Page 13 of Unforeseen Mate

“If you truly believe that you are one sick puppy—or rather dragon. Maybe that fire in your belly has fried your brain.”

“You are behaving in an unseemly manner,” said Strode.

“Yes, but you can’t do anything about that until Nora completes her assignment.”

“But once she has done that, I have no reason to keep you alive.”

“If you want to die, the fastest way I can think of to accomplish that would be to welch on your agreement with Nora. If she’s even half as good as you say, your life won’t be worth spit.”

“True. But I could keep you alive to keep her in line,” he said with a malevolent smile.

Now that wasn’t something that Fallon had thought of.

“I hope you don’t mind a change of subject, but I find it difficult to believe you can change into a dragon.”

“Not change, shift. Your mind cannot conceptualize what I am as either a shifter or a dragon. But as I recall you are oneof the few in your field who do not dismiss the possibilities explored by cryptozoologists.”

“I don’t dismiss anything out of hand. Some of the documentation I’ve seen for the possibility that dragons once existed or that Yeti still do is compelling.”

“Let me enlighten you. It is said that those of us who can shift between man and beast have existed for as long or longer than non-shifters. When the world was far wilder and even more dangerous than the one in which we now find ourselves, the ability to shift from one form to another was natural selection at its best. It allowed us to thrive in environments practically inhospitable to humans. We have enhanced genetic immunity, longer lives, greater strength—all of which propelled us to the top of the evolutionary ladder.” Strode was smug, to say the least.

“Your arrogance and belief in your absolute superiority probably didn’t hurt.”

Strode chuckled. “There are many cultures that recorded our existence, but it was dismissed by others. Some say that the Druids were dragon-shifters, which could account for their ability to manipulate time and place.”

“So, you’re telling me Merlin was a dragon-shifter?”

“Merlin,” he scoffed. “He wasn’t even a druid. He was just a man who learned how to use magic, what most call science these days, and managed to convince a king he was responsible for all the good that Arthur did. But in the end, it was Morganna and her son, Mordred, who prevailed.”

He leaned towards her, and it took a supreme act of will for Fallon not to recoil.

Strode dropped his voice. “While there is no evidence to support it, I have always believed that Morganna and her followers might have been dragons. But that is a debate left for another time. Eventually, the various shifters became clans, andthe clans came together to put an end to the fighting and formed a Ruling Council.”

“Then why is there a Resistance? That would seem to me to be an indicator that your superior Ruling Council isn’t quite as egalitarian as you’d like me to believe.”

“They made the mistake of believing that all shifters are created equal. They aren’t. Those who saw the truth of it formed their own private army known as the Shadow League. There were members of the League who realized the Ruling Council had outlived its usefulness and turned to me for leadership and guidance.”

“Are there others like you? Dragons, I mean.”

He nodded. “There are, but most are either neutral or waiting to see the outcome.”

“Most, but not all?”

“Yes, many except the Phantom Fire—a clan of immortal dragons who have thrown in their lot with the Resistance.”

Fallon ducked her head and looked at him, smiling as she circled around him. “And you don’t like that. In fact, you’re worried about them.”

“The Resistance is doomed. Colby Reynolds,” he practically spat the name, “has convinced them he has spies everywhere, but he’s not the only one who has an intelligence gathering network. They think they are so clever, but they aren’t. Even now, the Phantom Fire is developing cracks within their own clan.”

In other words, Strode had spies within the Resistance. If this fight was as important as he was telling her—and she had no reason to doubt it—that was important for them to find out. Strode seemed concerned only with the fight among the shifters, but Fallon had no doubt if the dragon-shifter and his Shadow League prevailed, the human population would not fare well.

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“You’re such a bright girl. I am suggesting that all great civilizations have had scribes who recorded history so that those who follow will know the truth.”

Fallon smiled. “But history is always written by the victor, and truth is often the first casualty in what is recorded.”

“I would ensure its accuracy. Can you really tell me that the idea of shifters doesn’t intrigue you? Doesn’t it answer some of the questions you’ve always had? Would it be so wrong to remain here and do my bidding while ensuring Nora remains faithful and alive?”

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