---Jethro's POV---

Purrs rolled through Lane's body as I lowered him to the forest floor in order to shift back once more. During the entire flight, my adorable kitten had been slumbering, purrs lowering in strength before amplifying as he rubbed his jaw against me.

My dragon chuckled gruffly, a groan slipping from my mouth the second I shifted. Lane was chuffing, rolling himself against the moss covered floor, wiggling his body until he was satisfied with the scent.

"You, my love, are too adorable for your own good." I murmured, crouching down to pick him up. Lane mewled, curling against my chest, arms wrapping around my neck and lips finding the mark he, by now, undoubtedly left behind.

My fingers sank into his hair, shivering and pressing him closer against my throat. Teeth gently scraped over my throat before Lane's tongue rasped over the damp spot, sucking the heat to the surface.

"Kitten, if you don't want to be crippled, you better stop now." I warned gruffly, still under the effects of the Breeding Frenzy but knowing that I couldn't press my mate any further without harming him.

"Hmmm......Master..." Lane murmured sluggishly, nuzzling against my throat but sounding so out of it. As if he was drugged, slurring words and eye heavily lidded.

"You have no idea what you're doing to me, little one." My dragon purred alongside me, gently pressing Lane's face against my throat and enjoying the breathy mewl that left his lips.

Pink, plump lips that glistened with his saliva, still swollen from when I had claimed his mouth earlier today. And the sight of his tongue that peaked through reminded me of the first time my adorable kitten had taken me in his mouth.

A groan slipped from my lips as I carried him in my home...­ our home. A grin slipped over my lips, eager to enjoy the days to come.

It was a good thing that Lane was enveloped in my scent with none other than his own to mingle with. If those feline representatives had managed to slip around the guard, I had no doubt what they had intended to do.

They would've instantly tried to verify which was Lane's birth pride. They would've started prodding and poking, asking unwanted questions and sticking their noses where it didn't belong.

I knew Lane had been banished from his pride. Escaped by the skin of his teeth, barely at that. The scars on his face, throat and stomach still proved what he had been through.

But the pride wouldn't think about that. No, the second that they'd hear one of them was mated to a dragon, their elders would salivate.

I growled lowly, shouldering the door open and made my way to our room, depositing Lane in the middle of my bed and smiled as he proceeded to nuzzle the blankets.

Scent-marking...

For a few minutes, I watched Lane roll around on the bed, rubbing his entire body against the covers and pillows, low chuffs and purrs slipping from his throat.

And grinned when his breathing calmed down, slowly but surely, hugging my pillow to his body.

Mate.

"Control yourself, you oversized lizard." I grumbled at my dragon, who balked at the mere suggestion that he was distantly related to such insignificant lesser creature.

With the undignified growling and rumbling of my dragon in the back of my head, I went around the house to secure everything.

Because even though I knew that nobody would be suicidal enough to break into my house, that didn't mean they weren't dumb enough to thing they wouldn't get caught.

Thanks to the breeding frenzy, my sense of smell was even stronger than before. Scents that weren't our own would easily be picked up, if they were present.

But after a few laps around the house, checking all the rooms and doing a quick perimeter check, nothing seemed out of place. A few rogues had come close to the border but had taken one whiff of the air and turned tails.

Who knew that instinctual rogues are smarter than some Alphas?

I threw a few logs in the fireplace, allowing my dragon to take over for a split second to light the tinder and get the heat going.

As I waited for the logs to fully get going so I could secure the fireplace, I glared into the flames.

Finally I have found someone that clicked, someone that was suitable to be a dragon's mate. Scratching to my hair, I sighed, pondering on the past.

How long had it even been? I've spent centuries roaming the world, exploring every crook and cranny that was to be found. All in hopes of finding my destined partner.

Which for dragons, was already a complicated feat. Our mated bonds didn't present themselves in a spectacular display like most shifters did.

There was no instant love at the clashing of eyes, nor was there the instinctual sense of their location before you were mated.

I had heard plenty of stories of wolves, vampires and other beings finding their mates. If their other half wasn't found in their immediate surroundings, their instincts would guide them to the general vicinity of their mate.

Yet dragons could mate with anyone, as long as they were able to make that initial connection. Our inner beasts were proud beings after all and they were hard to please.

And yet, as soon as Lane had stumbled over the border, I had felt it. Usually in the few cases there was an intruder that invaded my territory, my dragon had responded with annoyance... anger...

But that day, when I had been in the middle of preparing food, I had felt that flare up of power where my territory was breached. And my heart had skipped a beat, making me drop what I was doing and head over to that power surge.

My claws unfurled, digging into my palms as I remembered all too clearly how I had found Lane. Judging from his surroundings, he had staggered and tripped before falling down the hill, landing a few feet away from the small lake.

And the moss around his body had been soaked with his precious blood. When I had lifted him up, causing him to scream in agony, I knew exactly why.

His stitches, sloppily self-applied stitches, had ripped when he fell. I guess it was sheer luck I had rolled him on his back before lifting him up, otherwise I might've accidentally disemboweled him on the spot.

A low growl rumbled through my throat as I fed a few more logs on the wood before securing the fireplace. Moments later, I was stomping up the stairs, needing to have Lane in my arms before I lost control.

Because I had been so close of losing him before fully connecting to him. Wounds created by felines were known to infect and Lane's were no different.

I had to clean out his injuries, which was hard enough to do on itself without his tiger making a presence. The second it appeared hissing and spitting mad, I had allowed my dragon to momentarily take over, forcing the tiger's submission so it wouldn't injure itself any further.

Even after all that, Lane's fever had been dangerous, borderline lethal. Infection had settled into the wounds, swelling and threatening to rip the stitches I had placed there.

A soft purr sounded before I had my arms full of Lane. Blinking out of my memories, I smiled, burying my face in his hair as his was pressed in my throat.

"I'm alright, little one." I murmured, as I could feel the tremble in his legs and arms, straining to keep him up.

I guided him back to bed, biting my tongue as to not scold him for pushing his body to the limit. His tiger had responded to my distress, had sensed it and like any submissive, had wanted to try and make it better.

Instead of wasting any time fumbling around, I just grabbed Lane in my arms and flopped on the bed, sighing as he instantly nestled on my chest, face buried in my throat before he relaxed.

And he's out again... Should've guessed.

Chuckling softly, I slowly petted through Lane's hair, tracing down his spine before reaching back up again. The warmth that was coming off his body along with the little puffs of air from his steady breathing was soothing enough to calm me down.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, sighing contently as I could feel Lane do the same. Yet his squirming was doing more than calm me down.

Instead of giving into desire like a young teenager, I focused on my breathing, allowing to just enjoy Lane's presence.

Plus, I don't actually want to cripple him.

A snort escaped me as my dragon obviously disagreed before huffing as he realized I was right. Pushing Lane too far, causing harm to our mate was not our aim.

And I knew as soon as Lane came down from his high, he would feel sore as hell. Which meant that he'd need some help for the next couple of day, help that I was happy to provide to my mate.

Though I was certain that those cats wouldn't stay docile for long. Mason would already running back to his little pride to tattle like a spoiled child.

In fact, I anticipated that the next call I got from the Council would be involving the feline representatives... Or rather Lane's connection to the prides.

A low growl rumbled through my chest and a wicked smirk followed. Oh, I hoped they found the pride that birthed Lane. Because I knew in their egotistical thinking, they'd forget that Lane was cast out.

Nearly killed by their hand.

They'd downplay it of course. Probably stating that Lane was just like any young cat, needing to head out and seek their own territories to defend.

They'd put the blame on him, play it off like he's a teenage runaway that didn't want to hear "No." from his parents.

I only wondered how deep those representatives were willing to dig their own graves. Only time would tell. But they better kept their paws to themselves.

Were they to touch Lane with a single whisker in an attempt to lay claim to him... I'd rather watch the feline prides burn before I let them have my mate.