Amelia
Amelia was torn.
Whatever the man’s reasons for running away, it was obvious that he wanted nothing to do with her. She should have just accepted the fact and forgot all about him. But she couldn’t. A dragon, or any shifter for that matter, only got one mate. And he was it for her. She couldn’t just let him go without a fight, or at the very least, an explanation. She deserved that much, didn’t she?
A shiver ran through her, the icy burn of rejection chilling her to the bone. Had he seen something in her that he didn’t like, something that appalled him so much he wouldn’t even stick around long enough to give her the chance to explain?
Not that she owed that jerk—mate or not—any explanation. She was who she was, and she had no problem with that. Maybe it was better not to know his reasons…but she knew herself well enough to know thatnotknowing would drive her to distraction, and for a dragon, distraction could be dangerous. That was all there was to it. She needed the peace of mind. And then…then she’d be done with him. She wrapped her arms around herself and frowned out into the darkness. Done with her mate.
Her dragon’s pain and confusion added to her chill, and she tried to placate her animal with the promise that shewouldseek him out, even if only to answer those questions.
There was no way she could have just let him run away without trying to go after him. She needed to know what his problem was.
The men at her feet were still out cold, but Amelia didn’t spare them a second glance as she hurried along the alleyway in search of the man whose face and smell would forever be imprinted in her mind. His scent hung heavy in the air, teasing and tormenting her, and as she rounded the corner, she caught sight of him striding along the sidewalk up ahead.
She waited a few moments to add more space between them and hoped he wasn’t about to get into a car because if he did, she would have to change into her dragon form and take to the sky to continue her pursuit. She tried to keep to the shadows, and out of sight, but while that might have worked against a human quarry, it wouldn’t have been very effective against a dragon whose eyesight was likely to be every bit as impeccable as her own. And whilst she could shift and cloak her dragon self from human eyes, this man was clearly no human. Dragons didn’t mate humans. And humans weren’t as strong as he was. No. She would just have to rely on the shadows, and on her luck.
As they walked along the sidewalk, she kept the same distance between them despite feeling the urge to quicken her pace and catch him up. Her dragon was shouting at her to do just that. It thought Wyatt had just been surprised by her and would change his mind when confronted with her a second time. The beast thought that Amelia would be able to convince him. Her dragon was too damn naïve. If he didn’t want her, then no amount of talking was going to change his mind.
Her dragon disagreed.
Amelia’s plan was to find out where the man lived, and if he knew she was in pursuit, he might not go home. They walked on for about twenty minutes until they came to a small residential street. It was in a much better neighborhood than the condo that she rented, although she was pretty sure there were rats that lived in better places than her. However, Amelia had been lucky to get the condo. It was surprisingly difficult to find a place to live when she wasn’t able to show identification or any sort of paperwork. Fortunately, her landlord was unscrupulous enough to want to make money off her desperation.
As Amelia followed the man home, she decided she wouldn’t approach him that night, she would wait and come back to talk to him the following morning. She hoped that during that time he would have had a chance to realize what he’d lost in running from her and would have regretted his rash decision. He turned and walked up the short pathway to one of the houses then pulled a key out of his pocket and let himself inside.
Amelia stood there for a few moments, watching the house in silence, wanting so badly to knock on the front door so that she could see him and be near him again. It was going to take everything she had to leave and go back the following day. She stared at the house for long moments then realized what it would look like if any of the man’s neighbors happened to glance out the window.
She was about to turn and head back home when a prickle of unease skittered down her spine and she spun around, searching the surrounding properties to see if someone was watching her. She didn’t see anyone suspicious and knew, after a moment’s thought, that it was the same uncomfortable sensation that she’d been experiencing for the past few days.
When she saw no one on the ground, she craned her neck to check the sky to see if she could catch a glimpse of any dragons circling above, afraid that her father had sent someone to find her and bring her home. But the sky was as empty as the streets around her. Then, something made her turn around again, and there, at the end of the street, she saw something, or rather someone. There was a tall figure standing at the end of the road, leaning against a lamppost, watching her quietly, his body as still as the night. Amelia started to walk in his direction and almost immediately he turned on his heel and walked away from her. She quickened her pace, breaking out into a jog to try to get to the man to see who it was and what he wanted from her, but the stranger disappeared down a street and out of sight.
Amelia stood in the road, frustrated and trying to determine if her mind had been playing tricks on her or if the man really had been following her. She supposed it could have been another would-be mugger or rapist, but why would he have left when she’d followed him? No, that felt as if she was grasping at straws. Besides, what would be the odds of running into three such men on the same night? The man had to have another reason for following her. But what was it? With a resigned sigh, Amelia started on her way home, wondering if she’d ever get to the bottom of it, or if it was yet another mystery she would never be able to solve.
