Claws and Kisses

Lunch was a tense affair.

Rhett and I sat opposite each other. Avel sat at the head of the table, to the right of me. Jericho sat on the other end. Every now and then, his eyes would rest on Rhett and a certain type of flare would spark in his eyes. During then, I would have to resist every instinct in my body telling me to attack the Dragon Lord on the spot.

Avel noticed the strain in my movements. Every damn time I looked even close to exploding, he would simply lean forward and just barely loop his pinky finger around mine. The contact was so small and inconsequential that it could have almost been counted for nothing.

Almost.

The act was so sweet and innocent. Something he would have done when we were children, playing in that stone cave on the hill. I couldn’t help smiling a little every time he did it, enjoying the silly act more than what was probably warranted. The Dragon Lord didn’t even act like his pinky wrapped around mine was a big deal. Like it was instinct for him to reach over and touch me. Try to console me when I was stressed.

His touch did not go unnoticed by the other two men sitting at the table. I received a knowing, humorous smile from Jericho and a half-confused, half-angry glare from Rhett. He looked like he wanted to tell Avel to piss off but thought better of it.

“ . . . and that’s why we are all leaving in a few days.” Jericho finished saying, biting off a piece of his chicken.

My mind tore away from thoughts of Avel’s pinky and instead focused on the Dragon Lord in front of me. “What?”

Avel took a long draw from his drink—a foul-smelling alcohol that only dragons drank—and laid his eyes on me. Someone seems distracted. Do you need help paying attention, little tiger?

His voice flowed through my head, deep and alluring. My knee jerked under the table from the surprise intrusion, and I promptly glared at him afterward. The damn fiend only half-smiled into his cup, entirely pleased with himself.

I tried not to smile along with him then. It was moments like these I cherished. Even though I had not been with him for more than a day, I still loved catching the little moments in which he reminded me of that boy I knew so long ago. The one who promised to protect me no matter what. The one whose laugh was loud and sincere if you could draw it out of him. The one who reveled in life and all it had to offer.

The one I . . .

Jericho cleared his throat. For the first time during this whole lunch, he looked slightly uncomfortable. “When we head to the eastern horde of Jara, you two will be coming with us, as well as our inner circle and couple dozen other warrior dragons. The whole event is more of an introduction than anything else. All of the dragon lords will be sizing each other up, seeing which ones are going to be quarrelsome.”

I shook my head, lost in the conversation. “I’m sorry, where exactly are we going?”

Avel answered for his brother. “A funeral for the Dragon High Lord, Loch Shade. All of the dragon lords have been commanded to attend.”

My eyes lit up in recognition. Loch was the man they had been talking of earlier this morning. He must have died soon after I eavesdropped on Avel and Dyan this morning. My brows furrowed as I turned to Avel. “High Lord? What is that?”

There was a brightness in both the Dragon Lord siblings’ eyes as Avel said, “High Lord is top of the food chain when it comes to dragons. Jericho and I are Dragon Lords, leaders of our own hordes. But all Dragon Lords answer to one dragon in particular: the High Lord.”

I cocked my head. “So he’s like your king?”

“He’s like our High Lord,” Jericho said with a dashing smile. It would have been charming if his very presence didn’t vex me so much.

“Once the High Lord is chosen, he gets the title for life, as well as a sort of immunity from all other dragons, including the Dragon Lords.” Avel added thoughtfully. “The High Lord doesn’t have a horde like the rest of us; his job is to watch over all of them. He facilitates trade, prevents conflicts, administers Drachen laws whenever necessary—the like.”

Rhett, who had not spoken more than five words to me or anyone else for the whole of lunch, twitched slightly before saying, “And now this High Lord is dead.”

Jericho glanced at him, his lips curving upwards. “Good job, mate. I guess you can do more than sit in that chair and scowl at your food.”

My brother glared at Jericho, crossing his arms so that his shoulders appeared wider. Stronger. Despite his beaten and worn-out appearance, he still looked ready to take Jericho on. Take all the dragons on.

Jericho, unimpressed but amused, leaned back in his chair and let his eyes run over Rhett in a lazy, knowing fashion. “Hmm,” he hummed, tilting his head slightly. “You’d think the last week would have taught you something. I guess after this, we can go back and work on our manners—”

“Jericho,” Avel growled low, cutting off his brother.

I watched as Jericho’s eyes glazed over for a moment, matching Avel’s clouded gaze. Neither Rhett or I spoke as they silently communicated with each other. Still, I turned to Rhett with a pleading gaze, hoping he would get the message. Back off before Jericho does something stupid.

I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that I held no power over Jericho. If he decided to hurt my brother, kill him even . . . I would be powerless to stop him. I needed Rhett to take care of himself until the Blood Moon. Until we could leave together with the stolen children from our village and start a new life somewhere else.

My heart tightened as I glanced at Avel. The smooth planes of his face. The rolling slope of his shoulders. His beautiful, star-like gaze that had me melting every time I looked into them. The thought of leaving him suddenly seemed crazy. Something that would take the strength of someone greater. Someone who could stand to bare the pain. The eternal suffering that would come with abandoning him a second time.

Less than a day and my resolve was already crumbling.

I thanked the gods as their wordless conversation ceased, and their eyes returned to normal. Jericho’s violet orbs—so similar to Avel’s—flashed to me for a split second before returning to the table.

“How . . . how do High Lords get chosen?” I asked tentatively, trying to subtly change the topic back to Loch Shade.

Avel’s lips twitched, obviously noting my intentions. Instead of teasing me however, he answered my question with a special kind of gleam in his eyes. “A series of trials,” he said, meeting my curious stare head-on. “The title of High Lord can only be given to those who are already Dragon Lords. The chance to become High Lord only comes once every thousand years or so. It is something that is not taken lightly.”

Rhett, still scowling and glowering at Jericho for all he was worth, paused quickly to ask, “What are the trials?”

Jericho beamed at Rhett as he answered. “The trials are based on five things: strength, speed, cunningness, power.” He broke off, making sure to lean close to Rhett as he said, “And, of course, mates.”

I stilled at this, feeling Avel’s gaze on me like a hot brand. Every bone in my body was resisting the urge to look at him. To see the intensity and heat in his tyrian orbs. Gods, the way he stared sometimes had me wanting to climb up the fucking walls. Not more than a day and you’re already thinking of—

“How the fuck do you judge mates?” Rhett asked, suddenly looking a hell of a lot irritated than before.

Quick as an arrow, Jericho had reached over and grabbed Rhett’s chin, yanking him forward. “Don’t curse at me, mate.” Rhett tried jerking away but Jericho’s grip only tightened. He looked ruthless standing like that, his power seeping from his skin in waves. He shook Rhett once, no longer smiling. “My patience with you is running thin, love. You better start learning how to show some respect before I have to teach you how. Again.”

Fury like no other boiled inside me. I put my hands on the table and got about halfway out of my seat before Avel was pulling me the rest of the way. Not up and over the table to Jericho as I intended, but into his lap. I landed with a yelp onto his thighs, gasping in a more than embarrassing way when his steel-like arms banded around my stomach, pulling me back into his chest to keep me in place. I involuntarily wiggled on top of him, feeling the hard planes of his stomach. And, just as I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, a large bulge protruded into my lower back, pressing firmly against the fabric of my pants. The words I had been planning to shout quickly withered and died. I was only left gaping at the open air, feeling the vibrations in Avel’s chest as he quietly chuckled.

“You can forget it,” Rhett spat, his face livid as he gripped Jericho’s arm, which was still holding him in place. They were eye-to-eye now, terrifyingly close. “There is no well in hell that I will ever submit to you or your ridiculous dragon instincts. So go fuck yourself.”

All the world seemed to halt in that moment. Rhett panted hard, not looking away from Jericho’s face, which was now blank and devoid of emotion.

Then, without any ceremony at all, Jericho said only one, soft word.

“Avel.”

In an instant, I was being scooped up into warm, powerful arms. Avel did not say a word as he carried me out of the room. I was so shocked and frightened for Rhett that I didn’t realize what had happened until we were out of the room and back into the hallway. Avel didn’t put me down, but only continued to cradle me to his chest as he walked on.

I started to thrash as soon as I heard the first powerful boom emit from the closed door. “Avel!” His arms were like steel around me, not providing me any space to resist. “Avel, put me down! He’s going to kill Rhett! He’s going to kill my brother!”

My voice reached an unholy pitch as I struggled to free myself. Avel didn’t look at me. Didn’t even stop moving. Not until we were out of that hallway and climbing up a set of stairs that led to my room. The entire way I screamed and sobbed and pleaded with him to do something. Anything to save my brother from Jericho’s wrath.

I was still shouting incoherently as he kicked the door to my room open, striding with me inside. He marched across the room and finally put me down, laying me down on the ginormous bed.

As soon as I was free of him, I scrambled to get off the mattress, crying and screeching like a wild animal. I didn’t get very far before Avel was tackling me onto the bed again, holding my body down with his own. His heat was everywhere; on my legs, on my chest, warming the sides of my face. He held me down until I stopped struggling, until he was all I could feel.

“Avel,” I sobbed, trying in vain to get up. His hands were wrapped around my wrists, his hips pressing down on mine. His eyes were empty as he stared down at me. No emotion. That somehow seemed worse than if he had been angry and raging along with me as well. “Avel,” I cried. “Avel, please. He’s going to kill Rhett. I saw it. He going to kill my twin . . .”

Avel rested his forehead against mine, breathing in my scent the exact same way he had yesterday. My body went rigid as he gently probed my neck with his nose, the sides of his face so close to mine. It was enough to almost—almost make me forget that Rhett was downstairs, being eaten alive by Jericho.

“Relax, Wendy.” Avel’s voice was deep and seductive when he replied, his face still buried into the crook of my neck so that it sounded muffled. “Jericho is not going to kill the mortal.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to find the damn will to focus. I knew he was trying to distract me, take my mind off Rhett. While the act was sweet, it was not what I wanted right now. I needed to make sure my brother was still alive. Still breathing. “H-How could you know that? Didn’t you hear the noise—”

“Amica mea, please stop worrying.” His lips dragged across my throat, warming the skin there. “It is how all Dragon Lords behave with their mates. Jericho is the dominant in their relationship. Rhett is mortal and does not understand the ways in which dragons behave. Jericho is simply teaching him.”

“That’s not good enough,” I gritted out, grinding my teeth to stop from gasping. Those damn lips . . . “He is torturing Rhett. Didn’t you see the way he looked? Jericho is—ah!”

I was cut off by the feel of Avel’s teeth biting down on the tender flesh between my throat and shoulder. Not enough to pierce the skin, but certainly enough to keep me in place. There would definitely be a bruise later. I cried out, not in pain but shock and . . . pleasure?

“Enough, little tiger.” He murmured against my neck, his teeth still grazing the skin there. A low, soft laugh vibrated through him. “Sometimes, you think too much.”

“I . . .” I was frozen. Tensed and hot and not entirely sure how to react. I had been trying to ignore it, but there was no use denying the bond between us. I felt it all the time. I didn’t know what it was but now, with him and his heat . . . I could practically feel it tugging me closer to him. Feel it closing in on us until we were no longer two separate people, but one entity. One being. One heart beating in the space between this moment and the next.

“I know you feel it,” he whispered against my ear. His hands released my wrist, traveling to my waist and hips, cupping the skin there in his firm but gentle hold. “I know you feel the Soul Bond. I know you know what I am.”

I shook my head, breathing hard. “This can’t be happening . . .”

He laughed again, all soft and twinkling. My arms wrapped around his neck on their own accord, so that I could mould my body to his. Something else came over me then—it felt like a dam had been opened.

He leaned back slightly so that our eyes met. So that I could see his face, his eyes, his midnight blue hair. He leaned in close enough so that his lips hovered painstakingly close to mine. “I want you to say it.”

My entire body quivered as I shook my head once more, unable to force the word between my lips.

His mouth pressed to the corner of mine, sucking the skin gently. “Say it, Wendy.”

I closed my eyes once more, a thousand different thoughts and feelings running through me. Then, as if coerced by some supernatural force, I opened my mouth and breathed:

“Mate.”

So . . . that just happened.

It took twenty chapters but we finally made it! Avel and Wendy are officially together. Phew. I thought I might whip up something special for our 40k word anniversary (it's actually 41,526 words but that doesn't really matter). Happy anniversary, my loves!

Real fun things coming up soon. I know a funeral doesn't sound super exciting but I think that this High Lord's dragon funeral might be a bit different that what us human folks are used to. (*Wink, wink*) So put on your seat belts and get ready for the next few chapters of fun times and happy days.

Not.

Also, how are you all feeling about Jericho? I know we just met him but I'm wondering if you guys think he's an actual walking/talking dragon garbage fire or if he's simply misunderstood. I don't know, I guess we'll find our right?

Anyways, that's it for today folks. I hope you all enjoyed and I wish you a happy Tuesday :)

~Elaine