Page 27 of Tempered By Flames

Taylor’s gaze was steady as he watched Ethan. “Are you lying? Did you lie to me?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I don’t see why I should’ve thought that you would. I know Austin and West, at the very least. They wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. If they say they can turn into giant dragons, then they can.”

Ethan grinned. “Well, my form isn’t quite as impressive as theirs, but I can turn into something big, too.”

Taylor chuckled. “I have to say that yours was the one I was most curious about.”

“Hey,” Austin argued.

Taylor shrugged. “Dragons are great, but everyone knows what they look like. A chimera, on the other hand? I don’t even know what kind of chimera Ethan is.”

Ethan looked down and licked his lips. He’d been talking more about what he was with Liam, Austin, and West, but it still felt odd to be open about it. He’d been careful most of his life. Now, he didn’t have to be anymore, not around his family. “Dragon, serpent, and lion,” he told Taylor.

“That sounds impressive.” Taylor looked at everyone again. “Why don’t we go inside? We can sit down and talk to Jeremy and Lisa, and you can answer questions for everyone at the same time.”

Austin, West, and Liam looked worried, while Ethan felt out of place. Now that he’d told Taylor about himself, he should probably go home. The rest of Liam’s team would have a lot of questions, but most of them would be directed at Liam, Austin, and West. They shouldn’t have to deal with Ethan, too.

But when Ethan tried to step away, Liam squeezed his hand harder. He didn’t seem to want to let go. Maybe he still needed the support Ethan had provided earlier, and that was perfectly fine. Ethan didn’t have to get back to work since he didn’t have customers this afternoon. He could be there with Liam and support him, even though it would be awkward.

* * * *

LIAM DIDN’T KNOW WHAT he would have done without Ethan. Well, he would’ve managed because he wouldn’t have had a choice, but it would have been much harder. As it was, he’d felt like it was him and Ethan against the world, or in this case, against Taylor. He’d known that whatever happened, Ethan would be there for him. He’d been afraid of losing Taylor and the team, but he’d known he wouldn’t be alone even if he did. He’d have his family, but not only them.

He wasn’t quite sure where things were going with Ethan. They’d agreed to get coffee together, but they hadn’t yet. It had been a little complicated to organize with Liam’s shifts, and then, after Taylor had seen Liam at the fire, Liam had been too freaked out to even think about getting coffee. Maybe now that this was over, they could finally go. Liam wanted to. He wanted to spend more time with Ethan and to get to know him. The little Ethan had told him had been fascinating, but also sad. Liam wanted to show Ethan that not everyone was an asshole when it came to him being a chimera shifter. He wanted Ethan to know that no matter what he could turn into, he’d always have someone on his side. Liam didn’t care what Ethan was, and Ethan didn’t care what Liam was.

Hopefully, the rest of the team would feel the same way.

“You have to get back to work?” Liam asked Ethan as the other three started moving toward the station. Liam was nervous about telling the rest of the team, but he would follow Taylor’s lead when it came to it. Taylor, Austin, and West knew the others much better than Liam, since he’d only started working there a few weeks ago. If they thought it was time to tell the others, they were probably right.

That didn’t mean it would be easy or that Liam wanted to do it on his own. If Ethan needed to go, though, Liam would let him. It wasn’t Ethan’s job to be here for Liam, especially not when they hadn’t even talked about what they were to each other.

“I can stay if you want me to,” Ethan told him. “I was just doing some design work, but it can wait.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I was able to focus on it, anyway.”

“I feel like I’m messing up your job.”

“You’re not. It’s one of the things I love about what I do. I can take a few hours off without anyone even noticing. I’ll catch up later tonight.”

“As long as you’re sure. I don’t want you to have to be here if you don’t feel up for it.”

“I’m sure. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

Liam needed him to know something, though. “I don’t expect you to tell the rest of the team that you’re a chimera shifter. I didn’t expect you to tell Taylor, either, but you should only do so if you’re comfortable. I know that you don’t trust people as easily as I do.”

“I don’t, but Austin and West do, and I trust them. If they think the team will take it well, I don’t have a problem telling them. I don’t really see them that often, anyway, so even if they react badly, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Maybe you should wait and see how they react to us being dragons. If they’re fine with it, you can tell them whatever you want.”

“Maybe I’ll do that,” Ethan confirmed.

It was a relief. Liam still wasn’t completely sure why Ethan had decided to do this, even though he was grateful. He could only hope it meant that Ethan wanted to be here for him, that their coffee would’ve been a date. That was one more thing they needed to talk about, but it would clearly have to wait.

Liam pulled Ethan into the station. It wasn’t quiet—it never was—and when they walked into the kitchen, it was to find that everyone was gathered there.

Liam looked at everyone’s faces. He was only close to a few of them, but then, he hadn’t been a part of the team long. The people he worked with most were Austin, West, Lisa, Jeremy, and of course, Taylor. Those, he trusted. Everyone else, he’d have to follow the lead of the rest of the team, because he couldn’t be sure. It would be ridiculous not to tell them that he was a dragon shifter when Austin and West were about to, though.

He squeezed Ethan’s hand harder. They hung back, letting Austin and West lead this time. Liam was happy with that. He was still trying to get over everything that had happened with Taylor.