Page 30 of Protecting His Treasure

“No. But I am. If I claim my mate on the night of the full moon, I’ll end up killing her. If she and I avoid each other on that night, we’ll both die. But there’s one way to keep both scenarios from happening.”

Rankin gasped. “You plan to kill yourself.”

“If I die before the full moon arrives, my mate will no longer be bonded with me. Therefore, she will no longer be a part of the curse of the first full moon. She’s not a dragon shifter. With my death, she’d no longer be mated to a dragon. Therefore, the curse will no longer apply to her.”

“That is true,” Thompson said. “But we would like to try something else before you sacrifice yourself for your mate.”

“We’ve tried everything.”

“Have you forgotten the test we mentioned? The one we said you could die from before it was complete?”

“The test. Yeah, I remember.” Kaede sat back down.

“Since you’re prepared to die anyway,” Silas said. “You may as well take the test. If you pass it, you will no longer have to worry about harming your mate during the full moon.”

“But if I fail it…”

“You die,” the four men said in unison.

Let’s do it, his dragon said.

“I’ll do it,” Kaede told the Elders.