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  He lowered himself, still watching Ada as he kissed her at the base of her neck, finger still stroking. Ada was getting closer, and he couldn’t resist wanting to make her come. She mewled lightly as he moved up her neck and took her earlobe in his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue.

  It only took one more light rub of his finger, and Ada came. Instantly, her hands pulled around him, grasping his back as she loudly cried out his name in ecstasy, the sound of it music in his ears. Even as she was still orgasming, though, he flicked one more time over her clit, pushing her even deeper into the release as he savored the sight and feel of every sensation coursing through her.

  Even as she gradually relaxed in his arms, he could feel little aftershocks of pleasure jolt through her by the way her muscles tensed suddenly and without warning.

  “You’re overwhelming. I hope you know that, Theo.” Her entire body glowed from arousal, relaxing into the bed.

  “As are you, Ada. In the very best of ways.”

  “So how about that second baby?” she asked expectantly, looking down at the bulge in his pants.

  He stepped off the bed, removing the rest of his clothing, and then knelt onto the mattress between her legs.

  He smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Ada, we both know biologically that’s impossi—”

  “Just shut up and take me, Theo.” She interrupted playfully. “That is unless you don’t want to.” She was challenging him now, egging him on.

  He liked it.

  Holding her hips, Theo slid into her slowly, slick warmth enveloping him as Ada’s eyes rolled back in her skull from the sensation. He drew out the moment, letting her feel everything until they were finally hip to hip.

  “Oh, yes,” she gasped out, the soft curls of her hair splayed out in every direction on the pillow beneath her.

  Just the sight of her was enough to make him want to lose it right there. But he also had time, wanting to make Ada say his name so many more times before they were finished.

  When he was more than confident she was ready, Theo pulled away, driving back into her more quickly and soaking in the feeling of their fit together, their two bodies enmeshed in an indescribably intimate way. Ada moaned and grabbed his arms, holding them tightly like guardrails as Theo moved into a steady rhythm he was sure would get her to the finish line before he was ready.

  It seemed so crazy that years together had culminated in all of this coming about in only a matter of weeks. Yet it felt right. Like fate had finally kicked Theo in the ass with Ada’s threat of leaving, pushing him into something he’d been ready for all along.

  He couldn’t imagine it could have been anyone else. Someone so kind, so patient as Ada. Yet also stubborn in the right ways, strong enough to stick it out when he was being a nightmare of a person.

  Every day he’d make it up to her, the times when he was mean or sardonic or petty. He liked to think that now, more than ever, with the dragon inside him feeling stronger than he’d thought possible, the old Theo would be a thing of the past. That he could finally be his true self around Ada, not the person afraid of connecting with others, afraid of getting too close to anything of import.

  Ada gasped, and he kept himself propped up on one hand, letting the other come to her breast, running his ringer around the ridge of her nipple before pressing lightly on it, all while keeping the heated tension of his thrusting in time with her body.

  Before long, she was begging for him. With every withdrawal, she looked expectantly up at him just as he pushed back in, even though his own senses were beginning to go haywire. Not wanting to try his luck against Ada’s impressive self-control, he reached his free hand between them, finding her clit and stroking over it just as he thrust into her one more time.

  Instantly, she came, long nails raking over his arms, his back, as she arched deeply against the memory foam bed, sinking into it even farther. He could feel the throb of her orgasm, the powerful pulsing coursing its way through his mate’s body. He had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to keep from joining her. She was so gorgeous, so his.

  When she was finally ready for more, he moved more quickly this time, following erotic instinct rather than logic to carry them both to the precipice.

  “Oh yes, Theo,” Ada said eagerly, her words punctuated by the rhythmic motion of their bodies as they came together over and over. Even with the giant, oversized bed and it’s expensive and sturdy frame, it rocked slightly back and forth, Ada pushing herself down to meet him as he found himself going more quickly with each passing second.

  It was as if his entire body was on fire, the kind no water or liquid could douse. His knuckles ached, and sensory impulses coursed down his back into his hips each time he thrust. Ada too was on the brink, body writhing as she grasped at anything her fingers could find within reach.

  Then, just as they were almost there, Ada looked up at him, focused for a fraction of a second with her beautiful brown eyes. Her gaze was full of so much love, so much desire, that for the first time ever, he knew what it meant for one’s heart to “feel full.” To feel complete with another person, one with them in body and soul.

  Then her eyes shut, and she screamed in ecstasy.

  “Theo! Theo!” Over and over she said his name as his own release swept over him like a monsoon, drenching him in excruciatingly wonderful orgasm.

  It was the best thing he’d ever felt in his life, being consumed in pleasure with her, knowing they would be together forever, knowing there was nothing separating them anymore.

  For the first time in his life, Theo had everything. His mate, his baby, and the dragon inside him whose wings had unfurled when he first learned about his child.

  “I love you, Ada. I’ll always love you,” he said, holding her close as emotions continued to overwhelm him.

  She held him tight, collapsing together with him on the mattress. It felt as if he would never be able to be close enough to her heart.

  But being together like this, sweaty and satiated, was fine for now as long as they could have this love for a million more moments.

  He didn’t care if he was made out of darkness as long as he could love her with the strength of a thousand stars.

  Epilogue

  A week later, Theo was waiting with his brothers for the oracle to show up.

  He had his hand around Ada, stroking her back lightly, enjoying the warmth streaming over them as they sat on the balcony on the second floor of Nathan’s mansion, drinking some sort of cold, sweet slushy drink Nate’s mate Lillian had made for them.

  The girls were giggling, having made friends quickly, and Theo was enjoying watching Nathan discuss housing options for the brothers and their mates with Dare.

  Things had been different since they had ended Irial. They’d finally been able to come face to face with their difficult past and, together, defeat it.

  There were no more obstacles to intimacy, to a normal life, or to being in the sunlight with people who loved them.

  And beyond that, they were coming to get to know each other better, spending extra time together now that they didn’t fear discovery.

  They were still nightmare creatures, and Theo sometimes still felt the pull of the dark, but it was much weaker with Ada.

  He still occasionally felt that something out there needed to be ended, but it wasn’t a part of his own desperate need to belong, to be a part of the world.

  His brothers seemed to feel similarly. Dare had become a total ball of fluff in regard to his mate Sasha, always trying to feed her or carry her off to some quiet room.

  He talked continuously about wanting a dragon baby, and Sasha humored him with smiles and quiet blushes.

  Lillian and Nathan just laughed at them, and he was pretty certain they were just excited to be there for Theo and see how the pregnancy went, in no hurry to have one of their own.

  Theo couldn’t help a deep sense of satisfaction as he looked around at his brothers. Dare holding Sasha possessively on his lap wi
th his arms around her, laughing at something Nathan had said. Nathan cracking up as he kept his hand over his mate’s.

  Theo had finally found a family, where he and Ada could belong.

  He rested a hand protectively over Ada’s belly, knowing it would be a while before he could see evidence of what they’d created. Still, he looked forward to those days, to her rounding with his child, to her glow and how cute she would be when waddling.

  He would be there for her every moment, watching over her protectively no matter what. And he hoped they would make more dragon babies. He was no longer ashamed of what he could bring into the world.

  He and his brothers had come face to face with pure evil and survived it, proved once and for all they weren’t just the sum of their parts.

  Over a hundred years, they’d made choices, and in all those choices, they’d been building the person they would become.

  So Theo hoped they would have good news from the oracle Dare and Nathan had met, even though they had killed her sister without asking her first.

  He was taking another sip of his drink when he saw a portal appear in front of them in swirling blue, tall and powerful and bigger than the one he’d seen before.

  An older woman stepped out, looking completely the opposite of Irial. Her hair was light purple, her eyes misty and iridescent, and while older, her face was softened by gentleness and the fact that she was soft and rounded all over, unlike Irial.

  Theo raised an eyebrow as she snapped a finger, making the portal disappear.

  Nathan jumped up and pulled out a chair for her, and she sat in it heavily, letting out a sigh.

  “So much to catch up on now that I’m recovering,” she said.

  “I heard you were defeated by Irial when you were trying to find information for us,” Nate said.

  She nodded. “But it all worked out fine.”

  Theo was still a bit suspicious because it was hard to imagine any oracle not being evil after his experience with Irial, but he sensed no maliciousness from this woman.

  “I won’t hurt you. I promise,” she said, meeting his eyes. “And honestly, I’m feeling better. I got some much-needed rest.” Her misty eyes shuttered, and he saw the twinkle of oncoming tears. “Thank you for taking care of my sister.” She dabbed at her eyes as Sasha came over to her, handing her a napkin, which she took with a smile.

  “I’m sorry,” Theo said.

  “No,” she said, waving the napkin. “I should have done it many years ago. I could have saved lives. But I wasn’t quite strong enough, and I kept trying to hope she could be good. Sometimes it’s the hardest to see into the hearts of those you love the most. Otherwise, I would have seen she was a lost cause long ago.”

  “Ah,” Dare said awkwardly, leaning back in his seat and looking irritated that Sasha had taken a seat next to him, rather than getting in his lap.

  The oracle looked at Theo. “That brings me back to what I came here for. I know that you three have stayed separate for many years, but I’m hoping after this you will stay a bit more together.”

  “We were planning on it,” Nathan said. “But why?”

  “First, I checked in on the mate thing, and after giving my scientists the sample of blood you donated, they confirmed my suspicions that most of your blood is from gemstone dragons. That means your mates should now share your lifespan. That lifespan will be quite a long one, given you have oracle blood as well.”

  More years with Ada? That sounded amazing. No amount of time would be too long.

  “You’d be surprised,” the oracle said warily. “Sometimes it can get lonely. That’s why it will be good for the three of you to be together, so you can have others that live as long as you.”

  Theo could see that. He nodded.

  “Then there’s the issue of your powers,” the oracle said, sitting up slightly. “You are each unique in your abilities, yet together, you are the perfect judge of character. You are able to do the one thing I can’t, which is be certain about who someone is and what a danger they are. You are also willing to touch darkness, to do the one thing I often fail at, which is killing. You would fulfill a unique role in the shifter world together, if you want to. The watchers of our world.”

  Theo didn’t know why he’d never thought of it, but everything she’d said made sense. Between the three of them, they’d seen perfectly into Irial.

  And he’d never minded too much hunting the darkness. He didn’t like killing, but he loved that it helped him save lives.

  “I do feel that the bloodlust component will be lessened for all of you now that you’re mated and your dragons have fully awakened,” the oracle said. “I think you will hunt less often. But I hope I can call on you as needed, for the truly difficult cases.”

  Theo nodded.

  Dare cleared his throat. “And what about when you don’t call on us but we still think we need to do something?”

  “Then I trust you,” the oracle said. “After all, you’ve been out here for more than a hundred years, and nothing disastrous has happened. In fact, I’d say you were good for our world.”

  Theo could feel his and his brothers’ collective happiness at hearing such glowing approval after a lifetime of hiding and doing their best in the dark.

  “But I would think that now, instead of feeding once in a while, you’re starting to enjoy more human food.”

  “Yes,” Dare said. “I had noticed it doesn’t all taste like crap anymore.”

  “Me, too,” Nathan said. “Turns out scotch is actually pretty nasty, but I like it.”

  Lillian laughed and leaned into her mate. “I had noticed you ate more with me than usual.”

  Theo nodded, thinking now that they mentioned it, he’d been eating with Ada as well. “I guess you’re right.”

  “It’s because your dragon is now dominant. Though the darkness will always be part of you, it’s suppressed somewhat by your mate. The bad part of my sister is suppressed by love, but you’ll still have her powers, her foresight, her… gumption, I guess.”

  Theo blinked, emotion suddenly overwhelming him as he thought of all that had changed. “All I really need is Ada.”

  “That’s right,” the oracle said. “That’s the most important part. Hold on to your mates. Hold on to your family. Love. It’s that connection that binds us that keeps the darkness at bay. You were all starving for connection and found a way to be a part of the world in the only way you knew how. Now you have another way, though I understand you may still relapse.”

  Dare scowled. “Like killing someone? I still did that yesterday.”

  The oracle raised a pale eyebrow. “Did they deserve it?”

  Dare nodded.

  “Then I trust you,” the oracle said. “I can’t babysit you all the time, can I? And besides, as much as I don’t want to admit it, some people won’t stop hurting others until they die. I really think maybe it’s good there are creatures like you, because heavens knows most of us don’t know how to judge correctly.”

  “That’s true,” Lillian said. “Humans worst of all.”

  The oracle smiled. “As long as you aren’t killing people, your lack of judgement is fine. Plus, you picked Nathan, so you have to have some taste after all.”

  Theo blinked, letting it all sink into him. The oracle thought they were worth something, better than humans or other shifters in their own way, when they’d been raised to believe they were utter scum.

  “So we aren’t in trouble?” Theo asked as the oracle stood wearily.

  She looked at him sharply. “Of course not. Whatever would you be in trouble for?”

  He scratched the back of his neck. “Killing… people… your sister…”

  The oracle shook her head. “I’m only going to say this one more time, and I want to make it clear to you because I know my sister created a lot of confusion in your lives. You are wonderful, unique, worthwhile creatures. And while I can’t totally tell you your way, I think you may have found it on your own. I look
forward to seeing your journey, however much I’m around for.”

  Theo was overwhelmed by the feeling of unconditional love that emanated from her and just wanted to bask in it for a minute. He supposed, if he’d had an actual mother, this was what it would have felt like.

  A kind aunt would have to do.

  Ada’s hand covered his, reassuring him, and he felt true calm settle inside even as the oracle raised her hand, created a glowing blue portal, and stepped through, disappearing inside.

  It closed with a zipping sound, leaving them alone on the sunny balcony, and Theo could tell all his brothers were as surprised as he was.

  “I don’t know what you were expecting,” Lillian said playfully, turning Nate’s chin to bring him close. “Of course you’re wonderful. We already told you that.”

  Sasha was cuddling Dare now, back in his lap, stroking his face as he leaned over her, still overwhelmed.

  Theo snuggled Ada, pulling her in against him, resting his head atop hers.

  Of course their mates’ opinions were the most important, but knowing the only other person in the universe who could pass judgment on them had just told them they were worthwhile and deserved a happy life with their mates was powerful, too.

  “God, I love you so much, Ada,” he said, stroking her soft cheek with a finger, loving the way her tawny skin glowed in the sun, the little sparkles of gold in her brown eyes.

  “I love you, too, Theo,” Ada replied.

  Then she kissed him, and Theo knew without looking that his brothers were probably kissing their mates, too, each enjoying a moment of pure sunlight and acceptance and love.

  By the time Theo pulled back from his kiss with Ada, he saw the others were watching, and they all dispelled the awkwardness with a laugh.

  “I’ll run and grab more drinks real quick,” Lillian said, running off the balcony before anyone could stop her.

  When she came back with a small tray, they each took a drink off of it. As they stood with their hands on the railing and arms around each other, looking out into the distance, Theo let out a deep sigh.