Page 12 of Her Enemy Dragon Captor (Dream Team Shifters #5)

CHAPTER 12

A lex watched Jane sleeping, her features softened in the early morning light filtering through the cabin windows. His dragon hummed with contentment, finally at peace after days of restless pushing. But it wasn’t just the relief from the immediate stress, and the feeling that he had finally taken a huge step in his mission. No, it was beyond all of that.

He'd found his mate. And she'd accepted him—accepted what he was.

Well, part of what he was. Most of it anyway.

There were still a few details they needed to cover.

He pushed the thought from his mind.

Can’t I just revel in this ‘win’ for a few hours at least?

Her partial shift had been more spectacular than he'd dared hope. Those beautiful iridescent scales that had appeared on her forearms, the way her eyes had momentarily flashed with inner fire—she was definitely no mere gecko. She was a dragon.

My dragon mate.

He gazed at her there, sleeping soundly, watching the gentle rise and fall of her breath. The curve of her lips, the sweep of her lashes against her cheeks - everything about her called to something primal within him. Even in sleep, she radiated a strength that matched his own. For the first time in his life, he felt truly complete.

His phone buzzed.

Dylan.

For the most part he loved being part of a team. And an elite one at that. But there were times...like right now that it was beyond annoying.

Can we announce your mating to the council yet?

Just as he finished reading the first text a second came through.

Things are getting desperate.

He glanced at the new message.

Oh really? Gee, I had no idea.

Alex silenced it without responding. The council could wait. And he deserved at least, what? Five minutes to relax with his mate?

Truth was be needed more than that. Yes, he had ‘secured’ her... but he had hardly laid everything out on the table. He needed a little more time to figure out just how to do that without losing the gains he had just made. Surely, despite her outward thrill...and based on last night...she was very thrilled – as was he. But despite that she needed some time to integrate all that had been revealed to her. To heap even more on her right away would not only be cruel, but potentially dangerous.

He was already impressed with her resilience, but he didn’t want to push his luck. Or break her brain. No, he must protect her.

Keep her safe.

Saving the universe would have to wait a few days.

He needed time to figure out how to explain everything to her without sending Jane running for the hills. The partial shift was one thing, but the rest? Alien planets? Portals? An imminent invasion by mutant creatures? Would she take all that in stride too?

Or what did they say here? Totally lose her shit.

That was it. He did not want her to totally lose her shit.

Jane stirred beside him, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw him, her face lit up with a smile that made his chest practically burst with a mixture of feelings he felt ill equipped to handle.

Pride, warmth... love.

But he was a fast learner. He would certainly learn for her.

"Hey," she said, voice husky with sleep.

"Hey yourself," he replied, returning her smile and running the back of a few fingers across her cheek. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone plugged me into a wall socket and then rewired my entire nervous system." She sat up, examining her arms where the scales had appeared. "And then there was that whole dragon thing.” She gave him a wink.

A deep chuckle escaped his lips. “You are incredible.”

“No, you are the incredible one...” She gave him a flirtatious eye roll. “But that other thing. Wow. Was that real? That was... I don't even have words. I still can't believe it. A dragon? Me?"

"You," Alex confirmed, brushing a strand of hair from her face. His dragon preened at the contact, even as he felt his sex begin to awaken again.

"God, I'm still processing that feeling... knowing I'm a dragon," she said, eyes bright with excitement. "When can we do it for real? I want to fly with you... as a dragon. I mean, I believe it, of course, but I want to see it! To go all the way... full dragon!" A delightful laugh escaped her lips.

"Soon," he promised. "I just need to handle a few things first." He was still trying to figure out his next move.

Should I just tell her right now?

Alex felt the words on the tip of his tongue—about portals and alien planets and imminent threats. Maybe she could handle it.

Why not just rip the bandage off completely...

"Right, okay, she replied easily. Truth is, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all," Jane said, running her fingers over her forearms where the scales had appeared. "It's a lot to process. I mean, my head is absolutely spinning."

You think that’s a lot to process...

He laid back in the bed and stared at the ceiling.

No, this was not the time. My first instinct was correct.

"So, what exactly is this place? You're helping people like me learn how to turn into dragons?" Her head was spinning it seemed – with more questions.

"Or bears..." Alex added, trying to keep his tone light while carefully selecting what information to share. "Or wolves, tigers... whatever their inner animal happens to be."

Jane's eyes widened. "This is incredible...I can't believe there's this whole hidden world I never knew about." She gripped his arm, excitement bubbling over. "Are there a lot of people like us? How does it work? Is it genetic? How did you know I was?—"

"Whoa," Alex laughed, in spite of the fact that he was inwardly wrestling with what and how much to reveal at the moment. Still, his dragon hummed with pride at her enthusiasm. "Slow down. We'll get to everything."

"God, I'm so relieved," Jane sighed, leaning back against the pillows. "I was sure you were a nutjob." She elbowed him. “Well, almost sure.’

Alex relaxed a bit.

This will work out. She’s already relaxing, see?

"So, what's the next step?" Jane asked, propping herself up on one elbow. "Does this mean I get to attend the secret shifter meetings now?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “Maybe I get a special bracelet? Ohhh...or one of those cool dragon necklaces like you have?

Alex tensed slightly. Her enthusiasm was endearing, but complicated. "We need to take this slowly. But I suppose we can talk about a bracelet."

"Move slowly? Why? I want to learn everything," she said. "How to control it, how to fully shift—oh! Are there any other dragon shifters I could meet – besides you of course? Are there training facilities – like shifter gyms?"

The barrage of questions made Alex's head spin. "Jane?—"

"God the bureau is going to flip," she continued, the FBI agent in her clearly resurfacing. "This changes everything about how we understand human evolution, biology— and the security implications..."

"Jane, you must know you can't tell anyone," Alex cut her off flatly. He had thought that much was a given.

She blinked, surprised by his tone. "Right... not right away of course. But eventually... I mean, the world needs to know Alex! This is incredible!"

He stiffened almost immediately. And not in the way he had had in mind a few minutes earlier either.

Why does everything on earth have to be so difficult?

His dragon was torn as his protective instincts toward his mate were in total conflict with his sworn allegiance to their mission.

And any hope or confidence that he could tell her the full truth right now just went out the window.

“Can we just soak in last night a bit, please?” He was afraid he might lose his temper if they continued on this path. The pressure had been almost too much... and just when he thought it was handled...

“There's more, isn't there?" She studied his face for a long moment, then apparently decided to drop it. Instead, she curled against him, her fingers tracing patterns on his chest. "My big, strong dragon," she murmured.

His heart swelled at the words, even as he breathed a big sigh of relief...one which he did his best to conceal. Yet, his mind raced with concerns. Her touch was intoxicating, making it hard to focus on the problem at hand. But he couldn't forget that beneath this newfound connection, she was still an FBI agent—trained to investigate, question, and ultimately expose.

The phone in his pocket buzzed again. He didn't need to check it to know it was either Jack or Dylan, demanding an update. The council needed answers.

They seemed to always need something. But as annoying as it all was, of course he understood. The alliance needed to be stabilized. And the invasion wasn't going to wait for him to ease Jane gently into the truth.

But what would she do? How would she take it. For a brief night he had imagined he had finally handled step one of his mission: Secure a mate. But it was already apparent things were far from secure. And now it wasn’t just her head that was spinning.

Dammit, I still need to be careful.

Even if it pained him.

He didn’t want to think about it at the moment though. He just wanted to savor these precious moments before the real storm broke.

Because when it did, he had no idea if she would stand with him or run screaming.