“Take your wrath.” She smiled. “Leave you at the altar.” She shrugged. “Probably get killed by one of our fathers. Which would leave Teagan heart-broken.”
“I will protect you from them,” he promised. She smiled gratefully. He stroked his goatee.
“So, the wedding is off?”
“The wedding is off.” He took her into his arms and hugged her again. “Now we just have to tell the folks.”
“And our lovers.”
‘And our lovers.” He smiled. “You’ll be happy?” He asked holding her at arm’s length.
“Yes.” She said she as she put a hand to his face. “Will you?”
“Yes,” he smiled. “I believe I have found my mate.”
“I believe I have found mine, too. And I am so grateful that I was betrothed to you.”
“I’m grateful as well. Anyone else would have forced me to marry them, even though Sarai has my heart.”
“You would have gone through with the marriage even though you loved someone else?”
“I am a male dragon, the heir of my clan. I don’t have the luxury to walk away, but I will let you walk away, and make us both happy. I will take full blame for it.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“I am strong, I have a better chance to survive. I’ve been working out. I may even be stronger than my father.”
“Be careful, please. I may not love you, but I do care. I am very fond of you, and I hope the four of us can become great friends.”
“We should have a double elope. We’ll find someplace beautiful where we can tie the knot safely, out of our parents’ reach. We can be witnesses to each other’s wedding.”
“I’d like that, but yours is human, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well I think you’ll have to explain things to her, before that happens. I assume she doesn’t know yet.”
He shook his head.“I plan to tell her, once I figure out how to do it.”
“Humans are slow, but they aren’t stupid. Show yourself to her, your real self. If she loves you, she will accept it. She’ll be frightened at first, for sure, she may even run away in terror, but if she loves you as much as you love her, she’ll learn to accept it. Learn to love that side of you, too.”
“We made love the other night.”
“You did? Did you change?”
“Not fully, but I felt my eyes flash. I think she saw it, but I don’t think she knows what she saw.”
“I flashed my eyes at her, and she didn’t seem to notice. Humans don’t always notice things like that. Protect her. Your father will want to spill her blood for destroying the pact.”
“I will protect you both, and don’t worry about your father. I’ll deal with mine and figure out how to deal with yours. You won’t have to take any of the blame. I can handle it.”
“Alistair, you are an amazing man, a rare breed for sure. You look like a brute and you brood like a brute, but you’re soft, and kindhearted, and that makes you a better dragon than your father. You will protect humanity, protect the shifters and humans alike. The old dragons want to destroy them, get rid of them, like they tried to do with us. But some of us, some of the shifters need humans to survive. I like humans. They’re fascinating creatures. So resourceful and adaptable. That was one thing us dragons never became, adaptable. Look at our parents, still stuck in a time from long ago”
“Yes, I’m aware of this.” He was excited. He couldn’t wait to get back to Sarai and start something real. He knew he should probably figure out how to tell his parents, but that didn’t mean he had to stop seeing Sarai while he figured that out. He wanted to make love to her every day; maybe he’d even invite her to move in.Nope. She can’t move in until you’ve told her the truth. Not till you tell her, and show her, that you’re a dragon. I should have just told her from the beginning. She would have laughed and said ok, and then I could use this time to just prove it to her, but now I’ve got to find a way to broach the subject. I’ve got it! I’ll take her downstairs. I can show her my world, introduce her to Teagan, Phoebe, and Tiberius, all at once.
“Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time, and I hope your girl didn’t bolt. I think she heard me say we need to talk about the wedding.” She nibbled her lip.
“Great! Well, at least I know how to find her. I’ll go to her shop and smooth things over.
