4.

 

“What do you mean you were in a car accident?” Gavin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically. “Why is it so difficult for you guys to drive safely here? You can navigate space time, but you can’t follow a few simple road rules? What the hell is the matter with you?”

Norris had been anticipating just such a reaction from Gavin, although now that it was happening, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit put off by it. He had been asked to drive the moving van home. It hadn’t been his idea. He just wanted to help out; there was love in the air after all. And who was he to put a stop to that?

“But…”

“I swear, you guys are useless sometimes!” Gavin went on, taking his glasses off and wiping them furiously with the cloth he kept in his back pocket. “I can’t believe you would be so reckless!”

Norris inhaled sharply, agitated by the bombardment of negativity. Ken had asked him to drive the van home and out of the kindness of his heart, he had agreed to help out.

Little had he known, he was going to somehow (and quite literally) run into the strange, striking woman at the intersection where he had collided with her. The person he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for more than three minutes at a time. It was actually very obnoxious, and he was almost relieved to hear Gavin lecturing him, all just so he wasn’t forced back into thinking about a woman who clearly detested him.

“I swear, I’m going to have you all take defensive driving courses. Again.”

“It’s not that big a deal, Gavin,” Norris grumbled, checking his watch. “We have really good insurance.”

“Not anymore!” Gavin exclaimed. “Do you know how much higher the premiums are going to go up? We are practically just working to pay off the damn insurance at this point!”

Norris scoffed. “What does it matter?” he asked, frowning. “This is just Earth currency. You know there is so much more to life than that. We are royalty! Dragon born shifters! This is all below our concerns. Petty troubles that really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.”

“Um. It means something if we can’t make our rent,” Gavin said, doing his best to keep his tone even and failing miserably at it. “Just because you were royalty once doesn’t mean that everything on this planet is going to be handed to you.”

Norris scowled. He didn’t like this conversation. But Gavin continued.

“We have to work really hard to blend in here. We have to make sure that everything is by the books, or people are going to start asking questions. And I don’t know about you, but I am really not prepared to give them any answers yet. They’re just going to get in the way of us being able to find our fated mates and doing what is necessary to allow the shifter magic to remain in the universe.”

“All right, all right,” Norris said, holding his hands up in the air. “I’ll take the stupid driving course. But you know it wasn’t my idea. I was just trying to help the new guy out. He had a date.”

“Yeah, I know,” Gavin said, shaking his head in exasperation. “I just wish you guys would be more careful. Things aren’t as easy to fix on Earth as they are at home. And you guys keep acting as if we’re going to just magically be brought back and somehow, magically un-banished.”

“Won’t they let us back if we secure shifter magic in the universe? They will see how hard we worked and let us come home,” Norris pointed out.

“We hope so, but we can’t know that for sure! This isn’t just a field trip. The elders thought we were criminals and they kicked us out of our homes for good. We live on Earth. This is home now. We have to follow the rules and make sure we are doing everything in our power not to draw attention to ourselves. In the meantime, we really have to start buckling down about finding our fated mates. We are so close, but if we don’t then we might end up doomed.”

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I have already found mine.”

Gavin frowned, quirking his brow at Norris. “You already found yours?”

“Well, I think so,” Norris said, thumbing at his chin thoughtfully. “The girl that I hit in the car accident. I can’t stop thinking about her. I think she’s the one.”

“You can’t be sure about that, Norris. Did you use the device?”

“You know I didn’t have it with me. And that is definitely for the best, considering we were in a car accident and the moving van had significant damage done to it. What if it had been harmed during the incident? Truly, the universe works in mysterious ways.”

“That’s true. I was trying to work out the rest of the bugs in it this afternoon. But how can you be sure she is your fated mate if you haven’t even run the test yet?”

“Isn’t that something you just feel?” Norris asked.

His mind wandered back to Lisa. The woman seemed incredibly perfect. She was blonde, tall, with deep blue eyes that seemed to look straight through his soul. Not only was he deeply attracted to her, although most men would probably find her looks to be fairly plain, but he was certain she had been interested in him as well. No matter how much she resented him, there was a definite spark that had been impossible to ignore. And he had noticed that more than once. It was obvious they were meant to be together in some form or another.

Gavin laughed and shrugged. “I guess that is the old-fashioned way to do it. It’s just that it’s hard to tell on Earth. Back on our home planet, it was never any question whether or not the person you were talking to actually had Dragon blood running through their veins. However, it was far more rare to find somebody who also carried the sacred Loni bloodline. You know it is those women alone who are able to bear the sacred children.”

“Of course, I know that,” Norris said. “And I know it is far riskier to determine whether or not the person you are infatuated with is actually going to be the person you are meant to be with. But I trust my intuition and I always have. I know you are all from very noble families, but mine outranks yours by a long shot, and no offense, but my bloodline is far more discerning than that of many of the others. You know this to be fact. It is part of our ceremonial rights.”

Gavin nodded. “I do understand this. And I trust your judgment. However, if you do get a chance to test her for sure, I’ll be very curious indeed to find out if she bears Loni blood. This is not something to tamper with. Fate can be very strange that way. Maybe you are simply fated to be with a different sort of woman. But, in the off chance she is part Loni, it would be helpful to be prepared.”

“If I get the chance, I will,” Norris promised. “But hey, Gavin, please don’t tell anybody else about this. I don’t want to get their hopes up about anything. You know how it is. I probably shouldn’t have even told you.”

“Well, you know how I am about these things, so it isn’t going to disappoint me in any event.”

Norris nodded. “I knew I could count on you. Thanks.”

Gavin nodded grimly, his mind clearly still on the dangerously rising insurance premiums and the difficulty of keeping the household afloat. It was one thing to operate a successful moving company, and quite another to make sure all the bills were paid, and they were making a profit.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Gavin said. “I’m going to need you to do security for the hideout. I know it’s not going to be the funnest thing in the world, especially if you are starting to seek out your fated mate, but it’s extremely important that we make sure all the artifacts are secured. There have been a lot of concerning negative energy readings in the area lately, and I want to make sure that everything is safe and sound.”

“That’s fine,” Norris said, pulling the flyer out of his pocket. He had been holding onto it since Ken had given it to him at the restaurant. For some reason, it made him think of Lisa. A place to take her out on a date, perhaps. “Can you find somebody else for this day? I was really curious about what this place is like.”

Gavin barely glanced at the flyer, looking only long enough to check the date, and nodded with a small shrug. “I’m sure we can arrange something. Carter ought to be free that day.”

“Thanks,” Norris said, smiling broadly. Maybe he could go find Lisa and take her there for a date. Why not, right?

But then again, she had hardly wanted a thing to do with him. Why would it suddenly change? Why would she want to go out with him when he could tell it had taken everything she had not to bite his head off?

But that could have just been nerves from the accident. If he ran into her again, he would invite her to the grand opening of this place and they would figure out whether or not she was actually someone he could spend the rest of his life with. Dragon shifter with Loni blood or not, he wanted her. And he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.