A dragon shifter novel Chapter 53

Evander

She asks if she can show me something, and honestly, she could show me anything in this world, and I’d follow without question. What I don’t expect is for

her to climb off my lap, tug at my hand, and guide me toward the far wall of her room. There’s a faint mischievous glint in her eyes that immediately has

my dragon’s attention; he hums beneath my skin, curious. She drops to her knees and peels back a section of the carpet, revealing what appears to be a narrow metal vent. I blink, crouching beside her. “Do these…” I trail off, leaning closer. “Do these lead down to the men’s dorms?” She nods, and I let out a

low whistle. “So, what…you’ve been a peeping Tom, Ally?” I half–tease, the corner of my mouth curling. She rolls her eyes and gives me a shove that’s more

playful than annoyed. “It’s not like that.” There’s a pause. “Kind of.” 1 raise an eyebrow, and she sighs, cheeks tinting faintly pink. “I’ve been feeding this

way,” she admits, voice softer now. “While everyone’s asleep. It’s easier… cleaner, I guess. No one gets hurt; they regenerate before they wake.” She

hesitates, then adds more quietly, “Is that weird?” Her uncertainty tugs something deep in me. I take her hand gently and bring it to my lips, kissing the

back of it. “It’s not weird,” I murmur against her skin. “Not when it’s how you survive. You take what you need, there’s no shame in that.” Her eyes meet

mine, and something unspoken passes between us, that quiet understanding only mates can share. She takes a deep breath, her hand trembling just slightly in mine before she releases it. “Look,” she whispers, nodding toward the vent. I lean down beside her, the metal cool against my palms as I peer through the

slats. Below us, in the soft glow of lamplight, lies Cage, sprawled across his bed, sleeping soundly, face half–buried in his pillow. My lips twitch into a smirk

as I glance back at her. “What are you planning?” I ask, though from the wicked curl of her smile, I’m not sure I actually want the answer. Whatever it is, it’s

going to be beautiful, and terrible, and I already know I’m not going to stop her.

Allison’s lips curl into that dangerous little smile, one that tells me I’m in trouble, but I’m going to enjoy every second of it anyway. “Watch,” she says. It

isn’t à suggestion, and before I can ask what’s happening, she’s already slipping out the attic door. My dragon stirs restlessly beneath my skin, sensing the

shift in her magic, that pulse of power she hides so well. I crouch lower over the vent, pulse hammering in my throat. Below, Cage still lies in his bed, the

smug bastard. He’s sprawled out as if the world owes him rest, mouth open, arm flung over his face, oblivious. Then slowly the air in his room changes. It

thickens with shadows, and cold air bites at my face even from here. The candle by his bedside sputters and dies, shadows stretching unnaturally long across

the floorboards. My heart kicks against my ribs as I lean closer. A low and eerie sound rolls through the space. A growl that doesn’t belong to anything

human. From the shadows emerges a wraith. I swear under my breath, muscles going rigid as the creature’s shape unfurls from the darkness, long limbs and

jagged antlers scraping the ceiling, its body rippling with that same sickly shadow I’d seen in the woods. Except this time, it’s more solid and much more

alive. Its eyes glow like burning coals as it slowly drags one claw across the floorboards. Cage jerks upright in bed, frozen mid–motion. His mouth opens, but

no sound comes out. The wraith tilts its head with a twisted, jerking motion like it’s not used to being inside a body, and then it moves. Fast.

It’s on him before he can blink, the shadow of it crawling over his bed, antlers brushing the walls. He tries to scream, but the sound dies in his throat as

claws made from shadow press against his chest. The wraith’s voice is a whisper of static and rot. “Do you remember the water?” Cage’s eyes bulge. He

shakes his head violently, trapped somewhere between denial and terror. The wraith laughs, a low, echoing, rattling sound that makes even my dragon shift

uneasily inside me. The air ripples as the wraith’s shape flickers, distorting, one second solid, the next transparent. Every time it flickers, I can feel Allison’s

magic through the half–formed bond between us, the control, the precision, the power. She’s not just summoning the wraith… She is it. The realisation

settles over me. Down below, the wraith leans closer, breath misting against Cage’s face. Its voice cracks, half hers, half the beast’s. “Now you’ll know what

it’s like to beg for air.” Cage lets out a strangled gasp as shadows coil around his throat, enough to make him believe he’s dying. He thrashes, limbs tangled

in his sheets, eyes wild. Then, as fast as it appeared, the wraith dissolves, shadows melting back beneath the door, leaving behind nothing but the smell of rot and the sound of Cage’s ragged sobs as he tries to understand what just happened. Holy shit. She’s…not the delicate little flower I thought she was.

The door creaks open a few minutes later, and she slips back inside. She pauses when she sees me. Her posture stiffens, hands flexing at her sides, like she

is bracing for judgment. I straighten slowly, meeting her wary gaze. “How?” I ask. “How did you do that? For a moment, she doesn’t answer. She studies me,

eyes flickering with that familiar guarded look she wears whenever she thinks she has gone too far. Then she sighs, the tension easing from her shoulders as

she comes closer. “In the woods,” she says quietly, “after I fell… the wraith tried to kill me. I killed it first.” Her fingers fidget at the hem of her sleeve, eyes

distant. “When I did, I siphoned from it without even meaning to. Its power regenerates from fear, so it never needs refilling. It’s… part of me now.” She

looks up, searching my face, and I step closer, letting her keep talking. “Does… any of this scare you? Make you not want… me?” I should be disturbed. The

idea of something like that living under her skin should set off every alarm I have. Instead, all I see is the steady fire in her eyes, the fierce, wild strength

that refuses to break no matter what the world throws at her. Before she can retreat into herself again, I reach out, hook a hand behind her neck, and pull

her gently against my chest. Her breath hitches as I press a kiss to her forehead. “There is not one part of you that could make me not want you, Ally.”