Obsidian
“Why is all this necessary?” he asked, looking at the other bags of clothing they’d bought with the paper money his gold had gotten them.
He didn’t understand that part either, something about the gold standard and other economic terms. There was a long list of things he needed to research tonight. Part of him couldn’t wait to learn more about the fascinating world he now lived in. There was just so much technology that it was mind-boggling!
Televisions! Phones! Cars! Airplanes. Hunks of metal that soared through the skies like he did. Incredible! Hollie had been helping as best she could, but he could tell that his questions were starting to wear on her. She wasn’t an educator by trade, and he loved to learn things in detail, which she couldn’t provide. Now he’d just started creating a list in his mind instead.
“Because, if you want to live in our era, you need to look like you’re from it. Someone probably has video of your little stunt with the cars earlier. Once that makes it online, people are going to come looking for you, and not all of them will be nice.”
“Let them,” he growled.
“That’s just my point!” Hollie said angrily. “You can’t go around showing off the fact that you’re a dragon, Sid. The world won’t accept that.”
“You have,” he pointed out.
“I’m one of like seven billion,” she retorted. “Do the math. It doesn’t work out in your favor. Ever. You need to keep this quiet. Otherwise governments are going to come after you. They’ll want your blood, so they can create others like you, others that they control.”
He frowned. “The government will already know about me, Hollie. Or at least, if not about me, about some of my lesser, very, very distant cousins.”
She looked at him dubiously. “Is this where you tell me that gecko shifters are a thing?”
Sid guffawed loudly at the idea. “No,” he finally said. “I was referring to other species. Wolf shifters mainly, though there are a few others.”
“Werewolves are a thing?” she asked, stunned.
“Very much so. It’s impossible the government doesn’t know about them. From what I’ve learned of its pervasiveness in your everyday life, trust me, they know. No matter how careful you are, with all this technology around, they’ve been caught before. They just don’t tell you, because they don’t want you to know about it.”
“Well that’s both interesting and scary.”
He shrugged, unsure of what else to say. Her comment was accurate. A sudden desire to be done walking swept over him.
“Hollie, when will we be retiring to your abode?”
Her head turned to look up at him. “Um, pardon?”
“I’m getting sick of walking. Can we go to your place now?”
She started to sputter again, a sure sign that he’d said something inappropriate. Instead of push further, he kept quiet. As old as he was, he’d learned a few things about how to best deal with women. Letting them do the talking was one of the biggest ones. Some things, it seemed, didn’t change with time.
“Pardon?” she said at last. “Go back to my place?”
He nodded. “Unless you would prefer to go back to mine?”
This caused another outburst. Eventually she realized he had known exactly the reaction his remark about his den would get from her, and she started to glare at him.
“Really funny, mister,” she told him grumpily. “Twenty-four hours into your new age and you think you’re ready to crack jokes? Hah.”
Sid just grinned at her, enjoying the way her cheeks took on a mild shade of pink.
“You’re going to a hotel,” she managed to get out at last.
“A what?”
“A hotel. Umm, like an inn, I guess.”
“No,” he said immediately, his voice firm. “I am not going to an inn. Sleeping on the floor with common folk around a central fire? No.”
Hollie was snickering at him by the time he finished his protest. “You should watch it, mister. I’m one of those common folk. No royalty in my blood, so if that’s why you’re here, then I’m sorry to disappoint.
He glared. “I’m staying near you. Letting me go off on my own is a bad idea. You are the only human I know.”
“That’s not going to change if you don’t interact with others.”
Sid just kept his mouth shut, letting his silence make the point for him. She was his mate, and he needed to be near her, to have her close by. His soul yearned for her. But since he couldn’t have her until she wanted him as well, he could only remain close by instead.
“Fine. My house it is,” she said at last, sounding unhappy about it.
“I’ll be a good guest. You have my word.”
To his surprise, she actually seemed to relax a little. Could she finally be starting to believe him when he spoke to her? It wasn’t in his nature to lie to those he cared about. On top of that, when he gave his word, Obsidian kept it. Period. By promising to be good, he would sooner die than break that.
Hopefully it never came to that.