quick smile. “We’d still let you organize Halloween Fest there next year. We’ll work something out with the schedule.”
His mind had been so stuck on people on turning into animals that he hadn’t even thought about Halloween Fest. “That’s, um, good to know.”
They arrived back at the car, Cameron trying to figure out which of his many questions to ask first.
“How fast can you get us back to Lewiston?” Parker looked at his watch again. “I’d like to have five, ten minutes to introduce you to everyone before starting the meeting.”
“I’ll do my best,” Cameron muttered.
Well, at least now he knew what Parker did for a living.
He just didn’t understand any of it.
10
Parker
They arrived at the office with five minutes to spare. Cameron had been quiet on the way back, while Parker expected a barrage of questions like when they’d walked back from the clearing. But it made sense, since Cameron was focused on driving, and Parker remained quiet as well, not wanting to distract his mate further.
He couldn’t stop himself from smiling. Everything was great. Cameron had taken him being a dragon shifter well, and Parker was sure his council would accept Cameron with open arms. There was still the matter of explaining fated mates to him, but that would have to wait. He’d told Cameron enough for now.
His dragon was less pleased. We should’ve stayed shifted for longer. We should’ve taken him flying!
Of course his dragon wasn’t happy with barely a minute of shifting. There were too many other humans around. We would’ve been seen. We’ll shift again soon. His dragon remained unsettled, and Parker knew it was because he hadn’t shifted properly in far too long. Once we own the farmhouse, we can shift more often. Maybe we can do some flying at night.
Parker took Cameron up in the elevator. “We made it with five minutes to spare, great! I can introduce you to Mitchell and Thomas as well, come on.” He took Cameron’s hand, walking down the hallway. The meeting room was down the other end of the hallway, the offices of his council members on either side of side of him, with his office next to the meeting room. The door was open, and he could already hear people talking.
“Here we are!” He pushed the door open further to guide Cameron in. “This is Cameron Norwood. He’s a volunteer for the Halloween Fest and acts in the Maze of Terror.” He looked around, pleased to see all six of his council members there already, along with his two friends.
“Hi.” Cameron’s voice was quiet.
Parker pointed out Thomas and Mitchell, who were exchanging glances and significant eyebrow raises. “Mitchell Kennedy and Thomas Rollins, Keepers of the Peace of the other two districts.”
“Wait a minute.” Glen frowned at Parker. “Does he know about us? What we do?”
“Oh, of course, I just gave him a demonstration.”
“You did what?” Isaac leaned forward in his chair. “Parker, what the hell?”
“Cameron, there’s a coffee machine down the hall. Grab yourself something to drink, okay?” He ushered Cameron out. “Sorry about this,” he whispered. “Just give me a moment.”
“Sure?”
He closed the door behind his mate and took a deep breath before turning around. “He’s my fated mate and I haven’t told him yet and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let anything slip.” He fixed Mitchell and Thomas with a significant glare. If anyone in this room could screw this up for him, it was one or, even worse, both of them.
Isaac, who had been the tensest of everyone in the room, relaxed a fraction. The frog shifter let out a big sigh before sitting back. “You could’ve led with that!”
“How did you even meet him?” Olivia asked. “The only places you go are your apartment and this office.”
Parker didn’t know enough crow shifters to know if bluntness was a trait they all had, or if it was just Olivia. “Yes, very funny.” She’d been on the council for longest, and usually he could appreciate her direct approach. “I also go places those two drag me.” He nodded at Thomas and Mitchell. “I met him at Halloween Fest on Friday evening.”
“Wait, is that why you want to buy the farm?” Glen asked. “Because he’s your mate?”
“No, I want us all the buy the farm because it’s the perfect place to shift.” It would definitely be perfect for a bat shifter like Glen, even if he didn’t need it as much. “Okay, it’s not perfect for everybody, but no place is. It’ll solve a big problem for a lot of shifters. We have to start somewhere.”
He looked at his council members, waiting for their response.
“You already know I think it might work.” Glen gave a shrug.
Olivia nodded along with him. “I think a lot of bird shifters will be happy with it, but I do want to see it for myself.”
Lee, a bear shifter with graying temples, looked thoughtful. “It looks useful, and we bear shifters desperately need something suitable. Those barns might work, if not too many of us use it at once.”
“That is one of my concerns,” Vivian said. She was a ferret shifter, and prone to over-thinking and worrying over every little detail. “Humans will notice if a bunch of wild animals are at that barn.”
“That’s a risk already,” Parker reminded her. “Because of the community center.”
Julianne shook her head. “I can already tell you that the aquatic shifters won’t like it.” As a dolphin shifter,
she mostly focused on other shifters whose animals lived in water.
“And what about the financial side of things, hmm?” Isaac asked. Parker had expected him to worry about that. It was easy for Isaac to dismiss the idea. He was a bullfrog shifter and if he wanted to shift, he didn’t need to go further than the local park.
There was a knock on the door. “Maybe we can start by letting your mate in?” Mitchell suggested.
“Don’t call him that,” Parker said. “I haven’t told him about that yet.” He was still nervous as he opened the door to let Cameron in.
Cameron looked as nervous as Parker felt, holding a mug with steaming coffee. “Are you guys done or….”
“No, you had perfect timing,” Parker told him. “Where was I with the introductions?” He looked around the room. Since everyone was already seated around the table, he decided to go clockwise, introducing Cameron to his council before pulling up an extra chair and gesturing for Cameron to sit down. “Now, let’s discuss the Wilson farm.”
Glen tapped a few buttons on a laptop, and a picture of the farmhouse appeared on the screen behind him. The trees were red and orange with autumn leaves and jack-o-lanterns lined the driveway. The sky was a bright blue, and the whole place looked a lot friendlier during the day than when Parker had been there in the evening. “This is from a website promoting the Halloween Fest,” Glen explained. “It’s the best pictures I could find.”
“Yeah, this is from September when we were finishing up preparations,” Cameron said.
Glen clicked to show them more pictures. There was the smaller barn with the empty stalls for food and drink lining the walls. There was the pit for the bonfire outside, with wooden logs for sitting on surrounding it. “As you can see, we’ll have plenty of space.” Parker gestured at the screen. “That field goes further back and there are plenty of trees surrounding the property. Oh, yes, that’s the big barn!”
Glen was showing them pictures of the inside where people lined up. “But it’s bigger than this, right?”
