“She is mine,” Dax growled to Cato and Kian as they pulled him into the basement.

“You can't just have her,” Kian said. “We have to do the mating test first.”

“I don't want to wait,” Dax said. “I want to claim her now.”

“We made this decision when Kian found Everly. And it won't change for you. Plus, the girl doesn't even know you. You can't just go take her and make her yours. She's a human. She just learned dragons exist. Give her time,” Cato said.

“My inner dragon cannot be contained,” Dax said.

“We need a bit of her DNA to run the analysis,” Cato said.

“Here,” Dax said, pulling a strand of light brown hair off his shirt, stuck there from the flight. “This should be enough to run the analysis.”

“Now Dax, you need to control yourself. If you scare that girl and she runs off, we’ll have much bigger problems on our hands.”

“I'm not letting her get away,” Dax said.

“You may not have a choice, if you ruin things,” Kian said. “She is a human. And we can't hold her here against her will.”

“She is my mate,” Dax said. “Why would she want to leave?”

“Dax, you know nothing about human women. You have to woo her gently,” Kian said.

“I have no idea how to do that. I need to just go tell her that I need her. That she is mine. That she belongs to me.”

“I'm afraid that won't work. You need a subtler approach,” Kian said.

“Like what?”

“Spend time with her. Be kind to her. Be gentle with her,” Kian said.

“Gentle?” Dax said. “I'm a warrior of the First Order of the House of Flames. I have never been gentle in my life.”

“Now is the time to learn,” Cato said. “You’ve been extra aggressive lately. If you can't manage your mating impulse, then I suggest you don't go near her.”

“You both suck,” Dax said.

“Suck?” Cato asked, giving Kian a quizzical expression.

Kian shrugged.

Dax snarled and stormed up the stairs. He wanted to go to her room to tell her that his dragon demanded her body and soul. She belonged to him forever. She was his eternal mate. She would bear his young, for the glory of the House of Flames. They would live together in the passion of his dragon. But his commander told him not to. And so had Cato. The two of them together in agreement was too much for him to dismiss.

He needed to get out of the house. The scent of her body lingered on everything. He stormed past Aiden, who was strumming his acoustic guitar in the living room.

“What's up with you?” Aiden asked.

“None of your business,” Dax barked.

“Is this about the human?” Aiden called after him. “Aria?”

Dax turned on his heel and charged at Aiden. He grabbed his collar and snarled in his face. The smaller dragon put his palms in the air.

“Whoa,” Aiden said.

“Don't ever say her name again,” Dax said.

“Get off me, Dax,” Aiden said, shoving Dax away with his full force.

Dax went stumbling backwards and bared his sharp teeth at Aiden. Kian appeared in the doorway and barked at them both.

“Enough,” Kian barked.

“Dax, go outside and cool off. Aiden, stop antagonizing him.”

“I didn't do anything. He's lost his mind,” Aiden said.

“His mating impulse has taken over. He believes the girl is his mate,” Kian said.

Dax roared angrily at the mention of Aria, but instead of charging at his commander, he left the room and stormed out the back door into the yard.

They didn't understand the pain he was in. The deep need he felt. His dragon roared within, bashing back and forth inside his mind, clawing his eyes and blowing fire all around. His brain felt like a burning building, ash and smoke and burning embers falling to the ground. It was unbearable pain. The only thing that would quench the fire was claiming the girl.

Aria. A song.

She was so beautiful and delicate and kind. Her curves were magnificent, gorgeous, soft and supple. He needed her. More than he had ever needed anything. More than he needed air to breathe. Food to eat. His dragon wailed, and Dax clutched his temples with his hands.

He hurried to the basketball court and grabbed his ball off the rack. It was sprinkling rain from the low gray clouds, and he pulled off his shirt, throwing it on the ground. He dribbled the ball with such force, he feared the ball might pop, but he was unable to control himself.

He sprinted back and forth across the court and threw the ball into the air. It fell through the basket with a swish and bounced back to him. He continued the routine over and over, but his energy did not abate. He needed something else, something more, and he knew what that something was.

Only her.

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick, and he glanced behind him up at the window of her room. She stood with her hand on the glass, the little bird on her shoulder.

He snarled, clenching his teeth. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her. Everything about her was lovely. Soft. So very soft. Saving her from the vampires was just the beginning. Now he had to save her from himself.

Kian had said he needed to be gentle, to woo her. But Dax had no idea how to do that. He had never been trained in the art of romance or seduction. He was a warrior. He was the one among them who took all the blows, while the other dragons peeled the enemies off one at a time. He could take on two dozen vampires at once without feeling a thing. The thick armor of his hide was that strong.

But when it came to Aria, he was lost. He knew nothing. All he knew was that he needed her. The growling inside his mind intensified and he finally ripped his gaze away from her form. Dribbling his ball, he continued to shoot, running back and forth across the court. Finally, the tingle of her gaze on his skin became too much. He slapped down the ball and shifted into dragon form. He had to get out of here.

If he couldn't have her, then he needed to run off this energy and calm down. There was only one option left to him. He burst into the sky. He beat his broad wings until he made it high into the air.

“Activate stealth mode,” he said.

“Where you going, Dax?” he heard Kian through the mental link.

“Away from here.”

“There are many resources available to you for learning how to woo a human female,” Cato said through the mental link.

Dax couldn't even respond. He just growled and continued flying.

“Uploading resources now. Maybe you can take a look once you cool down,” Cato said.

Dax didn't care about Cato's resources right now. All he cared about was getting away from the mansion. He had to get away from the scent of her skin and the innocent look in her eyes. He had to get away, so his dragon wouldn't try to force him to grab her and kiss her on her pretty heart-shaped mouth until she was breathless and moaning with need.

He had never been so at odds with himself in all his many long years. He flew on through the sky, headed west toward where they had risen from the deep ocean waters.

The day they had emerged and realized that Dragon Souls existed on this planet he had never imagined that the mating impulse would do this to him. He was not a leader like Kian or a genius like Cato. And he wasn't subtle and sneaky like Aiden.

He had never felt so much agitation and anger in his life. Dax was usually an easy-going dragon. Cooperative and ready to work as a team. But now he felt beside himself. He wasn't even quite sure who he was anymore.

His dragon raged as he flew through the sky. It drowned out his rational mind until it was a mere whisper. The dragon charged toward the ocean, rolling in the air, angry and breathing fire.

He didn't even care who saw him. He dove into the waves, wanting to cool his hot blood. Fire dragons couldn't breathe water, but they could swim. He dove deep, holding his breath in the dark, cool waters of the Pacific Ocean.

He glimpsed the massive bodies of whales drifting by in the deep. They were larger than him, but not nearly as strong and powerful. For a moment he considered charging at them, biting their necks, tearing them to shreds. The violence played out inside his mind. But the rational spark of the man inside him held him back. Cato had said these creatures were dying out in this world. He pulled himself back, twirling up out of the water as he ran out of breath.

He barreled up into the sky, spinning around as the water flew from his scales. He soared straight up, toward the sun, batting his wings harder and harder as the air became thin. The beast needed to wear itself out.

The part of him that was still rational was just along for the ride. Finally, as he was approaching the edge of the atmosphere, Dax managed to say deep inside the mind of the dragon, “Maybe we could watch some of that material Cato sent.”

The dragon roared, breathing fire. The flames blew out in front of him as he approached space. Finally, he leveled out. The tips of his wings heating at the upper edge of the atmosphere. He felt the pain of heat and began to swoop gently down toward the earth again.

“Maybe it would be a good idea to learn how to be romantic,” Dax said to himself. “How to take things slow. To get her to like me.”

The dragon shrieked, roaring loudly above the cloud line. But slowly he descended, and came into agreement with himself by the time he hit the ground.

“We'll learn all about romance and how to get a human woman to agree to mate,” Dax told his dragon as he shifted.

“When are you coming back?” Kian asked him.

“Shut off mental link,” Dax said.

He ran his fingers over his wrist and brought up a holographic screen.

“List wooing resources,” Dax said.

A folder full of romantic movies, articles, and books came up on the screen in front of him.

“Bethi, recommend the best resource for my current situation.”

“I recommend this movie for you, Dax,” Bethi said.

He sat on a log and watched the holographic screen as the movie began to play. It was a romantic comedy about a man and a woman who didn't know they were perfect for each other. Dax gritted his teeth.

Slowly but surely, he began to learn. He learned about flowers and chocolates and dates and taking his time. As he progressed through Bethi’s suggestions, he learned what women wanted in the bedroom. When the sun began to set out on the ocean, he felt more prepared to be the man that Aria needed him to be.

“Open mental link,” Dax said. “Kian, I'm coming home.”