The Last Dragon Shifter

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning, a hard knock woke Naomi up early. Across from her, Lark mumbled equal protests. Left as the sole awakened roommate, Naomi shuffled to the door and found Sam waiting on the other side.

"Happy birthday," he said and handed over an envelope.

"What? It's not my birthday."

"Think of it as a present, anyway."

Naomi opened the envelope and gasped. "Are you crazy? This is a lot of money!"

"Money...Where?" Lark muttered from under the depths of her covers. Sure, that perked the rich, sleeping beauty up.

"It's your paycheck. Smile and say thank you."

"This much? But I've barely done anything." Naomi guiltily thought back to her many arguments with the prince.

"You get paid this much for when something does happen. Believe me, when—not if—shit ever hits the fan, you'll be wanting more zeros on that check, I can bet you that."

"But—"

"Oh hush with the fake rejections and go celebrate. I am. I've got ale to go buy."

"Is that how you spend your paycheck?"

"It's a third of my income," Sam said, waving as he strolled away.

Shaking her head, Naomi slammed the door shut. Now Lark was wide awake and eager to find out about Naomi's welfare.

"Your first royal paycheck. Took long enough."

"It's more money than I've seen in my entire life."

"Really?" Lark asked skeptically, before wincing at having looked over Naomi's shoulder. "Sorry, sorry. I know you're thinking snotty, rich-girl mindset, but no, that's great. You've earned it. You have to go out and buy something."

"No way. This is going straight home to my dad." Naomi dutifully stored the check in her wallet, then her purse, safely tucking it away.

"Oh, come on," Lark chided. "You're not getting anything?"

"We need this money to pay the shop's rent."

While she and Lark had become fast friends, there was no mistaking the vast difference in wealth. Lark didn't talk about being rich often, but the words villa and maids popped up in their conversations occasionally. But it was part of the way she was brought up. Lark saw money and thought shopping spree. Naomi saw bills and debts to be paid.

"All right. Let's try this. Can you think of one thing that both you and your father can enjoy? Something that could be practical and fun?"

Lark's words hit Naomi like a lightning bolt, and she jumped up and hugged her friend.

"Lark, you're a genius."

"Thank you...but why?"

"Because we are going to go shopping, and I know where!" Naomi squealed.

She proceeded to rush them into changing into their everyday clothes. However, as she slipped her shirt over her head, she thought of the one thing that was missing from her outfit. Going over to her nightstand, she pulled out her mother's locket. Even though she hadn't worn it yet, she still liked to keep it close.

All of that was about to change now. If she was going to find out about her heritage, she was in this all the way. She'd wear her dragon shifter pride out loud for anyone to see. Giving the locket a swift kiss, she placed it around her neck, making sure the clasp was firm. Along with the protection enchantment, there was one to keep it from slipping off.