Chapter 8
EIGHT
Aydan
It was hard not spending the night with Sam, but some part of me understood that she and Granger needed time to bond on this new level. They’ve spent a lifetime as friends, just like Sam and I. Being lovers is an entirely different thing. And after knowing for sure that nothing had been going on between them under my nose, I found a strange kind of calmness when it came to their new relationship. Like them being together was as inevitable as the sun rising each morning.
All the jealousy and possessiveness I felt with Evander, and even to a lesser extent Zane, just isn’t there with Granger. At all. To the point where I feel like something must be wrong with me, because I like knowing they're together that much.
Growing up, I never saw anything romantic between them. I probably couldn’t have handled it if I did. But from the moment I saw him holding her hand as the storm dragon, everything changed. The love I always saw between them changed. A thousand moments morphed in my mind, and I knew, knew deep in my soul, that they’d always been in love with each other. And now that I know that, how could I ever be happy knowing that Sam and Granger couldn’t be happy without each other?
I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
Them being together… makes me feel so at peace.
Glancing across the breakfast table, I see Granger laughing at something Sam says, and my heart just feels so full. I want to grab both of them and pull them into a hug, knowing we’re finally all happy. Together. In a way we never imagined.
“Dragons, you’re needed in the labs,” comes loudly out of the little speakers on our badges.
Sam’s smile falters, and she sighs. “I guess it’s back to reality.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
We crowd into the elevator, and Sam’s gaze catches mine. She moves closer and wraps her arms around me, our eyes locking. “You’re okay?”
I tuck her hair behind her ear. “More than okay.”
We kiss. It’s light and short, but filled with love.
“I’m fine too,” Evander grumbles.
She laughs and spins towards him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. The tension eases from his face, and he buries his face into her hair, breathing deeply. She pulls away and kisses him, then says, “If you want my attention, you just have to ask.”
“I want your attention,” Zane says, and perks up happily.
She’s in his arms a second later, and then they’re making out, his hands on her ass. I sigh, and Evander and I exchange a knowing glance. For a man that seems so innocent, he certainly knows how to get what he wants.
The elevator doors open, ending their make out session. We all pile out and head for the sitting area around the giant monitor, where Dr. Duncan and Dr. Abigail are already waiting, looking nervous. Being near them instantly shifts the mood, and I can’t help but wonder what new shit is coming our way.
We settle on the couch, Sam in Granger’s lap. It’s hard not to smile when I see Granger grinning ear-to-ear, looking like he just won the lottery. That is one man who is never going to take Sam for granted. She’s always going to be the greatest of all prizes in his eyes, and I’m glad he’s smart enough to recognize it.
“We have some news…” Dr. Abigail says, exchanging a look with Dr. Duncan, and it’s hard not to notice that the wrinkles in the older woman’s face have deepened, although I’m not sure if it’s from stress or exhaustion.
Dr. Duncan strokes his long blond beard that’s braided down his chest and belly. “But, first, some good news. Our dragon detector is nearly complete. We’re just working out the bugs right now, but soon we should be able to identify dragons in human form, before they even know they’re dragons.”
“How were you able to do that?” I ask.
Dr. Duncan grins. “I have all the spec and all the information in a folder named Dragon Detector.”
“Sweet,” Granger says.
Dr. Duncan’s smile widens. “Granger, we may need a lot of help from you to work out the final kinks in the program while the dragons continue to focus on their responsibilities. It may mean a lot of late nights, so just a heads up.”
Granger’s expression falters. “About that…”
Sam nudges him, bouncing in his lap. “Just tell them.”
Granger clears his throat. “Well, it seems that I am the storm dragon we’ve been looking for. My recent near death experience with the green dragon triggered me to shift, and now I may need to spend some of my research time learning to be a dragon.”
“You’re the storm dragon?” Dr. Abigail asks, looking shocked. “Well, this certainly changes the… type we thought we’d be looking for when it came to dragons.”
“The type you are looking for,” Zane emphasizes, “are large, tall, strong humans who eat a lot and do not like to give promises they cannot keep.”
“O-of course,” Dr. Abigail says, giving a small smile.
Dr. Duncan, on the other hand, comes closer and clasps Granger’s shoulder. “You, son, make a very fine dragon, and having you here with us is much-needed good news.” Even though Dr. Duncan is several heads shorter than all of us, his words hold a lot of power. It’s nice to see Granger instantly relax.
“We’ll expect you for tests and scanning,” Dr. Abigail tells him, but then releases a slow breath. “But, first, we have to go over something important that happened this morning.”
“Something bad?” I say, although it’s not really a question. We all know it’s something bad.
She nods and clicks on the screen. There’s an image of the brown, green, and salmon dragons burning a city, sending people screaming and running. My stomach instantly flips. I can’t imagine how terrified humans are right now. Dragons are frightening creatures, and these dragons that seem to like to terrorize people for no reason are particularly frightening.
As the video continues playing, the green dragon attacks a man, throwing him up in the air as if to eat him… but then he begins to shift in mid-air. The dragons fall back as an orange dragon shifts out of the man and stands panting in the middle of the street.
“Malikay,” Zane whispers softly.
“They awakened him,” I say.
“This isn’t good.” Sam wraps her arms around herself.
Granger pulls her closer to him and holds her in his arms. “It’s okay. It doesn’t matter now. I’m here, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
“Three of them were making my life hell before,” she says, trying, and failing, to hide how upset she is. “Four is going to be so much worse.”
“Look around you,” Granger tells her, and she does, even though she seems unsure of herself. “We’re here to keep you safe. You have four big, male, alpha dragons ready to destroy anything and everything to get to you. Trust us. We’ll take care of you.”
She gives a sharp nod, but her shoulders are bent.
“It has become even more important that I train all of you in the dragon way,” Zane says. “Especially Granger. We will all need to be at our best.”
Everybody murmurs in agreement. We’re not about to risk Sam’s life just because we’re not properly prepared to fight those bastards.
“I think it’s ready to test!”
I turn in my seat to see Dahlia holding a strange metal contraption that reminds me of the tool the Ghostbusters used to suck up ghosts. For some reason, I have no idea what I’m looking at. That thing doesn’t seem to have a place in our current situation.
“Did it stop thinking lizards were dragons?” Dr. Duncan asks.
Dahlia grins, sweeping her long, dark hair out of her face. “Yes. Every test has worked correctly. Now, we just need to actually start testing people and see if it’ll identify a dragon human if it comes across one.” She clasps her hands together. “I was annoyed by how many science classes I had to take for my Wildlife Management degree, but now they’re really coming in handy.”
Dr. Abigail smiles. “Would you be interested in taking a team out and testing it in public?”
“ Would I ?” Dahlia says, bouncing on her heel, then clears her throat. “I mean, of course, that would be lovely.”
“We’ll arrange for it,” Dr. Abigail tells her.
“I can’t believe you guys have created something like that in such a short period of time,” Sam praises them, smiling.
Dahlia’s gaze slides over all of us. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of. I might not be a dragon, but I’m sure as hell going to leave my mark on this world.”
Sam goes over to her, and they both start talking in loud, excited voices. I watch my mate, my woman, unable to get enough of her. Malikay and his pack is a problem, but if I have it my way I’m going to rip those dragons to shreds and make certain they can never frighten her again.
I just need to make sure I’m tough enough to do it first.