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Warmth spreads through my mind. Good. Then it is decided.
"Mostly decided?" I nod at our surroundings. My hair is constantly whipping around my head, and I suspect it'll be a permanent tangle before long. Add in the fact that the wind never stops and I have no clothing? My skin is pebbled with goosebumps. "I don't want to stay up here."
Here is safest, he tells me stubbornly.
"This isn't a home. It's not comfortable for me."
I will make it comfortable. Tell me what you need.
Immediately a dozen things flash through my mind. A mattress. Bedding. A pillow. Something to protect me from the rain. Blankets. Food. Water. Clothing. And that's just for starters. We need everything.
We will get that, he reassures me. All of it. And then we will come up here and make this our home.
A home. I look around. It's not my favorite place, but it's safe. Maybe it can work.
I will make it work, he promises. I will give you everything.
How can I refuse?
19
MHAL
Now that we have established our nest, I want nothing more than to take my mate in my arms and taste her again. Claim her again. I am hungry to touch her, but her thoughts are worried and full of distress. She is cold, the high wind tearing at her. She wants coverings and somewhere soft to sit down. She is hungry and thirsty, and none of these things can be solved while we are up in our nest.
Thoughts of mating and exploring each other must be put aside until my mate is comfortable. You are hungry? Thirsty? Shall I hunt and bring you something back?
Her thoughts immediately become distressed. Jenny turns to me, putting her hands on my chest and shaking her head. "No, don't leave me up here!"
It would only be for a short time. I would come back.
She is unconvinced. You forget my name when you shift forms. How do I know you won't forget me and I'll starve to death up here? There's no way for me to get down. She frets, her hands brushing over my skin. If you shift, you have to take me with you.
I cannot hunt with you in my claws. It would be dangerous for you. My fire breath would catch in the wind and burn your soft hair. I touch one lock and it clings to my skin, wrapping around my fingers as if it belongs to me. The shorn claws of my one hand look strange, too, but I do not regret them. I would shear all my claws and hunt with my jaws and fire if it meant that my mate is safer.
Jen-nee—no, she thinks of herself as Jenny, I realize—gazes up at me, her eyes pleading. There's an entire theme park spread out below us. Let's go see what we can find down there? Then if we can't find anything, you can go hunting. But let's try it my way first?
Very well, are you ready? I pull her against me and nuzzle at her throat, burying my face in her scent.
"You'll remember who I am?" she asks.
Of course. You are my mate. You smell of my fires.
She gives me a skeptical look.
Trust me.
Jenny hesitates, and then nods, taking a step back. "Okay. You shift and then pick me up, and let's go down to the ground."
I release her, waiting until she backtracks enough that I will not knock her over when I shift to my larger battle form. She seems very small up here, her wild hair ripping about her head as the wind tears at us. I will not forget her. She is beautiful and perfect, my soft, lovely Jenny. She can trust me. The knowledge of her is etched into my spirit, like my own name.
"You don't remember that when you shift, either," Jenny calls out helpfully, picking up on my thoughts.
I will this time. I am your mate. It will all be different now. I promise. My thoughts are in perfect order. I am clear-headed and strong. I am no longer lost. I give her a confident look. Watch and see.
JENNY
The moment Mhal shifts forms, his eyes turn black. He takes to the skies, roaring, and darts away.
I let out a sigh, my hands on my hips.
Well, shit. He's forgotten me.
Immediately, the dragon veers back toward the old oil derrick. He roosts atop the broken elevator and lowers his head to glare down at me. His nostrils flare, and I know he's picking up my scent.
"Hi, Mhal. Remember me?" I offer, determined not to get offended. There's something wrong with his memory. It's like the moment he becomes a dragon, he forgets the basics. He's mentioned that this world is awful, that something is wrong with his head here, so it must be related. No sense in getting upset. I wave up at him, my thoughts firmly cheerful. "I'm your mate. If you pick me up, you can smell yourself all over me."
