Keaton walks up beside me, still in his beast form. "Mind if I use the lake?" I shrug in indifference. He breaks a hole in it and shifts back, blood is caked on him, yet his clothes are spotless. He shamelessly strips and jumps in. The small pool of water quickly turns red as he rubs the blood off as best as he can.

"Did you… well, bite any of them?" I feel bad for asking.

"A few, I would prefer an animal, but at the end of the day, meat is meat." I shiver. He soon exits the small pool, most of the blood is gone but there is still a small layer. My eyes stray a bit too low and I turn away. He puts his clothes back on. "Are you hungry?"

I shook my head, "No, just tired."

"Is your dragon hungry?"

"I'm not eating human." My stomach growls regardless. 'Meat… no! Not human!'

"I wasn't going to suggest that." He sniffs the air, "Someone is cooking some meat right now."

"Then I suppose… will you join me?"

"I just ate… I mean, yes, I can." I have a weak smile.

We enter what I assume is the chief's house and Jakob is in the kitchen handling several different pots and pans. Elise is in the corner, idly cutting a carrot, the cuts are short and slow. She tries to smile when she sees me, it is forced. "Hey, sister!" It does not come out like the exclamation is usually does.

"Lady Yasei, I do hope you are hungry." He sounds distracted, it is probably because we are using supplies and beds that were just vacated.

"Yea…" my eyes glance over at a few items that have not been thrown onto one of the many pots or pans yet. "Mind if I just grab that steak from you?" I point towards it, it is raw and rather large.

"Uncooked? Gods, what are you thinking!?" Jakob scolds me.

"It's part of her changes, Jakob." Elise says, still on the same carrot. "She can eat it without problem."

"Better if it has recently died, though." Keaton states. Elise chokes on some air and Jakob scoffs.

"Excuse you?" Jakob chides. "And no, I cannot in good conscience give you unprepared meat!"

"Solution: I'll give her the steak." Keaton says.

"Absolutely not! This will be cooked and that is final! Out with you."

"Maybe I don't want it cooked." I whisper as I leave. Keaton growls.

"If she wants the steak raw…" his voice lowers, "Then she that is how she will get it." He snags the meat from the pan and leaves.

"By all that is… ugh." Jakob stays put, he still has food to cook, after all.

Keaton catches up to me as I go up the stairs. "Here you go."

I smile, "You didn't have to." I took it anyway.

"Actually, yeah. I did have to."

"Hm?" I take a bite out of the beef, though it would be better if it had some blood over it. "What do you mean?"

He gestures for me to follow him and we enter the chief's room. "I told you I would wait until we were out of here… but I can't."

"I can wait." The steak is already almost gone.

"But I can't."

"Wait, I thought you wanted to talk about what is happening with me?" Down goes the meat.

"Yes, I do."

"But…"

He grunts in frustration, "When it comes around, did you always just ignore the urge?"

"Huh?" I am confused, "What is 'it'?"

"It's the urge you've have several times since I've met you. Ignoring it causes emotions like frustration and anger to get worse."

"And what is IT?" I yell back.

"Heat! You are in heat!"

"Wha-..." I pause, the anger suddenly leaves me. "You mean that hotness I have been feeling several times the last few weeks?"

"Yes. That means you are in heat."

I tilt my head. "And how do I fix that?"

He sighs in irritation, "Surely you remember having certain thoughts when you felt that hotness, right?"

Why is he not just telling me? Keaton has never just danced around an answer before! "It feels like I want to… Oh. Oh!" I flush a brilliant crimson. "That's… embarrassing."

His own face is burning, "And when you, or any female, is in heat, the males get this really strong urge to jump on you."

"Then why haven't you already?"

"If you weren't part human I would, but you humans have these 'hoops' that you jump through before sharing a bed with someone."

A beat passes and I grow bold, "What if I don't want you to take my human side into consideration?"

He stops, stunned, "If I had known that, then I would have held you down weeks ago."

Heat flows through me, "Then don't." I choke out.

"Are you saying that for me or for you?"

"You know what…" I lick my lips and pin him to the wall, my mouth finds his quickly, I can still smell the blood . I push my tongue in to lick at the leftover spots of blood in his mouth.

He pulls me away. I can see the lust in his eyes but he is still restraining himself. 'What that not enough of approval?' "Yasei." His voice is husky.

"...I swear, if you don't start touching me, Keaton." My own voice comes out in short breaths. "Keaton…" I urge him on. I pull my hands away and am in the process of unlatching buckles, my body quaking in need. Then I stop. 'No man wants you.'

"Thinking clearly now?"

I back up, "You don't want me." My voice is small.

"What? I just told you what it feels like to me when you…"

"No, you'll take one look and run off in the other direction." I make my way towards the door and he blocks me off.

"You're strong…" He starts.

"I look…"

"That's not what I look for in a mate."

'Mate . ' The word sends a shiver down my spine. "Mate?"

"I want you for your strength. I yelled at you for your ability to resist being in heat, but that ironically only proves you have a greater willpower. That makes you more desirable. Good looks don't make strong offspring." He leans in closer, "I want to make you mine." He growls in my ear.

"Make me yours?" I breathe out shakily.

"My mating partner, only I will handle your urges. No one else will have you." He waits for my response.

I choose, "Take me."

He pins me against the wall like I did him, his hands quickly travel across me, and warmth of his hands somehow goes through my armor. "Armor…" he growls.

I move to unbuckle the segments once more. "Clothes…" I respond and I carelessly toss my armor aside. He has yet to touch his own clothing.

"I control where this goes." If we were both human, I would have found that threatening. But we weren't, his declaration for dominance almost causes my knees to buckle. His hands are on me again and all I can do is claw into his back as he rubs and scratches around me, my scales prevent most of the scratches from happening however. He growls when he realizes he can't mark me on my scales, so he takes it out on the parts he can, my shoulders and hands are soon covered in claw marks.

My core is burning and he is intentionally avoiding it, I begin whimpering in protest, but his mouth silences most of it. His teeth tear into part of my lips, it hurts but the scent of blood just makes me more heated. I gasp when he suddenly picks me up with ease. For a moment I thought he is going to bring me to the bed, but instead we end up on the floor, he kicks his pants off and spreads my legs, I gulp on seeing his member. The books I read might have describe length and girth, but never what they actually look like. I have a feeling that they weren't veiny and red. He thrusts forward and just slightly misses, I moan in frustration. Another miss.

I growl and grab his penis, I am not waiting for him to find it. He shoots a look of dominance at me, a warning to let go of my control. I challenge his gaze with one full of lust and need… and a patience that is nearly gone. Working against him I guide him to my entrance, and it isn't until he is inside that I revert back to my submissiveness that he demands. I nearly cum on the first thrust, he feels so hot and his member hit so many spots that my fingers couldn't. "Haah!" I push myself so he can go deeper, farther.

He holds my arms down and pushes his weight on me. I can't even adjust myself, even with the wooden floor scraping against my back… but I would not want it any other way. "K-Keaton…" The first orgasm shoots through me. He growls in approval yet doesn't slow down for me to recover. I can feel another one fast approaching, I just cry out this time, words are failing me, I am already feeling much more sore than whatever I can do to myself. 'More . '

I feel him getting even larger in me, it is starting to throb. I feel him go deeper and he howls, I feel an even hotter substance enter me. He brings his mouth down to my neck and bites hard , yet strangely I do not feel it. I'm too dazed from the sex to register anything else. " Mine." He demands as he pulls his head back.

I nod breathlessly. A minute passes staring at his face, "Not that I'm complaining, but how long do you plan on staying inside?" I feel some blood running down my neck and he laps it up. I shiver from the contact. His eyes soften and pulls out with a pop. He extends his arm and I grab onto it, but my legs refuse to cooperate. "Help me?" I squeak.

He laughs and releases my hand to instead scoop me from under. "I couldn't ask for a better mate."

"That was amazing. I've never felt so satisfied." He kisses my neck. "We're going to have to be careful we that, though."

"Why?" It comes out as a growl.

"Keaton… I'm the one leading this group, I can't do that if I can't walk." I pause, "Oh, I get it. You don't like me having some control over you." I kiss his neck, "Looks like you are going to have to work to get me down, then."

"Oh, I will." He lies me down on the bed and crawls next to me, "And one day, I'll pin you down in the middle of camp…"

I gasp, "Gods! You can't be serious, that would be so embarrassing!"

"Stop thinking like a human." He rolls his eyes. "I would claim you in front of the world if it means no on even glances your way." My face burns and I refuse to respond. "We still have a few hours until nightfall."

"And we are going to march out first thing in the morning." I look over to him and his breaths are coming in short and hot, "Already!?" He smirks. "One condition, you carry me if I can't walk."

He growls and climbs on top, " Mine…"