Chapter 49
Valencia’s POV
A surge of anger flared in my chest the moment the words left my lips. “I wasn’t telling you to stop.”
The anger wasn’t mine–I was certain of it now. The intensity thrummed along the invisible string connecting us, an emotion that didn’t belong to me flooding my senses. I peeked up at Dante, watching his jaw clench, his icy blue eyes narrowing as he processed my words.
“Was it him?” His voice was low, restrained, but there was no mistaking the fury simmering beneath. “Was it Jaxon?”
My breath hitched, and an unwanted wave of shame washed over me. I hated it–this automatic reaction, this ingrained reflex of modesty Omegas were conditioned to have. Rationally knew the shame wasn’t mine to bear. Yet, the knowledge didn’t stop the sting of embarrassment from creeping up my spine.
Dante’s frown deepened, his gaze locked onto mine, and for a terrifying moment, I thought he was angry at me.
I rushed to explain. “Yeah, but he wasn’t able to do anything. My voice wavered before I quickly added, “I kind of bashed a glass on his head, and then Aiden came in, and everything turned out fine.”
Yeah, at least in this life he wasn’t able to actually do anything.
Dante’s lips pressed into a thin line, his fists clenching. “Why..” His voice was a low growl, filled with disbelief. “Why are you the one feeling ashamed? You didn’t do anything wrong. That bastard deserves a hell of a lot more than a glass to the head.”
The anger thrumming along the bond grew sharper, darker–its intensity curling into something violent. I shivered as his emotions deepened, radiating through me like the discordant strings of a guqin, taut and on the verge of snapping.
I could feel Castor becoming tense because of it too. I needed him to calm down right now.
“Stop, stop that.” I reached forward, clasping his hand in mine, my smaller fingers curling around his. “Nothing happened, And…“I forced a wobbly smile. “And it’s not your fault. If you stop every time I say no, then neither of us will be able to enjoy it. I think.”
Dante’s head tilted, his confusion softening the storm in his eyes. “What do you mean?”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I mean.. I just say stop out of reflex My words caught, my brain serambling to clarify. “I mean, not reflex exactly, but sometimes I don’t mean it-”
1 winced, realizing how bad it sounded. My mouth opened to fix, but nothing coherent came out.
Dante’s brow furrowed. “Wait. His eyes widened as though a lightbulb had gone off. “Are you saying..” He paused, hesitant before continuing. “You enjoy consensual non–consent?”
My brain screeched to a halt.
What?
When his meaning finally clicked, my face flamed hotter than ever. Mortified, I buried my face in my hands.
Dante chuckled softly, his amusement cutting through the tension in the room. “There’s no need to feel embarrassed. But for safety’s sake, we should come up with a safe word. Just in case”
I peeked at him from between my fingers. “A safe word?”
He nodded, his expression serious. “Something that would let me know you actually want me to stop.”
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Tue, Jan 14
Chapter 49
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I thought about it, remembering a couple BDSM romance books I had read many years before. I nodded hesitantly. “Red?”
“The traffle lights? Yeah that’s simple and works well. Red means stop. Yellow for rest. Green for good.”
“Okay,” I muttered quickly, desperate to move past the topic.
He smiled faintly. “Traffic lights it is.”
Eager to shift the conversation, I blurted, “This bond. I’m guessing you can feel it too?”
His gaze softened, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Yeah… it’s kind of amazing, isn’t it?”
The awe in his expression was almost boyish, so out of place on his usually stoic features. I couldn’t help but smile back. “Not as amazing as finding out my husband is a dragon and wolfhybrid.”
My heart thumped loudly. Realizing I had just called him husband I peeked up at his expression and I felt the butterflies in my stomach flutter as I noticed his smile had turned into a smirk We gazed at each other in the slightly weird, slightly tense atmosphere, but none of us made a move.
His attention flickered to the egg nestled in my lap. Castor. His hand rested on mine, warm and grounding, as we shared a moment of quiet understanding
Later that night, the three of us lay together–Castor in my arms, and Dante spooning me from behind. The bond hummed softly between us, no longer turbulent but steady and soothing
Dante’s POV
I woke at 4 am, my internal clock pulling me from sleep. Valencia was still nestled against me, her soft breaths stirring the strands of her auburn hair. Carefully, 1 untangled myself from her without waking her.
The events of last night lingered in my mind, gnawing at me.
Something wasn’t right.
The bloody tears, the sudden shift in Valencia’s demeanor–it all pointed to something deeper, something I couldn’t yet piece together. My gut wouldn’t let up, intuition nagging at me like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
I threw on a shirt and left the room quietly, my steps echoing in the silent corridors. There was only one person who might have answers–my father
Raiden was already in his office when I arrived, a steaming cup of coffee in hand as he pored over a stack of documents.
“Dante?” he asked, surprised but not startled. “What brings you here so early?”
“We need to talk,” I said, taking a seat across from him.
He set his cup down, leaning back in his chair. “This sounds serious.”
“It is.” I hesitated, organizing my thoughts before diving in. “You’ve mentioned that Mom knew a lot about dragons–about their history, their powers. How?”
Raiden’s expression grew thoughtful. “Aurora learned much of it from her mother. Her father was nearly a millennium older, and he passed early. Her mother followed a century later!
His words registered and I stiffened. “How old was Mom?”
Raiden’s lips curved into a wistful smile. “Around three hundred, give or take. She didn’t know her exact birth date, so we made the day we met her birthday.”
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Chapter 49
Three hundred The number lodged itself in my chest, heavy and unyielding.
“And dragons,” I began carefully, “do they all live that long?”
Raiden sighed, his gaze searching mine. He knew what I was really asking. “I’m sorry, son. I don’t know the answer to the question you’re really asking.”
Many people in this world would do anything to have more time. To live longer. To become immortal. But the thought of me outliving my loved ones. My father, brother, my Valencia made something in me break. That was the one thing that I feared. I hadn’t realized when I had started fearing it, but I had.
The thought of being left alone made me want to claw my own heart out of my chest.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, my voice coming out strained. “Then how do I find out?”
Raiden studied me for a moment before reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out a small, intricate key. “Follow me.” Curiosity sparked in my chest as I rose to follow him. We walked in silence to the elevator, but instead of pressing a single button. Raiden simultaneously pressed 1 and 3.
I frowned, my confusion deepening when a panel in the wall slid open, revealing a hidden button marked 13.
The Silverclaw packhouse was referred to as a mansion but was more like a castle in reality. It was initially supposed to have twenty five floors but one of the floor’s construction had stopped midway. Leaving it incomplete and it had to be blocked
off.
“What is this?” I asked, my voice low.
Raiden didn’t answer, his expression unreadable as he pressed the button.
I never understood why Father hadn’t completed the constructions. Why a floor, smack dab in the middle of the building was left completely empty. The thirteenth floor.
The elevator jolted to life, descending into the unknown.
I guess I was about to find out why.
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