Chapter 75: Sierra

Everything inside me turns cold. A mate. The yearning in my heart for so damn long. And now I'm in love with Sarn. I fold my arms in front of me and lower my head onto them. Tears spill from my eyes at the injustice of what I'm being told. It's unfair... no that's too mild, it's tragic. I always expected to be so happy when I discovered my mate.
Veda's hand rubs across my back. I don't even want to know who it is. I want nothing more than to curl up on the floor and never move again. I'm containing a scream because if I start I will never stop. I cannot do this to Sarn. My poor, poor dragon.
I cry for a long time while Tyboll and Veda remain silent. When I finally lift my head, Veda hands me a tissue. I blow my nose in a very unladylike manner. Veda pushes my teacup in front of me and I take a sip of the now tepid liquid.
"Thank you," I say softly, my voice raw from crying.
It's time I discover who will be my life partner. I must be strong. Even though a life without Sarn is more than I can accept. The question must be in my tear-filled eyes because I can't get the words past my lips and Veda answers anyway.
She smiles kindly. "I am sorry, Sierra, but you cannot have the man you are mated to and there is much hardship ahead of you. I only say this because you are a strong woman and you will come out on the other side of this heartbreak even stronger."
I don't understand what she's saying.
"The dragon is your mate." She doesn't let it sink in long enough for me to feel more than shock. "You cannot have him, Sierra."
I'm stunned and I can't help my angry response as I rise to my feet. "I love him. If he's my mate, why did I waste the last hour crying?" My sentence ends on a shout. They both remain calmly seated and it pisses me off even more.
It's Tyboll who answers. "Your dragon is cursed. The curse is too big for me and Veda to change. You need to accept that it cannot be undone. The dragon must fulfill his destiny and that destiny isn't you." I start to object, but Veda reaches out and takes my hand again and gives Tyboll a chance to continue. "Your wolf knows this and if you look inside yourself, you know it as truth. It's the cruelest twist of fate imaginable. If you follow your dragon, you will die in his realm before the next claiming. If he remains here and does not attend the next claiming, he will die."
Tyboll's sadness at this announcement gives me a pause from my anger. I stare back and forth between them and let the words sink in. I call to my wolf and she whines for the first time in many weeks. All the feelings she has held back from me tumble around inside. The mating scent rolls over me. My mated scent that she has trapped inside us these last two months. I'm mated to the dragon and it should be a joyous occasion and all I want is to start crying all over again.
There are no tears left.
I walk on heavy legs to the door and leave without looking back. There are many questions I should probably ask, but I'm incapable. I don't even bother shifting. I need the miles of walking to clear my head. I love Sarn more than my own life. And for that reason I cannot live knowing he died because he didn't attend the claiming. He will suffer horribly if I follow him to his realm and forfeit my life. I cannot do that to him either.
The only decision I'm sure of is that Sarn has the right to know. I cannot keep this from him no matter the pain. He needs to stay with me until the next claiming and then somehow, we will say goodbye. It's all we have. We can spend the years between brides together until he finds his true mate. And loves her. Fuck. The thought of him loving another tears my heart to shreds. Fate is so damn cruel. The bottom line is that he is my mate, but because of the damn curse, I am not his.
I'm trembling uncontrollably by the time I reach the cabin. Sarn has returned from his fishing trip and he is waiting for me. One look at my face and he knows something is seriously wrong. I cut him off before he can begin questioning me. "Take me for a ride, dragon. Fly me as high as we can go and after that I will tell you my news. Right now, I only want to lie to you."
I hate seeing the fear in his eyes. I appreciate his trust, though. He doesn't say another word, just takes my hand and leads me to our clearing. He shifts and I take my place upon his body. My wolf is content. She actually suffers as much as I do, but now that I know Sarn is my mate she is rolling inside me and absorbing his essence. I feel it now-that connection I've waited my entire life for. Sarn's heart is mine. His breath is my breath. This is why my father lost his mind after the death of my mother. I wipe tears from my face. "Fly, dragon, fly," I whisper.
We soar above the mountains while I hold tight to my dragon, my mate, the missing piece to my soul.
"You must tell me what's wrong, Sierra," he pleads inside my head.
I know he suffers with my silence, but he will suffer more when I tell him. "I will, Sarn, I promise. Just please give me this time."
"As you wish."
We fly for hours. My tears run over his scales no matter how many I wipe away. At last he takes me to the tall grass. The sun is down and the moon shines above us. He shifts and I'm in his arms taking his lips in a desperate kiss. He tries to pull away, but I refuse. "Love me, dragon. Just love me."
I quickly undress. We don't speak as his lips travel down my chest. He takes me to the ground and continues kissing me until his lips taste my sex. I cry out and writhe with pleasure. His finger enters me and my hips arch against his mouth. When the tight bundle of nerves between my thighs finally explodes, I scream into the night.
With my wolf's eyesight, I can see his eyes on me when I come down to earth. I twist away, go to my knees, and lace my fingers with his. "I need you to do something for me."
"Anything," he whispers.
"Take me as a wolf-mate takes his woman. Do you understand what I'm asking?"
"I do," he replies hesitantly.
I turn around and fall to my hands and knees so my ass is toward him. He covers me. His hard cock finds home before I can take another breath. I forget the heartache I've suffered today. My mate is taking me in a way as old as time. It's our time. Our energy builds and I recognize it. This unique chemistry happens each time we mate. I have known what it was; I just refused to accept it.
Sarn breathes heavily as our bodies reach for completion. With a final thrust, his cries match mine. Then I feel it. His teeth find my neck and sink into my flesh as the mating ritual takes us away. I drown in the energy as my cries continue. This bond can only be undone by the death of one of us. He can go to his realm for hundreds of years and the bond will remain solid. I'm strong enough to handle him leaving me when the time comes. I will wait and make it through each lonely year. That is how strong my love truly is.
I'm exhausted when the final waves of ecstasy disappear and I land heavily in the grass. Sarn pulls me into his arms and holds me while I cry.
"It will be all right, Sierra. You must tell me," he says while removing strands of wet hair from my face.
He knows it's bad. I can hear it in his voice. I manage to explain everything as he holds me tight and I break my dragon's heart.