All Chapters of Iniko: A New Beginning: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

KaylaniAfter our conversation with Phoenix, I find my mate. Not surprisingly, he’s in the medical center, poring over a microscope.He looks up as I walk in.“Your conversation with Phoenix didn’t go as planned?” he asks. He’s always in my mind, and I love it.“Were you listening in?”“I wasn’t until I felt your concern, but now what I’m seeing in Iniko’s DNA makes sense. Phoenix was right,” he says, pulling me against him.I look at the wall as he puts up images of DNA strands.“From left to right, we have Cal, Eliane, Iniko in his first life, and finally, Iniko in his second life.”I’ve been mated to Everett long enough to understand what I’m looking at.“Iniko had fire and water in his first life, we just never saw it.”“Correct. I’d say that because he was so much weaker back then, those elements didn’t manifest. You need a strong dragon to carry and wield all four elements. So, they would have stayed dormant.”“So, why do those points on his DNA look like Cal’s and Eliane’s now?”

BrookeAfter my shower with Iniko, I feel very shy around him. I’ve never done anything like that before. I was feeling bold at the time, but now … now I can’t believe I acted so brazenly! What was I thinking?Iniko is the exact opposite. He’s walking around with a smug smile on his face like giving me an orgasm made his day. I mean, it made mine too because, WOW, but still, it’s embarrassing! What if people find out what we did?As we walk to the dining hall, we run into mom.“Hey sweetheart. How are you feeling after … everything?” she asks.“WHAT?” I squeak and I know my face just turned fifty shades of red. Is it that obvious? Do I look different?“She’s talking about last night,” Iniko whispers in my ear, running his nose through my hair and purring softly.Now, my cheeks are so hot I feel like they might catch on fire.“Oh, I’m good,” I say.Mom tilts her head, frowning slightly, and looking from me to Iniko and back again.“That’s good,” she says, still watching me closely. “You

BrookeMy family is very loving, they always have been, so I’m used to openly affectionate people, but with Iniko it’s different. The level of adoration that I get from him is addicting. I can understand why the mates of dragons are so dedicated to them. Being loved by a dragon is a heady thing. Being loved by your mate who is a dragon is unlike anything you can put into words. It makes you feel special, loved, adored, and cherished in a way that nothing else does.Over dinner, Iniko and I talk about where I want my things to go. It doesn’t take long for me to realize our entire place will only be decorated with my things.“We should leave some space for what you want, Iniko,” I say.He smiles and leans in to kiss me. “The only thing I want in my space is sitting right beside me. Everything else is decoration.”See what I mean? How can you not melt when your mate says things like that?“Although I like that you have pictures of our family and I’d like to have pictures taken of you and

InikoI’m equally nervous and excited as we walk back to our room. I’m pretty sure Brooke will like the slippers I got her, but I’m not one hundred percent sure. I had Kenna show me how to search for what I was looking for and she’s the one who found them for me. She thought it was sweet that I wanted to get polar bear slippers for Brooke.“Are you trying to help her connect to her shifter side, Iniko?” she asked.“Sort of, but she has these tiger slippers, which is fine, but she doesn't have the tiger gene. She loves the slippers and they’re really cute on her, so I wanted to get something similar but that shows who she is,” I said shrugging. “If it just so happens to make her polar bear side happy, then it’s a win-win for me.”I also talked to Kenna and then Tana about how to exchange some of the gems in my cave of treasures so I could buy the slippers for her. Tana told me she’d done the same when she’d lived in a human city during the early part of Kenna’s life, so she knew exactly

Brooke“Hey, Raina,” Iniko calls out, waving at Raina as we walk up.“Hey, Iniko. Hey, Brooke. Where are you two headed?” she asks.“It’s a surprise,” Iniko says.Raina lowers her head and puts her eye at Iniko’s level. Something passes between them and I get the feeling that Raina knows where Iniko is taking me.“Should we expect you back tonight?” she asks.Iniko looks at me. “That will be up to Brooke. Either way, we’ll be back in time for breakfast tomorrow. I apparently have a meeting with mom and dad,” he tells her.“About what?”“No clue. Brooke thinks it might be about Cal and me having that stand off earlier this week.”Raina huffs. “You men, you’re all alike, posturing over a female.”“She’s not just any female, Raina. She’s my mate, and it’s not posturing, it’s protecting,” Iniko says, sounding annoyed.Raina looks at me. “Posturing.”“Anyway, have a good evening,” Iniko says.Iniko strips off his clothes and shifts easily. I, on the other hand, take a few minutes to shift.