Page 61 of Balthazar's Fire
“No,” Sebastian interrupted hastily, staring pointedly at Cherie. “That hasn’t been discussed yet.”
“What hasn’t been discussed?” Rebecca glared in his direction. “I thought we were being open and transparent, sir?”
Balthazar flinched at the inflection in Rebecca’s use of the address, understanding his brother’s concern. Obviously, Sebastian hadn’t yet broached the subject of Oliver’s ability to shift with Rebecca. The fact that he hadn’t surprised Balthazar, but he was in no position to judge. The gods knew the last few days had been hectic for numerous reasons, and Sebastian had still come running to support him when Cherie had been snatched. Balthazar owed him.
“I think that might be a conversation for Sebastian and Rebecca to have in private,” he told Cherie gently, and in his mind, he conveyed the real message.
‘She doesn’t know.’
“Oh.” Cherie’s eyes widened as if she’d heard his words, and Balthazar acknowledged that their new-found telepathy meant that she might have done.
‘I-I didn’t realize, sir.’
Her reply echoed in his head as she acknowledged the can of worms she’d inadvertently opened between the couple opposite them. “I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” Rebecca folded her arms across her chest. “Will someone please tell me whatever it is I need to know?”
“Sebastian?” Balthazar didn’t feel right about blurting out the answer. It was Rebecca’s family in question, after all, and by the sounds of it, Sebastian hadn’t even mentioned it to Rebecca. “Do you want to do the honors?”
“Yeah.” Sebastian glared at Cherie, who fidgeted uncomfortably in her place under his scrutiny. “I guess so.”
“Sebastian?” Hurt glimmered in Rebecca’s gaze as she turned to him. “What is it?”
“Nothing between us,” he reassured. “And to be honest, I didn’t know how to raise the matter. I mean, maybe you already know, but I thought you would have mentioned it when you discovered my dragon…”
“What?” she pressed her palms to her temples. “You’re not making sense.”
“What my brother is trying to say,” Balthazar interjected as he glanced Sebastian’s way. He wasn’t usually one to get involved in other people’s relationships, but since Cherie had been the one to unintentionally raise the matter, he felt an onus to help. “Is that on the night I took Cherie to our mountain lodge and Oliver attacked me, he transformed from a man into a beast.”
“What?” Rebecca cried again, perching on the edge of her chair as she looked between them. “I-I don’t believe this!”
A strained silence landed between them as she grappled with the news.
“What sort of a beast?” Rebecca asked eventually. “A dragon like Sebastian?”
“No,” Sebastian soothed, moving to sit alongside her. “Nothing like me.”
“I saw it.” Cherie wrinkled her nose as she recalled how hideous the chimera had been. “He changed into it and that’s how he took me.” Her voice broke on the final two words and wordlessly, Balthazar pulled her into his embrace. It pained him to see the effect Oliver’s actions had on her, but understood it was better to talk the trauma through then ignore it.
“Oh, fuck.” Rebecca shook her head. “I’ve always thought my brother was a monster, but not like this…”
Sebastian held her tighter. “This must be an awful shock.”
“Yeah.” Rebecca pulled in a breath. “It is. What is he? If not a dragon, then what?”
“A chimera,” Balthazar confirmed.
“What’s a chimera?” Rebecca’s gaze widened.
“It has two heads and huge gnarly claws,” Cherie continued. “It’s hideous.”
“And Oliver is one?” Rebecca’s breathing was labored.
“You didn’t know?”
Balthazar asked as gently as he could. It was clear Rebecca was in shock, but he wanted to be sure. Evidently, she didn’t carry the same genes as her brother, which lent itself to the assumption that just like the Vaughn family, the shifter status only revealed itself in the male line.
“No!” she blurted, outraged at the question. “I mean, I knew he and Dad were fucked up and not like other people, but…” Her eyes closed as she tried to fathom the news. “Not like this! I never imagined anything like this.”