Nathan was in heaven. "Oh. My. Goddess. I can't believe how warm this is. I could easily get used to this." He lounged lazily in front on the roaring fire.
Axel started snickering. [And you were worried about it.]
"Still am, but at least it's warm. I'm starting to feel glad that we ended up in his trap. You know… now that I think about it, he never told us his name. Several days spent together, he's told me everything about himself except his name," Nathan wondered. "I mean, we know he's 432 years old, which is apparently young for a dragon. He's been living on his own for the past 50 years when his last relationship failed miserably. He prefers water over beer. He's not a fan of eating any kind of reptile but will if he doesn't have any better option and so much more but no name."
[Huh. Now that you mention it, you're right. I wonder why…]
They both sensed a presence cautiously approaching them and Nathan opened his eyes. Crouched in front of them was the big dragon. "Hey. You liking the fire? It's warm isn't it? I'm just putting the pot on and then I'll give you some space."
Nathan watched in wonder. "He's really trying to make sure we're comfortable with him, isn't he?"
[Yes, he is.] Axel took a moment of silence before continuing his thought. [Would you be comfortable shifting in front of him? Letting him know our secret?]
Nathan didn't answer right away, trying to formulate an answer. "…I think so," he started haltingly. "Not tonight, but soon. There's something about him that makes me feel safe and taken care of, even after only a few days."
[I wish our bond had properly stabilized. I get the feeling he might be our mate, but we won't be able to tell until it does.]
"Mate? What does that mean? And how would an unstable bond affect our ability to sense a 'mate'?"
[A mate is your soulmate, chosen for you by the Goddess. When a werewolf's bond with their wolf spirit is fully stable they share the full abilities of the wolf. It's why you're having such a hard time with hunting in the first place. You don't have full access to my senses and are only using a human's abilities to find prey. Same thing with finding our mate. Without being able to fully scent things, you'll never be able to find them.]
"Scent them? We can find our mate through scent?"
[Of course. They'll smell like the most amazing thing in the world.]
"But you said the dragon smells like smoke and dirt. I wouldn't declare that the most amazing thing in the world." Nathan couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking Axel was pulling his leg.
[That's his dragon scent. A mate scent is only noticeable to a mate,] Axel huffed.
"Now I'm just confused."
[Of course you are. Just focus on stabilizing the bond. We'll find out the truth when it does.]
"Wait," Nathan suddenly exclaimed. "Is this why your eyes are still blue?"
[Oh, now you question that? Yes, that's why my eyes are still blue.]
"Calm down, grumpy butt. How do I stabilize our bond?"
[Shift. You need to have full control over both halves of our soul.] Now Axel couldn't stop from rolling his eyes.
Nathan groaned. "Alright, alright. I'll shift but please give me some more time before I take the leap with him."
[I will. But only because I love you,] Axel sighed in resignation.
Nathan grinned, "Love you, too."