Byrd let out a chirp before dumping Noah back into control. His eyes flashed back to brown, and Noah gasped.
“Fun dealing with dragons, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Noah scoffed. “Like riding a roller coaster without a seatbelt.”
Kara snickered.
The look on Noah’s face grew solemn. “Seriously, if you don’t want to do this—”
Kara raised her hand and covered his mouth before he could go on. “Stop,” she said, “I’ve already agreed to it, and if you back out now, you’ll upset Byrd. And you don’t know miserable until your dragon is unhappy with you.” Kara could see dread in Noah’s widened eyes. “Besides, Byrd is cute and sweet. I like him, and my dragon will be happy about it.” Sadness swam through her. “Well, she will if I get her back.”
“Hey,” Noah called, bringing her back from the edge of despair. “We’ll fix this.”
A sad smile turned her mouth. “I hope so.” Fear of never reaching her dragon ate at her heart, and she looked away from him to blink back tears.
Pulling herself together, she met his eyes again. “Either way, I’ll gladly take Byrd as a mate.” She poked Noah in the chest. “You, on the other hand, are going to have to work for it,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
Noah chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
She scoffed at him. “You can start by never zapping me again. That hurt.”
A light laugh slipped from him. “I promise. Never again.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Kara turned the conversation to where it needed to go. “So, how’s this going to work? Do we need to find someone to help us share a scale?”
“No.” Noah shook his head and shifted her around. He held up his arm and showed her the black band that had been around his neck. “We’re going to try this first.”
Kara gave it a confused look. “Your collar?”
Noah nodded and unwound it from his arm. “Raven gave this to me.” His voice was tinged with sorrow. “I thought it was designed to join us as mates, but looking back, I think she knew something was up.”
“Wait,” Kara said, shocked. “You and Raven were a couple?”
Red crept across Noah’s cheeks. “Not really,” he said.
Kara cocked an eyebrow at his embarrassment and waited for him to go on.
“She kind of… um…kidnapped me during her…” Noah paused, cleared his throat, and mumbled something.
“During her what?” Kara asked. She had a pretty good idea where he was going with this, but he looked so cute all flustered and red.
He muttered again.
Smiling, Kara cocked her head, waiting for him to speak up.
The red on his cheeks darkened. “Her fertile period,” he growled through clenched teeth. “She kidnapped me during her fertile period.”
Pity and mirth filled her eye. “I’m sorry.” She tried to sound comforting but failed. Just the idea of a mage being kidnapped by a dragon in heat made her want to laugh.
Noah rolled his eyes and nodded his head. “Anyway. The collar didn’t do what I thought it would.”
That dried Kara’s amusement up. She looked at the black strip of leather. “Then what did it do?”
“I thought it was meant to bind me to Raven,” he explained, “but it bound me to Byrd instead.”
“It’s a link to Byrd!” Kara gasped as things fell into place. This explains everything. Noah had made leaps and bounds in his progress because he’d been helped along by magic. Possibilities flashed through her head. This could be an answer for some of her harder cases. If she could just find a way to duplicate it.
“Yes.”
Noah’s voice pulled her back from her epiphany.
“Byrd feels that we can use this to link us together.” He hesitated. “But he warned me that it’s more than a simple mating bond. It’s a…” he paused and cocked his head as if he were listening. “Byrd doesn’t know exactly what it will do, but he believes it will give him access to your dragon.” Tilting his head, Noah looked back into her eyes. “It’s your choice.” He held the collar out to her.
Nerves made Kara’s palms damp as she reached for the collar. Taking it, she looked at the black dragon tooled into the leather. It was beautifully wrought. With trembling hands, she wrapped the leather around her neck and fastened it in place.
A tingle of magic washed across her mind. The strange sensation made her head swim. Leaning into Noah’s chest, she shut her eyes and held on as the world moved in strange ways. Scales brushed against her insides. That sensation was something she was familiar with, but these scales were strange. They were dark and decisively male.
“Mine.”
The word radiated through her, making her toes curl with desire.
“Yes, Byrd,” Noah’s voice called in her head. “Ours. Now go do what you’re here to do.”
Byrd’s energy brushed against her mind in a loving caress before racing off through her. Heat bloomed on her skin as her heart sped up.
“Easy there,” Noah said, holding her to him. “I’ve got you.”
Kara gasped and opened her eyes to look up at him. His voice had echoed in her head as he spoke. Spikes of desire shivered through her, warming her in places deep inside. She had a feeling that Byrd was responsible for her sudden urges, but she didn’t care. Giving in to them, she reached up, grabbed his head, and pulled it down to her. Surprise flashed across his face as she crushed her lips to his. She could feel the passion ignite inside of him as his arms tightened around her and he kissed her back.
A roar of celebration echoed through them both. A secondary roar followed.
Kara’s heart leaped for joy as the power of her dragon returned. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed out her emotions. Joy, relief, and desire overwhelmed her.
Noah pulled back from the kiss. “Shh.” Running his fingers up through her hair, he pulled her head in against his chest and held her. “You’re all right.” He rocked her for a moment as Byrd finished freeing her dragon. “Come on Byrd,” Noah called, pulling his dragon from her.
Byrd brushed against her mind one last time before slipping away.
As Noah pulled the collar from her throat, the feel of the magic racing through her stopped. Her dragon writhed in pleasure at being back where it belonged, but there was something else there, too. At the very edge of her mind, she could still feel Byrd’s presence. Byrd had been right. Whatever he’d done to free her dragon had left a lasting connection.
Sniffling back her tears, she pushed away from Noah and looked up at him. Concern showed on his face, but she didn’t know what to say to him. For a moment, they had been connected. She had felt his thoughts, his feelings, and seen into his soul. And he had shared hers. It overwhelmed her that a man she’d just met could care so deeply for her. He hadn’t said it, but she had felt it in him. Something needed to be said. Kara opened her mouth, unsure what part of her emotionally driven thoughts would come out, but the sound of a door opening stopped her.
A man stepped out and looked at them. “Hello?”
Kara froze as Noah’s eyes went black and his attention snapped up to the intruder. A rumble of anger rose up from his chest as he tensed, ready to protect his mate.
“Byrd!” Kara yelled, grabbing his face and pulling it down to look at her.
His eyes locked with hers.
She swallowed hard as swirls of black scales rushed over his skin. “Be calm!” she ordered him. “He’s not here to hurt us.” Her fingers relaxed, and she petted him. “Now, give me back Noah.”