Ask the Oracle (25 page)

“Why the hell not?” Gray yelled, enraged by Dreo’s lack of remorse.

“You would have died!” Dreo snarled, his mask of cool indifference finally cracking in

the face of his anger. “You were on the floor, lying in a pool of your own blood, getting ready

to leave me forever. I am a selfish man, Grayson Muir. You can hate me, if you wish, but I

could not let that happen. You are mine! My mate. Mine to love and mine to protect. You do

not get to leave me—not ever!”

Dreo’s words left Gray stunned. He’d known the Demon cared for him—they were

mates after all—but he hadn’t had any idea how deep the man’s feelings truly went. The idea

that he could inspire love in a six-hundred-year-old lust Demon, who had experienced more

than Gray could ever dream of, was a little hard to believe. Judging by Dreo’s look of

annoyance, Gray’s doubt must have been written all over his face.

Gray stared at Dreo, his gaze unwavering. He was not going to let this man intimidate

him. He needed answers. “Fine. If you want me to believe that you weren’t trying to kill me,

then what the hell happened? What did you do to me?”

Dreo let out a weary sigh and ran a hand through his still tousled locks. “Demons and

Shifters are a lot alike, when it comes to mating. When mates wish to officially join, there is a

ceremony where vows are exchanged. Promises of love and loyalty are made. There are even

protection spells cast over them to help keep the couple, and their love, safe from harm. The

final step is the blood exchange.”

“Excuse me?” Gray sputtered. “The blood what?” His voice had risen to an

embarrassing level, but there was no help for it.

“The blood exchange,” Dreo repeated slowly, like he was speaking to a child. The scowl

on his face made it clear that he was not happy with Gray’s response. “For Shifters, it’s done

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with a bite. Deep enough to draw blood and scar, their main focus is essentially marking

their territory and warning others to stay away.

“Demons are different. The exchange of blood is everything. It is not a symbolic

gesture, but a true sharing of the mind, body and spirit. It connects us. By allowing our mates

to ingest our blood, we give them access to the very thing that makes us who we are. The

exchange makes us stronger, faster and speeds up our ability to heal. It is also the final step

in the mating process.” Dreo sighed. “You were dying. The one hope I had, was the

possibility that the accelerated healing that came with the exchange would be enough to

repair the damage Povell’s blast had inflicted. It is the only reason that I did what I did. I had

no other choice.”

Gray was embarrassed to admit that it took him a minute to realise what Dreo was

telling him. “So, you’re trying to tell me that the only way to save me, was to give me

blood—your blood?”

“Yes.” Dreo frowned, but Gray didn’t think that it was directed at him.

“Okay. I think I get it. I’ve got to admit, I’m a little bit grossed out with the whole

ingesting of bodily fluids thing, but I understand why it was necessary. Now, tell me, why

do you look so upset?”

“It was too soon,” Dreo growled, his expression dark. “I wanted to wait until I was

sure.”

Gray sucked in a sharp, painful breath. Dreo’s words were like a punch in the gut. With

his own feelings for the other man growing so strong, so fast, he had assumed Dreo’s were

the same.

“I guess you’re right,” Gray replied, dismissively. He moved to take a step back,

needing to distance himself from the man who both held his heart and was breaking it. “We

probably shouldn’t have rushed into anything. I mean, just because we’re mates, doesn’t

mean we have to be together.”

Dreo’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Be careful what you say, Oracle. You wouldn’t

want me to start believing any of that bullshit coming out of your mouth. Especially if you

don’t want to spend the next month chained to my bed, proving who you belong to.” His

raised brow dared Gray to question of the seriousness of his words.

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“Fine,” Gray huffed petulantly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Explain it to me

then.”

Dreo rolled his eyes, his irritation abundantly clear. “In some cases, the blood exchange

can have an additional side effect. There have been a few isolated instances where the

exchange has led to the development of new powers.”

Gray shook his head. “I don’t understand. New powers? How is that even possible?”

“I wish I had an answer for you. To be honest, we’re not really sure. There are many

theories, but the appearance of additional gifts seems to be pretty random.”

“Okay—so, what’s the problem?”

Dreo sighed. “From what we’ve been able to ascertain, while the onset of abilities seems

to vary, abilities are more likely to appear in mates with some type of para in their family

tree. Something in the genetics seems to make them more susceptible. While they are all

affected in some ways, there are a few species of para that have been found to be affected

more strongly than the others. The effects have been—unpredictable.”

“Unpredictable?”

“Unstable—dangerous, even.”

Brows furrowed, Gray frowned. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Don’t play dumb, Gray. I told you, there is para in your family—there has to be. Either

one or both of your parents. There has never been an Oracle born to pure human parents and

I don’t believe you are going to be the first.” Dreo cocked his head, considering. “There is

something…more about you. It’s something that goes even beyond your being an Oracle.

With my suspicions and our lack of knowledge about your heritage, I wasn’t willing to risk

the blood exchange. I wanted more time to investigate—to make sure that you wouldn’t be in

any danger before we attempted it. Unfortunately”—he grimaced—“that choice has been

taken out of our hands.”

“But, I’m going to be fine…right?”

Dreo gave him a worried look. “For now. We still need to track down as much

information about your birth family as we can. I don’t want there to be any unfortunate

surprises down the road that we aren’t prepared for.”

“All right, so it’s done and there’s no going back,” Gray reasoned. “What does that

mean for me—for us?”

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“I don’t know,” Dreo answered, his eyes softening in concern. “I’ve never heard of a

blood exchange like ours. Definitely never one completed under such circumstances. The

pain, nearly dying… It shouldn’t have happened that way. I would never have wanted you

to suffer like that.” Dreo reached out, cupping Gray’s jaw gently, like he was something

precious that needed to be handled with extreme care. “That pain should have been mine to

bear.”

Gray pushed away his hand, lips pursed in irritation. “Don’t treat me like some damsel

in distress, Dreo. I’m strong. I don’t need you to protect me.” When Dreo’s brow arched,

Gray scowled. “All right, asshole. I needed you to rescue me before, but that was just a one-

time thing. I’m usually pretty good a taking care of myself. Ask anyone.”

Dreo laughed, brushing a stand of hair away from Gray’s face. “It doesn’t matter. You

are my mate. Caring for you is my purpose in life. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

Gray frowned but didn’t respond, knowing it would be useless to argue with the

infuriating man. His Demon was the most stubborn person he had ever met. Gray could

relate—he probably came in a close second. “How about we look out for each other?” He

studiously ignored Dreo’s knowing smirk, as well as the flush that was working its way up

his neck.

Man, is it getting hot, or what
?

Shaking his head, Gray tried to rein in his rampant thoughts. “All right,” he muttered,

clearing his throat, “now that we’ve got that settled, can you explain to me why the hell I’m

waking up in a jail cell?”

Dreo looked away, but not before Gray caught a hint of nervousness on his face. “It

was—safer—to keep you somewhere a little more contained.” Gray knew there was more to

Dreo’s words when his lover wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“What do you mean by ‘safer’?”

Dreo blew out a breath. “After you blacked out, I placed you in our bed so I could care

for you while we waited for—”

Gray coughed, his brows practically disappeared into his hairline, causing Dreo to

pause.

“Yeah, that’s right, I said
our
bed, you cocky piece of shit. It’s the truth, so stop being

such a dick about it.” Dreo shot him a dark scowl before continuing. “I had called for healers

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to examine you to ensure you were not in need of further treatment. They had finished their

examination and were on their way out, when one of the senior healers mentioned that they

had forgotten to get a blood sample. One of his apprentices was sent back to extract a vial for

testing.”

Gray must have made a noise of protest because Dreo already had a hand raised to

calm him. “Easy, sweetheart. There was nothing nefarious about the request and I was

present the entire time. Besides”—he chuckled—“after today, I don’t think you’ll have to

worry about them coming anywhere near you without advance permission.”

“Huh?”

Dreo’s smile softened. “I believe we witnessed the first manifestation of your new

powers.” When Gray’s confusion didn’t diminish, Dreo chuckled. “When the healer moved

in to draw blood, a shrill screech pierced the air, the bed began to shake then all the pillows

from the bed rose into the air and began chasing the poor man around the room. They circled

around him like a flock of seagulls on a sandwich, smacking him in the head, before dive

bombing him and scaring him half to death. And the whole time you just lay there, still as a

stone, looking like a goddamn angel.”

Gray couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His face flushed with embarrassment. “Are

you kidding?”

“Not at all. Telekinesis is not a common gift, for Demons or other paras. It was a truly

amazing sight to see. If you are able to learn to control it, it will be a very powerful talent.”

“Easy for you to say.” Gray glowered, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

“You’re not the one who attacked someone while unconscious—even though he did deserve

it for trying to take my blood without my permission. That better not happen again.” He

scowled at Dreo, hoping his mate understood his words for the threat they were. Gray could

not be held responsible for his actions if anyone tried a stunt like that again. He wasn’t giving

any further warnings on the matter.

“Sweetheart, don’t be upset. I can promise you that it will never happen again,” Dreo

murmured, softly. “After the shock you gave the healers, I wouldn’t be surprised if they

started asking you permission before they used the restroom. No way in hell do any of them

want to be on your bad side, my fierce mate.”

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Reaching over, Dreo pulled Gray into his arms, holding him to his chest, pressed snug

against his heart. Dreo’s breath ruffled his hair, effectively calming him in a way nothing else

ever had. Gray sagged in his arms, just taking a minute to breath in the scent of his mate. The

scent of dark chocolate, burning wood and cinnamon had Gray’s mouth watering for a taste.

The gentle press of lips at his temple had him fighting back a smile.

“Telekinesis, huh? So, that’s like being able to move shit with my mind, right?”

Dreo smiled against his temple. “Simply put, yes. You can move
shit
with your mind.”

“And the reason I am waking up in a cell—?”

“There’s less ammunition down here. I wasn’t sure who else you might decide annoyed

you enough to attack. Some I couldn’t care less about, but others are valuable members of the

court that I would prefer to keep around. I decided to err on the side of caution. Better safe

than sorry.”

Gray tried to look offended by the accusation but failed miserably. He was just too

happy to be alive. There was no way to contain his smile. Tilting his head, Gray flashed a

playful look over his shoulder. “Hmm—able to move things with my mind—that could be

fun. Just imagine the possibilities.” Licking his lips, he wiggled his brows suggestively,

eliciting another chuckle from his Demon.

“I do believe you will keep me on my toes, my Oracle.”

Gray leered. “My current plans have less to do with your toes, and more to do with

your naked body, riding my ass like you own it. Think you’re up to the challenge?”

Dreo’s eyes darkened, their normal creamy brown fading out until it was almost