Dragon Scorned

26. Knox

Iwatched River as she stepped into my office. Watched as she inhaled, scenting me. My dragon banged against his cage to get to her. I didn’t know what I was thinking, being alone with her right now was not smart. I could smell the arousal coming off of her all class. Now, the intoxicating scent of her was stuck in my office with me.

I really fucked up this time. Adjusting my hardening cock I walked over and took a seat at my desk. I placed my bag on the ground and folded my hands on top of my desk. I closed my eyes and began mentally counting to ten, trying like hell to contain my beast and deflate my stiffening dick.

“Are you okay, sir?”

I only got three before her heavenly voice interrupted me. It was pure perfection, like a smooth glass of whiskey. I wanted to drink her down, have the flavor of her coat my taste buds. I bet she tasted like pure perfection, and my mouth watered at the thought.

I popped my eyes open to meet her ice blue gaze. My favorite color had always been green, until I met her eyes for the first time. The color soon consumed me, I painted my bedroom walls the same vibrant shade of blue. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was pure torture, starring at the blue walls day after day. Constantly being reminded of the girl I could never have.

“I’m fine, Miss Moonstone. Where would you like to start?” I preferred to call her by her last name. It made me feel like I was distancing myself from her.

“Can we discuss mates?” She asked timidly, fidgeting her fingers in her lap.

I sucked in a sharp breath, her question catching me off guard. “Umm, yeah. Yes, what would you like to know about them?”

I stumbled over my words, internally cringing at myself. Get it the fuck together, you can handle one fucking girl. She crossed one of her long legs over the other, leaning back slightly, seeming to get comfortable in my office.

“From the beginning. I have three mates so far and I don’t know the first thing about what it means,” she said in a hushed tone.

So far? Does she know she has more? Fuck, does she know about me? She can’t, there”s no way she figured out I’m her mate. I’ve been careful not to touch her. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and prepared myself to tell her all about the mate bond and what came from it.

“How far are you bonded with your three mates?”

“Well, Kai was the first one I bonded with, he can throw himself into my mind. It”s strange, like he sucks me into my head and puts me in this little bubble where we are in our own little world.” She said, pinching her brows down in confusion. I waited as she continued.

“Then Tate was next. We just connected, and he”s now able to talk in my head.” Her cheeks reddened as she admitted that. Knowing she just told me she and Tate had sex.

Jealousy festered inside me, and for the first time, I didn’t know if it was because she touched Tate…or because he touched her.

“Jax is the only one I just initiated the bond with.”

“Okay, this is a good start. So, as you already know, physical touch is what initiates the mate bond, and sex solidifies it. The more physical contact you have with your mate, the faster the bond will finalize.” She nodded her head in understanding, so I continued. “Once you solidify the bond there are different stages before it finalizes. You immediately get telepathic communication, then manifestation comes after. Both of which you’ve experienced, correct?”

She hesitantly nodded her head, so I elaborated more on manifestation.

“Manifestation is where your mate can enter your mind in solid form. It sounded like what you described with Nikolai was exactly that, I was just telling you the term we use for it.”

“Ooh, yeah, that”s exactly what it was.” She said with more confidence, uncrossing her legs and shifting on the couch. She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on top of her folded hands. She was taking in every word I said to her and was eager for more.

The shift in her body sent the smell of her arousal through the air. Fuck me, my dick turned to granite behind my pants. I wanted to slam into her and cover my cock in her juices. I felt my dragon rattle his cage again, and she sucked in a sharp gasp of air at my shifting eyes.

I quickly shut them, regaining control of my beast. I don’t know how much more I can take. Being this close to her and not touching her was the worst kind of torture. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth together, and continued the lecture.

“After manifestation you get empathy. This is one of the most difficult mate experiences to overcome. If you”re not prepared for, and both you and your mate don’t have your shields intact the empathy can consume you. Your mate”s emotions will mix together with your own. It can become so strong you won”t be able to separate your emotions from theirs.” I looked into her eyes as I told her the last part, watching intently as they widened in fear.

She sucked in a small gasp, running her tongue over her plump lips. I watched the action, slightly parting my lips, wishing I could press them against hers. I pushed that thought out of my mind. She didn’t need another mate to complicate her life.

“The last stage is GPS location. No matter how far away your mate is, you’ll be able to pinpoint their location. You can sense where they are and find them anywhere in the universe. The stars themselves wouldn’t be able to keep you away.”

“Holy shit,” she said on a breathy exhale.

I stayed silent, letting her process everything I just told her. I know it was a lot to take in and she was all so new to the whole shifter world. She’s been a dragon her whole life, but she’s never really interacted with other supernaturals until she came to Willow Hollow. It may have been a breach of privacy, but I looked into her file to find all this out. Then, with everything Tate has told me about her, it makes sense this would be a bit terrifying to her.

“I know it”s a lot to process, but after that last stage your mate bond will finalize. It will stabilize and be a lot easier to control. At first it can be a bit overwhelming, but it does get better. The only other thing that comes from a mate bond is the horde link.”

She interrupted me before I could finish. “What”s the horde link?”

I smirked at her impatience. She was desperate for more information. Hanging onto every word I was telling her, afraid she would miss something.

“The horde link happens when you finalize the bond with all of your fated chosen mates. It will mentally link all of you together. So, everything you have with each individual mate, they will have with each other, as well as you.” Her eyes widened in shock. She was surprised by a lot of what I was telling her, which just showed me how little she really knew about her own kind.

“I think that”s enough for today.” I told her. I didn’t want to overload her with the information. I needed to ease her into this before her brain turned to mush.

“You”re probably right. Thank you, sir.”

My dragon hummed at her calling me sir, causing my eyes to flash silver. The first couple times I thought her calling me sir was a fluke, but with the way she”s looking at me now. The hunger shining in her eyes, I believe she”s fully aware of what she”s doing to me when those words roll off her tongue.

“Miss Moonstone,” I groaned, watching as her eyes flashed violet. I wondered if she figured out I was one of her mates yet? The more she learned, the closer she would get to figuring it out. I just hope she didn’t until she was ready. She’s been through so much already, I didn’t want to throw myself into her life and complicate it more. Maybe one day I would be brave enough to tell her, but today was not that day.

A smile stretched across her face as she grabbed her bag and headed toward the door. She reached for the handle, pausing a moment before turning the knob and opening the door. She turned back to look at me before walking out the door.

“Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to teach me. It means a lot, and I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“No repayment necessary, Miss Moonstone. I just want to give you all the knowledge I know to help you navigate this whole new world you”re in.”

She smiled brightly at me before exiting my office, softly clicking the door closed behind her. I filled my lungs, taking in my first full breath since River walked into my office. I wonder how long I’ll truly be able to stay away from her.