He did something he rarely did. He listened in hopes of finding out the issue behind the drugs. He knew enough about humans to know that it was harmful to their body and would eventually force it to shut down. That was not acceptable.
‘Does he know?’
He narrowed his eyes, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she cocked her hip out in defiance.
‘Don’t let him judge you. H has no idea what it’s like.’ She blinked. ‘Stop making excuses; you know it’s wrong.’
Ilias realized she battled her own body. Her own mind. “I don’t judge you.”
Andrea gasped and stepped away. “You—”
“I asked if you were ready to explore my world.”
“What?”
“I’ll explain on the way,” he said, and glanced around. From a distance, he heard a car coming. It was her mother. “Your mother’s on her way. If you don’t want to be questioned, we should leave.”
“Of course, she is,” Andrea muttered, and waved her hand, gesturing for him to hurry up.
But instead of going to her car, he grabbed her hand and tugged forcing her to follow. He loved being outdoors and walking in nature. She didn’t resist, but she didn’t seem too thrilled to be walking.
He pulled her behind the house and pushed her against the brick. She gasped when he pushed against her silencing her with her eyes.
“Just a minute,” he whispered in her ear, loving how she shivered. Her mother had backed the car in, and if she stood in the right spot would have been able to see them. He didn’t need her noticing them. Plus, any excuse to be close to his mate was a good thing.
He felt her pounding heart and the pulse between her legs. Ilias closed his eyes and inhaled. He wanted her right there, but this wasn’t the time. Letting out the breath he held, Ilias nipped her ear and backed away from her luscious body before he did something neither of them were ready for, no matter what his dragon huffed. He kept her hand and tugged her toward the trail that went all the way through town. He didn’t talk, and neither did she. He smiled when she laced their fingers together and walked next to him. The further he walked on the path, the more silent the woodland creatures became. He noticed that even though he was in human form, wildlife knew what he was, knew he was a predator. Not that he’d fully shifted – ever. Aris said it would happen when the time was right. He kept on waiting for that right time, and he wondered if it ever would.
He stopped and faced Andrea. “Do you want to know what I am?”
Andrea dropped his hand and crossed her arms across her chest. She tapped her foot as if impatient.
“I’m a dragon.”
She didn’t move or even breathe. She locked her eyes on his and watched him waiting for him to say something more. But there really wasn’t anything else to say. It was simple.
CHAPTER 5
Andrea waited for Ilias to laugh and say it was a joke, but he stood watching her, waiting for her reaction. There was no tilt of his lips or glint in his eye. He was serious. She should doubt anything he said now. He was a crazy man, and she needed to run away while she could, but why did the thought of this – whatever this was – make her heart ache? Why did it feel like he spoke the truth, and why did the concept of him being something other excite her?
Instead of disbelief, she went another route. “Prove it.”
He didn’t move, but she waited. She wouldn’t budge. If he wasn’t crazy, then he could show her, right?
Now I’m the fucking crazy one!
Sweat dripped from his brow, and his lips stayed tight. His hazel eyes narrowed, and he fisted his hands at his side. Something like fear or maybe insecurity filled them.
“Well, I haven’t fully shifted yet. I’m still considered a baby.” He blushed and loosened his fist.
“So, you can’t prove it?”
“Oh, I can shift…sort of.”
“Then shift.”
And then it happened. His eyes went from hazel to a silver-grey mix – like smoke, she realized. She didn’t react; not the way she thought she would. She should have screamed or ran the other way. Instead, she found herself walking closer to him, reaching out to him and lifting his balled-up fist. When she wrapped her hand around his wrist, his hand opened and revealed claws and tiny, red scales. She rubbed her finger over them, and he sucked in a breath. It felt a bit like the snake her brother had when they were kids.
“Whoa,” she said, and let out a breath. Her heart hammered in her chest but for different reasons now. She licked her lips and closed in on him. She was face to face with him now. Her breath mingled with his. He panted as if he’d just run the mile. “Are you okay?” she asked in a whisper.
Ilias gulped. “You’re not running.”
“I should.”
“But you’re not.”
Andrea closed the distance and pressed her lips to his. He didn’t move, and she swore she felt his heart slow down. She pulled back. “Don’t you want to kiss me?” She thought the reason he told her was because he wanted to be with her.
“I do want to be with you—”
She stepped out of their embrace. “You can read my mind.”
“Yes,” he whispered.
“Everything?”
“No, I don’t try to read you. That’s wrong.”
“But that means you know—” ‘Everything.’
“Yes, but I can help.”
Andrea glared at him. He read her private thoughts. She backed away from him. The further she moved back, the more a sliver of pain wracked her body. She took a hesitant step forward, and the pain lessened.
“Seriously, now I have to be around you?”
Ilias’ body shook. She had no idea why, but his face went pale, and she could tell his skin was clammy. “What’s wrong?”
“You made it start,” he said, but his voice was barely there.
“Made what start?” Her heart raced in panic. She had no idea what was going on, but he looked worse now than he did after she hit him. “What can I do?”
“Touch me.”
“What?”
“I need your touch, doesn’t matter what, just your hand.”
Andrea stepped close to him again, no longer afraid that he could read her. Now she was afraid she did something that hurt him more than she already had.
“It’s the fever.”
“Fever?”
“Can’t explain now.” He leaned over and panted. “Take me home. Not far.”
Andrea grabbed his hand and steadied his body against hers. For the first time, she was grateful that she wasn’t stick-thin like all the girls at school. He hobbled next to her, and she walked him down the path. Hopefully, she wouldn’t walk past his home. One foot in front of another. Slow and steady. His weight didn’t bother her at first.
He tried to laugh but coughed instead. “You can’t miss it.”
“Okay, well, we need to move faster. Is that okay?”
Ilias nodded against her, and she picked up her pace as much as she could. Now she was pretty much carrying him the whole way. She didn’t have time to notice her surroundings, but she did see the trees begin to thin, and then she saw the biggest house she’d ever seen.
“Holy shit.”
He didn’t respond. In fact, his head felt heavy against her shoulder. “Oh, no you don’t. Come on. Wakey-wakey.” She lifted up her shoulder against his face, but nothing happened. His full weight pushed against her, and she swayed to the side.
“Help!” She tried to move further, but his legs bent, and when he fell, she lost her balance and they fell in a heap, only he was on top of her; his weight was too heavy. “Help, please!”
She pushed against him and was able to make him budge only a tiny bit. But then the weight was lifted, and a giant man held him in his arms. His mouth was turned down, and he carried Ilias like he was fragile and precious.
“Well, come on. You started this.”
Andrea gasped at his tone, but she jumped up and followed, doing her best to
keep up with the man’s long stride. She had to jog to keep up, but when they went up the stairs he turned toward her, blocking her way inside.
“Did he tell you already?”
“That he was a dragon? Yes. We started that discussion and…” She didn’t want to say. She was beginning to think it was her fault Ilias was unconscious.
“What did you do?”
“I told him to prove it, so he did. He told me he’d never fully shifted before. I didn’t mean to make this happen!”
The man rolled his eyes. “Come in. Someone else can explain this to you.” Then he went inside. “Guys, Ilias is down, and his mate is here.”
Several sets of footsteps sounded throughout the giant house. Then she saw them all. They were amazing – each of them, including the woman who seemed to glow.
“Oh, my poor baby,” she said, and shoved through the men.
As soon as the woman touched Ilias, something in Andrea snapped, and she growled. She actually growled. The silence that surrounded her should have been frightening, except everyone was smiling at her. “What?”
“Sorry, but you don’t have to worry. I’m mated to him,” the woman said, and pointed to the biggest one with hair white as snow.
“I—”
“It’s okay, really. The fever has started. This happened to Aris after we touched intimately. I thought he died.”
Her eyes went wide. “Died?”
“He had a seizure and his heart stopped.”
“Is Ilias okay?”
The one who carried him lifted his eyes toward her. “He’s barely breathing.”
Her heart nearly stopped. She shoved through the giant men and made her way to the couch. Ilias lay pale, and his skin turned blue. “What’s happening to him?”
“He didn’t get a chance to tell you anything, did he?”
“No, right after we kissed—”
“Wait, you kissed?”
“Well, just for a second. It just happened.”
“Then do you accept him?
“Accept him?”
There were too many people. Andrea was overwhelmed, and the hit she’d taken earlier was taking over.
One of the men with pale blue eyes and some crazy black hair with a blue shine to it smiled at her. “You’re his mate. Surely, you’ve felt that?”
“Mate?”
Dimples’ – that’s what she’d call him – smile widened. “Yes, the one for him. Soul mate, lover, partner, whatever you want to call it. You’re his; it’s why he’s like this, or so we think. Mostly, we have theories, and this happened to Aris when he first met Sophie.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t seem to formulate words.
“Yep, you’ve met your match,” the other big one said. It was getting harder to keep them separate. “Hopefully, he can help you once he’s better.” His lip curled up in disgust. “Don’t you know that shit is bad for you? We won’t let you hurt our boy.”
She tried to argue, but she already knew that Ilias knew. He told her he wasn’t judging her, but this one was.
“It’s not like you think, and it’s not as easy to quit as it is to start,” she hissed, and her face turned red. “Ilias knew, okay. He said he’d help me.” Not that she had agreed to that or anything, but right now, she felt lower than the dirt on her shoes. She didn’t understand why it mattered, but this man – or this dragon or whatever – looked down on her.
“As long as we’re clear. You don’t want me to have to help you.”
The threat was there, and she gulped. He was scaring her. The others in the room were silent. She looked around and met several pairs of eyes. They were full of pity. She hated pity.
She stood up and faced them. “Look, I’m not stupid. I made a mistake. People do that, ya know?” When none of them made a comment, she tightened her hands into fists wishing she could be anywhere else. “I’m trying okay?” Tears spilled down her cheeks, and when she turned away, planning to leave, a cold hand latched on to her arm. She recognized his touch.
“You’re upset.” His voice was quiet, but they all heard him. Then to the others, “Leave her alone about it. I got this.”
Andrea was grateful he stood up for her, but she didn’t want to be some obligation. She didn’t need anyone’s help. She’d quit on her own.
CHAPTER 6
He felt her near. Then he heard her thoughts. Zarin, of course, pointed out the one thing he didn’t want any of them to mention. He planned to talk to them about it before confronting her. He knew she was on drugs. He knew she struggled every day and wanted to stop, but addiction, for a human, wasn’t easy to beat. When she went to leave, he used all his energy to reach out to her. She couldn’t leave. He needed her.
“Don’t leave, please.” He licked his lips. “And Zarin, leave her alone.”
Zarin growled.
“Seriously, stop. I need you to be the one to help her while I’m down. Can you do that?”
Andrea sat on the edge of the couch. “No way. He’s judging me, and it will only get worse. I’ll be fine once I get out of here. No offense, but I didn’t ask for this, and I certainly didn’t ask to be judged by the whole lot of you.”
He could sense her growing fear. It coated his throat, and the dragons inside of him swarmed him in a panic. She couldn’t reject him. The second dragon – he could see it now – was red, and it needed someone strong. It needed Andrea, she just didn’t know it. “You don’t know everything yet. Please talk to someone, I don’t care who.”
She hesitated. “You’re going to be okay though, right?”
He really felt horrible. He was worried he would die before she made up her mind.
“You’re going to be fine,” Aris said. “This happened with me, too, remember? Then I was fine. Better actually.
“But Sophie accepted that she was your mate,” Max said putting in his two cents. He never really seemed to filter what he said. This made it all the worse when he pointed out the obvious no one wanted to focus on.
Ilias pushed into a sitting position. Andrea still sat at his side. He looked to his family. “Give me a few minutes with her?” The others nodded and filed out of the den. Ilias shivered when the warmth of the others left. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. I want you to learn about everything and have enough information to make an informed decision. It’s not fair to us if you say no before you get the facts.”
“Ilias, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. I don’t even know you, and now I’m responsible to keep you from what? Dying?” Her eyes were wide and had filled with tears.
He could see how scared she was. “Technically, yes, but it’s more than that. It’s about being one, letting our souls find each other. It certainly isn’t like human marriages. I would never hurt you. You’re it for me.”
“You can’t know that.”
“But that’s the thing; I do know, and I think you’re starting to realize that, and it scares you.” He probably should have pushed so hard, but he could tell if he didn’t, she would run faster than he could say, please.
“You’ll be fine. That’s what Aris said. He was fine, so you’ll be.”
***
“Not if you reject me. You can’t say no until you know everything, and I’m tired.”
“Fine. Sleep. I’ll talk to…” She looked at them. There was the quiet one with shocking red hair. He hadn’t said a word, but he studied her a little too closely. There was Zarin, who at the moment stood like he was guarding the most valuable thing in the world, arms crossed and eyes narrowed on her. Then there was Aris, the one with hair she wished she could touch, just to see if it was as soft as it looked. She was betting it was. He was intimidating. He radiated control and tightly concealed anger at her. Though he didn’t seem to judge her, he just didn’t seem to like her. Sophie seemed so sweet and gentle, but behind her eyes lurked something old and maybe not so gentle. Looks were deceiving. Last was Dimples. He still smiled at her, as if he had no care in the world. She pointed at him.
“Dimples over there.”
Zarin’s shoulders slumped as if he was relieved, and Dimples straightened as if he was proud to be picked.
“You call me Dimples, and I call you Mochachino.” He raised a brow.
Andrea rolled her eyes. She’d heard worse. Her mixed heritage wasn’t always noticeable, but she’d had her fair share of name calling. Even though most people didn’t even realize she was mixed in the first place. Her father was white, and her mother was black, but not dark. “Fine, what’s your name then?”
“Max, and you are Andrea.”
“Right, let’s get this done so I can go home.” She didn’t want to leave Ilias, but she certainly didn’t want to stay with Zarin. There was also the fact she didn’t want anyone to see that side of her – the caring side she tended to keep locked up inside, but was surfacing the longer she was around Ilias.
“You should feel so lucky to have found him, ya know,” Zarin said.
Ilias glared at his friend. Zarin had issues. Maybe he was always mean?
“He’s been sick for a while now, and if we’re right, finding our mate is vital to our survival. Zarin is worried he won’t find his in time or that she’ll reject him.”
Andrea clearly heard what Ilias left unsaid, but she didn’t know if she’d ever get used to someone being able to read her thoughts. “You’ve got to stop that.”
“Sorry. With you, I can’t seem to stop it,” he said and then glanced at the others. “No one knows.”
The look in his eyes told her that he planned to keep it that way. “Oh.” She squeezed his hand before letting go. “Let me talk to Dimples.”
Ilias chuckled when Max said, “All right, Mochachino!”
She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand as if she couldn’t help it. “I know I feel things for you I shouldn’t. I just met you.”
Ilias rubbed his cool thumb along her hand before she pulled it away again. He smiled. “It doesn’t have to make sense.”
Andrea couldn’t stay near him or she’d never leave. He was so sick, and the biggest part of her wanted to do whatever it took to make sure he was okay. After all, she owed him. What if this was because of the accident? She nibbled her lip and followed Max from the den. He led her outside. The heat slammed her in the face, but she basked in its warmth. Her body was cold, almost as if she felt what Ilias did.
Ilias: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Stratham Dragons Book 2) Page 3
