But I'm just a freak

Chapter Nine

KAIDA POV

I really enjoyed cooking a meal for another person. I couldn’t remember a time I had ever had a person over for a meal.

I’d never dated or had any friends to invite over and the very few times I have had s*x was with a human that picked me up in a bar when I snuck off as a teenager.

Yep, I was a rebel, but sometimes a girl got sick of being the pack freak and needed to let off some steam, but I digress.

Dana and I made small talk while I cooked. She was super nice and I hoped that this meant we would become good friends. Once the meal was ready, we sat at the dining table in the kitchen area.

“Do you drink? I have a bottle of wine in the fridge,” I said. She smiled.

“Yeah, wine would be great thanks, it helps take the edge off.” She said, mumbling the last part.

“Oh, I hear ya,” I said with a laugh. Once we had our wine, we started the meal.

I had a question I’d been holding on to until a better time but it finally got the better of me so I blurted it out.

“Do you think your cousin would come to see me or meet me somewhere so I can find out what I am?”

Dana swallowed the mouthful of food she was chewing before she responded.

“I could ask him, did you want me to text him now?”

“Would you mind?” I asked. I really wanted to find out what I was.

“Not at all,” she said as she pulled out her phone and went to work sending a text.

“Done,” she said, and returned to her food. I went back to my meal as well and we sat in silence for a while.

“Thank you for inviting me to eat with you, I uh… I don’t have many friends, as I’m kinda shy and awkward.” Dana said after she had finished her glass of wine.

“Really? But you seem so confident, and you're gorgeous, not shy and awkward at all.” I said, rambling. I thought I was the only awkward person. She laughed nervously.

“Oh thanks, but no, I am most definitely not confident, you just seemed approachable. I don’t really fit in with either side of the family as my parents' relationship was frowned upon. Neither dragons nor werelions liked the idea of mixing with other species. My parents were not mates, they chose each other.” She said.

Something in me stirred and a thought jumped into my head from nowhere.

“Do you have a mate?” I blurted out.

She took a deep breath and I saw her lips begin to tremble.

“I had a werelion mate, but he died in a freak accident before we even had a chance to mate and mark each other. It happened on the day we found out we were mates.

We were heading back to his apartment when a freak storm blew in, lightning struck a tree near us which exploded and he put himself in the way of the blast, to save me.

A piece of the tree lodged in his chest and pierced his heart. I couldn’t remove it, so his healing couldn’t take over and he bled out in my arms.” She was sobbing quietly at this point.

I wasn’t sure what to do but felt I needed to comfort her. I stood up and walked around the table. I bent down and gently wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, Dana. I should never have asked.” I said quietly. She sobbed for a few more minutes before she was finally able to speak.

“I’ve never told anyone that before. I was so scared that people would blame me that I ran away from our pride. I’ve been on my own for the last twelve years, hiding here amongst the humans. I have contact with some of my dragon relatives, like my cousin, but that’s all and they don’t know about Gabe.”

I couldn’t believe what this poor woman has been through.

“I am so sorry for your loss, Dana, but you were not to blame. You need to stop holding on to that self-imposed blame and let it go.” She sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve.

“You have no idea how freeing it is to finally tell someone what happened, Thank you Kaida.”

Before I could say anything more, her phone chimed with a text message. She pulled it out and read it.

“Oh, Daniel said he could meet you tomorrow during lunch. He will be working nearby.”

“Oh wow OK, sure so where do I meet him?” She sends another text to find out. We waited a few minutes and the response finally came through.

“He said he would meet you at the cafe that we went to for lunch today, at noon tomorrow,” Dana told me.

“OK sure, tell him thanks and I’ll see him then.” I was both nervous and excited. One because I would be meeting with a strange man and two because I would finally be finding out what I was.

We finished our meals and watched a movie together. Dana seemed a lot more relaxed now she had gotten her secret off her chest. I wonder if werelions and dragons got second chance mates. It would be great if she could find one.

Dana finally left and I settled down for the night. I had so many emotions and thoughts flying around my head that it took me a while to get to sleep, but eventually, I did.

That night I once again dreamt about the mystery man with green eyes and the red dragon. It was beginning to get annoying, and I wish I knew what it meant.

I pushed it aside and got ready for work. I was tense all morning with the anticipation of finally finding out what species I was. I let Sam know that I had to meet someone at noon, and she was happy to let me go just before twelve.

Dana had to work the lunch shift, meaning she was unable to come with me to meet up with her cousin. She had sent Daniel a photo of me, so he knew who to look for.

Right on noon, I cautiously approached the café, unsure who I was looking for. Some movement caught my eye from the corner of the outdoor seating and a very large man approached me with a smile.

“You must be Kaida?” He said questioningly.

“Ah, yep and you must be Daniel?” I responded. He nodded and chuckled.

“Want to grab something to eat before we chat?” He asked as he looked me over.

“Sure, OK,” I said hesitantly. This kind of felt like a date though I didn’t tell him that.

We grabbed some food and once again headed for the outdoor seating.

We found a table that was off to the side, away from most of the other tables, that gave us a little privacy.

I watched as he stuffed chips in his mouth, waiting ever so impatiently for him to get to the point of this meeting.

“Uh, so…” I started. He looked up from his food and studied my face before chuckling again.

“You’re an impatient one, aren’t you? Okay, let me see, my eyes will change as my dragon needs to assess you so it might take a minute or two.” I nodded.

I decided, since I was waiting, I might as well check him out. He was quite tall and very muscular, he had mousey brown hair and light green eyes, he had some freckles over his sharp nose and big soft-looking lips along with a bit of scruff that constituted a beard.

He was quite a good-looking guy. My eyes roamed back to his, which had now changed colour to bright emerald green. My breath caught in my throat.

Are those the eyes I had been seeing in my dreams? He stared at me for a few minutes before I saw his eyes returning to the light green they had been previously. He frowned deeply before speaking.

“I’m really sorry Kaida, but my dragon is unable to tell what species you are, he believes you may have some kind of cloaking over you.” I sighed heavily and tears sprang to my eyes, the disappointment hit me far harder than I thought it would.

“I’m so sorry, I really had hoped to help you,” Daniel said, reaching over the table and taking my hand. I didn’t pull my hand away, I let him hold it and gently rub soothing circles on it. It felt nice.

The tears finally spilt over my lids and slid silently down my face. Daniel stood and came around to my side of the bench and scooted me along so he could sit.

He then wrapped his big strong arms around me. This stranger was offering more comfort than I had ever received in my pack.

I hesitantly laid my face against his hard chest. We sat like this for a good few minutes whilst I cried, Daniel softly telling me how sorry he was he couldn’t help me. I finally pulled myself together and moved away from Daniel.

"I’m sorry for falling apart like that, I guess the disappointment of still not knowing got a bit much for me," I said softly.

Taking the hint, he went back around the other side of the bench and back to his food. I picked at my lunch, but I wasn't very hungry. When Daniel had finished eating he spoke up again.

“Could I get your phone number?” He asked quietly.

“Um, why?” I asked in return.

“Well, I um…was hoping I could…maybe call you sometime to…ah... ask…you out?” He said slowly and hesitantly.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I'd never been asked out on a proper date before.

“Oh um, yeah sure OK,” I said and gave him my number. He smiled brightly.

“It was so nice to meet you, Kaida, but I had better get back to work. I’ll call you soon?” He half stated, half asked.

“It was nice to meet you too, Daniel, and I look forward to your call,” I said, smiling as best I could.

“Oh and don’t worry about the fact you couldn’t tell me anything. It seems I’m just not meant to know,” I said with a shrug.

He waved as he walked away and I slowly made my way back to work, one question burning in my brain. Why was I cloaked?