Chapter 5 - Stryker

Sterling Vance…

The Council’s choice of an alias doesn’t come as a surprise, especially since they’ve all lived for longer than two millennia. What is a surprise is how involved my father has been now that it’s my turn in the human mating process.

It’s safe to say that he just doesn’t want any more trouble, like all the trouble my older brothers caused when it was their time to bring their human mates to the island to produce dragonspirit children. I’m the last son to do what’s considered right in terms of the mating process and coexisting with humans. We’re not supposed to kidnap our mates and steal them to the island unwillingly.

After what Stryder did in the mortal world to expose his identity as a dragon shifter, my turn in the human mating process was part of the damage control that needed to be done.

I can’t disappoint my father, who’s counting on me to be the one son who does the Council proud.

Regardless of how ridiculous the name on my fake identity card is, my human mate remains oblivious to the fact that I’m not exactly who I say I am as she keys in her cell phone number in my address book.

“Here,” she says timidly as she hands me back my phone. I look down at her hand, her pretty fingers still trembling slightly.

Biting my bottom lip, I suddenly crave to feel the warmth of her flesh. I’d only mildly glimpsed the effects of touching her, how my heart skipped a beat, and my eardrums droned with the stirrings of awareness when I touched her shoulders to keep her steady.

Her clumsiness is amusing, even if it was her own two feet she was tripping over. I can only imagine what a terrible dancer she must be, but I’m going to fix that as soon I’ve successfully swept her off her feet.

I know, it’s a bad pun, but it’s all I can do to keep myself from snatching her right now and taking her to the island. Being this close, speaking to her for the first time, I can now understand what my brothers struggled with.

The most I can do for now is quench this thirst that has my throat parched as if I’m some kind of bloodsucker. Not nearly as weak or vile as a vampire, I’m a relatively decent dragon shifter with a moral compass strong enough to fight my primal urges and only faintly brush my fingertips across her fingers as I take my phone back. The mild sensation of warmth travels up my arm like an electric current.

How did my brothers pick up their mates and kidnap them to the island without wanting to rip their clothes off? If we weren’t in a public space, I would—

“I’ll be waiting to hear all about your conspiracy theory, Sir,” she says with amusement toying on her lips. I can tell she isn’t remotely aware of who or what I am. It’s almost as if the physical contact didn’t faze her.

“It’s not a conspiracy theory,” I reply boldly.

Even if I can’t reveal my identity just yet, I’ve planted a seed that I plan on watering as time goes on.

Father had given me a month to woo the woman. I think that’s enough, though doubts begin to creep into mind when she scoffs and turns her face away.

The painting appears to be more interesting than I am.

“If you say so, Sir,” she murmurs with a dismissive shrug, her gaze fixed on the painting.

I’m going to have to work harder at this.

Gods, help me…

“It’s not, Sir,” I tease with a chuckle. “My name is Stry—Sterling.” Good gods! What was that?

Has the human disarmed me without trying? I’ve never been one to trip over my words or mess up an operation as important as this one.

Her cheeks fill with a hint of color, her lips lifting into a shy smile.

Good. We’re making progress.

“Sterling,” she repeats with a curt nod, only briefly flicking her eyes to me before checking the time on the thin wristwatch on her arm. “Excuse me, but my next group will be here.”

“Of course,” I assured, stepping aside and bowing as I stretched out an arm. “Thank you for the tour, Camilla.”

She bows curtly in response before leaving down the corridor, leaving me stunned.

Perhaps she isn’t as observant as I thought she was, considering that she knows every detail about the artworks displayed in the museum.

She doesn’t seem to notice that I know her first name, or that I’m trying to flirt with her.

In hindsight, she doesn’t know everything, I muse as I glance at the painting of Aurora Island and chuckle under my breath.

One day, I’ll tell her who the real artist behind that painting is.

She’ll be Camilla’s sister soon.

***

Tapping my foot on the bedroom's plush carpet in the best hotel that Fresno has to offer, it’s not comfort and ease I feel.

Instead, the four lavish walls of the hotel room feel as if they’re closing in around me, and my patience is hanging by a thin thread.

I could have been distracting myself with other measly feats in the mortal world if it wasn’t for Stryder’s antics that landed us in trouble in the first place. The other parts of California aren’t exactly safe, considering that it’s too close to the villa where he’d revealed his dragon identity to the group of criminals when he took them down on his mate, Olivia’s behalf.

Cut from the same cloth, I think sarcastically as I drag myself to the balcony for some fresh air.

The Vulkan brothers have all found their mates within close radius of each other. I can’t risk showing my face to the world in case anyone recognizes me from those sketches of Stryder that made the news a few months ago. At least not until the Council has decided to proceed with their plan to reveal our existence to the rest of the world.

When the crisp air greets my face, I realize how misplaced my irritation is. It’s not that I’m suffering from the fear of missing out on what’s out there in the world.

I could be anywhere in the world right now. Draco’s villa in Italy, or Felix’s farm in Greece. I just don’t want to be anywhere else.

I want to be close to Camilla, breathing the same air as her.

I’m just suffering from the withdrawal of being away from Camilla. It’s only been a few hours, and I can’t seem to get her out of my mind.

Running a hand through my hair, I take my phone out and stare at her number on the dialing screen.

In all the time I spent keeping a watchful eye on Camilla, I didn’t realize that I was soaking in her existence and becoming addicted to how it felt being around her. Now that I’ve spoken to her just a little bit, and have her number saved on my phone, I can’t help but wonder where she is, what she’s doing, and if she’s safe.

I guess this is the part I didn’t anticipate—being consumed by the very thought of her, unable to think straight, let alone do anything to keep my mind occupied and my time filled.

All I want to do is be around her as if my inner dragon is compelling me to do the unthinkable when I hit the “dial” button on the screen and press my phone to my ear. The dull ache in my chest is soothed the moment she answers, her tooth-achingly sweet voice dripping through the speaker and quelling my craving for her.

“Hello? Who is this?”

Smirking with satisfaction, the relief that washes over me soothes my tension, and I lean my elbows on the balcony rails. “Hello, Camilla. It’s… S—” I’m about to slip up again but catch myself this time.

I feel much calmer than I was in the museum this morning. Back then, I’d been full of unwarranted nerves.

Right now, the cellular connection serves as a bind that’s enough to ease my tension and have me go through this the way the Council expects me to, even if my inner dragon stirs with something more primal than the self-control I’m trying to exercise.

“... It’s Sterling, from earlier,” I remind her.

“Oh, yes, of course,” she says quickly, almost breathlessly, and I wonder if she was busy with something else before I called.

Something more important.

“How can I help you?”

Woah.

I shoot upright, my spine turning ramrod straight as the wind is knocked out of me.

She’s being so… formal.

Does she have no idea who she is to me?

Of course, not.

Gathering my thoughts and reminding myself that she’s unaware of the existence of my species, I say, “I’d like to take you up on that offer to prove that dragons exist.”

“Oh,” she says with a pause. “Do you wanna send me some articles or—”

“No, Camilla,” I interject sternly, caught off-guard by my inner dragon’s sudden intervention when my voice grows darker. “I want to take you out to dinner. Tonight.”

My inner dragon slips away before I can question its bluntness.

I’m not sure if I just succeeded in putting the woman off when she took too long to respond.

“Er—” comes her hesitation, and my heart skips a beat. “Okay…?”

Mentally, I’m doing cartwheels, and my inner dragon returns to give me a moment to celebrate.

“Send me your address. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

When the call ends and I’m left staring at my phone, my inner dragon retreats again, leaving me wondering when our two entities became separate. Perhaps it’s because Camilla does something to disarm me so much that my inner dragon has no choice but to take the reins.

Or, perhaps I’m just meant to feel what it’s like to be bewitched by a human without my inner dragon forcing me to make the wrong moves.

Either way, when a text beeps on my cell phone, I do another set of mental cartwheels before rushing to clean up for our dinner date.

~*~

Stepping out of the limo I’d hired for tonight, I wait on the curbside outside Camilla’s apartment building with a racing heart.

I’ve really gone all-out in my attempt to woo her. When I finally break the news that I’m not an ordinary man but a dragon shifter who’s meant to take her to a hidden island to be my mate, she’ll gladly agree and go with me willingly.

I’ll make the Council and my father proud, being the last hope for the Vulkan brothers to do the right thing in their eyes.

The door to the entrance of the apartment building screeches as it opens, and I straighten up. But the moment Camilla steps out onto the pavement, my breath is snatched, and my jaw drops.

The black dress that hugs her like a second skin only serves to magnify her gorgeous, overflowing curves. Shaped like a goddess of perfect proportions, I can’t take my eyes off her as she walks toward me.

I understand perfectly well now why my brothers kidnapped their mates and took them as prisoners to the island. They couldn’t stand to be away from the human women and had to be as close to them as possible. Just as I need to be near Camilla.

The excruciatingly strong sexual magnetization, I feel, is a by-product of what this whole journey is about. The throbbing of my scrotum is like a reminder that it’s my seed that needs to be planted in this woman so we can produce dragonspirit children for the Aurora Dragon clan.

I gulp to stop the blood from rushing to my cock, reaching out to offer her a hand. With her short, raven black curls framing her round, tanned face, she smiles shyly as she slips her hand into mine. Her golden eyes sparkle for the first time since we met, and it gives me hope that soon, she’ll fall in love with me as planned.

I gulp nervously to control myself, admiring the way her cheeks fill with bright color when I compliment her. A protocol must be followed, even if I’m mentally racking up all the ways I’d tear that dress off just to expose the softness of her golden skin.

Why did they make this so hard?