Page 13 of The Lost Nation

I flipped Wren over on her back, and before she could say anything pinned her down by her pelvis. Her wings vanished into her back as I wrenched both of her legs open, and licked her slit from top to bottom. Her head fell back on the bed, and her claws digging rivulets into the wood of the bed frame as her mouth dropped open in shock. I teased her with my tongue and lips, and then slowly inserted a finger. In and out. My other hand reached up to tweak a nipple, and she was soon bucking against my face.

“K-Kieran—”

Hearing her moan my name nearly hadmecome, but I doubled down and focused on the heat emanating from between her legs. I refused to unleash myself on her until she was satisfied. Between my tongue, teeth, and fingers, she was wailing with release minutes later, her voice laced with musickal overtone as she had yet to fully come out of her trance.

As she went limp, I coaxed her on her stomach again. “Now you’re going to get it.”

Wren shivered with delight under me, and I thrust inside with one stroke. Her hands curled behind her, grasping under my legs and pulling my hips roughly against her backside.

I had one more thing to do before I lost control. It was purely symbolic, yet it was an important milestone in a draken mateship.

“Wren,” I panted, barely able to string words together. “Will you have my young?”

Her fingers dug harder into my skin, claws leaving marks that I would relish later. “Yes.”

I lost my grip on reality, and went at her like a wild animal. Wings and scales flashed as we lost ourselves, my draken finally let free as we both claimed our mate together. Clarity only returned as I came with a final push, stars bursting in front of my eyes as the magick around us dissipated.

I fell on top of Wren boneless, and she grunted and pushed me off, laughing. “You’re too big.”

I snorted and turned to bring her into my chest. She twisted in my arms, those large eyes looking up into mine. She brushed a stray red braid out of my eyes. “Am I pregnant now?”

I kissed the tips of her fingers, often forgetting just howyoungshe truly was. Again I was hit by the loss of our females and their culture. I wondered if the ones in the cave would ever truly healenough to share it with Wren. “Only time will tell. Areyouready?”

Wren considered my question carefully, and my draken was pleased there was no fear or hesitation written on her voice. “Yes,” she said softly. “I think I’d like a child.”

My draken purred, but it was nothing at the explosion of happiness in my chest. My mate was in my arms, satisfied and dreaming ofourchildren. What more could one possibly dream of?

“Kieran.” Wren’s voice was sharp, a sudden shift that had my claws and fangs out as every muscle in her body tensed.“You said a draken female can’t have young until they arewiththeir mate.”

I blinked, unsure why this was so alarming. Isn’t that what I had just told her? “Yes?”

She blinked frantically, her mouth opening and closing a few times before she managed to get any words out.“What if...what if a mated draken female is...forcedby someone else? Will she have children?”

I frowned, unable to even conceive of such a scenario. “No, it’s a protection mechanism. They will only have young with their mates. Otherwise, their draken would likely drive them insane with the need to kill the child and the male who'd forced it on them. Xana mentioned performing a ritual, but that was a fail-safe. She shouldn't have worried about conceiving as a prisoner."

Wren’s breaths were erratic, her pulse racing. I touched her arm. “Wren, what’swrong?”

She whipped around, her brown eyes wide and alarmed. “Then how do you explainThad?”

Chapter 6

Wren

Kieran hadn’t been able to explain; not that I expected him to. In the end, he’d muttered something about asking Benedict and Ronan, and wondering if demon blood had anything to do with it. None of us wanted to voice what we were thinking, because it was impossible. It waswrong.

A demon had mated with a female draken, and she'd accepted the bond and gotten pregnant with Thad.

That didn’t fit at all with what Severn had said when I was a prisoner in the fortress. I remembered him taunting Thad, saying that his mother had fought and screamed when she was forced into lying with a demon. His very existence seemed to disprove that theory, unless there was something else at play here.

It wasn’t like I could goaskhim, so my thoughts were all I had.

Besides, I had my own worries. I could bewith child. I touched a hand to my flat stomach, imaging it round with a baby like I had seen so often in the breeding manor. This would be different though—we were afamily. My baby wouldn’t be ripped from my arms and taken away from me.

My draken howled at the very thought.

Two more witches had given birth on the island since Cassie, though both were little girls who would grow up to be witches like their mothers. Trego and Cassie’s little drakling had been named Ivarr, and I tried to visit him when I could. The entire draken and witch communities had adopted the little ones, doting upon them whenever they could. Though they were still kept separate from the demon children.

I sighed, not knowing what to think about the demon children. I’d wanted to spend more time with them, but my sigils and tattoos itched and bothered me when I went too close. The dragon sigil on my shoulder would also get irritated, and snarl at me until I backed away.

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