Page 62 of The Exiled Dragon

I had only seen it on my mother a few times. It was very light, but Odessa’s seemed to grow darker and darker by the hour. In fact, several Dragons in the tribe had dark marks. Maybe it was because my stepfather was an Alpha, and my mother’s descended blood from several generations ago might have been a factor for the lightly colored tattoo. After all, I had seen no others with the same.

The beautiful gold designs adorned Odessa’s body had been smeared and smudged by my fingerprints in all the right places. My fingers continued to stroke every last part while she slept. I had completely forgotten to look for her name, adorned somewhere on her body, but that was the least of my worries. I didn’t have time to play; my voice could only last so long and professing my love to my mate was most important, along with my Dragon urging me to mark her.

Odessa’s tears of joy at listening to me say her name made my Dragon rumble with amusement. She was so pleased, and even with the warning that Glinda had given me about no more of the beautiful flowers that could heal most ailments, I would find another flower. I would search to the ends of Bergarian to find a whole one, make sure that we could collect seeds and create more so others could be healed. Then, I’d have my voice permanently fixed.

My lips curled, feeling Odessa push her naked body closer to my hairy chest. My finger trailed down her back, causing goosebumps to erupt over her body. It was close to high noon, but she was sleeping so soundly.

Trying to speak, only grunts and groans escaped me. My voice had faded into the night, thankful that the last words that Odessa heard from me were my undying love for her. If I ever failed in my endeavors to fix my voice, at least those last few words would echo into her mind.

My nose trailed her mark, smelling her while her arm pulled me tightly against her, but her eyes would not open. My thumb grazed her cheek. She was still mostly skin and bone; filling her stomach to continue to heal was a challenge. She needed complex foods such as stone fruits, bread, and cakes like in the Elven territory. Maybe a trade could be made so I can help with her diet. My fawn would take time for her body to recover, but hopefully, with my mark, she will have some of my power, especially seeing that my mark is already scarred.

If we decide to have fledglings later, I will have to consider that. She still would not heal as fast as a normal Shifter. I would not allow her to leave the nest while swollen with a fledgling. I would have to feed her, keep her here in the cave. Her feet will not grace the floor until she gave birth; even after, I would cater to her and the fledgling. My heart expanded. Never had I thought about having my own fledgling. I wonder what they would look like if they would even be Dragon or that of a human?

Mixed races were becoming so new in bonded couples. With Queen Melina being half Siren and Fae, it came to be a beautiful pairing. My mind still couldn’t wrap around how that happened. I let my Dragon take control by biting Odessa’s shoulder, but that was the extent I knew about bonding. Was there a special ceremony to cause her to be part Dragon? Had we already completed it?

I pushed part of her curled hair away from her face. Gently shaking her, she still would not wake. Becoming worried, I checked her heart, her breath with my finger under her nose. My fawn was deeply sleeping, with no distress in her body signs. It was selfish of me to want to wake her up, but I wanted to hear her voice and know that she was alright from the exciting night we shared. Maybe I was also selfish, wanting to repeat the night over again.

Untangling my legs from hers, I stepped out of the nest, only to hear claws scratching down the cave. Razak came in, his head low, whimpering for permission to enter. I had told him to stay, but he had followed us home. Clicking a few times, he went to lie in his own nest, quickly falling asleep.

I heated the fire, preparing food for Odessa, hoping that aroma would arouse her but to no avail. She lay still, no longer moving as she did before. Checking her body once again, my Dragon stirred, uneasy she had not awoken.

Taking the dirty furs off the nest, her naked body laid before me. My eyes wandered the rest of her, ensuring I did not bruise her. It was then I saw her name. It was on her lower back in beautiful Elven cursive, close to the English equivalent. My Dragon huffed a laugh inside me. Yes, we were more interested in what was on the front of her body, but I wouldn’t mind exploring her back later.

Scooping her into my arms, I took her to our hot spring in the cave and washed her body thoroughly. The gold paint immediately faded into the water as the oils cleaned her body. The extremely soft leather that Odessa had made for bathing I used to wash her eye paints. She sighed, curling up into my body, but she still would not wake. My Dragon growled, wanting for her eyes to open.

Her body was now dried, the nest clean of the dirty furs and placed with fresh ones. I stood near the nest. My body paced the room, rubbing my hand through my hair. It was now evening, and she still had not awoken. It was too long, too long for her to sleep. Even when she was sick and recovering when I first brought her here, she would flutter her eyes open and fall back asleep. This time she did not, and now she did not move.

“Creed?” The whisper echoed through the cave. My tongue slithered from my mouth, smelling the air down the entrance. Not able to smell the person at the end of the cave, my ears recognized the voice.

“Creed? I’m coming in.” Within a few seconds, she had run down the cave with a covered head in her cloak. Amora was covered in yellowcress root, keeping her smell hidden. “There you are!” she said, exasperated. Amora leaned on the cave wall, holding her chest.

“I have waited at our hot spring all day today, and you never came. I was so worried that you had run into Adam or…” Amora sniffed the room, her eyes widening, covering her mouth. “You have mated!” She gasped. My eyes looked over to Odessa. Her hair spread out over the thickness of a cushion, and her body was covered by my best furs.

“Creed, a human.” She sighed, wringing the large bag she had brought.

“Did you force her?” My beast growled loudly in my chest, shaking the cave. Razak jumped onto my fawn’s nest to shield her, but it only caused anger to rise further. Stomping over, Razak bared his teeth, hissing at my attempt to get him off the nest and away from my mate. Clicking my tongue before my Dragon killed him on the spot, he jumped off, scattering out of the cave.

Turning to Amora, still staring on in confusion, I shook my head. I grabbed the spare leathers from the table, carving the word, ‘mate,’ into them. Amora shook her head. “How do you know?” she whispered. “No one has taught…” Before she continued, I put my finger to my nose, to my fingers that danced across my forearm, and then to my heart. Amora’s eyes softened, looking back at Odessa.

“And you didn’t force her?” I rocked my head.

‘Why would I force?’ I wrote on the leather.

“Dragons are possessive. They want what is theirs no matter the cost.” Amora sighed heavily. “Males apologize after and try to make up for it, but that is just how it is.” I shook my head again.

‘No, I love her, no force,’ I wrote again. Amora’s eyes filled with a look of uncertainty, maybe thoughts of her own past. Could Adam have forced himself upon her when she turned eighteen? Surely this isn’t the case with all Dragons. My mother showed so much love to her mate when I was old enough to understand.

‘You forced?’ I wrote, my eyebrows knitted together harshly. Amora shook her head, chuckling to herself.

“Creed, not now,” she swallowed. “I’m happy for you. I’m so happy for you. You have a mate,” she sniffed. “I never thought I would see the day. Your mother would be so happy.” I smiled the best I could. Her arms came around me, hugging me tightly.

Adam had forced Amora; he didn’t ask for permission. The tension, the sadness in her embrace told me so. My Dragon was stewing, wanting to protect my sister. Adam was evil, and I would have killed him if it weren’t for the bond. With a mate bond, if one died, the other usually followed. Maybe that was holding me back all these years, not necessarily my promise to my mother, but to protect the one I considered a family before any other.

Our hug released Amora, continuing to stare at Odessa. “A human,” she muttered. “Oh gods, is this the human girl, O-O-Odessa?!” she stuttered. “That everyone is looking for?” Panic set in her eyes, my hand pulling on my braids. Nodding, she let out a heavy breath. “You both are in for some hardships, Creed. You have a Duke claiming to be her mate and your half-brother that is out to try to find any evidence to kill you. The world is against you both.” Amora tried to sit on my nest with Odessa peacefully sleeping, but my Dragon hissed out a cry through my damaged cords. Wincing, Amora stood back.

“She really is your mate,” she chuckled. “I’m sorry.” She backed away. Her eyes trailed over the furs, watching her sleep. “You not only bonded her, but you also changed her. I can smell it.” My head tilted to the side, pulling Odessa’s hand into my lap as I sat on the nest.

“Did you not know?”

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