Lila’s emotional state shifted instantly, anxiety spiking through their mate bond as she reached for her discarded clothes. “Meet the Queen? Tonight?” Her voice pitched higher. “I’m not prepared for—what if she doesn’t?—”
“Hey.” He caught her hands as she fumbled with her bra. “Look at me.”
Those beautiful green eyes met his brown ones, wide with worry.
“My mother is going to love you,” he said firmly. “Just like I love you more every minute.” The admission slipped out, but he didn’t regret it when her face softened.
“You love me?” she whispered.
“How could I not? You’re brilliant, beautiful, compassionate, and brave enough to come to an alien planet to help a total stranger.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “My mother will see exactly what I see.”
She stood up and finished dressing, smoothing down her yellow sundress with nervous hands. “What if she thinks I’m not good enough to be—” She stopped abruptly.
“To be what?” he prompted.
“Your... whatever this is we’re doing.”
My mate. My queen.
“She’ll think you’re perfect. I promise.”
He stood up and stretched, his dragon eager to take flight.. “Ready for another ride?”
Despite her nerves, excitement flickered through their bond. “Always.”
The shift came easily, his bones elongating and reshaping as obsidian scales replaced skin. His massive dragon form cast a shadow across the cove as he lowered his head for Lila to climb aboard.
She settled onto his back with growing confidence, her small hands gripping his neck. “Let’s go meet your mother,” she said, though he could feel her heart racing.
Everything’s going to be just perfect.
He spread his dragon wings wide and launched them into the star-filled sky. The flight back to the castle under Nova Aurora’s twin moons was everything Draven had dreamed of—Lila’s arms wrapped securely around his dragon’s neck and her laughter carried on the wind as they soared through the night. His dragon roared with joy, wanting to stretch this moment into eternity, and to fly with his mate until the suns rose again.
I could do this forever. Just her and me above the world and all its complications.
But duty called, and more importantly, he wanted his mother to meet the woman who would hopefully become her daughter-in-law. The woman who had already saved him in ways that went far beyond healing his fire madness.
When they landed in the castle gardens, Lila climbed off his dragon’s back and he shifted back to human form. Draven pulled on his discarded black button-down and slacks from their earlier departure, the fabric feeling foreign after the freedom of flight. But Lila’s admiring gaze as he dressed made the restriction worthwhile.
“Ready to meet the Queen officially?” he asked, though anxiety gnawed at his confidence.
Lila situated her yellow sundress, her nervousness spiking again. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
As they walked through the castle toward the dining room, Draven’s mind raced. His mother would sense the half-completed mate bond immediately—dragon shifters couldn’t hide such things from each other. The claiming scent would be all over both of them, marking them as undeniably paired.
She’ll know we crossed every professional boundary that existed.
His dragon side growled with satisfaction at the thought. His mate should be acknowledged, protected, and claimed openly. Hiding their mate bond felt like betraying everything primal and right about what they’d found together.
But his rational mind whispered warnings. Lila still saw herself as his therapist first, his potential mate second. She’d crossed lines she’d never crossed before, and he could sense the guilt already eating at her.
What if Mother disapproves of the situation? What if she thinks Lila took advantage of my vulnerability?
The possibility made his jaw clench. He’d been trying to control every variable for eighteen years, orchestrating outcomes to protect the Dominion and himself. Lila had told him to stop trying to control everything, but old habits died hard.
I just need this to be perfect. I need Mother to love her as much as I do.
They reached the dining room doors, and Draven paused. “Whatever happens in there, know that you’re exactly where you belong.”
