Releasing the Dragon Page 3

  “Well, never mind, dear.” Mrs. Hofstadter patted her hand. “You’ll find the right one some day. Too bad you didn’t happen to meet that huge Kindred fellow that was over by the elevator. He was certainly handsome—in a scary kind of way.”

  Annie had to agree with her on that. But she didn’t want to talk about Drugair the Drake Kindred any more than she wanted to talk about her last disastrous Love Match.

  “Actually I’m not dressed up for a date tonight,” she told her neighbor. “I’m about to go to my fifteenth high school reunion.”

  “Really? On Halloween?” Mrs. Hofstadter’s faded blue eyes gleamed. “Well, how exciting. My oh my…” She sighed and shook her head. “My graduating class would have had their fiftieth reunion last year if they’d had one. But there weren’t enough of us left, I guess. I went to the thirtieth one though—it’s where I met my second husband.”

  “You did?” Annie’s ears suddenly perked up. “Was he someone you knew back in high school?”

  “Oh my, yes. He was in my Algebra class my senior year.” Mrs. Hofstadter sighed happily, her eyes misty with recollection. “I had such a crush on him, only I was too shy to show it. And come to find out, he’d always had a crush on me too!”

  “Really?” Annie felt her heart swell. It sounded just like her and Christian. Or enough like them to make her hopeful, anyway. “So what happened?” she asked, urging her elderly neighbor to finish the story.

  “Oh, well both of us had just lost our spouses in the last year or so and so he asked me out on a date. I said yes and before you knew it, I was saying ‘I do.’” She smiled. “My children were kind of scandalized by it—me getting married again, you know at that age. But they were all grown and married themselves so what could they say? We had a real happy marriage too, until my poor sweet Lenny died of lung cancer about five years ago.” She shook her head and dabbed at her eyes with a crumpled Kleenex she’d pulled from the sleeve of her sweater. “Don’t you mind what anyone says, Annie, honey—just go have a ball and if you meet a nice boy you used to know, have yourself some fun with him. You hear?”

  “That’s kind of exactly what I’m planning,” Annie confessed recklessly, though she knew she would have to give Mrs. Hofstadter the details later. If things didn’t work out with Christian, that was going to be painful. But she couldn’t keep her secret hope to herself any longer.

  “Oh, really now?” Mrs. Hofstadter looked at her with interest. “So you’re going after an old beau, are you?”

  “I did an Internet search and it turns out he’s single,” Annie confessed. “And so am I so I thought…” She shrugged, feeling her cheeks get warm.

  “I think that’s wonderful!” Mrs. Hofstadter beamed at her. “You just go and have some fun, sweetie. You know, in lots of ways my second marriage was better than my first. I didn’t have any children to raise, you see and neither did Lenny. We only had ourselves to please so we got to travel all over—had a wonderful time. I bet you’d like to do some traveling too, wouldn’t you?”

  “I really would—I’ve never been to Europe,” Annie confessed. Though if she’d had any idea how very much further away than the UK she would be soon be traveling, she might have kept her mouth shut.

  “Oh, yes—Paris is lovely.” Mrs. Hofstadter sighed. “You ought to go there first. And then be sure to see the Tower of London too—so much history there!”

  Annie laughed. “I think I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I have to go to the reunion and catch his eye first.”

  “Dressed like that, you’d catch any man’s eye. You look as pretty as a peach,” Mrs. Hofstadter declared, boosting Annie’s spirits immeasurably. “And what’s your young man’s name—the one you’re looking to get back together with?”

  “Christian—Christian Wentworth,” Annie told her. “But we were never really together—I just helped him with his English lit papers.”

  More like wrote all of them completely from start to finish, whispered a little voice in her head but she pushed it away. Who cared about details at a time like this?

  “Well, you just go get that Christian of yours,” Mrs. Hofstadter told her. “And have a wonderful time, honey. You deserve it.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hofstadter.” Annie dropped a kiss on the old lady’s wrinkled cheek and smiled as she turned to leave her neighbor’s cluttered apartment. “Oh, and would you keep an eye on my door once in a while. Just to make sure nobody tries anything?”

  “I’ll peek at it several times before I go to bed,” Mrs. Hofstadter promised her. “And I’ve still got your spare key safe in case you lose yours again.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hofstadter.” Annie smiled gratefully. That was actually how she’d gotten friendly with her neighbor in the first place. After losing her purse with her phone, her wallet, and the key to her apartment, she’d needed to call a locksmith. Mrs. Hofstadter had let Annie use her ancient landline and had asked her to wait in her apartment and served her cookies and tea while they waited for the locksmith together. They’d been friends ever since and Annie had trusted her neighbor with the spare key to her apartment in case of any further emergencies.

  “You have fun now,” Mrs. Hofstadter said again, smiling at Annie and waving as she shut the door. “Tell me all about it later.”

  Annie only hoped she would have something good to tell. Glancing at the time on her phone, she saw that she still had time to get to the reunion if she hurried. And since the giant Kindred hadn’t come back and she still had her pepper spray with her, she decided it should be safe to go. She would keep a sharp eye on her surroundings but with any luck, Drugair the Drake Kindred had already gone back to the Mother Ship where he belonged.

  What even was a Drake Kindred anyway? She’d only heard about Beast and Blood and Twin Kindred. Was he some rare kind of warrior that hadn’t been on the Mother Ship previously?

  Impatiently, Annie pushed the thought away. She ought to be concentrating on seeing Christian right now—not worrying about what kind of Kindred the big, rude warrior had been.

  Still, she couldn’t help seeing the burning expression in those black eyes when he looked at her. Why had he come down at all if he didn’t want to claim her, as she’d heard that other Kindred warriors claimed Earth brides? It was really insulting in a way—the fact that he would come all the way down just to see her while telling her that he essentially wanted nothing to do with her. Jerk!

  Well, I don’t want anything to do with him either, Annie told herself firmly. I just want to get to the reunion and see Christian. Maybe we’ll have a happy ending like Mrs. Hofstadter and her Lenny. That would be nice.

  More than nice, actually—she hadn’t had sex in ages. Well, other than with her vibrator when she woke up from one of those deeply disturbing dreams of Drugair.

  There you go again—thinking about that jerk of a Kindred instead of the reunion.

  Angry with herself, Annie shoved the image of the big Kindred aside and concentrated instead on the picture of Christian from her old yearbook. The melted honey hair…the sky-blue eyes… She would be seeing him soon if she hurried!

  Keeping a firm grip on her pepper spray, she walked briskly down the hallway, determined to carry out her plans no matter what.

  Four

  Annie needn’t have worried that Dru would ambush her—he was too stunned for that. His meeting with the little Earth female hadn’t gone how he had expected at all.

  When he’d pictured seeing her face to face, Dru had envisioned the same kind of scene he’d watched when other Kindred warriors claimed their mates on the Mother Ship or down in the HKR building on Earth. Sometimes the brides-to-be blushed when they saw the male they’d been dreaming of in the flesh. Sometimes they grew pale and weak and had to be supported by their friends and family—sometimes they even fainted. Once or twice Dru had seen a prospective bride get almost hysterical with excitement and rush into her chosen warrior’s arms.

  As he was imagining his first meeting with
the little Earth girl—whose name he still didn’t know—he’d hoped she wouldn’t have this last kind of reaction. For what could he do if she rushed into his arms and he had to put her off and tell her he wasn’t there to claim her after all? She would surely be heartbroken and weep inconsolably all over him and then he would feel terrible.

  But never had he imagined she would point a weapon at him and threaten him to get him out of her domicile!

  Dru shook his head again over the strange and unforeseen conclusion of their first meeting as he sat in his shuttle, which was still parked outside her apartment building. He’d imagined her blushing or fainting or rushing to hug him but never the cool, businesslike dismissal and the refusal to even let him kiss her hand!

  Does she know who I am? he thought indignantly. I am a rare Drake Kindred of the line of Jarel the Black Drake. My family has not sired a male who allowed his Drake out more than once in seven generations. We are known for our logic and discipline—our self-control and wisdom. I was specially assigned to the Mother Ship because it was known I am trustworthy and will not allow my Drake to escape and cause damage. I am an honored son among my people—she ought to feel grateful that I was Dream-Sharing with her at all! And instead, she turned me from her door as though I was a beggar or a peddler trying to sell cylla blossoms on the cheap!

  There was no doubt about it—his pride was hurt. He had half a mind to simply leave—to switch his shuttle from land to space mode and fly directly back to the Mother Ship. A few more moments of fuming and he would have done exactly that.

  But then he saw the little red-haired female emerging from the front entrance of her apartment building. She peered cautiously around, as though looking for danger. Dru realized indignantly she was looking for him. Did she really think he would hang around waiting for her after she had rejected him so shamefully?

  Well, is that not exactly what you’re doing? whispered a snide little voice in his head.

  I am not! Dru told himself angrily. I am simply…just…

  Well, what was he doing still hanging around her domicile after she’d unceremoniously thrown him out? Dru didn’t know but when she slipped into a small silver Earth vehicle he’d heard others call a “car,” he put his shuttle in gear and pulled out of the parking lot, following behind her. She would never see him because he had engaged stealth mode. He didn’t exactly know why he was following her—maybe just to see where she was going in such a hurry. She’d seemed very eager to get to a place she’d called “reunion” but who was she hoping to reunite with? Another male, maybe?

  The very thought sent a bitter zing of jealously through Dru’s whole body and his Drake stirred angrily and rumbled that the girl was his and should be claimed accordingly.

  “Mine!” he insisted as Dru followed the little silver car.

  “Hush,” Dru shushed it irritably—or tried to, anyway. The Drake was more awake than it had been in years and it could not be reasoned with. It was a creature of smoke and flame…of fiery appetites and fierce possession—which was all the more reason never to let it escape him.

  Yet every moment he followed the little Earth female, he felt it rising in him—waking in a way that no decent Drake Kindred would allow. He wasn’t one of the common folk who stayed exclusively on the Drake Kindred home world so they could shift at will and soar cloud high, belching flame at the least provocation.

  I am the line of Jarel the Black Drake, he reminded himself again. We are a family of single shifters. Only once, at our manhood ceremonies, do we allow our Drakes to come out. Once and then never again. I must hold fast to my family’s values.

  Then why was he following the little Earth girl who stirred his Drake so strongly? Dru had no reason other than the Claiming Itch.

  If I can just touch her once, he told himself. Just once, I can satisfy this longing inside me. Then I’ll go back to the Mother Ship.

  Although how he was going to manage to touch her when she’d threatened him and told her to get away from her, Dru had no idea. He only knew he had to try.

  He followed her to a large red brick building with tall windows that were all dark in the early evening of the winter light. Though, to be honest, the winter weather in this part of Earth—a place called Florida—was nothing like the biting, frigid weather he had on his own planet. It was positively mild with only the faintest hint of chill in the air.

  Dru followed the little silver car around the side of the massive brick building to another, slightly smaller building which said GYMNASIUM in white block letters on the side. There were many Earth vehicles parked here and the entryway was hung with festive-looking red and orange lights.

  Dru parked near the back of the lot and watched as the little female climbed out of her car. She bent for a moment towards the reflective device on the side, as though checking her appearance. Then, apparently satisfied she straightened up and took a deep breath. Throwing back her shoulders, she marched towards the lighted doorway with obvious determination.

  It occurred to Dru that she looked like someone going to face a difficult task. Something she had confidence she could do but that she knew was going to be hard all the same. What was it about this reunion that drew her so strongly?

  It had better not be another male.

  Had that thought come from him or from his Drake? Dru was disturbed to find that he couldn’t tell. It wasn’t wise or safe to allow himself to merge with his darker half. Better to keep their thoughts separate and distinct. Yet on one point they absolutely agreed—the girl must be followed.

  After all, there might be danger in this reunion of hers. Dru was well aware that human males didn’t always treat their females with the respect they deserved. Some were even prone to forcing themselves sexually on a smaller, weaker female. Such an idea was repugnant to a Kindred—they worshiped the Goddess and held all things feminine sacred and inviolable. But Dru was grimly aware that human males didn’t share his views.

  Therefore he would follow the little female at a distance and watch over her—keep her safe. Hopefully at some point he could introduce himself again under more congenial circumstances. Then he could kiss her hand, make certain she was well, and go back to the Mother Ship to his normal life.

  Right?

  Dru certainly hoped so but as he watched the small Earth female disappear into the lighted doorway, his Drake stirred again and he wondered if he would really be able to leave her so easily.

  Five

  Amy Barnes, who had been class treasurer, was on door duty and she didn’t recognize Annie.

  “I’m sorry and you are?” she asked, her hand hovering over the box of name tags on the small folding card table in front of her.

  “Anne Michaels,” Annie said promptly and politely. Amy had been in Student Council and Math Club and had been several social tiers above Annie in the high school hierarchy, but she’d never been mean to Annie—she just didn’t notice her. So it was no surprise that she didn’t recognize her now.

  “Anne Michaels?” Amy still looked confused.

  “Yes, I filled out the online RSVP,” Annie said. “I should be on the list.”

  “Oh, you are.” Amy held up a name badge—the kind that clipped to a collar or a lapel—and frowned thoughtfully. “I just…can’t seem to place you.”

  That’s because everyone placed me at the very bottom of the school pecking order back then. The only reason anyone noticed me back in high school was to make fun of me.

  The memory of that—of the taunts and jeers, of the awful nicknames—came back to her suddenly like a cold hand around her throat. For a moment she wanted nothing more than to turn and flee the awful old gym where so much trauma had happened so many years ago.

  “Hey little Oinker Annie—you look like a fat hippo in your gym shorts,” whispered a ghost from the past. “Look at her, you guys—she’s so fat we can use her for the ball—if we could ever get her off the ground.”

  Unkind laughter, all directed at her, rang in Annie’s ears
and just for a minute she didn’t think she could take it. Then Amy Barnes’ voice pierced the bubble of bad memories.

  “Oh, I remember now—you were the girl who was always hanging around Christian Wentworth in English Lit, weren’t you?”

  “That’s me. I helped him write his papers.” At the mention of Christian’s name, Annie’s ear’s perked up and she unconsciously straightened her spine. “Is he here tonight, by the way?” she asked as casually as she could. “I’d love to say hi for old time’s sake.”

  “Oh yes, he was one of the first to arrive. You’ll probably find him over by the bar.” Amy smiled and handed her the name badge. “If you don’t mind me saying, you look a lot different than you did in high school.” She leaned forward. “I mean, a lot.”

  “Thank you.” Annie flashed her a dazzling, braces-free smile. “I know.”

  Then she sailed off, clipping the name tag to the neckline of her little black dress, in search of Christian.

  There was a dance floor set up in the middle of the gym which reminded Annie of the school dances she’d never been invited to back in high school. Colored lights were flashing in the darkness, lighting up the floor. No one was dancing just yet—it was probably too early in the evening—but the DJ was playing songs she remembered from her high school years.

  Annie made her way around the edge of the dance floor, the familiar music putting a little spring in her step as she headed for the make-shift bar set up in one corner of the gym. Christian was probably already there, nursing a scotch and soda or some other manly drink and Annie planned to sidle up next to him.

  “Strawberry daiquiri, no whipped cream, please,” she’d say in her throatiest, sexiest voice. Then Christian would turn to her and say…

  “Well if it isn’t Little Orphan Annie. Isn’t that what we used to call you back in the day?”

  The familiar, mocking voice shattered Annie’s fantasy like a delicate wine glass dropped on concrete. She turned to see Michelle Prouty, Bella Jenkins, and Kristy Smithers standing right in front of her. All three of them were dressed, appropriately enough, as sexy devils, with horns and forked tails attached to their sheathe-like dresses. It reminded Annie of the way her trio of tormentors had always coordinated their outfits back in high school and for a moment it seemed that not a day had passed since graduation and she was right back where she’d started from.