Page 7 of Ember's Dragon
Ember shivered in my arms. I could now feel his emotions, only faintly for now. As the week passed, I would feel him more and more, until we always knew what the other felt and needed.
My omega felt sated and happy, but also a touch of fear came through. Our bond wasn’t strong enough for me to decipher what the fear stemmed from. I could only hold him close and hope that his fear would soon pass.
“Let’s get you bathed,” I whispered, carrying him to the huge bathroom just to our right. I had five rooms that were all connected with the bedroom having the hallway door for emergency reasons. Now that I had found my omega, I would move our bedroom to one of the other rooms for more privacy. I did not want his lovely scent to linger into the halls when he was in heat, no matter that no one ventured up here unless I’d given them permission.
Ember clung to me, clearly tired but also content. It was nice feeling what he felt, and a sudden urgency came over me when I realized I would soon see my lovely mate without any clothes on. He’d been dirty when I found him in the woods, but I hadn’t dared change his clothes, knowing that would certainly be a step too far for what Ember was comfortable with. I also preferred to see him for the first time in all of his naked glory, when he was aware of my heated gaze on his skin. He should know how I felt seeing him for the first time.
The huge bathtub could easily hold us both, the outside bottom of it was made of pure gold and the rest was white marble with gold fixtures. We dragons loved our gold and jewels. It was a sort of comfort to us, having pretty things around. Ciris had his entire bathroom floor covered with tiny rubies; the tiled floor having been mixed with them when he had it installed. It looked wonderful and felt amazing to walk on. I’d only been allowed inside the room once though, and only so Ciris could gloat over his superior bathroom choices.
Still holding my omega, I used one hand to turn on the water, making sure it was on the slightly hotter scale. My omega needed warmer water than me. Being a water dragon meant all temperatures in water were comfortable, so it was no issue for me.
I then walked around the room while Ember continued to remain content in my arms. I searched for the fluffiest towel and the bath oils and soap. Normally, I used soap that smelled like the sea, but for Ember I picked out a spicy vanilla, knowingsweet scents comforted omegas. I’d had my bathroom stocked with different soaps for ages, changing them out as time passed so they wouldn’t get too old. My need to have everything ready for whenever my omega was ready to be found, had meant lots of free soaps had been given away to the servants over the years, not that they minded it.
Pouring a little vanilla scented soap into the bathtub made it bubble almost instantly. I had some liquid soaps like this that were meant to bubble. Omegas loved their bubble baths, and to be honest, so did I.
Chapter Six
Ember
So, I was now a mated omega. Had I had a choice in the matter? No. Was I expecting to ever really have a choice? Also no. After I’d been sold to the fae crown prince, I’d known my future would no longer belong to myself. I’d only had a few days to accept my fate as I awaited my first heat. Now I was here, in a kingdom I couldn’t even remember the name of, having been claimed by a dragon alpha who I’d believed to be fucking with my mind at first.
Now, as I was being washed like the most breakable and valuable thing in the entire world, I accepted the fact that I was his mate, no matter if we were fated or not. I also felt his emotions and it was clear that he was devoted to me. His want for me was also clear in his emotions and I reveled in it. Once the tub had been filled with water and bubbles, River had carefully sat me on the edge of the tub, pulling off my shirt and then pants. He’d given me a smirk when he tugged my undergarments down, growling low as I was exposed to him, all of my bare skin on display.
I’d been given my own show as well. Once I was seated in the warm water, River had pulled off his navy shirt, then unlaced hispants, holding my gaze the entire time. As his undergarments were pulled off, I’d whimpered. Rather loudly. His cock was like any other alpha cock, I would assume, but it had ridges on it, something I hadn’t heard about before. I was truly intrigued. River had smirked as he sauntered closer to the tub. Then he got into the water with me, his pale skin glistening as the bubbles surrounded him, obscuring the delightful view of his magnificent body. He was lean and tall, with some defined muscles, not at all bulky like one would assume a dragon shifter to be. He had the body of someone who swam for a living, and perhaps he did.
“What do you do for a living?” I asked, breaking the silence between us.
River stilled where he sat behind me, his cock nudged between my ass cheeks, hard and pulsing with need. We both seemed intent on ignoring it, thankfully. “Have I not told you that I am a prince?”
Oh, perhaps he had. “If it happened on the flight then I might’ve forgotten,” I admitted. “I had a lot going on and, honestly, the whole flight feels like a weird dream and not something I actually lived.”
“That’s understandable,” he said, carefully gliding a soft sponge over my arm, washing away any dirt that lingered from the forest. “I am Prince River Teovarian, of the Teovarian kingdom, third in line for the throne.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous. “Just how big is the royal family?”
“We’re four brothers, all alpha dragons. The eldest of us is Ciris, and he’s the king.”
“Do… Do they know? About me?” I asked, trying to mask my fear of them rejecting me. Once they learned I was a mere peasant and not royalty, would they throw me out of here? Or worse, send me back to the fae prince? No matter if I was mated to their brother or not?
He hummed, hugging me from behind. His pheromones then filled the room, soothing my nerves. “Of course, they know, Ember. I told them before I went out and grabbed you. They were also the reason I wasn’t with you when you woke and escaped. I informed them that I’d found you and was home again. They know to keep their distance as we mate and you reach your first heat. I simply had to alert them so they knew to leave us be.”
I held his arm, tracing my thumb over a prominent vein, needing something to do with myself. His skin was weird looking in this area, I noticed, like muddled colors all swirling together. It sort of looked like paint on his skin, but as I rubbed it stayed in place.
“Something wrong?” he rasped, his hot breath right next to my ear.
I shivered, then swallowed audibly before replying. “Your skin… is this normal or do you paint?”
He looked down at his arm, and pure joy filled me. His emotions were so heightened, I felt everything. “It’s my matingmark,” he purred. “It’s slowly being formed, branding me as your alpha.”
Blinking, I looked closer at his arm. The mark of color was about the length of my ring finger, the colors red, orange, and yellow big swirls of nothing. “Are you sure?” I asked, looking at it doubtfully.
He hummed as he nodded behind me. “It takes around a day to fully develop into your shifted form.”
I stilled in his arms, fear taking over. Had he known what I was? Was that why he’d taken me? Could he truly have lied about the fated mate thing, the thing I’d finally started to believe was the truth?
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pouring out soothing pheromones as he rubbed my arms. I felt his worry, so at least he truly cared for me. That had to mean something.
“Do you know what my shifted form is? Was that why you picked me?” My voice was even and I felt proud that I managed it over my pounding heart.
