Page 101 of Wings of Shadow
The shrill ring of her phone cuts through the moment. Clarissa stiffens, fumbles for the device, her movements uncharacteristically clumsy.
“Sam?” Her voice wavers, uncertainty flooding through. Then her body goes rigid, as if electricity has coursed through her. “What? When?” Her fingers grip mine with desperate strength. “No, I’m... I’m not at home. I’m with Kaisner.”
I watch the emotions flicker across her face—guilt, apprehension, determination. Her throat works as she swallows hard.
“Sam, listen,” she says after a beat, her voice steadier now. “There’s something I need to tell you. About Kaisner and me. We’re... we’re mated. He claimed me. And there’s more. He shifted into his dragon last night.”
She falls silent, listening. Her knuckles whiten where they grip the phone. “I know, I know it’s a lot to take in. But please, can you break the news to Nik gently? It’ll be so much better coming from you.”
When she finally ends the call, her face has drained of color, leaving her almost translucent in the morning light.
“Nik’s back,” she says, the words falling like stones. “He just landed at the private airstrip.”
I tug her near, pressing my lips to her temple, sensing her pulse beneath my touch. Her scent—jasmine and rain and something uniquely her—fills my senses. “How do you want us to handle this?”
She exhales slowly, the air shuddering from her lungs. “I think... we should give him a day to process. Meet with him tomorrow. Is that okay?”
Every instinct screams for immediate action—to claim, to mark territory, to establish dominance. But years of hard-won control assert themselves. This is not about me. This is about her, about what she needs.
“Of course, my love,” I murmur against her hair. “Whatever you think is best.”
Sunlight stretches across the room, brightening the silence between us. It feels like the world dares not intrude on what we’ve become.
I guide her inside, our steps slow as we make our way to the bed. Clarissa lies beside me, the light gilding her skin, casting amber tones over the curves I’ve come to memorize. I don’t move. I simply watch her, committing every breath, every rise and fall of her chest, to memory. She is still. Peaceful. Mine.
I should get up, prepare for what’s coming—but I don’t. Not yet.
Instead, I shift closer, my fingers brushing the slope of her shoulder. She stirs, murmuring my name in that sleepy, honey-drenched voice that undoes me every time. “Kai…”
“Ich bin hier, mein Leben,” I whisper, lips trailing against her temple. “Always.”
The morning unfolds slowly. I feed her grapes from a silver tray, her laughter soft as I kiss her ankle, knee, and thigh. Each touch is a prayer, every caress a pledge.
We bathe together in the cedarwood-scented water, her fragrance mingling with mine as I wash her hair, untangling it with newfound patience. She calls me ridiculous, and I smirk.
By midday, we share Drachenstein wine, aged in fire-touched oak. She smiles at the first sip, leans in for more, tasting it from my lips. We toast nothing and everything. Her bravery, my survival, the flame between us.
Evening finds her barefoot in the solarium, wrapped in one of my robes, her silhouette glowing in twilight. I watch her, a pang in my chest. She is the reason I’m whole, powerful… and terrified, because now I have something to lose.
A low thrum hums beneath my skin, the burden of duty and the coming confrontation with Nikolaas. Our bond, my shift—it will be seen as a threat.
And isn’t it, really?
Clarissa turns, sensing the restlessness in my silence. “Kai,” she says, crossing to me. Her hand rests over my heart. “Please don’t shut me out.”
I pull her into my arms, burying my face in her neck. “I’m trying to hold onto this moment,” I murmur. “After tonight, everything changes.”
She looks up at me, eyes steady. “Then let’s make it count.”
And we do. I take her, not in haste, but with ceremony. I mark her with my body, my vow. She is mine. My mate. My queen.
Later, as she sleeps curled against me, I watch the stars. The pulse of the dragon still burns beneath my skin.
Tomorrow, I’ll face Nikolaas Draken, the so-called Last Dragon Shifter. The golden boy whose claim to supremacy I’ve just shattered by simply existing. But tonight... tonight belongs to us.
Hours drift as Clarissa sleeps beside me. I stare at the ornate ceiling, shadows dancing on intricate plasterwork. Her peaceful face undoes me—this woman who not only accepted the beast within me but embraced it. Loved it as part of herself.
I won’t let her suffer for loving me.
