Trapped between a Demon and a Dragon

Chapter 25

Harper wakes up wrapped in Aeron's embrace feeling content but also puzzled. Her alarm hasn't gone off yet, and Aeron appears to still be sleeping. So why is she awake?

The answer comes in the form of a tiny paw shooting up from a crack between the headboard and the wall and striking her across the ear. "Ow! Seriously Sherlock?!"

"If I did not fear the chaos that he would evoke in my staff, I would have already brought that feline into my employee," Aeron mumbles from her side, sleep muddling his speech. "What does he desire at this hour?"

"He's probably hungry. Guess I gotta get up and get him some breakfast." Harper tries to untangle herself from the demon's limbs but the more she struggles, the tighter his grip becomes. "Aeron, let go... I have to take care of Sherlock," she whines half-heartedly, too giddy from last night's events to actually be upset. Her heart races a little when she can feel her lover's amusement in the back of her mind. Although she knew Aeron enthusiastically agreed with her proposal to bond, feeling his joy and happiness made her feel more safe, secure, and loved than she has in a long time.

"Ah, you are mistaken, my beloved," he says with a teasing tone as his lips dance along her neck. "I am also capable of tending to the needs of the sacred one."

"You don't have to do that. I've got it. Plus, I probably need to get up soon anyway."

Aeron's long fingers wrap around her chin and gently push it up until their lips meet. "I think you forget, my dear Harper, that I now can experience your exhaustion as well as bear witness to it. The trials and tribulations that you have faced of late have taken their toll, and today you have another series of Herculean tasks to triumph over. So allow me to take even the slightest of burdens off your shoulders while you recess for a few moments more."

A crash echoes through the hallway and is quickly followed by the sounds of Kye yelling and Lily's giggles. "It appears as though Sherlock isn't the only feral being in need of attention this morning," Aeron says with a low growl, his face pinched with annoyance. But she feels a hint of contentment and pleasure flowing through their connection.

"I knew it." Harper exclaims with a little laugh as she brings up a hand to lightly tap on his temple, "You do like our little family."

"If not for the fact that I have never deceived you, our newfound connection would concern me." After placing a kiss on the side of her head, Aeron slides out of the bed. "Come along, diminutive lynx. Time to display the ranking of power in this homestead to the lunar disciples."

After studying him for a minute and pondering his options, Sherlock stands up and snakes himself around the demon's ankles before heading out into the hall with Aeron following behind.

Harper lies back in bed, unable to suppress the smile that takes over her face. Even though he is moving further and further away from her, she can still feel a hint of Aeron's emotions flickering in the back of her mind. She's unsure if it is because of the differences in their relationships or just the differences in the demons, but the connection between her and Aeron is lighter and more open than the one between her and Alistar. While the bond with her "brother-in-law" is useful, the one she just formed with Aeron is blissful. She is sensing emotions that, in the beginning of their relationship, she doubted he could even feel. So knowing that her love and affection is reciprocated is exhilarating.

A faint blue glow lights up the corner of the room as her phone releases a small chime signaling a new message.

Groaning, she pats around the top of the nightstand until her hands wrap around the offending object, wondering what crisis her coworkers were having at 4 am.

The blissful feel of the morning dissipates as she reads the message.

[How did it go with my mom yesterday?]

"You've got to be kidding me," she says in disbelief. "The guy corners me and assaults me in my dreams and now he wants to pretend that it never happened?"

Even though he broke her heart, part of Harper has always wanted to reconnect with Misha. She wanted to see that the man she loved was still inside somewhere, and that she didn't misread their entire relationship.

But now....

Now she wishes he would have stayed gone because the man in her memories is nothing like the man she's getting to know now.

[are you serious right now? after what happened last night you want to talk about your mom?? Unreal!]

After sending the message, she goes to block his number. But as she is pulling down the option, the screen lit up with a new message.

[Wait what?? What are you talking about? What happened last night?]

[i'm talking about you hijacking my dream and confessing your love for me.
real shady move confessing to a woman you know is in a relationship]

The screen fades to black before lighting back up with an incoming call.

"Minstrel, you've got to believe me when I say I have so idea what you're talking about," Misha pleads as soon as the call is connected. "Hijacking a dream? What does that even mean? "

Feeling her heart sink, Harper leans back and looks up towards the ceiling, unsure of which urge she wants to indulge in more: the need to scream or the desire to cry.

" Just stop," she says after a moment, her voice soft and calm despite the storm raging inside. "You know, I was starting to think that I could get past the hurt and maybe rebuild the friendship we had before we started dating, but then you go and do something like this. "

"Like what, Harper?! I don't even know what I did! Dammit! All I wanted to do was check in on you and the first thing you do is accuse me of something that you don't even have the decency to tell me what it is. Don't I deserve to know what crime I committed before you decide to f-ing sentence me?"

Harper's blood runs cold at the explosion of anger. Even though Apricity detailed the dark side of dragon family, the idea that Misha could or would hurt her was laughable. Sure, Misha was the jerk who up and left her in the middle of the night but he was still a kind soul who abhorred violence.

Now she is doubting if she ever knew the real Misha.

"Last night Alistar had to wake me from a dream I was trapped in, " Harper began, trying to keep calm. The last thing she needs is Aeron bursting in after sensing her frustration and making everything ten times worse. " I was trapped in that dream with you until Alistar entered and helped me wake up. Before he came, you kept talking about how the dream world was the only place we could talk without Aeron or Kye getting in the way. About how you were sorry and how you still love me. "

" So the night after you met my mother and learned about my family, you have a weird dream addressing some unresolved issues you might have, and you are blaming me for it? How does that make any sense?"

" Aeron and Alistar suspect that you created a link between us that let you into my head, and you used that to manipulate my dream."

"What the- "

"We were in a valley of ice that opened up to a view of the sea. Above us was a spectacular view of the night sky. You said your father used to take you there to look at the stars."

The phone line falls other than a few heavy breaths. After a minute or two, Misha's voice returns. "How... how do you know of that place?

"Because you told me about it when you cornered me in my dreams!"

"That wasn't me!" Misha roars into the phone. Harper pulls her cell away from her ear, but the dragon's voice is loud enough that his words could be heard clearly even a foot away. "Dropping into dreams isn't something that I can do.Most dragons can't. But you know who can hop into people's dreams and manipulate them? Demons. So instead of believing everything those soul eaters tell you, do your own damn research and call me when you come to your senses!"

Before Harper could even think of a response, Misha disconnected the call.