10. NATE

“I’m going to kill him." I sighed. My eyes darted over Angel’s face. A fine layer of sweat covered her pale skin. She had a slight fever that thankfully hadn’t gotten any higher. “You know that he didn’t have a choice,” I said softly as I reached for the cloth. I wiped the sweat from her skin and then placed the cloth on her forehead. My attention moved to her wrist next. I pulled the bandage off and frowned at the mark. It still looked fresh which wasn’t a good sign. “Is it infected?” Mason questioned. When I didn’t answer him, he moved closer to the bed and stared down at her arm. A few more curses fell from her lips. “Stop that,” I ordered him. “He didn’t need to do it!” Mason growled. “She’s our mate, the only mark she should be wearing is ours!” “She’s human,” I pointed out. “We don’t know if she would be able to take our mark.” He growled and spun away to start pacing again. “Go get me some hot water,” I ordered him. “I’ll clean this and rub some of the ointment on it.” “Will it work?” I hesitated a moment. “I’ve added some of my blood to it.” “Thank fuck for our special blood,” he muttered as he walked out of the room. Thank fuck indeed. Removing the cloth, I dipped it into the water again and then. My hand froze when blue eyes locked with mine. “Hey, honeybee.” She gave me a small smile. “Nobody’s ever given me a nickname before,” Angel croaked. “You have such a beautiful name; you don’t really need a nickname.” Her smile widened and a faint blush filled her cheeks. “How are you feeling?” The smile instantly failed. “My head hurts, and my arm.” She glanced down at her wrist. “Mason is getting some hot water for me so I can clean it. I have an ointment that should help you heal faster,” I told her. “The doctor’s been cleaning it,” she muttered. “He doesn’t know much about humans which is why your mark is infected.” Angel frowned as she struggled into a seated position. Her frown deepened as her eyes darted around. “This isn’t my room.” “It’s your new room,” I explained. “You’re sharing an adjoined room with Mason and me.” “Slaves don’t get rooms this fancy or big.” “We’ll explain everything to you once you feel a little better, okay?” She nodded. “Do you think you can handle some food?” Her eyes darted away. “How about some soup? It should be easy enough to get down.” Angel hesitated and just when I thought that she was going to refuse, she gave me a nod. While she used the bathroom, I put the order through to the kitchen. Mason returned with a tray containing hot water and a few medical supplies. His eyes instantly darted around the room when he didn’t spot her in the bed. I nodded towards the bathroom. “Did you prepare the papers?” he asked me. “Let’s explain things to her before she signs anything. If you want to do this, you need to do it right from the start so Lucas can’t use anything against you to end this agreement.” I glared at him. “He is still our king, brothers or not.” The bathroom door opened before he could utter a word. Mason hurried to her side and helped her back into bed. Instead of taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed with her. “This is going to hurt,” I said softly as I retook my seat and reached for her wrist. Her eyes locked with mine. “It can’t hurt anymore that it hurt when he burned me with the iron.” Mason growled. “I still can’t get over the fact that you’re not human,” she said. “Why’s that, love?” While Mason was distracting her, I set to cleaning the mark. The infection was just starting which was a little reassuring. I caught it fast enough to stop it. Rubbing some ointment on it, I washed my hand and rubbed it dry on my pants. “Can you change forms?” Angel asked. “You had wings and sharp teeth when you found me.” “We can,” Mason answered. “What animal do you change into?’ Mason glanced at me. “Dragons,” I told Angel. “We are dragon shifters.” “Can you shift?” she asked. I smiled at her. “The room is too small.” “Oh.” “Can I see your wings again?” I glanced at Mason. He nodded. Getting to my feet, I hesitated a moment and the started unbuttoning my shirt. Angel’s eyes widened, but she remained silent. I pulled off my shirt and dropped it to the bed. Taking a few steps back, I closed my eyes, rolled my shoulders and sucked in a deep breath. Pain shot through me as bones snapped to rearrange themselves. My wings slowly uncurled and spread wide enough for her to see. “They’re so beautiful,” Angel whispered. My eyes stayed glued to her face as I moved closer to the bed. She didn’t try to scoot away in fear. Then again, after what she had been through since she arrived in our realm…a man with wings shouldn’t be so scary. “Can I touch it?” Stopping next to the bed, I moved one of my wings closer to her. She reached out with a shaky hand and brushed her fingertip against the claw at the top of my wings. Her hands slowly moved lower, her fingers spreading wider and wider apart. “It’s so soft.” Mason smiled. “Every dragon looks different, except for twins.” “It was scary when I first got here,” she muttered. “But it’s kind of cool when you get used to it. I don’t like the vampires though.” “They are a pain in the ass,” I growled. I folded my wings behind my back and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Before you ask any more questions, we need to talk about something very important.” “Nate－” “Mason put in a request to make you his submissive,” I interrupted him. “Do you know what a submissive is?” Her eyes darted between us. “I’ve heard about it, but I don’t really know what it is.” “Let her eat first before we talk about this,” Mason urged. “The sooner we get this over with the better,” I growled. “It’s only a matter of time before Lucas finds out that Angel’s room have been changed and by then I’m hoping to have the papers signed.”