Page 37 of Cole's Command

Chapter Thirteen

Cole

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“FROM DRAGONS?” HER expression mirrored her skeptical tone. “Have you been reading too many books, Cole?”

“Actually, no.” He was hardly an avid reader. “I’m being serious.”

It was the first time he’d ever told another living soul about his shifter status, and aside from her obvious bemusement, no part of him regretted the choice. He trusted Eden, had done since he’d walked through her door, and he knew once she understood, she’d keep his secret.

She’ll have no choice. Balthazar’s voice admonished Cole in his mind. You’ve dragged her into this whether she can be trusted or not.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Reaching for the edge of her desk, she tugged her palm free from his grasp and clambered to her feet. “Dragons are mythological creatures. They’re not real, but even if they were, hybrid genes of the kind you infer don’t really exist.”

I knew he was troubled, but I never guessed he was this unstable.

“How do you know?” He was surprised at the way she categorically shut down the concept. Of course, he accepted that most people knew nothing of the existence of shifters, but he expected an emotionally intelligent woman such as Eden to be more open-minded. “How do you know they don’t exist?”

Staring down at him, the look on her face reinforced what her thoughts conveyed—he must be clinically insane.

“Because there’s no record of them,” she started, brow furrowing as if she couldn’t believe she was even entertaining the query. “Because we can see dragons just don’t exist. Science tells us so!”

“But didn’t so-called science once say the world was flat?” He turned to regard her, folding his arms across his chest as he continued. “And wasn’t it only a few hundred years ago that science started to widely accept it was gravity that kept us in place on the planet?”

“Y-yes.” Her tone was wary, suggesting she suspected where his line of inquiry led.

“So, can we accept that science is only as good as our collective knowledge allows it to be?” He didn’t mean to sound so smug, but was unexpectedly enjoying explaining the process to her. Eden was incredible at her job, but it seemed in excelling in her studies, she’d lost sight of their limitations.

“You’re saying dragons are real?” Disbelief echoed in her voice.

“I’m saying the collective doesn’t know about them.” And gods, based on her reticence to entertain the idea, Eden was going to be overcome when she met his winged, azure friend.

“You really believe this, don’t you?” Clutching the edge of the desk, she gazed at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t believe it, no.” Climbing to his feet, he perched on the edge of her desk beside her. “I know it’s true.”

“Cole.” She reached for his forearm. “I had no idea your problems ran this deep, but don’t worry. I’m going to make sure you get the help that you need.” I just hope you don’t tell anyone about our kiss in the interim.

“That again.” Shaking his head, he almost wanted to laugh. Cole had just confessed the most profoundly personal secret and the woman he was obsessed with was still pondering her professional integrity. “You don’t need to worry. I won’t tell anyone about the kiss.”