Page 8 of Monsters (Vengeance #3)

Adyen

I landed and shifted back but Gray was already inside.

She had been for a time and while I’d wanted to follow, my dragon had been far too worked up.

I sighed, feeling her indecision and frustration through our bond.

It made me furious. Furious that she had been saddled with all of this on top of becoming queen.

My dragon let out a deep growl and I tried to calm down before I ventured inside. In and out. Slow breaths. I breathed until my dragon felt more rational. Without another thought, I went to Gray’s chambers. I didn’t bother knocking before letting myself in. What I saw there hurt my heart.

Gray, our fierce little queen, was curled up on the bed sleeping. It was clear she’d been crying. A single track of smeared mascara was on her cheek.

My lil brawler.

I pulled off my uniform before tossing on a pair of shorts. I kept extra clothes everywhere. Right now, I was thankful for it.

I knew the other men wouldn’t be back for a bit and that when they were she would want to handle the plan moving forward.

Her breathing was deep so I didn’t fear waking her as I slid off her boots and peeled down her ridiculously tight pants.

I should have felt bad about that, but for me, there was nothing wrong with making my mate more comfortable. She could punch me later if she wanted.

I sort of hoped she did because then I could pin her down. I shook my head at my own thoughts.

A soft sigh came from her lips as I tugged my massive shirt over her and reached along her spine to undo the crazy corset she wore.

I relaxed once it slipped off and I made sure the large shirt was comfortably around her.

My entire body was fucking hard and my dragon was grumbling about claiming our mate but even he understood right now was not the time.

My yawn was genuine as I crawled into bed with her. She rolled so that her body was intertwined with mine. Our mating bond hummed and I breathed in her scent before letting my fingers trace her waist over the shirt I positively hated right now. I wanted her skin against mine.

Eventually, I was comfortable but I still couldn’t sleep. Gray seemed tense even in sleep and it made me overprotective. Like, really, really overprotective.

Probably unhealthily so, honestly.

“No,” she whimpered against me. I cursed knowing that she’d been having nightmares every night this week.

It had been getting better but her long term abuse had left a scar on her subconscious that would never go away.

All we could hope to do was surround her with enough love and safety so she could heal.

I wanted to replace all those damn nightmares with so many good memories she couldn’t remember the bad.

I tugged her closer and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her neck where her scars began. She whimpered in her sleep and as much as I wanted to shake her awake, the last time we’d done that it had made it worse. She also had punched me right in the jaw. It fucking hurt.

It also turned me on which is an entirely different issue. My dragon purred contentedly at the idea of how strong our mate was. One day, she would be an amazing mother.

That thought alone had me cursing. I mean we already had Lunatic… So was it that farfetched to consider?

When all of this was over we would have to talk about what this was.

I mean the Horde hadn’t had a True Heir in such a long time.

Would the kingdom accept us being with their Queen?

Did it matter to Gray what they thought?

I grunted and squeezed her closer. Hopefully we’d figure it out, because the one thing I did know?

I couldn’t see myself with anyone but her.

A soft whimper broke from her throat as she began to shake in earnest. I felt my chest tighten as I smoothed back her hair that grew damp with the sweat breaking out over her entire body.

I knew she’d only gotten about an hour of sleep before I had come in.

I wanted her to sleep but if she was this worked up, was her body even resting?

Before I could decide whether to wake her up, she let out a sharp cry and shot up in bed, panting.

Her body shook. Her hand reached to touch her scar.

I swallowed knowing she was thinking of the woman who’d cut her face like that.

The woman that, if still alive, would have a short time left before I snuffed the life out of her myself.

“Li’l brawler,” I whispered gently. Her head snapped towards me.

Her eyes were a true, deep sapphire blue filled with distress and unshed tears.

Like the tough woman she was, Gray blinked back the tears.

I didn’t push. I knew she needed to move past the dream.

Move past the nightmarish things that tainted her memories of childhood.

“Adyen,” she sighed. She crawled forward and laid directly on top of me so I could keep my arms wrapped around her.

Her chin tilted up so that I could look into her beautiful face.

A face that slowly reverted back to her normal calm.

One day, when we weren’t in a war, I wanted her to feel comfortable crying openly.

Not just from nightmares. I wanted her to feel comfortable enough to share that side of herself, even if it was painful.

Until then, I would be here for her as much as possible but I wouldn’t push it.

I wanted her to make the decision to open up to us.

“It's okay,” I kissed the top of her hair.

“I don’t know what to do,” she spoke, her voice pained with indecision.

“Yes, you do,” I confirmed without a doubt.

Her lips thinned as she shook her head. “I don’t though, Adyen. If we go on the offensive and attack we risk going into their territory and leaving ours open. If we go on the defensive we can fortify everything here but it puts everyone at risk when the battle comes to us.”

I had an answer but she needed to process this herself.

I added something helpful though. “There are lands to the north. Not in the forest area but further east, that has an open field. It is far enough from the kingdom that most people don’t even know it is there unless they’ve done patrol for SE. ”

“What if they don’t go there though?” She whispered as her brain began moving a mile a minute.

“Force them to.” I stated.

“Lower the wards in just that area?” She murmured thoughtfully.

“I think that is a great idea.” I admitted.

I was glad she’d come to the conclusion herself.

It was hard to remember that despite her fierceness the woman had only been a queen for a short amount of time.

She had no formal tactical training. Her power was raw and unformed.

My dragon practically preened at the thought that we aided her.

It only made sense. What else are the True Heir Guard for, if not this?

My chest hurt a bit at that. Proud as I was, I needed this to be more.

She was my mate. I wasn't positive she knew the affection, love, and devotion that came with that.

It was hard waiting for her to process through all of our connections but I was determined to take it slow, knowing it would be worth the wait.

I had already seen my brothers heal so much because of the love she offered.

We need affection and love too...

I rolled my eyes internally at my fucking dragon’s whine of self-pity. What was his actual issue?

You sound like a bitch.

He snorted.

What would that make you then?

“Adyen?” Gray prompted frowning.

I grunted with a sigh. “Sorry, my dragon is being a bitch.”

She snorted. “So what does that make you?”

I barked out a laugh because of the similarity in conversations.

It only reinforced how fated our bond was.

My hands wrapped around her waist as I sat her on top of me.

Despite how small she was, straddling me like this, I never felt she was weak.

There was an energy and confidence to Gray that made her fill the space.

Her size was no matter because her energy made her ten times taller than me.

She put her elbows on my chest. “I need to plan for this meeting.”

“You need sleep,” I retorted.

“By the way...” she suddenly frowned, looking down at my shirt on her form. “Who changed my clothes?”

My lips curled up into a smile. “I did.”

Gray’s cheeks filled with color as she tried to act mad but couldn’t help smiling. “Oh? Did you like what you saw? Pervert.”

I’d show her how perverted my thoughts were anytime.

A low sound broke from my chest. “Now that is a ridiculous question, I fucking loved what I saw. You’re fucking stunning.”

A dangerous glint entered her eyes as she moved her hips so that she wiggled against my hardening cock.

I didn’t even try to stop the pained sound that came from my throat as she trailed a nail up my chest and broke my skin, causing shivers to travel up my spine. Fuck, this woman was something else!

I also could not keep up with her emotional range. I loved it though. Always kept things interesting.

“Well,” she purred, “maybe I should show you more.”

I had her flipped on her back with myself over her in a quick movement, my mouth molding to hers.

Her taste was sweet on my lips as her nails bit into my neck and her legs wrapped around my waist. I’d been around for a while now and there had never been a woman I’d met that had invoked the reaction in me that Gray did.

She was like an addiction. You just kept wanting more and more of her until you realized she was your entire life.

I didn’t mind one bit.

A soft sound from her throat caused me to pull back from her lips and watch her soft, relaxed expression. I liked her like this. I liked that it seemed I could distract her from everything.

“What do you need, lil brawler?” I whispered softly in a heated tone.

She shivered and shifted so that we were locked even tighter together.

I could see a slight vulnerability in her eyes.

I knew damn well that she didn’t have a lot of experience with a healthy sexual relationship.

It made her nervous but she was so brave and tried to move past it.

Still, I wanted to tread lightly and only do what she wanted or needed.

Her lips moved to open but nothing came out. My nose nuzzled against hers as my hand skimmed down her thigh and her breath hitched.

“Gray,” I murmured against her neck, “you need to tell me what you need.”

Her eyes darkened as she breathlessly responded. “I don’t know, I feel different. I think it’s your dragon.”

Ah! Yes. The mate bond that was driving me fucking crazy. I wondered if it would affect her.

“What does it feel like?” I began to nibble along her neck as my tongue brushed over the skin in a healing way. She let out a small moan of desire as she tilted her head to the side baring her neck to me. She was going to kill me.

If I died with my head buried against the soft skin of her neck I would be a happy fucking shifter.

“Like I want you to bite me,” she whispered shyly.

My entire body froze. My smile grew because dragons didn’t need to rush things to claim their mates. If she wanted a mating mark then I would damn well give her one.

“I’ll give you what you want sweetheart,” I murmured, “but you know what that will mean, right?”

Her brow furrowed. It was clear she didn’t completely understand how all of this worked.

I couldn’t blame her. Despite knowing the basics of the Horde and Fae lands, there were still things she wasn’t well versed in.

It wasn’t the type of knowledge that existed in books.

I suppose that was just one more reason she needed us.

Yes. I was grasping at reasoning for her needing us in her life. It was hard because the woman was just so damn capable .

“If I bite you Gray that means I’m claiming you as my mate. Is that what you want?”

Her breathing hitched. I continued. “We don’t have to go any further now but once we start the mating process, the two of us will be bonded no matter what happens in the future.

I need you to be damn sure about this. Shifters only place a mating bond once in their life, so I don’t want either of us to take this lightly. ”

Please be sure about it.

Also, I didn’t think it was necessary to state that I was essentially proposing to her. That is what this would be. A lifelong commitment.

A soft look filled her eyes and a heart clenching sensation moved through me.

My entire life I had been wanted by my family because of the place I held in society.

I am sure they loved me but after all I was a True Heir Guard and a dragon.

That was a lot of fucking power and influence, so I was important to them.

When Gray looked at me like she was right now, it made me feel like she would care about me whether I was who I was, or just a normal shifter.

“I’m positive, Adyen.”

Thank the gods.

I wasn’t about to ask twice.