So, Cayd and Madelyn are not bonded together, dragon-style.
There was no question that Cayden would sleep in the same bed as me last night. And while I appreciate his desire that I know myself before giving myself to him, technically, I already have. That’s what it feels like anyway and it’s what King Ailduin said.But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t want to sleep with me curled in his arms. It’s been a very, very long time since I slept this soundly. I feel safe, warm, and happy curled up with him. Although he did explain that werewolves body heat runs higher than a human’s body temperature, I never got too hot. His body temperature felt perfect to me.I snuggle against him as I wake, feeling his hard length pressing into my back.“How’d you sleep?” he asks, sounding much more awake than someone who just woke up.“Best sleep I’ve had in forever,” I tell him. His arms are stroking my body in a way that has heat pooling in my core. “How long have you been awake.”“A while. I’ve been enjoying having you in my arms, watching you sleep….listening
I watch a series of emotions go over my mate’s face when I tell her that I think she somehow blessed GoldMoon and Lucero with pregnancies. As the last of their kind, there would never be another way to have a next generation of special creatures. Unless my mate could do it.“How would that even work?” she asks.“The magic of dragons,” King Ailduin says, walking into the room with Anastasia. “I think Alpha Cayden might be right. Not only did you bond yourself to him without realizing it, but you saw the plants when you left the forest last night.”“Right, but they were glowing. Lucero and GoldMoon weren’t glowing when I left them,” Madelyn says.“No, but dragon magic always made the world a better place. The air was cleaner, the earth was more fertile and more stable. Things like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were less frequent than they are now. The earth flourished, bloomed and blossomed anywhere dragons lived. People were healthy and lived good lives, free from disease or crippl
“This is a lot,” I say, rubbing my eyes. These books are huge. Cayd suggested that I take one and he take one. A lot of what is written in them is the same, it’s about the lineage of the dragon line that goes back for centuries.Both tell stories of how they met the elves, the giants and all of the supernatural creatures, and then it begins talking about the humans. At first, everything went well. Dragons and humans bonded and became the dragons and riders that you read about in fantasy novels. It makes me wonder how many of those books are an accurate or close to accurate description of what life was really like back in those days.It was when they met the humans and began bonding themselves that their stories change. The Falkor line only bonded to women. The were the Guardians of all women, but primarily those who they were bonded to and their daughters. Draches, on the other hand, were the Protectors of men. They only bonded to men and they protected the one they were bonded to and
I can tell that all of this is beginning to overwhelm Madelyn. It was a lot to begin with and it just keeps piling on.“Hey, why don’t we go for a run. We can go see the giants and Hope. Baron would love to run with you on his back again,” I say, watching her face. She might need some rest instead of an invigorating run, but she seems happy with anything that will get us out of this room.I see Buppig and Lily about to argue, but Madelyn has had enough for the day.“Why don’t you two speak to Aolis and Ailduin about what we’ve discussed, get their impressions. Madelyn needs to step away. Remember, she’s learning all of this about herself in just a couple of days. It’s a lot," I tell them.“Of course, Madelyn. You must think I’m a terrible Queen,” Lily says to her.“Not at all. I think you’re everything a queen should be, smart and beautiful and caring,” Madelyn says.Lily smiles. “I can see why King Ailduin was so taken with the dragons. You really do have a pure soul, don't you? Hopef
The giants are sweet. Okay, they’re a little scary, but I can feel their excitement to have a dragon in their midst again.A dragon. I guess I’ve accepted that I have dragon blood. It’s hard not to here, where everything feels magical and safe and loving. Okay, maybe that’s mostly Cayden that feels that way, but it still adds to the overall magic of Araphyra.When I’m done, Cayd shifts back into Baron and I wave at my new friends, the giants. Then I climb onto Baron’s back and howl. That’s another silly thing that I love doing. Howling with Baron. His answering howl is instantaneous and I grip his fur as he takes off again.This time, there are no woodland creatures flying with us. Cayd mentioned that Hope lives if the taboo land and no fae go there, not even Lucero, who stays back as we run forward. When Baron slows down, it’s eerily quiet. Unlike the woods in Araphyra and even back in Cayd’s family’s pack, the aren’t any sounds in the forest. No birds, no crickets, nothing. Just quie
My mate still has no idea how incredible she is or how much power she has. Thankfully, she uses her powers for good.I tune into her mind as Baron runs. She loves riding on his back and howling with him. When we pass the trench with the giants, she howls at them and they raise their giant fists into the air, pumping in their version of a hello, I guess.Once we’ve passed the trench, the woodland creatures join us and my mate, my wolf, and all the woodland creatures begin howling again.When we get close enough to the castle, I hear Hera, Lily’s wolf, howling a welcome to us and we all howl again.My mate is laughing as Baron slows to a stop, letting her slide off our back. Lily smiles at her as I shift and pull on clothes.“Did you have a nice time?” Lily asks.“We did,” Madelyn says.“You could have told me that you’ve been sparring with Hope much more frequently,” I growl at Lily.“Where’s the fun in that?” Lily asks, unable to hide her smile. I knew she did it on purpose, hoping I’d
“Are you going to mark me tonight?” Madelyn asks me as soon as we get to our room.I look at her a moment. “Come sit with me," I say and rather than letting her sit in her own chair, I pull her into my lap. I wrap an arm around her waist and take her hand in my free one. This is the moment of truth.I take a deep breath, but then focus on her when I feel her nervousness, her fear that I don’t want to mark her, that maybe I've been putting her off because I had no intention of ever marking her. I quickly put my hands on her face, turning her head so she's looking at me. I am not Alec.“That’s not it at all, Madelyn. I would hope, after everything that we’ve been through here, that you realize that I will never, ever betray you. I will never leave you. I will never want any woman other than you, ever. You are it for me. What you saw was me preparing for YOU to not want this. Because you have to know that once it’s done, that’s it. There is no going back. There is do-over, there is no div
I could feel Cayd’s body shaking with the control he was exerting in order to go slowly with me. I appreciate it, but something about his touch continues to light something inside me. The more he touches me, the more I want and need his touch. It's like my body is drawing him into me.I begin to feel a possessiveness, a need to have this man in my life, to have his mark on my neck for the world to see. And even more than that, I need the world to know that he is mine, only mine.When his canines enter my neck, and I feel like I’m going to explode with the pleasure inside me. It’s like the light inside me needs a place to exit, as if it’s expanding and is about to burst. My body jerks with the orgasms that Cayd has given me, one after another, but it hasn’t released the light inside me.It isn’t until I feel him release inside me, feel the warm jets of his cum coating my insides that I find my outlet. Something stings my gums and going solely on instinct, I bite down on Cayd’s neck, the
We have lunch with Luna Grace, who told me to call her Aunt now that I’m part of the family, Alpha Eli, who told me to call him Uncle, Alpha Emerson, and Quinn. Quinn insists that I’m her sister, so I shouldn’t call her Luna and Emerson told me whatever made me most comfortable was fine with him.I’m pretty sure they asked more questions about our time in Araphyra than I did about the trial tomorrow. Everyone was shocked that there were two prophecies about me and Uncle Eli and Emerson asked Cayd a lot of questions about us bringing the return of the dragons. I could tell Cayd was proud that he was mentioned in my prophecy, but honestly, if he’s my mate, who else would have been mentioned?Because it’s winter and we stayed for several hours, the sun was beginning to set before we left and I had a chance to see all of the sprites' witchy lights begin to glow in the forest.“We definitely need lots of lights,” I tell Cayd as he walks behind me, wrapping his arms around me.“Should we get
I could feel Madelyn’s sadness as we left Araphyra and I wanted to make it go away. It occurred to me that this decorating thing might make her happy again, and I was right. I’ll decorate my entire apartment if it will keep my mate happy. Hell, I decorate the whole damn building if it makes her happy.I may be more like my mother than my father, but I learned from my father and my brothers that you’ll never be happier than when you make your mate happy. And they are right. Feeling Madelyn’s sadness turn to happiness makes me feel like the king of the world.While I drive, Madelyn turns on the car radio. She begins singing along to the songs. I don’t know any of the words, but I dance along as she sings happily. She’s still singing as we pull up to the entrance of Safe Haven. I stop at the guard gate.“Can you let Alpha Emerson and my sister know that Alpha Cayden and his mate, Madelyn, are here to visit?” I ask the guard.“Go ahead, Alpha. I’ll let them know you’re coming.”“Thank you
I can feel Cayd’s pride in me. There’s so much goodness in him. His heart is gentle and kind. I know that others described him that way, and I knew it from our interactions. But knowing it and feeling it are very different. Everything about Cayd is warm and inviting, drawing me in and making me want more.“So, Madelyn, tomorrow at 10am, you need to be ready to face Alpha Alec and maybe some of his pack members. I’m also expecting that he’ll bring other Alphas with him since we killed his father,” Lily says.“Those Alphas are probably in league with him,” Cayd says.“I’d bet money on it, which is why all of the Guardians are invited to attend tomorrow. We shouldn’t need them since Riley, Leana, and I will be there along with Mehira and Ennata.”“Well that covers the big factions, and it will be interesting to see how these Alphas feel about a council of all females making judgements about them,” Cayd smirks.“I doubt they’re going to like it very much,” Lily says, her smile a bit more v
I stare at my mate’s mark on my neck. I understand now why she wanted me to see it. She wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t like it, it’s just unlike any mate mark I’ve ever seen before.I stand from the water, turning to my mate. I’m not sure what she sees on my face, but she frowns, just a moment, before I take two steps and have her in my arms, devouring her mouth in a possessive kiss.I think I understand the power that I felt now when she bit into me. She gave me her dragon’s magic. Much like she will be stronger with my mark, I’m now stronger with hers. And maybe it’s because I’m a shifter that I feel it more than she has , but damn, dragon magic is very powerful magic.I pour my love and appreciation of the gift my mate has given me into the kiss.When I pull back, we’re both breathless and I can feel her dizziness from the power and emotions in my kiss. I’ll never get tired of this feeling.“I’ll never get tired of it either,” she says, her eyes still closed.I frown at my mate.‘Ca
I could feel Cayd’s body shaking with the control he was exerting in order to go slowly with me. I appreciate it, but something about his touch continues to light something inside me. The more he touches me, the more I want and need his touch. It's like my body is drawing him into me.I begin to feel a possessiveness, a need to have this man in my life, to have his mark on my neck for the world to see. And even more than that, I need the world to know that he is mine, only mine.When his canines enter my neck, and I feel like I’m going to explode with the pleasure inside me. It’s like the light inside me needs a place to exit, as if it’s expanding and is about to burst. My body jerks with the orgasms that Cayd has given me, one after another, but it hasn’t released the light inside me.It isn’t until I feel him release inside me, feel the warm jets of his cum coating my insides that I find my outlet. Something stings my gums and going solely on instinct, I bite down on Cayd’s neck, the
“Are you going to mark me tonight?” Madelyn asks me as soon as we get to our room.I look at her a moment. “Come sit with me," I say and rather than letting her sit in her own chair, I pull her into my lap. I wrap an arm around her waist and take her hand in my free one. This is the moment of truth.I take a deep breath, but then focus on her when I feel her nervousness, her fear that I don’t want to mark her, that maybe I've been putting her off because I had no intention of ever marking her. I quickly put my hands on her face, turning her head so she's looking at me. I am not Alec.“That’s not it at all, Madelyn. I would hope, after everything that we’ve been through here, that you realize that I will never, ever betray you. I will never leave you. I will never want any woman other than you, ever. You are it for me. What you saw was me preparing for YOU to not want this. Because you have to know that once it’s done, that’s it. There is no going back. There is do-over, there is no div
My mate still has no idea how incredible she is or how much power she has. Thankfully, she uses her powers for good.I tune into her mind as Baron runs. She loves riding on his back and howling with him. When we pass the trench with the giants, she howls at them and they raise their giant fists into the air, pumping in their version of a hello, I guess.Once we’ve passed the trench, the woodland creatures join us and my mate, my wolf, and all the woodland creatures begin howling again.When we get close enough to the castle, I hear Hera, Lily’s wolf, howling a welcome to us and we all howl again.My mate is laughing as Baron slows to a stop, letting her slide off our back. Lily smiles at her as I shift and pull on clothes.“Did you have a nice time?” Lily asks.“We did,” Madelyn says.“You could have told me that you’ve been sparring with Hope much more frequently,” I growl at Lily.“Where’s the fun in that?” Lily asks, unable to hide her smile. I knew she did it on purpose, hoping I’d
The giants are sweet. Okay, they’re a little scary, but I can feel their excitement to have a dragon in their midst again.A dragon. I guess I’ve accepted that I have dragon blood. It’s hard not to here, where everything feels magical and safe and loving. Okay, maybe that’s mostly Cayden that feels that way, but it still adds to the overall magic of Araphyra.When I’m done, Cayd shifts back into Baron and I wave at my new friends, the giants. Then I climb onto Baron’s back and howl. That’s another silly thing that I love doing. Howling with Baron. His answering howl is instantaneous and I grip his fur as he takes off again.This time, there are no woodland creatures flying with us. Cayd mentioned that Hope lives if the taboo land and no fae go there, not even Lucero, who stays back as we run forward. When Baron slows down, it’s eerily quiet. Unlike the woods in Araphyra and even back in Cayd’s family’s pack, the aren’t any sounds in the forest. No birds, no crickets, nothing. Just quie
I can tell that all of this is beginning to overwhelm Madelyn. It was a lot to begin with and it just keeps piling on.“Hey, why don’t we go for a run. We can go see the giants and Hope. Baron would love to run with you on his back again,” I say, watching her face. She might need some rest instead of an invigorating run, but she seems happy with anything that will get us out of this room.I see Buppig and Lily about to argue, but Madelyn has had enough for the day.“Why don’t you two speak to Aolis and Ailduin about what we’ve discussed, get their impressions. Madelyn needs to step away. Remember, she’s learning all of this about herself in just a couple of days. It’s a lot," I tell them.“Of course, Madelyn. You must think I’m a terrible Queen,” Lily says to her.“Not at all. I think you’re everything a queen should be, smart and beautiful and caring,” Madelyn says.Lily smiles. “I can see why King Ailduin was so taken with the dragons. You really do have a pure soul, don't you? Hopef