by Noah Harris
“The purge was a time of no mercy, of humans hunting paranormals, and the top of that list was dragons. We were the most well-known, the biggest, our pride and vanity making us old enemies and easy targets. We were too proud to hide, like many of the other paranormals, so we fought back. We lost many.”
He breathed a deep, shuddering breath, ducking his head until it was rested against Rajiah’s. Rajiah leaned back into him, silently offering support. Arulean’s fingers tightened in-between his.
“I was young and rash. I encouraged the wars and the fighting. I fought back for my people. I led them into battles where some never made it back. Lyphnia and I stood side by side at the forefront of the battles. We were the faces of the purge, the leaders in the time of bloodshed. We were strong together, but not strong enough to save our people, and not strong enough to win.”
He sounded tired, far too tired with far too many regrets. Rajiah leaned back further, pressing into his chest. He tilted his head to the side, nuzzling the side of Arulean’s head. There was the briefest quirk of his lips, a small, fond smile that was overshadowed with sorrow.
“There came a time when I grew tired of the fighting. My turning point was the death of our youngest child. She was young and beautiful, not even old enough to present, only a century in years. We didn’t allow them to fly on their own, not during the time of wars, but she was stubborn, much like our kind and much like her mother. She flew too far from the valley, and she was shot out of the air. I was the one who found her body and brought her ashes back to this very chamber. There,” He said, lifting their joined hands to point at a spot on the far wall. “There is where she rests. Her energy is still young and wild, the fire that she never got a chance to grow into.”
“After that, I wanted the fighting to end. It was clear we were not winning, and in the process, we were losing more and more of our kind. We have long lifespans, but we do not reproduce as quickly as we were losing lives. I realized what we were too blind to see before: we needed to hide. We no longer ran the world, and we couldn’t afford to keep trying. We needed to move on with the times, and accept our place should we want to keep our kind alive. The other shifters and paranormals had already faded into the background, learning to adapt to live amongst and around humans without being seen. Humans are scared of what they do not understand, of what is different, and when they are scared, they act out in violence. We couldn’t, we can’t, afford to let them destroy us because of our petty pride.
“I tried to talk sense into Lyphnia and the others. I had about half of our kind on my side, the kind that was tired of fighting and tired of the bloodshed, the half that could see this fighting was leading nowhere except to our graves. The other half, unfortunately, stood behind Lyphnia. They were driven by rage, grief and bitterness twisting into a fuel for their fire. She called me weak, I called her blind, and we realized then that we were two very different people who would never be the same. We were no longer young and carefree, and as adults, we stood as opposing forces.
“She led her followers into a final assault, a final attempt to gain ground and regain land and power from the humans. It was a long, grueling assault. One that lasted years. She and the others were gone while the rest of us waited, feeling the loss of each of our kind deep in our hearts as their energies pattered out of existence. And we grieved and we waited.”
“When she finally made it back, she had lost more than half of her company, and had only managed to recover most of their ashes. She came back defeated and tired, accepting that we had to retreat but not being happy about it. She’s held a fire in her soul ever since then, and there are many others that feel the same. We haven’t had official fighting since then, but there are incidents that happen, dragons who lose control, who lash out, who are discovered, and then they die, and their ashes are brought here. At every Summit, Lyphnia has tried to gather enough support to launch another assault, but we always arrive at a stalemate. She has never gained enough backing before, but I worry about our future. With the death of the last Elder, there is more fear and rage at our dwindling future than ever before.”
He sighed, turning his head to nuzzle into Rajiah’s hair, nosing his way through the thick, dark strands. He breathed his scent, sighing again as his body relaxed against his back.
“I have never forgiven her...” He said softly. “I have never forgiven her for drawing out the fighting, the wars... dragging our children into it. We lost so many, and with each of them, part of my heart died. When we stood apart, she coerced several of them to her side. They were enraged at the death of their youngest sister, and she fueled that rage into hate and into action. We lost all who sided with her, and she brought their ashes back to me in her shame, yet she has never apologized or regretted what she has done.”
“I come to this chamber to find peace. I find comfort in being surrounded by the familiar energies of family and friends alike. It is the last place in which I can be close to them. In the sorrow of the past, I see what I have to protect, I see a reason to keep fighting for our future. I believe what Lyphnia sees when she comes here is the evidence of her failure. She feels guilt, and guilt keeps her from pursuing what she believes is the right course of action. And in there lies another of our biggest differences. I look to the past to guide me into the future, and she turns a blind eye to the past, no doubt sealing her fate in repeating it.”
His aura was dark, his scent thick and heavy. It wasn’t the vibrant, strong presence he had come to expect from Arulean. Here, he was vulnerable. Here, he allowed his follies to be on display. He opened himself up to Rajiah, and he wasn’t going to take that lightly. His heart ached for the alpha, for the weight on his shoulders. He knew the history of their kind wasn’t a pleasant one, but he truly believed their future would be alright if it was in Arulean’s hands.
He couldn’t erase the past, but he could comfort him now, in the present.
He turned in Arulean’s arms, hands sliding up his arms, to wrap around his neck. He dug his fingers into the man’s hair, gently tugging him down and kissing him, slow and languid, sweet and gentle. Arulean let out a shuddering breath against his lips before pushing forward. They came together again and again, light touches, almost chaste.
Then Arulean pulled away, just enough to put some distance between them. His head remained bowed, eyes shut. He breathed another shuddering sigh. “She and I are not lovers,” He said softly, voice shaking slightly, as if he were admitting a truth that he had never dared to say aloud. “We have not been in centuries, but I cannot break our bond. Our bond is the only thing I have to keep her from running rampant. For the sake of our kind... I cannot...” He sounded like the words pained him to say.
“Come with me,” Rajiah said softly, stepping away from him and taking one of his hands in his own. He continued to step away, Arulean stumbling after him, face contorted in uncertainty. Rajiah held eye contact until he was certain Arulean would follow, and then turned around, leading him out of the burial chamber, fingers intertwined. He led him out of the tunnels, following the smell of fresh air to guide him.
When they stepped out of the caves, night had fallen. Rajiah lifted his chin, breathing in the cool, night air, eyes drifting closed for several long moments. He let go of Arulean’s hand and took several steps away from him before grabbing for the hem of his shirt. He pulled it over his head in one fluid motion and tossed it haphazardly to the ground. He kicked off his boots and shed his pants in much the same fashion.
Arulean said nothing, and neither did he move.
Rajiah reached the top of the stone carved steps that led down the mountain and began stripping off his jewelry, lying the pile with more care into one of his discarded boots. Then he stood and turned to face him. Arulean was still in the shadows of the mountain, light from a nearby torch flickering fire across his pale skin. He didn’t bother to hide how his dark eyes roamed slowly up and down his body. Rajiah let him look, reveled in it, felt desired under the weight of those dark eyes.<
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“Fly with me.” Rajiah breathed, knowing Arulean would hear him. It was an offer, and it wasn’t just for a simple flight. And he knew that Arulean would know that.
The alpha’s eyes drifted back to his face, searching his gaze. He said nothing, but his lips pursed, brows pinching just a fraction. His hands clenched and relaxed at his sides. Rajiah could see the internal debate flaring behind his impassive mask. Rajiah took several slow steps toward him, letting his body sway as he did so. He held out a hand.
“Fly with me,” He repeated.
Arulean stared at him, from his outstretched hand to his face. Despite the war happening behind his eyes, Rajiah could smell the decision in his scent, smell the desire as his alpha pheromones flared. Rajiah could feel his own body reacting to it, heat shifting beneath his skin. The fire was only stoked brighter as Arulean’s eyes swept over his body once again. He hated when alphas looked at him like that, but he loved it when Arulean did it. It makes him feel desired, powerful, beautiful. Heat surged downward, cock twitching with interest.
Arulean’s eyes met his, hard and unwavering, burning with a fire that Rajiah could practically feel. “I cannot promise you anything...” He said softly.
“I’m not asking you to,” Rajiah replied. His lips quirked into a small smirk, head tilting to the side to expose his neck, where the fading evidence of Arulean’s mark was dark in the moonlight. “Fly with me.”
He said nothing, but after only a moment’s hesitation, he reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Rajiah took a moment to admire his chest, eyes shamelessly raking over the broad shoulders, well-muscled chest, toned stomach, and down to the narrow waist, lined on either side by the deep V of his hips. He could feel his body reacting to the sight, eager to simply rush him now, let him take him, but more than that, he wanted to tease, to draw it out, to make him chase.
So he lowered his arm, lips curving into a mischievous smirk as he met Arulean’s eyes. Then he turned on his heel, ran the last couple feet to the top of the stairs, and launched himself into the air, shifting and twisting before throwing his wings wide to catch the breeze. He glided down the mountain for a moment before twisting, flapping, circling back up. He flew over Arulean, threw back his head and roared his challenge, and then darted away, cutting through the night sky like a knife.
It wasn’t long before Arulean took to the air. He could feel him behind him, presence strong and wide wings disturbing the wind. He glanced back for only a moment, only long enough to truly admire him in all his glory, to feel the desire flame flare anew, before turning back around and giving his all to the chase.
He was small and quick, but Arulean was large and strong. He caught up easily on straight flights, but Rajiah would twist and turn, changing direction in sharp turns that Arulean couldn’t imitate. He dove and rose with the wind, leading Arulean around, letting him get close enough to flick his face with his tail before changing direction. They darted across the night sky, two dark shapes obscuring the stars, moonlight glittering off their scales. They flew, weaving around each other, enjoying the wind under their wings and the weightless feeling of being alive. They were far from the valley. No one ventured out this way to the burial mountain. Here, they were free.
Rajiah wanted him. He knew, in the end, he would let Arulean catch him, but no matter how hot he burned, no matter how much his need ached, he kept flying, kept leading Arulean, a primal need to make his alpha fight for him, chase him, work to prove himself worthy driving him onward. Arulean trailed faithfully after his scent, growling when Rajiah slipped past him, growing more frustrated, more desperate. Rajiah could smell his own aching need in his scent. It drove him wild.
When he had reached his own limit, his body wet with need and hard with desire, he shifted his course and rose straight upward, wings flapping violently in his attempt to gain as much height as he could. Arulean rose after him, great wings pounding the wind in mighty beats. He rose, higher and higher, until the air was thin and the air chilled the moisture on his scales. He rose until his lungs burned and his wing muscles ached. He rose until he was somewhere between the ground and the heavens, and it was like a strange limbo between space and time.
And then he stopped, shot his wings out to let himself hover in the air.
He didn’t have to wait for long. Arulean was right on his tail. He collided with him, wrapping his larger wings around him, and Rajiah curled his into his back. Their arms and legs intertwined, claws scrambling at scales. Their tails wrapped around each other, Arulean’s longer length holding him captive. Rajiah automatically tilted his head back, and Arulean’s jaw closed around the sensitive vulnerability of his neck. He clenched enough to be firm, to let Rajiah know he could kill him if he wished, and Rajiah didn’t move, relaxing in his grip, letting himself be bare and vulnerable to him, to his chosen alpha.
And then they fell.
The fall was unlike anything Rajiah had ever experienced. The weightlessness, the lurch in his gut as gravity took hold, the feeling of helplessness as the alpha curled around him, plummeting with him. They fell fast, wind whistling through their ears, but they were so high up that he had no fear of hitting the ground. They were a tangle of scales, claws, and heat, intertwined and twisted, falling together in the space between the heavens and earth. Alone together, nothing existed but each other. And as Arulean’s hard length unsheathed in his dragon form, adjusting so he could prod it against Rajiah’s entrance.
He’d never done anything in his dragon form, nor had he done much in his human form, but instinct was a powerful thing. He arched his back, latching onto Arulean with claws and teeth, and relaxed, allowing the alpha to slide into his slick, wet heat. The feeling of being filled and stretched with Arulean’s hard, thick length, combined with the low growl rumbling from his throat, made Rajiah dizzy. He held on, unable to much more, while they fell, connecting on levels he had never before experienced.
The ground came up fast, time was a blur, whizzing past and yet staying completely still. His ears rang with the wind, with the sound of the earth coming up fast. His mind told him to flare out his wings, to slow his descent, to curl up for impact, anything. But his instincts told him not to move, to trust his alpha. His mind screamed at him to do something, but his body was buzzing with dizzy pleasure.
Turns out, his instincts were right.
Arulean coiled around him. He was easily over twice the size of Rajiah, and when he wrapped him up, he was curled and protected. He flared out his own wings, slowing their combined descent much faster than Rajiah could do on his own. But he didn’t slow them completely. If anything, he merely directed their fall so they would land in a clear space without trees. Right before they hit, Arulean rolled them so he was on the bottom, back to the earth and Rajiah curled protectively against his underside.
The impact was jarring. They hit hard, vibrations rattling them down to their bones as the earth gave way, denting and creating a crater. Dirt and dust was thrown up into the air, suspended for a moment before raining down on them. Rajiah barely noticed. Arulean was still inside him, and the impact buried him deep. He hissed and gasped, spine arching as he writhed on top of the alpha.
He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it, what signal went between them, who started it first, but a strange understanding passed between them, a buzzing of energy, and they shifted together. The shift was strange. Arulean remained inside him.
When the shift completed, bones popping back into place, smoke drifting from their skin and disappearing into the night air, he was perched on top of the alpha, his thick member buried deep in Rajiah’s wet heat, stretched and filled but so good. He put his hands on Arulean’s chest, back arching as he gasped, trying to catch his breath and steady his pounding heart. Arulean lay under him, eyes devouring him, half-lidded and heavy with hunger. His hands roamed up and down Rajiah’s thighs with surprising gentleness, but with an edge reverent possession.
“You are so beautiful,” He murmured, v
oice low and husky, crackling like static across Rajiah’s skin.
He bent over then, hovering just over him, lips just a breath apart. “As are you.” He kissed him then, hard and hungry, nipping at the alpha’s lips and pushing his tongue into his mouth. Arulean growled, returning the kiss in kind, hands roaming over Rajiah’s body, his back, nails biting, grip bruising, constantly moving like he couldn’t quite get enough. Arulean’s scent was thick and heavy in his nose, drowning him and making him dizzy. He ground his hips down as they kissed, nails digging into Arulean’s chest as the alpha’s hips jerked up against him.
When he felt like he couldn’t breathe, he leaned back with a gasp, breaking their kiss as he sat up. He gazed down at Arulean, pale skin flushed, dark hair mussed, dark eyes glimmering with desire, bruised lips parted and wet, chest heaving as he panted. He looked like an absolute wreck.
He had done this. He had make Arulean like this. He had brought the powerful, stoic, dragon king Arulean to his knees with desire.
Something inside him stirred, that shifting and preening of pride, fueling his own hunger, making him want more. He wanted Arulean to lose all control of himself, for him to be completely at his mercy and no one else’s.
I want him to be mine.
With small encouraging movements from Arulean’s hands, Rajiah started to ride him. He started out slow, feeling the delicious drag of Arulean’s cock as he lifted himself, and gasping at the thrust as he let himself drop. Arulean was thick and filled him completely, stretching him beyond what he thought he was capable of. But he was wet and eager, and he could deal with any soreness in the morning. So he lifted himself up again, holding it for a moment with just the head of his cock inside, and then let himself drop again, bottoming out as he threw back his head and gasped, back arching.
