Chapter Eleven

AVERY seriously thought about digging in his heels so he could explore the courtyard, but Warwick seemed to be a man on a mission. As Warwick pulled him along, Avery glanced up at the sky. The moon was nearly full, an imperfect circle in the starry nighttime sky. A cool breeze teased the scarf wrapped around his neck.

They cut through the courtyard and came to a large field. Acres and acres stretched before them. Behind the open area were woods. Thanks to Mother Moon’s bright light and his keen eyesight, he could see quite a distance in the dark.

“What are we…?”

Warwick stopped and faced Avery. “This is where I’m going to shift for you.”

Oh boy, now he wasn’t so sure his ability to see so well on such a clear night was a good thing. Nerves marched up his spine. He swallowed. For the first time, he understood how humans felt when they found out paranormals existed.

His breathing shortened and his heart raced. Dammit, he knew Warwick heard his body’s reaction to the news, but there wasn’t a thing he could do except try to ignore it. Hopefully Warwick wouldn’t misinterpret his reaction. They’d already met their quota for misunderstandings for the night.

Since his hands were shaking, he shoved them into his coat pockets. They were cold, that’s all. Right. He really wasn’t afraid, but… but this was why listening to rumors were a bad idea.

Just how scary was Warwick in his dragon form?

Then he forgot all about his worries concerning Warwick’s dragon when Warwick stripped off his overcoat and dropped it on the ground. Before Avery could get his mouth open, Warwick’s suit jacket was about to follow.

“Oh hell no! You do not drop a sixty-thousand-dollar suit on the ground. What is wrong with you?” Scrambling over, Avery jerked the overcoat up. He didn’t know what the brand name was, but he figured it was likely as horribly expensive as Warwick’s suit. He brushed it off and folded it over his arm. Then he gently pried the suit jacket from Warwick’s fingers too.

Warwick didn’t say anything, only arched an elegantly shaped eyebrow as he continued undressing. Mechanically, Avery took the clothes Warwick handed him, not really paying attention to what he held now.

No, his eyes were focused on the lean-but-muscular body slowly emerging from under that gorgeous designer suit. Warwick stood in the soft moonlight, undressing as if Avery wasn’t standing next to him desperately trying not to drool everywhere.

Avery reminded himself to breathe, to keep his mouth shut… because the alternative was tackling Warwick to the ground and kissing every uncovered piece of skin he could find. His cock was so hard, it hurt.

When Warwick was finally nude, he pulled off the band holding his hair and flipped it to Avery. “You need to move away—quite a bit, please.”

“Okay, yeah. Back. Got it.” Practically stumbling over his own feet, Avery moved to what he assumed was a safe distance. When Warwick didn’t tell him to keep going, he waited, heart pounding, both excited and nervous.

Warwick, bathed in the bright moonlight, threw his head back and held his arms out to the side. Intrigued, Avery watched. Did he actually shift? Or was it more like when Avery changed into his wolf?

The rumbling of the skies above him caught his attention, and he glanced up. Dark clouds rolled across the starry night, moving quickly as they slammed into one another. Avery shivered as the wind picked up, the gentle breeze turning into a howl. There was a flash, and then another one. Where the hell had this storm come from? The night had been clear a minute—Warwick. It was Warwick. Something having to do with his powers as a dragon and storms. Suddenly a brilliant bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky… straight to where Warwick stood.

Avery screamed in warning.

The bolt hit Warwick, and the bright light blinded Avery. Instinctively he turned away. Seconds passed as he blinked, frantically trying to clear his vision. What the hell was that? Silence reigned behind him. A part of him he didn’t know existed warned him not to look, to run. To get out of there.

Immediately.

But, oh gods, Warwick. How could anybody, a shifter included, survive that? Horrified by what he’d find, he slowly turned back around, now that he was finally able to see.

Warwick was gone. In his place stood a dragon. Avery stopped breathing, unable to make sense of what he was seeing.

Dragon. It was a dragon.

And it was big as fuck. As tall as a modern one-story house—maybe fourteen feet tall and thirty feet long from nose to a tail… a tail that ended in the shape of an arrow. It had a muscular, long body with an elongated neck. Its short, beefy limbs were powerful-looking and had three digits on each foot that ended in sharp claws. Sharp, deadly claws Avery could imagine ripping through flesh quite easily. He gulped.

The terrifyingly beautiful creature stood calmly as Avery gawked. Avery’s gaze traced the length of the dragon more slowly this time. Its head was wedge-shaped, and there were tiny nostrils located on either side of its snout—a snout he was sure was full of horribly pointed and lethal teeth.

Two horns extended straight from its scaled forehead, and it had large, almost delicate-looking frilled ears. A bony ridge separated its nostrils. A mane of daunting spikes sprouted from the back of its head and ran down its spine.

But those scales were the real showstopper. The iridescent scales were indigo, reminiscent of the last embers of a summer sky as night finally descends. They glimmered and flashed blue and purple in the moonlight. Wait, moonlight?

Startled, Avery glanced at the sky, a sky that was once again cloudless. “Ho-ly shit, Warwick.”

Warwick huffed. Avery was going to take that sound as one of amusement. With his feet still stuck to the ground, he stared intently into Warwick’s eyes, searching. There. There was that human intelligence he was looking for. Avery wasn’t about to ask if Warwick could understand him. Nothing irritated a shifter more, but now he understood the need humans had to ask.

“Wow, you are… you are….”

Horribly gorgeous. Beastly. Imposing. Intimidating. Threatening too, although Avery didn’t feel in peril. Maybe he was as empty-headed as rumors said Omegas were, because the creature in front of him could probably snap him in half with those powerful jaws. Which was not the most comforting thought, and he instinctively took a step back, but a low, rumbling purr rose from the dragon’s chest. Calmness flooded his system, a sense of well-being that quickly chased away the sudden spurt of anxiety. His nerves settled, and the wonderment of what was standing in front of him began to rise again.

“You are magnificent, awe-inspiring, and scary as hell.” Avery rested his hand on his chest as his breathing slowed.

The dragon—no, he needed remember to call him Warwick, not “the dragon”—rolled his eyes. He could almost hear Warwick saying of course he was scary as hell. He was a dragon, after all. Just like that, any residual unease fled. That was so typically Warwick. For the first time since Warwick shifted, Avery laughed.

Caught by a sudden need to explore, he edged closer, even though he kept a lookout out for sudden moves. Instinctively he knew Warwick wouldn’t hurt him, but there was also no denying Warwick could accidentally squash him with little to no effort.

“Can I… can I touch?”

Warwick lowered his long neck so they were almost eye to eye and slowly nodded. Oh wow, oh gods, that was awesome. Overcome with the need to explore every square inch of a creature made famous by ancient lore, Avery threw caution to the wind and reached out.

Warwick’s scales were hard, but he expected nothing less since they were basically his armor. Avery studied them. “Interesting. Your scales are pentagonal and shaped like a teardrop.” He examined them closer, mumbling to himself. “Huh. Two long sides and two shorter ones, and a very short fifth side attached to the skin. How flipping neat.”

Warwick had raised his head and was looking down at him.

“Hmm, I wonder. They’re only attached in one place.” Avery glanced up. “Can you… I don’t know what it is I’m trying to say here. Maybe move them somehow?”

Warwick made his scales stand on end.

It hit Avery where he’d seen something similar. “Like a duck when it’s cleaning its feathers, right? When it preens. Yeah. It’s the same thing, isn’t it?”

Warwick rumbled happily when Avery scratched underneath the scales.

“Like that, huh?”

The tear-shaped design of the scales fascinated him. Upon closer inspection, Avery observed the innermost part of a scale was composed of a compact, hairy formation firmly rooted in the epidermis. On the hair follicle, there were some tiny glands that secreted a substance that adhered firmly to the skin.

“Interesting.”

His fingers tingled from where they touched the scale. Thanks to his Omega gift, Avery could tell the substance was rich in minerals that would determine the hardness of the dragon’s scales. The external surface had a hard, translucent texture that accounted for the scale’s luster.

“You are truly a marvel of nature, you know that?”

Warwick let his scales settle back into place, and Avery ran his hand over the ones he could reach. Another rumble came from Warwick, one Avery now knew meant pleasure. Warwick shook his enormous head, and a slight breeze teased Avery’s hair.

“Man, you are massive.”

Another huff came from Warwick, and he slowly lowered himself to the ground and rolled onto his side. Avery quickly stepped away to give those gigantic legs plenty of room. He couldn’t imagine getting kicked by one of those humongous things.

With the moonlight still shining down upon them, Avery noticed Warwick’s scales became finer and less thick on his underbelly. He scratched Warwick’s belly, and the ground trembled from Warwick’s tail thumping happily.

“Oh my, and here I thought only canines did stuff like that.”

Warwick snorted, twitched, and then one of his back legs began to cycle from the belly scratches.

Avery laughed loudly and tried to reach every part of Warwick’s belly he could. “Feels good, right?”

If someone had told Avery a week ago that he’d be in an isolated field, scratching a dragon’s belly, he would’ve insisted they check into a mental hospital. But here he was, doing just that.

The power rolling off Warwick was unlike anything he’d ever felt before, including every Alpha he’d met. It danced along his skin, little pops and tingles that tickled. He realized then how much Warwick kept his power under wraps when in human form. If he didn’t, damn near every person he met—human and paranormal alike—would probably drop to their knees under its influence.

Oddly enough, it didn’t send his wolf scrambling in distress. There was no doubt Warwick was far more powerful than him. Even if Avery had been an Alpha, he couldn’t compete, but Warwick didn’t aggravate the animal side of Avery’s nature.

Instead, it flowed over him like a gently moving brook over smooth pebbles. That’s about how Avery felt too—so insignificant in front of such a powerful being, but… safe, like this was what was meant to be.

He checked in with his wolf and wasn’t surprised he was relaxed and calm, not curled up and whimpering from the power in the air. With one last good scratch to Warwick’s belly, he continued his exploration farther down Warwick’s body.

Warwick rolled so his belly wasn’t exposed anymore, and it dawned on Avery what Warwick had done—he’d shown Avery his stomach. That wasn’t something animals did unless there was trust. He had to swallow past the lump in his throat. Warwick trusted him. He patted Warwick and received a low, growly purr in return.

The muscles Warwick had were astounding. His legs were impressive, but that made sense considering the weight they had to uphold. Avery wondered if Warwick was capable of running in this form.

He made a mental note to ask, although honestly he would bet Warwick didn’t unless he had to. He could see trees falling left and right as Warwick thundered across the ground, and snickered. They definitely wouldn’t be playing catch.

Warwick raised his head and shot him a quick glance, but Avery shook his head. Yeah, he wasn’t sharing that. He looked at Warwick’s back foot, or paw, or whatever Warwick called it. The talons at the end were nearly as thick as his forearm. He shivered slightly, imagining Warwick picking up something like a cow right off the ground.

Avery quickly walked around the back end and examined Warwick’s tail. Obviously it could move on its own, like his could in wolf form, and was also covered in scales. The arrowhead on the end was deadly sharp from the looks of it. Avery decided not to touch it. He walked up the other side of Warwick, following the spikes that ran the length of his spine.

It was then he noticed the wings. Avery shook his head in amazement. By the gods, how had he missed those? They were set above Warwick’s muscular shoulder blades. Currently they were folded and lying flat against Warwick’s back, but before they left this field, Avery was determined to see them opened and stretched out.

Avery drew closer to Warwick’s skull. The frill-like ears were more delicate than Avery would have thought. Warwick’s eyes were close to the same purple he had in human form, but the pupil was now slitted, like a reptile’s. There was no denying Warwick had many similarities with reptiles in this form.

Warwick winked at him. Avery giggled, then was slightly mortified at the sound. Oh well, giggling might not be the most manly sound to make in such a moment, but at least he wasn’t screaming in terror. He wondered how many had done that.

He paused before walking around in front of Warwick. For some reason that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, standing in front of Warwick unnerved him. Maybe it was the idea of what Warwick could do with such a mouth. Straightening his shoulders, Avery reminded himself there was nothing to be afraid of and walked toward Warwick’s snout. A warm breeze lifted his hair, and Avery jumped, realizing what he felt was Warwick’s breath. He also hadn’t realized until then how much heat Warwick put off in this form, which was interesting since Warwick always seemed to be cold in human form.

Avery moved back around to where he could see one of Warwick’s eyes. Warwick must have recognized he was done exploring and slowly clambered back up to his feet.

“Can I see your wings?”

Warwick extended them, and Avery gasped. They wore enormous. They reminded Avery of batwings, only more leathery and a thousand times bigger. Of course, they had to be if they were going to support Warwick as he flew. And they were indeed monstrous.

“Like I said, magnificent.”

Warwick preened.

Avery laughed softly. “Honestly, you’re terrifyingly beautiful.”

Warwick flapped his wings, and the breeze practically pushed Avery off his feet.

“Hey, now!”

Warwick snorted as he looked down at Avery.

“Who ever thought a dragon could snort?” Avery sighed as he looked at the superb creature standing in front of him. “I take it since you have wings, you’re capable of flight?”

Warwick nodded.

“That must be wonderful,” Avery whispered. “Soaring up there, looking down on all of us, nothing but the moon and stars around you. I can’t imagine.”

Warwick crouched.

Avery opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “I, ah… I… oh goddess. Are you asking me to get on?”

Emphatically, Warwick nodded.

“I wish we could communicate.” Avery scratched his head, then shuffled his feet. He wanted to climb aboard, but… yeah. But. How safe was it? But he really wanted to fly too. “Can I fall off?”

Warwick squinted at him. Even Avery had to admit having a dragon squint at him was a little scary.

“Don’t give me that look. I can’t fly, and falling to my death is not the way I want to go.”

Warwick grumbled and nudged him with his wing.

“Okay, okay! Stop before you knock me over. Jeez, I’ve lost my mind. There’s no other explanation.” Avery took a deep breath and released it. “Going to have to put your clothes down, as much as I hate to do that.” He laid the clothes on a patch of dead leaves. The thought of that expensive suit on the ground made him sick. Or maybe it was because he couldn’t believe what he was about to do. Nope. It was the clothes on the ground, all right. Riding a dragon was going to be freaking awesome.

He checked to make sure his scarf was secured and his coat was buttoned. “Don’t go too high, okay? Not for my first time.”

Warwick huffed and extended his wing toward Avery.

“Oh good. I was wondering how I would get on you.”

Avery backed up a few feet, bounced on his toes, and tried to release the tension in his body. Even though Warwick had bent down for him, it was a good thing Avery had the strength of a werewolf. He was going to need it. Cautiously he climbed up the wing.