6. The Showdown
6
THE SHOWDOWN
E mre tried not to panic.
Not too far away, Ronald’s claws clicked on the asphalt of the apartment’s parking lot.
“I can hear you,” the wolf growled.
“Cheating on me already?”
“I severed our bond,” Emre said, trying to make his voice as strong as he could, even though his entire body was already braced for pain.
“I don’t belong to you!”
“Yeah,” Zenith said easily.
“He belongs to me now.” He tucked his nose into Emre’s hair.
“I filled him with my cum until it poured out of him. Emre opened his legs and begged for it. You should’ve seen him.”
Emre’s face burned red-hot.
In front of anyone else, he would’ve been mortified.
But in front of Ronald, it felt like rebellion.
Like a giant fuck-you to a piss stain he should’ve left a long time ago.
Ronald roared.
“You worthless whore?—”
Zenith stood and left the bedroom swiftly.
“Stay here.”
“Where are you going?” Emre yelped.
Zenith was much bigger than Emre, but what if he needed backup somehow?
Zenith thought for a moment.
“Stay in the bedroom with Abbie and Buttwheel.”
He began shoving at the furniture in the living room.
The couch and coffee table went straight into the far corners, leaving an open space in the middle of the room.
He tapped on his phone and set it aside, and opened the front door.
A roar came from much closer.
Emre set Abbie into Buttwheel’s belly and pushed them into the bedroom, shutting them in.
Then he stood his ground in front of the bedroom door.
Zenith frowned.
“You should be in there.”
“I’m going to protect them, too,” Emre retorted.
Zenith opened his mouth.
Then a huge brown shape barreled into the living room, slobber dripping off its teeth.
Zenith leaped to one side to avoid the wolf’s attack.
“You abused Emre when he was your mate.”
“He’s mine to treat however I want.”
Rage snapped in Zenith’s eyes, turning them red.
“You’re an alpha. You’re supposed to protect your mate. Not beat them so hard, you leave scars all over their skin!”
“He needed a lesson,” Ronald snarled.
“No, he fucking didn’t. All he’s done is try to protect his pups.”
When Ronald leaped at him again, Zenith punched him in the snout.
Zenith shifted in a shimmer of gold, and there was suddenly a massive sapphire dragon in the living room, all gleaming scales and snapping teeth.
Ronald roared and leaped at him.
Zenith opened his mouth.
Orange flame billowed out, swallowing Ronald—except the flames turned blue.
Emre couldn’t imagine how much hotter that was.
Ronald whined pathetically.
He shifted back into a man and screamed, and Emre watched as Ronald’s skin burned.
Zenith stopped the flames.
When he spoke again, his voice was a gravelly rumble.
“Do you regret hurting Emre?”
“It’s my right to do what I want,” the bleeding man snapped.
Zenith bared his teeth, stepped forward, and crushed Ronald’s chest with a large, scaly foot.
There was suddenly one less heartbeat in the room.
Zenith stared coldly down at Ronald.
Then he turned and met Emre’s eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Emre nodded, stunned speechless.
He sagged against the bedroom door, his knees suddenly weak.
Zenith was a dragon.
Emre hadn’t even known that dragons existed.
And Zenith had just snuffed out the monster from Emre’s nightmares like he was squashing a fly.
With a golden shimmer, Zenith shifted back into a man, picking up his phone.
He tapped a few buttons.
“I recorded the audio of that. Just in case.”
“Yeah?” Emre asked weakly.
Zenith nodded.
“My other brother’s pretty high up in the police force.” He tapped a few more buttons and held the phone to his ear.
“Blade? I may have a situation.”
The voice on the other end of the line rumbled, “What situation?”
“My mate’s ex used to beat him. He came to cause trouble, and... he met an unfortunate end.”
“Text me the address. I’ll be there.”
“Will do.”
Zenith ended the call and typed into his phone, then closed the distance between himself and Emre.
He carefully cradled Emre’s face in his hands.
“Was that okay?”
“You’re a dragon.” Emre thought his eyes might fall out of his head.
Zenith smiled wryly.
“You should meet my family. There are a number of us. Blade’s a dragon, too.”
Emre tried to wrap his mind around that.
“But... if there was so much fire, and the building’s made of wood, why didn’t everything catch fire?”
At that, Zenith looked embarrassed.
“When I sneeze, sparks sometimes fly out of my mouth. My lairs are fireproofed just in case.”
It was such an unexpected reason that Emre began to laugh.
Zenith grinned.
Zenith swept Emre off his feet and into his arms, bringing their faces close.
“Is it okay if I kiss you now?” Zenith murmured.
“I think I might have won a kiss.”
Emre’s heart skipped again.
He laughed and cupped Zenith’s face, pressing their foreheads together.
Their breath mingled.
“Yes. Please.”
Zenith turned his head slightly.
When their lips met, it was all soft, damp and sweet, a chaste kiss that led to another, and another.
Emre’s heart soared.
He’s kissing me.
Zenith slipped his tongue into Emre’s mouth, boldly tasting him inside.
“I think we should celebrate,” Zenith murmured, each thrust of his tongue reminding Emre of their mating last night.
“But your brother will be here soon,” Emre panted.
“I may have to tuck my cock somewhere safe so he doesn’t get an eyeful,” Zenith whispered.
“Know of anywhere I can hide it?”
“Oh, gods. That was terrible.” His ass grew wet anyway.
Zenith laughed.
And Emre lost count of the kisses they shared.
Over the next weeks, Zenith finished writing his book.
He talked to Abbie often while she played in Buttwheel’s belly, and he let Emre read his manuscript to see what Emre thought of it.
Zenith fixed Buttwheel’s crooked wheel, too.
Sometimes, the cart followed Zenith around instead of Emre.
Emre would’ve been envious if it weren’t for the way Zenith was so delighted to be Buttwheel’s friend.
“Is this enough bacon?” Zenith asked, pulling a tray of sizzling rashers out of the oven one day.
Emre drooled.
He hadn’t been able to stop eating bacon; he’d craved it during Abbie’s pregnancy, too, but this time around, Zenith spoiled him with all the bacon he could possibly eat.
“Bacon,” Emre moaned.
“Oh, bacon, my love!”
Zenith snorted.
“My brother Griff would be happy to write you a song all about bacon and cocks.”
“Including bacon-wrapped cocks?” Emre asked doubtfully.
“Griff told me he once read a book where the omega wrapped bacon around his cock to tempt his wolf-shifter boyfriend into, ah, licking it off him,” Zenith said.
Emre gave it careful consideration; Zenith laughed.
“Would you?” Emre asked, his thoughts spinning.
“Fire doesn’t hurt you. Oh, gods, you can even wrap raw bacon around your cock and cook it with fire; you’d be completely fine.”
“We should try it sometime.” Zenith grinned and set the tray down.
Before Emre could reach for a still-sizzling piece, Zenith grabbed both his hands.
“I don’t want you to burn yourself. Here.” Zenith knelt in front of him.
Then he pressed his face against Emre’s swollen belly, and kissed him all over.
They could hear the steady heartbeat of their pup; Emre listened to it whenever he could.
“Hey, little pup. It won’t be long until you’re here with us. I can’t wait to meet you.”
Emre’s heart melted.
“Will we still be living at the apartment?”
Zenith shook his head.
“I’m making arrangements. We’ll move to our lair tomorrow. When it’s time for the birth, my friends’ wolf parents will come over and help.”
That gave Emre endless relief, too, knowing he had someone to rely on in case of trouble.
“One more thing.” Zenith seemed suddenly nervous.
Emre looked down into his dragon’s sincere gaze.
“Hmm?”
“We haven’t been together long,” Zenith murmured, tracing his thumb down Emre’s throat.
“But I want to promise you forever. Would you... Would you like my mating bite?”
Emre’s heart tumbled.
“That’s—That’s forever.”
“That’s what I just said.” Zenith stood up halfway to rub their noses together.
“Would you?”
They’d only been together for a couple of months at this point.
But every day with Zenith felt like a new beginning, like Emre had finally escaped his life of loneliness and pain, to find comfort and safety in his alpha.
“Yes,” he said, choking up.
“If you’ll have me.”
“Of course.” Zenith released a deep breath and cupped Emre’s face, kissing him gently.
Then he tucked his face under Emre’s jaw, and nosed down his neck to find the perfect spot.
Emre felt the points of his teeth first.
Before he could brace for pain, Zenith bit down hard.
Pleasure and pain jolted through Emre’s body.
Then his skin tingled; thin, blood-red lines swirled down his arms and back—the color of Zenith’s dragon eyes.
Marking him as Zenith’s.
Emre swallowed hard, his eyes prickling.
This felt like belonging, like a promise.
“Thank you.”
“I love you,” Zenith whispered.
“Of course I want you with me forever.”
“I love you too,” Emre said, right before Zenith kissed him again.