by Olivia Myers
Isaac narrowed his eyes at the man, “You keep telling me I’m in danger, but you don’t explain how. I’m an adult and I can take care of myself.”
Isaac’s words didn’t do anything to help calm Drake. The man was up on his feet, pacing the room. He was pulling at his shirt and his hair, distressed.
“You don’t understand, Isaac. It’s not to black and white.”
Isaac shrugged and said, “I never said that it had to be.”
Isaac caught Drake rolling his eyes before he spun around. “That’s not so true. Ever since I met you, you have definitely expected things to be black and white. You want things to be nice and easy. That’s not the way it works, especially with me.”
“Well, I couldn’t know that because you’ve barely told me anything!”
Drake stomped forward until he was standing directly in front of Isaac. “It’s not as if you would’ve believed me if I had told you.”
Both of the men were angry and their chests were heaving. Somehow their angry breathing had synched and their chests were brushing against each other as they inhaled. The air started to drift from angry to something else entirely. Suddenly Isaac was less focused on the rift between them and was now more interested in how kissable Drake’s lips looked. Their attraction was unreal. Even in moments like these, there was nothing Isaac wanted to do more than to please Drake in any way possible.
Isaac took the initiative this time. He slowly leaned forward, giving Drake plenty of time to know what he was about to do. Before he could lose his nerve, Isaac connected their lips. It seemed as if every kiss they had was different and was made of different emotions. It provided a different type of excitement every time.
Drake grabbed at Isaac’s body, pulling him closer before he pushed him away altogether. Isaac tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at Drake’s actions, but in all honesty, it made him want to cry. He had left once and now Drake didn’t want him anymore.
“I will explain everything, Isaac, but we’re both in danger the longer we stay here,” Drake said.
“What do you mean?”
Drake scowled at Isaac. “Can you just stop asking questions and come with me?”
“Well, where are we going?” Isaac asked.
“I don’t know,” Drake groaned. “But we have to leave, so will you come with me?”
Isaac stood with his arms crossed, observing Drake. Why did Drake expect Isaac to simply go with him when he wouldn’t even tell him what was going on or where they were going? Drake kept saying that they were in danger and yet he was acting calm, considering who he was.
“Does this have to do with you getting stabbed last week?” Isaac questioned.
“Yes. Now let’s go.”
Isaac stared at Drake for a moment without saying anything. It was obvious that the man was growing impatient with every second that they continued to stand there. But could he blame Isaac? Why did he expect him to go to some undisclosed location with him without being provided any answers?
Probably because Isaac had been dumb enough to do it once already. But now he wasn’t so sure; in fact, he hadn’t been so sure the first time, but he had been forced. Luckily, Drake wasn’t jumping out of a window with Isaac this time even if he felt the same urgency.
Isaac has torn once again, not knowing what to do. It seemed as if Drake continued to put Isaac at a difficult crossroads. Every other moment, Isaac was making a difficult decision that stemmed from Drake.
He sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Drake seemed to kick into action at the sound of Isaac’s words. He started to march forward and grabbed Isaac’s hand, taking him along. They started toward the stairs and Isaac almost fell down them trying to keep up with Drake.
Drake didn’t stop when they hit the bottom floor; he kept moving rapidly toward the front door.
“Drake!” a voice from behind them halted Drake.
Isaac looked over his shoulder to see Rivers approaching them.
“What,” Drake growled.
Rivers approached them, looking nervous, “Are you leaving?”
“Yes.”
Drake didn’t say anything else to the man; he opened the door and pulled Isaac along with him. Rivers looked as if he wanted to say something else, but Drake wasn’t going to give him a chance.
Isaac was pulled outside and he heard the heavy door slam shut behind them. Drake didn’t stop pulling Isaac until they got to the garage that was located on the side of the house. Drake typed in a code and the doors rolled open to reveal several expensive looking cars.
“Shit,” Drake said. “I forgot my keys. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
Isaac had no idea what was going on, but everything that Drake had told him definitely made him a little nervous to be standing out in the open on his own.
A minute after Drake disappeared, the door that connected the house and the garage opened. Isaac looked up, expecting to see Drake. Instead, Rowan was standing there, giving Isaac an odd look.
“I’m glad to see that you’re back, Isaac,” he said.
Simply hearing his voice sent a shiver down Isaac’s spine. Something wasn’t right.
Isaac didn’t say anything to Rowan.
Rowan had started to take small steps closer and closer to Isaac. Rowan was a few yards away still, but in Isaac’s opinion, he was too close for comfort.
“Why did you come back?” Rowan asked him.
Isaac shrugged, uncomfortable. “I wanted to be with Drake.”
“You came back into a world you don’t understand to be with a man you barely know?”
Well, when the man said it like that, it definitely sounded crazy.
“I wouldn’t say it like that—”
“I would,” Rowan said. “I have to say, Isaac, I pity you.”
“Why’s that?” Isaac asked.
Rowan’s face spread into a mocking frown. “You came back into a world where you don’t belong. A world where you are unable to defend yourself.”
The man had been giving Isaac a weird vibe, but nothing compared to this. There was something wrong with this situation. This situation had a bitter edge of danger that Isaac wasn’t used to. Isaac’s body was screaming and straining. His brain was urging Isaac to leave immediately. He hadn’t realized he had done it, but Isaac’s feet forced him to step away from the man who was presenting the current danger.
Any space that Isaac put between him and Rowan was decreased, however, as the man stepped closer than he had been in the first place. Isaac could almost smell Rowan, and there was nothing he wanted more than for Drake to show up.
It was obvious now that the danger Drake had been so urgent about was standing directly in front of him. If only Isaac had the decency to listen to Drake instead of demanding answers, Drake would have retrieved the keys sooner and they would already be gone from this place.
The answers were too real now, too raw. Isaac didn’t know what Rowan’s intentions were, but he knew they weren’t good.
Isaac took a couple of more steps back, only to reach a car that prevented him from going any farther.
Rowan continued to approach until he was a foot away from Isaac. Isaac’s skin itched; he needed to get away, but he didn’t know how. Isaac quickly glanced over Rowan’s shoulder just in time to see Drake come in from around the corner.
At the first sign of danger, Drake’s whole demeanor changed in an instant. At first, he had looked anxious, but he seemed to become filled with dread as soon as he realized something wasn’t right. His body automatically shifted into defensive mode. He glanced at Isaac’s fearful eyes and paused momentarily. That moment didn’t last long.
“What are you doing, Rowan?” he growled.
Rowan didn’t look remorseful for being discovered; instead, he looked satisfied. He looked over his shoulder with a smirk on his face.
“You came just in time, Drake,” Rowan said. “I wanted you to be here to witness this.”
Drake had approached the opening of the garage, but he seemed too cautious to come any closer.
“I know it was you, Rowan. I know the truth. We can handle this as honorable men, but honorable men don’t bring a mate into the mix. It’s me you’re mad at,” Drake pleaded.
Rowan didn’t seem to listen to a word that Drake had said. Whatever his motive was, he was dead set on it.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Rowan said.
No one had been prepared for Drake to move. The threat had his mate in a dangerous position. He had proven himself to be cautious so far. Isaac barely saw it happen; he simply saw a flash of black fly past him. He could feel a slight breeze and Rowan was knocked away from him.
Isaac pushed himself off of the car he had been trapped against in shock. The men had almost disappeared completely, and if Isaac couldn’t hear yelling from the backyard he would’ve thought as much. He ran out of the garage and into the area behind the house. The men were fighting, tangled on the ground a few yards away from Isaac.
If Isaac didn’t love Drake, he would’ve taken the chance to get away from the situation safely. The only problem was, somehow, some way, he did love Drake. Instead of his feet taking him to safety, they ran straight to the dragon shifters who looked like they were going to shift any moment.
Just before he reached the two men, they broke apart. Drake was standing a mere two yards from where Isaac was. Without thinking, Isaac quickly ran to stand beside Drake. Isaac wanted to grab onto him, but a murderous look stopped him.
“Why did you come down here?” Drake yelled.
“Because I love you.”
Looking back on the moment after the fact, he supposed saying ‘I love you’ for the first time shouldn’t be said in a situation like the one they were in. The words had come out before he could stuff them back in. It was simply the truest answer to Drake’s question.
Drake froze completely, staring at Isaac with a look that wasn’t easily deciphered. Their eyes were ripped apart when Rowan started laughing. Isaac had forgotten about the other man entirely.
“Isn’t that sweet,” Rowan mused. “I think it’ll be even sweeter once you’re gone.”
A glimpse of a gun was the last thing that Isaac remembered.
Chapter Eleven
The moment that Drake saw the gun withdrawn from Rowan’s pocket, his heart dropped. His body was filled with desperation and hopelessness. It was the worst moment of his life. Even worse than when Isaac had left him. The moment he saw the gun, he knew something bad was going to happen one way or another. There was no possible way that this could be resolved peacefully.
Someone was going to get hurt.
Someone was going to get killed.
Drake couldn’t believe that he had been foolish enough to leave Isaac on his own. He wasn’t sure why he had been given a human mate; it was obvious that he wasn’t able to protect him from getting hurt.
The moment happened so fast, but in Drake’s mind, it was slow enough to stop it. Well, according to Drake’s mind. He honestly wasn’t sure if he could’ve changed the outcome if he had been quicker.
A shot rang through the air. Drake’s mind took a moment to process it, as if the sound was so unbelievable that it hadn’t even happened. His eyes slid down to Isaac in absolute terror. He had been scared of what he would see.
His heart was broken again in such a short amount of time. Drake wasn’t sure if it had ever been healed completely. Isaac lay on the grass, sprawled in an unnatural fashion. Crimson pooled around his body.
Drake had never made a conscious decision to kill Rowan. Once of his brothers. The act hurt Drake just as it did the man’s other brothers.
Rowan had killed Isaac.
The betrayal from before was one thing, but Rowan’s actions left him with no chance at redemption. This was the worst thing that could happen in a shifter’s life, and it was at Rowan’s hands.
Drake’s subconscious had made the correct decision. If Drake had sat and thought about what to do, he still would’ve killed the other shifter.
He didn’t cradle his mate’s broken body as he wanted to. Drake was zipping through the air straight toward the murderer. He wasn’t going to let Rowan shoot him until Rowan was mortally wounded as well.
Their bodies slammed into one another just as they had earlier. Rowan hadn’t been expecting the attack this time, either. Lucky for Drake, he had failed in training Rowan, otherwise Rowan would’ve been able to stop Drake both times.
They crashed into the grass underneath them, digging down into the dirt. Drake’s hands were instantly around Rowan’s neck, claiming his vengeance.
Drake sat frozen upon the other man’s body in the position for a moment too long. Yelling coming from behind him made Drake slowly let go of Rowan’s neck. Before he got up completely, he made sure to close the other man’s eyes.
Raider and Rivers had made their way outside after hearing all the commotion. Rivers was on the ground, holding Isaac’s body.
Drake felt as if he should run to the chaos, but he couldn’t force his body to move that quickly. It was as if he was running against a current. Every movement was an effort and not one of ease. It felt as if it had taken years to cross the field. The stench of blood filled the air, and it made Drake sick to his stomach.
He stood in front of the group, looking down. By the time Drake made the decision be lower himself to the ground and hold Isaac for himself, sirens filled the air.
Hours later, they found themselves in the waiting room at the hospital. The stink of medicines and chemical cleaners filled Drake’s nostrils. Two of his dragon brethren were sitting with him.
“Thank you,” Drake whispered to the shifter sitting next to him.
Raider quickly glanced to the side before looking straight ahead again. “I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know,” Drake nodded. “But thank you nonetheless. If it wasn’t for you, then Isaac would be dead.”
The real mention of their situation obviously made Raider uncomfortable. His face screwed up and he adjusted himself in his seat.
“What the hell happened, Drake?” he quietly asked.
Drake’s eyes traveled to Rivers, who looked equally as uncomfortable as his brother, simply for different reasons. When Rivers didn’t say anything, Drake shifted back toward Raider to talk. He wished that waiting rooms weren’t so damn quiet. Drake felt as if everyone could hear what he was saying.
“Rowan betrayed me.”
Raider shifted his eyes for another moment, just long enough to give Drake a look. “You know that doesn’t explain much at all.”
Drake ran a hand through his hair. The sting of betrayal was still strong. “He was the one who wrote the email.”
If the revelation surprised Raider, he didn’t show it. Normally, Drake would be instantly suspicious. If Raider hadn’t of been the one to save Isaac’s life, he still may not have been convinced that he wasn’t teamed up with his brother.
“It’s true,” Rivers whispered, refusing to look at either of the men.
“He was going to try and kill Isaac. Rowan told me before he shot Isaac. I’m sorry it was your brother, but I’m not sorry that I killed him,” Drake said.
He could see Raider clench his jaw at Drake's words. They had been through too much and there had already been too much dishonesty. There was nothing else he could do but tell the exact truth. Just as Isaac had.
“Because I love you.”
Those words had sounded as surreal as the gunshot. This whole day still didn’t feel like reality. There had been many changes in such a short time, Drake felt as if he could barely keep up with them all.
The three men sat in silence until a doctor came and talked to Drake.
“You guys are here for Isaac Bradford?” the doctor asked, confused, as he gave all three men a long look.
Drake nodded. “I’m his boyfriend.”
The doctor looked at Drake with a shine of doubt, but he didn’t raise any o
bjections.
“He did better in surgery than we expected,” the doctor said. “We still have to see how the next few days go, but for now we’re okay. Who wants to see him first?”
The men had wanted to go together, but with Isaac being in intensive care, the hospital only allowed one visitor at a time.
The walk to Isaac’s room was strangely reminiscent of the one across the field a few hours ago. Perhaps there wasn’t as much dread, because at least he knew that Isaac was alive this time. The way the doctor had spoken had made it seem as if Isaac’s health still wasn’t a guarantee.
Drake could see his mate lying in the hospital bed before he entered the room. His heart cried with the sight. This was a version of Isaac he had never hoped to experience, a broken one. Drake would give his life to see the man whole once again.
His feet forced him into the white, sterile room. The beast inside of him wanted to take his mate from this cursed place once again, to tuck him safely into Drake’s bed. A bed that didn’t exist anymore.
No matter how much the beast cried for his mate, there was nothing Drake could do. This was still the hospital that Isaac worked at. Drake had stolen him from the place once, and he couldn’t again, especially not when the hospital was helping to heal Isaac.
Drake walked up to Isaac’s bedside and picked up his mate’s limp hand.
Drake wasn’t sure how long he stood next to Isaac. A nurse came into the room. Drake faintly recognized her as one of the women Isaac had spoken to when Drake had been lying in one of those beds.
“There is another man asking to come and visit Dr. Bradford,” she softly said from behind him.
Drake gently lowered Isaac’s hand back onto the bed. He took a step back while he gave a nod. “I understand.”
He felt numb as he turned away from his mate. Drake wanted to throw a fit of rage and not leave his mate’s side until he was well again. But that wasn’t what humans did. If he was a human boyfriend then he would politely allow others to come and wish Isaac well.
When Drake walked back into the waiting room, Raider stood to his feet. He walked past Drake without looking at him. Drake sighed as he threw himself in a chair next to Rivers. Rivers didn’t look at him either.
