Tropical Dragons Series Box Set - Naomi Lucas Page 0,35
fear, her sadness like a bladed claw to my heart. To think, minutes before, all I knew was sublime happiness. Now each second as she moves farther away, it takes every bit of control I have to keep from chasing after her.
Hunting her, catching her, forcing her to the jungle floor and punishing her for leaving my side. From taking her, reminding her that she chose me to be her mate, not once, but twice—many times. Though it was I who demanded she flee.
But the sensation of her loss pains me like no other, and the farther she gets, the worse it becomes, gripping my throat and strangling me.
I am losing her.
She is getting away. My hands wrench at my sides.
I need her.
Protect her at all costs.
The femdragon’s hot breath gusts over me. “The comet’s curse? The one that changed the ways of Venys, manipulated mating cycles, and made many species go extinct, or… transform to accommodate? That curse, human dragon? I know of it.”
“But do you know what it did to us, to humans?”
Her wings flutter and leaves fall around us. “Humans? Why should I care for such a weak, dying species?”
She does not know.
I smile and raise my hand, palm up between us. Something she should fear greatly. But I am already bonded and know that my touch will have no effect on her. She does not know that.
“When a human touches a dragon,” I begin, turning my hand over once, then back palm up again. “The dragon transforms and becomes human himself, loses his immortality, and is fatally entwined with that human forever.”
She rears back. “You lie!”
“Smell the air again, femdragon. You smell me. You are in heat, and you are talking to me. How is that possible? Have you ever spoken to a human before?”
I keep my palm ready between us. An unusual threat.
The femdragon growls, her talons scrape the ground. Then I realize… The red of the comet is not shining down over her or me. Glancing up, I see clouds covering the sky—the dawn sunlight. Scanning the area, I find the shadows deep and gloomy. The sky darkens.
And under the femdragon’s scent, an aroma of petrichor blooms.
A stirring is happening far off.
A great alpha, an ancient is rising. I growl inwardly, worried for Issa being all alone. She has a way of encountering my kind…
The femdragon looks to the sky, then towards the right, in the direction Issa ran. She senses it too. She is weak and young, but she feels a frenetic build like I do.
Her gaze snaps back to mine. “You do speak dragon tongue,” she rasps. “Have you turned? If not, where is my mate?”
“I have turned, female, over a day ago. I was to be your mate.”
Black eyes flare, teeth flash. “No!”
“You know I do not lie. We do not lie.”
She hisses raspily, and her wings expand furiously, slicing through several tree trunks with force. “I will not be bested by a human!”
“I was not trying to best you, great one, but it is too late. I am bonded, and you will find no mate here.”
Steam begins to pour from her snout. I do not have much more time before she strikes. If I die, Issa dies. Growing tense, I ready myself. I will not let Issa die. If she dies, our young dies. Our future young will cease to exist.
“I will destroy you, undragon! Then we will see who is right. Your touch will not take my immortality.” She pulls back her tail to lash out.
“Femdragon!” I yell in response. “Do you not feel another, more worthy mate rising as we speak?”
Her tail stops.
“He will be seeking you soon, do you want to stoke his ire by making him search you out in another alpha’s territory? Do you want to risk my touch before he finds you?” I lie.
She stares at me keenly, her long, black body stilling, considering my words, feeling out with her own abilities to sense the other alpha rising. Knowing she could brutalize me at any moment, I tense and glance to the ledge on my right, readying to make for it if things go sour. Cursing under my breath, I pray that my new limbs do not hinder my speed.
“Another alpha,” she hisses.
“A stronger one.” I cant my head. “He is heading for you now.”
She drops her jaw and a mating shriek assaults the air. “A stronger one,” she rasps after, agreeing.
A day ago, I would have killed the other alpha for her words