Silver Fox (Silver Shifters 2)

He had never deal with such powerful energy before. For a moment, he had almost been overwhelmed. But then he had felt the strength of the mate bond flare inside him. Isidor didn’t know he was helping, but his awe and pride in Xi Long had bolstered the qilin’s flagging strength, until the terrible, destructive dragonfire was rendered into a shower of harmless light.

As Mikhail the silver dragon took to the air, Isidor pulled Xi Yong into an embrace. Xi Yong felt the tremor of residual fear in him, and the longing to reassure him in all ways possible was nearly overwhelming. But he settled for leaning into his mate’s warmth, grounding himself as the last of the dragon’s energy flowed out of his body into the world around him.

“When the dragon attacked you, I thought for a moment you were going to die,” Isidor murmured into his shoulder. “I never want to feel like that again. I wished I could have done something.”

“You did,” Xi Yong told him. “For shifters, the mate bond provides us strength. I could feel your pride in me. It is because of you that I am alive.”

“Wow.” Isidor laughed softly. “It seems like there’s always something new to learn about shifters.”

“For as long as we live, I hope to continue teaching you new things,” Xi Yong murmured.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around dragon.” He raised his head and met Xi Yong’s gaze. “Then I’m back in the kitchen, watching a ruby-red qilin, before I fell into his eyes.”

Xi Yong kissed him, and warm ruby light, full of love and the promise of a bright future, wrapped around them both.