Dragon Royalty (Dragon Shifter Academy Book 1) Read online

  Not just Ty… Damon and Kade too. Even if I’m mad at the two of them I can’t deny the pull that I feel.

  “I really don’t belong here,” I sigh out, as I watch a blonde girl about my age step out of a really nice car. She’s gorgeous—like somebody you’d see on a runway and not somebody you’d see at a party. I know looks aren’t everything, but it’s more than just how she looks. She just… belongs here. Me, not so much.

  “You belong here just as much as the rest of us,” Ty says. “The girl down there… she’s the actual worst. She’s so vain and full of herself.”

  “She’s really pretty.”

  “Really? I don’t see it. But maybe that’s because I’ve known her my whole life and I don’t see her for what she looks like.” He looks at me. “She is going to hate you simply because you’re prettier than her.”

  “I am not.” I roll my eyes, looking up at him.

  “Are you kidding? Nobody can beat a succubus, everybody knows it.”

  “Why does everybody keep calling me a succubus?” I throw up my hands. “Aren’t succubi, like, demons or something? I’m not a demon. I’m human.”

  He looks at me with his mouth open, not saying anything for a few seconds.

  “For one,” he says, “a succubus isn’t a demon. That’s a myth. And second, you are far too beautiful to be human.”

  My face grows warm once again.

  If I hang out with him for very long, my cheeks will be permanently pink.

  “We should join the rest of the party.” He runs his hand over his jaw and then indicates I should follow. “I just wanted a moment alone with you.”

  I have no idea what I’m doing here—I feel like I’m drowning in a sea of money and power, but I’m kind of okay with it.

  What is wrong with me?

  Ruined.

  Ty and I hang out for a little longer before he’s called away by somebody else. I’m really glad that I met him. He’s made me feel like maybe it’s possible for me to have friends here. Maybe. But then again, Ty doesn’t look at me like he wants to be just friends.

  I’ve always been put off by men. How they act around me is always super unsettling. And girls… I don’t know what it is, but they’re always jealous. I hate it. I just want to make a friend.

  Here, I feel like I could do that. Even Damon could be my friend, if he would stop saying such stupid things. And Kade too, for that matter.

  As I walk through the crowd, I search for a familiar face and don’t see any. I eventually just decide to stand against the wall away from people. Still, they look at me. Some with curiosity, some with disgust, and some with… lust. I know that look all too well.

  “Are you the skank who was talking to my boyfriend?”

  I don’t even have to look to know that whoever is talking is definitely talking to me.

  I look up to see the blonde girl that I watched get out of the car earlier… the one I thought was so pretty, but Ty assured me she wasn’t.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say. “But I’m sorry. Just point out your boyfriend and I’ll stay away from him.”

  “Ty Bergstrom is mine,” she says.

  I don’t know why, but hearing this girl say that Ty is hers angers me. I can usually keep my cool. People have said a lot of horrible things about me, but this… it’s too much.

  “Does he know that?” I ask, now smiling.

  She’s delusional.

  Absolutely delusional.

  She doesn’t respond though. Instead, she just throws her glass of red wine all over me. A red stain appears on the front of my very white dress, the same dress Victoria told me to be careful with. Then the girl storms off, leaving me with a puddle of red wine under my feet.

  My white satin shoes are ruined.

  My dress in ruined.

  And now everybody is staring at me.

  Tears press against the back of my eyes. I’m usually stronger than this. She’s not the first girl to throw a drink on me. It’s happened a few times at the coffee shop when a girl thought I was flirting with her boyfriend. Even if I didn’t say a word, girls would still react. I don’t know what it is about me that makes them hate me so much, but they do.

  Before I can break down in front of a bunch of strangers, Damon walks through the crowd toward me.

  “Come on,” he says in a gentle tone, grabbing onto my hand to pull me from the party.

  When our skin touches, something… changes. I feel the air around me crackle and my skin feels like it’s on fire. My heart is pounding fast, and I feel… good. So good.

  I dart my gaze to Damon, wondering what this means. He’s looking at me. His gaze is so intense that I want to look away, but I couldn’t look away even if I tried.

  “Mine,” he says.

  But his lips don’t move.

  Still, it was clearly his voice and I’m losing it.

  Damon, with his hand still holding onto mine, starts to walk again, pulling me from the party and from the watchful eyes of others. For a moment, I’d forgotten that other people were even in there. I’d forgotten about the mean girl who’d thrown her drink on me. It was just Damon and me.

  But now that we’re walking again, I remember. And once again, tears threaten to fall and panic rises inside me. I’m on the verge of breaking down.

  When we get outside, we have to wait for the valet to bring Damon’s car around. He doesn’t let go of my hand, and I’m grateful for that. I’m pretty sure his hand is the only thing that is keeping me from falling apart right now.

  I’m so mad at that girl. I was actually having a decent night. Why did she have to ruin it?

  Well… I suppose it wasn’t really that great. Damon and I got into a fight right before we went in. Yes, meeting Ty was a pretty cool highlight, but that girl…

  I’ve never hated anybody—ever. There is always good to see in people, but there is none in that girl. She’s purely evil.

  Now I understand why Ty called her ugly. Because on the inside, she is the ugliest person I’ve ever met.

  “Are you okay?” Damon asks.

  It’s the first thing he’s really said, other than when he wanted me to go with him.

  Well, I suppose he did say ‘mine.’

  Or did he?

  I’m still confused about that.

  “I’m fine,” I say, but my voice is shaking, and my lip is quivering.

  He doesn’t say anything, he just pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

  I didn’t realize how much I needed a hug until his arms were around me.

  Damon doesn’t let me go until they pull his car around. Even then, he helps me get into the car and only lets go so he can walk around to the driver’s side. Then he grabs onto my hand and doesn’t release it the entire drive home.

  Sorry.

  Not long after I get home and take a shower, Victoria comes into my room.

  She’s furious—not just about my dress, but about the scene that I made at the party. I try to tell her it wasn’t my fault, but she won’t listen. She just slams the door to my room and storms away.

  I lie down on my bed and allow myself to cry. Not just because of the girl who threw her drink on me and not just because of Victoria—it’s also because I miss my mom. I don’t know why she left me. I don’t know why she sent me here. But it isn’t fair. I really need my mom right now. She’s the only one who would understand.

  There is a knock on my door, but I ignore it and just sob into my pillow.

  The sound of my door opening reaches my ears, but I don’t look up until my bed dips. Damon climbs into bed with me. I should protest, but I could really use a hug right now.

  Damon pulls me into his embrace and lets me cry on him. He doesn’t say anything. He just gently strokes my hair with one hand and holds me close to him with the other. It’s exactly what I need.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmurs after a while.

  “Sorry for what?” I sniffle.

  “Everyt
hing.” He hugs me closer. “What that girl did. What I said before the party… all of it. I’m also sorry that I haven’t talked to you much since you got here. I thought you wanted space, but I see now that it was the wrong thing to do. I promise I won’t ignore you anymore.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything at all.

  How can he know me so well considering we’ve only had a handful of interactions?

  “I know you’re mad at Kade after what he said, but I think you should still come to the party at his house tomorrow,” Damon says. “That girl won’t be there. It’ll just be some of the kids from school. I think it would be nice for you to meet them before school starts.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “I’ll be with you the whole time,” he says. “I promise not to leave your side.”

  I nod. “Okay. I’ll go.”

  I feel his lips on my forehead and I sigh, leaning even closer to him.

  I know I shouldn’t feel this way about him. I know I shouldn’t have a crush on him. But I can’t help how I feel.

  I don’t care that he’s my aunt’s husband’s son. We’re not actually related. And I’m pretty certain he feels the same as me. Even though I’m not going to act on it, I have feelings for this guy.

  With that in mind, I let myself drift off to sleep with my head on his chest.

  I don’t think I’ve ever slept better in my life.

  Saturday, August 10

  Interesting.

  Damon is still in my bed when I wake up. I don’t know why, but I expected him to be gone. The fact that he’s still here… I don’t know why, but it just feels good. He asks me if I’m all right, and I tell him yes. I’m honestly better than all right. Then he leaves my room to get a shower, telling me that he’ll see me that afternoon.

  And I am on cloud nine.

  He stayed.

  And he wants to hang out with me tonight.

  For the first time in a long time, I feel like I belong.

  I belong here.

  I belong in Vegas.

  There is a rightness to that statement that settles over me.

  I almost feel guilty for being happy. My mom left me. I still don’t understand why. Shouldn’t I be looking for her or something?

  Her note said not to look for her. But she’s my mom. Why wouldn’t I look for her? What if she was kidnapped and somebody forced her to write that note?

  Okay, maybe now I’m being silly.

  There is a knock on my door, so I yell for whoever it is to come in. I’m in the bathroom, fixing my hair. I’m surprised when I see Victoria walk in. I wonder if she is here to yell at me more over last night.

  That dress.

  And the shoes.

  They’re ruined.

  Victoria walks towards the bathroom and stands in the doorway.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” I tell her. “I’ll find a way to pay you back for the dress and shoes. I honestly didn’t do anything to that girl. She said I talked to her boyfriend, but I didn’t.”

  Victoria waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it. It happens. You’ll find that it happens to Evermore women a lot. It’s probably not the first time that has happened to you.”

  I shake my head. “Coffee is impossible to get out.”

  She grins. “See. It’s not your fault.”

  That’s not what she said last night but okay. If she’s being nice to me today, I’ll take it.

  Honestly, I don’t know what Victoria’s deal is. It’s like she can’t decide if she likes me or hates me. I guess today is a ‘likes me’ kind of day. Being around Victoria makes me feel closer to my mom. Maybe because they look so much alike—or maybe because they act alike. Not the whole hot and cold thing, but whenever Victoria is being nice, she acts so much like my mom.

  “What are you doing today?” Victoria asks.

  “Um… tonight I am going to a pool party at Kade Norwood’s house. He invited me last weekend,” I say. “I figured I should give him another chance.”

  She grins. “Good. Kade is a good kid. I’m sure whatever he said to upset you so much he didn’t mean. He probably just has a crush on you or something.”

  A crush on me? Is she insane?

  The people here are beautiful. Much more attractive than me. So, I don’t see how he or anybody else would choose me.

  “Do you want to go shopping?” Victoria asks. “Maybe we can get you a cute new bikini to wear tonight.”

  She wants to go shopping with me?

  As in spend time with me?

  “Sure,” I say, as I curl the last piece of my hair. “Can we get some coffee? I could really use a latte.”

  “Oh, right. Your mom said you worked at a coffee shop.”

  “You’ve heard from my mom?” I ask, turning off my curling iron. A spark of hope filters through me.

  “Not since you’ve been here,” she says. “But we used to talk once a week. She would update me on you. And she sent me pictures a lot.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  I don’t know why, but hearing her say that makes me feel… completely speechless. I mean, my mom didn’t talk about Victoria to me at all. I just assumed that they were estranged. The fact that they talked and that my mom sent her pictures of me… it’s a complete surprise.

  “I didn’t think you even liked me.” My tone lowers as I make my admission.

  “I worry about you being here, is all,” she says. “I’m worried about my sister. And I see the way Damon looks at you, the way you look at him. I worry that you’re going to break his heart.”

  Me? Break his heart?

  I wonder how ‘worried’ she would be if she knew Damon slept in here last night. Nothing happened but him comforting me.

  Maybe she’s right to be worried about us.

  “You’ve got it backwards.” I bark out a laugh. “If anybody is going to have a broken heart, it would be me.”

  “We Evermore women can be… addicting,” she says. “I’m sure you, of all people, know that. I’m sure you’ve broken plenty of hearts.”

  I shrug. “I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

  She raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

  I nod.

  “Interesting,” she muses. “Well, we should get going.”

  I follow her to her car, the entire time wondering what she means…

  Why is it ‘interesting’ that I’ve never had a boyfriend before? I’m only seventeen. Plenty of girls my age decide to focus on other things, like school. Not all girls need a boyfriend.

  Plus, before moving here, I never met a guy I was interested in dating.

  Before Damon.

  And Kade.

  And Ty, for that matter.

  Perhaps she’s right. Maybe I will break Damon’s heart.

  I promise myself that I’ll try not to. Before I date him… or anybody… I will first figure out what it is I feel for the others. It’s only fair.

  You don’t know.

  I look at myself in the mirror. For the first time ever, I truly feel beautiful. Not because of what somebody else thinks of me, but because I think it about myself.

  My long, auburn hair is still curled from this morning. It hasn’t fallen, which doesn’t surprise me. My hair has always held a curl well. I just usually don’t fix it because I hate getting noticed.

  I’m wearing a new bikini that Victoria and I picked out. It’s all white, which looks really good against my tanned skin. Over my bikini, I have on a white cover-up, which is a dress. It goes down to my mid-thigh. Normally, I would never show off my legs, but being here makes me feel bolder.

  I am dressing this way for me. This is how I’ve always wanted to dress, but I was always too scared. I get attention no matter what I wear—sweatpants, a messy bun, and a baggy hoodie does nothing to deter attention. Still, I’d felt better in those things. Like if I wore those clothes, maybe I wouldn’t get as much attention.

  There’s a knock on my door and
I know it’s Damon. My heart beats faster in anticipation.

  “Hey,” I say, when I open the door.

  “Hi.” His gaze skims down my body, and my face warms as he checks me out. His eyes linger a while on my legs. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel giddy. Like… maybe he really is attracted to me.

  I am so very attracted to Damon. I forget just how attracted I am until we’re together.

  This boy has my heart and he doesn’t even know it.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  I nod. “But can I drive?” I ask, as we make our way down the hall. “Victoria bought me a really expensive car, and I’ve only driven it once. I kind of feel bad that it’s just collecting dust in the garage.”

  “I could drive your car,” he offers.

  “Or… I could drive it,” I say. “I haven’t really gotten to know the area very well. Every time I’ve gone somewhere, somebody else is driving me. It’d be nice to learn how to get places.”

  “Sure.” He shrugs. “Kade only lives half a mile from here, though. Honestly, if it wasn’t so hot, we could walk.”

  The thought of walking in this heat…

  It’s still over one hundred degrees today. It’s nice inside, where we have a good air conditioner and tinted windows that keep the heat of the sun out, but once we step outside, I know it’ll be hard to breathe.

  At least it’s a pool party. We’ll be able to stay cool in the water.

  When we get to the garage, Damon hops into the passenger seat. I can tell he doesn’t like the fact that I’m driving. I get the feeling that Damon is the kind of guy who likes to be in control of everything, so the fact that he’s riding with me says a lot.

  “This is a nice car,” he says.

  I grin. “I like it.”

  “It has a lot of room.” He glances in the back. “It’d be a great road trip car.”

  “I’ve never been on a road trip.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. But I’m from St. Louis. We’re in the middle of nothing. Anytime we wanted to go somewhere, we would just fly.”