Trust
DELILAH
Iwoke to a gentle nudge on my shoulder. “Wake up,” Titus said softly. I opened my eyes to see the glowing amber orbs I had become so fond of gazing back at me. I sat up, but a sharp flash of pain shot up my chest. The discomfort made me wince. That’s when I remembered the mate mark—but it was more like a mate burn. I touched the tender, blistered skin gently with my fingertips.
Christ, that hurt. I must have been so high on pleasure that I didn’t realize how painful it really was. I tucked my chin down to see what it looked like. It… it looked like… a blob… a circular, blistered, red, angry blob. All that pain for just a blob?
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he said pridefully. “Oh…yeah. What is it?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You won’t be able to tell until it’s healed, but it’s a circle with a single flame inside. The flame is self-explanatory, but the circle is the symbol for eternity. You are mine for eternity…Pickles,” he murmured against my skin.
“So, it will be like, a scar?” I asked.
“Like a brand,” he replied darkly. “Anyways,” he continued, “Aurelius will be here in a couple hours, so you should go sleep in your own tent. I think it would be best to keep the marking a secret until after we have the God Dragon, don’t you?”
Why did his words feel like a punch to the gut? Of course, the last thing I wanted was for Aurelius to find out about the marking, because then I might have to start being his mate for one day a month. So keeping the mark and the unveiling of our past lives a secret did seem like the right thing to do. Still, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Uh… yeah, of course. Goodnight.”
He rolled over, facing away from me, and presumably fell back asleep. I lifted the flap of canvas to exit, and a brisk chill pricked my skin. I wasn’t wearing much—just the thin lingerie mini dress. That’s when I noticed Titus’s shirt he had let me borrow earlier, still bunched up on the blanket by the fire. I pulled it over my head; the soft fabric that had been keeping warm by the fire was instant relief.
I scurried back to my tent. Barefoot, I tried to avoid stepping on sharp sticks or rocks in the dark. There was a cot in my tent too— smaller than his—but I was smaller, so it made sense. I curled beneath the fur blankets and forced my eyes shut, but sleep would not come. The loneliness only grew stronger after what we had just shared. I knew I would have to carry on as if nothing had changed to protect our secret, but I had hoped that, just for tonight, we could belong to each other without fear.
I awoke to the sound of male voices, realizing I must have managed to fall asleep again. Hearing the familiar noises of a dragon I was especially fond of; I hurried out of my tent to find her.
“Zephyros!” I shouted, immediately noticing Titus and Aurelius standing by the remnants of our fire, facing me.
Aurelius’s face went pale, but the shock lasted only a heartbeat before something darker, something furious, claimed his features atthe sight of me. It dawned on me that I was wearing Titus’s shirt. Thankfully, it concealed my mate mark, though it didn’t hide much else, and Aurelius clearly didn’t like it. Feeling extremely awkward, I walked out of sight to greet my favorite dragon. They could no longer see me, but I could see and hear everything.
Aurelius looked accusingly at the High Lord. Titus held his reaction and stood unbothered.
“She forgot pajamas,” he said to Aurelius coolly.
Aurelius stepped forward, but Titus didn’t move. “Then why are you covered in her scent, Titus?” Aurelius snarled.
Titus’s mouth twitched like he was enjoying the reaction, he tipped his head, slow, like a predator sizing up prey “That’s not all I’m covered in,” he replied pointedly with a smirk.
“You are disgusting,” Aurelius replied.
Titus stood with formidable posture—commanding but casual, hands in his pockets. He grinned arrogantly and nodded to his second. Titus raised his cadence to a more official tone for me to hear.
“Deliver all three crystals to their designated towns, and I’ll expect a report on the security efforts on my desk when I get back. You are dismissed, Dragon Master.”
Aurelius paused. After several moments of a stare-off between them, he finally gave Titus a short bow and walked away.
I turned my attention back to Zephyros, stroking her shiny scales while she purred. The crunching of grass sounded behind me as Aurelius approached. We stood side by side, petting Zephyros inconspicuously. Her warm scales vibrated under my palm, a steady purr that groundedme.
Aurelius’s fingers brushed the back of my hand once, soft, and careful, then stilled.
“Did he hurt you?” Aurelius asked in a quiet voice.
I kept my eyes on Zephyros’s neck, stroking the same spot as if it could smooth the awkwardness.
“What?” I asked suspiciously.
His jaw flexed. He didn’t look at me. He looked at Titus’s tent, then back to my hands like he could read the truth there.
“Did he force himself on you?” he asked with clenched teeth, both concerned and enraged.
