Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

“Fucking hell! What the fuck have you done?”

His angry snarls were lost on anybody but himself as he moved down the empty hallway with long powerful strides.

“And you can shut the fuck up,” he snarled to his purring dragon, who of course ignored him.

This was all his dragon’s fault.

His father had said that one day he’d meet his mate, but Jazdon hadn’t believed him. After years passed with no attachment formed to any dragon, Jazdon had assumed his father was wrong.

Until now.

Now of all times and of all beings! A fucking human! Although, if he had to pick a human— and it appeared that his dragon had—Finn wasn’t that bad. Not bad at all. In fact, the man was hands down the sexiest thing on earth.

Okay…that was his dragon talking.

He made a sound in the back of his throat. What the fuck was he going to do with a human mate? Still, the thought of Finn leaving and never seeing him again made an ache start up in his chest. Okay, maybe it wasn’t only the dragon then. Because he was damned sure that there was no way in hell he was going to let Finn go, not now.

Change him.The niggling thought swept in and no matter how hard he tried to ignore the crazy notion, he couldn’t. It stayed there like a bit of forbidden fruit hanging just within his reach. Could he? Could he really change Finn into a dragon? It hadn’t been done in over a century and the last time had only been because… well, because a human had strayed into their kingdom and spotted dragons.

History was repeating itself.

Making a quick left, he entered the library and quietly closed the door before advancing into the massive room. Book-lined shelves reached to the top of a cathedral ceiling. Ladders stretched every so often to make the books easily accessible to shifters while in their human forms. Not only did books cover the walls, but numerous shelves filled the space, creating aisles to wander through. Thick dark leather chairs and couches along with low wooden tables were placed throughout the area on a burgundy carpet.

“Merlon?”

“Jaz?”

A head poked from behind a nearby bookshelf. The thatch of bright red hair fell over an attractive forehead before Merlon stepped out and shook the hair from his face. The name was a human classic from a fairytale but fit the dragon perfectly. Merlon had once been a human. The man was now a created dragon shifter, bitten and turned by Vargla. Once the human had realized he was a shifter, the name John had seemed so mundane. Hence the reason he now went by Merlon.

“What brings you here?” Merlon flipped the duster in his hand and cocked his head.

“Was it painful?”

“What?” A line creased Merlon’s forehead.

“When Vargla changed you into a dragon, did it hurt?”

“No, not really.”

“I remember you screaming.”

“Well, that was because I had…um…” Merlon waved a hand at his own crotch. “You know.”

He’d orgasmed. If that the worst of it, then it didn’t sound so bad.

“Do you regret it?”

“Sometimes.” Something sad swept through Merlon’s green gaze. “Why? Are you thinking of changing the human?”

“No,” he said quickly and then sighed. “It’s just that Finn got into the training room.”

Merlon’s smile widened. “Ah, a curious one. Just like me.”

Jazdon rake a hand through his hair. “Yeah, could you…”

“Talk to him?”

“Yeah.”

“You want me to tell him about the dragon birds and the bees?” Merlon’s smile grew.

Jazdon cleared his throat and then nodded. Why not? Okay perhaps it was the coward’s way, but what could it hurt? Merlon could give Finn a taste of home, so to speak, or human to human anyway, as well as let him know that being a dragon shifter wasn’t all bad.

“I’ll do it, for a price.”

He frowned. The little shit never had considered that Jazdon was royalty and Merlon never addressed him as anything other than Jaz. He pressed his mouth flat and eyed the former human.

“I could order you.”

“You could, but you won’t.”

Jazdon sighed. “True.”

“So? Do we have a deal?” Merlon pulled the duster between his fingers.

“What’s your price?”

“Tell Vargla to take me flying.”

That was new. Every dragon had wings, whether they were created or not so he was a bit confused. “You go flying all the time.”

“I said have Vargla take me flying.”

Wait…ooooooh. He finally understood. “Like a date?”

“Exactly.”

He studied the sexy human. Merlon was hot, but not as hot as Finn. “Why don’t you ask him out yourself?”

“Gee,” Merlon snapped his fingers. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Oh.”

So Vargla wanted nothing to do with the cute little former human? Jazdon wondered why that was. Suddenly he thought that maybe he knew why. If Vargla reacted to Merlon the way Jazdon reacted to Finn he could see why Vargla would keep his distance, but for over a century? That was downright crazy. He couldn’t be away from Finn that long. In fact, he was already starting to sweat from the separation.

And you left him, his dragon inserted, and Jazdon clenched his teeth to keep still.

“So, is it a deal?”

“Yes.”

****

“I won’t do it!”

“You will.” Jazdon scowled at Vargla.

“No.”

“What is the big deal? Merlon’s cute and funny,” he cajoled.

“I know,” Vargla growled.

“So why do you have a problem? It’s just one date. I’m not asking you to mate with him.”

Vargla let out a hard breath and threw up his hands.

“I need you to do this for me.” Jazdon dropped down into one of the chairs in Vargla’s quarters and stretched out his legs. Lifting his arms, he cupped the back of his head with laced fingers and studied his friend. “If Merlon doesn’t talk to Finn and calm him down, this could end badly.”

“How so?” Vargla squinted at him and Jazdon could see no give in the shifter’s gaze.

“My father wants Finn gone.”

Vargla’s mouth flattened. “And you know that if you tell the king you’re Finn’s mate, he won’t let that happen with a human.”

Jazdon gnashed his teeth. “He can’t stop it now. But I’d have to leave here and that’s not what I want. Anyway, why won’t you take Merlon? It’s just flying.” Jaz looked down to inspect his nails. “Of course, if you’re really not interested, I can ask someone else. Maybe Neo—I’ve seen the way he looks at Merlon.”

“Fine.” Vargla snapped. “I’ll do it.” He tossed open the door to stride from the room.

Jazdon let his grin stretch. He knew he was going to win the argument before he’d even entered Vargla’s quarters.

While they were friends and argued quite often, he was in charge. Plus, Vargla’s dragon was apparently more than a little jealous. And once Merlon talked to Finn, everything was going to be easy.

He rubbed his hands together. He would step in, and Finn would be happy to be his mate.

After all, who wouldn’t want to marry a prince?