A Pet for the Dragons

181.

ZORGE

Things remained tense for a few days after that. I stayed beside Arika as much as possible, reading her emotions as closely as possible. I sensed a storm of emotions in her. There was too much to process at once.

She was overwhelmed to start with. She lost our first child before she could even start to process that she would become a mother. She found it the hardest to process. It was the same for me and the others.

However, we all tried not to think too much about it and instead kept ourselves busy with work. Radrox was spending unnecessarily long outdoors, hunting. He'd return with his nose almost frostbitten. He'd stay beside Arika to rest, only to leave again soon.

Ivret kept himself busy in his tower for hours at end. He'd only step out to cook food for Arika and check on her. It left me with her for most of the time.

All of us were fine with this arrangement. But sometimes, I'd sense the darkness in Arika's mind almost swallow her sanity. Initially, I tried to distract her, but it never worked. In the end, I'd hold her tightly while she silently cried in my arms and fell asleep.

"Why did you tell her?" I sneered at my brother one day when her emotions overwhelmed me.

"She needed to know," He replied, keeping his face void of any emotions. I knew that underneath that facade, he was hurting as much. "Hiding it would've made it more painful."

"We should've waited a bit before telling her," I returned, feeling annoyed. My brother's straightforward and steadfast nature irked me the most. "She's not taking it well."

He didn't return for a couple of days after that. It didn't help that the winter was approaching, and the weather was growing harsher. The storms froze all the windows, and the snow buried almost half of the castle. With it, I could sense Arika's grief growing.

"Would you like to go to the other side?" I asked her abruptly one day. The question surprised me as much as it surprised Arika.

It had been months now, and she could finally walk and do most of the things herself, but still, I preferred to do it for her.

"The other side?" She asked, unsure if she had heard me correctly. I nodded, pondering the idea in my head while answering her. "Kersas. Isn't that where we went last time?"

"Why do you want to go there?" She asked me, puzzled. "I thought you hated that place and weren't allowed there."

"We could sneak in like we did last time," I offered with a shrug, "And a change of scenery would be good for you."

"I'm not sure," She said after pondering. "What about others?"

"They can come if they want, but if they don't want to, I'll go with you," I offered. She narrowed her eyes at me, and for a moment, I saw a small spark in her blue eyes. They had grown pale all this time, but in that instant, a drop of dark blue bloomed in her eyes.

"You're not afraid that I might run away?" She teased.

"No," I replied flatly. "I know you won't,"

"What if I do?" She pressed. I leaned in, closing the gap between us. I heard her breath hitch at my moment. We were so close that our lips were almost brushing. This was the most intimate we'd ever been since she woke up.

It reminded me of my dragon's need. I'd almost forgotten about it while caring for her. I couldn't bring myself to think about it while caring for her. Bringing her back to health had been my number one priority ever since she woke up...

... but now, seeing that teasing look in her eyes, I couldn't help but feel the old urges coming back slowly but surely.

"If you run again, we'll find you," I told her smoothly, "You know how that'd end up for you." It wasn't a threat. I was merely stating a fact, and the reaction that I got from her almost drove me mad.

She narrowed her eyes at me while a pensive look took over her face. I didn't have to tune into her feelings to know what she was thinking. I could see it on her face. She was considering it for a moment.

"Don't you think about it," I muttered, pressing a kiss threateningly closer to her lips. Immediately, I felt her shudder against me. I wanted to play with her more, make her beg for a kiss, but I couldn't help myself.

I pressed my lips against her, and she immediately melted against me. Oh, how I had missed this... and how close I was to losing this. This made me deepen the kiss, and for once, I let go.

I took what I needed and she gave it to me selflessly. At that moment, I felt like I had discovered a fresh stream of water amidst the nothingness of Elyria that was going to swallow me. I felt like I had found life again.

For a moment, I wanted to devour Arika completely. I wanted to push her under me, part her legs and sink my whole cock and knot into her warmth and become one with her. The thought made me groan with need against her lips, but I had to contain myself.

As much as I wanted to sink my knot deep into her and lie with her, joined for hours, I didn't do it because she was weak. She still needed to recover more to be able to bear the kind of attention I wanted to give to her.

I let go of the kiss only when she pushed me back forcefully. She gasped for breath as soon as I let her go, but the kiss felt too little for me. I needed more. I couldn't help but close in and steal a few more small but intense kisses from her between her long, deep breaths.

"Fuck," she breathed, looking at me with need in her eyes. I could sense that she wanted the same thing as I, and I was afraid that I'd give in to my desire and take over her if she kept looking at me like that.

"I'm going to tell Ivret that we're going to the other side tomorrow," I told her, putting some distance between us. "Radrox will come along even if he doesn't want to."

"Running away, aren't you?" Arika called out as I was leaving. I paused and gave her a heated look over her shoulder, which was enough to take her breath away.

"I'll be back soon," I told her darkly before heading to Ivret's tower.

~

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