Unexpected Mate (Dragon Goddess #2)

Chapter Seventeen

I had a mate.

My mate was a dragoness, which was shocking as females were rare among our kind. But the fact that she was also a royal made this completely impossible. The royals had been slaughtered. That had been a dark day for all dragons, and it was on that day that I had decided I no longer wished to be part of this world full of monsters who walked on two legs.

I was the last of the fire-kissed dragons. While every dragon could breathe fire, only the fire-kissed could command the fire in the sky and on the earth around us. My grief had sent me to the place I knew I would never be found: the heart of a simmering volcano. I sank my body into the molten lava and allowed it to wrap around my body. Outwardly, a dragon never aged beyond the appearance of a human in their second decade, but even among dragons, I was considered ancient. My age gave me strength and a control over my magic that few others possessed. I had begged my dragon nature to just let me sleep; I’d wished to never wake up. My powers had hummed across my scales before settling inside me, and I had fallen into a long deep sleep, my mind blessedly blank.

Until I heard the mourning death-cry of my mate.

This sound was one that a dragon always feared, and one that a mate could hear no matter how far apart they may be from their soulmate. It was like a flashing beacon. I soared into the air, lava exploding up out of the volcano behind me. I flapped my wings, adjusting to the sensation of flying again after so long.

A large metal bird nearly slammed into my side, forcing me to move out of its path. I didn’t have time to ponder this new species, or to hunt it - I had always enjoyed tasting a variety of foods that my fellow dragons refused to touch. My mate needed me. I bellowed my rage and began teleporting to her location as quickly as possible, the distance so great I had to pop in and out several times before reaching her.

As I burst through the clouds, I spotted her crumpled form in the dirt. A gravely injured werewolf curled against her side. I searched for enemies, but only found grieving faces. A second wolf lay on the ground. He too was injured, but not as badly as the first. A blood driven was bent over the fallen form of another blood driven. I inhaled deeply. The motionless man was a child compared to my age, but for the rest of the supernaturals he was considered old and powerful. Interesting .

A flash of purple caught my attention and I watched a newborn warlock frantically trying to shake off his powers. Yet another rarity among supernaturals. Here I was seeing a warlock being “born”. His power was unfurling, exploring its vessel and making adjustments as needed. What type of world had I awakened to? A warlock was coming into his powers, clearly having no idea what was happening and trying to rid himself of it. Warlocks were secretive about this experience, and few outsiders had ever been allowed to observe. I had been close friends with a great warlock many centuries past, and our friendship had granted me access to observe this twice. Someone was going to need to guide this young man.

I inhaled deeply, once more searching for the scent of enemies, but the scent was that of smoke and ash. The ashes of wizards.

I bellowed and dove for the ground. Now that I had accessed the situation and made sure there were no active threats, I could focus on my mate.

I covered her with my body, carefully touching my nose to her chest. My beautiful mate, so perfectly still. I merged my mind with hers and searched for the fatal injury. My heart ceased to beat when I found it.

This little female carried the dragon heart: a crystal heart that was now shattered in her chest. What had the fates been doing? Being a dragon was a challenge; the beast was exceedingly intelligent, but it’s were instincts still that of an animal. However, by comparison, our natures were that of a house cat, while a royal dragon was like a tiger. It took much longer for them to gain control, and at times, some young royals had even allowed themselves to be caged until they gained control. Their instincts were too strong.

My mate was a royal dragoness carrying the weight of the dragon heart—more power than a dragon shifter had been asked to carry since the beginning of our species. Pride swelled in my chest; my mate was stronger than the world knew to be controlling such power. She should have been in an exhausted heap from the constant strain. Yet the sweet scent of dragon fire lingered in the ash around me, a sign she had been in the midst of this battle. I would have given a wing to have witnessed that glorious sight.

I knew what had to be done. I released my hold on the dragon’s form, allowing the smoke and shadows to twist and manipulate until I was in my human body. I wasted no time gathering her into my arms, my actions feeling stiff and awkward as I tried to adjust to the form I barely remembered.

I chanted the song of dragon mates, the one that called the soul to stay for the love of their mate. The fire in my chest smoldered, while embers crackled up my throat as I chanted. There was no guarantee that what I planned to attempt would work, but there was no other alternative. My shadows swept through her, gathering the tiny crystal pieces and fitting them back in place.

The warmth in my hands began to heat her chest as I worked with my energy to hold the crystal pieces. Then, I pressed my lips to hers. I wanted to savor the first taste of her lips, but I had to remain focused as I finished my task. I poured my fire into her, the heat intense as I worked with my element to meld together what had been destroyed. When the pieces were once again whole, albeit with delicate lines running between them, I sat back. I was exhausted.

The silence around me was deafening, which made her first inhale that much more shocking. Her chest jerked as she sucked in another breath and moaned. I heard the dead vampire as he awoke behind me, the bits of this puzzle starting to take shape. I inhaled again, tasting the air with my magic. Other than the younger blood driven male, these men were her circle; they had been claimed. The dragoness had made unusual choices. I became more intrigued each moment I spent around her.

Her soft trembling hand brushed against my cheek, stirring the beast who shoved forward in my mind to study her, rubbing against her hand. The delicious scent of our mate called to us both. I had never had a fated mate, and I had chosen not to claim someone who wasn’t my soulmate. The need that flooded my body stole my breath, my control slipping for the first time in centuries. Before I could regain it, the female had my lips against hers. My concentration was lost, and the beast took advantage and lunged through the opening. I was an ancient; losing control of my dragon was unheard of, but my exhaustion combined with the call toward my mate was proving more than I could handle.

I could not remember when I had last kissed a woman. One thousand years ago, maybe two? Time blurred when you had lived as long as I had walked the earth. But without a doubt, I had never experienced a kiss like this one. I could live for ten thousand more years and I would never forget the sensations that rocked my body as her mouth moved against mine.

I was still dividing my attention between soaking in my mate’s love and my internal struggle with my dragon. That battle was lost the instant I felt the heat from her chest, the blue of her fire calling the crimson fire in me. Sharing fire was the prelude to bonding in our species.

When I had poured my fire into her to mend her heart, it had started a countdown inside my head. I had known that attempting to resist that feral instinct was going to be more challenging than anything I had dealt with in my lifetime. I hadn’t counted on how fatigued I was going to be, or that my breathtaking mate was going to cause me such distraction. I felt like a dragon lad who hadn’t yet learned to control his instincts or urges… something I hadn’t been in a very long time.

She tilted her head to the side, giving me access to her throat. The gesture was that of trust and submission. Blood began pumping harder in my body, the sound pounding in my ears and rushing to forgotten parts of my human anatomy.

“Hello, my drakon mate.” She purred into my neck, the vibration pouring fuel onto my already raging fire.

“Mine.” The word rumbled from my chest. I yanked her tighter against me and captured her lips again. Our kiss became heavy with desire, our ragged breathing loud in the clearing around us.

She worries.

My dragon spoke, his words stilted as he tried out human language. My brain was slow as it tried to think through the haze of lust. He never spoke. We communicated through the magic and emotion, not words.

The injured men distract her. She wants them whole. Fix them.

Her mates. Our circle. Yes, I couldn’t let them die or remain in pain. And I really wanted my mate’s attention.

Agreed. The beast purred.

Not letting the dragoness move off my lap, I reached my hand out and rested it on the most injured mate. He injuries were too severe for his wolf to heal, and even with my magic I wasn’t sure his throat would ever be the same. I poured magic into him. My mate stirred on my lap and I groaned at the overwhelming pleasure. The second wolf had moved closer to watch me warily while I healed the first. When I’d done all I could do, I rested my hand on the second wolf and healed his wounds as well.

Each healing added to my fatigue, continuing to weaken my control. The strange warlock locked eyes with me; his were filled with curiosity and anxiety. Why was he anxious?

The child loves dragons. He wants to see how we breed. My beast chuffed in what I took as laughter. He grows concerned we might eat him.

I was both confused and amused by the warlock. It would be enjoyable to speak with him. But not now. Right now, I needed to hurry. I couldn’t even allow myself time to wonder what had made my beast start speaking. The warlock’s playful magic had already healed his injuries so I turned to the blood driven men.

Unwilling to let the female go, I stood with her in my arms. Her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms curved around my neck. I walked toward the vampires, trying to ignore the parts of my body that poked her rounded bottom as I moved. It had not gone unnoticed by her, and a mewling came from her hot wet mouth that was licking and sucking my neck. I almost tripped when her teeth nipped my neck. I swallowed past the desire clogging my throat. Were her fangs already out? Sun and moon! That wasn’t supposed to happen until we had almost fully claimed each other. Bonding between dragons was rough, and things like fangs could lead to a lot of damage.

My dragon purred at the thought.

I rested my hand against the shoulder of the blood driven that was clearly a part of our family, but not a bonded mate. He had already partially healed himself, so my energy finished quickly with him.

I sat next to the old vampire, settling my mate on my lap and biting back a moan as she wiggled to make herself comfortable. My organ of penetration throbbed as it pressed firmly along her most sensitive skin. I rested my hand on the vampire’s arm and allowed the energy to flow. He had few injuries so it did not take long to heal him, but he was dangerously depleted of blood.

“Drink.” My word was an order not a request. It was an honor to be offered blood from a dragon, and it was not something we allowed often, outside of our mate. Dragons didn’t need to drink blood to live, but it was often shared as part of bonding. The vampire hesitated for a moment before his instincts took over. His fangs sunk into my arm. I no longer had enough energy to leash my dragon, a dragon intent on making her his. I hoped that my mate would understand when this day was over.

Please don’t hurt her, I pleaded.

The vampire lifted his head, eyes blood red as he watched me. One predator accessing another. He tilted his head in a silent thank you. My little dragoness shifted in my lap, leaning until she was able to kiss her blood driven mate. His kiss was gentle, surprising me as vampires were not known for having particularly kind natures. She licked a bit of my blood from the corner of his mouth and then turned back to me.

Her pupils flashed from human to dragon so quickly I thought I might have imagined it. “Thank you, dragon,” she whispered.

Beautiful wings unfurled from her back. She stretched languidly on my lap like a cat, cerulean eyes sparkling, and then began to beat her wings. Ash and burned earth whirled around us like a dust storm from my home country. This was not a dragon behavior I was familiar with. What was she doing?

The scent of fire and battle, tears and blood, death and victory, hit me with the force of a falling star. My dragon purred and lunged for our mate, primal instinct overruling all other thoughts.

I hoped this little wildcat understood exactly what she had just done.