LUKE

The day Luke Whitlock buried his grandmother somehow linked with the same day he met a prince. Not just any kind of prince, but a vampiric one. Tall, dark, and handsome Daniel Bellerose. His highness and all his glory rolled up to the viewing with an entourage.

The prince bowed, shook Luke's hand, and said, "Iris was an incredible woman. Without her, my grandmother's ring would've been lost forever..." He was being so sincere and kind, but all Luke could do was stare at the fangs in his mouth. "My husband would be without a ring."

"Uh-huh," Luke said, drowning in confusion. Luke wondered if this man was beautiful because he was a vampire or was he a vampire because he was beautiful? Or was Luke's current dry spell just lasting longer than usual.

"I apologize I couldn't stay longer, but I had to come and give my respects."

"Sure." Luke stood there, blinking, and recycling oxygen into carbon dioxide.

"If you ever visit Sagewick, please give my assistant a call and we'll take care of you," the prince said, and a tall blonde model of a man appeared to hand Luke a business card. Was he a vampire, too? How did that even work? It's bright outside.

Luke was spiraling.

The wild ride didn't end there.

People flooding into his late grandmother's house were all out of the same surprise grab bag of supernatural creatures. A nice couple of half-giants were forced to bend down to get inside as they gave their respects to Luke. Winged fairies and pixies whizzed inside and covered the floor in a glimmer that made Luke's nose hair twitch. Huge wolves arrived and transformed into men and women, all greeting him kindly.

He rubbed the side of his face and asked the man, "You said you were a merman?"

The merman in question, who just shook Luke's hand with webbed fingers, Kostas, laughed and just made Luke feel crazier. "I am. Didn't Iris tell you about this world?"

"No," Luke admitted, tilting his head around Kostas's shoulder to watch a fairy with incandescent blue wings bring color back to a brown spider plant in the corner. "I found out a few days ago. Zipper's lawyer is a vampire."

"Zipper?"

Luke snapped straight, flushed up to his ears with a blush too warm for comfort. "Oh, uh, I called my grandmother Zipper. She loathed the term grandmother."

"No, that makes sense." Kostas said with a smile that was oozing charm. "She called you Button, right?"

Luke nodded.

"She talked about you all the time."

Without knowing what to say, he nodded again.

"Do you drink?" Kostas motioned Luke to follow him, sliding his arm across his shoulder, making Luke seem small. This close, Luke smelled the sea water and salt lingering in Kostas's long dark curls, his bronze skin, and all things. If Luke put his ear to his chest, he'd imagine he'd hear the ocean.

"Even if you don't, you need a water at least," Kostas explained as they maneuvered through the growing crowd. "Something to hold in your hands. Makes things less awkward."

Luke smiled a little. "No, I definitely drink."

Kostas chuckled at that.

"Are you thirsty, Luke?" Astrid, the little gnome woman asked, squeezing past his legs. She clamored up a rolling motorized ladder, her eagerness whizzing off her edges like sparks. She came up to Luke's knees with pointy ears and a large drooping nose. Her braided red hair rested below her shoulders, the top hidden by a black veil.

A few days ago, Luke also learned that Astrid had been living with Iris and taking care of the home while she was away on business. Something like a live-in butler, but Luke knew her as a friend to his grandmother. Almost an aunt to him... but all the other times he's met Astrid, she was just a short woman. A soft curl to her ears.

Said she's been wearing an enchantment to hide it.

Said Iris wanted to protect him.

Whirling across the edges of the counters, Astrid grabbed two glasses and bottle of red wine. She climbed kitchen island and poured the bottle that was barely any bigger than she was. She'd been obsessively trying to take care of Luke.

Yesterday, she started his laundry and he tried to stop her.

She said, "I would've done it for Iris."

Luke had a feeling he was filling the space she left behind and he didn't know how to process it. Didn't know how to process any of it. Luke first thought he was having a psychotic break when Iris's lawyer explained that this secret world existed.

"Here you go, Luke," Astrid said and motioned the boys to the drinks. She wiped off her hands on her black dress. "Can I get you boys something to eat?"

"No, thank you," Kostas said.

"Uh, no, Astrid I'm fine."

"Luke, you haven't eaten all day," Astrid insisted.

"I'm not hungry."

"And you barely ate yesterday."

"Because I'm not hungry. I'm not the type to eat my feelings. I sleep, take long showers, and drive the people around me crazy, okay?" He put his hand on the counter in front of her.

Astrid smiled softly and touched his hand with hers. "Well, alright, but—"

"If I get hungry, you'll be the first to know."

That seemed to satisfy her enough for her to take her magical rolling ladder elsewhere. Luke grabbed the wine and took a sip that made him feel more nauseous than good. Its warmth thankfully flooded his chest. Luke was a naturally cold and clammy person. His mother used to send him to school with hand warmers in his pockets.

"So..." Luke said, eyeing Kostas. "Are you going to tell me what Zipper found for you?"

"Hm?" Kostas hummed.

"Everyone's told me what she found for them, so what was it? The crown for the mermaid king or queen? A conch shell that controls the weather?"

Kostas grinned. "Nothing like that. She just found me a new home. Actually, where I live now."

Sighing, Luke took another drink. It went down easier this time. "She was a 'do it all' kind of lady, I guess."

Kostas nodded. "You'd just tell her what you'd need, and she'd provide it. Holy shit—!" Luke jumped as he spotted a giant hairy beast through the kitchen window. He stumbled back and Kostas seized his arm to keep him from collapsing.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Kostas insisted, taking Luke's wine away. With free hands, Luke rested against the counter, clutching the lip for dear life as he tried to breathe and keep his heart from popping out of his throat. He stared at the beast through the window, its yellow eyes glowing and severe. It hadn't moved an inch.

Luke felt like one of those steaming pies left out on the windowsills.

And this hair monster was gonna swipe him.

It was nearly as tall as the giant, with more hair than the werewolves.

"He's a Sasquatch," Kostas explained and rubbed Luke's back. "I've seen him around these woods before. I think he's just paying his respects too."

Exhausted, Luke just waved and amazingly, the Sasquatch waved back. Luke used the counter to move, dragging himself out of the kitchen and into the living room. Kostas followed him, leading him to the couch, and handed Luke his drink. "Take it easy, little human. I think you should eat something. You're very pale."

Rubbing his forehead, Luke just nodded and finished off his wine. He thought about putting his head between his knees, like this was an airplane tail spinning into the Atlantic Ocean. He wished today was over. Kostas left him and Luke slumped against the coach, a velvet loveseat that was more comfortable than it looked.

His grandmother's style was eclectic, less purposeful and more like she held onto things that had meaning. She laughed in the face of minimalism. Colors didn't have to match. Frames weren't perfect. Just lots of plants. Lots of special things, like walking into an antique store but nothing was actually for sale.

Plain or boring wasn't allowed. With everyone wearing plain black clothes, it looked so odd. So wrong.

"So he's all alone now?" Someone asked.

Luke stared straight ahead.

Up on the mantelpiece was a large portrait of his grandmother. Iris Whitlock was all elegant slender lines with a shock of white hair, swept around her face like she was a 30s starlit. She never stopped wearing make-up, wore pearl earrings every day, and nice clothes even for hanging around the house. In this portrait, she wore an evening gown and a mink shawl.

"Yep," someone replied. "I heard Iris raised him."

"Really?" another asked. "What about his parents?"

"Gone. I think they died in a car accident."

Someone sighed sadly and Luke thought he'd never be able to take the weight off his chest. "I really thought the Whitlock curse was broken with Luke."

"Oh, did he almost?"

"Heart disease. No one thought he'd live past seven."

Luke closed his eyes and placed his hand over his heart, like it was still threatening to break. He didn't want to listen anymore, but his legs stopped working. One said, "I think Iris was the oldest living Whitlock in history. Shame, a little complication, can take away such a strong person. I didn't even know she went into surgery."

"It was supposed to be routine."

The pressure built too much against Luke's face. Pushing. Pushing. Tears crowded his eyes and he sucked in his breath, couldn't even let a breath escape or he'd let it all out. He wanted everyone to go. Just leave him alone. He wanted Astrid to go. He needed Kostas not to get so close. If the sasquatch and everyone here valued their lives, they needed to escape from Luke and that his curse.

It started with the chandelier.

It began to shake and then everything in the house was rattling. A worried chattered sprinkled throughout the reception. Something clattered to the floor and someone gasped. The roar of worry heightened and Kostas dropped Luke's plate in order to catch a falling mirror.

From a window, a horde of blue pixies rushed inside. They were living in Luke's grandmother's garden. A ribbon trailed their leader, Pearl, one that Luke swore he saw a guest wearing earlier. Her black eyes were wide. "Luke! Th-there's something coming!"

More chatter. More worried cries for answers as the house quivered.

"What? What is it?" Luke got up and ran to the front door, a powerful hurricane-like gust greeting him. His grandmother's house lived on a huge patch of land, void of neighbors and traffic. Plopped down in the middle of a fence of trees that were being torn of their leaves from all this wind. Over the tops, on the horizon, Luke saw what the pixies were seeing. Something was coming. Something huge.

And it was coming fast, flapping its expanse of black wings, each one the length of the whole house with a tail to match. The scales in the light shimmered a ruby red color, richer than its eyes. Horn crowded his head like a king's crown. Luke knew what it was. He'd watch movies. Read books. Seen depictions of this beast in folklore.

A dragon.

A dragon dropped into Luke's front yard and a gust of powerful wind slammed Luke into his door while the ground shook, threatening to slip apart. He curled away as the beast roared, turning this fall day into summer. Luke closed his eyes, bracing himself for another rush of wind.

From its mouth, smoke billowed and encased the creature, filling the entire yard. The curls of smoke rolled across the porch, twisting around Luke's legs. The smell of sulfur burned his eyes as the heat laced his skin. Heavy steps walked up the porch and Luke peeked at the man emerging from the smoke, half his face still made of scales that slowly disappeared.

This man slammed his hand on the door, towering over Luke, who jumped and glared into those ruby red eyes. Heat radiated from this man as if they were standing in an oven.

"You," he bellowed, and all the hairs on Luke's arms stood to attention. The scales were being replaced with sun-kissed skin and golden blonde hair. "Are you that harpy woman's grandson?"

Luke was unable to speak. Just stared. Even in this human form, he was so impressive. Tall with broad shoulders, all dressed up in a sleek black suit. Even underneath the fabric, Luke imagined he was muscular. His brain buffered as he told himself that this wasn't the time to imagine someone without their clothes on. Especially when those eyes going from red to black to silver were glaring at him. His mouth was tight in a thin frown and the air between them crackled like the belly of a firepit.

"I'm guessing you are..." He said, looking pissed and unimpressed. "So you're the one who'll have to take responsibility and give me back what Iris stole from me." 

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Whoa. Where did this come from? Don't ask me. I have no idea. 

But like you can leave your thoughts about it or whatever. Like what's your first impression of Luke? And Iris? There's a dragon too??? That's a new one for the Miss Bonnett universe. All comments are appreciated it.