Chapter 12: 11, Dragon powers

“You can shift your body temperature, you can drink scolding coffee, you have scales that act as armour,” Mikael started counting on his fingers. 

“I’m guessing you withstanding my father’s alpha command should be included,” he then added.

Rayvin, that had been nodding up until then, frowned. 

“Not really, but kind of,” she said. 

“Could you be any vaguer?” he laughed.

“Sorry,” she smiled. “I’m not used to talking about this, not even my alpha and I talk openly about it,” she admitted.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asked her.

“No, I just realised that I don’t really know how to explain everything. It hasn’t exactly been explained to me. I just have learned along the way,” she smiled. 

“But let’s start with the alpha command. If you have a human in your pack, can you use the command on them?” she asked Mikael.

“You know I can’t,” he huffed.

“Why not?” she asked.

“You know this Ray,” he said.

“Yes, but tell me anyway,” she insisted.

“The alpha command only works on shifters, as it takes advantage of the ingrained pack mentality,” he said in a dull voice. 

“Yeah, to be more accurate, it only affects pack shifters. There are leopard shifters and other shifters that don’t live in packs that aren’t affected by it,” she nodded.

“Sure,” he agreed. Rayvin looked at him. He looked back at her. 

“So?” Rayvin asked.

“So?” he answered.

“I can withstand the alpha command as the part of me that is a dragon isn’t affected by it. It’s difficult, because my wolf part is desperate to obey. It becomes a struggle over who will win. Mostly it’s a fifty-fifty chance who will be stronger. But there are instances when the outcome is more predictable,” she explained.

“Like?” he asked.

“When they both agree on what they would like to do. If the question is one I don’t mind answering or that, I feel it doesn’t matter. Then my dragon won’t fight the wolf’s need to comply. But if I am deeply opposed to answering, like when your father tried to make me tell him what I was. Then my wolf will try to fight the command as well, which means the dragon will win as the wolf is holding back,” she said.

“That makes sense,” he nodded. 

“Either way, it’s not a pleasant experience,” she told him. He gave her a weak smile and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. 

“That’s one down. How about we tackle the hot coffee next?” she tried to smile.

“Sure,” he nodded.

“It’s not just coffee, it’s tied to regulating body heat. Heat doesn’t bother me. You can set me on fire and I will be fine, no burns, no catching fire, no death. Well, there are exceptions. If the fire were so big that it would consume all the oxygen, or if the smoke made me suffocate. I still need to breathe,” she told him.

“And cold?” he asked.

“I can adjust my body heat to compensate for it. But I can only do it for so long. Creating heat takes energy. If I was to be exposed to cold for a long period of time, I would eventually pass out of fatigue and then I would stop generating heat and succumb to the cold,” she said.

“Ray, we don’t have to talk about this,” Mikael suddenly said. She frowned and looked at him.

“Why the sudden change of heart?” she asked.

“Because it suddenly feels like a list of what can harm and kill you,” he growled. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Some of it is. But I don’t mind you knowing,” she shrugged. 

“Ray,” he said, sounding tormented. 

“No, Max. I trust you to keep me and my secret safe. You are my mate,” she insisted. 

He looked at her for a long time, then he sighed and nodded. 

“Okay, so that is both the hot coffee and the body temperature explained. I think you will like this one,” she smiled at him. She bent the light like she had done that morning and she made herself non-reflective. Rayvin saw Mikael’s eyes grow big from surprise.

“Ray?” he asked and trusted his hand out to where she was sitting. It hit her on the shoulder and made her huff. 

“Careful, alpha boy,” she said.

“Are you still there?” he asked as he took a hold of her shoulder.

“No, you are groping thin air. Of course I’m still here,” she smiled and let go of the concentration it took for her to keep invisible. 

“You can turn invisible?” he asked, amazed. 

“Yes, well. I can bend light and make it not reflect off of me,” she clarified. 

“That is amazing,” he told her. 

“If you liked that, you are going to love this,” she smiled and held out her arm as she drew back her sleeve on her knitted sweater. 

Her arm flickered like she was about to shift into her wolf form, and soon it was covered in gold scales. Mikael drew in a sharp breath and stretched out his hand to touch her arm. His fingers gently moved over the scales, sending shivers all over Rayvin’s body. 

“They are warm,” he said.

“Yes,” she smiled and nodded.

“They are beautiful. Can you decide where on your body they show up?” he asked as he continued to run his fingers over them.

“I can, but it’s like a half shift for a wolf. If I only do parts of my body, it takes more concentration and energy from me. But it comes in handy when you need to keep them hidden under clothing,” she told him. 

“And if I were to bite your arm?” Mikael asked. He seemed genuinely fascinated by her scales. 

“We would take a trip to the dentist, please don’t,” she smiled. He nodded.

“Is this why people used to think you guarded treasure, because it looks like you are clad in gold?” he asked and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. 

“Maybe partly,” she nodded. “But dragons tend to obsess on things. They find something they like and they really get into it. Because most dragons have a little bit of hubris and a healthy amount of self-importance. We tend to be drawn to power and wealth,” she explained.

“You are telling me that dragons have hoarded treasures?” he asked. 

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” she shrugged.

“What’s your obsession?” he then asked. Rayvin could feel herself blush, and Mikael raised an eyebrow. 

“We can take that some other time,” she tried to dodge the question. 

“Oh no, my little mate,” Mikael chuckled and pulled her into his lap.

“You are willing to share with me your weak points, but not your obsession? Spit it out, Ray,” he said. She turned her head down and mumbled her answer so low that even Mikael’s wolf hearing had a hard time picking it up. 

“What was that sweetie?” he asked and put a finger under her chin to tilt it up.

“You and this pack, okay? My obsessions are you and this pack, to keep you safe. I have spent the last nine years with that as my single mission. It is the one thing that has guided every decision I have made,” she told him and blushed furiously and tried to turn away. 

Mikael had pulled her into a kiss before she had the chance to escape from his lap. His kiss was fiery and deep, full of emotions that Rayvin tried to detangle, but ended up just enjoying the kiss. As they broke apart, they were both panting from the shortness of breath. 

“You are too good for me, Ray,” Mikael said as he took in the scent of her neck. 

“What are you talking about?” she asked as she had the urge for the second time today to pull out his hair from its hair tie. 

“How can I live up to half of what you have done for me and this pack?” he asked.

“You are being silly, Max. What I have done is to keep you safe by staying away. It’s the least you can ask for. And I can’t even do that anymore,” she sighed.

“Your watch is over, Ray. Now we take it up together,” he told her and placed butterfly kisses all over her neck. 

“I can live with that,” she smiled.

“Good. So, back to your list. Do you breathe fire?” he asked against her neck. Rayvin had to laugh. 

“No, not in the literal sense. We can manipulate an open flame. Make it grow bigger or smaller or make it move in a certain direction. The bigger the fire or flame, the harder it is,” she told him. 

“Is that every ability?” he asked.

“No, dragons also have fantastic eyesight, hearing, and are fast and strong. But that is the same for wolves, so it doesn’t differ from if I was a full werewolf,” she shrugged. 

“So you can manipulate fire, are immune to heat, can regulate your body temperature, have gold armour, can turn invisible and withstand the alpha command?” he then asked her. 

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“You are amazing,” he told her and kissed her. 

“Thank you for accepting me and all my odd things,” Rayvin told him.

“I wouldn’t want you any other way,” Mikael smiled at her. 

“Okay, I appreciate it, but I think I have had my dose of sweetness for now. Time for lunch and then I’ll change and head out,” she said, getting up from Mikael’s lap.

“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed as he took her hand and they walked down to the dining hall together. 

Mikael insisted on walking her back to the house and waiting for her to change. Rayvin changed into a pair of black jeans and a black hoodie. She took her black parka jacket in her hands as she walked downstairs to the kitchen where Mikael sat waiting for her. 

“I’ll pick up some groceries on my way home,” she told him as she tied her hair back.

“I like the sound of that,” he smiled, and she returned his smile. It did sound homely to say it like that. 

“Is there anything special that you want?” she asked.

“No, just get what you like,” he shrugged and walked up to her.

“Next time we can go together,” he suggested and placed his hands on her waist. 

“I’d like that,” she nodded. “Max, what’s wrong?” she asked as he had frozen. 

“Ray, what is this?” he asked, and patted something at her waist.

“Oh, it’s one of my throwing knives,” she said.

“One of your what?” 

“My throwing knives. I have one there, one here and here,” she told him, taking his hand and moving it to her other side and then to her smaller back. 

“I also carry one strapped to each ankle, on my right thigh and… well, somewhere else as well. I have seven in total,” she told him.

“Are you insane?” he asked.

“What?”

“Why are you strapping sharp objects to your body? What if they injure you?” he told her. 

“Max, I have carried my knives for a little over seven years. They have never drawn my blood. They have saved my life on numerous occasions and they come in handy,” she said in a calm voice. 

She drew out a knife from her waist and handed it to him so that he could look at it. The knife was about as long as her hand and thin. Its handle was long and narrow and the blade looked more like an arrowhead. Mikael was about to put his finger on its tip to test its sharpness.

“Don’t!” Rayvin told him and grabbed his hand. “The tip has silver on it,” she explained. Mikael looked at her in alarm.

“Ray, why are you carrying around silver weapons?” he asked.

“They are useful. They are silent, accurate, fast, and deadly. I can use them over long distances, but in a pinch, I can use them for close combat as well,” she said and reached for her knife. 

Mikael pulled his hand that held the knife away from her as if he didn’t want to give it back. Rayvin raised an eyebrow. 

“I realise that you have been using these for a long time, and I trust you know how to use them. But I don’t like it. Why not just go with your natural weapons like teeth and claws?” he asked, still not giving her the knife.

“Turning into a wolf is not always a good way to do things. Especially if you’re not amongst other wolves. Now can I have my knife back? I need to get going,” she smiled.

Mikael reluctantly gave it back to her, looking at it like it was a disgusting thing. Rayvin slid it back into its sheet at her waist and held out her hand toward Mikael.

“Walk me to my car?” she asked.