Page 53 of Daughter of Garnet

"Anything?"

His hands are shaking as he brushes my hair from my face, and my breath catches in my throat. "It started small, and I thought it was just wanting to be around you, but there is something inside me that needs you. I noticed it when I found you on the floor, and it's only grown since then. There is a piece of me that belongs to you, and it's too crowded in my chest to ignore anymore." He takes a step back, shaking his head. "This is weird. I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with me."

I snag his forearm, halting his steps. "It's not weird."

"It's not?"

"I don't feel what you do, not exactly, but there is something." I rub my sternum. "The first time I shook your hand, I felt it. I still feel it. Spending time with you is easy in a way it's never been with Warren, or even Viv. This doesn't feel like a friendship. It's more than that."

My dragon stirs inside me and pushes against the walls of my mind, like she's trying to tell me something. I've read a few books that said you become one with your beast after spending time in shifted form, but I'm not there yet. She still seems entirely separate from me, but maybe she represents the part of me that I shove down most of the time, and now I don't have to hide it to exist in polite society.

There's a pause, where I worry that I've said something wrong, before he grabs my chin and tilts my face up. His eyes are searching for something, and whatever it is, I hope he finds it.

He brushes his lips across mine in a move that is so soft I could almost convince myself it didn't happen. That is, until he presses his mouth against mine again. This time, there is no mistaking the attention he's giving me, and I am soaking it up like water in a drought.

My mouth opens with a gasp, and he wastes no time deepening our kiss, stroking my tongue with his. My body grows heated, overwhelming me and making my knees weak. Cliff wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me upright and against him.

The kiss is sweet, not frantic, and exploratory. I feel safe in his arms, his bulk soft and pleasantly warm, despite the fire rolling under my skin. My dragon is quiet, and I can feel her pleasure mingling with mine.

I don't feel the need to do anything other than exist here in this moment.

But it's over too soon.

Cliff pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. "Warren was right."

"What?" The words don't make sense when my mind is still fogged with pleasure from our kiss.

"He was right to tell me to stay away from you, because now that I've gotten a taste of you, I'm never giving you up. You're stuck with me forever."

My heart flips, and my dragon roars with happiness inside me. I can feel that chasm in my chest swelling and filling with his declaration.

"Forever is a long time, Cliff."

"Yeah, it is. That's why I said it."

A foreign feeling swells inside me, and before I can make sense of it, my dragon pushes to the forefront of my mind, demanding to be seen. I can feel my teeth growing sharper. I bring my hand to my mouth to try to hide them, earning me an odd look from my Beta.

My Beta.

My Beta.

The words echo in my mind, growing louder and louder until it is practically a scream.

I've been learning in some of my classes that Alphas and Omegas are in tune with their instincts in a way Betas wouldn't understand, which is why classes like Menagerie Management exist. The Blessed can't always control their beasts or their actions.

I never understood how losing complete control of my actions could be possible. Now I do, because it is not me who lowers my hand from my mouth.

Cliff spots the changes in my teeth and steps back from me.

"Zoe, what's going on with your teeth?"

"I can explain," I try to say, but these massive fangs aren't made for conversation, and the words come out garbled.

He looks scared of me, and I hate it. I hate that there is a part of him that sees me as a predator and worries he may be prey.

I would never hurt him. Could never hurt him.

He's my Beta.