Dragon's Pride (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 3) Page 7

  He landed back at the house and headed inside. His parents were cooking together, and he waved at their greetings as he ran upstairs and grabbed his cellphone. He had to contact the Academy, tell them that he had seen her…

  But when his finger was hovering over the call button, he couldn’t do it.

  It had been a month.

  If Clementine was here, that meant she was reaching a breaking point. Fall and winter were coming and he didn’t want her out there when everything started freezing and snow started to fall. If he called the Academy now, they’d be out here with their search teams. They’d tromp through the woods, they’d hunt her. Drive her away. He had no doubt she’d be able to evade them; she had so far, after all.

  No. Calling the Academy would do nothing. This required a different approach.

  Dropping his phone, he headed for the basement. There, he dug out his tent, sleeping bag and the emergency kit that often doubled as a camping kit. It would have everything he needed.

  Dad rose a brow at him when he came back up, laden with everything.

  Eugene glanced at his stuff and shrugged. “I’m going to go camping for a few days. I figure maybe if I’m away from everything…”

  Mom frowned at him. “Genie, you know that running away doesn’t solve anything.”

  “Let him alone, Jane,” Modir said, placing a tender hand on her wife’s arm. “Eugene, do what you have to do. Just know that we love you, okay? And when you’re ready to talk, we’re here.”

  Mom looked worried, so Eugene smiled. He crossed the room and hugged his three parents, not for the first time grateful to have them all in his life. He knew a lot of people found it strange to believe that the three of them were all in love with each other and it wasn’t just Dad wanting two wives, but he didn’t care. Love really was all that mattered.

  And somehow, it would be all that mattered with him and Clementine, too.

  “Don’t you think you should wait until tomorrow, so you’re not setting up in the dark?” Dad asked.

  “I’ll be fine. It’s too easy that way. I’ll be back by Wednesday,” he assured them all and then headed out.

  As he walked through the forest, the full moon giving him all the light he needed, he kept wondering if this was a mistake. Maybe he should call the Academy and let them deal with the situation after all. If they found out he’d seen Clementine and hadn’t reported it, he’d be in big trouble. There was no guarantee that she was sticking around, either. She could be long gone by now.

  He knew in his gut that it wasn’t the case.

  The spot where they’d always gone camping was overgrown, but the sign they’d hung on the old oak was still there. Eugene lit a fire and used its light to set up his camp, hanging the emergency kit several meters away, just in case there was a bear that was hungry enough to brave the scent of dragon. Normally they wouldn’t come anywhere near where a shifter was camping, but he’d rather not have to fight off a grizzly in its feeding frenzy.

  Back at camp, he fed the fire until it was nice and bright. He kept it going until well past midnight when he was too tired to stay awake.

  There was no sign of Clementine when he woke the next morning but tried not to let that get him down. He wrote a quick note to her in case he missed her, then headed to the lake to do some fishing. After the morning was unsuccessful, he returned to the camp.

  The smell of smoke greeted him before it came into sight and a feeling of mingled dread and relief soared through him.

  When he came through the bushes to the camp, there was Clementine, crouched next to the fire. Hair plastered to her head and neck, utterly naked, shivering as she stirred a pot of soup. She glanced up at him, a wariness to her eyes as he sat down across the fire from her.

  “Well,” she said softly. “Now what are you going to do?”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Sorry, I didn’t think about bringing clothes,” Eugene said as he draped the sleeping bag around her shoulders.

  Clementine gratefully accepted it, pulling the warm material tight around her shivering body. She nodded at Eugene. It wasn’t his fault. Dragons had a special trick that no other shifter could manage, keeping their clothes when they shifted from one form to another, unless they were very distracted. It wasn’t surprising that he wouldn’t have thought about her being naked.

  “I hope I didn’t ruin that dress earlier,” she mumbled. “And I’m sorry that Jane is going to have to rewash it.”

  Eugene shrugged.

  Clementine bit her lip as the smell of soup made her stomach rumble. She was so hungry and yet at the same time, so nauseated. Whether it was because of her pregnancy, or if she’d just pushed herself too hard with too little food today, or it was pure nerves with being near Eugene again, she didn’t know. He didn’t look like he was going to cuff her and drag her back to the Academy any time soon, though, so when he filled a bowl for her, she eagerly tucked into it.

  “Well. This is a real mess, isn’t it?” Eugene shook his head as he ate straight from the pot. “I should take you back to the Academy but…”

  “I didn’t kill anybody.”

  Eugene frowned.

  Clementine forced herself to eat another spoonful because she knew she was hungry, even if she didn’t feel like it all of a sudden. “It was Mark. He… he killed everybody. He was supposed to kill me, too, but he decided to take me to the Pack… he said that maybe I could help continue the Alpha’s research into gene splicing.”

  “Mark?” Eugene set the pot down, his eyes widening. “But I saw his file myself, there is no indication that he’s a shifter.”

  “He is. Or… was…” The sick feeling came back and she blinked back tears. “I did kill him. I knew I had to get away, and the blockers were in my system… I stabbed him in the neck… I…”

  Eugene put a hand on her knee. The heat from his skin came through the thick sleeping bag. “He’s still alive. In a coma. But him being a shifter explains how he’s still alive. But you shouldn’t have run away, Clementine. It only made you look guiltier.”

  “What else was I supposed to do? Twice the Academy was handing me over, twice I was nearly killed during the transfer.” Her vision blurred with tears, and she hung her head. “And Adam…”

  Eugene said nothing. For half a second, when he said that Mark was still alive, she hoped that someone else had lived, too. If they had, they could back up her story. But now it was only Mark’s word against hers, and they both knew who the Academy would believe.

  “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t…” She choked on her words. “I didn’t know much about him. Adam. Did he have a mate?”

  Eugene shook his head. “No. And he wasn’t on good terms with his parents.”

  “I’m sorry.” What else could she say?

  “I am, too.”

  He moved closer, his arm moving across her shoulders. Clementine leaned against him, taking solace in the warmth and strength he provided. Should she tell him she was pregnant? He deserved to know he was going to be a father…

  But no. Now wasn’t the time. She bit her lip. For one thing, bringing up pregnancy now, just after talking about Adam’s death? That just seemed too disrespectful. Adam deserved more than to be brushed aside like that. Especially considering how much at fault she was for his death.

  And for another thing… if she told Eugene she was pregnant now, it would only look like she was trying to manipulate him. It wouldn’t do any good for him to be worrying about their child, and it wouldn’t do her any good wondering if he was helping her because he was afraid for her or the baby. If he was going to help her at all. The situation was too complex. She needed to know where he stood before she told him, otherwise the news was just going to be overshadowed by worries and doubts.

  Eugene sighed and released her gaze to start eating again. “Why did you come here, Clementine? It’s rather close to the Academy, and people around here could very easily recognize you.”

  “I know. I just… The Pack is hunti
ng me.”

  His eyes flashed.

  “I haven’t seen anything of them in a couple of weeks now, but at the start, it felt like they were constantly on my heels. I don’t know if they’re still following me or if I’ve managed to lose them.”

  Eugene slowly closed his mouth. He contemplated her before shrugging. “That’s not it, is it?”

  Clementine’s shoulders sagged. He was always so observant, even when she didn’t want him to be. “I’ve been so alone,” she admitted. “And I know it’s only a matter of time until I’m caught. I thought, maybe… maybe if I could talk to Jane and Modir, they’d be able to pass on the full story. I knew I couldn’t go to my parents, but I figured they wouldn’t be watching your parents’ farm… Guess that was a mistake, huh?”

  Eugene shook his head. “Not really. I’m not here to keep an eye out for you. I’m on a voluntarily leave of absence. I’m just too close. Especially…”

  “Especially with Adam.”

  Eugene was silent.

  Clementine resumed eating, knowing that he was mulling things over and wouldn’t speak again until he came to a conclusion.

  If it was just the Academy hunting her, she would have been okay with evading them until she was caught. Well, maybe not okay but she wouldn’t have this deep, unyielding fear. But it wasn’t just the Academy. Twice now, she had been ambushed by wolves that grew wings to fly after her. Clearly, the Alpha had sent his spliced hybrids after her. Whether to kill her or to try to use her medical knowledge for his own gain, she didn’t know. And she didn’t care.

  Eugene was her last hope. She was at her wits’ end trying to run. A month and she’d already lost too much weight to be healthy. Hunting and eating food raw were sustainable in her mountain lion form, but what would it do it her baby?

  And she was lonely. Living a solitary lifestyle wasn’t for her. She needed people in her life. She needed someone to hold her hand if nothing else. Someone to laugh with, someone to talk with. Someone to share her fears and dreams. It didn’t have to be an intimate partner, just having anybody would do. But most of all, she wanted Eugene.

  She wanted him so badly that it hurt being away from him.

  He shifted on the spot, opening his mouth, then closed it again.

  Clementine sighed in aggravation. “I’m sorry, I was going to wait for you to work through what’s in your head, but I need to know what you are thinking.”

  “If the Pack is hunting you, don’t you think that coming here would put my family in danger?”

  She shook her head. “Patrick said that they were keeping our… romantic encounter between the Blaze Ops and Maura. Nobody else knows that we’re mates. Why would the Pack think to look here for me? They must know that I’m too smart to visit my parents.”

  “They could be following you still.”

  “I…”

  “When did you last see them?”

  Clementine set down her unfinished soup, feeling too sick to eat. “Two weeks. I thought it meant I lost them.”

  Eugene grunted. “Hopefully that does mean that they’ve lost your trail, then. Now. About Mark. If what you’re saying is true, then him being a shifter is very suspicious. He’d have no reason to lie about that or work for the Academy under false pretenses unless he’s hiding something.”

  “If I’m telling the truth.”

  “Yes. If. Because I can’t just accept everything you say as a blank truth, Clementine, and you know why.”

  Her hands curled into fists and her eyes flashed. She was right not to tell him about her pregnancy. She didn’t want that news to be marred by suspicion and doubt.

  Even though it upset her that Eugene didn’t believe she was telling the truth, though, she understood why. He needed to take these precautions so that he didn’t end up hurting again. So instead of telling him that he should know her well enough not to doubt, she nodded. If their positions were reversed, she would have to do the same thing.

  “I’m sorry,” Eugene said, a note of embarrassment slipping into his voice. “I keep going back and forth on this. Deliriously happy that you’re here, terrified that you’re going to be hurt, angry at the thought you could be lying, sure that you are lying and I’m being a fool. This is why I had the others keep an eye on you. Because I don’t know if I can trust my judgment.”

  “I understand.”

  Eugene nodded, running his hand through his hair. “Then there is something that I have to ask. Because I can’t handle the doubts anymore.”

  Clementine braced herself. What could he ask that he’d actually believe her answer?

  “When I joined the Blaze Ops and learned that you were at the Academy, why were you so cold with me? You wanted nothing to do with me.”

  She blinked in surprise. He really had to ask that?

  “Then… it was only after you were accused of being a traitor that you reached out to me. It was only after that you… that we…”

  It took several seconds for Clementine to realize what he meant. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You think I slept with you in order to manipulate you?”

  Eugene flinched but didn’t look away. Proof enough that it was exactly what he was talking about. A volcano bubbled in Clementine’s chest. She tried to keep it trapped down, to stop it from exploding. It didn’t work.

  “I slept with you because we’re mates, you pig-headed—” She cut off. It didn’t matter how angry she was, she could not stoop to insults! “You know exactly why I slept with you, and it’s the same reason that you slept with me. So don’t you dare start acting like I was just femme fatale-ing you.”

  “That’s not—How am I supposed to know if we’re really mates when you said no to me fifteen years ago?”

  “You were the one who left me fifteen years ago. Then you show up out of the blue and start begging me to give it another chance without so much as an apology?” Her hands curled in tighter. “I said no to getting married. Not to our relationship.”

  “If we really are mates, then marriage shouldn’t have been such a terrifying—”

  “I can’t believe we’re talking about this again.” Clementine laughed bitterly. “I can’t believe that after fifteen years you still don’t get it. I was fourteen. You were sixteen. We weren’t out of high school yet. How is that the basis of a strong marriage? If we’d have gotten married, then yeah, I would have come to live with you and who would have all the power in the relationship then?”

  Eugene opened and closed his mouth several times, nothing but the odd splutter coming out.

  “We didn’t have enough life experiences. If you and your parents were the ones taking care of me all the time, how was I supposed to learn how to take care of myself?”

  “You wouldn’t have needed—”

  Clementine shook her head more firmly. “I would have ended up pregnant before I was eighteen, you know that. And then what? I would never have wanted an abortion and so I’d have put a body that was too young for childbirth through a traumatic ordeal. Did you know that the leading cause of death among teenage girls worldwide is childbirth? Girls under twenty are more likely to die in childbirth than adult women. Would you have wanted that for me? But of course, you never thought about that. You never thought about what risks there were, for me or for you, or how it would change my plans. Because all you could think of was how much you wanted to stick your dick into me.”

  Eugene’s head whipped up. “That isn’t true!”

  Clementine glared at him.

  “I didn’t propose to you because I wanted to sleep with you. I proposed because I loved you and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.”

  “Then why did you leave me like that? Huh? How could you possibly take me saying that I was too young as a complete rejection?”

  Eugene pressed his fingers to his temples. “I guess it’s all my fault, then.”

  Clementine ground her teeth together. Not all his fault, no. But if he couldn’t see what was really happening… maybe
being mates wasn’t enough. Maybe it had never been enough.

  “You have your answer,” Clementine said coldly. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Eugene stood and walked away, leaving her alone.

  Again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Eugene cast his line out into the lake, scowling at what normally would be a lovely sight. The eastern sky was ribbons of pink and purple and blue, reflected off the water of the lake a whole visage of wonder before him. It was like something out of a painting. This was the first time it had failed to take his breath away, and that was because he really wasn’t seeing it.

  He and Clementine hadn’t done much talking since their argument at lunch the previous day. He had taken what she’d said to heart. He knew that he had reacted poorly, but he didn’t know what to say to make it better.

  Not to mention that he didn’t know if it could be made better.

  So he found himself stuck, skewered like a boar over a roasting fire, being slowly turned so that every side of him was crispy. He had to believe Clementine. There was no question about that. It didn’t matter if she didn’t have any proof or not. She was his mate and he knew her too well, even fifteen years later, to believe that she could have anything to do with this. He couldn’t believe she had any part of Adam’s death.

  No. She was telling the truth. Mark was a shifter and had framed her. He needed to tell the Academy. The sooner the better. Then they could run tests or whatever they needed to do to confirm Mark was a shifter. But in order for them to take it seriously enough to actually run those tests, he’d have to tell them where he’d gotten his information.

  That would mean giving up Clementine. Even if he refused to say, Patrick would instantly realize why and come for Clementine.

  A rock rolled beside his foot and he jumped, turning to see Clementine standing beside him. He let out a startled curse as he reeled the line back in. Clementine smirked, her eyes twinkling.