A Lair So Primal by Zoey Ellis

11

The golden city was just as beautiful as it was the last time she was there.

The buildings created an incredible skyline of a powerful city with the background of a blush-colored sky. This time the golden fields were filled with an oval-shaped fruit or vegetable that Elora didn’t recognize.

"It is almost time to harvest."

Elora spun around to see the Goddess standing behind her. As a reflex, she opened her mouth to ask where she was, but promptly closed it again because this time she knew—and it was not a dream. Her mind had simply been transported to another time and place. It was unsettling to be falling to your death in one moment and then in a peaceful, golden setting the next.

"You are ready for your gifts?" the Goddess said.

Elora pressed her lips together for a moment. "I don't exactly have a choice," she muttered.

"You do," the Goddess said. “You can say no.”

“And then die falling to my death,” Elora shot back.

“It is a difficult choice.” The Goddess hesitated, peering at her curiously. “You do not believe he will catch you?”

Elora exhaled in frustration. "I am not afraid of making difficult choices, but I do not like making choices I don't understand."

"That is because you have no faith," the Goddess said.

Elora stepped back, shocked. "I had faith, we prayed to you twice a day! And until you killed my family, I had unwavering faith.”

"Not in yourself."

Elora’s growing annoyance faded. “What do you mean?”

The Goddess tilted her head. "You’ve never had faith—in yourself. That is why you need to surround yourself with others."

Elora stared at her evenly. That reasoning was why she left the lair in the first place, but she couldn't explain it right now. Not to this Goddess. And not when she hadn’t had time to adjust the way she thought about herself. “So you’re saying I should be alone my whole life?” she bit out.

“No.”

Elora frowned. “Then what?”

“Balance.”

Elora shook her head in frustration. It was infuriating talking to this Goddess!

“I am pleased for you to become your true self, Elora,” the Goddess said. “It will be exciting for you also.”

Elora’s frown deepened. "I will never forgive you for killing my faction or the lair’s staff,” she said fiercely. “They have lost their lives simply because they knew me. It is horrific that you are so at ease with extinguishing so many lives."

"Your faction was saved a heartache you will never know," the Goddess said gently. "As for the staff, you have the power to save them now."

"I don't see how," Elora said glumly. "Even if I fall to the ground without a scratch, I cannot stop the mountain from collapsing."

"Faith, Elora.”

Elora lowered her head. If she was going to ask anything, now would be the time. “Did they suffer?”

“No.”

Elora exhaled slowly, the lingering grief curling in her chest. “Why didn’t you just let me die with them?”

The Goddess didn’t reply.

“This life….” Elora shook her head. “It is hard for omegas.”

“Elora.”

Elora lifted her gaze to meet pretty amber eyes.

“The happiness and joy you so frequently seek cannot come without heartache and pain. They balance each other. They must coexist. Your faction hid that from its children for a long time, covered over the cracks and directed the attention elsewhere. It worked for them. But that cannot be your understanding of life, especially in adulthood. You are meant for more.” She smiled, her beauty once again almost painful to look at. “A part of you has already begun to accept this. Trust yourself to find your own balance." With her final words, the golden city began to fade.

* * *

Elora gasped. Thrilling energy channeling through her body, stimulating every muscle, swirling from the tip of her head all through her limbs, torso, straight out down to her feet. It was electrifying, and every part of her hummed, new and energized.

She was still falling. "pü ker ko sha kosun.” Her descent slowed until she hovered in the air, her heart racing. How did she know those words?

She found her thoughts full of words and languages and knowledge far greater than what she’d known. Most importantly, she fluently knew the dragorai language, Thrakondarian… its dialects and patterns and incantations. Thoughts crowded her mind, seemingly rearranging themselves into an order that would be useful to her.

A screech drew her attention to the dark shadow approaching at speed. Yorgynel. She grinned at the dragon hurtling toward, but he slowed on his approach as she hovered, his large wings thrashing the air in heavy, weighty flaps.

“Elora?” Zendyor called from Yorgynel’s back.

The loud cracking and rumbling of the mountain boomed around them, and she navigated herself high above it.

Taking a deep breath she began to cast. Magic responded to her command, fluid and silky, crackling and sparking in the air as it shivered and trembled. The power of it was both enchanting and explosive, and Elora breathed it in enjoying how powerful it made her feel. At her direction, the magic seeped into the mountain, saturating the rock from the top to the base, and she forced it to maintain its integrity.

The dragorai brothers were helping people out as quickly as they could. Zendyor’s eyes were on her, but once she was holding the mountain steady, he went to help his brothers, securing the lives of his staff.

She was pleased to see him actively supporting their escape from the mountain. He kept looking up at her with a stunned expression on his face, but he and his brothers worked quickly to locate every member of staff and lead them away from the mountain.

She drifted closer, casting incantations, seeking all the pockets of the mountain lair to see if there was anyone left tucked away in a room who couldn't get out, but the brothers had been using their own incantations to seek out Zendyor’s staff and there was no one left.

One of the brothers created a shield for the staff as they streamed into the valley in a long procession to another part of the range. Two of the stewards led at the front and two were at the back, and it looked as though some had been injured. Elora frowned, wondering where they were going but it didn’t really matter. As long as they were safe and far from the collapsing mountain, she didn't mind.

Turning her attention back to the mountain, she released her magical hold on it, and it imploded in on itself, the thunderous sound resonating though the range as it crumpled, rocks tumbling down until the mountain was a lopsided heap.

The staff had stopped to watch the destruction of their home, and Elora felt for them, but she knew they would be all right. Even if they had to stay in another dragorai lair for a while, eventually they would have another home soon.

As for her, there was no reason for her to go back.

With this gift, she no longer needed to be sheltered by dragorai, she had the power to live her life free of the war, free of dominant alphas, free of the community she once sought so desperately. She could certainly find somewhere to settle down in the realm, and maybe even on the other side of the Karyllean Ocean.

Turning, she soared into the air, casting words that came to her effortlessly, strings of incantations she’d never known before but that made so much sense to her now. She looked for the queen but she wasn’t in the sky. Elora cast an incantation to see if she was still in the area, but there was no sign of her. She’d either left the mountain range or the brothers had caught her, and since they were helping the staff, at her request, they probably hadn’t caught the woman who began this cascade of destruction.

She soared across the range, her robe fluttering behind her, finally happy to be free, even though she was facing life on her own.

But the screech behind her told her that she wasn’t alone.

Turning around midair, Zendyor and Yorgynel were charging toward her. Zendyor looked incredibly majestic and handsome astride his dragon, standing firm, his gaze locked onto her. A tremble fluttered in her stomach as well as a slight disbelief that she’d ever been in the arms of such a powerful alpha. Somehow he was even more attractive to her now, but Elora pushed that aside. She needed to remember why she left.

The dragorai didn't even attempt to stop. He grabbed for her as Yorgynel flew close.

Elora twisted out of the way as Zendyor. "What are you doing?" Her eyes flashed in disbelief.

The dragorai rounded and headed back to her. "You're coming with me, Elora," Zendyor fumed. "I cannot believe how close I was to losing you today."

"Losing me?" Elora said. "You never had me."

Zendyor jaw tightened. "What are you talking about? You have been mine since you arrived at my lair, maybe even longer than that.”

"I have been nothing to you," Elora said evenly. "Nothing worth giving a role or position to in your lair. Thankfully, I no longer need it."

Zendyor’s gaze darkened. “Come to me. I need to explain.”

“No need.”

“Elora!”

"You are not my lord anymore," she snapped. “I don’t owe you any debt and I don’t need to follow your orders. Just leave me be. Go tend to your brothers and your staff.” She turned and shot across the range, casting furiously to maintain her speed.

She knew he would follow, but she didn't know how incensed he would be.

"Elora,” he roared, “I need to speak to you!"

"There's nothing for us to talk about."

A grunt came from his throat, and he began to cast, trying to use magic to capture her or to slow her down. Elora could feel it twisting around her, responding to his command and flipping her in different directions than she wanted to go.

Enraged, she began to cast back, and the two of them tussled, magic pulling and pushing them until they were twisting and turning in the air around each other, an equal battle of magical will and skill.

"This is what the Goddesses gave you?" Zendyor called.

"Yes. And I should have taken it earlier," Elora said, tears filling her eyes. "They wanted to make me powerful. And my faction would have been safe."

"That wouldn't have changed anything about us," Zendyor said. “Except maybe I would have recognized you as my mate sooner.”

Elora spiraled out away from him, pulling to safe distance before stopping in midair, shock pounding through her body with every heartbeat. "What did you say?"

"You are a female dragorai now, and my mate."

"How can that be?"

"Look at you," Zendyor said. “You are an omega who can wield magic using Thrakondarian—in fact, you have suddenly gained expert proficiency while falling to your death. You also have a connection with my dragon. How can it not be?"

Elora glanced at Yorgynel. He seemed to be completely content, even though she and Zendyor were fighting around him. "It is the dragon that chooses the mate," Elora recited, though she didn't know where she got that from.

Zendyor nodded slowly. "That's right. In this time, with no female dragons, it is our dan askhas who are choosing our mates. San chose I’mya, Ryn chose Oshali. Yorgynel chose you. And he chose you so long ago, before you even entered Nyro’s lair, before you even met I’mya. We just didn’t know it."

Elora shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. Was this what the Goddess meant?Was this what was planned for her? She couldn't see how life with him as his mate would be any different than as his prisoner. He hadn’t particularly treated her like she was his mate, so how would she know if it were true? Shouldn't she know? What if he was only saying this now because the Goddesses had given her this knowledge? Was she dangerous to the dragorai having this power? It was hard to think properly with so much information floating around her head. But she had to address what he was saying. If it was true, would she want to be his mate? She looked up at him. Yes she did.

The thought came so suddenly that it shocked her. "No," she said aloud, horrified at herself. Why was that thought so strong and clear after everything she had decided when she left the lair? Was she being manipulated? Was this all another game for the Goddesses?

Anger seeped into her, heightening her awareness of her surroundings. She was going from one type of captivity to another, but this time as Zendyor’s mate. She wouldn't let this happen—she couldn’t let the Goddesses manipulate her again.

She screamed, releasing the anguish building up in her, but it wasn't enough. Casting, she hurtled herself across the range, screaming out her fury, her body ablaze with the angry haze that she knew all too well in Zendyor.

It burned her inside and out, the fury searing through her, kindling in her chest. Taking a deep breath she exhaled, and a stream of white-hot fire tore up her throat and out of her mouth, extending a few yards. Yorgynel roared in delight, the sound coming from somewhere behind her.

Something slammed into the back of her, knocking her off course and spinning her in the air. It was Zendyor. His chest against her back, his arm around her waist, he held her to him, slowing them to drift as Elora screamed and cried and fought in her frenzy.

He buried his face in her neck and held her against him, his thick length rubbing against her ass as she writhed, his scent deepening into that intoxicating arousal that she adored. And suddenly, she was writhing for something else and she needed it now.

The alpha groaned into her neck, his hand reaching up to squeeze her breast, while she arched, her hands going behind her back to stroke his thick cock, squeezing the tip the way she knew he liked.

His other hand slapped her thighs open, the sting making her gasp and moan, her slick gathering so quickly it was already smearing his hands. He adjusted her in his arms and pulled up her robe and tunic. Elora was already pushing her ass back toward him, humming in her eagerness as she guided him into her.

She breathed heavily as he breached her, stretching her wide and dragging her flesh in one deliciously long breathtaking stroke.

When he was fully seated, he exhaled, pinching on her nipples and grunting when she clenched around him. He circled his arms around her, lowered his nose into her neck, and fucked her. He yanked her down onto him in a rough, brutal pace, jolts shuddering through her body that calmed the agitation that had previously claimed her. His fingers found her slick bundle within her folds and harassed it as he impaled the depths of her.

Elora closed her eyes, submitting herself to the exquisite pleasure charging around her body, her groans guttural and breathy. She climbed higher, the pleasure sweeping her up into a glorious blend of wild, volatile, luxurious heat that exploded in a blinding and magnificent climax.

A sharp sting pricked the base of her neck while she jerked and convulsed from the power of her orgasm.

Zendyor came soon after, pounding into her in an erratic frenzy until his knot slammed in, pulsing his seed into her clenching slit.

The energy drained from Elora until she was limp in his arms. They remained drifting, a content calm between them as they hovered, until Zendyor’s knot shrunk. Carefully, he turned her in his arms, his blue eyes soft with concern, his mouth red with blood.

Elora looked back up at him, drowsy with exhaustion.

Something touched underneath her feet, and she looked down to see Yorgynel rising up from underneath them, taking their weight until they were standing on his back. Zendyor sat down, fixing Elora into his lap as the dragon flew.

“Did you leave my lair today?” he asked. “Is that how the queen said she captured you?”

Elora nodded, unsure what to say.

Zendyor’s nostrils flared as he looked away, the anger clear in his hardened jaw. But when he looked back at her, his eyes were soft again. "I am sorry, Elora."

Elora blinked, surprised by his words.

"I did not believe you when you told me who you were, when you showed me who you were. I can only tell you that you suffered because of my own prejudice against others. That was my mistake, and one I regret." He pulled her against him, keeping her body flush against his. Elora shivered at the feel of him, taking comfort in being so close.

"I told Marahl that you were not a member of my staff because you are not," Zendyor continued. "You never will be. You are my mate. Can you not feel it?"

That familiar scent of his curled into her nose, soothing her into a peaceful level of comfort. This was what he was always able to do, what his scent had always done to her. But she had thought it was because he was a dragorai, not because it was anything unique to her.

"I'm not sure," she said hesitantly, then immediately winced. Her mouth and throat were severely inflamed with burning sores all over them.

Zendyor's fingers brushed the flaky skin on her mouth and he began to mutter an incantation to heal her sores. It was a gentle one that warmed her lips, and the healing was slow. After the pain had mostly alleviated, he ran his fingers down her neck, targeting her throat.

Elora sighed as the pain eased. “Thank you,” she said. "I cannot believe I breathed fire.”

"It is something all dragorai's can do," Zendyor said. "Including female dragorai's."

"It was incredible. All that power and energy expelling from your body…. It's almost addictive."

"Indeed, it is,” Zendyor said gravely. “As is the rage that must be accessed to even kindle it. But the results are always painful," he said gesturing to her mouth.

Elora nodded. This represented what the Goddess had referred to, pain and suffering alongside power and joy.

“Why were you so angry?” he asked.

Elora was quiet for a moment. “I thought I was being manipulated by the Goddesses… going from one captivity to another if I am to be your mate.”

Zendyor frowned. “You were not captive, Elora. You had free rein in my lair.”

That was true. “I felt that way because I wasn’t accepted as part of your staff,” she explained.

Zendyor nodded. “That was important to you, I know. But you won’t be captive as my mate.” He looked at her. “Can you not tell you are?”

“How am I supposed to know?"

"You know, Elora," Zendyor said, searching her eyes. “You know you have been my priority whenever I have been in the lair. You know I enjoy watching you when you are enjoying yourself. You know our coupling is special; intense and consuming every time. You know my dan askha is attached to you. You know you can calm me when I am in that rage. What more do you need?”

Elora didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what more she needed, but she needed something. She lifted her fingers to her neck and felt the jagged tear. "You bit me."

Zendyor nodded. "I did. But our bond will need more than just that to begin the process.”

Elora nodded. She’d learned some of the information about the process of bonding between dragorai was knowledge she from I’mya, but the rest was part of her knew knowledge. “Why did you do it now? Before we had a chance to talk?”

“It was instinct… and a choice.” He eyed her carefully. “I am going to have you whether you agree to it or not, Elora. I have been lost for centuries without the chance for a mate or young. I’m not letting you go.”

For some reason, that reassured her, and she snuggled into his chest. “So I am captive,” she whispered.

Zendyor grunted. “All right, yes. But only in the best way,” he murmured back. “You have been searching for a home, for a family too. You already have one with me. With us. My brothers and their omegas are your family as well. We are your true faction, and we will never let you be alone again.”

Her nose stung and tears filled her eyes, and she let them fall.

In her weakened and relaxed state, she let her mind drift and allowed her instincts to dominate. Nothing was more satisfying than being against Zendyor, being held by him, listening to his voice, breathing in his scent on the back of their dragon. And gradually, the realization dawned—this was her instinctual understanding of her place with him, and it had been since their first encounter, when he scented her.

There was nothing more to think about or debate within herself. He was hers, and this was where she should be, always.

* * *

Yorgynel drifted across the range taking them back to the collapsed mountain. For a moment, Elora wondered whether he realized the lair had been destroyed, but Zendyor leaned forward and placed a hand on Yorgynel’s neck and instinctively, Elora knew that he was guiding him where to go.

"Are we going to one of your brother’s lairs?" she asked.

"No."

Yorgynel soared around to a different direction and lowered to another mountain close by. As they neared, Zendyor rose, lifting Elora with him and jumped from Yorgynel’s back, casting incantations so the magic buoyed them.

Elora frowned as they soared through the air toward an opening in the mountain. Why was there another lair so close to the old one? They landed inside a large, empty room through an opening that had one whole wall as the window.

"Where are we?" Elora asked.

“We are at our new home," Zendyor said.

Elora looked at him blankly. "This is another lair, inside another mountain?"

"This is where I planned for us to relocate when the mountain became too unstable," Zendyor said, turning around slowly. “It’s still not ready, but at least all of the rooms have been made and they are safe.”

"You were already planning this?" Elora asked.

"Yes. My mountain was never going to withstand Yorgynel’s treatment of it forever," Zendyor said. "It was necessary for us to prepare somewhere else when it finally became too dangerous.”

Elora was quiet for a moment. She had no idea this was even happening. "Were any of the staff aware that you were doing this?"

"Some of them," Zendyor said, "but the stewards arranged most of it."

Elora nodded. That may have been why she still hadn’t met some of the stewards.

Zendyor turned to face the window. "Do you like this view? This room will be our chambers.”

Elora stared out at the grey and white landscape once again. Even with everything that happened today, the mountains still looked as peaceful as they always had. "I don't think I could ever get tired of looking at this view," Elora said.

A knock at the door interrupted their reflection.

"Come in," Zendyor called.

It was Marahl. "I'm so glad to see you, my lord," she said, “and that you are safe, Elora. We are trying our best to adjust to this new setting, but it will take some time. Many things were lost in the old lair.”

Zendyor nodded. "I know."

"Your brothers have just arrived."

"Let them in," Zendyor said.

As Marahl left, Elora clung to Zendyor, nervousness stirring in her stomach. "I'm not properly dressed to meet your brothers," she said, nervously.

Zendyor glanced down at her, a smile playing on his lips. "As long as your entire body is covered, you are appropriately dressed," he said, that intensity returning in his eyes. He held her gaze as her stomach began to tingle once again for him. Would she ever get tired of this man?

When the door opened again, four dragorai-alphas strode in. Elora was speechless. They were huge. It was almost as if she was a tiny mouse among giants. She cuddled in closer to Zendyor and he held her firm, secure against him.

"Are you both okay?" the one Zendyor called Tyomar said.

"We are," Zendyor said tersely. "But what were you thinking? You were trying to negotiate with that fucking insane omega."

"Your omega was at risk," Tyomar shot back. "If we could have saved her without her being hurt, that would have been preferred, wouldn't it?"

"I would have preferred to rip her limbs from her body," Zendyor said, hotly. "She dared to attack me, grab my omega, and attempt to kill all my staff. She must wish to be gutted, and forced to eat her own—" The haze of anger began to cloud him, and Elora placed her palm on his chest, looking up at him with a smile.

Zendyor glanced down at her, his rant turning into a long rumble. He took a breath.

“Welcome,” Tyomar said to Elora. “I am Tyomar. Impressive you can calm him like that. I’ve been trying for centuries.”

“Sethorn,” said another one of the brothers. “And this is Khyros, the head of the clan.”

“Welcome,” said Khyros. “We are pleased you are safe.”

Nyro simply nodded at her with a smile.

“Thank you all for helping to get me back,” she said. “It was my fault she caught me.” She glanced at Zendyor, who nodded. “I left Zendyor’s lair and she saw me climbing down the mountain.”

“What?” Tyomar said puzzled. “Why were you climbing down the mountain?”

“It was the only way to get out of his chambers.”

Tyomar stared at her. “The barrier didn’t stop you? The one at the window?”

Elora shook her head. “It let me pass right through.”

“It’s the same with I’mya,” Nyro said. “But it makes sense, the barriers don’t work on dragorai.”

“I still don’t understand why she targeted me specifically,” Zendyor growled.

"She saw you as the biggest threat," Sethorn said thoughtfully. "The one most battle-ready and with the most experience. It would make sense for her to target you and get you out of the way.”

“Then it’s also an insult to the rest of us,” Nyro muttered.

"I want to know how she knew your mountain was weak," Khyros said. "We have been under the impression that the king and queen have not paid much attention to us, or that they are unaware of some of our circumstances in the Forbidden Mountains. But the queen had a lot of information—not only that Zendyor’s mountain was weak but where it was located."

"How the fuck did she get away?" Zendyor asked.

"We were all helping your staff," Nyro pointed out. "We couldn't get them all out and chase her."

"Then we need to go to her immediately," Zendyor said. "This insult cannot stand."

Tyomar gestured to Elora’s neck. "You cannot let that close up," he said grinning.

The other brothers peered at Elora, and at the sight of her claiming bite, they all relaxed, smiling at her and Zendyor.

"Congratulations," Nyro said. "I'mya will be thrilled. She has missed you."

Elora's brows shot up in surprise and delight. She was going to be part of the clan with I'mya. "Thank you," she said. “I’ve missed her a lot. All of the staff, actually. I still can't believe I am…” She glanced up at Zendyor, feeling strange to say it.

“You are,” he insisted.

“Did you see the Goddess again?” Khyros asked.

Before she could answer, Zendyor intervened. "We cannot have a clan meeting right now," he said sternly. "My omega needs to rest and gather her bearings.”

"Of course," Sethorn said. "But I gather from the fact you can understand us that you understand Thrakondarian.”

Elora nodded.

"All right. Let us settle these two in and then we will talk about the queen," Khyros said.

“We can help you furnish this place," Sethorn said. "I have plenty of idle designers who are looking for a new project, and I think this would be a good one for them."

"Yes, me too," Nyro said.

Zendyor looked down at Elora. "Would you like to lead on this?" he asked.

Elora's eyes widened. "Lead on the design of the lair?"

"Yes," Zendyor said. "Every room needs decorating, and each one needs to have a function. Normally I would do it with the stewards, but this is your home too.” He glanced at his brothers. “And we have a lot to plan. Are you interested?"

Elora beamed. "I would love to do that."

"Good," Zendyor said. "I will not allow you to be overworked while you are still recovering from this ordeal, but it is something you work on with the stewards. The rest of the staff will be uncomfortable until some of the decisions are made."

Elora nodded. "Will Marahl help me?"

"You can have anyone you want helping you." Zendyor said.

Elora grinned at him, barely able to contain her excitement. A brand new lair to decorate would be perfect, especially now that she also had to reestablish herself with the staff. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "I spoke to a member of your staff who said that the lair used to be filled with lots of people, then everyone began to disappear and the staff became overworked. Is that because they were working to prepare this lair?"

"Yes," Zendyor said. "Many of the staff members with manual skills came here to help create the new lair. They have been here for over a year working on all the rooms and making sure all of the water, steam, and heat conduits work efficiently. We had to move them away from the old lair so they could focus all their time on this one."

"Why didn't you tell the rest of the staff?"

"It would be too frightening for them. We didn’t want them to think the mountain was about to collapse at any minute. It would have been too stressful."

"In reality," Tyomar said, "that mountain had at least another five years before it would have been in any serious trouble."

"Which brings us back to how the queen knew," Sethorn said.

Zendyor made a noise in the back of his throat. “Brothers, I am grateful for your presence, but my omega and I need a washroom, some food, and a bed... or a wall. You are welcome to stay, or I will see you at the next meeting.”

He strode toward the door while his brothers chuckled and bid them farewell.

Elora poked him in the chest. "Zendyor," she scolded. “That was rude.”

“It wasn’t. I don’t want to have a meeting right now,” he said irritably. “There is a lot to do from all angles, but you are feeling unsettled. That is my priority.”

Elora smiled up at him, closing her eyes and nuzzling her nose into his chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.