“She is here as my guest. And that's all you really need to know. You should trust your promised mate.”
“Trust?! How the hell can I trust you, when you have some damn woman staying down the hall from you. I thought this bitch was human?”
“Yeah, so did I.”
*
(Nathan)
Nathan stared at the dark red dragon that threatened to break everything around her if she moved any more than she already was. He knew that he needed to talk Laurel down. He wasn't used to people that he thought were humans actually being dragon shifters. He could usually sense such a thing. He also didn't know many shifters that could get to that age and not know what they were. It was usually passed down from the parents, much like all the knowledge that they would need. Or they were sent to the Academy. Never had they so successfully lived as a human. So successfully that they didn't even know it themselves!
He had heard of instances where the shifter side of a person could be held down with some kind of magic, but he didn't know much about those things. Even with magic holding her back, though, Laurel’s instinct had taken over and her dragon had saved her. Nathan didn't even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. If his mate had gotten her way. He shouldn’t have to think about it.
He let go of Nancy and told her that she needed to leave. Nathan wasn’t gentle with her at all. He didn’t want to hurt her but feared if she didn’t get out of his sight, he just might. Every second she was standing in front of him was too much as far as he was concerned.
“Go?! Are you kidding me? I'm not going anywhere. There's no way that you're telling me to leave and she gets to stay. I am your promised!”
“I don't really know what you think is going on here, but I can assure you that you have no clue. You have completely embarrassed yourself. Do you not understand that? Do you not see how impetuous you have been, how you’ve shamed us both?”
Talking to her like a child just pissed her off more, and he pretty quickly regretted saying anything to her. He knew better.
“I don't know who you think you are, but just because you're going to be my mate, Nathan, doesn't mean that you can treat me like this. I demand that she leave. I do not want her staying under the same roof as you.”
It actually wasn't that hard to see where she was coming from. He should have respected it, but he wasn't going to. He had always been drawn to Laurel. But at the same time, he'd always known that she was human, as well as off limits. Even though he was still promised to be mated to someone else, the very idea that she was more accessible now made him feel better about the situation. It didn't mean that it would happen, but it meant that it could. That little bit of hope was all he needed.
After a little talking to her and a few threats of talking to her parents, Nancy finally left semi-peacefully. She was still cursing both of them, but at least she left. He was finally able to deal with the dragon in his spare bedroom when he got back.
Even as a dragon, he could feel the fear that was coming off of Laurel. She had certainly not expected that to happen. He hadn’t, either. How in the world could it have been so long, and he wasn't able to see it? Why couldn't he see it?
It felt like there was something that he was missing, some very important information, and now he was even more inclined to find out where she came from. First, though, he had to get her calm down enough for her to shift back. It was his specialty, after all. He had spent the last several years teaching new shifters how to deal with their power. He just never thought that he would be teaching a human those things.
He smiled to himself. She wasn't human, she was just like him. Why did that make him so happy?
Nathan knew that he was going to have a hell of a time dealing with Nancy but deal with her he must. Why did he all of a sudden feel like the promise and fate were not intertwined as much as he had originally thought? He no longer wanted to pretend, anymore. For one reason or another, Laurel being his own kind just seemed to seal the deal. The only thing standing in the way of the two of them being together and being happy was a mate that he didn't want, that he never wanted. Now, he was going to have to think of a way to make it happen. Nathan was ready to throw caution to the wind and fate as well. If they didn't want him to be with Laurel, then maybe it wasn't right.
It was hard for him to even think about going against his family and the ancient rules of his kind. He had been willing to do it for a human, and he was even more willing to do it for another shifter. It hadn't changed the way he felt about Laurel at all, not really. It just made her more acceptable in the eyes of the people around him. Whether he wanted to pretend like it mattered or not, it did. They could make it far more complicated, depending on how they viewed it. He wanted it to be easier, obviously.
He turned to Laurel and smiled at her. “I know that you're freaked out right now, but I promise you that everything is going to be okay. You just have to trust me and calm down. It’s the only way, Laurel.”
The dragon looked at him like she wasn't sure if she could believe him or not. It bothered Nathan a little bit, that Laurel didn't immediately trust him, but at the same time, he remembered his first time. At least when it had happened for him, he had known what he was. There was no guessing, no thinking he was something else. He had always known that he was a shifter. Not only was this her first time, but Laurel was just coming to the realization of what she truly was. He had to believe that it would be daunting at best.
“Now, Laurel, calm down. If you don't, it will be very hard for you to come out of this, and it won’t be pleasant.”
More hesitation. Did she not hear him?
“You want to come out of this, don't you?” The dragon wasn’t saying anything because she couldn't. But she had a look in her eyes, one that had trust in it, finally, and he was hopeful. Maybe it didn’t have to be that hard.
Then at about the same moment he was thinking that, she got anger in her eyes and leapt toward him. He felt her nails in his arm and winced, knowing full well that he should have seen that coming.
Chapter 10
“I really am sorry about that. I don't know what came over me. Gosh, I am so embarrassed.”
“It's fine, really. It is good to always stay on my toes. I didn't, and I paid for it. Maybe next time I will pay more attention when you’re upset.”
Laurel was shaking, and Nathan wrapped his arms around her. She had attacked him, and she had scratched Nathan, but it was nothing that was going to bother him too badly. Truthfully, he had messed around with his friends and suffered worse damage.
He said all of that to her, but it didn't make her feel any better. Laurel felt horrible. She wasn't even sure what had happened to her, not really. She knew that she had shifted, but the why, when, and how, were all a mystery to her. All of that was left open to interpretation and that scared her. She worried about what it meant for the rest of her life. Why had she not known about this?
