Mated to the Storm Dragon (Elemental Mates 1)

The mountain was very close. If Gregory didn’t turn now, he’d crash right into it. If the fire dragon wasn’t where Gregory thought he was, he’d have a perfect opportunity to hover above instead, waiting for that small window of opportunity to engulf Gregory with fire from above.

Yet somehow, Gregory knew that the fire dragon was still exactly where he’d been a moment ago, both now so close to the mountain that it looked like they’d crash right into it.

How...?

Be careful, the voice of his mate cried out in his mind.

Suddenly, Gregory understood what was happening.

Naomi!

It was the mate bond. Somehow, for some reason, he was seeing what she was seeing.

He hadn’t known that it was possible. It shouldn’t be possible, not so quickly. But it seemed that in this one moment of danger, their hearts had been forged together.

They’d truly become one, seeing what the other saw, feeling what the other felt.

Despite the danger, Gregory sent a wave of reassuring love her way—and then the stark rock of the mountainside reared up before him. With all his might, Gregory twisted.

It was an impossible feat. No dragon, no matter how strong, could have turned in time. Not at that speed, and not with the mountain close enough to touch.

You will not harm my home! the dragon inside Gregory roared with fierce anger. You will not harm my mate!

He stretched out his wings and twisted his body. Inside his heart, the storm of protective rage for everything he and his dragon loved had built into a force impossible to contain.

With a roar to the air and the wind, which had been his beloved companions since childhood, Gregory released the storm.

Wind with the power of a tornado hit him, catching his wings from below. He shot up in the air, his claws striking sparks at they scraped along the cliffside.

Through the bond, he could see what it looked like from below, an impossible display of strength and power—and he could also see that just below him, the same storm that had lifted him to safety had grabbed the fire dragon and smashed him right into the side of the mountain.

Roaring with triumph, Gregory spread his wings and soared.

Storm clouds covered the sky. The air smelled of ozone. Power sizzled along his wings.

Gregory felt immeasurably powerful. He had truly become the storm. He was of the clouds, of the air, of the wind.

He was an element of nature: the anger of the storm, the caress of the breeze, the beauty of lightning.

Like this, he could live and rule. He would be immortal, feared by all, a dragon truly come into his power. A ruler of the element, vanquisher of anything that dared to meet him...

Gregory!

It was the sound of Naomi’s voice that called him back from the maelstrom of power that had taken him captive.

Gregory, she called out again.

A shudder ran through his body, rippling along the silver scales.

My mate, he thought, and slowly, little by little, the roar of power within him receded.

The power was still there—it filled his dragon’s heart, a silver essence alight with possibility. But it was calm now, like the smooth surface of a lake.

It beckoned to him still—but it was no longer wild like an ocean, threatening to carry him away like the storm.

I am your master, he told it firmly. I am the master of the air. And I am Gregory Drago, of Mountain View, sworn to protect my people—sworn to protect my mate with my life. This is who I am. You will obey me. I will not obey you.