“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Mum,” I said and hugged again. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
She looked at my face, still squeezing the hyena heart in her fist.
“You haven’t exchanged your claiming vows, Nic. What’s wrong?”
“We wanted to make sure you were okay first,” I said, sparing us both the embarrassing story about how Raiel interrupted us before things could go too far.
“That makes sense. I’m sorry that I caused more trouble. I think Clarence is looking for me still. He won’t find me here and he won’t be looking for you guys either. I told him I did it all. It’s been so long since anyone in our family had their true-mates. So long. You should have the best shot you can,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what happens to me. If Clarence doesn’t believe that I did the right thing, that’s okay. He’s too blinded by made up rules anyway. For the first time in a long time I listened to my dragon and she told me to kill them. To rip them asunder before they hurt you. You’re safe now and you can have all the time you want with Beal. If Clarence tries to arrest me again, I have a place to go.”
“You’re not going off with that shebear!” one of the other witches, whom I didn’t recognize, said.
“I will go where I want! If I’m with her, she can’t attack Crilus!” Mum rolled her eyes.
“I told you. You should go off to the coven’s getaway. Spend some time in nature and relax. There’s nothing wrong with you that a vacation wouldn’t fix.”
“Mum!” I spoke over the women to get her attention. “Clarence has their phone records. He knows. He thinks you’re going to end back up in the hospital with exhaustion.”
“No, I’m not going back to that place,” she shook her head. “I might go on vacation. I might not. Are you going to be okay with things? I mean, the house and Shiny Butts? I can stay. Oh! Are you staying or are you moving in with him?”
We hadn’t talked about it yet. Did I have the right to make the decision singlehandedly?
“It’s okay if you don’t know,” she smiled and for the first time in a while it was a real smile that reached all the way to her eyes and her scent.
One by one the other women wandered off and I sat down with her. She was definitely a bit manic but that was thebyproduct of coming down from being enraged. Her dragon’s magic still oozed from her pores. At this rate, I’d need to ask Beal to carry her home or ask someone to come and give us a ride. I listened as she prattled on about how she’d taken their heads and Topher’s heart. Now and then she’d stop and apologize for killing Jon because “I know you loved him, Nic, but he wasn’t any good. I hope Beal can make you forget all about him.” She stroked my hair as she spoke and slowly her words slowed down and she stared at the dead heart of her ex lover.
“He was such a bastard,” she sighed. “We sure do know how to pick them, huh?”
“I think it’s hard to pick them here. Not just in London but in life,” I squeezed her free, heartless hand. “I think because we chose the best for us in the Other World here it’s hard to make heads or tails of things. We’re all just trying to fill that gap in. The sucky thing is somewhere out there are the people who would’ve been perfect for them all. They just couldn’t be decent people and wait. Yours is out there too somewhere. I bet they have the same crappy taste in partners we do.”
She laughed and wiped at the corners of her eyes with her free hand.
“Why don’t we let Chinda’s ladies put that in amber or glass for you?” I offered when she glanced at the heart again. “That way you’ll always have it but won’t have to worry about it rotting away in your hand.”
“I’ll feel better after some sleep,” she nodded and offered me the heart for safekeeping.
Chapter Fourteen
Beal
Moonscale London
I didn’t know many people on Earthside, but I knew Raiel and that was better than knowing a dozen shifters casually. A cat doesn’t forget the man who traversed through gateways to bring him a sex potion. So he came to Earthside and got his car from whatever garage he stashed it in when he wasn’t using it and drove us back to Nic and his mother’s house. I carried her sleeping form in for Nic, cradling her to me as if she were a delicate flower, because to my mate she was. She felt small in my arms, like a feather that might be caught up in a gentle breeze and carried off to some far away land. We tucked her into her bed and pulled her shoes off. She’d probably sleep for a few days. Dragons had their ways of doing that to recover after such violent events. Justice was hard work.
After she was tucked in, Raiel ran out for takeout and me and Nic showered together. He was beautiful all soapy even if sadness and worry clung to his damp skin. This wasn’t the time for mating or romping but I still couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“Barbs,” he whispered, his gaze down on my crotch.
“They’re soft,” I said, running my fingers through his soapy hair to massage his scalp. “They stay soft in this form. They make it extra likely that you’ll get pregnant but they’re fleshy. There’s a potion to make them shift back inside too. I know they can be intimidating if you’re not used to penises that have them and…”
Nic pressed a single damp finger against my lips.
“May I touch you?” he asked.
“You never have to ask.”
“But I do because otherwise I might touch you all the time.”
“You won’t hear any complaints,” I said and cupped his chin in my hand when he pulled his finger back. “This isn’t the way I imagined things going. I thought I’d bring something from Tops and make my grand reveal.”
