After everyone had disbanded from the parking lot, Cyrus offered to walk Mia home. She said yes to his offer. They walked along the sidewalk side-by-side. They didn't say a word as they walked back to Mia's apartment. Cyrus just kept Mia grounded, holding her hand, as she soaked in the information that not only was Cole her grandmother's killer but also wanted Mia. Whether he actually wanted Mia in a romantic way or wanted to kill her, Mia didn't know. The dates with him had seemed genuine. But his words rang in her mind. He just wanted to take her from Cyrus. But what did that all mean?

The two finally made their way back to Mia's apartment. She unlocked the door and finally let go of Cyrus's hand. The fading warmth made her wish she didn't let go. It had felt nice to hold his hand. Mia goes and sits on the couch, visibly distraught. Cyrus doesn't say anything as he goes into her kitchenette and gets her a glass of ice water. He comes back and sits down by her.

She glances at him and takes the glass. "Thank you." She takes a few sips, the cool liquid soothing her dry throat.

Quietly, Mia leaned against Cyrus. His warmth radiating through her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold her closer, taking advantage of the opportunity to be close to her. "Add this to my list of bad experiences," she mumbled.

Cyrus frowned. "What about your friend? Apea, right? She's a great experience for you."

"She is but Cole was her friend. Did she know about him? Did she set us up on purpose? Did she–" Before she could ask any more questions, Cyrus cut her off.

"No. Apea didn't know. Shape shifters are extremely good at hiding themselves and there presence. They can even give off the presence of another. So Apea most likely entirely believed he was a fairy," he explained.

"How did you know he was a shifter?" she asked him, looking up at him.

A silence fell over them as he hesitated to answer. His body seemed to get warmer against her; not that she entirely minded. He seemed anxious but she didn't budge. She wanted to know how Cyrus knew what Cole was. Cole called him a lizard and mentioned mates. It was all suspicious, but Cyrus seemed pretty normal to her. Everything about him was human except for his body temperature. Maybe it was a condition, she didn't know.

"Well..." he started but stopped. "It's sort of a long story."

Mia looked up at him from his shoulders, her brown eyes were filled with a series of emotions. Cyrus could simply get lost in them. The vulnerability in her eyes told him that what his mate needed at this time from him was pure honesty. No matter if she rejected him, he would be truthful.

Cyrus steadied his racing heart and sat up straighter. "I want to start off by saying that I never meant to mislead you in any way and that I didn't tell you what I really am because my species, even among the other fairy tale creatures, are feared. I didn't want... I didn't want you to fear me, and I hope that you will not come to fear me once you know what I am."

Mia sat up but didn't move away she didn't want Cyrus to feel like she was pulling away. She just wanted to make sure she didn't react harshly. "I will keep an open mind, I promise," she told him while laying a reassuring hand on his.

Cyrus looked down at her small hand on his and nodded. " The reason why I knew Cole wasn't a real fairy and was a shapeshifter is because... because I'm a dragon. My brothers are also dragons. I have three."

If Mia had a mirror she would be sure that her eyes were comically large and that her mouth was wide open. "You're a dragon? Is that why your so hot? I mean like your body– not your abs." She stumbled over her words and slapped her hands to her forehead. "Gosh, this is embarrassing," her muffled voice said from between her fingers.

Cyrus let out a deep rumble of a laugh and without thinking pulled her hands away from her blushing cheeks and lifted her chin. His thumb brushing against the corner of her plump lower lip. The skin slightly giving under his soft touch. "Well, I am pleased that you find me so hot, but there is no need to be nervous Mia. You can ask me anything and I will answer."

Mia blushed and tried to compose herself. Mia was surprised to learn that Cyrus was a dragon. There had been vague reports about dragons throughout the country but not many. So any information that she knew about dragons came from her books. "Okay, so your a dragon. But what does that mean exactly?" she questioned with raised eyebrows. "Does that mean you can change size or is it that you have dragon-like qualities?" she asked more specifically.

"Well, I can actually change my form to many different stages it actually takes a little bit of magic manipulation for me to appear in this human form."

"So, you really don't look like this? Can I see your real form?" She asked, then quickly added, "Only if you're comfortable with showing me."

"I would show you, but I fear I would destroy your entire apartment building with how large I am. I can instead show you my appearance that I usually wear," he said before his appearance slowly started to shift. A pair of large ram-like horns protruded through his hair which slightly elongated and turned pointed at the end. His eyes started to change from his warm, simple brown into a molten brown with sharp orange and red hues. Spots of brightly colored red and orange scales shimmered when he turned his head. The most noticeable change were his teeth. They always were had a sharp point, but now they were more noticeable as they poked through to his bottom lip when he smiled. "This is my real form besides when I change into a large dragon," he told her.

Mia looked upon Cyrus in pure fascination. "You're beautiful or handsome or whatever you prefer," she complimented while looking at the scales on his cheek. Would they be rough or smooth like marble? Mia hesitated and lifted her hand not reaching but the message was clear. "Can I touch you?"

Cyrus was quick to lean forward and receive any affection he could from her. "Of course you can." His eyes never left hers. Cyrus was pleased when she didn't break the contact.

Mia smiled and placed her hand along his cheek feeling the smooth texture of his scales. A pleased shiver runs along her spine at the unique feeling. Mia allowed her hand to travel down his cheek and along his neck and to his collar bone.

Cyrus shivered at her touch, a warm orange glow lighting his chest as a pleased purr escaped his lips.

Mia giggled and removed her hand. "Thank you for telling me the truth, and thank you for stopping Cole. I'm... I'm really happy that you're here with me. I hope that we can continue to be like this with each other. I just want to let you know that I trust you, and I hope you can forgive me with how harsh and distant I became after our date. I was afraid. I was a coward. I allowed my fear of change and judgment to stop me from giving you a proper chance. I've been working on learning new coping skills and facing my challenges but I'm not perfect and sometimes I can become distant and hardheaded. I can't change the fact that I have Asperger's and I'm not ashamed of it anymore," Mia said while playing with her fingers. She had never spoken so freely before.

Cyrus listened intently and nodded in understanding. "Mia, you are perfect the way you are, and I wouldn't change a thing about you. I would like to get to know you even more. I understand that you will struggle and that's okay. I realized that it was unfair of me and that I needed to educate myself on your condition properly. I should've tried to understand your point of view before saying anything. I'm sure I offended you greatly, and I'm really sorry."

The forlorn look that crossed over his handsome features didn't suit him at all. Mia took a deep breath. "Cyrus, you didn't know. It's okay. We were both judgemental and didn't understand each other. But now we do. As long as we both forgive each other." She places her hand back on his. He quickly holds her hand back, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I forgive you. I will always forgive you and try to understand you better," Cyrus told her.

"And I forgive you. I will try my best to stay open minded with you," Mia said back.

The two seemed stuck, just looking into each other's eyes. Until Cyrus's hand moved up to hold Mia's cheek softly. His hand was warm like it had been earlier on their walk home and it felt nice. Mia subconsciously leaned into the hold, accepting its warmth. And then time stopped. Cyrus closed the distance between them, placing a soft and chaste kiss onto Mia's lips. The moment was sweet and full of care. Mia had kissed him back with as much care as he showed her after such an eventful night. As soon as Cyrus pulled back, time resumed, the world kept spinning. But it was still just them.

Cyrus had a smile on his face with a hint of triumph in his eyes. How he had waited so long to kiss her. Mia's face had flushed and was warm, not only from his hand. She looked up at him, confused but happy. He kissed her. A dragon kissed her. And she enjoyed it.

"I should've asked. It just sort of felt right," Cyrus whispered.

"No, it's.. It's okay. It was nice," Mia admitted as she looked away from him. Her hearted pounded in her chest. She kissed an actual dragon. Damn, how her fantasies from her books were coming true.

"Maybe we should call it a night. It's been eventful for you," he suggested.

Mia blinked and looked over at him. "Oh, right." She paused. Was it proper to ask him to stay the night? He did save her after all. With the talk they just had, maybe it wouldn't be weird. She would only find out if she asked. "Could you stay the night? Not in a romantic way but to, you know.. For safety?"

A smile graced Cyrus's face. "Yeah, I'll stay the night. I'll keep you safe."

Mia paused as she got up. Should they share a bed? Was it too fast? Her mind was sluggish as the events of the day crashed on her shoulders. Grabbing his hand, she led him to her room and pulled back the blanket. "My bed's kind of small, but I think we can make it work." She smiled and slid in under the cool sheets. Now that Cyrus was in his true form he was larger, making her full sized bed looked like a twin as he joined her.

Cyrus decided to take a chance as he watched her try to get comfortable and opened his arms. He smiled when she scooted over and laid her head on his chest. It didn't take much after that as she settled and closed her eyes. Cyrus waited until her breathing even out and he was sure that she was asleep. Bringing his hand up he ran his finger along her head.

"I swear to you, I will protect you, and I'm going to make sure he can never hurt you again." Closing his eyes he pulled her closer and followed his mate into sleep.