Page 53 of Knotted By the Triad

My dragon took over. My body twisted in the air. Zuri screamed as she lost her grip. I caught her before she could be thrown off. I curled my arms and legs around her and pulled her against my chest, folding my body around hers as we fell with my back toward the ground.

“Daemin!” Zuri yelled.

Will. Protect. Zuri.

My back slammed into the earth. Pain tore through me as we skidded across the estate grounds, carving a path through grass and dirt, knocking over statues and small trees. I held Zuri tighter while my body bounced and dragged across the ground, refusing to let the force of the crash tear her away from me.

By the time we finally came to a stop, pain burned through nearly every part of me, but she was still protected against my chest.

Alive. Safe. Unhurt.

We'd made it home, and now, my dragon’s voice was starting to fade.

“Daemin?” Her voice shook. “Daemin, let me go.”

I loosened my hold enough for her to move but couldn't make myself release her completely. I needed to feel her. Needed to know she wasn't hurt. Zuri pushed herself upright against my chest and pulled the black covering away from her face.

Dirt streaked her clothing, and her hair was coming loose, but I couldn't see any fresh blood or wounds. The crash hadn’t hurt her.

“Are you insane?” Tears filled her eyes as she stared down at me. “You turned us over in the air.”

So she wouldn't take the impact. I tried to tell her that. Only a weak rumble escaped me. Then another wave of pain tore through my side. My body jerked beneath her.

“Daemin?”

I couldn't hold the shift. My dragon was fading. Scales began disappearing beneath Zuri's hands. My body contracted against the torn earth as bones snapped and reformed. She gasped when she realized what was happening but didn't climb off me.

Good.

I didn't want her to move. My arms and legs changed, but never released her. The enormous chest beneath her shrank. My wings disappeared. Scales became skin, and the cold night air struck my bare body.

Zuri ended up straddling my waist, her hands braced against my chest as she stared down at me. Beautiful. Even dressed like some kind of tiny assassin, she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. My vision blurred. No. I wasn’t ready to stop looking at her yet.

“Daemin?” She touched my face. “Stay with me. We're at your house. I'll get you inside somehow, but you must stay awake.”

Her face drifted in and out of focus. I lifted one hand and caught her wrist, needing to feel her. I held her palm against my face and breathed in her scent.

Mine.

My dragon's voice was barely more than a whisper now. I looked up at her.

“Mine,” I managed.

Zuri's eyes widened. I tightened my fingers weakly around her wrist. There was something else I needed her to know before the darkness took me.

“You're safe now, my omega.”

Her expression crumpled. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Daemin, you’re going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I didn’t matter. She was safe. She was alive. She was with me. I'd gotten her home. That was all that mattered. With some rest, my dragon would fight off whatever this shard was doing to me.

For now, my eyes drifted closed with Zuri above me and her warm hand pressed against my face as the darkness finally pulled me under.

***

ZURI