Mate.
The word thundered through his consciousness as their eyes met, those deep green orbs widening slightly as he extended his hand toward her.
“Dr. Reyes.” His voice came out roughened. “Welcome to Nova Aurora.”
The moment their skin touched, lightning crackled up his arm and straight to his chest, where something fundamental shifted into place with an almost audible click.
The mate bond.
His dragon, which had been a restless, burning presence for eighteen years, suddenly went completely and utterly still. Not dormant—but calm in a way Draven had forgotten was possible. The constant buzz of anxiety that lived beneath his skin quieted to a whisper. The intrusive thoughts that plagued his waking hours simply... stopped.
Finally. Peace. When had I felt actual peace?
But alongside the relief came a surge of panic that threatened to undo all the good the mate bond had just accomplished. Of all the cosmic jokes the universe could play on him, making his therapist his fated mate topped the list.
How was he supposed to maintain any semblance of professional distance when every instinct screamed at him to claim her and mark her, to make her his in every way?
“Your Majesty,” she said, her voice a bit breathless. She extracted her hand from his, though not quickly enough, and he could sense she felt something too. “I’m honored to meet you. Gerri has told me quite a bit about your... situation.”
Situation. Right. The fire madness that’s been slowly destroying my sanity for nearly two decades.
“I’m sure she has.” Draven forced himself to step back, to give her space when every fiber of his being wanted to pull her closer. “Though I suspect you haven’t traveled quite this far for a consultation before.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, transforming her from beautiful to absolutely radiant. “I have to admit, Nova Aurora isn’t the place where my usual clients live. But I’m intrigued by the challenge.”
Challenge. She has no idea.
His dragon stirred again, not with the manic energy of the fire madness, but with something far more dangerous—possessive hunger. The beast wanted to wrap itself around this woman and never let her go, and to show her exactly what kind of challenge a dragon king could present for her in the best ways possible.
“If it’s agreeable to you,” Lila continued, pulling a small tablet from her purse, “I’d like to conduct a brief assessment now. Get a baseline understanding of your current mental state.”
Draven’s jaw clenched. An assessment meant questions and observation, a clinical evaluation of his weaknesses laid bare. Bad enough when he’d expected a stranger—catastrophic when that stranger was his fated mate.
“I’ll just step out and catch up with Queen Serenya,” Gerri announced with the casual air of someone who absolutely knewmore than she was letting on. “Give you two professionals some space to work.”
Jarek caught Draven’s eye, raising an eyebrow in silent question.You good, brother?
Draven managed a slight nod, though good was the last thing he felt. Jarek escorted Gerri from the office, leaving Draven alone with the most dangerous woman he’d ever met.
“Please, sit.” Lila gestured toward his desk chair, her movements efficient but graceful. “Try to relax and go about your normal routine. I’m just going to observe for now.”
Relax. Right.
Draven settled into his chair, hyperaware of her positioning herself across from him with her tablet ready. Her scent wrapped around him like silk, making it impossible to focus on anything else. She smelled like home—a concept that had eluded him since his father’s death.
“Do you have any paperwork you normally handle around this time?” Her voice was professionally neutral, but he caught the underlying warmth that suggested she actually cared about his comfort.
Draven reached for a patrol report from the northern territories, but the words might as well have been ancient runes for all the sense they made in this moment. How was he supposed to concentrate on border security when his fated mate was sitting three feet away, studying him with those intelligent green eyes?
Claim her,his dragon urged.Mark her. End this torment once and for all.
She’s here to help with the fire madness, not become my queen,he argued back, though his resolve wavered with every breath that carried her intoxicating scent.
She IS the help, you fool. She’s our fated mate. The completed mate bond will stabilize everything.
But even as his dragon made perfect sense, Draven’s human mind recoiled from the implications. He couldn’t saddle this accomplished woman with a broken king and couldn’t trap her in a mate bond she hadn’t chosen. And if she ran—when she ran—he’d lose both his therapist and his fated mate in one devastating blow.
His hands began to shake as the thoughts spiraled, the familiar tightness building in his chest. The patrol report blurred as his vision narrowed, his heart thundering like it was trying to escape.
