by Liv Rider
“Is my son giving you any trouble, cariño?” she asked Griffith, standing up to greet him. She was tall and broad-shouldered, a little thick around the middle. Her wavy hair was pulled back loosely at the nape of her neck. When she saw Noah trailing in behind Griffith her eyes sharpened.
“No more trouble than usual. Santiago’s out of state on a case.”
Sofia gestured for them to sit in the chairs in front of her desk, and settled behind it again. “And who’s this?”
Noah’s manners kicked in. “Noah Tine. It’s nice to meet you. Griffith said you might be able to help us out.”
Her eyes crinkled in a friendly expression. “And what can I help you out with?”
“Noah’s a shifter,” Griffith broke in. “Or at least I’m positive he must be, but he has no idea what kind, and I can’t tell.”
“You must be sure enough to bring him here, and to tell him what we are.”
She didn’t sound pleased. Noah glanced over at Griffith. He’d already figured out that rule number one in shifter code was don’t talk about shifters, which made sense since the entire idea was crazy. Part of him wondered if this was an elaborate game, or if Griffith and Sofia were sharing some kind of delusion, except that he remembered that circle of orange fire surrounding Griffith and Madoc, the burnished gold of scales.
Griffith returned Sofia’s look evenly, a set look to his jaw. She seemed to accept whatever she saw there and stood, coming around the desk to lean against the edge in front of Noah. “Let’s take a look.”
She held out her hand. Noah took it automatically. Her grip was firm and warm. She didn’t make him nervous, exactly, but he was very aware of her. Power, his brain recognized. It emanated from her in waves.
“How can you tell what I am?” He knew he was talking to cover up his nervousness, but he was also curious.
“Once you’re trained to perceive it, it’s hard not to see someone’s true self. Even when it’s hiding.”
Why would my shifter half hide? Noah couldn’t help but think that if he really was a shifter, he would have felt something. Had some indication over the years. “What kind of shifter are you?”
She smiled at him. “A wolf.”
“Sofia’s one of the most powerful wolf shifters in the region,” Griffith said. “The Avila line goes back generations.”
“Most of us are in Mexico, but there are a few of us here.”
Her grip on his hand tightened. Noah didn’t think he could break it even with all his strength.
He thought he would feel her in his head, like someone probing around, but he just felt the warmth of their shared body heat in their joined hands. Her eyes were gentle on his.
When she released his hand a moment later, Noah was almost disappointed. Maybe he was only human after all.
“What is he?” Griffith asked impatiently. “Were you able to tell?”
“Of course,” Sofia said. “He’s a dragon.”
Chapter Four
“No way,” Griffith said automatically. “If he was a dragon, I’d know.”
He might not be able to tell a shifter’s animal half on sight, but he knew when he came across another dragon. There was something in their shared nature that was like a beacon flashing.
“What do you know about Greek mythology?”
Griffith stared at her, trying to make sense of the non sequitur. “You mean like gods and centaurs and such?”
“You Welsh dragons don’t know any mythology other than your own.” Sofia crossed to a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the back of the office and searched the shelves.
Noah regarded both of them like they were crazy. Griffith was starting to wonder himself.
After a minute Sofia apparently found what she was looking for, and brought back a large hardbound book that she laid open on the desk. Curious, Griffith stood and glanced over her shoulder. On her other side, Noah did the same.
It was an illustrated book of Greek myths. Gods and centaurs, just like he’d said.
She stopped at a picture of a golden chariot pulled by two serpent-like dragons. “Is that Apollo?” Griffith asked, nodding at the figure in the chariot, trying to call up what little Greek mythology he’d learned in school.
“No, that’s Helios,” Noah broke in. He met Griffith’s gaze over the book. “The sun god. A Titan, not an Olympian. I used to, uh, read a lot as a kid.”
He looked faintly embarrassed by the fact, which only made him more appealing. Griffith was too old for a crush. But there was something about how willing Noah was to believe in this, how resilient he’d been in the face of Madoc’s attack, that pulled at him. Griffith would have expected him to freak out and push back blindly, but here Noah was, listening to Sofia attentively, willing and open-minded in the face of the unknown.
“And those are sun dragons,” Sofia said, pointing to the red and gold winged serpents, a blaze of fire trailing in their wake. “Or solar dragons, as they’re called here.”
Noah’s brow furrowed. “Are you saying that’s what I am?” He’d been quicker on the uptake than Griffith.
“I’m not sure, but I think so,” Sofia said. “They’re very rare. I know you’re a dragon, but you don’t fit into any of the known dragon types. You have a reserve of power that far surpasses a normal shifter, but it’s suppressed. I think your body is doing that on purpose to protect itself.”
Griffith looked at the fiery beings crossing the sky in the painting. A dragon with the power of the sun. Let loose, it could consume everything around it, even its bearer.
Noah seemed to have come to the same conclusion. His eyes were wide when he straightened and met Griffith’s. “What does it mean, exactly, to be a dragon?”
Griffith shrugged. “I don’t know about a sun dragon. I’ve never heard of that before. Most of your powers and abilities should have shown themselves at puberty. It can be a tough transition, on top of everything else at that age.” His mouth twitched, remembering. His father had done a remarkable job as a human reining in three adolescent dragons while his mother was out hunting.
“Some dragons excel at manipulation, like Madoc. There’s an inherent charisma to being a dragon—my brother uses that often to get his own way, though that trait mostly passed me by. Other dragons care only about accumulating wealth, and are excellent businessmen and women.”
“What about you?”
“Dragons can be warriors too,” Sofia said, her eyes sharp on Griffith’s. She hadn’t missed his mention of Madoc. She turned to Noah. “Do you mind waiting in the front room for a few minutes? I’d like to talk to Griffith alone.”
“Sure,” Noah said, his eyes flicking to Griffith, who nodded.
“I’ll be out shortly.”
When Noah had closed the door behind him and disappeared past the office windows, Sofia leaned against the desk and crossed her arms.
“Does that boy know that you marked him?”
He should have guessed it would be the first thing she’d pick up on. “No. And he’s not a boy.”
“No, he’s not,” Sofia agreed. “Do you want to tell me how that came about?”
Griffith still wasn’t pleased with himself about that. “I was trying to save his life. It was the only thing I could think of that would produce enough energy to recharge him until his own reserves took over.”
“You were probably right, if Madoc had gotten to him. But a claim like that can become permanent if you’re not careful.”
“I know,” Griffith said grimly. “I’ll tell him.”
“It’s not just for his sake, either.” Sofia’s eyes were sympathetic. “I know the significance it has for you.”
“I’m fine,” Griffith said automatically.
Sofia raised an eyebrow. She knew him too well to be fooled. But to his relief she let it go. “So Madoc’s free again.”
“Yes. And he hasn’t changed.”
“And you jumped in after him.” There was no condemnation in her voice; she knew what Griffith ha
d gone through before. “Where is he now?”
“I don’t know,” Griffith admitted. “I lost him at Noah’s apartment. Zach’s looking for him now.” He didn’t mention his own indecision and what it had cost.
“If Noah’s what I think he is, then once untapped, his power could be almost limitless. Madoc will find that impossible to resist.”
“So he’ll come after him again.”
“Almost certainly.”
Griffith blew out a breath. “We’ll find him first.”
“I hope so. And Griffith? Don’t let that boy out of your sight.”
***
Noah was silent in the Range Rover as Griffith drove back from the diner parking lot to Noah’s apartment. Griffith figured he had a lot to think about with everything he and Sofia had just dumped on him.
And he still had to tell Noah about the mark. After all Noah had been faced with today, Griffith wasn’t sure how to work it in.
I know you just found out that people who can shift into animals are real, and that you’re secretly a sun dragon from Greek mythology. Also the target of a dangerous shifter who wants to feed on your life force. And oh, by the way, my dragon’s already claimed you as his, and the more time we spend together, the stronger the claim will become.
Not the easiest thing to bring up.
He pulled into the parking lot of Noah’s building. “I’ll watch from here, in case Madoc comes back.” When he comes back. “I have a friend who can put together a basic alarm system for your apartment. I’ll see if he can set it up tonight.”
“I’ve already put you out enough.”
Griffith shrugged. “You’re in this mess because of Madoc. It’s my job to make sure he can’t get to you again.”
Noah stared at the apartment building. “I really don’t want to go back in there. Would it be all right…could I stay at your place? That way you won’t have to set up the security system, or sit out here all night on watch.”
Griffith’s dragon very much wanted Noah to come home with him. But Noah wasn’t a possession to be hoarded, no matter what his dragon might think. And Griffith was finding himself far too drawn to Noah for comfort. “That might not be the best idea.”
Noah was quiet. Griffith felt like an ass. After everything Noah had been through, it was no wonder he didn’t want to go back to the place where he’d nearly been killed. “Listen, we can go back to my place, and I’ll explain to you why it’s not a great idea for you to stay. But you can at least catch some sleep for a few hours. You can’t have gotten much last night.”
Noah’s relief was obvious. “I’ll need to grab some stuff first and tell my roommate where I’m going.”
“Sure,” Griffith said, though he was certain Noah would want to come back here once Griffith had explained about the mark. “I’ll wait here.”
Ten minutes later Noah came back shouldering a small duffel bag, which he tossed in the back. “Thanks. I’m sure this is the last thing you want, having someone intrude on you like this.”
“That’s not it at all.” Griffith pulled out of the parking lot and navigated to the highway. He lived a half hour outside the city, preferring more space than what he could find downtown. “Like I said, it’s my responsibility to make sure he doesn’t come after you again.”
Noah turned to look at him. “Is that what you do? Protect people from shifters like him?”
“More or less. Hunters track down other shifters who abuse their powers and inflict harm on either humans or shifters. Once they’re caught, we bring them in for justice. Sometimes it’s human justice; I’ve worked with mundane law enforcement before. When there’s evidence no human court would admit or understand, we have our own system.”
“And there are a lot of you? Hunters, I mean.”
“A few of us here in the city. We get together to coordinate jobs, use each other’s skills, or get backup.”
“So is this like a regular job for you, or…?”
Griffith laughed. “More like a freelance gig. Law enforcement comes calling, human or shifter, and I go hunting.”
“So you’ve hunted Madoc before.”
Noah had deftly led the conversation back to that. But Griffith figured Noah had a right to know. “It was a while ago. Madoc had tallied a few victims by then, but nothing we could prove outright. I went after him when he took someone important from me.”
He could feel Noah’s eyes on him, curious and probably interpreting that to its logical conclusion. The correct conclusion, on the surface of things, though whatever had been between him and Rafe had never quite lived up to the surface of things.
He took the next exit, and navigated the car down the long stretch of road that ended in his cabin.
It wasn’t anything grand, and he didn’t have a lot of land—the neighbors’ houses were still visible through the trees—but it was quiet and met his needs, and he could see Noah taking it in, probably coming to other conclusions about him.
“I guess I figured a dragon would live in a high rise or something.”
Griffith laughed shortly. They got out of the car, Noah reaching in the backseat for his bag before following him up to the house. “Some do.” He unlocked the door and gestured Noah in. “I prefer the quiet life.”
Noah looked around as he entered, and Griffith found himself watching for his reaction. Did it matter if Noah approved of his home or not? But he was pleased when Noah said quietly, “I can see why.”
It was a nice place, and Griffith was proud of it. He’d spent more than a year renovating it from its former rundown state. Noah dropped his bag by the couch and went over to the mantel over the fireplace dominating the room to look at the few pictures Griffith had propped up there.
“Family?” he asked over his shoulder, nodding to a group picture from the last time Griffith had been able to get together with his parents and siblings, over two years ago. Griffith nodded in response. He saw his sister Megan regularly because of their respective jobs, but Ewan spent most of his time traveling and was rarely in the area for a full family get-together.
“So are you all dragons? Does it run in families?”
“Usually, though there are always exceptions. My father is human, and sometimes offspring from a shifter-human union will produce the occasional non-shifter, but my sister and brother are also dragons.”
“So my birth parents were probably sun dragons too.”
“That would be my guess.” Noah looked thoughtful. Griffith wondered how much he knew about his birth parents. Griffith would have expected Noah to have dragon relatives somewhere, though as rare as sun dragons apparently were, maybe the trait didn’t always show up.
Noah picked up another picture, one of Griffith and Rafe. Griffith’s gut tightened, not sure what he would say if Noah asked, but Noah just returned the picture to the mantel after a moment.
“Sorry,” Noah said, coming back to stand awkwardly by the couch. “I don’t mean to be nosy. I’m nervous, I guess. I’ve never been the target of a murderer before.”
“If we do this right, you won’t be for much longer.” Griffith moved into the kitchen tucked into the back of the house. “Hungry?”
“Ravenous,” Noah admitted. He followed Griffith into the kitchen, hovering uncertainly until Griffith gestured for him to take a seat at the long table by the window.
Griffith found some tomato soup in the cupboard, and bread and butter and cheese for sandwiches in the fridge. “What about you?” he asked, as he buttered the sides of the bread. “You’re a student, right?”
“Senior,” Noah said.
“What are your plans after that?”
“Law school, I hope. I’m taking the LSATs soon.”
Pretty and smart. Griffith was having a hard time reining his dragon in.
When he glanced over, Noah was looking out the window at the trees. “It’s nice here. Peaceful. I see why you like it.”
Griffith’s dragon hummed appreciatively.
A few minutes
later he set out the results of his modest culinary skills on the table: two bowls of soup, and a plate full of grilled cheese sandwiches he’d halved diagonally.
Noah dug in with purpose. His metabolism was probably still sky high from the jolt of energy Griffith had given him.
“So why didn’t you think I’d want to stay?” Noah swallowed before speaking, if just barely.
Griffith ate his sandwich more slowly. “How’s that?” He nodded to Noah’s abdomen.
Noah’s hand went to the place where Griffith had marked him. “I can still feel it, where you touched me. I keep thinking I should see something—a burn mark or something, but there’s nothing there.”
“That kind of power transfer is powerful. It can linger.”
“For how long? I mean, it’s fine—I don’t mind it. It’s…comforting, in a weird way.”
Griffith cleared his throat. “It will fade in a few days, if there’s no physical proximity between us.”
“And if there is?” Noah asked slowly.
“Then there’s a risk of it becoming permanent.”
“What does that mean?”
Noah was done eating, so Griffith gathered up their bowls and took them into the kitchen. Coward. He couldn’t even tell Noah eye to eye. “It will form a bond between us, one that’s nearly unbreakable.”
Noah was quiet a moment. “What exactly do you mean by bond?”
Griffith braced himself on the counter. He hadn’t expected that talking about this would be so hard. “A shifter mate bond ties two people together who have committed to one another. It’s a bond usually made for life. It’s also a powerful exchange of energy, which is why I used it to replenish your life force. But it’s an unforgivable thing to place a claiming mark on someone who hasn’t consented to it.”
“But it saved my life.”
“Yes.” Griffith forced himself to look at Noah. “That doesn’t make it all right.”
Noah met his gaze steadily. “It sounds to me like you acted with honorable intentions. I forgive you. I’m grateful for my life.”