Page 63 of Oath of Rebellion

He shrugged, not meeting her gaze. Finally, she said, "The stories passed down generation after generation might be wrong, Knox."

He adjusted his cloak and kept waiting. Finally, she sighed and looked into the fire.

"Dragons can have sex with anyone, but it's often violent. Sometimes their partners do not survive. But when a fated mate is found... it changes both partners. The stories don't say how."

Knox' heart raced. "So–I could've had sex before now?"

Olive blushed and scowled, waving her hand. "Well, maybe, but with your tail?" She shook her head. "When you were a kid, it was hard for you to control it. If you got worked up during sex, there's no telling what your tail will do. We've talked about this, remember?"

He nodded slowly. There was no forgetting their birds and bees talk years ago. It involved actual birds and bees in the forest.

Then she'd reminded him that being intimate with someone could see them poisoned or stabbed with his venom. Their talk had been purely academic, though. He'd only had passing feelings of arousal throughout the years, even during puberty. He'd never felt attracted to an actual person, though. Not face to face. Only when he closed his eyes and pictured a shadowy figure was he able to take himself in hand and find relief.

He'd tried, though. He'd gone to the brothels and watched some activities, intending to join in. But the urge to participate had never come.

Until now. Until Eirwyn.

He narrowed his eyes at Olive's comment. "My tail isn't a separate being, Olive. It's part of me, and I have control now. I'm not a child."

She nodded, crossing her arms. "I know, I know. You're thirty years old. Trust me, I know." She put her hand on her back and stretched.

Guilt stabbed his gut, and he walked over to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down.

"I'm sorry I was such a pain in the ass growing up, but if she's my fated mate... if we can be safe..."

Olive pulled back with a scowl. "I'm very excited that you've found her–"

"Maybe. We don't know for sure."

"I don't want to a witness dragon mating rituals. So go distract yourself and kill something." She shooed her hands, and he grinned. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

She blushed but relaxed as she smiled, so he strode to the door, pulling his hood up.

She called out before he could reach the door handle. "I'm serious about no sex under my roof. We don't know how violent it might be. Wait and find the answers at the heart of the forest. Better safe than sorry, right?"

He paused, turning to meet her gaze, but he didn't reply as he pushed open the door and closed it behind him. The stinging rain hit his face. It was a welcome reprieve from information overload and raging hormones.

He'd had a rough few years when he'd hit puberty. Controlling his emotions had been one of the hardest lessons he'd had to learn. His tail barbs had almost hit Olive more than once.

Perhaps that's why he'd never felt the urge to mate with someone before, because his body had been too busy trying to control his tail, venom, and poison.

But it'd been years since he'd gone out of control. Maybe his tail wasn't as big of a deal as he thought. As long as he didn't stab her with it, she'd be alright if they had sex.

He grinned and strode into the forest on silent feet, letting his mind wander to all the possibilities with Eirwyn. He wanted to try so many things.

His thoughts shifted to dragon sex. What dragon mating rituals were there? Would he know what to do and it'd just come to him or was there a book out there somewhere on it?

Stalking and finally hunting his prey far into the woods, he smiled again. He was so excited–about Eirwyn, about finally finding answers–and just needed to be patient a little longer.

Now that he knew what he probably was, he had a starting point. He could ask the right questions, research and find the answers.

A stag walked slowly through the trees ahead of him, making his smile widen. He was a dragon and dragon's hunted to kill. He closed in on the massive stag, the rush of adrenaline flowing through him.

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