Chapter 22
Chapter 2 2
Sir Keyon
I wasn’t thinking. I was just feeling, and Elpis’s reaction had yanked me up into the clouds. I pressed my lips hungrily into hers, unable to get close enough to my oblivious mate. She didn’t know how happy she’d just made me that I’d found my fated mate and that perhaps we could have a family after all. I didn’t know what she was, but I didn’t care so long as she was happy, and she seemed very happy.
She returned my ardor just as fervently and opened her mouth at the same time I did to deepen our kiss. Her beast hadn’t fully awoken, but we seemed to be in sync. Her hands landed on my ribs and slid around to grab my back just below my wings. I moved one of my hands to her lower back to press our chests together. Desire shot through me and escalated at the sensation of her soft, full breasts. The two hard bumps sandwiched between us said she was just as eager as me.
She pulled her lips from me and panted, her cheeks flushed from our heat. “K-Keyon… tell me, are there any other signs for fated mates?” she implored breathlessly. I tilted my head back to th e sky and shut my eyes tight, feeling completely torn. There was one the coven mothers neglected to mention. Would there be any harm in sharing it with her?
Tell her, Toast encouraged. I don’t want any more lies between us and our mate.
I sighed and said a silent prayer to the Sun God. He was right.
“There’s one more,” I said, glancing up at the cerulean sky for one last moment of peace, hoping everything would be ok. I licked my lips, swallowed heavily, and looked her in the eyes. “Fated mates have an enhanced sense of smell for each other. Everyone smells different, but fated mates can pick up more details of their mate’s scent. Usually, it’s a natural scent like… a wood or a plant… or sometimes it’s something edible. It’s heady and addicting; you can’t get enough of it.” I realized I’d made another mistake on that last sentence. I’d made it sound like I knew what it was like, and her eyes seemed to sharpen when I’d said it.
She tilted her head thoughtfully, and her stare became penetrating. Her fingers fidgeted on my back, and her palms slid across my chest before coming to a rest on my shoulders. I tried to look relaxed and clueless, but I was wound tighter than a coiled viper. She couldn’t know. Her beast hadn’t fully awoken.
Her beast seems to be exhibiting power, though. Could it be slowly leaking recognition? Toast asked worriedly. I was expecting all this to happen at once…
Me too… I replied, swallowing heavily again as Elpis studied me.
“Keyon,” she said, glancing furtively away while she gathered her thoughts. “Why do you smell strongly of incense and ginger? It’s not your soap, is it?”
I felt the blood drain from my face at her obvious line of thought. I became flustered and searched for a response, but I knew that—above all—I had to be truthful. “I… I didn’t know that I smelled like that,” I replied hesitantly. “My soap is just… regular soap…” My hands were getting sweaty, so I remove d them from her skin.
Elpis shut her eyes tight and tapped one nail nervously on my shoulder. She took a deep breath, opened one eye in a squint, and asked, “You’re my fated mate, aren’t you?”
My breath came out in a rush. There it was. She’d figured it out and was coming to me to verify. She hadn’t waited for her beast and had been too clever to miss the signs. Toast and I couldn’t help doting on and spoiling her. She’d seen me reject female after female. She’d seen my eagerness to mate with her but my dedicated respectfulness in letting her choose. Perhaps she’d noticed how I scented her whenever she was close. Before we’d discovered our unique compatibility just now, the biggest tell might have been how I’d put her first over my duty as the knight general. Every choice I’d made had put her at the center of my priorities, and it had shown.
Elpis waited with bated breath, and her other brown eye opened, though her brows were still drawn in her vulnerability. When her eyes began to swim with unshed tears, I rushed out my answer. I couldn’t keep her waiting any longer. She’d gone out on a branch, and she’d felt the wind blowing.
“Ah…” I nodded slowly, feeling guilty. “I am. I wasn’t suppose—” I began to say, but she cut me off by kissing me more fervently than she had moments ago. I groaned into her lips, awash with more emotions than I could sort. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down over her. Legs still in the water, I propped myself up on my elbows to keep my weight off her but cradled her head with a palm. She deepened the kiss, and I slipped my tongue into her mouth to caress hers. She tasted wonderful, and I couldn’t stop. I’d been wanting to kiss her for so long. So fucking long.
Her scent and pheromones had been building up since she’d removed her soaked dress, and I had a feeling that verifying our bond had triggered her heat. Her movements were becoming more urgent, and I felt my primal instincts stirring. I wanted to fight it this time, though. I wanted to savor the moment.
Her fingers slid up into my hair to muss it up, and her legs wrapped around my waist. She pulled her lips away and gasped, “ Keyon… what is this marking I’m hearing about?” She moved her lips to my neck, and I groaned, leaning my head into her and shuddering in pleasure. Little did she know she was very close to the marking spot.
“It’s… Ahh…” I moaned between her kisses, barely able to talk. “How mates finalize the bond. It’s like consummation an— Ah! V-very permanent. You grow closer… can feel each other’s emotions and… Ahhnggg… mind-link,” I groaned, feeling like I was about to explode. Every inch of me was thrumming with pleasure.
“Mind-link? What’s that?” she murmured while nibbling my neck.
“Ahh fuck!” I hissed when she hit a particularly sensitive spot. “It’s talking without words… like you do with your beast.”
“I want that… let’s do that,” she asserted, kissing me again. My eyes widened.
“Are you sure?” I gasped when she released my lips again. I was surprised that she was already prepared to dive right into forever without her beast being fully awake. She gave an aggressive nuzzle and hummed a ‘yes.’
Toast, what… what are we doing here, big guy? I asked feverishly, barely able to think straight.
She wants it, so give it to her, he replied simply.
But how does she mark us? She has no fangs… No canines... Nothing, I asked.
We’ll have her do it later when she gets them, I guess? At least this way we’ll always be able to find her.
Right… I could see the logic in that. It’d be a good safety measure too. I felt Toast crawl into the back of my mind to give us privacy.
I pulled from her lips and growled, “Alright, Elpis, I’ll mark you, but you’ll have to wait to mark me, and don’t you dare rush your beast.” She nodded and stared up at me through half-lidded eyes. “Fuck, Elpis, you’re so beautiful!” I exalted in a moment of disbelief.
I crashed my lips into hers once again and dragged her hips to the edge of the pool. I was already aching to be inside her and couldn’t wait a minute more. I braced myself on a rock and flexed my hips to push against her core, realizing very quickly that she didn’t need any extra stimulation. I released her lips and leaned forward to slide the head of my cock past her folds to nestle against her threshold. I pushed slowly and pumped inch by inch until I was fully sheathed inside.
I groaned into her hair and kissed the top of her head. She replied with a soft moan and wrapped her legs around my hips once more. “You feel amazing,” I whispered into her ear and kissed it. “So warm and ready. So soft yet so snug.” She shivered below me, and I smiled at her response. Everything about this moment was surreal. Be it a dream or not, all I could do was go along with it. Happily.
I kissed her again, reverently this time. I swallowed her whimpers when I pulled my hips back to slide inside again. Slowly, I retreated and invaded, enjoying gliding through the shape of her channel and the tightness of her walls. Even her core was pure poetry, and had I been a touch more emotional, perhaps I would have wept. When they said a fated mate was made for you, there truly was no denying it. She was my utopia, unequivocally.
She squirmed beneath me as I rolled my hips, and I released her mouth to ask, “What is it?” I brushed our lips together while I waited for her response.
“M-more! Male… please! I want you!” she whined and arched in her frustration.
“But you have me, my female…” I rumbled into her ear. “The goddess gave me to you. She gifted you a blue-breather… and only you can satisfy his appetite.” I nibbled her ear, and she began to tremble from head to toe. Her mind and body were whisked away into the wild, and nothing gave me more pleasure than feeding her feral mind. Teasing her senses was as addicting as breathing her scent. “Best brace yourself, female. My appetite is growing.” I thrust my cock into her to make my meaning clear .
I straightened up, gripped her hips firmly, and began ramming into her sex. She arched her back, like her body was missing mine and was searching for me. I snarled at her erotic display, trying not to lose myself to my instincts with her writhing, sensual form and rocking breasts. I wanted to remember this joining as clearly as possible.
I barely noticed the cold mountain wind or the scalding water I was sloshing everywhere. All I could think of was my Elpis and how she’d soon be forever mine. My heart swelled at the thought, and I had to snarl out a breath of blue fire to vent both my physical and emotional heat. I shuddered with arousal. I felt more ready by the second to mark her; my fangs itched like mad, already extended and ready to claim.
I hooked my arms under her knees and pulled her up to face me. “Elpis,” I said, kissing her lips and her cheeks to bring her to the present with me. “Elpis, are you ready?” I groaned and tried to meet her gaze. She shook her head and blinked a couple times to clear her mind, gripping my shoulders to steady herself.
“Mmm, what?” she asked, coming out of her haze.
“Are you ready?” I asked urgently and started rolling my hips into her clit. She gasped, and her channel clenched deliciously around me, making me grunt and turn my head to hiss out some fire. Fuck, she was like a vise.
“Y-yes!” she shouted, panting and red-faced. She whimpered under my grinding pelvis and melted with every rub. I spurred into her, gasping and growling to give her the gift of pleasure. Her hands dug into muscle, her back arched slowly, and her stomach clenched. I continued at the same pace in speed, knowing she was almost there, and I just needed to stay diligent.
Her mouth opened soundlessly for a moment, then let out a furious wail. She rolled against me as she climaxed, shuddering violently. I was not far behind her. I slammed her to my chest and roared out a burst of blue fire, bottoming out and filling her with my seed.
I wrapped us with my wings, clamped onto the soft tissue between her neck and shoulder, and sank my fangs in to permanently mark her. She screamed this time and alternated between grabbing at and punching my shoulders in her thrashing. I felt her second orgasm hit her, and I nearly collapsed as she continued to pulse around me. I let my venom sink in a moment longer before I relaxed my jaw and pulled my teeth from her.
There it was. I stared at the mark on her shoulder, struggling to divide my attention between my ejaculations and her wound. I gasped when I spent my last drop and eased her down so I could rest a moment over her. The puncture marks never left my sight. I was terrified that if I turned away, she’d heal again, and our bond would be incomplete.
Her emotions swelled into me, and I was unprepared for how hard it hit. She was in euphoria, unable to do anything but exist in the moment and feel pure happiness. I bit my lip through it, tortured by the distraction. I wanted to enjoy this moment, but I was anxiously waiting. Elpis healed fast… would this heal?
“Keyon?” Elpis asked breathlessly. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m waiting… I’m worried your mark will heal and disappear,” I answered, swallowing hard. I was repeatedly holding my breath and exhaling sharply. The wait was killing me. If the bond didn’t take, I didn’t know how else we could do it.
Please don’t reject my venom, I begged. As if it heard me, the angry red swelling around the puncture marks began to fade, and the bite marks scabbed around the border. It seemed to stop healing at that point, and the dead skin flaked off, like her body was sweeping it clean.
The scars were there, and I stared at them. I didn’t feel anything change. I could still feel Elpis’s emotions, which were getting more anxious by the second. After another minute, I just collapsed on her chest and allowed my vision to blur from moisture and relief. I couldn’t believe it.
“We did it, Elpis…” I said, dripping tears like a silly hatchling. They beaded and streamed down her soft, sweaty skin. “The bond took.”
Elpis
I held a lightly crying Keyon to my chest and felt an unimaginable surge of completion. No longer would I ever feel like I couldn’t get close enough to him. I had a part of him within me; I could feel it. It settled like a brave sentry, posted in my soul to watch over me.
For the first time, not only did my body welcome poison, but it also celebrated it. The venom was exactly where it should be, and my body knew to nurture it, allow it to change parts of me for my protection. It knew my fated mate had claimed me and accepted all he had to give.
“Don’t cry…” I said to Keyon, massaging his rippling back affectionately. “Don’t cry, sunflower.”
“Can you”—he sniffed, and I felt another tear drop down my chest—“please pick a different endearment?”
I laughed from a deep, joyful place in my heart and squeezed him in a tight hug. A small chuckle escaped from his throat, and I beamed. It felt good to make my mate laugh.
My mate… I was so happy. Keyon was the best male.
“Ok, I promise I’ll try to think of a better one. Sunflower is just so good, though.” I laughed again and tried to reach for my bag while he was still on top of me. He sighed reluctantly, kissed between my breasts, and pulled out, letting me grab what I needed to bathe. Every movement he made had me sighing in pleasure.
I tended to him first, feeling an immense sense of gratitude for everything he’d given me. “It’s a world of a difference,” I said thoughtfully while massaging his scalp with shampoo, “to go from belonging to someone to belonging with someone.”
“I can’t even imagine,” Keyon replied gently.
“How long have you known?” I asked him, and his muscles became particularly rigid. “I won’t get mad… I can’t imagine Toast made it easy. ”
I made it as difficult as I possibly could’ve, a new voice said in my head, and the shampoo bottle I was holding went flying. It was deep, warm, and gravelly. Each word sounded like it had been born from a furnace and grated across scales. Sorry, mate. Didn’t mean to startle you.
“Fiddlesticks, that scared me! By the Sun God’s fire, is that you, Toast?” I gasped and Keyon looked over his shoulder to smirk at me.
It’s a one-way link until you figure out how to mark us, so talk out loud when you wish to speak to me, he informed politely.
“Oh, that’s great… actually. I really don’t want you hearing the nonsense that comes out of my beast at random,” I replied with wide-eyed relief. “I’m so happy to hear you, Toast!”
Keyon dunked under the water to rinse and came out to hover over me. He palmed the back of my head and pressed his lips to mine, massaging my lips sensually with his warm ones. My stomach did a somersault and fluttered with tiny dragons.
“I had no idea kisses could be so good,” I murmured against his lips. I’d been forced to kiss so many… I’d hated every single one. Even though I knew it was Keyon, I occasionally had to open my eyes to make sure. So many bad memories—like with my breasts.
He narrowed his entrancing copper eyes. Could he feel my unease? “You will only be kissing me from now on,” he asserted, stroking my parted lips with a rough thumb.
I leaned into him, wishing my body didn’t feel my memories. Now that I knew the pleasure of a good male, the bad memories felt so much more violating.
“I’ll make you forget about them, Elpis. I’ll work every day to wipe those bastards from your mind so you can be free of them,” he said, crushing me against him. I felt him pull back, and he leaned to whisper into my ear, “I’ll kiss you, worship you, and mount you until all you can think about is me.”
I shuddered, and he nuzzled my cheek affectionately, then gently began to wash me .
Wash them from my mind like you do my body, I pleaded silently.
“Since the dance,” Keyon said minutes later while lathering my hair.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s how long Toast knew. He knew when you brushed against my hand at the mansion. He didn’t tell me until after I removed your chastity belt,” he clarified and brushed the tangles out of my hair with his fingers.
“You mean after I found you moaning my name with your fist around yourself?” I asked innocently.
“I said ‘Elpis?’” he mumbled the question to himself. “I’m not ashamed...”
“I wish I had known,” I said softly as we finished up washing. “I was so confused about what we were,” I confessed. “It was painful.”
Tell her, Keyon, Toast said, and I gave him a curious look.
Keyon opened his mouth, looked away in thought, and then said, “The witches… also wanted you to come to the conclusion yourself when your beast woke. They’re worried you’ll push her to come out, which could hurt her or destroy your bond. You must be careful with her, Elpis. Promise me you will!” He became more impassioned as he spoke.
I balked at the warning. I had no idea that my connection to my beast was that tenuous. Keyon’s gaze intensified, and he reassured me by saying, “I’m not going anywhere. You have all the time in the world to mark me, ok?” His brows drew in as he stroked my face, overflowing with worry.
Also, I still can’t look at another female without gagging… so… Toast rationalized.
I burst into a sharp laugh at Toast’s comment but sobered and said, “I promise.” Keyon relaxed and brushed his wet hair aside. I added, “I yearn to feel complete, but I’ll be patient.”
“We’re complete no matter what, moonflower,” he whispered and lifted me up to meet his starved lips. My poor male had gone so many years without a female’s touch; I was excited to make up for that lost time.
I wrapped my legs around his narrow hips, and he walked us out of the pool that should have cooked me. He grinned wickedly when he set me down and dried my body with his fire. I squealed when he lingered a little too long on my breasts, but he just chuckled and moved around to finish drying my hair. I snorted with delight and good humor when I looked at the dry but frizzy strands.
“Ready to go, moonflower?” he said once I was dressed. I nodded excitedly, and he claimed my lips for one last heated kiss before backing up and shifting into Toast. I waved at my favorite dragon, the other half of my fated mate, and he snorted affectionately. Bracing myself, I stepped carefully onto his fingers, and he scooped me up before launching into the air.
Flying was terrifying while simultaneously being the most wonderful experience in the world. I wasn’t supposed to be so far from the ground, but I knew my mate would take care of me. I winced as my ears popped and shouted my question to Toast. “Is my head going to explode? This happened last time!”
He released a chuff-like noise and said, No, but I should have been more careful on my ascent. I will go slower next time, mate. I’m sorry. Dragons are not as sensitive to altitude change. I forgot. Yawning helps to clear the pressure. Try that.
I breathed a sigh of relief and yawned while staring at the scenery. It took a little while, but sure enough, it worked. Less distracted now, I noticed that the ground was starting to look a little marshy, and fog was crawling over massive hills that were just small enough to not be considered mountains. Farther into this new area, any trees that remained appeared quite dead.
“It seems that the Sun God does not favor this spot,” I shouted to Toast, and I barely heard his rumbling growl.
Perhaps this place does not wish for the Sun God to see its secrets, he said forebodingly.
We know a witch lives here that Gunel seems to dislike, Keyon’s voice said. Who knows what else might be lurking. Despite the dark warning, my heart warmed; I’d forgotten he could speak from Toast! Keyon hummed a chuckle, and I realized he may have felt my excitement. This new bond was very intriguing.
Her house is going to be tucked around the next hill, Toast, Keyon said with an edge to his voice. Toast and Keyon were silent for several minutes, and I began to get nervous when Toast’s claws flexed slightly, cutting off my view of the scenery.
Mate, Toast said anxiously, we are scenting dragons in the area. They may not be hostile, but they have a smell we’re unfamiliar with. We’ll take a detour to avoid them, especially since you’re still in heat.
I patted and rubbed his palm in acknowledgement since I didn’t know if he’d be able to hear my response. I tried to stay calm, not wanting to overwhelm my mate with my fear.
I’m starting to think flying straight here was a bad idea, Keyon murmured over the mind-link. Elpis, the ride might get a little rough. Hold on to one of Toast’s fingers. I squeezed my hands between Toast’s fingers to wrap my arms around one, then sent a desperate prayer to the Sun God, hoping that He could pierce the fog to watch over us.
There was a massive lurch, and gravity shifted dramatically. I was disoriented for a moment, and it seemed like my dragon had turned left, then shot straight up with several pumps of his wings. I whimpered but tried to stay calm for the benefit of my mate. Being kept in a miserable state of suspense chipped away at my body and mind, not knowing when Toast would switch directions, and I found myself nauseated.
It’s ok if you have to throw up, mate, Toast said. I will endure it. I care for you.
As it was Toast, the sentiment was… shockingly generous, and I definitely had a feeling that my stomach wouldn’t tolerate the blind ride much longer. What was worse, though, was not knowing what was happening. Keyon and Toast were quiet for long stretches of time, and my anxiety spiked beyond my control when I heard roaring through the wind .
“Don’t leave me in two darks,” I begged at the top of my lungs. Could they hear me? “Tell me what’s happening. I can’t bear not knowing!”
They have King’s Poison, Elpis. We are trying to avoid them, but we’ve never seen it ejected like breath. Something isn’t right with these shif— Keyon’s update was cut off when Toast made a sudden turn and roared. I realized that my mate wouldn’t be able to use his front claws because of me, and I became deathly afraid for him. I fought the fear viciously, focused on Toast, and sent all the positive energy I could muster.
I’ll stir up essence… move blinders, my beast announced tiredly. Her voice startled me. Can extend to hot bread.
You did this before, I said. Help me help our mate!
Easier now… with marking, she said falteringly. Tiring. Not quite awake… I try…
How does it work? I asked, trying not to panic at the wasted time talking.
Shine to shame. Poisoned heart just as blind… is how.
But how do we give it? Did we already do it? I sensed that she was gone and yelped at a series of lurches and snarls. Clutching at Toast’s finger, I shut my eyes tight and tried to give him all my hope and what I thought could be brightness. I thought about the Sun God and imagined myself as Him, just for a moment.
Shine, shine, shine! I begged, having no clue if any of this was making a difference. There was a huge impact that stunned me, and I heard a number of pained roars. Then Toast descended, and I screamed.