Chapter 107: Tahr
She'll return soon. She is mine and will not be able to stay away. Plus she has nowhere to go. I will give her this time of adjustment because I need time to think too.
I'm still in shock that she transcended. Even more so that she's yellow. It makes no sense. She should be silver like me-majestic silver to represent the royal silver dragons. Bastian's mate is red and Laryn's is blue-end of story. Or it should be. My mate is yellow.
An hour later, I haven't rationalized what has happened and I'm still waiting. I sense when Bastian and Laryn cross my realm and hope they are able to supply answers.
"Where is she and who is she?" Bastian asks as soon as he's within telepathic range.
"Tahr, you sneaky devil, you did it," Laryn adds.
They will have a field day with this, so I wait for them to land. I beckon them inside with a wave of my hand and stomp angrily into my room. I look back and forth between my friends and grit my teeth as I explain, "Pepper left me as soon as she transcended." I sit down and they both take large chairs across from me. The entire story pours out, though a moment later I'm up and pacing unable to keep still.
"She's yellow," Bastian and Laryn say in unison.
They are stuck on the same fact that I am. "Yes, yellow."
Laryn thrums his fingers on his knee for a moment before he looks up and asks, "Is it at least a pretty yellow?"
Beautiful, gorgeous, and sexy are more apt descriptions. "Of course she's pretty, but the fact remains she isn't silver. What the hell does that mean?"
Bastian looks thoughtful for a moment. "You have bedded her, right?"
That pisses me off. And the fact that he's the one who warned me away. I fist my hands at my sides to keep from wrapping them around Bastian's throat. "I think you're forgetting that you not so nicely reminded me that she's forbidden." I kick a table I knocked over earlier. "It was damned hard to keep my hands off of her... well, my cock out of her. But I did and I'm such a fool."
"She's not your mate," Laryn whispers.
It's the thought that's been running through my mind since she left me. How could she transcend and not be my mate? I just can't speak the words aloud. This can't be happening.
Bastian's eyes glow red and I can tell he's disturbed. "Do you love her, Tahr?"
"Hell." I begin pacing again. "I think I do."
"Then you don't truly love her," Bastian replies. "Love is not a thinking matter, it's one of the heart.
Well, I need to think about it! "Meagan has only been gone seven and a half months." I lower my head and look at my feet. "I still miss her. Arrgh," I yell and practically pull out a chunk of my hair. "My mate is yellow." I plop back down in my chair and rest my elbows on my knees holding my head in my hands. "What have I done to deserve this?" For some reason it becomes clear.
My uncle.
The silver dragons are damned. Of course Pepper isn't silver. She is good and kind. Funny and witty. She doesn't deserve the tarnished stain that comes with my royalty.
"We need to find her," says Laryn. "What if she goes near Roxy?"
Bastian stands up and looks at me. "Do you think she could travel that far on her first day as dragon?"
I jump to my feet. "We can't chance it," I yell as I run outside and launch from my perch. The three of us head to Laryn's realm while so many thoughts swirl through my head. I truly care for Pepper, but never saw her as a bride much less a mate. She passed the time and kept my sadness at bay. She deserved someone who loved her, so I gave her away to another man. What the hell is wrong with me? My silver scales make me the biggest fool. I've wrapped my royal lineage around me like a cloak for so long. Even when only four of us remained, the pride that was instilled in me as a child persisted. Now my mate is a yellow dragon. Can life be anymore fucked up than this?
We see Ashrac and Cantor first. It's been more than a year since I've seen the young, blue dragon. He's growing quickly. And Roxy is having another. I envy Laryn so much it hurts.
"Father, Father," Cantor shouts as we draw closer. "She is an ugly, yellow dragon and she doesn't know how to land or launch or shift or...or.... We taught her how to shift and it's not fair that she can breathe fire on her first day as dragon. I want to breathe fire too."
"Where is she?" I demand more sternly than I meant to.
"Watch it, Tahr," Laryn utters.
"Sorry," I mumble under my breath.
Ashrac answers, "We took her to Uncle Sarn's castle. She wanted clothing and she was very tired. Why is she yellow, Father?"
"We aren't sure," Bastian replies. "She didn't try to harm you boys, did she?"
"No, she was very nice, even when we laughed at her. She's quite funny, though strange looking. Do you think she's a mutation?"
Bastian wallops Ashrac with his tail. "No. And you read too many horror novels. She's a yellow dragon, a new color. She's... special."
"Special and ugly," Ashrac whispers, but we all hear him. His father growls and Ashrac is quiet after that.
At least I know where she is. "I will go retrieve her and take her back to my lair," I tell them.
"You might try asking her," Laryn says. "A female dragon is not someone you want to boss around. I've discovered that the hard way."
"I agree with Laryn. You need to ask her and explain how things are. Don't make her angry."
How the hell do I not make her angry? It's what I'm best at when it comes to Pepper. I leave them and fly to Sarn's lair. Somehow I will convince Pepper to be my mate. Even if I don't love her, I care for her and she is mine.
