Page 42 of Surge of Storms

“A female dragon? Awesome!”

“Well, keep up the good work!”

“Will do.”

“And stay safe,” I add.

“You know I will.”

We say goodbye and end the call. I tell the guys, who are in the middle of their own conversation, and then everyone decides that we should shift and show this new man, Gael, a little more about being dragons.

Zane leans in. “Granger must make sure to be a mighty and frightening alpha when we shift. The betas must be sure that we are a power to be feared.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Granger asks, looking skeptical.

“You shall figure it out,” Zane says, patting his arm.

We go out to the cliff and walk Gael through how you shift and unshift, reassuring him that we’ll be there every step of the way. After a few minutes, he shifts into a pale yellow dragon, much smaller than us, and we shift into our dragon selves.

On the base, the dragons gather to watch us in human form. Granger leaps into the air first, a massive black dragon, and a storm rolls in over his head. The sky swirls with blackened clouds, lightning strikes, and thunder booms. If I didn’t know him, I’d be afraid of his power. It feels… like being inside a bolt of electricity.

It’s pretty awesome that he’s learned to control it, rather than being scared of it.The process wasn’t quick, but he mastered it, just like everything else he does.

Granger throws back his head and roars before shooting fire from his mouth. My heart races a little faster, and I realize that I find him attractive, human or dragon form, it doesn't matter. This whole display is doing things to me. But because I have no desire to fornicate in dragon form in front of dozens of witnesses, so I swallow the feeling down.

We launch into the sky, and Granger slowly clears the storm away. We show Gael how to ride the wind, and how to defend himself in the air. By the time we’re done, he seems more confident. We land once more and shift back, another thing he seems to be happy to be able to do.

As we start walking back to the dragons, I realize they’re all still watching, and if I thought they were wary of us before, it’s nothing to how they are now. As we pass, heads bow and gazes dart, usually from me to Granger.

Zane strides into the middle of them, and they flinch when he claps his hands together. “Now, for our next lesson. An important lesson. Who is ready to try atoilet?”

I try not to laugh as I look at Aydan, Granger, and Evander, but we’re all grinning. Toilets. A definite requirement around here, and the next step to this new era of dragons.

FIFTEEN

Samantha

The movie ends,and I try to be subtle as I wipe a tear away. But being crammed on the bed with the four men makes it pretty damn hard to do anything in a subtle way. I feel Granger’s body tense beneath me, and then the pressure of all eyes on me.

“Are you crying?” Granger asks.

“No,” I say, then sniff before I can stop myself.

Aydan laughs. “Why are you crying?”

Ever After is one of my all-time favorite movies. There’s nothing not to love. A beautiful princess. A handsome prince. A tragic story that brings them together. And a whole lot of laughter.

But before I can explain any of that, Zane says, “It is because she ended up with the prince after all she has been through. They deserve each other.” His words are broken by little gasps of breath.

I look up to see tears rolling down his face. “Oh, Zane,” I whisper.

Sitting up, I reach for him and cup his face. He presses his tear-stained cheek against my palm, his beautiful pale blue eyes looking even more beautiful when filled with tears. The poor thing. He’s never watched a movie before. We probably should have started with a less emotional one.

“Just remember, they’re actors. None of it is real.”

He sniffs. “It felt real to me.”

I smile. “To me too.”

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