He leaves me wanting as I finally open my eyes to see his dragon is on the edge. "I need to plant my scale..." He forces the words out, and it seems like he's battling his dragon for control.
I know something else I'd like him to plant...I say to myself, and my wolf fully endorses the idea. Turning my hand palm up, I expose the scale to him, and he looks at it, shocked.
"Are you sure you want that one? It's damaged." His brows knit together as he glances from me to his scale in my hand.
"We're all a little damaged if we're being perfectly honest." Smiling, I look fondly down at the scale. "I'm a wolf raised as a witch, bound and hidden for over twenty-some years." I slowly look up and make eye contact with Diaval, Torben, and Easton, since Khal is still sleeping. "Torben was ready to go live as his bear. Easton buried himself in his burn unit. And you..." I turn my gaze back to Diaval. "You left your flight to escape a forced mating."
Moving my hair to the side, I motion to my upper chest. "Make my wolf and your dragon happy. Plant your scale." I take his hand and rest it over my heart, giving him a nod.
Diaval hesitates, staring down at where his hand rests. "I don't want to hurt you." His voice is barely above a whisper as he stares at my lightly tanned skin. I bring my claw up and press it into my skin. A rivulet of blood rolls down my chest, and his eyes flare to life. Quickly taking the scale from me, he shoves the meaty side into the hole I made.
"Easton, heal her..." Diaval's head whips up, and his eyes lock on the now-skittish doctor.
Easton places his hand over the scale, and warmth washes over the area. Soon the minor pain passes, and the warmth slowly recedes. He dips his head in my direction before backing away.
"Torben, you need to take the car and park it in the woods and not come out. Diaval's dragon is going to break loose soon now that the scale lives on his mate."
"What about Feray? You said it could kill her..." Torben's panic echoes through the bond, and I try to send soothing feelings down through our shared connection.
"It won't kill me. Besides, Easton said he'll stay with me. Even if it kills him." I look over at him sadly, knowing what he's about to sacrifice.
Easton grips my hand and gives it a squeeze. "On the bright side, you get to see a baby phoenix." He forces a smile and shrugs.
"Not exactly the way I wanted to see one." I feel a soft blush creep across my cheeks.
"I know." He smiles.
Turning back to Torben, I give him a hug and smile up at him. "I'll be okay. My wolf says we'll be fine." I try to imbue as much strength as possible into my voice.
"If you're sure." My big guy bends down and kisses me tenderly. I feel the slight tremble of his hand against my cheek. He's scared for us.
"I'm sure. Go hide the SUV out of sight. Stay there until I come and get you." I kiss him again and hug him tightly before playfully shoving him toward the vehicle. "Go. I'll be alright." Torben nods and lowers his head before getting in the SUV and driving out of sight.
"Feray." Diaval calls my name, and I turn to face him. "It may be easier for your wolf if you keep your eyes closed while I shift."
"I'll hold her with my back to you." Easton offers, and I nod.
There's a curiosity and a terror creeping up my spine, thinking about how huge his dragon is. Black dragons are known as skull dragons and are nightmares in scales. Stepping into Easton's embrace, I press the bridge of my nose against his throat so that his neck hides my eyes. There's a distinct popping and a shift in the pressure in the air. The beast has emerged. I feel it in my very soul that he's looking at us. The scale on my chest feels like a gentle tugging sensation.
"Keep your eyes closed. I'm going to step away, Easton." I feel him nod, and I do as I said. I step away, keeping one hand on him. Lowering my head, I open my eyes and stare at the ground.
Inch by inch, I slowly look in the direction of the tugging. Black talons are sunk into the earth, easily half the size of my wolf. The front hand could engulf my wolf and carry her off—probably even Torben's bear. My eyes slowly inch up his battle-hardenedscales, following the lines of his front legs up to the massive black armored chest of his dragon. My breath catches in my throat as I stare at how wide his dragon's chest is. It's easily as wide as the house I live in.
Bloody hell, his dragon is the biggest thing I've ever seen.
The moment of truth is when I look up to face the dragon in question. The raised bony prominences of his skull are white like bone, denoting his wyrm status. His maw is whitened from age and battle. Several large, jagged scars cover his maw up to his bony eye ridge. His horns are huge and curled similar to a ram's.
"I'm okay, Easton. I'm looking at him, and I'm safe."
"I'm going to shift and fly off so you two can get to know each other." With that, he shifts immediately and takes off toward where Torben parked the SUV.
Diaval lies down in the field and rests his head on the ground. Slow, steady steps carry me across the grassy meadow. My heart beats erratically in my chest as I approach him. All of his scars seem to stand out more than they did when I first looked.
"Who hurt you?" I rest my palms on his face. His giant yellow-green eye closes slowly, and I hear him exhale the breath he was probably holding. "I'm tougher than I look, Diaval." His eye pops open, and he wiggles his eye ridge.
"Don't give me that look. Yes, the thought of meeting this side of you terrified me. Mainly because everyone kept telling me I could die." Shifting my hands, I use my claws to preen his scales closest to me. In several crevices on his face, there's a buildup of old scales that didn't shed off. His dragon makes a deep rumble that sounds almost like a purr as I clean away the old scales.
"I bet this feels good, huh? The old scales have to be itchy." His eye closes again, and the next thing I know, I have the man standing before me. Double-blinking, I retract my claws before I accidentally hurt him.
