Page 19 of Devoted to the Dragon

I pretend for a moment that she is here with my dragon sisters, and they help me prepare for my Thunder. I imagine that I create a Moon Circle that brings the last of my horde, and I dream of three claw bonds, one on the back of each mate. It’s a dream tinged with the sour bitterness of longing because only in sleep does my omega ever awaken.

Chapter 9

Gunnar

The powerful witch holds a finger covered in a sweet-smelling mud-like substance over my chest, raising her brow. “Are you ready, Gunnar? Once I complete the spell, it can’t be undone.”

I’ve seen wolves get tattoos. This is not that. When she explained how it would work, the witch’s exact words were, “The tattoo means your wolf is sworn to protect the dragon, but you’ll be a jacked version of yourself with enhanced senses and healing beyond that of your regular wolf.”

So, no biggy.Super wolf.The cost?My life.

I swallow around the lump in my throat, wondering at what point I should have gotten the fuck out of here. I wanted scraps from the dragon’s table. I was greedy for them. Even Henry’s scraps are better than the feasts of village wolves.

I didn’t think the backhanded deal that got me here would somehow bring me to the dragon’s personal guard. I’m a fucking half wolf from the Outskirts. What do I know about being ready to swear my loyalty to the dragon and defend her against some last-ditch effort from the Council?

I take a deep breath, drawing all my courage. I can do this for her. Fennik’s given me enough reason in the last week to be loyalto the dragon. She is trying her best to save the wolves. Besides, my dick already loves her, and where the fuck am I going to go? Back to the Outskirts to fight? Might as well die fighting for her instead of fighting ferals for cash.

“Do it,” I grit out the words.

“Brace yourself, wolf,” Vandera says sternly. “This is going to hurt.”

I grip the edge of the counter. I’m laid out like an offering, hoping I’m not about to actually become one. Do dragons really sacrifice virgins? If so, I’m so fucking screwed.I’m not ready to die. I’ve never done more than oral.

Vandera speaks words that sound like nonsense as she traces an outline on my chest with the sweet-smelling mud. The air in the room stirs as the witch’s words create wind. It rustles the papers and books on the shelves.

My eyes squeeze shut when a searing burning begins on the surface of my skin. I bite my lip, trying to keep from screaming as the brand seeps in, becoming a roaring fire that spreads through my chest and into my bones.

“Fuck,” I scream, unable to keep it in any longer.

The pain is so intense I wish I could black out already. Hair sprouts on my face, and my claws extend, tearing into the stone beneath me. Did I say I wasn’t ready to die? I lied. This has gotta be worse.

The searing pain is unending. Fennik restrains me, holding me against the counter of the witch’s workshop while she keeps up the spell. He is quiet, as he often is in public, with no trace of the warm wolf I gravitate to at the end of each night.

The fire raging in my chest cools as the witch finishes. A minty ice blows out the flames on her last word. In the wake of ice comes a surge of power that makes me pant. Everything hurts. It feels as if my entire body is being rearranged from theinside out. I lose myself in the swell, untethered and floating in a sea of crashing waves of power and pain.

The deep rumble of Fennik’s voice tugs me, anchoring me back to reality. “That’s it, pup. You’re almost there. Just a little longer now.”

His voice stops my wolf’s frantic pacing in my mind, easing some of my dizziness. My wolf still believes the dragoness is our mate, and he’s convinced Silent Daddy Wolf is ours too. He has big dreams to think I belong with such powerful people. But I can’t deny that Fennik’s voice helps put me at ease and makes this feel more manageable.

I can do this. Fennik is here.My instincts say to trust him.

During the last week of training with Fennik, he has been gruff and focused but solid. We’ve spent hours bringing me up to speed on the Council and studying maps of the North Pass. Afterward, he hands me off to Brooks to attend skills training with the other guard recruits. But at night, Fennik sits on the sofa by the fire, sipping his drink and letting me lie beside him. His fingers find their way to my hair, and though he doesn’t say much, his presence is so comforting I keep falling asleep, only to wake in my bed.

I go there in my mind, imagining his fingers in my hair and the warm fire. Randi is there too, curled up in his lap. It helps filter some of the shock, lessens the burning. As the power settles, the pain finally recedes.

I lie still anyway, my breath sawing out of me and my claws digging into the stone. I picture the three of us cuddled in the den. The fire inside turns to a glowing warmth that pulses in my veins. It feels like long ago, before the world turned full-tilt-feral. It’s the feel of a warm fireplace and good food, safety, and my sister Izzy’s laughter—like home.

It also pumps one hell of an energy boost. I’m talking caffeine to the max. That’s followed by a heady chaser of thatsupercharged feeling the witch’s rut hash induces without any of the so-horny-I-can’t-see-straight side effects.

Fennik murmurs in my ear, “That’s a good pup. Let the magic settle.”

The praise sends a burst of that new super juice down my spine, and I can’t stop my wolf from licking his face. The bristles of his stubble sort of tickle, but he tastes like sexy-salty-woodsy yum-yums to my wolf. I lick him again, my tongue trying to map his face.

“Quit slobbering.”

The deep sound of Fennik’s chuckle hits me. My body reacts, and my eyes pop open as I sit up, twisting and turning to see if what I just felt is real.

“The super wolf spell didn’t turn me full wolf? It just gave me a tail?” I ask incredulously.

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