Page 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Y ael had a pleasant dream. He was on a boat with Simon. They floated down a river. The water moved them along at a lazy pace. When Yael heard a gentle patter that reminded him of rain on a window, he thought they might end up at the base of a waterfall. They'd be able to swim together.

Yael came awake almost disappointed it was just a dream. His head was still stuck inside the dream, floating down a river for a full five minutes, and then reality hit.

He panicked, searching the room only to find Daruss sitting in a chair in the corner with his eyes closed. "He's in the shower."

That's when Yael noticed the waterfall from his dream was really the shower running.

"Is he…" He couldn't bring himself to say the words. But the thought of Simon being so injured he couldn't shower on his own scared Yael more that he wanted to admit. He also didn't want anyone else helping Simon, not even the doctor.

"He'll be fine, Mama Bear." Daruss smiled, even though he never opened his eyes. Even with them closed, there was something dark and dangerous about him. The smile did nothing to gentle him.

Yael shuddered. He'd been around too many dark people in his life to trust them. "I'm going to see Simon."

"Leave him. The sheriff wants to speak to you. In the kitchen." Daruss' tone brooked no argument. He expected Yael to follow orders. There was only one problem with that.

"I'm not leaving him. And Simon might be a part of your little group, but I'm not. You aren't my alpha." Yael sat on the side of the bed, preparing himself mentally for a beating. It's what guys like Daruss did to people who sassed him.

Daruss opened his eyes and met Yael's gaze. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not now. Not ever. You don't trust me and that's fine. I'll earn it."

Well, damn. Guys like Daruss didn't care about earning trust, which meant Yael had pegged him wrong. He felt like an idiot because he'd known Daruss almost as long as Gavin had been a Dragon Skull. Daruss had been to Gavin's house during Yael's working hours. Which meant Yael had always been wrong and what's worse is he hadn't even been willing to get to know Daruss.

"I'm sorry."

Daruss smiled. "For what?"

Before Yael could answer, someone knocked before the door squeaked open. Raylee came into the room and sat on Daruss' lap. He whispered, "I want to be with you."

Daruss wrapped his arms around Raylee. "Are you tired?"

Raylee nodded. "I'm going to sleep for a week after Skippy gets better."

Yael deflated. He should thank Raylee for working so hard to make Simon healthy again. It took him and the doctor to keep him alive, and he still wasn't out of the woods yet. He was better, but no one knew what sort of damage lingered in his brain.

Yael didn't want to interrupt Raylee and Daruss. He'd voice his gratitude later.

"You should go lay down with Jude." Daruss rubbed Raylee's back.

Raylee shook his head. "Dad said we're waiting for Skippy to shift, then we'll rest easier. His body will heal itself after that. Brain injuries are tricky. Even for big, strong dragon shifters."

Daruss met Yael's gaze. "Well, he's in the shower now. He had a coherent conversation before getting in there."

"That's great news. But like I said before. He isn't out of the woods yet. We still need to observe him."

"Is there anything in particular I should watch out for?" Yael asked.

Raylee met his gaze. "Mostly just anything abnormal for Skippy. Behavior. Slurred words. Not making sense when he says something. Not shifting properly. That sort of thing."

Yael smiled. "Thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome." Raylee nodded toward the door. "The sheriff is here. You should go talk to him."

Yael shook his head. "I don't want to leave him."

The shower shut off. A second later, the bathroom door opened, and Simon stepped out, dripping wet with a towel around his waist. His head injury definitely didn't affect his hotness. And his gaze never left Yael. "Talk to the sheriff, boy."

"I'm not leaving you." Yael wouldn't give in, no matter what anyone said. "I'm not, Simon. So, either the sheriff comes in here or you get dressed and go with me. But Raylee said you weren't out of the woods yet, so you're stuck with me."

Simon sighed. "We're going after Andre and you talking to the sheriff will distract him from seeing us leave."

"You absolutely will not be doing any such thing." Yael stood. His ability to breathe through the panic depended on him pacing the length of the room. But he stood there in front of Simon, prepared to argue with him.

"You might be stubborn, but so am I. Prepare yourself not to get what you want. Not this time." And with that, Simon went back into the bathroom. To his credit, he shut the door with a gentle click.

Yael shook his head and paced the room like he'd wanted to before Simon had the last word. "I am not stubborn," he yelled.

Raylee giggled as though something was funny.

Daruss shushed him, but he chuckled too. He met Yael's gaze. "Should we go get the sheriff?"

Yael would have answered, but Simon yelled from the bathroom. "He'll go to the sheriff. Now, Yael."

Yael stopped mid-pace and turned toward the door. His eyebrows raised and then he turned to Raylee. "His willingness to start a fight isn't normal."

Simon opened the door and met Raylee's gaze. "I'm fine."

Daruss lifted Raylee into his arms and carried him out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Talk to the sheriff, Yael. Just go." Simon had jeans on, but they weren't fastened. He was shirtless and didn't wear socks. All in all, he was as hot as when he just wore a towel.

Yael sat on the bed with his arms crossed over his chest and didn't say a word.

"I don't need your help." Simon said it as though he'd never need anything from Yael ever again.

Yael's heart sank. He tried not to let the emotion out, but it lodged in his throat. The hurt blocked his ability to breathe. He’d cry soon, and he really didn't want to. Not in front of a house full of powerful dragons who probably hadn't cried in their entire adult life.

Simon cursed from somewhere behind him. "You're going to kill the plan."

Yael could feel Simon behind him. His presence filled up the space around him. For the first time since meeting, Yael didn't want it to.

"Will you stop walking?"

Yael did, but he wanted to rebel. His body seemed to have a mind of its own.

Simon pulled Yael into his arms. "I feel fine except for a headache. I just need to shift a few times. That's all I meant."

Yael still didn't hug Simon back. The hurt clung because all Simon really wanted was for Yael to get out of his way. "You don't want me to stop you."

"I want to protect you, baby."

"I want to protect you too," Yael would, even if it meant protecting Simon from himself.

"We both can't get what we want." Simon said it as though he was just figuring that out.

"Then you're going to lose this one." Yael wouldn't compromise because if he did it meant Simon's health. "You're not well enough yet."

"Andre's here right now though, baby. He’s in Wingspan."

"I don't care. Your health is more important." Yael wrapped his arms around Simon. "You have to accept your limitations."

Simon growled. "I don't have limitations."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you." Yael grabbed Simon's hand and pulled him down the hall. "And by the way, as much as I pissed you off, your eyes didn't shift, so tell me again how good you feel."

"You're challenging me."

"Yes." If Simon shifted without issue, then Yael would let up. "Shift and I'll give in."

Simon growled again.

"Your eyes didn't shift again." Yael didn't enjoy pointing out Simon's physical issues. Simon was a very physical person. His physicality was the most important thing to him. He'd probably never been that seriously injured before. Or if he had, it frightened him enough to never want to live through it again.

Simon pulled his hand away from Yael's hold. "Where's the fucking way out of the house?"

Yael sighed. "Follow me."

He didn't really want to make Simon mad. He only wanted to make him understand he wasn't well enough to chase down a killer. "I could go look for Andre. He'd probably come to me, anyway."

"Absolutely not. Don't suggest that again."

"What's the difference if I go after him or if you do?"

"Capability, Yael."

"I’ve lived through my father’s brutality. I can survive Andre’s too." It sounded good. Living through whatever Andre had in store for Yael. He wanted to believe it, but he didn’t. He wanted it to be true, but he knew it wasn’t. “As long as he leaves you and Eryn alone.”

Skippy sighed. "I'm going to shift and then we're going to talk through this. Got it?"

Yael thought they were talking through it. They just didn't agree on how to handle Andre, and they probably never would. Yael wouldn't be the one giving in. That much he knew for sure.

They came to the kitchen, where everyone seemed to hang out. Enzo and Daruss cooked. But the rest settled around the table.

It was clear they had heard Yael and Simon argue just based on the way they averted their gaze.

Daruss started to say something to Simon, but Simon held up a hand and said, "I’m handling it."

"Not well."

"Fuck off." And that was all he said before he headed outside.

The sheriff sat with his mate and deputy around the table with everyone else. "I need to talk to you about Andre Joseph when you have a moment."

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Even the smallest thing would help us catch him."

Yael wanted to help Simon shift, but if he answered the sheriff's questions then maybe the sheriff would be the one to catch Andre. It would solve their problem. The only issue was he didn't know how digging up the past would help catch Andre.