Dragon's Fake Wedding Date - Riley Storm Page 0,50

and followed along, enjoying seeing this side of Rann as he showed off his home to her. He was proud of his clan, that was obvious.

“So, where are we going then?” she asked.

“The Shaft,” he said and then elaborated as she scrunched up her face. “It’s a bar. They serve food, drinks, all that good stuff.”

“Oh thank god,” she said with obvious gratefulness. “A drink and some food sounds ah-maze-ing right now.”

She followed him into the cave opening, marveling at the size of it. The opening was huge, but the inside was even larger, spreading out wide in an oblong shape with a domed roof. There were multiple levels with ramps leading up and down. Tunnels disappeared deep into the mountain, while other openings had doors blocking them with signs posted indicating what lay within.

“This is your home?” she asked, looking around. “How many people live here?”

There were others in evidence. Other dragons, she assumed.

Rann frowned. “I think we’re closing in on seventy-five people now. One of the bigger clans, for sure.”

“Life up here must be so peaceful,” she said. “I love it.”

She turned to look back out the cave entrance. With the hill and mountain sloping away from them, she could see nothing but trees and mountains. The town of Five Peaks was off to her left somewhere, out of sight, but it didn’t matter. The view was incredible.

“Come on,” Rann said, taking her hand and leading her off to the right. They pushed through a door and into a bar that could have been located anywhere, were it not for the rock walls.

Wooden stools and tables dotted the inside, while TVs hung everywhere, displaying sports, news, and some movies. It was sparsely populated, no more than twelve people there, but when she thought about it, that was a large percentage of the clan, all gathered in one spot.

Must be a popular place.

They sat down at a random table. Before they could order, another tall, muscular male came in, his face all scuffed up, his nose swollen, and traces of blood still on his cheeks.

“Beer me, Hoss,” he called to the bartender, his words slightly slurred by the nose.

Gayle stared for a moment then she focused on Rann. “That reminds me. Are you going to tell me now about all the mysterious things you’ve been up to? Like why you looked like you’d been in several fights?”

He regarded her for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. I suppose that’s the least I can do. The fights, which is exactly what they were, are part of an organized tournament to help us find a leader.”

“A leader?”

“Yes. We’ve been without one for over a year, since the last one was killed by another creature from the Otherworld. We’re lacking direction, so we’re going to find a new one. The fights are to determine who takes over.”

“Oh,” she said, taking that all in. “So you lost then? Is that why you were all scuffed up?”

Rann blinked repeatedly. Then he snorted. “Absolutely not. I won. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t take any blows during the match.”

“Right,” she said, knowing that it was going to take time for her to process everything she’d learned about him, dragons, vampires, and his world. But there was no sense in stopping the inquisition now. The more information she had, the better.

“Oh! And why did you smell like smoke when we first met? What was that all about?” she said, her brain bringing that memory up unexpectedly.

Rann shrugged. “I told you the truth. I flew out of a burning building. Well, exploding, more like it. But close enough.”

Gayle’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why?”

“We were out hunting vampires that night,” he growled. “We had been informed that they might be gathering there. So we went in. Turns out we were set up.”

“What?” she gasped.

“Yeah. But tonight we’re going to fix that,” he said, his lips peeling back.

“You are? What’s tonight?” she wanted to know, unsure of how she felt about the anger writ on his face.

“I found their hideout last night. Tonight, the team and I are going to go in and kill any vamps we find. Hopefully, all of them, so we can put this behind us,” he said, green fire flashing in his eyes.

“Boy, am I glad I’m not a vampire,” she said, shivering, trying to get her mind off that topic. She didn’t want to think about what other night terrors might be out there.

“Me too,” Rann agreed deadpan.

Gayle’s mouth worked as she tried to