Page 20 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
“Marco, please.” My voice was thick with a tone I had never used before. It didn’t sound like me but it made Marco shudder slightly, a sharp exhale leaving his lips as a tortured sound escaped his throat. He was fighting his own dragon, and at this point, I wasn’t sure who was going to win.
But then it didn’t matter.
Henry and Ledger collided, the crash causing a thunder-like boom to fill the air. Marco immediately turned on instinct and I used the distraction to slip past him, trying to get to Ledger. It was all that mattered right now. It was also the fastest I had ever moved in my life. I saw Ledger’s realization that I was free from Marco’s grip as Henry threw him back, dislodging him from their collision.
My mate was back on me in a heartbeat, his kiss hard and unrelenting, tasting like my blood and far different than his normal relaxed nature. I pulled away, tearing his top slightly, unable to reach his neck to mark him. I wouldn’t risk being separated again though, not before I could mark him.
My lips brushed over his muscular chest and he hissed in reaction when I suddenly bit down hard, my teeth sinking into his flesh without any hesitancy. My skin rolled with heat as his hand slipped into my hair, a low groan leaving his throat as my magic wrapped around the two of us.
All at once, everything collided. His blood. His magic. His dragon. All of it was mine. Our creatures and magic were becoming one in an unbreakable blood connection that lit my entire body up like gasoline on a fire.
I could taste his blood flowing across my tongue as his entire body tensed before a wave of pleasure coated our bond, creating a nearly euphoric high to invade my body. Only when the connection was completed did I pull back, a sense of relief filling me as I ran my tongue over the wound.
My phoenix let out a soft pleased sound at the sense of relief and contentment that rolled through our bond at seeing the mark I’d left on him. Ledger’s dragon produced a near purr that came from his chest as he easily picked me up, my arms wrapping around his neck as I nuzzled against his throat, feeling like I could breathe once again.
Ledger was mine.
It was about a minute later that I realized what I’d done.EverythingI’d done and how I’d acted. My cheeks heated at the silence behind us, and I shrank further against Ledger, who was brushing his lips gently against our mating mark, his relaxed attitude making me feeling far better. It was almost like a shield from the reality behind us and the consequences I could face for having acted so rashly.
That innate fear of being punished or having my mates mad at me snuck in. It shouldn’t have existed. They had never done anything to warrant it, but I had been taught that rash actions usually resulted in pain from my mother or Pastor Malcolm, so it was almost impossible to not be worried.
“Holy fuck.”
Despite the slight amusement in Anani’s statement, his voice smoothing over my ears like water and making my skin break out in chills, I was scared to turn around and face the others.
I had growled at him.
What was wrong with me?
* * *
“I toldyou that it was a pointless endeavor, trying to stop that.” Croy’s accented voice filled the space as I continued to keep my head tucked down. The only thing that was slowly convincing me to consider looking up was the lack of judgement or anger I felt through my other three bonds. There was a lot there, but anger wasn’t one of them, and that made me feel safer about facing the consequences of my actions.
“You both need to relax,” Ledger suddenly said, his voice filled with an even, smooth confidence, as Henry let out a low, near growl at his command. “You are scaring the hell out of her.” His words had Henry’s growl cutting off as I felt worry fill our bond. Honestly, Ledger wasn’t wrong.
“Sweetheart?” Henry’s voice was soft and edged in concern, and I looked up to find him standing closer. His gray eyes were filled with concern, and his dragon had gone silent.
“Are you mad at me? Is Marco?” I whispered softly, my chest squeezing tightly as I felt panic begin to edge in.
“No,” Henry immediately stated, his eyes flaring with surprise. “Not mad, Maya.”
I could tell he was telling the truth, and I put my head up slightly more, my gaze moving over his shoulder to where Marco stood watching all of this. I knew Atlas wasn’t mad at me, although concern was evident there, and the others weren’t… but Marco? I couldn’t read his expression, and not knowing how someone felt was far scarier than knowing, even if it was bad.
The concept of him possibly being mad at me had my head feeling dizzy and light.
“Marco.” Atlas’s voice was harder than normal.
Marco blinked, seeming to shake something as his eyes went from black to green almost immediately. I let out a small, concerned sound as he neared, approaching slowly and cupping my jaw, his gaze searching my face. I could tell his dragon was upset I hadn’t listened to him, but Marco himself seemed both confused and honestly a bit turned on. The combination had me feeling a bit safer as I offered him a shy look, affection and worry filling our bond. There was another emotion there was well, one that I wasn’t familiar with from his end, and I didn’t know how to describe it.
“Maya, baby girl, I promise you I’m not mad.”
“Okay,” I whispered and then looked over at Anani, who was watching all of this with surprise. I spoke a bit louder. “Sorry for growling at you, Anani.”
His eyes sparked with amusement. “I liked it.”
Oh.
“You should know this is probably going to happen more often,” Croy pointed out, his voice settling something in my soul as he broke the moment and my fear of them being mad disappeared completely. “Her magic is trying to catch up with all of her mating bonds before she goes into heat.” His voice turned into a slight growl on the last word before resuming its normal smoothness. “We need to check with the physician, but I am almost positive that for a phoenix, marking her mates is essential to the process before going into heat. At least from what I’ve read.”
