Fire and Opals (Beasts of the UK)

Wren She hadn’t been hard to find, the ragtag band of cats had told me exactly where I needed to go but it was still a shock. And maybe that was the Sabers plan all along. Shock the big bad dragon , make him uncomfortable. After all I had encroached on their territory without permission , and started a fight with their alpha. Not that I regretted that last bit . I didn’t like how he looked at Gabby at all. And I knew Dewi wouldn’t either. Maybe I shouldn’t have done it. But it had been oddly satisfying at the time and well…. It had lead me here. To her. Opal. I could sense her inside the squat square building somewhere. It wouldn’t matter if she had changed her appearance. I would always know her. That was just the way of it with mates. And once upon a time I had thought she had been mine. I had been willing to give up everything for her. That timid scared little human servant and then everything had changed. She had changed. And she had chosen someone else. A dragon with more standing, more treasure. It had been a blow that had taken centuries to heal. Hell. I still wasn’t healed. I had spent years becoming the biggest baddest son of a biatch I could. I wanted to be feared , my name whispered in hush tones. The big bad black dragon. Wren. I had done it all so she would realise what she had given up.but the truth was I doubt she even gave me a thought or heard about me at all. Unconsciously I gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning white. Only loosening my grip when the metal started to groan under the pressure. Forcing myself to let go, I shook out my hands. It wouldn’t do to break our only form a transportation , and shifting and flying were definitely out. I had to get a grip. Some kind of control over my emotions. I couldn’t walk into that…. I squinted into the drizzle. And the neon pink sign over the non descript door caught my attention again. I couldn’t walk into that strip club and see her again until I had myself back in control. Seeing her again was going to be hard enough, I couldn’t… no I wouldn’t let my warring feelings get in the way of the job I had to do. Without thinking I swung myself from the car, the fine mist like rain plastering my hair to my head. Not that it mattered what I looked like of course. I wasn’t there to impress her. I was there to take her to the resistance. The place was oddly busy for a week night. Mainly groups of younger college aged men blowing off steam, and podgy businessmen in badly fitting suits, whose pores let out a noxious smell of cheap whiskey and desperation. I was glad of the small crowds though , it made me almost invisible as I slipped onto a stool right in the corner of the bar. “Rum and Coke.” Wiping a hand over my wet face I finally gave the bar tender a smile. “Please.” And turned my attention to the room. My eyes did a quick sweep and then I did it again slowly. Taking in every detail. Looking for the danger that I knew must be close on my heels. There was no other shifters here. I would have been able to sense them but the council had been known to work with humans. Even when they said they were the enemy. So I couldn’t let my guard down to much. Danger was everywhere. Which was the whole reason the Resistance had sent me in the first place. Who better to know what the council would do than me. After all I used to be the one they sent. I used to be that danger. “Hey handsome.” For a moment I did nothing but stare down at the hand that had been placed on my arm. Studying the silver glittery nails and then I looked up into a pair of dazzling green eyes. “Hi.” I gave her a smile. “I haven’t seen you here before.” Nodding my thanks to the bar keeper as my drink was pushed towards me I gave a shrug. “I’m just passing through.” She smiled, and it lit up her face. Making her seem younger, less jaded. Smiling suited her. She was a pretty girl. And on any normal day I would have been very interested. But today wasn’t a normal day. “Fancy some company?” She must have seen the change in my expression because her own fell. It was only for an instant but the sting of rejection was there. “Not into red heads huh?” She tried to laugh it off. “I like red heads just fine. And you are very beautiful.” Not into red heads? It was almost comical. There had only been one woman I had even considered bonding myself to who wasn’t my actual fated mate. A curvy red haired artist. But she had been fated for someone else. Two someone else’s actually. She was my friend. Fiery, brave and always willing to fight for what she wanted. The most amazing human I had ever met. I didn’t love her, not in a romantic sense but she was spectacular. Hannah was the reason I switched sides. What the council had done to her and her family was diabolical. Until I had met her I had thought I was one of the good guys. “I am just here to have a quick drink that’s all.” I added as an afterthought, my attention drifting. It wasn’t that I wanted to hurt the dancers feelings but something else had caught my attention. A change of music, the smell of a rich perfume in the air. My dragon thrashed against my skin and it took every ounce of self control to keep him from looking out of my eyes. “Blondes are more your thing, I get it.” The woman next to me followed my gaze to the main stage. Where a tall slim woman wearing very little was gyrating her body down a pole. She had her back to me but it didn’t matter. I would know her anyway. Mesmerised I watched her move. And then she turned, and her pale blue eyes met mine over the crowd. Opal.