Accepting His Human(19)

"Fortunately, the pants are still wearable, but if I run into anyone  I'll have some explaining to do." He watched Drake pull on his clothes,  hiding all that tempting mocha skin from view. Drake shook his head.  "I'm still in shock that you guys can … " His voice stopped as he shrugged  and waved his hand toward where Ailean had held the wolves captive.

Ailean crossed to Drake and wrapped his arms around him. Burying his  nose in Drake's neck, he drank in his scent, relieved to discover no  fear. "I'm sorry you didn't learn about it from me. I just couldn't seem  to-" He stopped, uncertain how to get his concerns into words.

Drake gently stroked his back. "I understand," he whispered.

Letting out a sigh, Ailean trailed kisses down Drake's jaw until he captured the human's lips in a thorough ravishing.                       
       
           



       

"My mate," he whispered when they separated, putting all his emotions he couldn't voice into those two words.

Drake's kiss swollen lips grinned at him.

A knock on the door drew his attention and Ailean reluctantly released  his mate. Heading that way, he inhaled deeply and caught several wolf  scents. After pulling on the 97




shredded pants, he cracked the door open and let in Declan, Lark,  Phillip, and Todd. Declan smirked and handed him a pair of jeans and  t-shirt. "Thought ye might need these after I got that call from Drake."  He sniffed the air and grinned.

"Glad ye got it all worked out."

Seeing Drake's blushing cheeks, he pulled the man into his arms, tucked  him close, and nuzzled his cheek. He felt the man relax against him and  smiled. His gaze fell on Phillip. "Sorry about that, dude."

Phillip shook his head. "No apology necessary. Someone should have told  me he was your mate." His brows shot up as he caught a guilty look cross  Lark's face. Ailean chuckled, "You little shit," he hissed. "You set us  up. You knew if an unmated wolf was touching my mate … "

Lark shrugged, suddenly no longer repentant. "Yup. I knew you'd go ballistic." He lifted a haughty brow.

"Someone needed to give you a swift kick in the ass." He let out a soft  laugh, which immediately stopped when Drake pulled away from him. He  turned to see him lift Lyle's arms, worry filling him when he heard a  squeal, until Ailean realized it was a good sound. He wrapped his arms  around Drake from behind, unable and unwilling to stop touching his mate  for long, and watched over his shoulder.

Amazement filled him as he watched the scales recede. In less than a moment, flawless skin covered Lyle's arm.

"You did it, little mate," he crooned. "How did you cure him?"

He felt his mate stiffen and pull away. From his worried face, Ailean  wondered what he'd said. "It's not really a cure," Drake whispered.

Shaking his head, he frowned. "I don't understand. The scales are gone."

"Yeah, yeah, kind of," he said, his body still tense.

98




Wanting to ease his mate's tension, he wrapped his mate in his arms and  refused to let him go. "Tell me what has you so upset, little mate," he  purred.

Drake remained silent for a moment, and then he sighed.

"I don't want to lose you again," he murmured.

The words sent a stab of pain through Ailean's heart.

He'd put this fear, this doubt, into his mate. Taking a deep breath, he  promised, "Whatever it is, I promise we can work through it together. I  learned my lesson, little mate." He cupped Drake's face and tilted his  head up so he could stare into the dark chocolate eyes he loved so much.  "The last week has been hell for me," he admitted. "I don't want to  live without you."

Giving a brief nod, Drake said, "It took me four days to realize I  couldn't stop the changes. Whatever they gave him was tearing Lyle apart  from the inside out. I gave him an additive instead."

"What's that mean?" Todd whispered, his hand clutching his mate's unconscious fingers.

"It means I gave him something to smooth out the transition. After a  couple more doses, his body will accept the changes." He stared around  the group.

Ailean felt his tension return. Ailean stroked his spine, soothing Drake's nerves.

"When the transformation is complete, he'll be a shifter," he whispered quietly.

"My God," Lark's shocked murmur pretty much summed it up for everyone.

"Well," Declan whispered. "He'll have a lot to learn then, won't he?"  The alpha's gaze landed on Todd. "Good thing he'll have his mate there  to help him, aye?" He looked at Drake and lifted a brow. "What kind of  shifter will he be?" Drake shook his head. "I don't know. From looking  at the DNA, my closest guess would be a crocodile or alligator." 99




"Closest guess?" Ailean crooned into Drake's ear, making certain his tone was soothing and not accusatory.

Shrugging, he mate craned his neck to look at him. "I couldn't match it  to any known species. What kind of reptile shifters are there?"

He lifted a brow at Declan, who shrugged. "Snake," Ailean said. "Other  than that … oh, wait. I've heard of komodo dragon shifters, but not in the  northern hemisphere."

"Where do you get all this information from?" Lark asked curiously.

Ailean shook his head. "I've traveled a long time, Lark.                       
       
           



       

I've seen a lot of places." Before anyone could ask any more questions,  he pecked a quick kiss on Drake's lips and held up the clothes. "I'm  going to step into the bathroom to change, and then we need to go. I'm  really not on shift right now. I was in the lab when Lyle's buzzers went  off. We can get out of here as soon as I get dressed." He gave him  another quick kiss before disappearing into the bathroom.

When he stepped out, he found Grady had joined the group. Catching his  attention, he said, "You need to find a new place to keep Lyle. If he's  going to turn into a shifter, he needs a safe environment to learn  control." Declan nodded and exchanged looks with Grady. "Me home would  probably be best. If something happens, he has plenty of woods to run in  and no one would be around to see."

Taking Drake's hand he nodded. "Let me know when, and I'll make certain  the paperwork is in order. No one will ever know he's been here," he  promised. After the others expressed their thanks, he took Drake's hand  and pulled him close. "Let's go. We have things to discuss." Ailean led  Drake into his house and an intense feeling of 100




déjà vu flooded him. Instead of offering him a drink, he led him  directly to the living room. After turning on some soft jazz, he settled  onto his couch and beckoned Drake to him.

He wrapped his small mate in his arms and pulled him close.

Kissing Drake's temple, he whispered. "I'm proud of you."

"What for?" he asked curiously.

"Instead of focusing on how to remove whatever those guys shot Lyle up  with, like I did, you focused on saving him. His life will be forever  changed, but he'll still have a life."

Drake smiled and turned in his embrace. He wrapped his arms around  Ailean's waist and settled his head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry my  research hurt your friend."

"You didn't know," Ailean murmured. "I should have realized that right  off. I just … damn." He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair in  frustration as he relived the memories that had flooded him in those  moments.

His mate's hand rubbed up and down his chest, his touch soothing him as  nothing else could. "I hope this doesn't make you mad," he started  tentatively, "but Declan told me about how you were adopted by humans."  He grimaced. "Grady said he mentioned it. What else did he tell you?" he  asked softly.

"That when you shifted as a teen, they thought you were the devil. They  tried to exorcise the demons inside you," he murmured, continuing to  rub, soothing even as his words made Ailean flinch. "I'm sorry that  happened to you. No one should have to live through that."

"Did Declan tell you how they tried to exorcise the demons?"

Ailean barely managed to whisper the question, and when Drake didn't answer right away, he wondered if the 101




other man had heard. Finally, Drake shook his head. "No, but if you'd  like to talk about it, I'd be happy to listen." Frowning, he looked down  into his mate's warm, reassuring look. "Why would I do that?"

"Because sometimes it helps to talk about it in order to let it go," Drake replied, smiling gently. "My brother is blind.

Sometimes he gets frustrated. It always seems to help him clear his head to talk about it."