“Yep,” I said, biting my tongue to keep the sharp response from flying out of my mouth.
“‘Yep,’ that’s all you’re going to say?” There it was.
I sighed exhaustedly, “What else do you want me to say? I told you there were details you didn’t know because I lied because I couldn’t just say ‘hey I’m a supernatural being here’s everything about me.’” My head started pounding, “I can’t do this right now.”
I tried to walk out of the room and he stepped in my way. “Fox, it would be best if you let her rest. She’s had a long day,” Charlie attempted to pacify both of us.
“No. I want to know what else did you lie about?” Pain coursed through my chest at his accusation and Niamh whimpered in my head.
I was quickly being pulled under by exhaustion. My headache was getting worse by the second and my emotions were all over the place. “I can’t do this right now. Get out of my way or I’ll move you out of my way.”
“I thought you would never hurt me. Was that another li-” I cut him off by literally picking him up and placing him out of my way.
I thanked the goddess that action left him stunned and speechless and I was able to get away without him following or saying anything else. I locked myself in my room and quickly fell asleep.
Fox’s POV
She actually picked me up and moved me. I guess it made sense because she was not human. Holy fuck. The woman Jax claimed was my soulmate, or whatever, wasn’t human. Holy fuck. Jax wasn’t human.
I still hadn’t decided if I should be afraid of them yet. I mean they saved my life today, except it wouldn’t have needed to be saved if they were human. I felt so drawn to Amaya I almost forgot she wasn’t human. Almost. I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t ask anyone about it because no one would believe me.
Jo said they have some pack members who were humans that mated-what a strange term-to wolves in the pack. She said she could set up a meeting if I wanted, but I hadn’t decided.
“Fox. Outside. Now,” Jax ordered with a growl. I did as I was told, “I really should kick your ass for the way you just treated my best friend. She saves our asses this afternoon, at the risk of her own life, and that’s how you treat her. Even after I told you about being her mate. You self righteous bastard.”
“She’s lied about everything. Every single thing I know about her is a lie. What’s her last name Jax? What does she do for a living? Who is Daniel to her? How did she get those scars? Who is she, Jax? Everything.” He hit me with a left hook before I had time to brace for it, causing me to fall to the ground. I recovered quickly though, and was back on my feet throwing my own punch. We traded blows until Jax got the best of me and I ended up on the ground with him on top of me. It was all I could do to block his punches and get in hits of my own. Then suddenly he was gone. I got up to see Amaya standing between Jax and me, growling at Jax.
He put his hands up, “Niamh, calm down. I wasn’t going to hurt him too bad. I had a reason.” She growled louder, “Niamh give Amaya control back. I’m not a danger to your mate.”
“Aren’t you though?” Amaya’s voice came out gruff with a growl.
“Shit. Fox help me out, please,” Jax looked at me over Amaya’s shoulder. When he did she growled at him.
“What do I do?”
“Mates calm each other down, so try hugging her?”
I rolled my eyes at how unsure he sounded, and took a hesitant step forward. Jax gave me an encouraging nod and thumbs up which caused her to growl again. I took in a breath and swallowed my fear. I wrapped my arms around her middle, causing her tense body to relax just a little bit. “Amaya?” She relaxed a little further and her body began to vibrate like a cat purring. “Amaya?”
She sprung forward shoving Jax with my hands still on her waist, “What the fuck were you two doing? Jax you know not to do that. I’m having a hard enough time justifying anything I do to Niamh, but getting into a fight with him? Seriously.”
“It was my fault,” I said, “I’m sorry. I pissed Jax off and he punched me which started the fight.”
My arms dropped from her waist as she spun to face me, “He still knows better.”
Jax sighed, “She’s right. I’m sorry Little Duck. Go back to sleep. I promise I won’t beat his ass anymore.”
“Better not, or Niamh isn’t going to be the only one you have to worry about,” she said before walking back into the house.
“Sorry I almost got you killed Jax,” I said with a half smile.
“Nah. She wasn’t going to kill me,” He walked up to me and admired the beating he laid on my face, “Probably. Do you get it now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m her best friend, and she was ready to maybe kill me because I was hurting you. Anyone who comes after you or attempts to hurt you, she’s going to protect you with everything she has in her. She’s your mate, and sure she lied about and omitted details when she needed to, to hide what she is when you didn’t know. She did what she had to before you found out and you shouldn’t hold that against her.”
“Was she ever going to tell me?” I asked quietly, embarrassed that my voice sounded so sad.
He sighed, “I honestly don’t know. I don’t think she knows. She had a lot on her plate when she found out you were her mate, and she still has a lot on her plate. Especially with the reemergence of Joseph, whoever he is.”
“He’s her uncle,” we both turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway.
“Are you fucking serious Dad? The guy that tried to kill her today and who is trying to kill the storm dragons is her uncle?”
He motioned us inside, so we settled inside in the living room. When Charlie rejoined us he tossed a bag of frozen peas at me, “Put that on your face. I’ve heard it helps humans heal or at least not look like they’ve been beaten so badly,” I did as I was told, and he offered an apologetic smile before beginning his tale. “Joseph Wardwell, brother to Daniel, was second in line for the throne, with the reign of their parents not having an end in sight and Amaya’s birth bumping Joseph down to third, he took matters into his own hands and killed his parents, Amaya’s mother, and his own mate, who attempted to stop him, which is how Daniel survived. There are rumors that Ingrid, Daniel’s mate, was pregnant when the attack happened as well. Joseph was working with various groups outside the clan, and some inside, to murder almost everyone in the clan. Only a handful of storm dragons are left, and that’s mostly due to Daniel managing to get those he could out of the territory, including Amaya and his nephew.” He looked at me, “Losing clan mates, much less a mate, is the toughest thing we can go through. You can’t understand it until you actually become part of a pack or clan, but what Daniel, Amaya, and whoever is left from their clan went through that night is the stuff of nightmares.”
We sat there stunned for a little while until I cleared my throat, “This feels like a stupid question because of what happened today, but did they get any kind of justice for what happened?”
Charlie shook his head, “Joseph disappeared after that night, although I’m fairly certain they’ve been tracking him they haven’t been able to find him. Today was the first time he has actually shown himself, and he didn’t really show himself, just his abilities.”
“If he was out there listening well enough to hear that rogue and stop him from telling us whatever he was going to say about Joseph. Then Joseph definitely heard the rogue call Fox Amaya’s mate.” Charlie looked at Jax and nodded.
“It is strange that he didn’t go for Fox though. He went for you. He probably is formulating a longer term thing for Fox, but wanted to see if Amaya saved you over herself. He will have more in store for you both in the future based on how she reacted today.”
“This is all so insane. You guys realize that right?” They were both silent as they looked from me to each other then back to me.
“Fox we understand it is a bit strange and hard to understand, however I know Jo offered to set you up with some of the humans that mated into the pack. I really think you should meet with them. It wasn’t easy for them either, but they stuck it out, learned, and came to love pack life.”
“That makes it sound like a cult,” I said with renewed skepticism.
They both sighed dramatically, “It’s not like that. Look, just promise to keep an open mind and meet with them. It won’t hurt and you could gain some important insight into being the mate of a supernatural and being a human in the supernatural world. I’ll even call Aaron to see if he has any human mates in his clan.” Jax finished with a sardonic look that told me I should give it a try or risk another ass whooping.
“Okay I’ll meet with the other people, humans, whatever. I wouldn’t mind meeting someone who is with a dragon. You’re right it couldn’t hurt anything,” I said hesitantly. “I’ll see you guys in the morning. Goodnight,” they bid me goodnight as I headed upstairs.
Amaya’s POV
When I woke up I felt fully rested, so I checked my phone and saw I had been asleep for triple the amount I normally would. I noticed flowers, chocolates, and a stack of books I didn’t see yesterday. I smelled the lingering scent of Jax and Fox on them. I flipped through each of the books, and smiled at how well Jax knows me.
I packed everything but the flowers in my bag and headed downstairs. Charlie greeted me when I walked into the kitchen, “Would you like some breakfast before you head out?”
“Yes please,” I said with a smile. We ate together without much conversation.
Just as I stood to leave, Jax came downstairs, “You’re leaving without saying goodbye Little Duck?”
I sighed, “I need to get going, Jax.”
He wrapped me in a bone crushing hug, “What do I tell everyone else? Ava will be crushed she didn’t get to say bye.”
“Jax, I need to go. I have work to do,” I pulled back from the hug, “Tell Ava I’ll be back when I get some time off, or I’ll see her when she comes out to visit you.”
“That’s fair. She’s still going to be upset, but that will make it a little less upsetting for her.”
“I’ll see you when you get back Jax. Thanks for the flowers, chocolates, and books. The books look amazing.”
“I didn’t pick them out. Fox did,” he ruffled my hair as I stared at him shocked, “Have a safe flight, Little Duck.”
I walked out to the clearing, packed away my clothes and shifted. It only took me a few hours to make it back to the complex. Josie met me on the field we used for shifting and landing, “Goddess Amaya it’s about time you got back. Conner has been driving us insane. I really hope you’re ready to kick some ass because, and this is just my professional opinion, that guy needs his ass kicked.” She looked at me dramatically, “Hard.”
I rolled my eyes as I got dressed, “And you haven’t kicked his ass because?”
“Oh I have. So has Alanza. Daniel was next but you called, so he got Jace to do it. It didn’t go as planned.”
I groaned, “What happened?”
We started walking toward the complex, “Well it was going well until Conner mentioned you. Conner didn’t realize Jace was your cousin, because, you know, he’s an idiot, so he was going on and on about how he was going to call maca ánwíg. That was pissing Jace off but not for the reason Conner thought.” We each scanned our hands to enter the complex, “Anyway Jace kind of lost control a little bit and while that scared Conner, it did nothing to change his attitude toward Alanza and me.”
“Is Jace okay?” I asked just as we reached Daniel’s office.
“Yeah he’s fine,” she responded with a wave of her hand. “We finally got him to pass out and he apologized to us when he woke up.”
“I’ll see you after my meeting with Daniel. We can come up with new torture methods for Conner then,” she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my chest.
“Glad you’re okay, bestie boss lady.”
I gave her a squeeze, “Me too, Josie.”
I walked into Daniel’s office and saw him sitting behind his desk. He looked up from paperwork when I walked in, “Glad you made it back. Anything else happen after I left?”
“I lost control of Niamh. Well she took over and threatened to kill Jax because he was beating up Fox. The guys worked out how to get me back, and Fox claimed the fight was his fault.” Daniel raised an eyebrow, “I’m sure it was. He still doesn’t trust me and accuses me of lying to him, which I did, but only because I didn’t know I was going to meet him or I didn’t have a choice.”
“And now that he knows?”
I blew out a long breath, “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to like the idea of being with a supernatural being, and I can’t reject him, not if there’s the smallest chance he might change his mind.”
“Do you love him?”
“He’s an ass.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” he stated flatly.
“No, I’m not in love with him. Niamh is or at least three quarters of the way there, but I’m not there yet. He needs to prove himself,” I told him, my gaze level with his.
“Good. Make him work for it,” he said with a small, proud smile on his lips. “Now onto business. The rogues are talking and it’s not good. The guy Joseph killed, you said, was killed just as he started to talk about Joseph’s plans and current movements.”
I nodded, “Yeah just as he started to say Joseph was ‘bu-’ and he got cut off, so he probably was going to say he’s building something and I’m guessing it’s not a house or a fence.”
“You’re right about that. He’s building an army. He’s recruiting wyverns, rogues, and any other outsider he can find. The rogues think he might even be in talks with hunters.”
“So what are we going to do about him?”
“There’s not a lot we can do. We can run down some leads, any leads that pop up, but past that we can’t do much,” Daniel sat back in his chair.
I growled, causing him to raise an eyebrow, “I don’t like the idea of him being free to do whatever he likes.” I blew out a breath, “What’s our next assignment?”
“We’ve been monitoring some hunter activity somewhere on the Kentucky Tennessee border.”
“You don’t know for sure?”
He shook his head, “Their activity is in both states. It seems to be a pretty big operation, or at least well organized.”
“The usual?” He nodded, “Got it. When do we leave?”
“A couple of days, maybe. I would like Conner out of here as soon as possible, though, so maybe after we’re done with him.” I gave him a glare, “I get it, but it doesn’t mean I want him around longer than he has to be.”
“You know you could pitch in. Leaving Jace to train him was a huge mistake, and not in hindsight. You should’ve known Jace is too uncontrolled to train someone like Conner. He likes to find buttons and push them, and he’s very good at it.”
He sighed, “I know. I wasn’t thinking. Well I wasn’t thinking that hard when I decided to do that. I was only thinking about two things: you and Jace’s dragon being more dominant than Conner’s.” He checked his computer, “I have a few things to do before I’m free, but then I can help out with the dipshit.”
“That’s all I’m asking. I’ll let you know, after my assessment, how long I think it’ll take.”
“Thanks. It’s good to have you home,” he said, giving me a smile.
When I walked into the gym I surveyed the room, noticing right away a couple of burn marks on the floor and a few less mirrors. “Jace didn’t do as much damage as I thought he would have.”
Alanza and Josie chuckled, “Yeah we got him mostly under control before things got too out of hand.”
“‘Too out of hand’? He nearly killed me!” Conner shouted as he entered the room.
“He did not, you big baby,” Josie rolled her eyes, “You would think he’s never dealt with an out of control dragon before, goddess,” She said under her breath, causing Alanza and me to chuckle.
I started stretching but watched Conner’s eyes lock on me, “You need to stretch.”
“I’m good with watching you stretch, baby,” he said, leering at me from his spot on the floor.
“Can we kill him?” Niamh asked.
I chuckled out loud, causing Conner to give me a questioning glance, “Oh it’s nothing. My dragon was just asking if we could kill you,” he swallowed hard, and Josie and Alanza laughed at the rising scent of fear in the room. “See Niamh it’s better to toy with them, and then beat the shit out of them.” I stood and walked to center mat, “let’s do this Conner.”
He groaned, “Come on. I’m done with this. With getting my ass kicked and you crazy people who can’t control yourselves.”
“Not yet you’re not. Center mat. Let’s do this,” I put a little bit of dominance in my voice, making him roll his eyes and meet me at center.
We circled each other for a little while. I watched as he moved, studying his form. I waited for him to strike, and I didn’t have to wait long as he kicked, attempting to hit my torso. I dodged easily but didn’t strike back. I continued to wait. He swung attempting to hit me with a right hook, but I caught his arm as easily as I dodged his kick and smacked him on the back of the head. Everything he threw at me I either dodged or caught and used to turn around and smack him. I never actually began fighting him. I just kept avoiding him or smacking him on the back of the head. He growled in frustration, his throws becoming less calculated the more frustrated he became. I smiled and began my take down by sweeping his legs out from underneath him. He laid there trying to regain his breath. When he did he got back to his feet, growling louder and more feral. He ran at me, but I just stepped out of the way. We both turned to face each other, but this time I moved first. I did a roundhouse kick to his face too quick for him to block or dodge, and he crumpled to the mat.
Josie started clapping, “Only one real hit. You’re getting better.”
“Or my opponents are getting easier. Seriously I knocked out a rogue with one hit too at Jax’s,” I shook my head, mostly in disappointment, “The least some of these people could do is put up a decent fight.”
“See you say that, but it’s so fun to watch you beat these people up,” Jace said from the doorway.
“You should see my fights with Jax,” I said with a smirk. He walked over and embraced me, causing both of our dragons to reach out to one another and begin vibrating.
“Glad you’re okay,” he said into the top of my head.
“Of course I’m okay. Don’t you know nothing can take me out,” I said, patting his back before pulling away.
“I knew you two were mates,” Conner said from the floor.
Jace growled loudly, causing me to roll my eyes. “No actually we’re not. Lose the majority of your people and tell me if you aren’t close to those that are left.”
“You’re not going to tell him?” Jace mind linked me.
“Nah he doesn’t need or deserve to know anything past us not being mates,” I linked him back.
“What did you learn?” I asked, turning to Conner.
He scoffed, “That you fight like a girl.”
“In what way?” I smirked as he struggled to find his words, “I see. What you should’ve learned was using your opponent’s movements and emotions against them and how to be patient and keep a calm head even if the fight isn’t going the way you want it to go.”
“Whatever,” he responded, rolling his eyes, “You only fought like that because it’s the only way you can fight.”
“Okay. Center mat,” I said with a small smile.
We met again at center mat, but this time I didn’t wait for him to attack. I threw a punch, faking him out, so he dodged my left punch and wasn’t able to dodge or block my right hook. He attempted to hit me, but I dodged easily. We went back and forth, with me hitting him and him unable to get a hit in, until finally I saw an opening and went for a submission. Conner groaned from where he was laying on his back.
“I think that was better than last time,” Jace said with a smile. “Daniel wants to have a meeting with us, Josie and Alanza. Have fun Amaya.”
“Later guys,” I said with a wave of my hand, but not taking my eyes off of Conner. “So what did you learn this time?”
Conner growled, “I don’t know. I didn’t learn anything.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because you trespassed and you’re a self righteous royal who thinks she’s allowed to go wherever she wants.”
“I didn’t trespass. All of the leaders were notified of my presence in the Pacific Moon Pack. Your clan was no different. The only difference was your father and his feelings toward women and supernaturals that are different from him. So I ask again, why are you here?”
He seemed to be giving genuine thought into his answer, “To learn.”
“To learn what?”
He growled in annoyance, “I don’t know.” He looked up at me, but I just looked at him expectantly. “To learn h-how to be patient and calculating under pressure?”
“That’s part of it. You’re learning that as part of your hand to hand training. Bigger picture, what are you here to learn?” I sat down across from him.
“I’m here to learn,” he looked up at me with a furrowed brow, “To unlearn?” I gave him an encouraging nod, urging him on, “my dad’s beliefs on women and other supernaturals?”
I nodded with a smile, “So what have you learned so far?”
“Women are just as skilled as men and just as good? Fire dragons aren’t good?” I shook my head, “Women are more skilled than men and better? Fire dragons are very bad?”
I laughed, “You had the woman part right the first time. We are just as capable as men. Equal in all things.”
He looked down at his hands, “And fire dragons?” He asked quietly.
“Are no worse or better than any other dragon or supernatural or human. There are bad dragons just as there are bad wolves or cats or humans, but the actions of a few do not dictate the lives of the many.”
“Am I a bad person?” He asked sadly.
“I don’t believe so. You aren’t defined by your circumstances. It isn’t your fault how you were raised, but what will be your fault is if you choose to live in ignorance and bigotry. That’s what would make you a bad person.”
He looked down at his hands, “So my dad is a bad person?”
I blew out a breath, “He has done some bad things based on his beliefs, so, in my opinion, yeah he’s a bad person.”
“Do you think I can be better?”
“I think if you’re asking yourself those questions you already are.” I got to my feet, “Let’s go again.”
This time instead of trying to take him down, I instructed him as we sparred. By the end of it he was panting and sweaty, but I was barely sweating. “How are you not tired?”
“Conditioning. You should try running in the mornings. I usually start around two thirty or three and run for about thirty or forty miles.”
“Goddess you’re a crazy person.”
I grinned at him, “Probably, but at least I’m a well conditioned crazy person.”
Daniel walked in, “How’s it going in here?”
“We’re done for the day,” Conner collapsed on the mats in silent celebration, but Daniel gave me a questioning look. “We made some real progress today. I think at the most it will take a week before he can go home,” I mind linked Daniel.
“Do you think it’ll be a setback if you guys go on a mission during that week?” He linked back.
“I think so, but I think the progress we made today will help Alanza and Josie, if you let me go on the mission by myself. Has he been running?”
“You seriously think I’ll let you go alone,” he linked, giving me a hard glare. He rolled his eyes when I shrugged my shoulders, “Josie has been running with him, but she doesn’t run the same length she normally does.”
“I want it to get longer every time. He’s not well enough conditioned to spar as long as he should be.”
“Can you guys stop mind linking about me in front of me?” Conner said from the floor.
Daniel and I looked at each other, he shrugged, “Have you run today?” Conner nodded, “We’ll run again this evening, so we can get your conditioning up to where it needs to be. Go get something to eat.” He groaned but got to his feet and walked out of the gym, “what do you think?”
“You’ve definitely made progress. How’d you do it?”
“Kicked his ass two different ways, but then I asked him what he had learned each time. He couldn’t tell me, so I asked why he was here. He finally figured it out, and we moved forward. I taught him rather than just knocking him on his ass,” I smiled with a shrug.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward him, giving me a kiss on the top of the head. He pulled back to look at me, “You would’ve made your mom proud, Amaya. You’re becoming quite the queen.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said into his chest as I hugged his midsection. We pulled apart, “I’m going to get something to eat.”
Author: Kailan Counahan 