Dangerous Lovers

by Becca Vincenza

  I cried. Stone switched our positions so my face was buried in his neck and he brushed his fingers through my hair. We stayed that way for a long time. He told me about his mother, it wasn’t as long as the first time he told it, but I felt honored that he finally decided he could tell me. We fell asleep like that.

  • • •

  When we woke up a little later it was to two voices arguing outside the room. When I listened closer, I could hear that it was Xavier and my father. I looked at Stone who was also listening, but he didn’t seem to be having a problem understanding them. His lips were pressed tight and a line creased between his brows. I wanted to smooth it away.

  “Drake she isn’t a possession, you know this. Try to understand that he does care for her. And she obviously cares for him.” I heard Xavier tell my father. My father growled something but it was distorted so I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Stone climbed off the bed giving me one last kiss. When my father and Xavier walked in, I noticed how Xavier’s tail was wrapped around my father’s leg.

  “How are you feeling Audrey?” Xavier asked, his eyes softening when they swept over me.

  “Fine.”

  “That is good. We were worried about you. That was an amazing transformation you did. We were wondering if…” Xavier paused looking at my father.

  “We were wondering if you could still feel her.” My father said, watching me closely.

  I looked at Stone, hoping that he would give me the courage to speak openly to my father about this. I knew it was what he wanted for me for such a very long time, but at the same time, if I was truly a dragon shifter…I looked at Stone…I could never leave. I knew that my father wouldn’t let me go.

  “I can,” I wished that I couldn’t though, I didn’t think I would be able to survive without Stone. I knew he had to be missing his clan. How could I ever ask someone I love to forget all that? To forget his family? Wouldn’t that make me just another form of a torturer?

  “Wonderful! That is wonderful, Audrey!” Xavier exclaimed moving away from my father to embrace me.

  It was strange how caring he was toward me and it instantly put me on edge. I tried to grab a hold of Stone’s hand, but I couldn’t reach it. I touched the blanket, counted the ripples. Xavier let go. My father stood unmoving watching how Xavier and I interacted. I wanted to ask why, but thought better of it.

  “If you are feeling up to it, we will all sit down and have dinner tonight. In say about three hours?” Xavier didn’t make it seem like a request so I just nodded my head.

  Stone watched the two leave, but offered no expression. His eyes were a steely grey color though. I wanted to ask what was bothering him but before I could, he stood, kissed my forehead, then walked out the door. I was left alone.

  The thought of Stone leaving led to the thought of Nixie. I hadn’t been able to see a whole lot of her. I knew I needed to give her space to decide what was best for her, just like Stone.

  I wanted to find Nixie immediately, but how does one apologize for their father’s sins? Truthfully, I had been avoiding Nixie as much as I had been trying to give her space. Usually Nixie kept our talks light, fun, nothing too heavy. Would she even accept my apology? I had to find out. I left the room and went in search of her. I knew her room was close by mine so I headed in that direction. I raised my hand to knock on the door when it opened.

  “I know you have been standing out there for a while so I thought I would just let you in myself.” Nixie offered a bright smile. Her coral eyes were tinted orange and I knew that she was annoyed. I bent my head feeling bad that I had annoyed her. I didn’t want that.

  “I literally hate this show! It’s a total misrepresentation of ocean life! I mean, come on, talking sponges! Ridiculous! Plus, I know for a fact that star-fish are very intelligent beings.” Nixie complained as I sat down next to her. On the TV was an animated show that I had never seen.

  “Are there sirens?” I asked. I wondered if she was homesick for her own kind, perhaps annoyed she was stuck here, in this building, not annoyed with me. I hoped at least that was the case and that things hadn’t changed completely between us.

  “No. This show is worthless. What brings you, guppy?”

  “I wanted to tell you…I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Well it is not like you forced him to do it. And I mean you had to grow up with the clown-fish, not me.”

  Nixie was still trying to sound light, but looking into her eyes I could see the flecks of a deep blue. We watched the colorful images on the television for a few moments.

  “I am sorry, that was a bit rude of me. But there is something you need to understand Audrey.” She paused for a long time, looking down at her hands.

  “I understand you couldn’t possibly want to be friends with me anymore.” I moved to get up but she grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

  “No, that is not what I was going to say. Look this is not going to be easy for me so please don’t look at me with your bright blue eye all sad and stuff.” She seemed to be psyching herself up because she sat a little straighter and cleared her throat. “I have decided that I cannot go back to the Bradens, partially because I do care for you-you are probably the closest thing I have had to a best friend in many years-but mostly because what they are doing is wrong. I will not be part of a clan that wants to destroy dying races. I have some other reasons, but that’s beside the point.”

  I was about to tell her how happy I was that she decided to stay, but she put up her hand. She still wasn’t looking at me, but I saw how hard she was swallowing and I knew that she still had more to tell. The easy part was done. Now it was time for the hard part.

  “Unfortunately, I don’t think that I would be able to stay here either. I understand that I should let the past go, that your father was in the right to attack the people attacking him, but your father killed the only real family I had left. I can’t just forgive that. I can’t just live in the same place as that man.” She looked at me, her eyes filled with shimmering tears. “I think the best decision is for me to go back to the sea. I will talk to York, tell him if he demands that I claim my loyalty to his family so be it, but I will never be a York. And I don’t think I would ever be able to live with Drake.” Nixie’s words caught when she said my father’s name.

  I nodded accepting her answer.

  “I never wanted to hurt you Audrey. I never wanted to do that.” She whispered grabbing my hand. I bit my lip to stop it from trembling.

  We continued to watch the show, laughing at the right points and joking frequently. She never let go of my hand, and by the end of the third episode, she stopped trying to hold back her tears and let them fall. I hoped that we weren’t saying goodbye forever, but I knew that I had to respect that this was not easy for her. Could I blame her for wanting to leave for the same exact reason I thought Stone should leave me for? I couldn’t find it in my heart to be angry with her. I kissed her cheek as I stood to leave.

  “Thank you for everything, Nixie.”

  “This isn’t goodbye, little guppy. For right now, it’s see ya later.”

  I nodded, tightening my lips.

  Chapter Forty

  Stone

  I had to know if York and Drake were ever going to tell Audrey about whatever it was that was going on between them. York was way too comfortable around Audrey and I saw how uncomfortable it made her. She still wasn’t used to strangers touching her, hugging her. I wanted to protect her more than ever.

  “York!” He stopped, turning to look at me. Drake didn’t turn, I think he was hoping I would have a quick word then disappear. “What exactly is happening between you two, and when the hell are you planning on tell Audrey?” That is when Drake turned around. York touched his arm lightly.

  “Maybe this is something we should discuss in private.” York moved toward another conference room.

  I followed looking back at Audrey’s room, hoping she crawled back into bed to rest a while longer. I didn’t want th
is to last very long, but I needed to know. I had to find out for Audrey’s sake.

  “Drake maybe you should…”

  Drake gave York a dirty look and York just nodded in return. They sat next to each other, tilted slightly in. York continued.

  “Well everyone in our clan already knows this…it’s sort of strange explaining it. As I told you before, when Drake lost his….” York looked over to Drake for some sort of answer or support.

  “Chosen mate.” And instantly I knew. Chosen mates were people we decided to spend our lives with, the ones that we fell for, but not our true mates. True mates were rare, and paranormals often spent their whole lives looking for theirs. True mates were destined by the elemental Gods, they were to be our perfect match, they had started to disappear the same time the elder races were thought to be destroyed

  “Coy was…” York started.

  “I loved her.” Drake stared at me hard. “I loved her with all my heart, and if I could have saved her, I would have. But I had to choose.” Drake’s voice was a deep rumbling noise. I could tell that it pained him to talk about Audrey’s mom. York patted his hand and whispered something in Drake’s ear. Drake then nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

  “All those years ago, when I found Drake again, I warned him that the Bradens and Vedenin were coming for him and his child. Unfortunately, Audrey was still at home so he went back for her while I was waiting with transportation. That is when the Vedenins attacked. They knew a dragon’s weaknesses, so Drake made the difficult decision and left. When he came back to me, I promised we would get her back.” York paused. But I didn’t understand something.

  “Why did you go back then, Drake?”

  “She just wanted that damn stuffed dragon I bought her. If I had let her grab it we would have both been safe…” Drake looked away from me as if …ashamed.

  “Drake went back to get the stuffed animal, but instead saw Cain’s clan members torching the place. What little control Drake had left was gone. He still hadn’t gotten over losing Coy then he had to lose his daughter and home all in one day…” York took Drake’s hand under the table and looked at him once again.

  “I came in because I knew he would have destroyed everyone on that team. We had evidence to show that not every team member knew about the attacks on the elder races. We had been trying to recruit some people. Some were already on our team, and working undercover. Unfortunately Kai, Nixie’s father, was on our team. We got there too late to save him. Drake had lost all control of his dragon. He had lost his hold on his sanity. The only way to have saved them all was…” York paused.

  “By giving Xavier part of my heart,” Drake finished.

  I was so shocked that I don’t think that I covered it well enough. A dragon giving up their heart to someone meant they were tied for life. There was no going back on the bond. I didn’t know exactly how it worked; the one thing I did know though was that they shared a psychological bond as well as physical. Drake sort of growled at me. I narrowed my eyes.

  “What…”

  “By giving him half of my heart it tamed my dragon. I was losing myself to it. Not only that but Xavier and I found out many years ago that we were…true mates. I…I wasn’t ready to accept it then.” Drake looked over at Xavier sheepishly. Xavier sat strong and tall.

  I knew that he wasn’t ashamed of who he was, of who his true mate was. True mates were rare yet always were treated as a treasure. I knew that for some paranormals it was as easy as looking at their true mate to know, others it was a little more difficult. Instincts took over when one found their true mates.

  Drake sat slumped a little. I couldn’t be sure if it was because it took him so long to accept it, or he still hadn’t fully accepted it.

  “The only way a dragon spirit will back off is in the presence of their true mate. I knew that I couldn’t always be around Xavier since I had to find my…” He paused looking again at his mate. “Our daughter.”

  “Drake made the difficult decision to do it, what we hadn’t planned on was that fact that our hearts now can’t be separated for more than a couple of months at a time.”

  “It made looking for Audrey difficult.”

  We were silent for a while.

  “Were you planning on telling her?” I didn’t know how to feel. I still felt anger toward the man who scarred and abandoned his daughter. But looking at him now, telling me this story, I could see that he was mortified by what he had done.

  “We were. Tonight. We wanted to let her get used to me. She still seems too uncomfortable.” Xavier watched me with dark eyes.

  “Do you know what happened to her?” Drake asked his voice sounding so strained and broken.

  “Yes.” I answered unemotionally.

  “Could…could you tell us?” Drake asked again sounding like he was trying to be careful. It was strange seeing this overbearing dragon act so tame and nervous.

  “No.” I answered, turning my own cold eyes on Drake. “She will tell you when she is ready. If ever.”

  • • •

  I didn’t find Audrey in the room after I left the meeting so I went back to her room to wait for her. When she came back, her eyes were red and puffy. I pulled her close and she cried some more. I tried asking her what was wrong. I knew already. Audrey had finally talked to Nixie. Nixie hated the York Clan for years for what they had done to her father. What she thought they had done. It reminded me of what Drake and York had said about the uncover team in the Braden clan. I wondered who was on that team. While I held Audrey, I wondered if I should tell Nixie about it.

  “Audrey…” She looked up at me, her destroyed eye even redder than normal, and her good eye completely blood shot. “I will tell your father and York that we will hold off on dinner with them tonight.” I kissed her forehead and went to go find Drake and York.

  Leaving the room my body felt tight, uncomfortable. I didn’t know why, but I assumed it was because I hadn’t changed into an animal form for a while.

  Heading toward the kitchen I felt pins in my neck and tried to rub them away. The building seemed eerily quiet but it also seemed emptier than when we first arrived. Most likely York’s doing. Until we gave him a definite answer he probably wanted to keep our knowledge limited. If we decided on the Braden clan, the witch who had attacked Elijah that night at the cabin would likely erase our memories of this place and replace them with something else. But the less details we knew, the easier it was for the witch to erase.

  While I mused on these thoughts I didn’t realize how far I had gotten. The kitchen was on the other side of the building from the rooms which was inconvenient, but I figured it was also because we were in the guest rooms. The glorified prison rooms really. I didn’t complain because it was better than being in the dungeon far away from Audrey. I thought about our night together, and it was hard to believe how it was only a short while ago. I could still feel her skin, taste her, and unfortunately my body remembered just as well. I wanted to get back to her as soon as possible. I wasn’t sure if she would be up for anything tonight. The encounter with Nixie seemed to leave her pretty exhausted.

  I’d almost reached the kitchen when, with no warning, lights started to flash and a piercing shriek rented the air. I looked around, waiting to see what would happen next. Then it hit me, the alarms were going off meant that someone was trying to break in. The kitchen door slammed open. Drake stood there chest heaving.

  “Audrey,” I whispered. I turned and ran as fast as I could, my skin melting away into the form of a cheetah. I heard Drake running behind me, but I was losing him. I didn’t care. I needed to get to her.

  When I got to the room, the door was kicked down. She wasn’t there. The reeking stench of fear clouded the air. Her fear. I recognized some of the other scents. I didn’t waste any time, I ran. I thought my heart was going to punch out of my chest.

  The smell brought me to Drake’s room. I burst through the broken doors only to see a black clad figure holding an unconsc
ious Audrey over its shoulder. A cord connected them to the helicopter hovering above the broken glass dome. They were already half way in the air being pulled up. All I could see, all I could process was Audrey being taken from me. I shifted forms again.

  I turned into a massive eagle and took flight. Something struck me in the neck. I fell back to the ground falling on my wing, breaking it. I shifted back to my human form trying to repair my broken arm. Everything felt slow. I couldn’t command my body to do anything. My last sight was of my Audrey disappearing into the night sky.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Audrey

  When Stone left, I was desperate to go after him, but it wasn’t because I didn’t feel like I couldn’t be without him. I felt a weird restlessness. I rolled over and closed my eyes, listening to the light taps of Stone’s feet retreating. Then, there was another noise. Not matter how hard I tried to concentrate I couldn’t figure out what the noise was. When I did, the door crashed in.

  I tried screaming for Stone, but before I could finish getting his name out, a body slammed into mine, crushing me. I grunted trying to push the body off, but I couldn’t get enough leverage; it was too heavy.

  My eyes grew wide seeing the syringe that the person held. “Help! Nixie! El-” A hard slap cut off my screams. My teeth had cracked together so hard that I was sure they were all chipped. Hot tears flooded my eyes, doing nothing but irritating the already burning skin.

  Nixie’s scream tore through the air. “Oh my fucking Gods! Eli-” I wrenched myself up enough to see Nixie. Something pinched my skin and the world started to go fuzzy.