Chapter 3
Damian
My body feels light and heavy all at once, like I’m floating and sinking at the same time.
The woman in front of me is nothing like the girl I met fourteen years ago.
Barely twenty-three then, she was sweet and carefree.
I can already tell this woman is jaded, with a hard edge to her that tells me life hasn’t been easy since we parted. I should have checked up on her.
I wanted to. Every fucking day, I wanted to.
But I forced myself to stay away. Distraction was the name of the game for a while.
Until Otto.
Being with him made me think I could actually move on. It was the first time I dared to hope for a happily ever after, a committed relationship, even without a mate. It’s rare for dragons to commit to anyone until they find their mates, because… well, this could happen.
Otto’s found his other half. He doesn’t want or need me anymore. And to make it worse, the woman he’s found is the same woman the goddess chose for me. If she had only chosen me back.
Fuck, the goddess sure has a sick sense of humor.
Kat’s knuckles are white around the blanket as her gaze swings away from me with a shake of her head, like she’s trying to clear a memory that isn’t there. Not anymore.
When her focus locks on Otto, she scowls.
“What the hell did you do to me?” The pissed-off glare she gives him makes it obvious she didn’t volunteer for this.
“Who are you? What are you? And—fuck! I need to go! My son will be home any minute. I need to make dinner. This was supposed to be our night and—dragons! Fuck, I don’t—I’m not—this can’t be real! ”
Son? Did she say son? Is she married? Did Otto even stop to ask?
My heart is pounding so loud it’s making my ears ring, but her panic is more important than mine right now. “Take a breath, Kat.”
My words draw her attention back to me, and for just a moment her eyes soften, but then they narrow in a glare that could melt ice. “How do you know my name?”
“Yeah, how do you know her name?” Otto’s youthful face creases with more lines than I’ve ever seen as his lips and eyes all turn down. “I don’t even know her name, and she’s my mate.”
“I’m no one’s mate!” Kat swings her arms, which only dislodges the blanket, flashing a glimpse of her full breasts. Goddess, I’ve missed them. I squeeze my eyes shut to keep from ogling what I can never have.
“I’m a single mom who needs to get back to her kid,” Kat says, tucking the blanket under her arms the way someone might wrap a towel around themselves after a shower. “And I want out of wherever the hell this is.”
The air whooshes out of my lungs as my eyes fly open. She’s single. Thank the goddess. Well, fuck, she’s not single anymore. She’s mated. But at least Otto didn’t wreck a family with his thoughtlessness.
“You can’t leave,” Midas growls. He’s been silently blowing smoke, but now he’s glaring at Kat with an intensity that would intimidate most people.
Kat just puts her hands on her hips and stares him down like she’s the one in charge here, not him.
“Maybe we should all sit and talk this through.” Jeslyn tries to offer my girl a comforting touch, but immediately draws her hand away when smoke puffs out of Kat’s nose.
“The rest of the horde will be here soon.” Midas says. “Take her—”
“Home! I’m going home.” Kat stomps her foot. From anyone else the action might look childish, but from Kat it comes off as powerful and demanding.
“You’re not.” Our king’s voice is clear and definitive. Midas has never minced words, and it’s rare for anyone to stand up to him when he uses that tone.
More smoke pours from Kat’s mouth, accompanied by a lick of flame. Her hand flies up to cover her lips, a look of panic making her eyes wide. It’s clear she’s seconds away from an involuntary shift, on the edge of losing control.
I wish I could comfort her. But she’s not mine to take care of anymore. She’s Otto’s.
Otto lifts his arms like he’s going to pull her into a hug.
Kat flinches away. I place my hand on Otto’s shoulder to stop him.
His eyes plead for me to do something. One part of me wants to punch him for putting her in this situation.
Another wants to pull him into my arms and tell him everything’s going to be okay.
Instead, I turn my attention to Midas. “How about Otto and I take Kat back to her place and explain everything to her there?”
I don’t know why I’m inserting myself into this. It’ll only make things harder. She’s not mine anymore. She gave up that claim. Even if I never can.
“Which one of you is Otto?” Kat asks, gaze swinging around the small group gathered in a semicircle.
“I am.” Otto raises his hand tentatively like a scolded boy in school. Guilt shadows his normally cheerful features as he nervously twirls his lip ring with his tongue.
I squeeze his shoulder. I can’t blame him for what he did.
It was damn hard for me not to do the same.
After she told me she didn’t want to be my mate, I circled her building for hours, trying to decide what to do, contemplating stealing her right out the window.
I didn’t. But when I finally wore myself out, I slept on her roof for a week because it was too painful to be apart from her.
“You two don’t leave her side,” Midas commands. “She clearly wasn’t prepared for this, and she won’t know how to control her transformation or… what comes with it.”
Hot smoke pours from Kat’s nose again even though she’s got her hands over her face to cover it. “I don’t want him,” she jabs a finger toward Otto, “anywhere near me.”
The crestfallen look on Otto’s face is like a punch to my gut. His head hangs so low he’s almost bowed over.
“He stays with you.” Midas crosses his arms. “He’s your mate.”
“What the hell does that mean?!” Scales pop up on Kat’s neck and face.
We need to get her out of here and somewhere comfortable where she can relax as she listens to us explain. I’m surprised she hasn’t completely lost it already after what she’s been through.
“I’ll explain everything.” I hold my hand out to her, but she just stares at it.
Kat points at Jeslyn, who looks like she’s about to be sick. “Why can’t she be the one to explain?”
Jeslyn looks at Midas, an unspoken question in her eyes.
“No.” Midas wraps his arms around his wife and pulls her back against his chest.
“Why not?” Kat asks.
“Yeah, why not?” Jeslyn echos. I don’t know her well, but she comes off as the type who’s always caring for others and feeling responsible for them too. I don’t doubt she’s concerned for Kat and wants to make sure she’s okay.
Midas’s features soften as he looks down at his wife. “I need you here for the dance, my treasure.”
Jeslyn melts into his embrace as if she’s completely forgotten about the rest of us. They’ve been together for a while now, but it’s still strange to see our king soften like that. He’s never that way with anyone else.
“What dance?” Kat asks.
Tonight is the last night of Goddess Week. A time when the entire horde gathers to dance and celebrate. It’s a sacred time. And this dance will be even more important since this is the first Goddess Week since the Gold and Silver Hordes combined.
“How about we get you home, and I’ll explain the dance, too?” I suggest.
“Fine,” Kat grumbles. “But you’re not off the hook. I want an explanation.”
With my hand on her back, I lead Kat out of the temple. She doesn’t resist or pull away, and it feels like a gift. The touch is innocent, but my thoughts aren’t. This is the first time I’ve touched her in years, and it stirs up memories of having my hands on every inch of her full body.
Kat leans into my touch, and I have to start doing complex math in my head to keep my dick under control.
As we pass Midas, he stops Otto, whispering something too low for me to hear.
There will be consequences for what he did tonight.
I’m just grateful Midas isn’t taking immediate action.
I’m not sure what the punishment will be, but for Kat’s sake I hope it’s lenient.
She’s going to need her mate as she deals with all of this.
Even if she doesn’t like him right now—and I don’t blame her—he’s still her mate.
And ultimately, he’s a good man. He’ll take care of her.
“Would you like to ride or fly?” I ask once we reach the cliffs outside the temple.
“You mean…” She flaps one elbow like a wing, while the other hand grabs the blanket which comes dislodged from where she tucked it in at her chest. “Fuck, I’m not ready for that.”
The wind sweeps her bright curls across her face, and she sputters to get the hair out of her mouth, trying to wipe it away without letting go of her meager covering.
My hands flex as I let out a slow breath.
I remember how it felt to wrap my fingers around those soft locks.
She has the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen.
It’s shorter now than it was when I knew her, but it still has the same shine, the same soft curls framing her face.
I’ll never forget the way she responded when I pulled it.
“I’ll fly,” Otto volunteers. “You can ride on my back.”
“No way. I’m riding with him.” She steps closer to me.
Pride swells my chest, but the joy is short-lived when I see the forlorn look on Otto’s face.
I want to pull him into a kiss, reassure him it’s all going to be alright, but newly bonded mates are possessive.
He’ll only want her. And even if she hates him right now, as his mate, she still wouldn’t enjoy seeing someone else kiss him.
I settle for squeezing his arm.
He lets out an inaudible sigh. “Fine. You fly. I’ll ride with her.”
“Wait, you’re going to ride with me?” Kat’s eyes widen like he’s suggested the worst thing she’s ever heard. Her gaze drops briefly between his legs. He’s still naked and making no attempt to hide his attraction to her.
I’m glad I’m wearing clothes. The crushing weight of the circumstances has kept me mostly flaccid, apart from that first moment I saw Kat emerge from the pools and when I touched her back, but if she looked at me the way she’s looking at Otto right now, I’d be as hard as stone.
“It’ll be safer if someone rides with you,” Otto says. “Especially in your… emotional state.”
“Oh, fuck you.” She flips him off, all the desire in her gaze gone. “I’m fine. I’ll ride him.” She points at me before looking back at Otto. “You can fly by yourself. I’m a big girl.”
“You’re cold, you’ve been through an ordeal, and you’re not used to riding on a dragon. One of us will ride with you.” There’s a sternness in my voice I rarely use, but I won’t risk her falling off and not knowing how to transform quickly enough. “So, who will it be?”
She squares off with me, and I can practically see that beautiful mind trying to find a way out of this. She pinches her lips, then looks at Otto. “Okay, kid, transform. I want to get home.”
Otto scowls at her use of the word kid. He’s been the youngest in his horde for a long time, and he hates being reminded of it.
He stalks toward her with flames in his eyes. “I’m not a kid, beauty. Want me to prove it to you?”
With his bare body fully on display, it’s clear he could make good on the offer. I’m not the only one whose gaze tracks down. Kat’s scent changes, thick with arousal even though she’s glaring like she wants to skin him alive.
Whatever her body might feel in response to Otto, she ignores it and juts her chin out. “Act like a spoiled child stealing the toy you want, and you have every right to be called a kid.”
Otto takes a step back, eyes never leaving Kat’s as he transforms, shifting his cock first. She gasps as it grows, lengthening, thickening.
Then, the rest of him changes. He’s a stunning dragon.
Green and silver scales pepper his lean body and long neck.
His eyes burn with hungry orange flames as he looks from Kat to me.
Fuck, I’m not so flaccid anymore.
Kat blinks quickly with her mouth hanging open, her head slowly shaking from side to side. “Unbelievable.”
“You’ll get used to it,” I say, once again running numbers and thinking about spreadsheets to try to soften my dick. I clear my throat. “Can I help you up?”
Otto bends low and drops his head, lowering his long neck to make it easier for Kat to climb on.
I offer my hand, and this time, she takes it.
When our palms meet, she lets out an audible little noise of surprise.
My muscles clench, skin tingling, prickling with sensations I haven’t felt in fourteen long years.
The feeling is so much stronger then just brushing my fingers across her back.
Having her hand in mine feels like coming home, and I never want to let go. Does she feel it too?
The attraction to a mate is unlike anything else. It’s overwhelming, all-consuming. Even though she rejected me, how I feel about her never changed.
Kat’s brow pulls down. This close, I can see the new wrinkles around her eyes, the few thin white hairs barely visible at the top of her head. They make her even lovelier, a reminder that she’s lived, laughed, and survived.
“Are you sure I don’t know you?” Her words are almost too soft to hear.
“You do, Kitty Kat. Or… you did.” I bring her hand to my lips, kissing the back of her knuckles in a move as natural as breathing. She blinks at me, eyes glassy and unfocused.
Otto’s nostrils flare, smoke puffing from between his sharp teeth. I step back. “I’ll explain everything soon.”
Maybe.
Her eyes are cloudy and unfocused. It’s clear she still doesn’t remember me, even though she’s a dragon now. And what will Otto think when he finds out about our past? Will he assume I’m trying to steal his mate? It feels more like he’s stolen mine.
But she didn’t choose me.
I guess she didn’t choose him either. So where does that leave us?
“Come on.” I help her onto Otto’s back. “Let’s get you home.”