“Another.” Thane slammed the shot glass down on the table. Fuck yeah, the whiskey was going down smooth.

“Mind if I join the party?” Stone asked as he took a seat next to him and ordered.

“Misery loves company.” Thane nodded to the bartender to fill his glass again.

“That bad, huh?”

“Yep, she left.” Thane studied the shot glass in his hand as if he was watching a rerun of what had gone down this morning.

Stone threw back his shot, then hissed.

“What’s wrong?” Thane snickered. “Can’t handle whiskey?”

“Whew, it’s been a while.”

They both chuckled.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Stone asked.

“About what?”

Stone gave him an annoyed glare as he ordered a beer.

“There’s nothing I can do. Bex wanted to leave, and I couldn’t make her stay. And to put the pickle on the shit sandwich, she was going to leave without even saying goodbye.”

“That’s your ego speaking right there, my man. You need to go after her, trust me.”

“Nope. My plan is to get drunk and live my life like yours.” He turned and faced his best friend. “I mean look at you. You have properties all over the world. You have beautiful women dying to be with you, with no strings attached. You fuck ‘em and leave ‘em. That, my man, is brilliant.” Maybe it was the liquor talking, but damn it sounded good.

Stone shook his head in disgust. “You haven’t a clue, do you?”

“Nope. And don’t care.”

“You should care. You don’t want to make the same mistakes as I did. You’ll end up an empty, emotionless shell. That’s what happens when you let your mate slip away.” Stone took a long pull from his beer.

“You mean Cyn?”

“Yep, she was my mate.”

Thane never knew the full reasoning behind their breakup, yet he’d seen his friend go through hell trying to get over her. It never crossed his mind that Cyn was Stone’s mate. So, this was what a dragon looked like when their mates didn’t accept them. Thane studied Stone for a moment through a drunken fog. His friend had put on a good show the last year, pretending everything was fine, that he was living the good life. But now he could see the long-term effects of a dragon losing his mate. Stone couldn’t even say her name. Now he understood why Stone slept around, to fill the void his mate left behind.

“Listen,” Stone said, “I made some horrible mistakes that I can’t undo. But you, you must go after Bex. Don’t let her slip away. Do whatever it takes to keep her.”

“I don’t know. She has her own life. She’s studying to become a doctor and is working very hard at it. I couldn’t ask her to give that up.”

“Then don’t. You…” Stone jabbed him in the shoulder, “Need to fit into her world.”

Thane quickly sobered. He could do that, he could fit into her world. Even though his dragon pride wanted her in his world, providing for her every need. They could still be together. “You know, I hate it when you’re right.”

“Get used to it.” Stone smirked as he brought the beer bottle to his lips.

“I’m going after her right now.” Thane stumbled off the barstool in a rush to get to the door.

“Hold up, Casanova.” Stone quickly stood, helping Thane keep his balance. “How about I drive you home? You need to sober up before you go after Bex.”

“No, I’m good.” Thane adjusted his jacket, trying to shake off the hazy, double vision. “See, I’m fine.” He swayed into the bar.

“Right.” Stone finished his beer. “Don’t be an asshole. I’m driving you home.”

Thane wrapped his arm around Stone’s shoulders, holding himself up as they walked across the pub to the front door. “You know what?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

“You are one sexy beast.”

“Thane, shut up before I coldcock your ass.”

* * *

Monday morning came too soon. Bex had spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about why Dr. Valstrath wanted to see her. Of course, the first thing that ran through her mind was that somehow he’d found out about the anti-shift serum. But she’d been careful and covered her tracks. Perhaps it was about her dissertation. Maybe he wanted her to defend it early.

With coffee in-hand, she opened the double glass doors to the institute and nervously made her way to the lab where she was supposed to meet Dr. V. She walked in and lucky for her, he wasn’t there yet. She flipped on the lights and a sizzling sound followed by a pop happened before the fluorescent lights zapped out. Startled, Bex froze as she watched the emergency light on the far wall come on. She walked to the table and set her laptop bag down, then looked around the lab. Something felt off.

The lab was eerily quiet expect for the hum of the emergency light. She heard another strange noise and crept deeper into the lab trying to figure out where it was coming from. “Dr. V., are you in here?”

There were too many dark corners and shadows; she couldn’t see a damn thing. The mumbling turned into a slightly recognizable murmur she thought sounded like someone talking. An icy chill streaked down her spine as the voice argued with itself.

“I can’t, I can’t…” The voice trailed off as if it was moving across the floor and away from her. “You must,” it hissed.

Bex took her cellphone out of her lab coat pocket turning on the flashlight app. She shined the light into the corner where she heard the voice come from. “Who’s there?”

Footsteps echoed behind her. Before she could turn around, a cloth was pressed against her mouth and nose. She struggled, frantically grabbing at her attacker’s hand, fighting to break free. Gasping for air, she inhaled the sweet smell permeating the cloth. It consumed her, dragging her down into a black bottomless pit. She clawed and fought to stay awake. Limb-by-limb, she surrendered to the void.

Tap, tap, tap, thumped inside Bex’s head like someone was drumming on her brain. She blinked her eyes open. White tiled flooring came in and out of focus. Her head slummed over, she couldn’t lift it. Again, she heard the tapping. Where am I?

The fog was beginning to lift and she finally had just enough energy to open her eyes again. This time, she realized she wasn’t alone. A man wearing a tweed jacket came into view. She blinked again, desperately trying to keep her eyes open longer. The man was standing in front of a computer with his back turned to her. “Professor?” she slurred.

He turned around and walked over. She could smell coffee and stale cigarettes on his breath as he leaned in and said, “Bex, are you awake?”

It was hard, but she focused on his face. “Dr. V., what’s going on?” She tried to lift her arm, but couldn’t. Then she tried to shift her legs, nothing happened.

Panic set in as she looked around the room. She was still in the lab, and…she looked down at her arms to see why she couldn’t move…she was tied to a chair? There’s nothing like being tied down and apparently drugged to send a she-dragon into oh shit territory. Like a cat trapped in a cage, she thrashed against the restraints and screamed.

“Shhh,” Dr. Valstrath placed his shaking hand over her mouth. “Please, don’t move. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Bex’s eyes widened as she looked at her arm and saw an IV line connected. She followed the path of the tubing with her gaze and found that she was connected to a bag sitting in a centrifuge rocking back and forth. A wave of crimson sloshed inside.

“I’ll remove my hand if you’ll allow me to explain.”

Bex nodded, regaining her senses. She wasn’t going to find out anything if she didn’t play along.

“Good girl.”

Bex inhaled a shaky breath as she kept her gaze on the professor who was nervously pacing in front of her. “I can’t, it’s too risky. But she must know,” he mumbled, then argued with himself.

“Please, tell me what you’re going to do with me. Are you going to kill me?” Bex chocked out.

Slowly, he turned and faced her. “I’m not going to kill you, child. I need you to stay alive.” He shoved his hands through his peppered hair. “Bah, what kind of a father would I be?” He mumbled under his breath.

“What did you say?” Bex pulled on the restraints.

He stared off into the distance as if he recalled a memory. “Not a very good one I’m afraid.”

“Stop talking in riddles and tell me why I’m here and why a professor would drug and kidnap his assistant.”

“Do you know why you’re the only she-dragon in the institute?”

“I don’t know, luck of the draw?”

The professor chuckled and shook his finger at Bex. “I like your wit. Reminds me of your mother.”

“My mother? You don’t know her.”

“Oh, I do. Did.” He shook his head in frustration. “Damn the gods. Bex, I’m your father.”

Bex’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know what to say or believe. Was this some kind of sick joke?

“Your mother was a human. We were madly in love until one day she found out I was a dragon. She left without telling me she was pregnant with you. I didn’t even know she’d put you up for adoption until you found me.” He crouched down and held her hand. “I knew it was you the moment you walked into my office. A dragon knows his kin.”

“This is crazy. I don’t believe you.”

The centrifuge came to a stop, drawing his attention away from the conversation. “It’s done.” He clamped off the line and gently pulled the IV out of her arm replacing it with a cotton ball and tape. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.” He walked to the centrifuge and took the bag of blood out. “This…” He held the bag up, presenting it like a prized possession. “Is the missing element I need to make your anti-shift serum everlasting.”

What the…How in the…This situation was getting crazier by the second. He knew what she had been up to all along?

He returned to where he’d been typing on the laptop. Hopefully, he was researching psychiatric wards, because the man was nuttier than a fruitcake.

“You don’t believe me?” he asked.

Bex glared at him.

“Once I found out what you were doing. And Bex, sweetheart, you should be careful and cover your tracks better, especially when using the institute’s computers and resources.”

Gee, thanks for the fatherly advice.

“I must say, job well done. I’ve spent my career searching for ways to stop the shift. The missing piece was right in front me. It was you, a mated she-dragon.” He walked over to the laptop and shut it down, then grabbed a cooler from under the table and stuffed the bag inside. “You see, once a female has taken a mate, there’s a certain hormone they produce. And that, my dear, was all I needed to make the serum permanent.”

“So, the shift is altered forever? You’ll stay human?

“Yes,” he said dryly.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

He paused. “There was a time I’d do anything to get your mother back. I thought if I could become human, she’d take me back.” He cleared his throat and continued to pack up. “But now, I’m in too deep. There’s no going back.”

“Going back?”

“I’ve told you too much as is.”

He turned around and studied her for a moment which scared her to death. Who knew what was spinning around in that web of crazy inside of his head. She just wanted to make it out of here alive. He tapped his chin, deep in thought. “Why take a little, when you can take the whole thing? Yes,” he said as if he had an epiphany, “they would be pleased.”

“Who’s they?” She began to panic as she saw an evil gleam in his eyes.

“How about we go on a long overdue father and daughter trip? An adventure, if you will.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

From inside his jacket pocket, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. “You’ll love it. The lords will treat you like a queen.” He untied her hands, then bent down and freed her feet.

Professor Nut Job didn’t see a size seven and a half foot coming his way; Bex kicked him in the face. He fell backward onto the table, breaking it in half.

Bex ran like her life depended on it, across the lab to the door, knocking over chairs or anything that would slow him down. Her shaking hands fumbled with the doorknob. She looked over her shoulder, praying she still had the upper hand, but the professor was already behind her with the gun buried in her ribs and blood dripping from his nose.

“I’ll give you that one for me being a shitty father. Don’t test me again, cupcake,” he seethed in her ear. “Make daddy proud and walk to the car like a good girl.”