It was still uncomfortable to shift; breaking of bones, reforming of cells. The change in perspective was interesting as the dragons didn’t see in the same color wave, or use the same brain patterns as humans. Allowing my beast his own head in this situation was either brave or stupid. We’d only been bonded for a short time, not enough to truly be in tune as Braxton was with his dragon, but I knew without any doubt we wouldn’t hurt our mate. The rest should work itself out.
Ruby fire slammed into my side. The spell cast by Deloria had built up into something that was quite powerful. Dragons were unlike any other beast on the worlds though; magic did not easily penetrate our hide. The spell shattered against me as Justice let loose a shout and her mother screamed. There was an unstable quality to the queen’s cry.
This woman had lost her child, her life, and her freedom for many years. I had sympathy for her, and would have worked with her to ensure that Justice was always part of this world—as long as that was what Justice wanted of course. But putting her daughter in danger with reckless use of magic was where I drew the line.
My beast destroyed half of their office as we stomped toward them. I wasn't surprised when Jepati jumped in front of his mate, protecting her as any male of worth would do.
"Don't hurt them!" Justice shouted from behind me. She was back in the room, right under my front legs in the perfect position to be squished if I stepped wrong. This was a huge room, but I almost completely filled it, making it dangerous for anyone nearby.
"She's sorry," Jepati shouted, holding both hands up in front of him. "This is very hard for her, and she didn't mean to attack you."
"Yes, I damn well did," Deloria snarked from behind him, sounding a little calmer than before.
"Jake," Justice pleaded from below me. "Please change back so we can talk about this. I appreciate the grand gesture, but I think Mom has stopped with her tantrum."
Deloria gasped, absolutely taken aback that anyone would think she was acting like a petulant child. Having become an uncle to three toddlers recently, I could attest to the accuracy of Justice's claim.
Let's shift back, buddy,I told my dragon, feeling his disappointment that we wouldn't be flying around.Soon,I promised.Very soon we'll go out for as long as you need.
My dragon in general was calmer than my brothers’, and I knew this from when I’d joined in the quad bond and felt their beasts interact with my own. Very rarely did I have to expel much energy to bring him into line, and I enjoyed this new symbiotic relationship we had going on.
The energy tingled across my scales, down my spiked back, and settled in my center. I drew the dragon inside, slowly at first, until eventually the change washed over me, and I returned to my fey size.
Naked as the day I was born.
The king and queen turned away, allowing me privacy, but Justice stared unabashedly, and I stalked across to her, reaching out to haul her up and into my arms. "Mine," I rumbled, still more dragon than fey in that moment.
Justice reached up and cupped my face, her soft thumb tracing a circle over my skin. "Yes."
One fucking word. A simple word. A word that meant everything to me.
Turning, I strode out of the room, needing to be alone with my mate.
"We'll see you for breakfast in the morning," King Jepati called after us; neither of us looked back or acknowledged that statement.
"So, your dragon is kind of terrifying," Justice said conversationally. "But I’m super not complaining if at the end of every shift I get a hot-as-fuck naked dude."
My lips twitched as amusement tried to push through the darkness still pulsing within me. "Your parents are getting on my last nerve," I muttered.
She nodded, her hair scraping underneath my jawline. "Yeah, they're an issue, but I think it’ll work out fine. If they can’t handle what you and I have, I'll just leave Faerie, live on Earth, and visit them occasionally as Grace does. Tyson is working on that time-space thingy that will stop there being so much time lapse when we're here, so it should all be … perfect."
"Perfect," I sighed, still not sure why I was protesting this so much. Justice being with me was my ultimate goal, but in doing so I didn’t want her to lose a fundamental part of herself. "We should go to breakfast tomorrow," I added. "I'd like to hear your parents’ thoughts after they've slept on it."
Justice groaned. "No, I'm done for a few weeks. I want to go back to Earth tonight."
As badly as I wanted to leave as well, get back to my family and make sure the entire setup with the president was going okay, it didn't sit right with me to just bail after that fight. "One more breakfast," I said. "Give them a chance to get it right. Parents are not perfect, and you guys have more to overcome in rebuilding your relationship than most families. Don’t throw it away so quickly."
A stubborn expression crossed her face, which did nothing to help the hard cock settled just below her ass. I liked that expression.
"I know they’ve disappointed you,” I said, trying to distract myself. “I know you feel betrayed by them, but you’ll regret not giving it another shot.”
She huffed and my dick jerked. Fuck. Me. She was legitimately going to be the death of me with her adorable attitude.
"Okay," she said with reluctance, "but just for that, you're not getting off tonight. You can just suffer with that huge ass dick all on your own. No love from me."
Ouch. It hurt. It really hurt to think I would not be relieved of this tension, but I'd wait for as long as she needed. In truth, it was probably best not to rush the sexual side of our relationship—Justice deserved to be treated right, and I was determined to be a better fucking man for her than I'd ever been for anyone else.
"You got it, Ruby," I whispered, unable to stop myself from tasting her lips again. "I'll keep him on my side of the bed and outside of you.”
