Chapter 12
Medwin Smokescale
Moonscale London Under the Reign of Ferrick Moonscale
No romping was happening under my parents’ roof but that wasn’t the point of me standing my ground. If I couldn’t speak my mind to my own carrier, how was I ever supposed to help Clarence take care of Ferrick when the time came?
“It’s crazy how few nights we’ve been able to lay like this without worrying about something going wrong,” I said, snuggling close to Clarence. I was in my favorite pajama set that had little coffee mugs all over them and Clarence was in his underwear since he hadn’t packed for an overnight trip.
He opened his mouth and shut it again.
“Okay, something could still go wrong,” I sighed. “But it’s nice, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, your carrier might barge in and shove a flaming bat somewhere,” he said.
“I was thinking more like yours would come looking for you.”
“Yours would eat mine,” Clarence laughed and the sound wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
I nuzzled my face into his chest, stealing his warmth and scent marking him.
Soon, everyone would know that we were together.
Everything would change. All eyes would be on us.
Clarence made a small, deep sound in his throat and I glanced down his body.
He was pitching a tent under the blankets.
I smiled against his chest. Of course, he was turned on by the nuzzling. We weren’t in his parents’ house.
“Are we to live in the castle with Ferrick?” my dragon chimed into my thoughts, and I passed on the message to Clarence since my dragon wouldn’t be able to ask him anything until after we exchanged our claiming vows.
“No,” Clarence shook his head. “That’s where I have to draw the line.
Though, Ferrick is probably ready for me to be gone.
I keep walking in on him and Charden.” I glanced down his body again and the tent had flattened.
“We own plenty of places we can live. Besides, you know, he won’t need the castle much longer. ”
“Will we need the castle?” I asked him.
“We’ll be ali—” he stopped short. “Maybe. Depends on how many eggs we plan on having, I guess.”
I smiled into his chest imagining our house filled with hatchlings. Though, even then, I knew that had to wait. Bringing a fragile egg into a world that was on fire was not on my bucket list.
“We can decide on that later,” I said. “We’ll have to talk about eggs, nests, and all of that.”
The tent was back.
“We could go for a walk,” I said.
“Didn’t we just get into bed?” he quirked an eyebrow and I tilted my head up to look at him. The moment his brain caught up to my words his eyes lit up. “I think we shall go for a walk.”
“I know a spot,” I whispered. “Down by the lake.”
We tiptoed through the house. I wasn’t under the assumption that my parents couldn’t hear us moving around, but they pretended that they couldn’t and so did I. Sometimes ignoring someone is the best thing you can do for them. That was especially true that night.
Once outside, I took Clarence’s hand tight in mine and led him down the winding path to the lake.
It took us nearly half an hour to walk there because he kept stopping to kiss me and I was in no mood to turn him away.
Under the cover of the dark, cloudy sky on the night of the new moon, we kissed with abandon for the first time in our lives.
No Volex to walk in on us or Pras. No Ferrick calling him away.
I almost asked where he thought Clarence was but thought better of it.
I wanted to lay my claiming bite on his shoulder and that meant I needed him to stay rock hard and throbbing.
I stroked him through his trousers, playing at his shaft with my fingers.
Oh, Frost above me! I missed how this dragon’s dick fit against my palm and how his mouth felt trying to eat me up.
I cupped his chin with my other hand and kissed him hard.
More and more, that’s all I wanted from life.
I wanted a peaceful homelife and a civilized territory where everyone might prosper.
It was time to take life by the balls and lead it down that path.
Well, at least, it was time to grab onto Clarence’s balls and roll them over my fingers as our tongues danced between our mouths.
His hand moved for his belt, but I batted it away.
We were alone but not in a secluded enough area to start taking our pants off.
He’d have to tolerate the loving torture from my fingertips a bit longer.
Pulling away from the kiss, Clarence scooped me up and glanced around, asking which way to go.
I pointed deeper into the woods. There was a little path to cut through to the lake for those who knew it was there.
Halfway through he had to put me down because the branches kept catching on my hair and shoes.
I pushed him back against one of the old, big-trunked trees and kissed him hard.
Since his belt was already loosened, this time I shoved my hand down his pants.
A growl shimmied up his throat and morphed into the most beautiful, deep, mechanical-sounding purr I’d ever heard.
I stroked him, playing at his warm, bare flesh until he ground against my hand.
Then I pulled away, laughing. I jogged through the woods, looking over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure I hadn’t lost him out there in all the trees and foliage.
I pulled off my shirt and left it for him to find over a low-hanging branch as I ducked under it and broke free into the wide-open space around the lake.
It was empty that night, free from any late-night fishermen or skinny dippers.
I kicked off my shoes and sat them on a wide, sturdy branch before shimmying out of my pants too.
A second later, Clarence ran up behind me and closed his arms around my middle.
He kissed up and down my neck, licking and nibbling at my flesh, as his mouth moved over me.
I leaned back against him, letting him take on my weight and sighed.
Every cell in my body celebrated the fact we were finally alone again.
I twisted in his arms to face him. I opened my mouth to make him promise to never leave me out again, but he spoke before I could.
“Let’s promise to never leave each other again.
Circumstances are what they are, and I don’t regret taking the time to weave the web around Ferrick that I have, but I don’t want to be apart again, Medwin.
I don’t want to push you away or for you to run away.
I want to be together. For now. Forever.
I don’t like being alone. I had Pras and even Volex and everyone else.
Always someone around me but holy fuck, I felt alone without you there by my side.
I wasn’t lying when I told your carrier that it felt as if all the color had left my life with you gone.
Without you, none of this seems worth it.
The night we met, I was lost. Everything had imploded and then you came and somehow gave it all shape.
Gave it a direction and purpose. You made it all seem possible.
Hell, I even killed Roster for you. He said these bloody horrible things and I couldn’t stand it a moment longer.
I couldn’t stand there and let him talk about you like that.
There’s no honor, no love, in letting someone talk about someone you care about like that and without those things – how am I any different from them? ”
“You are different from them,” I said, meeting his gaze and running my hand over his cheek.
“Roster’s crimes weren’t romping around with a single omega.
Hell, for all we know it wasn’t even the cheating.
Not with how quick he was okay with Charden.
I don’t know what the heck they had going on, but there is no pleasure in having control of your own body ripped away and that was his crime.
Over and over again. You’re nothing like Roster Moonscale, Clarence.
I’ve asked everyone I meet about you. Volex had followed you for years before we met.
He’d have known if you—If you were like him,” I said, choosing my words carefully.
“He never had a snowball’s chance in a dragon’s belly of being a quarter of the man you are and not even an eighth of the man I know you’ll become. ”
He kissed me again, softly this time.
“I hope that one day I’m half as honorable as you see me as,” he whispered and we kissed again.
I unbuttoned his shirt as our tongues danced between our mouths.
He shrugged it off and grabbed it before it hit the ground and tossed it over the branch where my pants rested.
My parents might ignore the noise of us sneaking out for a late-night walk, but coming home naked would incite some teasing.
I ran my hands over his chest and stomach, reveling in the warmth of his muscular torso.
Somewhere in the woods an owl cried out and I kissed him again before sprinting away to where I’d hidden a go bag.
When the world is on fire you always have to be ready to fly away.
Inside that bag was a blanket that I spread out near the water while Clarence finished undressing.
I stretched out on my back, waiting for him to join me.
The stars were all hiding as the clouds drifted around but my fire burnt as bright as the sun that night.
Change hung heavy in the air like the water waiting to burst free from the clouds.
This would change everything and there was no going back.
At the last second, I rolled over and grabbed the condoms. It would be decades before our lives were stable enough for hatchlings but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to enjoy all the other parts of mateship.
I reached out for Clarence, and he took my hand as he lowered himself down onto the blanket with me.
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear before capturing my mouth in another longer, slow kiss.
I pressed my naked body against his. I was hard and slick and ready for whatever he wanted because I wanted it all.
I wanted all of him – mind, body, and soul.
I longed to fulfill whatever ancient magic we enacted all those eons ago before our souls were ever born on Earthside.
Clarence ran his big warm hand over my chest, toying with my nipples until they were hard peaks before his hand sank lower over my belly.
Warm waves crashed over me, stoking my fire, and driving me forward.
Our tongues danced between our mouths and I lost myself to him.
The world was still in danger of burning down.
Ferrick’s mental stability was fragile at best, but --- Clarence’s whole body went stiff and his scent turned to pure panic.
“I’ve got to go!” he said, trying to pull away from me, but I didn’t let go of him.
“What’s happened?” I asked, standing up because that’s the only way I could keep my grip on my mate as he rose to his feet.
“I have to go!” Clarence said again, gently prying my fingers from his arms.
“Clarence! You can’t keep doing this! I don’t want to be in the dark every time something goes wrong! What happened to us not leaving each other?!”
“He ate Charden!” Clarence whispered to me. His scent was doused in fury, confusion, and something more primal – fear? Territorialness? “He literally ate Charden. I need to go. I need you to stay here.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach. He did what? He---
“Where are my pants, mate?” Clarence asked.
“I need to go with you! What if this is the time? What if this is the time you have to fight him?”
“Pras will be there,” Clarence said and I swallowed down all the bitter words that wanted to roll off my tongue.
“Why did he eat him?” I asked.
“Because he was pregnant. He – I think he believes that he was pregnant by Roster. Only as far as I know Charden never slept with Roster. I--- I think he got him pregnant, doesn’t understand biology, and ate him in his own ignorance.
He keeps thinking about how he lied to him about the puppies being his. ”