Page 24 of Sanctuary with a Dragon
Alaric stared at me very intently, and I ruffled my feathers in question.What? Why was he staring so… so morosely at me?
Then he glanced at the men. “Morning is fine. I’m up early.” He paused. “That is, if you can meet during the daytime?”
The curly-haired man held the door open for the other two and smiled sardonically. “Since my fifth century. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Hisfifthcentury? Not being able to meet in daylight? Was that… had that guy been a vampire?
I plopped my feathered butt down hard and stared at the now-closed door in shock.
Strangely, I wasn’t freaking out at the realization that one of them was most likely a vampire. Had Gran mentioned vampires? I couldn’t remember. I knew forsure she’d talked about dragons, shifters, and magic users, but I couldn’t remember if vampires had come up.
Why wasn’t I freaking out more about this? I turned to look at Alaric. Was it because of him? I mean, he was massive, a big, scary dragon shifter, so maybe. But I thought it might be something more. I knew—without any doubts—that he would protect me from whatever came our way. I didn’t really have a reason for this belief, but I believed it with all of my heart.
Shay set me gently on the couch, then grabbed his coat and other outerwear, quickly putting them on. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he said, still avoiding my eyes. I frowned at him in suspicion. Also, he was a terrible liar—but I considered that a good thing. “Maybe I can call the date I abandoned and apologize again,” he joked.
I winced. I felt bad about that. Alaric had called him in the middle of a date to come look at me. I could have waited until tomorrow to figure out why it felt like I’d suddenly become Snow White on steroids.
I turned my gaze to Alaric, who looked pained and… resigned. I hopped and fluttered to him just as the front door closed behind Shay, and Alaric caught me with a giant hand.
He sat down again and set me beside him on the couch, propping me on my pillow so I didn’t have to crane my head way back to look at him. He was genuinely thoughtful that way.
He sighed, funneling his fingers through his hair. He looked so… sad. I chirped mournfully at him. What had happened? I felt completely out of the loop. But instead of being frustrated, as I had been before, I just wanted to know why Alaric was so upset.
Alaric met my gaze. “Ever, I’m going to try to explain something to you. I’d wanted to wait, for a few reasons. The most important being that this is all new to you, and you’ve been changed against your will into something radically different from what you were.”
I nodded. He’d been thoughtful again. That didn’t surprise me. And had he called me Ever? I… kind of loved that.
“I also wanted to wait for selfish reasons—ones I’ll tell you about when you can talk again, if that’s okay?”
I blinked in surprise, then nodded. He was entitled to whatever privacy he wanted. I was the one who’d invaded his house and his quiet life.
His face took on that shuttered look from before, but his eyes looked like his heart was breaking.
Suddenly, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I hopped off my pillow onto his lap, climbed up his shirt—trying not to scratch him too badly—and nuzzled under his chin. It’s okay, I wanted to tell him. If it hurts, don’t tell me.
But he couldn’t hear me. His chest shuddered, and I trilled mournfully. Gently, he set me back on my pillow.
“Ever,” he said softly, “shifters have mates—the other halves of our souls. You’re mine.”
I blinked at him dazedly. Wait... what?
“It doesn’t have to mean anything for you, Ever,” Alaric said quietly. “I’m not expecting anything. But…” He sighed again. “Things are going to get very complicated tomorrow. I wanted to tell you before they do.”
Still dazed, I stood and wished—more than anything—that I could talk to him. I had so many questions, and I wanted to know why there was so much despair in his eyes, and why tomorrow would be complicated.
Then, suddenly, light burst from my chest. My heart raced, heat flooding through me until it felt too much to contain—and then... I was human, blinking at Alaric in shock.
Alaric, staring like he was in a trance, reached out a trembling hand and brushed his fingers down my cheek. “Ever,” he said hoarsely. “You’re so beautiful.”
I looked down, relieved to find my pajamas from the night I’d changed were still on me. Whew. That could’ve been potentially embarrassing.
Alaric chuckled, though his eyes glowed—green eyes, I realized. Alaric had green eyes. His hair was dark brown, short on the sides and longer on top, with a few streaks of gray. I wondered if that was from his illness. His skin was pale, his eyes an opalescent green that I guessed was unique to dragon shifters, though I had no others to compare.
He wasn’t pretty-boy handsome, but ruggedly so. A firm jaw, a broad brow, thick, archedeyebrows, and soft-looking lips. I jerked my gaze away from his lips and back to his glowing eyes.
“You’re lucky the spell accounted for clothes,” he said, amusement tugging at his mouth. “Most shifters shift back into the nude.”
I blinked, sensing the thick hum of magic in the air. His dragon was close—or maybe he was holding it back somehow.
