It’s not like she expected him to be head over heels in love with her. They’d just met. But would it kill him to act a little less mortified about the idea of him being with her? When Etel said they were already bonded, whatever that meant, Wrath went pale. Pale. She didn’t know a man as bronze as he was could look pale until that moment.
Rejected, got it.
He certainly wasn’t rejecting her last night. He couldn’t wait to get her in bed. He even seemed to take the whole biting thing in stride.
Now, Wrath was declining his weaselly brother’s recruitment attempt. A weaselly brother who called Wrath by a different name at least once.
“Think about it, brother,” Etel said as he got up.
Wrath stood as well. Jess felt awkward being the only one sitting so she joined in. Etel looked Wrath over.
“I know I haven’t seen you in some time, but there’s something off about you,” Etel said. “You look healthy, but there’s something about your magic that feels wrong. Have you been cursed?”
“It’s not your concern,” Wrath said.
“I disagree,” Etel said.
Wrath sighed and glanced at Jess so quickly she almost missed it. “Do you know what kind of magic it is?”
“It’s familiar. It’s like fae magic, but darker.”
“I’ll walk you to your car. There are some things I suppose you should know,” Wrath said.
Etel nodded and, after a few forced pleasantries with Jess, Etel and Wrath walked outside.
Though she was tempted to eavesdrop, Jess resisted. Instead, she went into the kitchen to get some coffee. Unlike dragons, she didn’t drink whisky just after dawn.
One sip and she dumped out her mug. The coffee was old. That meant Wrath must have been up for hours. Maybe dragons didn’t sleep as much as humans. In fact, she hadn’t seen Wrath sleep at all.
She brewed a new pot, forcing herself to stay in the kitchen. It wasn’t quite done when she heard the front door open and close.
Wrath strolled into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She turned her back to him to pour herself a mug of coffee and to avoid looking at his handsome face. She couldn’t stand to see relief in his eyes when she said what she had to say, “I can leave now, right? You got what you wanted from Etel.”
“Yes, you’re free to go,” Wrath said. “We have to talk first, though. Did you hear everything Etel said before you came in?”
“Not everything,” Jess said, stirring a spoonful of sugar into her coffee.
She’s free to go. That’s it. He wasn’t going to fight for her to stay? He was such a jerk. She didn’t know why she entertained the idea of staying with him.
Having put it off long enough, she turned to face him. His brow was knit with concern or anger or something.
“A bite from a regular shifter and a dragon doesn’t produce a bond. That’s why it didn’t worry me last night,” Wrath said. “From what Etel said, I gather that’s not the case with someone with dragon blood and a dragon. In our case, it’s like we’re regular shifters. You marked me as your mate and it’s permanent.”
Coffee. She needed more coffee. She took a long drink of the hot liquid. It didn’t burn. She’d always thought she was just odd that way, but maybe it was magic.
“What about you?” Jess asked.
“It probably goes both ways, even though I didn’t bite you.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“Don’t apologize. Etel set us up. He wanted this to happen. I don’t blame you. I blame him.”
“So, what do we do?” Jess asked, setting down her mug.
“I have a family, Jess. If we have kids, they’ll be dragons. It’ll cause trouble that I’m not willing to start. I don’t want my kids at war with each other. I’m not sure what to do. Yes, you can leave, but….”
“I never said I wanted kids,” Jess interrupted. “In fact, I always thought I would adopt. I’m an orphan, remember? I’ve always hoped to be able to help kids that were in a position similar to mine and make them feel loved. Surely there are magical orphans who aren’t dragons that basilisks can tolerate. But that’s not the point, is it? If you don’t want to try, just say so.”
She hated the way her voice trembled and the tears that filled her eyes. She couldn’t face him like this. Breaking up with someone was never fun, but she normally didn’t get dramatic about it. They weren’t even together, were they? It was one night. It was nothing. Nothing.
Oh, but it was something.
Fine, maybe it wasn’t nothing, but it didn’t mean forever. Why would she want forever with someone so willing to send her away?
“I need a moment,” she managed to say as she walked out of the kitchen with as much dignity as she could muster, which wasn’t much.
She made it to the bedroom and gently closed the door before rushing to the bed to drown her sobs in a pillow.
She could only love Wrath and he didn’t want her.
She wanted him to knock on the door or even barge in. He could tell her she misunderstood and that he wanted to give them a chance. Instead, she heard the front door open and close again, breaking her foolish heart a little more.
Why had she bitten him? It was the worst mistake of her life.
She made herself get out of bed. It was time for her to leave. She didn’t think Uber would come out this far, but she’d find a way to go. She just needed Wrath to give her phone back.
Or did she? Maybe one of the basilisks could give her a ride into town. She’d get a new phone and make reservations. It was time to go back home to Texas.
