Page 55 of The Dragon Warlord

“I know, Omega. I’m sorry too.”

The smacks finally die off and he releases my bound hands, letting me cry over his lap. Gentle hands guide me to standing and I pull up my pants and underthings over a tender arse. Huh. It’s pleasantly tender. Wiping the tears, I flick my gaze to him and then to the ground. Nothing makes me more submissive than a spanking like that.

“I’m sorry, Alpha. I shouldn’t have run off. I-I belong to you.” I don’t want it to be true, but it is true. I feel that sensation with me as clearly as I feel the one I have with River, but for reasons I can’t explain, I can shelve the bond I have with the dragon lord whereas I can’t with River.

Is it something the dragon lord has done? Is that why? He won’t tell me, so I don’t waste my breath asking. Besides, I’m not in the mood for his riddles just now.

“Come here and prove it, Omega.”

“But—”

“Do you think you can run from me without the bond demanding that I reclaim you? Even if it didn’t, I would. Now come. Open your neck.”

Shivering, my arse throbbing with pain, I step forward and open my neck so that he has full access to the bite there. There’s a snarl and then a poke as his teeth sink in. Blissful euphoria blinds my senses until all I can feel is him.

“I saw you looking at me earlier,” he says when he pulls his blood-soaked dragon teeth from my neck, licking over the holes to close them.

“Would I look like you without this?” I ask, tapping my collar. I’m referring to all the dragon scales that mesh with his human skin.

“If you wanted to. I thought it might make you more comfortable since it gives the appearance of clothing. Shall I take them away, Omega? Give you the full view of me? How about I show you my wings? Rayne loves it when I wrap them around him.”

“Ew, no. We’re related or something. You’ve got to be my great-great-grandfather many times removed.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not. We are not related no matter how much you want that to be true.”

“Whatever, Gramps.”

He growls. “Did I not spank you hard enough?”

It’s my turn to laugh. If he thinks I’m above using that over a spanking threat, he’s wrong. I declare it worth it every time.

“Poor Amira is over there while we bicker.”

“Amira would be laughing at us were she still here. She probably is laughing from somewhere, but we should take her back. You’re breaking the news to Ikara.

“What? You’re her father. It should be you.”

“Too bad. You do my bidding and I’ve said it’s going to be you.”

“Coward.”

He shrugs. “Call me whatever you want. I’m not watching her cry, you are. Now come along. You’re also responsible for lifting Amira onto my back.”

What a fucking arse, but if I expect any less by this point, I’m the fool.

* * *

“Oh, Gods. Thank the Goddess that you’re all right, Warlord.” He’s shaking. He had to be yanked away from the ledge by force and I can smell someone on him. The less rational side of me wants to hunt that person—Ikara—down, but the knowledge that she likely saved him from falling off the ledge overrides the former and that’s something.

We’re in the destroyed garden. Air from outside of the tower bustles upward in intermittent gusts. A gathering of dragons assess the damage. I spy other Kanes siblings around, watching over their little brother from a distance.

What I’m supposed to do in this situation is beyond me. Going with my instincts, I open my arms and he runs to them. I haven’t learned much about scenting yet, but I’ve had him do it often enough to me that I can mimic what he’s done and let natural reflexes take over. It soothes him immediately and I make a mental note to use it in the future when he needs it.

The thought that he almost recklessly dived after me has my heart racing and I’m overwhelmed with terror. I bury my face in his hair. “May the Gods keep you safe when I can’t,” I murmur as a thank you because the Gods kept him safe when I couldn’t. I realize I’ve murmured it in Elvish. Perhaps I’ll teach River Elvish. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I repeat over and over.

I let him down. I let everyone down.

He’s crying. “You did your best. Father he … he told me Amira saw your death and that it would be today unless he did something. He said he was going to let you die.”