A dragon shifter novel Chapter 47

Accidentally Shifted

Allison

I had only meant to take a little of his power Enough to land a punch he’d actually feel, enough to stop the frustration churning in my gut. But the rage simmered under my skin like molten metal, and I took more. More than I should have, and then, without even thinking, without even knowing what I was

doing, something…happened. My body/overheated, and everything burned. My whole world cracked open. It felt like my bones were tearing and stretching

all at once, my blood thick with something that wasn’t mine but had always been waiting. Then right there, in the middle of the field, I realised—I was shifting. I was unlocking a second part of a shifter’s power that I had never dared to touch. Evander did what I asked; he didn’t hesitate. He got me away,

into the trees, until no one could see us, and as soon as we were alone, I let the pain thrum through my body, let it do whatever it wanted. I let it consume

me whole.

Now there is a voice inside my mind. Hello, my human. I freeze even as my skin splits and reshapes, even as claws slide where fingers have been. I have just shifted into my own dragon, but that is not the only thing. As she looks down upon Evander and inhales his scent, she speaks to both of us. Mate. It is not a question. It is not even a declaration. It is like an ancient recognition. I watch from the passenger seat of my own body as Evander shifts, scales rippling into existence, wings opening wide. Then our dragons collide in a way that feels like a thousand memories I’ve never had, all snapping back into place at

once. We circle, we breathe each other in, and something inside my soul slides into place, like a key turning in a lock. I have a mate. Although this is not

how it is supposed to be done, although it breaks every rule, I have no doubts. He is mine, and I am his.

Ready to fly, little one? Her voice is velvet and thunder in my mind, curling around my thoughts like smoke: my dragon, my other half. My pulse kicks, but before I can even shape a reply, she is moving, wings snapping wide, sunlight spilling off golden membranes. The first downward beat is a jolt. Air rushes against our face. Our claws slip against the moss as we lurch forward. We stumble, stutter, wings grabbing at the sky like a fledgling. My heart slams so hard

it rattles my ribs. We are flying. I am flying. Below us, Evander’s dragon rises. A blaze of gold, a living sun under our shadow. He does not climb straight up.

He slides beneath us, enormous wings steady and patient, and nudges our body higher with a current of air. He is…teaching us. Ready to catch us if we fall. He soars in front of us, rolling into an easy glide, his massive wings angling just so. Instinctively, my dragon tilts her own. The awkward judder of our flight

smooths into something more like a rhythm, a heartbeat in the wind.

There we go, she murmurs inside my skull, equal parts pride and hunger. We watch him, and we learn. Evander banks left, dipping his wingtip toward a column of warm air rising from the trees, and we follow. The current catches us, lifting us higher. Another beat of our wings and the ground shrinks. Another, and the clouds are close enough to touch. For a breathless, impossible moment, there is nothing but sky, his dragon ahead of us like a living

beacon and the wild, fierce joy of my own power answering his.

When we finally descend, I am laughing in my head, loud, happy and free. The wind still clings to our scales like a second skin, and I understand, in a way I never have before, why shifters are so full of themselves. Flight is not just power. It is joy. It is the world opening beneath you, daring you to fall. Our landing, however, is less than graceful. My massive dragon body barrels through the last stretch of trees, claws scraping earth, wings folding at the wrong angle. We tumble into the dirt with a graceless thud that rattles my teeth and skid to a stop against a tree trunk, where bark cracks and leaves scatter. My dragon huffs out a plume of smoke and then starts to purr. I am laughing harder inside her head, shoulders shaking with it. If this is what being a dragon feels like, I will take every awkward crash with a smile. Evander is already shifting before the dust even settles. One heartbeat, he is a creature of molten gold. Next, he is human, bare skin flashing under the canopy as he runs toward us. Naked. He is so fucking naked. Concern is efched across his face, fierce and protective, like he thinks I might break. Goddess has blessed us, my dragon purrs deep in our chest as his scent hits us.

“Ally? Are you okay?” he calls, voice rough but warm. My dragon’s tail flicks lazily, a satisfied growl humming out of her throat. The sound makes him chuckle. He reaches us, strokes our massive head like we are some giant cat instead of a fledgling dragon, and the gesture is so absurdly tender it makes my chest ache. “Can you shift back for me?” he asks gently. I tilt my head at him, confused. And how the fuck would I do that? I think before I can stop myself.

He laughs again, softer this time. His voice threads into my mind like smoke. Imagine your human body. Imagine the shift. Really want it, and it will happen.

Oh, I think back, small and startled.

I close my dragen’s golden eyes and force the image of my human self into the dark–every imperfect, breakable piece of me. I focus on it hard enough that

my teeth ache, willing myself into bones that are not wings, into a body that cannot soar. The pain hits me, just as brutal as the shift into my dragon. I

choke on a sound between a scream and a sob as the last of her coils into me, locking down tight in my chest. My knees slam into the dirt, hands trembling

where they plant against the ground. I can still feel her, though, Humming under my skin. Mate, she whispers one more time before sinking into quiet.

“Ally,” Evander breathes. He is right there, crouched in the dirt, his hand hovering like he wants to touch but does not want to scare me. His golden eyes are

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