“It is a nice night,” Bethany said. Our summers came in late, so it wasn’t exactly hot, but the chill was gone out of the air.
I handed Bethany her drink, then scooted a deck chair close to the one she sat in. “Bethany, there was a bigger purpose for us having dinner here tonight. There are some things about me that you should know before we go any further with our relationship.”
She went from relaxed to high alert. I sensed her anxiety. “Why are we talking about this here, now?”
My mom scooted her chair closer. “Because I’ve been through this, too. I can help you.”
Bethany tried not to bristle, but her spine straightened a bit.
“Bethany likes to be independent,” I said. Maybe thinking she’d need help from my family to get through this had been the wrong idea. “But, Beth, I think it’ll be good for Mom to be here while I tell you all about me. She’s just like you, or she was once.”
Mom nodded eagerly. “I know how you’re going to be feeling, more than perhaps anyone alive. I had a daughter when Maverick and I got married. And she wasn’t much older than Tiffany is now.”
Bethany fixed me with a glare. “What is going on?”
“First, you need to know that I or my family would never hurt you or Tiffany. Not in a million years.”
Her eyes widened. “What the hell are you people into? Mob? Some sort of gang?”
I shook my head and held up my hands, but Bethany recoiled. It was already going badly. “No, no, please, please try to keep an open mind. And remember, no matter what, that we’d never hurt you.”
Just say it.
Artemis was right. “This is a part of who I am. It’s half of me.” I chuckled. “Sometimes it feels like all of me.”
Bethany stared at me with wide eyes. I couldn’t read her mind, of course, but it was obvious a million thoughts were racing.
“Bethany, I’m a dragon shifter. Like you might read about in novels or see in movies. I can shift into a dragon.” Oh, man, that felt good to get off my chest.
Her wide eyes crinkled, and she burst out laughing. “Is this how you guys introduce someone into the family? With a practical joke?” She looked at each of us and her laughter faded. “It’s not all that funny,” she said lamely.
“It’s not a joke, dear.” My mother tried to touch Bethany’s hand, but she jerked it away.
“You people are crazy. Actually mad. What makes you think this would be funny? Why would you joke like this?” Bethany’s mood started to shift toward outrage and pure panic.
“This isn’t a joke, Beth.” I nodded toward my parents. They stood, and Bethany recoiled at their movement. She was freaked. They walked inside to give us a bit of privacy. I knew they’d come back out if I needed them. I waited until they shut the door to continue. “This is the truth, and I can show you, but you have to promise me you understand that I will not hurt you. My dragon, Artemis, won’t hurt you. You are in absolutely zero danger.”
She nodded her head.
She’s about to bolt.
I stood and backed away, stepping down the stairs by feeling with my toes while I had my hands up. “Just don’t run, okay? Give me time to show you, prove it, and explain. Promise you won’t run.”
She shook her head. “I’m not promising anything. You’re freaking crazy.”
There was nothing I could’ve done but show her. I intentionally wore the clothes I did for a quick change. No underwear, no undershirt, no socks. In seconds, I was naked. Bethany jumped up. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
“Just don’t run!” That was the last thing I said before I let Artemis do his work. I encouraged him to shift quickly. In the late evening twilight, she wouldn’t have been able to see the transition clearly, which could either help or hurt our cause.
As soon as Artemis was fully shifted, I smelled Bethany’s fear. She was absolutely terrified. “No,” she said. She backed up, hands up in front of her until she backed right into the house. “This isn’t real.”
Mom opened the back door, making Bethany jump. “It’s okay,” Mom said. “I went through this, too. I’m not a dragon. Only men can be.”
“I’m hallucinating,” she whispered.
“You’re not,” Mom said. “But it’s okay to be freaked out. Everyone is when they first find out.”
“Who?” she asked. “Who all is like this?”
Just the Kingston men. And Stefan. Artemis projected his thoughts into Ava’s head, and she jumped with a little squeal.
“What was that?”
I am Artemis. I am Maddox’s dragon. Or, Maddox is my human.
“How are you in my head?” she asked with honest terror in her voice.
You are our mate. I can communicate directly with you when shifted, and sometimes when Maddox is in his form if you open your mind enough.
“No.” Bethany moaned and batted my mom’s hand away again.
Please do not fear me. I would never hurt you.
Bethany continued to shake her head as the back door opened again. We all froze, shocked, as Tiffany came running out the back door. I heard Hailey calling her name.
“Dinosaur!” Tiffany screamed. But she wasn’t afraid. She laughed and hurried forward, but in her excitement, she missed the stairs. Mom and Bethany lurched forward, but so did Artemis. He wanted to catch the little girl he loved as much as I did.
In his haste, he didn’t retract his claws properly. He managed to catch her, but not without a long scratch up her arm. Tiffany recoiled and stumbled back up the four deck stairs, crying and screaming about the bad dinosaur. Bethany rushed forward, screaming for Artemis to get away from her daughter.
Artemis recoiled back into the yard and hung his head. Intense shame washed over both of us. He’d just been trying to help but made
