Page 11

Living With Dragons

Deke

T he next couple of days passed quickly while Ozyn and I tried to find our groove. Neither of us were ready for anything intimate. I still had some healing to do despite his amazing dragon magic and he, well, had some adjusting to do.

Sure, magic was great and all, but he’d burned through a heap of it bringing me back from the brink. A couple of times he woke from a nap in a cold sweat when I’d ventured far enough from him that he thought he’d lost me. Precious for sure, also heartbreaking because it told me without words just how close I’d come to actually dying.

I was worried about how long it was taking his magic to rebound. Asking other people for advice would be admitting I had an ability to sense it. Instead, I watched him. Ozyn told me he had worn magic suppressing cuffs for a long time. I thought maybe they were the reason it was taking longer to return.

We learned a lot about each other in those first days. General likes and dislikes, things about our families and such. I knew Ozyn was perfect for me, only there were some teething problems.

Things Ozyn didn’t like: loud noises, dead silence, the dark, bright light, my cell phone, visitors, anyone trying to touch me, people looking at me too much. Basically, the list was endless.

My alter coached patience. He was much more forgiving than I was inclined to be, but I really tried to cope with Ozyn’s issues. All day, every damn day, I reminded myself just what he had been through and to be grateful for the gift he was.

What he liked was me, near him constantly, even if we weren’t talking, just existing, and it was… sweet.

Ozyn had lived far too long as a prisoner, left alone in the dark. He told me haltingly about the methods Glorin would use to make him comply, then would completely clam up in the next second. At times he would be so open, almost resigned to his past, then he acted like it never happened.

The first thing we had to do was get the physical signs of his captivity off his body. It felt like a kick to the gut sometimes when I looked at him. Winter provided us with a bunch of calorie dense meals and snacks for Ozyn to eat so he could recover his magic faster. We all wanted him to put some weight on. He wasn’t quite skeletal, but it was a close thing. I ached when I looked at the hollows of his cheeks, how tightly his skin wrapped over bone.

Feeding him was easy. The scars were harder. Aldrin came to our house twice a day to attempt healing on the marks. Some of them were made with magic, meaning we had to rely on the elves and the fae, Safi, to give removing them a try.

Safi was a complication I hadn’t foreseen, not that I’d seen any of this coming! No one knew what to do with him. He was untrained in his magic, though he learned some control, with Farryn and Ozyn guiding him. We couldn’t let him roam around the compound, and no one wanted to lock him up. Having him around Ozyn all the time wasn’t ideal either, since the fae served as a reminder of his captivity.

Being near Safi and his damaged wings made Ozyn feel guilty, too. It was a vicious cycle with them. They only knew each other, but it wasn’t healthy for them to be together.

The first night we had him stay with us. Larken unceremoniously dumped him on my stoop and left without a backwards glance. From what I’d heard, he’d made Larken almost shit himself with the sneaky invisibility thing he did while he tried to figure out where Ozyn was.

As cool as the guy probably was, I refused to have him another night after he did that invisibility thing and appeared at our bedside when Ozyn had a nightmare.

It was hard enough dealing with Ozyn’s PTSD without adding Safi’s trauma into the mix. I was not the one for the job.

In a surprising move, Chase offered to take him in. He found a house and adopted Safi with one of his careless shrugs and an easy grin. His reasoning was that he wasn’t going to have a mate, so why not give back to the pack by looking after the exiled fae? Until Ulrian took over, the fae were in complete disarray, except they somehow knew it was Safi’s fault Ozyn had gotten out. He was banished until his brother lifted the sentence, if he was inclined to.

Knowing Ulrian, it looked like Safi was going to be with us for a long time.

The mayor was another problem. Look, I was still salty, okay? He might never have intended for the babies to be at risk, but he put them in harm’s way. Not to mention the attack on me. True, I might not have met Ozyn otherwise. I would have preferred a meet-cute not an anxiety-ridden introduction.

Ulrian was still in Northarbor, somehow still clinging to power after that shit show. Ozyn’s brother, Laer, had called a couple of times. His mate was resisting less than Laer thought he might, except he hadn’t quite given in and agreed to go play king in Abrocaelum. We were waiting for the rest of the dragons to return with some fae delegation so they could convince the mayor to give up Northarbor.

Really, the situation benefitted us. With the status of the mayor in flux, the aviary had paused their assaults on us. The mayor was incredibly apologetic about the attack, more so because the babies had been put in danger. Like most supernaturals, the fae valued children over everything else. They’d suffered their own fertility crisis after all. So the optics weren’t good for him. Plenty of citizens in Northarbor wanted him out, especially after Kade’s emotional statement.

I wondered about the move, but it was Blake who suggested it. “Watch,” he’d said with a smirk. He’s going to have the press eating out of his hand in half a minute.”

Sure enough, Kade had them hanging on his every word. It only helped that he had Elliotte, Grayson and Felix, all being their adorable selves.

“What are you?” Kade asked, his daughter perched on his knee. She was dressed in the sweetest pink romper.

“Alpha!” she’d cheered, then clapped. I watched from my place in the corner as the press melted. If they were acting like that, then the people of Sweetwater and Northarbor were gonners.

Blake was right to spin this our way. We were lucky Larken wasn’t seeing any punishment for killing Jared, since he did it to protect me. Aldrin had to give a statement outlining my injuries, but other than that, it was done.

“Deke?” Ozyn’s alarmed voice broke me from my daydreaming while I made his protein shake.

“Kitchen!” Should have known he would wake from his nap before I could get back in bed. I even mashed the fruit by hand rather than use the blender.

Moments later, his skinny arms wrapped around me, his head rested on my back while he breathed me in.

“Scared.”

“I’m sorry. I was just getting you a shake. Made a banana one this time.”

Ozyn grimaced. I felt it against my skin. “No.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Doctor’s orders. You’ve gotta.”

“No.”

Fuck, he was cute. Okay, I got irritated with him. Well, not too much at him, more about the situation. It wasn’t his fault he was a clingy, panic filled mess most of the day. To be honest, I was proud of how strong he was. He’d come out of that dungeon for me. Come to a new place, filled with potential enemies without a second thought, just for me. The least I could do was be patient with him.

My wolf gave a chuff. Feed mate.

Yes, I’m feeding him his shake, then some cookies Winter made.

The cook adored my prickly mate. A feeling Ozyn seemed to reciprocate, probably because Winter paid me no attention when my dragon was around, which was every second of the day.

“Drink this,” I bribed, “and you can have Winter’s chocolate and macadamia cookies.”

“Winter baked for me?” I could picture him cocking his head in confusion.

“Of course he did. He wants to feed you up so you can take him flying.”

“You first.” I was sure he was smiling. Not a full on thing, just the corners of this lush mouth lifting.

“Damn straight. You better not fly with anyone else before me.” I’d be hurt if he did. I wanted to be among the clouds with him.

Ozyn huffed a laugh into my back. It was short-lived, but genuine.

Progress.

“Oz?” I gently shook my mate from his nap.

“No.”

I’d made the mistake of pre-warning him about what was coming, thinking it would be easier on him. Nope, I was wrong.

“You know we have to do this,” I urged him, using all my patience.

While he sat up, he didn’t look happy. “I don’t understand why. Aren’t I clean? My hair is fine.”

I perched near him, so we were touching. As always, his heartbeat slowed at the contact. “Look, I think you are beautiful, the best looking omega I’ve ever seen.”

“So why?”

“These are government officials, representatives from the shifter council.” At least ones we knew weren’t trying to kill us. “The supernatural defense force, too.” Yes, we had a secretive group made up of supernaturals to police us. Apparently, we only knew about them because we registered as a threat.

“And?”

Desperately holding onto my sanity, I held back, rolling my eyes. “Babe, you’re the single biggest threat they’ve ever seen. We just need to prove you’re harmless.”

“I’m not.”

Count to ten, I reminded myself. “You wouldn’t hurt a stranger would you? Anyone not fae. You don’t go around eating people or setting them on fire just because you can, do you?”

“No.”

Ah, we were back to single syllables. Fantastic.

“Exactly. So you need to look… normal.”

“Normal?” His lips curled with disgust.

“Boring then. Your haircut says you’ve hacked at it with a blunt knife.”

“Safi used his dagger.”

“Right, so we’ll just tidy it up after you soak in the tub. It’s just lucky you didn’t grow a beard.”

“I chose not to. Far too itchy.”

“Good.” I pulled the comforter off him. His hands automatically reached for it, even though it was too warm in the room for it. Ozyn didn’t want the window open, preferring we use an air conditioner unit I’d bought instead in this sticky summer heat.

“Why don’t I take a bath with you? I can wash your hair for you and your back.”

Ozyn blushed. The pink on his cheeks never failed to make me feel like I was doing something right. He was so tempting. The pull to him was difficult to resist when he looked so damn cute!

“Please.”

Both of us ran on the warm side and my house was hotter than Hades, so I drew us a cool bath with plenty of bubbles. I got in first, and despite saying he wanted to bathe with me, Ozyn did require some coaxing to get in. It wasn’t that he was bashful about being naked around me. It was a vulnerable position to give me. Putting me at his back required trust on his part. So when he took my hand to climb in, I felt like I’d won gold.

We settled into the water, Ozyn giving a little sigh of happiness as he lounged against me.

“I’m sorry,” he said into the quiet of the room. “I don’t mean to be so difficult.”

“You’re not!” I protested, though it sounded weak to my ears.

“No, I am. It’s just that everything is…”

“Overwhelming?”

“Yes. My body… it was not always mine to decide what to do with.”

Fuck. I hadn’t thought about it that way.

“If you don’t want to cut your hair, we won’t.”

He was silent for a long time. I considered the matter closed, thinking my options through instead. A hat was a possibility, but I suspected the SDF would want to examine Ozyn, another ordeal I really didn’t want to go through.

There had to be something we could do. My mind was drawing a blank.

“Does it look that bad?” His fingers lifted towards the shorn parts.

I laughed. “Yes, but it also suits you. Does that make sense?”

Ozyn tried to look at me, craning his head. “How so?”

“It’s as wild as you are.”

His frown was clear. “That does not sound like a good thing.”

“It is to me. Really, I don’t care what you look like. If getting your hair cut upsets you, then it isn’t worth it. We’ll figure something out.”

The water rose in a wave as Ozyn turned, going to his knees. He fingered the ends of my hair. It was cut short on one side.

“Will you cut yours, too?”

“Yeah.” I gave a mirthless chuckle. “They really did a number on it when they found out about my head.” My hand caught his. I loved the feel of it in mine. “Will you still think I’m handsome when I have no hair?”

He gave me an affectionate look. “It will take more than losing your hair to change how I see you.”

It was the most he’d ever said about his feelings for me. I knew he felt the pull of our bond, but he hadn’t put it into words, which I hadn’t cared about. Words were never a big thing for me.

The air grew thick with tension. Neither of us seemed to breathe, blink, until it broke. Ozyn moved back slightly. Disappointment, followed by guilt, filled me. I’d wanted to kiss him so badly. It wasn’t the right time.

Ozyn scanned my face before returning to sitting between my legs. “You may cut my hair. Only you. I will cut yours. Acceptable?”

I didn’t hide my smile. “Acceptable.”

“You may wash my hair now.” When he spoke like that, it was easy to remember he used to be a king.

“Okay.”

Like a cat, he leaned into my touches as I ran shampoo through his hair twice, rinsing it with clean water each time. Cadence loved her long, auburn hair, so I knew how to look after it. She had given me a bunch of things to use on Ozyn’s hair. I used a leave-in conditioner then soaped our bodies.

Throughout the bath, Ozyn remained quiet, only speaking if I asked him a question. He didn’t fight me on anything and I found I didn’t like him to be so submissive. I loved his abrasiveness. He let me dry him before we went to the kitchen to try a haircut.

Cadence arrived with some clippers, scissors, and other tools I didn’t have the name of. She smiled gently when I explained she would observe the process.

To give her props for effort, Cadence tried to distract Ozyn with talk of babies. He loved seeing how round she had gotten with Hakeem’s child in the photos she showed us. He cooed over the baby photos. Little Harmony was with her dad, having owl time.

I knew Ozyn was as happy as we were that the elves were having babies again.

“Sit still,” I urged as I snipped at the golden strands, making them even once more. In the corner of my eye, I could see Cadence straining with effort not to intervene.

Cutting someone’s hair was incredibly intimate, even with an onlooker. This way of caring for him, with Ozyn allowing it, showed me we would be okay. Step by step, we were getting more comfortable with each other, building a solid foundation of trust between us.

Ozyn’s breath puffed against my chest as I carefully cut around his faintly pointed ears. Huh, I hadn’t noticed them before. They weren’t the elongated tips like the elves or the fae. Adorable. Everything about him was cute.

His hand covered mine. “I would like to try Cadence finishing the haircut. Is that alright?”

“Of course.” I stepped back, handing the scissors to Cadence, who beamed at us both.

“Thank you for trusting me,” she whispered to Ozyn as she efficiently tidied up the mess I’d made.

He bore the touch of someone else rather well. “You did great,” I praised as I took his place for my cut.

Cadence tried to begin on me, but was interrupted by Ozyn growling. He looked horrified when he realized what he was doing.

“No, it’s quite alright,” Cadence reassured him. “I overstepped a boundary there. Should’a asked.” She moved out of the way, passing the scissors to Ozyn.

“Sorry,” he muttered before taking her place and starting work. His expression was sad as he neatened up my hair, giving us matching cuts.

“Hey.” I waited for him to pause. “I prefer you doing it. All’s good, okay?”

He nodded, but was less downcast.

Truthfully, I did like his hands on me more than Cadence’s. It felt disloyal while our bond wasn’t settled, even though she was a mated omega herself. I always wanted to be a place of comfort for him, not stress. If this was a simple way to make life easier for him, then that’s what I’d do.

In a massive show of trust, Ozyn let Cadence check over what he’d done, even allowing her to snip a few pieces.

“I’ll make a stylist out of you yet,” she joked, proving all was forgiven. She really was a sweet woman. Hakeem was good for her, bringing her out of her shell after her terrible mating to Riff’s bio dad.

My mate now had neatly cut sides, with longer hair at the top. I had almost shaved sides, leaving plenty on top. I was grateful the surgery scar was at the side, so I didn’t have to buzz it all. Ozyn hadn’t reacted well to the clippers, so had to cut it as short as he dared with scissors before using a razor.

“Gorgeous,” I pronounced once Cadence was gone with her kit.

“Not wild?” His cheeks were rosy with a blush.

“Only on the inside.”