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Mother of Dragon

Harry paced in her bedroom, practicing what to say to her best friend—the literal Mother of the Dragon in the backyard. Did Harry just blurt out, “Congrats! It’s a dragon!”? Or did she make some inane small talk, give a little dish about Jax, then casually slip it in with, “Oh, by the way, you’re the mother of a fae dragon shifter”?

She didn’t know if a best way existed in which to break the news that didn’t sound far-fetched. She spent so much time deliberating on best tactics that she heard Nora’s return; and from the sound of it, she brought a few extra bodies.

Elodie’s and Lenny’s voices laughed downstairs, and the sound of Grace’s very human chuckle filled Harry’s ears right before the sound of a fast-moving tornado tore up the stairs.

Grace, rosy cheeked and grinning, flew into the room, her happiness pulling a smile to Harry’s face. “You’re doing okay?”

“Are you freaking kidding me? I’m a fucking dragon, Harry!”

They laughed, falling into each other’s arms in a crashing hug.

“But are you okay?” Harry asked, worried.

“I mean, I know this poses a new set of questions and all, but I can’t explain it. I feel… more at ease. It’s almost like I can feel her right there, close enough to talk to and I kinda feel like she’s trying to communicate, but I can’t really understand her. Yet.” Grace flung herself on the bed. “Jax said it’s a little different from what he shares with his cougar, so I’m not really sure he understands, but maybe there’ll be some information in that fae book.”

“This definitely narrows the focus by a lot, so I’m sure we’ll be able to find something. But first, we should—”

“Call Mom and then go eat.” On cue, her stomach growled, a loud rumble through the room. “Nora wasn’t kidding. I could eat about a hundred burgers right now, but I’ll start with the lasagna she just put in the oven. And the breadsticks. And anything else she puts in front of me. But first… Mom.”

“Right. Cassie.” Harry glanced at her phone as if her best friend would jump through the screen. “Do you want to do the honors of breaking the news?”

“Nope. All you.” Grace beamed. “But put her on video chat because I have got to see her face.”

Swearing internally, Harry dialed her friend’s number. It took a few rings for Cassie to switch over from regular call to video, and when she did, her friend looked wiped out.

“Hey, you two.” Cassie smiled tiredly. “I wasn’t expecting a check-in tonight. Is everything okay?”

“You look tired,” Harry said, concerned.

“Eh. I’m fine. What’s up?”

“So you know how you used to rag on me for enjoying those dragon-shifter romance novels, and you scoffed, saying I should read something a bit more reality based and stick to wolves or something?”

Cassie perked up, no longer looking tired as she leaned closer to the screen. “Yeah. Why?”

“Well, it turns out dragons are pretty damn real.”

Grace clutched Harry’s wrist and pulled the phone toward her. “And I’m one of them! Mom, I’m a freaking dragon shifter! A dragon ! With a tail and wings—oh my freaking god—you should see my wings! They’re fucking huge ! I mean, all of me was huge. I think I stood at least six feet over Jax, and he is one big-ass dude!”

Cassie stilled in the screen so abruptly Harry thought the video froze until her friend laughed, and then laughed harder. “Good one, guys. Holy crap. I almost bought that for one split second, I’m that tired, but—”

“Mom, we’re not kidding.”

“Really, it was a good try.”

“Mom…”

“Maybe if you—”

“Cass,” Harry interjected, giving only a slight nod. “You’re the mother of a dragon. Surprise!”

Cassie’s gaze bounced from one to the other. “Are you fucking serious right now? Swear it to me. Both of you. Right now.”

They each held up their right hands.

Harry vowed first. “We’re not kidding, Cass.”

Cassie didn’t speak.

“I think we broke her,” Grace whispered.

“Nah. Give her a minute.”

Five seconds went by, and then Cassie squealed so loud, Harry ripped the phone away to save their eardrums. Her friend hurled question after question, most of which Grace was able to answer as she commandeered Harry’s phone, mother and daughter catching up.

Harry motioned she was headed downstairs, and Grace nodded, indicating she’d be down in a minute. Harry found Jax on the bottom step, prepped to head up.

“There you are.” Jax smirked. “I was about to see if you needed some moral support to break the news.”

“News broken. Cassie’s definitely shocked, but she and Grace are talking right now.” Harry glanced around to see that not only had Nora brought Lenny and Elodie back to the house but Gavin, Silas, and Maddox had returned, too. “It’s a regular party, huh?”

“You know Nora. We should probably be surprised that the entire town isn’t in the backyard right now.”

“Very, very true.”

“I can’t believe it.” Elodie approached, pulling Harry into a hug. “Our little Grace? A dragon?”

Harry chuckled. “Looks like it.”

“So what does this mean? This should definitely make it easier for her to get a grip on her gifts, right?”

“Hoping that we can find more on fae dragon shifters in that tome Tomlyn lent us, but, yes. Grace discovered a few talents on her own, but we have no clue what others she should be aware of, or anything else that may be different for her with being a fae shifter.”

Gavin nodded. “I can take a stab at the book for a while if you’d like. You have a lot on your shoulders right now with Grace and all, and—”

“And it’s research,” Silas pointed out, “and if it involves an ancient book of any kind, this fella gets a raging boner.”

The vampire scowled at his friend but didn’t deny it. “I wouldn’t mind scoping it out.”

Harry smiled. “Thank you, Gavin—that would be great. But I should warn you Tomlyn said we’d only have the ability to search for answers to the things directly related to what we needed. I don’t really claim to understand what exactly he meant, but I don’t know what kind of wide research you’ll be able to do.”

“I’ll be perfectly content finding out what I can for Grace. Thank you for entrusting me with that.”

“Thank you for offering, because it was giving me a damn headache.”

“So what’s next?” Lenny asked.

“Next?” Elodie grinned. “Next, we win Mud Runner, because there’s no way we’re losing with a dragon on our team.”

“No one is to put any additional pressure on Grace because of this. Am I clear?” Harry warned. “She seems to be taking this in stride, but I want to make sure there’s no delayed reaction.”

“She won’t get any pressure from me,” Elodie promised.

Harry shot her friend a look.

“What? She won’t! I swear!”

“Food’s ready,” Nora called from the kitchen.

“I better get Grace. Her stomach sounded like it was seconds away from digesting itself.” Harry turned, and nearly ran into the teenager herself.

Except this teen didn’t look happy.

Or particularly hungry either.

She looked pissed, her eyes a molten gold lava.

“What’s wrong?” Harry studied the girl for some sign, her gaze dropping to the phone in Grace’s hand. “Is it your mom? What happened?”

“Mom said she’s coming to Fates Haven.” Grace, her voice hard, tossed Harry’s phone into her hands. “And you may want to check your inbox because someone named Vicky Harting sent you an email. She said they’re eager for your return to New York City and can’t wait to hear from you.”

“Wait. What?” Harry tried connecting the dots. “You read my emails?”

“That’s what you have to say? Not a response to the fact that first, you drag me out here without asking my opinion and now that I’ve learned to love it here just like you told me I would, you want to uproot us all over again?” Pillowy smoke clouds escaped Grace’s nostrils. “Well, I’m not going. You can go ahead and leave everything and everyone you care about all over again, but I won’t do it.”

She turned and stormed out, bursting past a surprised Nora. The loud rolling thunder indicated she’d shed her human suit the second she stepped outside.

A pin could’ve dropped and echoed like a cannon in the quiet room. All eyes fastened on Harry, but the ones that weighed the heaviest came from Jax. His gray eyes turned stormy as he stared at her.

Everyone’s expressions went from shock to hurt, to a wary acceptance, but she went back to Jax.

“Look, I’m not exactly sure what’s happening here, but I can explain…”

He shook his head, his face impassive. “I better go make sure Grace doesn’t burn down the entire town.”

“I’ll come with you,” Silas volunteered, quickly followed by Gavin and Maddox.

Elodie, her face crestfallen, spoke first. “You’re leaving Fates Haven? Again?”

“No. I mean… I don’t know. I’m not sure what this email is but—”

Lenny scoffed. “But Vicky Harting seems to think you’re on the way back to New York. Or are you saying you don’t know a Vicky?”

“No, I do.” Harry slowly connected the dots. “She was on the board of my company, the one that held the vote to give me the boot.”

“And now it sounds like they want you back. Congratulations.”

“Just because they maybe only now see their mistake doesn’t mean I’m heading home.”

“So New York is home?”

Harry’s mouth opened and closed, mentally cursing at her slip. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“So you’re staying in Fates Haven.”

“I want to. I haven’t had an opportunity to give what comes next much thought. I’ve been so focused on Grace and—”

“That’s a crock of shit, and you know it,” Lenny called her out.

“I—”

“I’ve heard enough. Thank you for the food, Nora, but I’m calling it a night.” Lenny gave the older witch a hug and stormed out.

“Sorry, but she’s my ride home.” Elodie did a quick, awkward wave, and hightailed it after her.

Soon enough it was just Nora and Harry, the latter sinking onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

Nora followed, taking the seat next to her. “Well, you mucked this one up real good, didn’t you, kiddo?”

Harry laughed without a speck of humor. “I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t, Aunt Nora.”

“Do you really have plans to head back to New York?”

“Plans? No. I had no plans that didn’t involve finding answers for Grace.” She looked at her aunt. “I haven’t thought about the city for I don’t even know how long. I swear.”

“I believe you, sweetheart.”

“You do?”

“Absolutely. But even though you had no concrete plans to head back to New York, you also haven’t made plans to stay here.”

“But—”

“I know.” Nora patted her hand. “It’s been quite the whirlwind since you returned, but things are shifting—no pun intended. Grace is beginning to find her path, and it’s about time that you begin to forge your own. Make those plans. And even more important, make those plans known to those that love you with all their hearts.”

Aunt Nora was right, and Harry would kick her own ass if she were that flexible. Hell, everyone probably thought she always had one foot outside Fates Haven, prepped to run. And she couldn’t really blame them, considering she’d given them no solid reason to believe otherwise… and then came Vicky’s out-of-the-blue email, playing right into their fears.

And hers.

The back door opened and slammed closed, a pissed and very human Grace storming through, but not before grabbing the entire lasagna casserole. She paused at the steps to throw Harry a hard glare.

“I am not proud of my outburst, or the way I just scaled out, but I meant what I said, Harry,” Grace said, her voice stern and sure. “You dragged me here kicking and screaming, and now, if you think I’m leaving, you’ll have to drag out a snarling four-ton dragon. You should probably start some weight training.”

She stormed up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door. A second later, a truck engine revved, and Harry knew before she glanced out the front window that she’d see Jax’s taillights disappearing down the drive.

Fuck. This night kept getting better and better.

“It’ll all be okay.” Nora came up behind her and wrapped her in a warm hug. “It’s nothing a simple conversation won’t fix. For now, I think everyone just needs to clear their heads and cool their tempers.”

That sounded good in theory, but she didn’t know how well that would translate to reality.