Evander (Stratham Shifters Book 4)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Nerves pricked his skin, but he allowed Callie to lead him inside. It was then he noticed the scent of magic that could have only come from one thing: active spell casting. It coated his skin, and he shuddered. Though it wasn’t dark like the demons, it still wasn’t something he wanted to walk into. He didn’t need to get himself entangled with a witch. That would only make his problems worse.

  ‘Witch.’

  He wondered if the witch was controlling the dragon. A growl trickled from his lips, and he narrowed his eyes. His instincts told him to save her. Get her as far from this place as possible, but he wasn’t just a beast. He was a human man, too. That thought helped calm his desire to rip this place apart and sink his fangs into anyone who dared hurt his kin.

  The woman who carried a beast jumped and looked at him frowning. Her eyes darted around the room as if she were looking for someone. He let his senses expand and used his dragon to listen to all the sounds he couldn’t see.

  The magic was strongest behind the closed door, which he assumed led to the kitchen. That had to be where the witch hid. He brought his attention back to the redhead. The woman’s scent was musky. It was dark and ran deep within her, yet there was something strange about it. It was almost as if she were new. Like she wasn’t born with her beast.

  That wasn’t possible, right?

  ‘Black dragon.’

  He strode to an empty table and slid into the booth. He laced his fingers together and laid them on the table to keep from tapping them to show his displeasure. Callie slid into the booth, moved next to him, and patted his hands. That’s all it took to calm him. Having his mate by his side. Being able to feel her against him, just the slightest touch is all it took. “I’m sorry. I feel very uneasy here.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s a witch somewhere close by.”

  She looked surprised. “Oh.”

  “Witches and dragons aren’t allies.”

  “Why not?”

  “A witch’s magic can enslave our beasts. And then we’d have no free will.”

  “I call bullshit,” someone said in a low voice, full of venom. The voice was female and not very happy.

  He looked up to see a petite woman with white hair and striking blue eyes. The scent of witch radiated off her, and he snarled. When he would have stood, the other woman–the stranger, the other beast–was there, holding him down. He shouldn’t have been surprised by her strength, but he was. Again, he snarled, and his eyes shifted white. His beast wasn’t happy. She wasn’t higher up the food chain than him. She was nothing but a fledgling. He should be her superior. Yet she didn’t seem intimidated by him at all.

  “Not here!”

  He froze, realizing she was stronger than him. When she loosened her grip, he settled back on the seat to show he would be calm but he kept his claws out under the table top as to not offend the mortals. “She’s a witch.”

  Callie didn’t do anything but sit very still between them. Two dragons and a witch. Smart girl.

  “Bev, knock off the power play.” This woman had authority.

  She was so tiny it shocked him.

  “Who are you?” Was that awe in his voice? Certainly not. He didn’t understand why he felt the need to show her his neck. It took everything in him not to close his eyes and tip his head exposing his throat.

  “Willow, and who the hell are you?”

  He was not fazed by her aggressive tone anymore. She was a Black Dragon after all, whether born or not. They were more aggressive by nature. Seemed the goddess chose well, although he wasn’t even sure how it was possible. He’d ask questions later. “Evander.”

  “Why are you here?” Bev, the witch asked.

  He opened his mouth then shut it. He didn’t have to answer to her. Besides, he didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t thought about what he’d tell people. Hell, he never planned to be noticed or find his soul mate. It changed everything.

  “To get help.” It was the only thing he could think of that wouldn’t sound too suspicious.

  Bev the witch raised a brow. “You’re full of lies and darkness, beast.”

  He sighed and said something that might cool her jets. He could tell the wheels were spinning, and nothing good could come from her being too interested in him. It would ruin his plan, and then he’d fail…and die.

  “I don’t know. I felt the call, and I had to come.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but he felt the magic, and it did call to him. There was no reason to tell her more than that. It wasn’t her damn business. Besides, he didn’t want Callie to know he had ulterior motives. He couldn’t handle the thought of her angry–or worse, hurt–by him. He’d come clean eventually, once he knew how to get rid of the demon magic.

  “He’s looking for others like him,” Callie said in a quiet tone.

  The witch laughed. “Oh, girlie, has he got you fooled.”

  Apparently, his mate didn’t like the witch insulting him. He felt her body tense right before she moved. He didn’t stop her. He was curious to see what she would do. His mate needed to be strong. And he had a feeling she was. Seeing it would be a whole different story.

  Callie stood and braced her hands on the table and leaned in close to the witch, seemingly unafraid of a woman who carried the magic of the goddess.

  “I found him outside on the bench passed out. He’s already passed out a second time, too.”

  Willow gasped. “You’re his mate then?”

  Evander frowned. “How’d you know?”

  “That’s what happens to the male Halflings around here. They meet their mate and either pass out or seize.”

  Callie sighed and nodded. “He’s done both, and it’s been just over six hours since I found him.”

  Bev stared at him, reading him. She didn’t even reach out to touch him. All it took was her focusing on him. She was a powerful witch. Evander wasn’t sure he liked anyone being able to read him that easily.

  “You’ve had your mind tampered with, Golden beast. You’re Golden…and what other?”.

  “I see…Blue,” Bev proclaimed.

  “Yes, I have seen her, she’s most anxious to be accepted into her new host.”

  “My, you’ve moved fast,” the witch said. The sarcasm didn’t go unnoticed. She didn’t approve.

  “She told me, witch. And she’s communicated with Callie.”

  “That’s freaky as hell, isn’t it?” Willow said with a smile. “Just wait, it gets stranger.”

  “You know the king?”

  “Aris, yes.”

  Evander shuddered as soon as he heard the name. It triggered a growing darkness. He saw it coming, but there was nothing he could do or say to stop it. His eyes rolled back, and sweat poured from his skin. His gut clenched, and his stomach rolled. He clutched it and panted for breath. He couldn’t even form the words he needed. Hell, he didn’t even know what he needed.

  Callie was there with her arm around him. “Evander?”

  Willow sat on his other side and held Callie’s hand. “The longer you wait, the sicker he’ll get. He needs to let go of the female dragon. She’s literally tearing him up inside, trying to get to you.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  Willow scoffed. “Of course you didn’t. You just met him. You can’t be expected to be on board right away. It’ll become a dire situation if you don’t take a leap of faith. I almost lost my mate because I was stubborn.”

  “What do I do?”

  “First, we certainly can’t do anything about it here.” She turned to Bev and held out her free hand. “These aren’t like the old. I need to get him out of here. Can I go now?”

  Bev glanced at him as his eyes filled with tears of agony. “Please,” was all he could say. It was so pathetic that the woman scowled.

  “Oh, for Goddess sakes, get him out of here. Willow, call me later. And be careful, honey.”

  “I will.” She went to pull Evander up. “Callie, help. He’s as big as our king.”

  Willow leaned i
n and made a strange noise. “Hmm, strange. You look a lot like him, too.”

  He didn’t comprehend a word because he wasn’t able to hold back any longer. He tried to remember the words. He needed to keep his focus on what she was saying, not what was happening to his body, but it felt like quicksand, and he was sinking into the nothingness. He let the darkness take over with her last words echoing in his mind.

  “You look like him, too.”

  ***

  Callie might have been in shock, but she was able to help Willow cart her giant mate outside. They walked in slow, short steps. Callie struggled to balance herself against Willow’s smaller stride. As soon as they reached a giant SUV, she leaned against it, making sure not to lose her grip on Evander.

  “Normally, my mate drops me off, but today he had other things to do. Lucky, huh?”

  “Yeah. Lucky.” Callie didn’t understand this woman. “How is it you’re so calm?”

  “Oh, I’m still new at all this. I’ve been a dragon for a month or so, now. It’s an adjustment, but I wouldn’t change it. I love the beast. She’s awesome.”

  “Did it hurt?” Callie asked as her new friend opened the door.

  Willow shoved Evander in the seat and huffed. “Like a bitch.”

  “Oh.”

  She laughed. “But only for a second or so. It goes fast, but don’t fight it.”

  “And then?”

  Her eyes shifted to golden orbs. “Sex. Lots and lots of sex.”

  Callie blushed and giggled. “Oh.”

  “Let’s get your mate some help, hon. Aris will want to check him out. Since Bev said his mind has been tampered with, who knows…?”

  “He’ll be okay though, right?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it. She glanced in at Evander laying limp in the backseat of her SUV. “I don’t know, hon, but he should be. The others have all gone through something similar. Aris’ heart actually stopped when he met Sophie. Ilias seized, and Zarin seized and nearly died, too.”

  “Oh my gosh, that’s horrifying. How did you all cope?”

  “It’s up to us–the women–to take on the female beasts. They’re males. They can’t handle a female mind, human or not. That’s my theory, anyway. That’s why they haven’t ever seen or ‘heard’ from the female beast until they’ve encountered their mate for the first time. It sort of wakes her up out of hibernation, I guess.”

  “You don’t know for sure.”

  “You have to understand that these dragons, these men, were shunned from their community at an age before they even knew what they were. They were shoved into the human world, and then had horrible things happen to them. They’re considered abominations by pure-bred dragons. No one’s taught them anything. Everything they know, they’ve learned through experience.”

  Callie wanted to cry for them. “That’s horrible. Do you think Evander had it that rough?”

  Willow shrugged. “Well, let’s get going before I can’t get us home.”

  Callie nodded, noticing that the weather had gotten worse. The snow came faster now. She climbed into the SUV, ready to fix Evander. She buckled up and twisted sideways to watch him. Nothing had changed. She was worried. Something Willow had said nagged at her, but she couldn’t figure it out.

  Willow slid in next to her and gave her a reassuring smile. Not that it helped. But at least they were going somewhere with someone who understood at least part of what Evander was going through. She wouldn’t have known what to do otherwise.

  The drive was slow and steady. Willow was a cautious driver. It reminded her of how her mother drove when she was in the car. It made her wonder if Willow was a mom. She was going to ask, but thought better of it. It wasn’t her business.

  It was too quiet, but Callie didn’t break the silence as she worried she would ruin Willow’s concentration. Already, the small woman was leaning forward and watching the road with careful precision. The wipers swung side to side at their fastest setting, doing their best to keep her windshield clear.

  “Shit, Zarin’s going to kick my ass for driving in this.”

  She didn’t sound all too worried. In fact, there was that sappy tone of love and happiness that her parents had. It was nice to hear. “I’m sure he’ll just be worried.”

  “Yeah. He’s a worrier, all right. It took a while to get him to chill and let me have my independence. He was so worried about me all the time.”

  She laughed. That was how it should be. A man should worry about the woman in his life, but not hold her back at the same time. It was a delicate balance.

  Growing up, Callie always wished she’d had two parents, but she had all the love her mom could offer. Finding her soul mate was a long time coming. She’d been waiting for this moment her whole life, and she wasn’t about to lose the man she was meant to be with before she even got to enjoy their life together.

  No way.

  Chapter 6

  Willow turned down a road, and Callie sighed in relief when she realized it was a long driveway.

  “We’re almost there. The guys will know what to do…I hope.”

  That wasn’t reassuring, though. She really couldn’t make things easier. She had no idea what it was like to be two parts of a whole. Because that’s what Willow had described. “I hope so, too.”

  The SUV made its way slowly up the drive, which looked as though it had been recently plowed. She smiled, realizing they probably made it easier for her to come home. “They aren’t going to freak out about you having an unconscious dragon in the backseat, along with his human mate?”

  Willow burst out laughing. “Oh, they are going to flip their shit, but what else was I supposed to do? Leave you guys to deal alone? Hell no. They’ll get over it. Besides, Aris is welcoming, although a bit leery of dragons from outside of the tribe.”

  “Tribe?”

  “Yeah, we’re all a tribe, with a king and queen. That’s the only hierarchy, though. I guess that could change in the future. We’re more than that, though. We’re all family, too. They accepted me pretty much without question.”

  Callie wondered if it would work the same for Evander. Something told her that was unlikely.

  She put the car in park and shoved the door open. Callie waited. As soon as Willow was out of the car, the front door of the house flew open, and a small boy ran out. She leaned forward, making sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. Her brows rose.

  He was blue!

  He nearly tackled her to the ground as he wrapped his thin, blue arms around her. She hugged him back until she was pulled away by a tall, lanky man, who wrapped her up and kissed her.

  The kiss was cut short, when he glanced up and noticed Callie in the car. He pulled back and pointed.

  Well, now it was time to meet the dragons. She opened the door and stepped out, careful not to fall or move in a way that could be aggressive. She stepped away from the car and tried to smile, but failed.

  “I’m Callie.”

  Willow laughed and shoved the taller man. “She’s a mate, Zar. I’ve got a dragon in the backseat.”

  The man frowned and strode over to the SUV without even slipping on the patches of ice that littered the ground. He yanked the door open and growled. “Who the fuck–”

  Willow was next to him in a second laying her hand on his arm. “Careful, that’s her mate. He’s a transplant. Bev said his mind has been tampered with. Of course, she didn’t elaborate, but he’s pretty out of it.” She looked at Callie. “Right?”

  “I don’t know much. I found him unconscious on the bench by the bus station. I was working across the street.”

  The man scrubbed his hand over his head. “Just what we need. More fuckin’ sick dragons.”

  “Dad!”

  Callie’s attention was pulled back to the boy. That couldn’t be what dragons produced?

  The boy’s eyes shot to hers, and his brows raised before he giggled. “You’re a funny human.”

  Willow frowned at the boy. �
�Don’t read minds, Cai. It’s rude.”

  “Sorry, Mom, but she might as well be screaming at me. Doesn’t know how you all could have made me.”

  Then he bounded off, leaving Callie with a slack jaw. She must have looked hilarious because the man, who seemed utterly pissed smiled and shrugged.

  “He’s kind of an adoptee.”

  “I see. Not to be rude but–”

  He held up his hand, stopping her question as if he knew what she was going to ask.

  “First, I’m Zarin. Will’s mate. That was Cai. He’s a Halfling of a different type. But you don’t need to know anything else about me or my family until we make sure you weren’t sent from the Council. No offense, but you could be a ploy. They might have smartened up.”

  “Council?”

  “We can’t be too careful.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry about being nosy. It’s just…well, you don’t see a boy like that every day.”

  “Nah, it’s all good. But until we can trust you, don’t ask about personal shit.”

  Callie nodded. She got that. “Okay, well, is there a way you can help him?” she asked, looking at Evander.

  “I don’t know. Let’s get him inside.”

  She didn’t argue as she moved to the other side of him, not fearing being close to him. He pulled Evander by the legs, and she helped guide him out, but instead of having to carry him the way she and Willow did, Zarin flipped him over his shoulder and laughed at her.

  “What? It’s easier this way. No sense in taking the chance of you getting hurt when I’m more than capable of carrying him.”

  She followed behind him and realized Willow was already gone. Probably preparing the rest of them that strangers were coming in. She wondered about this Council he spoke of with such distaste, but she’d follow his rules.

  No questions.

  At least not yet. She was good with that. Especially if they could help Evander. Maybe he’d find whatever it was he was searching for–not that he’d told her exactly what he was there for to begin with. And hopefully he wasn’t ‘sent from the Council.’ But there was an ache that shot between her eyes. She gasped and rubbed her forehead, easing the pain. A feeling of dread filled her gut. Something told her that things were going to go downhill, and fast.