She shatters around me, crying out my name, and I follow with a roar that’s not quite human.
Fire bursts behind my eyes.
Her scent sears itself into my memory.
I bend my head, fangs descended, and I bite the place where her neck and shoulders meet.
Her blood hits my palette, sliding down my throat like the sweet nectar it is.
My soul stitches to hers, thread by blazing thread.
And the Dragon?
He roars.
Because we are home now.
Because she is ours.
Forever.
“I’m yours. Body. Soul. Fire and flame. I’ve waited my whole damn life for you.”
My voice breaks at the end.
It’s not just desire anymore—it’s everything.
And she sees it.
I know she does.
“W-what happened?” she asks eons later.
“I marked you,” I whisper, forehead pressed to hers. “Not just with my body. With my fire. With my soul. You’re my mate, Casey. My Dragon’s rose.”
“I don’t understand. How is this real? How are you real?”
Her lips tremble. But her hands are steady as they rise to cup my face, her thumbs brushing beneath my eyes.
I let him out a little bit then. My beast. He is so eager to greet our mate.
And Casey? She doesn’t flinch from the Dragon. She leans in.
“Oh, Zeke,” she says. “I see him!”
And just like that, the last tether holding me together snaps.
I kiss her.
So fucking grateful and humbled.
I’m not careful.
My kiss is claiming. It’s raw. Possessive. Reverent.
It’s forever.
My fire curls around us both and my cock hardens still inside her.