3. Adrian

THREE

"Not out here!" a man hissed at two female shifters, who clawed at his shoulders and pinned him to the wall.

He was frail-looking with a kind face still visible even through his porcelain mask. But his lupine fangs already protruded from his mouth as the two wolves attempted to smother him with affection and lust.

Cool winds blew in, the bright moon glistening overhead with a smattering of gray clouds.

Adrian shook his head as he walked by, noting the animals and beasts that ran rampant through the grounds of the estate and throughout the neighboring forests. Large wolves tackled each other in the distance, and he could see the silhouettes of two dragons overhead, taking what seemed to be a celebratory romp through the air.

"Nobody's going to care," one of the women said, an urgency in her voice. She had a crimson ponytail that stood out against her green leather face covering, and Adrian could feel the heat emanating from her.

"Then you've never met Callum," the man replied. "Now, let's go inside so I can fuck you both right."

Summoning his animal strength, the man pushed them aside, slapping one of the women on her ass as they dashed away.

They ran playfully up the stone path and through the dark wooden side door of the mansion. Through the opening, the cacophony of moans inside became immediately more audible.

"Quieter this time," Adrian said to himself as he caught his reflection in a large glass window and smoothed his hair over. "I hope Callum's not cracking down."

He chuckled.

The door slammed shut. Willing himself forward against the oppressive sexual force coursing through him, he entered the mansion.

In his peripheral view, he caught a glimpse of three figures wrapped together, rocking the end table next to the door.

Against the orange glow of chandeliers and sconces, two muscular men penetrated a brunette shifter from both ends, every bead of sweat on their bodies illuminated by the fires, highlighting the dips and bulges of their musculature.

The men dwarfed her in size, and with every aggressive slam of their hips into her, her mask slid further off her face.

The woman, whose mouth was occupied, could barely stifle her grunts. She removed the member from her mouth momentarily.

"Please don't stop," she screamed, pushing the mask back into place.

Adrian nodded at them politely and moved on, finding himself suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices as he saw a huddle of bodies around the central fountain. Everybody was incredibly attractive and emanating heat.

Doesn't feel quite right, he thought as he moved about the mansion's massive interior.

He could feel himself burning up. As he opened doors into different rooms, his hands trembled, his mind unfocused by the offerings all around him. The beast inside him told him to indulge, but it said something else, too.

For a moment, he stopped to talk with Magnus and Oliver, as well as Callum, the host of the party. The entire time, his eyes shifted away from his three friends and the undulating bodies surrounding them toward the large doors of the library.

It was such an ordinary thing to be fascinated by, but he swore that something was pulling him, urging him to explore the library's inner sanctum. It competed with his carnal desire to mount anything and everything here.

And not much could compete with the basic desire raging within him.

"I just don't see how you're resisting all of this," Magnus said.

"Oh, it's not without temptation," Callum said. "But I've got my duties."

By now, Adrian should have been buried balls deep, filling crazed strangers with his potent seed. What was keeping him from exploring the women around him? And more importantly, why hadn't his inner dragon simply possessed him by now?

He smiled and nodded politely, just glad to see his friends. But something more immediate demanded his attention.

"Have fun for me as well." Callum closed out the conversation, patting Oliver on the back. "I need to keep mingling. It was good to see you all, though. We'll meet soon."

"Sounds good," Adrian replied, looking longingly at the door to the library.

At the first opportunity to break away, Adrian pushed the door open, walking past one of the many champagne fountains into the library. Why did the sex-starved, needy bodies all around him suddenly seem trivial?

Immediately, Adrian became gripped by a sensation he'd never felt. It was like everything internally was guiding his feet, moving him toward the crackling fireplace among the huddled shelves of unloved books. The scent of worn leather and cheap liquor was nothing compared to the sweet aroma beckoning him forward.

He followed the perfume, maneuvering around the back of the couch until he was face-to-face with the most magnificent specimen he'd ever laid eyes on.

Her glasses reflected the raging fire that was painting the strands of her midnight black hair pulled back in a bun, faintly orange. She was so deep in concentration that she didn't immediately notice him sitting beside her and extending a hand.

"Adrian Dracos," he said. "Is this seat taken?"

She looked up from her book, the cover of which was a dragon curled up, accentuated with golden hues and faint hints of fire. The moon shone on her back, accentuating the curvature of her figure against the darkness of the room.

She was ravishing not only in her splendor but in her humility. She created a longing in Adrian he didn't know had been there.

"Chloe," she choked out eventually, looking as if she were not sure whether she should put her book down out of politeness.

"Do you have a surname, Chloe?" Adrian asked.

"I do," she said, but she seemed too proud or shy to offer it.

He felt inexplicably pulled to learn every detail about this woman. What was this power she held over him? Why did he want to know everything about her?

Gazing upon the cover of the book firmly entrenched in her hands, he questioned its place in this library. Adrian wondered if perhaps Callum had purchased it as a joke or whether he had a secret love of romance novels.

"That's an interesting book you've got there," he said, unable to conceal the amusement in his voice.

Beyond the walls of the library, the moaning of the party had escalated into screaming. He wondered what kept him rooted here when the wonderment of the evening was clearly just beyond the library.

A voice inside him whispered something, growing louder by the minute. But Adrian fought the voice until he could bear it no longer.

"It's a first edition," Chloe said before veering off on a tangent. "The first book in the Dragon Hoard series. A lot of people don't realize how old this series is. The author's daughter took over a couple of decades ago, and it hasn't been as good since …"

Adrian tried to focus on everything she said. He looked deep into her eyes and stared at her lips as they moved.

His inner dragon compelled him toward something far more primal.

"You're not really interested in the book, are you?" she asked.

She had a dejected look on her face, her jaw hanging slack.

"Everything you're saying is fascinating to me," Adrian said honestly. "Mostly, I just love your enthusiasm. Please don't stop talking on my account."

She nodded.

"You're not going to read this anytime soon, are you? I don't want to spoil the plot for you."

There was something so strange about her presence in this library. He didn't want to scare her away just yet, but she looked enormously out of place, and he was now entirely certain she wasn't a shifter. But if she weren't, what was she doing here?

"I think you'll probably tell it better, anyway," Adrian said. "I think if I read it, it will be an entirely different experience."

She smiled meekly.

But the dragon inside him was almost screaming at him, and now it was impossible to ignore.

Fated mates were not common by any means. Many spent their entire lifetime without finding one. Cases were documented in books in libraries, but some even considered the bond to be more myth than fact.

"So there's this dragon who's been exiled from his clan," Chloe said. "But he's living as a human. In the book, he's a shifter, so he can go back and forth, but only when the moon is full."

"Fascinating."

It might have been his imagination, but he swore when she said that, she studied his reaction. He deliberately chose not to take the bait, still not sure why she would be here or what kind of response she was hoping for.

From everything Adrian had heard on the subject and from the voice deep within him that he tried to ignore, one thing became clear.

Chloe was a human. And she was his mate.

"Well, there's a long-dead dragon who's come back to life, and now he wants revenge on the main character," Chloe said, unable to hide her passion. "The main character wants nothing to do with him, and it erupts into an all-out war."

Adrian could no longer hide the burning questions within himself. He couldn't play coy.

"I'd really suggest reading it," Chloe continued. "It explores deep themes on the concept of possession and how it relates to human relationships. Because dragons and their hoards and such …"

"You know," Adrian said finally. "You don't look like you belong here."

He could see the fear in her eyes suddenly. He worried she might run, but he couldn't just let her walk away.