Sigurd
I pace my chambers restlessly, unable to settle with my mind spinning so rapidly.
She’s beautiful; there’s no denying it. I hate that she has other mates, though, and I’m contemplating stealing her away and killing the other males so that I’m the only one left. I’ll use these next couple days to firm up my plans and go from there. If she’s got a soul bond to them, then killing them would kill her, and that’ll fuck up everything. I could lock her soul bonds up and allow her access a few times a solar year so that she doesn’t get too ill, and then she’ll be mine for the rest of the time. That could work. It’d still grate on me, but soul bonds are tricky.
I think I want her ink adjusted so that it’s a black dragon on her arm, not a red one. Maybe add some shadows too. Eventually she’ll have my mating mark on her skin, but the idea of my dragon form tattooed on her for everyone to see is just as appealing.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Patience is key. I didn’t steal the throne by being too hasty, nor have I kept it this long by not thinking everything through. Sure, strength and might have had a lot to do with it, but a good leader knows when to plot and when to act, and now is the time to plot.
I need to hunt down the bastard that framed her too, but my mate needs to rest more than I need answers. Those can wait until tomorrow when we reconvene and discuss our next move. Perhaps I’ll keep her mates alive until this situation has been resolved and my female gets her revenge. They could be useful.
I have much to think about, and I imagine it will be a long night of restless pacing and plotting. Perhaps I could stop in and lie with my mate once she’s fallen asleep. I immediately reject the idea, knowing her two other mates will likely be glued to her side, and there’s no way for me to slip into her bed without them noticing. I growl as irritation burns my insides, but I force myself to take a deep breath and calm down. Getting angry isn’t a good thing for a dragon shifter, as we’re more prone to violence, and I can’t risk the girl before she’s been marked and mated.
Once she has, she’ll be stronger and more resistant. My dragon side wouldn’t be able to hurt her, and even other dragons would have a harder time killing her. It’s not often that we mate outside our species, but it’s been known to happen, and on occasion, the mate acquires their own dragon form, so long as their dragon mate is strong enough.
Despite calling ourselves shifters, we’re a little different than the others. Our dragon is our true form, the purest version of our souls we can present to the world, and when we find the one destined for us—our soulmate—we share a part of our souls with them, and vice-versa. I know my mate isn’t human, though; she’s one of the Zodiacs, so I imagine I’ll receive some of her powers upon our mating, and my dragon soul should be strong enough to bestow her a dragon form too.
I am the king of all dragons, after all, and the strongest beast on Drakolia, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t gift her a dragon form. I guess we will see if my female is gifted a beast or not. I hope she is; I’d love to soar through the skies with her.
My draconic nature, my status, and my living on Drakolia should serve as sufficient deterrents for those who are hunting my female. The death of my mate, once we’re fully bonded, would mean death to me, and with my death, the dragons would rise up and seek vengeance on Earth. War with us is the last thing the humans want. We would raze their planet easily and kill them all, even with the celestial-blessed Zodiacs.
The sooner I mark and mate with my female, the better protected she will be, even when we’re off-planet.
There’s a knock on my office door.
“Enter,” I bark with a barely veiled snarl.
Erik isn’t fazed by my aggression; it’s common amongst us beasts. Instead he plops down into one of the massive armchairs in front of my desk, a desk I’m not using as I continue to pace in front of the unlit fireplace in my office. My second watches me closely, and I can practically feel his question before he opens his mouth to ask it.
“When do you plan to seal the bond?”
Sometimes I regret having him so close. He misses nothing, and he pesters me when I’m not doing things fast enough in his eyes.
“Why are you concerned? I’ll bond to my mate when I deem it’s the right time.”
He doesn’t flinch at my snark. “You know why I’m concerned. You know what a soulmate does to our dragon souls, how it makes us stronger, makes us complete. She’ll ground you, and when that happens, your place upon the throne will be untouchable. You’ve received more and more challenges lately, and despite your silence on the matter, it’s weighing on you. Eventually you will lose, but now that you’ve discovered your mate, you never have to fear death again. You will be unstoppable.”
“And with more power means more responsibility.” I drop into my chair with a heavy sigh. “She has needs that do not relate to our world and our people. I can’t forsake her need for revenge for what was done to her, yet to leave my world now will only lead to political instability.”
Erik is already shaking his head, frustration clear on his face. “We don’t know what your absence will bring. Most are content with your rule, and those who are not won’t challenge a fully bonded shadow beast, Sigurd. That would be suicide, and they know it.”
“She has three mates already.”
“Kill them,” he suggests.
“They could be soul-bonded.”
“You don’t know for certain?” He tilts his head, his blond braids shifting with the movement, drawing my attention to the leather cord wrapped tight around a single braid that had once belonged to his mate—a mate we’re still searching for.
I shake my head with a low growl, frustration welling up once more.
“Don’t get your talons in a twist, Sigurd. Just bond her, and then you’ll know if she’s soul-tied to the others.”
“And if they are?”
Erik shrugs. “Lock them up?”
I snort a laugh and lean back in my chair. “I thought of that.”
“Then there you go. Problem solved.” He stands with a long-suffering sigh. “Go find her now and seal it.”
My second leaves before I can respond, though I suppose that’s for the best. He wouldn’t like my answer, that's for damn certain. I don’t even like it, but I need to tread carefully, lest I ruin my chance to bond my mate.
* * *
Two hours pass slowly—too slowly—and the entire time, I felt like I was going mad, especially when the fucking started. I could feel her arousal and her pleasure, and it galled me to know I wasn’t the cause, that her other mates likely were. The sensations are faint since our bond isn’t complete, but they’re there.
I ache. I crave. I need.
I’ve tried to resist the call and the temptation, but I can only endure so much before I snap. And I’ve snapped. I’m moving out of my office before I’ve thought my actions through, storming my halls to the guest suite I placed them all in. The closer I get, the stronger the feelings from my mate grow, until I’m hard as granite and hurting. Only my female can ease me now, and I don’t even care if her other mates are involved, so long as I get a taste and can claim a part of her for myself.
Eventually she’ll be all mine, but for now, I’ll share if it means this torture ceases.
I push the door open with a loud bang, growl simmering rather menacingly, but I can’t gather myself enough to stop the sound. The moans cut off completely as I march toward the bedroom, slamming that door open too with little regard for privacy as I take in the sight that greets me. She’s bare, every beautiful inch of her exposed for my perusal, while one male is tasting her mouth and the other laps at her cunt. All three watch me with wide-eyed shock, and to my absolute delight, my female doesn’t cower and attempt to conceal herself from me.
She’s dripping; I can smell it, and fuck, I want it. I don’t question where the third male is—I don’t fucking care. She’s all I can see, all I can hear, all I can smell, and I need more. But will she let me partake in her body and soul tonight? And what will I do if she denies me?
I don’t know. All plans and plots have fully flown out the fucking window with my instincts in full control. Things can turn deadly for her two males at the drop of a scale, and given how stiff and tense they both are, I can see her mates understand the risks. My female, on the other hand, doesn’t look the slightest bit concerned. I’d say she looks positively thrilled, and it makes me smirk wickedly as I lick my lips.
“Mind if I join?” It’s not really a question, but even as far gone as I am, I do attempt to be a little bit civil.
Her grin is answer enough.