Roxy’s brilliant green eyes widened, her heart going bathong. It sounded like a good idea... but...

"Zarek," Roxy breathed, her voice incredibly small as she looked up into his burning golden eyes. "I... I don’t think I am ready for another child yet."

The towering warlord didn’t frown. He didn’t tense, and his pride didn’t flare.

Instead, Zarek’s handsome face softened into an expression of such profound, devastating tenderness that it completely disarmed her. He lifted his massive, calloused hand, his thumb pressing gently against her lower lip to softly shush her.

"Shhh," Zarek murmured, his deep voice a velvet rumble that vibrated directly into her skin. He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes to just breathe in her scent. "I know, my Queen. I know you are exhausted. You have bled and fought and given so much to this pack. Let’s not think about anything today. Let me just spoil you. Can’t I do that for you?"

Roxy felt a massive, hot flush creep rapidly up her neck. She swallowed hard, her throat bobbing as she stared up at the man who had been her very first in this brutal, terrifying world.

The suffocating weight slowly began to lift off her shoulders.

Roxy gulped. A soft, incredibly genuine smile broke across her flushed face.

"Okay," Roxy whispered, sliding her arms up to wrap securely around his thick neck. "I accept, my King. Let’s have tonight all for ourselves."

Zarek didn’t waste a single second. Zarek took her small hand in his massive one, his fingers lacing perfectly through hers. Moving with grace, he led her out of the dimly lit alcove, slipping out the side doors of the Manor before the other Alpha Kings could even realize they had vanished.

The freezing winter night welcomed them immediately. The snow crunched softly beneath Zarek’s heavy boots and Roxy’s thick, fur-lined slippers. He led her away from the towering stone walls of their home, directly toward the rushing, icy waters of the eastern stream.

The moonlight cast a brilliant, silver glow over the riverbank, Zarek released her hand. He stepped forward onto the frosted rocks, taking a deep breath of the crisp night air.

With a deafening, magnificent sound of shifting anatomy, the human King completely vanished. In his place stood a colossal, towering black dragon. His massive, armored scales gleamed like polished obsidian in the moonlight, and the ambient temperature of the riverbank instantly skyrocketed from sub-zero to a localized, blistering summer heat.

The dragon lowered his massive, horned head, his golden reptilian eyes completely focused on her, completely submissive. He extended one of his colossal, leathery wings, creating a perfect, sturdy ramp leading directly up to his broad back.

Roxy didn’t hesitate. She stepped onto the warm membrane of his wing, climbing up until she was seated securely between the massive, thick spikes protruding from the base of his neck. She leaned forward, pressing her cheek against his heated scales, her hands gripping the thick ridges.

"I’m ready," Roxy called out over the rushing water.

Zarek let out a deep, vibrating rumble of acknowledgment that shook her entire body. His massive hind legs coiled, and with a concussive blast of displaced snow and wind, the Dragon King launched them into the dark winter sky.

The flight was breathtaking. The freezing wind whipped through Roxy’s dark hair, but the immense, burning heat radiating from Zarek’s core kept her entirely warm. Below them, the sprawling canopy of the Iron-Wood forest looked like an endless, silver ocean of frost. They flew higher, tearing through the low-hanging winter clouds, completely leaving the heavy, complicated reality of the Manor far behind them.

After several long minutes of soaring over the jagged, snow-capped peaks, Zarek began to bank sharply to the west.

Roxy peered over his shoulder. The terrain here was incredibly rugged, hidden entirely from the main valleys of the Beastworld. Zarek folded his massive wings, plunging into a steep, thrilling dive toward a secluded, deeply hidden ravine.

As they neared the base of the gorge, a faint, incredibly familiar glow began to catch Roxy’s eye.

Zarek landed with a heavy, earth-shaking thud in front of a massive fissure in the rock wall. The Dragon King crouched low, allowing Roxy to slide effortlessly off his back and onto the soft, mossy earth.

The moment her boots hit the ground, Zarek shifted back, instantly wrapping a thick, dark fur cloak around her shoulders to combat the sudden chill.

Roxy stood perfectly still, her brilliant green eyes entirely wide with profound, overwhelming nostalgia.

She knew exactly where they were.

The mouth of the cave before them was radiating a soft, breathtaking, and entirely ethereal sapphire light. It was the cave of the blue luminous stones. It was the exact, hidden sanctuary where she had met him during her very first, terrifying days in the Beastworld.

"You brought us back here," Roxy breathed, her voice barely a whisper as she walked slowly into the cavern.

The walls were completely embedded with the glowing blue crystals, casting dancing, oceanic shadows across the smooth stone floor. It felt entirely untouched by time, a perfect, pristine time capsule of their absolute beginnings.

Zarek followed her inside, his broad frame entirely eclipsing the entrance. The silence in the cavern was thick, heavy, and incredibly intimate. The smell of ozone, old moss, and draconic heat created a heady, intoxicating atmosphere.

Roxy turned to face him in the center of the glowing blue cavern. Her heart began to pound a frantic, heavy rhythm against her ribs. The anticipation was a physical weight in her stomach. Zarek had brought her here to spoil her. He had brought her to an isolated, romantic sanctuary far away from their reality.

She fully expected the towering warlord to cross the distance, sweep her off her feet, and consume her with the overwhelming, possessive Alpha hunger that usually accompanied their alone time. She unclasped the heavy fur cloak, letting it drop to the stone floor, entirely ready to surrender to his heat.

The Dragon King stopped three paces away. He looked at her, his golden eyes reflecting the beautiful, dancing sapphire light of the stones. The raw, primal lust she expected was there, but it was heavily tempered by a profound, almost tragic emotional depth.

He looked at the exact spot on the cavern floor where he had once laid in a deep sleep.

Slowly, deliberately, Zarek walked over to that exact spot. He lowered his massive frame to the stone floor, stretching out his long legs and leaning his broad back against the cold cavern wall. He looked completely relaxed, completely open, and terrifyingly vulnerable.

Roxy stood frozen, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. "Zarek? What are you doing?"

"Roxy," Zarek murmured, his deep voice echoing softly off the luminous blue walls. He looked up at her, his golden eyes completely stripped of his pride, and his title.

Zarek leaned his head back against the stone, completely exposing the thick column of his throat.

"I want you to do the exact same thing you did that time."