Page 6 of Blood Brother Cursed

Astrid turned her back to the ocean, fully facing the man. Then she took several more steps back, regretting the rather childish gesture as the cold began to sink into her bones. The water was much colder than the water along the Atlantic and certainly the Gulf. Now it was soaking the bottom of her shorts and threatening to do the same to her butt. Still, she strove to keep the regret from her face as she finally stopped to see the man’s reaction to her antics.

The man had walked toward her, his muscles taut as if he had decided shewasdoing exactly what he thought.

Holding her hands on her hips, Astrid slowly drew them up over her head. Behind her, two large pillars formed, and at the ends were fists. She made a gesture with her hands, sending the water racing toward the shore. It lapped up against her butt as the two pillars turned into high crests, causing her to shiver. Fortunately, he didn’t notice because his wide eyes were watching the water barreling down on him. It was too late to do anything about it. All he could do was stand there and be soaked. As the waves reached the shore and moved up it a little before crashing down in an overlapping X, he just watched them.

Then he shifted.

When the water struck the sand, there was now a very wet and somewhat angry-looking black dragon who was very focused on her. His eyes were on her, and the blue was flashing like the new flames that had just sprung to life. He shook his massive body, throwing water off in all directions. When he stopped, he turned and breathed fire on his back and body. Even from her place in the ocean, she could see the water evaporate from his impressive scales.

Astrid mouthed the words that were repeating in her head. “Oh shit.”

Once dry, the dragon moved forward with some surprisingly smooth steps. Now it was her turn to stand there stunned, regretting trying to dominate someone she didn’t know.

Once the dragon reached the water’s edge, he shifted again. He didn’t stop walking, though. Phoenix kept walking toward her, looking… annoyed or angry? She wasn’t sure. His pants were getting wet, but he didn’t seem to give it a second thought.

When he was only a few feet away, the water just halfway up his calves, he leaned forward. His face was about two inches from hers as he said in a low voice. “Was that really necessary?”

She folded her arms over her chest, her thoughts under control. “Not all women are weak creatures who need saving.”

“I wasn’t offering you help because you’re a woman. I was offering it because you clearly have shifter blood. And in my experience, that means a less-than-amazing life, a host of unanswered questions, and a lot of mistrust among both men and women.”

“Well, your experience and mine clearly aren’t the same because I grew up with my family and they helped me foster my abilities. I don’t need saving, and I sure as hell don’t need your help.”

Phoenix held up his hands. “My mistake.” He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a very wet card. “You’ll have to excuse the state of my card since a rather hostile woman decided to douse me.”

She gave him a wry look, but the man was not deterred. “Since you don’t need help, perhaps you are in a position to offer help. We need more people who have a handle on their abilities to help those who have not had the same kind of supportive family.”

Astrid looked at the card as she asked, “Who carries business cards in this day and age?”

“The kind of people who know better than to rely on technology.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me you are a Luddite.” She rolled her eyes, “People really need to realize tech isn’t going away and…”

With a heavy sigh, the shifter said, “Some of the women who come to us can take out technology, and since their abilities aren’t honed, he held up a hand to her.

“Uh-oh!” She wasn’t sure if he was being serious. “If that’s true, that’s… terrifying.”

He nodded. “Yes. That’s why we are trying to help them before things get really bad for them and the people around them. I mean, one woman blew up a facility with her abilities when she got really angry.”

“Like a nuclear explosion?”

First, he placed a hand over his mouth; then he shook his head. “Why in the world do you go to nuclear? And if that happened, don’t you think it would have been in the news?”

“Sorry, Phoenix, but I don’t know a hell of a lot about this stuff. My family was great but insular. Also, I just moved here from the other side of the country, so whatever passes for news here probably wasn’t more than a blip back home.”

He looked at her for a moment. “So…” Then he seemed to think better of it and shook his head again. “Well, you have my card. If you want to help, we would love to have you.”

Aggravated by the guy’s attitude, she reached out and put the card in his pocket, her fingers brushing his chest. “I won’t be needing that.”

She then strode past him, not really caring if he followed her or found out where she lived. He was annoying – very annoying, but she did not think he was any kind of a threat despite the fact that he was literally a dragon. Once she wasin the woods, Astrid finally let herself shiver. She turned and looked. When she didn’t see Phoenix, she shifted and ran back to the park.

By the time she got home, she was ready for a nice hot shower and a bit of leftovers. The boxes no longer bothered her after all of the unexpected excitement. When she lay down to sleep, she promised to stay home and figure out her home before going out again. The last thing she wanted to do was encounter either of those guys again.

I wonder if I can order groceries? If not, I guess I’ll need to figure out which places deliver.

With that thought going through her head, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2

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