Page 85 of The Exiled Dragon

Thewholenextdaywas spent in bed. I was completely exhausted, and I wasn’t sure how he could keep going. Dragons must have excellent stamina. There would be times I would get an hour of reprieve only to feel his pain through this mating bond. He kept telling me to go back to sleep, but how could I do that when he was suffering so much?

I mean, we weren’t suffering while we ‘did it,’ so I didn’t see the problem. By dawn the next day, the intervals slowed, and we actually slept. I was thankful for the mysterious baskets that continued to show up at the cave entrance. More witch hazel oils, soothing creams, and medicinal herbs showed up, some of which gave my lady parts a good rest.

Creed would stop and drink a hot tea that smelled like coffee often. When I asked why he was drinking it, since he had never drank the stuff before, he told me it helped him not put a fledgling in me yet. That sparked a whole new conversation about what a fledgling was and let’s just say I was grateful we did not have to worry about bringing a baby into the world right now.

I had initially still worried about the first few times we had done it, but he said I was not ‘ripe.’ Meaning ovulating, so I ‘should’ be all right. I pursed my lips at that statement because who knows how long supernatural sperm can survive in a supernatural body.

This morning’s basket that was brought in was extra special because a certain pet came along with it. Fluffy came prancing into the cave, his eyes brightening when he saw me. “Fluffy!” He ran up to me and licked me. Creed only chortled, setting the basket down on the small table we have been eating at and maybe mated on a few times. I started blushing, thinking about that poor table.

“What are you laughing at?” I blinked, confused. His enormous smile was from ear to ear, another look I would have to get used to.

“It’s funny you call him that,” he spoke, sitting on the bed next to me.

“What do you call him then? All I heard you do was make clicking and whistling noises.” Bobbing his head, he scratched under his chin.

“I did, but in my head I called him Razak, but he wouldn’t know that, so I believe we will just have to call him Fluffy.” I laughed loudly. My big bad Dragon taking Fluffy for walks sounded like the funniest thing.

After breakfast, Creed went outside to let his Dragon out. He needed to fly and feel the sky beneath his wings, and I opted to stay inside and shower. As many times as we used the shower, I often came out dirtier than going in. The hot steam felt great on my body, soothing muscles I didn’t know I had. Steam rose until the entire room was engulfed in a giant cloud.

Stepping out, wrapping a big fluffy towel around me, I cleared the mirror with my hand. This cave could have been rented out on Earth as a high-end rustic room that would have costed thousands of dollars for the night, but here we were staying in it for free. As much as I missed some of the modern aspects of Earth, I enjoyed the simplistic life here.

No computers, no phones, just one with nature and making relationships with those you care about. The magic was so real, so organic that you could almost feel it flow through the air that surrounds you. I didn’t even consider Earth home anymore. This was my home, even though we had spent little time back at his cave. Anywhere Creed was, that was my home.

Pulling the towel down from my hair, it laid in clumps on my shoulder. A strong itch started on my hip until I couldn’t take it anymore and dropped the towel. Tiny little lumps appeared, white in color, with hints of purple and blue. “What the?” Razak came inside the bathroom, sniffing around my hip.

He licked it, only making me jump in surprise when I fell right into Creed’s arms. “See, even your body calls to me when you think I’m gone.” Creed’s lips kissed my cheek. “Are you all right? I felt your worry as I came inside.”

“I’m not sure.” I scratched at my hip again. “I’m really itchy, right here.” pointing to my it, Creed got on his knees to inspect. He brushed it with his fingers. A cooling sensation went over the bumps and had me sigh.

Kissing my hip, he stood up and put a robe around my body. “Your scales are coming in.”

“Eh?” I gripped the towel I had laid on the counter, still scratching my exposed hip.

“Your scales, fawn. You are getting close to shifting.” I shivered. I knew I had a dragon inside me, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. Everything was happening so fast. We just became mates, dealing with the drama of a scary Vampire chasing me, Creed’s crazy brother, dealing with a rut and now my body was going to transform into a beastly Dragon.

Creed’s Dragon purred, that one deep purr that could seep into the ground; that caused the doe to calm so she could give birth to her two babies. I instantly sighed, putting my head into his bare chest.

“Will it hurt?” Creed cupped the back of my head, his thumb tilting my chin.

“Nothing like what other Shifters go through. The Dragon magic, the puffs of smoke, will wrap your body to numb you as you transform. It will take time for your first shift, but I will be there with you throughout the transformation.” I bit my lip, still not liking the sound of breaking my body into a bunch of pieces.

“It will only feel different, like pressure.” Creed stood back. “Come, I know a way to get rid of the itching feeling.” Creed held out his hand. I grabbed it instantly as he walked me out of the bathroom.

“Wait a minute.” I stared accusingly at him. “Are we going to have sex? Does that make the itching go away?” Creed’s Dragon let out a joyous laugh.

“No, but we can certainly do that if you’d like!” His gruff voice sent a chill down my body that I instantly shook off.

***

Queen Melina had clothes sent for me, tons of beautiful dresses that I could never see myself wearing. When I was with Creed, I enjoyed wearing soft leather pants and tops. It made me feel wild and free like he was, but he really wanted me to wear one particular dress so I couldn’t say no to.

The smirk on his face said something, but still unable to read his new facial cues, I obliged, and we headed out of the cave.

The sign was still there, along with others down the beach, giving the same warning. My face flushed thinking of all the people that could have walked by and heard us. Creed rolled his eyes, grabbed my hand, and led me to a path close to the cave.

Like the other different terrains of this world, this one held the magical Fairy feel you could imagine in Fairytales. The trees were covered in bright colors. Creed explained what Pixies are, in which I found out the tiny little ‘not-a-Fairy-man’ was indeed a Pixie and does not speak our words.

It was a relief to tell Creed that story. He wasn’t much of a fan of those little creatures, anyway. We passed by several ponds, where I found the water nymphs that tried to jump out of the water and play with my hair. One growl from Creed and they all jumped back in, screaming.

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