14. Chloe

FOURTEEN

disbelief. Euphoria washed over her as she let out a sigh.

"Did that really just happen?"

The last twelve hours had made up for the awfully long month she'd endured. Everything was perfect … the bath, the sex, waking in Adrian's arms, sharing a meal …

But in her mind, the part she'd remember the fondest was how Adrian opened up to her. The brave way in which he wore his heart on his sleeve and laid it all bare for Chloe to see clearly.

"I couldn't have been more wrong about the man." She chuckled.

She knew now why he stayed away for as long as he did.

"To think an almost immortal man like him has lived generations, only to end up falling in love with a girl like me."

She giggled like a child, allowing herself to relish the feeling of being special. Surely, she had to be if Adrian called her his fated mate.

Tuning out the world around her, she closed her eyes and replayed everything from the moment Adrian showed up on her balcony. She wished she could go back, not to change anything but just to experience it twice.

Her jaw ached from how much she smiled. Then, her phone rang from her bedroom. She quickly got to her feet.

"Gayle," she said aloud, reading the name on the screen.

"Hey!"

"Hey, Chloe, how's the head?" Gayle chimed in an upbeat tone.

"All clear. I didn't have anything to drink last night, so I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm good. I just wanted to call and see how you were doing after last night."

"Everything's all right, thanks for asking."

"Are you sure? I couldn't stop thinking of how upset you were. I should have followed and looked after you. It's my bad."

"You're fine, Gayle. Seriously, don't worry about it. Besides, my man came over, and we hashed everything out."

"Glad to … Wait, what?"

Chloe giggled at the sudden change in her friend's tone. Just wait until she hears this next part, she thought to herself gleefully.

"Did you meet someone else on the way home or something?" Gayle asked almost immediately.

"No, no. Adrian swung by. He's the man I'd been droning on about for the past month."

Chloe waited for a response but nothing came. She took it as a cue to continue before the silence dragged any further.

"Just when I thought I was about to move on, he appeared almost out of the blue. We talked and figured it all out as one big misunderstanding, and he even stayed here for the night."

"He what?"

"Don't worry. I didn't give in so easily. I made sure to let him know what I thought of him ghosting me. He took it pretty well and even apologized."

"Just hold on a minute," Gayle sighed with a strained voice. Chloe wondered if she was okay. She imagined Gayle pinching the bridge of her nose. "This Adrian guy, is he Adrian Dracos?"

"Yeah, that's him. Why do you ask? Do you know him?" Chloe asked, half surprised.

"Do I know him? Every damn shifter all over the world knows who Adrian Dracos is, dragon or not."

"Oh, is he famous?"

"Famous? He's the fucking dragon king, the ruler of all of our kind."

Chloe's jaw dropped to the floor. "He's a king? What the hell?"

"Did you not know? This is a pretty big deal because he's never had a mate before. It's not that I don't believe you, but if this is true, then this changes everyone for dragon shifters across the entire globe."

Gayle kept talking, but the words weren"t registering with Chloe. The revelation that her new boyfriend was the damn king was overwhelming, and for a moment, she thought she'd pass out.

"Hey," she suddenly interjected. "Just stop for a minute. I get it. He's a fucking king, so what the hell do I do now? Does this mean anything for me?"

"Let me think," Gayle said sharply. "Have you been marked by Adrian?"

"Marked? Well, he's pretty rough in bed, so probably."

"No, let me clarify. If he marked you, you'd know. A dragon shifter marks their mate during sex. Not every time they have sex, mind you, but with someone they want to take permanently as their mate. It's our way of claiming others, like a territorial scratch mark. It should be around the hip, but it might be somewhere else."

"I don't think so," muttered Chloe as she lifted her T-shirt. "At least I don't remember being scratched."

"Well, if you don't know, then perhaps I can come over and check. We shifters can smell if someone has been claimed."

"Thanks, Gayle, but that won't be necessary."

"Why not?" she hissed. "I mean, don't you want to be sure?"

"Of course, I do, but this is a lot to absorb all at once. I think I just need some time by myself for the moment. We'll put a rain check on it, though, okay? When my head isn"t all over the place."

"All right." Gayle sighed. "Just pick up the phone if you need me, okay? I'll be in touch."

"Will do. Thanks, Gayle, I'll chat with you soon."

Chloe melted into the sheets as she reclined. She couldn't believe it. It seemed as though with each passing hour, her relationship with Adrian was peeling off its layers to reveal something new each time. It was impossible to adjust.

"He's a king … What the hell?" she said, laughing from the shock. "How did this happen? I'm just a librarian."

She knew for a fact that she still wanted him as her partner, or in Adrian's words, her fated mate. Surely, the revelation of him being the dragon king would affect her somehow, the idea of which only fueled her already overdriven chains of thoughts.

"When exactly was he planning on telling me? What do I even say to him? ‘Oh, hey, I heard you're king of all dragons.' Oh man …"

Then it came. The perfect idea.

"I know!" she remarked, shooting up.

Within minutes, she hit the road, driving to the best source of information on all things shifter. Soon, she was pulling up to her destination, her eyes beaming with excitement as they landed upon Callum Powers's mansion.

The car's quiet humming came to a complete silence. She looked at the mansion in the near distance, only now remembering that it was likely ransacked from the Full Moon Masquerade the night prior.

But she had to enter. No orgy aftermath was going to get in her way of finding out more about the dragon king.

She approached the door while glancing around for any stray partygoers. Strangely, there didn"t seem to be anyone save for the occasional staff member tending to the gardens.

Her stomach was knotted with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation when she knocked. It opened with Sabria appearing in the doorway with a smile.

"Hi! Sabria, right?" greeted Chloe. "We met last night."

"Yes, we did." Sabria chuckled. "Come on in. It's a little cold this afternoon."

"Thank you."

She stepped inside, half expecting to see a mess.

To her surprise, everything was polished and clean. There were people whose faces she recalled at the party, but all were sober and doing normal activities. She remembered then that Callum had guest cabins and rooms he loaned so that shifters from farther away could come and stay when he hosted parties.

"So, how can I help you, Chloe?" Sabria asked.

"I was hoping to see the library again if that's all right with you. I know the party's over, but I'm completely enamored with Callum's collection."

"Of course, you can. Follow me."

The tranquil, relaxed atmosphere allowed Chloe a chance to take the mansion in without distraction. She wondered what the rest of the mansion was like and dabbled with the idea of exploring it after she was done in the library.

"By the way, I'm aware that you know Fiona. She mentioned that you're a friend of hers. Any friend of hers and Callum's is more than welcome in this establishment, even a human."

"That's so kind of you. I was a little nervous coming here."

"Well, it's certainly a different sight during normal daylight hours."

"Yeah." Chloe laughed. She loved how accommodating Sabria was and how calm she felt in her presence. "You can say that again. How did it all go?"

"Very well, thanks for asking. Now we've got to prepare for the next one. Here we are."

Sabria opened the library doors and stepped aside, motioning for Chloe to enter.

"Can I get you anything? A coffee, perhaps?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Do you want me to wait until you return?"

"Oh, no, don't be silly. Head on in and browse to your heart's delight. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Chloe stepped inside, first glancing at the couch, then spanning the rest of the space. This place was special for so many reasons. She was happy to be here, even if she was on a solo mission.

Now, then, I've got a boyfriend to investigate.