Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Nathan

It took a second for me to place the voice. Things had been… rough since I visited the dragon. It felt like someone was watching me, and I grew more anxious and suspicious every day. Dad was actually considering bringing me to a cabin somewhere to get away from it all. I wasn’t sure it would help. I was starting to feel crazy.

“I would’ve if you had answered the door when I came back.”

She hummed, and a flashback of that soft smile came back, warming my insides. I still couldn’t remember much of that evening. The combination of alcohol and the weed gummy my dad gave me wiped out the memory almost entirely. What little I did remember was all soft. Soft smiles, soft touches. It teased at my memory, making me crave more. My tiger especially seemed to like the sound of her voice.

“Are you going to give me a name this time?”

“Should I?” There was a tease there, and I felt some of the anxiety die away, my entire focus on her.

“Am I going to have to work for it?” I asked with a smirk.

She chuckled, but the noise died as quickly as it came, and she sighed heavily. That sound was almost defeated, and it didn’t match the woman I knew. Or what little memory I had of her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… I’d like to discuss something with you, but I’d prefer to do it in person. Are you planning on visiting the dragon any time soon?”

It wasn’t in the plans. I tried on that weekend to give the dragon the benefit of the doubt. He was polite to my dad and me. But it still felt like there were secrets he wasn’t sharing, and it made me uneasy. I didn’t have any urge to connect with the man like Dad did.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I answered honestly. “I, uh… I’m not sure how much you remember, but I have some issues trusting people. I didn’t have a great connection with the guy. He seems like he’s keeping secrets.”

She hummed again. It didn’t seem like she was put out about it, but she called for a reason, and it made me feel guilty to just dismiss it because I didn't trust the dragon.

I opened my mouth to suggest just visiting her instead when she surprised me.

“Perhaps I’ll come visit you instead. I haven’t been off the mountain in too long. Would that be alright?”

“Oh, uh, sure. When?”

“When I can arrange the details, I suppose. What city do you live in?”

“About an hour outside Tallahassee. I–”

She let out another sigh, this one more forceful, like she was gearing herself up for something. My head was swimming at the thought of her coming to visit, but I still didn't know why.

“What did you want to discuss with me?”

“I’ll explain when I arrive. I–” She paused, her voice sounding uncertain when she continued. “The dragon told me you’re struggling. Know that I’m no threat to you. I only want to talk. Okay?”

If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t trust that. Just bringing it up would be suspicious. But for some reason, I trusted her.

“Okay.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon.”

“Wait. How soon–”

I couldn’t even get the question out before she hung up. I pulled the phone away from my ear, frowning at it. It had been Aiden’s number that called, but I’d never gotten the chance to give her my number. Going through Aiden was the only way she could get ahold of me.

When I brought the phone back to the living room where my dad was relaxing on the couch, he looked up at me curiously.

“Who was it?”

“I–” I froze, surprised. I still hadn’t managed to get her name. I’d been on the cusp of getting the answer, but I got distracted when she sounded so defeated.

“Son?”

Blinking a few times, I looked down at him. Dad was worried. I could see it all over his face whenever he looked at me. I hated that I worried him so often, and I was trying to get better, but I couldn’t get rid of the paranoia, no matter how much I tried.

“It was, uh… a friend. She said she’s coming to visit. I’m not sure when. She said she has to figure things out first.”

He nodded, completely at ease with the lack of actual timeframes. He lived his life like that daily. “Okay, sure. I’m glad you’re talkin’ to your friends again, son. It’s a good sign.”

The woman wasn’t part of the group he’d been encouraging me to call, but I didn’t mention that. I didn’t want to get another lecture about needing a good support system. The people he wanted me to call watched me break. They weren’t my support system anymore.

Over a week passed with no contact from the woman. I thought about calling the dragon, maybe getting her actual phone number, but I second-guessed myself every time I picked up the phone. I didn’t want to open the lines of communication between us. I still didn’t trust him.

The town we lived in was small, but not as small as the one near the dragon’s mountains. It wasn’t overly crowded, but filled with more people than I wanted to be around. I avoided going into town since I got back, overcautious of being around large groups of people, but I woke up one morning with a driving force pushing me out the door. My tiger was practically demanding it, threatening to force a shift if I didn’t get my ass moving.

Dad was still asleep, so I left a note on the counter that I was going for a walk before heading out. I didn’t know where I was going, I was mostly following instinct, but the closer I got to the town center, the more my anxiety crept up. My gaze darted around almost constantly, and I felt sweat form on my brow. My stomach churned, and I wanted to turn around a dozen times, but my tiger wouldn’t allow it. He pushed us to keep going until we were on the main road in town, right near the bus station.

“What the hell are we doing here?” I growled to myself. I wasn’t getting on a damn bus. Why would we–

The door to a bus that had pulled up a few minutes prior jerked open and a familiar face stepped off with the rest of the passengers. Curly auburn hair, flawless creamy skin. She was exactly like I remembered her. The wind blew through the streets, and I scented the air, trying to catch the scent I remembered, but it was all mixed with the rest of the crowd exiting the bus. The breeze drew her attention, though, and she looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with me through the crowd.

We met halfway, closing the distance between each other. The urge to reach for her and pull her into my arms was overwhelming, but I pulled up short of doing it. We barely knew each other. This wasn’t some long-lost reunion. This was… confusing as hell.

“Hey,” I said awkwardly.

“Hi,” she answered, tipping her head and gesturing to my face. “That’s new. It suits you.”

I ran a hand over my beard self-consciously. It wasn’t a deliberate choice. I jumped too much when I shaved and kept cutting myself. I gave up after a while.

“Uh, thanks. You took the bus here?”

“I took several. I don’t know how to drive.”

Which meant she was probably traveling for days if she took buses here all the way from Montana. She looked a little worse for wear, dark circles smudged under her eyes, but she was stronger than I remembered. At least she could walk on her own, and she wasn’t trembling from the effort.

We stared at each other for a minute before someone bumped into me. A growl ripped out of me and I whipped my head around, but before I could hiss out a warning, gentle hands caught my chin and drew my focus.

“Still struggling, I see. At least the dragon wasn’t making up stories to keep me away from you,” she murmured, studying me closely.

My brows furrowed, and disappointment sank into my gut when she released me, taking her warmth with her. I shook my head to dislodge the feeling, looking around warily.

“I, uh… I walked here. I didn’t realize I was coming to meet you.”

“How did you know?”

I shrugged, taking a few steps back so the brick storefront was at my back and I had a better view of the surrounding area without feeling so exposed. “Instinct, mostly. I woke up with an incessant urge to go for a walk, and I found my way here right when you arrived.”

A ghost of a smile crossed her face. “Fate is funny that way sometimes. You look like you’d rather be anywhere else, though. Lead the way.”

We fell into step together, heading towards home. I didn’t like the crowds at my back, but the woman didn’t seem bothered by my jerky movements as I glanced over my shoulder at least a dozen times.

“Are you going to tell me your name yet?” I finally asked in a bid to distract myself from the discomfort.

“Runa.”

I came to a halt, jerking to face her. I knew that name. It was the name that Christian said with so much warning in his tone. He thought she was dangerous.

She raised her eyebrows at me. “You know my name.”

“I guess? Christian mentioned you.”

Her expression darkened, annoyance flashing across her face. “And what did he say to you, exactly?”

“To avoid you, mostly,” I answered honestly. The little time I spent with her, I didn’t think she was dangerous, but they’d know better than I would. Wouldn’t they?

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms defensively. “And now that you know who I am, do you intend to follow his advice?”

She sounded angry and defensive, but standing in front of me, I saw an undertone of hurt. It hurt her that Christian suggested keeping away from her. And until I knew what she’d done to deserve that, I wasn’t about to send her away.

“No.”

My response took her by surprise and she blinked a few times, her brows furrowing tightly. “No?”

“No. The entire time we hung out together, what little I remember of it anyway, you didn’t strike me as dangerous. I probably should’ve put two and two together that the woman alone in the woods who lived in a cottage was you, but I’ll admit, I had other things on my mind.”

A smile ghosted over her face for a moment, and she shook her head. “Neither of us was in our right mind that night. How far do we have to go? If you’re not going to send me on my way, I’d like to go somewhere more private to talk.”

Despite Christian’s warning and the fact that this woman literally rode buses for days to come and see me with no explanation, I still didn’t feel suspicious of her. Being around her settled me for some reason, and I felt myself relax as I fell into step beside her again.

“It’s about a fifteen-minute walk. If you’re tired, I can jog back and grab my car.”

She waved a hand dismissively. “No. It’s good to stretch my legs after such a long drive. Do you enjoy living here?”

I shrugged, shoving my hands into my pockets. “I used to, as a kid. It’s close to the beach. As an adult, it’s a little crowded.”

She looked over her shoulder at the small town behind us and back at me, raising an eyebrow. I grimaced.

“I know. I have issues.”

“Don’t we all,” she said mysteriously. “Don’t worry. You’ll get no judgment from me.”

It was refreshing not to have someone watching me like I was a mess or I was going to fall apart at any moment. Even Dad gave me those looks sometimes. Like he was waiting for me to lose it. I hated it. Hated the pressure of acting like everything was fine when half the time I felt like I was crawling out of my own skin from the anxiety. I wished things could be different, and I tried to let the past go, but I couldn’t pull it off. At least with Runa, I didn’t have to pretend.