Page 22 of Hunter

“What else?” she prompted, eager now to know exactly what mating a dragon amounted to. She very much liked what she’d heard and felt so far.

Hunter smiled. “Once we are mated, we will be able to sense each other’s emotions through that same link. To know whether either of us is in pain. Whether we are feeling pleasure.” His voice had become gruff.

Zoey felt the heat bloom in her cheeks. “But we aren’t mated yet, and perhaps we never will be, so how was it possible for me to have heard your dragon— Hunter?” she questioned warily when she heard the unmistakable thunder of a growl vibrating in his chest. “What did I say?” she prompted as Hunter once again began to shift into a fierce dragon in front of her eyes.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hunter wasunable to prevent the pained roar from leaving the huge barrel chest of his dragon. Or keep from throwing back his dragon head as he continued to roar.

His fury caused the sky to darken before streaks of lightning reverberated across that wide expanse to fork down into the now roughly churning sea. A fierce wind howled around the two of them.

What had Zoeysaid?

She had suggested— Put forward the idea— No, she hadsaidoutrightthat “perhaps they never would be” mates.

Hunter’s dragon couldn’t accept that.

Hunter didn’t like it either.

Zoey was his one true mate. His only one. Without her, he would?—

“Hunter, what did I say?” Zoey shouted to be heard above the howling of the wind as she stepped forward to wrap her armsabout one of his dragon’s front legs. “Speak to me, dammit,” she demanded. “Tell me what I did wrong?”

The way she had stepped forward to grasp hold of his dragon said she was completely fearless, even when confronted once again with his towering, and this time furious, dragon.

It was because of this evidence of Zoey’s courage that Hunter knew he could never tell her what would happen to him if she refused their mating. He would not, could not, use any coercion to force her to become his mate. Even if her not doing so would be the end of him.

Because once a dragon shifter met his one true mate, fell in love with her, if she then refused to mate with him, his life, as both dragon and human, would slowly drain of all color, until one day it was completely black and white. Without the grounding of their mate and their mental and physical connection, Hunter would eventually go completely insane and have to be put down by his brothers.

Zoey had already spent the last twelve years of her life, since her parents died, not having the freedom to make any choices of her own. Perhaps when it came to her university course, because Hunter couldn’t see a man like Edgar Wallis approving of an art course.

But even then, Wallis had probably only allowed it because it had suited him for his ward to live in London rather than having the inconvenience of her presence in Cornwall when she left her boarding school when she was eighteen. Hunter had no doubt that, where possible, Wallis had engineered Zoey’s life so that it was always of the least inconvenience to himself.

In those circumstances, it would be unfair of Hunter to ask Zoey to sacrifice the rest of her life, to mate with him, because of the repercussions to him if she didn’t.

And because he had already fallen in love with her courage and beauty, although he doubted she would believe that when they had only met a matter of hours ago. Hunter and his dragonknewshewas his mate, and they had both fallen in love with her.

As a human, Zoey, if she ever did fall in love with him, was going to need more time.

Do not do this to yourself, brother,Ranulf warned through their mental link.

I have to, Hunter answered him, knowing his brother would have picked up on his mental and emotional anguish.Otherwise, I will be no better than Wallis.

The mental link the two of you have says the mating has already begun, Ranulf protested.

If that truly is the case, then I have to stop it from going any further until, or if, Zoey feels the same way,he said grimly.

You—

No!Hunter ended the mental link with his brother.

Hunter?Zoey’s voice sounded uncertain through their own newly formed mental link.Who were you talking to?

MINE!his dragon roared.

Is that— Is that your dragon again?Zoey sounded wondrous.

YOU ARE MINE, MATE, Hunter’s dragon roared furiously.MINE!

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