Dragon Scorned

6. River

“Bitch tell me everything.” Natalia all but shouted at me when we sat down at the table inside my new favorite café.”

I looked around, hoping no one heard her. “Will you keep your voice down,” I said, making it a demand rather than a question. My gaze darted around the room and I noticed things I didn’t take the time to look at the last time we were here.

The walls were a beautiful shade of cream, and in the far corner, there was a plant that was crawling up the wall. It had vines hanging from different spots all over the ceiling. I wondered how such long beautiful vines could come from such a small plant.

There were little fairy lights draped down and hanging bulbs illuminating each table. It seriously looked like some sort of fairytale in here. In another corner there were a few bookshelves filled with books and trinkets. Different chairs and seats were placed all around it, making the perfect, cozy reading spot.

“Start talking before I tell everyone in here you were with some mysterious bad boy skipping class.” She teased, pointing a finger at me.

“Okay, okay.” I held my hands up in defense. “I don’t know much about him, just that his name is Nikolai. He’s mysterious, kind of, sweet, has a sexy Porche that’s fast as fuck, and he’s seriously hot. I’m talking bad boy, will corrupt even the most innocent girl, kind of hot.”

She swooned, fanning her face, “Is he supernatural?”

“That”s what”s so mysterious about him, I couldn’t smell him. I know he”s not human, but I couldn’t tell what supernatural he is.” I grimaced. Nikolai was a mystery, and I would get to the bottom of it. He intrigued me like no one ever has before. I wanted to spend more time with him and uncover all his secrets.

My dragon purred at the thought of getting closer to the man. I locked that feeling away to unravel at a later time. Natalia brought her finger up to tap on her chin and puckered her lips.

“I know that look, witch. What are you thinking?” I leaned forward, eyeing her up intently.

“I could be wrong, but what if he has a witch? She could mask his scent so he would just smell like a supernatural, but you wouldn”t be able to smell what supernatural.”

Why would he hide what he is, though? Unless he’s a dangerous beast, but no one is more dangerous than a dragon. The wheels started turning in my head as I thought of all the different possibilities. “You”re so brilliant, I could kiss you.”

She puckered her lips, making a kissy sound at me as I laughed.

“Can I join you ladies?” Tate asked, interrupting our conversation.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “No.”

“Yes,” Natalia said at the same time.

I turned my glare on her. Is she fucking serious? Tate ignored my answer and took a seat beside us.

“So, what were you talking about?” He asked as he started unwrapping his sandwich. Clearly ignoring the fact that I didn’t want him anywhere near me.

“River was just telling me about the joy ride she went on with a hot as hell bad boy,” Natalia told him, smiling brightly at the infuriating man.

“Natalia, seriously.” I gaped at her, did she have to tell him every fucking thing. I don’t know what she”s playing at, but I”m not game. I didn’t want any part in whatever she was trying to stir up between me and Tate.

Tate growled beside me, and the sound lit up my body, going straight to my cunt, making it leak. I mentally scolded my body. Why did I think that was attractive? I needed some therapy.

“Mine,” he said in that low, raspy voice of his, sending another wave of heat straight to my cunt.

“What did I tell you about pissing all over me?” I turned to scowl at him.

“And what did I tell you?” He questioned, making me think about what he said.

“Something about making her cum so hard she forgets her name.” Natalia chimed in.

“We really need to talk about that filter between your brain and mouth, witch,” I told my bestie, who was smiling like a cat that just got the cream. Turning, I pointed a finger at Tate, “I’m not your mate, so you can stop marking me like your favorite tree.”

He snapped at my finger, biting the tip before I could pull away. We”re not even going to talk about how hard my core clenched at the action. I looked daggers at him until he released my finger from between his teeth.

“So, are you going flying again tonight, little minx?” he asked, changing the subject like he wasn”t just trying to stake a claim on me.

My mouth dropped open at the audacity this man had, if he thinks he”s joining me again tonight he’s surely mistaken. Last night was a one-off situation, and there will not be an encore performance.

“She flies every night,” Natalia told him.

That”s it, I”ve had enough of her, I brought my leg back and kicked with all my might. Only it wasn”t my target I hit, it felt like I just kicked a brick wall.

“Ow,” I cried out, bringing my leg up to rest on my knee as I cradled the throbbing foot.

Tate chuckled beside me, and I leaned over, looking under the table. Coming to the conclusion that I kicked him instead of Natalia. Was his leg made of fucking steel?

“Did you just try to kick me?” she screeched, staring at me in horror.

“Well, I wouldn’t if you would keep your fucking mouth shut.” I snapped at her.

“I’m only trying to hook you up with the drop-dead sexy dragon sitting next to you.”

Tate’s smile widened at her words. He looked back and forth between us while he ate his sandwich like we were his favorite soap opera.

“Well, don’t,” I seethed. I didn’t want or need a mate. I was perfectly fine without one.

“You know, when you get over whatever shit is holding you back, I expect a thank you.”

“Not going to happen,” I told her, getting up to leave. I grabbed my tray to throw my trash away and headed out the door.

“She really doesn”t like people, does she?” I heard Tate ask Natalia. I didn’t stick around to hear her answer. I opened the door and headed outside. The cold wind whipped around me, cooling off my heated body.

I pulled out my phone, sending a text to the only person I actually wanted to be around right now. I loved Natalia and would do anything for her, but sometimes, she needed to just mind her own business and stop meddling in my life.

Me

Were you serious about that escape? Cause I could use one right now.

Nikolai

Be there in five.

I pocketed my phone and headed toward the student parking lot. Unlocking my car and tossing my bag in the trunk before climbing behind the wheel. Shit, if I leave Natalia, won”t be able to get home. I pulled my phone out again to message Natalia.

Me

I’m going with Nikolai. Want me to put my keys in the glove box so you can drive my car home?

I waited for what seemed like forever as the three little dots appeared and then disappeared again before she finally replied.

Witch Bitch

Tate offered me a ride. Have fun and don”t do anything I wouldn”t do!

I rolled my eyes at the eggplant and kissy face emojis at the end of her text. That wasn’t a long list because there wasn”t anything she wouldn’t do when it came to a hot guy she wanted to take to bed. I only know because she loved to tell me about all the amazing orgasms she would have from both males and females.

Nikolai pulled into the lot, stopping his car in front of mine. He rolled down his window and leaned over the center console, and my heart leaped at the smirk on his face.

“Where to, my star?”

“Anywhere but here,” I told him as I climbed into his Porsche.

“Your wish is my command.” He stepped on the gas and raced out of the lot. A laugh bubbled out of my chest at the thrill of going so fast. I was an adrenaline junkie through and through, and Nikolai knew just how to satisfy my need for adventure.

We pulled off the road onto a dirt path, and I looked over at Nikolai in confusion. My nerves suddenly making me second-guess myself. Did I make a mistake in thinking he was a good guy, and now he was going to kill me and bury my body somewhere no one would ever find? I started fidgeting with the hem of my shirt as I looked out the window, trying to see where we were going.

“Relax, star. You said you needed an escape, I’m simply granting your request,” he said, calming my nerves, only slightly, though.

I still wasn”t unconvinced he was some stalker that I willingly left with to come out to the middle of nowhere so he could kill me.

He pulled into an open round lot and put the car into park, shutting it off and turning to look at me. “You ready?”

I met his bright blue eyes and hesitated. My beast growled at me, and I nodded my head. How did I forget I was a badass dragon? If he tried anything funny, I’d just scorch his ass. I chuckled to myself as I climbed out of the car. There was no supernatural worse than a dragon, so what was I afraid of? He couldn’t kill me even if he wanted to.

“Where are we?” I asked as I came up to stand next to Nikolai.

“The best things in life are worth waiting for. Have patience, my star. It’s just through the trees.” He said, pointing to a trail leading into the woods.

I huffed as I followed behind him along the trail. When I told him I wanted to escape, I thought we would take another drive, not a fucking hike.

“So, where did you live before you moved to Willow Hollow?”

“Why do you want to know?” I questioned him.

“Just trying to get to know you,” he said as he waited for me. I was only slightly falling behind, but Nikolai had some long ass legs. One of his steps was equivalent to five of mine. I had to practically run to keep up with the giant.

“Ooh, I lived all over. We never really stayed in one place for very long.” I told him, snapping my mouth shut at the truth I just spilled. Where the fuck did that come from? What was it about this man that made me blab my mouth like Natalia?

He looked at me for a moment after I caught up to him before turning to continue walking. “Was it your parents” deaths that caused you and your grandparents to move around a lot? Why Willow Hollow?”

My head snapped up at the question. I knew my parents dying was common knowledge in the dragon community, but how did he know that? How did he know that I lived with my grandparents?

I stopped walking, and he turned around to face me, raising his brow in question at my pause.

“How did you know my parents died and that I lived with my grandparents?” I questioned him.

“I tend to blend into the background. People love to talk when they think no one is listening.” He shrugged.

I instantly felt bad for him. How someone like him could blend into the background was beyond me. He had to be at least a foot and a half taller than me and looked like one of the damned gods. His black hair curled around his face, and tiny strands fell in front of his bright blue eyes.

“Like you could blend into the background,” I scoffed, there was absolutely no way. If his size didn’t give him away his looks did. No one that hot could just not be seen.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said before turning back around to finish walking.

I ran to catch back up to him, “The hunters came for me when I was little and killed my parents. They didn’t give up when I went to live with my grandparents, so we constantly had to move around so they couldn’t find me.”

I swear I just heard him growl at my answer, but when I looked over at him he was staring straight ahead, walking like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“So why Willow Hollow?” He asked again.

The word vomit just flew out of my mouth before I could stop it. “We settled down here because Natalia was able to put an anti-tracking spell on me to keep me hidden from the hunters, and we wanted to attend WHU because it has the highest supernatural population.”

What the fuck River, why would you tell him all that. You just met this man, for crying out loud, and you don’t even know what kind of supernatural he is. Yet, here I am, spilling my guts to the guy.

“So, your witch friend put an anti-tracking spell on you…interesting.” He uttered, cocking his head to the side to look at me. “Why do you want to be around supernaturals if you clearly don’t like people?”

I raised my brows at his question, pondering the answer over in my mind. “It’s not that I don’t like people…I just don’t trust them.” I told him honestly, I did like people, but once they found out I was a dragon, they were either afraid of me or trying to hand me over to the Kailua horde to earn a favor with them. So I just stuck to myself, it was better than constantly being turned on or ran away from.

“Do you trust me, star?” He stopped, turning to look at me.

I got lost in his eyes. The deep blue looked like it was swirling with a slightly brighter shade. When I blinked, though, it was gone, and I wondered if I was imagining it.

“Should I not?” I shot back, deciding to evade his question. I took a deep breath and was assaulted with the smell of autumn leaves. I glanced around at all the snow around us and not a leaf in sight before colliding with Nikolai’s eyes once again. I leaned in and sniffed again, realizing it was him. His nostrils flared and he spun around to continue walking again.

We walked on in comfortable tranquility for a long while before he broke the silence between us. “Have I done anything to make you not trust me?”

I jumped at the sound of his voice, not expecting him to continue the conversation after so long. “Not yet…”

He snickered at my answer, not saying anything about the uncertainty of my words.

He stopped suddenly, and I almost collided with him. “Why are we stopping now?”

“We”re here, star,” he said, and I looked around at the trees surrounding us.

Where exactly was here? There was nothing around us that was any different than the trees we started in. I looked up at him in confusion as he turned around to face me, stepping out of the way of the sight he was blocking.

My mouth hung open as I took in the gorgeous waterfall in front of us. We were at the base of the beautiful sight, and I ran the rest of the way to the water”s edge. The sound of rushing water surrounded me as I looked up to where it was flowing over the rocky ledge. I stared in awe at the frothy cascade of water that fell into the plunge pool below. Mist hit my face, and I closed my eyes, tipping my head back to enjoy the spray caressing my body.

“This place is magical.” I turned to look at Nikolai, he wasn”t looking at the waterfall though, he was staring directly at me. A hungry look filling his eyes.

“I thought you would like it.”

I turned back to the spectacular sight, and big ice crystals were hanging from rocks along the rocky slope. Snow covered every inch of space the water didn’t wash away. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.

“What do the hunters want with you?” he asked, breaking through the sound of the rushing water.

“I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to,” I said, looking down to my feet. I kicked a rock into the crystal-clear water, watching as it sank to the bottom of the pool. I didn’t know why Moonbeam Enterprises wanted me so badly, the only conclusion I could ever come to was that I was one of the very few female dragons left. That didn’t explain why they killed my mom though, or why they weren”t after my grandma like they were me.

He hummed at my answer. I looked up to meet his intense eyes, they were like a magnet, pulling me into their blue depths, and I couldn’t look away. My beast rattled against her cage, demanding to be released. She was drawn more to this mysterious man than I was. I tried to understand her demand to get closer to him. I dug my heels in to keep me from walking over and brushing the raven-colored hair out of his eyes.

“Why did you pick WHU?” I asked, kicking another rock into the water.

“Don’t ask questions you”re not ready to hear the answers for,” he said, and my head snapped up to look at him. What did he mean by that?

My mind turned with all different possibilities that answer could mean. “I’m just trying to get to know you…I’ve gone with you twice now and feel like I’ve spilled my guts to you but I don’t know anything about you.”

He shrugged, “There’s not much to know, star. I have a sister I haven’t seen in years. My parents took off when I turned eighteen, and from some divine pull in the universe, I ended up here.”

My heart broke at the fact that he was all alone, I couldn’t imagine how my life would be if I didn’t find Natalia. Then his last statement registered, and my eyes turned to saucers. “What do you mean by some ‘divine pull’ led you here?”

He looked at me with pure desire in his eyes, and I squirmed under his gaze. Heat pulled in my belly, and I so badly wanted him to act on those desires flashing in his eyes.

We stood like that for the longest time, in complete silence. Just staring at one another. Nikolai finally broke the peaceful quiet around us.

“Ready to head back to the land of the living?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

“I guess I should send proof of life to Natalia before she sends out the search party.” I chuckled as I thought of my bestie sending dogs out to sniff me down.

We walked back to the car in comfortable silence. Dread filled my body at the thought of interacting with people again.