“Dude, you’re back. And you look like shit.”

Russ scowled at Jake as he sat back down at the table. He’d barely made it into the seat before a waitress set a pint of Dragon’s Breath lager down in front of him with a wink.

“Mandy’s all pissy because I’m moving back to Chicago.”

“Sounds like you’re pretty pissy yourself.”

Russ’s scowl deepened. Thankfully, the crowds in here had thinned somewhat. Jake had been talking to a pretty little wolf shifter when Russ came in, but she had been the only other person at the table, and she had discreetly excused herself when she saw the angry look on Russ’s face.

“Sorry I ran off your girl. Are Leif and Clint gone, too?”

Jake shook his head and pointed to the other side of the room. “They’re over there playing darts. And don’t worry about the girl. She’s not really my girl. She’s just a good friend from work who flirts with me when she’s had too much to drink.”

“Looks like you were flirting plenty yourself.”

Jake grinned. “So I was. I’ve had too much to drink, too.”

Russ rolled his eyes and reached for his beer mug. “I haven’t had enough.”

Jake laughed and leaned back in his chair. “Really? How many pints did you have before you left with Mandy? Nine? Ten?”

“Oh come on, not even a dragon can consume that many pints.”

“No? I’m up to eight. Are you some sort of lightweight? When you spread the pints out over the entire day and have food in between, it’s really not that absurd to drink ten pints, you know?”

Russ rolled his eyes again while taking a long swig from his mug. Truth be told, he’d lost count of how many beers he’d had, and he’d like to lose count even more. Anything to get his mind off Mandy. Unfortunately, Jake seemed keen to discuss that very subject.

“So, about Mandy…”

“I don’t want to talk about Mandy,” Russ said, glaring at Jake with a look that could have burned a whole right through him.

“No? And why not? Because you know you’re being an idiot by letting her go?”

“It’s complicated. I have a life back in Chicago.”

Jake threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, that’s rich. I’ve read your file, remember? I know your life consisted of a job where everyone thought you were a wacko, since you randomly disappeared when Saul captured you, and visits to a local bar where you were friendly with everyone but didn’t have any close friends.”

Russ felt defensive. “It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t have friends. I couldn’t help the fact that an evil dark wizard dragon shifter kidnapped me.”

“I’m not saying it was your fault. I’m just saying it is what it is. You keep trying to act like you can live among humans as a normal human, but deep down you know it’s not true. You can try to hide from your shifter side all you want, but you can never fully escape it. You can’t change who you are, Russ.”

Russ stared angrily down at his beer. “I thought you were different. I thought you understood me, but you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid too. You think shifters and wizards can only be happy in a town like this, but it’s just not true.”

Jake’s expression softened. “Look, Russ. I’m not trying to wind you up. I know that there are shifters and wizards who live among humans and are happy. It’s rare, but it does happen. I think it’s a lot easier to be happier in a place like Torch Lake, and I think if you really gave this town a chance, you would love it. But beyond all of that, I don’t know anyone who has walked away from true love and is happy. And that’s what you’re about to do, my brother.”

“Oh, come on. Are you talking about Mandy?”

“Who else?”

Russ felt defensive. It was one thing for he himself to decide that he loved Mandy, and quite another for Jake to get in his face and claim he knew what Russ’s feelings were. Russ scowled. “Look, we’re both attracted to each other, that’s undeniable. But it’s a bit farfetched to call it love.”

“Really? Have you seen the way she looks at you? And have you seen the way you look at her?”

Russ shrugged. “We have some sort of weird connection, I’ll give you that. But everyone knows that you can’t make major life decisions based on the infatuation you feel when you first start dating someone. That initial feeling always fades.”

“Not always.”

“How do you figure?”

Jake shrugged. “Do you know about lifemates?”

“I’ve heard people talk about them before, in my old clan. But I was very young when I left clan life, so I don’t remember much of what they said.”

“I figured as much. A lifemate is someone you’re fated to be with. Sort of like the concept of a human soulmate, only much deeper than that. Much, much deeper. Shifters believe that from the moment you’re born, you’re destined to be with a certain person. That person is your lifemate, and fate is constantly working to bring the two of you together. When you finally find each other, there’s usually a really strong attraction. Once you make love, the lifemate bond is formed. I haven’t found my lifemate yet, but I’m told the bond forming feels like a deep warmth in your core, a fire unlike anything you’ve felt before. Once that bond is formed, you are connected to your lifemate for, well, life. No matter how far away you go, that person will always be part of you, and your heart won’t be able to truly love another.”

Russ felt his heart pounding at Jake’s words. Everything he was saying sounded exactly like Russ’s situation with Mandy. When Russ had made love with Mandy, he’d felt an unusual warmth. He’d written it off as some sort of strange emotional high. After all, he’d made love to a beautiful woman right after an intense battle. That was bound to bring up some emotions. But since he’d slept with Mandy, he had felt something different between them. Some sort of strange connection that he didn’t know how to describe. He had an urge to love and protect her that kept bubbling to the surface, despite his constant effort to push it down and make plans for returning to Chicago. Was it possible that lifemates did really exist, and that Mandy was his? Russ didn’t want to admit that might be true. How could he move back to Chicago when his lifemate was here in Torch Lake? And yet how could he stay here in Torch Lake, in a world he’d never been able to fit into? He was a dragon shifter, but one who had always lived among humans.

Jake must have known by the confused expression on Russ’s face that he’d said enough. Jake rose, and clapped Russ on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go play darts. Feel free to join if you want.”

But Russ didn’t want to. His heart was too heavy, thinking of Mandy and lifemates and the possibility of staying in Torch Lake. He looked around at the bar, taking in all the happy, laughing faces. Jake was right. Russ hadn’t had much more than this in Chicago. So why was he so intent on going back? Sure the big city amenities were nice, but there was something nice about living out in the wilderness, too. And what would it be like to not have to hide who he was every day?

Is that what I’m really afraid of? Russ asked himself. Of not hiding behind a human mask anymore? Was he afraid of opening his heart to true friends? Of experiencing true love? He knew these things could mean pain, but, then again, his life had been full of enough pain when he was hiding out in Chicago. Perhaps the pain of loneliness really was worse than the pain of taking a chance on love. And, who knows, maybe if he opened his heart to life in Torch Lake, it would turn out to not be painful at all. Maybe, just maybe, it would turn out to be wonderful.

Russ knew in that moment, with deep certainty, that if ever anything in his life was worth taking a risk for, Mandy Evans was it. He’d been a coward too long. Sure, he’d acted like a brave dragon, but he’d still been a coward. He’d lived in fear of love. No more, though. That stopped tonight. If moving to Torch Lake was what it took to be with Mandy, then that is what he would do. Heck, he would move to the moon for her. How had he ever been stupid enough to consider leaving her behind?

Russ jumped up, nearly spilling the rest of his beer as he did. He practically ran for the door, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he realized that he was going to claim the woman he loved. He was going to lay it all on the line for her. He was going to be the dragon he was born to be.

Russ glanced back toward the game of darts just before he opened the bar’s front door. He saw Jake looking at him, and his new friend smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

“Go get her,” Jake mouthed.

Russ grinned, then turned to run into the night toward Mandy’s apartment. He was going to get her, no matter the cost. Russ breathed in the night air again as his feet pounded the pavement. Then he smiled as he realized that, for the first time in at least a decade, he felt truly alive.