Page 106 of The Heart of the Dragon

I nodded. She had that right and no one would blame her. "I really don't want to hurt you," I repeated, both for her benefit and mine. "But I might need a minute."

For several rough beats of my heart, she said nothing, did nothing, as we stared at each other. Until she finally turned her back on me and fled.

Taking a slow and controlled breath to stop my insides from shaking, I locked my dragon down much harder than normal.

"We will not chase her," I said aloud firmly, making my position clear in my own mind. But in the next breath the truth of what we both felt in that moment came out.

"Not yet."

Chapter

Forty

Rose

I ranfrom the kitchen to the bathroom and barely got the door locked before I sank to the floor.

My entire body pulsed with anger and fear and—and need.

I was so disgusted with myself I could do nothing more than cover my face and shake my head. Despite the rage building in my chest, I could still feel the heat he'd caused to pound between my thighs.

This mating heat thing was getting worse, and it scared the hell out of me every time it flared. The words to beg for more had been hovering on my lips and I'd barely held them back.

Now was not the time for this.

Never was a good time for a magical mating call as far as I was concerned. I could barely wrap my head around the fact I might not be human. It didn't seem to matter that I'd been presentedwith the truth, and it had explained so much. Inside, I was still me, and whatever happened, I didn't want to lose that.

He, and everyone we'd come across from this world threw around that Omega word like it was some big thing I had to kowtow to. But I still didn't fully understand it. One minute it sounded a hell of a lot like servitude, and the next it came out like reverence and respect.

Either way, I needed a clear mind to not only grasp what he expected of me, but to also figure out everything else. I grabbed my head and bent at the waist until I'd pushed my head between my knees. The overwhelm was real.

"Rose, are you okay?" Magnus' voice came soft, but clear from the other side of the door. Even with the thick slab of wood between us I could feel the vibration of his voice pulsing through my soul. It would be so easy to lay this all on him. Make it all his responsibility. Blaming him, however, it wouldn't be fair. He'd had this situation forced on him just as much as I did.

I'd made my decision to come here on my own. Even after he'd warned me about his uncle. And Kitra had done her best to explain what I would go through during this heat. I'd just chosen to tune half of it out as a true fairytale. Now I knew better. So I just needed to find those big girl panties of mine and fasten them firmly in place. There had to be a way through this.

Had to be.

I took a shallow breath and pushed it roughly through my lips. "I'm fine. Just give me a minute."

He didn't say anything else, but I sensed his presence. I had to admit there was something comforting about the fact he didn'tseem to be going anywhere. This may have been his house, but that didn't mean he couldn't run. Or fly.

I turned and placed my hand on the warm wood where I imagined he sat on the other side. My fingers tingled, whether from his power or something of mine. For better or worse, we were in this together.

Maybe I was a romantic sap after all. My parents—I hesitated—my guardians. My lip curled at that. I didn't like how that sounded. They were my damned parents. Who else would have stayed their entire lives at my side?

Anyone indebted to a king...

I frowned, shoving that thought out of my head, choosing to focus on the flesh-and-blood man on the other side of this door. He needed my focus whether he believed it or not. What I'd seen had been real and that was enough for me. It had also shaken me to my core. A small smile quirked at the corner of my mouth. My belief was enough for me, but his confidence in me...and the fact that even amidst his skepticism he'd gone along with my plan counted in ways I couldn't explain.

Mates.

That word again. I didn't know whether to be thankful for it or curl my lip at it.

Whatever. Things were changing too fast to analyze every little thing. Maybe it was time to lean into it instead of trying to disprove it. Magic was simply science that hadn't been proven yet. That had been my motto for as long as I could remember. The way my parents grasped their magic without question had influenced my entire life. Science or not.

I pushed to my feet, ignoring the slight shake in my thighs. I was stronger than this, and I wasn't going to let that damned king ruin my life or anyone else’s. My idea was solid, and if we were lucky, no one would see it coming. It had to work because I didn't think I could take seeing Magnus murdered again in front of me.

A shiver worked down my spine at the memory and my stomach churned in response. I'd be lucky if I made it through all of this without a severe case of PTSD.

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