6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Ember
So, I was now a mated omega. Had I had a choice in the matter?
No. Was I expecting to ever really have a choice?
Also no. After I’d been sold to the fae crown prince, I’d known my future would no longer belong to myself.
I’d only had a few days to accept my fate as I awaited my first heat.
Now I was here, in a kingdom I couldn’t even remember the name of, having been claimed by a dragon alpha who I’d believed to be fucking with my mind at first.
Now, as I was being washed like the most breakable and valuable thing in the entire world, I accepted the fact that I was his mate, no matter if we were fated or not.
I also felt his emotions and it was clear that he was devoted to me.
His want for me was also clear in his emotions and I reveled in it.
Once the tub had been filled with water and bubbles, River had carefully sat me on the edge of the tub, pulling off my shirt and then pants.
He’d given me a smirk when he tugged my undergarments down, growling low as I was exposed to him, all of my bare skin on display.
I’d been given my own show as well. Once I was seated in the warm water, River had pulled off his navy shirt, then unlaced his pants, holding my gaze the entire time.
As his undergarments were pulled off, I’d whimpered.
Rather loudly. His cock was like any other alpha cock, I would assume, but it had ridges on it, something I hadn’t heard about before.
I was truly intrigued. River had smirked as he sauntered closer to the tub.
Then he got into the water with me, his pale skin glistening as the bubbles surrounded him, obscuring the delightful view of his magnificent body.
He was lean and tall, with some defined muscles, not at all bulky like one would assume a dragon shifter to be.
He had the body of someone who swam for a living, and perhaps he did.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.
River stilled where he sat behind me, his cock nudged between my ass cheeks, hard and pulsing with need. We both seemed intent on ignoring it, thankfully. “Have I not told you that I am a prince?”
Oh, perhaps he had. “If it happened on the flight then I might’ve forgotten,” I admitted. “I had a lot going on and, honestly, the whole flight feels like a weird dream and not something I actually lived.”
“That’s understandable,” he said, carefully gliding a soft sponge over my arm, washing away any dirt that lingered from the forest. “I am Prince River Teovarian, of the Teovarian kingdom, third in line for the throne.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous. “Just how big is the royal family?”
“We’re four brothers, all alpha dragons. The eldest of us is Ciris, and he’s the king.”
“Do… Do they know? About me?” I asked, trying to mask my fear of them rejecting me. Once they learned I was a mere peasant and not royalty, would they throw me out of here? Or worse, send me back to the fae prince? No matter if I was mated to their brother or not?
He hummed, hugging me from behind. His pheromones then filled the room, soothing my nerves.
“Of course, they know, Ember. I told them before I went out and grabbed you. They were also the reason I wasn’t with you when you woke and escaped.
I informed them that I’d found you and was home again.
They know to keep their distance as we mate and you reach your first heat.
I simply had to alert them so they knew to leave us be. ”
I held his arm, tracing my thumb over a prominent vein, needing something to do with myself. His skin was weird looking in this area, I noticed, like muddled colors all swirling together. It sort of looked like paint on his skin, but as I rubbed it stayed in place.
“Something wrong?” he rasped, his hot breath right next to my ear.
I shivered, then swallowed audibly before replying. “Your skin… is this normal or do you paint?”
He looked down at his arm, and pure joy filled me. His emotions were so heightened, I felt everything. “It’s my mating mark,” he purred. “It’s slowly being formed, branding me as your alpha.”
Blinking, I looked closer at his arm. The mark of color was about the length of my ring finger, the colors red, orange, and yellow big swirls of nothing. “Are you sure?” I asked, looking at it doubtfully.
He hummed as he nodded behind me. “It takes around a day to fully develop into your shifted form.”
I stilled in his arms, fear taking over. Had he known what I was? Was that why he’d taken me? Could he truly have lied about the fated mate thing, the thing I’d finally started to believe was the truth?
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pouring out soothing pheromones as he rubbed my arms. I felt his worry, so at least he truly cared for me. That had to mean something.
“Do you know what my shifted form is? Was that why you picked me?” My voice was even and I felt proud that I managed it over my pounding heart.
“No,” he sighed. “But I can’t wait for you to show me. Are you a dragon as well? From the colors it looks like you could be a fire dragon?”
There were different kinds of dragons? That was the one thing my mind latched onto and now I had to know. “Wait, what sort of dragon are you?”
“Water dragon,” he announced proudly.
“Oh, that’s cool.” Then I thought about how to tell him about my form but decided to show him instead. I scooted forward and stood, feeling his hunger for me as my butt was right there in front of him.
“You ready to get dry?” he asked, sounding a tad unsure. He likely felt my nerves as I prepared to shift.
“No,” I said, smiling softly over my shoulder. He would be the first one I willingly showed my form to and not one I was forced to shift in front of like my parents had often made me do for their friends.
I sat on the edge of the tub and let the change take over, feeling my body shimmer until I was back in my phoenix form, my burning feathers glowing against all the gleaming surfaces.
Awe, devotion, happiness, and pride came from my alpha as he sat engulfed in bubbles and eyed my shifted form with clear excitement. “We can fly together,” River whispered, edging closer to where I sat. “Can I touch you? Or will it burn my fingers if I do?”
“You can touch me,” I said, feeling awfully nervous about someone touching me.
I’d made everyone believe they’d get burned if they did, simply because it was one thing to be forced to shift in front of them.
It was entirely different having their hands on me as well without my consent.
I wanted River to touch me, though, wanted my alpha to accept this part of me as well.
He’d clearly not known of my form and his first words had been excitement over us flying together.
It was rather cute; I had to admit that.
My alpha’s hands carefully reached forward, touching my feathers with such care and devotion, I felt myself flutter my wings in response.
My phoenix rarely showed any kind of emotions, only anger, and with my temper that meant I got angry easily, a thing my mother was certain came from my form and she hated me for it.
It was one of the many things she hated me for.
“You’re so beautiful,” River whispered, erasing my mother’s hate from my mind and letting me bask in the moment.
I was a mated omega now, no matter how unreal that felt, and I had an alpha dragon who was clearly devoted to me.
I could feel his happiness and blooming love for me, that couldn’t be faked.
I knew as much. It seemed my life had taken a turn for the better and for the first time in my life, I now looked forward to my first heat.