46
I picked up my phone and called my best friend as I walked back to my office. I needed some down time right about now and although he probably wasn’t the best person to give me advice, he was the only one that would be brutally honest with me.
“Hello,” he answered on the second ring.
“I’m fucking screwed,” I said.
“What else is new, what did you do this time?” Jasper asked me with a laugh.
“Not over the phone, where are you?” I asked him.
“At some hotel but I can meet you wherever,” he said.
“I’ll be at that bar in an hour, you know the place where we had our first fight?” I said to him.
“Man that was a fun night, see you soon,” he said and I ended the call.
I grabbed my jacket and keys and headed outside to my car. I needed to get away before I did something stupid. I took my anger out on the road and I made it to Chicago in just under an hour. I sat down at the counter of the bar and ordered two drinks before taking a table in the back.
“I see you started without me,” Jasper said as he sat down across from me.
“It’s not my fault you took your time in getting here,” I said to him as we shook hands.
The server took our order and I waited until she had brought them over before looking Jasper straight in the eye. He looked the same as always and I missed our weekly sessions where we’d drink and go out and just spend time together.
“So what’s got your panties in a twist?” he asked me.
“Rylee’s pregnant,” I said.
“Nice, congrats man,” he said as he looked at me, “or not…”
“I don’t know how to feel about this,” I said to him.
“Why? Having an heir is a good thing,” he said.
“If it’s mine then yes,” I said.
“What the fuck are you saying?” he asked me perplexed.
“When Tessa came to see me with that video, Rylee heard only the sounds of that fuck fest and she assumed I was doing the same to Tessa in my office. She went out and got wasted to the point where she remembers absolutely nothing from that night,” I said to him.
“That doesn’t mean she did anything,” he said.
“I found her, she came out of the bathroom tugging her dress down followed by some random guy that I beat the shit out of,” I said to him.
“Well fuck me,” he said.
“Exactly,” I said.
“What are you going to do?” he asked me.
“I really don’t know Jasper. Our relationship is rocky as it is, we fight like cats and dogs, the sex is great, I mean obviously, but I can’t get that image out of my head,” I said to him honestly.
“You’ve basically got one choice my friend,” he said as he emptied his glass.
“And that is?” I asked him.
“Wait until the baby’s born and do a paternity test,” he said.
“Even if it’s not mine, you know we bonded this relationship in the dragon realm, we can’t reject this bond no matter how much we wanted to,” I said to him.
“That’s true, but you could live your lives separately in the same house,” he said to me.
“Yeah that’ll be just peachy, me hating her guts and wanting to rip her clothes off at the same time,” I said and he laughed.
“Yeah, you’re screwed,” he said.
“Thanks a lot,” I said as he laughed again and filled our glasses from the bottle on the table.
We stayed at that bar until well after midnight and I ignored the phone calls from everyone. I’d been drinking water for the last hour and I felt sober enough to drive home as Jasper and I hugged and laughed and I promised to meet up with him again soon.
The house was dark and quiet, everybody already asleep as I walked slowly upstairs and into our bedroom. Rylee was asleep too and I undressed quietly and climbed into bed. I turned towards her because her scent had a way of calming me down. Sleep came peacefully and I woke up tangled all over her with a dull headache at the back of my head.
I showered and got dressed as Rylee slept and I decided not to wake her. I went downstairs to find the rest of the family in the dining room and I sat down as they all looked at me. I dished up my food and ignored their stares.
“So…” Preston began to say.
“What?” I asked as I found them all still staring.
“What’s up with Rylee?” Hannah asked.
“She’s pregnant,” I said and everyone broke out in smiles.
“That’s great!”
“Congratulations big brother.”
“Hmm,” Rev grunted and I looked at them my expression still blank.
“You don’t seem that happy,” Preston said.
“I’m not sure if it’s mine,” I said.
“Shit I totally forgot about that,” Preston said.
Hannah didn’t say anything as she turned her attention back to her food and we sat there in silence. I knew that baby wasn’t mine, that’s why Hannah said I shouldn’t explode and what she had seen would be our worst fight ever.
“Just wait for proof before you go off the rails,” Hannah said once she had finished breakfast.
“Nothing else I can do,” I said as I pushed my plate away.
“Rev have you gotten that driver we took to talk yet?” Preston asked changing the subject.
“No,” he said.
“It’s been weeks now and nothing?” I asked him.
“No,” he answered.
“Maybe I should pay him a little visit,” I said.
“Yes,” Rev said.
“Yes? Usually you hate it when I interfere in your process,” I said to him.
“I do,” he said.
“So what’s different this time?” I asked him.
“His dragon seems to have left him, it’s like he’s stuck in the dragon realm, he took something in the van when we brought everyone here and I can’t make him submit without his dragon,” he said.
“Shit,” I said.
“I’ve never heard of someone’s dragon leaving,” Preston said.
“Sometimes a dragon will leave if his personality is in conflict with his host,” Baz said in my head.
“His dragon might be purer than him,” I said as an explanation.
“Baz, can you make contact with his dragon in your realm? Maybe he’ll be more eager to share what he knows,” I said to him.
“Let me think about it,” Baz said and curled up on his side.
After breakfast we went down to the basement and I looked at the man in the last cell. He didn’t look too bad for someone that had been kept down there for a few weeks. He glanced up and then lowered his head again when he heard us approach.
“Daniel Matheson,” Rev said to me.
“Hello Daniel, I’m Lucas,” I said to him.
“I know who you are,” he said not looking at me.
“Why are you so willing to protect your employer?” I asked him.
“My loyalty was sworn as a life oath, you’re a Sire, I’m sure I don’t need to educate you on the way of dragonkin,” he said.
“Smart ass,” Preston said as I laughed.
“It seems I might need to educate you on society’s morals, kidnapping and selling women is not exactly an admirable trade,” I said to him.
“Just kill me already,” he said.
“To what purpose? Your dragon’s already left you which makes you nothing more than human, even your lair won’t accept you back without your beast,” I said to him.
“I never touched any of those women,” he said to me.
“It doesn’t minimize your guilt in anything that happened to them,” I said angrily.
“You can’t save them all,” he said and laughed suddenly.
“I already know you’re McIntyre’s property, I know Carson runs this little operation with Joseph’s authorization,” I said.
“I figured as much but you have no idea where they’re operating from and you won’t get anything from me,” he said.
“If I wanted to know that I would’ve asked you but instead my dragon will ask yours,” I said to him.
“On what grounds will you get the Elders to allow that? You can’t mention this to them and make yourself complicit in the murders of seven men,” he said.
“Why would I need the Elders to do that?” I asked him.
“No Sire is that strong,” he said confidently.
“Open his cell door,” I said. Rev pulled him to his feet and slammed his back against the cell door as I stood in front of him.
“Carson will have his fun with your little mate again soon,” he said as he laughed at me.
His eyes froze in disbelief and I saw his body slump down towards the floor as Preston swore loudly next to me and I looked down at my hand. I held his heart in my hand and I didn’t even register ripping it from his chest.
“Holy fuck Lucas! You just shifted into a partial dragon!” Preston yelled.
My hand that gripped his heart was shaped like Baz’s claw and the gaping hole in Daniel’s chest was all the evidence I needed to know that Preston was right. This couldn’t be possible, partial shifting wasn’t something we could do and I didn’t even know how I had done it. I dropped his heart on the floor as the claw changed back to my hand.
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