As some backstory, Violet was oblivious to flirting and social cues. She didn't realize her feelings for Arthur and his for her until a random movie night with Eleanor picking out the movie 'Dirty Dancing.'
Summary: Violet Rosenfel is a human among shifters. Ironically, she runs an advice column for shifter couples or those trying to find love while her own love life is a disaster. But all of that is about to change when Hades MacKay literally barrels into her life, older than most who change. Being raised human brings forth a few obstacles - one, how much he craves her.
Written with Fenriss_wolf from AO3
-1-
Rain fell hard across the streets, and the woman pulled her hood tighter over her head, ocean blue eyes looking through the fog of heavy droplets barely able to see the building across the street. It didn't surprise her that it was going to storm given the humidity and heat of the day. She kind of hated it - hoping to move somewhere cooler as soon as she saved up enough. Though she was glad that the storm was making way for a temperature drop and the oncoming fall weather.
Her hand lifted a magazine up, turning the page - her name in bold letters - Violet Rosenfel, Need help with that stubborn lover? With her business email beneath. She specialized in shifters, a human amongst them - but according to her friends, she gave the best advice and was a bit of a romantic at heart - even if she had bad luck in that regard.
Violet shook her head to clear it, the rain letting up, and she made her way to her car thinking later in the evening she'd really want to maybe go for a hike since it had been a while. As she pulled up in front of her townhouse, she dropped off her things, grabbed a fresh poncho, her hiking bag, texted her friend where she's going to be, and then headed out to the trails.
--
It was raining hard, the man rushing to the store - he had just run out of his usual snacks and energy drinks, and he had until tomorrow to grade the essays for his class. After a rather bad night with no sleep, he needed the boost.
He’s been feeling feverish lately, too, and it’s been concerning - hoping he’s not coming down with something. His dark black hair was plastered to his head, and he ran his fingers through the curls, pushing them back - feeling the sides of his head needing a shave …his mind all over the place, unable to focus.
"Maybe I should go see a doctor... After tomorrow's class perhaps." He mumbles to himself, waiting in line - noticing a wolf shifter behind him. He’d seen several shifters in his line of work, and he’d known about their existence since he was young. They never had cause to bother him, and he saw no reason to draw attention - coexisting around them for years. Most of his students were shifters.
He stays calm, giving a little wave to Mrs. Smith - she’s his neighbor and rather kindhearted. The little old lady rarely had visitors, her children grown with children of their own - and she’d often left him cookies, or little knitted gifts. She’d once said she wanted to spoil her grandkids, but they were all mostly grown now, too. He didn’t mind having beanies with his name embroidered on them, the neat little cursive stiches spelling out Hades in the fabric were nice.
“Long night, Professor MacKay?"
"Oh aye, and an even bigger day tomorrow." He nods, paying for his things, and heading back out into the rain. His fingers work to pop his umbrella, thinking he probably should’ve drove instead of walked - but there was something about the thought of being cramped in his car that made him shiver. Why he had this feeling, it was a mystery - he normally wasn’t claustrophobic, and he’d driven to work this morning just fine.
His brow furrows and he sighs.
Och, boyo, stop gettin’ lost in your head. Definitely making an appointment in the morning.
--
Violet parks, grabbing her pack, heading towards the hiking trail. The air is crisp, cool, and lovely. Thankfully the rain has stopped and she's able to get a head start. Sure, it's a little late, but she was experienced and she had let at least three of her friends know where she'd be and when she'd planned on getting home.
Thunder rolls in the distance, but the storm has passed now leaving behind a soft breeze as she heads into the forest - the falling leaves signaling the beginnings of autumn and a soft smile crossed her lips as she walked through the gravel and damp earth taking in the scenery. It'd been so long since she'd done this, and she needed the reset, needed to clear her mind.
--
Hades sighs as he makes his way back home, grocery bag hanging from his left arm while he held his umbrella with the right. Life was simple for Hades MacKay; he enjoyed it like that. A professor in the morning and just another man walking around the city he called home. Grey eyes gazed up at the overcast sky, watching the soft patter of rain around him. By normal standards he should be cold, it was after all pretty chilly and yet here he was in a tee shirt and a pair of shorts right on the edges of the beginning of fall.
He crossed the street, still feeling that heat beneath his skin - fever clawing up his spine. I may need tha’ doctor sooner than later.
--
She finds a spot to hunker down for a bit, just enjoying the breeze - though she can't shake the feeling that something is, well, off. Not in the sense that there's something wrong with what she's doing now - just a gut feeling. Her eyes scan the clearing, hand running through her sea-colored hair. Maya had said so many times she needed a new hairdresser, but she liked the simple layers - the color. Her hair nearly matched her eyes - which is why she'd done it in the first place.
The rain lets up again and she continues down the path knowing which parts of the trail lead to civilization and which further in. She'd done this so many times over the years and today was one of those days where she really did need to clear her head. Violet felt like a bit of a failure, if she was being honest. Helping so many people with their relationship problems but never being able to have one of her own. It was cliche and made her feel a bit dumb, yet, what could she do.
Maya said she'd just met the wrong men - tried to set her up with a few shifters but nothing ever clicked. Sure, the guys were nice enough, attentive, hell - attractive even. But they just were all missing something she couldn't put her finger on. Plus, it was kind of rare that shifters found love with humans just due to how secretive they could be about what they were.
The mortal world was still not completely ready for that whole eye-opening experience. Violet was only a part of it because from a young age she'd had friends that she'd gone to school with that were shifters and Maya was her first friend, her best friend. The Tigress treated her like a sister - and, hell, sometimes Violet really felt like she needed one as an only child.
--
Hades gasps, his vision getting hazy, his body feeling unsteady, maybe he’s more tired than he assumed. He shakes his head trying to clear it - this wasn't the first time something like this has happened, been happening on occasion his entire life but something about it felt wrong, like his body was trying to burst.
A whine escapes him, his body temperature spiking, his legs trembling. The street is empty - the soft ambiance broken by an explosion, a loud roar, claws and teeth - fire and destruction. Whatever the creature was it destroyed a good part of the block with its size alone.
A shifter, a rare one - one that many thought was a mere legend and yet it barreled down the street, the scaled creature frantically looked around, almost as if it were scared. Scared of what? The thing was massive, armored, and armed to the teeth - yet when help arrived it fled, fled for the nearby forest.
--
Something loud crashed in front of her, a roar, strangled - and ocean blue eyes widened to see trees falling and a burst of fire.
"What in the hell?" Normally one would run away from a situation such as this, but Violet moved forward - something tugging at her, pulling her. Feet moving across the forest floor, almost as if compelled to do so. She stopped, holding back a gasp - there in front of her, glimmering under the setting sun and parting clouds …clawed feet stomping out broken trees on fire leaving smoldering ruins in their wake - was something she'd only ever heard about in fantasies.
A dragon.
Maya had said they existed once and if there were any left they'd kept to themselves, the rarest of the rare. And this one - this one looked frightened ...of themselves. Did they not know they were a shifter? It happened on occasion when some of them grew up in human families. Again, there was a pull, a need, and Violet dropped her pack, holding out her hands, coming within the creature’s sight line and watching it back up until it fell into another patch of trees.
The dragon looked at her with wide panicked purple eyes, clawed hands digging into the dirt and she felt a tug at her heart.
"Easy, easy." She said, hands still in front of her in placation, watching the dragon breathing hard, purple scales shimmering in the low light, another belch of fire escaping its maw and it used its claws to pound the ground to douse the flames.
"You're okay. I promise." Violet reaches for her pack, pulling it close, rummaging around for her phone thankful it has signal here. "I'm going to call a friend, maybe they know how to help you. Can you understand me in this form?"
The dragon growls and roars, looking around panicked. Hades suddenly has clarity, it dawns on him, the block he destroyed in his panic - the authorities had been called, a lion shifter had tried to calm him down, but he fled …fled to the forest.
Now he had a human in front of him, slowly approaching him, his fire burnt hot, some of his scales flaring, but it didn't hurt him - felt almost natural to be engulfed in his own flames and then he hears her voice. It comes slowly but he’s finally able to make out the words, and he keeps still, not wanting to destroy more of the forest as he slowly nods his head at her question.
The phone trills between them and the other line picks up.
"Violet, you okay? You normally don't call when you're hiking." Maya's voice is crystal clear, worry evident.
"I have a ...well, a dragon shifter here. I think it's their first time-"
"Dragon? Violet, you need to get out of there - especially if it's their first time." A muffled conversation then Maya's back. "I'm sending Jake. He'll know what to do."
"I can't just leave them." Violet looks up at the dragon who's still panicked but isn't moving, those eyes focused on her, and it sends a shiver down her spine - yet she's unafraid.
"Then stay at a distance. Dragons are volatile on their first shifts - at least, from what we know in the old lore." Maya states. "I've got to make a few calls. Just be careful, please."
The line clicks, and Violet drops the phone back in her pack looking up at the large creature before her - and they are rather beautiful. Something about them a bit otherworldly. Who would've thought that in her over 30 years being around shifters and she'd actually get to see the rarest of them all.
"I have someone on the way - they'll be able to help you shift back. At least, that's the plan. Do you remember what happened to you now? Who you are?"
Hades growls, huffing in frustration that only sounds come out and not worlds - tail flicking and resulting in a couple of trees falling down behind him. He feels a weird pressure in his mind, but he fights it off, trying to focus on the woman in front of him knowing she’s not safe, not when he’s like this. A grumble as he fights the urge to roar, nodding his head at her - but truth is, he’s losing control and he feels like he’s losing his mind.
Violet stays a distance away watching that large tail fell another tree. She can't understand them, but shifters don't speak in their animal forms so whatever they're saying will have to wait. It feels like forever, but Jake finally arrives looking up at the massive creature and his green eyes widen.
"You weren't kidding." He says then focuses on the dragon. "Hey, I need you to listen to me okay. Think about who you are - what you do - your human form. Hold onto that feeling and don't let it go."
Violet watches on, Jake explaining how it feels to transition back and forth - especially after the first time. How you need to focus on who you are and not lose yourself to the animal within. Slowly, very slowly, the scales start to recede - the dragon shrinks - and in a flash of purple light there's a man lying in the leaves and dirt - buck ass naked.
She blushes, grabbing a blanket from her pack and handing it to him, but not before catching a glimpse. The blush darkens, climbing high on her cheeks, as he ties the blanket around his waist - but, good lord have mercy, she's never seen someone quite like him. Muscle and sinew and ...pierced.
Tan skin, flame tattoos on his right arm, dusting of hair on his chest leading down to an image that will forever be burned behind her eyes, she's sure. Thick and long with barbels underneath in a row of four, a hoop through the head of him covered partly by his foreskin. Violet swallows hard, he's talking but she can't quite hear the words until finally things come back into focus with the ringing in her ears fading.
"You okay?" Jake asks, noticing her spacing out.
"Yeah...sorry. It's just a bit of a shock. It's not every day you see a dragon." She tries to cover her gawking, clearing her throat. "What did you say your name was?"
Hades gasps, cheeks bright red at being practically naked and he looks at Violet after Jake has explained a bit more, accent thick and a bit gruff from the experience.
"Hades.... Hades MacKay."
"Hades." She smiles. "Parents a fan of Greek mythology?"
"Dinna ken much about my birth parents, I’m afraid. Pretty sure if they were around, they woulda warned me about well... that." Hades makes a wide gesture with his hand towards the clearing he’d made, a bit sheepish about the whole ordeal. “I remember some things, but I think I …well, that’s a story for another time.”
Jake chuckles a bit, leading them both out of the forest, pops the trunk of his van and pulls out some clothes, handing them to Hades.
"Yeah, first one always shreds the clothes, too."
Hades accepts them gratefully.
"One moment I’m shopping an’ the next I’m a dragon..." He sighs as he gets dressed slowly, trying to make sure the blanket doesn’t fall before he can pull the pants up to cover his nudity. Being naked in public wasn’t on his bingo card for the day. “Here I thought I was human this whole time. Midder will get a kick out of this, I suppose.”
Jake nods. "Adopted then. We've had a few that were and you might want to call this number."
Violet watches Jake reach into his pocket and hand him a card from his wallet. She's having a bit of trouble following the conversation, but her gaze is practically glued to Hades at this point - just something about him - and it makes her feel so strange.
"Run a program for first time shifters - though, it's definitely rare at your age." A frown. "Wait, I've seen you before. You teach at the university."
Hades blushes deeper, rubbing the back of his neck. "Aye. I teach music theory and whatnot.”
"Well, my niece is going to flip when she finds out her teacher is a dragon." Jake chuckles. "Her name is Jenna Peterson."
Violet shakes her head trying to clear it, but the feeling lingers. Voices still a bit fuzzy to her while Jake and Hades continue their conversation.
Hades blinks. "She’s in my afternoon class. A rather bright young woman. Good head on ‘er shoulders, aye."
He then looks at Violet, the lass looking a little odd and he feels concerned.
"Is she... okay?"
"I imagine this is quite a shock for her seeing a dragon." Jake taps her shoulder, and Violet focuses a bit.
"Sorry." A sigh. "I've been around shifters all my life, but this is a first for me. Not in a scary way, just...surprising."
"I'll bet." Though Jake gives her an odd look - like he knows something. She files that away for later.
His hand runs through his brown, shaggy hair, righting the strands as the rain starts up again.
"You okay with taking him home? I've got to get back to Maya and the kids."
"Yeah. I ...I can handle it." She nods, motioning to her car, opening the door and tossing her pack to the back.
