Callan
“Wait here,” he told the driver as they pulled up in front of Kathryn’s house.
The outside was in worse shape than the inside, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the weather started to make itself felt on the inside. The shingles on the roof were in terrible condition, and he was stunned they didn’t have perennial leaks every time it rained.
Or maybe they did, he didn’t know. It irked him that someone as kind as Kathryn and her mom should be confined to such a place, but from the limited glimpse into their life that he’d gotten, they seemed rather attached to it.
Grabbing the letter-sized envelope from the seat next to him, he slipped out of the SUV. He’d been very careful in organizing with the cab company that drove the various dragons around Barton City to ensure that he got the type of SUV he needed.
Marching up to the front door, he made a promise to himself then and there that when they went out to the other two malls of decent size in town, that he was going to accompany her into the stores. He’d grown angry at the constant rejection and harassment she got from trying to simply get a job to help support her mother, and by the end of the day he could no longer take it.
They treated her like dirt, and he wanted nothing more than to throttle the assholes who pushed her like she was lesser just because she was unable to walk. That offended his sense of nobility and general decency, to the point he’d gone home to the apartment tower where the various dragons now living in Barton City were housed and asked for help. He’d then looked up what malls were, where others were in town, gotten some help from the human mates of the dragons, and scanned and reprinted a hundred copies of the resume he’d stolen when she wasn’t looking.
Now he knocked on the door, prepared to tell Kathryn just what they were doing for the day, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer. The way she pushed herself to walk into as many stores as she did was admirable, even if she was aided slightly without knowing it. Her drive was strong, and so was her desire to help, however small her role might be. She would be a fantastic worker, and any of the businesses they’d visited would have been very happy if they’d hired her.
This time it was Kathryn who answered the door
“Hi.”
“Hello.” He stuck out his hand, shaking hers.
Then he made a very obvious show of inspecting it for any peanut butter.
Kathryn groaned, but it had the intended effect of making her smile, and he basked in the radiant joy. Her dimples were visible and her eyes glowed brightly despite the tinge of red in her cheeks from the embarrassing reminder.
“I promise, I washed my hands before you arrived this time,” she said dryly, motioning for him to come on in.
“Glad to hear it.” He didn’t move.
“Aren’t you coming in?”
“Only if you aren’t ready.”
Kathryn, her chair already half-turned back into the house, paused and slowly spun the wheels in opposite directions until she was facing him once more. The entire time her eyes scanned his face. “Ready for what?” she asked cautiously.
“To go job-hunting.”
“I wasn’t aware we were going job-hunting,” she said slowly.
“We are. Here.” He stuck his other hand out swiftly, the beige-colored envelope bending slightly where he grabbed it from the weight of the papers within.
“What is this?”
Callan smiled. “It’s open.”
She peeked in through the end, quickly picking up on what it is. “Callan, you didn’t have to do this,” she said, looking at the stack of resumes.
“I’m well aware of that.” He wanted to tell her how he thought she was worthy of plenty more than a hundred pieces of paper, but he didn’t. Kathryn wasn’t in need of pity and compliments just then. She was in need of something to do, something that would make her feel useful.
Callan was more than willing to help her achieve that. It was clear it frustrated her to take charity from him—and likely from anyone—but it was better than him just dumping a pile of gold from his treasure in her lap.
Treasure that was still stolen, he thought angrily, realizing he couldn’t even do that just now.
“What’s wrong, Callan?”
Kathryn was looking at him in confusion. He must have been letting his anger about the military stealing his treasure seep through. Forcing himself to relax, Callan smoothed out the lines on his face. He would get his treasure back; they weren’t going to get away that easily, but for now he wasn’t sure how to go about it without doing something drastic, like kidnapping General Knefferson.
“Nothing, sorry.” He gave her a smile that he hoped was disarming. “Shall we go? The car is waiting.”
She looked around him at the SUV parked at the curb. “You’re dead set on this, aren’t you?”
He nodded.
“Fine. Give me ten minutes to get ready and we’ll leave.” She closed the door as he stepped back out into the late summer weather. Fall was only a month or so away, but the temperatures were still quite warm and enjoyable.
What I wouldn’t give to be sunning myself in the tropics right now.
He missed home and wasn’t looking forward to winter at all. Black dragons were jungle natives, the deep oppressive heat and humidity of the rainforest covered mountains their best friends. Frigid cold and blowing snow were likely only hated more by the blue dragons, desert residents by nature. Callan somewhat hoped they awoke the first blue dragons during the coldest time of year. That would be worth his own exposure to the elements just to witness.
True to her word, Kathryn was back ten minutes later and with some help from Callan they got everything loaded up and headed off to Arc Center Shopping Mall for round two of job applications.
Kathryn paused and looked behind her as she headed into the first store. “What are you doing?”
“Coming with you,” he said, injecting enough flinty iron into his voice to make it clear it wasn’t optional.
“What about the chair?”
He looked behind them at the wheelchair with resumes sitting in it. “What about it?”
“Well, someone could take it, couldn’t they?”
Callan gave her a feral smile. “I hope they do. I could use a bit of exercise today.”
Kathryn hesitated, likely trying to make up her mind on how to react before she ended up laughing. “You’re an odd one, Callan, but you can come with me I suppose.”
He nodded and they proceeded inside. Following her up to the counter he stood tall, letting his size do the talking. The middle-aged bald man with a weak chin behind the counter tried to tell Kathryn that they didn’t take resumes in person anymore.
Callan leaned forward slightly, unnoticed by Kathryn who was in front of him, and glared at the man. He swallowed audibly and suddenly started nodding, accepting the printed paper. Kathryn was too focused on keeping herself standing that she either missed the interaction entirely, or didn’t put it all together. Either option was fine with him as long as she remained oblivious.
The only store he had trouble at was with a middle-aged woman working the counter. Intimidation didn’t work on her, and she remained stubborn about taking the resume until Callan changed tactics, noticing the way she was eyeing his biceps as he flexed them in anger.
Her tone changed immediately when he put on a smile and puffed up his chest, pulling the sky-blue shirt tight across his pecs and showing off the firmness of his stomach. The instant he lowered his eyelids slightly and gave her a cute face she stopped fighting Kathryn and accepted the resume.
As they headed out from that store, Kathryn accepting his offered arm without complaint after walking into her eighth store of the day. He could sense her mood was improving. She was so focused on walking herself and giving out her resumes that his actions were going unnoticed.
“We should have come here yesterday instead,” she remarked, sitting back into her chair with visible relief.
Callan made a note not to let her walk into any more stores. If she fell, the embarrassment he knew she would feel—however unnecessary—would prevent her from coming out again. That was something he had to prevent at all costs. The joy of seeing her happy was all that mattered to him.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go home so we can get some food.”
He frowned, thankful for the distraction as his mind started clamoring for his attention. Uncertain that he wanted to give it time to think, he focused on Kathryn.
“Are there not food places inside the building?” He knew there were; they’d walked past an entire section devoted to it several times, and the smells of it permeated most of the mall, driving him absolutely wild. He was starving, and his stomach hated him for denying it for so long the tantalizing feast it could smell in the air.
“Yeah,” she said hesitantly. “There are. But we have food at home I can have.”
Right. She probably didn’t have money to buy anything. Callan might not have his treasure, but Colonel Mara had arranged for a sizeable stipend for him to spend while he was signed on with the program. More than enough that buying a late lunch for two would not make a dent.
“I’m sorry, Kathryn,” he said, not sorry at all that he got to prolong his time with her. “But we’re eating here. I can’t wait. It’s my treat today since I know you didn’t plan for that.”
She moved to protest but he shook his head. “No, I’m forcing you into staying, so I’ll grab the bill. You can help me decide what to get, since I don’t know what there is.”
The dark browns of her eyes darkened some more, and he knew she was close to balking at the charity, but his logic was strong enough that resisting would almost be rude. At least by helping him choose she would be contributing. In the end she sighed and started wheeling off in the direction of a sign that read Food Court.
He frowned. Was the food to be judged by others, put on trial if one place did not provide a satisfying enough meal? There were some bizarre human rituals that he just didn’t understand in the modern world. Perhaps this was another one of them. It would prevent places from serving meals considered unacceptable at least, forcing them to always provide excellent service and quality. Maybe that was the reason for the constant trials.
Kathryn moved off into the crowd and suddenly he moved to catch up. Leaving Kathryn alone was not acceptable. He needed to be around her at all times. He nearly collided with her as she came to a halt in front of a booth, the orange and brown two-letter sign a different contrast compared to the other logos which tended to be a bit brighter.
She asked him a question, but he was too busy reeling from the last thought he’d just had.
Why do I need to be near her at all times?
Looking into the admittedly beautiful features of Kathryn’s face he saw the rounded cheeks and oval face hidden beneath her curled hair for the first time in a new light. A light he’d never expected to see in a woman again.
No. It can’t be.
But it was. His dragon was crying out to him in triumphant victory, screeching like the ancient bird of prey that it was, announcing to him with utter certainty that Kathryn was not just his “client.”
She was also his mate.
His legs wavered and Callan was forced to find an empty nearby seat, settling into it so abruptly the metal squealed and bent slightly under his weight. The noise drew attention from plenty of others as they all watched Kathryn roll up to him, her features drawn in concern.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded, trying to keep calm as his heart thundered incessantly against his chest as she reached out and put her hand on his knee.
“Breathe,” she said softly, her voice smooth and reassuring against the calamity occurring within his skull as it threatened to get out.
It was impossible, he told himself. Beatrice was dead. He’d seen it happen himself. The pain was still there. Every day since he’d been awakened he mourned her in some way, ensuring that her spirit knew he missed it. Though they hadn’t yet had the chance to be fully mated, there had been no doubt in his mind that she was to be his.
So how was this possible then? He ached from the truth of the matter, but it went against everything he thought he’d known. Everything he’d believed. Everything that he’d wanted to tell Beatrice before she left the world, and him.
“Callan. Callan!”
He was rocked back into the world by Kathryn’s sharp insistence, her voice finally penetrating the murk that had filled his brain, leaving him confused and vulnerable.
“I…” He shook his head. I can’t do this. Not right now. “I’m sorry. I have to go.” Standing up, he reached into his pocket and tossed several bills at her. “Here, this should cover your meal. Have whatever you want. The car will be waiting at the same entrance we came in. It will take you wherever you want to go.” He stumbled away. “I’m sorry!”
Pushing through the crowd, he ran off into the mall, desperate to get away. The pain was too great, stabbing huge nails deep into his heart with every beat of the massive organ. He didn’t know what to think as his heart refused to calm, beating faster and bringing with it more pain, a never-ending cycle. This was impossible. No dragon had ever had two mates. It was wrong, somehow, it had to be. Callan couldn’t betray Beatrice like this and live with that sort of guilt.