The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,29

did to me more than I did, it was my mother. I didn’t know that Mom wouldn’t physically hurt her if she ever saw her again, even now, well over a decade later.

“She’s a human,” I said. It was like I could read my mother’s mind using her facial expression. She went from furious at my ex to shocked about Bri.

“Jace.”

Before she gathered her thoughts, I barreled on. “But we know now, thanks to Anthony, that this is possible. It can happen.”

“How?” she asked. “After no humans and dragons mated, how are there two in one clan?”

I shrugged. “That’s a question for Sammy.”

The determined look on Mom’s face told me she planned on asking as soon as she had a chance.

“Anyway, the pain from the bond breaking, and it came really damn close to it, had been nearly unbearable. I was going to let it go on, though, but then Sammy projected visions on me. I saw what my life would be like both with and without Briana and Hayden.”

“And?” Mom asked. “I assume since you’re going on this date that you opted not to let the bond break.”

I nodded. “The vision of the future with Bri and Hayden was like nothing I ever could’ve imagined on my own. I thought over both visions and gave it all my attention for a good week. And in the end, I couldn’t risk losing it.”

I trailed off and mom leaned back. She glanced at me a few times but didn’t speak.

When she did, her voice was soft, and she sounded hurt. And it broke my damn heart.

“I don’t understand why you’d keep this from me. Something as big as a fated mate is a bit of information a son should share with his mother.” She put her hand on mine. “I’m even more upset that you chose to go through the pain alone. If rejecting the bond was what you’d decided to do, you should’ve let me help you through it. You can come to me with anything and I will always be on your side, even if you’re being a total idiot.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Tell me more about Bri.”

“I don’t know nearly as much as I hope to soon. I pushed her away and right now, she has no reason to like or trust me. I managed to turn things around before I shattered the bond, but I hope it’s not too late to win her over. Especially now that I don’t feel like I’m knocking on death’s door.”

“I genuinely hope it goes well for you, but keep in mind that this isn’t a game.” She gave me a shrewd look. “Is there anything else you want to get off your chest?”

I checked my watch and thought about Porter. “Yes, but this isn’t a good time. It’s not something I want to go into right before my date. Can we have a rain check on the rest of the conversation?”

Mom pursed her lips. “That is difficult for me, knowing there’s something else big you want to talk about.”

I laughed. “That’s because you can’t stand not being in the know.”

Mom leaned forward and grabbed a handful of cookies. She put most of them in my hand, then held one up to my lips. I opened my mouth and she shoved it in. “There,” she said. “Now you can’t talk, because I raised you right.”

I laughed around my cookie and nodded. I wouldn’t give her a hard time anymore.

We talked about light things while I finished the cookies she’d given me. Then I checked my watch again. “Okay, it’s time to go home and get ready,” I said.

“Well, have a good time, but if you’re serious about this woman, and I think you are, have a good time while keeping it in your pants.”

I groaned and stood, not wanting to hear about this from my mother.

She walked me to the door and after kissing her on the cheek, I jogged down her porch stairs and to my truck. “Be a gentleman!” She slammed the door after that last tidbit of advice.

My nerves jangled again as I prepared for the date. It didn’t take me long, and then I had to wait again. I double-checked that my clothes were clean and unwrinkled, then paced my living room until it was time to go. My nerves, by the time I went down to my truck, had me humming with anticipation.

I stopped a few doors down from my bar and grabbed a