Chapter 6: Charity

Chapter Six

Charity

T he bite from my dreams doesn’t transfer to my skin once I’m awake, and it makes me feel like I lost something monumental.

Cyril made me believe that I wouldn’t be able to experience a matebond as a result of my half-human heritage.

He was very wrong or purposely deceitful.

The grass is cool and wet with dew as I hit my knees next to Eldritch in wyvern form. His beast stretches out a wing and wraps it around my back as I nuzzle my face to his side.

My chest literally aches.

I want him back in humanoid form. There’s so much we didn’t get to do or say.

“I’m so sorry.” I shake my head, trying to stop the tears. It doesn’t work, and they flow down my cheeks as I sniffle.

My face rolls around his scaly skin, and I mentally will him to feel the connection.

The wyvern pats my back with his wing, but it’s not the same as being held in actual arms. His head lifts and he huffs.

Bringing an arm up, I wipe at my eyes as Athos silently greets Eldritch’s wyvern.

Bane groans, bending over and dry heaving. “Siphoning and portals, I fucking hate both.”

I scoff and bury my face back in Eldritch’s shoulder. His scales are rough and scratchy, but I just need to touch him.

“I hate this so much,” I whisper.

If I could take all his pain away, I would.

If I did, maybe the wyvern would release him. It’s nearly impossible to hold my tongue, but I still think it.

I wish I could save him.

“You can think it, love,” Athos says softly. “Just don’t say it. Please, trust me when I tell you the outcome is always very different from what you intend it to be.”

“Come on, let’s get you back inside.” Bane ducks under the wyvern’s wing and scoops me up.

I don’t even fight his hold.

I’m tired.

My heart hurts.

And my kid will be up in less than three hours.

Sometimes, I really think the universe hates me.

Morning doesn’t come nearly as early as I’m expecting. It makes me highly suspicious. Jogging down the stairs in my house slippers, I tighten the tie on my robe.

I come to a dead stop, turning to see what the commotion is in my kitchen.

Athos stands at my stove, cooking…something.

It’s so bizarre to see him with legs that I stare dumbfounded for several long seconds. He’s wearing dark gray sweats, with no shirt. His silvery-blue back is lined with strong muscles and a tribal pattern. To be fair, nearly all of his skin, from his fingers to his arms to his neck, has runes, sigils, and tribal patterns that I don’t understand the meanings for.

“Where’s my kid?” I ask, getting myself together.

Athos drops the spatula and siphons through the air, appearing directly in front of me. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

I nod, swiping my hair behind my ear. “I did, but I need to know where my child is.”

“You’ll find him in the courtyard with Bane and Eldritch. They’re practicing his shifting.” Athos smiles. “I’m cooking breakfast like quite the domesticated mate.” His hands land on my hips, pulling me to his chest. “I was trying to help, and I’ve spent most of the night terrified I made things worse?—”

“I thought I heard Malice mention the meeting last night was your idea.” I wrap my arms around Athos’s lower back, giving him a squeeze. “That was extremely thoughtful. It means a lot to me that you cared enough to try to help.”

“Does this mean you’ll consider allowing me to place my jar in your?—”

I snort, stepping back. “Whatever you’re cooking is burning, and I need to check on Veryn.”

“Shite,” he hisses, turning to blue smoke and siphoning into the kitchen. “For the record, Veryn seemed excited to see me when he woke up.”

I laugh, shake my head, and walk to the door.

Wait, did he say Bane and Eldritch were helping Veryn shift?

Bane is on the ground, while Veryn is on the freaking roof of Bane’s house.

I’m going to kill him—Bane, not my kid.

Once I figure out why he’s shirtless.

I’ve never seen Bane in basketball shorts.

Come to think of it, Veryn is shirtless too, which I guess makes sense if he needs access to his wings.

“I already know how to fly,” Veryn calls out as he teeters on the edge.

“No.” Bane chuckles. “You know how to float. I’ve never seen you more than a foot off the ground. You shove off and coast for a few yards. Sorry to tell you this, but that’s not flying.”

My jaw falls as ice slides through my veins. My kid has to be thirty or forty feet off the ground. I don’t know exactly how high for sure, but Bane’s house has a full attic on top of his third story.

“Are you going to try it? Or is Eldritch going to give you another shove?” Bane asks, rubbing his hands together.

Eldritch’s wing stretches out, and Veryn shrugs and jumps with no further warning.

I stumble down the steps, very nearly face-planting in the process, and rush toward Bane’s house.

My heart stalls as Veryn plummets toward the ground. Eldritch stretches his head over the edge of the roof, watching Veryn fall.

There’s no way I’ll be able to reach him in time.

Bane’s wings erupt from his back in full glory, but the rest of him stays human. His knees bend, and he shoves off the ground, catching Veryn before he even gets close to the first-story roof.

Bane’s bluish-gray wings extend, and they coast toward the ground while Veryn frowns.

“Man, that should have worked,” Veryn says as Bane lands on the grass.

“The thing about partially shifting is that you need your dragon to lend you his strength. If you ask for his physical features, but refuse to share your consciousness…” Bane sets Veryn on his feet. “This is hard to explain. A physical transformation is one thing, but you’re not strong enough to support the dragon’s body.”

“Yeah, but he is me, right?” Veryn asks, swiping his black hair out of his eyes. “I shift while I’m asleep sometimes…”

“That’s normal.” Bane squats down. “Who knows, maybe the dragon is in control of your dreams when that happens.” He laughs. “When you’re awake, and you want to shift partially, you have to work together. It’s complicated, but once you build that relationship, it’ll be instinctual.”

“I’ll already know how?” Veryn asks.

“Exactly.” Bane nods, smiling authentically.

It’s so rare to see him with anything except a scowl on his face. He used to smile at me like that, but I think I ruined that when I freaked out about him being a dragon.

It’s hard to understand, because up until recently, Veryn was shifting regularly. He’d transform to full dragon form while he was sleeping and shift back to human once he woke up. Even when he was a toddler, he had no problem accessing his wings and tail.

“Your mom is awake,” Bane says, standing. He pulls his wings close to his back, and watching them fold in on themselves to disappear is intense. I’m genuinely surprised it’s not painful, but if it is, he hides it well. “And I have a feeling Athos has breakfast ready.”

Veryn spins around, and his bright blue eyes sparkle. He gives me a lopsided grin and rushes me. For being only six years old, he comes up almost to my chest. He also manages to hit me with the force of a tank.

I stumble back as he climbs up my front, giving me a hug that makes everything in the world seem right.

“You jumped off the roof.” I nuzzle my cheek to his.

My lower back aches, but nowhere near as fiercely as my chest. One day soon, I’ll put him on his feet and never be able to lift him again.

I’m not ready for that day to come.

“He told me to.” Veryn twists, pointing at Bane. “I was just listening to my olders.”

“Elders,” I correct with a laugh.

“Right under the bus,” Bane says, rolling his eyes. “Would you care to back over me next time?”

“I can smell breakfast.” Veryn slides down my front. He takes off toward the house. “You coming, Mom?”

“Yep,” I agree, turning back to Bane.

It’s complicated.

I’m not a shifter, let alone a dragon.

There are so many things that I can’t help my son with, no matter how much I wish I could. If Bane wasn’t here to help, I honestly don’t know what I’d do. I’d probably have to beg my friends’ mates, but none of them are dragons.

Even before Bane lectured me, I’ve been told how important it is for alpha shifters to bond with their monster form.

I nod, smiling softly at Bane. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” His head tilts. “That’s not how I thought this was going to go.”

Shoving my hair behind my ear, I shrug. “Are you hungry? Athos might have made something edible.”

Bane snorts. “I’ll take my chances, if it means I get to spend a little more time with you.” He swipes his dark hair away from his eyes.

I lick my lips, studying the way every ab and oblique flexes. He’s covered in dark tattoos that disappear into the waistband of his basketball shorts.

“So, you plan to head inside, or did you want to keep eye-fucking me?” Bane asks, chuckling a low, throaty sound. “I’m fine with either…”

I scoff, turn around, and stride toward the door.

That man is far too cocky, but something inside me says he’s got the package to back up that big dick energy.