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"Stay close," he murmurs, voice for my ears alone. "The second your heat peaks fully, we abort and head back to quarters. No exceptions."

I nod, words becoming slippery as another wave rushes through me. My skin burns everywhere fabric touches it, my breasts aching, the emptiness between my legs sharpening to physical pain. Every instinct screams for completion, for Fritz's barbed length stretching me open, his knot locking us together.

But beneath the biological imperative burns something equally powerful—determination to use even this aspect of myself to protect what we're building. This heat isn't just biology betraying me anymore. It's a weapon I choose to wield, a tactical advantage I offer freely.

The gates swing open, revealing the mountain paths beyond. Fritz's powerful body presses closer to mine as we cross the threshold, his scent enveloping me in protective promise.

The claiming mark at my throat pulses in time with my racing heart as we step into territory where dragons might catch my scent at any moment. Fritz's presence beside me doesn't feel like captivity anymore but partnership. Not the monster who once terrified me, but the protector I've chosen to trust with both my heat and my life.

This heat would not rule me. If my body was to betray me with its ill-timed demands, then I would turn that betrayal into a weapon, wielded alongside the alpha I now, impossibly, trusted.

Not conquest, but coordination.

Not surrender, but strategy.

Not possession, but partnership.

The final transformation from reluctant claiming to chosen alliance.

CHAPTER 23

FINAL CONFRONTATION

Fritz POV

Blood poundsin my ears as I chase Aria's scent through the thick forest. Her heat hangs in the air like visible mist to my heightened senses, sweet and heavy despite her pregnancy. Our plan is working too well. Dragon scouts have taken the bait, following her trail exactly as we hoped. But something's changed. Something I didn't see coming.

"Commander." Thorne's voice cuts through my focus, urgent but steady. "Scouts report movement from the eastern pass. At least thirty dragons, heavily armed."

My stomach drops as I keep moving, claws out as I climb terrain too steep for most soldiers. "Not scouts then."

"No, sir. This looks like a planned attack."

Cold realization washes over me. And at the center of this approaching force, a scent I recognize from battles past—the distinctive sulfur-metal stink of Dragon Commander Pyrax himself.

Pyrax being here changes everything. This isn't just border testing anymore—it's a direct challenge, with Aria caught in themiddle. Every protective instinct screams at me to find her and get her back to safety. I was a fool to risk her like this.

"Get to your positions," I order, my tail lashing once. "Extraction. Now."

My team scatters instantly while I push forward alone. With Pyrax involved, I can't trust anyone else to reach her in time. All that matters now is finding Aria before he does.

Her heat scent grows stronger as I near the ravine where we separated twenty minutes ago. Our careful trap meant for a few scouts has turned into a potential disaster. Pyrax never travels without significant protection. We're outnumbered.

I should regret my mistake, but all I feel is a burning need to protect what's mine from a predator whose cruelty I've witnessed firsthand. Pyrax. Just thinking his name fills me with rage. The dragon who dares threaten my mate, my unborn child.

The first warning comes as purple smoke curling above the trees—dragon fire. I abandon stealth for speed, tearing through the underbrush. Aria's scent changes, threads of fear now woven through her heat.

I reach the ridge above the ravine just in time to see three dragon scouts closing in on Aria and her guards. My soldiers have formed a defensive circle, but they're outmatched in open ground.

No time for planning. I launch myself from the ridge, using gravity and momentum to power my attack. My claws find the first dragon's throat before he even knows I'm there, dark blood spraying as I tear through scale and flesh.

The second dragon turns, flame building in his throat, but I'm already moving—twisting beneath the fire jet, feeling heat singe my back as I drive upward, claws finding the soft spot under his jaw.

The third dragon—smarter than his friends—tries to retreat, wings spreading for takeoff. My tail coils and springs, propellingme upward to catch his ankle before he can rise. I use his own weight against him as I drag him down, claws punching through his armored chest to the softer parts beneath.

Three threats eliminated in seconds. But these were just scouts. The real danger approaches from the east—Pyrax and his battle-hardened force, drawn by Aria's heat and the chance to expand his territory.

I find her pressed against the ravine wall, eyes wide but stance steady. Her scent has intensified dramatically since we separated—full heat coming fast despite our careful timing. Her skin flushes with both fear and need, sweat beading along her hairline as her body continues its relentless cycle regardless of the danger.