The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,18

me any sort of example to go off of. I’d just screw up that adorable little girl and break Bri’s heart.

I shifted as soon as I got onto clan lands and flew over the trees in the dark. All the questions and uncertainties tossed through my mind, from picturing Anthony and Skye and how much they were in love, to how I felt holding their little babies.

And how it felt seeing my son taken out of my arms to go into someone else’s.

I flew until I was exhausted, then drove home. I had a long week ahead of me, lots of work to do and more than likely I’d be in a lot of pain.

I didn’t look forward to it at all.

Damn, I needed to blow off some steam. I got the Friday night shift covered, so I didn’t have to go in tonight, but the mating bond had been doing some weird things. As the week had progressed, it grew itchy.

The pain didn’t leave. The itch added to it made for one uncomfortable week. I grabbed my phone and texted my buddy, Wayne. Shooting range?

He was a personal chef and almost always busy, but I knew Anthony would say no, so I didn’t bother asking him. He liked being home with his mate and babies. Not that I blamed him. If I were free to be in his position, I’d probably feel the same way.

Divorcees and single women, especially older women and widows, loved calling Wayne to cater for them. I didn’t have high hopes that he’d be able to go, but he replied pretty quickly that he’d had a cancellation and would meet me there.

Nice. Shooting targets was a lot more fun than most people realized. Cathartic. I took another long, hot shower. The heat was all that helped my aching muscles. The tea Sammy gave me helped for a few hours after I took it, but once it wore off, I was back to the pain.

Right before I walked out the door, I gulped down a scalding hot cup of the tea and put extra herbs in it. I had my guns and ammo in my backpack, but the range was almost out of town, so I drove over there.

As I waited for the tea to work, I reminded myself it would only be a few days for the bond to be completely broken, and then I’d be fine. Regrets, I could live with. It wasn’t much longer to endure this torment.

Wayne and I shot the shit for a minute, then went inside and got down to business. “I bet a hundred bucks I’ll have a better score,” Wayne said.

I snorted. “I’m a better shot and you know it.”

“Yeah, but you’re not acting right.” He looked me over. “You look like shit.”

“Shut up and shoot,” I growled.

Focusing on my target, I went into the zone and burned through my ammo. Wayne had been right about one thing; my aim wasn’t as good as it usually was. I still hit my target respectably, but nothing like I usually would.

I set my gun down to adjust my earplugs when my chest began to compress, like someone was shoving against it as hard as they could. It felt like it was about to cave in. I cursed the universe in my mind and tried to breathe through it. It would be over soon. Bri hated me. I felt it, so soon I’d be nothing to her. The bond would be broken. I just had to endure a few more days.

But then, her laughter filled the room. My heart pounded harder, exacerbating the crushing pain in my chest.

I tried to ignore it, but that lasted about five seconds. I couldn’t stop myself from looking for her. I followed the sound and the pull down a few stalls to find a man teaching her how to shoot.

Her laughter turned to focus. She took a deep breath and unloaded her clip into her target. She was clearly nervous, not used to handling a gun, but she did pretty well. Hit the target center mass every time. I couldn’t help but feel proud of her and for her.

I tried to hide my smile when she turned and spoke to the man. “That’s good, isn’t it, Dad?”

He was her father. I’d been a little worried. With the man being white and Bri black, I couldn’t be sure this wasn’t a date, even with the age difference. “You’re a natural, baby girl,” her father said.

Words slipped