Mate of the Dragon God

Chapter Four: Prisoner of a God

Cyrus was beyond himself. He had managed to make a perfect reason to take home his mate, unintentionally even! When he witnessed his mate be jostled and shoved, he was boiling with rage. He tried to maintain himself, but couldn't help it as his mate was made a laughingstock of her people. He ought to have eaten them all, but he suspected she would better appreciate him standing up for her. After all, who didn't appreciate an ally? Excitement pulsed through him as he guided her deeper into his den. First, he would show her the nest and see how she liked it. He could fill it with things she found suitable, perhaps more coats since she seemed to enjoy the one he had given her.

When they had made it to his nest he gestured widely to it. He tried to remain patient as she stared at him with wide eyes. Was that enthusiasm? She didn't make any move to enter it. He realized she appeared more like a frightened animal than a voracious mate. Fannar and Issyla had said the mate bond had clicked into place nearly immediately. It was simply instinct, the pull between energies that were meant to attract. Perhaps her human-ness prevented her from feeling it, she could not detect the energy as he could. This was a disappointing realization for Cyrus. He was just ready to rut and leave his troubles behind.

"Is it to your liking?" His mate looked at the nest he had made. He had made it in his draconic body, so it was much larger than she needed. He had dug it into the ground rather than build it up, he had thought himself very clever for that. Now he realized that perhaps his mate would need assistance getting out. He would carve her stairs, soon, and until then help lift her out. The inside of his divet nest was lined with silk, pillows, blankets, and furs he cleaned excessively. Previously he felt silly cleaning his nest so well, almost like an animal acting only with instinctual purposes, not the clever and strong creature that he was. Now, he felt very proud that he had done so. Had she seen unclean furs, his mate would likely be displeased.

"I suppose?" She whispered. She quickly jumped back and put her hands out. "Not in a bad way, I simply don't know what it is." Cyrus nodded his head. Yes, his mate was human and didn't understand nests. He was foolish. He felt a spike of anger course through him at his ignorance of her mating rituals. A grunt escaped him, and she flinched. "It's lovely, really, so much silk I've never seen." While it did please him to hear her praise, he was far more upset he had made his mate nervous. It dripped from her scent, noticeable even in the way she shakily moved.

"For... sleeping?" He didn't know how she would sleep in her normal day-to-day life, but the nest is where they would sleep together. She nodded her head in understanding.

"I see. It does look comfortable," she concluded. He smiled, flashing her sharp canines. She fidgeted but did not flinch in nervousness. Good. His mate was making excellent progress. Perhaps it wasn't unlikely for her to sense him as her mate. He awaited the moment the bond snapped into place for her. For him, it hit the second he saw her. It made him nearly breathless, empty-headed to every other thing. "A-and, I will sleep here? Or is this where you sleep?" Cyrus couldn't help but tilt his head and smile.

"Both of us together," he announced. She seemed to pale a bit before flushing. The pink color on her skin looked far more alive than the red it had been when she was cold. He took her flushing as a good sign of their progress.

"I-is that all?" He could tell that she was nervous, not aroused. He wasn't a scoundrel. He didn't want to lie to her and agree that sleeping was all. He desperately wanted that to not be all, at least. But, after waiting so long for her, if all she ever wanted was to sleep he'd yield. So he nodded at her question.

"Yes..." He hoped that the dark undertone in his voice wasn't noticeable. He didn't want that to be all, but he would yield to whatever she was most comfortable with. The thought of only ever sleeping led to distressing and confusing emotions, ones better off ignored at the moment. She let out a sigh of relief, and he saw the tension drop from her shoulders. He approached, hands out to indicate he was going to reach toward her. She stepped back once a little unsure but then allowed him to rest his hand on her shoulder. He leveraged her allowance of contact to move slowly with his other hands and then was able to grasp both shoulders. He waited for any reaction, and when he got none he began to massage her shoulders. This was an opportunity to help his mate. He could ease the pain in her body, so he would. She was tense.