Dragon's Mate

Author’s Note: I’ll put responses to reviews from Dragon at the top (if there are any) and responses to reviews of Dragon’s Mate at the bottom of each chapter.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Upon returning to the hotel room Drago dropped his bags by the foot of the bed and then started pacing. If that wasn’t an indication of how unnerved he felt I didn’t know what was. I leaned back against the door and watched him as he seemingly freaked out. It felt good to be the one in control for once.

Not that I had much control, but it was still better than what I had had a few hours ago. After a few minutes of that he stopped and simply stood there, staring at the bed and probably debating what to do. Just what did you do when the lover you had killed came back from the dead to haunt you?

“Jaidyn?” His voice was calm and the usual control he had was back. It pissed me off.

“Bastard!” I had a whole lot more to say to him but that was the first thing that came to mind. That and I wanted to make sure he could actually hear me before I let him have it. It would only piss me off even more if I spent all my energy trying to talk to him only to find it had no effect.

“Jaidyn?” He tone didn’t change indicating he hadn’t heard me. Damn it. I really hoped I wasn’t back where I had started.

After another minute of waiting he walked over to the mirror and stood in front of it. His eyes were searching for something, probably me and I moved to stand beside him. Once again his eyes bored into mind and we stood staring at each other for a good few minutes before he broke contact.

Sighing he placed his hands on the table in front of the mirror and bowed his head, his brown hair covering his face. His manicured nails clicked against the wood and he looked to be preparing himself for something. I wondered if he was going to feed me some paranormal investigator bullshit to try and get me to ‘move on’ or ‘crossover.’

“I suppose you’re wondering what’s going on.” That was an understatement. I felt a surge of excitement when I realized I was finally going to get some answers. Though it’d really suck if even Drago had no idea what was going on as well. Without even looking back at the mirror he continued.

“As you probably already know, I killed you.” He paused for a moment, not wanting to continue but doing so anyway. “I consume human souls.” Pausing again he laughed, the sound was purely Drago.

“I suppose I appear rather crazy, standing here, talking to myself.” I frowned. He knew I was here, there was no denying that. So why was had he changed his tone so quickly? Drago’s grip on the table tightened.

“Your presence makes it hard to keep this form.” Looking back into the mirror he locked eyes with mine. There was green that was starting to peek through the pale brown of Drago’s eyes. He was losing control.

“I haven’t had a soul I’ve consumed come back to haunt me before. Congratulations, you’re the first.” He smirked and his eyes narrowed in a predatorial way that reminded me of Tatsuo or Ryu. It was not a look I’ve seen on Drago these past few days.

He stopped talking and walked away from the mirror, going over to the window to stare down at the streets. I stayed where I was and watched him. It was like watching his past personas and his current one fighting for control.

After a few minutes he continued talking but his tone had changed. It was morphing back into Drago’s and he spoke like he was merely talking to himself. If that helped him keep this persona or not I didn’t know but it seemed like he was regaining some semblance control.

“I am a dragon. Yes, as radical as it seems they do exist. It can hardly be denied after everything that’s happened.” I was inclined to believe him since he was right at any rate. Having your soul eaten and then becoming a ghost tended to change your perspective on the supernatural. I had never been much of a believer before this.

“Dragons can assume human form, as many as we’d like, but we need souls to survive. Since humans keep invading our territory and destroying our homes we’ve started to run out of places to hide. We must live among humans as humans or we will be destroyed.” He laughed despondently. “Or maybe they’ll try to preserve us in cages, charging people money to see us.”

This melancholy was not something I had seen from any of the three personas and I was starting to wonder just who it came from. Was this his real persona peeking through? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Just who was the real Drago? Some terrifying monster—a dragon as he so mentioned—or whoever this tired and weary new persona was.

At least now I knew what he was. Now I knew why his eyes held the look of a predator. And I knew how he had been able to come after me with such confidence, knowing that he wouldn’t be denied.

I was finally able to understand why he had killed me. I was still angry that he had but now that I knew he had done it to survive, it took away some of that anger that I felt. I suppose I was still on that whole ‘why me’ binge when the answer was clearly ‘why not?’ What made me so special that I was given a constant ‘get out of jail free’ card? Nothing, but of course it was hard to accept that.

Everyone wanted to think they were special. That something like this would never happen to them. What was it that made people think they were immune to everything while everyone else was not? Just where did this arrogance come from?

I supposed it was this same arrogance that allowed us to carelessly destroy the environment. After all, it won’t be our problem to deal with. We can just leave it for a future generation. Just as long as we have whatever we need to live comfortably who cares what happens in the future?

The careless destruction of the ozone, the forests, Drago’s home—it was no wonder that he had chosen to hide. I wondered if that meant that Drago hated humans. I wouldn’t blame him for it if he did. After everything he was forced to go through it would be a miracle if he didn’t.

I had lost my life, my home, my family, but they were still there. My family was alive and well and my home was still standing, though it could no longer be considered my home anymore. I couldn’t imagine losing everything and being left alone, forced to live among the people who had taken it all away. Always hiding who you were and never being able to truly call a place ‘home’ again.

Watching Drago stand there I felt nothing put pity for him at this moment. How long has he had to live like this? How much longer will he continue to suffer until he just can’t take it anymore? My own problems seemed trivial when compared to the ones he must be facing, the ones he has faced for who knows how long.

Yes, I was still angry at him, more for Kian’s sake than my own right now. But I found it was becoming harder and harder for me to keep that anger up. I just couldn’t, not when he seemed so despondent and alone.

I could never forget the predator in him and the raw power he possessed but I couldn’t ignore this new persona either. It was hard to grasp that someone this powerful could be so…helpless. I supposed this was just another unrealistic human concept; that the powerful didn’t need anyone and were just fine on their own.

“I killed you to survive, but I suppose that’s no excuse for killing you. I’m sorry, but I cannot take it back. Not even dragons can undo death.” I hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility. Once you were dead you were dead. It was more than a little creepy to even consider that you could come back. Wouldn’t that be a great conversation starter? “Hi, how are you? I died once.” I’m sure that would go over swimmingly.

Drago walked back over to the mirror and looked for me in it. Even though I was standing right next to him I didn’t think he could see me anymore. Damn it.

“I don’t know much about ghosts, but maybe if you rested and conserved your energy I would be able to see you again. Perhaps then I could do something for you.” The new persona was still the one speaking and I wished I had a name to put with it. Dragon is what I would call it for now, just so I could differentiate it from the others.

Dragon and Drago were still mixed together, his eyes a chaotic swirl of brown and green. I wondered if he felt like he had multiple personalities at times. I shivered at the thought of just how many personalities there would be. I couldn’t possible hope to memorize them all.

Dragon was right though, again. He had only been able to see me after I had fallen asleep at the café. If I rested longer who knows what else I might be able to do. I no longer had the urge to hit him, well, not much, but at least I could have him do something for Kian. He was the one I was worried about the most.

Brushing my hand along his back he shuddered and closed his eyes. I’d have to remember to ask him whether I was actually cold or not. Another surge of excitement swept through me as I realized I might just be able to do that soon.

Turning away from him I walked towards the bed and laid down on it. The maids had already made it while we were out and although I couldn’t feel it I imagined it was just as soft and comforting as my own. I just hoped that Drago wouldn’t lay down on me or he’d be in for a bit of a surprise.

When I woke up it was to the sound of people laughing on TV. I could smell the scent of cooked meat and looked over to see Drago eating from the room service cart beside me. Though he was also sitting on the bed he somehow managed to keep himself and his food from actually touching me. I didn’t think he could actually see me without the help of a mirror but maybe he was starting to be able to sense me now.

Reaching out I placed my hand on his leg and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Fuck, Jaidyn, don’t do that! I thought you were still asleep.” Setting down his silverware he turned to face me, or at least the area he thought I was in. The searching look in his eyes told me he wasn’t sure of my exact location.

Sitting up I sat cross-legged and touched his shoulder. He looked down at it for a moment before following my arm back to my face. Drago may not be able to see me but at least I felt better when he pretended he could.

“Jaidyn, I want to try something.” He picked up the remote and changed the channels until he came across one with nothing but static. “I saw it on a horror movie once, how ghosts can sometimes use an un-tuned channel to communicate with the living. Maybe it could work for us?”

I looked at the TV skeptically but figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. I squeezed his arm for a moment before going over to it. Just how was I supposed to make this thing work? I was not going to stick my head into it if that’s what it took.

Touching the screen I looked back at him but so far he was showing no reaction, not that I really expected him to anyway. Taking a breath I pushed my hand in through the screen. It tingled in weird way that I couldn’t completely describe. It was kind of like the tingles you felt when your foot fell asleep, only it didn’t hurt.

“I can see your hand. Only faintly, but it’s there.” I stared at him for a moment in disbelief and moved my hand around, only believing him when I saw his eyes were following it. Well, shit. It actually worked, but I’m still not going to put my head in there though.

“Dragon?” He didn’t respond and I cursed. He still couldn’t hear me yet. Well, at least we were making progress. Yesterday he didn’t even know I was here and now he could somewhat see me and I knew he could definitely feel me. It was a vast improvement and one that I hoped would continue to progress if I kept resting. How to tell him about the distance limit though?

I didn’t want to start resting only to awaken to a soul wrenching pain. That was rather counterproductive from my standpoint, not to mention painful. And it’s not like I could spell it out for him or anything.

Pulling my hand out of the TV I went over to the table and tried to pick up a pen. It didn’t work and my fingers just passed right through it. Cursing I scowled at the pen as though it were the one at fault.

“What are you trying to do?” Drago was walking towards me and I noticed he was looking into the mirror. At least the could still see me though it. I pointed to the pen and he picked it up before giving me a look that said ‘what now?’

I glared at him for it and he gave me Drago’s crooked smile in return before resting the pen on the notepad. What the hell did he expect me to do? Possess him and use some form of automatic writing? It’s not like there was a freaking manual for how to be a ghost. Betelgeuse was not an accurate movie!

After thinking about it for a moment I looked into the mirror and back at Drago. It just might work, I thought. Lifting up my hand I slowly drew a letter in the air, making sure Drago could see it accurately in the reflection. He did and he quickly wrote it down on the notepad.

I grinned, feeling better than I have since I died. Now we were getting somewhere.

The whole process took quite a while but time we were done I had been able to spell out several sentences that would tell Drago what I wanted. Picking up the notepad he reread everything to make sure he had gotten it right, but I had been watching him the whole time so I knew there were no errors. The frown he adopted made my grin start to fade though.

“Jaidyn, I don’t think I can do this.” I glared at him in the mirror with an expression I hoped would ask him ‘why the hell not?’ He saw it and sighed, setting the notepad back on the table. I had asked him to contact Kian and let him know I was alright; to make sure he was alright as well. The distance limit was important as well, but my mind was almost constantly barraged with worry about Kian and I wanted to get this out of the way first. I didn’t see why he wouldn’t do it.

“Think about this for a moment. He knows your dead, he probably saw your body, and you want me to contact him and tell him that his best friend is ‘doing alright?’ How do you think he’d react to that?” I frowned as well. I hadn’t really thought about it. I just didn’t want Kian to suffer but I didn’t think about how he’d react to hearing from me or about me as if I were still around.

Cursing I leaned foreword onto the table much like Drago had earlier. Was there nothing I could do for him except let him go? I didn’t want to believe that. I didn’t want to believe that Kian would suffer no matter what I did and that the lesser of the two evils was seemingly to let him go and move on with his life.

I wanted to meddle, I really did, I wanted to go back and make sure he was doing alright. I wanted to see it with my own eyes so I could actually believe it but I knew that it couldn’t happen. I couldn’t go anywhere without Drago and even though Kian wouldn’t recognize him I heard the truth in Drago’s words. Kian wouldn’t take kindly to anyone claiming they were still in contact with me. And the more I saw him the more I’d want to help him and the worse I’d feel if I couldn’t or if Drago wouldn’t.

No, disturbing him wouldn’t do either of us any good. I just hoped Haruko and his family would be there for him. I didn’t know what I would do if something happened to him because of this.

He wasn’t normally prone to depression but he could harbor guilt like no one else; first Carlow and now me. When Carlow had died there had been people there with him, to help him and mourn with him, but now that he was living on his own I didn’t know if Haruko would be able to do the job. And since he liked to keep things like this to himself I couldn’t even be sure he’d tell his parents.

“Jaidyn, I know this probably isn’t the right time to tell you this but I did alter his mind before I killed you. I cast a dream weave on him so he would sleep and then altered his mind so your death wouldn’t be as hard on him.” I looked up at him incredulously, unsure if I wanted to thank him or punch him in the face for it.

I didn’t like the though of him ‘altering’ Kian’s mind but if it helped him get through this I had no choice but to be thankful for it. I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like a huge burden I’ve been carrying had just been lessened. I was still worried about him but knowing that he’d be able to cope, even if it was due to mind altercation, was a great reprieve from all of this tension.

My feelings for Drago were still conflicted but at least now I wasn’t in danger of outright hating him. I wanted to sift through everything, every emotion, until it was all simplified down but maybe that just wasn’t supposed to happen. Maybe emotions were supposed to be complicated and more I tried to analyze them the less meaning they’d have.

I wished that they at least didn’t make my head hurt like this. Not that there was any actual pain, since I was dead, but the memory of former headaches were still alive and well.

“Thank you.” I spoke the words slowly and as clearly as I could so Drago could read my lips. He nodded but his expression didn’t change and I wondered if he was feeling remorse for killing me. I was confused by the strange urge to comfort him, conflicted by thoughts of my death and the knowledge that I now possessed about him.

He had killed me, but he had done it to survive. He had even made sure that my death would be as painless as possible on both Kian and I. Hell, he had even done it through the best sex I have ever had.

Even if he was a dragon he wasn’t a monster. Hell, he barely even qualified as an antagonist. The way I was trapped to him now wasn’t even his fault and he had had no idea it would happen. He was almost like a victim who always happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. A victim that killed, but it wasn’t as though he wanted to.

Focusing back on the mirror I noticed he had looked away and was staring at the notepad without expression. Tapping him on the shoulder I brought him out of his brooding and acted out picking up the notepad, ripping my message off, and tearing it to pieces in the mirror. A faint smile crossed his lips and he did just that, throwing the pieces into the garbage.

After that I made a shooing motion towards the bed, something that was hard to do in a mirror, and mouthed the word ‘eat’ to him. His smile widened for a moment, though it didn’t last long, and he returned to finish his dinner. The distance limit could wait for a while. It’s not like either of us were going anywhere.

Following after him I returned to my previous position on the bed and watched him eat. Dragon was still here and I wondered just how long he would stay, how he would affect Drago’s attitude and if I really wanted to see him gone.

Just who was the real dragon?

-x-x-x-x-x-

Author’s Note: Thanks to those who’ve been rating as well! And before anyone says anything, Jaidyn hasn’t totally accepted Dragon’s explanation but he’s willed himself to believe it because he really wants it to be true. It’ll be explained in the next chapter.

cfweber1b: Everyone seems to like Jaidyn and hate Dragon! It’s weird; I didn’t even make him evil. I haven’t really decided on if and how I’ll bring him back but I’ll keep the pendant in mind, it’s not a bad idea. (I actually hadn’t had anything planned for it.)

brayzen: Master? My anal-retentive-ness pays off! Woot! Thank you for the wonderful review.

Gslinger: I don’t think anyone can ever doubt you’re a fan of Jaidyn’s. As for substance…I’ll get there eventually! For everyone’s sake, keep your pants on! XD

nanase08: Thanks for the review. <3