Page 29 of Carler

Amy suggested, "Let me know how you feel about it after you change, and you soar through the clouds."

“You've spoken to others who have gone through this change?”

“I have. Most are on their planet, but the other one is here. Since you will be a dragon now, I don't think it's a secret anymore. Ranger's mate, Toni, she changed not all that long ago. I have never seen a happier person.”

“She was human?”

“Completely until she changed. She was also caught off guard and even sicker than you are," Amy admitted.

“What do I do?”

“I can't answer that for you. But I will say you no longer belong to the human population. Do you love Carler? If you do, your decision is clear.”

Did she? She had been trying to figure out his place in her life. That decision had not been made yet, and she had hoped for more time. While it was true he had not been sure that she would change, He must have had some idea that his dragon would bite and that she might change. He was asking for forgiveness because he hadn't asked for permission. She didn’t think she was ready to give it to him.

Viv was overwhelmed with tiredness. Amy made her drink a large glass of water before she would let her sleep. Though the doctor was very nice, she ensured you did what she wanted. Viv would feel better, and then she would crash. That usually happened after she would eat or drink. Four days later, she slept a little bit less, and the doctor finally allowed her to eat real food. That meant something other than soups or food through a blender. Carler stayed with her every night and visited her during the day. He tried to talk to her, but she didn't have much to say.

That attitude couldn't last because it made her feel bad when he looked like a puppy that had been kicked. What a joke! She felt bad after what he had done. According to Amy, it didn't matter because what he had done could not be undone. Viv would be a dragon for life, and whether she wanted to be his mate or not, he would have to teach her about being a dragon. Amy was right about something else; she was no longer part of the human experience. There was no going back.

“Have you decided that you'll talk to me now?” Carler asked.

She just woke up from her latest several hours of sleep. Had she started to wake on her own, or had Carer's voice woken her? Viv wasn't really sure, but she turned and glared at him.

“What do you expect from me? You gave me no choice, and whether you knew for sure or not, you knew it was a possibility, and you told me nothing.”

“You're right, but I needed you. Maybe we would mate anyway because I felt we got along so well, and the passion was there.”

That would have been beautiful had he told her before he bit her. This man, no, this male, was so handsome, yet she wasn't sure if she would have been better off if he had picked someone else. Did she want to be a dragon? Viv didn't know, and being a dragon had good and bad points. Amy had told her that most of the good and bad ones were going through so much change. It was not the transformation in itself, although that was rough. It was that she no longer knew herself because she was someone entirely different now.

Even if she was a better new Viv 2.0 with all kinds of benefits she hadn't had before, she still was no longer herself. There was also no guarantee that she would be able to change. Amy and Carler both seemed to think that she would be able to be a full dragon and be able to fly. Fire breathing? Most couldn't, so there was no way to be sure about that. It depended largely on the DNA she had inherited from some far-distant ancestor she knew nothing about.

"I need some rest right now. Come back when you get off work, and we'll talk."

He started to lean in to kiss her, but she leaned away from him, so he pulled back. Again, with the puppy dog eyes. She'd never seen herself as weak before, but she had difficulty fighting against Carler. Did that mean she loved him? It didn't feel the same as it did with Doug. Maybe this was a more grown-up love? After all, she had always heard that love came in many different packages and types. If this was love, there was no way she would be able to walk away from him. He would be hers, and she would be his, and that was all there was to it.

Viv thought she might be going crazy because she was hearing a voice. It was a sweet voice like a young girl or a teenager. It asked her to care for their mate and not make him suffer. She wanted to ask what about me, what about my suffering. There was no answer, probably because the voice was not real. She knew she was having difficulty coming to terms with her major change, and still, in a way, she didn't believe that this could be true.

This was the thing of fantasy and science fiction. There was nothing real about what was going on. Viv had gotten sick and had been hallucinating. That was the best explanation. And yet everyone who spoke to her seemed to believe she had become a dragon shifter. That made her remember Landra and Kareth when they had said they had special protection. Was this what they meant? Had they planned to morph if need be? Could a dragon repel bullets? How cool would that be? The problem would be that you weren't supposed to show your dragon, so you'd be in big trouble if you shifted in a crowd.

If that wasn't what they meant, then what did they mean? She started thinking of many comments that had been made that she had thought were odd and wondered why. Then, as she fell asleep, she wondered what her dragon would look like. In her dreams, her dragon was fabulous. It was silver and purple. The wings were large, and she could breathe fire. That just showed how much of a dreamer she could really be. Purple had always been one of her favorite colors, so that was probably why she was thinking of it.

She was flying beside a shadowy dragon, and she couldn't get a good look at it. The dragons flew so high and then flew low. The dragons flew to the ocean and hopped on the waves. There was no need to fear because they were the biggest predators on Earth—maybe not the biggest, but the most dangerous one. They could turn anything into a crispy snack if anything came after them. Viv was laughing when she woke.

Chapter 10

She’s Mine

The sound of her laughter made him happy for a moment. It was only a moment before she realized he was sitting by her bed. Her whole attitude changed, and no smile was left on her face. He desperately wanted to ask her what had been so funny, but he knew she would not answer and might even be angry at him for asking. Was there any way he could heal their relationship and move on? Even though he had worked with these humans for months, he still had no idea how to deal with the females.

Looking at them, they seemed like his kind in many ways, yet there were so many differences. Their outlook was different, and maybe that came from not having a dragon side, but even when it was added, they still looked at things differently. Maybe being raised with the dragon and getting one as an adult changed things. All he knew was that he needed to handle her carefully. The look she gave him now was filled with suspicion and distrust. Carler tried to think about how he would feel if he were in her position, but it was impossible.

He couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to be a dragon. It was his best friend and constant companion. His dragon supported and advised him in all things. Many humans complained of loneliness, but he never had that problem. His dragon was always with him and helped him through any problems that he had. Carler needed his dragon to help him now.

“Glad to see that you are feeling better. You're showing signs of coming out of this change.”

“I am feeling better. Now I just need to decide how to deal with everything changing practically overnight," Viv admitted.

“Have you seen any signs of your dragon yet?”

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