Chapter 3

Weeks later

Dave was watching Dania's apartment early to make sure he didn't miss her, since his mate usually had the early morning shift. This was something he had learned since he had been watching over her for the last few weeks. Luckily dragon shifters didn't need as much sleep as humans unless they were extremely tired, so he could get by on less than the only species on this plane. By 6:30 she was exiting and walking hurriedly towards where she worked.
It was daylight now, so she wasn't as likely to be set upon by the seedy men that lived in the neighborhood.
Once Dania was safely at work, Dave went and had breakfast at a restaurant in a better part of town, knowing he had hours before she finished her shift.
He had already determined after he had seen Dania home that he wasn't going to show himself again at her place of employment. He didn't want her boss getting any ideas and fire her, as that wouldn't make Dania want anything to do with him if that happened because of him.
No, it was likely to make her mad as hellfire and tell him that she didn't want anything to do with him. He couldn't have that so he needed to be careful, even if the dragon within him yearned to make her his in every possible way, and treasure her like the precious gem that she was.
Once he finished breakfast and paid his bill, Dave wandered around with his hands in his pockets and tried to think about how to approach Dania. He really hadn't had any good ideas over the last few weeks as every idea he came up with, was bound to make her suspicious, including just asking for a date.
Dania would be sure that he had ill intentions if he did ask her for a date just because he appeared to be relatively well off for this area while she was not. Dave knew that his mate would think that he was going string her along and then get what he wanted before he dumped her.
Dave knew there was a story as to why Dania was working in such a place as a grill though that was better than other places she could've gotten a job, but it did make him wonder what had happened to her family, as he was sure that she had parents at least somewhere.
There could be all kinds of reasons that his mate was all alone with no family to call her own including that the parents were dead.
It was also possible that the parents had been not what they should be, and so Dania had left to make her own way with none of her family's, support. If that was the case, it was a hard path, because there was only certain jobs that women could get that were respectable.
Really, there was no point of speculating, as there was no way of knowing unless she told him as there could be 1000 reasons why she was working as a server at a restaurant in a not great part of town.
Finally, it was time for Dania's shift to end and so Dave headed back to the restaurant just as his mate came out the front door looking tired and worn out.
Dave watched his mate from across the street from the mouth of an alley, as Dania headed towards her apartment.
Dave silently followed her and made sure she got there safely still not sure what to do, despite weeks of watching over her, being her silent protector. Dave would like to get to know Dania Yates, a lot better, but he also knew he had to be careful and not give in to his urge to insert himself into her life without sufficient reason or a by your leave, as his mate wouldn't appreciate his interference he was sure.
Finally, once Dania was inside her apartment building, Dave walked back to where he had left the car in a much better part of town.
Being a prince and being able to produce money with his magic allowed him to buy anything he wanted, including a car, but since he had opened a bank account with magically produced money, a very long time ago, he didn't need to use his magic to produce the money of this world anymore. Dave walked briskly to where he had left his vehicle.
When he and Calyx and his family had first arrived on this world several hundred years ago, he had, of course opened a bank account and so had Calyx.
All of them had learned a lot about this world by the time they had opened those bank accounts and so invested cautiously at first and let their money grow before they looked for other possible investments.
Calyx, of course, had money on him when they had left their realm, and he had melted it down to where it was just some gold and silver nuggets once he had transformed into his dragon form and Dave had helped out by melting his own coinage into nuggets that he also had on his person. That gold and silver had gotten them quite a bit of money at the bank, which had been the start of both their fortunes.
After Dave had examined the money that he had gotten at the bank it had been easy for Dave to duplicate the money of this world when necessary and have it be permanent.
He now had quite the fortune mostly due to investments, but that didn't mean Dave hadn't duplicated a lot of the bills he had originally gotten countless times, and then had them added to his account, which caused his money to grow faster. There was only so many bills Dave could duplicate at one time though, so he had always chosen the thousand dollar bill as it was the largest. He had also duplicated $100 and 50 dollar bills just so the tellers at the bank wouldn't be suspicious as to where all his money came from. He had even duplicated fives and two dollar bills. His fortune had multiplied quite quickly. The gold and silver coins he'd had on him, had given him the start to his money though, and had gotten him several thousand dollars at the bank, which was plenty to live on in the time that he, Calyx and his family had arrived on this plane, but it wouldn't last forever and prices rose as time went on and the technology got more complicated, society more advanced.
It was simply a fact of life as it happened on his own plane over time, and his home plane was no different from the earth plane.
He missed his own home sometimes with a deep ache that was almost physical, but now that he had met his mate, you wouldn't be able to drag him away not unless Dania came as well.
Dave still marvelled that he had met his mate on a totally different plane and now he saw his exile in a totally different light.
He now saw his exile as a good thing rather than a bad thing like previously. That wasn't to say he didn't still miss his parents, because sometimes he ached just to see them, talk to them, but now that he had found his mate he was certainly happier than he had been ever since he had been exiled. He hoped he could convince her to accept his tooth and also his eternal love.
That thought led to the one that made Dave briefly wonder if he really wanted to get Dania involved in his mess with his brother.
At the moment, Miles had no idea that Dania existed, and he would hate to bring her into his troubles. Could he really leave her here to fend for herself from handsy, often rude and crude men, though?
Dania's luck would probably run out someday to where she was either raped or outright killed by someone drunk perhaps. A lot of men had no manners whatsoever and believed that any women without a man around were up for grabs, and even if a woman told them no, they often didn't listen.
San Francisco had not been settled all that long and it could be a rough place to live without someone being able to defend themselves or having someone to protect you.
No, there was no way in good conscious he could leave his mate to fend for herself, even if that drew her into his troubles with his brother. Yes, Dania had survived on her own for years, but that didn't mean something couldn't happen that could easily be prevented with his presence.
The fact that he yearned to be one with her, made his decision an easy one, even if he felt guilty at the same time for getting Dania involved in his problems.
Dave followed Dania as she approached her apartment building, only to be surrounded by men who had been lounging nearby. It was getting dark, which is why those men probably felt safe enough approaching Dania as she was about to enter her apartment house.
"Hey sweetheart, how about we go somewhere? I'll show you a good time," called one of the men.
"You've asked me that before Buddy and I've always told you no," Dania told the man who had asked the question with annoyance in her voice. "Now, why don't you and your friends get out of my way so I can head up to bed, as I'm tired after my shift."
"Oh, now don't be like that, honey," called another one of the men. "We just want to show you a good time."
"You're kind of good time is not my kind of good time. I don't need a reputation for being a loose woman, as I'll lose my job and even if I wouldn't, I would never waste more than a second of what little free time I have with any of you."
Dave winced at that rejoinder, but he couldn't blame his mate in the slightest, because it now appeared that these men had been bothering Dania for quite some time.
"Oh, come on sweetheart. We just want to have a little fun!" said yet another man who actually approached her, grabbing her by the waist and leaning in for a kiss. Dania struggled mightily and finally managed to raise her knee enough to get him in the groin.
"Ow!" The man groaned, as he let go of Dania and grabbed his privates through his pants. "You bitch!"
"That ought to teach you not to grab someone who has told you no on multiple occasions," Dania told all the men. "Why don't you go bother someone else, as I wouldn't give you the time of day, even if I was better off than I was."
Dania started towards the door of her apartment building again when she was grabbed from behind and this time, no matter how much she struggled the man who had her, refused to release her, so Dave interfered.
"You listen to me, sweetie you'll do exactly what we tell you to do if you want to live through the next few minutes," the leader known as Buddy told Dania smirking maliciously.
"I think not," Dania said, managing to wrench one of her arms loose from her captor's hold on her and immediately threw a fireball right at Buddy's chest.
"Aw! You witch!"
"You'll leave me alone unless you want me to do worse is that understood?" Dan told all of the men who had backed away from their leader and also Dania.
"Now you've done it you bitch!" Buddy growled having managed to put out the fire, though his shirt was now in rags with burned patches right on the front.
"Get her boys, make her pay!" Buddy ordered. "You're dead, you understand me! Dead! You witch! We don't like your kind around here."
"Might I point out if you hadn't been constantly harassing me and one of your men not held me prisoner I never would have done what I did. I was only defending myself," Dania said getting ready to fight for her life.
This was it, Dania thought to herself, the end. These men had been harassing her for months simply because she didn't have a man to protect her. She had managed to fend them off and get inside the building each time they had appeared, but she hadn't been so lucky this time. She had known that her luck was bound to run out sooner or later, and it looked like that time had arrived
They were all as drunk as skunks, as she could smell it on their rancid breath, which is why they had been more aggressive than usual.
Suddenly, there was somebody who pushed their way through the mob and stood beside her.
"I believe the lady asked you to leave her be," said a familiar voice. Even though Dania had only heard the voice a few times on the same day she instantly recognized it and it immediately soothed her, though she wasn't sure why and she thought that she might just live through this encounter after all.
How the hell Dave had suddenly appeared when she needed him most she didn't really care at the moment just that he was on her side.
"And who are you pal? You have no right to interfere in our business!" growled one of Buddy's men.
"When you're about to rape and kill a woman who you have apparently harassed for quite some time I consider it my business," Dave replied calmly.
"She's devil spawn," grow Buddy. "Look at what she did!"
Buddy gestured out his shirt, but Dave was totally unsympathetic.
"She did that only after you wouldn't leave her alone and your man held her prisoner. If you had just let her be, you wouldn't have had your chest burned. When you insist on harassing a woman who is only trying to make a living does not show any of you in a good light. I certainly understand why none of you are married, as all you apparently do is hang out with your buddies, get drunk and cause nothing but trouble."
"Why you!" Buddy growled, as he advanced on Dave menacingly. However, Dave was swift and sure as he took the man down in just a few strikes without transforming even partway into his dragon form or using a weapon other than his hands and feet.
"Anybody else?" Dave inquired calmly, not the least out of breath or sweaty from taking the leader down, even as Buddy slumped to the ground unconscious.
"What are you some kind of ninja?" asked one of the men as he stared at his leader who was unconscious on the ground.
"I'm surprised you even know what that is," Dania said sarcastically, even as she kept her guard up, expecting to be attacked again, even though Buddy was still unconscious.
"Why would you defend her? She's nothing to you," One of the men shouted at Dave obviously afraid of Dave's fists and also his feet.
"Because I can never stand to see a lady in trouble, one who was just minding her own business before you started harassing her, just because she was alone," Dave answered the man's question.
"Now, why don't you take your leader and disappear?" Dave suggested.
"We'll be back and you'll both regret this," shouted yet another man threateningly, as two of the men from Buddy's gang picked him up and put him over their shoulders, carrying him away from Dania and Dave.
"They will make me regret it you know," Dania said quietly, as she watched the whole gang disappear rapidly. "It might not happen today or tomorrow or the next day, but the next time they're drunk, they'll catch me coming home from work or from running errands, as I can't always be home by the time darkness falls. I often work the late shift and the grill doesn't close until long after the sun has set, especially doing winter when the sun sets early. Thank you for what you did, but you won't always be around and I'm surprised you showed up just in time to save me from being raped and murdered. Why did you show up by the way?" Dania wondered.
"There is a reason I did Dania," Dave told her quietly. "Not here out in the open, though. What I have to tell you is for your ears only."
"Well, I suppose, you've earned a little of my trust," Dania told him. "You didn't have to get involved in the confrontation with those men, but you did."
"Yes, I did have to get involved, as I never have like to see a lady in distress, and you were being ganged up on by a whole bunch of men when you were just trying to get up to your apartment after getting off work."
"I'm just going to have to ask Sid to put me on the daylight shift and keep me there permanently, as Buddy and his friends aren't as likely to attack me in the daylight hours," Dania sighed. "There isn't as much tip money on the morning shift as people tend to tip more generously for the lunch and dinner shifts, which is kind of odd now that I think about it."
"There might be another way," Dave offered saying no more.
"What way?" Dania finally asked.
"That will have to wait until we have privacy," Dave, replied mysteriously.
Dania couldn't help but wonder what Dave meant, but finally she nodded and led the way up to her apartment. She only hoped that no one saw Dave enter or leave as that could get her an undeserved reputation for being unchaperoned with a man unless they were related.

~~~Dave and Dania~~~