Page 31 of Claimed By the Dragon King

Freyja seems pleased with what I did for the dwarven family, but she also seems surprised. Then again, she does not know me. Not well, at least. Not yet. I would never wish starvation upon anyone. Even Dwarves.

“I do not think you are heartless, Aurdyn.” Her voice cuts through my thoughts.

“You do not?”

“No. I mean… you may not possess an ounce of humility, but you are definitely not heartless.”

I narrow my eyes, and she laughs. Freyja is fearless, and I admire her for it. No other human would dare say such a thing to a Dragon.

I open my mouth to reply, but Freyja trips over something, stumbling forward. Lightning fast, I catch her around the waist before she falls. “Are you all right?”

The snow is much thicker on the ground here and it is continuing to fall in thick sheets all around us, blanketing the entire forest in white.

“I’m fine,” she replies, even though I can see she is struggling. Freyja is much shorter than me and the snow is now up to her knees, making it difficult for her to keep a good pace as we walk.

“If I carry you, we will make better time to the village.”

She nearly stumbles again over a buried tree root and growls low in her throat.

I straighten, instantly at attention as my blood heats and my entire body flushes with warmth.Is she trying to initiate the mating ritual?

Freyja’s eyes meet mine and she frowns. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Were you…” I hesitate, unsure how to ask. Perhaps I was imagining it. “Were you… growling?”

“Yes.”

My jaw drops but I quickly snap it shut, reminding myself that she is human and surely their ways must be different. “I suggest you not do that around any other Dragons when we get to my kingdom.”

Her head jerks back. “Why? Is it bad?”

“That particular pitch of growling indicates you are interested in initiating a mating.”

“What?”

“It is what a female Dragon does when she wishes to initiate the mating ritual and theTo’vara.”

“The…To’v what?” she asks, her voice rising in pitch.

“It is the mating battle,” I explain. “The female will declare To’vara to a male she is interested in. If he accepts the challenge, he must then conquer her to claim her as his mate. She then accepts him into her body, sealing the bond between them.

Her jaw drops.

CHAPTER15

FREYJA

“It is not all romance, however,” he says casually, and I blink up at him in disbelief.

Romanceis certainly not the word that came to mind with his explanation of the To’vara.

He continues. “It is very dangerous for males. One of my strongest warriors was nearly killed during the battle with his mate.”

“What?”I ask, unsure if I’ve heard him right.

“Males Dragons prepare for many years to be strong enough to battle a female. They are larger than us—fierce warriors.”

“I… don’t understand. Why do they battle in the first place?”

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