Tears started to fall down my cheeks.
“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, wiping them away with his thumb.
“I felt more welcome there than I ever did with my flight,” I admitted. “I felt like I belonged.”
“That’s because you do, mate. That’s because you do. My den isn’t perfect—none are—but at the core, they’re in a good place right now. A really good place, and there is room for you.”
I loved the sound of that.
13
ZACK
I nudged my sleeping mate, and when he didn’t wake, I peppered his face with kisses. He whimpered, and without opening his eyes, he pecked me on the lips.
“This is the best method of rousing me from a nap.”
“We have an invitation to join the den in a run.”
Ford closed one eye. “You know dragons are not fond of their feet pounding on the ground. It’s an inefficient method of traveling.” He grinned.
“Well, sorry that the rest of us don’t possess a set of wings.” I yanked the covers off him. “Come on, it’ll be fun. You can soar above us and make sure no bad guys are on the horizon.”
“Somehow I doubt a den of polar bears needs protecting.”
“Only from humans,” I muttered.
My mate agreed to come, and we arrived at the den as everyone was assembling in the meeting place. Weston was beside Asher and holding their toddler. Alpha beckoned me, and I took my mate’s hand as we strode through the crowd.
We had come here together as a couple once before. It had been a nice time, but I knew that Ford had been uncomfortable when we first arrived. I couldn’t blame him. It was a big deal meeting your mate’s den. By the end, he’d really liked them, and I was sad to feel his nerves once again.
“You all probably remember Ford from his last visit. This time we will be honored to meet his dragon. I’m sure he won’t mind questions from our cubs, but let’s not try to overwhelm him.” Asher was the best. “Being a dragon shifter, he will be flying overhead while we pound the earth. Have a good run, everyone.”
Alpha kissed Weston and their daughter, and we stripped off our clothes. I blew my dragon mate a kiss and told everyone to stand back. Scales unfurled over his human body until his arms and legs vanished. The crowd gasped as horns channeled upward from his head, and he flicked his tail.
Den members ducked as my mate leaped into the sky, and his wings flapping sent a wind whistling through the den.
“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Quick, let's shift so we can follow him.”
Unless my mate wanted to be tracked, polar bears didn’t have much hope, but there was a flurry of fur and the den set off. My bear was better than the rest of the den at keeping the dragon in his sight.
As my bear trudged along the trail, other bears passed him. But speed alone wouldn’t help them find the dragon. And I had an advantage because Ford would always scent and look for my beast while ignoring the others. Besides, I knew his flying style when I was in my fur.
He’d soar straight up and then zoom lower. Anyone watching would think he was going to crash, but he’d pull up just before he hit the ground. Ford’s beast was kinda reckless, and it was thrilling for him to be so close to disaster.
Once he finished his daredevil act, he’d glide over the treetops searching for me, and when he found my beast, he’d stay close. I didn’t have to look for him because he always found me. It warmed my heart that my mate’s beast was so in sync with my bear and me that he knew where we were.
My bear was trotting at a leisurely pace while the rest of the den were far ahead. The breeze carried their huffing and panting through the woods as the dragon hovered close by.
Look up, I told my bear.
My beast’s head fell back as the dragon swooped over us, and he was so close, his green eyes glittered in the afternoon sun.
When we returned to the meeting area, the other den members had shifted and were lying on the ground, complaining that trying to keep track of an airborne dragon was almost impossible. I smirked and didn’t say anything as I put on my clothes, and Ford made a perfect landing close to where the new building would be situated.
“That was more fun than I thought it would be.” Ford pulled a T-shirt over his head.
