I wasn’t certain about that. Pax was annoyed, even angry outside the café, and I guessed his distance at the party was because he’d caught sight of my tattoo. He got frustrated at me telling him we were connected. What if he absorbed all the knowledge about shifters and said, “So what?”
I turned onto our land, and Pax’s car bounced over the potholes behind me. When the clearing appeared, I parked and got out. He pulled up beside me but stayed inside, gripping the steering wheel.
I let five minutes pass, but we were here for a reason, and I strode to his car and tapped on the window.
“This is a long way from town.”
I could have argued that twenty minutes wasn’t long but kept quiet, not wanting to start an argument.
“My family likes the isolation because we treasure our privacy.”
“So what you’re about to show me needs us to be in the middle of nowhere?”
His wavering voice and his hand hovering close to the ignition suggested he was scared and considering getting the heck out of here.
“Do you trust me?”
He didn’t look at me but stared straight ahead. “I thought I did. Maybe ask me again after whatever this is.”
That was fair enough. In his position, I might have stayed in town and demanded a full explanation.
Pax got out and followed me down the trail. If I’d been alone, I would have listened to the birdsong or trailed my hand over the bushes, but my shoulders were tense and every breath in and out hurt.
The trees thinned out, and we reached the clearing. I tried to see it from his point of view, with the scorched earth and the stacks of logs piled at the edges.
“What is this place?” He stomped over to a fire pit and rubbed his fingers over the charred stone.
“Some of the family was here yesterday. We come here a lot.”
“To do what? Roast marshmallows over a bonfire?” He glanced around the wide-open space. “You’re not arsonists, are you?”
My dragon was losing patience and telling me he needed to shift. Despite the tension, I almost laughed because we did enjoy setting fires deliberately, though it was always on our land.
“My family comes here to let something out.” That sounded as though they were setting free a bunch of mice or something.The word mice piqued my beast’s interest because he loved them as a snack. “We shift here.”
“Set something free or move stuff around? Which is it?” His testy voice told me he was losing patience, like my dragon.
“My family shifts or changes into something else. An animal.”
Pax’s mouth fell open, and he stumbled backward toward the path.
“I don’t appreciate fibs, Dray. Even though I was reluctant to come here, I did, thinking you’d provide an explanation for the tattoo.” He turned on his heel and stomped off, yelling, “Leave me alone.”
It’s your turn.I’d failed miserably, so we had to show, not tell.
Flinging off my clothes, I gave my beast his scales. His flapping wings rustled the leaves and the branches swayed, while dust formed a mini tornado. My beast’s broad wingspan created a shadow over Pax as he turned and shaded his eyes. Horror registered on his face, with his mouth forming a scream. He fell backward, and I winced at the hard thump.
That’s enough. I need to be in my skin and explain. Also, if his blood pressure had spiked high enough, I might need to get him to hospital.
After taking my skin, I yanked on my jeans and ran to him, but he shoved himself back, clawing at the dirt and telling me not to come any closer.
“What… what are you?” He gulped. “Dragons don’t exist except in mythology.”
I sat on the ground and crossed my legs because I didn’t want to tower over him. As succinctly as I could, I explained about shifters and that in their human form, they were indistinguishable from… well… humans.
“But you’re not human.” He wiped a hand over his face and streaked his cheeks with red dirt.
“Nope.”
