Samira put an arm around her shoulders, closed the door, and guided them toward the couch. Once they sat down, she said, “There, there, dear. I know it sounds scary, but it doesn’t have to be. Dragonmen in a frenzy can be overpowering and passionate, but they will also protect you with their life.”
Mel managed to blink back her tears and wiped her hands across her eyes. “That doesn’t sound like what Bram told me.”
Samira tsked. “Of course not. His dragon has never experienced a mate frenzy, and he thinks humans are too fragile to survive it. Yet dragonwomen deal with the frenzies when they happen without a problem. They’re quite rare, you know, the mate frenzies.”
“Maybe so, but at least the dragonwomen know what to expect.”
Samira took Mel’s chin in her hand and forced her to look at her. “Listen to me. Imagine the best sex of your life with the hottest man you’ve ever known. Not only that, but a man who turns into a fierce protector type of father from the second his child is born. That is what you get with a mate-frenzied male. Tristan may fight it at first, but he’s not intentionally cruel. After all, he trains the young dragons. I had wanted you to see him in action with the children tomorrow, but it looks like you might not get the chance to see him in his teacher role for quite a while.”
“A teacher? Tristan?”
Samira nodded. “It’s one of the hardest jobs in the clan to teach young dragons how to control their beasts as well as to fly and hunt without breaking the law. But Tristan has done it with ease for the past twelve years.”
The image of Tristan being patient or kind with anyone was foreign to her. “I just wish I could see that side of him first.”
Samira’s face softened. “I saw the way you looked at him back in the main hall, and I know you’re attracted to him. Is it really so bad to have sex with him a day early? The sooner you’re pregnant, the sooner you can get to know the real Tristan and not his half-crazed dragon.”
If she were honest with herself, Mel didn’t think the sex would be that bad. However, a small part of her had wanted Tristan to get to know her without being forced to do so because she was carrying his child. Especially since once she was pregnant, there was a high chance she might not live past the birth.
There was another thing for her to worry about; she could die in less than a year.
Speaking of pregnant women, she remembered Caitriona and her aura of defeat. “Did Cait’s male succumb to the frenzy, too?”
“No. Neil only did his duty and impregnated her before he screwed everything up. He was a selfish asshole with no sense of honor.”
She wanted to ask why he’d been assigned a human sacrifice in the first place, but Mel decided to focus on her fast-approaching fate. After all, Tristan should be back in less than twelve hours. “So you and your mate are the only ones who’ve experienced this before?”
Samira shook her head. “No. There is a dragonwoman paired with a dragonman. It’s not just a human-dragon-shifter thing. It’s probably impossible to set up a meeting tonight, but I’m sure either I or Bram can set up a meeting with them in time.”
She turned to face Samira. “Tell me, did you sleep with your mate before you knew him, too?”
Samira smiled. “I spent maybe an hour more in his company than you have with Tristan by this point. But yes, I slept with him the very first night, after Bram and Ella, the female dragon-shifter who also went through the mate frenzy, talked with me. Liam is kind to everyone from the start, whereas Tristan takes some time to open up, which made things a little easier on my end. I was scared for about two minutes before Liam made a joke and I soon forgot about anything except his hot, naked body over mine.”
She did remember Tristan’s toned chest and arms from back in the hall, and how it’d felt to be pressed up against his hard body. She would be lying if she didn’t say she wanted to feel his heat pressed up against her skin again, such as with the rough hair on his chest rubbing against her bared breasts. Or to feel his rough hands caressing the soft skin of her hip.
She nearly blinked at the sex fantasy that had started to play out in her mind. It seemed that talking with Samira was helping to calm her nerves. Mel realized she’d only been afraid and crying because she’d had no idea of what to expect. But it was starting to sound less like a nightmare and more like hot sex with a stranger.