Lilah didn’t have long on top because he rolled them over and stole control. As much as she would have argued, he began his wild thrusting. His need seemed primal. She couldn’t understand it. Not while he created a thunderstorm inside her. Each thrust rumbled like thunder. Tiny shocks zinged to her fingertips, to her toes, like lightning. She was aware of the wet warmth that spread over her thighs.
He cupped the back of her neck and held her close. His other hand reached between them and grasped her breast. Everything became sharper with her nipple pinched in his fingers. She cried out, unable to stand it any longer. Her orgasm exploded and made her dig her nails into his back.
This was the culmination of lust, she reasoned. It was all that could be expected of two unmated beasts living under the same roof. She cared about him but reminded herself that it was only as a friend. She did this as a friend.
Even though a part of herself reached for him. It ached to curl around him and bask in his warmth. He jerked and slipped out of her. She held onto him while he climaxed onto her lower stomach. Something about it felt right. She didn’t think about why or how, saving all thought for later.
Lilah wanted to reach for him, but instead threaded her fingers in her own hair and tugged. She couldn’t let herself want him. She couldn’t. Even though it was all she felt.
Griffin didn’t move. Not for a long moment. Then, she felt him roll off the bed and listened to his footsteps fade. Once he was gone, she opened her eyes and glanced down at the mess on her stomach. He’d marked her. More than once, too.
The bite on her neck she could claim was for show, but the mess he’d made on her was only between the two of them. Now, his scent would be mingled with hers. It would fade once she showered, but it wouldn’t go away completely. Not for a long while.
Griffin returned with a towel to help her clean up. She avoided his gaze all the while. If it bothered him, he said nothing. Once it was done, she ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
There was no way she was his mate. It would be too convenient. Who entered into a fake relationship and found true love? It seemed nigh impossible. Lilah was only catching feelings because she was around him so often, because he touched her in all the ways no man ever had.
Surely, it was all downhill from there for her. Griffin would go on to find the perfect mate and she…she would live under the weight of her curse. Lilah stepped into the shower and put her back to the wall. For all of her claims of wanting to avoid heartbreak, she could feel the first cracks starting to form.
Her chest hurt. The thought of spending the rest of the afternoon with Griffin filled her with both elation and dread. It was not a feeling that settled well in her stomach.
Chapter Thirteen
They spent hours in the field again. Lilah kept glancing at the nearby woods, as if a stray dragon would leap out at any moment. None appeared. No familiar faces or enemy shifters. It was just her and Griffin and her stubborn refusal to shift. How he had not gotten tired of her resistance yet, she wouldn’t know.
He’d been surprisingly patient. The frustration and temper he showed his cousins did not stretch to her. It was as if the world stopped for the two of them. He gladly gave her every moment of his day.
If only she could get over the fear clenching her stomach. It felt like an invisible hand around her insides. It kept her from giving in to the shift. She couldn’t do it. The idea of feeling her body change was too terrifying. It was visceral and gory, and she couldn’t face it.
Even when she thought of the way Griffin explained his own change. He’d called it butterflies and sunshine, but she still envisioned her skin splitting open and her muscles tearing apart. A whiny part of her whispered that Griffin had lied anyway. There was no way shifting from a human form to a dragon one could feel anything like what he’d described.
“If you don’t change, the beast will take over and make you shift,” Griffin reminded her once more.
It wasn’t enough of a threat. If she let her beast do it for her, then she wouldn’t have to face the terrifying truth. Then her beast could shoulder the pain and terror.
“How about this?” Griffin offered. “I could take you up into the air if you let me. I could show you that it’s not as scary as it seems. I think you’d enjoy it. The freedom you could find up there is limitless. Maybe that could help you change.”
“You promise not to drop me?” The words were high pitched and reeking of fear. Lilah had an iron grip on his hand.
“I would never let you fall.” His words sounded convincing enough, but her body still refused to relent.
“Nope. I can’t do it. I just can’t. There’s no way anyone is getting me off this ground.” Lilah released him and reeled back.
The grin that swept over his face set off alarms in her head. Everything told her to run, but her beast took over. It leaned into Griffin in challenge. She could feel herself, her humanity, slipping toward the back of her mind as the beast claimed the forefront. An inhuman growl rumbled on her lips.
Griffin’s grin faltered. “Lilah?”
Still she growled.
***
His worst fear had come true.
The beast in Lilah’s eyes was filled with life. The beast grinned with Lilah’s lips and slid toward him until their bodies were pressed together. She sniffed the air. He stiffened, wondering what her beast knew that she did not.
“You have to give her back to me,” Griffin warned the creature.
His heart thundered inside a tight cage, threatening to burst while he reasoned with his mate’s beast. He shuddered to think of what would happen if he couldn’t get Lilah back. Reaching up, he touched her cheek, and hoped it would draw a spark of humanity out of her.
The beast leaned into his touch, and his stomach dropped. She purred, her hands running up his chest. Her fingers curled at the nape of his neck. Her lips were loose, languid as she took him in
He should have grabbed her wrists, should have stopped her from touching him in all the ways Lilah refused to, but he couldn’t find it in himself. He was so taken with her. Her touch was a relief, a balm after the sun had burnt him.
He swallowed and reminded himself that this wasn’t healthy. Lilah wasn’t whole. She and her beast were split. If it went on like this, she would never feel whole. Her life would be troubled by the separate creature squatting inside her.
Finally, he grasped her wrists and pushed the beast back. The look of hurt in her eyes was chased by vehemence. She would have to deal with rejection for this would never work out. Not until Lilah could live with herself.
“Shift for her this one time. Show her that it isn’t what she thinks it is. Give her back to me so we can make this work.” He bargained with the beast. “Lilah will stop fighting if she can understand.”
The beast snarled, pulling back Lilah’s lips. Then, she lunged forward and kissed him. Her teeth dragged against his skin and brought blood to the surface. The wounds were already healing as she spun away from him.
The beast threw Lilah’s arms wide. The change rippled in the air around her. He watched in stunned silence. The change was so seamless, but he should have known it would be if her beast was in control. One moment, the woman he loved stood before him. The next, a sleek moon-colored beast stood proudly. The beast held her head high. The light of the day caught a shimmer on the horns protruding from the back corners of her head.
Lilah was…beautiful. Though that wasn’t something he didn’t already know. This creamy beast was unlike any other dragon he’d ever laid eyes on. If Ryker’s Mina was the night sky, then Lilah was the winter moon.
Just as he was about to shift and join her, his phone rang. Griffin would have ignored it if a scream of pain didn’t split the air. Lilah’s beast spun toward it, spines rising like the hackles of a startled cat. He swallowed and answered the call, knowing whatever was on the other end would be awful.
“Help. Now.” Wyatt comman
ded.
Griffin snarled, wanting to tell his cousin no one gave him orders. Griffin was second in command. Yet, the words died when another roar shook the skies.
Wyatt began rattling off their location, but Griffin cut him off. “I know where you are. Be there in two minutes.”
He tossed the phone to the ground with his shirt and pants. Before his beast burst free from him, he fought for a moment to tell Lilah to stay. She didn’t know the first thing about this body or fighting. Even if her beast was in control, it was young. She still had so much to learn.
And he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything as long as she was involved. His attention would always be on her.
He kicked off the ground and, midflight, his dragon appeared. Wings as wide as a plane’s slapped the air and propelled him toward the chaos in the distance. He wondered what caused the confrontation this time.
Griffin knocked several dragons from the sky on his way. They hit the ground unceremoniously. Ahead, he saw Jasper circled by dragons. It seemed they’d gotten tired of the king. Griffin shouldn’t have been surprised, but the other dragons had not seemed the type to ambush.
The last incident had been an accidental collision. This looked more thought out. Jasper was alone, with four dragons circling him. Three launched themselves at the golden dragon. The fourth lifted its gaze to the sky. The green beast was scarred, twisting its grin into a monstrous façade.
***
Lilah was trapped in the back of her own mind. She stared out her eyes and watched Griffin leave but wasn’t in control. The beast scoffed at her panic. The world looked different. It was as if she stood higher. The ground was further away. The sky was closer.
In a flash, Lilah realized that her beast had shifted.
The creature laughed at her. The humor was short lived as concern creeped back in. Both Lilah and her beast watched Griffin fly in the direction of the battle.
He is strong, our mate. He will be fine.
But even the beast’s certainty wavered. It didn’t like him going in alone. The beast tested their wings, stretching each one in turn. Lilah fought against it. She wasn’t going into the sky. She couldn’t. The beast snarled and snapped at the air as if it could bite Lilah.
No. Lilah refused.
She would not fly.
But, Lilah was not in control. The beast was. And the beast’s sights were set on Griffin. From the trees below burst a shape. It collided with Griffin and sent both of them reeling. Lilah held her breath. Her heart stopped. Then, Griffin righted himself and sent a ball of flame flying toward the dragon that’d crashed into him.
The unfamiliar beast was sent reeling back. It tumbled from the sky. From the corner of her eye, Lilah caught several more dark shapes flying toward the battle. Her heart gave a heavy thud before launching into a frantic pace. The dragons were not the ones she’d gotten to know. They were not Jasper’s metallic court.
The unfamiliar dragons had called in reinforcements, too. Lilah didn’t know how many of the metallic dragons were there. She could not see the fight that had started it all.
He told us to stay, the beast reminded her.
This is wrong, she wanted to scream. The whole fight felt off.
The incoming dragons all latched onto Griffin at once. The fight that had been in their favor quickly turned. She heard his screech of pain, felt it rip her in half. She dug her claws into the ground. The open sky frightened her.
She didn’t want to fly.
But she couldn’t bear Griffin’s pain. The beast hesitated. It was unsure. It listened to Griffin’s command, the unspoken promise that he would be okay. But that fight was anything but okay. They were losing. Griffin was getting hurt.
Lilah pushed for control. The beast gave a small fight but relinquished the reins and let Lilah claim her body once more. It was awkward. She was suddenly so much more present. She lashed her tail, testing it. The grass tickled her belly, but she could feel nothing on her scales. Ducking her head side to side, she tested the limits of her neck and the weight of her head.
It was strange, but she was needed. There was no more time. Galloping, she stretched out her wings. The air gathered beneath them and her feet began to lift from the ground. Elation made her light, but then the air shifted. One wing fell while the other lifted. She wobbled. The ground came rushing toward her.
Grinding her teeth, she threw her weight to the other side. Her wings leveled out. She was still only a handful of feet above the ground. At this rate, she’d never reach Griffin in time.
Pull up, the beast whispered.
She did as it asked and tilted the front of her wings up. It thrust her higher in the air. Her heart flipped in her chest, but there was no going back. Ahead, the beasts were dragging Griffin to the ground. They latched onto him, onto his wings.
Lilah didn’t know the first thing about fighting. Her only thought was of Griffin. She would figure out the rest once she got there. Unfortunately, she didn’t even have time for that. His beast shrank back. The unfamiliar dragons pushed off him. Beneath the cluster of dragons fell a small form.
Without thinking, she pulled her wings tight to her body. It made her fast. She felt like the falcons she saw on videos. Her body vibrated, the air shaking her as she rocketed toward Griffin’s falling body.
Like a bullet, she entered the fight. Some of the dragons that attacked Griffin turned their attention on her. She didn’t have time for them. Unfortunately, they had time for her. They let loose roars that sounded like war cries. The wind changed and her wings wobbled. The tip of her tail brushed a dragon.
Claws closed around her tail. Pain ripped up her spine and flared at the back of her skull. She didn’t cry out because Griffin’s eyes snapped open. His lips twisted in a vicious scowl. Magic pulsed in the air and the silver dragon reappeared. Griffin snapped at the dragons behind her.
Blood sprayed in the air, accompanied by sounds of horror and pain. Still, Lilah didn’t look. The wind balanced again and told her the dragons following her were gone. Griffin’s form shrank once again, as if he’d used every last ounce of power.
Griffin, once again human, was going to hit the ground. She lowered her head and her body followed suit. The bitter taste of panic filled the back of her mouth as the ground rushed toward her.
This was what she feared most.
But Griffin was within reach. She grabbed him with her clumsy claws just in time to open her wings. The tops of the trees grazed the sensitive membrane in them before she climbed higher. Lilah didn’t stay and fight. She circled around, back toward the clearing and the road they’d taken earlier.
Lilah flew all the way home, not stopping to realize she was flying until she landed outside the guest house. The realization that she didn’t know how to shift back burned her nerves. It seared across her mind, until her beast soothed it with a cool serenity.
The beast reached and grasped the reins of control. Lilah hesitated at first, then gave over. Trust was something she had to work on. The beast was her and she was the beast. It would not steer her in the wrong direction.
Her form shrank until she was Lilah once again, holding an unconscious man in her arms. He should have felt heavier, but he was only cumbersome.
“Li-Lilah?” His voice was faint, almost a brush of the wind.
At first, Lilah thought she’d imagined it. Then, he dragged his toes along the ground in an attempt to stand. He got his feet beneath him, but nearly collapsed. Lilah caught him just before he hit the ground. His eyes drifted shut again and he became dead weight in her arms.
“I’m so…proud…of you.”
Determined, she hefted the wounded man in her arms. He’d saved her. Even though he’d been near death and free falling, he’d used the last of his energy to shift and save her from the dragons giving chase. One had her in its clutches. It could have thrown her off balance and she wouldn’t have been able to save herself.
Griffin could ha
ve shifted and saved himself, but he used that last bit for her.
She set him down on the bed, bedding be damned. Bumble came crying and leapt up beside Griffin. Knowing nothing about dragons, she shooed her cat away, worried that it couldn’t be sanitary. Nonetheless, Bumble stubbornly returned to curl at the crook of Griffin’s neck.
Lilah sighed, realized she was naked, and decided she didn’t give a damn. She, too, collapsed onto the bed, with one hand on Griffin’s chest to make sure he was still breathing. This was not the crash course in shifting that she imagined.
The day had started so well, with French toast and sex. Lila knew her curse was to blame. The longer she stayed in Griffin’s life, the more trouble she would cause. It wasn’t fair to put that kind of weight on his shoulders. As long as the curse spread out to those around her, she would always be a hazard.
Her throat closed and her stomach rebelled at the thought, but she knew she had to leave. That was the only way she could make sure Griffin was safe.
From her.
Chapter Fourteen
Lilah woke with a start. Sunlight streamed through the window, warning her that it was already mid-morning. Confused, she groaned and sat up. Sight of who stood in the doorway made her freeze.
Then she yanked a sheet to her chest.
But Jasper’s eyes weren’t on her. It was as if she didn’t exist. His eyes wavered, tears gathering at the corners, and his jaw hung open in horror. Or shame. He snapped it closed, still staring at Griffin.
Lilah wanted to say something, to reassure Jasper, but the look of shame morphed into a fury that kept her silent. Jasper spun away from her. Distantly, like he’d made it outside before he broke down, she heard his roar of anguish. The house shook, windows rattling, and she glimpsed a gold beast taking to the sky.
Her phone was still in the field from the day before, or she would have called one of the other metallic dragons.
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