"I want to smile and make a joke, but this is more serious, Kiyana. Females who mate dragon-shifters, then decide to divorce, returning to the human world aren't treated well. Maybe one day it'll change but for now, if you still want to go through the frenzy and be my mate, then it's a serious decision. One I can wait for you to make, if you don't outright refuse me."
She searched his gaze. "And what if I said okay to the frenzy, was your mate-to-be, and then left at the end of the six months if it doesn't go well? Wouldn't that be an option?"
He shook his head. "Dragon-shifter children, even if they're only half, must stay with a dragon-shifter clan. The gene to shift is always dominant, and it's a risk to everyone to let them grow up thinking they're merely human."
"So in other words, I'd have to come back to have my child and then leave him or her here?"
"Aye."
Kiyana glanced down to her mug and traced the rim. It was one of the few times he'd seen her unsure of herself, and he didn't like it.
Especially because the decision she mulled over was related to him.
However, he wasn't going to trick her into his bed for the sake of it. The true mates who failed in the end were usually because the two people hadn't been honest.
She finally raised her head and met his eyes again. Her expression was unreadable, which made him rub his legs with his hands again.
After a few more beats, she said, "Promise me you'll be honest and as open as you can with me, and I'll say yes. I get people have secrets, we all do. But I also have the feeling not even Finn knew about what happened to you three years ago, and he's your clan leader. I can't live with a male who hides so much from me. I want more than a lover. I want a partner in life."
Hope swelled in his chest. "I will do the best I can, Kiyana. Opening up about certain things isn't easy for me, but I'll try."
She nodded. "Okay, so what happens next?"
His heart raced. Could it really be that simple? Explain things to Kiyana, and she believed him?
Maybe she had some sort of pseudo secret-power about detecting liars, or something. Regardless, he would keep telling her the truth. Lying about anything from this point forward would push her away.
And Alistair didn't want that.
He replied, "Aye, well, my dragon won'
t return for a few days yet. So maybe before all of the hot and sweaty sex, we try to get to know each other?"
The corner of her mouth ticked up. "Imagine that, going on a date with the future father of your child. Who would've thought?"
He chuckled. Life with Kiyana would be one full of smiles and laughter, he was sure of it.
Alistair just needed to not fuck it up.
Putting a hand on the table, palm up, he waited until Kiyana placed her palm in his. Her warm skin against his felt good, as if it had always meant to be there.
His dragon would’ve made a crack about becoming poetic, and Alistair snorted. Kiyana raised her brows. "What's so funny? Care to share?"
"Well, I'm thinking of what my dragon would’ve said to me, is all. I guess without the chatty beast there, I fill the silence myself."
She leaned forward a fraction. "Which brings up something we definitely need to discuss in more detail. Once the drugs wear off, tell me what to expect, Alistair. And don't try to shield me, or make it seem as if he'll merely say how do you do and wait patiently for me to get naked."
"I see you're a wee bit prepared already."
"That's sort of what I do."
"Me, too."
As they smiled at one another, Alistair imagined part of his future—one where he and Kiyana worked together to find the answers he needed.
It seemed as if fate had done a good job after all.
She squeezed his hand. "You still haven't answered my question."