Dragon Blood

Chapter 45

Slowly he pushed himself onto his elbows and met her eyes. He always loved her eyes. Juniper was full-blooded dragonkin. She came from a long line of unbound. She was confident and beautiful, and somehow managed to rock a full leather outfit without looking like a dominatrix.

But she a far cry from Rhia. Rhia was... she was... the only word that kept coming to mind was raw. Raw passion, raw power... She felt things on such a deep level it was hard to believe that she came from one of the most emotionally stunted species in existence. She was beautiful and stubborn, almost to her detriment. She didn't seem to give a care for herself but would throw herself in danger for another.

Why did it have to be Nolan? Why did it have to be him? The one vampire he couldn't kill. The only vampire he wouldn't kill. She had to choose... him.

"What if I can't leave?" he asked her quietly. "What if I would rather die than walk away from her?"

"Then someone else will get hurt. Just like it always happens."

They stared at each other for a long, silent minute. Slowly she took his face in her hands and kissed him. Dáithí closed his eyes, willing himself to believe she were Rhia, and let his arms snake around her waist. Her body was warm against his. She was always warm. Rhia had been warm too.

She was gone too soon. She stood up and stepped away, giving him a sad look. "Do what you do best, Dáithí." she said quietly. "Walk away."

~

Laughter and the smell of microwave popcorn filled the small kitchen and living room. Atticus's three sisters were tall, dark skinned, and white haired, just like him. The oldest of the three sat in the living room, bouncing a toddler girl on her knee while Madeline played with the identical twin on the floor. The youngest was sorting through the collection of DVDs and complaining loudly that their brother really needed to catch up with the times and get Netflix.

The middle sister came back from the door with three boxes of pizza. She slid next to Rhia and spoke softly. "Nolan's outside. Do you want me to tell him to go away?"

"No," Rhia shook her head. "I should talk to him. This herb stuff will keep me from losing my mind, right?"

"It keeps us shifters sane. Didn't think we would ever have to try it on a dragonkin."

"What's a dragonkin if not a fire-breathing shapeshifter?" Rhia shrugged with a laugh.

She stepped past her and headed out to the front lawn. Nolan paced the street in front of the house, a safe distance away from her scent. When the door closed, he looked up and stopped. "I'm an asshole." He declared.

Rhia raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?"

"I'm an ass." He repeated, taking careful steps up the walkway and stopping a good ten feet away. "An absolute bastard."

She laughed without meaning to. God, he was a handsome man. His eyes were so intensely blue, she could just fall into them forever. "It's okay. Things haven't exactly-"

"Don't." he interrupted. "Don't make excuses for me. Don't let me get away with that."

She crossed her arms over her chest and walked towards him. "Alright." She said quietly. "Yeah, you were being a dick. I know it might not seem that long to you, but Church and I were together for four years and what he did to me... I'm still healing. Maybe not physically, but you don't just forget something like that. You don't just forget the lies and the manipulation and..." she shook her head. "I know you're not Church, I never meant to imply that you were... but I didn't deserve that."