My dragon seemed content after the short flight, but I knew that wasn’t the only reason. He felt her presence and reveled in the knowledge that she was nearby. If I had any control of the beast, I’d leash him up and give him a muzzle. Clearly he didn’t have any common sense. This girl was trouble. The sooner she was bound and bred, the sooner she’d no longer be my problem.
She grew aware of my presence in increments. Because I was watching her so closely, I noticed when her shoulders inched up toward her ears and her muscles tightened. As she was readying herself to flee, I took a step forward, the frosted snow on the creek banks crunching under my boots. At the sound, she whirled around as though prepared to fight, her hand going to an impressive dagger sheathed at her side. Strange, considering most women abhorred violence.
“No need for that,” I said smoothly, holding my hands up in supplication. “It’s just me, Princess. Although I doubt that dagger would be much protection if your would-be assassin came back for a second try with friends in tow.”
Before answering, Elena glanced back over my shoulder toward the castle. “What are you doing here?” she asked. Her hand was still resting on the dagger. It made me want to smile to think of her trying to use it on me. I wondered if she knew how to use the damn thing. She’d probably end up hurting us both.
“Wondering why you thought it a good idea to travel outside the protection of the castle walls on the same night someone tried to end your life.” If my tone was harsh, so be it. Maybe she needed someone to frightensense into her. We weren’t bound yet, but as far as I was concerned, she’d become mine the day her family had promised her to me. And I didn’t take well to someone trying to harm what was mine.
“There’s still another sunrise before we’re bound together, Lord Blaque, so I’d say the answer to your question is none of your business.” Despite the chill, her cheeks blazed with fire. Her hand fisted over the butt of the dagger, but her gaze was steady, which surprised me. Princess Elena had some fight in her after all. In another lifetime, I would have enjoyed having a woman like her at my side. Ihadenjoyed having a woman like her at my side.
And look where it had gotten me.
“And I would say that making sure you stay alive until we’re bound is precisely my business. Considering I’ve spent the last twenty years providing for the crown, it seems the least you could do to make sure to hold up your end of the bargain.”
She colored even more, her jaw working in barely contained rage. I wondered if she’d been so passionate when she’d held court before her dismissal. The stuffy Council wouldn’t have approved, I was sure.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I can take care of myself,” she answered, as she wrapped her cloak around her waist. “I want to be alone, if it’s all the same to you. You’ll have the rest of our lives to smother me, I’m sure.”
I wanted to dip into her mind then, scent her thoughts, but I restrained myself. I knew all too well how easy it would be to drown in her. Opening a mental connection between us would make it easier to know what she was thinking, but harder to know where she ended and I began. Not all shifters could blend minds the way dragons could, and for good reason. It wasn’t always safe. The mental connection was chaotic at best and psychotic at worst.
Forcing myself to turn my thoughts back to her, I said, “Unfortunately, that’s a wish I can’t grant, but I can wait with you until you’re ready to return to the castle.”
With a toss of her hair, Elena turned back to the water and plopped back down. I took that to mean she didn’t object… or at least knew when she couldn’t win. Good. That lesson would serve her well. I meant to get what I wanted. It would be easier on all of us if she wouldn’t fight me.
Much as I didn’t want to be intrigued by my soon-to-be-mate, I found myself amused by her irritation. I spent the next hour or so enjoying being away from the castle and listening to the sounds of the forest. My little mate spent it shivering and staring determinedly in the other direction. Her refusal to pay me any mind didn’t bother me until I realized her mouth and the tips of her fingers had turned blue from the chill.
She glanced up, her face full of apprehension, when I stepped forward.
“No doubt you’d rather freeze to death than let me touch you,” I said, “but allow me the small liberty of making sure you make it to the mating bed.”
She scooted away from me. “What are you doing?” she asked.My dragon purred at her retreat. He liked it when she made him work for it.
I placed a hand on her ankle, and she gasped from the difference in temperature. “I’m going to make sure you don’t turn into an ice block. Easy,” I murmured. I felt my mind reaching for hers without bidding. Cursing myself, I tried to get it under control. The beast inside me wanted to know her, though. Wanted to feel her as I did, but I couldn’t let that happen. When I had it under control, I gritted out, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She snorted, but let me wrap my arms around her waist, her body as stiff as stone. At first, she didn’t seem to understand what I was doing, aside from the fact I was wrapping my own thin cloak around her. I could tell by the apprehensive look on her face that she didn’t think the material was enough to do much good. Body heat would do little when the temperature was so low and her dress was damp from the snow on the ground.
“What are…” she asked again then surprise stole the words right from her lips. Her eyes were level at my throat and she rubbed them when she caught sight of the scales there. No matter how many times she blinked, the scales didn’t go away.
Like most shifters, I could phase into different degrees of my animal form. In this form, the scales provided a shield against weapons and the elements. I was also able to increase or decrease my body temperature to suit the environment. Which I did until Elena groaned and pressed closer to my warmth.
“You’re doing an awful lot for a woman you’ve never even met before,” she said when her teeth stopped chattering.
“You’re the woman who may be the future mother of my child. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Elena, which I can’t do if you leave the protection of the castle. Promise me, no more forays into the forest unguarded. I don’t want to stifle you, but I don’t want anything to happen to your pretty little neck either.” My gaze wandered down to the neck in question. I wondered what it would taste like, and my dragon wondered what it would be like to give her our mark.
Contrite, she turned her eyes back to the water. “Forgive me. I merely wanted some time away from all the people. I’m afraid I’ve gotten used to the solitude at the temple. Court life doesn’t seem to suit me anymore.”
“I understand. I feel the same way. The Northlands can seem isolating, but if it’s solitude you’re looking for, then you’ll enjoy my home.”
“If I may ask, whatisyour home like? I’m afraid I’ve never been to the Northlands.”
I closed my eyes as I gathered her close into my warmth. “My castle was carved into the mountain range that spans the city of Fellenor. Some say there are parts of it that go so deep into the rock one can get lost trying to find their way out.”
“Is that true?” she asked.
“The crypts underneath the castle are immense and one could get lost if they don’t know where they’re going. But I’ve scoured every part of them. If you got lost, I’d find you.” She shivered at my words.
“What about your people? I’ve heard you’re the last full shifter of your clan. Is it true there hasn’t been another full-blooded dragon born in decades?”
