He answered with a sharp thrust upward, hitting a spot that made her cry out. “That’s it, Lila.”
Her body tightened around him. “I’m close?—”
His hands gripped her hips tighter, guiding her faster and harder. Then his expression shifted, his eyes darkening with something primal. “Are you ready?”
She knew what he meant. The mate mark. The final step. Her heart hammered, nerves and anticipation tangling. She nodded.
His face blurred—just for a second—scales flickering across his skin as his dragon surged forward. Then came the heat, the sharp sting of fire against her chest. The pain was fleeting, eclipsed instantly by the wave of pleasure crashing through her.
She came with a cry, her body arching as the orgasm tore through her, sharper and brighter than anything she’d ever felt. Draven followed, his release surging into her as his face returned to normal, his groan raw and unfiltered.
For a moment, she could only collapse against him, her body still trembling with aftershocks. Then she looked down.
Just above her heart, a mark glowed faintly before settling into her skin—a dragon’s claw cradling a moon, intricate and beautiful. His royal sigil. His claim.
Tears pricked her eyes. She touched it reverently, then looked at him.
His gaze was soft, his thumb brushing away the tear that escaped. “Bound forever,” he murmured.
She kissed him then, pouring everything she couldn’t say into it, their bodies still intimately connected.
Suddenly, a strange heat began building in her chest—different from the warmth of their completed mate bond. She broke the kiss abruptly, her breathing shallow.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” The words tumbled out as she pressed a hand to her sternum, where the dragon mark still glowed faintly. Fire seemed to course through her veins, and her thoughts scattered like leaves in a tornado.
Through their completed bond, she felt Draven’s immediate concern spike. His golden eyes searched her face as his hands steadied her. “Lila, don’t panic, but I think something’s happening to you.”
The heat intensified, spreading outward from her core. She scrambled off him, standing on her unsteady broken ankle. “What’s going on? I feel like I’m burning from the inside out.”
Draven rose gracefully, his alpha instincts taking over as he assessed her with clinical precision. “I don’t know how it’s possible, but I think your dragon is trying to emerge.”
“What dragon?” Panic edged her voice. “I’m human, Draven. Not a dragon shifter.”
“You must have dormant dragon DNA.” His voice carried that commanding tone she’d grown to recognize—the king taking charge of a crisis. “Our completed mate bond activated it.”
“I didn’t sign up for this.” The words came out sharper than she intended as she stumbled toward the mirror. Her reflection showed shimmer-waves distorting the air around her skin, like heat rising from summer pavement.
Behind her, Draven moved with predatory grace, positioning himself to catch her if she fell. “Let’s go outside where I can guide your first shift. It’ll be less painful if you don’t fight it.”
The logical part of her mind rebelled.
How am I a dragon shifter? My family tree doesn’t include mythical creatures.
But the fire in her bones told a different story—ancient, primal, and undeniable.
“It’s possible you had an ancestor centuries ago who was a shifter,” Draven explained, his hand finding the small of her back. “Dragon bloodlines can lie dormant for generations.”
They stumbled outside together, and the cool mountain air did nothing to ease the inferno building beneath her skin. Her bones began to ache with an intensity that made her hangover from a week ago seem pleasant.
“This is amazing, Lila.” Draven’s excitement vibrated through their bond. “Now it all makes sense why we’re fated mates.”
Before she could respond, the transformation seized control. Her spine arched as her bones cracked and reshaped with audible pops. Her muscles expanded in impossible ways, stretching her skin until she was certain she’d tear apart. Then came the scales—deep crimson that caught the afternoon light like polished garnets—spreading across her arms and torso.
“Breathe through it,” Draven commanded, his voice cutting through her panic. “Don’t fight the change.”
The world tilted and expanded as her perspective shifted dramatically upward. Where moments before she’d been human-sized, now she looked down at Draven from a height that should have been terrifying. Instead, power thrummed through her new form—wild, untamed, and magnificent.
“You’re the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen.” Awe colored Draven’s voice as he shifted into his massive obsidian dragon form beside her.
