Page 56 of Destined By Dragonblood
I nodded.
“So you’re saying that…I’m a shifter too?”
A grimace twitched my mouth. “You’re more human than dragon, and I doubt you will ever have the ability to morph into your beast form.”
She gently took hold of my wrist and pulled my hand from her face. “I—I’m going to need some time to process all of this, Dolyn.”
“I understand.” I stepped back, allowing her space even though every part of me wished to pull her back into my arms and hold her close.
“You…you wouldn’t ever harm me, would you?”
“Never,” I swore.
“Then those other eyes weren’t you, were they?”
The second gaze she’d felt—I’d forgotten she’d spoken of it to Vanni.
My inner beast growled, and I silently assured him nothing and no one would ever hurt our female again. “I will watch over you day and night, Ashley. You needn’t fear anything or anyone as long as I’m near.”
“And what about Vanni?”
A shot of lust punched through my gut. “What about him?”
“He’s a part of this.” She didn’t ask a question, but I nodded. “The three of us are meant to be together. I can sense the connection deep in my bones.”
“We are.”
“But what if he never accepts us?” Her voice wobbled, and she clutched her hands in front of her.
“Why wouldn’t he?”
“He…well, something in his past wounded him deeply, and while it’s not my story to tell, I’m afraid it would keep him from wanting this.”
I expected a lot more than our pasts would cause speed bumps along our road toward bonding, but the reward would be worth the effort we put in.
“Give me space for my emotions to settle while I process all of this, okay?”
I nodded rather than argue like my dragon side begged and whimpered for me to do.
“I’ll talk to Vanni.”
A bite on my tongue kept me silent. I’d rather have tied him up and beat the truth into him—if only I truly had the desire to do such a thing.
My goddamned masochist beast snickered, but his amusement faded to quiet longing when the door to Vanni’s office closed behind our female.
I gave her ample time to descend the stairs before cloaking myself and following at a far enough distance she wouldn’t feel me as intensely as before. But the hint of my presence would assure her of safety until she was ready to accept what we’d been destined to become.
Chapter 17
Ashley
Dolyn seemed farther away than usual, and I appreciated his agreeing to my needing space yet still watching over me.
While my dreamer side sighed in bliss over the rubbish I’d been told tonight, the part of me who needed to stay grounded in reality frowned.
I longed to believe Dolyn. Hell, his magic trick of blinking out of existence for a few seconds pushed me to give in. I wanted to accept the fact I’d met the one destined for me, who would heal all my wounds and make me whole again. Why I’d spewed the shit of my past to him, I didn’t know. Like a mental tether connected us, I hadn’t been able to stop from spilling my guts.
Crawling into bed didn’t allow me to escape the thoughts in my mind, so I focused on an event that flooded me with warmth.
