Page 65 of Fated Obsessions

I shivered as those words moved over me. Through me. Yes… yes, I didfeelwhat he meant, even if it made no damn sense.

“You’ve awoken the Cord within me.” He took a step forward and stopped; he was like an animal stalking his prey, and I was the poor creature he was after.

Yet could I really feel sorry for myself when I was anticipating his next move?

“The Cord?” I whispered, realizing I was breathing harder and faster, unable to control myself, because the closer he got, the more that wonderful smell enveloped me.

He lowered his head ever so slightly, his eyes trained right on me, never missing a beat as he moved another step forward. “The awakening every Dragao male has when he finds his mate, when their life is finally complete.”

I realized I’d been backing up as he came closer, as if instinct told me I needed to tread carefully, that I needed to put up a fight. Not because he’d harm me, but because it’s what he wanted.

And yeah, I could admit only to myself I wanted it too.

“You’re mine, and I’m yours. It is the way of my kind. It is binding in all ways.” His voice got deeper, harsher. It sounded rougher, as if it wasn’t just him speaking to me but… something else.

His dragon, a little voice whispered in my mind.His dragon is looking at me, speaking to me. Wanting me.

And as I stared at him, I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask before it even came out. But I wanted to hear this Dragao, this dragon-shifting man, tell me what my fate was.

So I kicked up my chin and feigned a strength I didn’t have at the moment. “And being your mate means you won’t ever let me go, will you?”

He didn’t move, didn’t even breathe as he stared at me, as my question hung in the air between us. And with my back to the stony wall, with his chest so massive it blocked everything else out, I didn’t know if I wanted the truth. But he’d give it to me whether I wanted it or not. I knew that to be fact.

And whatever this Cord was, this bond that tethered me to him, it affected me as much as it did him.

Azar leaned in, his face inches from mine, so close that if I reached out, I’d be able to wrap my hand around his nape and pull him in, let him devour my mouth like I desperately wanted.

“You won’t let me go, will you?” I asked again.

He shook his head slowly and moved in more so I felt the warmth of his breath move across my now-parted lips. I couldn’t stop myself from trying not to shiver for how good it felt to have Azar so close.

“Never,” he whispered huskily. “I willneverlet you go, Emma.”

Chapter 11

Emma

The silence was… deafening.

I could hear this buzz in my head, all the things Azar had told me about being his mate bouncing around as if it was having a hard time catching purchase.

I didn’t know how long we’d sat there, Azar on one side of the cave, me on the other. All the things that changed my life irrevocably in the blink of an eye.

“So,” I said softly and drew my focus to Azar from where I’d been staring at the ground. He sat a few feet in front of me, urging me to drink more water and eat more meat, although food was the last thing on my mind.

He didn’t speak, and neither did I, and it was strange to be able toknowhow much he wanted to take care of me.

I cleared my throat again. “There’s this thing inside you… this thing called a Cord?” He gave a slow nod. “And it awakens when you find your mate?” He stared at me for a prolonged second before giving another nod. Did he not trust his voice to speak like I hadn't so many times in my life? I licked my lipsand stared at the fire, churning all this information over. If the council of elders knew any of this, they sure as hell had never told the citizens of the Pit.

Azar was silent, as if he knew I had to work through all of this on my own and without pressure.

“And a dragon shifter—a Dragao—only has one fated mate for his entire existence?”

Again Azar nodded, his focus solely on me, his expression giving nothing away.

“And if you never find your mate, and this Cord is never awoken, you never form a relationship? You’d never… be with a female?”

He exhaled after I spoke, the sound harsh in the stillness of the cavern. He shook his head slowly, his black eyes looking at the flames, his expression stony, yet I could see the intelligence working in those dark orbs, as if he were mulling all of this around too, maybe even wondering if he shouldn’t have told me anything at all, because I probably sounded freaked out as hell.

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