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  For a moment Elliott just nodded, mesmerized by the creature. “Y-yes,” he stammered when he realized Chandler was waiting for an answer.

  ‘Will you obey all of our laws and swear to never tell any humans about our existence?’

  “I will. I mean, I’ll follow the laws and not tell.”

  ‘Has Rion explained that you will soon need to cut ties with your human friends and family, and allow them to forget you?’

  Elliott nodded and I felt a bit sorry for my mate. I was blessed with such a big, loving family and he had no one. I tightened my grip on his fingers, well, he had someone now.

  ‘Very well.’ Chandler didn't wait, he began to shrink down back into human almost immediately. When he was human again, he spoke as he pulled his clothes back on. “Alpha Rion, you have my permission to change him into a shifter. If you ever change anyone else…”

  “Elliott will be my first and only turn," I said. My mate gave me a questioning look, so I quickly elaborated, “To keep our numbers down it's illegal to turn more than one person.”

  “And you’d use it for me?” he asked in awe.

  “You are my true mate. There is no one else I would rather use it on.”

  “I've never asked… but… what happens if I die? I mean you act like a true mate is so rare and now you can only ever change one person?”

  “I've heard on rare occasions of someone finding another true mate after their first passes.” I shook my head sadly. “But I don't know what I'd do if my second is also human. God forbid, of course, if I should lose you, I do not think I would ever love again.”

  Chapter Six

  Elliott

  I turned away, overcome by the certainty in his voice. I was just in time to see Chandler turn away as well, and I could've sworn there were tears in his eyes.

  The dragon cleared his throat and then turned back to us. “Then with the authority given to me by the Alpha Parliament, I permit you to turn this human and take him as your true mate.” His voice was steady, but there was something his expression I couldn't quite place, like a deep sadness.

  “Thank you,” Rion said.

  “Yes, thank you,” I said quickly.

  “If there's nothing else, then I'll be on my way.”

  “You're welcome to stay, at least for dinner.” I shot a glance at Rion, making sure that was actually an offer we were allowed to make to someone from the Parliament.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I don't like to be away too long.” We said our goodbyes and Chandler headed out of the forest.

  “It must be hard for him,” Rion said softly, “seeing all these happy true mates all the time.”

  “He doesn't have one?” I asked. “He will eventually, right?”

  “Not everyone has a true mate,” he said. “Some of us meet them early, some late, some never do… Chandler may have a true mate out there, but it won't quite be the same.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He's one of the last dragons. Which means his true mate won't be one.”

  “We’re immortal though,” I pointed out. “Maybe his true mate isn't born yet.”

  Rion shook his head sadly. “When I say he's one of the last dragons, I mean there are only two left.”

  I looked at him in surprise. “In the entire world?”

  “I'm afraid so.”

  “If he's with the Alpha Parliament then he's an alpha, right? Can't he just turn a human into one? I mean… Even if he already used his one turn, they wouldn’t just let entire species go extinct to uphold that law, would they?”

  “He's an omega,” Rion said.

  “Oh.” He already explained to me that alphas were the only type of shifter that could turn a human into one as well. But if Chandler was an omega, then he was capable of having children like I would be. Unless, the other dragon was an omega too… Rion had also hit me with the news that, while I would be able to bear children, I wouldn't be able to impregnate anyone anymore. Not that it had ever been a concern for me, considering I never planned to have sex with a woman. “What's the other dragon? I'm guessing not an alpha. Can't they have kids?”

  “She's a beta.” Before I could ask, he clarified. “The offspring of a shifter will be whatever the sire is. A sire is defined as either the one who does the impregnating or the one who turns the human. Since I'm turning you, I'm your sire, and you'll be a wolf like me. And our children will be wolves like me. Neither a beta female nor an omega male can be sires. So…” He turned his head in the direction that Chandler had gone and shook it sadly. “There will never be a new dragon.”

  “That's so sad… What happened to them all?”

  “Hunted to near extinction. Mostly by shifters, I'm afraid. They were almost all gone by the time I was born and I never saw any… But,” he cleared his throat. “There's plenty of time to tell you all about the dragon massacres. Why don't we switch to a more exciting subject?”

  I bit my lip nervously. Part of my curiosity about the dragons had been putting off what I knew was about to happen. Even though I consented to be changed into a wolf, I was still pretty nervous about the whole experience. He had already explained how turning me and then claiming me would work, but considering that three days ago I didn't even know shifters existed it was a bit much to swallow.

  “Are you ready?” Rion asked. I could tell just how excited he was. His excitement eased my nerves a little bit.

  “Let's do it,” I forced a little more bravado into my voice than I was feeling.

  “Don't worry, everything will be fine.” Rion kissed me and then stepped back away.

  He undressed swiftly, and barely even folded his clothes. He tossed them aside, gave his shoulders a shake, and closed his eyes. He was right about the transformation being much different when it wasn't against his will. I was braced, expecting him to start shouting in agony again, but instead he stood there calmly as fur began to sprout out of his skin.

  “Remember to give me a minute to get used to it,” he warned. The end of his sentence came out almost as a growl, as his mouth began to elongate. He fell to the ground as his legs changed shape. A skinny tail grew out of him, and looked quite gross without any hair on it. It quickly sprouted the same grey-brown fur that covered the rest of him. And all at once, it was over. Rion was a wolf. He shook himself off and sniffed the air. He looked at me with dark brown, intelligent eyes and sniffed again. He huffed out a breath and then sat, cocking his head, regarding me.

  ‘He likes you.’ Thanks to the experience with Chandler I was prepared for the voice inside my head. It was a little weird though, to hear Rion. It was also comforting to know that he wasn't exaggerating when he explained that we had complete control over our wolf forms, except for during the full moon. I hadn't admitted it, but the idea of being an out-of-control wolf on the full moon concerned me and I was afraid that it would be similar on other nights.

  “He? Chandler?”

  Rion laughed, both in my head and physically, which was very strange to see. He shook his head, sending his ears flapping. ‘No, my wolf. He likes you.’

  “Can you really tell that?”

  ‘Yes. Are you ready?’

  I took a deep breath to steel myself, closed my eyes, and held out my arm. I heard his soft footsteps crunching on the leaves as he approached. And gently, oh so gently, I felt his teeth close around my exposed arm.

  ‘I swear to you, Elliott, I will never hurt you again.’

  Just as the fact he said again sank in to my head, his fangs sank into my flesh. It hurt like hell, and it was everything I could do to not scream bloody murder. He released my arm and began to lick it, whimpering.

  “I'm okay,” I said. “It already doesn't hurt as much.”

  ‘I'm sorry,’ he said.

  “Really, it's okay.” I pulled my arm back and examined the puncture wounds on it. “Actually, I think my neck hurts more than my arm does.”

  ‘It's waiting for me to claim you. Now that you are a wolf too, it's gett
ing impatient.’

  “I don't feel any different.”

  ‘Just give it a few minutes, your wolf is getting acclimated.’

  I stood there for a couple of minutes, waiting and wondering what I was supposed to be feeling. And then I became aware of what I can only describe as someone else in my body. It was like when your foot is asleep and you can feel yourself touching it with your hand, but you can't really feel it. Except this was emotions. I could actually feel emotions that I somehow knew weren’t mine. There was curiosity mixed with a touch of fear. I could also feel some sort of restlessness, like I needed to stretch but couldn’t.

  ‘You feel him,’ Rion said. At the sound of his voice I felt a surge of love and affection from the wolf, so strong it made me smile.

  “Yes,” I murmured in disbelief. “Is it always like this?”

  ‘No, he'll settle down pretty soon. But first you need to shift.’

  “How?”

  ‘Just close your eyes, remember what happened when I shifted, and imagine yourself turning into a wolf. It's that simple.’

  I did as he said, feeling a little bit silly. Physically, I didn't feel any different. But I could feel a sort of building excitement in the wolf. I could almost see him in my mind, jumping and turning in circles eagerly in front of a closed door, like a dog waiting for a walk. I don't know why but visualizing myself opening the door seemed like the right thing to do. My skin began to itch. My legs and arms felt cramped, like they had been bent in the same position for too long and desperately needed to stretch. Then, there was a ringing in my ears, followed by the sensation of someone blowing air into my nose. I felt like someone had suddenly shoved me and I pitched forward, hitting the ground. I caught myself with my hands, but they were no longer hands, they were paws!

  I tried to lift one to look at it, but I couldn't move. The excitement of the wolf reached its peak and my body began to move of its own accord. My head turned to look around, everything wobbled as my body vigorously shook itself like a wet dog. My nose sniffed the air, assaulting me with a shocking mixture of scents. I knew what leaves sort of smelled like, but this was like someone had crushed leaves and shoved them up my nose. I knew the smell when you step out of the house on a crisp Spring evening, but this was being slapped across the face with it. And here, I thought that Rion smelled good before. When I turned in his direction, my nose quivered, and I was flooded with the most intoxicating odor. Did I think there was sort of a pine scent to him? It wasn't pine, it was pine on a winter day, with a hint of snow in the air, with nutmeg, and vanilla, and cinnamon, and baking cookies. I felt a strange sensation, like I was wobbling, and I realized it was my tail wagging.

  ‘You need to take control from the wolf,’ said Rion. ‘The first time is always the hardest.’

  I had no idea how to do it, so I thought of a dog again. I imagined telling it to sit and stay, pictured walking away from the dog, leaving it sitting and watching me. It worked. The emotions from the wolf that were practically overwhelming me began to fade. A moment later it had gone, reduced to something like background music.

  I could move again. I lifted all four of my feet, one by one. Then I looked behind me and figured out how to make my tail move. It was quite a bit stranger than four legs; at least I had four limbs to start with. I shook, then I howled experimentally. The sensation of the wolf inside me had been dimmed, but when I howled I felt a little surge of excitement.

  ‘How do I talk to you?’

  Rion's tongue lolled out. ‘You just did. It's as easy as that. How is it?’

  ‘It's amazing.’

  ‘Are you ready to run?’

  I couldn't tell if it was me or the wolf wagging my tail. ‘Yes!’

  ‘Then follow me!’

  Rion turned and began to run. I wobbled for a minute, unsteady on four legs. Then, the slightly frustrated wolf inside of me took over and I let it. I bounded through the woods with Rion.

  We romped and played until the last rays of the sun were long gone and the stars were out. He tackled me, not for the first time, and then sat down to look at me. I sat up as well, panting. I felt completely comfortable in the wolf’s body and a strange sense of peace.

  ‘Are you ready for me to claim you?’ Rion asked.

  I nodded.

  He barked and trotted a few feet away, tilting his head to indicate that I should follow. When I got close to him he pounced. This time, he pinned me down with his paws and instead of playfully biting my neck, he did it hard. I yelped, more in surprise than pain. In fact, the ache that had plagued my neck since the day we met was gone almost as soon as his teeth sank in, replaced by a warmth that seemed to spread through me. Remembering what I was supposed to do, I lifted my head and bit him on the side of the neck in the same spot. Rion growled, but somehow I knew it wasn't an angry growl.

  After we released each other, he began to shift back to a human. I followed his lead, imagining my human form. And a moment later I was on my back in the leaves, naked, with an equally naked Rion straddling me, smiling down with nothing but adoration in his eyes.

  “How do you feel, my mate?” he asked softly.

  “Great,” I said. “Is that it then?”

  He trailed a hand down and brushed it along my dick. “It doesn't have to be.”

  “Here?” I asked with a laugh. “On the forest floor? It's getting pretty cold.”

  “We’re wolves, aren't we?”

  “At the moment, no…”

  He started stroking anyway. I reached up and grabbed him by the back of the neck to pull him down for a kiss. There were worse places than a bed of leaves in the woods after all.

  Rion kissed me deeply, running his free hand up and down my side, tickling with his fingernails, as his other hand pumped increasingly fast. Just as I started to writhe in pleasure he slowed his pace, before stopping entirely and just lazily trailing his fingers around the base of my cock. His fingers slid down my taint until the tips rested against my asshole.

  “You’re wet,” he said softly.

  “I feel it,” I told him. It was a strange sensation, the omega lubrication, but not an unpleasant one. It was worth it when his finger easily slid inside me. I gasped involuntarily and arched up, drawing it deeper.

  “It feels good to you,” Rion teased.

  “What gives you that idea?” I shot back.

  “Touch me and find out.”

  There was no mistaking the challenge nor the mischief in his voice, so I released the dried leaves I had been clutching in lieu of bedsheets, and ran my fingers down his shaft. Rion shuddered at the touch, as pleasure ran through me as if he had run his own fingers up my dick.

  My eyes widened in surprise and he chuckled softly. Curiously, I took him into my hand and began to stroke. He wasn't touching me at all, and yet I could swear that I was being jerked off.

  “What is this?” I breathed.

  “Just a little perk I didn’t tell you about. Now that I've claimed you, we’re connected.”

  “Is there anything else I should know?” I teased.

  “Only that you’re tougher as a wolf, even in human form, so I plan to very. Thoroughly. Fuck. You.” He punctuated the last couple of words by driving in his finger harder and deeper. A second one joined, stretching me a little further and I moaned in pleasure.

  He moaned in agreement and worked his fingers. My feet struggled for purchase in the leaves, one pushed against what I assumed was a tree root and the other found nothing but mud. He urged me to roll over and I complied. It seemed that the mud wasn't just under one foot. I could feel it on my back helping the leaves stay glued to my skin. Rion slid out his fingers and laughed.

  “You are a muddy mess,” he laughed.

  I don't know what possessed me, but I grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him down into the mud below me. I swung up a leg and sat on top of him, making sure to bring some mud with me.

  “Now you've done it,” he said. He pushed me off him and down into more mud
. He lunged forward, tackling me. Before I knew it, we were wrestling. We slipped and slid in the mud, stirring up leaves, stepping on twigs, each trying to shove each other to the ground, as if this was some kind of extreme naked, outdoor wrestling match. Somewhere in the midst of the chaos, we started kissing. And then it became a strange game of humping and making out as we tussled. It wasn't until we splashed into a small stream, clearly the source of the mud, that I remembered just how damn cold it was. I gasped as I stumbled into the cold water. It was unusually cold weather for April, although I hadn't paid it much mind until just this moment.

  “Good idea,” Rion teased.

  “What is?” I said, trying to get to my feet. I fell again, this time onto my ass. He followed me into the water, gasping as he splashed it on his dick. He splashed his hands as well, rubbing at them to get the mud off.

  “We can just go home and shower,” I said. I started laughing as I watched him continue to clean himself off. If anyone had seen us we would've looked absolutely ridiculous. I was sprawled on the low bank of the little woodland creek, naked, muddy, and sporting a raging hard on.

  I started to climb to my feet again and made the mistake of turning my back to him. His hands caught me by the hips, as he pulled me into place. I felt his cock brush up against my ass.

  “You're joking,” I said.

  “Only if you want me to be.” His voice was so husky and so sexy I couldn't imagine saying no to it. It sent a thrill through me and the fact that I could sense how aroused he was did nothing to extinguish my desire. I didn't exactly imagine our first time as being muddy in the middle of the night, but suddenly it didn't seem like such a terrible idea. I bent down and raised my ass up a little to him. He didn't hesitate to return his original two fingers. It hadn’t been that long since I was penetrated by him, but the sudden intrusion made me gasp. He went slowly at first, letting me get used to it again, before he added another finger. I writhed beneath him, my hands slipping on the muddy bank, the water ice cold around my ankles. I supposed this was just a way to embrace being a wolf.

  He wrapped an arm around my chest pulling me up slightly straighter and nipped at my earlobe.