The day of our meeting, I drew blood from all of the dragons, including Amne. I know she’s shifted but I prefer to be sure that nothing is happening with her that isn’t obvious on the outside. It took me another day to test it, during which time I explained to Aspen everything that had happened with her and what was happening with Brooke. Ajax, Kano and Keagan had come over to welcome them and show them around the school and ranch lands yesterday, and today, Elio, Valko, and Tesha had come to hang out since everyone else is leaving. Naida had come to say goodbye, having been invited to join Nova on her trip with Zephyr and Ishir. She said she’d never seen the ocean and since she spends as much time with them as Nova does with us, Kaylani agreed. Kaylani and I said goodbye to the elves and other shifters in the morning after breakfast then I returned to finish testing the blood of the dragons. I found something off with Ancalagon’s but I’m not going to say anything about it until I d

After spending the night with Kaylani in our room, yes OUR room, and adding another incredible night to my top 5 nights of all time, I’m back in my laboratory with a stupid grin on my face. I need to focus, I need to look at this bloodwork, look at the different DNA strands to try and help Drakon, but all I can think about is last night. I’m not sure what I ever did in my life to deserve a woman like Kaylani, but I’m so thankful that I did. I hear the kids moving around in the hospital wing and I look up to do a quick check on Brooke, the same thing I do at least three times an hour, even though there are alarms that will go off is something happens. I know Kaylani went out to check the perimeter and I swear I can hear her fly overhead, heading toward Ishir and Zephyr’s house. It hadn’t occurred to me when everyone said they were taking the week off that it might put the few of us still here at risk. But, of course, Kaylani thought of it. She told me what she was doing when she left

I can’t believe I’m a dragon rider. I can’t believe Kaylani submitted to me. Even more than that, I can’t believe she’d been waiting for me to demand it of her in bed. I had no idea she wanted me to claim her so much. My mate, my dragon is truly one of a kind. I need to talk to Kaylani. I can feel the difference in me and I want to understand it. I know from being around the others that the rider takes on some of the power and the element of their dragon. The water has felt easy for me to connect with, probably because I already have it in my body. The other elements would have been much more difficult for me. But Kaylani’s water just feels right. The strength that I feel is another thing I’ll have to be careful with. When I was putting Elio’s IV in, I snapped the first two accidentally before carefully holding the third and finally getting it into his arm. The fatigue that has become so common unless Kaylani feeds me her strength, is gone. I feel energized, almost buzzing with energ

“Tell me again why you feel the need to find this female?” I ask Pyralis. I’ve always liked having a harem of men around me, enjoyed being the only female in a group of men, especially during sex, so I’m not thrilled that Pyralis is insisting on finding this female. “You saw how they took down that dragon. The man told her to submit when she was subdued. That’s what we need to do, we need as many people as we can get, and then we need to go after the white dragon. If I claim it, then it will become part of our group,” he says. “What does that have to do with this girl?” I ask. “She’s strong. Haven’t you smelled her scent? She’s definitely got some dragon in her,” he says excitedly. I growl, swiping my large lion’s paw at him, scratching his chest. He snarls, slamming me against a tree. “Knock it off, Truda.” “Make me, Pyralis,” I growl. He spins me around, his teeth puncturing my neck on either side of my spine until they hit bone as he rips my pants down and thrusts inside me.

I wrap my arms around my overwhelmed mate, holding her while she cries, but inside, I’m on the verge of joining her. I have wanted children of my own, had hoped for children when I was younger. But when I didn’t find the right woman, someone who could accept my need to dominate them in the bedroom, I gave up the notion. Then, when I met Kaylani and realized that she was everything I ever wanted in life, I didn’t care as much about having kids. We both adopted children that needed parents and I was able to become a father, without having any of my own biological children. So, while I may not have over a century of wishing I was going to have my own child like Kaylani has, I’ve had a couple of decades. And now, my dream is going to come true with the love of my life, the incredible, amazing dragon who is all mine forever. I pull back, kissing my beautiful mate, and wiping her tears with my thumbs. “I’m sorry, I’m just so happy,” she says tearfully. “You have made me incredibly happy