Dragons Don't Forgive by D'Elen McClain

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