Lunch had been wonderful Cassie thought, even as she practically waddled into the room where she had come first when she had gotten of the elevator.
"I'm glad you enjoyed lunch," Monica said.
"How can you tell?" Cassie asked with a smile already knowing the answer.
"Well, for one thing you had seconds," Monica said. "I know of no one that will eat seconds if they didn't like the first serving."
"That's true," Cassie admitted with a slight smile.
"Besides, you're waddling which tells me you ate too much," Monica added with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I won't do that again anytime soon," Cassie said chuckling as well. "Not only is it uncomfortable to be overfull, I don't want to start gaining weight, just because I am a pig. It was just so good."
"You'll just have to learn to eat in moderation," Monica chuckled. "I understand though, because I used to be the same way."
"I usually do eat in moderation, but I just couldn't help myself tonight," Cassie admitted. "This is twice I'm overeaten fairly recently and both time were after I met Dave and Aaron."
"Ah yes, I heard all about when you took them to one of your favorite restaurants," Monica said with a chuckle. "You'll learn not to overeat when you're in their presence. Now that your aware of you're tendency to overeat whenever Dave and Aaron are around you should be able to resist taking seconds."
"Or put part of my meal up, just because I'm not that hungry," Cassie agreed.
The two women entered what Cassie assumed was either the den or the living room.
"It took you long enough," Aaron said with a smirk.
"And you're impatient," Monica gently chided Aaron. "Cassie and I were just talking getting to know each other. I only met her today remember unlike you two who have known her for months."
"She's right, Aaron," Dave said his amusement clear. "Come, sit down you two."
Aaron said nothing as he knew Dave and Monica both were right. Monica hadn't met Cassie before a few hours ago and the two deserved the chance to get to know each other.
"I believe you had something to tell me," Cassie said calmly, with a raised eyebrow that was inquiring. It was clear Cassie was ready to listen to whatever story the three people who lived in this magnificent house had to tell her.
Dave began by explaining about dragon shifters and how they had come to exist, then all about mates and bonds.
"You sure are taking this calmly," Monica noticed. "If I wasn't a dragon shifter myself I probably would've been accusing them of lying."
"There is a reason for that," Cassie said calmly.
"What's your reason? It must be doozy, as we all know how fantastical our story is," Aaron asked, as he studied Cassie's expression and body language.
"My father left me and Rena a journal," Cassie explained. "My copy is old and I can tell it's been around for very long time, though it's been well taken care of."
"Let me guess, your father's journal has a lot of details about dracon," Dave said, though really, it wasn't a guess at all, as why bother to bring up the journal in the first place otherwise.
"Yes, it did," Cassie said. "I didn't want to believe it, you know, because dad never mentioned it while he was alive. Dad did tell us a few bedtime stories with dragons but me and Rena just considered them makebelieve. We just thought that dad had a very good imagination. Gerda was ordered to give us the journals after their funeral and she followed my parents last wishes, as they knew she would. She's been with the family since before I was born. I didn't even remember the journal at first until after I met you Dave."
"So you went back and reread it," Monica guessed.
"To remind myself of the details," Cassie agreed soberly. "I still didn't want to believe it, just so you know, it was just too fantastic."
"I can't blame you for not wanting to believe it," Dave said finally. "Really, your dad, should've told you and your sister more than a few bedtime stories, when you were young as mostly kids accept such things easier. Of course, there are always exceptions."
"He probably thought that we would never believe it, once we were old enough to stop believing in things like that. He was probably right about that," Cassie said.
"So the journal..." Aaron paused.
"Was written in my father's hand, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was copied from an older one, probably written by my grandfather, maybe even great-grandfather," Cassie said.
"Paper doesn't last forever," Monica suggested. "Not even high quality paper. It eventually deteriorates. I wouldn't be surprised if each child isn't responsible for copying the journal by hand, so it's fresh for the next generation."
"Like that's going to happen," Cassie snorted. "I'll probably copy it onto computer and save the file, as that's far easier and also faster."
"That's dangerous," Dave told Cassie. "What if someone gets ahold of it and believes it?"
"That's not too likely is it?" Cassie asked biting her lower lip.
"Probably not, but you also never know," Aaron agreed with Dave.
"Most people would take it as some kind of outline for a fantasy novel," Cassie said.
"While that's true, I don't believe you should put it on computer just in case," Dave told Cassie. "Not even encoded as it is just too dangerous."
"Maybe," Cassie said reluctantly. "I really don't want to write it out by hand."
"It's not like you have to do it in a certain amount of time," Dave reminded his mate. "The computer might've been a good idea if not for the fact, that it's possible to steal stuff like that because of all the hackers in the world. I doubt very much it would stop there, even if whoever stole it didn't believe it other people would likely see it and then it would be spread to other people until a hundred people knew, then two hundred and so forth. Eventually you'd run into someone that believed it."
"But what could they do, even if they did?" Cassie asked.
"They could cause us a lot of trouble," Aaron said gently. "While the general population might not believe in such things as dracons or shifters in general, there is an order that makes it a point to kill our kind. The Order of the Drakon has been around for very long time. Any dracon who is stupid enough to transform when they shouldn't is likely to be killed because of their carelessness and also their family, as the Order is relentless. The Order of Drakon has members all over the world, ones who truly believe in the Order's docent."
"I see," Cassie said thoughtfully. "I can see why you want to keep a low profile. I certainly wouldn't want this Order stalking me if they're that dangerous."
"Most of them are not that dangerous," Monica said. "The ones that join the order are usually the very gullible and the not very skilled. They're more cannon fodder then anything else. However, they do have plenty of dangerous members to, ones that are more skilled with the weapons of war. With our luck, we'd probably get one of those and they would be difficult to kill at best."
"We'd have to go on the run," Aaron said.
"We'd have to abandon basically everything, something none of us want to contemplate," Dave added.
"Well, maybe I can photocopy it then like dad did for Rena," Cassie said finally.
"That would be much safer," Aaron said smiling in relief.
"Yes, thank you for being so agreeable," Dave said.
"I would never want to put any of you in danger," Cassie said simply. "Now that I know that there an order out there that hunts your kind I'm not going to risk it. I'm not so lazy that I have to put it on computer and I just figured it would be easier. Luckily, there is also photocopiers, though trying to read my father's handwriting isn't going to be easy for most other people besides me and Rena because we're familiar with it. Don't get me wrong, Dad had a neat cursive, certainly neater then most professionals, but still, a lot of people don't read cursive that well."
"I'm sure they'll manage," Monica spoke. "I certainly appreciate that you don't want to put any of us in danger. It's a very mature decision, though that doesn't mean I don't understand the temptation on copying it in such a modern way, which is easier and faster."
"So does that mean you accept our invitation," Dave asked quietly.
"Of course I do," Cassie said giving Dave a scolding look for the doubt in his voice. "I wouldn't have bothered to tell you about dad's journal if I hadn't or even come out here. If I backed out now I would be unhappy and so would you three. Dad's journal gives specific warnings about not rejecting your mate or mates and explains what a bad idea that would be. He also apologizes for not telling me and Rena all this while he was still alive."
"So why didn't he tell you?" Monica asked.
"Dad explained that the reason he didn't say anything is that the family hasn't been able to transform in several generations. He wasn't completely sure how many. While I still have a lot of Dracon blood due to both my parents neither of them could shift so that meant neither of their children could either. Dad knew that without the ability to shift Rena and I likely would never believe him as there was no way to prove it so to speak. An old journal really doesn't mean anything, as it could be simply a bunch of stories."
"That makes sense," Aaron said thoughtfully. "You grew up in the modern age where such things is dragon shifters are unbelievable."
"Any kind of shifter is unbelievable," Cassie corrected Aaron. "From what my dad wrote real dragons used to exist but they were knocked off sometime during the dark ages."
"That's true," Dave agreed easily. "While dragons weren't exactly unintelligent they weren't as smart as the dracon. I suppose that you could say that we were an evolution of the original dragons. Still, they weren't easy to kill mind you, as their hide was very tough, but also magically resistant. Still, a sword works, just as well on a dragon's skin as it does on anything else, canvas, cloth, leather, flesh and many other things and so long as you could prevent yourself from being fried from their fiery breath, clawed to death or getting hit with their tails, which was a weapon all on it's own, then it's quite possible to kill one."
"That's kind of sad that humans killed off an intelligent species," Cassie said. "Not just those that committed bad deeds like eating someone's flock for instance."
"Yeah, it's unfortunate," Aaron said. "However, considering how the world is now it's just as well. For one thing they could never hide from those in modern society unless they hibernated and really, that's no kind of life."
"They would've died eventually Cassie, maybe by some disease or maybe by natural selection. Who knows?" Monica said. "They couldn't exist in this time, because they were so big that they were obvious and they couldn't shift like we can. Unlike the dracon they couldn't transform. With today's weapons they would've been easily annihilated."
"Some things aren't meant to last forever," Dave said and Cassie nodded solemnly.
"I know, but that doesn't mean it's not sad. Such magnificent beasts, just wiped out of existence."
"They were indeed magnificent," Aaron said smiling sadly.
"Now that you've accepted our invitation I'm assuming that you'll move in with us," Dave said.
"Yes, I will, though I'll have to tell Teri. Not the whole story of course, just that I'm going to move in with you because I love you and you invited me. There will be no way for us to marry because I can't marry both of you."
"They never married me either," Monica said. "It was even more impossible back when I was born then it is today. Besides, that is not the dracon way."
"We never marry in the human way," Aaron explained.
"We don't need a piece of paper to know who we love, or who our mate is. Marriage is just a church convention," Dave said.
"Well, good, because I don't necessarily care about marriage either," Cassie said relieved. "Some people might look down on me for it, but nobody needs to know other then Teri and possibly the staff at Silverthorne Manor that have been there forever."
"Your sister," Monica said.
"Yeah, and Rena," Cassie agreed. "There's no telling whether she'll believe that you're shifters or not, though I suppose you could demonstrate."
"That's for later. I'll leave you boys and Cassie to do whatever," Monica said with a wink before rising to her feet and disappearing in the direction of the kitchen.
"Did she mean what I think she meant?" Cassie asked blushing.
"Yeah, she did," Aaron smirked at Cassie's embarrassment.
"It's okay, she knew this was coming and has for sometime," Dave said. "She knew that you probably wouldn't want her present, at least this first time."
"That's very considerate of her," Cassie said. "I am a virtual stranger to her after all. I'm not sure if I would react the same if my mates brought someone new into their home."
"She's known since day one about you," Dave said simply. "So we had more than enough time to get used to the idea. That especially includes Monica, as we often discussed you with her and she gave us some good ideas on how to get closer to you."
"Besides, this is the way it works when a dracon has more than one mate," Aaron added.
"Let's start that tour, shall we?" Dave told Cassie getting to his feet and helping her to rise to hers.
"Sounds splendid," Cassie said with a very mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Let's have that tour and then I'm looking forward to dessert."
The way Cassie said dessert made both Aaron and Dave immediately eager, as they knew exactly what she meant.
"This way," Dave said, leading the way obviously very eager to get on with it.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~
Cassie lay in bed completely sated. She had just woken up because of a very vivid dream, one of those sexual ones she sometimes had. The things that Dave and Aaron had done to her would likely be considered illegal in some states, not that she cared about that. Both men were very inventive lovers, but then, they'd have to be considering how long dragon shifters lived. Cassie wondered what it would be like to have Monica in the same bed. Would it be weird or would it be just how it was supposed to be? She supposed she'd see, probably tomorrow night. Still, strangely, she wasn't against the idea of sharing the bed with another female, as Monica had been mated to them for a hell of a lot longer then she had. Monica had been mated to them long before she had even known them or even been born. She thought it was very nice of Monica to let them be by themselves for this first time at least. Even though, Dave and Aaron had tried to assure her that this was how it was supposed to be it was still something she had not expected.
Cassie looked at the clock that was just on the night stand on Aaron's side the bed and saw it was 3 o'clock in the morning. Cassie knew she wasn't going back to sleep until she used the bathroom as her bladder felt like it was going to explode. She didn't really want to wake either man, but since she was in the middle of the two she was going to have to wake one of them.
"Aaron," Cassie whispered softly, trying not to wake Dave as well.
Aaron woke up and looked up at her in confusion.
"I need to pee," Cassie told him softly. "I'm sorry to wake you and everything, but I really, really need to go."
Aaron nodded silently in understanding and moved his legs so Cassie could crawl off the bed.
"Thanks," Cassie whispered kissing his cheek briefly before she headed for the master bathroom just a few steps away.
Aaron watched silently, as Cassie entered the bathroom and it wasn't long before he heard the sound of her pee hitting the water of the toilet bowl and then the sound of the sink running.
Cassie emerged from the bathroom over five minutes later and immediately climbed back into bed the same way she had gotten off it in the first place and settled them back between her 2 men.
"Welcome back," Dave said, startling Cassie who jumped in fright.
Cassie jumped and glared over her shoulder at Dave who simply smirked back at her.
"Don't do that!" Cassie whispered glaring at Dave over her shoulder. "I had no idea you were even awake."
"She was actually trying not to wake you," Aaron said quietly. "I think she really didn't want to wake me either, but she had to desperately use the facilities."
"Like Aaron said I really didn't want to wake either one of you," Cassie admitted seeing her glare was lost on Dave, "but I saw no other way for me to use the bathroom and since I was facing in Aaron's direction he was the one I woke."
"It's okay if you wake us Cassie, we'll just go back to sleep. If you have to use the bathroom then you have to use it and neither of us or Monica is going to fuss at you for needing to relieve your bladder."
"I was just trying to be nice," Cassie said. "It was the polite thing to do."
"That's one of the problems about more then two people sharing a bed," Aaron commented. "Believe me, one of us or even both of us gets woken up all the time just because someone in the middle has to go."
"Let's try to go back to sleep now," Dave said yawning. "Morning will be here all too soon."
"Yeah, it will," Cassie sighed, turning to face Dave this time as she made herself comfortable.
"Good night, love you," Cassie said, as she closed her eyes.
"Good night, we love you too," both Aaron and Dave said at the same time, as they both kissed her head before getting comfortable and closing their eyes.
It didn't take long at all for all three to drift back to sleep perfectly content in each others company.
~~~Dave, Monica, Aaron, Cassie~~~