Kiyana moaned, and his need intensified. Fuck, if he wasn't inside her soon, he'd die.
And in that moment, Alistair's brain put it all together. She's our true mate.
Yes. So kiss her, fuck her, claim her. She is meant to be ours, forever.
His inner beast pushed for him to strip her and thrust between her thighs, but somehow Alistair drew on every iota of strength he possessed to break the kiss and release Kiyana.
His dragon roared, and Alistair tried his best to construct a mental prison. It wouldn't hold long, but maybe long enough for Kiyana to run.
Not just to save herself, but to help Alistair from betraying everything he believed. A kiss might have been okay, but sex wasn't. And once his dragon got out, there'd be a mate-claim frenzy, which would be nonstop sex until Kiyana carried his child.
He was an idiot for even kissing her in the first place.
Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "Get out."
Kiyana, his lovely human, didn't budge but frowned. "What? Why? You were clearly into me two seconds ago."
His beast pounded harder. In a few minutes, he might not be able to control his dragon until Kiyana was pregnant.
He retreated further, until his back hit the wall. "You know dragon-shifters. If you don't leave, my dragon will take control and I can't stop him. Not until you're pregnant."
Her eyes widened. "Wait, I'm your true mate?"
Roaring louder, his dragon launched against the sides of the mental prison. It wouldn't be long now.
Alistair nodded. "Now, go. Find Finn, explain it, and stay away from me."
She paused for a few seconds, each one giving his dragon more chances to break free. He ordered, "Leave. Now."
She responded quietly, "What if I said yes to it all?"
His dragon tried harder to escape, clawing at the prison, his lust and need seeping through. "No, I can't…please don't make me."
He swore pain flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before he could blink.
He'd hurt her. Bloody hell, he'd hurt her. "It's not what you think…"
"No, don't explain. That just makes it worse." She finally went to the front door. "I'll find Finn and leave you be."
Within seconds, he was alone. Alistair raced to his bedroom, typed out a quick text message to the clan's doctor, and curled into a ball on the floor. He didn't know how long he could hold off his dragon, but he hoped it was long enough.
Otherwise, he'd probably break the vow he'd made to himself concerning Rachel, and that was one thing he could never do.
Chapter Five
Kiyana didn't cry often. But as she half ran, half stumbled to Finn's house, tears prickled her eyes.
Being rejected was never easy, but it was infinitely worse when Kiyana turned out to be someone's true mate—one determined by fate to be a good fit—and he still didn't want her.
Stop it, Kiyana. You know he didn't want a mate. That's nothing new.
If only the words would stick. Yet as she remembered Alistair's tongue stroking hers as he rocked her against his hard cock, it just didn't make sense. There had to be a reason for his rejection. There had to be.
And if she could figure it out, it might help the sting and ease her pain a little.
She finally reached Finn's cottage, the light in the front windows a good sign. Normally she'd take more care about noise since Finn and his mate had young children. But Kiyana was in no state to remember niceties, and pounded on the door with everything she had.
Finn opened the door with a frown. It instantly vanished when he saw her face. "Kiyana, lass, what's wrong?"