Page 14 of Wild for the Wyvern

Dean will think I’m crazy. I walk the fifteen blocks to Meg’s apartment. She lives with her boyfriend, Hunter, but he’s a bartender and won’t be home.

The doorman knows me and waves. “Hey, Kori. How are you?”

“Fine, Nate. How about you?” I head for the elevator.

“No point complaining.” He tips his black cap and answers the phone on his standing desk.

At Meg’s door, I freeze. I’m about to head back to the elevator when Meg pulls the door open. “What are you doing? Nate called me a few minutes ago.”

Of course, he did. “I was deciding if I want to knock.”

“What did you decide?” She crosses her arms and cocks her head. Her pigtails swing from side to side.

I walk past her into her apartment. It’s a one-bedroom in a nice neighborhood. Meg makes great money as a fashion coordinator for one of the big houses. Between that and Hunter’s tips from a fancy bar, they do alright. Flopping on her black leather couch, I say, “If I tell you something totally crazy, will you promise to have an open mind and not have me committed?”

She sits next to me with her legs crossed under her. “Is this about hunky Drayce who kissed you like you were the only woman he’d ever kiss again?”

“Yes.” Why did she have to remind me about the kissing? Not that I need reminding. It’s like he branded me with his lips. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel his lips on mine.

“Talk. No promises about the asylum, but I’ll keep an open mind.” She smiles and waits.

“He’s a dragon. Well, a wyvern. I guess there’s a difference.”

“Wyverns don’t have front legs, just wings. Most dragons breathe fire while wyverns often have venomous spikes on their tails.” She says it as if these are just facts and I didn’t just tell her Drayce is a monster.

“Did you even hear me?” I speak clearly and a little louder. “The man you met and I had fabulous sex with can change into a monster and fly through the air. He says I’m his fated mate and he couldn’t have sex with me after our date because of something called knotting. I looked it up and that means?—”

“I know what knotting is. I heard you.” She smiles.

Sirens sound in the street and for a moment, I wonder if Meg has some secret button she just pushed to have Bellevue Hospital come and carry me away. “Why are you so calm about it? I totally freaked out. Why do you even believe me?”

She leans back on the couch. “When I was young, my parents and I went to that resort where we stayed last week. I was out playing by the lake and fell in. I couldn’t swim yet, and I wasdrowning. Mom and Dad didn’t swim either. They stood on the bank screaming for help. Dad jumped in, and he nearly drowned too.”

“What happened?” I can’t believe in all these years, she never mentioned she’d nearly drowned. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, she never talks about her parents even though of the four of us, she’s the only one who can remember hers clearly.

“The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen swam toward me and brought me to where I could stand. Then she saved my dad too. It was like she was something out of a book with her long, flowing blond hair and perfect body. She was naked save for a sheer gown. I go back and try to find her almost every year since we aged out of foster care.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” I thought I knew everything about Meg, Lori, and Dean.

She shrugs. “You might have brushed it off and I know what I saw. I was only four and my parents died the next year. I don’t tell anyone, but it’s why I always go back to those woods and the lake.”

“Have you ever seen her again?”

“No. But I swear I feel her watching me when I swim in that lake and sometimes when I walk in the woods. I always feel safe knowing she’s out there.” Recrossing her legs, she faces me again. “Do you think Drayce is your destiny?”

My eyes prickle with tears. “I don’t know, but I miss him. I feel bad for being afraid of him. He was so beautiful as a wyvern.”

“And pretty spectacular as a man.” Meg wiggles her eyebrows.

“He told me there are a lot of monsters living in the woods up there. I just wasn’t paying attention to all the details of what he said. I was so smitten by how he made me feel. This last week, when I let myself think about those two days, bits of things hesaid come rushing back and make so much sense. He’s a creature I can’t even fathom.”

“You didn’t answer the question. Do you think he’s your destiny, Kori? Will you be happy for the rest of your life if you never see him again?” Meg’s stare is intense.

Will I? Even the idea of never seeing him again makes my stomach grip and my chest ache. “I’ve never believed in fate or destiny, Meg. Suddenly, I think my life is intertwined with Drayce’s, and I’m miserable with how I ran away.”

“I can have you in the Catskills in three hours, Kori. Just say the word.” She smiles softly, and her already pretty face transforms into beautiful.

“So, I just drive up to his house and apologize for being terrified of him even though I’m still a little scared about what he can turn into, and I didn’t even know about the venomous spikes.” It’s impossible. He’ll never forgive me.

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