"Welcome to my humble abode," Dave said, as he keyed in the code to the security system that was in place.

"Wow! Dave this place is really something else," Liana said looking around. The house was rather grand,with several different levels and Liana was sure plenty of bedrooms.

"Thank you, I don't come here often, as it's so far out of town," Dave said. "Still, I do take long weekends here a few times a year."

"You said something about needing to recharge occasionally," Liana said.

"So I did," Dave agreed. "Us dragons need time away from the rest of humanity sometimes. I'm sure you know that supernaturals can be greedy and selfish."

"Believe me, I know," Liana agreed. "This matters because?"

"Well, just that dragons are covetous. They often want what others have, especially if it's valuable like gems, gold or silver. The real deal of course. I will see a nice, expensive wristwatch on the wrist of some rich guy for example and want it for myself. Sometimes the feeling is so strong that it's very hard to resist the temptation. Coming out here every once in awhile helps me recenter myself. I have lots of valuables here that help me, tamp down on the urges of stealing from someone else, for awhile anyway. Now, if someone wants to sell something to me that's just fine and I'll give them a fair price, but the paper money that supernaturals as well as humans use just isn't the same, as some type of gold or gem or other valuables. I know that paper money is backed by the precious metals depository, but still, too a dragon, paper money seems almost worthless."

"I think I understand," Liana said having often felt the same way herself. She often had to resist the temptation of stealing something really valuable from somebody extremely rich now that she had a legitimate job. One could only maintain the life of a thief for so long before that thief's luck ran out. Liana had gotten out of that life as soon as she could at Brigid's urgings, and because she knew eventually she likely would've ended up dead or possibly in prison, but still, it was hard to resist picking somebody's pocket sometimes, or simply bumping into them and getting a valuable wristwatch right off their wrist without them noticing. Thievery was one of the oldest professions in the world and a lot of people became thieves, because they had no other choice if they wanted to live. Of course, a lot of times it wasn't done because you wanted to put food in your belly and clothes on your back, but out of pure selfishness and greed.

"I see you do," Dave said after a moment of accessing of body language and expression. "I would guess you have often had the same urges yourself, as you were a very good thief for a number of years after all."

"Sometimes it's hard to break old habits," Liana admitted. "I went completely legit after I was 18, but still, it's really hard sometimes. All these rich guys swan around, as if they own a place, so it's very hard to resist picking their pockets, mostly because they're all so arrogant and assume that they can't be stolen from. They're practically asking to be robbed. They don't pay attention to their surroundings a lot of times."

"That's very true," Dave chuckled in agreement.

"So where do you want to do this transformation?" Liana asked.

"This way," Dave said gesturing, leading the way to a massive chamber.

The chamber was really nice just like the rest of the house, Liana noticed. It was the biggest chamber she had seen so far as it was probably six or seven times the size of the other rooms.

"Who in the world built such a big room?"

"It used to be a massive dining room for big parties and such," Dave explained. "I suppose really it was what used to be known as banquet hall. Such places used to have a lot of invited guests at once, and they would all eat together."

"So you bought it like this and just didn't bother to alter the room to much," Liana said.

"Oh, I had it decorated, just like the rest of the house, but yeah, I really didn't do too much, as it's a perfect place to transform," Dave said. "You stand over there, I wouldn't want to hurt you by accident."

Liana did as Dave directed her and then simply watched as Dave not even bothering to remove his clothes started to transform swiftly. It didn't take more than a minute for him to grow to ten times in size, develop black scales the same color of his hair, and for his face to turn into a long snout, with multiple sharp pointy teeth.

"Dave?" Liana asked tentatively.

Dave lay down to be more on her level, though he was still much taller then Liana. To Liana this was a sure indication that he knew who she was so she approached cautiously.

Dave looked at her and Liana could see the mirth in his eyes, or at least she thought it was mirth.

"Wow! You are magnificent! And I just bet you love hearing that, don't you?" Liana said with amusement in her expression and tone.

The dragon simply snorted letting out a puff of smoke making Liana step back, but when no fire emerged she approached again.

"You can turn back now," Liana suggested with awe in her voice and the dragon didn't move until she had stepped back.

The transformation started immediately as the dragon stood up on his hind legs. His form began to shrink rapidly until it took on noticeably human features.

It was only a minute later when Dave stood before her. Dave didn't have a hair out of place or even a wrinkled piece of clothing for anybody to ever know that he had ever been changed into another form, one much bigger then his normal one. He was still perfectly groomed.

"That was really impressive," Liana told Dave sincerely.

"Thank you," Dave said smiling. "Now that I have convinced you I am what I say, are you ready to learn exactly why I told you such a great secret?"

"Yes," Liana answered, as the two of them walked to the living room that actually had furniture and sat down. "I can't figure out why you told me or why you started dating me in the first place."

"Liana, I'm still a man, despite also being a dragon," Dave said managing not to roll his eyes, a rather significant feat in his opinion. His mate thought so little of herself that she didn't instantly come to the proper conclusion, as to why he was interested in her.

"Do you really think I can go completely without sex, for all of my existence? I mean think about it and the answer will become obvious to you," Dave suggested.

"Dragons live for a long time, thousands of years, almost forever according to legend," Liana said after moment. "Much longer than any other supernatural species, well, other then vampires, because of how much magic their bodies contain."

Dave said nothing and let Liana continue to figure it out for herself.

"And as you said, even a dragon has needs," Liana added after thinking about it. "You might be able to go years or even decades without sex, but you can't go forever, no one alive can. I'm sure you had numerous girlfriends during your lifespan."

Dave waited patiently while Liana was deep in thought.

Finally, after only a few minutes Liana appeared to think about the only reason that Dave had told her his greatest secret. Or at least the only reason that made sense. She happened to remember that dragons did have a mate. That mate was always some kind of supernatural, never a human. If the legend was anywhere near truth there was a process that could give a supernatural the same lifespan as their mate, if they didn't happen to be a dragon themselves. At least that was the legend, since most people thought that dragons were extinct.

"There's only one answer that makes any sense, but I'm having trouble believing it," Liana said finally.

Dave was silent and Liana look directly into his ancient eyes wanting to gorge his reaction to her next words.

"I'm your mate, aren't I?" Liana asked and watched as the answer appeared in Dave's eyes, although he said nothing. The way his body language and expression changed was answer enough. "It's the only answer that makes sense really, even if I'm having trouble with the fact that whoever picks such things picked somebody like me to be the mate of a dragon. I think they have a rather ironic sense of humor."

"Why would you say that?" Dave asked curiously.

"Because I'm not good enough for you," Liana said simply. "I'm not rich enough, beautiful enough or sophisticated enough. I was a thief for many years after all."

"Liana you think so little of yourself," Dave said and the fury in his voice made Liana look directly into his eyes again and take a step back at the rage sparking there. She had offended him with her words she knew, she just didn't understand why she had. She was only speaking the truth after all. "What makes you think that you need to be rich to be my mate? I have more than enough to support both of us in style for the rest of our centuries together and even if I didn't we would still be mates. What makes you think that your past really matters to me? You stole to survive, because there was no way else for a child to support herself, once their only adult support was gone. No responsible adult was going to rent an apartment to a 12 or 13 year-old or give them a job that made enough for them to afford it.

"I've had to do things in the past that I'm not proud of now, but a species survival trait is a strong instinct. As for not being beautiful enough..." Dave simply stared at her and let Liana see how exasperated he was with that particular statement. "Seriously, you think you aren't beautiful? However, you got that idea I don't care, but it is so far out of the realm of reality that it's ridiculous. I can understand why you don't think you're pretty though, considering that you've been on the run since you were 12. You never even had a chance to experience normal things, getting interested in boys, going out on your first date, getting your first kiss, all that is part of being a teenager and maturing. You're so sure that you're plain that you don't see the way that men look at you when you walk past, because to you they are not within your cypher, how you perceive yourself."

Liana wasn't sure she believed Dave's statement about the way men stared at her whenever she walked past them, but she also knew he had no reason to lie.

"What gave you the idea that we had to be of more equal status in order to be involved with each other? And not just on a temporary basis, but a permanent one?" Dave asked next.

"Because relationships like ours almost never work out, not where the couple is completely equal," Liana said, thinking she was being perfectly reasonable.

"Wherever you heard that...well, it's a load of crap," Dave said vehemently, startling Liana with his tone. "I'm not claiming that kind of thing doesn't happen sometimes, but everybody is different. Some women like to be pampered and be treated as a sex slave, but I would never treat you like that unless it's what you wanted. People have many different personalities, wants, needs and desires, because if everybody was the same life would be very boring. Some of your ideas on relationships are so twisted it's just silly, but I can understand why they are. I bet you when you were younger you read a lot of cheap romance novels and the relationships in those are hardly accurate to real life. I won't say that some of that stuff doesn't go on, but it is hardly the only type of relationship."

Liana tried not to blush at Dave's accurate statement on how she had used to read cheap romance novels, and also because she knew this to be true, just from what she had observed for herself. Still, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to get involved with a dragon and not because she was prejudiced, but because she didn't want him or his daughter hurt, if those people that were hunting for her came for her.

"I don't want to get you involved in my mess," Liana started to say, then saw the furious look that crossed Dave face, which made her falter.

"I can defend myself," Dave said firmly. "They would be toast to my dragon fire if they dared come after you or Brigid. I am hardly defenseless, so you can't use that as an excuse to not get involved with me. As for Brigid, I made sure she was protected from almost anything, but that's not to say something couldn't get past all my precautions. Still, Brigid can defend herself to and she knows how to reach me, if she's in serious trouble. I can be there within a few minutes if necessary. Don't you think it's my decision, as to whether or not to possibly face danger with you at my side? You have no right to make that decision for me."

"No I don't," Liana said thoroughly chastised, all the reasons that she had told herself that she couldn't get involved with anyone, seeming more like excuses now instead of the logical reasons that they had started off as. Alright, she knew that most people couldn't defend themselves against the scumbags that were after her. She really liked Dave's term for the pissants that had been after her ever since they had murdered her mother. A dragon's magic was some of the strongest out there and they tended to have multiple talents, unlike most supernaturals who usually had one strong talent. They could be fire mages for example, or elemental mages, which meant they could control all four elements, to varying degrees. On rare occasions they had two equally strong talents. Dragons though, tended to be strong in a lot of different ways.

"I wouldn't have survived as long as I have if I didn't know how to defend myself. There used to be numerous dragon hunters around after all and I was one of only a small percentage to survive," Dave pointed out in a much calmer tone.

"That's a good point," Liana admitted, even though she didn't want to.

"I know you're afraid of getting involved with anyone and not just because of those scumbags. However, you'll never be truly happy until you allow yourself to experience a personal life and just don't scrape up a living day-by-day," Dave said. "Witches of your power can live for a 1000 years and are you really unwilling to get involved seriously with anyone in that amount of time?"

"Brigid said similar things," Liana admitted, thoroughly chastised for the second time in less than fifteen minutes. She wanted so much to take Dave up on his offer, but did she dare?

"My daughter is a very intelligent young woman," Dave said. "She sees how you're isolating yourself from getting involved with anyone and just scraping a living for yourself. I'm sure she told you that what you're doing isn't very healthy and that you can't live like that for the rest of what could possibly be a very long life. If you cut yourself off from all but minimum contact with other people then your life will be very bitter and miserable. You might as well just kill yourself or let those people after you do so, because the scumbags of the world would have won."

Dave had a point and in fact, a lot of them, Liana thought. She had been living on the edge of society for years, barely making enough to rent her one room apartment and to feed herself. At least she had before she had sold the few items of jewelry that she had kept from her days of thievery to Dave who had given her a more than decent price for them. She still felt that he had given her too much, but he had refused to lower the price until she gave in. Perhaps, they truly were worth that much, because Dave wasn't one to be taken advantage of, something she had learned over the last few weeks. She knew it was possible Dave had given her more than the normal amount simply because she was apparently his mate, information she still hadn't absorbed fully yet.

She realized suddenly that she trusted Dave just as much as she did his daughter, and that trust had happened rather quickly. Did it have anything to do with them being mates or was it simply that Dave was generous and kind and had done nothing to make her think that he had any ulterior motives. Well, other then to get her to agree to a permanent relationship, something she couldn't blame him for if she really was the 'one'. This was something she had massive doubts about, but she couldn't see Dave being wrong about her being his mate, as supernaturals had strong instincts when it came to meeting the person for them, something her mother had taught her not long before she was murdered. Besides, she was drawn to him in a way that she never had been to anyone else, which told her that Dave was likely right that she was his mate

"Alright," Liana decided feeling instantly that it was the right decision.

"You're willing to give it a try?" Dave asked not wanting to get his hopes up.

"We've dating anyway for the last six weeks," Liana pointed out.

"While this is true, I've sensed your wariness and your readiness to bolt if necessary. You could hide in the human world and most supernaturals would never find you, except by sheerest dumb luck, or if they had a talented tracker at their disposal."

Trackers that powerful were rare and they would need something of Liana's in order to find her. While getting something of hers would be relatively easy, it would have to be something that she used frequently and it would help if she was fond of whatever the item was. The more you used an item the more imprints and impressions you left, which meant that it would be tied to the person it belonged to that much more.

"However, I would find you I promise you. I have many contacts in the human world, as I look human unless I shift and so long, as I'm careful not to use magic I can pass for a normal person very easily. I know my way around the human world, because as old as I am I just couldn't have stuck to the magical one. I have an official identity and everything."

"How would you track me down?" Liana asked not sure if she liked the idea of that.

"I'm not going to tell you, because then you might find a way to just disappear totally, so I can't find you, even with my dragon sense." Dragons supposedly made excellent trackers according to rumors. "If you agree to a permanent relationship then I'll tell you, as I will keep no secrets from you. I will show you the world and not just the supernatural one either," Dave said. "I've often wondered if I would ever meet my mate, not all dragons do you know, as it's mostly down to luck. Even if they are born my kind don't always know when they are unless they literally run into them or have a powerful seer working for them."

"Brigid is a seer," Liana realized.

"Yes, she is, and when she started to 'see' me with you she knew immediately that you were the one I had been waiting for. That it was her best friend made her very happy, as she knew I would treat you like you deserve to be treated. When you walked into my shop I was expecting you, as Brigid had warned me, so I was able to control my initial reaction enough that you didn't notice anything unusual. Before you get suspicious she didn't try to see your future or my own, but sometimes visions, just come upon her unsought and unasked for."

"I would never think that of Brigid," Liana said. "We've known each other for 10 years. She's the only person I've ever trusted completely other than mom."

"Good, I'm glad you do, because she's a very trustworthy young woman," Dave said.

"You would probably say that even if she wasn't," Liana teased him.

If there was one thing she had learned about him was that he didn't give compliments lightly, likely not even to his daughter, a baby he had taken in and treated as his own. That he had done so instead of turning her over to the proper authorities where she may have been mistreated or taken in by people that would have misused her abilities told her everything she needed to know about his character. Dave was right Brigid had been abandoned for a reason and no matter what that reason was it hadn't been right. Of course, it was very possible her parents lives had been in danger and so they had left their daughter behind, likely hoping that somebody would find her before it was too late.

Liana thought about that and then realized since Brigid was a powerful seer it was possible either her father or her mother had had the gift and had known exactly what would happen if they had left her practically on Dave's doorstep. Neither one of them would likely ever know and Brigid was her good friend, her sister in every way in any case.

Dave said nothing knowing he was being gently teased and he thought it was a good sign.

"So what I want to know is why Brigid's visions saw us together now instead of say five or even ten years ago."

"Because whatever nebulous force controls such things knew that this was the right time. I doubt very much that you would have agreed to go out on a date with me ten years ago, even if I put on every bit of charm I could muster. If I do that women are usually putty in my hand and I made sure they enjoyed themselves before sending them on their way."

Considering what Dave's smile did to her alone Liana could easily imagine that if he turned on all the charm he possessed that no woman would stand a chance.

"Besides, we have to consider the fact that you were only 20, 10 years ago and still incredibly young. You needed to experience real life and not that of the underworld, make friends with my daughter before we met," Dave said.

That was a good point, Liana thought

"Alright, you've made your point," Liana agreed. "In fact, several. You're right 10 years ago I didn't know Brigid as well as I do now, as we had just met. Even after I met Brigid I was still hypersensitive around people for years."

"So is there another reason that those powers decided on now besides, the fact I trust Brigid's word and I'm not as wary as I used to be?" Liana asked.

"Well, I don't know for sure, because I didn't know you were my mate until Brigid informed me of her vision, but I suspect because it's mating season for dragons," Dave said.

"Mating season?" Liana asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Dragon's are only fertile for a few short years every 300," Dave explained. "I am now entering my fertile cycle and while you're not a dragon, that doesn't matter unless the dragon is in their fertile period."

"You're telling me that mating season is only every 300 years?" Liana asked her face and voice full of disbelief.

"Think about it and you'll understand," Dave suggested. "Not every dragon is going to be responsible, especially young ones. If we could have children, as often as other supernaturals we would soon overrun the world. We might be invisible to humans when in our dragon form, but we would still be visible to other supernaturals. If some of them knew dragons still existed they would want to hunt us down."

That was a good point, Liana admitted.

"So how long does this mating season last?" Liana asked out loud

"It starts in just a couple weeks and during that time dragon's become fertile. This fertile period lasts only about 10 years and in that time at least one dragonling is born, usually 2 or 3."

"10 years seems like a long time," Liana said.

"It's really not because a woman has to carry the fetus for much longer than most supernaturals and that's 18 months," Dave said. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to go through it, as a year and a half pregnant is a lot ask of anyone."

"Are you telling me if I agree to this I'll be pregnant for 18 months?" Liana asked not sure if she was willing to do that or not. Then again, Dave was just telling her the facts right now and wasn't forcing her into anything, so there was no point of getting upset.

"As I just said, our gestation period is the twice the length of most supernaturals," Dave said then added with a shrug. "I can't help that it's so long it's just the way our species always has been."

"That's what? About six children before your fertility period is over," Liana calculated.

"A possibility only," Dave said, though the longing in his voice made it clear he would love to have half a dozen little dragonlings running around. "I would settle for just one if that's all you were willing to provide if you agreed to get together with me. There would be other fertile periods after all, even if that wasn't for 300 years. I understand that it's a big commitment, as 18 months is a long time, so I wouldn't blame or resent you if you only agreed to go through it once."

"Once every 300 years," Liana said and Dave nodded. "So if I we did this what would the fertile period be like."

"Well, I've never had children, but I do know some things, something all dragons are taught once they are the proper age," Dave warned, Liana nodded in understanding.

"A dragon's mate is always somebody very powerful magically, because this is what makes it possible for dragon to mate with someone who is not one themselves. While being bonded to a dragon can lengthen the lifespan of our mates immeasurably, it can't turn them into a dragon. You have to actually be born a dragon or at least a half dragon in order to shift forms like that and have all our abilities. Of course, shifters can transform into some powerful animals, but not as powerful as a dragon, as it's mostly ordinary animals lions, bears, tigers, leopards and many more. You already know that we only have a 10 year fertile period every 3 centuries, but I can certainly understand that as we would soon be overrun by dragonlings if it was otherwise. The process is just like a normal supernatural's in how you get a woman pregnant. As for what to expect doing the pregnancy..."

Dave went on to describe what Liana could expect.

"Okay, if I'm understanding you right it's basically, like a normal pregnancy, but it takes a lot longer for the fetus to gestate, because of how magical dragons are. It also takes somebody extremely powerful magically to carry a dragonling as you call them to term. I won't be able to use my powers hardly at all during this time, because the fetus will need whatever magic I have until they are born."

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Dave said wincing. "I'll help as much as I can by feeding you magic, as dragons are nearly limitless reservoirs of power, which is one of many reasons they were so sought after centuries ago. My magic combined with yours will help you get through the pregnancy easier then if you didn't have such deep magic reserves yourself. I'll also keep you supplied with more ordinary needs like food, water and clothes for when your stomach grows."

"I never felt you were that powerful," Liana commented.

"I'm good at concealing my signature, since most supernaturals can sense how powerful one of us is or even see their aura with the proper spell," Dave shrugged. "It's one of the reasons that I've managed to survive as long as I have."

"How about we continue to date for awhile and then I'll see," Liana suggested. "I don't have anything against you, because you are a dragon, I just haven't fully absorbed what you have told me and it's going to take me awhile to come to terms."

"I more than understand that, Lian," Dave said gently. "I know I shocked you with the information I have given you, as everybody absorbs things at different speeds. I'm willing to wait as long as necessary for you to agree to be mine exclusively and if you don't then I won't force you."

"That would devastate you," Liana said seeing an expression of a immense sadness flickering over Dave's face.

"It will, but I can't force you to be my mate, because you can't feel the connection in the same way I do. You also have trust issues and considering your past, what little you have told me, I can more than understand. If you had grown up more normally, then trust likely wouldn't be an issue," Dave said.

That told Liana everything she needed to know about his character, not that she hadn't been aware that he was a good man, as he'd taken in a baby after all and raised her with love.

"I'll consider your offer, but that's all I can promise," Liana said Dave nodded somberly, sadness and pain in his eyes, something he quickly concealed.

"It's late, why don't I prepare us a late snack and then we can both get some sleep," Dave suggested. "I can prepare a room for you in just a few minutes."

"You keep food here?" Liana asked in surprise. "Doesn't it spoil, since by your own admission you only come here so infrequently?"

"Enchanted larder," Dave explained. "Something I had done a long time ago, since you're right, I don't spend much time here. The food will be just as fresh and good as it was when it was first put into the larder."

Liana said nothing, but knew such enchantments were very expensive, but then again, Dave could afford such things.

"Sounds good then," Liana said, as her stomach growled. The supper that Dave had bought her at a good restaurant on the way had disappeared as far as her stomach was concerned. "If you'll just point the way to the shower I'll take one while you're fixing that snack. Don't go to much trouble for me. Something simple that doesn't require to much preparation will do."

Dave nodded and pointed her the way to her room, which had a bathroom. "I'll come and make the bed for you just as soon as I can," Dave promised.

"I can make my own bed if you show me where the clean sheets are," Liana offered.

"No, that's all right, you're my guest, I'll do it," Dave said firmly and Liana gave in.

There was no point of arguing with him really, because he usually won.

"Alright," Liana agreed and left to take a shower.

~~~Dave and Liana~~~