Page 37 of Dragon Unleashed
“Something was in there with me,” I tell him. “I saw a shadow.”
“A shadow,” he repeats.
“Yes, like the one I saw earlier. Downstairs in the library. But this one had more shape.”
“And what shape was that?”
“Like a man.”
Aries’s gaze hardens even further. “Stay here.” He moves into my bathroom, then my closet, before slipping out into the rest of the apartment.
I use his absence to slip underneath my sheets, using them to cover my body better than the towel could. It’s not for Aries’ sake but for my own sense of vulnerability. My mind is whirring.
Is it possible I’m seeing things? Or was there someone in my freaking bathroom? There was no portal, no swirling light, so how the hell did whoever it was manage to leave without Aries seeing him?
“No one is here.” Aries sits beside me. “Can I check your arm?”
“Sure.” I hiss through clenched teeth when he manipulates it around, but the pain fades away as soon as he lets it go. “It doesn’t feel broken, and trust me, I’ve broken plenty of bones to know. But it is going to leave one hell of a bruise.”
I snort. “You should see my hip.”
The moment the words are out, I realize what I’m offering. But instead of accepting, Aries grunts and releases me.
“Someone was in there with me,” I insist. “I saw him.”
He nods. “I believe you.”
I turn to him, eyes wide as true fear settles into my bones. “What the hell was it? There’s no way it was human or ordinary supernatural. Not if it was able to just vanish before you walked in.”
“I don’t know, Paige,” he says gravely. “But I do believe you are in very real danger.”
Chapter11
Aries
The color has yet to return to Paige’s cheeks, and I find myself desperate to make her feel safe again. The need to shield her is far stronger than it should be given that we just met.
But it’s a siren’s call that’s impossible to ignore.
Rather than wait for her invitation, I walk to her dresser and begin opening the drawers.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Looking for something for you to sleep in.”
I expect her to argue as that seems to be what she enjoys doing. So, when she simply sighs and says, “Oh,” my concern for her grows. As does my anger. My rage over another being spying on her in such a delicate state has my jaw clenching as I struggle to rein in my beast.
He wants blood.
And as for most instances—Paige and the mate call aside—my dragon and I understand each other.
Finding only socks in the first drawer, I close it and open the second. There are swaths of fabric, and I pick through them, trying to identify if they’re suitable for sleeping, when my hand brushes something hard. I pick it up and hold it out, too surprised for words at the sight of such a brutal weapon in the home of this gentle female.
“Is this...?” I eventually turn to where Paige sits on the bed and find her smirking.
“A flail? Yes, it is.”
I examine the spiked head hanging from the wooden handle by the loose rope. “And have you used it?” I ask, looking for evidence left of such usage.
