“This is a nice place,” Jennifer said, smiling at Carter from across the table. He shifted uncomfortably and glanced at his watch. This was already a very long night and they hadn’t even ordered their meals yet. Worse than that, he hadn’t felt the pull he had always heard about when it came to the fated mates. He sighed and looked down at his menu, staring hard at the options. He wasn’t a huge fan of human cuisine.
Most of the dragon shifters weren’t, with the exception of Gavin, who was ridiculously invested in trying new things and having experiences he would never have been able to have on Fiora. Some of the time, it seemed like he was treating the whole thing like it was just some big vacation and they were going to be back home before they knew it. Carter almost envied it. Almost.
“Yeah, it’s a nice restaurant,” Carter said nonchalantly, his eyes looking through the menu desperately for something to keep himself distracted from looking at the human. She was attractive, that much was true, but whenever he looked at her he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. What about Amy? Had she gotten home okay? Why had he just left her standing there like that? Should he talk to her? Apologize? Explain?
How would he even begin? No, he had handled it the best way he could, and he wasn’t going to be bothered with dealing with the frilly little emotions of a human male. He couldn’t get distracted from his true purpose, no matter how often Amy invaded his mind and haunted his thoughts. He hadn’t even been able to sleep that night as his body forced him to remember how she felt, again and again, and recall the look of pain and confusion on her face when he turned away and just left her there.
He was an asshole. He really was. He may not be a native human, but he had seen enough movies to know that what he had done was hurtful. It would have been hurtful even to a female from his own planet. But on Earth, wasn’t this sort of thing to be expected? It wasn’t like on Fiora where doing a thing like that to a fated mate would be grounds for counsel with the Elders. No, this was something different. It was terrible, yes, but it wasn’t punishable.
“So, I was really glad when you asked me out,” Jennifer continued. She wasn’t even looking at her menu.
“Are you going to eat?” Carter asked, a little more bluntly than he had intended to. Jessica’s face fell, and she glanced down at her menu, picking it up uncertainly.
“Of course.”
She opened it and looked down, scanning the contents quietly.
“Good. There is a lot of different food here. Take your pick.”
She seemed to relax a little bit, presumably taking Carter’s words as a sign that he wasn’t just an ass, but a handsome ass interested in some sort of conversation.
“I’ve always wanted to go out with someone who isn’t from around here. The dating pool can be so small.”
“Tell me about it,” Carter mumbled.
Jessica stared at him and Carter looked up, mostly oblivious to his faux pas. But when he caught her expression, he cleared his throat and offered her his most charming smile.
“That is why I am glad I ran into you and we agreed to go out.”
He was lying through his teeth, but this is what had to be done. He had to get the sample of her hair to complete the testing. That was what Gavin insisted upon. If the potential descendants weren’t sparking fated mate properties within the shifters who courted them, then it was crucial to test them for the sacred DNA. Even if they weren’t going to mate with any of the other shifters, they would at least be able to be tracked and they would know who was imbued with the blood of the descendants. If anyone came to collect those with Loni blood, then it would be crucial to their protection to know who to protect. Even if it meant several excruciating dates.
“I’m glad too,” Jessica said, reaching out to take Carter’s hand. His face tensed up and he gripped it miserably, smiling tensely at the woman across from him. All he could think of was Amy. What if she saw him here like this with this woman he didn’t even care for? How would that make her feel? How was she feeling right now? Why had he been such an asshole?
No, he couldn’t beat himself up about it. He was a strong dragon shifter with a sacred purpose. He couldn’t let himself get sidetracked by his inappropriate feelings for a human. Clearly, no good came from it. Even if Jessica was attractive by human standards, he knew she was not his fated mate. How could she not tell it as well? He had no doubt that Amy’s intuition far surpassed that of this female. Hopefully, his disapproval wasn’t showing on his face.
“Are you ready to order?”
Carter cheered inwardly at the arrival of the waiter and nodded, handing him his menu. “I want the fish platter with extra bread please.”
“And you, miss?”
Jessica’s eyes widened, and she scanned the menu quickly, clearly under pressure. “I’ll have the same,” she said, handing the menu to the waiter. “But hold the bread.”
Carter frowned. Hopefully, she wouldn’t try to take any of his bread. It was one of the only tolerable dishes that these humans had managed to create.
The conversation between himself and Jessica lulled, and they did their best to make painful chit chat until the food was served. Carter ate quickly, shoveling as much of it down his throat as possible to avoid any conversation. He was ready to get this over with. All he would have to do was get a piece of the woman’s hair. He had gotten pretty good at it, though it meant he would have to kiss her and erase the imprint that Amy had left on his lips. For some reason, that made him feel far more miserable than he had anticipated it would.
When Jessica was finally done eating and Carter had paid the bill, he led her outside by the elbow.
“Well. That was… interesting,” Jessica said, looking at Carter with her brow raised. “You can really tell that you aren’t from around here. So where are you from again?”
“Oh,” Carter said, closing his eyes for a moment to try to remember what Gavin had told him to say. “Europe.”
“Ah,” Jessica said. “That explains everything. Why you’re so… odd. And mysterious. It’s kind of sexy, actually…”
Jessica stepped forward and slipped her hands into Carter’s. His eyes widened when she got onto her tip toes to kiss him. He reciprocated it quickly, his stomach churning as thoughts of Amy flashed before his eyes. What was he doing? He should be trying to fix things with her. Make them right. Not kissing some random human who probably didn’t have a drop of sacred blood in her body.
Still, there was no telling for sure without Gavin’s test… luckily, he had refined it enough that just a follicle of hair would be good enough. He reached up and ran his hand through the woman’s hair, inwardly celebrating when he found a strand of hair wrapped around his finger. He retracted it quickly and broke away from the kiss, relieved that he wouldn’t need to be near her any longer.
“Well. Thank you for the date,” Carter said, smiling broadly at her and clutching the hair in his hand. He put his clenched fist behind his back and began to back away from her quickly. He hailed a taxi with his balled hand and gave a small, awkward bow. “I had a good time. I will call you.”
Another lie. Carter hated all the lies that were involved in this dating business. But it was pretty typical, even by human standards, and Gavin had told him that there were certain things he should say to make sure that the dates went smoothly. Especially if the girls turned out to be descendants. Even if they weren’t fated, it was a good way to ensure future contact one way or another.
“All right,” Jessica said, quirking her brow at him. She watched as the taxi rolled up to him and Carter got inside, giving her a small wave as the driver sped off into the night.
***
“I don’t want to go on any more dates,” Carter said decidedly, thrusting the hair specimen at Gavin when he arrived back at the house. “I just want to go back to the cabin and practice shapeshifting. These are terrible. It’s way too taxing on me.”
“I don’t know many men who would find it so problematic to get to go out on dates with all of these beautiful women,” Gavin said, shaking his head and glancing at TJ with amusement in his voice.
“I wouldn’t be complaining if I was in your shoes,” TJ said. “You know how bad house chores can be at times…”
“Well, you can’t be in my shoes,” Carter said bitterly. “You already have your fated mate.”
“Well, maybe,” TJ said. “I thought so. But if there is any doubt in your mind it’s possible that it isn’t true. I understand how it can be so hard for humans. Nothing is certain until it is certain.”
“Well, I am certain none of the humans I have gone out on a date with are my fated one. This has all been nothing but a huge waste of time.”
“It actually hasn’t. We have to follow every lead we get about the potential descendants. It’s dangerous to think they may be wandering around on Earth without any possibility of helping us to achieve our goals. And we can’t force a fated match, but you know it is important for their safety if we know who they are. If we can find out, then so can our enemies. We can’t have that.”
“I know,” Carter mumbled glumly. “It’s just very difficult for me to keep going on these dates with women who are not meant for me. Can we have somebody else do it please?”
“But you’re so good looking,” TJ said, half joking. He slapped Carter on the back hard, a gesture they had learned from macho movies about male bonding. “You know that you are the most popular among the women of Earth.”
“I am not the most popular,” Carter countered, shaking his head. “I’m just the one unfortunate enough to be stuck trying to date them.”
TJ pursed his lips as if to silently say “yeah right,” and Carter sighed.
“Even if you are not the most popular, you are quite popular. The humans seem to like the symmetry of your face. And your hair color.”
Carter grimaced. “They like us all. You guys are just too busy to bother with this bullshit. And I’m telling you now, I don’t want to go out on any more dates. I’m sick and tired of it. They never end well, and they aren’t helping me to find my fated one.”
“You don’t know that,” Gavin pointed out. “You could have a date with her next week for all you know!”
Carter rolled his eyes. “That’s what you said two weeks ago, and it still hasn’t happened yet. I just feel like we are trying way too hard to force this when we should be just letting fate run its course without having to push it.”
“The boy does have a point there,” TJ pointed out. “You can’t force fate.”
“Well, how else are we going to find the descendants?” Gavin asked, frowning.
“I didn’t say to stop setting up dates,” Carter said. “I just said I don’t want to go on any more of them. I’m sick of wasting my time.”
“I understand,” Gavin said with a sigh. “By the way, we have a date set up in the middle of the week. We will spend a few days at the cabin so you can try to get yourself acclimated. Maybe having a chance to roam about in our dragon forms will provide us with the balance we need to start achieving something. I am getting worried. You know the entropy is slowly creeping across Fiora. I can feel it. It is dangerous. That’s why I really need you, or someone, to keep going on these dates.”
“We should have someone else do it,” TJ said decidedly. “Give the kid a break. We don’t want to mess up his chances of finding his fated one.”
Gavin looked crestfallen, but he nodded in agreement. “That is true. I do not want to pose any risk to Carter’s future. I just wish there was some way that we could get this process moving faster.”
“We’re doing all we can,” TJ said reassuringly. “And that will have to be good enough. Remember, the Elders told us to let fate be our guide. We can’t force things. I have a feeling that everything is going to be fine. But we can’t keep trying to bend everything to our will. That isn’t how we get things done.”
“Well, sometimes it’s how we get things done,” Max said, entering the room suddenly.
“Max,” Gavin said, scrambling to his feet. “Did TJ tell you about the cabin? Do you think you will be able to come with your wife and child or should we make plans to go together at some later date?”
“Of course, we can make it. My wife loves the cabin. And I want the baby to know it as a safe place as he grows.”
“Great,” Gavin said. “So that’s settled. We’re all leaving on Wednesday, I will drive the van out there. Oh, though of course Max, you and your family can come however is most convenient to you.”
“Of course. I appreciate it.”
Max slapped Gavin’s back hard and the man winced at the force. “No problem,” he replied weakly.
“Norris,” Carter said suddenly. “I bet Norris would love to go on the dates, don’t you think?”
Gavin considered this with a slow nod. “All right, Carter. We will switch your tasks. But you know he is very good at figuring out human technology. It has been very useful in having him around the house. His absence will be greatly missed when he is gone.”
“Oh, come on, dates don’t last that long,” Carter protested. “And you know he will be underfoot more often than not. He is a big homebody at heart. Always trying to make things stable and secure. He’s like a big grandma.”
“Watch it!” Norris said, appearing behind Max. The living room was becoming crowded with the broad bodies of the dragon shifters as they congregated around Gavin.
“Well, it’s true,” Carter said defensively, looking Norris in the eye. “You try to father us all and make things as much like home as possible. It’s a strength, not a weakness. It’s just one that I think keeps you indoors more than outdoors and it would be good for you to put yourself out there a little more. That’s all.”
Norris shrugged. “I guess so. I don’t mind going out on dates. I watched the movies too.”
“Carter did the best at memorizing the lines,” Gavin pointed out. He was really grumpy about his system being messed with, but he had to admit defeat. “But if you can memorize them as well as he did then I guess this could still work. Just don’t give anything away. I know how fascinated you are with those cellular devices.”
Norris’ eyes lit up at the mention of the phones and he nodded. “I think they’re so interesting. Did you know they put satellites up there? In space? It reminds me of home. The way things work there. Who knows what else is possible?”
Gavin nodded at Norris, his closest friend out of the dragon shifters that had been banished to Earth in their group. “I understand the intrigue. All I am telling you is not to try to grab them out of the human female’s hands, especially if they are potential descendants. I saw how rude you were that one time and I do not want a repeat of something like that happening again.”
Norris frowned but nodded quietly.
“Good,” Gavin said. “Now that everything is settled, we should be getting back to work. There is still much to be done.”
He clapped, and the men congregating in the living room dispersed, getting themselves ready to finish the tasks of the day.