Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
I landed softly on the ground, no longer hidden from view up on the cliffside. Harpy was purring in my arms, pleased beyond belief that we were now on steady ground.
“You want to try out your dragon form?” I asked, eager to see him in my form.
My new cat form was ready inside of me, eager to be let out too.
I was used to being so huge in my shifted form, but now I could snuggle up with Harpy whenever we wanted without taking up too much space and I couldn’t wait for that.
“I have to admit that I’m a little scared,” he replied, easing out of my hold, his cat form seeming to melt into liquid as he found the ground.
“I’ll help,” I assured him.
“Will I… Um…”
“Will you, what?”
“Will I need to claim you?”
I smiled at his worry. He really didn’t enjoy being the one to top, or maybe he feared I wouldn’t enjoy him topping me.
I truly didn’t mind either way, but regarding claimings…
“No,” I replied easily. “My dragon has already claimed you, so the claiming part is done with, and I will be the one who needs to reclaim you every once in a while.”
He nodded his tiny cat head, then closed his eyes. I stepped back, allowing him his space as I watched him shift into his red dragon, a perfect match to my own.
His brown eyes were now a gleaming yellowish green as he opened them and watched me with fondness.
I flew forward, my head nuzzling his, the need to mark him with my scent taking over as we both danced around each other, nuzzling and growling in a purr-like sound of happiness and contentment.
“I feel so big,” he grinned.
“You are big,” I agreed, smiling with all my teeth. “Want to fly before we head off to bed?”
“Um, sure…”
“You won’t be afraid of heights in your dragon form,” I assured him.
“If you’re sure…”
Spreading my wings, I lifted off, staying close to the ground as I watched Harpy gain his confidence. His wings were wide and spread, the posture correct. He jumped… and fell face first into the ground…
“Harpy!” I hurried over to him, nuzzling into his body and licking at his scraped face. Dragon saliva had healing properties and I hated seeing even the tiniest amount of blood on my mate. That simply wouldn’t do.
“I think this is enough for today,” he grumbled.
“Okay,” I agreed easily, shifting back to my human form, glad that even in my claiming frenzy I’d stopped myself from completely ruining my clothes. Harpy’s was a little worse than mine, which was why he was wearing my robe. No one got to see my mate’s bare skin. Only me.
He followed my lead, shifting back and smiling with embarrassment. “Maybe I need to practice a bit more before I try to lift off.”
“We can practice tomorrow,” I agreed. Then shifted into my new cat form, feeling the world around me as I got closer to the ground.
Harpy was smiling with joy as I began rubbing against his legs, purring up a storm. I couldn’t stop myself, it seemed. My mate was simply too irresistible.
“You are too precious like this,” he grinned, kneeling to pet my fur, making me purr even louder. Gods, it felt amazing to be petted. I wanted cat cuddles daily now.
“Harpy?” Casey’s concerned voice reached us and we both turned to face him as he ran closer to us, the dark night air almost disguising him completely from view. I doubted Harpy could even see him. I at least had cat vision.
“Everything okay?” Harpy asked, concern lacing his tone.
“Y-yeah,” Casey replied, now standing in front of us with a timid smile. “I got worried when Nym never returned to our room.”
Casey wouldn’t meet either of our gazes, instead staring at the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” Harpy said softly. “We’ll come back with you now.”
I reluctantly followed, still in my cat form because I couldn’t quite part with it yet. I’d waited until Harpy and I were together to shift into my new form and now I wasn’t ready to let go of it yet.
Harpy gave me a soft smile as I padded along next to him and the next thing I knew, a startled ‘meow’ escaped me as I was lifted off the ground and held close to Harpy’s chest. I couldn’t stop it; the purring took over. I was engulfed in my mate’s lovely orange scent and arms. I was so lucky.
Separating from Harpy was horrible. Stupid school rules that had to be obeyed. I still couldn’t believe I’d been fine with it before because I felt like I was dying right now.
Casey groaned from his bed, likely tired of me tossing and turning for hours. Not my fault my dragon was agitated over this forced separation. It couldn’t be healthy. Could it?
“If that is how it is when you seal the mating bond,” Casey began, his tone annoyed. “Then I don’t want to find my mate!”
I laughed at that. Poor Casey would soon realize just how much he would love and treasure his fated mate. My dragon wasn’t irritated by Casey’s past with Harpy anymore, satisfied that Harpy had been fully claimed as mine now.
“Stop laughing! I’m serious!”
That only made me laugh even harder. “I can’t wait to see how you react once you find your fated.
” And I truly couldn’t. Casey was sweet and kind, awfully kind.
The fact that he was so accepting of me being fated to his ex-boyfriend spoke volumes about his character.
He loved Harpy and wanted to see him happy.
Now it was his turn to find his happiness.
“Ugh!” he grumbled. “Just stop fussing and go to sleep!”
So, I did, with a smile on my face as I recalled my precious mate in his cat form. Damn, he was just too cute.