I stared at the ceiling of my hotel room wondering why I’d been so hard on Dane when all he had wanted was to make sure I was safe. I was mean to him, and I didn’t know why. Watching the way my parents were had affected me, I knew, but I didn’t think it affected me so much that I was mean to every man I met. I knew I had been mean to Bradley; I did it on purpose because of the way he treated me all the time, but Dane didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and I was going to have to make sure that I was different with him.

I was going back to the island the next morning despite the fact I wanted to stay in Atlanta. No matter how much I protested, my mother insisted I go back to my new life and not worry about her. If only she knew how hard that was to do. She was the one constant thing in my life, and I needed her still, even though I was about to be twenty-four. It wouldn’t matter to me how old I was: I was always going to need my mother. I knew there would come a time I didn’t have her with me anymore, but I didn’t want to think about that. She was still young and had a lot of spunk in her. The police had come and told us that she hadn’t missed the stop sign: someone had taken it down. My mind had gone immediately to Bradley, and rage coursed through me at the thought that he almost cost me my mother. For what? So, his narcissistic personality could get what it wanted? I couldn’t wait until the next time he came after me; he was going to get it. I pushed him from my mind and began to think about Dane and the others on the island. They had been so good to me since I moved there, especially Dane. I looked at the clock and saw it was late, so I rolled on my side and closed my eyes, begging my brain to shut off for the night.

I tried to go to sleep, but the thoughts in my mind kept swirling around. I couldn’t stop thinking of my father and how the way he treated us had influenced every relationship I had ever had. Dane had been right when he told me I couldn’t punish every man for one man’s mistakes. I thought he had been talking about Bradley, but I realized as I laid in the darkness that it was my father’s misdeeds that other men were paying for. As that realization hit me, I began to cry. I tried to stop the sobs that kept clawing their way out of my throat, but I couldn’t get control of it. I sobbed until I couldn’t anymore. Once I composed myself, I grabbed my phone from the side table and looked to see if I had any missed calls.

I was shocked to see I had twelve missed calls from Dane and seven voicemails. I listened to the voicemails, and my heart broke at the sadness I heard in his voice. I told myself I was being unfair to him by taking so long to decide. If I could have decided sooner, he might have been able to find a different mate. He might still be able to, but I wasn’t sure he’d want to. I was surprised to find that the thought of Dane with another woman made me angry inside. I laughed at myself, scolding myself for feeling such a thing. I had no claim to him; if he wanted to be with another woman, he could.

I decided to give him a call and let him know that I was okay so he would stop worrying. I dialed his number but got his voicemail, so I left a message.

“Hey, Dane, it’s me. I just wanted to let you know I got your messages and I’m fine. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls; my phone has been on silent ever since I got to the hospital. I’ll be home tomorrow, and I can’t wait to see you. Sleep well, bye.” I felt a tinge of disappointment as I ended the call.

I laid my phone on the side table and closed my eyes, begging sleep to come to me. Suddenly, I saw Dane and Rory coming towards me, looking concerned. I started walking towards them, and as I did, I saw Bradley coming at me. Just as Bradley was reaching to grab me, Dane’s powerful green dragon swooped down and gently picked me up in his talons. I looked up to see him smiling at me with a big toothy grin. I laughed as he carried me to the safety of a cove and watched in awe as he shifted back into human form.

He wrapped me in an embrace and held me close, unwilling to let go of me.

“Dane, you’re squeezing me too tight,” I whispered as he released his hold.

“Sorry, my love, I just missed you and was so glad that you were safe,” he said, as a smile spread across his face.

The cove was beautiful, with water so blue it looked clear. I watched as all the little fish swam around our toes as we sat on a boulder with our feet in the water. Suddenly, Dane jumped to his feet.

“We must go back; there could be danger!” he yelled as he started to shift.

“What do you mean? Wait a minute! Dane, don’t shift yet!” I screamed, but it was too late.

Dane’s dragon came forth with a burst of green smoke, and he leaned down for me to climb on his neck. Once I was situated and seated well, he took off headed for the center of the island, where he had grabbed me. We got back to find Rory and a few other clan members in an argument with Bradley, and Rory was about to shift.

I tried to keep Rory from shifting, but we had gotten there a bit too late. He shifted, and before anyone could react or get Bradley out of the way, Rory leaned down and grabbed him with his mouth, crushing him with his teeth. I screamed in horror as Rory chewed Bradley like a piece of popcorn.

I sat straight up in the bed, worried that what I had seen had been real. I took a deep breath and surveyed my surroundings, realizing that I was still at the hotel in Atlanta and it had only been a dream. I sighed and flopped back on my pillows, hoping sleep would overtake me again.

The sun burst through the curtains of the hotel room and shined brightly right into my eyes. I groaned and rolled over, trying to avoid it. I knew I couldn’t do that, so I got up and began getting things ready to head back to the island. Once I checked out of the hotel, I went by the hospital to make sure Mom really wanted me to leave.

“You get your tail on the road, young lady. I’ll be fine. They said I’ll get out of here tomorrow most likely, and Karen can give me a ride home,” she said as she shooed me out the door.

Karen was Mom’s next-door neighbor, and I adored her. She was like the aunt I never had. I was grateful Mom had a friend like her to help her out when I couldn’t. I stopped by Karen’s and told her how much I appreciated her help, and I headed out of town. I was excited to be going back, but I couldn’t get the dream I’d had out of my head. I knew that what happened in the dream most likely wouldn’t happen for real, but I wasn’t so sure. It hadn’t been that long ago that I didn’t even know these creatures existed. It shouldn’t have surprised me that dragons existed with the existence of wolf shifters.

I pulled onto the interstate and started back toward home. Home. It felt nice to say that word. I never stayed in one place long enough growing up to know what a home was. After Dad left, we bounced from place to place and slept on relatives’ couches until Mom was able to get on her feet. Once she got a job, we kept having to move from house to house because she never got paid enough to make the rent every month.

Things changed when she met my stepdad, Rhett Andrews. He came into our lives and showed us how it was really supposed to be. He took care of us the best he could with what he made. From then on, the bills got paid, but we never had much extra because the medicine my brother required took up the rest.

I was glad for Rhett, and it broke my heart when he passed away after having open heart surgery. My mother was devastated and had never dated anyone after that. She had chosen to spend her time playing cards and going to bingo with her friends. Now that she had been hurt, I wanted to do more to be there for her, but I didn’t know what more I could do. I was trying to come up with ideas as I made my way down the interstate. I was tired of driving and knew that I would be glad to get back to the island and my home. I knew Dane had missed me, and I missed him as well. I hoped we would get a chance to talk because I had a few things I wanted to tell him.

I pulled up to the edge of the parking lot by the water and waited for the ferry to come across and get me. Once on the ferry, I sat in my car and enjoyed the ride. The water was beautiful, and the way the palm trees were waving in the wind was mesmerizing. I decided when I got home, the first thing I wanted to do after unpacking my stuff was to get Dane and go for a swim. I had missed the ocean being cooped up in the hospital room the whole time.

I pulled into my driveway and saw Dane standing on the porch. His smile sent bolts of electricity through my body, and I couldn’t wait to hug him. I jumped out of the car and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding tight.

“I missed you, Dane. I’m sorry,” I said, tears filling my eyes.

“I missed you too, Lauren. Don’t worry; everything is okay. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have doubted your ability to handle yourself,” he said as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I leaned in and kissed him softly as he hugged me to him. I pulled away before things could get out of hand and took my luggage inside. Once I got everything back in its place, I changed into my bathing suit, and Dane walked with me to the beach.

I was so happy to be back and to be back with the one that I wanted to try to let love me. I hoped it wasn’t too late.