Dragon in the Rough (Elders Enterprises Book 1) by Jo Vanz Read Free Book Online Page B

academy right out of college. The rest is history.”
                  “Why were you never adopted?” Paul asked in a soft voice. That one question Katie always dreaded whenever anyone ever asked about her past. It reminded her that no one would ever love her. That she would forever be alone.
                  “Everyone was scared of me. I even lived with a few families that thought I was possessed.” Katie paused. She wasn’t sure why but she felt like she could trust Paul with her secret. “See, when I was a small child, I started to develop special abilities. I could jump long distances with ease. Actually, it was more like soaring. It just freaked people out.” Katie closed her eyes, she hated talking about her past. Even now she was fighting back tears as the memories came rushing back.
                  Paul reached across the table and grabbed Katie’s hand in his. Katie was grateful for that little bit of comfort as it gave her the strength that she needed to push past the tears. “Was that your only ability?” he asked in a calm, quiet tone.
                  Katie opened her eyes and looked at Paul. If he was in anyway disgusted with her, he was doing a damn good job at hiding it. “No,” she finally replied. “There were other things, too. They were things that I usually kept to myself, except on the occasion that I did not like the foster family that I was living with.”
                  Paul seemed to take his time before he asked his next question. “Can you track anything, no matter the size or distance?”
                  Katie let out a soft laugh. “I thought I could up until last night. You are the only person that has ever escaped me.”
                  Paul squeezed Katie’s hand. “If it makes you feel any better, you were closer to me last night than you know.” He paused briefly. “Have you ever tried tracking down your birth mother?”
                  “I requested the information a few years ago, I just never could bring myself to look at it.” Katie paused to take a drink to wet her suddenly dry throat. Her heart started to race just thinking about the envelope sitting in her closet at home.
                  “Well, I think it is time that you finally look at it.” Paul gave her a smile.
                  Katie pulled her hand out of Paul’s. “Why?” was all she could manage to squeak out. Her heart started to race while she waited for an answer. Katie did not like talking about her past, but this was something more. She was not ready to know who her mother was. Why was Paul telling her that she needed to find out?
                  “What you just described sounds a lot like a toddler dragon, only we are not taught to hide our abilities but to embrace them.” Katie’s mind was reeling. She was hit with so many different emotions all at once. Before she could clear her mind, anger took hold and reared its ugly little head.
     
                  “Do you not think that I would know if I could change into some ugly serpent with wings?” Katie let go of the last bit of control she had on her anger. She was just about to get up and walk out when Paul replied.
                  Paul lifted his head, jaw clenched as though he himself was having trouble controlling his anger. “No, I do not think you would know. You see, as a male, I came into my full power when I hit puberty. Meaning that was when I was first able to shift. Females are different. They do not come into their full power until they are mated!” He paused to take a breath and seemed to calm down a little bit. “If you were not raised by dragons then you would not know that you are one.”
                  “Oh,” Katie sat back, her anger slowly dwindling. “What do you mean by mated? If you mean having sex, well then that ship sailed a long time