Page 1 of Fight Fire With Fire

1

Dawson

Although I was surrounded by family, I had never felt more alone. Each of my adult relatives had been lucky enough to find their fated mate, leaving me as the only unmatched Veles dragon shifter. Everyone here loved me, but I wasn’t the center of their world. Which was as it should be since the person fate had paired them with was the other half of their soul.

After seeing both of my cousins mated in quick succession, I had hoped it was a sign that my time would soon follow. But now that a little more than five years had passed, I was starting to wonder if I’d ever find her. My biggest fear was that I was destined to spend the rest of my very long life alone.

Holding my cousin’s baby boy, I couldn’t help but worry that I would never have one of my own. That this was as close as I’d come to seeing a tiny version of myself since Decker had the Veles coloring with dark hair and green eyes. He could’ve easily passed for my son.

Not that I’d ever voice that thought aloud. Damien was territorial over his family, even by dragon shifter standards, and wouldn’t appreciate the sentiment. I didn’t blame him, though. It had taken the poor guy more than three years to track Soleil down after first catching her scent. His search for his fated mate had used up every ounce of patience he had and then some. Something I reminded myself when I was wallowing in self-pity. My search sucked, but it would’ve been a fuck ton worse if I’d come close without finding my mate over and over again for three years like Damien had with Soleil.

I looked up from my perusal of Decker when my mom sniffled and caught her wiping a tear off her cheek. “You better stop crying before Dad stomps over here to make sure you’re okay, and you lose your chance at baby cuddles.”

“Your dad knows better. He can feel through our bond that these are happy tears.” She flashed me a watery smile. “Or at least they are for the most part.”

I moved closer and bumped her shoulder with mine, being careful not to jostle my nephew too much. “Hey, now. There’s nothing to be sad about today. Not when we have a new little member of the clan to welcome. It isn’t every day that your nephew becomes a father.”

“I know.” She reached out and traced Decker’s cheek with the tip of her index finger. “I just want the same happiness for you so very much.”

“My time will come sooner or later.”

Even though I forced confidence into my tone, my mom knew me too well to be fooled. She shook her head and wagged a finger at me. “Don’t you dare give up hope, Dawson Brady Veles. We raised you better than that.”

When she pulled out the triple name in her stern mother voice, I knew she was serious. “I’m trying my best not to, Mom.”

Decker let out a little whimper, drawing his mom’s attention as mine tried to infect me with her optimism. “For all you know, you’ll find your fated mate tomorrow.”

“You should travel. Go see the world. Maybe you’ll bump into your fated mate like I did,” Soleil suggested with a soft smile over her shoulder aimed toward Damien before she lifted their son from my arms. “It worked for me.”

My cousin frowned back at her. “You weren’t traveling. You were running for your life.”

“Yeah, but I still managed to find you, didn’t I?” She winked at him as she rocked Decker back and forth.

Damien crossed the room and tucked his mate into his side. “More like I hunted you down.”

“I guess that’s a fair way to put it,” she conceded with a giggle.

“I’ve been traveling all over the world for five years, and it hasn’t done me any good,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

Damien shook his head. “I’m not sure you can call what you’ve been doing traveling.”

“I’ve been to ten states, six countries, and three different continents in the past five years,” I rattled off.

None of them seemed impressed with the list. My mom even jumped on the pick-on-Dawson bandwagon and pointed out, “But you haven’t seen much beyond training facilities in the cities you’ve visited.”

My other cousin, Denica, had served as a slayer for the organization that hunted rogue vampires—Eliminate Vampire Influence Everywhere, or E.V.I.E. for short—for more than a decade before she officially retired two years ago. About six months before she found her fated mate, she hooked me up with one of her trainers. I quickly got addicted to the rush of accomplishment I felt when I mastered a new skill and had been searching out new instructors from across the spectrum of supernatural beings ever since.

I’d learned a wide variety of fighting techniques and had grown confident in my ability to go up against just about any opponent…even Damien. And my cousin was as tough as they came. He’d had to be since he’d served as the head enforcer for the shifter council for a long damn time.

Hoping to defuse the seriousness of the conversation, I lifted my hands and wiggled my fingers as I teased, “What can I say? It took a lot of work to get these puppies registered as lethal weapons.”

Their reactions to my joke varied. Soleil giggled—earning herself a spot as one of my favorite people in the room at the moment, along with her adorable newborn—while Damien just sighed. Of course, my mom couldn’t resist chiding me. “You’ve always resorted to wisecracks when things get too real, but this is no laughing matter, Dawson. Finding your fated mate is serious.”

I ground my teeth together, biting back the profanity-laden response that popped into my head. No matter how bad my language could sometimes get, I’d never speak to my mom with disrespect. “I am well aware of how important this is. If I could go out there and find her today, I would do whatever it took to make that happen. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. I’m stuck waiting until fate decides it’s finally time for my turn at happiness, and training takes my mind off what’s missing in my life.”

“And I’m just making it worse by harping on you.” My mom pulled me into a hug before pulling back to look up at me. “I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s okay. I know your heart is in the right place,” I reassured her.

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