Page 4 of Ember's Dragon
It was funny how Reinos had the blonde hair now that Ciris grew out of and had been the brown haired one as a child. It was like they switched colors as they grew up. Reinos was an earth dragon and that was clear in his brown eyes, a match to his brown dragon that had a sort of golden look to it.
I would miss my brothers, but I had my omega to find and cherish. From what other dragons around our kingdom had experienced, we knew the world around us wasn’t always kind to all shifters. Many of those omegas taken here had been grateful to escape their own world. I hoped my omega wouldn’t mind living here with me, but I also didn’t want them to have had a horrible life before they met me.
Only alpha dragons had fated mates while omega dragon shifters were like regular shifters and would only get a fated mate if an alpha dragon claimed them as theirs.
“Let’s grab another drink together,” Ciris declared, standing from the couch and heading for the good cabinet, the one that held the expensive wine, saved for the occasional celebration or to soothe us after a horrible day.
We all grinned as Ciris returned with a bottle of our favorite red wine, a fae wine like no other and thankfully produced here in our kingdom. “I hope to find them soon,” I said after downing my glass.
Reinos bumped his shoulder against mine. “You will. Every dragon alpha finds his omega. Remember that.”
Our alpha father had found our omega mother late in his life which meant we didn’t have enough years with him before he passed of old age, our mother following close behind now that her mate was no longer with her. We’d had a lovely childhood, but once Reinos had turned twenty-three, father had simply passed. He’d been eight hundred so there was nothing wrong with his age or anything. I was two hundred myself with many centuries left in me to share with my mate.
I couldn’t wait to meet them.
My mate was lovely.
I almost purred in my dragon form where I was perched on top of the hideous fountain. I had my shimmer on, which made me invisible while in my dragon form. My mate was a lovely male omega with the softest looking red hair. He also seemed a bit skittish and likely sensed my presence, a thing my dragon really liked about him.
It had taken me an entire day to fly here and as soon as I knew he was in the royal palace of this particular kingdom, I’d flown to the closest mountain and hid there as I slept. I knew better than to break into a heavily guarded palace and now that I’d returned, it proved to be the best decision ever. My mate was right here, ready to be plucked up and flown home.
But first, he needed to know I was there.
“Hello there, omega,” I purred, my husky dragon voice low enough so the guards wouldn’t hear. They were far enough away that I felt certain they wouldn’t be an issue for me.
My omega startled, then looked straight at me. “Is someone there?” he whispered, and unable to stop himself, he stepped closer.
I grinned. It was time to take my omega home. Opening my wings, I slid down carefully, then grabbed him, making him yelp. I then flapped my wings hard enough to make the water in the fountain pour out over the sides. The guards yelled and began running, one even shifted into a tiger as they hurried to my omegas defense. I just flew high above the palace, leaving them behind as I held my omega safely in my arms.
“You’re safe with me,” I soothed, not wanting him to be afraid. I had no idea who he was but he wasn’t royalty, I could tell that much from his clothing and the way he carried himself. As a prince myself I knew how to always look regal, even when I wasn’t in the public eye. My omega had seemed insecure as I followed him. Granted, I hadn’t seen much of him, only his short time in the garden, but something had been troubling him. Perhaps his upcoming heat? Something I could smell clearly from him. He was very close, perhaps a week if not less. I would be there to care for him, to breed him. I just hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed in the lack of children. It was impossible for dragon alphas to impregnate anyone until they surpassed six hundred years. Hopefully my omega would be pleased with it just being the two of us for a couple of centuries. I certainly wouldn’t mind. My omega even smelled perfect, like fresh strawberries.
“Who are you?” my omega asked, his teeth chattering. My poor mate was cold! I held him closer to my chest, hoping to emit some warmth. We had a long flight home, sadly.
“My name is River, prince of the Teovarian Kingdom,” I said proudly. “And who are you, my lovely omega.”
“Um,” he said. “My name is Ember. What kingdom did you say again?”
“The Teovarian Kingdom,” I repeated. “It’s a kingdom far away where only dragons can fly to and from.”
“Oh, maybe that’s why I’ve never heard of it,” Ember said, sounding deep in thought.
“Very few have and most are the ones living there.”
“I um, don’t know if it’s normal where you’re from to just grab people, but do you mind telling me why you took me?” Ember asked, sounding so polite it was adorable.
“Because you’re my fated mate,” I purred proudly.
“Okay, look, I’m extremely grateful to have escaped the palace, but the whole fated mate thing is a tale of legends and you don’t have to lie for me to come willingly, I feel oddly safe with you and you smellamazing.” I’d been pouring out soothing pheromones in the hope it would make the trip more enjoyable for my Ember and I felt proud they’d worked as intended.
“Fated mates are real with alpha dragons, we’re still able to find our way to our fated mates whenever our mates become of age,” I explained, knowing now likely wasn’t the best time for this conversation, but we had hours of flight ahead of us and with him in my arms, we could easily hear one another over the passing wind.
“And that was how you found me?” he asked, a tad suspiciously. I poured more pheromones out and heard him sigh happily.
“That was how I found you,” I confirmed. “And now I’m taking you home to my kingdom, a place you’ll be treasured as my mate.”
“Okay,” he sighed, sounding tired. I might’ve overdone the pheromones, because soft snoring could be heard soon after. My poor mate was clearly stressed out and having my scent nearwas enough to finally help him rest. My dragon purred with pride over that. I would fly us home and, hopefully, he would remember what we’d talked about once there.
I smiled as I held him tighter. I had my omega, finally!
