15
Ember
Werewolves
“What are we supposed to do with that giant freaking thing outside?” Riley paced the living room of the cabin as she held a meowing Dobby against her chest.
Willow was already dragging out the suitcases from under my dad’s old bed. She bumped into the dusty corner shelf, shaking the urn she’d placed there. “Sorry, Sam.” She righted his ashes. “Harper, start grabbing your toys.”
“We just got here,” Harper whined.
I slid the deadbolt into place and grabbed my side, blinking rapidly as I tried to process what was happening.
He turned into a dragon.
And why was that actually kind of hot?
Focus. This is not a fantasy novel.
This was reality.
I knew I’d seen something in town. Those scales. The way he blocked out the sky like a hellish omen of the apocalypse. Bits of memories were coming back. The fever. Pain. His bedroom and the silky sheets...
Focus!
He’d said something about venom .
It wasn’t a dream.
I yanked my shirt up, staring at the healed skin as the blood drained from my face.
Was I going to turn into one of those things?
It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to turn into a…
I leaned over to look out the window.
Yep. Those were dragons flying in the sky.
He hadn’t hurt me though. Twice now, I’d seen the red and black dragon. Both times he’d somehow helped me. First in town and now as he chased the bigger, bluish dragon through the clouds.
I wasn’t scared of Kieran’s beast.
This was the craziest thing to ever happen to me and I’d been through a lot in my life.
Willow and Riley were arguing. Harper’s eyes welled with tears. Any minute now, she’d burst into a tantrum.
“Everyone just stop. It’s not that bad.” I laughed nervously and they had the audacity to look at me like I was crazy. Hadn’t they read any of the books I recommended over the years? Things seemed to turn out well when a monster decided to protect you.
“Not that bad?” Riley gasped. “Did you see the size of those things? And excuse me, but I didn’t have dragons on the apocalypse bingo card.”
I smiled, trying to keep everyone calm. “It’ll be okay. I don’t think he, or it, is going to hurt us.”
“You don’t think…” Willow blew out a long breath. “I don’t have the luxury of waiting around to find out if we’re tasty to dinosaurs. Harper, I told you to start packing.”
“It’s not a dinosaur,” both Harper and I said at the same time .
“They’re dragons,” I explained, thinking of how Kieran had laughed when I’d said the same thing. Harper nodded along with me. “And anyway, he saved us back there. He’s rescued me twice. Why would he do that if he was going to eat me?”
“Maybe because he’s trying to fatten you up.” Willow shrugged.
Riley nodded. “Or he doesn’t like roadkill, so he was bringing you home to season and roast over a spit before dipping you in ketchup.”
“Ketchup, really?” I rolled my eyes. I’d taste better with barbecue sauce anyway. “That’s a little farfetched.”
“So is the dragon outside!” Willow and Riley screamed, causing Harper and me to jump back as Dobby fled the room in a panic.
“Now you’re just being dramatic.”
Someone knocked on the door.
I grabbed Harper’s shoulders, moving her behind me.
“It’s him,” Willow whisper-hissed.
“Get the gun,” Riley said.
“Stop it,” I begged. “Harp, go to your mom.”
The girl stomped away, frustrated with us. I didn’t blame her. We were all losing our minds.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this.” I unlocked the deadbolt. My heart galloped in my chest as I slowly inched open the door.
Kieran stood on the front porch with his hands stuffed into his jean pockets and his flannel work shirt unbuttoned at the top. His brown eyes regarded me with a deep worry, even as he offered an apologetic smile .
And maybe I was giving up too easily, or maybe the situation in town and hearing Tony’s voice had taken the fight out of me, but I could feel my anger at the man… er—mythical creature standing on my porch start to dissipate.
At least he seemed to care if I lived or died.
“Are you all right?” His voice should’ve been illegal.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“We’re not,” Riley called from somewhere in the house.
I sighed as I pulled the door close to my side so I could block them out. “They’re worried you’re going to eat me.”
Kieran’s eyes flashed with humor, but he bit down on his smile. “Are you worried I’m going to eat you?”
That brought up all sorts of thoughts I was not planning to think about right then. I hoped the blush didn’t show on my cheeks. “Are you going to?”
“Eat you?” He chuckled. “Why would you think that?”
“It’s a valid question.” I tried to sound in control even though I wasn’t feeling it at the moment.
“No, I’m not going to eat you.” His face fell and I suddenly wondered how old he was to bear the sort of weight that seemed like it’d crush a man.
Or… beast.
“What about the other guy?” Another valid question, I thought.
“My cousin,” Kieran grumbled. “He’s not known for his manners, but he’ll respect my order to stay away. And no, he won’t be eating anyone either. I apologize for his intrusion. ”
That was good to know.
“Does your… um…” I wasn’t sure what the protocol here was when discussing multiple beings that belonged to one. “Do you feel the same about eating humans when you have your extra parts?”
The lines of his forehead deepened. “Extra parts? You mean, the dragon?”
“It really is a dragon.” Saying it out loud made it all the more real.
“It’s not a dinosaur.” Kieran huffed a laugh.
Harper started giggling behind me. Willow shushed the girl and pulled her away.
The tension in my shoulders eased as I looked over Kieran again, really taking him in. I could do this.
I wasn’t going to be one of the dumb girls in my books who took forever to accept something new.
Heck, the planet I lived on was literally breaking apart under my own feet, even though scientists had once sworn that would never happen during our lifetimes.
“So, you’re a dragon shifter?” I asked, ready for this conversation.
“Shifter?” He arched a brow.
“You know, like wolf and bear shifters.” I let my gaze linger on his body probably a little longer than necessary.
He had that alpha PNR vibe meets smalltown country boy thing going on. I should’ve known he was too sexy to be a human.
Kieran watched me watching him with an amused grin on his face. “You think I’m a werewolf?”
“No.” My eyes shot up to his. Crap. It was probably super insensitive to lump all shifters together like that. “I just meant a human body that shifts into other things.”
“Yeah, into animals that actually exist,” Riley mumbled behind me, loud enough to be heard.
I bit down on my lip as I waved my hand behind my back, trying to get them to shut up.
Kieran seemed to be having fun though.
“I’m a dragon that can take human form,” he explained like anything else didn’t make sense. “And I can assure you that my species absolutely exists. We’ve been on this earth longer than most.”
“How old is he?” Harper’s gasp was muffled by the sound of her mother’s hand.
“Ignore them.” I stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind me, blocking out the rest of their commentary.
Kieran leaned against the porch post. “You’re taking this remarkably well.”
“Am I?” I frowned. “How do people normally react?”
“With pitchforks.” He shrugged, still keeping his hands in his pockets.
“That’s not very neighborly,” I said. “Though I can see why people might be scared.”
“And you’re not? Scared, I mean.” The rawness in his tone did something to my heart.
“Now that I’ve had time to process? Not really. Honestly, the hits have just been coming for the past few years. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t that bad.” It was my turn to shrug.
The wonder that lit up his face had me smiling for no good reason. “Who are you?”
“Just Ember.” My smile dropped, thinking of all the people I should’ve been, could’ve been, and who I was now. But my dad always taught me to admit when I was wrong, so I raised my hand to shake Kieran’s hand. “We didn’t get off on the right foot. I’m Ember Thurman and I guess I’m on your land now.”
Kieran looked at my hand for a long moment and I realized his hands were in his pockets purposefully, almost as if he was holding himself back.
From what, I didn’t know. But slowly, his callused hand reached out and clasped mine.
Despite the books I read, I didn’t believe in love at first sight. And I was too old for fairy tales. But something about his firm grip and the way his hand perfectly encased mine made my heart skip a beat.
Kieran’s nostrils flared as the muscles of his forearm flexed. Heat raced through me as my heart resumed its pacing, starting to flutter faster.
“I… Um…” I pulled my hand away. “So, I guess you work for the government. Oh wow. Does that mean they’re really lizard people?”
“Ember—”
“It’s okay if you can’t tell me or anything. I’m sure that must be top secret.” I placed my hands on my hips awkwardly, not sure where else to put them, and glanced down at my side. “Ah, the venom thing. I’m not going to turn into one of you. Am I?”
“What? No.” Kieran stepped forward.
I took a step back. “Good. I mean, not that it would be bad. I’d sure love to fly. But I don’t think I’m cut out for the fire breathing thing. I can’t even handle jalapenos anymore.”
“Ember, please.” The way he said my name made my core clench with need .
I blinked, looking up at him through my lashes as my breaths came faster. “I’m sorry for being so rude when we first arrived. Do you mind if I take a few days to get my things together before we leave? I need to figure out where we can go.”
I tried to laugh it off and take another step away as Kieran moved forward, but my back hit the door.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Kieran growled as if the idea personally offended him. “This is your house. Your land. You’ll be safe right where you are.”
“But they said…” My bottom lip quivered until I forced it to stay steady. “They said this was your land now.”
“And I’m giving it back to you.” He put one hand on the wall, leaning forward and caging me against the door.
I hadn’t realized just how big he was—how deliciously masculine he smelled—until he was crowding all my senses.
“I can’t pay you. I don’t even know where all the money I paid for taxes on this place over the past decade went.” I stared into his eyes as they flashed brighter in the shadows, hints of red mixed with the brown irises as his pupils widened.
He focused on a tendril of my hair that he caught between his finger and thumb, instead of looking at my face. “I don’t want your human money.”
I tried to ignore the dirty thoughts of what he implied, but his nostrils flared and his tongue wet his bottom lip. I had the embarrassing realization that he could smell my desire.
“What is it that you want?” My tone was too breathy for my liking .
“Too much, probably,” he whispered, almost as if he didn’t want to admit that aloud.
He wanted me.
That thought made me bold. “Are you going to take what you want?”
“Do you think me that much of a beast?” He let go of my hair and took a step back. A rush of cool air blew between us.
“I think you’re a man,” I said hesitantly, not sure if he’d take that as an insult.
“I’m not a man.” His smile held the warning of a challenge. “I’m a dragon.”
And that made me clench my thighs together.
Seriously. What was happening?
I didn’t usually get this tripped up over myself.
“Well, Mister Dragon,” I tried to joke. “I guess we’ll be neighbors then? I’ll make sure to lock the pitchforks in the shed.”
That wasn’t even funny.
My brain was turning to mush with him standing this close and my eyes kept going to his lips. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss the dragon shifter. I’m not saying something was wrong with me, but I always did pick the strange ones.
“Neighbors.” Kieran nodded, licking his bottom lip as if he knew what I was thinking. “You should go inside.”
“And if I don’t want to?” I smiled.
Oh my God, I’m flirting!
Kieran took another step back and rubbed his hand over his neck. “You don’t have to do this. I’m serious. This is your house. You and your friends are safe here. No one is being forced to leave. ”
“I don’t have to…” Oh. The weight of his insinuation sank in. “Do you think I’m trying to offer myself in exchange for rent?”
The audacity of this man—ugh—dragon.
“What? No. I just don’t want you to think that you owe me anything. I need you to know that a dragon’s honor prevents me from taking advantage of your situation.” A voice like his could soothe even the rage I was feeling now. “You and your friends are safe here on my land.”
“Your land?” If my eyes could flash red like his, they would. “I thought you were giving it back to me.”
It’s not like it was truly his anyway.
Stupid, useless lizard government always thinking they could do whatever they wanted.
“Ember, wait,” Kieran sighed like we’d already had this fight before.
I pushed open the door, sending Willow and Riley scrambling backward from where their ears were no doubt pressed against the wood.
“And another thing,” I turned on my heels, fuming, “the next time you come around here with ‘come fuck me’ eyes doing the lip licking and arm caging thing, you better be prepared to follow through.”
Kieran’s jaw dropped open. “Fuck me eyes?”
“You know what I mean.” I waved my hand in the general direction of his gorgeous face. “The brooding, darkened expression thing. I want to be swept off my feet if you try it again.”
“You want me to court you?” He didn’t have to sound so incredulous .
“Did I stutter?” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down.
“I don’t think you did.” His instant grin was dizzying. Dangerous. Dragon. Maybe those were the words I should’ve been saying.
“Go on now.” I shooed him away. “Get off my porch.”
“Don’t forget flowers next time,” Riley yelled.
Harper ran to stand by my side. “You should get her a gift. Something sweet.”
“Can we not press our luck?” Willow’s exasperated voice came from within the cabin.
“Flowers, gift. Anything else?” Kieran was still grinning like a loon.
“You’ll figure it out.” I closed the door in his handsome face.
I looked down at Harper.
She stared up at me. “Is that how you’re supposed to train a dragon?”