Heat of the Moment

Chapter 2

The next morning came too soon. One minute I was closing my eyes to sleep, the next minute my alarm was blaring. I took my time getting ready, putting effort into taming my crazy hair and putting in the contacts that would hide my unusual eyes. My bond with Drasten altered my appearance; it made my eyes the same bright ruby color as his, along with changing the shape of my pupils to the typical oval shape of a dragon. Luckily, that was as drastic as my differences came. The only others were my slightly edged nails and lightly pointed ears. Both of these were hardly even noticeable.

I dressed quickly, slipping on jeans and a green blouse. The cabin was small, so it didn’t take me long to get to the kitchen. Grabbing a plastic sandwich bag, I poured in some trail mix from a large jar and zipped it shut. I filled a travel mug with some coffee and went outside. The forest was calm as I walked to Drasten’s cave. The sun was just beginning to rise, and its orange glow bathed the trees and rocks.

Drasten stepped into the clearing, and the rising sun made a brilliant background to his majesty. I still couldn’t believe that, of all people, he chose me to bond with. And for that, I owed him everything.

“Good morning, little one.”

I smiled. “Morning, Drasten. Did you sleep well?”

“As well as can be. Are you off to school soon?”

I glanced at my watch. “I’ll leave in maybe….ten minutes. It’s a bit of a hike from here.”

Drasten stretched, arching his back like a cat as his wings opened. They were huge, their wingspan enormous. The same dark burgundy color coated his wings, the thin membrane of tough skin stretched across bones. “Would you like me to take you?”

“Oh, I wish.” I couldn’t fight back a grin; flying was one of my favorite things to do. “I don’t think the humans – or shifters for that matter – would be able to handle seeing a dragon fly over town.”

Drasten grumbled as I felt a wave of annoyance pass through our bond. “But, I haven’t gotten to fly in so long.”

I shook my head. “Drasten, you flew us across the country a week ago. I’d be sick of flying if I were you.”

“Dragons love to fly. We never get sick of it. Neither should you.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “I’m going to hit the road. Don’t want to be late on my first day.”

Draste’s chest rumbled. “You let me know if there is any trouble, at all. Understand?”

I wrapped my arms around his muzzle. “Understood, but I doubt the shifters will cause problems during school. It is a human school, after all.”

“I don’t trust them.”

“Neither do I. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”

I bid him goodbye and walked the path back towards the house. I grabbed my backpack from the living room and left, locking up the cabin and heading to my car. It wasn’t much, just an old jeep, but it got me where I needed to go.

The closer I got to town, and inadverdently the school, the tighter my grip on the steering wheel became. Shifters always put me on edge after what happened with my pack. Betrayal stung through my chest at the thought of my old home. Pack was supposed to mean family. Your pack was supposed to stick with you, through thick and thin, and support you, watch out for you. What a lie.

As I pulled into the school parking lot, I gritted my teeth. I knew that I had to stay away from the shifters. Shifters couldn’t be trusted. I noticed a group of them as I stepped out of my jeep, their scent giving them away. I only recognized one of them, a guy that was part of the group from the smoothie shop. He was the lighter of the two blondes and I noticed that the flirty redhead that had been with him was absent.

Suddenly, he moved from the relaxed pose he had while conversing with friends to a stance of attention. His head tilted just the slightest as he sniffed at the air. My stomach dropped as I realized he was catching my scent. I quickly turned from him and headed for the school building, trying to find a pace between rushing and inconspicuous walking. Peeking over my shoulder through a curtain of hair, I saw his eyes were trained on me. Great.

The halls were crowded as people found their lockers and made their way to classes. I had been mailed a schedule with locker information a couple days ago, so I had no need to go to the office. I tracked down my classroom and walked in, pleased to see that it was still mostly empty. I sat near a window and waited for the bell.

The classroom slowly filled as the minutes ticked by. I discreetly observed my peers, trying to hide the fact that I was sniffing every so often. So far, no shifters.

Of course, that had to change. A scent wafted in my direction mere seconds before a familiar face passed through the doorway. Pine, rain, and manly musk enveloped my senses. I couldn’t stop my eyes from closing as I inhaled again, deeper, instinctively trying to absorb the scent. I tensed as I realized what I was doing.

No. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. There was no way. It couldn’t be possible, could it? This magnetism to his scent, the way I was hyperaware of which desk he had chosen to sit at, the prickling awareness of his eyes on my back; all things I had felt before. The last time I experienced this, I had met Jason for the first time – and he had turned out to be my mate.

No! This wasn’t possible! I had a mate, Jason had been my mate. Every shifter gets one mate, and one mate only. This made no sense!

Subtly, I tucked some stray hair behind my ear, using the motion to peer at him out of my peripherals. Big mistake. His eyes drilled into mine as I found myself angling towards him. Those blue-green irises of his flared and I saw him grip the edges of his desk. Swallowing panic, I quickly turned back to the front of the room.

My head dropped into my hands, my fingers digging into my hair. Confused was an understatement of how I was feeling. First of all, I had already encountered him once at the smoothie shop. Hell, I had fallen into him. Why was I only reacting now? Then, I smacked my forehead. Of course. With all those fruits and blenders, the air had been thick with overpowering smells. Places like that, with particularly strong odors, were known for blocking a shifter’s senses. It’s why it was very uncommon to come across a shifter working at a Starbucks.

Second, and majorly more important, how could I be reacting to his scent this way? I had already had a mate. That how it worked; one mate for one lifetime. Even with what that sadistic bastard at done to me before I had been exiled, there was no way I could have another mate.

What I had thought was just going to be a typical sucky day of high school has so far had the makings of a monumental disaster.