Chapter 15 15- Do Not Share Secrets You Can’t Take Back
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Lexi looks more freaked out now than she has at any point today, wide–eyed, stiff, pulse fluttering at her throat like it’s trying to escape… Shit. That is not what I meant to cause. I wasn’t trying to scare her or imply anything. I was just trying to understand her. Her logic, her instincts, the way she seems to leap straight past caution into trust when it comes to me. It’s baffling. No one reacts like that to a dragon. No one reacts like that to me. But clearly my wording landed wrong. Catastrophically wrong. I can practically see the thoughts tripping over each other inside her head, colliding in a chain reaction of panic. How she goes from zero to spiralling in under three seconds is… Impressive, actually. I lift a hand automatically, slowly, openly, palm out, like I’m approaching some easily startled animal.
“I can’t read minds or anything, but whatever is going through your head right now is not what I meant. Especially if it causes you to make a face like that.” I say gruffly. Her expression shifts, the panic pausing just long enough for my words to reach her. She pulls in a shaky breath.
“What did you mean then?” She asks quietly. I take another moment to choose my words carefully.
“That… You don’t seem like the type to let some guy you barely know into your room. Which means that you trust me.” I start. I keep my tone even, factual. No implication. No edge.
“I wasn’t saying I intend to do anything I shouldn’t. Or that I expect anything. It was just… An observation.” I add. I study her face, the way her brows pull together, the way she presses her lips together as if sorting through all the ways she might’ve misread this.
“You seem to take me at my word, if you do that with everyone… Well. You could get yourself into a lot of trouble.” I add. Her head tilts
slowly, then she looks up toward the ceiling, thinking, weighing, dissecting the statement like it’s homework.
“Well… You said you won’t hurt me. And I believe you.” She looks up and meets my eyes again. I freeze for the smallest fraction of a second. Most people avoid eye contact with me completely. Those who don’t usually stare like they’re praying I won’t bite. But she looks at me openly. Trustingly. As if she has no reason to doubt me.
“I’ve always been good at knowing when someone is lying.” She comments. That grabs my attention. Does she mean she has good intuition? Is she saying she has a lot of practice at it, or experience? Or is that an actual ability? Because if it’s the latter… Well that
would mean that she is something even rarer than I thought. Which is fascinating, She continues before I can ask more.
“And as for inviting people into my room… I’ve never really had to think about it. I haven’t spent a lot of time around any guys. Not since I started university and… Well. That put an end to any social life I might have had.” She says with a shrug that doesn’t quite mask something heavier. A faint tremor hides in the last part. Subtle. Easy to miss. I don’t miss it. Something happened. And whatever it was. she does not want to revisit it. Her whole posture shifts, shoulders tightening, chin dipping, eyes flicking away just butelly enough to signal discomfort. It hits me harder than it should. My Instincts sharpen, hot and light and instantaneous. Not just curiosity. Not just protectiveness. Something darker, colled deep in my chest. Who hurt her?
My jaw locks. The room suddenly feels too small.
“What happened when you started university?” The words come out low, eilgod. Not quite a growl, but close enough that If she were
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Chapter 15 15- Do Not Share Secrets You Can’t Take Back
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anyone else, they’d be backing away already. I don’t apologise for the tone. If someone hurt her, if someone frightened her, manipulated
her, pressured her… I want to know. Lexi hesitates for a moment, just long enough for me to sense she’s deciding whether to tell me or
shut me down completely. Then she exhales, long and heavy, like the weight of the memory sinks through her bones.
“There was this guy…” She begins. I already hate this story. Her voice is steady at first, but the way her fingers knot together betrays her
nerves.
“He was popular. Handsome. A year older than me. From the first few days of class, he started… Showing interest in me. He spent about a week hanging out with me, meeting me for lunch every day, walking me to my classes. It was really nice, and he was sweet to me. Then he
asked me out.” She continues, shaking her head, embarrassed, as if that was some kind of mistake.
“Obviously I said yes. I mean, why wouldn’t I? He seemed great, I was single, and I’d enjoyed his company. So… He took me out to dinner. Everything seemed fine.” She says quickly. The colour creeping up her neck darkens. A blush, but not a flattered one. She looks… Almost
ashamed. I feel something inside me tighten.
“After dinner we were walking and he kissed me. That was fine. I let him. I mean, it had been a nice date, and at that point I thought I liked him…” She trails off. Lexi is bright red now, shoulders hunched the slightest bit, eyes fixed on her hands instead of on me. When she finally looks up, it’s tentative. Uncertain. Almost guilty. Like she thinks she did something wrong. My jaw flexes.
“You don’t need to justify yourself to me.” I say immediately, sharper than intended but honest. She gives a small, crooked smile.
“I think I might be justifying it to myself…” She sighs to herself. And then she continues.
“He kissed me once, which was fine. But then he tried to kiss me again, and he was… Getting a little demanding. I didn’t like it and I told him to stop. But he was pushy and kept trying. Pestering me. He grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go.” Her voice shrinks on the last few words. Like she hates the memory. Like she hates that she didn’t see it coming. And that makes something violent snap awake inside me. If that guy were here, he’d be ash. I don’t shift, we’re indoors, that would end badly. But the urge ripples under my skin, hot and sharp. My hands curl slightly. My breath thickens. She grimaces at the memory. I know what my eyes are doing. They glow when I’m furious. I don’t bother hiding it. Lexi and I are friends. She accepted me. That makes her mine to protect, even if she doesn’t know enough about dragons to understand the significance of that word. But I do. I feel like I should have kept her safe, even if I didn’t know her back then. It feels like I’ve failed her somehow. Like I need to fix this. Lexi shifts uneasily like she senses the change in me, even if she misunderstands the reason. I’m protective over things that are mine. Lexi is my friend. Which means it’s my job to keep her safe.
Lexi pauses… Then freezes completely when she looks at my face. Right. I probably look murderous. She swallows.
“Blake?” She asks. Her voice is small, uncertain. It’s not that she seems afraid of me, but afraid of what she sees in me.
“What exactly happened?” I grind out. My voice isn’t loud. It’s controlled. Careful. She didn’t finish the story. She didn’t get to the part that matters most. The part where I need to know who touched her. Who hurt her. How I’m going to fix this. Her eyes widen, and I see the exact moment she realises where my mind has gone.
“When he didn’t back off after I told him to stop, I kneed him in the groin. I left him collapsed on the floor and ran home.” She quickly tells me. Good. But not good enough. She hesitates, then continues.
“I ran home… But I didn’t tell my parents, or anyone else. Since I couldn’t prove anything happened, there really wasn’t much that could
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Chapter 15 15- Do Not Share Secrets You Can’t Take Back
be done anyway.” She admits with a sigh. My fists clench. Hard. I think she’s done, but then she continues talking.
“When I went back to classes on the Monday, I discovered that he had decided that if he couldn’t have me then no one would, or something like that.” She continues, her mouth twists.
“He spread stories. I still don’t really know what they all were. But basically no one would be my friend. No one wanted to talk to me. People tolerated me but… That was about it. I was basically ignored.” She says it casually, like she’s describing the weather. It’s not casual. It’s cruel. It’s calculated social punishment. It’s disgusting. That guy just signed his death warrant.
“It stayed like that for the last couple years. I could’ve changed universities, I guess, but it felt like letting him win. So I stayed. And ignored everyone else back.” She finishes. I blink. Her situation sounds… Familiar. Uncomfortably so. People treat me the same way she described. Rumours and avoidance. Difference is, I embraced it. I pushed everyone away. I prefer being alone. At least that’s what I’ve
convinced myself. But Lexi… Lexi still tries.
“I feel like this explains why you decided to talk to me.” I comment stiffly. Lexi gives a small shrug that tries, and fails, to be casual.
“I learned not to pay too much attention to gossip, if that’s what you mean. It’s usually not true, even if the people spreading it don’t
realise they’re spreading lies.” She responds. I study her. She really believes that. That people lie by accident. That they just… Don’t
understand the harm they do. It feels a little naive to me. But strangely admirable.
“I suppose so.” I answer. I let a beat of silence pass..
“That guy. What’s his name? Do you know where he lives?” I ask casually. She narrows her eyes, instantly suspicious. Good. At least she
questions this.
“Why do you want to know?” She questions.
“Because I’m going to burn his house down.” I say flatly.
“If we’re lucky, he’ll be inside it.” I add. Lexi stares at me like she’s waiting for a punchline. There isn’t one. I don’t look away. I don’t soften. I don’t add a laugh or a wink to make it a joke. Her expression falters when she realises I’m dead serious.
“You can’t burn down his house! Or burn him.” She shakes her head wildly.
“As cathartic as it might be, it’s wrong. Besides, I’m fairly sure his parents live there too. They didn’t do anything to me.” She insists. I
shrug.
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“They raised their son to be an asshole. That’s enough for me.” I answer easily.
“Well it isn’t enough for me!” She shoots back. She really doesn’t get it. She wants to just forget about it and move on. I can’t do that. Dragons don’t work that way. When someone harms what’s ours, we eliminate the threat Cleanly Permanently. We don’t leave them free to hurt us, or someone else again. It’s not emotional, it’s Instinct, logic, self protection, territory.
“Blake… You are not to do anything about this. This is my problem and it’s over. Promise me.” Lexi says firmly, stepping into my line of sight, forcing my attention back to her. She looks me straight in the eyes. Lexi might be a little too forgiving. But she’s brave. Looking me
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Chapter 15 15- Do Not Share Secrets You Can’t Take Back
in the eyes like this. It’s a risky move with any shifter, but especially with one whose temper is already scraping the edges of dangerous.
But she doesn’t look away. She doesn’t even flinch. She meets my gaze like she trusts I won’t hurt her, even now. And something in me
stutters. I want to argue. I want to tell her humans don’t get to dictate vengeance to dragons. I want to hunt the bastard down tonight, to make him pay and make sure he never hurts Lexi again. But… She asked me not to. And she asked me directly. And I think it would upset her if I didn’t listen. I take a few deep breaths through my nose, forcing the heat down, dragging my instincts back under control with
sheer, stubborn will. Then, VERY reluctantly, I nod.
“Fine. I won’t go searching for him. But only because you asked me not to.” I grumble. But if I happen to run into him on the street or something, all bets are off… Lexi smiles softly. And, infuriatingly, she once again trusts my answer without even a flicker of doubt.
“Thank you, and thank you for being mad on my behalf. It’s sweet.” She says warmly. Sweet.
I don’t correct her. I don’t tell her it wasn’t sweetness, it was fury and territory and old instincts snarling awake. She doesn’t need to know that. Let her think I’m sweet if that makes her feel better about it all.
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repeat chapters. rip off
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
