Page 72 of Fated Obsessions
He tipped his head to the side, inhaled deeply, and then retreated a step. I didn’t know how I knew, but I was aware he smelled Azar on me, knew I was my dragon’s mate. And he… respected that?
There was a deafening roar, and I could feel the stirring of Azar’s anger, of his possessiveness as it slammed into me so hard and fierce I sucked in a sharp breath. Although I was human and didn’t experience the Cord, I knew there was definitely something supernatural tethering us, a link between body and soul.
I heard the heavy pounding of Azar barreling through the tunnel to me, and then he was in front of me, his body seeming bigger because I knew he was seconds away from shifting. He let out a low growl of warning, leaned his upper body forward, bent his knees, and took on a clear attack stance. He positioned me behind his back.
I leaned to the side and kept my gaze on the other dragon. But he just stood there, his head still cocked to the side as he looked between me and Azar. It was clear he felt no fear.
“Be at ease, Dragao. I have no interest in your female,” the Draco said in a similar accented and deep voice to Azar’s. But it sounded harsher than my dragon’s, and definitely not as pleasing to my ears.
“Yet you’re in my territory. You’re far too close to my mate for me not to assume you don’t want to take her from me.”
The other dragon didn’t respond, just watched us as if hewere curious about how this was all transpiring. He showed absolutely no fear, and in fact I had a feeling he almost found this humorous.
“Your mate is from the weak species,” he commented slowly, his brows lowering as if he were mulling his word choice over in his head.
Azar said nothing, just growled, and he kept his body positioned in front of mine. He did swing one thickly muscled arm out and wrapped it around my lower back, his fingers curling around my hip. Did he actually think I’d move? There was no way I’d draw any more attention to myself. Because although I would definitely stand my ground, even fight to the death to try to survive, that’s exactly what it would be—to the death for me. And I risked getting Azar killed as well with any kind of heroic foolishness.
So I focused on his warm hand on my waist, his reassuring presence. And the truth was, I’d never felt stronger than I didin this moment. Because I had somebody in my corner.I have somebody at my side.
“You will leave now, or I will be forced to defend what’s mine,” Azar snarled out. “And I promise you I will show no mercy.”
His back was rising and falling viciously as his breathing picked up. His voice was grated and low, harsh, a tone I knew was his dragon’s. Azar was a deadly, frighteningly savage creature, and I was in awe.
How could something that wasn’t even human arouse me so much? How could the sound of his dragon pushing through have the danger right in front of us not be the priority?
But the answer was simple. Because the dragon was Azar, and with him I felt completely submerged in all the sensations and emotions I never thought I’d ever experience.
“Be at ease, Dragao,” the other male repeated and smirked, but I could tell it wasn’t an expression that came from a pleasant nature. “I want nothing to do with your territory or your mate.”
“Then you really have no business here.” Azar took a step forward, and although I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was baring his teeth, knew his fangs were long and sharp from his aggression.
But the other male stood his ground and had the arrogance to chuckle, as if Azar wasn’t as intimidating as we both knew he was.
The other male placed his hand over his chest and inclined his head, a gesture that looked an awful lot like respect. “I am Ryezan of the Draco Legion. And I’ve come to seek information from your human mate.”
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Azar growled deeper, his upper body leaning forward even more. “You do not speak with her, let alone look at her.”
“You misunderstand me,” Ryezan said and dropped his hand from his chest, grinning so wide it showed his very white teeth and sharp fangs. “I, too, am mated to a human.”
I felt my eyes widen at that admission.
“In fact, she comes from the same human settlement as your female.”
Every part of my body tightened and tensed at his words.
“What is this you speak of?” Azar snapped, but he did straighten to his full height and used his hold on my hip to pull my chest more firmly against his back, as if he was afraid to not have me close.
“What I mean is exactly what I say. I’ve seen my female, my Cord is awakened, and I wish to seek more information about my mate from yours.”
Azar didn’t say anything and instead let out a low, savage sound.
“I know nothing about her kind. She’s surrounded by males of her species,” he hissed and bared his teeth as if the very idea pissed him off. “I don’t want to frighten her by killing them all in order to take her. But I will. I’ll tear them limb from limb, then light their lifeless bodies on fire with my breath to get to her.”
I shivered at his vicious words.
“Tread lightly. You frighten my female, and that’s punishable by death in my eyes.”
Ryezan held his hands out, and that smirk was back in place. “I mean no disrespect. I just want information on how to safely get my female. And I’d prefer not to frighten her in the process.”