Chapter Forty-One

Chloe

One month later.

"Congratulations again, Mr. Governor," Silas said as we all landed outside the family house.

Caleb blushed, while beside him, Shi beamed proudly. "I still can't believe you sprung that on me!"

Beside me, Silas shook his head. "It was sprung on me as well! I didn't expect Dad to step down like that and in the middle of a Council meeting, nonetheless!"

I noted the way he called their father "Dad." It was the first time I'd heard him say that. Something had changed in the old man. I was too new to properly understand, though I wondered if it was the way in which Silas finally stood up to him and called him out instead of just avoiding the brewing confrontation.

He still didn't like me. In fact, he often left the room when I was there. But he no longer called his son a traitor. And instead of insulting me, he just didn't talk to me. It might not be a complete reversal, but that would take time.

The fact I had actually been a spy hadn't helped either. But a cautionary truce had been established, and I did my best to respect it. Now that the elder dragon had officially handed control of the house over to Silas, it would hopefully improve. I knew Silas had a number of things he longed to implement immediately, including removing some of his more anti-human-prejudiced relatives who were in positions of power.

I didn't worry. It would take time. For now, however, I had a core group who treated me like a real person.

"Things are truly changing," Caleb said as Shi clung to his side, much as I did to Silas. "Finally."

"Yes," Silas agreed, glancing down at me. "Finally."

I smiled up at him, extremely happy and proud he was able to make his mark. If there was anything I knew about Silas, besides how much I loved him, it was how good a man he was. The house was in the right arms to carry it forward. And with Caleb now installed as governor of the Occupied Territories, things were looking up indeed.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked, looking around.

"Now, we fly to the mainland," Caleb said. "And decide where to establish our seat of power. There's a lot of work that needs to be done. A lot. We're going to be very busy over the next while."

"Yes, you are," Silas agreed. "As are we. Though, not to the same extent."

"What about right this moment, though?" I asked. "Do we celebrate?"

Caleb started nodding, and opened his mouth to agree, but before he could, Shi got up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. The new governor's mouth slammed shut.

"We, uh, we've got some things to attend to," he said, covering a cough. "We'll talk later before we head out. Okay?"

Shi was already tugging him into the house.

"What was that all about?"

I stared at Silas. "Are you really that dumb?"

He looked at me. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you big, lovable loser. Shi is very proud of her mate. She wants to show him that."

"Yeah, I—Ohhh," Silas said, shaking his head as he stared after his siblings.

"Yes." I waited for him to turn back around, my arms crossed under my chest, purposefully pushing my breasts up.

Silas noticed immediately, his eyes locked on.

"Just so you know," I said. "He's not the only one with a proud mate. A mate who would like to show just how proud she is."

That time, Silas got the hint immediately. He grabbed my hand and hauled me after him toward his bedroom.

We were barely through the door before he was pawing at me, sliding the forest green glani over my head and tossing it on the floor, his hands running up and down my body, the thick, meaty grip swallowing my waist as he lifted me up, so I could wrap my legs around him.

"There's still one thing left to do," he growled, lowering me onto the bed and climbing on top of me as I slid into the middle of it.

"What's that?"

"I want to make you my mate," he said softly. "Officially. To properly link us."

"You mean a scale bond," I said nervously. "You want to bond with me."

He nodded slowly, eyes thick and heavy as he locked gazes with me. "I want you, Chloe. For life. I'll have no other."

I licked my lips, stalling for a bit of time by lifting his shirt up over his head.

"You're nervous," he said.

"Yes." I stroked his cheek, feeling the fuzz of his stubble under my fingertips. "It's not that I don't want to be with you. I love you, Silas."

"I love you, too," he said, the emotion pouring from his eyes as he looked down at me. "With everything I am and will be, I am yours."

"Then take me," I whispered, uttering the words before I could second guess myself.

Silas had told me about the scale bond a few days earlier. Letting me know what I would be getting into. I'd known it was the next step. Akin to getting married. My body wanted him. My heart couldn't live without him.

But it was still terrifying to link myself to someone in a way that could only be undone by death. Marriage had those words, but the words could be reversed.

A scale bond could not.

I stared in nervous trepidation as his arm shifted slightly, scales replacing skin. As he did that, he used a claw from his other hand to peel one of the scales back, pulling it from his own body. A tiny flick of his eyes was the only indication of the pain.

"Are you ready?" he asked, holding the sale in his hands. It was the size of the top of a soda can.

"Yes," I whispered, arching my back up toward him. "Make me yours, Silas. Become mine. Forever."

"Forever," he whispered and pressed the scale to the skin on my centerline just below my breasts.

White-hot pain lanced out from the point of impact as it adhered to my body instantly. Every muscle in my body locked up against my will. I couldn't even scream.

Silas held me close, his body against mine, our skin touching.

And then, just like that, it was over. I collapsed down into the bed, breathing hard, shaken from the pain.

"Hi," Silas said, and I gasped.

"You … I can … your mind. Your heart," I stammered. "I can feel you."

It was like a warm blanket to snuggle into on a cold winter's day buried in the back of my mind. Comforting. Caressing. A promise that no longer had to be spoken.

Silas beamed, and my brain flooded with his joy. A joy my heart echoed, and a moment later, his smile grew.

"Now you're mine," he growled possessively. "For now and forever. I claim you."

I shivered as the intensity of his words poured through our newfound bond. He meant it. With every fiber of his being, he gave himself to me.

"Make me yours," I said, as his arousal threaded its way in as well.

"With pleasure," he chuckled, sliding his way down between my legs.

As my eyes rolled back into my head from the first flicks of his tongue across my throbbing clit, I smiled to myself.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. That I had a place to call my own.

A home.

Between my legs, Silas abruptly froze. Through our newfound link, I felt his shock and uncertainty.

"What is it?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows.

His eyes rose above my pubic mound in what would otherwise have been a comically slow progression. I waited for him to make eye contact, but he didn't. He was staring elsewhere.

"Silas. You're scaring me," I said, unnerved by his intensity. "What is it?"

"You don't feel it?" he asked.

"Feel what? All I can feel is you and your surprise." I frowned. "What do you feel?"

He looked up at me at last, sliding one hand up my leg, an incredible grin spreading across his face. Joy and happiness unlike anything I'd experienced poured through into my mind as his hand came to a stop over my stomach.

"I feel both of you," he whispered incredulously.

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