After the council had declared him innocent, Gregory led Naomi out of the large cave to a chamber more suited to his human body’s needs. During the council meetings in Sky Home, they mostly stayed in the form of their dragons. Still, occasionally it was useful to have rooms with beds and chairs and desks at their disposal.

“I’m okay.” Naomi gave him a breathless, overwhelmed look as soon as they had settled down together on a couch. “Wow. That was... I have no idea what it was, but it was intense. Do your friends test all your potential girlfriends that way?”

Gregory released a shaky breath, drawing her tightly against him. “I’ve never seen him do that before. It must’ve been because you’re my mate. He wanted to test you—to see if the bond between us was true. But the way he did it...” Gregory shook his head in apology. “There was no need to scare you like that. I’m sorry, Naomi.”

Naomi gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. It wasn’t real... was it? He just made me feel like I was in a dream, and none of it was actually true?”

Gregory hesitated for a moment.

“I saw what you did,” he finally offered. “And from what I’ve heard about it... From what I know, and it isn’t much, he might’ve made you live through his final moments. Or at least, his final decision.”

Naomi blinked in confusion. “So that voice... That shadow that talked to me... He’s a dragon, too?”

“His name is Gareth,” Gregory said. “And he’s a dragon no longer. He is a chimera. He’d found no mate, and his power was too large for him to control. Usually, we go mad, unless we’re taken out first. He... he retained his sanity, but his body broke. He is cursed, forever shifting into different shapes at once, never finding rest or peace.”

Naomi shuddered at the explanation. “And the same thing might’ve happened to you?”

At Gregory’s nod, she reached out to gently rest her hand on his chest, right where his heart was beating.

“But there’s a bond,” she said. “I can feel it too. I can feel your warmth, and your concern for me. That’s why I got so angry when they said you were a liar. Because I can feel you. It’s like I can see right to the bottom of your heart, and there’s nothing but goodness in there.”

And heat. He wondered if she could feel that too, that steady, low beat of desire for her. Even now it pulled at him with a seductive rhythm, until his heart throbbed with the same, sweet pulse of her own need for him that came flowing through the bond.

With a deep sigh, Naomi relaxed against his chest. “But that’s over now, right?”

“Yes,” Gregory agreed. “He has accepted you. And he’s the master of the council. The others will follow his ruling—even Damon. We’ve never been friends, but he’s a sensible man. Headstrong, but sensible.”

“Mm.” With a small sound of contentment, Naomi curled an arm around his neck. “And now, all that’s left is stopping that dragon before he can kidnap someone else, right?”

“It’s not going to be an easy task,” a familiar voice interrupted as the griffin shifter Jared came bursting into the room.

He flashed Gregory an apologetic grin when he saw them curled up together, but didn’t offer any excuses.

“I’m not here on official business this time, so you can relax. And I’m going to leave you two alone in just a moment.” Jared gave Naomi a little wink. “Just thought I’d let you know that the three of us are heading out. Earth, water—and griffin. We’re going to scout out the area where the fire dragon attacked you, see if we can find any lingering trace of his power.”

Gregory clenched his jaw when he remembered the way the dragon had seemed to come from out of nowhere, threatening the one person he’d give his life to protect.

“I should come with you,” Gregory said, rage welling up within him once more at the memory. “I saw him. I fought him. I should—”

“No.” Jared gave him another apologetic look, more serious now. “I’m sorry, brother, but that’s impossible. The chimera himself ordered it. You might’ve found your mate, but the bond hasn’t been sealed yet. And that dragon attacked your mate quite deliberately. Your place is by her side until this is all over. We don’t know where that fire dragon is hiding. Until he’s found—”

“I’ll stay with her. You’re right, of course.” Gregory forced down the anger at the fire dragon once more. His first instinct couldn’t be to attack blindly, not anymore. It had already led to him losing a fight once. He had to stay calm and collected now, for Naomi’s sake.

“But we cannot stay here,” Gregory continued.

Sky Home was the seat of the council—but it wasn’t a home. It was a place where they gathered when there was an important event that needed the attention of the council. But even as a dragon, he’d never felt comfortable here. If it was a home to something, then it was a home to the chimera’s curse. The walls themselves tasted like Gareth’s centuries of loneliness. It was no place for Naomi.

“We’re going home,” Gregory said softly, giving Naomi a hopeful look. “Home. Mountain View. Everyone there will want to see you.”

Mountain View was his childhood home. It consisted of a large mansion that almost looked like it had been carved right from the mountainside it was built into—and of course, that was probably exactly what happened back when the first dragon of his clan had settled there.

By now, it had grown into a small town, consisting mainly of shifters, and humans born to shifter families but without the power to shift themselves.

It was a good place. A peaceful place. It was the sort of place to raise a family.

“I think you’ll like it.”

***

The flight to Mountain View had been uneventful. Naomi had clung to his neck once more. Through the bond he’d been able to feel her awe and joy when they descended and before them, the sleepy, small town with its colorful roofs and whitewashed houses appeared.

“It’s beautiful!” Naomi called out, laughing when Gregory spread his wings.

Carefully, he slowed their flight even more until he landed in the small square right before his clan’s home. Contentment washed over him. It had truly been far too long since he’d been home.

Gregory opened his jaw, and then he roared—not the loud roar of challenge to another dragon, but a happy roar that made the wind pick up, the breeze blowing against the ornamental, silver dragon that crowned the fountain standing in the square.

With a silvery sound, it sent the soft tolling of a bell echoing from the mountainside. In the town below, lights sprung up in response.

The dragon had returned home, and soon, everyone who knew and loved Gregory would welcome his mate with the same love the town had always shown him.

The first thing Gregory’d shown Naomi was his bedroom.

Ordinarily, he’d have proudly shown her off to the families that had settled in Mountain View. But they hadn’t been able to find much rest in Sky Home, and the council meeting had been harrowing for both of them. Through the bond, he could feel his mate’s tiredness, even though Naomi was doing the best she could to hide it.

Mountain View was a beautiful, small town—the only home he’d ever known, even though he’d chosen to spend much of the past decade traveling and seeing the world. But now that he was home again at last, that old pull on his heart that had made him want to ride the currents of air and explore the world had quieted.

He knew why. It was the oldest instinct, the one thing both his dragon and his human half could agree on without the slightest argument.

He’d found his mate, and what they needed now was to build a home.

Though he still wanted to take Naomi to Paris. He wanted to show her Rome as well, and the way the South Sea shone when the sun sank into it. He wanted to show her the tops of mountains, and the waterfalls hidden in places only a dragon could reach with ease.

But he also wanted a home they could return to. A home—and a family.

“It’s amazing,” Naomi breathed as he led her inside.

He wasn’t sure whether anyone was home, but just in case, he’d used a private side entrance. He’d announced his return—but he wasn’t quite ready to share Naomi with the entire town yet. That would happen tomorrow.

“I’ll give you a tour once we wake,” Gregory promised as he switched on the light in his bedroom.

Everything was perfectly preserved, even though he hadn’t been home in three months. He drew the curtain, and just as he’d hoped, Naomi gasped again.

Below them, Mountain View spread, the small streets lit by street lamps that gave off a warm, golden light.

One by one, the lights went out again in the windows. Now that the people of Mountain View knew that their dragon had safely returned, they were returning to their own beds.

And up on the top of the mountain, in the large mansion that had never felt as much like home as at this very moment, Gregory drew Naomi into his arms, feeling her soft curves meld to the hard planes of his body.

Her soft, black hair gave off the most delicious scent, something herbal and flowery from her perfume, but beneath it something warm and sensuous that was pure Naomi. Even now, after the long flight and the eventful day, it made his body rouse with sudden, fierce need for her—but Naomi had stayed awake for much of the night, clinging to his back.

Her heart was beating against his chest, slow and regular. It was the same rhythm as the warm breath exhaled against his shoulder.

Naomi had already fallen asleep.

Gently, Gregory wrapped a protective arm around her, drawing her even closer as he closed his eyes to join her in her dreams.