And while Black Mountain might be neutral ground, that didn’t make going any less dangerous for Maze. Humans weren’t protected by the neutrality of Black Mountain. They could attack her without basis if they thought it’d bend my will to theirs. I’d need to be careful.
The meeting was tomorrow, so I’d teach my little beast how to defend herself against a dragon. It was the only way to calm my beast. He knew our female was strong, but she lacked the basic knowledge to keep herself safe if attacked. As ironic as it was that I’d teach the female sent to assassinate me how to do just that, my instincts were never wrong.
She was mine and she’d fight for me, not against me.
She wouldn’t need much instruction. Maze was taught to be swift and silent, clever and observant, though I doubt that was intentional for her leaders.
I’d seen the way her eyes calculated attack when she thought I might hurt Iris. My little Moon Beast had the eyes of a well-trained predator who knew how to be patient and work a situation to their advantage. It was that bloodthirsty stare of hers that put fire and lightning in my veins.
All she’d need to know how to do was cripple them before they shifted or used their abilities on her. There were two spots of vulnerability in this form, where our skin was weak, and she’d need to strike both. Thankfully, the Water Serpent type matched ours in that regard. I’d make sure Maze knew them. One hindered the shift and the other paralyzed them while they bled out. His warriors would expect it from me, but not from her, so she’d have the advantage.
Only certain metals pierced most dragon flesh, and very few had knowledge about these areas of vulnerability in our type of dragons, so we rarely guarded them. Not in our human forms, anyway. In dragon form, it was nearly impossible for a humanto kill us without substantial effort and the right weapons to do it, like the humans in the Borderlands had. Dragons were faster than humans in both forms, but they’d underestimate her.
If they came with any intention topersuademe, she’d be their target.
Artemis had never seen me with a female, let alone one that was human. It didn’t take a clever mind to deduce how unprecedented that was. If he had any sort of agenda, going after her would be his first move.
Dragons were powerful creatures, but Maze was lethal. They’d never see her coming. I might see the lurking violence in her eyes, but all the Water Serpents would see was a helpless human beauty claimed by a king. Because that was all he seemed to collect for himself.
I’d found the dagger she smuggled into the castle, and the fact that my warriors hadn’t found it meant she went to great physical lengths to conceal it. Had it not been for my pursuit of extra items for her, I would’ve missed it myself. My little Moon Beast was impressive, if not a little terrifying for where I suspected she’d kept it.
It was risky to bring her along. Artemis wasn’t someone I’d willingly put her in front of. Given the choice, I would’ve left her with Iris, but I couldn’t leave her again.
Iris was stronger than Void and Blade combined. Very few knew it, except the dragons who challenged her, but Void did. He’d need an army to win against her. Still, I couldn’t leave Maze, because the truth was, I needed her by my side. I needed to be the one to protect her.
My dragon wouldn’t accept anything less thanks to my bloody fucking rut. It couldn’t be ended any other way but with the goddess wearing my mating mark. My claiming mark. I’d be nothing short of feral until she did, and I couldn’t put my mark on her before I sussed out this bloody plot against me.
A safe stretch of our territory and wolf shifter territory ran along Black Mountain. That was where we’d stay for the night. The local shifter population wouldn’t disturb us. Our support of their lands and the treaties we’d forged over decades meant they’d keep their mouths shut about us being in the area.
But it wasn’t the treaties that had secured their unwavering loyalty. I’d built a good relationship with their alpha. The wolves in this area couldn’t be bought like humans; their loyalty was earned. As much as it pained me to admit, these wolves were honorable, and after proving myself, I didn’t worry about them like humans. Like dragons. Their territory was as safe as we’d get near the border.
I landed in an open stretch of vegetation. Maze’s hand gave my neck one last, fleeting stroke before she descended the wing I outstretched for her. She hadn’t been lying. Not once did I scent fear on her.
As I transformed after a little argument with my dragon and swiftly redressed, I took the duffle bag from her hand and tossed it over my shoulder. She looked up at me expectantly, silently, waiting. Always waiting with those perfect fucking eyes, a haunting blue nearly matching the moon that cast light on them.
Her dress hung around her lithe, muscular form like a creature of myth gracing the forest in the cover of darkness, where the veil between life and death was thin. Her braided white hair was wind swept and disorderly, but on her it was impossibly alluring. Even in the open forest her scent was intoxicating. A beacon. A distraction. A call to a deep, primal yearning in my soul.
Thank the gods I hadn’t sported a stiff cock in dragon form. Imagine some poor sod catching sight of that before tucking in for the night. It was much easier to hide in this form, and I was suddenly grateful for the duffle bag even if it was given to me by an absolute prick.
Bloody fucking rut.
“Where to, my Liege?” the little human taunted, all eyes and lips and curves.
Fuck me, how was I supposed to think around her when all the blood in my body was diverted to my cock?
It took nothing short of a lifetime of control not to lean down and steal that lush, half-open mouth. Even now, this fearless female—my female—wasn’t scared to be alone with me or to be cheeky and sassy dressed like a nymph of the forest. She no longer saw a reason to hold back or hide it.
Because she’s comfortable with me?
She hadn’t been afraid of my dragon or the sky. If anything, she was radiant in her awe and excitement. She’d enjoyed riding my dragon as much as I’d enjoyed it.
I eyed the stars and scented the area for enemies despite knowing I wouldn’t find any. Anything to keep from pinning the lethal beauty to a tree so I could drive my half-shifted cock deep inside her.
Bloody hell.
“This way,” I rumbled, knocking my head the direction we needed to go.
My dragon might’ve been assuaged by the flight and closeness of our mate, but it wouldn’t be long before I was fighting partial transformation again. My rutting period had never been this intense or prolonged. Worse, I was dealing with a Desert Roseland female. Consent would be dubious at best.
