shift happens 03 - no were to run (17 page)

“Again, how noble of you,” I said rudely while my inner Dragon danced inside me with joy at his crude plan.

“You see,
my true mate
…I won’t have to force you because
you
will come to me.”

Nicolai sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and grinned with smug satisfaction.

“You’re going to be waiting a very long time,” I hissed and stood, knocking my empty wine glass to the floor with a crash. Normally I would clean up the mess, but I had to go. Now.

I didn’t trust myself to stay without making his appalling desire come to fruition. Every instinct I had roared through me and insisted I make him mine. It was terrifying and couldn’t happen.

“God you’re hot when you’re pissed,” he yelled after me as I stomped out of the mess hall. “I’ll leave my door unlocked.”

He was an epic asshole and hell would have to freeze over before I would beg him.

Chapter 13

“Now lemme get somethin’ straight here,” Junior said as he walked around the outdoor training ring with me. “I need to keep how much distance between us when we talk?”

“Six to ten feet,” I told him with an embarrassed shake of my head.

“Goddangit, I’m gonna use that one on the pack at home,” he said with a whistle of appreciation. “It craws at my butt when I see guys talking to Sandy.”

“Oh my God.” I gasped and stopped dead in my tracks. “Do you think he’s bullshitting me?”

Junior mulled it over for a moment and shook his head. “Nah, you Dragons have got some weird shit going on. I’d have to guess that your Nicolai is real serious.”

“He’s not my Nicolai,” I insisted. “He’s an arrogant ass.”

“Whatever you say, Dima.” Junior smiled and kept walking.

He wasn’t on my side either.

Initially the Dragons were wary of Junior until he let loose with his theory on how to return my father’s land to all of the Dragons it had been stolen from over the centuries. Some of the Dragons my father had robbed were right here and part of the Resistance. Junior had already obtained a good portion of the deeds and was in the process of reclaiming all of them.

The re-division of land was solely Junior’s idea. I wished I’d thought of it myself. It was brilliant and the right thing to do.

Those in doubt of his MENSA status shut the hell up when they discovered he was the genius behind the solution that prohibited the Dragon shift. It made a few very uncomfortable, but in the end everyone understood why another species would want to have a trick up their sleeve to defend themselves against us.

We weren’t the most popular houseguests.

“I’m getting close to ruining the bastard, but probably need about a week to have it finished up. Working from here is a good idea. Lot of sensitive info coming through now and I want you to see it,” Junior told me as he stopped and took a seat on a bench. “Nothing is obvious to them yet and I’m keeping it that way. Even if they went looking, it’s all status quo at the moment.”

“How’d you do that?” I asked, impressed.

Glancing around and not spotting Nicolai anywhere, I considered taking a seat next to Junior, but he was my friend and I wouldn’t risk his life. I settled myself on the grass about fifteen feet away.

“I’m just that good,” Junior explained with a humble shrug. “And to be honest, this is fun. Your dad’s a damned bloodthirsty little peckerhead with no balls. Watching him fall will be a pleasure.”

I’d never heard that description attributed to my father before—I’d never heard it used to describe anyone, for that matter. It was all kinds of awesome and would make my father go ballistic. I tucked it away and prayed I’d get a chance to use that gem.

“So our plan is once we bankrupt his organization and they’re in chaos, we go in and take him out,” I told Junior. “We would never have had this chance without you. You’ve made it possible for Dragons to live normal lives.”

“Now
normal
is a relative word,” Junior teased as he shrugged off my praise with a chuckle. “You fire breathers wouldn’t know normal if it bit you in the ass.”

“You are correct, my friend,” Lenny said as he poofed in to our conversation in a blast of smoke and fire. “I’ve been looking forward to your presence. You intrigue me.”

“Damn, that was a fine entrance. I almost peed my goddurn pants,” Junior bellowed as he hopped up and shook hands with an amused Lenny. “You’re one sneaky mother humper.”

I had to agree. Lenny scared the hell out of me often—and seemed to enjoy the fact immensely.

“Would you be available to have a chat with me later this afternoon?” Lenny asked politely.

“Well, my calendar is pretty free seein’ as I’m here to help y’all out, so I’d be happy to,” Junior said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’ve got some questions for you too.”

“Two o’clock?” Lenny asked.

“Works for me,” Junior replied.

Lenny nodded to Junior and me and then exited the same way he’d arrived—in a cloud of purple smoke. His magic was awe inspiring to even me—and I turned into a golden fire breathing Dragon.

“That is one powerful sumbitch,” he said with respect.

No one I knew could swear with as much reverence as Junior. He brought cursing to a new level of esteem. They broke the mold after he was born and I was so very grateful he was my friend.

“You talked with Dwayne?” he asked softly.

“Yesterday,” I whispered back with a smile. “He said Daniel is doing well and the Cows are besotted with him. From what Dwayne said, Daniel is running the show.”

“Everyone I know is in love with that little man. You done good with him, Dima.”

“Thank you.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I could see Junior’s brain working a mile a minute. Several times he started to speak, but stopped himself. After the third time, I was too curious to stay mute.

“Out with it, Wolf,” I said. “You clearly have something to say.”

“I do,” he agreed with a little wince. “But you gotta promise not to set fire to my ass when you hear it.”

“Shit,” I muttered and then heaved a huge sigh. This was going to be a doozy. It always was with Junior. “I swear on my life not to set you on fire. Can I hold onto the option to punch you in the head?”

“Sure can,” Junior said with a grunt of laughter. “I’ll survive a head butt. The fire—not so much.”

“Shoot.”

“Well, Essie and I had a little talk before I came up here and …”

“And?” I asked, readying my left hook.

“And, we know that you’re gonna die in a few months if you don’t mate. I was hopin’ Seth was your man and then it turned out he’s a Seer. Unless he’s gonna do a Thornbirds thing and turn his back on his calling, we’re barking up the wrong tree on that one.”

“We’re?” I asked, confused and slightly annoyed.

“You’re one of us, Dima. Once you join our pack, we crawl so far up your ass and into your business there ain’t no way out,” he explained as if this was logical occurrence.

“While the sentiment is lovely, the analogy was gross,” I replied and tried not to let him see how moved I was by the fact that he cared enough to tell me something that could end in his getting throat punched.

“So the way I see it, you should mate with Nicolai. Essie and Granny are convinced he’s your true mate. You’re wasting precious time here, girlie.”

“I can’t.”

“You’re startin’ to sound like my Sandy,” Junior said, eyeing me with raised eyebrows. “You and me both know it’s just a matter of time and me keeping my willy in my pants before she says yes. Is Nicolai a manwhore?” he asked seriously.

A burst of laughter flew from my lips and I laid back in the grass and grinned. Even when Junior was serious, he was funny. Sandy was lucky.

“No,” I said as I stared at the puffy clouds. “Nicolai is not a manwhore.”

“Um…small man tool?” he suggested with a wink.

“No,” I said as I turned over on my stomach and gave my friend the middle finger. “His man tool is just fine.”

“You attracted to him?”

“Yes.”

“Think about him all the time?”

“Yes.”

“Is he a good person?”

“Yes.”

“An arrogant jackhole?”

“Why would that be a good thing?” I asked confused.

“Cause you’re too strong to be with some wimpy girlie-man,” Junior explained.

Damn it, I had to agree with that one.

“Can you imagine your life without him in it?” he went on.

“Shit,” I mumbled. The answer was no. I couldn’t imagine my life without him, but…

“Then what’s the damn problem here?”

“The problem is Daniel. Wait. That came out wrong. Daniel is my miracle, but he’d be a problem for Nicolai,” I snapped and got to my feet.

“Explain,” Junior said as he tensed.

“It doesn’t matter what I want, or even what fate intended, if it’s not good for my son. There is no way in hell a Dragon would willingly raise another Dragon’s son. All through our history stepchildren have been killed by the new male in order for his line to be pure. No Dragon is worth the life of my son.”

“Are you freakin’ serious. You people kill children?” Junior shouted, completely offended and pissed off.

“Well,” I hedged. “My father did it to my mother’s child from another mating. So yes, it has happened and I won’t risk it.”

“Stop me if I’ve missed something here,” he said as he slowly sat back down and put his elbows on his knees. “We’re comparing your psychotic sperm donor’s behavior to the behavior of all other men?”

“No,” I insisted, wondering for a moment if I was. Junior didn’t understand Dragons. How could he? He was a Wolf.

“You don’t actually know if that bull honkey you just spouted would apply to anyone other than the sick fuck who sired you. Correct?” he asked.

“Well…um…”

“I’m correct,” he answered for me. “Have you even told Nicolai about Daniel? Have you given him a chance to make a decision about this himself?”

“Well…um…”

“I’m gonna go with a nope on that one,” Junior said as he shook his head at me like a disappointed parent.

“Junior, while I appreciate you being all up my butt, I’m Daniel’s mother and if there’s even a small chance that my mating would harm him—even if it was fated to be—I won’t do it.”

He was quiet for a few moments as he absently stared at the sky.

“I’m not a Seer. I can’t read the future. But I’m gonna tell you right here, right now that you’re making a mistake.”

“Junior I…”

He held up his hand to stop me. “Hang on. I’ll support any decision you make because that’s what a pack does, but I need to say my piece and I want you to think about it. Give Nicolai a chance to know about Daniel. Don’t make his decisions for him.”

Picking at the blades of grass, I avoided my friend’s gaze. He had no children and couldn’t understand my fear.

“What if Sandy had a child by another man?” I questioned wondering how he would feel if the tables were turned.

He didn’t miss a beat. “I’d defend the child with my life,” he said simply. “I love Sandy and therefore I love anything that is a part of her.”

He was telling the truth—I was sure of it, but he was a Wolf. Dragons were different.

“You know something I don’t?” he asked with a smirk on his handsome face.

“No,” I said with a laugh. “I don’t think Sandy is hiding a hoard of children from you. But what I do know is that she is one lucky mother humper.”

“Can I get that in writing?” Junior asked with a silly grin. “I need all the help I can get.”

“How about I call her?” I suggested as I got to my feet and scanned the area.

It was clear.

“Junior, stay where you are. I’m coming in for a quick hug because I need some affection from a friend. You okay with that? I’ll back off fast just incase anyone is watching.”

He smiled and put his arms out. “Get over here, little Dragon. Your Alpha wants a hug.”

I giggled and wrapped my arms around him in the same way I wished I could wrap my arms around my long dead brothers. It felt so nice and warm and safe.

“Unhand her. Now,” Nicolai’s furious voice bellowed across the field. “I like you Junior, but I can’t control this shit right now. I’d hate to send you back to Georgia in a box.”

Junior backed away quickly with a laugh. He raised his hands in the air to prove he meant no harm.

“She’s all yours, Dragon,” Junior called out as he walked away. “And she’s a handful. Good luck.”

Thankfully Lenny and Seth were holding the seething Nicolai back. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Junior or anyone else here because of me.

Taking a deep breath, I made a decision and crossed the field. Taking advice from others had never been my forte, but a couple of the things Junior had said made sense.

At least I hoped they did.

I stopped in front of the angry Dragon. My presence seemed to calm him.