“Bobbi?” it said and this time it sounded familiar. “God, did those bastards hurt you? Are you all right?”
“D-dragon?” she stuttered, trying to make out his features in the gloom. “Is that you? But I thought…”
“Thought what?” He scooped her up and held her close to his broad chest.. “What are you doing out here, anyway?” he demanded, sounding upset. “Why in the hell would you go outside the Market boundaries? And why were you at the Market in the first place? You haven’t even been in the compound a whole month yet—you shouldn’t have been allowed out!”
As he spoke, he carried her out of the alley into the weak, gray sunlight and Bobbi saw that something had torn his shirt to shreds and he was smeared all over with green, oily Saurian blood. Had he been the killer in the alley? But how was that possible? She remembered the deep, wild voice and the feeling as though wings were fanning the air around her.
“Who are you?” she whispered, looking up into his eyes, which were bronze again.
“The male who loves you,” he growled. “And I want to know how in the hell you ended up in an alley with two thugs trying to kill you?”
“I…I was just trying to buy you a pet,” Bobbi whispered. And then the enormity of what had almost happened to her came down on her head all at once and she burst into tears.
46
Dragon cradled the sobbing feela close to his chest as he walked swiftly through the Market and back to his family’s compound. He ignored the curious stares Bobbi’s tears and his own, blood-splattered appearance drew. The only thing that mattered now was that the female he loved was safe.
He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened in the alley. For a moment it had felt almost like someone—or something else—had taken over his body. It was that other entity—the one who had been awakened when he found Bobbi, he thought. The one that Claimed her the same way Dragon did.
It should have felt wrong to share her with that other entity—with the wild thing that was hidden inside him. But for some reason, Dragon didn’t mind sharing in this instance. It was as though they were both protecting her—keeping her safe—loving and cherishing her together.
You should have marked her. The voice spoke up again, but this time it was inside his head instead of speaking through his mouth, which was a relief.
What do you mean, “Marked her”? Dragon thought at it.
It occurred to him that maybe he was going crazy—talking to a voice in his head like this. But it didn’t feel crazy or wrong at all. On the contrary, it felt right. As though the voice was part of him—a part that cared about Bobbi every bit as much as he did himself.
Should have marked her with our scent, the deep, wild voice advised him. Then no other males dare come near.
It fell silent but Dragon’s head was suddenly filled with images of himself and the little feela in his arms—images of Bobbi lying back with her legs spread as he pressed between them, rubbing his cheeks and mouth all over her naked body—pressing his lips to her inner thighs and soft little pussy to mark her with his scent. His scent that would act as a deterrent to any other male within a three click radius…
I can’t, he thought. She told me her kind doesn’t allow that—doesn’t allow tasting—until after marriage.
But she isn’t safe. The wild voice was back, arguing with him. If you do not keep her safe, then I will!
Then it fell silent again, but it was by no means gone, Dragon thought. And he recognized a threat when he heard one. This thing inside him had already proved that it could take him over—though the only time it seemed to feel that was necessary was when Bobbi was in danger. It was threatening to come out again, if he didn’t do everything in his power to keep the woman they both loved safe.
Why had it never come out before? He thought of all the fights—many for his life—that he had been in since he had become a man and joined one of his Sire’s crews as an enforcer. Where had the secret, strange entity been during all of those?
You had not found her yet, the deep voice answered. I was not needed. Now, I am and so I awoke. She woke me.
She woke me, too, Dragon thought, looking down at Bobbi’s tearstained face, her big blue eyes swollen with crying. She woke both of us…and we can never go back to sleep again.
His inner thoughts—and the strange conversation with the voice from inside him—were interrupted when he was halfway through the compound. Mother Tizlah, two guards, and the little Pleasure Girl that Bobbi had befriended—Dragon thought her name was “Keelah”—all came rushing out the kitchen doors to greet them.