Page 15 of Devoted to the Dragon

Randi’s lair has the same rustic feel as the main house: wood, stone, and iron, with low lights, furs, and fires. Without modern touches and human technology, it would be easy to believe we live in some faraway time.

Gunnar’s gaze lands on me, and I notice for the first time that his eyes are not the traditional silver of a wolf but almost a greenish grey.

He clears his throat awkwardly. “I know your role is, like, the silent statue, but that was hella intense. So, uhh…” He blows out his cheeks, eyes going comically wide. “Could you tell me what the fuck is going on?”

I bury my smile against the lip of my glass, taking a sip to buy some time. He is adorable, I’ll give my wolf that.

“What exactly would you like to know, pup?” I flick my wrist, twirling the amber liquor in the glass, and study the fire.

He stands, tying the blanket around his waist as he crosses the room. In a move I don't anticipate, he snatches my drink from my hand and drains it in one go. “Let’s start with what the fuck is on my dick.”

I stand, crowding into his space. He attempts a step back, but the fire behind him blocks his retreat.Up close, his eyes are the exact color of the morning mist in the mountains, and I can see how easy it will be to get lost in them. I take another deep breath of his earthy sage. My dick plumps against my thigh, harboringnone of my brain’s hesitation. I grab his hip, tugging him closer in a stumble of blanket that causes his hand to clutch my chest for balance.

Unable to resist scent marking him, I rub the back of my hand across his cheek. “Let’s be clear?—”

“Because it seems you’ve already forgotten your lesson,” Randi’s amused voice calls from behind me. “Your cock belongs to me.”

Gunnar gives Randi a lazy grin. “I gathered that, gorgeous. Mind telling me how it works now that I’m not huffing the rut hash?” He takes a sidestep from me and crosses his arms, looking at us expectantly.

Randi prowls toward us, her dragon still at the surface in how she moves. The lace dress she wears is so short it barely covers her, and I’m mesmerized by the flex of her thick, muscular thighs. I want to get my hands on those thighs, dive between her legs, and finally get a taste of her. She is power and grace personified, so fucking beautiful and strong. But it kills me that she won’t let me care for her.

She reaches the pair of us, her dragon still very much in her eyes. “Your cage is made for long-term use. Everyday activities you do as normal—except sex and self-pleasure. The magic of the cage is supple and allows for things like washing, but only mine or Vandera’s magic unlocks it. The cage is spelled to create a kind of scent blocker. With it, you will still become aroused, but it allows you to resist the pull to rut with anyone but your mates. It will allow you to train safely and become used to denying your body’s reactions.”

Gunnar paces in front of the fire. “What happens when it comes off?”

“We bring all our guards through a full rut at the end of their training,” I explain, walking to the bar cart in the corner. I refillmy drink and pour two more. “It helps settle their wolves, makes them less likely to go feral.”

Gunnar pauses his pacing, looking at me in confusion. “If going into an early rut fixes it, why not make all young wolves do it?”

I hand off the drinks and return to my chair by the fire, waiting for Randi to explain.

Randi takes a sip, staring into the blaze. “Because the only real cure comes from a mate bond, not a spell. The club isn’t enough.”

“What’s the deal at the club? Those candles are spelled, right?” Gunnar chews his bottom lip, his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement.

“Yes, they help enhance the scents in the room. At Frenzy, we use magic to mimic the environment of the old mating rituals.” She stares unseeing at the fire as she explains. “For many centuries, mates were selected when all the young of the packs and the hordes would come together. The dragons call it the Thunder.”

She always has difficulty talking about the past and her beginnings. It’s heartbreaking watching her struggle when all I want is to pull her into my arms and offer her comfort.

“Wait. Back up for me. What is a horde?” Gunnar’s head drops to the side in confusion. I can almost see his wolf ears cocked to listen.

An image of him on his knees, naked and head cocked to the side, awaiting orders from our dragoness, comes unbidden. In the bedroom, at least, the two of them will be exceptional together. Maybe the three of us would. But Randi is too lost in her memories to see either of us.

Her voice quivers when she answers him. “A horde refers to the mates of a dragon. Dragons and wolves have always mated as one, packs and hordes.”

Gunnar seems to think that over, leaning against the armrest of my chair. “Why does that matter? Do dragons help awaken omega wolves?” He looks at me, his grin sheepish. “I don’t get it.”

Randi doesn’t stop watching the fire, her expression carefully blank as she explains, but I see the pain she’s trying to hide. “During the Thunder, wolves go into rut and omegas answer with their heat. Alphas and omegas were made to balance one another. Their bodies work together, drawing from one another what they need. A give and take.

“Wolves don’t need a dragon specifically. They need omegas. None of us technicallyneedthe Thunder to find mates or to have a successful rut or heat. But a Thunder—all the combined hormones and magic of the wolves and the dragons—helps to create a frenzy that awakens the mating bonds and draws people together. At the club, we mimic that, but it isn’t big enough to service everyone, and in the end, there are no omegas left to bond.”

“And dragons are omegas?” he asks, snapping his gaze back to her in surprise.

Either Gunnar is a great actor, or the Council has told him nothing. Maybe Brooks and my wolf are right to trust him.

The slightest puff of smoke billows from Randi’s nose, her jaw grinding out the words. “Awakened dragons are. I’m not awakened.” On the final word she whips her head toward me, molten eyes blazing with some emotion I can’t name.

Gunnar looks at me, then back at her.“Okay. So, you’re saying alpha wolves are turning feral because they need Thunder-omega-rut hash, and without it, shifters are dying. Is that connected to my…” His voice trembles and cuts out as he pats his chest.

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