Page 51 of Dragon Exposed

“It’s just…a lot to take in. I mean, it was a lot just to find out the guy I’d been on one impromptu date in a hoodie and yoga pants with was really a dragon. But to find out that he thinks I’m his mate, that if he claims me, I could become a shifter too, is all more than I was expecting.” I shook my head. “When it was just vampires, just one psychotic guy going around biting people and draining them dry, I could handle that. But this is a whole supernatural world, existing right alongside us.”

Krystana just shrugged. “It hasn’t been all that easy on us either. I grew up with stories about vicious men hunting dragons down and killing them without a thought, just because we weren’t the same. Finding out that for the most part, humans are pretty cool, takes some getting used to.”

I swallowed hard, looking past her toward the flap of the tent. I had hardly considered how all of this might be affecting Levi. He’d seemed so comfortable with me, so at ease bringing me into his world, into his home, I hadn’t really thought about the fact that he really hadn’t been around humans all that long. “I probably didn’t make it any easier on him, did I?” I sighed. “This mating thing, it’s a big deal with you guys, right? With dragons?”

Krystana nodded. “It’s something we’ve always treated as sacred. Something we always hoped would happen but could never predict when or where. Mating with humans though, as you can probably guess by my grumpy brother, wasn’t exactly something we planned for. I think Ash is still hoping at least one of us will find a dragon to mate with, so that the tourmaline crown doesn’t get challenged by lesser families in the clan.” She shrugged. “It could fall to me, by default, since I’m the only female in the family, but it’s not something I’ve ever seen myself taking on. Ash has always been the next king. I don’t really understand why it’s such a hard concept for the older male dragons to grasp. If it weren’t Ash, then the next in line would be Levi. Although, mating with you would take him out of the running as much as Ash mating with Finley did.”

“Is that something he wants?” I couldn’t imagine Levi sitting on a throne, wearing a crown, for an actual reigning king purpose (even if I could totally imagine it in other circumstances, where no pants were involved), but if it was something he wanted, something he hoped for, I didn’t want to stand in his way there.

I just didn’t know if I could be a queen.

Krystana laughed. “Not even a little. Levi’s always known it was a possibility, if Ash didn’t mate with anyone, or if Ash were killed, but Levi’s always preferred to get his hands dirty for the clan. Fighting when it was necessary, keeping tabs on threats to our people. He was always more the kind of guy to stay in the shadows. He didn’t want the spotlight, and he didn’t want the weight of the crown. He would take it if he had to, though.”

The sigh of relief that came from my lips was loud, and far more noticeable than I wanted it to be. The sound made Krystana laugh harder, and she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “I think you’re going to fit in just fine with the rest of us. We’re really not as serious or as doom and gloom as they’re all being in there. It’s a rough time for our clan, for younger dragons in general, but I think we’re on the cusp of something great here. If we can get the elders to realize just how badly we need to ingratiate ourselves into human society, to be a part of the world, hopefully our kind won’t die out. As long as guys like Ash and Henrik, and now Levi too, accept human mates, there won’t be as much pressure on the few females left to find our mates.” Krystana stared out at the horizon, and I couldn’t help but wonder just how much pressure she’d been feeling.

If she really was one of the last female dragons, one of the last women who could adhere to the “old ways” of doing things, then it was more important than ever for the women in that tent, and I guess me too, to be the strong mates that dragons seemed to need.

I just hoped I was up for the challenge.

We stayed outside for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet calm of the starry night and the far-off sounds of crickets and an owl somewhere in the distance, before I decided I couldn’t stay out here forever.

I needed to find out what we were all going to do about Levi’s exposure, and what the next steps would be against the vampires, the dragons, and the humans, all seemingly hellbent on seeing my mate and his family destroyed.

Before we could breach the flaps of the tent again though, everyone started pouring out, looking more frazzled than before.

Some of the men, especially, looked downright murderous.

I grabbed Levi’s arm as he came out, pulling him around to face me. “What happened?”

“Philadelphia is on fire. Fucking Grey is on the news, telling everyone how he saw a purple and green dragon flying over the city just before it went up in flames.” Levi snarled, his eyes almost a glowing violet color now. “He orchestrated this, somehow, and he’s trying to pin it on me or one of my brothers. We have to go, now, if there’s any hope at all of getting this cleared up.”

“What do you mean, go? Where? What are we going to do?”

Levi sighed. “All the tourmaline dragons have to make damned sure they’re far from Philadelphia. After that, we have to figure out a way to retaliate.”

“Maybe this is a dumb question, but where are we? How far do we have to go, to scatter the way you’re talking?”

He pulled me into his arms, holding me against his chest as he let out a slow, deep breath. “Grey knows how far a dragon could fly, and how fast. If he knows about this place, Philadelphia could’ve been a targeted attack, to drive people right to me. To us.” Leaning down slightly, he pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I won’t let him take you from me.”

Levi’s eyes had softened some, with more green popping through, as if just being close to me had calmed him down.

I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to have another form living inside you, threatening to break free with every problem, fighting for control. I wanted to ask so many questions, but now wasn’t the time. The only question I could really settle on was, “Do you really think he’s after me? I mean, I’m nobody. I was a tool, a means to their ends of getting you to expose yourself, to expose dragons. I can’t believe they’d want me for anything more than that.”

“You’d be surprised at the deviousness of vampires. Viktor is all violence, no finesse. They drugged Finley, tried to use her against Ash. They could do the same to you.” He snarled. “Gods, I wish I had my heartstone. If you wore it, it would protect you from their thrall.”

I gave his waist a little squeeze, reminding him I was still here, still free from the vampires’ thoughts. “Okay. Let’s get out of here. Where will we go?”

“As far from Philadelphia as we can.”

I pursed my lips. “What if that’s exactly what he wants? What if he’s using Philly to try and drive you away from the East Coast, so that he can do worse? Maybe what we need to do is fly toward the city, not away.”

Levi’s brow furrowed, as if he were considering what I was saying. As if I was really bringing value to this conversation.

“Maybe we go back to New York. I could get you a slot on the morning show I help produce, and you could tell your side of the story. Explain to everyone that you meant no harm in your flight, and that Philly’s not the work of dragons.”

“You really think people could be swayed that easily?” He scowled. “If Grey’s poisoning people against dragons, I doubt it would be that simple.” With a soft smile, he cupped my cheek. “Not to mention, the morning show was where he likely drugged you with Dragon’s Fire. There’s no way to wipe the entire city of thrall before we go back there. People won’t stop being afraid of me. Of us.”

I sighed. “Okay. Then we run. We get as far from here as we can. I hear Oregon’s nice this time of year. We could get a little place on the coast, hide out and wait for all this to blow over.”

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