"He's your mate," a deep voice said, and Arawan stepped out from the shadows. "Thought he might be."
"Fuck," Imogen whispered, eyes wide. "That actually explains so much. You need to talk to him."
"No, I don't. He's not my mate. I don't want a mate. I just need to stay away from him, and everything will be fine," Apollosaid, sinking into the mossy forest floor. "I'll sit quietly here for a bit and catch my breath."
"I don't think that's how it works," Imogen replied and crouched down beside him. "You can't avoid him forever, Apollo."
"Watch me," he muttered, and then, because he wasn't already acting ridiculous enough, he burst into tears.
Imogen pulled him into a hug. "You really need to talk to Taran about this. You looked like you were about to shift, Apollo."
"I'll go and get him," Arawan said.
"No, don't!" Apollo didn't want Taran to confirm what he didn't want to know.
Arawan smirked. "I don't take orders from you, goldie." And he was gone.
Apollo wiped at his cheeks. "Please don't tell Lachlan. This is humiliating enough."
"I won't, but only because I expect you to man up and do it," Imogen said, kissing his forehead. "You might be surprised by his reaction, kiddo."
"I want to die."
Taran stormed through the trees. "Not on my watch, little dragon. Give me a look."
"You're not my real dad."
"Oh, you want me to get Cosimo, do you? Because I can, you little drama queen," Taran said and knelt beside him. "Show me."
Apollo lifted his head and opened his eyes. "I almost tore his throat out," he whispered, terror coursing through him.
Taran cupped Apollo's cheeks, turning his head this way and that. "I knew you Greatdrakes boys had sleeping dragons in you. Maybe fixing magic has allowed them to wake up."
"You don't mean...shifting?"Apollo squeaked.
Taran's smile lit up the gloom. "I think so."
All of Apollo's strength left him. He tipped sideways onto the grass and pulled his knees up to his chest. This was the worst party ever.
3
Imogen made sure Apollo was safely in the care of Taran before she signaled to Arawan, and they slipped away. She really wasn't equipped to deal with Apollopossiblymating with her cousin. She didn't want to have to keep it a secret from Lachie either.
"I don't suppose you can wipe the last twenty minutes from my memory?" she asked Arawan hopefully.
"Is Apollo discovering Lachie is his mate that bad? Because it makes a lot of sense. Charlotte is Reeve's mate, and the way Lachie and Apollo have always butted heads and pined for each other has always made me wonder," he replied. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's not your problem to work out. It's theirs."
"I don't like keeping secrets from Lachie. Now I have to look at his big puppy dog eyes as he goes full yearning. It was bad enough before."
Arawan laughed because he was a jerk like that. Imogen pinched his ass in retaliation. The walk in the forest was nice, at least.
The sun hadn't fully gone down, but it was good to slip away from the party for a moment so she could gather her thoughts. If she saw Lachie now, she would probably scream, "Apollo is your mate!" at the top of her lungs.
Arawan stopped walking so he could pull her close and kiss her. He might be a jerk, but he washerjerk. His tongue touched her lips, and all of a sudden, she was no longer thinking about Apollo and Lachie's drama.
She wrapped her arms around Arawan's neck, and he pressed her up against the nearest tree. One of her hands was down his pants before she could really think about it.
Arawan chuckled, and her pussy went wet. Imogen thought that after a while, she would be immune to that smug little laugh. It had only gotten worse with time.
