Page 91 of The Dragon Warlord

Tristan sits down next to me. We’ve had little time to be our usual selves, which has helped us with our unspoken pact to allow his family to get used to us. We’ve kept our touches discreet, but they are still ever-present. We still pretend they don’t happen.

How are you, Omega?he says through our bond.

Completely spent, Warlord.

He nods. He’s just as tired.

What do you think of everyone?

There’s a bit of worry there that I won’t like them and that we won’t get along. He might even feel that he’s neglecting me, which is far from the truth. Tristan does more for me than he realizes.

I love them all.

He cracks a relieved smile.Thank the Gods and they love you too. I think Alrik especially.

Alrik sat me down with a pint of elderberry mead and gestured for me to tell him stories about the many adventures of Tristan and River. He was careful not to touch me, but Tristan seemed all right with his close proximity.

Tristan’s been good about that all around with the people he’s closest to. There was the one incident where Bayaden slung me over his horse, but even then, Tristan only retrieved me. He didn’t tear Bayaden’s throat out.

Then there’s Corrik. He’s not shy about wanting to lick my body with that sharp tongue of his. He hasn’t said it, but it’s written into the way he leers at me. For some reason, Tristan hasn’t murdered him, but he has subtly kept Corrik away from me. All of this amuses Corrik to no end. He views it as a challenge, but he loves Tristan enough to respect his boundaries regarding me while calculating silently as to whether he might someday be able to enter the bounds of those boundaries.

Tristan wants to scent me. I can feel it. I want to do the same. “Come with me,” he whispers into my ear.

I stand and follow him over to Corrik whom he asks for permission to head to our tent for a moment. It’s weird seeing him ask for permission from anyone but the dragon lord. Corrik seems to understand our need for a moment alone and he nods, telling us not to be too long.

When Tristan gets me into the tent, his face is in my neck and he’s scenting me as if his life depends on it. I tilt my head to the side and open for him. There’s the telltale prick of his teeth before they sink into me, and I’m filled with the euphoria of being bitten by my alpha. Hanging on for dear life, I simply submit, feeling the claim deep into my bones. I’m used to the low ache now, such that it’s the contrast of relief that lets me know how much I longed for him.

Too soon, we part and the familiar sensation of ripping off my own skin floods me. I rub my arms to suppress the sensation.

“The bond hasn’t been too angry with us,” he says.

“Yeah, not too bad,” I agree as I work to catch my breath.

“Maybe it’ll finally leave us be.”

“Maybe.”

I say that with genuine hope, but I have little faith that it will. Tristan accepts some aspects of the bond, which has allowed it to settle to some degree, but there’s one thing he hasn’t given into and when the bond demands it from us it will either tear us apart or bring us closer than any two creatures in the history of anything.

He swallows. The arousal leaks off of him. “C’mon, we should get back before Corrik has a bird. I’m sorry he’s being so strict.”

I laugh. That might be the most entertaining aspect of his relationships with his men. “I don’t have an issue with it, Warlord.”

He rolls his eyes. “No, I don’t expect that you do. It’s my lot in life to have all four of my men live to see me behave.”

All four of his men. Four. I’m one of his men.

My heart races with delight.

* * *

“When I call for you, I will come for you. Your job is only to be ready.” That’s what the dragon lord had said when he left us in the middle of nowhere so we could do our job. We thought we’d get more time in Mortouge. We didn’t expect that he was going to come for us so soon though I suppose we should have. What was only months to us is a few decades at The Tower. That the dragon lord could go for so long without his omega requires unbelievable strength. He wanted him home for a while and lured Tristan with gifts for his men that would return what they relinquished in the Underworld for him.

“You sure you’re not upset with me, Riv?”

We rode out early. Me on the back of a horse with Tristan, and Baya and Corrik on another horse to leave us in a secluded wildflower meadow, encased in a rim of Elvenflower apple trees, a few hours west of the first realm. We said a teary goodbye and then we were left to wait for the dragon lord who refused to come while the Elves were still present.

I was devastated when I found out we had to leave, but there was no use moping. We’ll be back and I’m with the person I can’t live without.