He pushes back at that, a low ripple of disagreement moving through me.
“Shedoesn’t,”Isay aloud, my voice rough.“Thecurse she’s under would make her get a big belly immediately the minute male seed is spilled inside her.Youunderstand that?Immediately.”
That gives him pause.Ifeel it—a flicker of consideration.
And she wouldn’t want you anyway,Igo on mentally, because it needs to be said.She’dthink it was unnatural.Frightening.Sodon’t even fucking think about trying to mount her!
That gets a reaction from him—sharp and indignant.Thefeeling that comes back through the bond is so clear it almost makes me snort despite myself.
I would never mount an unwilling female.
The offense in his tone is unmistakable.
I huff out a breath.
“All right,”Imutter.“Good.Thenwe’re clear.”
But he’s not finished.
“I want to know her,” he adds, the tone shifting to almost a plea.“Justknow her—that’s all.”
I believe him… and that makes this harder.
Because it isn’t just lust driving him.Ifit was,Icould shut it down, push it aside—ignore it likeI’vedone a hundred times before.Butthis…this is something else.Somethingdeeper.AndIdon’t fully understand it.
I don’t like not understanding it.
Still…he’s not wrong about one thing—she wants to meet him.Andif we’re going to take her anywhere—if we’re going to help her with this impossible fucking quest—she needs to know what she’s dealing with.
“Fine,”Isay at last under my breath.“Butyou have to fucking behave.Nopushing.No…anything that’s going to scare her.”
A low rumble of agreement answers me.It’snot exactly reassuring butIhave to trust him or we’ll never get anywhere.
I take a slow breath and straighten, rolling my shoulders asIprepare to let go.
This is the partInever like.Evenafter all these years—even after learning to control it, to live with it—Shiftingstill feels like stepping off a ledge and trusting something else to catch me on the way down.
I glance atElowenone more time.
“Stay where you are,”Itell her, keeping my voice as steady asIcan.“Nomatter what you see.”
She nods, her throat working as she swallows.
“I will,” she whispers.
I turn away from her then, giving myself a moment…thenIlet go.
TheShifthits fast—it always does.
My bones start it—stretching, lengthening with a deep, grinding pressure that echoes through my entire frame.Myspine arches as it reshapes—vertebrae shifting one by one in a way that should hurt more than it does.Myshoulders broaden, pulling tight as something pushes outward from within, andIbrace my hands against the table as the wood creaks under the sudden strain.
“Fuck—”Theword cuts off as my jaw tightens, teeth grinding together while my skull reshapes, my senses sharpening all at once.
Heat floods through me—dragon fire from inside.
It burns through my veins—liquid fire that spreads outward until my skin feels too tight to contain it.Ican feel it changing, hardening, the first hint of scales prickling along my arms…my chest…my back.
The room seems to shrink around me asIgrow—not to full size—not even close—but enough thatIhave to hunch slightly to keep from hitting the rafters.Myhands are no longer quite hands, my fingers tipped with claws that scrape lightly against the wood asIsteady myself.