Page 46 of His Fate

"So you can't set Milos on fire when he's being a little shit?"

"Unfortunately, no." Kai smiles. "Dragons also have a venom in our saliva. It is incredibly toxic to most everyone but only causes an irritant to the area bitten on someone who shares our blood and it is incredibly beneficial to our mate."

My thoughts flash to when Kai licked the cut on my hand at the bar and I feel my body respond in a very embarrassing way. Oh boy.

"Male dragons are born warriors, the knowledge of battle and skills to fight bred into our genetics from the time of conception. Females can be powerful healers or strategists, though their gifts do not manifest until after they mate. Their mate's venom triggers their abilities. Activates it, if you will."

"Can male dragons be healers?"

He nods. "Occasionally, yes. Henrich is a very skilled healer."

"I could see that." I chew at my lip. "So if man-made and shifter-made weapons don't really phase you, how do you die?"

"If I didn't know better, my beloved, I'd say you are asking for my weakness so that you may use it against me." A dark brow lifts. "Murder me in the woods perhaps?"

I crack up and shake my head. "Just curious. I want to make sure I don't accidentally do something to kill you. I kinda like having you around."

Kai smiles a beautiful smile then sighs. "There are only a few ways a dragon shifter can be killed. Decapitation being number one."

"Decapitation. Of course." I roll my eyes. "I don't think I'll accidentally manage that one."

"Only intentionally." He deadpans. "The fire or venom from a dragon of another clan can kill us. Certain plants if ingested can be poisonous. If our mate succumbs to death before us… living without them will kill us."

My heart squeezes and I have to ask the questions I've been dancing around. "It seems like a lot of things revolve around your mate. Why is that?"

"Well..." He searches my eyes then tips his head to rest on the back of the couch. "All shifters have one true mate, a fated mate. Our mate is the other half of our heart, our soul and because of that we mate for life. If we are lucky enough to find our mate then we are finally complete, a whole being and so much can come from that. Power. Strength. Knowledge. Purpose." Kai's head lolls toward me and he looks me right in the eye. "If we never find our mate it is a solitary and hollow existence. If we find them and are unable to mate or lose them long before we should then we are driven to a point of insanity that is so consuming it kills us from the inside out. The only exception to that is if there are young involved. They are a piece of our mate that we will not let go of, that we will protect and cherish until they no longer need us."

"So you basically… you'd die of a broken heart?"

He nods.

"God, that is so beautiful." And explains the crushing pain I'd feel every time I thought of not being with Kai. Not that I'm totally sold on this whole true fated mate thing.

Yet.

"So..." I clear my throat nervously and gulp my wine. "So how do you know who your mate is?"

"There are a number of things that indicate one has found their mate. Instant and intense initial attraction, our bodies recognition of each other. The ability to scent one another, the mark that will be permanent and act as a repellent to other interested parties. A possessiveness that is maddening, the overwhelming need to protect and provide, care for the other."

"But how do you know for sure that they are your mate?"

"There are many indicators."

"Such as?"

"Such as things you already know, things you have felt or suspected since we've met."

I should hate that Kai is being so presumptuous. Hate that he just assumes I've had super intense and unnatural feelings for him, that even after less than a week I feel like he is my forever.

I should hate all of that.

But I don't.

And instead of asking about all of those indicators, I surprise Kai by asking. "Do you have weddings?"

"Something like that." His brow furrows for a second as he scans my face then he nods. "But only after the mating ritual is complete."

My pulse skyrockets and my body heats to an almost uncomfortable level. Just hearing the wordsmating ritualhas my pussy clenching, has an aching need throbbing inside of me that only Kai can ease. And judging by the way his eyes darken, he knows it.

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