22. Rehan

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

REHAN

T his was not my first time getting head. Far from it, actually. But the woman between my legs blew my mind, literally. I didn't even know what she did, but heat wrapped around my entire body from just her mouth devouring my dick. I flexed my hips, driving further down her throat. The pressure between my legs tried to burst, and I held it back. I wanted to savor every moment.

Without warning, I lost it. My rational mind scattered. Whatever stream of words I uttered cut off. I roared and tensed, desperate to bury myself in my mate and get away from the pressure at the same time.

The world swam. She swallowed, and I jerked with pleasure, everything too sensitive as my load slid down her throat. Slowly, she licked up my deflating dick, sending buzzes of heat down my shaft. When she finally released me, I let out a harsh breath. She tried to stand, but I pulled her to my side and kissed her hard.

Pain ran from my lips to my balls, and black-and-white agony took over my world. I let go of her to cup my family jewels and curl into myself. She stood, though I was barely aware of it, and when I finally got control of myself again, she held my phone, covered in cracks, out to me.

‘I never did that to Tyson.'

Pride made my chest swell. I wanted to kiss her again, but the ghost of pain still radiated enough for me to shy away from the thought. Instead, I pressed her to my side.

We sat silently, watching the evening shadows lean in my little hut. I wasn't a man who needed chatter. Although I wanted her to be able to speak, I loved quiet moments like this the most. My phone rang, pulling us back to reality.

Instead of handing me my device, she dropped it next to me and wiggled out from under my arm. I watched her ass as she practically skipped into my kitchen.

With the next ring, my grandad's face appeared through the cracks on my screen. "Tukaqu," I answered, surprised he called instead of using his telepathy. "I didn't know you could use a phone."

"Little shit," Tukaqu said in his ancient, cracked voice. His following words did not come over the phone. Only a few dragons can still use telepathy; those don't include you. I wanted this to be a two-way conversation.

I took a deep breath at the reminder of my race's decline and forced myself not to look at Jay. We'd have to figure that out. Tukaqu still expected me to pass on my genetics. He was one of the few pure dragon shifters still alive. We needed his blood, my blood, to keep our race strong.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Family dinner now," he said. "No excuses. There's a problem with the Ley Lines. Those idiots at the barriers say it's just a fluctuation, but it's not. I can feel it."

I hesitated, not wanting to leave Jay for even a moment, but duty called. The Ley Lines were our lifeblood.

I frowned. "I'll be there."

"And Rehan," Tukaqu added. "I believe the first disturbance in our magic was the day of The Hunt. Everyone knows you broke the rules and have a human locked away with you. Until we know more, don't let your tongue wag."

I growled. "I won't."

Tukaqu hung up without saying goodbye, and I stretched my legs. A hint of pleasure still curling my toes despite the pain squeezing my balls. I had no idea a blow job could be that good.

I stood and turned to my mate, only to find her standing and frowning at a blob of water floating in her palm.

"Love, your magic!" I vaulted out of the conversation pit in one bound and wrapped her in my arms.

"Squeak!" She stiffened, and the water ball lost shape, splashing onto her palm. "Squeaking squeak."

I knew her voice frustrated her, but the more upset she got, the higher the squeaks, and I couldn't stop my chuckle.

"That was your magic, right?" I brushed my lips across the side of her temple despite the sizzle of pain. "Is the curse just wearing off over time?"

She eyed me like I was crazy before reaching for the phone.

Jay: Curses don't just wear off.

Jay: And this isn't my magic, but I can control it.

With a thought, I evaporated the water on her hand back into the air. "Not your magic?"

She pursed her lips.

Jay: I'm not an elemental like you. I can use water in spells but not control it directly. So, this came from somewhere else.

I raised an eyebrow, suddenly very aware of my water affinity.

She cupped my chin and kissed me before typing again.

Jay: Let's leave it till the morning. I need to think.

I didn't like it, but if I'd learned one thing about Jay over the last two days—if she didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't. "I've been called to a family dinner. I'll text you my security officer's number, and he'll bring you something to eat."

She nodded, and I put his number on her phone.

Tukaqu's paranoia about the Ley Lines on the day of The Hunt made me frown. It was too much of a coincidence for my magical mate to have nothing to do with it. But I refused to believe she had a malicious bone in her body. Whatever Tukaqu may or may not have felt wasn't her fault.

I would prove it to my family.

I soon found myself seated between my uncle and my little brother in the dining room of the massive Victorian manor house which made up my family estate. Chatter bounced off the rich wood walls decorated with deep blues and silvers.

Tukaqu glared at me from his literal throne at the head of a table, which sat at least twenty, though less than half of the chairs had my direct family in them.

"You're late," he snapped.

I didn't know if the ancient dragon could unshift his horns at this point. I'd never seen him without the spiky crown on his head. His medieval wizard robe looked more like a bathrobe today, though I would never say so out loud. If he didn't find the comment as funny as I did, his wrath would hurt more than Tyson shocking my balls.

Well, almost.

Dad gave me a disappointed frown from across the table. I schooled my face and ducked his gaze.

"Food, now," Tukaqu called out.

A swarm of human women, including my mom, spilled into the room. They efficiently and quietly covered the table in tastefully decorated piles of potatoes and beef. China plates clicked together, and pitchers of beer thumped before the small mob disappeared back into the adjoining kitchen, closing the door behind them.

I tried to picture Jay in such a docile role and couldn't.

My uncle passed me a pitcher of beer, and I filled my pint glass. The light honey color reminded me of Jay's skin, shining in the sand, pinned under me. My dick twitched. Although, on the one hand, I wished I'd tried to kiss her earlier, I also knew if she hadn't made the first move, I couldn't have lived with myself. I'd already marked her without asking. I couldn't do something like that again.

"Watch your pour," my uncle hissed.

I tilted the pitcher back upright just as my beer spilled over and passed it on. My uncle accepted it with a shake of his head.

The room quieted as we dug in. I imagined Jay at my side at one of these dinners, and my chewing slowed. Only dragons sat around the table...only male dragons. I forked up another scalloped potato, trying to remember if I'd ever seen a single female at a family meeting. In smaller settings and informal ones, yes, often, but otherwise, no. When we made big decisions, we left out humans and even our better halves. How had I not noticed?

I swallowed, my food losing some of its flavor.

"This is not The Hunt you want to find a mate in, Rehan," Tukaqu said, interrupting my thoughts. He raised his voice. "I've called this dinner to talk about the Ley Lines. They tremble, and not from a source on this island."

The ease of our meal abruptly ended.

"The Ley Lines are the source of all magic. Even our elemental powers are indirectly fed from them." Tukaqu glowered at all of us. "If something's going wrong outside our island that we feel its effects through our shield, then something terrible must be happening." He gestured around the table. "We weren't always this isolated."

Dad groaned. "‘We,'" he made air quotes. "Don't feel anything. It's just you. Dragon magic has evolved to free us of trivial attachments."

I kept my face even. This was the other side of the argument I didn't want to tell Jay. Many dragon shifters felt the decline of our magic was an evolutionary step.

"Powerful mages and shifters exist outside of here," my dad continued. "Ones who are better at blending into the human world." He shoved a fork full of beef into his mouth and looked at each of us before swallowing. "We take care of our own. Even if we wanted things to change, we're only one of four elements on the island. There's no way everyone would, or should, get along. It's a lost cause." He chuckled. "Let the power-hungry idiots who forced us onto this island in the first place do what they do best and fix it."

"We chose to come here," my uncle immediately cut in. "No one forced us to isolate."

"The invention of Radar was a big factor, right?" My little brother piped up.

"Yes, and the dirty mages…" my dad began.

The table devolved into arguments. I took a deep breath and focused on my food. My dad liked his life here. It was easy. He had two human lovers, a dragon mate, and with Tukaqu still in charge, few responsibilities. Although I understood it, I couldn't be like him. I wanted more.

"This isn't like my other warnings." Tukaqu jabbed one of his gnarled fingers. "You're an ungrateful son with no concept of how interconnected all of this is." He stabbed the table, accenting his words. "My magic feels wrong. We must at least discover what's going on so we can be prepared."

"Nothing's going on." My uncle rubbed his eyes. "And we have enough trouble without you adding to it. Dad, you have a bad dream about the Ley Lines, and we have a meeting."

Tukaqu slammed his fork against the table. "They are a fragile ecosystem which we handicap with our isolation."

My uncle gestured to a pile of paperwork we were all collectively trying to pretend wasn't on the table. "No other elements or shield guards have even noted the Ley Lines."

The tired argument continued around me while I cleaned my plate.

"Rehan, my boy, what say you?" Tukaqu asked with a hint of desperation.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "You already know I don't agree with our isolation." I didn't acknowledge the glares the rest of the family shot me. "I don't think it would hurt anything to do an extra check and ask the other elements to reach out to their contacts. Knowledge is power, regardless of your actions upon it."

Tukaqu smiled as I quoted one of his favorite things to say.

The table devolved into more heated words while Tukaqu and I held each other's gaze. Although his approval filled my posture with confidence, an undercurrent I'd never felt before sizzled the air. I'd lied to him and kept secrets for the first time in my life. He knew it, and I knew it. It left me feeling unstable but with a sense of power I'd never experienced before.

Was I just another dragon caught up in a world I couldn't change?

Tukaqu's assistant slipped to his side and whispered something. Tukaqu studied his hands before whispering something back, and the new arrival rushed back the way he'd come, phone to his ear. My heart sank. A few minutes later, the main door to the dining room burst open, silencing all of us. The air tensed as a lanky orange-haired shifter dressed in the formal reds of the fire elementals halted inside it.

"I'm here to inform you of a new situation," he announced boldly, dipping his head to ensure he didn't make eye contact with any of us.

Tukaqu stood too dramatically. "The Ley Lines!"

The fire representative blinked in confusion while Tukaqu smirked. My heart sank further at my grandad's confidence.

"Per our agreement earlier today," the fire representative continued. "You will allow an escort of three humans and two female fire dragons through your territory at ten tomorrow morning."

"What?" Dad exclaimed.

The fire representative straightened his shoulders.

"Our route has been emailed to you and will disturb the smallest number of residences possible." He continued.

Several people pulled out their phones while I gritted my teeth and fought to keep my dragon from lashing out.

"Along that same vein," the fire representative continued. "Betty Strop will be collected at the border at fifteen hundred to report to the Sisters of Fire for her part in Prince Tyson's fire lighting ceremony to commence in five days."

"Who's Betty Strop?" My uncle asked.

I bit my lips shut.

"And last," the fire representative said, ignoring us. "TECH is already at Rehan's hut, as a gesture of good faith, upgrading his security and accessories?—"

At my hut. I'd left Jay alone there, and now a stranger had access to her. My vision turned red as my dragon rushed forward. "That's not a gesture of good faith!"

"Control yourself!" Tukaqu roared.

The sound of claws scraping on wood filled the room. My elongated fingers bit into the table, shredding the hundred-year- old lacquered mahogany. With an effort, I returned them to their human state, but I didn't sit.

"All of that is rejected," I snarled. "Tell Tyson to come here and challenge me himself if he doesn't like it."

"Rehan, sit down," Tukaqu ordered, his voice deadly calm. "I've already sealed the deal in OUR favor, unlike your poor negotiating skills."

"It was never going to be a negotiation!" I growled, glaring and Tukaqu. "She's my mate. Not his."

No one moved. It wasn't until my little brother's hand rested on my scaled forearm that I realized I'd partially shifted and braced myself, ready to fight my own grandad.

I forced myself to breathe. Never in my life had it been so hard to release my scales, but one by one, they melted back into my human skin. My shorts fluttered in tattered pieces around my seat. Slowly, without breaking eye contact with Tukaqu, I sat.

"We're always thankful for a visit from TECH." Tukaqu turned his attention back to the fire representative while I shook with rage. "Thank you for your formal visit to solidify our terms. I look forward to Ryker's team working with us to check the Ley Lines in return for access to the woman."

I snarled, and my brother and uncle gripped my arms again, forcing me to stay in my seat. Tukaqu dismissed the fire representative. The moment the doors shut, every eye in the room turned to me.

"Your mate?" My dad sighed. "She's human, son. She can bear your children, but don't give her more credit than she's due." He grew his horns, massive branches of dark blue tipped with silver. "Save your mark for someone worthy - one of your own kind."

I cringed, both from his words and the weight of how complacent I'd existed for the last thirty years of my life. I didn't look at Tukaqu. He knew I already marked her, and if he spoke up now…I didn't know what I'd do. I'd just gotten Jay back. We were still figuring out what we meant to each other. I didn't need my dad's narrow-minded opinions or my family's need for the next generation to make it any harder.

"Many dragons have found their mates in humans." My Uncle scowled at his brother. "Her humanity is not the issue at hand, but her connection to fire."

"I see that as an advantage." Tukaqu grinned. "Rehan will do as he likes. For now, it makes no difference to the family. However, keeping her in water territory means we have a bargaining chip to force the fire dragon's hands."

I ground my teeth together so hard it echoed in the too-large room. "She's not a bargaining chip."

"Everything, especially humans, are pieces in a bigger game." Tukaqu downed the rest of his wine in one gulp. "Dragon unity, keeping our island and the world's Ley Lines safe is more important than one mortal. All of you should know this." He dropped his gaze to me. "I'm disappointed I had to learn about her myself, Rehan. We are a family. Do not be the one to tarnish what I have built."

I met his gaze. He hadn't told the family about my mark on Jay, nor had he offered them details beyond her fake name. But he could, and we both knew it. Was this his deal? He'd help me keep her hidden if I let him use her to push around the fire dragons?

My entire life I'd been a good grandson and gone with whatever Tukaqu decided. I idolized the old dragon and loved to see him twist my family to his will. But I was one of the people he bent. For the first time, I had someone depending on me to stay strong.

"So." My dad wrinkled his nose distastefully. "Tell us more about Betty Strope."

I clenched my fists and locked my gaze with Tukaqu. If I lied, he'd know. But if I told my family everything, I'd be betraying Jay's trust. In the last few days, mate or not, helping her had become my world.

"We connected during The Hunt." I inclined my head to Tukaqu, silently agreeing to his terms, before focusing on my family. If I left out everything that made Jay complicated, the truth was simple. "Tyson knocked me unconscious from behind. When their pairing didn't work out, we found each other at The Social. It's that simple."

My dad grunted while a new question came out of my uncle's lips. For better or worse, my grandad, the dragon who ultimately held my fate in his hands, kept his mouth shut.