Page 46 of Awaken the Dragon
“Speak your mind,” he said to the watcher.
Bleu waited a beat. “What were you thinking?”
This was the first time since last night that he’d seen Bleu. It had been an overcast evening, which worked out well for Theo because after his beast had seen Isla pulling Shola to safety, it had taken off, disappearing into the heavy clouds, and made its way back to the Office. There he’d returned to his human form and immediately went to his private cave. He’d already known that Bleu was on his way downtown because he’d sent the distress call through his communicator just before he’d shifted from the rooftop of the Tower. Bleu messaged Theo the moment he had Shola safely in the truck, and Theo saw that message when he arrived in the cave.
Today, Theo and Shola had been together until early afternoon. From that time, he’d remained in his bedroom until he’d finally needed to do something more than wear a hole in his carpet by pacing. So he’d come here. And now, the first confrontation was at hand.
“She was going to die,” he replied honestly. “I knew what Camden was. He left the building in a hurry, and immediately after, I sensed her presence.”
He’d more than just sensed that she was near. Her scent had floated up to him the moment she’d taken a breath and stood across the street from his building. He’d felt her presence sliding alongside man and beast in what he could only describe as the weirdest and most welcome sensation he’d ever experienced. After hundreds of years of living with a beast within the man, suddenly there was another in their space.
“We didn’t know she’d left the premises,” Bleu continued.
“Obviously. She swam the river. There are no security mechanisms monitoring under water.”
Bleu nodded. “We should look into that.”
“We should.”
“You may have been seen.”
“I know.”
Bleu watched him with eyes that saw and knew more than even Theo did at times. All those years ago, when Theo had decided it was time for him to leave the Far Realm, Bleu had been right by his side. Theo had insisted he needed to go alone, that there was no sense in Bleu incurring the emperor’s wrath too, but Bleu had simply asked, “Who’s gonna watch your back if I stay here?” Theo hadn’t needed anyone to watch his back, but he’d known that determined look in Bleu’s eyes all too well.
“What now?”
Theo shrugged and shook his head. He’d been thinking about that since the moment he’d left Shola at her room. She wasn’t going to leave again. After last night—especially their time in the cave—she was just as confused as he was about what was going on.
“You have to come up with something,” Bleu insisted. “We need to act now to protect all that we’ve built, all that we are. If Camden knows—”
“He does,” Theo interrupted. Warrick Camden had no doubt who and what Theo was at this moment and to be honest, Theo didn’t really care. He should have burned that sonofabitch to the ground when he’d stood in his office daring to make demands and threats.
Theo stood and walked a few steps before stopping. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
“I don’t know what happens next,” he confided. “This has never happened before, and I’m not sure how to proceed.”
“You’re never unsure,” Bleu said from behind him. “Since you were a child, you always knew what to do and how to do it. You were born to be a—”
“No!” He spun around so fast to face Bleu, the other Drakon’s eyes widened in shock. “I belong on this realm and in this place. I never counted on something like this happening, but it has and... I just have to take some time to figure it out, that’s all.”
Thatwasall. It had to be.
Bleu continued to watch him. His arms had fallen to his sides, the diamonds on the gold ring he wore on his last finger twinkling.
“You never counted on someone like her,” Bleu said quietly.
Theo took a deep breath and sighed. “No. I didn’t.”
And that was only part of the problem. Not only had he never anticipated a demigoddess would come into his life and present a situation that required him to go back on a promise he’d made to himself and to others around him, but he’d never thought there would be a woman he cared enough for that making that decision would have come so quickly and so definitively.
There hadn’t been a second’s hesitation. The moment he sensed her, he’d left his office, running with all the speed his kind possessed up to the roof, where he’d shifted without a care. And he’d done so again last night when she was in his cave, his personal space and eventually in his bed.
No, this wasn’t a situation Theo had anticipated. But it was one he knew he had to deal with, one way or another.
Chapter Seventeen
It had happened two nights ago. And not again since then. Shola thought it was safe to say that sleeping with Theo was a one-time event, and she was fine with that. Actually, she was better than fine. Not having Theo around gave her the space and clarity to think more about what had gone wrong and how she could still fix the mess she’d made.
