I am the dragon III

It had been three months since Megan left me and I still couldn’t understand why. I had a void in my chest, a void that Megan used to fill, but now it was just empty. I hadn’t lashed out or broken anything. I had gone home and packed all her clothes and stored it in the basement.Her phone had gone straight to voicemail and after that day I didnt call her again. I was done begging and trying. Abeloth was quiet too, he was fuming and confused and his emotions ranged from hot to cold.Over the course of that first week I had gotten rid of every trace of her in my life. It wasn’t just the humiliation of being stood up in front of my lair, my family and friends. It was the fact that she couldn’t even be bothered to tell me to my face. She had chosen the easy way out, packed some of her clothes and just left, again.I had thought that we were fine, we rarely fought, I’d declined two assignments from Wentworth and focused on Megan and our future together. I had placed her ring in my persona

Ava and Selma had ended up spending the weekend, they hadn’t checked into their hotel by the time we had met and their bags were still in their rental car. The weekend turned into the next week and before we knew it, our holiday was coming to an end.“This was the best reunion ever,” Basil said as he stretched out on the lounger next to the house’s pool.“Bermuda has left its mark on us,” Marlo said as she intertwined her fingers with Elio’s.“Sadly though real life waits for all of us,” Ava said.“And real life is where exactly?” Jack asked her.“Back to Los Angeles,” Selma answered.“Talking about real life, I’m moving in with Jack,” Tank said.“What did your dad say?” I asked him.“His daddy ain’t telling us a thing, since Tank’s not taking over the family business, he can’t say anything,” Jack said and I had to smile at the code he was using.“I’m actually surprised Link hasn’t called me yet,” I said.“Who’s Link?” Ava asked.“My business manager,” I said as Marlo smiled secretly.

My lair had gathered around our small ceremony hall and people bowed their heads as I walked through the crowd, carrying Megan to the stone slab. I didn’t want anyone else touching her. She had been my responsibility, practically my wife, the woman I loved and lost.My family stood to one side with my friends and Megan’s family stood on the other side at the head of the slab. Kurt’s eyes held contempt for me but Mary had been graceful even in her sorrow. I didn’t mind Kurt blaming me, I blamed me.I laid Megan down gently on the stone slab and wiped a stray hair from her face. She looked peaceful, almost serene if you looked at her from the left, her skin untouched by the violence that had ultimately claimed her.“Dragonkin of the Grey lair, tonight we gather together to bid farewell to Megan Greer,” Elder Michael began.“I call upon Sire Ryder to join the deceased and leave his parting gift to follow her into the afterlife,” Elder Victor said.“I hand you this knife, made of dragon s

“Where did you get the name Gideon Delanie?” Tank asked me much later as we sat down to eat.“There was a note in her car, talking about paying an owed debt. Lucas and I assumed the note was for me but after Megan’s father asked for financial retribution it got me thinking,” I said.“And you paid him a visit.”“Yes, took a cordless drill and some steel rods with me,” I said.“Shit, you weren’t playing around,” Jack said.“I have to do this Tank. She was being hurt while I lay in the sun in Bermuda,” I said bitterly.“You didn’t know Ryder, none of us knew,” Tank said.“That fact doesn’t help me sleep better either,” I replied.Tank’s computer searches were still running, gathering information on Gideon Delanie, his family, his businesses, everything that could be found. I fell asleep easier that night knowing that soon I’d end him.The following morning we sat around the kitchen table having breakfast and I was feeling on edge again. “Tell me what you found on Gideon Delanie.”“Gideon

I woke up as the hand encircled my throat and my arm shot out instinctively but was slammed down on the mattrass. The room was dark and I couldn’t make out the man’s features and I had to wonder how he’d gotten past Gideon's armed guards.I swung my legs up and flung myself around his midriff and his hold on my neck loosened. I grabbed his arm and pushed it away from my neck as we fell sideways off the bed with a loud thud and I landed on top of him.“Fuck Ryder,” I heard his voice.“Elio?” I asked and loosened my own grip.“You couldn’t call me?”“What the fuck is wrong with you? I could’ve killed you!” I practically yelled at him.“Even asleep you never switch off,” he said rubbing his neck where the red was already starting to fade.“Basil called me.” I wasn't even shocked to hear him admit it.“Damnit.”“Some kind of friend you are. Megan’s killed and you find the one person worse than you that apparently took her and you want to go at it alone?”“Worse than me?” I asked him.“The