head cleared.
The wave of pain subsided, and Ezra pulled Shira’s face back, tucking it unto the crook of his neck before she could panic or get embarrassed about what had just happened. His hand wound through her hair, the other banded around her middle as he rocked her slightly in place.
I’d questioned his suitability as Alpha more than once over the past few months, but these past weeks had proved his commitment to putting Shira’s needs before his own. Nothing could have proven his worth as a leader more.
“It hurts so much,” Shira whimpered.
“I know, my lo-, er, Shira. I know. We're here, and we're not going anywhere. Proximity to your mates helps, that's why we felt the draw at your emergence. Well, your first emergence. So we could support you in this moment.”
Levi moved closer to check on Shira and she reached for him instantly, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the ground.
“Seff, swap places with me,” Ezra grunted, watching Seff steam from the corner of his eye. We all needed time with her to settle our dragons, and Seff, being the hottest tempered and most recently emerged dragon of the males, was finding it difficult to stand on the sidelines.
Seff didn’t hesitate for a second, dropping next to Ezra and pulling Shira into his lap. She nuzzled into him, still keeping one hand on Levi, who sat awkwardly behind her. Ezra stood, he and I keeping guard over the trio on the ground. It wasn’t like our presence could ease the physical ache, but it would make her feel subconsciously more secure to have us near when she was so vulnerable.
And then there was our silver dragon. Hiram hung back, watching from a distance like he wasn’t sure if he’d be welcome closer or not. After a few minutes, he seemed to build up the courage to approach.
“Shira?” Hiram asked tentatively. Her response was immediate. She shook her head, burrowing further into Seff, leaning away from Hiram. It was a blatant rejection. Somehow, she’d been able to let some of her initial mistrust of the rest of us go, but Hiram’s actions had pushed her even further away from him.
“Shira, let me comfort you,” he pleaded, sounding agonized.
“No.” Shira's voice was hoarse, but her conviction was unmissable. “You don't get to touch me.”
I hated discord within the flight, but I was glad she was punishing him. We’d all been telling him what a spoiled brat he was, but there was nothing like your mate’s rejection to make it clear you’d been an insufferable asshole.
“The word you are looking for is sorry,” Levi said acerbically when Hiram's awkward silence stretched. Hiram gave him a look that clearly said Levi wasn't forgiven for the punch he'd delivered to his face back in The Alchemist's cabin.
The first shift was agony, but it was usually fast. Shira’s seemed to progress even quicker than usual, perhaps because she’d started the process all those months ago in Glendower’s cave. She rubbed aggressively at her skin as the first golden scales crackled and broke through, and stretched her neck back and forth as the muscles and bones around her jaw pulled and fractured.
“We need to step back now,” Ezra murmured, keeping his tone low and reassuring. “We’ll be right here Shira, nothing can hurt you. Let the shift happen.”
She let out an aggrieved whine as Seff and Levi helped her onto all fours on the ground and moved back to give her dragon some room. All five of us watched with bated breath as bones snapped and our tiny little mate grew into a dangerous beast right before our eyes.
With a scream that morphed into a dragon’s roar, the shift was complete. Shira stood tall on wobbly legs, inspecting her new form.
Her dragon was fucking magnificent.
Each golden scale glinted in the fading light, from the top of her regal head to the tip of her elegant tail. Like all gold dragons, she was smaller than a male, but like Shira, this dragon was even smaller than most golds. She either didn’t know that or didn’t care. Shira turned and looked down her snout at us like she was a fearsome warrior queen, ready to lead us into battle. And fuck me, I would follow her.
No rules about what golds should or shouldn’t do, no expectations of what females could or couldn’t handle. None of it would stop me bowing down at her feet. That’s what she was meant for. Shira was a leader. A