18. Kadia

The sound of someone stomping up the stairs caught Kaida’s attention as she stared out the window of the bedroom she shared with Beckett. The sky remained the same way it had been while she was on the beach, which boded well considering the fear inside everyone was of it spreading rapidly. She felt his presence before he spoke a word. Kaida turned toward the door with a smile as Beckett crossed the threshold. The way his dark blue t-shirt clung to his skin, showing off his pecs, and the way his jeans clung to his hips made Kaida want to fan herself.

"Hey," she said bashfully.

Why was she bashful? She wasn’t sure. Kaida just felt her cheeks get warm.

Beckett returned her smile. "Hey yourself. I assume you are feeling better?"

"Much," she told him after he gave her a small kiss.

"Good. I have a lot I need to run by you if you are up to talking."

Kaida bit her lip. "As long as I can throw some of my own things in there. I have a lot to talk to you about as well."

Beckett stood straight and glanced down at her stomach, "Are you.... are we..."

Kaida’s eyes bugged out of her skull, "NO! What? No. Why would you even ask that?"

Beckett scratched the back of his neck and gave her a sideways smile, "It’s not like you’re a virgin anymore. Sex leads to babies...did your mom give you that talk?"

Kaida tossed her hand sideways, sending a small jolt of plasma at him. It struck his chest, and Beckett chuckled. It wasn’t enough to do much of anything other than defend Kaida from his accusation.

"Stop! That is just a weird thing to assume. Of course, my mother had the–ugh!"

Beckett laughed and closed the door. He guided Kaida gently to the bed and had her sit down. Kaida smiled and rolled her eyes at him, wanting to care for her even with something so simple.

"Shall I go first or you?" Beckett asked her.

"You, since you started this."

"Okay. So. After you took a nap, I went to find some information on Plasma Dragons."

"Wait, how did you find information if there is no library on the island?"

"There is."

"What? Then how come the girls told me that you guys told them there wasn’t one?"

Beckett frowned. "Well, none that anyone but a dragon can access."

Kaida narrowed her eyes at Beckett, watching him bow his head. Beckett licked his lips and then looked at her again with some guilt in his eyes. Kaida crossed her arms and continued to glare at him.

"I’ll make sure it becomes open to the public."

Kaida noticed Beckett’s voice held the guilt of not having the library open to the public sooner. He was not just telling her he would open it because he didn’t want her to be upset with him. Beckett realized that having it closed off to certain people was wrong.

"Thank you. Go on," she told him as she unfolded her arms.

"Plasma Dragons have been known to take on more than one mate."

Beckett’s statement cut through her like a knife. He said it in a way that sounded like he was still surprised by the information, but Kaida was unsure how to accept it.

"So... what does that mean?"

Beckett swallowed hard and took a few seconds to respond. Kaida could feel through the bond; he knew that this confused her, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it. This meant that the pull to the others was there for a reason. There was more than just a chance these were the beginnings of mate bonds.

I have four mates? How is that possible? Why? I just found one person who wanted the mate bond and did not reject me. Now I have a chance at three other people rejecting me?

They won’t reject us.

One person already did. Who says the others won’t do it, too? They hate me!

Don’t confuse hate with fear.

Why be afraid of us?

We can be scary. Do you not remember hearing about us destroying multiple buildings within a few minutes?

We were influenced by the Dark Dimension.

Which should make people more afraid of us. We can be influenced by a dark force and destroy sections of the land.

"It means it’s okay if you feel a pull to others other than me. I’m not going to be mad. You are an exception to the norm. Apparently, you might feel more energized than a normal dragon as well because of the Plasma pumping through you. If you can’t fall asleep, let me know. We can do more activities to run the energy out of you. We can train more together to also help with that."

Kaida stared at him, "How are you talking so calmly about this? You just found out your mate can have multiple mates, and you are okay with that?"

Beckett sighed at her. Inside the bond, he was not as calm as he looked. Beckett felt as if he was nervous about all of this. It did not feel like one thing in particular, either. He was simply nervous about telling Kaida about everything that he had found.

"I know who the others are, Kaida. They’re Esen and Arlo. I have noticed you looking at them. It’s the same way you looked at me at first. They are two of the best guys I know. I have shared everything else in my life with them as we grew up and now we rule this island together, too. I don’t see why sharing you with them would be a problem."

Kaida blinked at him several times as she processed what he told her. Beckett knew I had been looking at his friends this whole time...and said nothing. He tells me he does not mind sharing with them...what?

He understands our needs.

How are these our needs?! Why is this a thing?

Kaida’s dragon went silent. Kaida growled and fell backward onto her bed.

"Please tell me why this is a thing."

"According to the lore, it is so you can allow for the Plasma line to grow. No one really knows how a Plasma is bred outside of it being within lineage. Somewhere in your lineage, an ancestor was a Plasma. That is how you were able to emerge as one. Plasmas normally mate with the other breeds of dragons to allow them to spread their genetics. The fact that you are paired with me, Arlo, and Esen makes sense."

Kaida bit her lip. "Blaze, too. As much as he hates me, and I don’t feel comfortable around him, I do notice that I can’t bring myself to hate him."

Beckett’s eyes widened with her admission for a moment. "I did not expect that." Then he tilted his head and thought about it for a moment. "On second thought, I guess I did. That could be why Blaze has such a hard-on for you."

Kaida scoffed at him. "I don’t care what kind of issue he has with me. I shouldn’t have to tiptoe around my house because of something someone else did to him years ago. Maybe he should get over himself."

Beckett smiled at her. "I kind of like it when you get assertive. Looks good on you."

Kaida rolled her eyes. "Anything else I should know about myself?"

"Nope. I think I covered everything. Wasn’t there something you wanted to talk about with me?"

"Yeah." Kaida agreed as she lifted herself onto her elbows. "I have some information that you might find useful."

"Did you just try to sound sophisticated?"

Kaida made a disapproving face. "Did I not come across that way?"

Beckett laughed. "We will work on it."

"Humph. Fine. Did you notice the sky on the way in?"

"The sky?" Beckett looked toward their window and moved around to get a better look. When he was unhappy with what he saw, he got to his feet and went over to it. "What the fuck is that?" Beckett turned toward her. "You know what that is?"

"Unfortunately, yes. What do you know about the Dark Dimension?"

Kaida heard a growl emit from his chest. Well. Looks like he at least knows what it is.

"What of it? The fact that it can take over our dimension and make it cease to exist or the fact that every person should be trying to find a solution to it spilling into our universe right now?"

Anger spilled into their bond as Beckett spoke. Kaida knew this would be an interesting conversation if Beckett knew what the Dark Dimension was but did not know he would get angry about it.

"The girls and I believe that it’s been opened. Adrien’s mate, who rejected her, was hellbent on opening it. She thought he would need a certain artifact to do it, but he managed to do it without it."

Beckett raised his hand as if he were in school. "Then he must have gotten to the artifact, right?"

Kaida shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know. Adrien said the artifact hadn’t been seen in a thousand years. I think it wasn’t the only way to open it, but the artifact might be needed to close it."

Beckett rubbed the back of his neck. "It’s for sure the Dark Dimension?"

On the outside, Beckett looked calm and collected. Through their bond, Kaida could feel waves of anxiety and fear. She was certain that Beckett knew more about the Dark Dimension than she did. He understood that the island would be in danger if it continued to bleed into their world.

"Pretty sure. It was the only logical explanation, especially with how it affected me."

Beckett licked his lips and nodded. He looked back out at the sky and groaned. "It does explain that. It also explains what I had to deal with before coming here. A dragon that I know isn’t normally a speciest dick just tried to attack a Lycan for existing on the same ground as him. Never really experienced anyone being like that, but it happened today. Now I know why. I didn’t really put the Dark Dimension as the culprit, but it makes sense."

Her eyebrows rose. "So you know a lot about the Dark Dimension?"

"I know enough. It really isn’t good for it to be spilling into our world. Many supernaturals have animal counterparts or animalistic characteristics that would make us all feral. Look what it did to you. Nate wanted to kill someone when he is as grounded as the element that rules his magic and dragon. It is definitely not a good thing that it’s here. Even worse is that I am aware of no documented way of banishing it."

"My magic seemed to do the trick," Kaida deadpanned.

This was the tricky thing. Kaida was aware that her magic made the small opening on the island disappear. If her magic was able to close it, then they should be trying to find a way back onto the mainland to close the rift there.

But I am not allowed to return to the mainland unless my ex-mate returns for me.

Beckett narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, a growl breaking the silence in the room, "Absolutely not. You are not going anywhere near the opening."

Kaida furrowed her eyebrows as she lifted her lip at him. "And why do you think you can tell me what I can and cannot do?"

"I am your mate, and I will not have my mate going out and putting her life at risk when I just found her!"

Kaida pushed herself to her feet. Even though she was trying to stand to make herself look bigger, it was impossible to be taller than Beckett. The guy was over six feet tall, and Kaida was barely five foot eight.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t see how that makes you in charge of me. If my magic is the one thing that can close the damn opening outside of that artifact, why shouldn’t I be the one to go out there to close it?"

"You can get hurt!"

"And millions can die! I’m pretty sure one life isn’t as important as millions!"

"It sure as hell is when that one life is my fated mate’s life!"

Beckett’s voice boomed through the house, causing it to shake. Kaida stood firmly in place and managed not to wince. Something about this did not feel right to Kaida. Through their bond, she could feel Beckett’s love for her pour into her and even fear of losing her. It made her heart skip a beat, knowing that he cared for her that much and didn’t want to lose her. This was what a mate was supposed to be like.

But it’s also about being partners.

Kaida watched her parents for years, and they were role models of the perfect pairing. She remembered that her mother supported every adventure her father wanted to go on. Every decision he wanted to bring to the council, she was the first one to stand up and say that she seconded it.

"Beck, I love knowing that you are beyond terrified to lose me. It seriously makes me weak in the knees, knowing I have someone who wants to have me in their life so badly that he wouldn’t dare let anything happen to me. But, if we want this mateship to work, you must also understand that I need support as much as I need to be cared for."

Beckett quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped her up in his arms, bending down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. The scent of the sea wafted into her nose as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. The bond was flooded once again with love and fear. She could feel him trying to devise the words to say to her, but she already knew what to say.

"I’m not saying I’m going to march out that door and go find the opening right now. I can’t even leave the island, and it looks like it’s more on the mainland." Kaida pushed herself away just enough to look into his beautiful blue eyes. "I want us to come up with some kind of plan to keep the island safe. The library needs to be open so Adrien can look for an idea on where to find the artifact."

Beckett kissed the tip of her nose. "So you aren’t planning on running off and fighting this on your own?"

"Pfft, like I can do that by myself, and if you had just asked instead of accusing me of something I never planned in the first place, neither of us would have gotten so worked up. I don’t know how to use my magic or control my dragon from losing her shit, and if you think I’m going to go off on my own and battle an entire dimension, you have a lot more faith in me than I do."

Beckett captured her lips with his and kissed her fiercely. Suddenly, her back landed on the bed.

"Let me make you forget about all that darkness for a bit," Beckett rumbled at her.

I like the sound of that.