My dragon was restless, but not in the way he’d been for most of my life. This was a restlessness built of needing to finally claim his mate and pack.
In all other ways, the discord between us was settled, the distance that had kept us on opposite sides of our essence closed. We had a new connection that both thrived and brimmed with power. Before bonding with my twin, I hadn’t realized how weak I’d been, at odds with myself and fearful of the beast within. All along, that disconnect had been the missing part of my soul. Or parts, really with my twin, Talon, and my mate, Emme.
Emmeline Anders was the reason I breathed. The reason I killed. The reason I existed.
Now that I was secure in my beast, and had made the decision to bond our souls in the way designed by the goddess, she would be eternally mine.
My mate was about to find out the true depth of a dragon protecting and hoarding his treasure.
Emmeline would be owned, claimed, and fucked until she couldn’t breathe or stand, and while there was nothing gentle in my soul, for her, I’d temper the fire.
The worst symptoms of my touch aversion had faded with the healing of the rift, until it was almost nonexistent within my bonded group. But I would still need to be the one in control. Hunter had toldme that our mate was fairly submissive during sex, which wasn’t a surprise. Her strength came in other ways.
I had no idea how this would all play out today, but every part of me was ready to take this step—denying myself for so long had been both painful and exhausting.
Emme’s scent deepened when the large, ornate elevator opened to reveal the top-floor apartment. It was a private entrance for my penthouse, though we also owned the whole building. Which, outside of occasionally hosting friends and family on the lower levels, remained empty.
“Oh my,” Emme breathed, pausing to gawk at the interior. “This is impressive, and very much how I imagined billionaires would live.”
It was plain and cold compared to our home, but filled with luxuries. “This has never been more than an escape for me. A way for my dragon to sit up here, above the world, watching over our domain.”
Emme nodded as if she understood. My little Snow was always so understanding.
As she stepped closer, her scent engulfed me and my cock throbbed. I’d been hard for hours in anticipation of what today would bring, and while I might not have experience with my mate yet, instinct was already guiding me.
I brushed against her, needing to feel her soft skin.
Her breath hitched, and she tilted her head back to meet my stare. Emme could meet my gaze in a way that few managed, and when my beast flashed into my eyes, she did the opposite of most. She stepped closer.
I brushed my fingertips down her soft, perfect skin, tracing freckles until I dipped down to gently grasp the dragon necklace she wore. She hadn’t taken it off since her birthday, and fuck if the sight of it didn’t send another wave of possessive need through me.
“My pretty little brat,” I rasped, the beast joining in my tone.
Emme’s lips parted as she swallowed roughly, her throat moving under my touch. “What are you thinking about, Scary Shifter?” she asked, her eyes so blue and wide.
My prey caught in her trap.
“I’m going to claim you very soon, Snow,” I promised, tasting her on my tongue though I hadn’t kissed her yet. “And taste that perfect cunt.”
Her scent flared; her cheeks pinkened with both need and surprise. “Fucking hell, Slade. You need to warn a girl before you descend into dirty talk. I’m not sure I’m equipped to handle that without combusting.”
Releasing the dragon pendant, I slid my hand behind her head to grip the back of her neck. When I slowly dragged her forward, she tilted her face up, not even remotely fighting my hold. She handed over control without a peep from her plump lips.
Leaning down, I scented along her throat, picking up the sweeter, deeper notes of arousal and…more.“You’re fertile,” I noted, inhaling stronger, needing more. “You want dragon babies, little mate? You want us to breed you?”
Her entire body shuddered, and she was panting in her reply. “I took the birth control potion, since my period is due any day.”
My dragon roared loudly, and Emme jerked back as if she’d heard that internal sound. Talon stepped in on the other side, trapping her between us. “Our beasts don’t like the magic blocking your fertility from us,” he murmured, voicing my internal rage.
Emme couldn’t meet his gaze as I held her chin captive, keeping her focus on me. “You’re not ready for young yet,” I said in my deepest tone. “Which we understand. But I don’t like the taint of that spell in your arousal. We want you filled with our younglings. We want to breed you.”
Her breaths came out faster and faster. “Would…” She huffed. “Would I have eggs?”
Oddly, she didn’t sound disgusted by that possibility. “Your curiosity makes sense,” I noted, forcing myself to fall back into logic and reasoning. I was spiraling out of control, and she was far too breakable. “While theeggis more like an external amniotic sac, we honestly have no idea what would result in dragons born from a wolf shifter. There’s no precedence for it. It’s been a long time since there was any of our kind to know, and we were both born from two dragons.”
A bitter tinge edged out the sweetness of her scent. “You don’t even know if I can carry a dragon baby, do you?”
A truth I couldn’t deny, but it didn’t matter. “If dragons die out with us, then that was fate’s design,” I reminded her. “It will be a life well lived.”
