***
“You’re back already?” The colossal dragon shifter tossed his head, clearing the hair from his face as he glared at his friend.
“Good to see you too, Corde,” he said sourly as he exited the elevator into the private two-story penthouse that the pair of them shared.
“Vanek! You’re back!” Kylie came forward, violet eyes sparkling with happiness as she enveloped him in a hug.
Correction. The suite that the three of them shared.
“Hey, Kylie,” he said, giving the lovely woman a hug, his arms careful not to pull on her extra-long hair as he hugged her. “Good to see you.”
“It’s good to have you back. Corde was getting bored and restless.”
He eyed the two of them. “I doubt it. Not when he has you.”
She giggled and shook her head, moving back until she was at Corde’s side, their arms automatically wrapping around each other. Vanek swallowed tightly at the display of affection. He would not be responsible for splitting them up. Could not. He had to find an Outsider, and he had to kill it.
Most of all, he had to do it soon. His friends couldn’t be allowed to suffer. They’d already done their parts, fighting off the attacker and proving that it could be hurt. Now it was up to him, the oldest of the three, to show that they could take it one step further and actually kill one of their attackers.
Maybe then he could find his mate and share in the happiness that radiated from the mated pairs every time they were near each other. It called to him, beckoning him. Vanek knew it was a dangerous thing, because it might prompt him to move too fast when he did find his mate, something he would have to keep in mind.
They sat down on one of the numerous couches and Vanek gave the bad news to the pair. Kylie looked terrified, but Corde held her close. “We’re not going anywhere,” he assured her.
“I’m going to find one of them,” Vanek promised. “And I’m going to kill it.”
Corde nodded. “You know I’m here. I’ll help however I can as well. If we can track one of these things down, we’ll kill it together. You aren’t alone, Vanek.”
The words cut deep. No, he wasn’t entirely alone. He had friends. But what he truly wanted was a partner. Someone that he could share all his secrets and fears with.
Vanek wanted a mate.
“You look absolutely miserable,” Kylie said, snuggling in close to Corde. “Go out and have some fun.”
“That’s not going to help me find a mate,” he grumped.
“You know,” Corde said thoughtfully. “This might get me in trouble, but you once told me something, Vanek. Something that really helped me break through with Kylie.”
His mate looked up at him, but Corde was studiously ignoring it, staring at Vanek instead. “You told me that I should just make the leap. Make a mistake and beg for forgiveness instead. Maybe it’s time you did that.”
Vanek stared. By the gods, he was right. That’s exactly what he needed to do. Just go and put himself out there. Who knows what sorts of good things might happen to him. Before he’d been cautious, wanting to take his time. Now though, he couldn’t afford to do that. He had to make something happen, somehow.
Rising to his feet, he nodded. “I think I’m going to do just that. I’ll see you later.”
The pair waved goodbye, smiling at him as he headed to the lower level of their suite and the private elevator. Punching in the code, he got to the garage and started up the stairs to outside, intending to walk among the normal passersby of downtown Barton City, letting himself go where the flow took him.
Almost immediately after opening the door to outside his ears were assaulted with the noises of music, cheering, and people crowding together.
“What the hell?” He pushed himself through the crowd. There were balloons and signs everywhere, blocking his vision of the goings-on. Confused, he ducked low and worked his way through the crowd, heading for the street.
Just put yourself out there. Make a mistake.
Keeping that mantra in mind he walked through the crowd, his big form making it both easier and harder to move. Anyone who saw him coming shuffled aside, but those with their backs turned rarely had space between them for him. So he turned sideways and slipped between them, picking up speed as he headed for the street, anxious to see what was going on.
“Hey, watch it!”
“Sorry!” he called enthusiastically, looking back over his shoulder but still moving forward.
Something tangled around his legs before he could look forward again and Vanek stumbled. A dog yelped as its leash was pulled and he flung himself forward to avoid pulling on it some more, hands reaching out for the metal railing he could see at the front of the crowd. The dog, a big breed, pulled hard as he tried to step over the leash, and Vanek was spun around as he tried not to accidentally hurt the animal.
“Hey!” Someone pushed back as he bumped into them, and Vanek realized all of a sudden that he was going to fall.
Hands reached out behind him to grab the metal railing, but he was so caught up in trying not to hurt the dog that he forgot to rein in his strength. The metal crumpled under his grip, no longer willing to support his massive frame.
Vanek, two bystanders, and the metal rail all went tumbling into the street.
“Look out!”
A rumbling on the street caught his attention. A massive moving statue of a man was bearing down on him, the two-story-tall figure riding atop a black vehicle. Behind it came half a dozen or more of the contraptions, all covered in people, most of whom were dressed in bright colors and waving at the crowds. A sign attached to the lead vehicle that was coming right at them read Founders Day Parade.
Vanek rolled, reaching the nearer of the two people who had fallen with him and slid them out of the way. The other person was trying to get up, but their foot was twisted and jammed through the metal fence. Their back was to him, and they were unable to move without help. Vanek had less than a second to react. He dove for the person, taking a knee as he planted his feet in the asphalt roadway.
“Move!” a female voice shrieked, but he couldn’t, not without leaving the innocent pedestrian behind.
Metal and other material jammed into his back as the vehicle rammed him, unable to steer out of the way in time. Steel shrieked and he winced as some of it poked him, hard. But his internal defenses rose to the surface, a layer of dragonbone armor appearing above his skin as the steel contraption wrapped itself around him.
Above him the two-story-tall figure groaned, and then with agonizing slowness began to tilt over. Pedestrians ran out of the way, seeking cover as it came slowly down, the simple wire frame collapsing in on itself as it hit the hard ground.
“Are you okay?” he asked the bystander.
“Yeah.”
Vanek reached down and casually wrenched at the metal apart as his armor faded out of sight before anyone could see it, even the man he’d saved.
“Go.”
With a nod of thanks, his eyes wide at the way Vanek had twisted the metal, the pedestrian left the scene.
“WHAT THE HELL!”
The angry voice, laced with just a bit of pain, was coming from behind him. Vanek eased his way out of the twisted wreckage and stood up.
A tiny fireball of a woman was charging right at him. Her short, dark golden-brown hair bounced wildly as she stormed forward, the sun catching the honey-gold highlights in it. Eyes of the palest blue were filled with anger, the white rays in the iris practically vibrating with fury.
She was short and thick all over in all the right places. She wore an all-black outfit, likely to blend in with the vehicle itself. There was absolutely nothing fashionable about the tight cloth shirt and nylon-like pants, but nevertheless, Vanek couldn’t stop staring at the silhouette they made of her figure.
The olive skin that was visible practically burned with a reddish fire, evidence of her feelings of the current situation.
“You!” she said, turning her head as she came toward him, pointing a lovely manicured hand at the driver of the next vehicle. “Continue on. The parade must go on. I’ll deal with this.”
Vanek held up his hands, watching the way she flicked the nails of the other hand, as if itching to stab them into his skin. He momentarily envisioned her running them down his back, but quickly pushed that to the side. Not now.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
“Shut up,” she snapped. “You just ruined my best float. I told you to get out of the way.”
“I couldn’t. There was a man, and he was—”
“I saw you knock over the fence,” she interrupted. “What the hell was that all about?”
“Well, there was a dog and a leash. It tripped me, and—”
The woman eyed him up and down, her upturned eyes narrowing in derision. “You expect me to believe that you, a walking mountain of muscle, were tripped up by an itsy bitsy dog? Right.”
Vanek opened his mouth to say more, but she just shook her head. A look of sadness flashed behind the anger for just a moment, turning her eyes back toward blue. It was gone quickly though, and her eyes were once more nearly white.
“Just go,” she said, motioning with her hand. “I can’t handle this right now.”
Vanek started to stand his ground, but the short woman put her hands on her hips and glared up at him, an impressive feat considering he topped her by well over a foot. Somehow she still managed to stare down her nose at him as well.
“I said go. Stay here and I’ll call the police.” She turned and started to inspect the damage, ignoring him completely.
Vanek backed away. He desperately wanted to stay. To tell this stunning woman that he was sorry, and that he would make it up to her. But she was firm about him leaving, and he didn’t want to go. It wouldn’t work, not with his words failing him, as they were just now. His mind was working at full speed, however, and as he took one last look at her before the crowd closed around him, it spat out a single word.
Mate.
Holy shit. Corde had been right. He had needed to go out and make a mistake.
Vanek eyed the damage to the float, as she’d called it, and the collapsed structure of the man in an old-looking suit.
This was one hell of a mistake though.