She tried to school her expression to hide her shock but she was sure from the look on his face that she had failed. “OH SHIT!” was her prevalent thought as she remembered she’d had sex, wild crazy once in a lifetime sex, with a one hundred and nineteen year old man and she was actually thinking about doing it again, probably more than once. “How long do you expect to live, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“We can live to be as old as one thousand years, unless our physical body or that of our dragon is mortally wounded and succumb to the forever death. The soul of the man will return to the Universe and the essence of the dragon will pass to the next male in the family’s bloodline. If the man doesn’t have a successor, the dragon’s essence will pass to the next eligible bloodline. That's why from the time we undergo our transformation, we are looking for our mate. She completes the man and beast in every way possible. This one special woman, created by the Universe for her one Dragon Guardsman, is essential to the continuation of our way of life and our species as a whole, for she holds the seed of life. A Dragon Guard or any dragon shifter, even if he has not completed his training as a Guard, cannot have children with any other than his mate.
“So you see, Miss Kyndel, you are absolutely essential to Rayne’s survival. Not only because you can bear children but because you are truly the other half of his soul. There will be no other for him. If he loses you or you do not accept him as a mate, he would live a solitary existence. He will never know love. It’s said that his lifespan would be greatly shortened, as well.”
“WOW! No pressure there, Royce. Thanks for the update.” She thought to herself. “But what will he do when I die years before him?” her voice was barely a whisper as she tried to absorb the information Royce had shared with her.
“Once you and he have completed the mating ceremony your lifespan will match his, you will live as many years as he does. In some cases more if he goes to the heavens before his time.”
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing.” She commented, still reeling from everything she had just learned.
“Yes, it’s a very good thing,” Royce laughed, “Don’t look so worried, Rayne is the best man I know. He’ll protect you with everything in his power and that is truly saying something.” He patted her shoulder and she was once again amazed at his sheer size. “Now let’s get this stuff packed up. It’s looks like they are ready to head out.”
She knew things happened for a reason, had always believed that, but she never would have imagined she would be marching beside six of the most elite the Dragon Guard had to offer, on her way to only God knew where. Hell, she had never imagined dragons were real! Thinking about everything she had learned in the last twenty-four hours, all the ways her world had changed and most importantly about the incredibly sexy man she felt an unexplainable and irresistible attraction to she was reminded of something her granny used to always say, “Buckle up baby, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
From the way Kyndel’s brow was furrowed and her teeth were worrying her bottom lip Rayne knew she was deep in thought. He’d caught bits and pieces of her conversation with Royce while they were preparing to leave the park. He knew some of it had shocked her. They may not be officially mated but he was quickly learning his mate’s body language and the different tones of her voice. There were even times he felt little nudges in his mind and knew that if she was aware of what to look for, Kyndel would recognize the feelings too. Their souls had already recognized each other. They were reaching out to their mate, their completion. The ceremonial words of his people may not have been spoken but he and his fiery haired beauty were quickly bonding, regardless.
After two hours of walking, the incline to The Pointe began. Rayne called to his men through mind speak to pause for a moment. He needed to get Kyndel to drink some water and try to ease her tension. He could not bear it any longer; she was torturing herself about things he could help her understand. He pulled her into his side, calmed merely having her those few precious inches closer to him. “Come over here, love, let’s get a drink before we trudge up this hillside.”
They sat on a large rock, a little way from his men. “Now, Mo chroi, what’s causing all this stress?” He held her enchanting face between his hands and lightly rubbed the tension from her brow with his thumbs. She leaned into his touch.
“Royce told me how old you are and how long you’ll live. He also told me how important your mate is to you.” If possible, she tensed even more. “Rayne, I just met you a little over twenty-four hours ago. How can all this be happening? It is so overwhelming. I’m not someone that trusts this easily. Hell, like I told you before, I never even kiss on the first date and we did a whole lot more than kiss.” She paused for a breath and raised that one brow at him again. He’d never get tired of her mannerisms.