Chapter 118 - Tania's Fears

**Davina's P.O.V.**

"I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?" Adrick asks as we all run outside and watch the dragon fly away. I don't have an answer for him, but I'll try and get one.

"Stay here. I'm going to talk to her." I prepare to make myself tiny, but Jessi grabs my hand.

"I'll go with you. I'll teleport us. Did you see where she flew to?" Jessi asks. I saw the general direction, and I doubt she went far.

"Try the nearest mountain," I reply. Jock kisses me, and Wyatt does the same to Jessi.

"Be careful," Jock says, kissing my forehead.

"We will." Jessi teleports us, and we're suddenly standing on the nearest mountain. It's much cooler up here, but neither of us can feel it. I look around but don't see the dragon anywhere.

"Do you see her?" I ask Jessi.

"I'm right here," I spin around and see Tania peeking over a boulder.

"Are you okay?" I ask, walking over to her. She sighs as Jessi, and I sit next to her. I didn't realize dragon shifters clothes didn't shred.

"I don't want a mate." She says, looking down at her hands.

"Why not? I've only known Adrick a couple of hours, but he seems like a decent guy." Jessi says gently. She may be the toughest, badass woman I know, but she also has the biggest heart. She doesn't like to see anyone hurt or unhappy.

"It's not about him specifically; it's about a mate. It's just better for me to be alone." When I see a tear run down her cheek, I put my arm around her.

"It's never better to be alone. I was alone for a long time and was so depressed I almost agreed to have the children of a demon so he could take over the underworld. What makes you think you're better alone?" I ask, pulling her against me. I'm surprised when she doesn't resist. Jessi takes her hand on her other side so Tania knows she has our support.

"When I was a little dragon, only about three, my dad was killed by another stronger dragon who used black magic. My mom and I were left alone and forced to leave the mountain we called home. A couple of years later, my mom met her second chance mate. I was happy for her at first. After they marked each other, he turned into a monster. He constantly abused her and me. He would poison us and lock us up for days without food. Eventually, it was too much for my mom, and she died. I was fifteen at the time. I lost it. I turned into something dark, and I killed him. I felt no remorse for doing it, either. Since that day, I've been on my own. My dragon, Izzy, keeps telling me I need to find my mate, but I'm scared he'll be like my mom's second mate. I don't want him to tear me apart like that. She became a shell of the woman she used to be." Tania cries against me as I stroke her back. No wonder she's so scared.

"What does your dragon say about Adrick?" Jessi asks her. Tania sighs.

"She says I need to give him a chance. What if I do, and he ends up hurting me? I've built walls around myself so no one can get close. I've had sex with men, but once I got what I needed, I left. I don't want to let someone in only to have my heart ripped from my chest." I can't imagine what she felt seeing her mom die at the hands of a man like that. I stroke her hair.

"I think you should at least talk to him and follow your instincts. I'm not talking about your instincts to run away. Listen to your heart." Jessi says, squeezing her hand. Tania sighs and then chuckles lightly.

"You both are amazing. You're the closest I've had to friends." I look at Jessi, and we both wrap our arms around Tania in a big hug.

"We're not friends; we're family," I tell her as I giggle. Jessi giggles, too, and I can see Tania trying to stop herself.

"Come on, you know you want to. Davina gets in your head, and we all become laughing, twirling fairies." Jessi stands and twirls while she giggles. I laugh so hard that I almost fall over. Tania starts giggling, too, and I pull her to her feet. We all twirl together, giggling. Tania wipes the tears from her eyes when we stop.

"Oh my goodness, that's the most fun I've had in a long time. I think I'm ready to face Adrick now. You don't think he'll reject me, do you?" We both shake our heads.

"No way. He's been looking for his mate for a long time." I reply.

"Okay, then let's go. How did you guys appear up here anyway?" Tania asks.

"Jessi can teleport. Hold her hand, and she can teleport us back." Jessi backs up, shaking her head.

"Nope, no way. Are you kidding? We have a dragon here. Let's fly back to the palace in style. If you don't mind." Jessi says to Tania.

"Not at all. Let me shift, and then you can climb on." We stand back, and suddenly, the giant purple dragon is standing in front of us. She's beautiful. I touch her shiny scales while Jessi climbs on. She holds her hand out to pull me up to sit behind her.

"Alright, Izzy, take us to the palace," Jessi says. I fly all the time, but when Izzy begins flapping her wings and takes off, I squeal with laughter. We're soaring through the air higher than I have ever flown, and it's incredible. Within a few minutes we're landing in the courtyard at the palace. Izzy shifts back to Tania once we jump down.

"You got this. If you need us, we'll be inside." Jessi tells her before giving Tania a hug.

"Remember, we're family." I hug her and walk toward the others with Jessi. Adrick looks unsure about what to do.

"Go talk to her, but if you hurt her, I'll turn your ass to ash. Got it?" I say, patting him on the shoulder. He looks at me and then nods.

"What the hell? You rode on a dragon without me?" Rmina asks with her arms crossed.

"Sorry, you're out, and she's in. Now it's the three badass women and the evil witch." I say with a giggle as we walk inside. I hear her mumbling behind me. "Don't growl, Rmina. You're not a wolf."

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**Tania's P.O.V.**

I can't take my eyes off Adrick as he slowly approaches me. I feel bad when I see the hurt in his eyes. It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone; I was just trying to protect myself. When he's only a couple of feet from me, he stops.

"I'm sorry if I did something wrong." He says softly, making my heart break even more. I step a little closer.

"Don't apologize you didn't do anything wrong. Can we talk?" I ask him with a small smile. He seems to relax slightly.

"Sure." We begin walking around the palace grounds, and I explain to him what happened to my mother, just like I'd done with Davina and Jessi. When I'm done, I stop walking and look up at him.

"So you see why I'm scared to accept a mate? I don't want to end up like her. I've spent centuries hiding in my cabin on Mount Everest, hoping I wouldn't find my mate. I only came down occasionally to get supplies and to find a man to take care of my needs." The way his head snaps up makes me realize my mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have told him I'd been with men in the first five minutes of our talk.

"How many men? Did you love any of them? Are you seeing anyone now?" Oh, he's not mad. He's jealous. That's cute.

"I don't know how many. I'm a few hundred years old. I never allowed myself to feel anything for anyone, and it's been a very long time since I've been with a man. What about you? How many women? Did you love any of them? Are you seeing any of them now?" That's right, Mr. Vampire, I can turn the tables on you, too.

"I'm a few hundred years old, too, so I don't know how many. I never loved them; I would only be with any woman once. It's been a long time for me too. I've been searching for my mate for centuries. I know you're not ready to accept me, but please don't reject me until you give me a chance. I promise I'm not a monster like your mom's mate was." Adrick holds his hand out to me, and I hesitate before I take it. The sparks feel even more intense, and I close my eyes.

"Kiss me," I say.

"What?" I open my eyes and look into his.

"I believe you can tell a lot from a kiss, and I want you to kiss me. Unless you don't want to, of course." I challenge him. I don't believe in that crap, I just want him to kiss me, but I'm too chicken to ask without having an excuse. Adrick smiles and pulls me into his arms. Oh, shit, I thought it was going to be a light peck, but the look in his eyes tells me I was mistaken.

"My pleasure." He leans down and places his mouth on mine. The sparks that flood my body make me melt against him. I wrap my arms around his neck so I don't fall. When his tongue runs along my lips, I open them, letting him in. The way he explores my mouth makes me moan in pleasure. He holds me tighter, and I feel like taking him behind a tree so I can relieve the ache between my legs. When he pulls away, he doesn't let go, and neither do I.

"So, how was that?" He asks, leaning down to kiss me again. He pulls my bottom lip into his mouth and sucks on it lightly. Fuck. What else can he do with that mouth?

"I think we need to go somewhere with more privacy to talk," I reply, trying not to let my hands roam his body. He smiles and runs kisses down my jaw to my neck, sucking lightly as he goes. I already feel like I'm going to burst, and he's just kissing and sucking my neck.

"Would you like to go to my room?" He asks against my lips. I can't speak, so all I do is nod. Adrick puts his arm around my shoulders and leads me into the palace. Davina, Jessi, and the others are there watching us. I can feel my face getting hot already. I know that fairy is going to say something to embarrass me.

"Before you two start getting it on, I have a question. When dragons have sex, do they release fire?" Davina asks. I know I shouldn't answer her by the way Jessi and Rmina are shaking their heads, but I can't help it.

"No, why?" Her smile widens, and I brace myself.

"I just wondered if while Adrick has his mouth between your legs and you orgasm, will you get so excited you release fire and turn him into ash? Don't look at me like that. It's a legitimate question." Davina argues as I glare at her. Adrick pulls me past them and into his room, but not before I hear her latest song. Please let someone else come and take her attention away from me.

*"The vampire eats the dragon. The vampire eats the dragon. Will he burn when she comes and be a pile of ash? The vampire eats the dragon. The vampire eats the dragon. Will he burn when she comes and be a pile of ash?"*