It’s probably pretty shocking to find out that you’re a dragon’s mate and all that goes along with that. I’ll have to find a way to break it to her gently. Although at least it sounds like she wasn’t horrified by my feral form, so that’s one hurdle crossed.
Did she reallybegto see other dragons like that?
Mate. The snarl inside me is angry now. Jealous. But the logical part of me is just really fucking turned on, because shewanteda feral dragon. I have to believe that’s because she wantsme, the one dragon she’s seen in feral form.
All this time, she’s wanted me like I’ve wanted her.
My thoughts are interrupted when that Tristan dude pops out from behind a tree. I groan. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have to feed your cat or something?”
“What areyoudoing here, Dragon?” he snipes back. “And don’t give me that ‘old friend in town for a conference’ bullshit.TechMeet isn’t until next week. It’s no coincidence you ran into us in the park. Does Cari know you’re astalker?”
“Does she know you’re a demon?” I retort.
His glamour ripples and then firms up again. “How could you tell?”
“I know hellfire when I smell it.”
“Damn it.” He looks genuinely peeved. “No, she doesn’t. I was going to tell her,” he adds defensively. “Eventually.”
He definitely wasnotgoing to tell her. “For a demon, you’re a terrible liar.”
“Shut up.” He scrubs his hands through his hair, messing up his perfect coif. “Don’t say anything, please. I really like her, and I put in the work. No demon tricks. Not many, anyway. I’ve spent eighteen months getting close to her, getting her to trust me. This week is the first time she’s agreed to go out with me.”
“As a friend,” I point out, even though I’m keenly aware that I barely have friend status myself.
“It counts.” He crosses his arms, chin jutting out stubbornly. “Don’t blow this for me. I haven’t fucked a single succubus in over a year. Look at me! It’s practically a crime for this glamour to be celibate, but here I am, saving myself for a human.”
He seems earnestly infatuated with her, but there’s not even a question in my mind of letting him have her. “She’s my alokoi, dude. I literally can’t help blowing this for you. It’s biology. There’s no way around it.”
“Shit.” He kicks the sidewalk petulantly with the toe of his shiny wingtip. I’ve never known a demon to give up that easily, though, so I brace myself for what’s to come. Sure enough, a few seconds later, he glances up at me through narrowed eyes. “If you tell her I’m a demon, I’m going to tell her that you lied about the conference and everything.”
“Won’t change the fact that she’s my fated mate.”
“Nope.” He bites off the word like it’s a juicy piece of steak. “But it’ll make it a whole lot harder for you to earn her trust, won’t it? Especially if I embellish it with some choice details that she won’t be able to sort out from the truth. She’ll gorunning.”
I grind the points of my teeth together. He could really fuck things up for me. Demons get very creative sometimes.
He sighs dramatically. “These humans, so flighty and unpredictable. You want her to stick around? Then let me stick around. I’m just her friend, right? No threat to you.”
I snort and cough on my own smoke. “You’re literally threatening me right now.”
His form shifts, liquid in the air, his limbs rippling into a huge, crouched, purple beast with dripping jaws that spatter the concrete path with sulfuric drool. “Let mehave this,” he snarls in a hundred demonic tones, sounding like he has a church organ in his chest. He slimes back into a human shape, wincing. He wipes a stray bit of saliva from the corner of his mouth. “Just this one event. Two civilized monsters on the town with their little human friend. I propose a gentleman’s competition. Let’s see who she’d choose if fate didn’t always have its way. Humor me, just for the night. You’ll get her in the end.”
I have zero confidence that will be the end of it, but there’s no point in provoking a demon. Especially not when my reunion with Cari has barely begun and he could still ruin it. “Fine. I won’t tell her you’re a demon before Friday if you promise to keep your mouth shut about TechMeet.”
“Perfect.” Tristan puts on an eerily charming smile before vanishing into the long shadows cast by the streetlamps.
Ugh.He’s up to something. I really hate demons.
The hotel thankfully has a room available, one with a window onto the park. If I squint, I can see the grove of trees that blocks my view of Cari’s little pink house. It’s comforting to know that she’s so close to me after all these years. And tomorrow night’s date… who knows what might happen.
I’m not even going to think about Friday’s event with Tristan. It’s anon-event in my mind. He’s going to try to put a wedge between us, but she’s my alokoi. Nothing will keep us apart. Even if he had already snared her into some unholy demon marriage contract, she would still be mine. The fated mate claim overrides any other.
My feral form roars approval that echoes through my bones, but my more logical mind tamps down its triumph. Cari isn’t married or even dating anyone else, and that came as a huge surprise. Why? Because Gabe told me she was locked down.
A flame of anger licks up my spine. Why was he trying to keep us apart? It’s late, but Gabe’s still logged in to our dedicated work chat, so I send him a message.
Zed
