She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, the only time they really care is if the spell or potion may potentially harm a human or paranormal. And with dark witches on the rise, they’ve got their hands full with them.”
“Dark witches are on the rise?” Kaida said.
Elora blanched. “Shit, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Should we be worried?” Bren asked.
“No, no. It’s fine. There’s a bit of a… thing going on right now in the witch world but it’s fine. The WWC will handle it.”
“What sort of thing?” Bren asked.
“I can’t say,” Elora said. “That will definitely put me on the WWC’s shit list. Anyway, Kaida isn’t going to use the invisibility potion for anything other than sneaking out of the clan to see you. Right, Kaida?”
“Yes,” Kaida said.
“Then we’re all good.” Elora jumped up and started yanking open drawers. “Scissors, Bren?”
“Kaida, are you sure you want to do this?” Bren asked.
Kaida didn’t hesitate. Now that humans knew about dragons and now that she’d successfully had sex with Bren without setting him on fire, she wanted to explore the possibility of a relationship with him. She needed to. Her dragon would go mad if she didn’t.
“I am.”
Your clan is going to freak out. They’ll never accept him as your mate.
She ignored her inner voice and squeezed Bren’s hand again. “Unless,” God, she hoped he wasn’t changing his mind, “you don’t want to try dating?”
“I want to,” he said immediately.
“Then we’re good.” She smiled at him, warmth flooding her belly when Bren returned her smile.
Elora waved the scissors and a clear plastic baggie in the air and slammed a drawer shut. “Got them. This is going to be so great for you two.”
She stood next to Kaida and snipped off a small lock of her hair before placing it in a plastic baggie. “I’ve been watching a ton of the dragon stuff online and on television and the good news is, I haven’t seen Kaida once, so you guys should be able to go out and do couple stuff without people realizing you’re a dragon.”
Kaida scowled. “How often have they shown my clan members on TV?”
“Not that often,” Elora assured her. “It mostly happened before the police set up the barricade and even then, the dragons weren’t that clear because the damn vultures were trying to record you through the windows of your houses. God, people suck.”
She smiled tentatively at Kaida. “Okay, so I’ll need a dragon scale now.”
Kaida held out her arm and concentrated. She heard Bren’s sharp intake of breath when the scales appeared on her forearm. Hoping he wasn’t freaking out, she plucked a scale out – her dragon grumbled a complaint – and handed it to Elora.
Elora held the shimmery blue scale up to the light. “It’s beautiful. I would kill to see you in your dragon form.” She stared hopefully at Kaida.
“I can’t,” Kaida glanced around the kitchen. “I am much bigger in my dragon form and I’m pretty sure Bren doesn’t want his apartment destroyed.”
“Definitely wouldn’t get my security deposit back after that,” Bren said.
Elora laughed. “Yeah, okay.” She dropped the scale into the plastic baggie next to the hair. “Lilianna, let’s go.”
“How long will it take to make the potion?” Bren asked.
Lilianna flew back into the kitchen and landed on Elora’s shoulder. She preened Elora’s hair before cocking her head and staring at the bag with the scale in it.
“Not that long,” Elora said. “I should have it done by tonight.”
Bren glanced at Kaida. “Can you stay that long?”
“I think so,” she said.
We stay with our mate, her dragon growled.
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’ll let you know if it changes,” she said.
“Okay. I’ll text you when I’m done.” Elora, her body nearly vibrating with excitement, left the kitchen.
Kaida and Bren stared silently at each other before Bren leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her mouth. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She had a big stupid grin on her face that was matched by the one on Bren’s.
“I had a great time last night,” Bren said.
“I did too.”
“Are you hungry? A muffin isn’t much for breakfast.” He stood and opened the fridge door. “I could make us some pancakes or eggs and toast.”
She joined him at the fridge, sliding her arm around his waist and kissing his neck. “I’m not hungry. Not for food.”
“Oh yeah?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “What are you hungry for?”
She purred to him and slipped her hands under his shirt to stroke his lean abdomen. “Do you really need to ask?”
“Not really,” he said with a cute grin, “but I like hearing how hot you are for me.”
She groaned, and he laughed. “Unintentional bad pun, I promise.”
She kissed his neck again, liking the way it made his stomach muscles quiver against her fingertips. “Why don’t we go back to bed?”
He shut the fridge door. “I am one hundred percent into that idea.”
The front door opened and Kaida stared at Bren when they heard Tyler say, “Whatever, Dad. My chemistry test is more important. God, why can’t you be like a normal dad for once.”
“Shit,” Bren said in a low voice. “Sorry, Tyler has his own key to my place.”
“Bren? Hey, Bren! Are you awake?” Tyler’s voice moved down the hall. “Can you please tell Dad that I’m not… holy crap! Kaida! Hi!”
Kaida pulled her hands out from under Bren’s shirt and took a step back. Shit. She was wearing one of Bren’s t-shirts and her yoga pants, and her hair was a rat’s nest on top of her head. Telling herself it could have been worse – she could be braless - she smiled at Tyler. “Hey, Tyler.”
Tyler glanced at her and then at Bren, his gaze taking in Ben’s bedhead and her own disheveled look. A huge smile crossed his face. “Oh my God, are you guys, like, together?”
Bren grimaced. “Ty, don’t -”
“Hello, Bren.”
A tall man with dark hair and blue eyes stepped into the kitchen. Despite never meeting him before, Kaida knew who he was. She’d seen the senator on TV and online enough times.
“Hello, Dad.” Bren’s voice had turned ice cold.
There was awkward silence and when Bren didn’t introduce them, the senator stepped forward and held out his hand. “Robert Matthews.”
“Kaida,” she said and gave his hand a quick shake.
The senator stared steadily at her. His eyes might have been the same colour as Bren’s, but they held none of the warmth that Bren’s did. Her dragon growled out a warning and she swallowed the smoke drifting up her throat.
“You didn’t tell me you were dating someone, Bren,” the senator said.
“I didn’t know it was any of your business,” Bren said.
His father’s smile didn’t thaw the ice in his gaze. “You’re my son, your life is always my business.”
Bren didn’t reply and Robert looked her up and down. “You’re big for a female.”
“Dad!” Bren snapped. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
His father ignored him. “Are you a shifter? Is that why you’re so tall?”
Heat was rising in her chest. Her dragon paced restlessly, growling at her to show the ignorant human what she could do to him.
“Oh please,” Tyler scoffed. “Like Bren or I would ever date a shifter. We’re not stupid. You’d lose your shit and end up in a damn mental hospital or something.”
His father glared at him. “Watch your language, Tyler.”
“Whatever.” Tyler rolled his eyes in the universal language of teenagers and started texting on his phone.
“Why are you here?” Bren said to his father.
“Can’t I visit my son without an interrogation?” Robert repl
ied. He smiled his icy smile at Kaida. “I assure you I’m not the monster Bren has undoubtedly told you I am.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Bren said. “I don’t talk about you at all.”
The icy smile turned a few degrees colder. “We need to speak about tomorrow. I’ve spoken to the captain of your precinct and he’s agreed to give you a few hours off from work to join me.”
Bren’s brows creased. “What are you talking about?”
Annoyance flashed across his father’s face. “Do you even look at your email, Bren? I had Theresa send you the email on Friday.”
“I was busy with my job,” Bren said. “If you have something you need to discuss with me, you could try reaching out yourself instead of having your assistant email me.”
“If you responded to my texts, I might,” Robert said. “The charity luncheon is tomorrow. It starts at eleven thirty and goes until three. Wear a suit.”
“I’m not going,” Bren said.
“I need your support on this one,” Robert said. “I’m making the announcement about introducing the bill to the Senate. I want my family with me.”
Kaida’s stomach dropped as Bren said, “You’re actually doing it. You’re putting forward that ridiculous bill.”
“It isn’t ridiculous,” Robert said. “It’s a necessary step to protect humans from the paranormal.”
“Forcing the paranormals to be tagged like animals and registering on a list isn’t protecting humans,” Bren said. “There is no point to this bill, and you won’t get it passed. There are paranormals in the Senate for God’s sake. They’ll never vote for it.”
“I don’t need them to,” Robert said. “Both the House and the Senate have more humans than paranormals.”
Bren scoffed. “It still won’t work. Hell, it won’t even make it past the subcommittee and you know it. You’ll never have it passed into law, Dad. Stop wasting your time.”
Bren’s father’s face was a deep dark red that made Kaida think of wine that had long gone sour. “You’re wrong, Bren. The discovery that dragons exist has made humans nervous.”
“What’s the big deal?” Tyler looked up from his cell phone. “I think dragons are cool and so does everyone else at my school.” His gaze drifted briefly to Kaida before returning to his dad. “They’re, like, super chill.”
“You have no idea what they’re like, Tyler,” Robert said. “They’re dangerous. They’re monsters who are a danger to the very fabric of our society. The fact that they lied about their existence speaks volume about their character. They need to be monitored and controlled for our safety.”
“Maybe they didn’t say anything because of people like you,” Tyler said. “Besides, they’re not dangerous.”
“See if you’re still saying that when they burn everything you love,” his father snapped.
Tyler rolled his eyes and returned to looking at his phone.
“This bill is important to me as is having my family there to support me when I make the announcement,” Robert said. “You will be there, Bren. You and Tyler both.”
“I can’t.” Tyler’s tone teetered on exasperation leaning toward outright disrespect. “Oh my God, I told you, like, how many times that I have a chemistry exam tomorrow afternoon. I can’t miss it. It’s my hardest class.”
“You can do a make-up exam,” Robert said.
“No!” Tyler glared at him. “I’m not missing the exam.”
“Is a chemistry exam really the hill you want to die on?” his father snapped.
Tyler folded his arms across his chest. “Guess so.”
Robert’s cell phone rang, and he snatched it from his pocket. “For God’s sake.” He jabbed at the answer button. “Theresa, what is it?”
He listened before muttering a curse and ending the call without saying goodbye. “I need to go into the office. Bren, make sure you’re there by -”
“I’m not going.” Bren’s voice was low but firm. “I don’t support the bill, nor do I support the HAPI group. They’re doing some illegal shit, Dad, and if you align yourselves with them -”
His father slammed his hand down on the kitchen table. “Enough, Bren! You know, just once it would be nice if one of my children would look past his own nose and support my efforts to fix this mess the world is in.”
“Paranormals don’t make the world a mess,” Bren said. “It’s the people who work for and volunteer with HAPI that are fucking everything up.”
“Your bleeding heart sentiments are getting really old,” Robert said. “Neither of you want to be there tomorrow? Fine, don’t be there. I don’t need my constituents seeing what utter failures both of my sons are. Tyler, let’s go.”
“I’m staying with Bren tonight,” Tyler said. “Right, Bren?”
The look he gave his brother was almost pleading. Without hesitating, Bren said, “Yes.”
“Whatever,” Robert said. He glanced at Kaida. “It’s unfortunate our first meeting was marred by my children’s thoughtlessness. It was a pleasure meeting you, Kaida.”
Her hands in tight fists behind her back, Kaida said, “Good-bye, Senator Matthews.”
He left the kitchen and when the front door slammed behind him, Tyler said, “God, what a douche.”
“Tyler,” Bren warned.
“What? He is,” Tyler said.
“He’s still our father,” Bren said.
Tyler shrugged before grinning at Kaida. “Can you imagine the look on his face if he knew Kaida was a dragon?” He snorted loud laughter. “He was going on and on about how dangerous dragons are, and there was one standing right beside him. He’s lucky she didn’t torch him when he started talking shit about dragons.”
“I wouldn’t torch a human,” Kaida said quickly.
“I know,” Tyler said. His phone buzzed and he glanced at it. “It’s Corey. Can he come over and hang with us too, Bren? Please?”
Bren glanced at Kaida. “Sure. Does he need a ride over?”
Tyler texted Corey and when his phone buzzed again, shook his head. “Nah, his foster dad is gonna be near here. Said he’d drop him off.”
He stuck his phone into his back pocket and then sniffed at his armpits. “I’m gonna take a quick shower. Oh, shit. I didn’t wash the clothes I left here the last time I stayed over.”
“I washed them and the other clothes too,” Bren said. “The amount of clothes you leave here is staggering. Do you have any left at home, buddy?”
“Some. Thanks for washing my stuff, dude.” Tyler fist bumped Bren before grinning at Kaida. “It’s cool you and my brother are dating.”
“Go have your shower, Ty,” Bren said.
Tyler sauntered out of the kitchen, typing again on his phone. Bren waited a few seconds before turning to Kaida. “Well, you’ve met my father. Still want to try dating?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his chest, her dragon purring softly to him. “Yes. You are not your father, Bren.”
He rubbed her back. “Sorry about Tyler joining us for the day. If I didn’t let him stay, Dad would have harassed him all afternoon about not going to the charity event, and -”
She pressed her lips against his, stopping the words. When she drew back, he smiled at her. “What was that for?”
“I love that you put Tyler’s needs ahead of your own. You’re an amazing brother and Tyler is lucky to have you,” she said.
His smile made her dragon purr again. He kissed her and then said, “Thanks for understanding. But if you want to go back to your clan rather than hang out with the boys and me, I get it. I’ll ask Bishop to bring the potion to you tomorrow and -”
“I want to stay,” she said.
“I want that too.” He kissed her again. “When Corey gets here, why don’t the four of us go for lunch? I know an amazing diner that isn’t very busy. There shouldn’t be too much worry about a shifter smelling your scent and discovering what you are.”
“That sounds perfect,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bren set the suitcase on the bed and stripped out of his work clothes. He took a quick shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before heading to the kitchen. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened it.
Kaida would be here any minute and he couldn’t wait. She’d spent the entire day with him and Tyler and Corey yesterday, and even though Elora had brought the invisibility potion to them by dinner time, Kaida had stayed until almost nine. They’d watched a movie with the boys, and he didn’t think it was his imagination that Tyler was starting to glom onto her like a baby duck imprinting on a human. His younger brother wanted a mother figure and while technically Kaida wasn’t old enough to be his mother, she had a calm and almost motherly energy that Tyler couldn’t resist.
She’ll be an excellent mother.
Yes, she would be. He allowed himself to imagine Kaida carrying his baby for a few brief moments before shaking his head and drinking some beer. He was being ridiculous. He appreciated that Kaida wanted to try dating, but he knew how it would end. His father would never accept her and while he didn’t give a shit what his father thought, her clan would never accept him and Kaida wouldn’t leave her clan. It was a no-win situation.
So why are you torturing yourself? End it with her now. Is the heartache going to be worth it just so you don’t have a case of blue balls?
He gulped down another swallow of beer, the bitter hops coating his tongue. It was more than just the sex. He liked Kaida a lot and the thought of not seeing her made him anxious and pissed off.
It’s only gonna get worse if you don’t end it now.
“Yeah, well, I’m not ending it with her, so shut it,” he muttered.
There was a knock on his door, and he set the beer bottle on the counter and walked toward the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. “Since when do you knock, Elora? Or for that…”
The hallway was empty.
“What the hell?” he said.
“Bren, it’s me.”
He startled back, his heart knocking in his chest, and he made an unmanly squeak of surprise when he felt Kaida brush past him.
The Dragon's Mate (Shifters Series Book 7) Page 25
