Page 40 of Beneath Scales and Shadows
She was falling for him—not because of omega biology or prophecy or circumstance, but because of who he was.
His wisdom and restraint, despite his alpha instincts urging possession. His ability to see her—truly see her—beyond designation or destiny.
“I’m caught between worlds,” she whispered. “Between who I was and who I’m becoming.”
“Then let me be your bridge.” He extended his hand, offering rather than demanding. “Not your master or your fate, but your partner… if you let me.”
The moment stretched between them, weighted with decision. She lifted her hand, fingers hovering above his scaled palm, choice balanced on a knife’s edge.
Sora drew a steadying breath and placed her hand in his. The contact sent warmth cascading through her, not the uncomfortable heat of transformation but something deeper, more fundamental—like finding solid ground after drifting at sea.
“I accept,” she whispered, pressing her forehead against his chest, breathing in his comforting scent. “Be my bridge.”
Ignis’s fingers closed gently around hers, talons carefully angled away from her skin.
“Tell me,” she said, voice steadier than she felt. “Tell me what happens now. What all this talk of heat truly means… I must be prepared. I won’t go in blind—not after everything else has been that way for me on Artania.”
Ignis guided her to a stone bench carved into the balcony wall, positioned perfectly to catch the moonlight streaming through the mountain’s apertures. Her scales shimmered brighter as the silver light touched her skin.
“You know the basics,” he began, voice carefully controlled. “Alphas lead, their commands followed without question, as their powers align with what’s needed for them to rule. For many of the Moon Goddess’s children, they are telepathically bound to those under their command, unlike humans.”
His wing shifted slightly, creating a shield of privacy around their conversation. “Dragons have almost impenetrable defenses, flame, and flight.Wulfkinpossess tracking abilities like no other, with speed comparable only to thefelynx.”
“And humans?”
“Humans are a blank slate, capable of adapting—taking in traits of those they bind themselves to,” he continued, claws scraping lightly against the stone bench. “In olden times, to create alliances, their omegas were gifted to the alphas and deltas of other species to gain attributes from their mates, passed down through offspring, strengthening their bloodline. That is how human deltas gained their lesser magic over generations—their mages... and omegas gained their defenses.”
Understanding dawned across her features. “My scales. I have scales that shimmer under the moon because of the faint dragon blood in my veins and being a child of the Moon Goddess.”
“Yes.” His gaze traced the silver patterns appearing along her arms, reverence in his expression. “Once you’ve completely transformed, you should be capable of withstanding dragonflame—even though I would never dare to ever breathe it on you.”
“But what of my impending heat?” she pressed, unwilling to let him evade the topic again.
Ignis’s grip tightened on the edge of the bench, stone crumbling beneath his claws. He stared out into the cavern, muscles tense beneath his scales. “Soon, your body would become fully capable of taking any alpha’s—no matter the species—knot.”
Sora blinked, confusion replacing embarrassment. “Knot?”
CHAPTERTWELVE
IGNIS
“Knot?” Sora’s voice held genuine confusion, her brow furrowing beneath the silver scales that now permanently adorned her temples.
Ignis swallowed hard, struggling to maintain his composure. Speaking of such intimate matters with the very female who ignited his deepest urges threatened his carefully maintained control. Heat radiated from his scales, the fire beneath his skin responding to her proximity and the sweetening notes of her scent.
“An alpha’s body changes during mating,” he explained, his voice rougher than intended. “Near climax, we... expand at the base. It’s designed to ensure successful breeding, to keep our seed deep within our chosen mate.”
Her eyes widened slightly, a flush spreading across her cheeks as understanding dawned. “I see.”
“Once locked together—the alpha will mark their omega—as the bond forms at its most base level,” he continued, forcing clinical detachment into his tone. “For dragons, it creates a connection that transcends physical separation—thoughts, emotions, even sensations can be shared.”
“And my heat triggers this?”
“Omega heat calls to alpha instincts,” Ignis confirmed. “Your body will prepare itself to receive a mate—any capable alpha. The scent alone drives unmated alphas to frenzy, urging them to claim, to possess—to rut.” His claws dug into the stone bench beneath them. “It’s why omegas were traditionally sequestered during their cycles, for their protection.”
“But you’re not frenzied,” she observed, studying him with those perceptive sapphire eyes.
“A century of discipline teaches restraint.” He offered a smile that didn’t quite mask the strain beneath. “Though I won’t pretend it’s easy.”
