7. Maya #3
A surprised sound left my throat as Marco pulled back sharply, circling around the space briefly before approaching another ledge.
I frowned, noticing that there were people waiting for us, all of them seeming to be men, and from what I could tell, dressed in uniforms similar to my mates’.
A small string of anxiety filled my chest, which felt silly in retrospect, because of course we would be meeting new people.
I just… I suppose I had gotten used to how insulated we were as a group. I loved that.
As Marco neared the edge, he shifted in midair, my body free-falling until I felt his solid arms catch me, making sure that both of us landed on the ledge with ease.
His body straightened from the crouched position he had stabilized himself with, and I looked over his slightly flushed expression, his eyes dark and wild but smile breathtaking, making me return the expression.
Then I was scowling at the fact that he was back in his uniform.
What happened to shifting back naked? I thought that was a thing. I mean, I was glad he was wearing clothes around other people, but how was I supposed to see them naked again if they were always shifting back from their dragon forms in clothes?!
“Commander Moretti.” A deeper voice filled the space in greeting, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the way that Marco was looking at me.
It was both possessive and filled with heat, but even more so, I could tell from the color of his eyes and the sound coming from his chest that his dragon was very much still present.
My phoenix surged forward in greeting as my hands tightened on his shirt, letting my head fall back in hopes that he would kiss me.
When his nose brushed mine and his lips grazed mine gently, I let out a soft hum of pleasure, both my phoenix and I glad to know that neither Marco nor his dragon were mad at us from earlier.
I knew he had said so, but I’d still been a bit cautious.
“Next time, little mate,” he said, his voice a deep rumble and containing none of the normal smoothness it usually did. “Be a good girl and listen.”
Oh, this was one hundred percent his dragon, that much was obvious.
Instead of arguing with him, despite the real possibility it could happen again, I pressed a light kiss to his lips after a small nod.
Seeming satisfied with my answer, he gently set me down as his eyes began to streak with mint green before lightening completely and making me offer a small sigh at how handsome he was.
It really didn’t seem very fair, now did it?
Suddenly, a sound from the sky had my chest fluttering in excitement as I broke away from Marco.
I moved towards the edge and focused in on a stunning, pearl white dragon that broke through the clouds, shooting down towards us and making my smile grow.
Henry. Croy as well, his smile amused as Henry neared the ledge and practically dislodged my wolf, causing him to chuckle.
Croy landed gracefully and stretched to his full height before approaching me, his messy blonde hair and amused green eyes making me blush.
When he kissed me lightly, I sighed into it before the low, frustrated growl from Henry’s dragon had me looking back to the ledge.
I could feel pretty clearly through our bond that his dragon was upset with the lack of attention we were paying him, so I walked closer, running my hand over his stunning scales.
“Henry,” I murmured in shock, examining his almost opalescent scales, “you are magnificent.”
I didn’t think the others could hear us, but I meant that fully.
He was gorgeous, and I found myself almost hypnotized by the way his entire body seemed to shimmer in different shades in the sunlight.
A flash of pride ran through our bond before a pop sounded in the air and Henry shifted, his muscular frame landing in front of me as I stepped back quickly so he didn’t fall off the edge.
Instead, he pulled me towards him and pressed a hot kiss to my lips, causing me to run my fingers down his uniform as a small, needy sound left my throat.
As amazing as my mates looked in these uniforms, I was finding that I sort of hated them, much preferring them naked when they shifted back, as I’d stated before.
“I’ve been called a lot of different things, but not magnificent.
I’ll take it.” His voice was deeper and rougher than normal as I saw his dragon slink back underneath his fine layer of control despite the dangerous grin Henry offered me.
Croy chuckled at his words as I looked between the two of them, realizing that they were, in fact, friends.
I suppose I always knew that, but the more time I spent around them, the more I realized there was an authentic friendship there.
“We didn’t realize that you were returning,” a male voice said, catching my attention as Croy and Henry followed my gaze to the large man talking to Marco.
I mean, he was larger than me, but Marco was still taller than him.
Or maybe it was just that his magic was noticeably weaker than Marco’s?
I frowned, wondering if that was rude of me to think?
I nibbled my lip, feeling guilty despite the man not being able to hear me.
The sound of wings moving through the air had me snapping around as a crimson dragon, followed by a smoky dark one, filled the air and shot down towards us.
I knew these dragons well and found myself eager for both Sai and Atlas to land.
The latter shifted easily, silently, as Bella let out a meow in greeting that was much louder than normal.
Her fur bristled with black glitter as she hopped off of Atlas’s shoulder and came to rub up against my leg.
How had she not been scared? I figured Atlas had been able to keep her asleep via magic, but it was still impressive. Easily lifting her up, I kissed her nose gently.
“You were so brave,” I cooed softly as she purred and bumped her head with mine.
Atlas approached and I kissed him in greeting, letting out a happy sigh and hoping to portray how thankful I was that he had kept her safe.
Bella tucked herself under my hair and against my shoulder as warm air from a somewhat frustrated huff had me looking over to find Sai’s dragon watching me.
Walking over, I pressed a kiss to his large snout, and I felt a surge of warmth between us before his entire frame seemed to shimmer and shift as well.
“Kitten, you look annoyed with our uniforms,” Sai purred, his amused laugh and knowing gaze making me smile. The man knew me well, and I couldn’t lie, I was a bit frustrated with this uniform situation.
“These uniforms allow you to shift back and forth with clothes on?” I asked, needing confirmation.
I mean, it made sense. From what I gathered, these were military clothes, and if you were shifting back and forth mid-battle, being naked was probably not very smart.
It didn’t make me any more okay with it, though.
Sai stepped into me as Bella jumped from my shoulder to his, ignoring the way he gripped my hips and dipped his head down.
“Nah, we can shift back into clothes at any time.” He chuckled softly. “Why? Were you hoping not?”
Offering a small shrug, I blushed. “Wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.”
More like the best.
My eyes went wide as I fully processed his words. “Wait, so that first time you shifted back, you chose to not put back on your clothes?!”
Sai smirked. “Why do you think Marco was so mad?”
Oh, that made so much sense. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his. “I’m glad you did,” I whispered in a voice I hoped was somewhat sexy.
“Any time you want to see me naked, kitten, just ask,” Sai rumbled, his bright smile causing me to shiver as my hands slid up his chest.
Before I could form a response to his statement, my chest lit up and my mating mark from Ledger pulsed as the sound of his dragon echoed through the space.
My eyes widened as I followed two massive dragons speeding towards us, one a bright emerald shade and the other sapphire in coloring.
I stepped away from Sai and smiled up at the twins, glad that Bella was in Sai’s arms as a hard body suddenly hit into mine, Anani having shifted without stopping and pulling me right up against him.
I had expected the impact to hurt, but instead he held me against him with such a gentle touch that the only thing that had force was the way his lips pressed down on mine in a demanding greeting.
He pulled away, flashing a playful smile that showed off his normal good mood.
There was still a level of darkness there from our discussion at the hotel, but there was far more light than before, making me hope that I had at least something to do with that.
Ledger was circling ahead as I looked up, and Anani shook his head. “His dragon wants to meet you.”
I stepped closer to the edge and motioned for him to come down as his dragon landed, the ground shaking.
I immediately ran my hands along his scales as I wrapped my arms around him—well, as much as I could—his low rumble making me smile.
A purring began to start as I pulled back and looked into his dark eyes.
“Shift back,” I encouraged as he brushed his nose against my stomach, making me jump slightly before a shimmer of blue magic ran over his skin and Ledger landed gracefully in front of me.
Immediately pulling me into his arms, I pressed my ear against his chest as the pattern of his heartbeat had me sighing with contentment.
Cupping my jaw, he tilted my head back and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead without any words.
Marco’s voice finally sounded and drew me back to the reality that, once again, there were others around us.
“We will go when we are ready to.” Marco’s sharp retort had me feeling a bit guilty.
These men were waiting to escort us to wherever we were staying, and I had to admit, I hadn’t been in any rush to walk into the gleaming city behind us, especially if it meant spending time with my mates and their dragons.
They nodded at Marco’s harsh tone as he offered them a dismissive gaze before looking at me, his eyes jumping with amusement.
“Oh,” I squeaked, realizing that he was waiting for me to say I was ready.
Would he have waited all day? I had a feeling Marco would have been completely content with that.
I moved forward and took the hand he offered, his emotions once again firming up and sealing off as he faced the other soldiers.
“Where are we staying?” I asked curiously.
“In the castle. All the command teams that serve the royal family have quarters there,” he explained. “Plus, the royal physician serves the queen directly, so access to her will be far easier.”
I nodded as we stepped through a pair of large golden gates that were lined with even more guards, a weird sense of recognition running over my skin as I stared at the magnificent city that stretched ahead of us towards the castle.
I swallowed as the strange feeling crashed into me, my brain freezing up as Marco led me towards four large, golden carriages that were being drawn by beautiful white horses with stunning golden wings that had legitimate glitter covering them.
They were nearly enough to distract me from the overwhelming emotions I was currently feeling.
“Marco?” I whispered as he helped me into the carriage before Henry joined the two of us, the others spreading out amongst the others, if I had to assume.
Considering how large these were, you would have thought we could fit more, but my mates were without a doubt large individuals, and it had never been more clear than while sitting in the enclosed cabin.
“Yeah, baby girl?” He frowned at my expression, my eyes darting toward the window where the city sparkled under my appraisal.
“I think…” I swallowed, feeling nervous. “I think I’ve been here before.”