Chapter 4

Eli

I did not know if we would get in trouble for leaving our job early, it wasn't as if we couldn't come back to it and work off-hours. This seemed too important to let wait.

After all, Aldryn had just shifted into a fucking dragon. If that wasn't worth leaving work early, I didn't know what was.

I didn't fear the Alpha's wrath. He was actually not so bad, but if my aunt learned that I would be out a day of pay, she would have my head.

I drove to Aldryn's mom's house. Luckily, she was still there. Some days she visited other pack members. Today she likely stayed home to prepare for Aldryn's birthday dinner. She usually went all out of her kids' birthday celebrations, no matter what age they were.

I gripped Aldryn's hand as we walked into his house. His mom came right to us when we walked in.

"What is it? What's wrong? What's happened?" she asked. She could likely sense the tension around us.

Also, Aldryn's scent had changed. To me it was sweeter, and my wolf wanted to bathe in it. When he had been shifted, it was all I could do to keep my wolf back. He had wanted to come out and be with Aldryn in his dragon form. I would keep that to myself, though.

"Everything's fine," I said. "I just think that Aldryn needs to talk to you."

She looked to her son, her eyes wide with fear. He did look quite a mess. Definitely not like his normal self. His hair was messy, and his eyes had a far-off look to them. His skin felt warmer. Sweat drops beaded on his forehead.

"I shifted," he said. "Into a dragon. A green one. At least, I think I was green." He turned to me.

I nodded. "Emerald. It was like a verdant green. Lush and vibrant. Not all the scales were the same hue." I pinched my mouth closed, forcing my lips together before I revealed too much.

She sucked in a breath. "Oh, dear. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen so soon or not. I thought I had more time."

"You knew?" Aldryn asked.

She nodded. "I knew." Her voice quivered and her chin shook. Tears shone in her eyes.

"You knew and you didn't think to tell me?" A hint of anger was laced in his voice, but mostly surprise. "I know I didn't ask a whole lot about my biological family. I just assumed I was some sort of normal animal, not a dragon!"

"I wasn't sure how to tell you," she said. "And I've been trying to… I just I didn't know how to explain it all."

"Explain that I'm a mythical creature?"

We sat down at the dining room table, the same one we'd had dinner at countless times before. The same one that we sat at when Aldryn and I were just little guys getting in trouble for this thing or that. I had sat right here and held Aldryn's hand when we had been suspended from school because Aldryn got into a fight defending me. I'd been here holding his hand when we'd learned that his dad passed away. And now, here I was holding his hand again.

"What happened?" his mom asked.

"I shifted. It was terrifying and amazing. It was so hot, and then I breathed fire. There was smoke. I hit a tree with my tail."

"You were able to shift back on your own?"

"Because Eli was there. He helped me. I felt… Do I have brothers? Dragon bothers, I mean?" His eyes pleaded for answers. I squeezed his hand; if nothing else, I wanted him to know that I was there. I wasn't going anywhere.

"You felt them?" she said. Aldryn nodded. "Oh goodness. I didn't know that would happen."

"Me neither. Mom, can you just start at the beginning? That might help."

"Of course," she said. "You do have two brothers, Aldryn. The three of you came from the same clutch. Three eggs laid by your omega father. He and your alpha father have since passed. That part is true—you were an orphan when you came to us. Your biological parents put you and your brothers in the care of others because there is a prophecy. I don't have a lot of details, but when you and your brothers are reunited, you'll learn more."

"I feel like I have to go find them," Aldryn said. His voice was so quiet it was only due to my wolf hearing that I picked it up.

She nodded. "We assumed that you would feel that way when you came of age."

"Where are they?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "To keep you all safe that information was never given to us. But your Dragon can find them. Just trust him. Just as I or Eli would trust our wolf."

Aldryn scrubbed a hand down his face. He still clutched mine like a lifeline.

"Alright, we'll go."

"We?" she said. She looked to me. I jumped in suprise.

"Eli will come with me, of course. I don't know if my Dragon will come out again. And if he does, I don't want to hurt anyone. Plus, I can't do this without Eli."

Aldryn looked to me, his eyes full of fear. I felt that fire burning in his eyes again. It was as if the shift was just at the edge. The green of his eyes swirled. I squeezed his hand and laid my other hand on his forearm.

"I'll help however I can," I said. "I'll be there every step of the way." How I would get away was a different story. But I knew I said the right thing, because Aldryn calmed.

"Does anyone else know about me?"

"Your father knew, of course."

"You didn't tell my siblings?"

"It was safer that way. I'm sorry, Aldryn."

"I don't blame you," Aldryn said. "I don't know what I would have done with that information before now anyways."

Tears came to his mom's eyes. "I love you so much, dear. And you too, Eli. I don't know what I'll do without you two."

"We'll be back," Aldryn said.

I wasn't sure how I had gotten pulled into this situation, but I wasn't going to argue it. After a long hug with his mom, Aldryn pulled me up to his room. It was not the first time I had been in there. Although I hadn't spent much time in there since we had grown up, I'd had many sleepovers in this house when we were younger. There were many nights spent in the bed next to him, until his mom had decided that it wasn't quite appropriate for an omega and an alpha to be having sleepovers like that. I missed those days.

He grabbed a duffel bag and started throwing clothes into it.

"How are we going to find your dragon brothers?" I asked.

He shrugged. "No idea. I just feel like I need to go south."

"South?"

"Yeah, maybe as they get closer, I'll notice where they are."

"That seems crazy, but okay. How long do you think we'll be gone?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. My mom can make sure we get our leave requested from work. You've got to have a billion vacation days built up just like me. Right?"

That would be harder to figure out. Aldryn acquired vacation days because of who his family was in the pack. And since my family was not anything at all, I did not earn vacation days, and I made considerably less money than him for the same job. But he didn't need to know that. I wasn't even sure if that was common knowledge.

"Of course," I said, knowing full well that I was not going to get any sort of time off approved. I would simply have to quit my job, which was fine. I was going to do that anyway. And I wasn't going to ask my aunt if I could leave or even let her know. I would simply disappear. I was planning on doing that as well. "Do you want to leave tonight?"

"Tomorrow. Tonight we're having dinner with my mom for my birthday, remember?"

"Right. Of course."

"We'll leave in the morning."

"Perfect," I said, feeling just a bit excited. Just one more night being in that house with my aunt and cousins. One more morning of dishes and cleaning up after them. That was all that stood between me and freedom.

"We're going to find your brothers," I said. "I promise."

"Thanks, Eli. I couldn't do this without a friend like you."

A friend. Right. Because that's what I was. Just his friend.