Page 51 of Knotted By the Triad

“Too slow.”

I took one step and my knee buckled. Zuri caught me around the waist, struggling beneath my weight.

“You are not walking anywhere like this,” she told me.

“Not... going... to walk.”

She stared at me. “What does that mean?”

I let my dragon surge forward.

“Step back,” I whispered.

Her eyes widened as scales appeared on my skin.

“Daemin, don't you dare,” she hissed.

Too late. The shift tore through me, worse than before. The poison seemed to ignite as my body expanded, blue fire burning through my side while bones cracked and reformed. I nearly lost consciousness before scales finally covered me and my claws sank into the earth.

Zuri stood several feet away with both hands planted on her hips. Even through the haze clouding my mind, I recognized that expression. She was pissed. Good. Pissed meant alive. I’d rather have her angry than dead.

“What part of you're injured are you not understanding?” she yelled.

I lowered myself in front of her and nudged her with my snout.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I nudged her again.

Home.

She needed to get on. I pushed my nose against her shoulder hard enough to make her stumble.

Don’t knock her over.

I wasn’t trying to knock her over. I momentarily forgot how much stronger than her I was like this.

“Stop pushing me!” she snapped.

I rumbled and glanced back, trying to make her understand.

Her eyes narrowed. “You... You want me to climb on you and ride you?”

Ride me? My thoughts took a dirty turn. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I couldn’t think like that right now. But fuck yeah, I wanted her to ride me.

“I mean, ride you like a dragon, not like a...” She paused, her cheeks heating in embarrassment, her sweet scent permeating the air. “Never mind. I’m not riding you, Daemin. You’re injured.”

I lowered myself farther. Zuri looked at my back, then at the wound in my side.

“Daemin, you're bleeding. Help is coming.”

Another growl sounded somewhere in the forest. Her head snapped toward it. The forest creatures had caught the scent of blood. They would come for the dead dragon. We had to leave. I nudged her again. She tapped my snout hard.

“Stop it, Daemin. I'm thinking.”

My dragon blinked at her. No one had ever slapped us. Apparently, our omega did. Something about that pleased my beast. I believed anything our omega did would please him. Zuri sighed and looked toward the darkness surrounding us.

“We can’t stay here, can we?”