Jax found a movie on the television and I closed my eyes for a few minutes as I lay back on the couch. Five minutes later I felt a small body land on me and I groaned. Hannah had a way of hitting me exactly in the solar plexus driving the air out of my body.
"I'm sorry," she said softly in my ear and I opened my eyes to look at her.
"It's okay princess," I said and smiled.
"You smell like oranges and coffee," she said.
"You smell like roses and cotton candy," I said as she slid off me and sat down next to me as I moved up to make space for her.
"Okay Shakespeare what're the plans for the rest of the weekend?" Jax asked me as I wrapped Hannah's hair around my fingers.
"Money collections and sleep," I said as I closed my eyes again.
"You promised me a tea party," Hannah said and folded her arms across her chest.
"And a tea party," I added and I knew she was smiling.
"You can come too Rev," she said sweetly and I turned my head to see him nod.
Rev especially had a very soft spot for Hannah although he never talked we had caught him multiple times watching Disney movies with her while she played princess or had tea parties and he sat quietly with a tiara on his head.
"Breakfast's ready you mongrels," Martha shouted from the kitchen and we all jumped up.
We spent the weekend collecting money from various local businesses that we controlled and I deposited half into our accounts and locked the other half in the safe in my bedroom. The safe door itself worked on my fingerprint and retina scan whereas the door that hid the safe had a combination of my fingerprint and a twelve digit pin.
I wasn't paranoid, I just weren't taking any chances. We had a shitload of cash in the house, in case we needed to use cash only and if we had to run for some reason. There were a set of fake ID's for each member of the house as well, because you never knew when shit could hit the fan.
I was still exhausted from the previous night's ceremony and I spent the weekend at home, dozing off in front of the television and the ringing phone woke me early on Sunday morning.
"This is Lucas," I answered with my eyes still closed.
"And this is Jesse, are you awake?" he asked me as I smiled.
"Just about," I said to him.
"We'll be there in an hour," he said to me and I could hear he was driving.
"We?" I asked him.
"The Elders are following behind me, they are ready to share your ceremony with you," he said. I had forgotten about that.
"I'll be waiting in the meeting room," I said and he ended the call.
I showered and dressed in a suit again. This was how you met with Elders and I sighed as I looked at my reflection. I was still a bit pale and I felt tired, I had no idea the ceremony took so much out of you but I also felt strong and confident.
"What do you think they're going to tell us?" I asked Baz.
"They'll tell you what they found out about me, you know we get reincarnated," he mused.
"So why don't you just tell me," I said.
"I remember when I'm supposed to halfling, don't judge me," he said and I saw him expel smoke from his nostrils.
"Sensitive much?" I asked him.
"Get your ass downstairs," he said to me and turned his back on me.
I had just finished my first cup of coffee when the front door opened. Jesse never knocked and I didn't expect him to either. I heard his voice as he led the three Elders to the meeting room and Reeves opened the door for Martha as she came in with muffins, pastries, and coffee.
"Thanks Martha, you're the best," I said to her.
"Of course I am dear," she said with a wink and left the room as I stood up to welcome our guests.
"Morning Elders and welcome," I said as we shook hands and they took their seats.
"There have been a few interesting developments," Elder James said as he reached for a cup and they all helped themselves to the tray on the table.
"About my dragon?" I asked him.
"Yes, we haven't seen a grey dragon in nearly four hundred years," Elder Gareth exclaimed.
"Shit you're old," I said to Baz.
"That will be Sir Baz to you then," he said and laughed in my head.
"So I take it that a grey dragon is exceptionally rare," I said prompting them to start talking.
"The only mention of Bazzoit was recorded in the late sixteen hundred's, he was paired to a Sire of the Grey family," Elder Peter said.
"And now to me… does that mean anything?" I asked them.
"It means that your dragon is one of the oldest in history and therefor probably one of the strongest we've encountered in a long while. He will be able to tell you about his abilities as you both settle with each other," Elder Gareth said.
"And that's a problem why?" I asked. I don't know why I said that but the thought just occurred to me.
"It will make you a target, as well as your family, being so young with such a strong beast will make people envy you and they will try to destroy you before you become more powerful. Remember our dragons grow with us, become stronger as we unite with them and it takes months sometimes years to realize your full potential," Elder James said.
"You should ask Bazzoit if he can camouflage himself," Elder Peter suggested.
"Can you Baz?" I asked him.
"Perhaps," he said and stared at me.
"Yes or no beast. This is for our own protection," I said to him.
"Yes I can, you're no fun," he said to me and I sighed.
"He says he can," I told them.
"You already seem to have a strong connection to him, may we speak with him?" Elder Gareth asked.
I felt Baz perk up at the mention at that and his thoughts reflected that he very much wanted to come forward. I felt him as he shifted to a more comfortable position and he flapped his wings once before folding them away.
"Speak Elder," Baz said through me as my eyes changed from green to his yellow.
"You are quite magnificent Bazzoit. What do you remember?" Elder James asked him.
"My memories are for me and my halfling alone, you should know your place Elder," Baz said as he looked him in the eye and mentally I facepalmed myself at his disrespect.
"Forgive the intrusion but you should do well to remember that you are merely a beast," Elder Peter said to him in an irritated tone of voice.
"Pfft, you may be an Elder but you are no match for me," Baz said and their eyes widened.
I felt Baz pushing forward taking control completely as he pushed himself out of me and I felt a tearing sensation as his soul tore from mine. My eyes changed back to green and Baz stood proudly next to me, the claws on his wings scraping the ceiling. My jaw dropped as I looked at him in his full glory and I could feel the sudden fear radiating from the Elders.
"I am the dragon," Baz said as he glared at them, "know your place halfling Elders."
"Baz," I said to him and he turned his head to look at me.
"Fine, but now they know not to push me," he said and I felt him merge with me after giving a small grumbling sound in their direction. When he had left my body I had felt empty somehow and that feeling of being whole and complete came back as soon as Baz joined with me again.
"What the hell was that?" Jesse asked as he looked at me with wide eyes.
"How did you do that?" Elder Peter asked me.
"I don't know, I just felt Baz move," I said honestly.
"You aren't supposed to be able to do that for at least two more years and not without training," Elder Gareth said.
"Baz is pretty impressive," I said and I saw him roll his eyes. I wanted to laugh because he looked ridiculous doing it but I kept my demeanor respectful.
"You should camouflage your beast whenever you leave the safety of your house and the less people know about your true dragon the better off your family will be. We don't mean to disrespect your dragon as I can see he is quite fierce and strong-willed, but if you want to survive until you've reached your full potential, then that is what must be done," Elder Peter said.
"I'll speak to Baz," I said as they all nodded.
"Should you require further assistance, don't hesitate to contact us. This meeting never took place and according to us this grey dragon is no different than a violet dragon, that is the official message that will be sent out. No other lair has ever had a grey dragon so nobody will know the difference or question what we say, we serve the Grey lair and have done so for a few hundred years, keep your secrets quiet," Elder James said.
"So basically you're telling me to reign my beast in and pretend not to be as strong as I really am," I said.
"Exactly, choose your battles wisely, the time for Bazzoit to be revealed will come and then you will have the element of surprise on your side," Elder Peter said.
They stood up and we shook hands again as Jesse showed them to the front door. I remained seated at the table and mulled over everything they just told us. I wondered if Baz would start remembering now that he had been fully awakened.
"Did you really have to do that?" I asked Baz.
"People should know their place and I really don't like being underestimated," he replied.
"I think one of them might have peed a little," I said and he laughed out loud and rolled onto his back.
"I like you halfling," he said after a while and I grinned at myself.
"Good Baz, seems like we're stuck with each other," I said and he sat upright again.
"Oh Lucas, we're going to have so much fun together," he said.
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not," I said as he flapped his wings again.
"We are meant to dominate Lucas, soon I'll show you how we control others," he said to me.
"How the hell is that possible?" I asked him and he smirked at me.
"Easy because we're stronger than Violet dragons," he said.
I was standing at my locker exchanging my books when I saw her walking towards me. She didn't look at me and opened her locker. She was about five lockers away from me and the hallways were pretty quiet although we weren't completely alone. It was a week later and I had seen her a few times but I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her again after she flipped me off."So are you going to tell me your name?" I asked her."Why?" she asked me as she looked at me."I'm asking nicely aren't I?""You couldn't be nice if your life depended on it," she said."Ouch, do you like hurting my feelings?" I asked her."Why are you even talking to me, I have a boyfriend and we're not exactly running in the same social circles," she said."Your boyfriend's an idiot," I said to her."And why is that?""If you were my girlfriend I wouldn't give someone the chance to talk to you like I'm doing now," I said to her."Are you flirting with me?" she asked and laughed suddenly."Why do you sound so surprised?"
We had a few outstanding payments that we needed to go collect. I hated it when people paid late because it meant that I had to go see them personally and collect my money by any means necessary which normally just involved threats but sometimes we had to get physical.Darwell Montgomery, a notorious drug dealer, owed me fifty thousand dollars. He had made the loan as a start-up for his nightclub and he'd paid back almost all of it except the last fifty grand. The last time my men were there he had produced just excuses and his time was up tonight.I still had some pent up anger and I decided to gee see him myself tonight. One way or another I'd get that fifty grand. I checked the rest of my emails and worked for a few hours, going over paperwork and financials.At eight pm we left the house and took one of the SUV's and drove to Darwell's night club. I had already gotten word that he was upstairs in his VIP section sucking face and drinking. Jax parked the SUV and we climbed out."Ev
"Lucas," she whispered my name as I stared into her eyes. I don't know how it happened exactly but one minute I was looking at her and the next minute I was kissing her.She kissed me back and goosebumps followed as her hands trailed over my shoulders. She pulled me closer and I was half on top of her my hands tangling in her hair. It was like being in a trance when I felt my hands move under the t-shirt and then I pulled it off.She looked at me and before I knew it my hand found her underwear and I pulled it off. I spread her legs with my knees as she tugged on the waistband of my sweats but her hands stilled as I slipped my finger inside her and she closed her eyes.She started rubbing her hand over my erection and I knew that if she kept this up I wouldn't stop, neither of us would and maybe, just maybe, she would regret this in the morning. I pushed myself away from her and she lifted herself on her elbows.I wanted to ask her if she was sure but instead I just kissed her again a
On Monday at school I waited for Rylee but she never showed up and her number on my phone wasn’t working anymore. I was standing at my locker when I saw her emerge from the bathrooms but she saw me and walked the other way.The day dragged on and Rev kept giving me these odd looks. I was quiet and thinking about everything I remembered and everything that had happened between me and Rylee. I saw her walk into the cafeteria but she didn’t look at me although she didn’t look like herself either.We all looked up at the same time as JD jumped up from his seat and Carson pushed him backwards. Rylee was looking at him with fear in her eyes and his face was red with rage as he looked at her and then at Rev.“Shit,” I whispered.“You slept with him!” JD yelled at Rylee and I saw her flinch and stood up.“Did you?” Carson asked her loudly.“No,” she said loudly and looked him in the eye.“Then how do you explain this?” he asked her. He shoved his phone in her face and her eyes widened as she
I joined the guys in the gym and we trained for the next two hours until Hannah pushed the door open and took Rev by his hand. I wondered sometimes if she had a crush on him and how Rev felt with all the attention that Hannah showered him with. For someone that didn’t talk he had forged quite a bond with her.“Hannah, you do know that Rev’s actually our friend,” Jax said.“Just until we get married,” she said and we all stood watching her with open mouths as she led Rev from the room.“Did she just say she was going to marry Rev?” Preston asked.“Poor Rev,” I said and we all laughed.“Are we still heading in to Chicago tonight?” Preston asked me.“Yeah, I need to meet with Jasper O’Connell,” I answered.“Who’s he?” Jax asked.“He’s the Sire of the Chicago lair, we’re negotiating the terms of our alliance tonight,”
Rylee ignored me on Monday and she was never alone. She looked worried and her eyes looked sad and something else I couldn’t place. She ignored my texts too and I was close to losing my temper. We were sitting in the cafeteria having lunch and I couldn’t help but stare at her.“Lucas, I have to talk to you about something,” Jax said as I sat down.“What’s up Jax?” I asked him still looking at Rylee.“I’ve found the one,” he said to me.“The one what?” I asked not really listening to him.“My bonded half… it’s Chris… her smell is intoxicating and I know you’re protective but I’m not going to reject this bond,” he said to me and my head snapped to his.“What?” I asked him thinking I didn’t hear him correctly.“Chris and I have been bonded,” he said to me.“No,” I said to him.“It
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Chris asked me angrily as I neared the steps.“You’re sixteen Chris, he had no right to push this bond on you,” I said to her my anger flaring up again.“He didn’t,” she said to me and I looked at her neck, it was unmarked.“Shit,” I said.“We both realized it this morning when we bumped into each other in the hallway and he was on the verge of rejecting me. I said to him I wouldn’t reject this bond even if I always thought of him as a brother. You know very well that we can’t fight it,” she said to me.“I thought he marked you,” I said to her.“You’re a shithead because the mark will only appear when I’m seventeen,” she said to me.“I know,” I said as she turned around and left the front door open behind her.Jax wasn’t in the living room and I went up to the second floor to his bedroom and knocked on his door. I knew he was in there. I could sense and smell him. He opened the door and looked at me before turning his back on me leaving the door open
I sat in the dining room but I couldn’t eat, I was nervous. It was Monday and Rylee’s birthday, she would know I was her bonded half the moment she saw me. I had no idea when JD’s birthday was because he would’ve known already if he had turned seventeen.“Have a good day at school,” Martha yelled as we headed to the front door.“Thanks!” Preston yelled back and slammed the door shut.I drove to school alone and much slower than normal. I parked in my usual spot and sat staring out in front of me until I heard the bell ring. Great, now I was late for class. I walked to my locker getting my books and headed to our homeroom.“You’re late Mr. Grey,” Ms. Lucy said as I opened the door.My eyes found Rylee and she gasped audibly. My eyes flickered between green and yellow as I took her scent in, it was much stronger now that she was seventeen and she looked at me with disbelief all over her face. JD was watching both of us and I saw the exact moment he realized what had happened.“Sorry,” I