The ancient coin Julia clutched in her hand cut into the skin of her palm as she waited for Iszak to return. When she’d come back to the apartment she’d been trembling as the shockwaves of truth of what he really was went through her. There was a part of her mind that needed to be sure, before she condemned him to the fate her family history told her he deserved. So the coin in her hand was a test, one that would tell her one way or another, if hiding beneath the surface of the man she’d shared her body with, was in fact a dragon.

She held the tiny crossbow behind her back, out of his line of sight. She didn’t want to tip her hand too soon, to give him the opportunity to overpower her. How could she have been so stupid to trust a man she’d only just met? Had she learned nothing from her father?

He’d told her again and again that the only people she could trust were her family, and now she’d proven him right in the most humiliating way possible. Had it all been a game to Iszak? One intended to lure her into giving herself to him so that once she was in his thrall she would forget what he was, and who she was?

She didn’t know the answer to that but she was about to find out. She straightened her spine as she watched the knob on the apartment door turn and Iszak walkedin. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and it was like a knife blade in her heart. Even knowing what she did about him, he still had the power to fool her. To make her think that the honeyed words he whispered in her ear when he’d taken her body to paradise were true.

His smile faltered and he drew to a halt. She didn’t have much of a poker face and she was certain that he could see something was wrong. But unless he read minds, he would not know that she knew the truth about what he was until it was too late for him to deny it.

“Catch.” She tossed the coin at him, and his hand flew up as he caught it out of reflex. His eyes widened and he dropped the coin just as fast. “It’s dragon forged iron, and it burns when it comes in contact with a dragon’s skin. But I’m sure you know all about that.”

How she kept her voice steady she didn’t know. It felt like she was dying inside as she brought her crossbow, loaded with a bolt tipped with dragon forged iron, around to point at him. There was little satisfaction to be had from seeing the blood drain from his face when he realized that his little game was over. He took a small step toward her and she raised her chin.

“Don’t come one step closer or I swear you will be dead before you hit the ground.” There was a thread of steel in her voice, and although her finger trembled on the trigger, she told herself that she would do it if it looked like he was a threat to her. He raised his hands up and stayed where he was.

“How did you find out?” His voice was quiet and the sick feeling in her stomach only got worse. He wasn’t even going to deny it. Chances were slim that she would have believed him based on the evidence that she had, but the truth was now irrefutable and there was no way she would hide from it. No matter how much she wanted to.

“How do you think? Kevin. When your brother killed him, he forgot to clean up his trail, to make sure that Kevin left nothing behind that would point to him.” She saw his eyes widen and knew that to be true as well. Until this moment she hadn't been entirely sure that Iszak had known what his brother had done to hers. That was another inescapable truth, and it made her heart hurt so much it took all her willpower to remain standing in front of him. “The only thing I didn’t know until now was how much you knew. I can see that there is a lot more you’ve been hiding from me than simply what you are. Did you help him? Did you help your brother kill mine?”

His mouth tightened for a moment. “Julia, you have to understand—”

“I don’t have to understand anything.” Her voice came out in a shout that surprised her. She’d thought that she could be cool and collected about this, but the pain was too fresh and went too deep for that. “Did you help your brother kill mine?”

“No. Andor killed him before I got there. He wasn’t in his right mind at the time, and Kevin had taken him hostage at the point of a rifle. He had no choice but to defend himself.”

She laughed and it had a bitter edge to it. Even now, when there was no dodging the truth, he tried to put his own spin on it. “I hope you don’t expect me to believe that my brother subdued a fully grown dragon all by himself without any back up. I have been raised on dragon lore since I could understand words, and I know that it takes more than one man to take down a dragon.”

“Normally it would, but if you will just let me explain the circumstances that brought everything about, I’m sure you will understand that my brother had no choice.”

Julia gave a shake of her head. She didn’t care what lies he wanted to tell her about what happened to his brother. She was more interested in the game he thought he’d been playing with her.

“You knew who I was when I introduced myself at the cabin. The Robillard name is familiar to you, isn’t it?”

“I’ve woken after centuries of slumber and yes your family name is familiar to me. It was the name that every dragon from my time knows very well. It’s a name that means death for our kind.”

So from the moment she’d stuck her hand out and told him her name in those first moments upon meeting him he’d known. He’d known what her family was. She remembered how out of sorts he’d been, how rude he'd been to her and she’d always puzzled over it. Now she knew that he had realized he’d invited a dragon hunter into his midst. That could be forgiven since their meeting had not been contrived. Even she didn’t fool herself into thinking he had that kind of power. But she remembered thinking when his attitude had changed that he was trying to seduce her. All that remained was to find out why.

“Why did you ask me to come here?”

“Julia, don’t do this. It’s not how you think it is. Please, just let me explain everything and you’ll see that there is no need for you to be holding that weapon on me.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him talk her into lowering her weapon. She had no back up, not even her father knew that she was facing a dragon. It wouldn’t take much for him to make her disappear like her brother Kevin had. What she couldn't understand was why he still insisted on playing this game when she knew everything now.

“When we were at the cabin, when your attitude was so solicitous and sweet, why did you ask me to come here?”

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again his shoulders sagged. “I knew who you were, what your family was and when you said you were looking for your brother, for Kevin, I made the connection. If you hadn’t mentioned him by name I would never have known, since I didn’t know Kevin was a Robillard. All I knew about him was that he was stalking and harassing my brother’s mate and that my brother dealt with him in the only way he could."

“And why didn’t you let me go on my way?” Her heart felt heavy in her chest. She knew the answer to this as surely as she knew her own name, but she wanted to make him say it.

“Julia, don’t do this. Things are different now. Surely you can see that.”

“All I can see is that you’ve been lying to me from the moment you found me stranded in the snow bank. Now tell me why you asked me to come here.”

“I wanted to keep tabs on your investigation. I wanted to know how close you were to learning the truth.” He shook his head and his mouth twisted. “Obviously I’ve done a piss poor job, haven’t I?”

Julia’s lower lip trembled as exactly what he’d been doing slammed through her. Her eyes swam for a moment and she would swear later that she felt her heart shriveling inside her chest. It was all for show, just a way for him to keep tabs on her. Had he shared his plan with his brother when he’d come here? Had they laughed at how stupid she’d been for falling into bed with a man she’d only known for a few days? How long had he been prepared to go on with this charade?

“Did you have to sleep with me?” A tear spilled down her cheek, and she used her free hand to wipe it away. That was what hurt the most. That he’d taken what she’d offered to him, that he’d made her believe that what was between them was special. God, she’d been such a fool. “I’m sure you had quite a laugh with your brother at how easy I made it for you. I was practically throwing myself at you before we left the cabin.”

“I didn’t sleep with you for any other reason than because I wanted you. I may have lied about what I am, about what I knew about your brother, but what was happening between us was not a lie.”

God he really must think that she was a dupe. How could she believe a word that came out of his mouth? He told her himself that he’d asked her to come here so he could keep tabs on her hunt for her brother. She was certain that the intimacy between them had all been part of his plan.

He took a large step toward her and moved as if he was going to take the crossbow from her. She acted on instinct, squeezing the trigger with her finger and sending the bolt flying. He gave a cry that was more surprised than anything else as the bolt pierced his shoulder. It would not kill him, since only a shot directly to the heart would do that. He looked from the bolt to her, and there was a look of betrayal in his eyes that he had no right to feel.

She pulled another bolt from her back pocket and loaded it into her bow.

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking that I don’t know what I’m doing. If I see you again, the next arrow that flies will go directly into your heart.” She held the crossbow in front of her as she skirted around him. He stood still, with the bolt lodged firmly in his shoulder and a pained expression on his face. She had to force herself to harden her heart. God only knew what he would have done to her if he’d gotten the crossbow away from her.

“I would not have hurt you, Julia. Surely if I was going to I would have done it by now.”

There was an edge of sadness to his voice as his eyes followed her movements toward the door. She wasn’t going to listen to any more of his lies.

“Fair warning, Iszak. You better run far and pray that no one from my family finds you. Once my father learns what has happened to Kevin, none of you will be safe.”

She opened the door, grateful that he seemed to have given up trying to convince her to listen to reason. Somehow she managed to hold herself together until she got into her car. Once she was behind the wheel, safely locked inside, the first sob came. It was followed by one after another until she could no longer hold back the grief over what could have been from spilling out of her.

* * *

Iszak's arm was blissfully numb where the shaft of the bolt penetrated his shoulder. He managed to shove it all the way through, so at least the dragon forged iron was no longer burning inside his flesh, but his hands were now slick with blood. He couldn't get the arrow the rest of the way out. Hopefully Rickman would be here soon to help him.

It was his own fault, that he was sitting here wounded. He'd known from the moment that he walked in the door and seen the pale shaky look on her face that something had gone terribly wrong. The entire time she stood there with the crossbow pointed at him, he'd never thought she'd actually go through with it. He should never have tried to rush her, should not have thought that if he could just get the crossbow out of her hands that she would be reasonable and listen to him. He didn't fool himself into thinking that her aim had been off. She could have shot him in the heart, and he had no doubt that if he went after her right now, that was what she'd do.

He deserved to be shot for putting that devastated look in her eyes.

Seeing the pain he inflicted on her by withholding what he knew from her made it feel like his heart had been ripped from his chest. He would give anything to get her to listen to reason, but that avenue was no longer open to him. He'd had his chance and he'd blown it. He didn't think that his being a dragon was the worst part for her. It was the fact that he'd seduced her, knowing full well what had happened to her brother, and playing on her vulnerability that had made her shoot him.

There was a knock on the door and fortunately he didn't need to get up off the couch, since he hadn't bothered to lock the door when Julia fled.

"It's open." His voice sounded as dead as he felt inside and he wondered why he'd bothered to call for help at all. It was only delaying the inevitable because he'd fucked up his only chance at happiness by not being honest with her once it was clear that there was something between them. She may have reacted negatively to the news that he was a dragon, but at least he would not have hurt her so deeply. If only she'd let him explain that while he'd first thought that he could seduce her with immunity, she'd burrowed her way into his heart and he'd meant every whispered word he'd said when he made love to her.

Andor and Lyssa walked into the apartment, and he closed his eyes for a second. God damn, Rickman. Why did he have to tell his older brother that he'd been wounded? Now he was going to have to sit through a litany of Andor saying I told you so. He looked at his brother as he came to stand in front of him with a pale face and a scowl etching a deep furrow between his eyebrows.

"God damn it, Iszak. What were you thinking, getting mixed up with a Robillard woman." Andor towered over him as Lyssa came to stand by his side. She put her hand on his arm.

"Sweetheart, I don't think now is the time for this. Let's just get Iszak's wound sorted out."

Andor's mouth tightened, and it was evident that he was not happy about keeping his mouth shut.

"Darling, go to the bathroom and get some towels. We will need something to staunch the blood flow when I pull the arrow out." Lyssa looked at Iszak, as if to ask if he was prepared to be alone with his brother for the short amount of time it would take her to get the towels. He nodded and as soon as she turned away to go to the bathroom he knew that his brother wasn't prepared to hold himself back.

"What the fuck happened? Did you tell her the truth? I thought you were going to wait until you sure she wasn't going to do something like this."

"I didn't tell her about me, I didn't have to. She searched her brother's apartment, and I don't know what she found there, but whatever it was it made her realize that you are a dragon. She put two and two together and came to the correct answer that I'm a dragon too. She knows you killed Kevin." And Iszak didn't know what he was going to do about that. He was certain that she would tell her father, and he would be out for his brother's blood. Was he prepared to kill her father in order to keep Andor and Lyssa safe? If it came down to it, would he be able to do what needed to be done in order to save his brother?

"You stupid bastard. How could you have brought her into our lives, how could you have endangered my mate like this? If Lyssa is hurt as a result of this, I swear to God I'll kill you. You should have eliminated that bitch as soon as you knew who she was." There was literal fire in Andor's eyes and it ignited the anger that had been smoldering alongside the heartbreak inside Iszak. Most of it was directed at himself for letting things go so horribly wrong, but with his brother standing there, insulting Julia, it found a convenient target.

Iszak surge to his feet and shoved Andor with his good arm. “I’m not the one who killed her brother. You did that. She was coming here looking for you whether I was involved with her or not. I did what I thought was best, what I had to do to protect you. Do you want to hear me say it? Will that make you happy? Do you want me to congratulate you for being right, that there was no way she could ever have loved me once she knew what I am?”

“I think that’s enough out of both of you. Kevin is dead and Julia knows it.” Lyssa walked into the living room holding several hand towels in one hand and first aid kit in another. “Accusations and recriminations are not going to help anyone. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”

The glare she cast at his brother made him physically back down. If he wasn’t in so much pain, both physically and emotionally, Iszak would have found it amusing that this woman could take the sting out of his brother’s tail.

“Can you we just get this bolt out of me, please.” Now that the adrenaline was no longer pumping through him, Iszak could feel the exhaustion seeping in as his flesh throbbed around the piece of wood stabbing through him. He sagged back down on the couch, and Andor came forward. His mouth was pinched white at the corners, and he reached behind Iszak to snap off the back of the wooden bolt.

“Get ready with the towels and press it on the wound as soon as I pull the bolt free. He’ll start healing as soon as it’s out, but we’ll need to put some pressure on it until the process starts.” Andor looked over at Lyssa, and she put the first aid kit on the couch. She quickly and efficiently folded two towels into makes shift pads and nodded to Andor as she held them in each hand.

Iszak braced himself and pain screamed through him when Andor pulled the shaft free. He clamped his eyes shut as Lyssa pressed the towels against the wounds in the front and the back. A wave a nausea passed over him, and he gulped in several deep breaths as he willed himself to get through the pain. Once it had gotten to a more manageable level, he opened his eyes. It took all his strength to keep himself sitting upright. The worst of it was over, but the wound would still need dressing. Then he could curl up somewhere and sleep off some of the pain. While he knew that the physical pain he was in was temporary, the pain in his heart was a wound that would not be healed.

Andor paced the living room, clenching open and closed his blood covered hands. He knew that he longed to do something, to commit some action, that would somehow make up for what had happened to Iszak. He hoped his brother saw that going after Julia would only make things worse, since she’d only been reacting to what he’d done to her brother.

“Andor.” Lyssa’s voice came out in a soft tone as she looked toward her mate. The affect of her voice was instantaneous, as if the sound of her speaking his name was enough to soothe the beast inside his brother. “Go wash up while I look after Iszak. Pacing around the living room will help no one and there is nothing you can do right now.”

Andor looked like he wanted to protest, but he gave her a curt nod and left the room.

“Thank you,” Iszak said, relieved that he wouldn’t have to watch his brother pace.

“He loves you, and seeing you hurt hurts him. He only wants to protect you.” Lyssa removed the makeshift pad from the front of his wound, and already the blood flow had been reduced to a trickle. She opened the first aid kit and took out the scissors that were in there. She cut away the sleeve of his shirt, and he could see that already the wound looked better than it would have if he’d been the human that Julia thought he was. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what?” What was there to say? He’d taken a gamble and he’d lost. Rehashing it wouldn’t change it.

“About what you’re going to do about the fact that you love her?” Lyssa administered to his wound with gentle hands, and he could see what it was about her that had snared his brother. She had the courage to stand up to him, but there was a softness to her that a hard man like his brother needed. It was what he’d thought he’d seen in Julia.

“There is nothing I can do. She hates me now, and I can’t blame her. I lied to her, and although my motives changed, I did set out to seduce her. I arrogantly thought I could keep myself apart from her while I did it, but I see now that I was wrong. My punishment for my arrogance is that I now love a woman who will never love me in return.”

At least his suffering wouldn’t last too long. Once his curse kicked in, he wouldn’t care about anything anymore.

“I think you’re selling yourself and her short. When Andor told me what he was, I was so hurt that he’d made me love him when I was certain he was crazy. But I realized that I wouldn’t have felt that way if I didn’t love him. I think it’s the same for Julia. She wouldn’t be so hurt if there wasn’t love there for you inside her.”

“Thanks for the thought, but it’s too late. She may have had feelings for me, but I’m sure those are dead now. I kept too much from her. The only thing I can do now is make sure that nothing happens to you or Andor because I led her to us.”

He was certain that Julia would tell her father, and that Gerard would come gunning for both him and his brother. If he did, it would be Iszak’s fault because although Andor had killed Kevin in self defense, Iszak had brought Julia here. He’d introduced her to his world, and put his brother and Lyssa at risk by doing so. He would do whatever it took to make sure that his brother and his mate stayed safe, and if he was killed in the crossfire, perhaps it was for the best. It would save Andor from having to kill him when his curse came to claim him.