[Dragon's Destiny: Fated Mates 01.0] Heat

by Wolf Specter

  But then, ouch:

  “I used you,” he said. “It doesn’t matter, really, that I didn’t want to. None of this is fair to you, but there’s nothing I can do now to take it back.”

  The harsh words sliced into the confidence I’d started to feel about where this conversation was going. Or at least, where it wasn’t going. I was pretty sure, now, that he wasn’t breaking up with me, but I wasn’t really clear on what he was actually trying to tell me.

  “What’s done is done,” he continued. “And now you’re pregnant.”

  My brain stuttered over the ridiculousness of his last statement and went back to the pain of the first part.

  “You used me? You don’t really want me?” Somehow, repeating it out loud calmed me down a little. It just didn’t ring true. I’d seen the way he looked at me. I’d felt a tenderness that couldn’t be faked when he held me at night and a need that was as burning as my own when he fucked me. Despite my earlier insecurities, I couldn’t deny that he’d patiently — almost lovingly — taken care of me, never flinching when I bolted for the bathroom with the queasiness that was part of my new daily routine.

  Nausea that hit me every morning, like clockwork.

  I loved to cook, but time and again as I’d tried to prepare meals for us, I’d had to abruptly change my plans as the smells of simple, familiar foods made me want to retch. I’d been craving weird things, pickles dipped in hot sauce and spaghetti with sour cream and capers, and when I’d admitted it, Dane had just kissed me and smiled indulgently, going along with whatever I wanted to prepare without a single complaint.

  I’d appreciated how easy going he’d been, especially since my emotions had been ramped up all week. I’d assumed that feeling so high-strung was just part of the new-relationship rollercoaster, making my highs higher and my lows unexpected and devastating.

  But… I was also getting fat. Even though I could barely keep food down.

  I gasped in disbelief, my hands settling on the slight bulge of my stomach. “What do you mean, I’m pregnant?” I demanded over the sudden rushing sound in my ears. I felt a little faint. “In case you didn’t notice, I’m male.”

  “Oh, I definitely noticed,” he said with a hot look that had my toes curling, despite the current insanity of our conversation. His eyes started to burn with that weird light I’d stopped questioning, and a familiar heat filled me. It was almost enough to make me toss aside the pillow I still clutched in front of me and crawl all over him.

  Almost.

  I would have done it, if he hadn’t just told me I was fucking pregnant.

  I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly while I tried to reconcile the trust I instinctively felt toward him with the fact that he’d just said something impossible with a straight face.

  Obviously I couldn’t be pregnant.

  But, God, I was so far gone that I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe in him. I wanted to believe that he wasn’t crazy, or inexplicably being an asshole by trying to shock me out of what was starting to feel like the start of an actual relationship.

  “O-kay,” I said, drawing out the word slowly as I tried to slow my racing heart. I was going to choose trusting Dane over being rational. I really, really hoped I wasn’t about to make a huge fool of myself. “Do you want to explain how you, um, impregnated me?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, there could be no doubt that they were glowing — blazing — and not just as a figure of speech. I sucked in a breath as the tiny flames dancing in his eyes mesmerized me.

  “Wesley, I’m a dragon.”

  His words echoed, vibrating with a resonance that I felt as much as heard.

  Oh, God, I thought in despair.

  Dane was crazy.

  Dane had insisted that I pack warm things, even though he wouldn’t tell me where were going. It was the end of October, which on this side of Washington State meant rain and temperatures hovering around the 50’s, but I still didn’t think I needed the clothes he’d made me bring. I hadn’t felt cold since he’d come back the week before. Riding in the cab of his truck, his presence filled me with a comforting heat that made the heavy coat on the seat next to me unnecessary.

  By the time he stopped driving it was dark out. We’d left the city less than an hour ago, but I’d been lost in thought and hadn’t really paid attention to where we were going. Wherever it was, there weren’t any streetlights, just moonlight brightening a deserted parking lot surrounded by tall trees.

  The man I was falling for had told me something crazy, and then offered to prove it to me. Bringing me to the middle of nowhere should have been creepy, but I was stubbornly determined to trust him, regardless of what that said about me.

  Not that I believed for a moment that he was actually a dragon.

  Still, I wanted to believe that he would be able to show me something that would make sense of his ridiculous claims, something that would make everything all right again. Even if I couldn’t for the life of me imagine what that something might be.

  “Where are we, Dane?”

  “Capitol Forest. It’s a state park. No one will see us here.”

  I refused to acknowledge that his statement did, in fact, sound a little creepy. I reminded myself that I’d decided to trust him. “Um, see us doing… what, exactly? What is it that you’re planning on showing me?” I asked as I followed his lead and got out of the truck.

  He grabbed the duffel bag I’d packed and the coat I’d left in the cab, and took my hand. His touch calmed me.

  “I know you don’t believe me, treasure,” he said as he started to lead me into the forest on a path I could barely see. We hadn’t brought any flashlights, but he didn’t seem to have any trouble navigating in the dark. “But I’m going to show you my dragon, and then we’re going to go to a place where I can take care of you during the rest of your pregnancy.”

  I gulped. No matter how calm and reassuring his voice sounded, the crazy factor was starting to get a little high. My heart was racing, but there was still a stubborn part of me that clung tenaciously to the hope that it would all work out.

  After we’d walked for long enough that my legs were starting to get tired, he finally stopped.

  The heavy forest we’d been walking through had blocked the light of the full moon, and even though my eyes had adjusted to the darkness a bit I’d still had to cling to his hand to stay on the path. Now, though, he’d led me into a large, open meadow and the silvery moonlight was bright enough that I could see clearly. It was beautiful, and when he stopped walking and looked down at me I sucked in a sharp breath. Here, in night’s colorless world, the fire in his eyes was unmistakable, flaring in bright oranges and reds that whirled and flickered, filling me with heat.

  And burning away a little of my doubt.

  I’d seen this phenomenon many times, but somehow I’d avoided thinking about it. Normal eyes didn’t look like this. Human eyes didn’t look like this.

  There was no way he’d actually been telling me the truth, was there?

  There couldn’t be, because dragons didn’t exist.

  “Dragons have always existed,” Dane said, making me realize that I’d spoken out loud. “But there have never been many of us, and it was more convenient to have you disbelieve.”

  “Me?”

  “Humans,” he clarified, giving me that sexy half smile.

  “Dane,” I said hesitantly, still uncertain about whether this night would end in a whole lot of crazy, or… something magical. “You’re human.”

  “There was a time that I thought I was,” he said cryptically. “But when my dragon woke up, he proved me wrong. It took me decades to tame him. Longer to learn how to make use of him. He’s a part of me, which means that no matter what form I wear, I will never be human, my treasure. Even if there are times that I’d like to be.”

  He kissed me, and I melted against him. My hands clung to the solid width of his biceps
and the rough stubble of his jaw scraped against my chin. His hard body felt perfectly human to me. Perfect, period.

  “Don’t be scared,” he said, breathing the words over my face in that strange echoing voice I’d heard him use on Ty the week before. “My dragon has claimed you as its mate. He wants you, and when I take his shape, he will take you.”

  I gulped, pulling away a bit at the image that his words brought to mind. “Um, Dane,” I said nervously. “When you say ‘take’…”

  He laughed, hugging me against him for a moment before letting me go and walking toward the middle of the field. “Not like that,” he tossed over his shoulder. “Trust me, Wesley.”

  I nodded. I was here, wasn’t I? And despite myself, I was starting to believe.

  Dane turned to face me, and even at this distance I could feel the heat from his eyes. I stared into the familiar glow, feeling strangely calm. And then his body rippled. The moon went behind a cloud, casting the area into darkness, but I could still see the glowing light of his eyes. They seemed to grow, expand, rise up, until my neck was tilted all the way back and I was staring at two flames floating in the darkness, impossibly high above me.

  “My treasure.” His voice flowed over me, deeper and more resonant. The echoing vibration moved through me with a seductive sibilance that was recognizably the voice of my lover, but at the same time, also something more.

  The sky cleared, and the moon’s cool light was bright enough that there could be no doubt. Dane was gone, and in his place stood a dragon.

  12

  ~ Dane ~

  “My treasure,” I said, speaking the truth.

  Wesley stood below me, rare and precious and infinitely valuable. Wearing my dragon body, it seemed a simple thing: he was mine, and he carried my child. The two facts filled me with a deep satisfaction that made the fear, guilt, and anger that plagued me in my smaller form feel distant and unimportant.

  He had been made for me, and I had claimed him. I wanted to finish it — to fill him with my fire and complete our bond, binding him to me forever. I couldn’t do it in this form, of course, and at the moment I couldn’t remember why my human self kept resisting so hard.

  Life seemed simpler in many ways when I wore my dragon body.

  My other self — my human form — was in some ways a mystery to me. My mind worked differently when I was in that body, and I had trouble holding on to the convoluted thoughts of my smaller, dominant self when I was in this shape. It would have been frustrating, if I’d bothered with such unnecessary emotions. I knew that many things would be easier if my other self accepted what I had to offer, but life was long and I was patient.

  And those were thoughts for other times.

  Now, I was in the presence of my mate, and I had a primal need to take him away with me. I wanted him all to myself, where I could protect him, cherish him, love him the way he deserved. Most of all, I wanted to give him the part of me that my human self denied him, the part that would give him the strength to bear our child.

  I lowered my head down to rest on the ground next to my Wesley. I scented carefully, but I didn’t smell any fear. He walked up to me without hesitation, his beautiful face level with my left eye.

  “Oh my God. You’re real. Can I touch you?” he asked, excitement brimming just under the surface.

  “Of course.” As if I would ever deny him anything.

  He ran his small, soft hands over the ridges on my dragon face, sending small ripples of delight through me. I hummed in pleasure at his closeness, my dragon eyes seeing so much more than just his pleasing form. I could appreciate his beauty, although it didn’t inspire the lust that I felt when I wore my human body, but I could also see his essence — the way his mind and heart and soul fit with mine, completing me in a way that made the idea of forever stretch ahead like a grand adventure.

  “Wesley,” I said, letting my breath surround him and carry my will. “Take my fire when I offer it to you. Stay with me, love.”

  He nodded, his eyes glazing a little as my power washed over him.

  He was my mate. I’d never be able to compel him if my will truly went against his own… but it couldn’t hurt to push him a little. Especially since my human self was so stubbornly resistant to listening to my wisdom. I huffed in exasperation, then let it go.

  Wesley was irresistible. Eventually, my other self would give in.

  There was still plenty of time.

  13

  ~ Wesley ~

  I would have expected a dragon to feel cold. Hard. Rough. But it was Dane, and he was none of those things.

  He was huge, his head bigger than my entire body, and blacker than the night around us. When he lowered a wing and told me to mount him, I was shocked at how warm his skin was. There were scales, but they fit together so tightly that the texture was velvety and smooth.

  When he launched into the air, clutching my duffel in a huge claw and moving above the tall trees with a few powerful strokes of his wings, I wrapped my arms around his sinuous neck and pressed my cheek against it, not surprised when Dane’s familiar scent surrounded me.

  God, he was really a dragon.

  Before he shifted into this form, he’d told me not to be scared, and I wasn’t. As he carried me through the night, I felt something else completely. It filled my chest, forcing my lips to curve up, and eventually, when I couldn’t contain it any longer, it burst out of me.

  “What’s so funny, my treasure?” Dane’s dragon rumbled beneath me.

  “I’m just happy.”

  He hummed in satisfaction, apparently content with my answer. The vibration moved through me, making me laugh all the harder.

  I was riding a dragon. My lover was a fucking dragon. And the little voice inside me that had insisted on trusting him, believing in him, seeing him as my destiny, no matter how crazy and improbable it had seemed, hadn’t been foolish at all. It had been right.

  Life suddenly felt infinitely wonderful, as if anything at all was possible.

  Dane hadn’t told me where we were going, but it didn’t matter. I was his, and I trusted him. And — a wave of giddiness washed through me as I remembered — he’d told me I was pregnant.

  I still didn’t understand how that was possible. Honestly, I didn’t know how I felt about it, but for tonight at least, it was fantastic — another enchantment in a world I’d just discovered was far more magical than I’d believed.

  And somehow, that magic had reached out and touched me.

  The land we were flying over was heavily treed, and the rolling hills below us were rising up higher and higher, finally becoming true mountains. I’d seen very little evidence of people, a few glimmering electric lights scattered below us at first, but then, for a long time, nothing but the untamed wilderness.

  A tall peak rose in front of us, and instead of veering around it the dragon headed straight for it. Near the top was a ledge above a sheer drop, and as his body tilted, banking to curve in for a landing, I realized that the darkness in front of us was the entrance to a cave. One that I was sure wouldn’t be accessible any other way.

  The dragon’s huge body took up most of the space on the ledge, and he lowered a wing toward the darkness, silently inviting me to dismount on the cave side. I slid off, landing awkwardly on the rough ground but steadying myself with a hand against his warm hide.

  “Step back, treasure,” he told me, tossing my duffel into the darkness behind me.

  Once I was out of the way, he turned his head away from me and without any other warning, lit up the night with a sheet of flame.

  “Oh my God.” My cheeks hurt from smiling. “You breathe fire!”

  He’d directed the blast into a hollow conduit near the entrance of the cave, and to my surprise I saw that it was actually some sort of mechanically genius system to heat and light the cave. Fire raced through the rock, contained in some sort of transparent tubing that was threaded into the walls and ceiling. It lit up the entire area, instantly radiating a plea
sant warmth. It was magical.

  I turned back to the dragon, but Dane stood in his place.

  “Not magical,” he corrected me. Oops. I guess I’d spoken out loud again. “Just engineering and pyrotechnics. It’s not like I can get electrical service up here.” He winked, striding toward me without seeming to care that he was naked. Gloriously, radiantly, naked.

  My mouth went dry.

  God, he was gorgeous.

  He took my hand, leading me back into the cave. If I had expected a dank dragon’s lair I would have been sorely disappointed. The place was a strange combination of luxury penthouse and homey comfort. He walked me through it, showing me the ingenious ways he’d divided up the space into living areas, storage, and functional utility rooms. I was so surprised that I actually forgot my lust for a moment.

  “There’s no way you put this together in the last six weeks,” I said, stating the obvious.

  He laughed. “No, I found this place when I first came to this land. It’s been my home for longer than you’ve been alive. I’ve added to it bit by bit, over far too many years.”

  I slanted a look at him. He didn’t look that much older than me, but this was the second time he’d made a comment that implied differently. “Um, just how old are you, Dane?”

  “Not too old, by dragon standards,” he answered evasively.

  My hands went to my stomach, suddenly reminded that the child growing there was not fully human.

  “The baby?” I asked. “Will it be a dragon, too? Will its life be longer than a human’s?”

  A pained look flashed across his face, and instead of answering me he pulled me against his chest roughly, capturing my mouth in a hot kiss. I wanted to ask why the question upset him, but the minute I was in his arms I found it hard to think.

  “You’re mine, Wesley, my treasure,” he muttered against my lips, leading me deeper into the cave until we stood at the entrance of what was clearly his bedroom. “My dragon has claimed you.”