Odessa

I was staring into a whole new world when I blinked my eyes. The colors were more vibrant than before if that were ever possible. The dirt between my fingers, well now claws, scratched at the tiny rocks in the soil. My talons were large, purple, just like in the dragon in the dream I had when I met my father. The scales shimmered in the suns, causing a beautiful rainbow reflection.

"I'm a dragon?" my voice came out louder, deeper, but still the feminine edge to my voice. Wiggling my claws, I could see a large black one next to mine. Straining my neck, I see none other than Creed's black dragon, only this time his matte black scales shimmered and his dark rainbow-color reflection matched mine.

"We are mated, we are one in the same," his voice bore deep. His dragon's head touched mine. I automatically closed my eyes, feeling the warmth coming from his face. "We changed each other."

"You are so pretty," I cooed. "I mean, pretty ferocious," I corrected, hearing him snort at my earlier statement.

"Are you ready to stand?" I shook my head. I was perfectly happy staying on the ground. If I started walking on all fours, it would make this too real and I'd wake up from this surreal dream. I mean, I was a dragon! A dragon!

"Come on," his snout nudged my shoulder. "I'm not leaving you." My legs were not shaky like I feared them to be. They were strong as trunks of trees. I picked up one at a time, wiggling each of my toes. My feathers swayed in the wind as the updraft was felt on my face.

The cliff wasn't very large. In fact, we were quite crowded now and walking was going to be a problem. "Are you ready to fly?" Creed looked up to the suns, basking in the rays shining down on his now shiny scales.

"Are you kidding? I just stood up. Shouldn't I walk first?" I backed up, only for my tail to bump into the ridged rocks behind me.

"There isn't enough space, and your body is now too large to walk back down the path," Creed pointed out.

I gasped, "are you calling me fat!?" I shook my head, now looking at how long my body actually was. I was massive, not as in fat but just, long, tall, and very lean. Creed's dragon let out his fire, pointing it down the cliff. "No, my fledgling, you are not fat. You are quite the opposite of a dragon. I'll have to fatten you up, catch some bears or even beasts up North to fill your stomach."

"Now, I'm a baby?" I wanted to pout but my newly scaled lips couldn't move in such a way. Instead, my tongue slithered out of my mouth like a snake, smelling the air. It smelled like someone was cooking at the palace, it smelled like an amazing stew I had just yesterday.

"Yes, you are my fledgling," Creed's forehead continued to push me closer to the cliff. "You are like a fledgling dragon, so I will teach you like my mother taught me."

"Were you at the top of the cliff?" My neck curled, looking down. We were really high up, like super high. My legs wobbled until I sat down with a thud in the grass.

"I lived on the mountains. There are cliffs at all angles," he snorted. "So I am going to help you fly, are you ready?" Shaking my head, feeling the feathers trail down my neck, I panicked. "What are you going to do to help me fly?" My claws dug into the soil.

"Just a push, like a bird coming out of the nest." I whimpered, feeling my head drop between my front legs. He expects me to jump and just fly? Some birds don't even fly once they are kicked out. They hop on the ground like wounded prey, and I knew for sure I was going to be that one bird that gets eaten because I break a leg.

Creed's dragon purred loudly, now straddling my dragon as I lay on the ground. My eyes were closed tight and the soft underbelly of his dragon sunk into my back. It wasn't sexual. He didn't move his body, but it vibrated heavily. His tail wrapped around us, the smooth calming growls had be relax and loosened my frame.

"My Fawn, I have always told you I would protect you," his voice sounded hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid," I said, feeling guilty. "What if I fall?"

"Then that is when I catch you." He lifted from my body. Feeling better at his comforting words, I stood up, eyeing him warily.

"I won't push you, you go on your own. I'll be right behind you, Odessa." Nodding, I felt my dragon's heart accelerate. She seems to know what she is doing as my wings open for the first time. They were massive, much longer than I expected. The wind howled, coming up the cliff until finally, my wings caught the wind as I gently stepped off the rock.

My body flew downwards, my wings catching the wind again as I flapped them ferociously, worried that the massive wings wouldn't hold me, but I was completely wrong. It was like breathing. It was the instinct of the animal inside me that took over. We were three feet above the ground when Creed's shadow flew over us.

He let out a gruff and dare say a toothy smile, beckoning to follow him, which I let the animal inside me take over again. We flew over the ocean, letting the ocean spray fall on our scales. The warm water had me leaning side to side, the tips of the wings acting like fingers dancing through the water. Creed would fly higher and higher, only to fall backward and letting his dragon catch himself at the last minute before he would plunge into the ocean.

Creed continued to fly around me, much better at technicalities than I was, but I still had the most fun trying to keep up. My claws ran with the wind, trying to catch hold of Creed's tail until he took the most unexpected turn, causing me to laugh hysterically.

Creed led me up to the palace. It was so tall when I first arrived here on Creed's back, but now that I inhabited this dragon's body, it didn't seem that large at all. We circled each tower, hovering over large windows looking inside, laughing when we could see Orion and Willa pointing up at the skylight.

Ferocious roars echoed through the enormous towers, having my dragon clutch its claws with fright. "It's alright, it is Amora!" His eyes lit up, seeing a light brown and green dragon latch onto the side of the smallest tower column. Amora's bright green eyes scrunched, imitating a smile as another navy blue dragon grabbed hold behind her, tucking her closer to the stones.

"Your dragon," Creed spoke. "It has been so long." Amora nuzzled her dragon's head to Nicholas until I gasped.

"Wha-?" I stuttered.

"Mate, Nicholas is my mate." Nicholas purred, his dragon pushing his body tighter to Amora. "Adam is a disgraceful person," her dragon let out a cry of defeat. It was the saddest cry, more so than any human could mate. It was full of pain and suffering. Nicholas purred louder, hushing her cries. "Enough of that," her dragon chirped as if she had never cried at all. "We will talk more later. For now, we should celebrate." Nicholas pushed away, hovering over Amora's dragon as she scraped her claws against the stone, pushing away. Her dragon let out another roar as Nicholas chased after her.

We all flew back over the water, doing nose dive after nose dive, feeling the rush of the air between each feather. Amora and Nicholas looked happy. Her laughs echoed through the rocky passages of mazes off the shore. Sirens continued to jump from the water, trying to touch our underbelly, and an abundance of dolphins joining in on the fun, trying to race us from cliff to cliff.

My wings never grew tired. Each passing moment had me becoming more confident. As he promised, Creed never left my side, watching me carefully, pushing my limits.

We flew until the suns had almost set on the opposite side of the land. The sea waters grew dark. The sirens that had watched us play and dance with each other in the air had already submerged themselves until we finally landed on the white, sandy beach.

Creed's dragon came up to mine, purring louder than a lion as our foreheads touched. Our scaled faces rubbing against each other's cheeks and tails intertwine around each other. Dragons may inhabit our bodies while we are human, but while we are dragons, we inhabit theirs. Our dragons were as much in love with each other as we were.

"I love you," my eyes began to water. Never in my life had I ever thought I would experience such an emotion, not after the horrible way my father had lived alone. Could any human experience an emotion such as this without a bond? I felt sorry for those who don't and grateful that I have Creed as my bonded mate.

"And I love you, my little fawn."

.....

Creed

Having Odessa shift back into her human form was difficult. Her dragon didn't want to transform back into her human body because she was worried mine would fly off and leave her. She pranced on the beach back and forth with the front claws, making me laugh that Odessa couldn't control it. I spoke to my dragon, trying to explain we had to shift at the same time if we ever wanted to eat. Once we both shifted together, our clothes remained on our bodies. "The magic will help keep your clothes from ripping," I smiled. "I'm thankful for that because I would want no one to see what is mine." Taking my hand, I laced our fingers together, pulling her back to our 'rutting cave.'

"I thought all shifters were okay with their nakedness. You seemed to prance around just fine before you could talk to me." My face turned scarlet, trying to hide my face from Odessa. I did not prance, and I did not strut. Alright, maybe I show my muscles when we first bathed together back at our cave, but that was only because my dragon deemed it important. To show her I could pleasure he later.

And I certainly did.

"I do not understand what you mean." I shook my head, leading her down the winding passageway, still pulling her arm. Her giggles excited me until I reached our bed. An unfamiliar smell hovered over it. The air was stagnant and smelled of death.

Pulling her to my side, she gasped, then let out a loud cry. "FLUFFY!" Her hands pulled at my waist, holding me close. I looked to the other side of the bed, a paw lying in a pool of blood. My tongue slid from my mouth. Now smelling the stench, I pulled Odessa with me, not willing to let her go. Covering her eyes, I leaned over the bed, finding Fluffy no longer breathing, his eyes opened in fear, his claws covered in another scent.

"Can you stand?" Odessa whimpered, covering her eyes, silently crying. Kneeling, I lifted his paw, letting my tongue catch the scent of what he fought so valiantly. My claws extended, realizing who it could be. All this time, I had worried about my brother knowing and taking what was mine. I had completely forgotten that Odessa was being hunted also by someone else.

"Creed," she whispered. In the large mirror that hung above our bed, there was a message written in our pet's blood. "She can't hide forever."