Page 36 of Dragon's Honor

Finley didn’t meet his gaze. She kept her focus on his chest. Her expression was difficult to read, it was almost like she was working something out for herself. “You know, maybe this is a bad idea.”

The rejection hit him a lot harder than he expected. He turned and headed back for the stove to make sure nothing burned while she sussed out whatever was going through her mind.

“Do you think Nadine saw a man transform from a wolf to a man?” Finley asked.

“Yes.” They were so close the truth about him, he knew it was going to come out and then what? Would she run? Would she be disgusted?

“Like a werewolf?”

“No. Like a wolf shifter.”

Her brow furrowed. “What’s the difference?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “A wolf shifter can shapeshift at will. A werewolf’s change is tied to the full moon.”

“I suppose a silver bullet will kill them?”

“Look, you think it’s a joke, and I get that. Authors have been spinning versions of the truth for centuries and movie makers have certainly taken their own licenses. You wanted to believe in the supernatural this morning. It’s lunchtime. What changed?”

“Are you the dragon I took a picture of? Were you coming home that night? If I’d waited, would I have seen you?”

Ash squeezed his eyes closed and clutched the pan handle like an anchor. Very quietly, just above the sizzle and bubble of lunch, he murmured, “Yes.”

Her gasp wasn’t unexpected, but he was surprised when he didn’t hear her running away. The meal was almost finished. He tossed in the remaining elements and then he plated them. He turned around holding their lunch.

“Come on, let’s eat.” He set the plates on the giant table he had in the bright dining room that overlooked a beautiful garden.

She deftly walked across the room and sat down across the table from him. “This looks amazing. Where’d you learn how to cook?”

“My mother always insisted we all learn how to cook. I think my sister is the only one who never got the hang of it.”

They ate together in silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable, even though he wouldn’t have blamed her if it was. She kept looking at him, maybe she was still trying to decide if she believed him.

Despite his offer to show her how the tourmaline dragons affected moods, he didn’t want to do it to her. He didn’t want to use his abilities, his magics, on his mate.

“Why doesn’t the world know about…you?”

“Magic.” He couldn’t help but smirk.

She blinked at him and then nodded woodenly. “Right.”

“It’s getting harder and harder to keep ourselves concealed. Everyone has a camera or a phone on them at all times. People post photos, videos, and stories on the internet, just like Nadine’s site. We have people who help us take it down or figure out a way to debunk it, but we can’t keep up with it. There are too many reasonable people who are seeing things. It’s not the conspiracy theorists who keep talking about aliens from outside their trailer parks who look crazy and beyond ignorant. It’s people like you and Nadine and people in the government who are spotting us. The world is too small to keep hiding.”

“What happens when you can’t stay a secret?”

“Much like anything else…we’ll get blown up over social media and the news. People will be scared, fanatics will try to kill us, other fanatics will try and mate with us, and the world dives into a new realm. I don’t know what the world will look like. Part of me is scared that’s what’s happening now. Humans don’t have the best track record with things that are different.”

Before Finley could say anything else, Ash got up and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses. The drink didn’t affect him as strongly as it did humans, but he wanted something to take the edge off. And it would pair wonderfully with lunch.

Once he’d poured and set a glass in front of Finley, he said, “The reason why people are burning up from Dragon Fire is because whoever created that drug, used dragon to do it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dragons have been disappearing. It happened before Tristian attacked my home and killed my parents. Many dragons were taken during the attack on my clan. And others have disappeared afterward.”

“Tristian? You know who did it?”

“Tristian is another prince. He’s now the king of the Opal Clan.”

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