I couldn't stand being cramped inside the carriage, so I stopped it and asked Aria to switch places.

Now I was driving the first carriage while Tiamat drove the other one, following me from the back.

After seeing we made a decent distance from the Inn I took a detour off the main road going straight into forest.

Sarah popped her head from the back, "What's happening?"

I turned to her, "I saw an empty spot good for camping nearby, and it's already late we should stop"

She nodded her head, "I will tell others" then she pulled her head back inside.

I sighed, moving my shoulders a little, they were stiff from staying in the same positions for 4 hours.

I looked behind and shouted, "Tiamat we gonna stop at an empty spot ahead"

I could see her nodding at my words, and I resumed driving.

Reaching the empty spot we both stopped.

Tiamat went down from the carriage and walked to me, "master, would we camp here? Want me to go and bring wood?"

"Yeah," I said, rolling my neck to loosen it. "Grab enough for a decent fire. We'll need it tonight."

She gave a sharp nod, tail flicking once, and vanished into the trees without another word.

Her crimson-and-black scales caught the last slivers of daylight before the shadows swallowed her completely.

I helped the others unhitch the horses, set up a rough perimeter of the carriages, and started clearing a space for the firepit.

The forest felt heavier than it should.

too quiet, the kind of quiet that makes your ears strain for sound that isn't there.

No birds.

No insects.

Just the crackle of dry leaves under boots and the low murmur of Sarah and Aria talking by the water barrels.

Minutes stretched.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

I kept glancing toward the treeline where Tiamat had disappeared.

Nothing.

"She's taking her time," Sarah said, coming up beside me with an armful of kindling she'd scavenged closer to camp.

Her voice was casual, but her eyes flicked the same direction mine had.

"She's strong. She'll be fine," I replied.

It sounded more confident than I felt.

Another five minutes.

Still nothing.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"Stay here," I told Sarah.

"Keep the fire going once you get it lit. I'm going to check."

She opened her mouth.

probably to argue.

then closed it and nodded instead.

The underbrush was thicker than it looked from the road.

Thorns snagged at my sleeves as I pushed deeper, following the faint drag marks her tail had left in the moss and leaf litter.

Then I heard it: a low, frustrated growl, followed by wood groaning under heavy weight.

I broke into a jog.

She was maybe forty paces in, high up in the cleft of an ancient oak.

Her upper body was wedged tight between two massive branches that forked like a tuning fork.

Wings half-spread, pinned awkwardly.

Legs dangling, boots scraping air.

Her tail lashed once, twice, slapping leaves off lower limbs.

Sap glistened on her scales, dark streaks across crimson and black.

She saw me and bared teeth in something between a snarl and a grimace.

"Master."

Her voice came out rough, strained.

Not fear.

never fear from her.

but embarrassment and something hotter underneath.

"How the hell did you manage that?" I asked, already moving toward the trunk.

"Deadwood was higher than it looked. Slipped. The fork caught me under the arms."

She flexed, muscles rolling under scales.

The branches creaked louder.

"I could break them. But it would bring half the forest down."

"And probably every predator within a league," I finished for her.

She huffed.

Her tail curled once, almost lazily, then flicked toward me.

deliberate.

It brushed my thigh, then wrapped slow and firm around my waist, tugging me closer until my chest pressed against the rough bark and her hips were level with mine.

I looked up.

Her eyes were slit pupils in molten gold, breathing shallow.

Heat rolled off her in waves.

thick, musky, unmistakably draconic.

Rut.

Or the edge of it.

She'd been holding it back for days; I'd smelled it in the carriage, ignored it because we were moving, because there were eyes on us.

Now there were no eyes.

Only trees.

And her.

"Get me down," she said.

It wasn't quite a request.

I reached up, testing the branch with one hand.

Solid.

Too solid.

Her tail tightened, pulling my hips flush against the curve of her ass.

Fabric stretched tight over scales and muscle.

She rocked once.

small testing.

and the friction sent a jolt straight through me.

My pulse kicked hard.

"You're not stuck," I said quietly.

A low rumble vibrated through her chest.

"Not enough to matter."

I should have cut the damn branch and dragged her back to camp.

Should have.

Instead my hands found the ties of her trousers.

Rough weave, already damp at the seam.

I yanked them down just enough.

Scales gave way to softer hide beneath, slick and fever-hot.

She hissed through her teeth when my fingers brushed her.

No preamble.

No gentleness.

Not tonight.

I freed myself.

hard, aching.

and lined up.

One thrust seated me deep.

Her whole body locked, claws gouging deep furrows into the bark.

A choked growl tore out of her throat.

The branch groaned under the sudden force.

I didn't stop.

Each snap of my hips drove her forward, grinding her chest against wood.

Her tail coiled tighter around my waist, anchoring me, urging harder.

Wet heat clenched around me, greedy, almost punishing.

Sap and sweat and her scent filled my lungs until I couldn't think past the next thrust.

Above us the branches creaked louder.

warning shots.

She laughed once, low and feral.

"Faster. Or it'll break before we do."

I gripped her hip, nails digging into scale, and gave her what she wanted.

The rhythm turned brutal.

Skin slapped against hide.

Her wings twitched, trapped but trying to flare.

Every time I bottomed out she made a sound.

half moan, half snarl.

that vibrated straight down my spine.

Distant howl cut through the trees.

Close.

Too close.

Didn't matter.

Her inner walls fluttered, tightened.

She was close.

dangerously close.

I felt it in the way her tail spasmed, the way her breathing fractured.

"Come," I growled against her ear.

"Now."

She did.

Violent.

Silent at first.

then a raw, shuddering roar she barely swallowed.

Her whole body seized, clamping down so hard I saw stars.

Heat flooded around me, slick and scalding.

I followed a heartbeat later, burying deep and spilling inside her with a curse I didn't bother muffling.

The branch finally cracked.

Not all the way.

just enough to drop us a foot.

I caught her around the waist as we fell, twisting so I hit the ground first.

She landed on top, still impaled, wings half-unfurled now that the pressure was gone.

Chest heaving.

Eyes dazed and triumphant.

For three heartbeats we just breathed.

Then another howl.

closer.

She lifted her head, nostrils flaring.

"Wolves. Or worse."

I laughed once, hoarse.

"Of course."

She slid off me slow, deliberate, letting me feel every inch.

Stood.

Pulled her trousers back into place like nothing had happened.

Offered me a hand up.

"Camp?" she asked, voice almost normal.

I took her hand.

Let her pull me to my feet.

"Yeah," I said.

"Camp. Before the rest of the forest decides to join us."

We walked back toward the firelight in silence.

Her tail brushed my leg the whole way.

Smiling.

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