Captured By The Dragon
Episode 18

Patara – third

A few days had passed with Patara slowly getting used to her new surroundings. It was strange to live with a man like Dylan and try not to blush every time he entered the room and looked at her with that devilish grin.

Patara knew that it was useless to try and deny that he wasn’t handsome—because he was. He was the most handsome—and strongest—man she had ever met. But even her heart knew that there would never be a future with him. He was a shifter, a dangerous dragon. She was a human and they didn’t belong together in this world. Even if he made her stomach flip once in a while.

While she had softened towards Dylan now that she knew his past, she still longed to be home with her family. Especially this day.

It was her 18th birthday. Usually, around this time in the morning, her mother would wake her up with her favorite breakfast and a beautiful gift. It was the one day of the year where her family didn’t push her to be anything she didn’t want to be.

Oh, how she missed them. She missed their voices and their smiles. She even missed their annoying lectures.

Dylan was always lingering near by. Hands shoved deep in his pockets as he passed her door. She could feel his dark presence even with the door closed. He wanted her to need him, he wanted her to be something he could control and own—but Patara didn’t want to be owned by anyone. She wanted her family.

Despite it all, he showed his affection by checking in on her during the days she was sick with her period. He brought her strange sweets that tasted like chocolate and soups even better than the purple one he first showed her. She didn’t expect shifter food to be so much better than human food—but it undoubtedly was.

Now that Patara was better again, she didn’t want to sit around on her birthday. She wanted to… do something. Anything that would force her out of her head.

Patara dressed in one of the outfits that Dylan filled her closet with. Pants and a sweater that didn’t look like just any other simple outfit, it almost made her look like she was one of them when she put it on. The bulky western style was hard to mistake as anything else. Dylan advised her to wear hats and hide her eyes whenever she left her room—which wasn’t often.

Patara found Dylan in the kitchen. The rest of the house was mostly empty, all the soldiers were at the base and only a few guards surrounded the outside. She wondered if he always had guards around, or if he only started now that he had a human on the property.

“There she is. You’ve risen from the dead.” Dylan threw her a lazy grin over his steaming mug. It didn’t exactly smell like coffee, more like some sort of tea. It looked black as night when he set it down.

Today he wore a more causal outfit. A black short sleeve shirt that hugged his body in all the right places. Patara looked away with a blush on her cheeks. It felt wrong to desire the man that held her captive—no matter how attractive he was or how many sweet k****s he gave her in the moonlight.

“I… feel much better.” Patara said in a small voice. He leaned back against the counter and eyed her with his grey blue eyes. They almost matched the color of the sky out the window behind him.

Patara pulled at the hem of her sleeve nervously. “I was… I mean, today is…” Patara cleared her throat. “Today is actually my birthday and I was wondering if we could… do something.”

Dylan raised his dark brows. “Your birthday? Today?” He asked as he set down his cup. “What do you normally do on your birthday?”

“Oh! Well, my mother usually takes me into town and lets me get a new dress before she takes me to lunch.” Patara brushed her hair behind her ear. “We walk around at little antique stores in the city, it’s quite lovely.”

“Well, you should have told me. Of course we can go out.” A smirk tugged at his lips. He clapped his hands loudly. “I know just where to take you, let’s go.”

Dylan had one of his guards drive them to the town he took her just a few days before. Patara wore a thick coat to hide her frame and a wide brimmed hat to hide her features. Dylan wore a similar hat and coat to help her blend in. After all, it wasn’t safe for a human to be wandering around.

“There’s a store I think you’ll like. It’s similar to antique stores in the human world… but for shifters.” Dylan pulled down the brim of her hat before he opened the door and helped her out.

Cold air brushed some of her hair back behind her shoulders. Dylan took her small hand and led her into an old fashioned store that looked even more strange on the inside than it did on the outside. The moment they stepped in, there were endless things to look at all stacked high to the ceiling.

There were racks of old looking dresses near the back of the room along with shoes and purses that looked nothing like the style humans would wear today.

Along with clothes, there were areas for decor, glass, even toys. It was hard to imagine that this world was suitable for children—even shifter ones.

“Pick out anything you want.” Dylan said against her ear. It sent a small shiver down her skin and she simply nodded.

They separated pretty quickly in the store when she headed straight for the dresses. There was no one else around except a lady at the desk that looked as if she was at least 100 years old.

Patara was surprised to see so many human items on display. Old radios, headphones, even fans that didn’t looked like they worked anymore. Shifters must have found human things interesting to have old junk like that—

Patara stopped dead in her tracks when she saw an old mobile phone. It was a model that hadn’t been sold in years and looked like a small brick you could carry in your pocket—and that gave Patara more hope than anything. Her mother had once told her that battery stayed on those things for a long, long time if it was shut off at full charge.

Patara glanced around and saw no one near. She quickly grabbed the phone and shoved it in her pants before she went and picked out one of the pink dresses without really looking at it.

Her heart banged harshly in her chest. What if he caught her? Did they have some sort of sensors for those things?

Suddenly she was thankful for the hat to hide her guilty eyes.

“Ready?” Dylan said from behind her. It made Patara almost flinch out of her skin. She quickly turned and nodded.

“Yes, I really like this.” Patara said. She sounded almost giddy and he mistook it for excitement. She saw the flash of smile beneath his hat and all she could feel was the phone that sat heavy in her pants.

After lunch in the van, they returned back to his home before the sun went down. He was adamant about making sure they weren’t out at night. Patara didn’t take a breath to wonder why. All she could think about was that phone.

“I think I’m going to go try it on!” Patara smiled.

“Okay—“

Patara was already running up the stairs before he could respond. Her fingers trembled as she locked herself in the bathroom and sat on the floor. She held her breath as she waited for the phone to power on. It felt like eternity had passed before the tiny scene finally lit up.

And with it—a loud ding.

Patara covered it with her body and waited for it to be over before she pulled it out. Her breath was heavy in her ears as she prayed he didn’t just hear that.

Frantically, she dialed her mother’s number that she knew by heart.

It rang three times before the bathroom door was kicked open.

“Baby,” he inhaled, “you really do disappoint me.”