The Dragon's Fate - Roxie Ray Page 0,56

of freaking out, he wants me to go with him to his mom’s land to show me something about him and his life, and he’s scaring me. He says to ask you if I should trust him.”

“Yes,” she said without a moment’s hesitation. “Do it.”

“I—” I looked at the phone in confusion. “You know the secret?”

“Yes, and when you do, everything will be made perfectly clear. Go with him. Love you, bye!”

She hung up.

I stared at the phone, just as confused as before, but far more intrigued now. “Fine,” I said. “But I’m telling you now, I’m not joining any cults.”

Jace bowed his head and motioned me toward the kitchen. “Perfectly reasonable. Let me show you this, and then we’ll get down to business and deal with Damon, okay?”

I grumbled, but I walked down to his truck. He started to open the door for me, but I jerked in front of him and did it myself. A little petty, but he’d been keeping stuff from me. I was allowed to be a little petty.

I was a nervous wreck as we pulled out of the bar parking lot. Damon was out there trying to make up stories just to take my daughter from me; I wasn’t sure how much more I could deal with. But I buckled down and braced for whatever it was Jace was about to tell me.

As we drove out of town and trees enveloped the truck, he glanced at me several times. “Keep an open mind. I promise you I’m not crazy, okay?”

That didn’t help my nerves at all.

“So, there are things in this world that most people don’t realize are here. Supernatural things.”

“Like demons and ghosts?” I asked skeptically.

He paused. “Uh, probably. I wouldn’t doubt it. I’ve never seen either, but that’s a great question.” He grunted. “I should ask Sammy.”

“Who?”

“More like people who shift into animals and witches. Oh, and vampires.”

I gaped at him. He said he wasn’t crazy, but then he talked crazy. “Shit,” I whispered.

Skye had told me to trust him. I’d at least hear him out. Maybe the cult was some sort of fetishists. I wasn’t into that bag, so I’d just smile politely and then ask him to take me home, where I’d nurse my broken heart and figure out how to fight my ex-husband for custody of Hayden.

“I’m a shifter,” Jace said. I turned my gaze from the passing trees to Jace, who kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

Oh, fuck, I bet he dressed up as a pony. Or a cat. Lord help me. “Oh?” I smiled at him and tried to be bland. I didn’t want to set him off, especially while he was driving on a winding road.

“I turn into a dragon, as do all the members of the cult everyone talks about. We stick close to each other for protection and secrecy.”

I nodded, playing along. “That makes sense.” How was I going to get Skye and her babies out of this mess? Maybe they could run with me. Kaylee would help and she had plenty of money if we needed some to get out of town.

“Dragons take a mate. We mate for life, usually. We’re fiercely protective and loyal, and if we choose a mate, it’s because we really care about them. But we also have something called fated mates, where the universe, or our dragon half or something, chooses for us. And it just means that the fated mate is a person that is most compatible with us.” He turned up a driveway and kept talking. “Not that we’re forced to care about each other, but if we nourish the relationship, it’s almost guaranteed to work out.”

I kept nodding and smiling. “Sure, sure, makes perfect sense.”

He parked the truck in an open field just off the driveway. “I thought we were going to your mother’s house?” I asked.

“No, just her land. This is clan land.” He hopped out of the truck and circled to open my door.

“I think I’ll stay in here, if that’s okay with you.” I turned the handle on his truck windows and smiled. Inside, though, I was beginning to be scared he was going to kill me out here. But he’d left the keys in the truck and I’d locked the door when he looked away.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m going to prove this to you. I can see you’re humoring me because you think I’m looney tunes.” He put one hand on the truck door and leaned