A dragon shifter novel Chapter 27

Mine

M

1 force my hands to let her go, though every instinct screams to keep her cradled against my chest Carefully, so carefully, I ease her back onto the grass, smoothing mud–matted hair from her face. “I need to get her to medical,” I say, voice‘ rough. My dragon surges in agreement, hot and restless under my skin. “Fast.” Kael rumbles low, the sound vibrating from his chest; he’s protective even in his hound form. His eyes follow every movement I make, but he doesn’t

try to stop me, not this time. I step back, breath sharp, and let the shift tear through me. Bones crack, flesh splits, and in heartbeats, I’m towering over both of them. The world sharpens to the scent of her blood and the ragged sound of her breathing. It floods my senses. My wings snap open, blotting out the dying light, and my talons sink into the earth. Slowly, so fucking carefully, I curl one clawed hand beneath her body, the other bracing at her side. She looks breakable and impossibly small against the spread of my talons, like one wrong move would shatter her completely. I tuck her close to my chest, angled just right so the wind won’t whip against her wounds. My dragon’s heart thunders, every beat too loud and too fast. With a roar that rattles the trees, I leap skyward. The ground drops away, the forest spreads beneath us, and I drive my wings hard, carrying her higher, faster, toward the Academy lights glowing faintly in the distance. Hold on, little pet, I think, chest burning as the oncoming night air rushes past. Just hold on.

The clearing comes into view as I bank low, wings cutting the air. Coach stands on the field, whistle clutched in one hand, and students clustered behind him. When my talons hit the dirt, the ground shakes and all of them can see what I carry. She lies limp in my claws, mud–streaked, hair plastered to her face, blood staining her back. Fragile. Breakable. I pull her closer, curling my claws around her small frame as if the very air might tear her apart. Coach’s voice booms across the silence. “Good job finding her, Drayke. Now put her down so we can get her to medical.” I try. Gods, I try, but my dragon won’t move. A snarl tears through my throat, smoke curling from my teeth as I hunch protectively over her. Every instinct in me screams mine–mine to shield, mine to guard, mine to never let go. My talons flex, holding her closer, careful even in possession. “Evander.” Coach’s voice is harder now and slightly wary. “Put her down.” My dragon roars at him, a sound that rattles the grass and sends a few students stumbling back. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snap inside my

head, clawing for control. “Let her down. They need to help her!” The dragon’s answer is blunt and final. “No.”

“Why?” I ask. The answer comes like the fire in my blood, a certainty that makes no sense. “She’s mine.” The words stun me still. I falter, caught between fury and confusion. Mine? That isn’t possible. That isn’t how this works. Bonds aren’t revealed until the Moonlight Festival, under the council’s wards. Not here. Not now. Yet, my dragon curls tighter around her, his growls vibrating through both of us, warning anyone who dares to step close. Kael emerges from the treeline then, shifting back mid–stride, mud streaked across his chest. He freezes when he sees her cradled in my claws. For a moment, his eyes soften, then sharpen again as he steps forward. My dragon growls louder this time, a wall of sound that halts Kael in place. “Stay back. She’s not yours.” My dragon roars in my mind. I cling to the passenger seat of my own body, teeth gritted, fighting to wrestle him down. “You don’t even know what this means,” I snap. “You can’t just claim her.” The dragon doesn’t waver. His voice is quiet now and resolute, like an oath burned into my bones. “She’s mine.”

Kael moves slowly, deliberately, and cautiously, but he is impossible to startle. He steps toward me and, for a moment, the world narrows to the three of us. My girl and I -and him. He lifts his hands, palms facing up, offering appeasement. “Easy,” he says, voice low and steady. “It’s just me.” My dragon’s rumble softens an edge at the sound of his voice. Kael has always been able to get under me in ways no one else can. He doesn’t hurry; he continues to inch forward, ignoring the low, possessive growl rolling out of my chest. Around us, students move back slowly, giving us space the way animals give one another room to settle an argument. When he stops a safe arm’s length away, he crouches so he isn’t intimidating at all and meets my eyes. There’s nothing theatrical in the motion, no snarl, no bravado–only a quiet, dangerous steadiness. “You know I’d never hurt her, Evander,” he says plainly. “You know that, right?” My dragon answers with another low rumble. I feel the meaning behind it. My dragon thinks he’s still a threat. I brace, expecting Kael’s confidence to crack, but it doesn’t; it never does. He keeps his gaze soft and honest, letting the history we share do the talking. “Look,” Kael goes on, softer, flicking a glance at the deep gashes along her back. “I’m not here to take her. I need to see what we’re dealing with. Let me clean those wounds a little, yeah? I’ll be quick.” Everything in me wants to snatch her away, to fold over her until the world dissolves. My dragon’s claws tighten, but Kael’s voice carries memories- a thousand stupid fights. Bruises shared. Loyalty that doesn’t bend to ego. It slides through the fierce fog my dragon has. “How about this?” Kael says with a hint of ragged amusement in his tone, though his eyes are all business. “You just open up those big claws of yours, and I’ll fix her up right in your palm. I won’t take her from you, okay?” My dragon considers it. He could snap Kael like a twig. Burn the earth and everything on it. She does need the care, that is the conclusion he comes to. After a long moment, the talons that cradle her like a nest unfold just a fraction. Kael exhales like he’s been holding his breath,

and then he moves in carefully.