The Dragon Finds Forever
“He didn’t exactly. The League sent me.” Who was this woman that Van might tell such things to? His girlfriend? Monalisa didn’t need any complications, but the woman might be useful as an ally. “Can I tell him who’s here?”
“Oh, sorry.” She smiled and stuck her hand out. “Pandora Williams. I’m a good friend of Van’s. Helped him build this house.”
That sounded like a really good friend. Monalisa shook Pandora’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Van’s cooking steaks on the deck.”
Pandora nodded. “I can smell them. My mouth is watering. No, don’t bother him. I was going to see if he needed anything, but I’m guessing you’ve got that covered. Just tell him Cole and I are expecting him for the housewarming tomorrow night. At the Victorian, not my old place. Obviously. Well, to Van anyway. He knows. Oh, and you too, of course. If you’re going to be here.”
Monalisa nodded. “I’ll probably be here for at least a week.”
“Great. We’ll see you both. Nice to meet you.” She headed down the steps with a little wave.
“See you then.” Hopefully, they’d have vegetables. Monalisa closed the door and went back to the kitchen.
Van was just coming in with the platter of steaks, Grom at his side. He used his crutch to shut the door. “Was that Pandora?”
“Yes, good ears.”
“What did she want?”
“We’re supposed to be at the Victorian for a housewarming tomorrow night. She said you’d know.”
He put the platter on the counter next to the sad box of broccoli. “We?”
Monalisa shrugged. “She was nice enough to invite me too.”
He got plates out of a cabinet and silverware from a drawer. Steak knives came out of a wooden block near the coffeemaker. “That was the polite thing to do. Pandora is very polite.”
“She’s also very pretty.”
“And very involved.” He leaned on his crutch. “With Cole.”
“I assume that’s her boyfriend since she mentioned him.”
Van went silent for a moment, his gaze far away, like he was thinking. “She knows I cannot drive.” He looked at her. “She knew you were here somehow. Witch’s instinct.”
That was interesting. “She’s a witch?”
“A very good one.” He forked the steaks onto the plates.
She stared at the plate with the two steaks. That had to be for him. “Dragons must have big appetites.”
“Yes. Also, the protein helps me heal.”
She nodded. That made sense. “I can’t imagine how painful the bite of that manticore must have—”
“I do not wish to discuss it.” He picked up his plate and his utensils and limped off to the living room. Grom followed. Van settled into a large recliner and turned on the television, a massive thing that rivaled the screen in her father’s home theater. A basketball game roared to life.
With a sigh, she threw the broccoli back into the freezer, then grabbed her utensils and plate and sat at the breakfast bar to eat. Van might not want to talk to her tonight, but tomorrow they’d officially start his rehab and he’d have no choice.
At least, she hoped he’d cooperate. Otherwise, she’d have no choice to do exactly as her father wanted.
Van cut a piece of steak and shoved it in his mouth while pretending to watch the game. He wasn’t a fan of basketball, but he wasn’t about to talk about the fight either. Just the thought made his leg ache.
He swallowed the steak, barely tasting it as the memory of that night came barreling back into his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep himself from reliving it. But as always, he failed.
The manticore shifter had been a ferocious opponent, and one of the most interesting he’d faced in a while. A bat-winged lionesque creature with rows of venomous teeth like a shark, Ronan was a relatively new fighter on the TFL circuit. He’d won the pairing with Van only because the originally slated fighter had been disqualified for missing his weight class.
And Ronan had only won because Van had been distracted.
Nothing like it had ever happened to him in a fight before. For the briefest of moments, he’d been compelled to look up. Then a flash of light had caught his eye, holding his gaze.
That was all the opening Ronan had needed. He’d bitten Van, paralyzing him long enough to claim victory.
Van stared at the steak on his plate without really seeing it. The move wasn’t dirty or underhanded. In the TFL, there were no rules except for no fatal blows. But the manticore’s bite had incapacitated Van, and the powerful venom would take a minimum of two more weeks to completely clear from Van’s system.
Such were the consequences of fighting in a league where mythological supernaturals ruled the highest ranks.
As a dragon, Van was nearly unstoppable. And in that form, he was the largest of all the mythologicals. It was why he never fully shifted in combat, relying instead on his sheer strength and speed to win. He liked a fair fight. Anything else was boring.
But not shifting was a big part of why Ronan had bested him. His manticore form versus Van’s human one had been an equitable match. So long as Van stayed vigilant.
Which he had. Until the distraction.
He cut another piece of steak, this time tossing it to Grom, who caught it midair and devoured it without chewing.
Ronan’s teeth never would have pierced the scales of Van’s dragon form.