Ilias: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Stratham Dragons Book 2)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Great, he’d made his queen cry, and now his king was pissed. He sighed and tilted his head back, exposing his jugular. She could either forgive him or tear his throat out. This was another new thing they’d realized once Aris and Sophie mated. They were obligated to bow to their leaders. It was strange going from just some guys living together to a fully formed tribe with a king and a queen.

  Sophie stared at his pulse then back at Aris. He nudged her toward Ilias. She stood in front of him, but now that he’d grown, he was too tall. Ilias lowered himself to his knees and gulped. Was she going to use her power, or was she going to let it go? Her teeth grazed his neck and squeezed in warning before she licked his neck, a sign of forgiveness.

  “I’m sorry Sophie. I guess all the stress has made me an ass.”

  He loved her. She was the first woman in his life ever, and she was the whole reason why things changed, and for the better at that.

  “Zarin will stay home, but if you need help—”

  “I’ll call, I promise.”

  She nodded and backed away so he could stand. “Be careful, and bring your mate home.”

  That was the plan. He wasn’t sure what to expect, and Ilias promised if he survived tonight he would start training with Zarin. He needed to learn how to fight and defend. He was a pathetic dragon.

  ***

  “So, you came alone.”

  Ilias surveyed the area but didn’t see the dragon; he only heard his voice, full of malice and hate. He never realized how much you could learn from hearing a voice only. But then he saw something in front of him. He squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing. It started as a small dot of golden light, and right before his eyes, it grew until the image of the dragon in man form appeared in front of him. He was tall and thin with white hair, just like Aris’, only longer. His eyes were as white as the hair on his head. The stench of magic circled around Ilias, and he wondered what was going to happen.

  “Your mate is over there,” the dragon said, and pointed to the bridge. “She’s a mouthy thing, though. You might want to do something about that if you get the chance.”

  Ilias followed the direction of his finger and saw Andrea lying on the bridge. With his vision, he was able to see the swell on her face. Her eyes were shut, and her skin was pasty. “What did you do to her?”

  “Taught her a lesson is what I did. Humans have no manners.”

  Okay, so the dragon was crazy. The dragons in him hid, but Ilias didn’t think it was because they were afraid. It was almost as if they had their own plan. He hoped they filled him in on it. He stepped closer, aching to go to her, but the dragon tisked and shook his head.

  “No, you don’t get to go to her. Here’s what I want from you. I want you to call all your Halfling buddies and bring them here. I am shocked to find they let you come alone. You’re not the one I want.”

  When he started to pace, it sort of reminded him of Zarin. “I won’t call for them. There has to be another way to settle this. I don’t even know why you’re here or what you want from us.”

  The dragon hissed. “I am Samuel, Golden Dragon of the Royal Clan, and they have sent me on a mission to rid the world of abominations such as yourself.”

  He sound liked a recording, repeating lines that had been drilled into his head. “So, they’ve sent you to your death then?”

  “You cannot kill me. You are nothing but a weak boy.” He pulled his arms back, and in a pushing motion, he shoved magic into Ilias.

  Ilias staggered and sucked in a breath as Samuel’s magic pulsed through his veins. Smoke surrounded his body.

  In the blink of an eye, Samuel had shifted into a giant Golden Dragon. Ilias had never seen a shift so fast. The dragon’s eyes were white, and in his immaculate beauty Ilias watched as he swung his tail and shoved Andrea off the bridge. Andrea screamed as she fell. Samuel hovered in the air, watching his destruction.

  ‘No!’ Red paced inside, no longer able to hide. She shoved Ilias out of the driver’s seat, taking charge just as any woman would in a crisis.

  His hands shot up and burning sparks exploded from the tips of his fingers, and in her beautiful rage came flames so strong they nearly knocked him on his ass. The fire shot right through the smoke and blasted the target. Samuel had no chance before he was engulfed in the fiery rage of a female Red Dragon. Ilias didn’t wait to see him fall. He bolted to the bridge and jumped. It was then that the magic in his veins – mostly his – clicked everything into place, and his body morphed midair into the dragon he had envisioned for years. His wings shot out as he torpedoed downward to catch Andrea. She’d gone silent, but as he flew toward the water he realized he was too slow. She hit the river and it exploded into a giant wave, taking her into its depths.

  Ilias’ heart thudded, and his stomach knotted. He didn’t care about anything but saving his mate, and his dragon dove into the water, using his wings to catch her before she sunk too low. The wings slid beneath her limp body and scooped her up. He wrapped the wing around her, cradling her close. When he reached the surface, he coughed out the water and swam back to the bank. He opened his wing and laid Andrea on the ground. Her hair stuck to her swollen face, but in that moment, he’d never seen anyone more beautiful than his mate.

  Her eyes squinted, and she mumbled. He didn’t hear what she said, but then he stood up and closed his eyes. Shifting back wasn’t as hard as shifting for the first time, but it was no picnic. It seemed now that his dragon had freedom he wasn’t ready to go back.

  ‘Just for now.’

  Silver huffed but relented. The magic of the shift zinged over him, and then he was flesh and human once more.

  He slid to the ground by Andrea and gripped her hand. “Don’t try to talk, sweetheart.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and he was pretty sure he understood.

  “He’s gone, Red took care of him.”

  She frowned.

  “I’ll go check, okay?”

  She managed a slight nod. Ilias stood and looked up to the trees, surprised the magical flames hadn’t set them on fire. It was lucky they hadn’t. He didn’t want to leave Andrea, but she was determined to make him look for Samuel. Instead, he bundled her into his arms and smiled. “I won’t leave you alone ever again.”

  She snuggled into him and shivered. Their clothes were soaked, but it was the perfect moment. In that moment, he realized he did, in fact, love her, flaws and all.

  At the top of the hill, he searched the area. He smelled the body before he spotted it in the distance. He wrinkled his nose and followed the scent until he came upon what used to be Samuel. He gagged when he realized Red’s flame torched him to the bone. Nothing but blackened ash remained. Andrea tugged on his shirt, and he let her down, letting her use him as a crutch. When she stamped her foot over the black mess shattering what was left of the remains, he gasped.

  “Why?”

  Her eyes filled, and she laid her hand on her face.

  “Okay, but you’ll explain that later?”

  She nodded.

  Good enough. He picked her back up, still unsure of how he felt about using his magic to kill. He had a feeling it was something that was going to affect him for a long time. In the meantime, though, he took his mate home. He could deal with the other stuff later.

  CHAPTER 16

  Andrea yawned and then winced when even that smallest of movements sent a shock of pain through not only her face, but through her neck and her chest, too. Ilias laid her on the couch, and she sunk into the cushion.

  “Oh, my gosh. What the hell happened to her?” Sophie shrilled.

  Ilias cringed, and Andrea wanted to hide from the woman. She still couldn’t form the words, but she squeezed his hand, hoping he would get what she was trying to say.

  “It’ll be okay. Sophie is our queen, and she’s very protective.

  She already had one mother, she didn’t need another. She realized then she had no idea how she was going to hide this from her mother. She had a famil
y, and she needed to be there for her mom.

  Sophie sat on the edge of the cushion and laid her hand on Andrea’s side. “You’ll be okay; we just need your dragon to heal you.”

  Andrea glanced at Ilias who shook his head.

  “She doesn’t have the dragon, Sophie.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes as if she had to explain everything, so she did. “Duh, I know this. All you have to do is give her the dragon that belongs to her, and the dragon will do the rest.”

  Ilias blushed. “But doesn’t that mean we’d have to uh—”

  “I don’t see why you should have to. The dragon helps when it’s needed. Like, for me, it happened after, but it was also when I was the most emotionally unstable. Andrea is hurt, broken, and emotionally unstable.” She patted her as if it were no big deal. “I’m assuming.”

  Well, she wasn’t wrong.

  “Won’t that hurt her more?” Ilias was tense beside her, and she wondered if he was trying to get out of mating with her. After all she’d gone through, that should have been the last thing on her mind, but clearly her body disagreed.

  “It’s going to hurt badly, but it’ll be worth it. Besides, she’s tough, and the dragon will make everything feel better in the end. Then you guys can figure out what it is you’re going to do.”

  Sophie stood up and smiled down at her. “You’ll be okay. I got through it, and I’m the biggest wimp ever.”

  She was crying. Andrea’s heart raced, and she looked at Ilias. He seemed just as surprised.

  “Sophie, what’s wrong?”

  She turned toward him and sobbed right before falling into him. He caught her and rubbed her back as she cried. Jealousy boiled in her gut, but she bit her tongue to keep quiet. The woman was seriously upset.

  “I don’t know. I think there’s something wrong with me.” She pulled back from Ilias and rubbed her tears away. Her face went pale, and then she ran out of the room, leaving them wondering what was going on.

  ***

  He was sure he wasn’t the only one who noticed Sophie’s erratic moods, but he wasn’t going to be the one to talk to Aris about them. He had other things to worry about, like giving Red to Andrea. He had no idea what to do or what was going to happen. He was scared it would hurt her more. She’d been through a lot, but in the end, it was her choice. He wasn’t going to sit back and let things fall apart. They had a second chance, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

  “So, we should talk about what you want.”

  She reached out for him. He took her hand in his. She nodded.

  “You want to try?”

  Again, she nodded and gripped his hand tighter.

  “Okay.”

  She let go of his hand and tried to shove the blanket off. Her arms were weak, and she let out a frustrated huff.

  Ilias laughed. “You want to try now?”

  She nodded. Damn, this nodding thing was really starting to get on her nerves, and then she realized she was stupid.

  ‘I want this now. I want to be better. I need to be able to talk to you. There are so many–’

  “Okay, okay let’s go. I can’t try it here with everyone around to listen. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  ‘Then where?’

  He thought about it. “We’ll get a room.”

  ‘And when I scream and they send someone to see if you’re murdering me?’

  He hadn’t thought of that. He’d just have to kick everyone out for a few hours. He smiled and left Andrea on the couch. He followed the sounds of happiness and laughter and saw Max, Zarin, and Blane in the kitchen. Sophie and Aris were missing. “Guys, I need the house.”

  They stopped laughing and looked at him. “We’ll pretend we don’t hear anything,” Max said and chuckled. Zarin threw the slice of pizza in his hand at him. “What? It’s not like we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  Blane nodded. “No, but they need privacy and before the end of the summer, we’re soundproofing the rooms. There can’t be any more of this, and I’m not fond of hearing our king and queen all the time.”

  The other two nodded in agreement when Sophie and Aris came into the kitchen. His brows were knitted, and Sophie walked away from him.

  “What’s going to happen?”

  “Soundproofing. But anyway, I need the house for a few hours.” Ilias blushed and ran a hand through his hair. “Now. She doesn’t want to wait.”

  After twenty minutes, everyone had piled into the SUV, leaving him and Andrea alone in the house once again. This time, something big was going to happen.

  When he went back inside and locked the doors, he let out a breath of air, hoping it would take the nerves with it. He was healing her, giving her what was fatefully hers. Red didn’t belong to him anymore.

  She pranced in his head back and forth. Ilias had to shut his eyes. ‘Slow down.’

  ‘But we must hurry, so I can heal her and we can become one.’ Her voice ended on a purr, waking up the other dragon.

  It was too much. He hurried back to the den, ready to do this. Only, he didn’t know how.

  ‘I can do it. Just go to her.’

  He was really getting tired of Red bossing him around. He understood she wanted to leave his body, but she was a bit bossy.

  Red chuckled and rubbed along his skin, sending a wave of heat through his body. He shuddered and sat on the edge of the couch.

  “You’re ready?”

  ‘Of course, she is. Stop putting it off.’

  Andrea nodded.

  He leaned over her (out of his control, mind you; Red had taken the driver’s seat again, tired of waiting for her mate to loosen his reins). She led him to kiss Andrea ever so lightly as to not hurt her more than necessary.

  Ilias gasped, and his body rocked as Red pulled out from his skin. He growled and was knocked to the floor. When he looked up for a moment, he saw Red materialize on her own, and then she dived into Andrea’s chest. The plasma dragon pushed inside of his mate. Andrea screamed, and her body shot up. He crawled to her side and took her hand in his. The dragon came out through Andrea’s back and swarmed around her, enveloping her in a heated aura. Ilias tried to let go of her hand, but as she screamed she dug her nails that had become claws into his hand. His hissed when she drew blood.

  Red, finally satisfied, floated back into her body. Andrea convulsed and fell back against the couch. Ilias held her still as her body seized. It took all of his strength to keep her from knocking him across the room, and then she froze, unmoving. He loosened his hold and gasped. Her face was healed; her skin glowed in an orange hue as Red healed her.

  When Andrea’s eyes shot open, they were like fire. She leaned toward him and smiled right before she pressed her healed lips to his. He opened his, and when she snaked her tongue inside, he moaned. Heat trailed down his spine. The mating fever was back. For a while, he was able to forget about it – ignore it – but now it was back full force, and nothing was going to stop Andrea. She kissed him harder, bringing his thoughts back where they belonged.

  He pulled back, breathing hard. “Upstairs?”

  “Yes,” she hissed, her eyes still lit like fire. “Take me now.”

  Ilias scooped her from the couch and carried her upstairs. He would finally finish what they’d started two weeks ago. Andrea was his, and he was ready to show her just how much he wanted her, how much he craved and desired her. How much he loved her. Everything would be better when she was his.

  CHAPTER 17

  Everything was different. She could see things she never could before, feel things, and smell things. Her whole was world lit up like the largest flame. The dragon, Red, swirled inside of her, taking her place. It felt so right. And now as Ilias carried her upstairs, she knew she was finally going to finish this. She would be his mate – his in every way.

  They went into his room, and she shut the door. The dress came off and she tossed it on the floor followed by her panties. Her body was on fire. There was so much need. Andrea rubbed
across her as she nipped and moaned. Her core heated when Ilias spun around and watched her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said.

  “Take your clothes off.” She didn’t want anything flowery. What she wanted was for him to take her.

  The buttons on his shirt popped, and she giggled when she realized he could still read her thoughts. “Hurry up; I want you to slam into me with your cock. I want to feel you penetrate each part of my body and take me like you own me.”

  The fabric of his shirt ripped, and he threw it on the floor. The button on his jeans popped, and he shoved them off, leaving them in a heap. He grabbed her and pushed her on the bed before falling down next to her. She could have laughed, but then he kissed her mouth, bruising her lips, and with one hand he shoved her legs apart, diving right into the heat of her pussy.

  She cried out against his mouth as his fingers coaxed her open. Her hips bucked. “Don’t tease, just get inside me now.”

  His hand shook, and she realized he hadn’t ever done this before. Andrea took over. She pushed his hand away and shoved him against the mattress before climbing over him. She straddled him with her wet heat hovering over him. She wrapped her hand around his width and guided her body over him. The moment the tip entered her, the room lit up. Red and orange, mixed with silver light, surrounded them. She gasped and pushed down all the way.

  Ilias cried out and gripped her hips. “Please don’t move. Not yet.”

  The lights danced around them, intertwining together. “What is it?”

  “Us,” he said simply.

  “The bond?” She lifted her hips and ground against him. Her breath hitched.

  “Yes, the bond. The one that we’ve been fighting for over two weeks. We are meant to bond.”

  She wondered how he was able to speak. Her lips curled up, and she swiveled her hips. She loved having control, and his eyes rolled back. Andrea wanted to finish the bond; she wanted a release.

  She picked up her pace and rode him. The sound of the sheet ripping spurred her on, and she rolled her hips. Her breasts swung, and Ilias brought his mouth to her nipple. She cried out and tightened around his cock when his teeth bruised her skin. That was all it took, and her body released. She slapped her hands on his shoulders and pushed her body as close to his as she could. Her orgasm milked his cock, and he yelled out as his seed released into her. She felt their essence melding together. Her heart stuttered, and then they were beating in sync. She slowed her movements and caught her breath. Ilias’ eyes were all dragon, and he looked at her with such loyalty it made her wonder why she ever questioned them or their relationship, and why she had fought so hard.