Page 9 of Omega Haunting

He leaned in close. Our lips hovered just inches apart and everything inside me wanted to lean forward. My eyes started to drift closed but then my dragon spoke.

“Did you talk to me before? Like inside my head or something?” he asked.

“Oh! Yes! That! Dern enchanted this apple, and it let me talk to you until I summoned an ancestor who ate it!” I explained.

“An apple let you talk to me?” he arched a dark brow as his hand moved from my shoulder to the curve of my hip.

“Yeah,” I nodded, swallowing hard.

I wasn’t a virgin. I wasn’t a stranger to one whiff of someone being enough to make me want something more but this dragon needed to stop worrying about Dern’s magic and rip my clothes off already. I was slick and hard and ready to pounce him and show him how it was done.

“Thank the ancestors,” he sighed. “I thought I was losing my mind. I came here because someone at my niece and nephew’s wedding mentioned the Appalachian Wolf Pack. Appalachianwas one of the few words I was able to make out clearly. I thought I was a goner.”

“I didn’t mean to make you think you were crazy,” I said, and my heart sank into my belly. “I thought I could get you here.”

“This is karma,” he chuckled. “Did you hear about what we did to Fred?”

“Fred? Fred who?” I asked.

“Fred Moonscale. My brother is one of his true-mates and we sent all these scrolls through the doors and….” My dragon lost it and started laughing.

“I did hear about that,” I nodded, grinning as his other hand found the other side of my hips.

“We drove him crazy. He nearly killed Elio when they first met because he thought it was some dark magic. This was karma.”

“No, this was Dern. He claims he’s a grouchy old hound, but I think he has a secret squishy side,” I grinned. “At least a secret romantic side. He never took a chosen mate after his true-mate moved on.”

I met my dragon’s gaze, and he didn’t look away. Standing this close, it was hard to ignore just how tall he was. He towered over me by at least two feet. Feeling brave and desperate to touch him, I rested my hands on his chest. My own still itched. A chigger or a mosquito must’ve gotten me good. Only right now I didn’t care. We had potions that would clear whatever bite right up. My dragon didn’t look away from me. It was as if he stared straight into my soul and that’s all I needed.

“It’s probably your scale,” he whispered as if he was afraid to be too loud this close to me.

“I’m a wolf,” I chuckled.

“Oh. Earthside and all of that.”

“Huh?” I blinked up at him. “I know the true-mate response kills brain cells but I think you left out some words.”

“You’re from Earthside. You don’t know how the flight stuff works. The Starscale flight stuff. As soon as a dragon meets their mate, they’re pulled onto the flight link. It’s really elaborate or at least that’s what the Moonscales I’ve met so far have told me. Part of being pulled onto the flight link is getting your star scale on your chest.

He let go of one of my hips and undid his tie, followed by a few buttons of his white shirt. He pulled it to one side to reveal a baby blue scale on his chest. I almost licked it. I wanted to trace its edges with my tongue until the taste of him burnt itself into my very cells.

“You can do that later. I don’t think you want to do it while your mom watches out the window,” he said, jerking his head slightly toward the main house.

Of course she was spying. Ignoring her, I peeked down my own shirt to find a furry grey wolf colored star. My dragon’s free hand slid under my shirt and up my stomach and chest until his fingers found it. He massaged his digits into the fur and my knees wobbled again until I leaned forward resting against him with his arm trapped between us.

“If every touch feels like that, I know why everyone ends up so fucking pregnant so fast,” I swore under my breath.

His hand slid from my hip to my ass and pulled me right up against him. He was hard too and big. Maybe my mind played tricks on me, but he was bigger than anyone else I brushed up against.

“Maybe. I’m average back home,” he shrugged.

“Huh?” I blinked up at him.

“The flight link enables me to hear some of your thoughts already but only the ones you think really loudly,” he grinned at me. “Let’s start over. Mostly because your mother is watching so intently. I’m Marsin Starscale.”

“I’m Astral,” I said, leaning hard against him. “I’d shake your hand but we’re already past that I think. You should know. My ancestor thought your name was Martian.”

“I’ve been called worse,” he smirked and finally kissed me.

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