Chapter 7

7

Akai

W hen I entered the house, the toasty marshmallow aroma came in with the wind through the open door. It followed me everywhere. Into the kitchen. The living room. Even into the bathroom when I had to pee.

I knew the only open windows in the house were in my bedroom, where I kept a high window half-open for fresh air at night. And in the living room I'd opened the front window halfway during the early afternoon when I watched TV and devoured the leftover pizza.

Did campfire scent stick to hair and clothes?

While sitting in the living room, I heard the shower come on in the master bedroom. It seemed odd because even though I'd only been here a short time, I'd noticed Danon took showers in the mornings.

I wanted to ask him more about why he didn't shift around others, but didn't dare. I'd already guessed he had a mean old dragon inside him that was unruly. Or maybe it was uglier than the rest. It probably embarrassed him.

I was his mate now, no matter what I felt about that, eventually I'd see everything. I could be patient.

After four days of living here, I was already getting antsy. I wasn't sure what to do with myself being home alone all day. I needed to find something I liked. Games. Puzzles. A hobby. He didn't live rich, but Danon said he was wealthy now. He'd get me anything I wanted.

Danon came out of the hallway in casual cargo pants and a white t-shirt. His dark hair was slicked back, his white whiskers still wet. The toasted marshmallow scent returned. It had stuck on him, despite his shower.

Since I had snooped in his hidden photos, I could better see the contours of his face behind his rough hairy beard. He was nice-looking when young, but with a few years of maturity, I imagined he might actually be handsome. My papa, who'd had me later in his life, was still very handsome, and he was fifty.

What was I thinking? I was a slave. Whether my master was handsome or not shouldn't matter.

Danon walked past me behind the couch and into the kitchen, ignoring me. I wanted to get up and follow him. Not to spy, but to see what he'd make himself for dinner.

The urge to shadow him tugged almost viciously. My heart rate sped up. My entire body succumbed to waves of warmth, including my hole which felt suddenly wet. I didn't want, I needed. Needed to see him right now.

As if controlled by some invading mind, I jumped up and went to the kitchen.

Danon was making a ham sandwich. It looked yummy. He looked good, too. I couldn't help my gaze from roving down his body from the back of his head, where his hair was solid black, down his back and over the muscular curve of his ass. My master was in great shape.

"Did you want one?" Danon asked without turning.

My throat had gone dry. I croaked. "One what?"

"A ham sandwich."

"Yes, please." I wasn't hungry, but I wanted something to occupy me other than these weird feelings.

"Cheese?"

"Yes."

As he made the sandwich, his long fingers moved gracefully to spread the mayo, then with elegance as he layered the meat and cheese. He had interesting hands, slender but big, strong. I was so small compared to him.

When I was about sixteen, I used to lie awake in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to be an alpha. Looking down on everyone because I'd be tall. Lifting heavy objects over my head as if they weighed nothing at all. It had to be a very superior feeling, and many of the alphas I knew in school acted on that, wanting to take charge and tell others what to do. It was the alphas who got into all the physical fights, not the omegas.

Danon turned abruptly, thrusting my plate at me. I looked up at him. It was as if for the first time I was realizing the true predicament I was in. I was mated to an alpha. A dragon. I could do nothing to change it. I was weak. I couldn't even shift.

I took the plate, still staring up.

"Well, is there anything else you want?" Danon asked.

I realized he couldn't move past me without bumping me. I also realized something else.

"It's you."

"What?"

"You smell like toasted marshmallows."

His mouth went slack. The pickle on his plate jiggled. "It must be coming in from outside."

"No. It's you."

He gave a huff, then set his plate down and put both palms on the counter, leaning in. "I thought I had more time."

"For what?"

"Before my fall rut." He huffed and shook his head. "I'll leave tomorrow. You won't have to worry."

I gulped. Afraid I'd drop my own plate, I set it aside. "You're going into rut?"

"I wasn't sure. The pre-symptoms started today. That usually gives me a week to prepare. No one is able to notice my scent until it's started."

But I'd noticed. "Why is it starting early?"

He shrugged.

"Is it because I'm here?" I was feeling bold, also curious. I surprised myself by not being more freaked out. I needed to know these things. My own body was reacting in strange ways.

"I wouldn't have thought it mattered." He turned his head to look at me. "Maybe it does."

Sage said he was claimed. Danon didn't react to Sage. But I was unclaimed. And now his mate. This was new. To both of us.

"I'm having symptoms, too." My voice tripped over itself, soft, unsure.

"Great. Maybe I should leave tonight."

I stepped back. "I've never had a heat before. But the symptoms might be for that."

"Ruts in alpha dragons can trigger omega heats, but usually only for a mate or someone compatible. I'm sorry. I should have been more careful."

I couldn't help the tremble that fluttered inside me. "What does this mean? We're reacting to each other. Is that normal?"

"It means we're compatible. Nothing more." Danon let out a sound of disgust. "I'm sorry. I'll leave tonight."

Panic accompanied the tremble, which affected my words. "I'll be all alone. I don't know what it's like. What if something goes wrong? I don't have a phone."

This was turning into a nightmare. I didn't know how to handle any of it. It was also embarrassing. There was now a wet spot on my underwear by my hole. Despite my distress, my cock tingled. I'd heard some omegas brag about their first heats being strong and, without a partner, even painful. Fuck, what was I supposed to do?

"Nothing will go wrong."

"Easy for you to say." I threw my hands to the side, then went to the dining room table, sat and put my head in my hands.

"Akai."

The voice and the toasted marshmallow scent were close.

"I'm trying to do what's best for you. You weren't ready to come here. This has all been forced on us."

"I know." A groan escaped me.

"Maybe I could get Sage to come stay with you."

"No." I turned my head to the side. "That's even more embarrassing."

"Well, I can't stay. I don't trust myself."

It's just sex, I told myself. That's all. Why did it have to be complicated?

"What if we just helped each other?" I was looking away from him. This was the only way I could do this.

"You can't be saying what I think you're saying."

I muffled my words in my arm. "I am."

"My ruts can be rough for me."

"I'll be in heat. That makes it feel different, right?"

"I'm not an omega so I can't say."

I lifted my head. "You said all this means we're compatible. That's a guarantee things will work. You won't hurt me."

Danon put a hand to his whiskers and rubbed them. "You can't know. What you're saying, yes, it makes sense. But?—"

"Then don't leave. Don't leave me alone with this. It's just sex. Like a natural thing, right? Why does everything surrounding it have to be so complicated?"

"You're young. It's your first time. It should be a nicer or, at least, a more controlled setting for you."

"Should be nicer? Look at me. I have no rights. No alternatives. I'm in the most controlled setting I can think of."

Danon shook his head. "It should be different?—"

"Are you saying you don't want me?"

"I didn't—I don't—" He sputtered. His stiff whiskers shook.

It was almost funny. "To me, you look old. Your whiskers and everything. And you're pretty cold to me. But you haven't hurt me or anything. Even if you're not my type."

"Cold? Old? You're too young. You have no life experience. I don't even know what to say to you. But you are polite, and you haven't destroyed my house. Brunets are my type—just a little older."

"So, you might want me?"

"So, you might not want me?"

"Wait, that's not—" I grunted. "We could make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"That it's just sex. Nothing more. We both are compatible. You said so. We make a deal to get each other through this. Maybe we even have an egg. Then everyone's happy."

His arms crossed his chest. "You would agree to this?"

"I don't have another choice, do I? I'm going into heat."

"Many omegas experience heats alone."

"I'm more than alone. I'm in a strange land where I don't know anyone." I bowed my head, shocked at my own words. "Please don't leave me alone."

"I need time to think."

At that, Danon left the room. Both our ham sandwiches sat on the counter and remained untouched.