The (Not) Satisfied Dragon - Colette Rhodes Page 0,16

revolutionary. A rebel.

“You're beautiful,” Ezra said, looking up at her with appropriate reverence. Shira tossed her head, preening for him. Apparently, her dragon was less inhibited than she was.

She leaned down, nudging Ezra’s forehead with her nose. It was an unusually bold move for a gold to her Alpha, and I tensed to prepare for Ezra to reprimand her and fuck everything up. His hand lovingly stroked the glinting scales on the side of her face, and I wondered if maybe I’d been too hard on my cousin. We’d all suffered in Shira’s absence, but Ezra had endured both our anger and Shira’s rejection.

His assumptions about Shira had been wrong, but it's not like we'd disagreed with him. We'd just hidden behind his Alpha title while he dutifully repeated the lines we'd been fed all our lives. If Shira could give him a second chance, we all could.

Too bad Hiram had let his inner spoiled child loose and ruined our first actual shot at a united flight.

“Shift back, Shira,” Ezra murmured, still stroking her face. “Your dragon is exquisite, but if I don’t hear your voice soon, I’ll lose my mind. I need to know you’re feeling okay.”

If Shira were bonded to the flight, she’d be able to project to us. The reminder sat uncomfortably with me. Maybe if we hadn’t fucked up with her the first time around, we’d already be bonded. Then again, perhaps not. Even if I didn’t know Shira’s backstory now, I would know she was inexperienced with intimacy — there was nothing practiced about that kiss we’d shared. Consummating the bond would be a big deal for her.

The fathomless dark eyes of Shira's dragon gave Ezra an assessing look, like she was trying to decide whether she was going to bother listening to him or not. Levi chuckled, an admiring expression on his face as he took in our defiant mate.

With a huff, her scales receded. It was probably a good thing Ezra hadn’t warned her that the first shift back hurt too. Better to get it over and done with.

She made a pained whining sound that hit me straight in the gut as her bones started breaking and morphing back into place. She landed on all fours, gasping for air, naked. I stepped forward to give her my shirt since the one she’d been wearing was ruined, and I’d hated seeing her in some random male’s clothing, truth be told.

Shira snatched the shirt out of my hand and pulled it on quickly, hunching over as much as possible to maintain her modesty. For all the many ways Shira was confident, she was shy in other respects, especially when it came to any kind of social interaction.

“How are you feeling?” Ezra asked, moving forward like he wanted to touch her, but holding himself back at the last second. She’d welcomed our affection when she was in pain and vulnerable. It was unlikely she’d be so receptive to it now.

“I’ve had better days,” she groaned, sitting down and leaning back on her arms as she rolled her head from side to side.

“A bath is the best thing for the sore muscles,” Levi said kindly, always thinking of ways to make Shira more comfortable. “And a big meal, you’re probably starving.”

Her stomach grumbled in agreement and Shira’s cheeks pinkened adorably. From lethal to cute in the space of two days.

“You could come back to the den with us and we could take care of you there,” Seff proposed hesitantly, likely knowing he’d get shut down. I’d been thinking the same thing, but the awkward discomfort radiating off her made me want to punch him for asking the question.

“Not yet,” Ezra answered for her, giving her an understanding nod. “We’ll stay at the cottage and take care of you there.”

“Will you now?” Shira asked drily, though she seemed more amused than angry.

“Don’t ask us to leave you while you’re in pain, Shira. It’s torture to walk away from you,” Ezra said quietly, kneeling in front of her, moving into her personal space. Shira looked up at him like she was memorizing his features, her eyes drifting over his face assessingly.

“Fine, but you have to leave if I tell you to leave. I can fly on my own now,” Shira reminded him, before looking past him at the rest of us. “And you can stay outside,” she added coolly, giving Hiram a disdainful look. He hung his head and rubbed the back of his neck, wisely saying nothing that