Page 328 of Awakened

“Is she okay?” I snap, talking over him impatiently. Releasing my hold on the tree, I carefully turn to face the clearing, snarling as bright afterimages of the fire fuck with my vision.

“She’s fine,” he whispers. “She’s alright.”

My vision finally clears, and the first thing I realize is how close I am to the massive sinkhole. Fates. Another few feet to the left and I would have stumbled right over the edge.

Just as promised, Idril is completely unharmed. In fact, she looks… healthy. Glowing. Like the dragon fire has somehow revitalized her.

I expect to find Caelan and Soren losing their shit to get to their Mate, but they’re not.

Both Alphas stand straight-backed, wearing identical grins. Their pride is obvious, and their scent wafts through the clearing, carried on the breeze.

“This is Vharax,” Idril announces in a tone that’s both soft and strong. “Unlike Shade, she is not a pet. She is a predator. A dragon. She and I have a Bond based on mutual respect and understanding.”

Her voice changes, becoming harder. More commanding. “Our relationship does not extend to anyone else. Not even my Mates. Do not approach her. Not for any reason.”

Her eyes lock with mine. “If you ignore this warning, she will burn you alive.”

The wind picks up, a huge gust of it hitting me in the face. My next inhale is ripe with sulfur and smoke.

And… something else.

What is that?

My brain switches off, and my instincts surge to the surface, giving my Alpha the perfect opening to take over completely.

I take another deep breath, chasing the barely-there scent, half sure I’m losing my mind.

What is that? Fates, it’s… perfect. The best thing I’ve ever smelled.

Another inhale. Deeper.

This time, I get only the barest whiff. Panic starts to set in as I search the clearing frantically, taking deep lungfuls of air over and over until I’m afraid my lungs might burst.

I’m distantly aware of Vae doing the same, and that realization makes me hesitate. I’m missing something. Something important.

But gods… that scent. I have to find it. I need it.

“Dax…” Vae’s voice cracks. He sounds strung tight, overwhelmed with anxiety.

“I know,” I rasp, stumbling into the clearing, heedless of the mythical Beast I was just warned to avoid. “I smell it too. What is it? I can’t get a good⁠—”

The leaves rustle wildly in the trees as another gust of wind swirls around us. It’s so strong it blows Idril’s hair over her shoulders and into her face.

Then it hits me. Wild honey. Smoked vanilla. Musk and wild flowers.

Mine.

Mine.

That’s mine.

My chest splits open, welcoming the knowledge into my soul, where it will remain for eternity. There, right next to my Pack Bonds, a new thread appears. It’s a brilliant, shimmering gold that unspools and reaches out, extending from my chest with only one goal.

To find its other half.

I take another deep lungful of air, groaning when the scent of my Fated Mate—my Omega—fills my lungs and infuses my soul. For the second time in less than an hour, my eyes fill with tears.

For five hundred years I’ve waited. For five hundred years, I’ve comforted myself with the knowledge that one Omega out there could trust every part of me.