Page 26 of Tempered By Flames

He wasn’t only scared for himself now. He was scared for Austin and West because these people had been their family long before Liam had arrived. The firehouse was their second home, and it had been for years.

And they might be about to lose it.

* * * *

ETHAN WASN’T SURPRISED by how shocked Taylor looked. It was a little endearing because he kept looking from Liam to Austin to West, almost as if he expected them to shift in front of him. He didn’t look afraid. He never had—not when Ethan had told him what he was, not when Liam, Austin, and West had done the same. His presence was still steady, but it was clear he had more questions. Ethan would say that this was going well. He knew that Liam was still freaking out, though. He could feel it in the way Liam was squeezing his fingers.

Ethan wasn’t quite sure how he felt. This was the first time he’d told someone what he was without overthinking it. He’d decided he wanted to take the heat off Liam, and he thought that this would be the best way to do it. Clearly, he hadn’t been the only one, and now Taylor had to deal with four people coming out as shifters to him at once. He probably didn’t care much about what Ethan was, but the other three? He saw them every day. He’d probably spent more time with them than he did with his family. He had to trust them with his life, and they’d just revealed something massive to him.

“So the three of you have been shifting at fires,” Taylor said.

“We don’t usually shift,” Austin told him. “That hasn’t happened often. We’re too big to shift without destroying the building we’re in. Being more resistant to fire has helped tremendously, though, as has our strength.”

Taylor looked at Liam. “Which I saw the other day.”

“Yes, that was me using my dragon shifter strength,” Liam confirmed. “I wasn’t going to let that woman get squashed by a beam.”

“And Margaret is a shifter, too,” Ethan added, grinning when Taylor’s expression told him that his brain had broken just a little more. Ethan hadn’t been kidding when he’d said that shifters were everywhere. He was pretty sure that Taylor was going to wonder if everyone he met from then on was a shifter.

It wouldn’t be a bad thing. He seemed like the kind of person who would be cautious with that knowledge, but also who would want to know more. He hadn’t run away screaming, and while Liam was still terrified, Ethan didn’t think he had anything to worry about. Taylor wasn’t perfect because no one was, but he was a good friend and boss, and Liam being a shifter wouldn’t change that. He’d probably have a lot of questions and might be hesitant for a while, but he’d eventually realize that the three dragon shifters were still the same people they’d been before he found out about it. Then he’d go back to treating them like he treated everyone else. He’d probably want to take advantage of what they could do, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Ethan didn’t hate being a shifter, not even a chimera shifter. What he hated was the way other shifters looked at him and behaved when they found out what he was. A lot of shifters were wary of dragon shifters, too, but Liam had never experienced that, considering the way he’d been raised. Ethan hoped he wouldn’t now that he’d found a small group of people who’d welcomed him with open arms and treated him like family. Ethan had no doubt that Liam would have to deal with some wariness on the job, but in his personal life, he was set, and that was a good thing.

Ethan had never felt judged by anyone in his friend group for what he was. They’d never accused him of being unnatural, like his mother had. She hadn’t known what to do with him, and he still wasn’t one hundred percent sure if it was because he was a chimera shifter or a shifter at all. He wasn’t sure it mattered. What did matter was the way she treated him, and he hoped it was something Liam would never have to go through.

Taylor rubbed his face with both hands and sucked in a breath. “All right. Margaret is a shifter?” he asked.

“She is,” Ethan confirmed. “And I wasn’t lying when I said I know her. A lot of us shifters with businesses know each other, especially after what happened with the arsons.”

Taylor’s gaze turned sharp. “Did that have to do with shifters?”

“The arsonist was trying to hurt shifters, yes.” Ethan glanced at the other three. Liam probably didn’t know much about that, but Austin and West had been right there. “He’s in jail, though, right?”

“Yes,” Taylor confirmed. “So it couldn’t have been him who was responsible for the fire that involved Margaret.”

“But it could have been someone else?”

Taylor raised his hands. “I haven’t said that. I don’t even know that it was arson. No one does.”

“But it could be.”

“It’s a possibility, but it also might not have been arson. There’s no way to know that for now, Ethan, not until the investigation is completed. Is that why you’re here? To talk about the fire?”

Ethan squeezed Liam’s hand. “No. I was here for personal support.”

Taylor nodded. “Good. I’m glad he didn’t have to do this on his own.” He looked at Austin and West again. “But I think all of us need to sit down with the rest of the team and talk to them, too.”

Liam’s body went tense next to Ethan. Ethan leaned sideways, pressing their shoulders together. He wanted to tell Liam to relax, but he was pretty sure that nothing he could say would help with that. Even though telling Taylor what he was had gone well, it might not go as well with the others. Ethan knew something about that. It was one of the reasons he was always wary of telling anyone what he was. He hated being afraid of their reaction, feeling on edge the entire time, and the possibility of losing someone he cared about. In Liam’s case, it was even more than that. He worked with these people, and if one of them decided they didn’t trust him and wanted him out, there was little anyone would be able to do. That person could make a fuss and hand Liam over to the authorities, and that would be the worst thing that could happen.

“Maybe we should wait,” Liam suggested.

Taylor shook his head. “Look, they’ve already come to me to tell me they thought something was going on with the three of you. Especially Austin and West, since they know them better, but you, too, Liam. We discussed what might be happening, and of course, none of us thought that you could turn into animals, but we were still supportive.” The corners of Taylor’s lips curled. “There will probably be some teasing, too, but you can survive that.”

“That’s it?” Ethan asked.

Taylor frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Well, we told you that we’re shifters, and you didn’t ask to see proof. You believed us just because we said it.”