by Eva Chase
“I think we have a few things to discuss between the two of us,” he said, loud enough for the villagers to hear. They hung back while he ushered me back toward the house where I’d spent the night. His hand brushed the back of my bare arm. Even as overwhelmed as I was, my awareness of his body, just inches from mine, tingled into sharper focus.
West stopped when we were out of hearing distance and stepped to the side to give me more space. I felt that separation, too, like a tearing inside me. Whatever I thought about the wolf alpha and his attitude, some part of me wanted him next to me very, very badly.
“They, um, really are enthusiastic,” I said, hoping my longing wasn’t obvious.
West rubbed his jaw, which was covered with a light shading of stubble that made his handsome face even more appealing. He looked back toward the village common. “They’ve been waiting for dragons to return for a long time. Seeing you here gives some of them hope they didn’t have before.”
“But not you,” I couldn’t resist prodding.
He shrugged. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
Why should he, when all I’d been able to do was cringe in a corner yesterday while all our lives were in danger? I swallowed a grimace and turned to follow his gaze. Several of the villagers were still clustered together, glancing our way. Speculating about me?
Something felt off as I looked around. It took me several more seconds before I put my finger on it. “There aren’t any kids. Or is there some rule about when they’re allowed out of the house?” I hadn’t seen anyone who looked younger than their mid-teens.
West’s stance tensed. “There’ve been no shifter children born in sixteen years. At least not within the kin-groups. Kin can’t conceive in their mate-pairs unless their alpha is mated. It’s a biological block, to make sure vulnerable young aren’t born into extremely troubled times.”
“Oh.” My eyes widened. “Because I—” Because Mom and I had been hidden away in New York, all the shifters had gone childless all this time. I glanced at West. He was still gazing into the common, his eyes even darker than usual. “Could you have taken a different mate? I don’t know how all this stuff works yet.”
“Yes,” he said. “I still could. I could forsake the existing bond in order to form a new one. But once that’s done, a shifter can never be mated to the one they gave up. You can’t go back on the decision.”
My stomach dropped. So all this time, despite all the doubts he’d had, he’d waited for me. Even though he’d had to watch his kin go without children.
Maybe I shouldn’t have accused him of lacking loyalty.
“It... hasn’t seemed like you’d have a problem with that outcome,” I said tentatively.
West’s gaze jerked back to me. “I said I haven’t made up my mind.” He rubbed his thumb over his palm, the scar there identical to the one Aaron had shown me. The mark of the alpha. “I knew you were alive, even if I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t think you’d stay away forever. It doesn’t seem smart to throw away something without knowing what it is.”
“I guess you do at least think I’m worth keeping alive,” I said, tipping my head as if considering. “You fought the vampires to stop them from coming at me yesterday. I should probably thank you for that. So, thanks. I mean it.”
“It was nothing,” West said, his voice going gruff again. “No vampire is going to manage to hurt me. You have been making an awful lot of trouble, though.”
“Yeah. I noticed. I’m sorry about that. None of this was in my life plan, you know.”
“Of course not.” He studied my face, some of the tension leaving his. For a second I thought he was going to add something. My pulse fluttered with the intensity of his attention. But he stayed quiet.
When the silence started to gnaw at me, I had to break it. “Do you really think the old traditions, with the dragon shifters and the alphas, could be wrong?”
He looked away, toward the buildings around us. “I don’t know. I don’t like how fragile that system turned out to be. One savage attack, and we nearly fell into chaos. If the rogues had caught you and your mother... I’m not saying it’s definitely wrong. I just don’t want to assume it’s right. I have to be sure I’m doing the right thing for my kin before I take any steps I can’t take back.”
Well, if he’d put it that way to begin with, maybe I wouldn’t have spent so much of the last two days pissed off at him. “Okay,” I said. “That makes sense. I can respect that.”
He shot me a look I could only describe as startled. “What?” I said, setting my hands on my hips. “You didn’t think I was capable of basic human empathy?”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “To be fair, you aren’t actually human.”
“Basic shifter empathy, then. I’ve gotten the impression we have that too.”
“Some of the time, anyway.” He kept his gaze on me. The energy between us had shifted somehow, with an electric prickling over my skin. His hand rose. I half expected him to reach for me, to pull me closer—
He made a dismissive gesture and stepped farther away. “I have a few more people to talk with while we’re here in town,” he said. “Try not to get into any more trouble, all right, Sparks?”
“I’ll do my best,” I muttered. Was I imagining things, or had that nickname sounded just slightly affectionate for the first time? It was hard to tell when he put on that gruff, no-nonsense voice.
West stalked off down the street. He must have said something to the people lingering in the common, because the group that had been watching me scattered. I rubbed my arms, feeling restless in the rising summer heat. And the heat that had started to rise inside me, standing next to him.
“It’s good,” a weathered voice said from behind me. As I turned, an elderly woman with a puff of frizzy white hair came up beside me. She patted my hand. “Matilda. Pleased to meet you, dragon shifter.”
Her demeanor was so matter-of-fact after the awe I’d gotten from the other villagers that I immediately relaxed. “Pleased to meet you too, Matilda.”
She turned her pale hazel eyes the way West had gone. “I’m glad Westley has finally found you,” she said. “I can tell you’ll be good for him.”
Westley, huh? I let out a short laugh. “I’m not so sure he’d agree with you there.”
“Aw, don’t let his temper put you off. He’s a good boy, even if he’s slow to trust sometimes.”
How long had she known him? Since he was a kid—or, what, a pup? And now he was running the whole kin-group. “You all seem to have a lot of respect for him,” I said.
“He’s earned it,” Matilda said, and hummed softly as if to agree with herself. “That boy has always put his kin above everything else, even the folks he cared about the most.”
That sounded like a story I needed to hear. But before I could push for details, Nate walked over. He gave the elder shifter a respectful bob of his head and turned to me.
“After last night, we’re thinking giving you some self defense training might be a good idea, Ren. If you’re up for it.”
Anything if it meant I wasn’t standing around like a hopeless damsel next time we got into a fight, as much as I hoped there wasn’t a next time.
“Sure,” I said. “Hit me.”
CHAPTER 15
Marco
MY PRINCESS of Flames wasn’t going to be demolishing vampires by the end of the day, but it wasn’t going to be long before she could hold her own either. She mimicked the motion of the punches Aaron demonstrated while Nate held up his broad hands as targets.
The bear shifter swept his leg toward her, and she nimbly leapt out of the way. Aaron caught her around the shoulders. She snapped his hold the way he’d taught her, grinning. The physical exertion had brought an incredibly appealing flush into her cheeks. I’d bet that whole lithe body of hers would be hot to the touch.
Kylie, West, and I formed an audience at the edge of the clearing on the outskirts of the village. Ren’s human friend whis
tled and cheered. Wolf boy looked as if he’d eaten something sour, but that was pretty much his standard expression, so it was hard to read anything into it.
Ren had a ways to go yet, though. The guys were still being careful with her. I wasn’t sure that was the best tack. Didn’t they see what a firecracker that girl was? All that power in her just waiting to explode.
And when she got there, I’d be right at her side.
Aaron exchanged a couple of testing blows with Ren. She blocked and jabbed out with her fist, catching him in the ribs. “Good,” he said. “Can you feel that fighting energy calling to your dragon? See if you can catch hold of the feeling and shift that form to the surface.”
Ren nodded, her expression tightening with determination. Oh, princess, as if a shift was something you should have to force. She needed to make friends with her inner dragon, not battle it.
Nate stepped in, weaving back and forth with surprising speed for a guy that big. The bear wasn’t all bulk. He pushed Ren backward until she ducked under one of his swings and darted around him. A fierce gleam lit in her eyes. Then she faltered. Her shoulders sagged, and she swiped her hand across her mouth.
“I’m trying,” she said to Aaron. “I can feel it in there. I don’t know why I’m so stuck still.”
I ambled forward. “Maybe you need a different kind of provocation,” I suggested.
She straightened up, the fire in her eyes coming back. “What did you have in mind?”
I rolled my shoulders, testing the limits of my shirt. The fabric had enough flexibility to stay comfortable. “Spar with me a bit, and you’ll see.”
Aaron gestured for me to go ahead and take over. “If you think you have a better idea, Marco...”
“Even if I don’t, a little variety never hurt anyone.” I shot him a grin and then turned it on Ren. “Let’s go, princess.”
We circled each other, Ren watching me warily. Waiting for me to make the first move so she could decide how to respond. Fine, I could play along. I feinted and took a controlled jab at her stomach. She dodged, smacking my arm to the side with a well-executed block. Then she dove at me, swinging her elbow at my ribs. I just barely leapt out of the way. Damn, the girl was fast when she wanted to be.
I moved closer, speeding up my own movements. A tap to the shoulder, a strike at her neck. And smaller gestures I gave enough concentration to that I could be sure they landed. A caress of her hip. A fleeting stroke of her side. I blocked her flying fist—and let my knuckles graze the peak of her breast.
Her breath caught, her cheeks flushing darker. She narrowed her eyes at me, as if to say she saw what I was doing. That was fine. I wanted her to feel it. To feel the desire that sparked hotter between us every time we touched.
If aggression didn’t bring out her dragon, maybe passion would. And if it didn’t, I was sure as hell enjoying trying.
It was probably obvious to our audience what I was doing by now, but I didn’t care. She was my mate as much as any of the other alphas. They’d better get used to seeing her with me.
As she ducked low to block a kick, I took the opportunity to tease my fingertips over her cheek. She jerked up, throwing a punch. I bobbed out of the way and gave her ass a quick squeeze.
With a heated noise of frustration, she came at me swinging. I wove back and forth and then threw myself right back at her when she least expected it. She yelped as I tackled her to the ground. I pinned her on the grass, my body pressed against hers, my dick getting harder with each heave of her breath that shoved her breasts into my chest.
“Marco,” she growled, glaring at me, but at the same time her hips canting welcomingly toward mine. There was as much lust as frustration in her eyes.
“Yes, princess?” I said sweetly. Before she could answer, I caught her mouth with a kiss.
Ren
Marco’s kiss was as hot as the look he’d been giving me a second before. A shiver of pleasure rippled through me. God, did I want this man. I couldn’t do anything except kiss him back just as hard.
He let go of my arm to trail his fingers down my side to my hip, and my hand leapt up to tangle in his hair. I yanked his mouth even tighter against mine. Marco hummed approvingly, nudging my lips apart with his demanding tongue. Mine slicked over his, tasting his mouth.
I could feel his pulse thumping in his chest, smell the spicy coffee scent of him, feel every shift and flex of his muscles as if I were all around him. The claws in my chest spread wide, reaching. The flavor of ash tainted the back of my mouth, but somehow that made the kiss even sweeter.
I nipped his lower lip—and tasted blood. My heartbeat raced faster. I wasn’t just some girl for him to make out with. I was a dragon, and we were here to fight. I couldn’t let him make me forget that.
With a strength I hadn’t known I had in me, I shoved Marco off. He stumbled right onto his feet. A laugh jolted out of him, startled and impressed. Then I was springing after him, my feet barely seeming to touch the ground.
Marco’s eyebrows rose as I lashed my arm out at him. The wind whistled strangely through my fingers.
Or rather, my talons. Scales had formed over my fingertips and sprouted dagger-like claws. Yes. A smile stretched across my face. I dashed faster, feeling the sinewy energy snaking through me, ready to break free.
Shouts carried across the field. “All right, Ren! You’re amazing!” “Beautiful. Just give yourself over to the shift.” “You’ve got this, Ren!”
The voices rattled my thoughts. I didn’t have it, not yet. I needed more—I needed to be that dragon—
Even as I groped after the serpentine sensation inside me, it whipped away from me. I stumbled on the grass. My hands hit the ground, fully human again. I stared at them, those weak pale digits. My vision blurred. I blinked hard.
No. I was not going to cry. Not in front of the guys. Even if I’d just proven myself an even bigger screw-up than before.
I’d been so fucking close.
I dug my fingers into the earth, clawing my disappointment into it the only way I could. A large form hunkered down beside me.
“It’s fine,” Nate said. “You’re getting there. That was progress.”
“He’s right, princess,” Marco said, standing a short distance away. “It’ll take time to get full control over your powers, just like it’ll take time for us to become full mates. And I promise I’m more impatient about the latter.” He chuckled.
Nate shot him a frown and reached to rub my shoulder. “You should be proud of yourself.”
Proud of myself? When I couldn’t even manage to get halfway to what they all did so effortlessly?
I pulled away from him, scrambling to my feet. “I don’t need coddling,” I said. “I need to figure this out.”
Aaron ambled over to join us. West and Kylie had hung back, my friend looking concerned but uncertain. This was one challenge she couldn’t meet with me.
“I think you’re pushing yourself too hard,” Aaron said in his mild voice. The evenness of it, paired with that faint rasp, seemed to file down the sharp edges of my emotions. “I know some mental exercises that might help with that for the next time you try. You could take a break, and then—”
“No break,” I interrupted. “If you’ve got something to teach me that might help, let’s do it now.”
He paused, but then he nodded. “All right.” He glanced around at the others. “We’ll need to be undisturbed for this.”
Marco saluted him. “Enjoy your mind games, eagle boy.”
Nate drew back, his expression worried. I didn’t know what to say to him to make him feel better. My sense of failure jabbed deeper into my chest. I turned to Aaron. “Let’s go.”
He motioned for me to follow him. At the edge of the clearing, close to the village’s nearest buildings, a circle of beech trees formed a small, sheltered glade. We squeezed between them. Aaron sat down cross-legged in their midst, so I copied him, sitting across from him.
“Is this some kind of mediat
ion you want me to do?” I asked.
“Something like that. To begin with, you could focus on your breathing. Feel it traveling into and out of your lungs. Let it fill your chest fully before you expel it. Get a sense of control over it, and of how by moderating it, you can moderate your emotions.”
Apparently he could tell that my emotions were in severe need of moderation. I sucked in a breath, shaky with frustration. My hands balled at my sides. No, that definitely didn’t fit the exercise. I had to give this a real try.
Maybe there wasn’t some artificial block inside me that was keeping me from my dragon. Maybe I was the one holding it in, holding myself too tight and tense around it.
I inhaled more slowly, letting the air flow into my lungs. My ribs expanded. The breath shuddered on the way out, and I gritted my teeth. Why couldn’t I get even this right?
“Hey,” Aaron said gently. “Come here?”
He beckoned me over. I swiveled and scooted backward so I could lean against his folded legs. He set his hands on my upper arms, his thumbs tracing light arcs over my biceps. The warmth of his presence soaked into my back, even though there was at least a foot between our bodies. That bond, that tug. The tie that marked us as mates. I wet my lips, trying to push aside the swell of desire.
“This isn’t something anyone masters on their first try,” Aaron said. “Relaxing is one of the hardest things someone like us has to do. Try again? In and out, slow and easy. Focus on the feeling of my hands, and try to let any other thoughts wisp right by you.”
His thumbs continued their careful arc back and forth over my skin. The thoughts they were provoking were a totally different kind of frustration from before. But I followed his instructions, closing my eyes. In and out. Like the to and fro of his caress. Slow and even. Nothing else needed to matter except for that and the heat of his touch.
Another breath slipped from my lungs, and I realized I was doing it. The tension had seeped out of me. Disappointment no longer ached behind my sternum. I didn’t know if this was going to help me bring forth my dragon, but it definitely hadn’t hurt anything.
