Chapter 4
Keva was already second-guessing her decision to go out to lunch with that sexy dragon on Saturday. She should have just said no, that she didn’t need any more friends. But it seemed stupid to agitate members of Conall’s clan.
Okay, that was a big fat lie. She’d said yes because she wanted to go. Period. For no other reason than apparently she was a masochist and wanted to spend time with the very sexy man who could only ever be a friend.
Because she hadn’t been kidding about not wanting a relationship. She’d gotten burned so badly before that she hadn’t even dated since her ex died. A lot of that had to do with getting her business up and running. But the thought of dating a shifter, where the power dynamic was so lopsided? No, she didn’t think she could deal with that again.
Her ex-boyfriend had seemed sweet and charming in the beginning too, though there had been telltale signs. She just hadn’t been able to see them. She’d recently lost her mother, and even though they hadn’t been particularly close, both her parents had died in such a short timeframe that she’d felt alone in the world. Without an anchor. And Randall had been so damn charismatic.
God, she still felt like an idiot for falling for his lies. When he’d told her he was a shifter, he’d made it out like he’d confided this huge secret to her because he trusted her. What a load of crap. Only later had she realized he’d told her to keep her in line, to keep her afraid.
Dagen seemed nothing like that. The fact that he was respectful and had asked for her phone number when he easily could’ve gotten it on his own gave her a good feeling, but she wasn’t sure she was willing to risk anything again.
Besides that, she’d seen him yesterday with Arya, and the woman had linked her arm through his. The two were clearly chummy. Maybe even more than just chummy. She thought Arya might be mated but she wasn’t sure if dragons were faithful or…what. Her ex certainly hadn’t been. And she didn’t know enough about dragons or other shifters to know their norms. She just knew that mates got all possessive, but that did not equal fidelity. God. She was just getting caught up in her own head. And she had work to do.
A customer stepped inside and she shelved all thoughts of the sexy man who’d infiltrated her dreams the last couple nights.
By the time Keva was able to take a breath and actually relax, four hours had passed. One customer after another had come in, the beginning of spring season here. She was definitely not complaining since there would be a lull come the end of spring and into the beginning of summer. She’d hired a couple seasonal staff—because someone had to work the store while she actually created the jewelry. And she had the urge to design anyway. She loved what she did and loved that she got to make money from it, though the work was definitely time-consuming and exhausting.
Smiling at the mother and daughter leaving her store, she rounded the countertop and glanced at her phone when she saw the little blue light blinking.
When she read the recent text message, ice chilled her veins.
Where is my brother?
She knew who it was from even though she didn’t recognize the number. Even as she tried to shake off the fear, she recalled her plan and texted back. Who is this?
It had been four years since Randall had died. And she was going to say she hadn’t seen him in over three years to anyone who asked—which was true. So she couldn’t act like she knew who this was or what this was about.
Her phone pinged again. Don’t be stupid.
Whoever this is, I think you have the wrong number.
Two minutes later another text came in. This is Richard, Randall’s brother. Where is he?
Yep, it was exactly who she thought it was. Randall’s older brother hadn’t been the Alpha of his pack, but he had been second-in-command. Randall had always told her that one day he’d settle back with his pack, but not until he was done roaming. He hadn’t liked having an Alpha very much. She wasn’t sure of the exact dynamics of what that meant but it sounded a lot like having a boss.
She waited another minute, then texted back. Why are you bothering me? I haven’t seen him in three years. Then she set her phone down and greeted a new customer stepping into her store. She was afraid, yes, but she wasn’t going to let that fear control the way she acted today. She wasn’t going to let it control her life.
She wasn’t a match physically for a wolf, or any shifter for that matter, but she had invested in a gun, pepper spray, and a Taser. Overkill? No. Definitely not. Because she knew about the things that went bump in the night, and shifters weren’t the only supernatural creatures out there.
There were also vampires and a few other things her ex had mentioned in passing. Now that she knew about them, she wanted to be better prepared in case she was ever attacked by anyone—or anything—again. Not that she was worried supernatural creatures would randomly start attacking her. They’d been around as long as humans, and apparently had their shit together better since they were able to live in relative hiding.
But she shook those thoughts away. She had a business to run and bills to pay.
She’d worry about what she was going to do about this later. And maybe…she’d call Conall to let him know.