“Okay, well Basilisks are actually kind of an ancestor of dragons. They evolved from us.” Paul’s eyes widened but he didn’t speak, so I continued. “We live even longer than dragons do,” I sighed. “I’m over seven hundred years old and that isn’t really even considered middle-aged.”
Paul cocked his head in that way he had that said he had a question and I waited for it.
“How old, exactly?”
I shrugged sheepishly. “I’m not exactly sure, to be honest. I lost track a long time ago. I usually have to pull out my medical file and do the math.”
Paul nodded, signaling his acceptance of the answer and I moved on.
“I have taken two mates in that time,” I continued. “The first was another Basilisk when I was just over one hundred. His name was Jafari and he was killed in the Human-Shifter war.” I smiled when Paul reached over to stroke my arm, a sympathetic frown on his lips. “It’s okay. I’ve long since come to terms with the fact that he died for a cause we believed in.”
I drew in a deep breath, the more recent history much more painful for me. “Then there was a human female, Laura, that I met about twenty years ago, around the same time that I met Chuck.”
“She was smart and beautiful and I quickly fell in love with her. She was a shifter herself, a wolf, and she knew I was a shifter also, but I never actually told her what kind,” I admitted. “We’d been married for two years when she found out that she was carrying twins.” I exhaled sharply, trying to keep my emotions in check. “That was a huge shock for two reasons.”
“Because she was a wolf?” Paul guessed.
I snorted. “That was the first one. It shouldn’t have even been physically possible for a warm-blooded shifter to catch from a reptilian species. The second was that even within our species, Basilisk are notoriously low breeders.”
“Like dragons.”
I nodded. “Exactly. A pregnancy occurring without medical intervention is exceedingly rare.”
Paul’s hand stroked down my arm, his fingers wrapping around mine with a gentle squeeze. “We don’t have to do this,” he said softly.
“Thanks,” I muttered appreciatively, “but I think we really do.” I laid my hand over his, cupping his fingers between my hands. “Anyway, I was working in my office one day when the entire office building was taken over by terrorists, segregationists who believed that humans and shifters shouldn’t be allowed to live side by side.”
I closed my eyes and was immediately assaulted by the terrible images from that day. The acrid smell of smoke, the terrified screams. “Most of the other shifters working in the building were wolves, so they’d armed themselves with silver bullets, knowing that even if the wounds didn’t kill the wolves, it would keep them from shifting. Then, they went office by office, shooting everyone they came across.”
I took another deep breath. “I got lucky and the bullet just grazed my temple, knocking me out. When I came to, we’d been dragged down to the basement. They barricaded the door and set the building on fire.”
Paul gasped, his free hand covering his mouth. “Your wife?” he asked weakly.
I shook my head. “No. She was at a doctor’s appointment. Her death wasn’t the fault of the terrorists. It was completely my fault.”
I could see Paul wanted to argue even though he didn’t have all the facts yet, so I squeezed his hand. “Let me finish, okay?”
He nodded silently.
“The only way out was a tiny window that was nearly fifteen feet high. Like I said, most of the shifters were wolves, so the silver kept the wounded from being able to shift and escape through it.”
“But you didn’t have that problem,” Paul guessed.
“No,” I agreed. “And the window wasn’t exactly a challenge for me. I broke through it, ripping a hole in the wall as I forced my way out. Then, I brought the other victims out in my mouth, several at a time until all of the survivors were free.”
“By that time, there were news crews everywhere,” I continued. “So, it wasn’t really that shocking when I found out that one had caught me shifting back into human form.”
When I tried to force the next words out, they stuck, swelling and ballooning until my entire craw was clogged. I took a large swallow from my water. “When I got home, I found her body,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “She left a note calling me a monster, telling me that her death was my fault for planting my demon seed in her under false pretenses. They were dead because of what I am.”
“Oh, Sylas,” Paul gasped, “No!” He pulled his hand from mine and climbed into my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck. “Oh, honey, no,” he repeated, pressing his face to my neck and holding me tight. “You know that’s not true, right? Tell me you know better,” Paul begged, dropping kisses everywhere he could reach. “You’re not a monster, Sylas. You’re a hero.” He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “You’remyhero, Alpha. Mine and Bun’s. I can’t even imagine how horrible that was for you.”
Wrung out from reliving the worst moments of an exceptionally long lifetime, I barely noticed when Paul climbed off my lap and tugged me to my feet to lead me to the bedroom.
“It’s my turn to take care of you, Alpha,” Paul murmured, reaching for the hem of my shirt and pulling it over my head. Once we were both naked, Paul gently shoved me into the bed and crawled after me, cradling my head to his chest as he whispered sweet words that I couldn’t quite discern. He began to stroke my hair and something inside me snapped, tears flooded down my cheeks to drip down my sweet Omega’s tummy.
It was another first for me. I’d mourned the loss of my family so many years ago and I’d cried for them, but this time, I knew the tears were for me.
Chapter Forty
