“I’m not a showoff,” Lily was saying. “She wants to see a dragon. After she calms down, I want to see what she thinks of me. No human has ever seen my animal before.”
“Deal,” Wrath said. He began to take off his shirt and Lily stepped over to Jess pulling her back a little way.
“Why’s he…” Jess began, transfixed by the odd symbol tattooed on Wrath’s chest. When he turned to set his shirt on the porch, she saw more symbols tattooed on his muscular back.
“Uh, you think clothes survive a change?” Lily asked. “We strip down when we can to spare our clothes. We’re not squeamish about nudity like humans. Why would we be? Our other forms are naked. What’s so special about a naked human form?”
Jess caught some of that, but her eyes were fixed on Wrath. He’d just pulled off his briefs. His body was incredible. She didn’t see room for an ounce of fat. He was all well sculpted man from his squared pecs to his well-formed calves. His abs looked delicious, but her eyes drifted down to his shaft. He wasn’t even hard, and it was huge.
He stepped away from the house and smiled at Lily. “Want to do the countdown princess?”
“Yup,” Lily said. “Five...four...three...two...one…. Change!”
Jess wasn’t sure what she was expecting. She’d seen werewolf movies so she thought that if he was going to change, it would look something like that. But no. In a blink, Wrath was replaced by a giant black beast as tall as the house it stood beside. He lied on the ground, his neck extending so that his head was just a few feet away from Jess. His wings remained folded against his back and his legs were tucked under him like he was a napping cat.
She’d seen portrayals of dragons in movies. But none of them were like him. It wasn’t just his scales that were so impossibly black that they didn’t seem to reflect light. There was also an oppressive feeling of weight as though gravity got turned up a couple of notches. Her lungs didn’t seem to want to expand. She started to feel lightheaded.
“Breathe,” Lily said. “He won’t hurt you.”
The dragon said something Jess couldn’t understand, and Lily put her arm around Jess. Her vision narrowed and then everything went black.
Chapter 9
“Is this how they always react?” Lily asked as she struggled to lower Jess to the ground.
“It varies. I had one die one time. I didn’t like him, so it was okay. Here, sweetie, I’ll help,” Wrath said.
He’d sensed that Jess was about to faint. Thankfully, Lily grabbed her in time. Wrath changed back to human form immediately.
Lily was strong enough to hold Jess, but she was holding her awkwardly. So, Wrath took her from Lily and laid her on the ground. He figured she’d be awake in a minute or so. Fainting spells were brief, in his experience. He had just enough time to put his jeans on before Lily announced that Jess was awake.
“Can I still change in front of her?” Lily asked.
“I’m not sure, little one,” Wrath said as he strode over to Jess who was sitting up.
“I didn’t take it well, did I?” Jess said.
“No, you didn’t. One of the worst, actually,” Wrath said as he offered her a hand up. He was relieved that she accepted it and let him gently pull her to her feet.
“I guess I’ll wait,” Lily said, looking somber.
“No, you don’t have to wait. Just let me sit down on the porch or something,” Jess said. “I want to see what you look like.”
Wrath walked with Jess to the porch, keeping his hand on her back. “One of the worst, really?” Jess asked.
“Not the worst, but yes. Most people stay conscious,” Wrath said, picking up his sweater from the front steps. He slid it on, noting a look of disappointment on Jess’s face. One inhale through his mouth and he knew the sight of him undressed had turned her on. Only Lily’s presence had kept his dick in check while Jess had been gaping at him.
Nothing killed a mood like relatives.
They sat on the porch steps and Wrath pulled pine needles from Jess’s hair before brushing off her back. Lily went behind a tree to strip off her clothes, more mindful of Jess’s human awkwardness than Wrath himself had been. She was a good girl, through and through.
“Do the countdown,” Lily insisted as she stepped away from her clothes.
“Okay,” Wrath said, “five...four...three...two…one...Change!”
She did. In a flash, the human looking girl became a bright red serpent with bony spikes down her spine and a few on the end of her tail.
“Holy shit,” Jess said as Lily slithered over. “What is she?”
“A basilisk. Most are descendants of a dragon and an imp. Her birth parents were a wyvern and a half fae bear shifter. She’s a sweet thing, but she could kill you a few different ways. The spikes, of course. The eyes, myths about that are true. It’s a form of telepathy that can shut your brain off leading to instant death. She’s also venomous. Even her blood is toxic. It’s a magic toxin so if you managed to spear her, the toxin could travel along the spear and kill you. Then there are her teeth,” Wrath said. “Lil, show her your fangs.”
Lily opened her mouth and her fangs popped down nearly a foot long and looking lethal as hell.
“Wow. I’m...terrified. But she’s awesome,” Jess said.
Lily spoke in Akkadian, “I’m going to go home and change. It’s weird being naked in front of humans.”
Wrath responded in kind, “Tell your mom thanks for the cookies.”
Lily nodded and then slithered off.
“What did she say?” Jess asked as they stood.
“She’s going home. Let’s go in and talk a little more. You should have
