"Relax, omega," Ronson said, the words a sweet command.

I went limp in his grip, our kiss paused for our eyes to meet as he claimed me again, profoundly, undeniably.

There was no warning this time, and as ecstasy exploded from my core, storming through me, I realized that the brief, hollow echo I'd felt when he'd hooked his fingers inside of me had been a warning of what was to come.

You're built for my knot.

I was. I was made for this moment, this crescendo, this unlocking. Ronson held a key to a part of myself I hadn't known existed, and the flood that burst forth erased the woman I thought I'd known. I was caught in a tempest, this one turning the world around me, transforming me, and at first I was lost in the winds and the crackling lightning, alone and frightened by the force.

And then the thunder came, rattling my bones, purring in my ear, shaking the foundation of the nest. Hot skin and sharp claws touched me everywhere, and Ronson's quaking was as severe as my own. He was calling my name, pleading it, and I shook in his grip, found his dark, shocked gaze, and held onto it as my lifeline.

There was no escape now, the tug of his knot lodged inside of me and refusing any retreat, so we moved as one. Every nudge of him closer drew out new shudders of my release and every pleasured clasp of my body around his knot forced a groan from his lips and a soft splash of heat inside of me. We rocked in the nest, hands clinging to each other, mouths weak but still starving, and Ronson grew heavier with each passing second, more urgent, his gaze a little less focused.

The rut had arrived, and there was no question of holding onto my sanity as Ronson succumbed. Not when every slight movement, every kiss and scratch and grind, demanded I join him. Not when it was all so wonderful to lose myself with him.

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Chapter TwentyRONSON

Ilicked my lips and found my omega's nectar there. A growl scratched up my throat and I rooted forward, searching for more, snarling when her flavor was replaced with a cool, clean gulp of water. I jerked away, but a smooth hand caught my jaw, stilling me in place.

"Drink, Ronson."

I gaped at the vision before me. Perfect creamy skin, now marked with pink and purple, bruises from my kisses and bites, a map of touch that made my mouth water and long to repeat the claimings. Dark circles drooped under amber eyes, and my omega's lips were so red and swollen, they looked as though they might be just one more nibble away from breaking.

"Drink, alpha," she coaxed, a soft croak in her voice.

Oh, Mairwen, I thought, my chest aching, but I tipped my head back and accepted the draught of water she offered. The more I drank, the greedier I became, but also restless. I was erasing the taste of her. Unacceptable. My hands gathered silken bare flesh in their grip, and Mairwen's breath hitched.

"Claws, alpha."

I froze, jolting as I realized Mairwen's breathlessness was pain, not pleasure, and then spread my palms flat. I tried to clear my throat, but all that came out was a snarl. "I need⁠—"

"You need to drink and eat first," Mairwen said, and her own fingers slid into my beard.

"How long?" I asked, blinking and trying to bring the nest into focus, but the only part that really mattered was the woman in front of me.

Her laugh was rough, and her touch moved into my hair, combing through tangles. "I lost track. Days, less than a week. Something like that."

Not even halfway through the rut. My head had probably only cleared because Mairwen was right and I needed the water and food.

"Will you hold the cup instead of me?" Mairwen asked, those ripe fruit lips curving up.

"No," I rasped, my hands clenching briefly until I could rein my dragon once more.

She sighed and lifted the cup to my lips, waiting for me to drink it dry before twisting away to reach for a plate, the gentle flex of her body making my own tense with want. Scales glimmered over my arms, no longer hiding beneath my soft skin, and I glanced down to see them on my thighs too. Mairwen's body was stretched over mine, and it took me a moment to tear my stare from her glossy, reddened sex and to notice the chafed pink insides of her thighs.

"Are you in pain?" I asked, reaching between us to graze the scale-smooth backs of my fingers over the abraded skin.

"No, alpha," Mairwen said, catching my chin under her fingers and lifting it up, popping a cube of cured meat between my lips before I could press her for the truth. She sucked a berry between her lips, distracting me from my concern, and spoke around it. "You've been very attentive to my…comfort." She chose the last word with a blush on her cheeks, and I purred, leaning forward to nuzzle into her shoulder.

"You have to tell me the truth, omega," I said, letting a little alpha growl lace the words so she would listen. "What's tender?"

Mairwen squirmed against me slightly, and I shuddered as her slick sex stroked against my aching cock. "My breasts," she whispered, and then snorted. "Not that I'm surprised you've been focused there."

A bark of laughter escaped me, and Mairwen took the opportunity to feed me another bite of meat. It was salty and savory, but it was not what my mouth watered for most in this moment. I lifted Mairwen in my arms, ignoring her squawk of protest, savoring the feel of her body wrapped around mine, her plush weight cradled against my chest.

"Ronson—"

I lay her back in the sheets."I need your taste on my tongue, omega. I'll be gentle."

"Ronson, you need⁠—"

"After," I growled, drawing Mairwen's legs up over my shoulders. She opened her mouth to object, and I ducked down, running my tongue over the irritated marks on her inner thighs. Her words of protest died with a moan.

"What's—Ohhhh…"

I rolled my hips forward, grinning into the terrible nest of Mairwen's tangled hair, and hissed as she fluttered and clutched against my cock and knot. I hummed in her ear, my hands sliding up and down her waist, one traveling slowly up to clutch her breast, massaging and waiting for her to whimper. She sighed and sagged against me. Good. She was healing quickly.

"What's that smell?"

I paused in my caresses and blinked into the dark shadows. It was night. Our candle lanterns had burned away the day before, and it made it easier to track the progress of the rut. Mairwen was smaller in my arms. No, I was larger now, my body more easily able to curl around her. I leaned up to stare down at her, and my jaw ached at the sight of her shoulder and the slope of her neck. I shut my eyes and held my breath, waiting for the strange urges to pass before clearing my throat.

"Smell?"

"It's…sweet. Like…like something melting?" she murmured.

My vision had sharpened as my dragon flexed and grew during the rut, and I studied the motion of her lashes with a kind of dumbstruck reverence as she blinked, a dark kiss of feathery softness against the tired circles growing deeper under her eyes. I couldn't clearly recall much of my previous ruts, but I was sure I'd never been so insatiable. I'd fucked to relieve the pulse and pain and demand of the rut, but it hadn't been so…celebratory and imperative.

"Omega…that's you—your perfume."

Mairwen's brow furrowed, and she turned her shoulders to glance at me, stare skidding quickly away. "I don't have a perfume."