Chapter 33

33

O ctavia

I can't believe this. I can't!

The pilot takes my arm and tries to pull me away. "It isn't safe. You need to come with us." The other pilot is halfway down the beach already.

"No!" I yank my hand free. I can't leave him. I won't. It's Creed. Holy shit, it's him. He's here, he's fighting Tank.

He's…he's losing.

"No!" I scream, tears coursing down my cheeks.

The pilot tugs on my arm again. I wish he would leave me alone.

"I'm fine," I tell him.

"You're not fine. This isn't fine," the pilot tries again. "Please, you have to come with us." When I don't respond, he says, "Okay. Whatever! Suit yourself, you crazy idiot, but I'm out of here." I don't watch as he runs away. My eyes are glued to the dragons.

Creed staggers back to his feet. Tank hit him in the ribs…again. He knows it's Creed's weak spot right now, and of course, the bastard plays dirty. He looks like he's enjoying himself. Tank looks at me for a few long moments before looking back at Creed. He could probably end it right now, but he doesn't. He is gloating. I can see it. I know that's what he's doing. I hate him.

"Creed!" I scream. "Please," I whisper. "Please." I look up at the stars in the sky.

When I look back at Creed, he seems to shake it off. I see him visibly grow bigger, stronger, somehow. His spikes seem to get sharper. His scales bristle. He growls so low that it has gooseflesh breaking out all over my body. Creed attacks Tank, moving quicker than I thought possible. He slashes his claws across Tank's throat, drawing blood and causing him to roar in pain. As Tank stumbles backward, Creed lands a series of powerful blows, each one harder than the last.

Yes!

This is good.

Tank tries to blow flames, but Creed knocks his head to the side, sending the fire into the ocean instead of into Creed. Thick steam rises. Then the black dragon tries to launch himself into the sky, but Creed bites down on his left leg. There is a sickening crunch. Creed tosses him to the side like he weighs nothing. Tank crashes onto the beach, bellowing as he rakes through the sand, leaving a deep trench. He tries to stand, but his leg won't work. It's broken and bleeding.

Tank shifts. "Please," he says. "Spare me." He puts up his hands. "Let me return to the jungle. I will leave you in peace. The human, too. Please."

Creed blasts the male with flames so hot they're more red than orange. Tank disintegrates into ash in a few seconds flat. Then the waves roll in, and what is left of Tank is washed away. I feel nothing but relief.

Creed shifts. It takes him a few seconds. He groans as he becomes human again, clutching his side.

Then I'm running to him. Running faster than I ever have in all my life.

"Creed!" I scream, the waves lapping at my ankles, wetting my jeans. I throw myself into his arms. He groans again. I pull back. "Shit! Sorry. I'm hurting you."

His arms are around me, pulling me close. "You're not hurting me."

He's breathing heavily.

"I can't believe it's you. How did you get here? How did you know? What just happened?" Then I hug him again. "I'm so glad you're here. So, so glad. You saved me…again," I say into his chest. He's so warm. So real. I didn't think I'd ever see him again. I look up, wanting to see him.

He frames my face with his hands and brushes his lips against mine. Then he puts his forehead to mine for a few moments, closing his eyes.

He pulls back, looking me in the eye. "I'm here because I hoped to stop your flight, which left early. I was standing there, feeling sorry for myself, watching your plane leave when I saw Tank bring it down. You know the rest."

"Okay. Why did you want to stop the flight? I don't understand."

"Isn't that obvious? I didn't want you to leave. I still don't want you to leave."

I frown. "Do they have mating ring thingies with more than one woman as well? Because if they do, I'm a one-man kind of girl. I don't share. I won't!"

He laughs. He's gorgeous when he laughs. Too pretty to be legal. I want to kick him. "What are you laughing at, mister? This isn't funny. It isn't funny at all." I put my hands on my hips.

"I don't believe in mating circles at all. Let's be clear about that. Aspen and I had a talk, and she made me realize a couple of things."

"Yeees?" I'm feeling skeptical. I'm waiting for the shoe to drop. Then I realize what it is he is trying to tell me. "Oh shit! I know what you're going to say."

He frowns. "What am I going to say?" He folds his arms, giving me his full attention.

"That you and Aspen are going to be married, and you wanted me to attend as the maid of honor, which is only right since I got the two of you back together."

"You did, did you?" It's clear he's trying not to laugh, which is pissing me off. I'm glad he thinks that this is all a big joke.

"I can't do it, Creed. I just can't. It would be super weird and really wrong because…I…because…"

"Because?" He lifts his perfect brows, and I want to slap him.

"Because I have feelings for you, you big asshole. I can't believe you haven't noticed. Okay," I roll my eyes and groan, "fine. I can believe you haven't noticed because I've been trying to hide them. I was always going to go back home, and then Aspen came back, and she's so pretty. Holy shit, no wonder you've been carrying a torch for her for all this time. I think I might be a little in love with her myself."

His eyes widen.

"I don't like women. Relax, I'm not going to steal her from you."

He laughs again.

"You'd better stop that. It's irritating me." I wag a finger at him.

"Can you stop talking for half a second?"

"I told you I struggle when I'm nervous. It would seem that I am…nervous, that is. I'm feeling very nervous right at this minute."

"Why?"

"I don't know why. I nearly died. You nearly died. You're standing here…on the beach…about to tell me something that could change my whole life. I don't know what it is. I'm hoping it's good, but I know it might be bad and—"

"Shut up, Octavia." Creed takes my hands. "I have feelings for you, too. I saw Aspen. She came to the house. I felt nothing. Not a thing for her. She was the one who had to point out to me how I was feeling about you. She told me to go after you. She told me you felt the same way about me. And you know what?"

My mouth has fallen open, but I force it to close and to move. "What?"

"She was right. I'm totally in love with you."

"Shit! Really?"

"Yes. I didn't see it at first. I thought you wanted to leave. You seemed hell-bent. I came after you to ask if you would think of staying for a while." His whole expression softens. "Maybe we can get to know each other better. You can even stay in the spare room…I mean, if you want. There would be no pressure. Just stay for a while. Let's spend time together. Let's see where this goes."

"You had me at ‘shut up,' and you lost me at ‘spare room'."

He laughs again. This time, it's a little less annoying. "You don't want to stay in the spare room?"

I shake my head.

He gets a dark look, his jaw tightening. "You don't want to live with me at all?"

I shake my head.

His whole face falls. "You want to leave the island? Is that it?"

"Shut up, Creed. It's my turn to speak. I pretended not to care because I thought you were in love with Aspen and heartbroken over what happened between you. You were so mopey about her having moved on. You were hiding in the jungle to avoid confronting her again. Then we get back, and she's been waiting for you all this time. What was I supposed to think? I felt like I was in the way. I wanted you to be happy. I care for you. I'm…" I swallow hard. "I'm in love with you, too. I want to stay. I want to be with you."

"You do?"

"Most definitely." I smile at him. "But not in the spare room. It'll never be in the spare room."

Creed picks me up off my feet and kisses me, and it's weird because I know that this is it. He is it for me. I don't need more time. I just know.

I love him. I love my dragon man. This feels like a fairy tale. Like every romance novel I ever read. It feels like a gushy movie. My gushy movie. I can't wait for the rest of our lives to unfold. It's going to be a beautiful tale.