Chapter 6 #2
Kaiser stopped short of opening his car door and looked back at his father.
“Cristie’s mate is a Dragon. It’s not only your friendship I'm worried about. Tread lightly, son. They can be dangerous, very dangerous.”
“So can we. He can bring it,” Kaiser said, opening the door and getting in the car. Seconds later he’d already put the car in gear and was backing away from his parents’ house.
Cristie watched him quietly, knowing he was upset. She waited until he’d driven them away from his parents’ property and set out on the highway toward town. “You good?”
“Better than,” Kaiser said, glancing her way quickly to flash her a smile before he turned his attention back to the road.
“Is it my fault?” she asked.
“No. It’s my fault.”
“I don’t understand,” Cristie said. “What happened? We were all fine and then, this.”
“The only thing my father is worried about is the fact that if I get in the middle of your issues with your mate, it could hurt our friendship when you take him back.”
“If! If I take him back. And it would not damage our friendship in any way.”
“Cristie, seriously? He’s your mate. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t renounce you. He was just already involved. At some point, you’ll forgive him — more than likely.”
“Shut up,” Cristie grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and staring straight ahead, “you’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I am. Always. I’m just pointing out the differences between what you felt, and are probably still feeling, and what actually happened. But I’ll still stand beside you and throw stones at him as long as you want to.”
“Boulders. I want to throw boulders,” Cristie said.
“Let’s aim really well when we do,” Kaiser said with a grin as he glanced her way.
Cristie smiled.
“Look, I know there is no way our friendship will suffer regardless of what happens with you and your mate. That’s not what this crap with my dad was about.”
“Then why are you angry with your father?”
“Because he thinks because your mate is a Dragon, I’m in danger by being near you because he’s not allowed to be.”
“What did you say?” Cristie asked.
“I told him we’re dangerous, too. He could bring it.”
“I’m sorry he’s worried about you. I’m sorry about Remi being here. I’m sorry about the changes it’s having on everyone. Maybe you should just take me home.”
“Nope.”
“Kaiser, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Nobody, not even Remi himself is going to tell me that we can’t be friends just because your mate is a Dragon.”
“No, they’re not. But if it caused issues between you and your family, then it’s not worth it. You have a wonderful mom and dad. I love them. I don’t want to be the reason there are hard feelings between you guys, even for a little while.”
“That’s not why there are hard feelings, if that’s even what you could call them.”
“Then what is?” Cristie asked, giving her full attention back to Kaiser as he pulled his car into a parking place at their favorite steak house.
He turned off the engine, then looked at her. “You felt it back at the hospital, didn’t you? You asked if I was okay.”
“I felt something, yeah. Is that the problem between them and you?”
He sighed, then looked at the steakhouse. “Let’s go inside and get fed. We’ll talk inside.”
“You promise?”
“Yep. Don’t I always?” Kaiser asked, smiling at her with the grin that got him out of everything he didn’t want to have to deal with.
“Only as far as you let people know,” she snapped.
Kaiser laughed. “Nobody knows me like you do. Come on, thought you were starving…”
~~~
Back at Basilio and Renata’s house, they stood looking at each other, not quite sure what to say as they watched Kaiser drive away.
“What did you say to him?” Renata finally asked.
“Nothing!”
“You said something! He’s upset, very upset.”
“All I said was that if he gets in the middle between Cristie and her Dragon, it could damage their friendship when they finally work it out. I told him he knows nothing about mate bonds and she could easily forgive him and take him back and it won’t help if he’s been in the middle.”
“Okay. Common sense. So why is he so defiant?”
“He started yelling. Wanted to know what makes me think he knows nothing about the mate bond. He said he’s numb, and that he’s met his mate too many times and anything to do with any kind of mate is the last thing on her mind.”
Renata looked at Basilio wide-eyed. “Who?” she asked.
“I have no idea, and I don’t think he’s going tell us any time soon.”
Renata walked back down the hallway toward their living room. She sat on the sofa, her eyes still wide. “I can’t believe he’s met his mate and never told us.”
“He made it sound like there was no use. Maybe she’s not a shifter and wants no part of him.”
“She may be worried about his reputation,” Renata said, finally meeting Basilio’s gaze.
“That’s not who he is. That’s who they expect him to be.”
“He does nothing to dispel the way the media makes him look, though.”
“Honestly, baby, he shouldn’t have to. Just a date or two with somebody doesn’t mean they’re sleeping together. The media does that by calling whoever they photograph him with his flavor of the week.”
“It used to not bother him, he found it funny. But now…”
“Maybe that’s the problem. She’s seen it, and wants no part of him, even if she is a shifter.”
“He said he was going to have to look the other way, for years.”
“Yeah. I just want to fix it for him,” Basilio said.
“Me, too,” Renata said, leaning her head against her mate. “But if I know anything about Kaiser, I know that he would resent anything anyone does to try to help him. It’s a matter of pride to him to stand strong alone. He thinks being twenty-five means that he’s got to do it alone.”
“I know.”
“So what do we do?”
“We just let him know that we’re here whether he wants to talk, just sit quietly, or rage at the unfairness of fate. And we let him know that we’ve got his back no matter what it is that he does, or needs us to do. Until he’s ready to confide in us, that’s all we can do.”