Page 2 of Dragon Rivals of New York

“Finley’s explained the purpose of Goddess Week to you?”

“Yeah, it’s when humans mated to dragons can seal their bond and become dragons.” Wrinkling my nose, I stuff packs of gum in the purses, avoiding his gaze. “I’m not becoming a dragon, Jethro. I’m not ready to get into another committed relationship.”

“I know. And I don’t want to pressure you into anything. Believe me, I truly don’t.” He shifts on the couch and takes my hand. “I know what you’ve been through, and I don’t want you to jump into something you’re not ready for. Unfortunately, there are… consequences to that decision.”

A sinking feeling lands in my gut.

“Jeslyn and Finley don’t want me to tell you this,” he continues. “They think telling you will manipulate you in my favor. You’ve had enough manipulation in your life. I don’t want to do that.” His forehead crinkles, scrunched in a look of pain. “But I think you deserve to have all the information going into this week. If I let you decide without knowing what it will cost, am I really letting you make the choice, or am I taking some of that choice away from you?”

For a moment, I think it’s a rhetorical question, but after a long silence, I realize he’s actually asking me.

“I want to know,” I whisper, unsure why I’m quiet when no one else is here.

He nods gravely. “If you choose to enter the pools with me, you’ll become a dragon and our mating bond will solidify, binding us for life.”

A long one at that, since dragons live hundreds of years.

“But if you choose not to mate, you’ll forget about dragons and me.”

“Forget about dragons? Even Finley?” I can’t just forget about my best friend. I won’t let that happen. It’s clear now why she didn’t want me to know, but how could she keep this from me? Is she really willing to give up our friendship in order to not push me one direction or the other?

I jump to my feet and pace the few steps to the window.

“We don’t think you’ll forget Finley,” he says. “You’ll just forget that she’s a dragon. That any of us are dragons.”

I exhale the breath I was holding. Okay, that’s not so bad. They can just tell me again.

“And we won’t be able to tell you again,” he says, following the direction of my thoughts. He’s always been good at doing that.

“Why not?” I ask.

“It’s the law of the goddess.”

“Well, I don’t believe in a goddess.” Despite my crisis of faith after my divorce, I still hold to a belief in God, just with a lot more uncertainty about the things I was taught. “So, I reject that law.”

“I wish it was that simple.” He sighs. “The priestesses think you might forget again and again anytime they tell you.”

“They think?”

“It’s been a long time since a human rejected a mating bond.”

My thoughts are spinning in a thousand different directions.

“There’s more.” His voice shakes a little. “You’ll forget me, possibly over and over. But I won’t forget you. And…” Heswallows.

“It’ll hurt you.”

He nods slowly. “I could… lose my sense of reality. Not every rejected mate does, but it's a possibility, and since we've spent a good bit of time together, it's more likely.”

I don’t want to do that to Jethro, but bonding myself to him for life… yeah, that’s a lot. Am I really ready for that kind of commitment again? “This is a lot to take in.”

“I shouldn’t have told you.” His elbows fall to his knees, his head dropping.

I rest a hand on his shoulder, the heat of him permeating right through to my soul. “You were right to tell me.”

He looks up, sad, but hopeful.

Of course he wants me to say I’ll do it. But I… “I need time. I’ll see you at the wedding tomorrow, okay?”

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