Page 10 of Driven by Dragonblood (Blood Born #3)

Primrose

F or two days, I stood outside the chain-link fence and watched Lockwood’s quiet lawns and parking lot as people came and went. My beta’s energy meandered from wing to wing, sometimes switching floors, staying in one area for an hour or so before returning to his room.

The window with its bars keeping him from me angered both me and my inner dragon, but unless we wished to wreak havoc on the hospital and reveal to humanity that they weren’t the only sentient beings on the planet, I was powerless to act.

More than anything, the histories I’d read deep in the Teton’s cavern home instructed me on remaining quiet—secret.

The Blood Born had been brought to the edge of extinction due to fear and anger from the humans, and with how bigotry appeared to rule the land now more than ever, I knew better than to let my instincts rule over my better sense.

But the drive deep inside me to free my beta and claim him as my own crouched in tensed readiness, muscles quivering, causing my skin to shiver .

The first night, my beta’s energy had flooded me with spine-tingling heat, causing a desperate desire to ignite in my core. Wetness had smeared between my thighs, and no amount of rubbing them together eased the ache to mate. To be bred.

Need.

“I know,” I whispered since no one walked the sidewalks as night shadowed the arid land around me. I stood invisible to the naked eye, gaze once more glued to my beta’s window, fingers hurting from grasping the fence before my nose.

My mouth watered to taste him—his mouth, his seed, the sweat on his skin.

Did he feel the same draw of mate calling to mate?

Was he unable to sleep as I’d been the evening before and again tonight?

I’d returned after sundown because a sensitivity throughout my body refused me rest. Impatience had me back at Lockwood, every stitch of clothing chafing my skin.

I longed for nudity, or even better, to have my beta as my blanket, his weight heavy and welcome atop mine.

Desire rushed through me, settling in my core. My breaths came quickly as my heart fluttered in my chest.

Free him.

“We can’t without revealing ourself,” I insisted, my voice a whine when firmness would have better kept my dragon in check.

Never had I felt such an internal war with myself, newly awakened arousal against better judgment.

“Surely, Grandpapa would insist we wait for the right opportunity. Destiny has led us here to the one meant for us. We must trust fate to bring us together.”

Sneak in—follow the humans.

I glanced away from my beta’s window to the front entrance that was now locked up tight for the night. There would be no coming or going by staff or visitors until midmorning .

Cloak him. Remove him from their clutches.

Nibbling on the inside of my lip, I considered my dragon’s suggestion. Invisibility granted me the ability to enter areas prohibited to the public, and I didn’t question the energy linking us together would allow me to easily locate him.

But what if he didn’t sense what I did? What if he questioned my being there and insisted he hold my hand so I could hide him from sight and lead him to freedom?

What if he fought me?

Didn’t want me?

An ache split through my chest, cracking my emotions wide open. Wetness seeped over my eyes, making the sight of his room watery, unfocused.

Swallowing hard, I swiped my forearm over my face, my fingers entwined with the metal fencing as though its solidity kept me strong in the face of conflicting desires. The unknowing was torture, causing pain to radiate through my body. I couldn’t tell where it began or if it would ever end.

Closing my eyes, I rested my forehead against the barrier denying me my mate and partial fulfillment. The throb in my heart mirrored the unrelenting yearning between my legs. My breasts were heavy, nipples tight and tingling.

I needed my beta’s touch?—

His energy grew restless as though he’d woken and sensed my desire.

Breath held, I tightened my grip on the fence, gaze glued to the bars of his prison.

Beta.

I swallowed hard as he came into sight, whimpering along with my inner beast.

A dim exterior light beneath my mate’s window allowed me to better appreciate his naked upper body, but even with my dragon sight, I couldn’t make out the color of his hair or eyes.

He turned his head side to side as though he was aware of the supernatural connection between us, seeking me out in the dark night.

Various thoughts swept through my head, but I remained still.

Invisible. Having no knowledge of his mental state or awareness of his true self, I couldn’t risk showing myself to him and having his inner dragon take over—if he possessed such strength.

Shifting to his true form while inside such a building would bring it crumbling down around him.

Breath held, I noted his strong nose and full lips, a square jaw I wanted to lick and nip with my teeth as he thrust into me. A rush of wetness seeped from me, preparing the way for my mate to pierce through my maidenhead.

My beast moaned, the noise leaking past my human lips.

My beta’s head swiveled toward me as though he’d heard, his gaze settling on where I stood.

Breath held, I counted my pulsing heartbeats throbbing in my ears. The rush of heated blood sounded louder than any storm, stronger than any winds buffeting the mountain peaks back home.

Shift.

“We cannot.” I choked on the words, willing the golden scales that wished to burst over my skin to remain hidden. Teeth gritted, I stared at our beta, wanting him yet requiring him to move from my sight to keep my instincts from owning my human form.

His hand moved over his body as though in open defiance of my need for him to lessen temptation.

The flare of heat in the energy linking us burned brighter.

Did he touch himself? He propped his forehead on the window, shoulder hunched as though in pain, and again, I fought my inner beast’s yearning to break free of my human form, tear through the fence and walls to release my beta mate?—

His form stiffened, head tipping back .

Goose bumps erupted over my skin.

Touch.

Lower lip between my teeth, I released one hand from its hold on the fence and slid my fingertips down over the front of my leggings, finding warmth and wetness.

I was also swollen, the nub at the top of my slit hardened and sensitive to the feathered touch of my fingertips.

I gasped at the new sensation, my hips bucking on their own as though he thrust into me, burying against my womb.

Heat exploded like a blinding light through the energy between us, capturing my entire being up in a euphoric race to the stars. I cried out, unable to keep my lips sealed as wave after wave rippled through my body, pulsing my core where his hard length ought to be.

Teeth gritted, I barely managed to stay in human form as my first ever release burned through my blood. My womb ached for pulses of his seed in an attempt to breed me as fate intended.

Alpha.

The reminder we needed more than one mate to fulfill our destiny eased the sweetness of my climax, slowly settling reality over me like a heavy cloud.

I gasped for breath, my stare on the window as my beta shuddered.

I could imagine his groan, sensed the same weakness in my legs. Wetness coated my leggings, the sweet scent of my cum rising to fill my nose. Would he like how I smelled? Want to taste me there?

Another pulse of raw lust spasmed through my inner walls, and I whimpered, shuddering and sagging against the fence, gaze unmoving from the window and the Blood Born kept from me.

Stillness lay over my mind, the urgent yearning having been eased for the moment. But my need for him would return, stronger now that I’d experienced a small taste of what mating would be like.

My beta’s hand settled on the window as though reaching for me, causing my eyes to sting and throat to tighten.

He moved away from sight a moment later, taking a part of my heart with him.

Tomorrow.

“Yes,” I agreed, forcing my legs to stiffen and hold me upright when I desired to sink into my beta’s arms and experience true fulfillment.

Having gotten a hint of what the connection would feel like between us on a deeper level, I no longer questioned whether he would choose me or not, given the chance.

Together, we would seek out our alpha and claim him—this time without hindrance.

We three would become one in heart, mind, and soul.

Fate wouldn’t allow for anything else.