As we moved through the crowd, most shifters gave Talon a wide berth. More than a couple did a double take as they tried to figure out who the Slade doppelganger was. It was a big city, and the information clearly wasn’t everywhere yet.
After what had happened in the street, most of the council and enforcers knew. Hunter had told them all to go fuck themselves, along with a warning that if any of them tried to come after Talon, our pack would tear them into little pieces.
The threat had held up so far.
Trust was thin these days, and I was happy with our decision to stick with our pack and a few loyal friends and family. Which didn’t quite include Constantine, at least not for me yet.
Ignoring his existence would end soon though, as I needed his help to learn how to control the tendrils of magic floating freely around my essence. Eventually, it would force its way out of me, and I’d be foolish not to prepare.
When we moved beyond the crowds, Talon led me to a patch of cleared land on the side of the arena. The ground was icy, only a few threadbare trees around us. Talon’s smile flashed in the shadows as he pulled off his leather jacket, followed by his shirt, revealing firm skin over taut muscles.
Despite the near freezing temperatures, I burned up at the sight of him shedding clothing. His gaze remained on me as his scent filled the air, all sweet and smoky. When he ditched his boots and pants, completely commando beneath the denim, the bond between us thrummed strongly. As the connection blazed, my thighs trembled and barely kept me standing.
I was unable to tear my gaze away.
Mine. My mate. One I’d claimed in all ways today and wanted to do so again very soon.
“You’re magnificent,” I whispered, the words slipping out.
His huge chest lifted as a feral growl escaped him. “Youare magnificent, mate, and my most precious gift.” His voice was a tantalizing murmur in the still air, and my feet moved to bring meright against him, huffing in his scent like I needed it to live. And maybe I did.
His clothes fell from his grasp as he wrapped me in his arms, and we stood under the moonlight for many beats of my racing heart. I sensed that Talon would never be the first to let go, so I eased back, and he used that space to reach down and grab his jacket. He pulled the thick, heavy leather material over my shoulders and zipped it up to hide my jersey. “It will be cold up there. Let me know if it gets to be too much and I can fly lower.”
Before I could respond, he took more than a dozen steps back. The scent of ozone filled the air as he called on the shift. I didn’t look away as his beast emerged from the man, leaving a huge, darkly captivating dragon perched before me.
The once midnight of his scales were greener now, but you couldn’t really tell in the shadowy night. As he stepped forward, I fumbled for the rest of his clothes, but he growled, and a familiar voice filled my mind. It was a mix of Talon and beast.Leave them. Climb on me, little mate.
The dragon was intense, as was to be expected, and my wolf wasn’t the only one who shivered and fought the desire to roll over and expose her belly. In our essence, the dragon stroked his snout along my beast, and out here, in the freezing night, the real creature did the same to me.
When he reached the front of my jeans there was a huff as he growled,You’re fertile.
Flames burst to life in my center, and that ache in my back eased up under the touch of dragon heat. “Yes, thank you for pointing it out. But as you know, I’m taking the brew to prevent pregnancy.”
The dragon huffed again, filling the clearing with smoky maple. He didn’t sound impressed by my responsible actions, and I found myself chuckling. “Don’t tell me you have a breeding kink like Kellan? That boy reads too many books.”
Another rumble, and his voice returned to my mind.We would be honored if you carried our youngling. But not while this world is in peril. We will destroy the witch first, and then we will breed you.
Well, fuck. His statement had those licks of fire turning into an inferno, and even though I wasn’t sure I wanted babies yet, the way he’d said that was really freaking hot.
As I melted into a puddle at his massive, clawed feet, he used hishead to guide me around his left side toward his front leg. Even bent as it was, there was no way I could climb his limb, not even when he lowered himself to the ground. I’d been able to race up his giant tail when he was Slalon, but this was a whole different task.
Stretching my leg as high as I could, I still needed a boost from his head to be able to make the height. My breath came out in rapid gasps as I scrambled to keep my balance on what I assumed was his knee, only to have a random gust of cold air almost send me tumbling back off.
Talon caught me again on his snout, and then remained behind me until I reached his broad back. The scales weren’t as slippery as I expected. His natural heat seeped into me, and with his guidance I found a spot where I could comfortably sit near the base of his neck, spreading my legs wide enough to slot in on either side of him. There were spikes down the crest and at the base of his neck, which I used as handholds, careful not to cut myself on their lethally sharp ends.
“Let me know if I hurt you,” I said as I tried not to squeeze too tightly.
I got a scoff in response.Silly mate. You could never hurt me, and even if you did, I would accept the pain as mine. Just as you are mine.
Okay, the dragon was as destructive as the man.
A beat later, his wings spread out on either side of him and I had to adjust my seat again. Swirls of excitement and anticipation raced through me, knowing this was the fulfilment of a promise he made long ago. I would teach him to drive, not that he’d really needed much help, and he would take me flying.
Ever since I’d found out one of my mates was a dragon, I’d been curious about how it felt to fly. It was so foreign to my landbound beast, and from the outside appeared more magical than even magic itself. Pure freedom.
With the first powerful thrusts of his wings, Talon lifted us from the ground, and if I hadn’t had my handholds, I’d probably have slid right off his back. After tightening the grip of my thighs, I found stability as he got us airborne. In less than a minute we were soaring above the trees and stadium, the dark wintery sky spanning out around us.
A ripple of his energy tingled along my thighs and into my butt, straight from the beast himself. I wondered if he’d just used his magical abilities to keep us concealed. The higher we climbed, thecolder it grew, but between Talon’s jacket and the dragon’s natural heat, I remained toasty warm.
