Page 46 of The Dragon's Flamebound Mate

“The closer your clutch gets to hatching, the more your beasts are going to want to get out—especially yours, Ash. Eagles like to soar around their nests, and so it’s natural instinct.”

His explanation made sense, and while no one had ever mentioned it before, looking back, I’d seen it happen with other fathers. I just didn’t know that was what was going on at the time.

“Why don’t you two go and do such. I’ll go inside and sit with the eggs.”

“Will you tell them stories?” Zayne was big into everyone taking on that task.

“No, but I’ll tell them all about dental hygiene and how important it is to their health.”

Zayne chuckled. “Yeah, you’re going to be their favorite.”

Vexis went inside to be with our clutch, and Zayne and I got undressed and walked into the light of the setting sun. It was my favorite time of day, especially when looking over the lake. The way the water caught the light was something I wished could fully be captured on film, but every time I took a picture, it failed to come close to the beauty of standing or flying there.

I took my eagle first, soaring around Zayne as his dragon took over. It had been a while since the two of us were able to shift together and it wasn’t work-related. I wasn’t sure exactly what we were going to do—if we were going to hunt or race or just take in the sights. My plan had been to let Zayne lead on that one.

But as he took to the air, instead he hovered without leaving his spot, and I caught the glint in his eye. He wanted to play. I was there for that. Flying had always been fun for me, and when it became work, some of that was dampened. This was exactly what I needed.

My eagle took off as fast as his wings could carry me. I didn’t think about where I was going, but I ended up circling the lake. It made sense. This time of day, the only place I’d rather be was in my mate’s arms.

My mate, following behind, swooped down close to the water—close enough that my shadow had to have scared all of the fish. He had such agility and grace as he navigated his way around the lake. He distracted me, and I slowed, his beast nearly catching up to mine. That wouldn’t do.

I took a sharp left and cut between some trees and shot straight up, higher and higher and higher, till I broke through the treeline.

My clever mate was there waiting for me.

And because I could, I landed on his back. I never in a million years would’ve done that to any other shifter. But this was my mate, and he enjoyed my silly antics as much as I did.

From there, we flew in through the mountains toward the campus, with me as his passenger. I doubted anyone noticed his stowaway, but if they did, Zayne was going to get either high-fives or knowing glances.

I stayed firmly in place, even when he did a loop. That was until a movement in the brush caught all of my eagle’s attention.

It was a hare.

There were a lot of things my beast could ignore. A hare wasn’t one of them.

I dashed for it, swooping down and picking it up with ease, and then landed in a clearing, ending its life just as my mate landed. There were times when the chase was fun, but in this case, my eagle was on a mission, one to give our mate a gift.

He landed a few feet from me, and my eagle picked up the hare in his talons, laying it before Zayne’s dragon. He devoured the entire thing in one bite. I couldn’t do that—needing to not eat the fur and bones for the sake of my digestive system—but his beast was different. He could eat it all and be fine on the other side.

And when he raised his head, he let out a breath of fire in a move that reminded me less of a fierce dragon threat and far more of purring.

Not to be outdone with my offering, he took off, not coming back until he had a fox for me to enjoy, and enjoy it I did as he’d had his fill. There was enough to share, and he devoured the last of it. There was something so primal about the act, and it scratched an itch for my eagle.

The sun was completely down when we landed back home after our antics. We took our skins, intertwined our fingers, and walked inside.

“We should do that more often.” I kissed his shoulder.

“Agreed.”

“And if you have any questions about gum health, the first place…” Vexis hadn’t been exaggerating. He was, in fact, giving our eggs a full-on dissertation on the importance of flossing.

It was all I could do to contain my giggles.

“At least they’ll have a pretty smile.” Zayne whispered in my ear.

“Or they just had a really good nap in there.”

It was probably the latter.

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