Garath
Moving carefully so that he didn’t disturb the sleeping beauty at his side, Garath rose from the bed and stretched. Joints and tendons popped as he reached for the ceiling, some of them loud enough he wondered how Marie didn’t stir. But she was fast asleep still, leaving him free to admire the resting beauty. Her eyes moved slightly as she dreamed, the gorgeous full features of her face resting easily. He wondered what those icy blue circles were seeing just then. Visions of him, perhaps? He could only hope.
Body feeling limber, he padded over to the washroom, reflecting on how much his life had changed in the past month and a half. He’d been awoken into a new world, a new age, and was told he was going to fight some demons from another world, and that to do so he would need his mate.
Skepticism and disbelief had followed. According to Colonel Mara, the officer in charge of the entire dragon “program” as it was being called, he had adapted the worst to his new surroundings. Probably because they’d told him he was going to have to work with a bunch of other dragons. There was no way he was going to do it. He was going to find his mate and then they were going to leave this all behind them. That was the plan.
That was still what he intended, even now after he’d found his mate in Marie. He would tell her the truth when it was time, and together they would go. It amazed him to think that after over a century of searching in his previous life, he’d never found a mate. A week and a half ago, as his month-long orientation was coming to an end, a freak accident had introduced him to the only woman he would ever love.
Exiting the washroom he glanced at the bed, watching her once more. The little heart-shaped face, even in sleep, was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He just wanted to go to her side and kiss her forehead, but experience had told him she would awaken to his touch, and right then she needed to sleep. He grabbed his clothes, yet again tossed haphazardly around the room, and left her bedroom behind.
They were at Marie’s house after having spent the previous two nights at his. This time around he’d waited up for her. She worked a rotating shift, and she’d gotten home nearly an hour past midnight. But he’d been waiting and ready. Marie had wasted no time, and the two of them had gone right to the bedroom.
It had been a whirlwind three days since they’d first gone to bed together, but now they were making up for perceived lost time, something Garath was perfectly fine with. With his mate he would always be ready to satisfy her, no matter what she needed.
Pulling on his boxers and jeans, he surveyed her house while doing up his belt. It wasn’t large, but it was likely all she had been able to afford at the time. A boxy affair, there were two bedrooms and a washroom in between them along the back side, facing the entryway. On one side the kitchen ran the entire length of the house, while the other had her couches, television, and a door he presumed led to the basement.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
He turned as Marie emerged from the bedroom behind him, clad in a rather transparent black shift that did nothing to hide her body from him. Something stirred inside him and he started toward her, biting his lower lip as his eyes roved freely over her near-nakedness, the slight covering of flimsy fabric almost more arousing than seeing her completely unclothed.
“Easy there, tiger,” she said, putting up a hand to slow his approach. “I think you wore me out last night.”
“I missed you,” he stated bluntly.
“I could tell then, and I can still feel it now. So I’m sorry, you hornball, but you’re going to have to wait until tonight I think.” She pushed up against him, driving Garath wild. “And you’re going to treat me right this time. Slowly. Candles. Gentle. Make love to me. Is that understood?”
Steam had to have been gushing from his ears as she whispered throatily to him, describing what she wanted him to do. Garath nodded, not bothering to hold back the rumbling growl in his chest as he started counting down the hours until he could have her again.
“Good.” She smiled, her voice lighter. “I’m going to take a shower now, and then we’ll get some breakfast, how does that sound?”
Garath perked up at that. He liked food. “Yes, please. I’m starved. It takes a lot of work to properly please you.”
“Like you’re complaining.”
“With you? Never.”
Marie turned to go, but she paused as his thick hand closed around one of her ass cheeks, giving it a good squeeze. He let go after a moment and gave it a gentle slap, urging her onward. His mate laughed lightly and disappeared back into the master bedroom, and moments later he heard the shower start to run.
My gods, she’s perfect. How have I lived for so long without her around?
It wasn’t a question he could answer, but he was glad he didn’t have to go any longer without her by his side. Life was just infinitely better with Marie around, no matter what they were doing. Even the odd times they bickered, he never doubted that minutes later they would both be apologizing, much preferring to be attacking each other with kisses instead of words. Nothing would get between them, he was confident of that.
His stomach rumbled, reminding him that it needed food, and soon. I’ll get to you, he promised, looking around the house for a distraction. Marie liked to enjoy her showers, which meant it would be twenty or thirty minutes before they were headed out for breakfast. That meant he needed to occupy himself for a full half hour, otherwise he would probably start to get cranky.
Unfortunately, there was next to nothing to do. He wasn’t an avid TV watcher, though he’d sat through several episodes of some show about doctors and human anatomy that seemed to have Marie going from highs to lows in nanoseconds. To him it was utter drivel, but she enjoyed it, so he kept his comments to himself. It was a small price to pay to have her cuddled up next to him for several hours, clutching at him and burying her face in his chest. He smiled at the memories. Good times indeed.
His eyes strayed from the television to the door next to it. Shrugging to himself, he decided to go explore the basement. Maybe it had a secret passage in it. Dragons loved secret passages. Pulling open the door, he looked for a light switch, but after flicking it, nothing happened. Curious but unfazed by the darkness, he descended the steps, carefully testing the wood each time to ensure it could support his weight. It creaked noticeably, but otherwise held up fine.
Garath reached the bottom and found the light hanging from the ceiling with a metal chain dangling from it. He pulled on it gently, and the light flickered to life. The basement was small, like the house above it. There were no signs of a secret passage that he could detect, much to his disappointment. What was it with humans and a lack of secret rooms or tunnels? So boring.
The only thing that caught his eye was a bulletin board pinned to the far wall. He almost didn’t notice it, but his height allowed him to see over the makeshift wall that had been set up in front of it. Curious, as he noted several pictures upon it, he headed over to it. He wondered why Marie had it set up in the basement, away from everything. Maybe it was her wedding ideas, something she wasn’t interested in sharing. Garath knew women always fantasized about that sort of thing.
There were pictures on the board, but though he could see that in the dark, the details were lost to him. Searching around he found another light. White light burst into existence, revealing the details to him. They were photographs of a person. A man.
A man Garath recognized all too well.
“What the fuck?” he snarled explosively, backing away from the board so quickly the makeshift wall clattered to the ground behind him.
He spun, anticipating an attack, but there was nobody there. Just the fallen sheet of wood that had hidden the board from sight. Garath looked around, trying to understand what was going on. It was too much to take in.
Falling to one knee, both hands clutched to his head, he tried to figure it out. To put the pieces together. No matter what he did though, he couldn’t come up with a good reason as to why Marie would have pictures of the dragon who had swindled him of his treasure up on her wall.
Opening his eyes, he forced himself to look at the pictures one by one. Some of them were blurry, but many were not. There were even pictures, he realized in horror, of the two of them together. Smiling. With her arms around him.
And in one picture in the very center of the board she was draped across him, her left hand prominently displayed on the other dragon’s chest, a huge diamond ring glittering from her ring finger.
An engagement ring.
Marie was engaged to another dragon shifter. Maybe even married to him. Not only that, but it was the same dragon who had once before swindled him of his treasure. And she looked happy with him. They were engaged! Garath’s head was pounding, anger swelling his muscles with blood as he berated himself for his own stupidity. How could he have been so blind?
Things with Marie had been going well. Too well, in fact, and he’d just chalked it up to them being mates. Instead, he realized it was quite the opposite. He knew now that Marie and the dragon Liam were actually working together. To pull a con. On Garath. Once apparently wasn’t enough for Liam; he needed to do it a second time, coming back for more.
Garath sat down on the cold concrete, stunned by how quickly everything had turned around.
A lie. The whole thing had been a lie. Marie had never liked him. She’d just been using him, getting close to him, so that she and Liam could screw him over again. His perfect mate was nothing more than an actress, their entire relationship a sham. And it had worked. He’d come to trust her, to believe in her and them. He’d been taken in just as easily as he had been the time before.
Pounding his fist into the concrete, he got up. No more though. No more delusions, no more fairy tales. He was done. Done with it all. These two weren’t going to get him a second time. Garath was older, wiser, and he’d just stumbled onto their plan. He was going to leave now and put it all behind him. He’d go back to see Colonel Mara, tell her about what was going on, and then he was gone. He didn’t need money from the government. He could acquire that other ways.
All he needed was himself.
He set the fallen sheet of wood back upright to hide the wall, turned off the lights, and went back upstairs. Marie was still in the shower. The desire to confront her almost got the best of him, but he choked his anger and embarrassment back down. Now was not the time for that. Better to just disappear and leave her curious as to what had happened. Gathering his stuff, he left the house and the woman he’d thought was his mate behind.
It was time he started living for himself anyway, and not for anyone else. One last stop, and then he was going to be a free dragon, unencumbered and able to explore the world at large.
The door closed behind him, and with it he left behind this chapter of his life.