Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Dragon’s Pretend Marriage Chapter 13

Milton

The moment the door shut, Brandi scooted to the other side of the seat. I had anticipated her falling into my arms, curling into my lap, or pulling my arm around her. She had just survived an attack. Why wouldn't she reach for me? I just couldn't pinpoint why.

The space annoyed me.

I cleared my throat. "Dr. Windsor checked you out. She said the ribs should heal easily." "Oh, my brother failed to mention that."

"Yeah, she had to run off and check on the others." I rubbed my elbow. "I'm fine, by the way."

She nodded. "Figured you were. You're a dragon. You can survive a truck running you over."

"That doesn't mean I'm invincible to everything, Brandi."

A frown stole her lips. Worry lines dug into the space around her mouth. Shadows darkened beneath her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and pivoted toward the window.

"What's wrong, moonbeam?" I asked. Even if she didn't tell me, I had to ask. My inner dragon refused to let the question go without being stated verbally.

She shrugged. "I just..."

My heart skipped a beat. And then another. She looked lost, almost hopeless with how she carried herself right now. The way the limo rocked did nothing to change her position. Or her demeanor.

Or her energy.

She was withdrawing.

I nodded. "I get it. You were just exposed to danger. On purpose. That was my fault."

"No, it was my fault, Milton."

"Right, because of the loan shark thing."

She groaned. "Because I let my feelings get in the way."

It was my turn to frown. "What?"

"Milton, this isn't fake anymore, is it?" she whispered.

Her eyes cast stormy hues of silver in my direction. They should have been green. But they were overcast with enough worry to drain them of color.

She bit her lower lip and swallowed hard. "I don't think this is fake anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"The mating thing. Us. We're not fake."

I gripped my knees. Was it me or was the limo vibrating? "We're supposed to be fake. That's the agreement."

"I don't want to be fake anymore."

The implication of her statement-the sheer magnitude of it-blasted me to pieces. My heart rate went through the roof while my brain blasted into another dimension.

She didn't want it to be fake anymore.

Just what the hell was that supposed to mean?

I coughed. "You want it to be...real?"

"Yes."

"The engagement?"

She nodded. "Yep."

"And the mate bond-all of it real?"

"Yes, dear."

The sound of those words slipping from her lips made me want to curl in on myself. When was the last time someone had called me that? As an affectionate term and not as part of some snarky response?

There was one woman who had called me that but her memory wasn't worth bringing to the forefront of my mind. Like it or not, it came. It came and it overwhelmed my system as much as the rosemary and olive oil that invaded my nostrils. I shook my head.

Brandi reached for me. "No?"

I kept shaking my head.

She retracted her hand. "...Yes?"

More head shaking. This time, it was accompanied by nausea. It was awful. It felt like my stomach was clenching up, preparing to twist out whatever I had eaten today. Which hadn't been much.

Unless you count those two dire wolves. I closed my eyes and covered my mouth. Actually, those were a bad idea as snacks. They tasted like nuclear garbage.

A hand met my shoulder. I jumped out of my seat and flew across the limo, taking up residence near the tinted privacy window.

Brandi held her hand to her chest as defeat withered her expression.

No, that wasn't what I wanted. That wasn't what I needed.

But making this not fake? That was just a preposterous idea. Falling for Brandi wasn't part of the plan.

Neither was sleeping with her.

The beast within me wiggled around, restless and uncertain. One part of me was desperate to make her my mate while another was revolted by the idea. Any thought of becoming her true mate made my insides feel like they were about to become my outsides.

"Milton?" Brandi squeaked. Her voice sounded so small. "Can you tell me anything?"

I shook my head.

It was all I could do.

Because becoming her true mate would only lead to pain.

***

Three days after Brandi had poured her heart all over my limo, I stood in the library, pacing the very balcony where I had found Brandi studying those mafia books.

It all made sense now. The obsession with the mob and with shifter customs was her way of determining a course of action. If I had seen it better then, I would have been able to give her some true tips and tricks.

But what could a dragon like me do to warn her about the horrors of the dark underbelly of this city? Loan sharks were hardly the tip of the iceberg. There were greater things to worry about.

Like those colossal wolves and where the hell they were coming from.

Raymond hired scientists to do experiments, I recalled. He wanted to create a dire wolf.

They were the stuff of legends-fairy tale books that were read to children. But my own eyes had revealed the truth about our world, that someone out there was trying to play with life like he was some kind of deity. A guy who had created a pack of monstrous beasts that had gone after my girlfriend.

I sank into the loveseat.

Three days had passed since I had seen Brandi. She wasn't in her usual places, and I only knew that because I had been trying to find her.

I'd left her without an answer. That wasn't fair. The least I could do was admit how much this scared me.

Even though the idea of admitting that was exactly what scared me.

Despite the anxiety, I had gone through with the mating ritual plans. I messaged Blake about it, having him reserve a date and time. All that was left to do was ask my mother to perform the ceremony.

And then ask Brandi to be my mate.

A million thoughts raced through my mind. I had watched Tanner and Leah go through hell and back for each other. Brandi and I had just done the same thing. She wanted to help me. She wanted to protect my friends. That was a woman worth defending.

I didn't even care about the lying. Would I have preferred her to be honest from the beginning? Yes, it would have cut our drama in half. But drama was the stuff of my life. It was what kept me going. If anything, Brandi gave me more to do than worry about my tech company-and whether or not I properly inherited it.

I stood up. "I have to fix this."

My heart raced as I darted across the balcony and headed for the stairs. After sprinting to the exit, I threw open the doors and marched into the hallway, focusing on the air around me. The energy had shifted. It used to be thick with heat in here. But now? The air felt like it had been cut with cool webs. The sticky threads clung to me yet they didn't bother me.

Where they felt thicker, I followed. I tracked down the sensation until I discovered Brandi sitting by herself in the garden room. A fountain sat near a wide pane of glass that overlooked the landing area, the same place where I aimed to land during my flights. She had her chin in one hand and a picture frame in the other.

My shoulders folded inward. "Moonbeam?"

She gasped and spun around. Tears stained her cheeks. The sight pained me to the point of madness.

I was across the room in seconds, her face cradled in my hands. My thumbs swept beneath her eyes, tears pouring by the dozen as I stared into those glittering green gems.

Her lower lip shuddered. "It's over."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're done, Milton. I can't do this. I can't fake my way through a mating ceremony, through a life." She pulled away. "I can't do any of this. I'm sorry. The whole thing is off. It's over."

She slid from the seat and floated across the room. Her maxi dress billowed around her feet, making her look like she was flying. But she was just scampering quicker than I had ever seen.

She set the picture near the fountain. "I know Tanner knows it's fake. He was right. We're just not a match."

"I thought you said he wouldn't care."

"Well, he does care, Milton. He cares a lot."

I frowned. "I don't understand. Is that why you're calling it off?"

"No, it's for a lot of reasons." She shivered while hugging herself. "I need to know myself. I need to find out who I am without the lies."

My mouth snapped shut. How could I help her with something like that? It didn't even seem like she wanted me near her.

She was cutting things off. Maybe that was for the best.

I hung my head. "I respect your decision."

"You're not even going to fight for me?"

My head popped up. "Why would I fight for you when you don't want to mate with me?"

"Why would I mate with you if it's going to be fake?"

"Damn it, Brandi. You're not making any sense."

She dropped her arms to her sides, curling her fingers into fists. "I told you how I feel. Isn't that enough?"

"You didn't tell me shit about how you feel. All you said was that you didn't want it to be fake. I didn't answer."

"Exactly-which means you don't want it to be real. No answer is an answer, Milton."

I growled. "No answer is just not an answer. Why are you reading so hard into this?"

"Probably because someone I love just ripped my heart out of my chest."

A tunnel grew around my vision. Had she just said what I thought she said? "What?"

"You know, I thought you changed. I thought you got better." The tears came again, streaming over her chin and slithering down her chest. They glittered like diamonds near the straps of her dress. "But you're still a bully. You just grew taller." "That's not fair to say."

She shook her head. "Does it matter? It's not like you have feelings. You're only worried about your image."

"Aren't you worried about yours?"

"I don't care what people think of me, Milton. I just care about being honest."

A dry laugh flew from me. "That's rich coming from someone who lied to me about being in debt to a miniature version of the mob."

"Why are you laughing at me?"

"Because you keep talking about being honest when you haven't been honest this entire time."

She grunted. "Maybe that's because you don't want to let me in!"

She marched to the exit with her dress fluttering behind her. She whipped open the door, stepped into the hallway, and then turned around.

"By the way," she hissed, "Jermaine is looking for you."

Slam.

That was it. That was my brilliant way of fixing things.

By ruining them even more.

I spun around and rested my forehead against the glass. Steam fogged in front of my nose every time I exhaled. It made me think about Brandi, the limo, the way we had clung to each other at every turn.

We were far from clinging at this point. We were just clawing at each other.

Wasn't that how it always went? Women inevitably let me down. It was always best to cut ties first, to be the one to leave. I should have kept that lesson in mind with this whole fake mate thing.

I should have been securing my empire instead of getting distracted by her luscious lips.

But no, I had to fall into her. I had to develop feelings. I had to let that stupid empathetic crap come right back from my third semester at college.

I'd learned a hard lesson then. And I was learning a hard lesson now.

Hurt like this could always be avoided. Next time, I wouldn't hesitate to lock my heart up and throw away the key.

Brandi would never be able to touch it again. Not in a million years.

I would make sure of that.