Lara
“What the fuck is going on?” I snap. The only one who doesn’t flinch from my vitriol is Phillip, or should I say Rio, which I reluctantly admit is a much better name for the exotic beauty that was once my prison guard, and who doesn’t look like anything like he did before.
And yes, I am going to ignore the connection between us until I’m good and ready to address the massive, suffocating elephant in the room. I’m also ignoring just how perfect he looks now, with his long black hair and his golden-brown eyes.
I’ve never seen a chameleon in person. I thought they were more like a myth, but I’m not complaining about that part. I’m complaining about everything else. Like how we’re on Drakolia despite the fact that none of us are dragons. We’re not at the top of the food chain here, and one wrong move could be a death sentence. Never mind the fact that I’ve always wanted to travel here; I can sightsee later, after I’ve shown my mates—and Rio—just how pissed off I am.
“We sprung you out of the most dangerous prison in the world—that’s what’s going on,” Rio drawls with a smirk.
Hmm. I like this side of him. And that slight accent I can’t define is sexy as hell too.
I shake my head to clear my wayward thoughts. “Well, obviously, but why?” I place my hands on my hips and narrow my eyes at all three of them. I would have expected some kind of attempt a year ago, but none ever came. So why now?
I’m fraying at the edges.
Gods, I just want to hug my mates and kiss them senseless, but I’m supposed to be angry.
Maybe I can be pissed later, after we… reconnect. I like this idea so much better. Now we just need to find a nice bed, and we’re good to go. I think that will be a little difficult to sort out, seeing how we’re in the woods surrounded by massive trees that remind me of Californian redwoods. Even the ferns and shrubs are gigantic, though I guess with dragons being the biggest predators on this planet, that makes sense. Ew, what if the bugs are human-sized? That’s where I draw the line. Earth-sized bugs are bad enough; I definitely can’t handle mutated pests. That’s Fallout-esque, and I’m not down for that.
“Do we have somewhere to stay other than outside?” I ask with a grimace.
Rio snorts and gestures to the left, like I’m somehow supposed to decipher that vague shit.
“And that means what?”
“He means that we have made arrangements, so yes, we have somewhere to stay,” Kelvin interjects with a sigh and a glare at the newest member of our crew.
“Are we going to address—”
“No.” I cut Rio off, already guessing where he’s going with this.
“We’re—”
“No means no. Consent is key.” I huff and cross my arms.
Max smirks, and even Kelvin is amused. Fuck, I missed them both so damn much, but I ignore them too for some reason. Everything’s confusing, and I just need time. But not time away from my soulmates—that’s pushing it. I only got to see them twice a year as it was, and I missed them. The distance hurt, and even with good behavior, I’d have only had four visitations, which isn’t enough. And, well… my behavior wasn’t good. I was a little murder, but the five deserved it. It’s not my fault.
Everyone in prison thought I was weak and vulnerable because I was a woman, and a former agent at that, so they attacked me all the time. It was a rough few months before I fought back, and they didn’t like that. I was in solitary so often that I was hardly in the prisoner barracks that first year.
Oh, shit. I forgot to pretend to be the old Lara in front of Kelvin and Max. They haven’t seen this Lara before—the broken, crazy one. I was always on my best behavior when they came to see me because I was desperate for them to come back, and I was afraid they would hate me if they knew how much I had changed. They fell for the old me, after all, not this new one who is violent and strange.
They haven’t bailed on me so far, though, so maybe we’ve been through too much for them to abandon me. They did always say during their visits that they were searching for evidence to prove my innocence, but frankly, I thought they were just saying that to make me feel better. It’s not like I want my mates to find out who framed me and arrest them anyway. I want to find the bastard—or bastards—myself, then kill them slowly and painfully. It’s the least they deserve after fucking up my life.
“Lara?” Max’s voice snaps me to attention, and I smile.
I rush forward and wrap myself around him, much to his surprise and mine. He doesn’t hesitate to tug me close, and I sink into his warmth, breathing in his calming scent of pine and fresh rain. Gods, I missed him. I haven’t touched him in three years. He’s still as muscular as before, but his hair has changed some. His blond locks are short on the sides and longer on top, giving him a sort of whimsical feel that matches his playfulness so well. His green eyes are like shining emeralds, and they’re so easy to get lost in.
“I missed you too, Lara,” he whispers into my ear, his voice cracking, making tears well as my throat thickens.
Another hard body presses against my back as a second set of arms pull me close, and this time my tears do escape as I’m taken back to the time before my false accusation, back when I got their attention and affection every day and was able to freely give it back. Something in my chest feels like it cracks, and the next thing I know, I’m sobbing so hard I can’t breathe. The parts of me that were broken and jagged inside me slowly mend until they’re not cutting me up as sharply as before. Those pieces will never heal completely, but now that my mates are with me once again, I know I’ll be okay.
Everything will be okay.
I’ll be okay.
I don’t know how long we stand there, holding each other, but it’s long enough for my tears to dry. By the time we finally separate, my misplaced anger is long-forgotten, and I’m ready to reacquaint myself with Max and Kelvin intimately and reaffirm our connection for the first time in three years. But the ferocious roar coming from somewhere close by cuts through our moment far too easily.
“Fuck,” Rio mutters as he scrubs his hands down his face, looking downright exhausted.
I feel that. I’m wiped out, and we only sprinted for a few minutes, which tells me I’m seriously out of shape. To be fair, I never was a runner. I think people who like to run are a little psychotic, but to each their own, I guess.
Another bellow echoes through the massive forest, this one much closer than the one before. I think I can even feel the ground trembling, but that might just be my imagination.
“That should be the welcoming committee,” Max says with a grin, completely unfazed by the deadly-ass dragon shifter creeping closer and closer.
I tilt my head to the side and study my mate. “They’re sending a welcoming committee? How nice.”
He shrugs. “They never said they were, but I’m sure this is all fine.”
I hum and rock back on my heels, hands behind my back, unable to stop my grin even if I wanted to. “How exciting! I’ve always wanted to meet a dragon. Maybe we can even see a shadow dragon. How amazing would that be?”
Rio just blinks at me, and Kelvin levels a placating smile my way before saying, “Shadow dragons are the deadliest and the least sane, Lara. I’m not so sure meeting one would really be the best idea.” At my crestfallen pout, my more serious mate’s face softens marginally. “But maybe once we’re settled here, we can ask.”
I beam and bounce over to my black-haired, blue-eyed bond to give him a quick kiss that ends way too soon. He’s just as fit as before too, actually I’d even say he’s a little more muscular than before. He was always the slimmer one between the two, but no less strong, though his strength lies more in his Zodiac powers than in his physical body. His hairstyle hasn’t changed, though; it’s still only a few inches long and roughly pushed back from where he feeds his hands through the soft strands.
Gods, I missed him and his sandalwood scent.
Suddenly there’s a crash, and the world around me actually does shake and rumble this time, making me stumble a little to the side and into Rio, who I didn’t notice inching closer. The sound of stomping is off to the left, and when I look, I spot a massive black beast lumbering toward us, head down and smoke bleeding from its mouth and nose. There’s a different smoke surrounding it, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s not smoke at all.
It’s shadows.
Holy shit. It’s a shadow dragon.