Chapter Five

Broderick

The zoo had proved to be more fun than I ever would have guessed. I couldn't remember a time when I been around so many other people. When was the last time I did anything for fun like that? I couldn't remember that either.

Sure, I went out to the bar with my coworkers after a long day in the sun. But that didn't compare at all to the time I’d spent at the zoo with my mate. For a moment, I could picture us there with our child, running from exhibit to exhibit, showing them the animals. Hell, I’d even enjoyed staring down the lion, though Mason made me walk away from it, which wounded my dragon’s pride. The human side of me knew that I couldn’t get into a pissing match with another predator based on pride alone.

I had to walk away because of the other humans in the area, but I knew that my dragon could snap the lion in two if we met in the wild.

When we got back to the house, both kids were sleeping so Frost, Gale, Flint and Leonidas disappeared into the house, mumbling something about sleeping while the babies slept.

Mason and I stood outside. He glanced between the garage and the house.

“Thinking about getting some work done?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I'm not feeling overly inspired these days. All of my ideas have run dry since I've been here.”

“Oh,” I said. Not sure exactly how to respond. I knew my mate was talented, I'd seen his pieces, pictures of them online at least. The dragon carving that Frost had gotten as a gift from Mason was exquisite.

“Want to go flying?” I blurted out.

He turned around and looked at me. “With you?”

“I don’t see any other dragons out here,” I said.

He bit his lip and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

I held up my hands. “No strings attached. Just go for quick flight around the property. I promise I won't let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” he said. “It's just, you've been avoiding me for a week now.”

“Well, I figured you could use your space.”

He chewed his lip some more. “I'm not the one who wants space, Broderick.” My name on his lips went straight to my cock.

“Do you want to go flying or not?” I asked.

“I do.”

“Let's go.” I started stripping off my clothes, tossing them on to the ground. He continued to stare at me, his gaze never leaving my body and I deliberately slowed my movements.

He rolled his eyes. “I don't have all day, you know.”

“Oh, yeah? You've got some pressing business to attend to?”

He stomped his foot. “You know, you don't have to be such an asshole.”

“It's in my nature, mate. Sorry.” There was no apology in my voice.

He turned to leave, and I thought maybe I’d lost him, so I quickly transformed into my dragon, hoping the abrupt change would stop him in his tracks. It did. I towered over him. He looked tiny compared to my huge brute of a dragon.

“Holy shit,” he said. “You’re huge.”

I rumbled at that.

He laughed. “I’m sure you hear that all the time.”

I held out one arm and he took a confident step forward without hesitation, which made my dragon preen. Our mate felt safe with us. He wasn't scared at all. Once he climbed into my outstretched hand, I was able to help him onto my back and he settled between my wings.

I wish I’d been able to give him a fair warning that I'd be taking off, but I didn't think to inform him prior to switching over. Once I knew he held on tight, I launched into the air. He let out a shrill of surprise, but there was no fear. I flapped my wings lifting higher into the air until I caught an air pocket and coasted.

“This is amazing!”

I smiled inwardly. Making my mate happy, hearing his joy, feeling his joy through our incomplete bond was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. And I wanted more of it. Being with him today, experiencing the zoo together made me realize how it could be if we were together for real. I flew for a while, not wanting the time I spent with him to end, not wanting to go back to my human form where I would say stupid, rude things that would piss him off and push him away. As a dragon I didn’t think logically about having a mate. I didn’t think about the loss, about what it would feel like if Mason was taken from me.

Although I knew it wasn't fair to him to run so hot and cold each day. It had to be confusing and annoying. My dragon didn’t care.

After flying for a while, Mason shifted on my back. He lay down, sprawling out completely between my wings. As gently as I could, I touched down and he slid off me.

“Wow,” he said, wobbling a bit as he tried to walk. “That was amazing.”

We'd landed in my favorite clearing, the place where I'd found him just a week ago, when he’d run off after I said those horrible things. I transformed back to my human self.

Mason rested on a rock and I sat next to him.

“Is this your clearing?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “I had the rocks brought in. My dragon sometimes likes to lay down on them, and sleep. I once spent a whole a week camped out here, just sleeping on the rocks.”

“Really?” He asked. “A whole week just sleeping?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, when you have all the time in the world at your disposal and no one to share it with…”

“I get that,” he said. “Can't quite imagine it, but I sort of understand.” He lay back and rested his hands behind his head, staring at the sky.

I looked down at him. His eyes were closed, his hands behind his head, completely relaxed, breathtaking. Before I could think better of it, I leaned down and kissed his lips. He sucked in a breath of surprise, but then kissed me back. His hand going around my neck, holding me close to him. I wanted a better angle, and I didn't want to crush him. So, I hoisted him into the air until he straddled my lap, deepening the kiss. My tongue seeking entrance into his mouth, stroking his tongue, drawing a moan from him.

His taste was something I'd never forget, something I wanted to experience every day for the rest of my life. Was it like this for all mates? If so, I could definitely see the appeal.

My hand trailed down his stomach, under his shirt and I found the waist of his jeans. I stilled, waiting for permission. Mason bucked his hips.
“Please. Touch me,” he moaned.

That was all I needed to hear.

I slipped my hand inside, tugging at the pants with my other hand to get them off him.

My cock leaked already, and I hadn’t even laid a hand on myself.

I lifted away from his lips and he whimpered. I winked at him and whirled us around, so that I stood, and he lay back on the rocks again. Then I slid down his body. I took his hardened cock into my hand, pumped it a few times, then I stuck my tongue out to catch the bead of cum leaking from the tip.

He tasted better than the finest wine. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. I had to have more of him. All at once I took him completely into my mouth. Licking, sucking, drawing pleasure as well as giving it.
Mason’s hand went to the back of my head and he laced his fingers through my hair.

I rolled his balls in my hand, loving the feel of them, the weight of them.

I’d never bothered giving blow jobs to my lovers before, but this was different. Mason was different. I was made for him, and he for me. There would be no more lovers for either of us.

“Broderick.” His breath came in short, hard pants and I knew it wouldn’t be much longer.               I doubled down, bobbing up and down the length of him, my cheeks hollowing as I sucked him down.

The first shot of cum hit the back of my throat and his hips jerked, pushing him deeper into my mouth. I loved it. My mate fucked my face and I couldn’t get enough. His cum filled my mouth, and I swallowed as much of it as I could, until it was too much, and it leaked from my mouth.

I sat back, wiped off my chin, and grinned at him.

He lay on the rock, breathing heavily, his cock softening against his exposed thigh.

I climbed up next to him and pulled him against me.

“That was amazing,” he said.

I chuckled. “I’m glad you liked it.”

He sighed against my chest and snuggled closer. We lay like that for a while afterward. Our fingers laced together as we stared up at the sky. I asked him about his family, and he told me about the mischief he and Jericho had gotten into when they were younger, about how he’d gotten into stone carving, and the odd jobs he’d done around the pack compound. I was content to stay there forever next to my mate, hearing him talk about his life, his hopes, his dreams, his artwork.

Here in the clearing, I could ignore the threat of the outside world. Ignore the fact that at any given moment my mate could be ripped from my arms and taken from me, that any child we created would be in danger. But then Mason's stomach rumbled, indicating to me that my mate needed sustenance.

I sat up. “Hungry?”

He smiled. “A little bit.”

“C’mon,” I said. “Let's get you to the kitchen.”

I took a step back from him and transformed into my dragon. He laid a hand on my scales, caressing my neck.

“You're absolutely gorgeous,” he said.

I let out a roar and he jumped. “That's quite impressive as well,” he said.

I preened at the compliment. I helped him onto my back and took off. I didn't bother playing around this time, I went straight for the house.

It was almost completely dark by the time we got back, so I landed and helped Mason off my back, transforming quickly into my human form. I put my clothes back on and grabbed Mason's hand, leading him into the house to the kitchen where I could make sure he had his fill of food before taking him up to my room.

Unfortunately, we weren't alone in our evening snack endeavors. We found the entire household in the kitchen, huddled around a laptop.

“What's going on?” Mason asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just me being a genius,” Flint said.

I cocked an eyebrow at that. “Oh, really? That'll be new and different.”

Flint stuck his tongue out at me. Leonidas pulled him back onto his lap. “We put some of Flint’s computer skills to use. He had the brilliant idea of putting together a composite image of the vampire to see if we could find someone who recognizes him. As of right now we know absolutely nothing about him. Not even his name. We figured Valerie could take this around and see if anyone has heard of him.”

“Awesome. Like a police sketch artist.” I pulled open the fridge, grabbed a half full pizza box, and looked at Mason. “You like cold pizza?”

He grinned. “Yeah, it's the best.”

I winked. “I agree.” I intended to take the pizza back to my suite with me and Mason as well, see if we couldn't pick up where we left off once his stomach was full.

“Mason, you haven't seen the vampire yet. Here. This is who we're looking for.” Frost handed Mason a sheet of paper.

I recognized the murderous face immediately. “That's damn good work, Flint. I'm impressed. Looks just like him.”

“Peter,” Mason whispered, so quiet I almost didn't hear it.

“What?” I asked.

Mason looked up, looking around at everyone frantically. “This is the vampire?” He said.

“Yeah. Do you recognize him?” Gale asked.

I took a step toward Mason. My heart rate increased. “You know him?” I growled. I already knew the answer, recognition firing in Mason’s eyes.

“Yes,” Mason said. “He's a regular at the shop back home. He─he's one of my best customers.”

We all stood stunned, looking at him.

“How long has he been a customer?” Gale asked slowly.

“Just a couple of months. I saw him the first time after I came back from being here, when we returned home with Cody.”

After he met me. I crumpled the pizza box that I held in my hands.

“How could he possibly know about Mason? No one beyond this property knows about Mason being my mate. How could he have found him?” My breath came in short pants and the edges of my vision blurred, kicking my anger up another notch.

Gale and Leonidas exchanged a look.

“How?” I roared.

“We don't know,” Gale said.

“Did you talk to him a lot?” Frost asked as he grabbed Mason's hand and guided him to the table to sit. “What do you know about him? What can you tell us?”

Confusion clouded my mate’s face. He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Not much. He came in a few times. He bought a few of my pieces. He was friendly, he─” Mason bit his lip.

“What?” I said. I slammed my fist on the counter. “Tell me.”

“Back off, Broderick,” Frost said. “You being an asshole isn't going to help.”

I gripped the edge of the counter top to ground myself and waited for my mate to speak.

“He was friendly. He always wore thick cologne, probably to mask his scent, now that I think about it. There's no way that he could be walking around a town full of wolves and not have anyone notice. He only came in a few times, but he would call and ask about my new pieces and when I would be working, at least once a week. I didn't think anything of it.” Mason snuck a glance at me before he continued. “I saw him the last day I was there, when I went to pick up my tools. He─he gave me his number, and he kissed me on the cheek, told me that he would miss me, and he’d keep in touch.”

The granite countertop snapped under the force of my hold.

“Ignore him,” Frost said. “What more can you tell us?”

“That's it,” Mason said. “I’ve texted him a few times since I’ve been here, but not much.”

“Why would you give him your number?” I roared.

Mason glared. “He was nice to me, alright? He asked for it and I gave it to him. A lot of my clients have my number. How the fuck was I supposed to know that he was a vampire? I’m just a weak, fragile human, remember? Aside from the creepy huge amulet he wore and the overused cologne, he was completely normal.”

“He wore an amulet?” Leonidas asked. “What did it look like?”

Mason shrugged. “I don’t know, I only saw it once. But he seemed to try and cover it up, like he didn't want me to know he had it. That's the only thing that sticks out about him.”

“Can you describe it for me?” Flint asked.

Mason nodded. “I can draw it for you if you want.”

“That would be perfect. We can send it to Armant and Valerie, see what they know about it. It could be something. Could be nothing.”

Unable to hear any more so I left the room. Angry at the vampire for getting anywhere near my mate. I couldn't wait for the day that I would tear his throat out and burn him alive. But mostly I was angry at myself for letting my mate be in that situation for two months.  That vampire had free access to Mason during that time because I was busy having my head stuck in my ass. I was lucky that he hadn't done anything then.

What the hell was he waiting for? How could he possibly know that Mason was my mate?

I grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet and went outside to the deck. I sat on a bench, staring off into the distance.

How was I going to fix this?

It wasn't that long ago that I was positive that I didn't want a mate, didn't want to worry about a mate, worry about the loss. But now getting a taste of him, literally, I realized there was so much more to having a mate. I'd begun to see that the benefits just might outweigh the risks. Question was, did I really think I could go through with it? Open myself up to that kind of pain?

Merek sat down in the chair beside me.

“Want to talk about it?” He asked.

“Not particularly.” I took a swig of the whiskey, then handed it to him.

He shook his head. “That's all you, man. I don't have any sorrows to drown just yet.”

I snorted. “Well, I'm sure when you find your mate, you'll have plenty of anxiety to go along with it.”

“Is that what this is about?” He said. “You think having a mate is too tough, so you want to just not claim him? Push him away?”

“I don't know. That’s how I felt at first, but the more time I spend with him…” I trailed off, he got the idea, I didn’t need to continue.

“I'd give anything to find my mate right now,” Merek said quietly.

“You will in due time, I'm sure.”

“Before or after the vampire or Molpe gets him?”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “We won't let that happen.”

“Well, you already let your mate nearly slip through your fingers.”

My dragon roared at that. “I have not,” I said indignantly. “Mason is mine.”

“Then act like it,” Merek said. “You should be comforting him right now. At the very least, listen to what he has to say. Instead, you stormed out like a petulant child, just like you do every time he's around. You storm out of the room and avoid him.”

I wanted to tell him to mind his own damn business and leave me the fuck alone. What did he know? But I knew that wasn't fair. My behavior was exactly as he’d described. All of us knew loss. I was the only weak one who couldn't seem to handle it after two thousand years.

“What if I lose him?” I said quietly. “What if I can't protect him? I couldn't protect my brothers or their mates from the war all those years ago. Stone dragons─the brutes, the heavy lifters of the dragon species were the first recruits, and the biggest casualties. Nothing I did or said convinced my family not to fight. I couldn’t save them. Why would this be any different? The black dragons, the jewel dragons, you all were the masterminds. You played your part, and it was a big part, but you weren't on the front lines.”

“No,” Merek said. “We weren't. But they're all dead just the same. We were chosen to stay because we didn't believe that we were superior simply because we were dragons. And now after all these years, the Fates have given us our mates, allowed us to continue the dragon species. And you want to throw all that away because you're afraid that you might lose him? That's fucking stupid, Broderick. You think that Gale and Leonidas regret having their mates? You've seen them with Frost and Flint, and those two babies. How can you not want that?”

“I do. More than anything. But I don't want to lose him.”

Merek grabbed the bottle from me and took a swig. “Well, brother, you might not need to worry about that too much longer. You’ve caused irreparable damage at this point.”

I took the bottle back from him and finished it. I’d need several more swigs if I actually wanted to get a buzz. I hoped Merek was wrong, but I couldn't help but wonder. I stood and started back towards the house.

“Where are you going?” he said.

“I’m going to fix this.”

***

I paced around my room, rehearsing in my head what I could say to Mason to help him to understand and forgive me for the things that I'd done in pushing him away. I'd start with ‘I'm sorry, and I promise to do better,’ and I hoped to hell that that would at least get him to listen to me. Then I’d explain about my family.

I stood in front of my door, took a deep breath, and opened it, ready to march out and track down Mason, either in his room or camped out in the game room. Instead, I found him standing just outside my door, hand raised ready to knock. The rehearsed speech I had in my head lost in my confusion.

“Hi,” I said, taken aback at seeing him standing in front of me.

“Hi,” he said.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “Why don’t you come in?”

He looked taken aback at that. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I said.

He stepped into my room. It was similar in size to the other guy’s suites, only mine was plain. I preferred earthy tones. The walls were beige, the carpet was beige, pretty much everything was some shade of beige.

“I'm not going to apologize for talking to Peter,” Mason said. “I had no way of knowing what he was. I am sorry that he kissed me.”

My blood boiled at that, knowing that the vampire had laid hands on my mate.

“It's not your fault,” I said. “I understand you had no way of knowing. I'm not mad at you about that. I'm not mad at you at all. That damn vampire…” I took a deep breath. Now, or never. Time for me to fully come clean in order for my mate and I to move forward.

My gaze locked with his. “I'm terrified, Mason,” I said.

He cocked his head to the side and took a step toward me. “What do you mean? Of what?”

“I'm terrified of losing you, of losing any children that we may have.”

His brow furrowed in genuine confusion. “Why would you lose me? Mates can’t leave each other, it’s just not possible. Once you’re bonded, you’re bonded for life,” he said.

“That’s just it, it’s for life and in my experience, the lives of people I love end. I lose them. Two thousand years ago, before the war, before dragons were wiped from the Earth. I had four brothers and my two dads. We all worked together in the mines. Being stone dragons, that was kind of our thing. Manual labor. It's why I still do construction jobs to this day. The others have all amassed their fortunes with businesses of some sort. I've never owned a business in my life. I've amassed a fortune via good investments, but I've still mostly just done manual labor my entire life. It's what stone dragons are good for.”

I ran a hand through my hair.

Mason opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him. I needed to get this out.

“My brother, Carrik, was one of the first recruited for the army. He was bigger than me, if you can imagine that. Stronger than me too. Younger, though, and more hot-headed. He had a mate. They were young, even in human years. But they were so in love. I was envious of him having found his mate so early in life, while I still searched for mine. I tried to talk him out of helping with the war effort, but he didn’t listen to me. It paid well, and he couldn’t imagine that the dragons would lose. The invincibility of youth and all that.”

Mason wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me tight. I appreciated the comfort.

“He left for training. His mate was a month along with their first child. The house was attacked. I’m not even sure by who. They used something that made it difficult to shift, we couldn’t concentrate. I was knocked unconscious. I don’t know why I was left alive. When I came to, Carrick was there, holding his dead mate in his arms, sobbing.” I closed my eyes. It’d been so long since I’d even thought about that day. But the emotion was still raw within me.

“Carrick never recovered. He could never call forth his dragon after that. He didn’t speak, didn’t eat. The next time we were attacked, he didn’t fight back. It wasn’t long after that the Fates intervened, and the war came to an end.”

“I'm not going anywhere.” Mason stepped back and raised a hand to cup my cheek, forcing me to meet his gaze. “I'm just as scared as you are. I'm human living amongst mythical creatures. And despite the fact that I've lived amongst them my entire life, I still can't shake the inadequacies I feel sometimes. But human or not, I know that this is right. We’re mates. We can’t be without each other, we can’t fight it. And I don’t want to.”

I leaned forward and connected my forehead with his. “You're not just anything. You're an amazing, gorgeous, sweet man. And I can't believe how lucky I am to call you mate.”

Mason smiled. “It’s about time you realized. Show me.”

I connected my lips with his crashing down on him hard. He gave back just as good as he got, wrapping his arms around my neck, and hooking one leg around my hip, climbing me like a polecat.

I hoisted him in the air, and carried him to the bed. I laid him down softly, without ever lifting my lips from his. I ripped off his pants and shirt, then made quick work of my own clothes, tossing them to the floor to be taken care of later, if we ever came up for air and out of this bed.

His hands were everywhere, caressing my chest, rubbing down my biceps. His fingertips trailed over my nipples. My cock jutted out from my body, already leaking pre-cum.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes,” he said. “Claim me. Make me yours. Knot me, like I've heard the omega’s talk about. I want to know what that feels like.”

My dragon roared, ready to take our mate hard and fast, again and again. But I slowed myself down. “Have you…?” I trailed off.

Mason pushed me back a bit so that our eyes met. “No,” he said. “I've always waited for my mate. Waited for you.”

My control nearly slipped just then, and I groaned, crashing my lips down on his again. My fingers went to his entrance, probing gently. His body leaked slick as it prepared itself for me. I easily slipped in two digits, scissoring them to stretch the ring of muscle. He bucked his hips, welcoming the intrusion.

“Oh fuck,” he said.

I kissed his neck, sucking, licking, tasting as much of him as I could.

When I removed my fingers, Mason whimpered. I lined my cock up to his entrance and pushed in slowly. His body opened for me, and I slid in like I belonged there.
Mason groaned when I bottomed out and pulled back again. With each thrust of my hips, his cries of pleasure rose higher and higher. I pumped his cock and before too long, he shot his load between us, pearly white cum landing on his chest.

The sight threw me over the edge and I came inside him, burying my seed deep within my mate.

My cock swelled, and Mason writhed beneath me. More cum shot from his dick.

“Oh, god. Broderick!”

My knot expanded against the walls of his channel and Mason’s eyes rolled back. “Oh fuck. It’s too good. I can’t take it.”

I captured his lips with mine, silencing his screams that I was sure had reached the other rooms by now. We kissed slowly, and our breathing returned to normal. My knot still held, so I rolled over until Mason lay on top of me, still connected. I stroked his head, whispering to him, telling him how perfect, wonderful, and amazing he was.

When my knot finally deflated, and I was able to slip out of him, he slept. I gently moved him off me and got us cleaned up, then climbed back into bed with him.

My mate. In my bed. It was perfect.

He snuggled against me as I pulled the cover over us.

“Tell me about your brothers. All of them, before the war,” Mason said sleepily.

“I’m not even sure where to start.”

“At the beginning.”