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We sat for a long moment, bodies facing one another as our eyes drifted up to admire the nighttime sky. It was so peaceful out here and the universe looked familiar yet different, reminding us how far we had traveled on our voyage.”
“I don’t want to kill her, too,” Radon offered, face still lifted to the sky. It felt like the words weren’t even spoken to me, but those dying embers in some far off corner of space.
I loosened my tail’s coil around our wrists so I could reach up to stroke the ridge lines beneath his hair, scratching gently at his scalp with my claws in the way that always soothed him. His tail unfurled from the branch to loop around my middle, urging me closer still.
“You mother was an Andridian, Radon,” I murmured, not wanting to break the gentle spell of his new serenity. “They are a delicate race. Their bone structure was very fine from the low gravity. Humans are more robust. I see plenty of warrior in them.”
“Really, ‘cause I seem to recall you ripping the arm off one of these hardy humans just a few hours ago.” His voice was wry, but his fingers threaded themselves through mine. “And then,” he chuckled at the image his memory provoked. “You threw it at him.”
“Hunters are different,” I growled. “They loathe our kind on principle and are willing to throw a deadly curse at any human who even bears a mating mark. They do not deserve our respect or protection.”
“They’re still human, Ast.”
“Barely,” I grumbled. “Besides, are you planning on trying to pull Tess’s limbs off when you mate with her?”
“That’s not the point.” Radon shifted on the branch, leaning with his back to the tree. His tail released me, swinging free. “You know mates don’t have halfling children. If we put a child in her, it will be a Drakon.”
“Drakons have mated successfully with humans for centuries, my love,” I replied. “Quasar submitted a request before we left. Why do you think our people always keep going back, despite the troubles? According to the Drakon Chronicles, human and Drakons matings have the highest birthing rate–by a considerable percentage–of any species we have been led to by the stars. And you know those old dragons are meticulous in their record keeping when it pertains to reproduction.” I unhooked my own tail to reach for his, twisting their ends together. When Radon responded, greedily tightening our connection, my mate’s unconscious possessiveness sent a warm thrum of pleasure up my spine. “You think that Argon and his mates dare deny Eden their seed? Or that Spectrum stays up at night fretting over Piper’s cycle, terrified that she’ll fall pregnant?”
“They haven’t watched it,” Radon whispered, voice hollow. “They don’t realize what the curse of a broken bond will do to their beasts.”
“Plenty of warriors have fallen in battle, Radon,” I reminded him. “Not all mates succumb after the bond is severed. Many find a way to gather those that remain closer still, to reinforce their love, while holding those they have lost safe in their hearts. Do you fret everytime you see me rise to battle?” Radon scoffed and rolled his eyes. “No, you do not. Yet one day I could meet my match. What then? Will you shrivel up and leave Quasar to struggle on alone? Or will you fight for him? Demand he continue to shed his own light through the solar eclipse of my passing?”
“I would fight forallof my mates,” Radon declared fiercely, his voice rough with his beast.
“As would I,” I affirmed. “It is different for us than it was for your fathers. We are not only bonded through Tess. We have our own foundation and it is rock solid.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It fucking does, Radon, our bond matters a great deal. But I’ll leave you to stew on that one until it gets through that thick skull of yours.” I laughed at his stubbornness, especially as I could feel his heartbeat quickening at the effect my words were having. I could feel the trickle of hope growing into a steady stream as he considered the possibility that our fate might be different to the path others had led. “Don’t kid yourself. What the three of us have–irrespective of Tess’ choice–is special. But you need to know that Quasar isn’t going to give up what the four of us could be. Nor will I. And I think, if you look deep down, it's not just your cock that’s interested in Tess.” I unhooked our tails and slid back down the branches, retracing my climb. When my feet touched the ground, I listened to the soft breathing of my mate still high up in the tree. “I’m going back to the bed waiting for us. I would like you to join us. I want to hold both of my bonded mates while we protect our new club and our fourth. But, ultimately, it’s up to you.”
I only made it a few yards, before I heard the rustle of leaves above and the groan of a bending branch, then a pair of stubborn yet fiercely loyal boots hit the dirt. I slowed my steps, waiting for my mate to catch up.
“Can we just…” his words trailed off.
“Can we just?” I stopped walking and turned around. “You need some time?”
“Can we just go to our shelter for now?” He held up his hands to stop my next words. “Just…” The deep sigh that fell from his lips pulled at my chest and the painful longing which swam in his eyes was palpable. “I’m not ready to go back to the bar.Yet,” he amended, quickly, to forestall my rebuttal. “I’m not ready to go back to the baryet. I promise we’ll be on guard for Tess. You know I wouldn’t let the fucking Hunters back in her territory.”
Our mate’s resolve to keep himself removed from our fourth was softening.
We were close, so fucking close I could almost taste it.
I took care not to let my beast’s eagerness to formalize this breakthrough show on my face, though. Instead, I tilted my head on the side, pretending to consider his question. “Quasar is in there with her, I suppose,” I reasoned, leading us back to our own pod set up just inside the trees beyond the bar. “Promise not to hit me with any more pillows?”
“Promise not to knot me–or her–and put our new mate in danger?” he countered, a smile starting to tug at the corner of his lips. Just a tiny movement, but I would take it.
“You know I can’t promise that, Radon,” I replied in mock-seriousness, the beast inside me adding a deep snarl of denial. “I never could resist feeding any of my mates my knot. Especially when they are begging me with their guilty eyes for every lick of pleasure I can offer.”
His eyes warmed with lust and the potent memory of many such moments.
“Just give us–all of us– a chance, Rad,” I whispered, pulling him close as we got to our tent. “Please?”
The nod he gave me was barely perceptible against my shoulder. And the dragon inside me huffed in relief. Neither of us was going to push our taciturn mate further. Every inch forward was a victory.
Inside the pod we’d set up, it was cold and dark. We’d failed to modify the internal climate controls to match the cooler climes of Valhalla’s Pass. Instead, they were still pumping out cool air, trying to combat the dry blasting heat of Drakonis. I tapped at the little screen, but it did nothing.
“Fucking console wasn’t responding properly when I tried to set it up,” Radon said over his shoulder as he dropped his jeans to the floor. “Need to talk to Spectrum tomorrow about getting us another one.”
