by Kimber White
“Will you come with me?” Finn asked.
“Finn, my cousin Leo is watching me as we speak. If you’re so worried about my father’s pack finding out about you, this is probably the worst thing you can ask me.”
“But you care,” he said. “I know you do. I know what you are to Gideon.”
He knew? Hell, I didn’t even fully know that yet. Still, from the second he told me Gideon was in trouble, my decision was already made.
“Fine,” I said. “Do you have a plan? Because it better be a doozy.” As I said it, Leo was watching me again. As Finn rose from his seat, Leo stepped off the curb and headed straight for us.
Chapter Ten
Gideon
As mistakes go, coming to the catacombs was big. I should have followed my instincts and flown to Scotland. Far below the Loop, this network of tunnels existed in secret for most of the tens of thousands of people whizzing by just a few hundred feet above. At least it was quiet here. Dank and dark. Fire would have felt better, but I knew Xander thought the cool stillness would keep me calm.
He was wrong.
The fire raged inside and my dragon scales spread. Both arms and my chest were now covered. I knew what Xander was doing. He was afraid my condition would stir my brothers to desperation. Our mating sickness wasn’t contagious in a traditional sense, but our moods affected each other’s. The harder it was for me to control, it would only be worse for them.
For the first time in my life, I envied other shifters. If I were a bear shifter, I could have hibernated. They did that when they were wounded or wrapped in grief. I figured it was worth half a try. I stayed in the darkness, curled into myself, focusing on just one thing. Breathing.
At least, I tried to. Grace was really the only thing I could hold on to. Her touch. Her scent. She smelled like the sweetest honey. In the inky blackness, I reached for her soft skin. It helped at first and quieted the worst of the tremors. But, desire stoked the flames in the deepest parts of me. By the third morning, my back was covered in scales.
Grace’s eyes. Green. Luminous. They pierced through the darkness and felt like home. Impossible. It was a trick of the light or my spinning mind. Then that honey-sweet scent enveloped me.
Startled, I let out a blast of fire. It swirled in the air then came right back to me, hitting me in the chest.
“The hell?” My voice didn’t sound natural. I wondered if the scales now covered me on the inside as well.
“Stand down!” It was Finn’s voice. He’d drawn my flame and thrown it back in my face. Staggering, I made it to my feet and squinted. Two figures moved toward me. My heart clenched.
Grace.
“Stay back!” I yelled. I felt my dragon slamming around inside of me. I carved my fingers...my talons into the cement wall. If she came closer. If I touched her…
“Gideon.” Her voice cut through the fire.
“It’s okay,” Finn said. “I brought her here to help you.”
My fire spewed out of me.
“Just, stay behind me.” I heard Finn tell Grace. Oh, God. It wouldn’t be enough. If she got too close and I shifted all the way, I didn’t have enough of a handle on it to risk hurting her. What the hell was Finn thinking?
“Gideon,” she whispered. They were just a few feet away. As much as my dragon raged, my need to touch her burned just as hot.
“What is it?” she gasped. “What the hell is happening to you?”
Don’t. I tried to transmit my thoughts to Finn. Either I failed, or he ignored me. He brought Grace closer.
“It’s happening to all of us,” Finn said. “As we age, we’re losing control of our dragons. At some point, we’ll all shift and stay that way. Unless…”
“Don’t,” I said. “She doesn’t need to be burdened with this. Just, leave. It’s better for both of you the farther you are from me.”
“Forget it, brother,” Finn said. “You might be too scared, but I’m not going to stand by and watch you slip away when you and I both know what the answer is.”
“No,” I said. “That’s no answer.”
“Stop!” Grace shouted. Her voice echoed through the tunnel. “Both of you. Tell me what the hell is going on. Finn, you brought me here because you said I could help. How?”
“You what?” I roared. I would kill him. How dare Finn put Grace at risk to save me? He had no right.
There was movement behind Finn. A hulking figure leaned against one of the far walls. My back went up and my vision turned gold.
“It’s okay,” Finn said. “That’s just her brother.”
“Brother?”
“My cousin, actually. That’s Leo. We couldn’t shake him.”
I put a hand on top of my head as if it might pop off. “Finn, have you completely lost your damn mind? Bringing Grace into this is bad enough. You mean to tell me you brought a fucking wolf along with you?”
“He’s uh...sort of out of commission,” Finn said. “Look, I’m not saying I’m proud about it, but desperate times and all that. Don’t worry. By the time he wakes up, he won’t know what hit him.”
I knew what hit him. It only underscored my belief that Finn had lost his mind. I peered closer. Grace’s cousin Leo was a big son of a bitch with a broad, muscular chest and tree trunks for legs. Finn had him bound at the ankles and his wrists tied behind his back. He’d used chains of course, dragonsteel. No shifter could break free of them and their magic would keep the poor bastard from shifting into his wolf. He had a purple lump on his forehead the size of an egg. If Finn had cold-cocked him, it’s lucky he didn’t cave in Leo’s skull.
“How you planning to explain this to him when he does?” I asked.
“Well...that’s the thing. I kind of snuck up on him. Grace had him out in the alley behind the bagel place. I threw a cloaking spell before I decked him. I really meant he literally won’t know what hit him when he wakes up. We figured it wasn’t the perfect plan, but it was better than having him try to stop us. And better than risking having him follow us.”
“Jesus. He’s going to know something happened!”
“I’m making this shit up as I go,” Finn shouted.
“Just, just...I can’t…”
Grace stepped forward. She was so beautiful. So brave. She came out from behind my brother and came to me.
“Don’t!” I warned. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
“So tell me,” she said, distress making her voice high. “Tell me what’s happening to you. Tell me how I can help. Finn said I was the only one who could.”
“Listen,” Finn said. “I’m going to leave you two to talk this out. The wolf man’s getting restless.”
True enough, Leo started to stir. He let out a strangled howl as he started to come around.
“Don’t hurt him,” Grace said. “You swore to me that none of this would hurt him.”
“Relax,” Finn said. “He’ll wake up better rested then he’s ever been.”
“With a hangover like he’s never had,” I muttered. But, Grace was freaked out enough. I could have killed Finn just then. He knew what he was doing though. That fucker knew if he got Grace close enough to me, I wouldn’t have the strength or willpower to push her away. It appeared she didn’t have the strength to leave.
So there we were. Finn receded into the shadows. He heaved Grace’s cousin Leo over his shoulder, his knees buckling with the effort, but he got him up and he headed down a different tunnel out of sight.
Grace came to me. She moved so fast I didn’t have a chance to stop her. To warn her. An instinct she didn’t fully understand yet fueled her. I could have kept her from touching me. But, I didn’t.
I was shirtless, wearing a pair of ragged jeans. Grace spread her palms flat and pressed them against my chest. What she felt made her eyes go wide. There was just enough light from a small lantern I’d brought with me for her to see what she felt.
“Gideon?” she whispered. “You’re...stuck.”
She traced
the lines of my scales with her fingertips. She felt so good. A shiver of pleasure went through me.
“It would seem,” I said. I stood stock still, the muscles of my chest twitching as Grace inspected me. She ran her hands along my arm, down my abs, across my hip, then over my back. My iridescent scales shimmered in the low light.
“How long?” she asked.
“How long have I been like this, or how long do I have?”
She set her mouth in a grim line. “Both.”
“Three days ago. After my last shift on the rooftop.”
“I felt it,” she said. “You almost didn’t make it back. Then, I touched you and…”
“And there I was,” I smiled. “Who are you, Grace Call? You should have been terrified. You should be terrified now.”
“But, I’m not. Gideon...I don’t understand any of this. Or at least, I shouldn’t understand any of it. I do though. It feels natural, somehow. Like I’ve known you all along.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why? You’d never hurt me. I know you wouldn’t.”
“No.” The word came out more roar than speech. The idea of anything hurting this woman, even me, nearly drove me to my knees. I would not let it happen. No matter what.
“There’s a cure. Finn wouldn’t come out with specifics, but there is, isn’t there? What is it? Tell me. You have to tell me!”
I closed my eyes. It got hard to breathe. It got hard to just stand there in front of her and not have her. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I knew I would protect her with my life. Even if that meant forfeiting my life.
“It’s me,” she said. “That’s it, isn’t it? I’m the cure. That’s why my touch helped you get control the other day. That’s why Finn was so insistent on bringing me to you. He said you’d fight it.”
“Grace, don’t. It doesn’t matter. It’s too late. You’re not...I can’t…”
“I know this,” she gasped. “Gideon. I’m not an idiot. My father, my brother, my cousins, my uncle...I live with wolf shifters, for God’s sake. I know what a fated mate is. It’s what my mother was to Papa. She was human, of course. But he knew. I’ve heard the stories my whole life. She was an American journalist reporting from Moscow when the wall came down in Germany. She walked into a cafe and Papa was there. They knew. They both just knew. He gave up everything to try and keep her safe. It nearly killed him when he couldn’t. She died just after I was born. The Pack my father left to marry her killed her to try and bring him back in line.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I didn’t know Grace’s father. The idea that he had to live his life without his fated mate, the mother of his children, told me something about his character. He was maybe stronger than I could be. I hadn’t even mated with Grace and the idea that I could lose her turned me inside out.
“You’re mine,” she said, rushing me. I got my hands up and circled her wrists. “That’s the answer. This thing that’s happening to you, tell me what it has to do with me.”
“Mating sickness,” I said. There was no point in lying to her. “A mated dragon can live for a thousand years or more. Unmated...we eventually lose control. Like this. When that happens, my brothers will have to kill me.”
“No!”
“There’s no choice. It’s too dangerous. A wild dragon let loose in the world would be the end of everything. We go mad from it. It would put too many lives at risk. And it would be agony for any of us to try and live like that. We won’t do it. We can’t.”
“Mating sickness,” she said. “If you mate then it stops? It’s a cure?”
“Don’t,” I said, letting go of her wrists. “I won’t put this on you.”
“It’s my choice too, isn’t it?”
“No!” I roared. “I can’t. You can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re human, Grace. Dragons are meant to mate with other dragons. Only we can’t because they’re all gone. Human women can’t survive mating with dragons. My fire...it would kill you.”
“Your fire.” Her voice dropped so low. She stepped away from me.
“You should go. Finn meant well, but this is impossible.”
“You’re telling me the only way you can save yourself is if you mate with me. And mating with you would kill me. Because of your fire?” She was pacing now.
“Yes.”
She shook her head and turned. “I’ve dreamt it. Gideon. For weeks. Ever since I met you. No...that’s not even true. I’ve had the dream before. For years. Your fire. Mating fire. It’s green and gold and red. Every color of the rainbow.”
I closed my eyes. “Grace…”
“I’ve seen it, Gideon!” She charged me again, pressing her hands flat to my chest. “In my dreams. It’s all around me. In me...through me. Is that how it happens?”
“Yes!” She was imagining it. I was imagining it. Lust drove me out of my mind. I don’t know how I found the strength to stay still.
“I’ve seen, it Gideon. Don’t you believe in fate? I know I’ve been raised on it. Gideon, your fire won’t burn me. I don’t know how. I just...know.”
Her fingers moved up from my chest. She curved them around my ears and pulled me down to her. I couldn’t help myself. She smelled too sweet. Just one kiss. That’s all I would take from her.
The instant our lips met, lightning crackled between us. My dragon raged as desire thrummed in my veins. One heartbeat. Hers and mine. They beat in perfect synchrony.
“Yes,” she gasped. Her nipples peaked as she pressed her body against mine. I was rock hard. I felt her heat. My fingers roamed over her back, down the curve of her ass. She leaned into me. I felt her hot wetness through her jeans. She was oh so ready. So was I.
The first ember sparked from my fingertips. Grace licked up the column of my throat. My scales melted away, leaving flesh behind. It was her. With Grace’s touch, I came back into myself. She gave me control. I could just...if we could…
“Gideon,” she moaned. “Oh my God. Please!”
I had her pressed against the wall. She wrapped her leg around my waist. I slid my hand up her shirt. She wore no bra beneath her t-shirt. I was on her, taking her nipple gently between my teeth.
“Yes!” she gasped.
The second spark exploded behind my eyes. I couldn’t control it. Grace’s hands were everywhere, pulling at my zipper.
I don’t know what made me open my eyes. If I hadn’t, I might have gone over the edge with her willingly. But, I did. Grace’s hair was on fire and she didn’t even realize it. Lust fueled her, making her impervious to the pain.
“Grace!” I shouted. I pulled away from her. I turned her around and lifted her hair off her shoulders just before her shirt would have caught fire. I stamped the fire out, between my hands.
“Go!” I shouted.
Grace was still in shock. She lifted the ends of her hair. About an inch had burned off from the bottom.
“Get out of here,” I said, my voice raspy, tortured. I was so close. It would have been so easy to just take her. I wanted her. What’s worse, in the throes of her passion, Grace wanted it too, despite the fire.
“Gideon,” she sobbed. She went to me, putting her hands on my arm. Even now, she was too brave for her own good.
“Go,” I said again. “I won’t do this. I won’t hurt you.”
“Gideon, there has to be…”
“No!” I thundered. A hot blast from me blew Grace’s hair back, but I controlled my fire this time. “Leave. Get the hell out of here!"
Tears filled Grace’s eyes, but she backed away. The sob that ripped from her throat split my heart in half. Then, she turned and ran out of the tunnel.
Chapter Eleven
Gideon
“You’re gonna have to help me with this one,” Finn said. I had to give him credit. He took care of Grace and made sure she made it back to the brownstone before venturing back to the tunnels. Her cousin Leo was still down for the count and bound in dragonsteel chains. He
’d recover, but he was going to wake up with one hell of a hangover and he probably wouldn’t remember much about the last twenty-four hours. At least, that’s what I was counting on.
“How was she?” I said as I walked over to Leo. He was sleeping soundly.
“How do you think she was?” Finn said.
“Don’t ask me what happened.” I could barely let myself think about it. I had been so close to letting my fire consume her. It would have been so easy to take all that she had to give. One second longer, and I would have.
“I don’t need to know,” Finn said. “But it worked, Gideon.”
A tremor ran through me. Part of me wanted to rip Finn apart for bringing Grace to me. He didn’t understand the danger. He didn’t know what it felt like to find his fated mate. No, he only knew what it felt like to lose control. I wanted to kill him, but I knew why he’d done it. Before I met Grace, if it had been Finn in trouble, I might have done the same thing.
My scales had receded. Just that brief moment with Grace had been enough to help me get back in control. The promise of what could have happened if I’d fully mated with her made my heart ache.
“Let’s not,” I said. “For the love of God don’t lecture me about what I need. You need to trust me when I tell you that was the worst thing in the world for Grace. It’s no good. I’m done hurting her.”
“So that’s it then?” Finn said, his anger rising. “You’re just going to give up and let her go? You know how this works, Gideon. You get one fated mate. Just one. If you can’t figure out a way to be with her, you’re done. She’s your only chance.”
My fire blasted forth. Finn took a step back gut managed to control his own dragon. He got the message though. It was enough for one day.
“So, did you have a plan for him, or were you just planning on making this up as you go?”
Finn’s smile turned sheepish. “Well, Grace helped me out a little in that regard. I guess Leo here lives in a duplex on N Potomac with two other of her cousins. She thinks if we just deposit him in a hammock he’s got in the backyard, there’s a chance he’ll think he just drank too much last night.”